Botan POV
I look up at the set of posts and lintels that support the main building, boosting the large curved roof, double-tiered with coloured tiles. Memories of the sun sting my mind, recollections of my training in the sun-blasted front courtyard for hours. Haru, who watched under the slightly curved eaves that extend far beyond the walls, covering the expansive verandas.
"What do you hope to accomplish here?" Akio asks, eyeing the contingent of armed guards in a show of force to emulate the entrance of an embassy. "Slaughter your way to a confession you won't get?"
"If I have to."
Akio pivots to look back at me fully. "These are your men as much as they are Haru's—more so, they know you more than they know him."
