The History of Renko: Book 2 Voyager (Avatar, BoyxBoy)

Chapter 5: Family Time

Renko stepped out of the Satomobile and looked up the Royal Suites Hotel. The shining tower stretched up 50 floors. His father was inside, staying inside the Lord's suite right at the top He poked his head through the passenger side window.

"Thanks," he said to the driver. "I don't know how long this will take so you can head back to the palace."

The driver nodded and pulled into the busy street. Renko noticed that a lot of the cars that drove by slowed down a little as they passed him. Several passengers even gave him weird looks. As he walked into the hotel the staff stared. The lobby had a large fountain ordained with a stone dragon. Water flowed from the dragon's mouth. The ceiling was supported by rows of columns with blue painted dragons coiled around them. He walked up to the front desk. The receptionist greeted him.

"Avatar Renko," she said. "President Ridhya ask us to inform him of your arrival. Please wait here." She disappeared into a room behind the desk. She returned moments later.

"Please wait here," she said again.

He smiled in response. He was a little early meeting his dad anyway so he didn't mind the wait. Looking around the lobby he saw a stack of newspapers near the entrance. Curious, he walked over to pick one up. Right smack on the front page was a photo from the night before. Kuzo stood with the crown atop his head and Renko stood by his side. The headline read "Monarchy in Crisis?" with the subtext reading "Prince Kuzo's disastrous decision to be in relations with a man." The Daily Mail was the name of the newspaper. Renko's smile turned into a frown as he read. Apparently this Li Mei was not a fan of Renko. He wrote that without an heir, the crown would fall to Shō's head, or worse, cause the monarchy to end altogether. Renko tried to read more but the article upset him.

Thankfully, an elevator dinged and out stepped three secret service agents and Ridhya. He was dressed in a white silk shirt and black pants. Renko looked down at his shorts and t-shirt. Ridhya smiled when he saw his son. Renko smiled back then looked at the newspaper. He threw into the nearest trash can.

"Good afternoon son," Ridhya said. "What were you reading?"

"Oh, nothing," Renko replied. "Are we going somewhere?"

"Yes," Ridhya said. "I thought we could talk on our way to Ziyou. It would be like when we were on the campaign trail together."

"Those were fun," Renko said a little sarcastically. "Wait, your campaign for senator or your campaign for president?"

"Hmmm," he said. "Whichever campaign you remember the fondest."

With a chuckle, Renko said, "That sounds fun."

They entered a black limo and pulled onto the street behind a black police car. Renko remembered the Presidential Motor Carriage he and his dad rode on their way from Ba Seng Se to Zaofu. It was a lot like this one. He and his dad looked at each other. They each thought back to that day, over a year ago at the inaugural ball when the White Lotus told Renko he was the Avatar. Renko opened his mouth.

"Why did you not tell me that I was the Avatar? And why did you try so hard to force me to return to the Earth States?"

"Well," Ridhya began. "I was scared. With your mother gone and your grandparents and uncles in Ba Seng Se, I was scared that I would be apart from you. Worse, I was scared that I would lose you like I lost your mother."

Renko felt a pang a guilt. He had started to resent his dad for his actions a year ago. Not to mention that fact that he never called and sent Sune after him. Ridhya continued.