"Master Saotome, don't you believe in democracy?"
"Yeah,(?)" the martial artist didn't expect that kind of a response. "I never really thought about it. It's not like I come across it much in my life. How many chances do I get to decide what I want?"
"We, the loyal, and gratefully employed, servants to the House of Kuno maintain them in their fantasy worlds as a community service," Sasuke said with all earnestness. "I can tell you stories after WWII and what the Change of Order did to the family. They are not pretty. It was either let them dedicate themselves to renewing fascism, or dedicate ourselves to letting them believe that their old status had not changed. Truth to tell, it was also easier for us not to have to change our old ways too radically."
What the little ninja was saying was rather too large for Ranma to take in at one time. It started with comparing the Kunos with other petty nobles he had come across in his travels to parts of Japan where the modern world was ignored as much as possible. In these medieval fiefdoms, the thousand years of totalitarianism had never really left. The only law was the whim of the local lord. Compared to what a lot of those little dictators, the Kunos were quite harmless in their relative ineffectiveness.
"Are you sayin' you guys want to keep Kuno believin' he's all the things he says he is?"
"It's the Way of the Theater. Wouldn't most people rather be entertained than challenged? Getting an audience to suspend disbelief is easiest when the show confirms what they want to believe in."
A blow dart struck the distracted martial artist in the jugular; the gas of the Babbling Brook School of Stagecraft had been delivered in liquid form. Ranma, like Kuno and Ryoga, was now, too, in a trance.
"We really mean no harm. Our whole lives have been dedicated to being shadows, catering to the wishes of others. Stagemanaging them makes it more palatable. And more convenient. Why allow reality to intrude, when it doesn't have to?
"Now, what was the reason Master Saotome came to Castle Kuno...? Oh, yes. That's right. This should provide a good deal of entertainment. For us, as well." He clapped his hands towards the unseen, "Okay, kuroko, this will test of our skills: We are dealing with the trained senses of actual warriors. Dare I remind you of what they could do to us, if they are not amused by our productions?"
(Posted Mon, 04 Aug 2008 13:13)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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