Rakuyō Senior High School…
"WHAT?!"
"It's true, Kaku-sama," Rikaku said as he bowed to the current secretary of the school student council. "We just got a message from Ukitsu. Save for Yoshū, ALL of the other Seven Schools are boycotting the Tournament! And they're all preparing to send tōshi to Tomobiki High School to attend this false Tournament Sōsō is organising with the blessings of Reitei-sama." The large, spiky-haired, tattooed warrior sneered as he said the common Japanese name applied to the Xiàolíng Emperor of Hàn.
Hearing that, Kaku Bunwa felt her teeth gnash as her mind began to roll through what she had just been told. How DARE they…?! she thundered in her mind before a strange calmness came down over her as the years and decades of knowledge she had inherited from the great strategist Jiǎ Xù began to play out the scenario now facing her and draw the necessary conclusions for her to decide which way to go.
Sōsō Mōtoku…
Oh, Torusuke-san! You cunning man, you! Bunwa gushed deep in her heart as she moved to sit down at her desk in the student council room. Yes, it WAS actually playing out in a perfect echo of the events eighteen hundred years before. Even if it was Yuán Shào that had led the original coalition against Dǒng Zhuó after the death of the Xiàolíng Emperor and the elimination of the Ten Attendants, the true spirit behind the initial rebellion against the Shepherd of Bīngzhōu had always been the cunning and far-seeing former captain of the North Gate of Luòyáng, Cáo Cāo. The man's history — his willingness to ignore all traditions to find things that actually WORKED and made things much better for those under his charged — always leaned his future incarnations in that direction until something happened that unleashed the dark spirit within his soul, the "red devil" that tried to conquer all of China and was only blunted by the combined forces of Shǔ Hàn and Dōng Wú at the Battle of Chìbì in 208 CE.
But now…
Now, it's too different! one part of her mind — the part of her that always held on to her birth name, Uru Hokona, and dreamt of a life forever free of the influence of the magatama hanging off her left ear — then railed. Reitei-sama is ALIVE! She's trying to help us ESCAPE our fates! We can't&hellip!
She's doomed to die! the other side of her mind — the side that was firmly entrenched in the persona of Kaku Bunwa, the loyal strategist of Tōtaku Chūei, the one and true Imperial Chancellor and the winner of the Big Fighters' Tournament the previous year — then warned. And if she's supposedly the Emperor, why doesn't she behave like one?! Why doesn't she call herself 'Reitei?!' Why does she used this warped battle name she likes so much?! 'Ryūkō Kyōrei?!' That's no way to address someone who once held the Dragon Throne and ruled under the Mandate of Heaven! At least Kentei down in Nanban acts like an Emperor should act…!
Bunwa then blinked. "Wait a minute…"
"You want to organise a hit on this bitch?!" Rikaku then asked.
A smirk. "No need to do something THAT stupid, Kakurō-kun. She's trained in the way of the Black Death, remember?" she said as she gave him a knowing look. As Rikaku jolted on hearing the feared nickname of the entity that was the true living spirit of the Moroboshi-Hana Saikō Jinseijutsu Ninjutsu-ryū, she added, "If history and fate are to play themselves out, there's another way to get this 'emperor' out of our hair."
He stared at her, and then his eyes widened. "You mean…?!"
A smirk. "Naturally," Bunwa stated. "With her alive and possessing the Dragon Jade, many will ignore anything Tōtaku-sama demands even if he HAS the Imperial Seal. So we need to do something to destroy her influence on all the tōshi and get the Dragon Jade away from her. Who better to use than the people who, in their first lives, actually MANIPULATED the Emperor to the point where THEY ran the country, not him?!"
He stared at her, and then he snorted. "Chōjō and her pals, you mean?"
"Exactly."
A snort escaped Rikaku. "All fuckin' frigid bitches! Wouldn't trust them…!"
"In this life, they're all barren," Bunwa cut him off. "And if what Joei and her friends reported how this woman got her current body and managed to free her soul of Moroboshi Ataru's mind is even remotely true, they'll be DEFINITELY interested in currying her favour. And if they run true to form…"
Silence.
"Damn," Rikaku breathed out. "Even that fleet up in space."
"Exactly," Bunwa noted…
In a storage room in the basement…
"STEAL the Imperial Seal?!"
