The sound of knives being sharpened filled the room. All eyes were on Momotaro, he could feel them, and yet he kept his job like nothing was happening.

"The knives will disappear if you don't stop," said Lorcan after he noticed the suffering expression of the young woman next to him.

Momotaro dropped his weapons to the floor, next to the chair he was sitting on.

"Sorry. You need to rest and I'm here making annoying noises." He stood up, Titan followed his lead. They passed next to Agatha on their way towards the door. "He's all yours."

His steps had never been so loud, anyone walking nearby could hear him. All the way from Gellert's house to the woods he was leaving a trace made up of the noise of his footsteps. Ignoring the angry looks thrown his way he stepped between the welcoming trees.

Once inside he let his senses be free. The overstimulation hit his body in the span of a second. His mind begged for a break, it was more information than it could process. Nothing made sense, the young man was surrounded by everything yet he couldn't understand anything.

He experienced torture, one infringed by himself. Momotaro craved the punishment he thought he deserved but didn't get, perhaps that way the guilt will evaporate.

It took several minutes to break him. His legs touched the ground, the impact felt a million times harder. Defeated, he closed his eyes, then the rest of the senses diminished. Like he was beaten to a pulp, his body didn't cooperate, reminiscences of the excruciating pain still ran through him.

Momo remained in the company of Titan and nature, the two best remedies for his ailments. He didn't fully recover, at that point, it was almost impossible to reach the level of healing he wished. Momotaro accepted it, he had to fight even with the agony that lived inside him, and he wasn't the only one going against the current to move forward.

With his fake calm expression in check, the young man  returned to the house. Agatha and Lorcan were in the same position that he left them, he was laying on the bed and she stayed sitting next to him.

The tattooed boy appreciated her presence, he could see the influence she had on his friend's mood. Lorcan smiled brighter when she was around, and Momo was sure that he found strength by having her company. Agatha did a great job at taking care of the young man, she barely left his side, and she was able to predict what he needed before he asked.

"Feeling any better?" Asked Momotaro once he stepped into the room.

"I don't think so," answered Lorcan, making room on the bed for Titan to climb on. "Don't worry about it, I have an excellent doctor, I'll be back very soon."

"No, you won't," Agatha interrupted him. "You'll take all the time that's needed for your full recovery. Should I remind you that you almost died?"

"I lost count of how many times you said it today. I'm not that bad, your power makes miracles. I only have some cuts here and there."

Agatha tugged his right ear. "You have a bruised rib, a sprained wrist and Genevieve had to stitch your chest. Don't act all tough, only a stupid one would try to return to fighting so fast." She looked at Momotaro. "Why aren't you saying anything about it?"

"I'm not the best example in this case," answered the tattooed boy while leaning against the window. "He listens more to you than me anyways."

"What're you going to do now that you have Stefan's permission?" Lorcan changed the topic of the conversation. "I know you have a plan, you always do."

"I do have a plan, but I'm not sharing it with you. I'll tell you everything once I'm finished. All I can say is that I had to use unconventional resources to find Casimir's location. Stefan couldn't locate him, which only means one thing."

"The bastard manipulated Stefan to get out of his reach," said Lorcan, his hatred clear in his voice.

The young man laying on the bed spent all his resources of persuasion trying to collect any crumb of information, still, his efforts were in vain. Not a word came from Momotaro's mouth.

In the end, Lorcan found himself wrapped up in the arms of sleep and Titan accompanied him on his adventure. Momo wished they could stay like that forever, in peace.

Momotaro didn't bother hiding his smile as he exited the room. The person he hired to locate Casimir had sent him a message letting him know that he'll be waiting in the backyard.

"That was fast," he said to Demir, the technopath had a folder in his hands.

"I told you I was good at it. The dude is good at keeping low but he can't evade all security cameras." Agatha's friend extended the file for Momo to grab.

"Thanks," Momotaro  thanked him while he paid for the job. "Do you do this very often?"

"Sometimes, when I need extra cash. Or when I'm suspicious about someone. Don't tell Agatha about this but I gathered some info about Ellis, I was expecting to find something weird, surprisingly he's clean. I'll be going, it was a pleasure doing business with you."

The moment had come, Momotaro had been piecing the puzzles together for a long time and now he could almost see the final result. Should he let all the bottled-up emotions free? No, even if the young man would love to wreck the traitor, he had to maintain his clarity.

Once he left Titan in Agatha's care and picked up his knives he jumped into action. Fighting hard against the impatience that possessed his spirit, he drove at a reasonable speed. His heart was beating out of his chest the second he arrived at his destiny.

Momo had no intention of adopting a low profile, if his reading of Casimir's personality was correct, then he would stay even after sensing someone's presence, to brag about his power.

Under the sunlight that came through the window the house's white walls seemed orange. The smell of incense slipped under the door of the only room, and the sound of papers came from inside.

"You found me, congratulations," said Casimir after Momotaro entered the bedroom. "I thought you were smarter. To come here alone shows how dumb you're, your mistrust will destroy you."

"You always talk too much."

"You'll do as I say."

The traitor activated his ability, his voice was all Momo could hear. An inhuman urge to comply took over his entire being, he didn't want to but he felt like he had to do it. His surroundings faded away, there was only one point of focus: Casimir.

"Go to sleep," A voice whispered, a new voice.

The blond boy fell to the floor, his puppet recovered his conscience.

"That was close, thanks for the help," Momotaro said to the girl standing beside the sleeping young man.

"It's nothing," Celina answered. "He deserves it for what he did to us. What're you going to do with him?"

"We'll have a long conversation."

Momotaro finally caught Casimir. What do you think he would do with him?
Thanks for supporting my book 💜