The Nan'yō Academy…
"THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!"
Everyone seated around the table blinked on hearing Gakushū's incensed voice, and then they turned to gaze on the over-two metre tall tōshi. "What's the problem, Onii-san?" Rikuson Hakugen asked, and then she blinked as he laid down a rolled parchment before her. "What the&hellip?" she began while reaching over to unroll it, and then she stared at it before sighing, a sweat drop appearing in her hair as she stared up at him. "Onii-san, this is the invite to the Big Fighters' Tournament."
"I am aware of that," Gakushū solemnly declared.
"So what's the problem?" Roshuku Shikei asked.
"Look at the list of invited participants," the tallest of the "Four Divas of Nan'yō" then bade. "Notice a name missing from the group?"
Hakugen and Shikei both blinked, and then the former laid out the parchment on the desk in the middle of the student council room. Scanning down the list of names and school affiliations given by the parchment's writers — someone currently attending Rakuyō, everyone knew, as the facsimile stamp of the Imperial Seal was there — both women then blinked before they turned to gaze up on Gakushū. "I don't see a problem here," the latter said as she waved to the list. "This is quite normal for the Tournament."
"All schools are listed in proper Japanese alphabetical order," Gakushū said as he pointed to the list. "Where is Tomobiki High School?! Where is Ryūkō Kyōrei-sama?!"
Both girls — and Ryomō Shimei, who had been standing by the window enjoying mid-afternoon tea when Gakushū stormed in — blinked on hearing those questions, and then they scanned the list once more. "She isn't here!" Hakugen breathed out on not seeing the two kanji that would spell out "Tomobiki" anywhere in the list.
"Why wasn't she invited?" Shikei demanded.
"Tōtaku's scared."
Eyes locked on Shimei. "Scared of what?!" Gakushū snapped. "This has NOTHING to do with any of the stupid games our fate may force us to play! The Tournament is a totally separate thing! You and your cousin both can confirm how powerful and how well-skilled she is! Omitting her is an INSULT to all tōshi, ESPECIALLY her!"
"Easy, big guy."
Eyes turned to the other man in the room. "What do you think we should do, Saji?" Shikei asked. "Gakushū just made a damned good point! And a lot of people here are quite happy to know that Reitei-sama…"
"She doesn't like being called that," Shimei cut in.
The bandaged strategist jolted, and then she sighed. "Fine! Kyōrei-sama, then!" She turned back to Saji Genpō. "A lot of people here are quite happy to know she's alive and well. AND very supportive of the idea of finding some way to get us away from the grasp of our fates. Once this news gets out…"
A sigh. "People will have to be reminded, Shikei-chan, that the rules concerning the Tournament are pretty much set in stone," Genpō cut in. "The only participants allowed are those who attend any of the Seven Schools or the affiliate schools. Tomobiki High is not one of them. Tōtaku is well within his rights to refuse her entrance."
"And as I just said, he's scared."
Eyes locked on Shimei. "Why do you say that, Onē-san?" Hakugen asked.
"Simple," the blue-haired tōshi said as she gazed on her schoolmates. "Ever since he won the Tournament last year, Tōtaku's been acting like he's the Emperor personally. Suddenly, along comes the woman who, in her first life, WAS the Emperor! Even better, this reborn emperor has the skills of the Black Death backing her up and has made it clear that she's not taking sides in any of the disputes between any of the schools!" She smiled. "In other words, Kyōrei's doing everything she can to make the conditions right for all our supposed 'fates' to NEVER take place! She's going to save us all!" A sip of the tea in her hand. "Where does that leave Tōtaku?"
"High and dry," Hakugen breathed out. "And without any sort of serious power base. She's already won Hōsen-onēsan and the Angels of Chōan to her side!"
"AND Sōsō as well, which brings all of Kyoshō behind her," Shikei advised. "Atop that, she's totally humiliated Enshō by freeing Koshaji from what possessed her."
"And she's got Bachō with her now, too, which swings Ryōshū — and most likely Seito! — all to her side as well."
Silence fell as they considered that. "We've always know deep in our hearts that the Tournament always reflects what happened during the early stages of the Three Kingdoms," Shikei then announced. "A 'coalition' forms up against the usurper to the Imperial power to take the power back." She then smiled. "But THIS time…"
"We have the Emperor alive and on our side!" Hakugen cried out.
A nod. "Exactly. So here's what we'll do…"
Near Seito High School…
"Eh?! Kyōrei-sama wasn't invited?"