A shake of the head. "No! Please, Joei-sama, don't misunderstand what I'm proposing here," Chinkyū Kōdai said as she gazed on the Angels of Chōan. "It's now quite obvious that Tōtaku has totally lost the Mandate of Heaven over us all. That has gone back to Ryūkō-sama where it belongs." The tomboyish sophomore took a deep breath. She knew that there was little trust between the Angels as a whole and Kōdai's own superior, a trust that was slowly growing thanks to the heaven-sent intercession of the reborn Xiàolíng Emperor. She had to tread VERY cautiously as she laid out her proposal. "You know now of the rejections that five of the Seven Schools have already made concerning the Big Fighters' Tournament. You also know of their unanimous decision to participate in a separate Tournament at Tomobiki High under Ryūkō-sama's sponsorship. The Imperial Seal is the ultimate prize in any Tournament. If we held a 'rump' Tournament with just ourselves and Yoshū participating, it will totally demean what the Tournament represents to us all. What I propose is that we recognise what has happened and convey the Imperial Seal back to Ryūkō-sama's hands where it truthfully belongs."
Silence fell as the four special fighters of Rakuyō considered their visitor's words. "Miyako-chan, does Shikuko-san know about this?" Chōsai then asked.
A shake of the head. "No, Sumuna-sama. Shikuko-sama has no idea that I'm here. She…" A sigh. "She's too busy concentrating on the fact that after tonight, she'll be forever free of the disease that's slowly killing her."
All four senior students gaped. "What disease?!" Hanchō barked.
Kōdai lowered her eyes. "Lou Gehrig's Disease."
Silence.
"Oh, gods…!" Joei breathed out.
"Damn! To burn out from THAT?!" Kakuji hissed.
"No wonder she was so willing to stake her flag alongside Hiromi-sama's!" Chōsai said.
Joei spun on her. "SUMUNA!"
The other girl jolted. "What?!"
"You damn hell KNOW that Hiromi-sama would have done that for Shikuko-san even if she decided to go her own way!" Joei snarled. "How DARE you imply something like that?!"
Chōsai jolted, and then she looked down. "I'm sorry…"
"Um, minna-sama…"
Eyes then locked on the younger student in the room. Joei sighed. "Personally, Miyako, I agree with you," she said as she gazed out the head-level window onto the back lawn of the school grounds. "Hiromi-sama IS the Xiàolíng Emperor reborn. She is the living personification of the Mandate of Heaven and has every right to have the Imperial Seal in her possession. And yes, given that Suguta-kun was being a moron when he stole the Seal from Seito last year, your argument that he has no right to dominate any of our lives gains even more merit." Another sigh. "Hiromi-sama, however, is fully aware of how tense things are, not just between the Seven Schools, but WITHIN the Seven Schools, especially here! She WON'T like the idea of any of us suddenly doing something half-cocked that ends up hurting people along the way! She's trying to SAVE US ALL from our fates! No exceptions here!" A smirk. "Even Suguta-kun."
Kōdai blinked as her mind nearly crashed from Joei's words, and then she feebly asked, "She doesn't care at all…?"
All four of the Angels shook their heads. "Not a bit," Hanchō affirmed. "Miyako, none of us were princes back then. It was a multi-way CIVIL WAR, remember? There was no right side or wrong side in anything when you look at it pragmatically! All it was were a pack of ambitious idiots wanting to take the top seat of power in China against another pack of idiots trying to either make everything better or restore it to the way it was before it all started! Hiromi-sama knows that! She BLAMES HERSELF for letting things fall apart so badly back then, even if she was ultimately powerless from the day Liú Hóng first took the Dragon Throne! And now she knows the way to save us all and she won't forgive herself if she allows ANY ONE OF US to fall through the cracks!"
Kōdai stared at her, and then she nearly stumbled as the strength in her legs suddenly vanished. Joei was there to catch her and help her back up. "Miyako, do this: Go now to Tomobiki High School. Demand an audience with Hiromi-sama. Tell her your proposal about restoring the Seal to her control. If she says yes, tell her this: Once we get the go-ahead from her, the Seal will be in her hands in six hours. Okay?"
The younger tōshi took that in, and then she nodded. "Hai, Haeko-sama."
"And watch yourself going over there," Joei added. "There are people that won't want this to happen. Especially Kaku. If she thinks you're moving against Tōtaku, she'll come down on you like a ton of bricks. She's got Rikaku and Kayū backing her up."
Kōdai jolted on hearing the names of those two particular tōshi. "Right…"
Near Rakuyō, sometime later…
"Come in, Kaku. What brings you to my humble home today?"
Bunwa was trying not to allow her bladder to go as she walked into the very dark, candle-lit space that current served as the meditation room for the reincarnated leader of the Ten Attendants, the ten powerful eunuchs who, back before the death of the Xiàolíng Emperor in 189 CE, held the true reins of power in China. As she focused her attention on the blonde tomboy seated on a throne-like chair at one end of the room, she fought down the urge to apologise and run away. The steely look from those cold set of blue-grey eyes on the admittedly beautiful twenty-something university student — the tōshi known as "Chōjō" by her peers and "Haru Yuzumi" in real life was a senior student currently attending Meiji University — was enough to give even the most bravest of the warriors of the Seven Schools pause.
