Narasimha - Act 1

[Suzuki Setsu]

The force of the blast pushed Tama several meters across the rooftop, effectively ruining her concentration on the leylines that would have facilitated her escape, baggage in tow. "Oi, bakayarou! You could have killed me with that! If it wasn't for Ekaterina...," Tama trailed off. Nekomimi had not been at the party, so why was she here now? It's not like the geas forced her to protect the hag of a Regent or anything, at least that's what Haikuno had said. Unless he was wrong. The presence of an imposter could also be ruled out too, there was no denying that the fragments of bone that had saved her life were none other than hers. Plus that desperation in her voice was no act. Chung-hee voiced the complaint that Tama had, as Haikuno yelled over the radio to kill the regent. "Why should I listen to the guy who thought I was within the accepted margin of error? But I was going to do that anyway," Tama then realized that she wasn't in fact carrying the sack of royalty over her shoulders any longer. She whirled to find the leering shrew comforting the Queen, encouraging her to finally reveal her secrets with a triumphant sneer.

The true nature of the geas made Tama's blood boil. How dare she. How dare she mess with our possessions! rang through Tama's head as she glowered menacingly at the figure standing next to her Nekomimi. Saeko switched targets from Chung-hee to Mishil, while questioning the origins of the monstrosity in human guise before them. But she too succumbed to the mind- (and apparently arm-) bending powers of the Regent. Now she held two hostages. What cowardice! Tama thought angrily. What can I do, I have to do something, this mantra repeated in her mind as she scrambled for a solution during Mishil's monologue, before she hit on an idea. Several ideas actually, first Kazuhiko had mentioned that the Queen was under a geas, or magical contract. While the Mochizuki was a little fuzzy on the specifics, a geas had specific conditions in order to remain effective. Secondly, the Regent already had the opportunity to threaten the disembowelment of the capital for the sake of her desires, but hadn't yet. Furthermore, to this point Mishil hadn't killed anyone opposing her, which seemed odd because with people like Chung-hee and the Hoshikage actively or covertly working against her it made more sense to eliminate and replace them with more loyal subjects. This suggested to Tama that maybe it wasn't that the Regent didn't want to remove them, but that she couldn't. At least not directly, thus the orders for the incursion into Lightning Country. Was she hoping the Hoshikage and Supernovae would get killed? She obviously didn't do her research then, given Kicchan's relationship with her. There were still questions that needed answering, but Tama doubted that Mishil would be so kind as to play exposition fairy. However, her conclusions led her to come up with a plan. It was risky, and if she was wrong Tama wasn't sure if they'd all make it out intact. Actually, she wasn't sure if they'd all come out intact regardless, though if her plan succeeded Team Save the Queen would be in a better position. But the initial problem was that this plan required patience and cunning. One of which Tama had in spades, the other not so much. Not to mention Tama wasn't sure if she would be able to gamble with Ekaterina's life and that of her future children, if it was just her own life, or Tomo's, that would be a different story.

"Sure, I'll hear you out. It's not like you've given us insects much choice on the matter," Tama said as she approached Mishil slowly until they were standing barely an arm's length from one another, a sobbing Ekaterina between them. Tama spoke her next words with care, "So tell us dear sister-in-law, what is your grand objective?" Tama swore to herself as she listened to Mishil's blathering, that no matter what, Ekaterina and her child were getting out of this alive and well.

[MFT WC: 690]

 

[Tanuki Rinko]

After a moment, Tomo realized that he was actually chasing after not only Tama, but Saeko as well. That seemed to be the story of his life, trailing behind the women closest to him. But while normally he would give up and accept his lower status, this only spurred him on. Real shit was going down, and he needed to be there to do whatever it took to save those he cared for. He noticed Tama jumping to the roof with the Regent over her shoulder before finally catching up to Saeko. She gave him the order to stay with the Chancellor, which he blatantly disregarded. Instead, he pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket and pumped chakra into it, forming a replica of himself. His real form disappeared as he went ghost. If this was all an elaborate means to do Ami harm, he didn't want people to know that she was only left with a clone. "Don't wander away from me Your Excellence." Ghost Tomo followed his love and kin to the roof, using Wind jutsu to cheat his way up.

The party had begun, and Tomo found it difficult to follow. Tama obviously was being told to do something, a man with ice was distracting Saeko, and a beam was reflected by some kind of boney object. The blast shook him out of ghost form, and he drew closer to the action as Ekaterina explained her circumstances. Tomo was unfazed by this discover. It was Tama who enjoyed the political drama, while he had no personal desire to protect the womb of the Bear Queen. But he was knowledgeable enough in the ways of government to foresee the ramifications of Ekaterina being barren. War over supremacy most likely. But this Regent was smart. She probably knew Tomo had no connection to the royal before him. So she had taken a hostage he would do anything to protect, Saeko.

Seeing the fear in his lover's eyes was almost enough to send him into a blind rage right there. A voice in his head told him to blow everything sky high, but if it was his own voice, or Aitouka's, he couldn't distinguish. Another voice, maybe Haruki's, told him to remain calm. It repeated the words a few times, until finally Tomo removed his nails from his palms. He wanted to pull the gun from Saeko's head, and almost reached for her. But a voice reminded him that any motion might trigger the Regent to shoot his beloved. His eyes narrowed at the smug woman. He did not speak, but the slight bow of his head confirmed his surrender. He would hear her out for now. But if this bitch dared end the life of Tomo's one and only lover, she would learn to fear him.

[WC: 468]
[MFT]

 

[Takaki Saeko]

Mishil’s face settled into world-weary haughtiness at Tama’s challenge.

“Sister-in-law. Hah! You presume that I’m some sort of…family member to you, when the truth is that you, Mochizuki Tama, are just like any other ant under foot. There is only one thing in the world that I truly want, but sadly, it is the only thing I cannot get myself. I desire, above all, to possess the Chalk of Fate. And you lot, if you want to live, will go and get it for me.”

Chung-Hee’s eyes bulged and he rubbed his temples. “The what? A piece of chalk? You did all this for something you could’ve gotten from any scribe’s desk?”

Mishil thrust a finger at him, and in turn, one of the fingers on Chung-Hee’s already-broken arm twisted backward with an audible snap. He howled in pain and gnashed his teeth.

“No, not normal chalk, you blithering idiot. I want the Chalk of Fate. If you don’t know what the hell it is, then start by visiting a library. After you visit a bonesetter.”

She extended another finger and another one of Chung-Hee’s dislocated with a sickening crunch.

“T-that’s just a legend,” Saeko growled, struggling under the effort of not blowing her own brains out. “It’s just a shitty excuse for Raiden’s successes in battle… when in reality he won because he actually… was obsessed with logistics and listened to his generals. You’re chasing a myth!”

Mishil chuckled. “Oh, it’s not a myth. You humans simply fail to understand the true magnitude of your inferiority in the general scheme of the universe. In truth, your country’s founder should have died many thousands of deaths during his ill-conceived campaign, but because his grubby, bumpkin hands were able to barely misuse the Chalk’s power, he’s a God. Now, you’ve all wasted enough of my time. You know what I want, and I’ll leave the details of getting it up to you. Deliver me the chalk in one week, or…”

She pointed a finger at Ekaterina’s belly. Almost instantaneously, the Queen doubled over, grasping at her midsection. From between royal thighs, rivulets of blood coursed down her legs and dripped to the ground. The queen dropped to her knees, barely conscious.

“…the next one will be so much worse.”

With that, Mishil simply turned and disappeared, leaving everyone in stunned silence.

[Mission ended—part 2 coming soon! Council, pay them for an A-rank please.]