Ryūbi Gentoku shook her head as she scanned down the list of participants. She and her inner circle of friends at the meeting hall in Tōgen Abbey. "Iie. Which is really strange. If what everyone's said about what Kyōrei…" — the leader of Seito desperately wanted to call her spiritual "cousin" by her real name (as Hiromi himself insisted), but knew that her friends would find doing that insulting to what they perceived their reborn emperor as — "…did to Koshaji-san yesterday was true, she would probably make it quite far in the Tournament."
"She doesn't go to any of the proper schools," Chōhi Ekitoku said before she flung several potato chips into her mouth. "If she was attending Rakuyō, she'd probably be invited in. But not if she's going to Tomobiki High."
"Still, many will feel this as a grave insult to Kyōrei-sama," the normally silent Chōun Shiryū then spoke up. As people gazed on the silver-haired sophomore, she took a deep breath. "When you two brought the news of Kyōrei-sama being alive in this incarnation, it made a lot of people at Seito — and I would suspect the other schools as well — quite happy. The 'true' symbol of Imperial power, alive and well. And even more so, clearly desiring of us to be freed from the fates our magatama forces on each of us. That would make anyone quite happy, I believe."
"Thus they would desire that Reitei-sama feel fully welcome amongst us," Kōchū Kanshō added. "And the Tournament is, despite its deeper implications, an honoured tradition amongst all of us. To NOT invited Reitei-sama, regardless of which school she attends, would be seen as a vicious slap in the face to her."
"Not to mention all of us," Kan'u Unchō stated.
The others nodded. "There is risk," a new voice then warned.
Eyes locked on Shokatsuryō Kōmei. "What do you mean?" Gentoku asked.
"Kyōrei-sama represents something that very few of us really wish to confront," the young shrine maiden warned as she gazed on the other people in the room. "While she does represent a way by which we could all escape our fates, she does it — and I don't believe it's intentional — by showing us how much we allowed ourselves to miss when it pertains to how we ourselves try to control our lives." A sad look crossed her face. "No one likes being made to look like a fool."
"Hiromi-san would NEVER do something like that!" Gentoku protested.
Kōmei held up a hand. "Please. I didn't say she PURPOSEFULLY does that. But you have to admit, her life experience is in a completely different dimension than ours."
"Maybe that is what we ultimately needed."
Eyes locked on Shiryū. "That this would be our ultimate fate, you mean?" Kanshō asked.
"Hai," the younger woman said, nodding. "Kyōrei-sama wants to save us all from what the magatama is forcing us to do with our lives. She has, in a way, already done that with what she did for Enjutsu Kōro, saving him from what Saji-san unleashed and giving him a new life as a woman, as 'On Michiko' instead of 'On Michiji.' She also clearly — given the oath she and her brother gave to that unfortunate girl whose spirit they helped bring peace to some months ago in Tomobiki — plan to do something similar to Ryomō Shimei and Ryofu Hōsen."
Sensing Unchō tense, Shiryū tried not to smile. "Haneko-san, do you honestly believe Mimōko-san looks forward to living out the fate that is supposedly destined for her?" she asked. "Much less Shikuko-san?"
The raven-haired warrior took that in, and then she sighed. "No."
"So what do we do?" Ekitoku asked.
"We refuse to participate."
Silence.
Eyes locked on Gentoku. "Are you serious?!" Ekitoku demanded.
"I am," the leader of Seito stated. "Kōmei-chan, I want you to compose our reply to Tōtaku-san," she then ordered the young shrine maiden. "Make it very clear that until such time as they recognise the basic right of ALL tōshi — regardless of which school they attend — to participate in the Tournament, Seito will boycott it."
"And they should immediately apologise to Reitei-sama for the disrespect they showed her when they put this list out," Kanshō added.
Kōmei nodded. "Hai."
Near the Kyoshō Academy…
"WHAT FUCKED-UP ASSHOLE THOUGHT UP THIS LIST?!"
The satisfying crunch! of shattered wood echoed Kakōton Genjō's outraged shout as he smashed through a stack of boards. The others now currently in the warehouse close to the school where Sōsō Mōtoku often went when he wanted to be alone and contemplate his and their lives didn't bat an eye at that outburst. "What the hell's the matter with you, Ton?" Kakuha Hōkō asked. "The list is pretty standard."
"Kyōrei ain't ON this list, Hōkō!" Genjō snapped as he held out the parchment they had received from Rakuyō. "And all because she's currently going to Tomobiki High School?! Whoever thought up that fucked-up rule in the first place?!"
The others blinked. "Tōtaku doesn't want to bow to her," Mōtoku then mused.
