The Red Palace, Office of the Lightning Shogun
Raiden no Me, Kaminari no Kuni
…0900 hours
Despite the fact that his private audience chamber was the most secure location in the entire country besides the office of the Raikage, Shogun Shiranai sat shrouded in darkness from the heavy velvet curtains that blocked out the sun overhead. For an entire year, every window in the Red Palace had been blocked off with steel bars as well as the aforementioned curtains as a means to deny assassins an easy means of entry or egress, and to prevent snipers from seeing their targets. The electric lightning within the place served as adequate illumination, however as of late the sovereign of the land had taken to more melancholic choices when it came to his own spaces. Rumors flew that he was either going mad from the strain of having to rule at such a young age, or alternately, that he had contracted a disfiguring disease and needed to hide his face, or simply that he was lovesick but desired not to engage in the practice of taking concubines or even mistresses.
On his shadowed throne, Shiranai fidgeted, preoccupied with thoughts of a young woman who wore a panda-shaped hood and who had left a certain impression on him a year ago. He had tried to write to her a few times, but he was no poet and inevitably these attempts ended with him angrily crumpling the paper and heaving it across the room. Fortunately, distraction from his own tormented thoughts came quickly, as the door to the heavily-guarded chamber opened, briefly flooding the room with golden light. Through the door now stepped the most powerful woman in the country: Chancellor Tachibana Ami.
A somewhat plain-featured woman in her thirties, she nevertheless held a certain allure with her ever-present serenity punctuated by unexpected bursts of raw feeling when she desired to make a point. A Daimyo of the Council of Eleven Moons, she was also the functional and official head of the Bakufuu – the government of Lightning Country. The Eleven Moons as well as the Council of Nobles, which served as the lower house of the bakufuu, answered to her, and she in turn answered solely to the Shogun. It was said in hushed tones that with the Shogun so young, inexperienced, and emotionally fragile, that she was in fact the true ruler of the land of lightning.
“Ami-san!” said Shiranai, rising happily from his throne to greet her. “Are you well? Do your wounds give you any pain?” he asked, noticing the silk scarf she now wore around her neck.
“My Lord Shogun, I am but your servant and you should not exert or worry yourself for me,” replied Ami, kneeling. Somewhat disappointedly, Shiranai stopped in mid-stride, returning to his seat. “Although I do not deserve your concern, the physicians say that I will make a complete recovery, and that even the marks from the wire will fade in time,” she said, unconsciously rubbing the subtle impressions on her neck that were the result of a recent attempt on her life. “I am thankful to the shinobi who saved my life at Castle Nagamasa.”
“And I heard how Daimyo Amakusa treated them after they fought to protect you!” snarled Shiranai. “It is high time that I punished him!” he said, clenching a fist.
“My Lord, I would beg that you stay your wrath for now. While Amakusa Ryuu’s actions were certainly deplorable, taking overt action against him would mean the certain destabilization of our government, which we simply cannot afford at this point,” replied Ami, shaking her head as she rose. “He is, simply put, too big to fail. We need more time. We need to be stronger.”
“That is why I detest my job sometimes, Ami-san. Back in Kumogakure, I knew what was right and what was wrong. Shinobi who committed evil were punished, and shinobi who did right were praised. But in this world, we bail corrupt banks and nobility out for their crimes and ignore the plight of the citizenry!” spat Shiranai, disgust welling in his mouth. Ami’s hand was now on his shoulder, her touch warm but also firm.
“My Lord, you are Shogun because your heart is pure and beautiful. I swore as your Chancellor to protect that purity even in this corrupt and ugly world, and I will continue to do so. But you must listen to me, even when your conscience tells you not to. I would not be able to bear it, nor would the country, if you were to become stained by sin. Therefore, let me deal with Daimyo Amakusa. He will pay, but he will do so in a manner that preserves the peace that so many of our friends and your shinobi brothers in arms died to secure,” said Ami, cupping Shiranai’s face in her palms as she looked into his eyes. The Shogun wordlessly nodded, a pained expression on his face. She softly kissed him on the forehead as a mother would to comfort a child.
“Have you heard of any more members of the Council of Nobles attempting to defect or sell their loyalties to the Haninozuka King?” asked Shiranai, gnawing on one of his nails. Ami nodded.
“Count Nagamasa’s fate certainly served as a deterrent to many, however there are three who I suspect of continued treachery, My Lord. They are Baron Tsujihara, Viscount Katsura, and Count Tatsumi. All three of these men were part of Count Nagamasa’s circle of friends, and all of them had hosted visitors from Bear Country in the last few months. The Margrave Tokugawa has given me information that they will attempt a meeting with King Haninozuka Nikolai himself very soon. This is worrisome because unlike Takadama Province, their land holdings are virtually adjacent to Bear, and as such we would not be able to take them back by force without the risk of outright war with the Serene Kingdom,” she said.
