The daimyo smiled at his guard's response.
"It's this intelligence..." the daimyo made several plays, one after another, without even thinking about it, "...that makes you so interesting to me."
A last piece landed on the board. The victory was of the opposite side.
"For now, you are not only my subordinate, but you need to obey the orders of other guards. Would you like to change it?"
"Yes", another response without hesitation.
"Would you like to get closer to me and earn more power?"
"Definitely."
The daimyo slowly retrieved the pieces to the shogi board. He did it calmly as if enjoying the process. Clearly a shogi addict.
"I like how assertive you are when we talk about power. Should I worry about it, Shintaro?"
He shrugged.
"There is just one way to find out whether my ambitions are good for you or not, my daimyo."
"Ah, yes. You only know the outcome of a shogi match once you start playing and make your moves... or so they say. Because, to be honest, a shogi player already knows how the match will go. He is sure of it because he will be the one who will make things move according to what he wants. Every piece he sacrifices, takes out of the game, or leaves on standby have a purpose. They will help him change the course of the game.
"I consider myself a good shogi player, Shintaro", the malice behind his words was undeniable. He now looked at the royal guard with cunning eyes, like a fox.
Shintaro remained unfazed. Rather, he seemed calmer than before.
"Ok."
The daimyo nearly laughed at his reaction. He was not expecting it, even from him.
"Let me ask you, if I put you in the position of a captain... will you be able to command an entire troop?"
A faint smile appeared on the corner of Shintaro's lips.
"You know, my daimyo... I consider myself a kind person. I always say that I am good at bringing to the surface the best in people. I know how to unlock others' potential."
The daimyo returned to play his shogi game while nodding.
"Ok, then. By tomorrow, you will be promoted and start your new job as my captain. Let us discover whether you will play along the rules or not. Maybe, captain is not the end of the road for you."
The smile on Shintaro's face got broader.
"If you excuse me, my daimyo..."
The man dismissed him with his hand as if he was a fly. Shintaro didn't mind it, though.
By the time he left the room, his calm face was back, no trace of that smile anymore. He did feel lighter than before, though. The good news put him in a better mood.
'What will you do now, Hayato?' he thought with a delighted voice. He had to hold back a little giggle. 'I am still the one holding the knife here, you know?'
****
Hayato opened his eyes all of a sudden. His heart nearly burst out of his chest. He breathed erratically, his body was covered in a cold sweat.
His eyes were drawn to the window and saw the reason for his abrupt awakening.
'Oh... it's raining very hard out there. Probably, a thunder woke me up.'
His head hurt a little bit due to the fright. He didn't like rain, especially thunderstorms.
He looked at the clock beside the door of the inn. It was a very ancient type of clock that often times stopped working. Not all inns he visited had clocks in them. Actually, it was quite rare as they were quite expensive items.
"Well, since there is no sun out there, I cannot know the hour. Well, it seems I woke up twelve minutes before usual. I won't sleep again, so it's better to get ready for work."
He yawned heavily and stretched his body before having enough clarity to sit, then get up. Waking up in the morning was a slow process for him since the very first day he needed to do it. That was one of the reasons why school sucked so much for him.
'To make matters worse, not only do I need to wake up early, but also face this storm to go working. If not even that hellish parade was enough an excuse to make Mr. Satoshi overlook my lateness, a little storm won't be, too.'
Hayato took a bath and changed his clothes as quickly as he could. He knew that the storm would hinder him on his way to the ramen place and he didn't want to lose time inside the inn and make his time even shorter.
'I cannot get there in fifteen minutes today, I guess. Maybe the double is the safest best. Thirty minutes, that is.'
Hayato didn't have any special clothes to protect him from the rain. Not even an umbrella was at his disposal, so he needed to borrow one at the reception of the inn.
"You don't need to retrieve me this one, you know?" the receptionist said as she handed him the umbrella.
'From the start, I knew that she was a kind person. She treated me very well from the beginning. I know I am taking advantage of this fact but...'
"Don't worry about it. I will bring it back in a good state."
She nodded, not really seeming to care about the umbrella, anyway. She gifted Hayato with a sympathetic smile, which made him feel somewhat awkward.
"Ah, aren't you forgetting something?"
Hayato tilted his head.
'Oh, I see. I am forgetting, yes.'
"The mask, huh?"
"Hahaha, I know you are young, so you got some bad habits due to laziness and stuff, but who forgets their own mask? Didn't your parents teach you that they are like a part of our body?"
Hayato only nodded, not wanting to talk about that subject any further. He hurried to his room only to take the mask, then went back, leaving the hotel without barely glancing at her. The receptionist didn't seem to care about it at all.
The storm was as furious as it seemed from inside the inn's room. The umbrella was barely enough to keep Hayato from getting wet.
'Actually, I think I would be better off without an umbrella! It's harder to move because of this thing. The wind is too strong!'
Most likely, Hayato was the only person idiot and cowardly enough to go out there to face this apocalyptical rain.
"Or... does it make me someone courageous? But, I am only doing it out of fear of Mr. Satoshi's reaction. That's kinda a paradox, isn't it?"
A strong wind hit him. Hayato could swear by God that it was so strong that his feet slid backward a few centimeters, but it could be his mind making up things.
He couldn't bear holding that umbrella anymore. It slipped from his hand and went flying to the skies.
'Now I realize why she said I didn't need to retrieve it. I think she expected something like this would happen...'
Hayato had walked about 10 minutes with the umbrella before losing it. He walked faster than he imagined, though. Soon, he would arrive at his destination.
'Thank God! I won't be late!'
Nonetheless, when he took a turn to the left, Hayato looked up the sloped street. The ramen place, with its usual small line of customers, wasn't exactly following its usual routine. Instead of customers, he saw Royal Guards.
'Damn it', he leaped out of the street, hiding behind a near house.
'Why? Why so abruptly? I made sure not to let any traces behind. How could they track me? Is Mr. Satoshi okay?'
He gritted his teeth in frustration. Probably, that was his fault. No, he was sure that it was his fault.
Hayato sprinted across the rain, entering an alley on the opposite side of the street. From there, he continued through an alternative path to the ramen place. It would take way longer than just walking up the street, though.
'Are they hurting him, possibly? Did one of our clients denounce us? But I haven't been forgetting to use the mask as often... or is it a backlash of my previous carelessness?'
The boy arrived at the back of the restaurant, where the dump they used to put the trash was. He headed to the backdoor, then put his ear there.
"That's the last time we are asking! Where is the boy?" a male voice asked.
"I... I don't... know", Hayato heard Mr. Satoshi's voice. However, his voice was hoarse and weak. He had difficulty speaking.
Hayato heard a loud thud that made a chill run down his spine.
"Think you remember now, old man? Or do you want me to take off all your teeth before you answer?"
'Y-YOU BASTARDS!' Hayato thought, his eyes glazed in anger. His hands trembled, such was his fury.
"Hahahaha..." a slow laugh resounded behind him, overlapping the noise of the rain. A lightning bolt flashed.
"No matter how many years have passed, I am still the one who holds the knife. Right... jap?"