"So this is the place, huh?"
"Yeah. Pretty quaint, ain't it?"
Hearing that comment from Kakōton Genjō, Sōsō Mōtoku could only smirk as he gazed on the rustic school house before him and his entourage. The Kyoshō Academy, which had been established in the wake of the Second World War, was a thoroughly modern building with all the modern amenities one could ask for in a private combined middle and high school. Tomobiki High School, built in the wake of the First World War and having survived not just another world war but a year of intensive contact with aliens and all other sorts of weirdness, seemed quite quaint in comparison.
Why would Ryūkō choose to stay here of all places? the leader of Kyoshō mused as those around him fell silent to await his decision whether to march on the school or head elsewhere. Any tōshi that lives in Tōkyō-to itself would normally attend Rakuyō. And given who Ryūkō actually once was, it would make sense for her to go there. So why here…? he hummed before feeling something wash over him.
The others were quick to see him tense. "You okay?" Kakuka Hōkō asked.
Mōtoku blinked, and then he smiled. "It's cool, Yoisuke."
Hōkō's jaw dropped in shock while the others were stunned speechless. NEVER did any tōshi address any other tōshi by birth-name in public; that was only done in the most private of conversations. To see Mōtoku break convention like THAT…!
"Let's go."
Hearing their leader's command, the others perked, and then they moved to follow him onto the front lawn as Mōtoku made his way to the main door…
"We have visitors."
Everyone perked on hearing Hiromi's comments. "What is it?" Momoe asked.
Hiromi placed her cup of coffee down, and then she headed to the window of the clock tower belfry to gaze outside. One look was enough. "Ah, it appears that news of my return has perked the interest of the noble lord of Our North Gate of Luòyáng," she mused, a smile creeping across her face. "A good sign."
The others came to look. "Hey! That's Sōsō Mōtoku!" Chigaiko cried out.
"The leader of Kyoshō?!" Kumiko asked as others gaped at her.
"The very one! What's he doing here?!"
"Let's ask him."
Eyes locked on Hiromi as she moved to step out of the tower…
"That's her."
Mōtoku blinked on hearing Gakushin Bunken's words, and then he gazed on the approaching woman before her. A year younger than he, in excellent shape — understandable given that her brother and former physical host could run ten-day MARATHONS without breaking much of a sweat — and brimming with considerable skill and power, though of a much more soothing sort that he, much less his counterparts at Seito and Nan'yō, could call upon. And one who clearly was locked on a mission that so overwhelmed her that she would either succeed in what she planned to do or die in the trying.
Very interesting.
Noting his appraising gaze, Hiromi could only smile as she raised her hands to perform the classic right fist-in-left hand salute used in the China of old. "Tell me something, Mōtoku-dono. Are you still capable of performing a sword dance?"
He perked on hearing that question, and then blinked before he raised his hands to echo her salute to him. "I just remembered what you speak of, Kyōrei-sama. While I've never practiced that skill in my current incarnation, I could study it."
A delighted laugh. "Well said, sir. Well said. So what brings you all the way here to visit my humble school?" Her eyes then fell on Bunken and her fellow Three Pillared Gods. "Surely, I can't believe that Bunken-dono, Kōmei-dono and Shungai-dono made that much of a good character reference about me to you."
All three tōshi monastics blushed. "Possessing fifty kilometre-long starships that were designed and built by a very dear friend of mine would automatically gain my interest," Mōtoku stated as a smile crossed his face. "You told my friends quite a number of interesting things. While I know they would never lie to me, I'd prefer to hear it from the source itself."
"A wise precaution," Hiromi said…
…before the ring of a materialiser echoed over the lawn.
"Onii-san?"
Mōtoku gasped on hearing that voice, and then he turned to see a smiling girl nearby, dressed in her white jumpsuit. As the others (save the Three Pillared Gods) all gaped in shock on seeing Jun'iku Bunjaku whole and alive for the first time in years, Mōtoku could only blink before a delighted smile crossed his face. Seeing that, Bunjaku saluted him, her eyes brimming with tears. "Onii-san, like so long ago…" she whispered. "…I've seen many things…and have returned."
Mōtoku blinked as he took that in, and then he returned her salute. "I wish I could say that I've waited long for your return, Ayami," he admitted. "But I'm glad — we're ALL glad! …" — he then indicated his companions — "…that you've come back to us safe and sound."
"And with many presents, too," Hōkō added.
Bunjaku blinked, and then she giggled. "Come inside, everyone," Hiromi then bade. "We'll go to the cafeteria where you can rest and enjoy some refreshments."
The others nodded as they turned to follow her inside, Bunjaku reaching over to take Mōtoku's hand in her own as she led him inside…
"Eh?! Sōsō's there as well?!"
"Hai," Koshaji said as she held the cell phone close to her. The ninja-trained Yoshū tōshi was currently hidden in a tree close to Tomobiki High School. "He came with a considerable entourage to meet this 'emperor' that's said to be here."
A growl was heard at the other end of the line. "Damn it…!" the uneven voice of Enshō Honsho growled over the speakers. "Alright, then! Stay there! Don't do anything right now! Reinforcements will be there in two hours! Make sure they're ALL taken out! Both Sōsō and this so-called 'Reitei!' Understood?!"
"Hai," Koshaji acknowledged…
"You seem distracted by something."
Hiromi perked on hearing her guest's comment, and then she smiled. "It appears you are not the only noble souls who have come to this town today," she said before sipping her cup of juice. "There is someone else, hidden in the trees near the school grounds."
The visitors from Kyoshō tensed on hearing that, and then all peered in that direction. "I recognise her," Hōkō then said. "It's Koshaji."
"Enshō's pet assassin?" Genjō snarled.
