Chương 15: Chapter 22: At the Round Table
[Still Monday, 19 Nov *676 9:10 pm]
Yua, Taiyou, and Taira Sr. stand near the entrance of the 6th waiting for the General who is surprisingly late.
Taira Sr. glowered slightly. "How could he reject my invitation like that? Has he no shame? I am the the head of the Taira family. One of the great powers of Koisan!"
"Jirou, he probably rejected your invitation because it was you who was asking," Yua snorts.
"Hmph! Whatever the case, I will not stand for it. The next time I see him, I'll kick his-"
Taiyou shuts him up with chop to the back of the neck. "Quiet. He's here." General Miyamoto appears in front of them like a flash. "General, thank you for coming. If you follow us this way, I know of a place that will be very fitting for our outing tonight."
Miyamoto keeps his greeting brief. "No, I thank you for inviting me." The two head toward the tunnel to the district.
Under his breath, the rust-haired Taira Sr. snorts, "Why is he thanking him? I was the one that asked."
As a replacement for Taiyou, Yua gives the over-grown kid of a man a friendly chop on the back of the neck. "Behave yourself, Mr. Family Head."
Although the streets are crowded, the four walk through the 6th with ease. With the all of them being well known or of high status, it was only right for commoners to make way for them. When a few rowdy men searching for a good time walk straight through the four, lower-class citizens on the sidelines hurry to pull back.
The drunken man screams in anger. "Hey! Whad'ya think yer doin!?"
One of the citizen juts out his chin. "Us? No. What do you think you are doing? Did you not see who you were about to bump into?"
The rowdy men look back to see what the man was talking about and holds up his hands and slurs, "Them? What's so sspecial a-about them?"
The citizen feels faint at their words. "God of Koisan, save them. You fools! Those four are some of the strongest top officials in all of the Alliance!"
Another citizen steps up. "The rust-haired man in the chain-mail is the head of the Taira clan, Jirou Taira. He is a very domineering man, if you get in his way, you are as good as gone. And you see the golden haired one to his right? That's the Shikakokka Ambassador, Taiyou Yuuryuo. He is the man that oversees all the training held here for the mediator of Shikakokka and Koisan. He used to be the top candidate for being the next General of Shikakokka. If he didn't give the position to his older superior, he would have been the youngest General in all of history years ago."
The rowdy men turn sober. A cold chill runs up their spine. The reputations of the two may be respectable, but they are no doubt fearsome men. "Good thing you guys stopped us... If you don't mind explaining... Who are the other two?"
The first of the two civilians continues, "The last man, the raven-haired one is our top generals, General Hideyoshi Miyamoto. You probably don't know what he looks like since he has been on the front-lines for the passed few years. He came back because of the recent fire. I heard that his son has been hospitalized for more than two weeks already... And the pretty rabbit next to him is Yua Kuchiki."
Hearing the misinformation, Yua disappears from their line for a split second. In the ears of the man, she whispers. "Actually it's is Yua Kozuki now. Make sure you let everyone know, okay?" She reappears in the line.
The first of the two men stumbles backward, clutching his chest. "Did anyone see that?" Their reactions tell him otherwise. He picks himself up and clears his throat. "A-Anyways, Umm... Yua Kozuki.. I guess she got married."
Around him lonely single men begin to fall over, groaning from heartache. "It can't be true! Our celestial angel Yua! NO! We've waited 6 years for her return!"
The tearful second man stands up in the circle of broken hearts. "Don't be disheartened men! We still have the lovely fairy, Honoka-sama!"
The men cheer loudly, "Honoka-sama! Honoka-sama! Honoka-sama!"
The Yua ignores the embarrassing roars behind them and lackadaisically asks, "Miyamoto-san, how long has it been since you've been to the 6th district?"
Also overlooking the bizarre scene behind him, the General ponders his memories seriously before responding. "I believe it has been around two years."
"Hmm.. I see."
The four reach leave the crowd and turn into a darkened alleyway.
The reach a backdoor underneath a flickering light. Taiyou knocks oddly and a grungy-looking man opens the door. He bows into a perfect 90 degrees. "Sir, welcome back."
Taiyou greets him with a nod. "Good evening."
The man steps aside and welcomes the four in. "I assume you will need the private room."
"Yes. I will be requiring the code blue as well," Taiyou coolly orders.
"Right away, I will let the men know."
They are led down a dingy hallway. Noise can be heard from the rambunctious men on the other side of the wall. The smell of alcohol hits their nose, but slowly fades as they head upstairs. They reach another door, one that looks even more ominous than the last. The grungy man opens it up to an unexpected sight. Though it is simplistic, the room's style is a traditional wooden lounge that gives off a comfortable feel. The four walk in and sit down as equals at a medium-sized oak round table in the middle of the room. The grungy man quickly serves them their respective drinks then shuts the door.
