“What?” I asked after taking the pencil out of my mouth. I kept my pencil between my teeth while thinking over designs. Romi constantly teased me about the habit.
“You are very strange to me,” he said.
“Well, you’re a vampire, and that is very strange to me.” I resumed my sketching and realized what color it needed to be. Blood red—very fitting for bold and deadly fashion.
“I was born in the thirteenth century. As you can imagine, I’ve come across many people in my time. Not one female is like you.”
His words sounded nice, but I kept waiting for the insult to come. After a few seconds of silence, I genuinely wondered what had gotten into the vamp. Could they be poisoned somehow? He’d been kind telling me I wasn’t fat earlier, and now this compliment.
“Is that a bad thing?” I stupidly asked, and I wished I could keep my mouth shut around him.
“I’m not sure.” He closed his eyes.
Thoughts raced in my mind, and all I could do was thank him. Being different wasn’t necessarily a good thing where I lived, but I think everyone deep down likes to believe they have something special inside them, something that sets them apart from others. He didn’t speak after I expressed my gratitude, so I assumed he was sleeping or meditating again. I went back to sketching my epic dress and then went to bed when my sight blurred on the page.
Chapter Fifteen
Tatsou
Kano Sakura was predictable. He wanted me in his guard, so he had his daughters spend more time with him. I played the dutiful servant while watching for other weaknesses to exploit. Hiromi was Katsumi’s only weakness. She would do anything for her sister, including sell her soul to me. The sisters had that in common. It was evident Hiromi cared deeply for her and had put herself in harm’s way working with her father to keep her little sister from his grasp. Their mother, while I could see cared for her girls, had become indifferent to them. Perhaps the years of standing by her husband had ruined her mind. Her only weakness was change. She liked everything to stay the same way and would tear up if something in her world was moved. It was a coping mechanism to the ever-changing world around her. Kano’s only true weakness was power. As much as he loved his daughters, he would gladly sacrifice them both to gain more influence in the world.
Since she was his weakness, I’d wanted Katsumi to infiltrate her father’s world and bring him down from the inside. It seemed my plans needed to slightly change. His plan to make her a bride for an alliance could be broken. To get him where it hurt most, I’d need to hurt his profits.
“I’m glad you’re doing okay with all this.” Hiromi’s guard sat next to Katsumi and bumped her in the shoulder. She rolled her eyes, but a small smile appeared on her pink lips.
“Kinda didn’t have much of a choice, Rei.”
“You made it longer than I thought you would. But I can’t say I’m disappointed. Now there are no secrets between us. I can talk about this side of my life.”
He sounded hopeful. I’d been standing against the wall, watching everyone in the room chat after dinner. Everyone got together for a family feast every week, but this time there were invited guests. Some of the men we’d met with before and a few others. Kano Sakura wanted to woo the men to his side, and they’d give him money. He smiled every time their eyes lingered on Kastumi’s figure dressed in an off-white dress and boots. They were like men no better than dogs eying meat on the roast. She was either oblivious to their attention or she purposefully ignored them. My thoughts assumed the latter. She knew exactly what her father wanted from her and disagreed with it wholeheartedly. Thanks to me, she thought she didn’t have a choice. I wondered what she would do, though, if I let her freely choose her fate in this particular matter. The show might be a welcome entertainment. Her defiance would cause her father great rage.
“You know, I was thinking. Maybe tomorrow, we could get out of here. Go somewhere together. I could guard you, so you could leave your creep shadow behind.” His gaze shot to me, then back to her with a grin. He hated me, and I found the feeling was mutual. I tuned out the other voices in the room and listened for her response.
“Rei, I don’t—”
Rei lifted his hand to her lips to stop her from refusing the idea or him, then grabbed her hand.
“Come with me, please.” He stood and she rose with him. Her eyes found mine and she stared at me like she wanted me to say something about the interaction. She didn’t look alarmed or scared. When I didn’t move or speak, her head dipped downward, and she followed Rei out of the room.
“Tatsou, have you tasted the sake yet?” Kano stepped into my view with a small glass for me.
“I have not, sir. I’m on duty.”
“Well, young Rei is watching Kitty. Come with me and have a drink to loosen those broad shoulders.” He handed me the cup and patted me on the shoulder. I glanced in the direction of Kat and listened for their conversation as I followed her father and two other men down the hall.
“Remember that time we danced at your parents’ anniversary party? You always loved to dance.”
“Yeah, we’d gotten a little too into the wine that night.” Katsumi chuckled and then I heard the rustling of hair. I assumed he pushed strands behind her ear. There was a short pause before he spoke softly.
“That kiss. Do you think about it at all?”
“Sometimes,” she answered, and my steps slowed as Kano led me to the garage where he liked to show his deadlier side. It was easier to clean blood off the concrete floors than tatami mats.
“Tatsou, I’d like your assistance in a matter.” I focused on the men standing ahead of me and missed what happened with Katsumi and Rei above, which annoyed me more than I liked. A man sat in a chair, tied up just like the last man I’d seen them kill.
“This gentleman has information, and I’d like you to get it out of him for me.”
I sniffed this a test, to see what form of interrogations I could stomach.
