Page 20 of Son of Shadows

Ryuichi wasted no time biting into the sweetness. “Arigato.”

Masaru wiped at the juice on his chin with the back of his hand before he took another bite. “Why do you think your father disappeared?”

“You would know that better than I would.” After all, Masaru had served his father. He couldn’t think of anyone more likely to understand the Ryukage’s decisions.

“Maybe he was afraid he was weak.”

They both turned to stare at Ryuichi-kage as he came up through the gap underneath Ryuichi’s door. At first, he appeared to be a shapeless cloud, then he transformed into Ryuichi’s shadow twin, right before his eyes.

“What are you doing here?” Ryuichi asked.

“It was weird that they’d put me in another room. Doesn’t quite seem right.”

He had a point. They were supposed to be together.

Though, to be honest . . .

“Lord Hayasaka acted as if he couldn’t see you at all,” Ryuichi said to his shadow. “Even when you spoke.”

Masaru paused his chewing to chime in. “I don’t think they can.”

That confused Ryuichi. “Why not?”

“Tengu eyesight isn’t as sharp and perceptive as humans. In my kitsune form, I have a hard time seeing shadows too. It’s only when I’m human that I see Ryuichi-kage.”

That was interesting.

But he’d think about that later. Right now, he was more focused on the question Masaru asked him. “I don’t think my father has ever been afraid.”

“Maybe he was kidnapped,” Ryuichi-kage tried again.

Masaru let out a sound of supreme annoyance. “Think in silence, Shadow. We don’t have time to unravel stupid.” He took another bite of nashi and chewed thoughtfully. “The Ryukage is a simple, complicated creature.”

“That’s an oxymoron,” Ryuichi pointed out.

Masaru cracked a wry grin. “Not really. He’s motivated by the strangest things that are usually simple, and then he makes them complicated. Such as with your mother. Love is simple. He loved her, then he brought all these feelings and fears into it. That makes it complicated.”

“That’s called being human,” Ryuichi reminded him.

“Keep your humanity, then. It mucks up everything.”

Ryuichi wouldn’t argue that. It’d certainly complicated his life a lot. “My father’s not a coward,” he repeated.

“No,” Masaru agreed. “He’s devious and cruel.”

“Then maybe he went to cruelly torture something,” his shadow said.

Again, they stared at Ryuichi-kage.

His shadow held his hands up in defense. “Think about it. He might be raising a bigger army to take through the portal. Or creating another plot to kill Ryuichi.”

That thought sent a chill down his spine. “I don’t like the sound of that.”

“But it would make sense.” Masaru tossed the nashi core into the air, where it vanished into nothing.

Ryuichi-kage inched toward them. “We should probably be thinking more about this Orochi. Masaru, do you know anything more about him?”

Masaru nodded. “Other than he’s been nursing a grudge against your family for centuries? What else is there to know?”