Chapter 86 – Roommates

When the car stopped in front of Sakamo’s house, the driver opened the door for them, and when Sakamo was gently pulling Hangaku, he said, “A car will be parked outside, Sakamo-san. Considering the calibre of that person and his resources, you will be closely watched, and two men will always be near you for the next few days. Try not to get angry at them, because it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

“I understand, but if one of those men enters my home, I will break his neck. The same goes for my School and the gym where I am going to do my next Martial Art classes.”

The driver made a big smile, but he quickly made it disappear and asked with his usual serious face, “That gym where we went last time? Those fighters were rather good. I wouldn’t mind going for a few classes with them.”

Sakamo handed him the two cheques. “Can you deposit tomorrow in my bank account this generous gift that Tokimasa-san gave me? I will be in School all day, and I won’t have time to go to the bank.”

“Of course, rest assured. Have a good night, Sakamo-san. Hangaku-san, it was a pleasure.”

Hangaku Mae smiled and waved at the serious driver. When the door closed, she sat at the dining table and rested her forehead on her arms.

She lifted her head a little and made a slight smile at Sakamo. “Now, that was weird. I thought everything was going smoothly, but then you and my father started exchanging threats. What the heck was that?”

Sakamo sat at the table in front of her and made a bitter smile. “Yeah, sorry about that. My bodyguard showed me a file about your family so that I was prepared to meet them. He even talked with the Empress, and she was the one to get that present for your mother so that I could make a good impression. I tried to behave, but your father pushed the wrong buttons. I didn’t know it, but I have met your father in a previous situation, and things didn’t go well, so I am sure we will never get along. It’s pointless to even try. I know this may make you sad, and because of me, you left your home and family.”

Hangaku stared at her open hands and said, “That was never my home, and they were never my family... They were just a means to an end. Hangaku no Maki and Hangaku Say are nice people most of the time, but Hangaku Tokimasa twists them so that they always do his bidding. He gave up on doing that with me, because the last time he tried to force me to do anything, I visited him during a meeting, and I trashed the entire room. The security guys came, and I threw a chair at his head. He still has the scar from that time. The guys in the Board of Directors were furious, but I threw a few chairs at them as well and warned them that if any of them tried to back him up to force me to be their campaign girl like they wanted, I would split their heads in two.”

“Darn, that was harsh! What happened after you did that?”

“Four security guys finally arrived and dragged me out of there. I kicked one in the groins and punched another until they restrained me and took me screaming and kicking out of the building. The reporters outside got a nice scoop. I even gave a nice interview slandering the company because they were trying to force me to do an advertisement campaign just because I look this cute and was the President’s daughter.”

“So, it means your relationship with your father was already bad.”

“Yeah, we clashed a few more times during the last few months, and we reached an understanding that one day, one of us was going to kill the other. He tried to force me to enter a private School, and I refused. It was a war at home until School started, and I gave him an ultimatum. He would rather be quiet and let me attend public School, or I would do everything I could to ruin him and his company, and he knows I don’t joke around. He tried to slap me when I said that, got angry because I evaded, and I made a video of him trying to hit me. I was about to put it online when he forced himself to calm down. So, you see, things were already bad before you went there, so there is no need to worry yourself about that. I want to take a bath right now. I need water on me to calm down. Do you want to join me?”

Hangaku Mae made a kinky smile, and Sakamo frowned. “You are asking to sleep in the back garden, aren’t you? Go ahead, I need to check some things in my office before going to bed.”

Hangaku got up and pouted, “Not fair. You could wash my back so that I relax after all this stress...”

She left for the stairs, dragging her feet and with her head low all the way. Sakamo took his phone from his pocket and made a call.

The Empress’s voice asked, “Sakamo-kun, I was told you returned home safe and sound. How are you? Hangaku Mae is with you?”

“Strange, not calling me Ryu now? Returning to the polite ways?”

“Don’t mock me! I was nervous, alright? How are you?”

“I am fine, and Hangaku-chan went upstairs to take a bath. She said she was too stressed. I talked with her for a while; it seemed her relationship with her father was already bad, and with my visit, it fell apart completely.”

The Empress’ voice sounded worried, “But what happened for you and him to clash like that? It couldn’t be only because you accepted his money and took his daughter as well, or could it?”

“Well, I more or less forced his hand, and I may have pushed him a bit too far to see what he would do. By the way, tell my caring bodyguard that Hangaku Tokimasa knew I work in the Earthquake Institute, and he heard a rumour that I was involved in a secret project. He also knew that I give Martial Arts classes to your security guys.”

The Empress went silent for a while, and she then said, “I understand what you mean. I can’t say anything right now, but I will talk with him in a few moments.”

“Your spy is near, right?”

“Don’t worry about that. I can take care of everything. Will you take care of her? And for the love of God, behave! You and she are not married yet. It will be a tremendous scandal if word gets out that she is living with you!”

Sakamo made a slight smile. “I always behave, my Empress. She is the one with dirty thoughts and schemes.”

Sakamo hung up and stared at the screen for a while. He then got up and mumbled, “Shinatobe needs to know this...”