“Then what are we to do?” asked Shiranai.
“Do not worry, My Lord. I have already formulated a plan. I have asked the shinobi of Kumogakure to observe and eavesdrop on this meeting, and if the three attempt to sell their loyalty, to arrest them on the spot. It will also serve as a plain message to King Haninozuka to stop his attempts to seduce our greedy brethren,” said Ami, smiling.
“Excellent, Ami-san. I hope their their sakes, that the three do not attempt something so rash.”
“As do I, My Lord. Before I leave here, I wanted to let you know as well – Mochizuki Tama is scheduled to visit you soon. I will ensure that you are free from any responsibilities of state for the duration of her visit,” said Ami.
“Really?!” asked Shiranai excitedly. “That’s…that’s wonderful news!” he said, smiling for the first time since their meeting.
“If it makes My Lord happy, then it is indeed wonderful,” said Ami, smiling graciously. “It is no secret that you harbor affection for the girl. If you wish to make her your concubine, I will happily make the arrangements with Kumogakure…”
“Well, uh, I… I mean, I haven’t confessed to her or anything yet…” started Shiranai, blushing.
“My Lord, I do not need to remind you that you are Shogun of Kaminari no Kuni. If you wish to make her yours then you need but order it.”
“I know, but…I mean, I kind of want to, you know, ask her out like a normal guy…”
“Of course, My Lord,” said Ami, inwardly rolling her eyes. “I must leave to contact Sennin Takaki. I bid you farewell for now,” she said, again bowing deeply to him before turning to exit.
Shiranai leaned back on his throne, breathing heavily. Treachery, court intrigue, war, and Tama – this was way too much for a teenage Shogun to deal with.
Dragon Tooth Pass
Kumogakure no Sato, Kaminari no Kuni
…Next day, 0900 hours
The mission orders had been distributed, the equipment requisitioned and checked, and the participants contacted. This one was a mission that the shinobi of Cloud not absolutely not mess up on. A single errant blade or bolt, a mis-phrased word, or a second’s hesitation, and the consequences would range from the deaths of the entire team to open warfare between Lightning and Bear Countries. Adding to the danger was the fact that Marsh Country right next door had been itching for a fight for the last five years and would grab on any excuse to launch its missiles, so to speak.
Their mission was simple – to observe a meeting and arrest three nobles for treason and bring them back to Raiden’s Eye for prosecution. The problem was that the King of Bear himself would also be there, along with likely a sizeable force of Bear soldiers and Bear Shinobi. Ideally, they would see no reason to intervene – this was an internal Lightning Country matter after all. But Masao knew from his decades of experience that “hopefullys” and “probablys” just did not cut it once the weapons came out.
Now, he only waited for the other mission participants.
Raiden no Me, Kaminari no Kuni
…0900 hours
Despite the fact that his private audience chamber was the most secure location in the entire country besides the office of the Raikage, Shogun Shiranai sat shrouded in darkness from the heavy velvet curtains that blocked out the sun overhead. For an entire year, every window in the Red Palace had been blocked off with steel bars as well as the aforementioned curtains as a means to deny assassins an easy means of entry or egress, and to prevent snipers from seeing their targets. The electric lightning within the place served as adequate illumination, however as of late the sovereign of the land had taken to more melancholic choices when it came to his own spaces. Rumors flew that he was either going mad from the strain of having to rule at such a young age, or alternately, that he had contracted a disfiguring disease and needed to hide his face, or simply that he was lovesick but desired not to engage in the practice of taking concubines or even mistresses.
On his shadowed throne, Shiranai fidgeted, preoccupied with thoughts of a young woman who wore a panda-shaped hood and who had left a certain impression on him a year ago. He had tried to write to her a few times, but he was no poet and inevitably these attempts ended with him angrily crumpling the paper and heaving it across the room. Fortunately, distraction from his own tormented thoughts came quickly, as the door to the heavily-guarded chamber opened, briefly flooding the room with golden light. Through the door now stepped the most powerful woman in the country: Chancellor Tachibana Ami.
A somewhat plain-featured woman in her thirties, she nevertheless held a certain allure with her ever-present serenity punctuated by unexpected bursts of raw feeling when she desired to make a point. A Daimyo of the Council of Eleven Moons, she was also the functional and official head of the Bakufuu – the government of Lightning Country. The Eleven Moons as well as the Council of Nobles, which served as the lower house of the bakufuu, answered to her, and she in turn answered solely to the Shogun. It was said in hushed tones that with the Shogun so young, inexperienced, and emotionally fragile, that she was in fact the true ruler of the land of lightning.
“And I heard how Daimyo Amakusa treated them after they fought to protect you!” snarled Shiranai. “It is high time that I punished him!” he said, clenching a fist.