"I apologise for intruding on your meditations like this, Chōjō-sama, but I bring news of events concerning the Seven Schools," Bunwa then said, bowing deeply to her.
"And what news is that which would concern me?"
Bunwa felt a smile twitch her lips. "The supposed return of Reitei-sama."
Silence.
"WHAT?!"
Bunwa then gasped as a face twisted with a level of rage that couldn't be described loomed in her vision. "What did you just say?" Chōjō snarled as she seized the younger tōshi by her school uniform tie and yanked hard. "ANSWER ME!"
Bunwa gasped. "It's true, Chōjō-sama…" she croaked out. "That woman on the television…the one that's said to be…Moroboshi Ataru's sister…she calls herself…'Ryūkō Kyōrei'…and…"
She then cried out as Chōjō let her go, and then the older woman spun away to return to her seat. "Who has verified this?!" the leader of the Ten Attendants demanded.
Bunwa coughed to clear her throat. "The Angels of Chōan…Ryofu, also…!"
"And they all believe this woman to be Reitei-sama?!"
A nod. "H-hai! She's won many to her cause! Ryūbi, Sonsaku, Sōsō…!"
"SŌSŌ?!"
Bunwa ducked. While she personally didn't understand why, Chōjō held a SPECIAL hatred for Sōsō Mōtoku. "H-hai…" she breathed out. "What's even worse, Sōsō somehow won over this 'Ryūkō Kyōrei's' support to host a SEPARATE Big Fighters' Tournament this year, totally IGNORING all authority Tōtaku is trying to exercise over all the tōshi!" A pant, and then the younger girl took a deep breath. "Chōjō-sama, I realise that you and your friends, when you were attending Rakuyō, held everyone together when Chōkaku formed the Kōshi Kasshi and so many deserted all the Seven Schools! We've ALWAYS been grateful for you and your friends for doing that to all of us! But if Sōsō and this false 'emperor' sways everyone away from what is right and proper amongst us…"
"How can you be sure this woman is NOT Reitei-sama restored to us?!"
The younger tōshi blinked, and then she shook her head. "True. I can't be sure." She then smiled. "But if anyone can truly be sure of that, Chōjō-sama, it's you."
The older woman stared at her for a moment, and then she chuckled. "I sense you're up to something, Hokona-chan," she said as she gave Bunwa a knowing look.
"All I'm doing is making sure everyone stays loyal to what we are, Yuzumi-sama!" Bunwa vowed. "There's something else you don't know. This woman has the power of the Black Death itself supporting her. None of us can live with THAT over our heads!"
Chōjō hummed as she considered that, and then she nodded. "True. But then again, it's not so surprising. The Clan Moroboshi has served the Imperial Throne on these islands for a thousand years and they were entrusted with the seed that became the Saikō Jinseijutsu by Master Hosan himself." A hum escaped her. "Still, you do raise a good point. If indeed this Moroboshi Hiromi is Reitei-sama reborn, she must NOT be held totally under Sōsō's sway. That is a threat to us all." She then rose as she walked back over to gazed intently at Bunwa. "Fortunately, I believe I have the means by which I can prove whether or not this woman is who she claims to be."
Bunwa blinked. "How so?"
In answer, Chōjō walked over to a table beside her chair, and then reached into a jewellery case to draw out a magatama earring. "Moroboshi Ataru is known to be an only child. I saw the pictures of this Moroboshi Hiromi. Clearly some type of clone, I think, though I don't understand how she came to be a woman." A chuckle as she allowed the magatama to rest in the palm of her hand. "Still, that she IS a woman is a good thing. She'll have a woman's instincts. Including the desire to see her child live."
Silence.
"That's…?!" Bunwa gasped.
A nod. "Hai. Kōnō-ō." A smirk then crossed Chōjō's face. "The Prince of Hóngnóng."
The younger girl blinked…
At that same moment, in Tomobiki…
"Um, Hiromi?"
Hiromi looked at Tariko, who was standing at the window of Class 2-4. "What is it, Onē-san?" she asked as she stood up and walked over to her.
The latter pointed out the window. "Got a visitor from Shikuko's school."
Hiromi looked outside, and then she blinked. "Isn't that…?"
"Noberu Miyako. Also known as Chinkyū Kōdai," Tariko finished.
Hiromi blinked as she took that in, while we…
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(Posted Fri, 11 Jun 2010 05:08)
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