Sakamo went to the upper floor and heard the water running from the bathroom. He went to his room and grabbed his pendant, mumbled the command words, and entered the light inside the closet.
After the other door that appeared in front of him, his room in Azurath was like he left it the last time. He went to the door that led to the corridor outside and opened it a few millimetres.

He created a small ball of Wind Magic in his hand and whispered to it, “Come to me, Shinatobe.”

Sakamo threw the small ball into the corridor, and when it popped in the air, a light breeze spread all around, went down the stairs, and reached the lower level where Shinatobe was reading the Quests on the Board. She felt the breeze and heard the whisper, and she disguisedly went to the stairs. Sakamo’s room door was still open, and she closed it after entering.

She looked at Sakamo and his long braid with a puzzled look. “Now, that’s unusual! What happened to you to forget changing your hair and clothes?”

“I found the Dark Mage Leader, the one that escaped last time. He is Hangaku’s father, that girl from my School that I talked about.”

The corner of her eyes crinkled. “No way! He knows who you are?”

“I mentioned the Gods Izanagi and Izanami, and I saw his eyes twitching. He disguised it, of course, but I am sure I made him suspicious.”

“What about that girl? Is she on his side or yours?”

“I am not sure. That’s why I invited her to move in with me, considering that her father tried to buy me to get away from her. She was furious at him when he did it, but she could also be pretending. I am not sure yet, but I will find out.”

Shinatobe bit her lower lip, and Sakamo could swear he saw some glint of jealousy in her eyes.

She crossed her arms over her chest and asked, “Do you think it’s wise to have her near you like that? She could be waiting for an opportunity to get you off guard. I don’t know, maybe slit your throat while you sleep?”

“I don’t think so. There is something about the way she spoke about her family that led me to believe that she hates their guts. She even said they were not her family, only a means to an end. It beats me what she meant by that, but I sure want to find out. Maybe with her around, I can find out more about her father. Maybe she met one of his associates who is also a Dark Mage, or she overheard something she didn’t understand and can point me in the right direction... I don’t know where, but maybe their lair? A secret place for reunions?”

“What about the crystal? It’s working?”

“Yeah, I got angry and lost focus when I was talking with her father, and the crystal got darker. He was also very interested in the crystal, wanting to know where I found it. I think he recognised it as a piece of a Magical Orb, because of the way he kept on glancing at it during our dinner.”

Shinatobe nodded and walked back and forth. “This is a game-changer. I would never guess you would find him just like that. It will be bad if you have to end him because of that girl. He is still her father, even if she says that she is angry right now.”

Shinatobe stopped and faced Sakamo with a serious look. “It would be better if you could capture and bring him to me. I will squeeze out everything he knows.”

Sakamo saw the way she was clenching her fists and how the knuckles were going white.

He held her hands and looked into her eyes with a gentle smile. “I know you are still angry about what the Dark Mages did, but don’t let revenge consume you. I will bring him to you if I can, but for the moment, I want to see what his next move will be. Hopefully, he will send some of his men to get me, giving me an excuse to take them out. With less security, it will be easier to get him.”

“Okay, that sounds like a plan, but promise me you will be careful.”

Sakamo nodded and went to the closet. Shinatobe was still holding his hand, and she squeezed it a little. “Are you going to her? You are not staying?”

“It’s better if I don’t stay for too long, or my Magic will increase again. I also need to put my thoughts in order and talk some more with her, to figure out how our life together will be.”

Shinatobe slowly nodded and let him go. “Well, I can’t be jealous because you already told me about her. I hope she takes care of you.”

Sakamo poked the frowning little girl’s nose. “She is like you, boils in just a bit of water. You will like her, for sure. If she turns out to be trustworthy, that is.”

“And if she is working against you?”

Sakamo’s eyes went dark with his increasing Magic, and Shinatobe saw the fire in the middle of all that darkness. “If that happens, I will give her to you as a present. I will even put a bow tie around her neck.”

“Yeah, one that I can use to strangle her!”

“I hope it won’t be necessary because I like her a lot.”

Sakamo mumbled the words and entered the closet. On the other side, his room was still empty because no time had passed since he left.
He took off his clothes and went to grab his pyjamas. He was only in his underwear, checking one drawer in the closet, when the room door opened.
Sakamo looked back with a smile, and he immediately gulped. Hangaku Mae was looking at him with a wrinkled upper lip, completely naked and still dripping water. She slowly approached him, like a cat getting near prey.

She wrapped her warm arms around his neck and whispered, “I hoped you would go to the bathroom to take a peek at me, but since you didn’t, I thought it would be better if I showed you what you were missing. I thought we could do some fun things while the water was running, but you have a comfy bed here, perfect for some bumping. I wonder what you will do now… Will you reject me with some lame excuse, or will you give me the best night of my life? You know, I am mad about you, and I have been waiting for this for far too long. Are you going to let me hanging?”

Sakamo caressed her cheek while the other hand went down her neck to the left breast. He gave her a slight pinch on the nipple and gently led her to bed.
…