“My Lord, I would beg that you stay your wrath for now. While Amakusa Ryuu’s actions were certainly deplorable, taking overt action against him would mean the certain destabilization of our government, which we simply cannot afford at this point,” replied Ami, shaking her head as she rose. “He is, simply put, too big to fail. We need more time. We need to be stronger.”
“That is why I detest my job sometimes, Ami-san. Back in Kumogakure, I knew what was right and what was wrong. Shinobi who committed evil were punished, and shinobi who did right were praised. But in this world, we bail corrupt banks and nobility out for their crimes and ignore the plight of the citizenry!” spat Shiranai, disgust welling in his mouth. Ami’s hand was now on his shoulder, her touch warm but also firm.
“My Lord, you are Shogun because your heart is pure and beautiful. I swore as your Chancellor to protect that purity even in this corrupt and ugly world, and I will continue to do so. But you must listen to me, even when your conscience tells you not to. I would not be able to bear it, nor would the country, if you were to become stained by sin. Therefore, let me deal with Daimyo Amakusa. He will pay, but he will do so in a manner that preserves the peace that so many of our friends and your shinobi brothers in arms died to secure,” said Ami, cupping Shiranai’s face in her palms as she looked into his eyes. The Shogun wordlessly nodded, a pained expression on his face. She softly kissed him on the forehead as a mother would to comfort a child.
“Have you heard of any more members of the Council of Nobles attempting to defect or sell their loyalties to the Haninozuka King?” asked Shiranai, gnawing on one of his nails. Ami nodded.
“Count Nagamasa’s fate certainly served as a deterrent to many, however there are three who I suspect of continued treachery, My Lord. They are Baron Tsujihara, Viscount Katsura, and Count Tatsumi. All three of these men were part of Count Nagamasa’s circle of friends, and all of them had hosted visitors from Bear Country in the last few months. The Margrave Tokugawa has given me information that they will attempt a meeting with King Haninozuka Nikolai himself very soon. This is worrisome because unlike Takadama Province, their land holdings are virtually adjacent to Bear, and as such we would not be able to take them back by force without the risk of outright war with the Serene Kingdom,” she said.
“Then what are we to do?” asked Shiranai.
“Do not worry, My Lord. I have already formulated a plan. I have asked the shinobi of Kumogakure to observe and eavesdrop on this meeting, and if the three attempt to sell their loyalty, to arrest them on the spot. It will also serve as a plain message to King Haninozuka to stop his attempts to seduce our greedy brethren,” said Ami, smiling.
“Excellent, Ami-san. I hope their their sakes, that the three do not attempt something so rash.”
“As do I, My Lord. Before I leave here, I wanted to let you know as well – Mochizuki Tama is scheduled to visit you soon. I will ensure that you are free from any responsibilities of state for the duration of her visit,” said Ami.
“Really?!” asked Shiranai excitedly. “That’s…that’s wonderful news!” he said, smiling for the first time since their meeting.
“If it makes My Lord happy, then it is indeed wonderful,” said Ami, smiling graciously. “It is no secret that you harbor affection for the girl. If you wish to make her your concubine, I will happily make the arrangements with Kumogakure…”
“Well, uh, I… I mean, I haven’t confessed to her or anything yet…” started Shiranai, blushing.
“My Lord, I do not need to remind you that you are Shogun of Kaminari no Kuni. If you wish to make her yours then you need but order it.”
“I know, but…I mean, I kind of want to, you know, ask her out like a normal guy…”
“Of course, My Lord,” said Ami, inwardly rolling her eyes. “I must leave to contact Sennin Takaki. I bid you farewell for now,” she said, again bowing deeply to him before turning to exit.
Shiranai leaned back on his throne, breathing heavily. Treachery, court intrigue, war, and Tama – this was way too much for a teenage Shogun to deal with.
Dragon Tooth Pass
Kumogakure no Sato, Kaminari no Kuni
…Next day, 0900 hours
The mission orders had been distributed, the equipment requisitioned and checked, and the participants contacted. This one was a mission that the shinobi of Cloud not absolutely not mess up on. A single errant blade or bolt, a mis-phrased word, or a second’s hesitation, and the consequences would range from the deaths of the entire team to open warfare between Lightning and Bear Countries. Adding to the danger was the fact that Marsh Country right next door had been itching for a fight for the last five years and would grab on any excuse to launch its missiles, so to speak.
Their mission was simple – to observe a meeting and arrest three nobles for treason and bring them back to Raiden’s Eye for prosecution. The problem was that the King of Bear himself would also be there, along with likely a sizeable force of Bear soldiers and Bear Shinobi. Ideally, they would see no reason to intervene – this was an internal Lightning Country matter after all. But Masao knew from his decades of experience that “hopefullys” and “probablys” just did not cut it once the weapons came out.
Now, he only waited for the other mission participants.
