My Soul Will Find Yours 129 My Heart Felt Like It Would Jump Out Of My Ches

"However, I find it unusual that he'd stay in the theater hours after a play has ended. What's more, his wives never joined him. Instead, they were made to wait for him in their respective palanquins," Kaname said while swirling the drink in his cup.

We were currently having a late dinner in my room in the inner palace. The children were already sleeping in the same room as Mami.

"Did your men find out what he's doing inside?" I asked before taking a sip from my own cup.

"It seems like he meets with the actors. He has tea with them and they later on disappear into the inner walls of the actors' private residences."

"That's odd," I couldn't help but comment. "What could he possibly be doing with those actors? Have you looked into their backgrounds?"

"Yes, and they all have clean records."

"What about Ayaka? Any news about her?"

At the mere mention of his former wife, his features darkened.

"Unfortunately, no," he shook his head and placed his cup on the table. "I really should have killed her when I had the chance years ago. Showing her mercy was wrong of me."

I didn't know what to say to that so I just kept quiet. Oh, Ayaka… Why can't you just stay away and learn your lesson?

~~~

Months pa.s.sed and things started to feel normal again inside the castle. The security is still heightened but the fear of trouble suddenly happening was no longer there. Slowly, I returned to my "duties" as Jin-san and would occasionally accompany Kaname in his ocular inspections of the nearby cities. On the outside, I looked like his highest ranking guard but to those in the know, my safety is actually deemed much more important than the shogun's.

Since the country had been trading with the British lately, I played the role of Kaname's official translator from time to time. My English speaking and writing skills were very helpful to him as it let him communicate with these foreigners without difficulty. All of them were surprised to meet a "j.a.panese" adult who could speak a foreign language almost flawlessly. When they first heard me speak English with a neutral accent, their jaws dropped.

We were on our way back to the castle from a three-day visit in Nagasaki when we received news that Ayaka had been spotted in the area near the estate. Shouta's men almost caught her but she was like a slimy eel and managed to slip away. While at the stables, I learned that the children were at the gates near the ooku. The merchants have arrived with several toys and clothes, Mami took them there to buy them whatever would catch their fancy.

Because I missed them so much when we were gone, I asked Kaname to bring me to the children as soon as possible. He agreed and escorted me to where they were. As I was still disguised as a man, I couldn't run and kiss their soft cheeks. Instead, I watched with a smile as they kissed Kaname h.e.l.lo before returning to the carts. I sighed inwardly and pretended to be guarding their father. One particular merchant was selling toys that were painted in bright colors; there, Megumi helped Riku choose between a red and yellow kendama[1]. When she saw me, Megumi greeted me shyly. I almost laughed out loud. No matter how many times she's seen me in my disguise, my youngest maid still forgets that I am her mistress parading herself as a man.

"Jin-san, why is my mama taking so long?" Riku asked while looking around for me, totally forgetting the toys that held his full attention just seconds ago. "Papa said she'll be joining us soon."

"Your mother is still in the castle, young master," I answered a bit awkwardly. I wasn't really lying to my son, was I? I was technically in the castle… Grounds.

"Ooohh," he replied with a frown. Seeing his disappointment, Megumi reminded him that he still hasn't chosen which toy color to get.

Meanwhile, Mami and the twins were busy choosing a new pair of hagoita[2] for Miyako on a different stall. I was going to suggest we join them when suddenly, the sounds of hooves could be heard. I looked to my right to see that a man on horseback was drunkenly making his way towards our direction! Seeing that he looked like he would crash towards the cart where Mami and the twins were, I had to warn her.

"Lady Mami, watch out!" I shouted, immediately catching her attention.

When she saw the horse coming towards them, her initial reaction was to hug the twins and protect them with her body. As if in slow motion, Kaname ran, grabbed the twins by their haneri[3], and pulled them away. He then caught Mami by the waist and jumped out of the way, cushioning their fall. The maids hurried to dust the dirt off on the twins' face and body while some of the guards helped Mami and the shogun up. The drunken man was arrested and couldn't even protest. I was about to breathe a sigh of relief when I heard Megumi scream.

"Young master Riku!"

My eyes widened in horror as I saw him being taken away by another man on a horse!

"Papa! Help!" he cried.

Without hesitation, I ran to where the drunken samurai fell and got on his mount to follow my son's abductor. I heard Kaname's shouts of protest behind me but I ignored him. I pulled the reins tighter and pushed the horse to run faster. During that moment, my heart felt like it would jump out of my chest with the number of times it was beating per minute. I didn't care, though. My only concern was to get my little Riku back, nothing else mattered. In fact, I was internally cursing myself for letting myself get distracted, my initial reaction should have been to make sure he was safe because I was the person closest to him!

"d.a.m.n it!" I gritted my teeth as I saw my son struggle in the man's arms. I almost had a heart attack when he almost fell off the horse. "Riku-chan, stop struggling! You might fall!" I shouted.

"Jin-san!" he cried. "Help me, Jin-san!"

"Hya!" I urged the horse to go faster, not caring about the pedestrians that I almost ran over. When I was only a few paces away from the man and Riku, I reached for the sword on my side and removed it from its scabbard. "Stop right there! How dare you kidnap the shogun's firstborn!"

Seeing that the man didn't even bother to look back and just focused on outriding me, I almost burst into flames. I was so furious I almost hurled the sword on his back like a dart arrow. The only thing that stopped me was Riku. I was afraid that the man might fall, thus hurting my son in the process.

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[1] Traditional j.a.panese skill toy.

[2] Rectangular wooden paddle used for hanetsuki AKA j.a.panese badminton minus the net.

[3] Collar sewn on the nagajuban.