Office of the President
Port of Okaya, Democratic Kagoshiman Republic
The
Khal of the
Priednestrovie, otherwise known to the outside world as the President of the Kagoshiman Republic, was still, at nearly 60 years old, an imposing and violently handsome man. Once a former Imperial Army Commissar who had used his strength and charisma to whip fear and loyalty into the hearts of conscript legions, he had turned traitor to Lightning over twenty years ago, taking the reins of a failing, hundred-year-old insurgency as its new commander. Former Commissar Date Daisuke could easily have ended up hanging from the gibbet in Raiden’s Eye, but he had instead won, uniting the disparate tribes of the Kagoshiman mountains into an effective fighting force that had driven their Lightning oppressors out of the land they considered their ancestral home. Of course, it was rumored that the shinobi of Kumogakure had played a role in his victory as well.
“Sennin Takaki, you honor us with your presence.
Ohayo gozaimasu,” said
Khal Date, shaking Masao’s hand vigorously and giving the man a warrior’s kiss on the cheek.
“
Ya’hya chouhada,*” responded Masao in the native language of the Kagoshimans. “I apologize for the sudden arrival. I did not want to attract undue attention from my nation’s enemies.”
“It is not an issue. How is your daughter, the lovely Saeko? I consider her to be one of my own children as well as yours, Masao,” said Date, relaxing into more informal speech.
“You honor her, Daisuke. She is well. She will be keeping a permanent post in Kumogakure after all,” said Masao, smiling.
“She will be sorely missed by us all,” said Date, sighing. “And how is my friend Hayata Shin?”
“Hayata-sama remains dedicated to the moral and benevolent rule of his village. He is not only a hero of your people, but also of ours as well.”
“That is just, indeed. His statue was damaged in the fighting during the Imperial Navy’s attack on our city. However, it was also one of the first things to be repaired, along with that of my wife,” nodded Date. “Speaking of which, I assume that you will want to visit her, am I right?”
“That is correct.”
“Fortunate, then, because I will be occupied by matters of state for the rest of the afternoon, but she will not be. I will leave her to your good company.”
The door opened just then, and in stepped Kimura Rei, who had been the subject of conversation between the two men. She was, having been only a few years Masao’s junior, now in her mid-forties in age, and had born the
Khal two children as well. Even though she did not share the permanent youth of Kagetsu Kiyo, she was still striking in her beauty, as if every year she aged had only refined her features and made them more harmonious. She saw Masao and bowed elegantly, resisting the urge to hug him.
“I could hear you two talking about me before I even entered the building, my dear Husband,” she chuckled musically.
“And that is why I must stay loyal to this woman until the day I die!” laughed Date, clapping Masao on the shoulder. “Now, with you here, I must go to the trade meeting. My love,” he said, kissing Rei on the cheek before leaving.
“Rei. You haven’t changed at all,” said Masao, smiling.
“I’d like to think I’ve become a bit more mature,” she said, jibing back as she crossed over to a side desk and brought out two glasses and a decanter of Kagoshiman distilled spirits. “Will you have a glass?”
“Of course.”
She poured him a finger of the golden liquid and he sipped it, noting the fiery passage down his throat and into his stomach.
“I heard Saeko has a relationship now,” Rei said, now reclining in a nearby sofa with her own glass.
“Yes. With one of my branch’s genin, of all people. I have assessed the young man. He is not lacking,” said Masao, also sitting. Rei smiled, hoisting her glass in a toasting fashion.
“That is a relief,” said Rei, shaking her head. “No matter how hard I tried, I could never break through that final wall of defense she’d wrapped around her inner self. It was the only thing I could ever hate Rin for. For casting her daughter aside like that after the incident with that abusive sensei. I thought Saeko would never open her heart to anyone.”
“Rin only wanted to spare her daughter the horror we both went through under Ryuuto,” said Masao. “She could never trust her own corps again after those times. After the October rebellion.”
“She could have told her own daughter that!” said Rei, more tersely than she might have wanted.
“Rin never was one for speaking her thoughts. I
also failed Saeko as a father, as I failed Enjeru as well,” said Masao, running a hand through his hair.
“No, Masao, you’re the reason your children are as well as they can be, even being shinobi.”
“I think in a way, though, they do miss their mother. It would have been one thing if she’d died of an illness, or was killed in battle, or even assassinated, but to take her own life…” said Masao, shaking his head.
“Rin did always have a way with a spectacular kind of ‘fuck everyone’ statement,” said Rei, smiling sadly. “And what of you? Have you accepted her death? Do you have a woman you wish to pursue? I think that Rin would have wanted you to move on and be happy, even if she was giving you the finger at the same time.”
“I have gotten closer to Kitsune, although I still think of her mainly as, I don’t know, a younger sister for the most part. But there are times when she has offered herself to me, and…I was tempted to take it.”
“Did you? After all, she is one of the few women your age in the village, and she is quite beautiful.”
“I could not. I felt that, ridiculous as this sounds, that Rin was still out there. Still watching me in some way. That even though I saw her body and verified her death for the Sileo Tempestas, that sometimes I see glimpses of her in a crowd, or smell her scent in our room at night. I wake up with the feeling that she has been sitting across from me, watching me sleep, before vanishing,” said Masao, staring into the golden swirls of his glass.
“It does not sound ridiculous to me,” murmured Rei.
“There is nothing left but killing the man responsible for her death. That is the only thing I can concentrate on,” said Masao, gritting his teeth. Rei closed her eyes, as if weighing something.
“You know, Takaki Masao, you were the first man I ever fell in love with. I love Daisuke, and will stay with him forever, but I could never forget you. It pains me to see you broken like this, more than anything else in the world. Promise me something, then.”
“And that is?” Masao sighed.
“That after you complete your mission, after you kill Yukimura Enishi and avenge Rin, that you will come back here and retrieve something she left for you. I swore to her not to release it, but I am willing to destroy my honor for this. Promise me…”
Later…
Raiden no Me, Central Kaminari no Kuni
He had departed Okaya with more turmoil in his heart than he knew possible. It had been the first time he had honestly confronted Rin’s passing. In one fashion it had steeled him for the mission to come – the ending of the Joseon conflict and the final confrontation with the greatest arch-nemesis he had ever known. And in another way, it had weakened his resolve. Was all he lived for revenge? Was he a fool not to simply find happiness with Kitsune?
He had stopped in Raiden’s Eye as a result of poor train scheduling more than anything else. Had Do Natsu simply arranged things for him, or had Nyaruko still been in his employ, he would have been back in Kumo by now, instead of laid over in the Capital for hours. For now, there was simply nothing to do but wait. He headed to a nearby square full of cafes and eateries, hoping to pass the time with a newspaper. One of the primary skills of his branch was remaining incognito when necessary, after all.
"Kitsune...Shashu-chan. How have you been. May I join your company.”
Wait. That voice was unmistakable. What the godrotting hell was the Raikage of Kumogakure doing in Raiden’s Eye still? He was supposed to be well on his way back to Kumogakure to meet with the Mizukage of Kirigakure! And why were Kitsune and that student maid from the party also there? Strangely, it was the student’s presence that shook him most. Shashu had been revealed as a Hard M who apparently
liked to be brushed. Such a psycho had no place near the Kage! Shaking his head, Masao stormed toward the cluster of voices. He tapped his derpy Liege on the shoulder.
“Raikage-sama…why are you here right now? Where is your ANBU bodyguard? And for that matter, why are you here, Kitsune-chan? And also
her?” he said, motioning to Shashu. “Regardless, we must depart soon. I will arrange for a private carriage immediately.”
*trans: “Long Live The Fighters!”
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