Eyes locked on their leader. "Which is understandable," Shiba'i Chūtatsu mused. The crippled strategist was in her normal wheelchair, having been brought to this meeting by her driver and wheeled in by a smiling Hōkō. "He pretends to be the Imperial power. Kyōrei IS, by the virtue of the spirit within her magatama, the TRUE Imperial power. Even more so than that PRETENDER that goes to Nanban." She made a face on mentioning the current leader of that school. "To acknowledge Kyōrei's supremacy would force Tōtaku into a position he doesn't want, especially with his own people."
"She's already got Ryofu on his side," Gakushin Bunken — who had come to this meeting with her friends — advised. "That's probably got him REALLY scared. Especially after what happened yesterday morning out by Neptune."
The others all shivered slightly on being reminded of what they had learned recently about Rakuyō's top fighter and how she was currently making her way around school and elsewhere with Sekitoma himself — either as phoenix or as horse — always at her side. "Still, Kyōrei is trying to steer us all away from what our fates supposedly will take us," Mōtoku advised. "And she's giving us an option that we can take that will ensure those fates never come to haunt us again."
"So what do we do about this?" Genjō asked as he held up the parchment with the invitation to the Big Fighters' Tournament in emphasis.
"I say we don't go," Hōkō immediately asserted. "They don't invite Kyōrei-sama. We can't honourably attend. It's as simple as pie. We MAKE Tōtaku bow to her."
Chūtatsu nodded. "That would be a lot better than all the things we've tried to do in the past to bring that idiot to heel."
"Not good enough."
Eyes locked on Mōtoku. "What else can we do?" Genjō asked.
The leader of Kyoshō smirked. "Think about how people feel about the Tournament, Ton."
Silence fell as people considered that. Finally, Hōkō's eyes widened as he turned to gaze once more on his friend. "Holy shit! You mean…"
Mōtoku smirked. "The Emperor must not be made to bow to anyone, much less be forced to answer to anyone else's desires." The smirk disappeared. "Not even a provincial 'shepherd' as Chūei was back in his first life." He then gazed at Hōkō. "Whip up something to pass on to the other schools. Make it clear that we will NOT be part of any Big Fighters' Tournament that doesn't acknowledge Kyōrei's right to participate. However, we also recognise that all tōshi have the right to participate in the Big Fighters' Tournament regardless of ranking. Therefore, Kyoshō will, as a group, approach Tomobiki High and request THEY host the Tournament in Kyōrei's presence."
The others took that in, and then Hōkō smirked while all the others nodded in approval. "Slick, Mōtoku," the blond warrior stated. "I'll get right on it."
With that, he headed out. Eventually, the others all moved to depart save for Chūtatsu; they all knew how close she was to Mōtoku and no doubt suspected they wanted some quality time between themselves.
In a way, they were right.
"I'll be able to walk again," she whispered as he hopped down from his usual perch atop one of the containers currently in the warehouse he normally frequented. "I'll be whole and complete again," she said as he gently lifted her off the wheelchair so he could carry her over to a nearby sofa. "Oh, Torusuke, is she really for real…?"
"Seems to be," Mōtoku mused as he sat down, allowing his lover to relax in her lap. "It'll be nice to finally go out on walks on the beach…"
"Or dance," she said before they shared a deep kiss.
"You're worried about Ayami, right?"
Silence.
"Do you blame me?" Chūtatsu asked.
Mōtoku stared at her, and then he shook his head. "No. It's understandable. But don't worry about it, Yoiko." He moved to allow her to rest her head on his shoulder. "Ayami's been through something we can't even BEGIN to understand. It's marked her very hard. She'll always be a friend to me; you know that. But she found a way to take advantage of what happened to her and make something wonderful. Not just for us, but for all of Earth." He closed his eyes. "We all have to break away from what our past lives have forced on us. That's the only way we'll be truly free, Yoiko." A chuckle. "Hard to believe that we all have to go into space to do that."
"I hope I don't get space-sick."
Mōtoku blinked, and then he roared with laughter. Both shared a smile and a kiss, and then Chūtatsu tensed as one of the dragon tattoos on her arms began to glow. Noting that, Mōtoku's eyes narrowed before he stared at her. "Ten'i?"
The strategist nodded. "And Kentei."
A hum. "Actually…"
"What?"
He smirked. "Let's just call him 'Ryūkō Kyōken.'"
She blinked, and then howled with laughter as we…
Read the comments on this episode
(Posted Thu, 03 Jun 2010 02:20)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.