After taking a sip of his beer, Taiyou starts the conversation. "Did you read the reports?"
Miyamoto waits for his tea, allowing it to cool down. "I have. It seems that you have been doing some heavy investigating."
"We have."
"However, it seems that there is more that I have to understand. It seems the code-names you used for the various persons, you are investigating have significant meaning. Did you give me the report to me knowing that I don't know the meanings of these names?"
"No." Taiyou puts down his beer and folds his hands. "I gave them to you knowing that you would know the most important code-name. General, you're a smart man. We chose the alias for no specific reason. In fact, we could have even just stuck to real titles, but just chose not to. The Council already sees me as a threat. And the fact that you blatantly walked in to my office, shows that you secretly understand yourself that your King has no use for you. If they did, you would have been informed to never interact with me."
The General grips his cup tightly, but keeps his cool. "I don't think you know what you are talking about. My King has entrusted me with the title of second in command of the entire Koisan C.O.D.E. army."
"General, I'm sorry to say, but you are nothing but a figurehead."
His insults stab deeply. Miyamoto stays stone faced. "On what basis do you have to believe those words to be true."
Taiyou gives a relaxed smile, "I think it's appropriate to start with the most recent events. First off, concerning the fire, as you read, it was most definitely a planned event. It's not a coincidence that it broke out on the the day of the Dragon Festival, the busiest day of the year or at the time of the fireworks. They made sure that the that the smoke would not be detectable right away. And they made sure that the officers in the surrounding area were occupied. However, what they did not plan was for your son to actually possess a powerful water-Blessing."
Miyamoto squints his eyes. "I think that you are mistaken, Ambassador. Until yesterday, Youta has been a sickly child. When he uses his Blessing, he would have intense fevers. When he was younger, we measured his inner strength and he tested under average."
Yua finishes her first beer and smacks her lips. "Wrong." She pours herself another glass. "What Youta has is the case of an excess of power. He actually possesses an immense amount of power that is stored in a hidden area of his body, a different point that most do have. The symptoms he was having was because his body is not strong enough to contain or use that power. Because of this, he will not be able to strengthen his body. This will put him in a constant battle with himself."
Miyamoto contemplates her words, trying to find a wrong in them. Although he has trust in Yua's judgement, he cannot go about his child's condition lightly.
She continues, "While I was on my journey, I encountered a case very similar to Youta's. On a whim, I found that the reason for there not being a cure for his illness was because the diagnosis was not correct. Luckily, I came back on time. If it was any later, I'm afraid that your son may have..." She doesn't dare continue her thought. Whether it is just the honest truth, saying one's child would have died is morbid.
The General began to put the pieces of Youta's recent recovery together. "So what you are saying is that you were the reason for Youta's regaining consciousness and improvement in over all health."
She nodded. "Last night, I looked at Youta's condition and placed a seal on the hidden point. From now on, he should be able to move about freely. And if he can train himself well enough, he will be able to use Chi eventually." The man wants to sign in relief, but keeps it to himself in the case of their being a catch. "General, the only intentions that I had in helping Youta is that he is your and Karen's son. You are a trustworthy and honorable man. Karen was a kind and admirable woman. And, Youta is a young innocent child. If I didn't do so, what type of person would I be. General, I know that this is not just some small favor to you, but I truly hope you won't associate this with anything we ask you for right now. Please keep Youta's recovery separate from how you make your decisions. I just brought this up to assure you that he's going to be alright from now on."
Although he believes her sincerity, his eyes narrow. "And what decisions do I have to make?"
Taiyou returns to the conversation. "We believe that there were many intentions for the fire; for you to come back home; for you to become distracted; to frame Taitsuke Ryoko, the fire Dragon Vessel, as the culprit for this event; to incite more animosity toward Vessels; and lastly, to capture me."
Surprised at the last part of his comment, the Generall asks, "Why would they target both you and me?"
Ignoring his question, Taiyou asks one of his own. "Do you have the reports I gave you?"
His tolerance being tested with each word the Ambassador spews. A bit unwillingly, the General takes them out and lays on the round table. Taiyou slides them toward Yua whose Chi disintegrates the papers. Taiyou commands, "Everything is connected General, but if you want to know more, I'm going to need some proof that you will be on our side. If not then, feel free to stand up and leave."
The sudden change attitude rubs the General the wrong way, but he disregards it for the sake of moving the conversation forward. Unsure of what the Ambassador was planning, the raven-haired General composedly asks, "Ambassador, I have to say that you aren't anything from what I remember in the past. Should I say.. you seem to be a bit overbearing." Taiyou doesn't respond to the General's words. The General raised his chin. "What proof do you need?"