Hiromi hummed. "What of Honsho-dono?"
"He's the current head of Yoshū in Utsunomiya," Sōjin Shikō answered. As the head of Kyoshō's shock troopers — and also being Mōtoku's paternal cousin — she had been invited to this meeting. "He's been rivals with Mōtoku-niisan for years! He's just waiting for the chance to finally knock Nii-san out of the way…!"
"But like his predecessor, he doesn't possess any sort of true unity among those he is said to command," Hiromi finished for the freshman girl, and then she sat back in her chair. "How typical. Amazes me that Lord Běnchū was able to put together that 'coalition' against Lord Zhòngyǐng, even if he didn't succeed at Hǔláo Pass."
Laughter filled the cafeteria as people recalled that event during the initial stages of the many wars that rocked the end of the Hàn Dynasty and the start of the Three Kingdoms period of China's history. "So why such a huge fleet?" Mōtoku then asked as he gazed on Hiromi. "And why build it and bring it here? I strongly doubt Earth technology is sufficient enough to support such advanced warships. How exactly did Bunjaku and Kōgetsuei manage to build such a fleet in the first place?"
"Ayami-san, why don't you explain it to him," Hiromi bade.
"Hai." Bunjaku nodded before gazing on her old friend as she drew out a communications tablet like the one Hiromi had. Tapping controls on it, she allowed a galactic map of the local area to appear so the visitors from Kyoshō could see what is going on. "Kōgetsuei-kun and I were kidnapped by a race known as the Ipraedies." She indicated their space on the map. "They're traditional enemies of the Galactic Federation, an alliance of small powers — Uru being one of those powers, as is Neptune and Fukunokami — that surrounds them on both their in-spin and coreward frontiers." She pointed those places out. "The weak point of the Federation, ironically, is this very solar system; we're hemmed in by the Ipraedies to the out-spin side, the Federation worlds to the spinward side and just coreward of the Ipraedies, the Imperial Dominion of Noukiios to the coreward side and the Seifukusu Dominion — another old enemy of the Federation states — to the in-spin side."
"Damn! It's a choke-point!" Hōkō hissed.
"Was that the reason behind the Tag Race?" Mōtoku asked.
"Hai, it was," Hiromi affirmed. "An interesting ploy on the Urusians' part."
"So what made your brother go nuts on Lum like he did last week?" Genjō asked.
Hiromi shuddered for a moment before she calmed herself down. "Because, much that both Onii-san and I did thought the best of Lum and her friends, there were certain truths they elected not to inform us of. Most likely out of the belief that we were just too stupid or backward to make a decision of that nature." A sarcastic look then crossed her face. "Such as the fact that, in the eyes of the vast majority of the population of one member world of the Federation, Lum herself is a living goddess, all her friends are either her 'holy company' or 'holy apostles' and Onii-san is their devil-figure…"
An explosion! "WHO CARES ABOUT THAT?!"
Hiromi tried not to wince on hearing that irritating voice, and then she looked over her shoulder to see Megane and the Stormtroopers, along with several dozen other male students, standing at the doorways, all surrounded by battle auras as they glared death at the woman whose presence in their lives personified the abrupt and cruel end of the joyous days where they could bask in the presence of a certain Oni princess. Gazing at her brother's classmates for a moment, Hiromi sighed before she turned her back to them as she gave Mōtoku a wry smile. "And despite the fact that I've shown considerable proof of what these people are like, there are still those here…"
"Who can't seem to accept reality," Genjō snarled as he stood up, followed immediately by Hōkō, the Three Pillared Gods and Shikō. "Wait here."
Writer's Note: We'll pause here in the Addventure for a moment to skip past the scene of very gratuitous violence that followed Genjō's statement.
"So you're actually wanting to do your best to give ALL of Earth a chance to make their own choices when it comes to dealing with what's out there, right?"
"Exactly, Hōkō-dono," Hiromi answered with a nod. In the background, paramedics were busy tending to the shattered and twisted heaps of humanity that had once been a couple dozen young men. Much to the surprise of all those from Kyoshō, the paramedics had hardly batted an eye after they were called in to help Sakurambō Sakura in tending to the wounded. "While I can certainly understand the fears many of the Federation races have towards the Ipraedies and the Seifukusu, why are they trying to force us (by NOT INFORMING US of them!) to effectively support their side? Who gives THEM the right to decide which course of action we will take when we finally break free of this world and expand into the stars? No one has that right! At least races like the Noukiites and the Yehisrites recognise that." She then paused to gaze on each of the people now sitting with her. "And we, above all others, certainly can understand what one feels like when one's sense of self-control over their fate is taken away from them."
"Damn straight!" Genjō snarled.
"You're right about that!" Hōkō affirmed with a grimace.
"So what do you need from us?" Mōtoku asked.
"Volunteers," Hiromi answered. "The ships in orbit are designed to be as fully automated as possible, but the Avalonians we have crewing them now have no real souls within them; when Onē-sama, Tsukihana-san and Ayami-san rescued them, they had all just emerged from DNA-coding. Hence, the reason I had to fetch the Dragon Jade."
"To give them souls from those in that cave under Nanban."
"Exactly."
Mōtoku smirked. "Kentei won't let it happen."
"He may choose to stop me," Hiromi answered. "But let's see how he and his friends react to having a geyser of lava explode from right underneath their feet." As the Kyoshō tōshi all shuddered at that threat, the reborn emperor smirked. "They foolishly put that school atop an extinct volcano close to the intersection of three large tectonic plates. A perfect place to call upon the Earth's very power to…"
"SŌSŌ MŌTOKU!"
Hiromi stopped before she gazed out the window. "Now, who on Earth is THAT?!"
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(Posted Mon, 17 May 2010 17:45)
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