"I came into the room and overheard what he was saying. Kenta turned to face me. He had a sword, just like the others, and he was big and very strong." He had known fear back then, facing that blade and the anger and hatred of Kenta and Nao. "They believed me to be less than what they were. Akiko was less. Her family. Her father could no longer ride the shadows and was considered an outcast and dishonored. I had to fight them no matter how afraid I was of them. Akiko was still alive and I could see the desperation on her face. She didn't have anyone else to save her siblings."
Ricco couldn't stand any longer. The restless energy was there inside him, demanding he move, but his body, still recovering, couldn't oblige him. He took the chair facing Stefano. This was a confession, pure and simple, and it was Stefano who would judge him. Giovanni, Vittorio and Taviano would stand solidly with him. Emmanuelle had the softest heart and would never think him guilty of anything. She would most likely view him as a hero.
He knew he held responsibility. He hadn't studied the way he should have and he'd gotten turned around in the shadows of Tokyo. He hadn't gone with the boys that night to try to convince the elders that the others were up to no good because he didn't believe they would listen. He knew the council members would make his life even more miserable than it already was. Then there was the matter of the actual killings. The boys, no matter what they had done, were riders. There was a code – an unbreakable code.
"Kenta and I fought and while we did, Nao went to the closet and yanked open the door. I could see the little girl crouched on the floor holding her little brother, her hand over his mouth. He dragged the boy out and threw him on the floor, stomping on him over and over. Bones broke. I heard them. The sound was sickening. The little girl, only three years old, rushed him. She leapt into the air and kicked Nao with both feet right in the balls, driving him away from her brother. When she landed, she hit Akiko's blood and slipped, falling almost at Nao's feet. Kenta had sliced me a couple of times. I had to get possession of the sword and take him out. I stepped close and he swung just like I knew he would. I pulled my head back, but the tip sliced my face open."
Ricco touched the wicked scar. He hadn't even felt the pain of that cut. He'd been desperate. Kenta was good with the sword. "I kept moving into him. Akiko must have been doing homework when they attacked and her desk had turned over. I found a pen on the floor and I shoved it into his eye, hard. He dropped the sword. I picked it up and slammed it down over his head, splitting his skull in two." The aftermath had been horrific, with blood and brains everywhere.
He hadn't had time to think about those first lives he'd taken when he'd killed the boys he'd trained with. It was only later, when he tried to sleep, that he remembered their eyes, wide open, the horror in them, the light fading away. His stomach lurched. He'd brought many men to justice since that time, but nothing had affected him the way the deaths of those boys had.
"I didn't have much time. Nao had caught the little girl by the hair, pulling her through the blood to his lap. He was going to cut her throat. I lifted the sword again and jammed the blade into his back, down low, with every bit of strength I had left, which wasn't much. The sword was sharp and it went in."
He took a deep breath and pressed his fingers to his throbbing temples. "I've never seen anything so horrific before or since. Nao kept screaming and screaming. The baby was absolutely silent. We both collapsed right there on the floor. I crawled to Akiko. There was blood bubbling around her mouth and she couldn't talk. I didn't move until she died. The little girl had crawled to her brother and she was holding him like a rag doll and rocking him back and forth."
He couldn't look at his siblings. All he could see was the blood soaking into the floor of the Tanaka home. So many dead around him. He hadn't saved Akiko. He had felt numb. He hadn't known he was shaking until the sword slipped from his nerveless fingers. It hit the floor and was instantly coated from blade to hilt in red.
"I don't know how long I sat there before I realized the boy was still alive and needed medical attention, as did Nao. I called Isamu Yamamoto and told him what happened and we needed help fast. They came, and I don't remember too much after that. I was taken to a room back in the host home with orders not to speak to anyone. I didn't want to. I wanted to come home, but they refused to allow me to call you, Stefano."