The Ambassador's blue-eyed, gaze was heavy, but the raven-haired man did not seem to mind. Both were used to these types of intense serious exchanges. "I will require something of equal value as the information I'll be telling you. Remember, it concerns you and your children, therefore it cannot be something insignificant."
His face is stone. "To say that when it concerns my children is quite dispicable, Ambassador. I didn't take you for that kind of person." He glances to both Yua and Taira who both down their beers. "When I went to your office, did I not willingly hand you valuable information on you country?"
Taiyou continues with his unrelenting stare. "And in exchange, I handed you the information on this investigation. At that time what we had was an equal trade. If you want to know anymore, I will need something else. I'm being generous, General. I've given you my trust and secrets."
The General knuckles tighten, but then release. "If it something so crucial that you are willing to bargain like this, then so be it." He clenches his jaw and removes his ring on his left hand. 'I'm sorry Karen. This is for our children.' His scarred hand places it in the middle of the table delicately. "This is my most valuable possession."
Knowing very well what the ring signifies, Taiyou doesn't bother to look down. "Thank you. Now, shall I begin?" Taiyou sips his beer once more. "What you know is that someone by the code-name Golden Carp is the mastermind of the whole ordeal. Now, the question is who is this mastermind? General, I hope you won't mind if I talk to you as a person right right now rather than a leader of one of the top CODE's in the world."
The General gives remains still, signaling to Taiyou that he has permission.
Taiyou continues, "If I were to say that a certain person is targeting your country, what would you do?"
Without batting an eye he responds. "I would crush that person with the entire CODE army behind me."
"If I were to say that person is someone that you aren't able to use the CODE against?"
His eyebrows raise. "That wouldn't be possible."
Taiyou repeats his question. "What would you do if you weren't able to use the CODE?"
The General answers again. "Ambassador, I think you are underestimating my level of authority and power. However, if for some reason, I would not be able to use the CODE against an enemy of my country, I would use my own power to stop them."
"Mm, now, what makes up a country?"
Again he answers quickly, "A country is a nation of people under one government in a specified in territory."
"Yes and what would you say a CODE is made for?"
"It is for to protect the homeland."
" What is your occupation?"
"... I am a general of the Koisan CODE."
"Who do you work under?"
Starting to feel as if he is being needlessly interrogated, he huffs. "I work under the royal family and more specifically the King of Koisan, King Amaya."
"Why?"
The General is perplexed. "What do you mean why? Why are you asking me such meaningless questions?"
"General, please. I am not trying to be rude. Unlike many others, you do not have such deep roots to this country. You may have been adopted into the Miyamoto family, but your biological parents are of a different land. You and your brother were brought over here and adopted by the previous head priest of the Miyamoto clan. You had no obligation of serving the King since you aren't of this country, but chose to through your own will, becoming a top general at that. I am simply curious as to why you choose to work under King Amaya."
The raven man cool-headedly answers, "He is the King of my country, the place I truly consider my homeland. Yes, I realize that my family was not from here, but my brother and I were raised here. I consider this place my home and therefore, I will serve it with pride."
With a quick glance to both Yua and Taira, Taiyou folds his hands on top of the round table. He raises one side of his mouth very slightly "You serve the King because he is a King. You protect your country because you love your country. General, do you and your country not have a brain?"
Miyamoto furiously slams on the wooden round table. His untouched tea spills and flows toward the ring. Yua quickly moves it out of the way and hands it to Taiyou. Watching her taking the ring with the corner of his dark purple eyes, he flames with anger. "Do you understand what you have just said?"
Taira, who has been quiet thus far, steps in. "General Miyamoto, please calm down. The Ambassador has his reasons for saying something so outrageous."
Not even a bit comforted by his words, he glared holes into the golden-haired man across from him. With his eyes fixated on the Ambassador, he grips his hands into an angry bloody fist. "Please, explain yourself."
Neither cockily or obnoxiously, he hands back the ring to the outraged man. With a darkened expression, Taiyou discloses, "General, what I'm about to say must remain a secret."
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
[CHARACTER BIO]
Hideyoshi Miyamoto:
[Name Meaning] hide-excellent, outstanding, yoshi-virtuous, repsectable; miya-shrine, moto-origin
[Physical Traits] raven-haired sleek long straight hair, dark purple eyes that are sharper than his children's youthful round eyes. Typically in a crisp, dark-blue, highly-decorated uniform.
[Personality Traits] a stern man that is hard to approach. Takes everything seriously.. Very seriously. Things like sarcasm and humor aren't things he is fond of or known for.
[Occupation] A general of the Koisan CODE. Is positioned overseas. His location varies.
[Blessing] Purple Lightning; Uses a traditional style; uses a metal sword.
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