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"What possessed you to pull a stunt like that? You were supposed to protect Renata, not use her for target practice!" Tetsuo glowered down at Juno.
After forcing a cease-fire with the fighter pod, he'd ordered us into his fuyu-kyu, a dwelling that seemed almost too small to contain the grizzle-bearded bear of a man who now stood before us. Tetsuo had taken one look at Emon, whose face had been rendered into a grisly mosaic of blood, shredded skin and shards, and dispatched him for immediate emergency treatment with the pilot in the fighter pod, leaving only the three of us in the long, ovate room whose curved, ecru-tinted walls and curtained doorways reminded me of the inside of an eggshell.
"What were you thinking, Juno? You could've blinded Emon and you'd better hope we find Nozomi. I've organized a search party but doubt they'll make any headway in this storm." He cast his eyes upward, listening to the steady drum of rain against the fuyu-kyu’s domed roof. Like a boat on a lake, the dwelling swayed with motion of its treetop mooring. Buffeted by wind, each gust set windows rattling or whistled down the slender chimney of the micro-stove that sat on a plinth near a low table surrounded by plush cushions. "I hate to think of that poor girl out there alone and injured with nothing but her parachute for shelter. She was wearing her parachute, wasn't she?” he asked, levelling a pointed stare in Juno's direction.
Juno, who didn't look away, made a noncommittal noise in her throat.
Sighing heavily, he said, "I’ve a good mind to lock you in your own brig until you come to your senses. This is not how you treat an ally! Especially not Renata, who’s practically family."
Juno crossed her arms. "Do what you will. What do I care? It won't bring Satoshi back!"
Tetsuo scowled. "Back?"
"He’s dead, and it's all her fault! Hers, and that soldier's!" Hands contorted into claws, Juno lunged at me, screaming a livid stream of accusations. "She's working for Mazawa! She betrayed Satoshi to save herself! She's not family, she's a murderer and she has nokuru and if you let her live, she'll kill us all!" She flung herself at me again, screaming, "You're dead to me Darkfell, do you hear me? Dead!"
If Tetsuo hadn't stepped between us, she probably would've clawed my eyes out. Soaked, chilled, too exhausted to fight anymore, I stood back, kept my hands relaxed at my sides, and let her rave. Though almost six years my senior, Juno had something to protect. Something I didn't have. The life that grew inside her made her a lioness, as fearless and formidable as she was now unreasonable and unpredictable.
A head taller than his niece, Tetsuo withstood the blows that fell against his barrel chest without flinching. Solid, silent as a rock, he waited until Juno's grief and weariness finally took their toll. When she collapsed against him, sobbing, Tetsuo gathered her in his arms and gently rocked her. "This is not the way," he said softly. "I will speak with Renata, alone." He stroked Juno's hair, murmuring barely audible conciliations until her sobs gave way to muffled sniffling.
"I shouldn't have told you about Satoshi the way I did. I was just so angry..." I bowed my head. "I'm sorry, Juno. Truly. I hope someday you can forgive me."
Still snuffling, she pulled away from Tetsuo and made a reluctant motion that might have been a nod. But fresh tears trickled down her cheeks as she said, "H-how did he...?"
Die? I cast my thoughts back to my first night aboard Kei's ship and the remote communique during which Mazawa had twisted a centuries-old urban legend to suit his own devices, casting himself in the role of Kuchisake-onna, baiting me to extract vengeance on Hiro.
Our Renata is comely, is she not?
Even now, the memory of those words tied my stomach in knots.
Of course, Mazawa couldn't detonate my implant (or by extension, Kei's), which forced him to turn to someone else, use someone else. How convenient that little Hiro just happened to be aboard ship, hidden away until the precise moment Mazawa required a pawn for his morbid intimidation tactic. As much as I wanted to hope it was only a tactic, the way Mazawa relished that night's ruse, reveled in my shock and anger, still clamped like an ice foot around my heart.
Juno's choked words burbled through my consciousness. "How, Renata? Tell me, please."
Again, Mazawa's voice echoed in my head.
One less Darkfell in the world...
I jerked my head up, forcing myself to look at her pained expression. When they came, the words felt thick, like wads of wool on my tongue. "'Gone.' That was all Mazawa would tell me. 'He is gone.' Those were his exact words."
"Gone," Juno echoed.
"That's not an answer, it's only a word," Tetsuo said, chuckling. "One word—although one was all he needed."
When both Juno and I favored him with stunned stares, he said, "We still have hope, don't you see? Gone is a vague term, carefully chosen to tug at the strings of your darkest fears. Satoshi didn't raise you to be a puppet, Renata. I would've expected better from you."
"But, Kei told me that Mazawa ordered Satoshi's capture," I said, though honestly, I didn't know what to believe anymore.
"Capture Satoshi? Mazawa would have better luck ordering the sun not to shine or the rain to fall back up into the sky," waving his hand at the ceiling, Tetsuo laughed. "Either way, gone does not necessarily mean dead."
Juno wiped her nose on her sleeve. "Not...dead?"
"Delayed would be my guess. Don't forget, he's still Shokohin under the law—or what nonsense passes for law these days." Placing his hands upon Juno's shoulders, Tetsuo gave them a reassuring squeeze. "You and Ito take one of the fighter pods. Stay cloaked. Start in Sawagi and work your way out from there. I doubt you'll have to go far. If Satoshi's still with us—and I believe he is—he's probably been forced to lie low somewhere." He murmured orders into his wristlet, then turned back to her and said, "Emon will not remain silent about your role in tonight's events. I will tell him I banished you."
"Banished?" Juno stared at him, stunned.
"As punishment, and a far lighter one than you deserve, considering. You are my blood and I care for you a great deal, Juno, but that does not make you immune to the consequences of your actions."
Lights splashed across the fuyu-kyu's round windows. Outside, an engine whirred. Tetsuo pressed a button on his wristlet. As the door slid open, the sound of rain intensified to an angry roar against the splintered platform. "Leave now. Don't return until you find Satoshi."
The fighter pod's ramp lowered, creating a narrow span between the craft and floating platform.
"But..." Juno gawped between Ito, who hunched in one of the bucket seats inside the pod, and Tetsuo.
"No buts. You crossed a bridge tonight, Juno. For your sake, let's hope it doesn't burn behind you." He steered her gently towards the door. "Now go."
Juno bowed to him. Without a word or glance in my direction, she strode stiffly out of the room. Wind lashed at her long braid, plastering stray hairs to her head as she scuttled across the swaying rampway. Tetsuo watched until she was safely aboard, then shut the fuyu-kyu’s door. For a long time, he stood, leaning his head against it, while the storm shrieked outside.
Finally, he said, as if trying to convince himself, he murmured, "It was the right thing to do. She brought it on herself."
"Still, I'm sorry to have caused you so much trouble."
Turning to me, he said, "The trouble in which you are now embroiled found you through no fault of your own. The rift between Mazawa and Yomichi occurred before you were born."
"But how did Satoshi know?"
"That question shouldn't be answered on an empty stomach. Hang your wet clothes by the stove and make yourself comfortable." Tetsuo indicated the pile of cushions near the table. "I think it's time you learned the truth about the Madman of Motosu."