[BitPR2] Renewed Revolution: Mortal World III

[Draken]

One garganta over the Sea of Japan opens, bathing the Earth in the brief glimpse of a pestilent power to whom all diseases pay respect by festering within their hosts in a cornucopia of unlikely symptoms. It is a terrible day to be bedridden.

It is no better a day to be healthy and mighty, for at the core of their souls those who have true power can understand that a force primal and inglorious once more surmounts the world. It is a foul miasma of a reiatsu, a mist with a veiled heart, hanging low over the borders of nations, a memory, a lingering dread, a cough and a rash.

It is all-encompassing, the unbound power of the Ghost King of All Hollows. Maybe a trick to diffuse lethality, maybe the very else.

And just as suddenly as it came, it is gone.

[Frozen_Feet]

Jack nodded at the question.

"Well, there'll be a few of us there for security and cleanup. When we're done we'll make the safe house as clean and empty as possible, not leave clues.

But the one that's important to you is Anthony. He's the one who signed those accords at the Kuzonoha place. He's a lawyer and whatnot, really knows his stuff."

"Understood." The Japanese man stays silent for the rest of the journey, gazing out of the window and admiring the environment. He'll follow Anthony quietly into the safehouse once they arrive there.

[KnightDisciple]

About half an hour later, and a few minutes past the outskirts of the city, they turned onto a dusty gravel road and drove for another couple of minutes up to an old, well-kept house. In America it might have been thought a farm house, but in the rather harsh and dusty lands of Australia, it was just a house.

An old man sat in a rocking chair on the front porch as Jack and Hachirou walked up to the porch. Jack nodded, the old man nodded back, they continued inside...which was a completely normal house?

Until they reached the door to the basement, which, once passed through, was obviously heavier than normal. And they were going a bit deeper down than normal, too, though certainly not to the degree that, say, the Kuzonoha household did.

Finally, they reached a conference room secured with a metal door and concrete walls, with faintly-glowing runes carved on said walls.

Anthony Anderson sat at one end of the table, in a sharp business suit and with several papers and folders sitting next to the laptop in front of him.

A couple of Andersons stood in the corners, while a young man that was definitely not an Anderson sat 2 seats down from Anthony. The Anderson's in-house lawyer looked up and smiled, standing to greet Hachirou.

"Ah, yes, Akiyama Hachirou, it is good to see you in friendly circumstances. Please, sit. Let us know if you need any refreshments, and we can get down to the business that brings you here."

Spoiler: OOC

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Kuroi, berry, feel free to describe your guys wherever.

[strawberryman]

[Anderson Safehouse]

Spoiler

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Not sure if this was the intent, but can always correct.

The not-Anderson sitting spaced from Chuck is of japanese descent. In fact, Hachirou may recognize him. With his short black hair styled neatly, the business-suit clad and generally spiritually weak Moto Yoshiro was by no means a common face within the quincy community, but in the business community, he is one of the board members of Moto Corp, the primary holdings of the Moto clan. Somewhat of a humanitarian, and while he had the gift, he forsook his quincy power for more... down-to-earth life choices. One might ask why he's involved in this.

He looks to Hachirou with some... actual empathy? "...Greetings, on behalf of the Moto clan. Though perhaps more appropriately, condolences for your loss." His sentiment was genuine.

[Frozen_Feet]

Hachirou freezes when he sees the other Japanese man. Frowning, he steps into the room, but remains standing and close to the door. "Moto Yoshiro. It is... surprising to see you here." Hachirou turns to look Anthony. "Anderson Anthony. What is the meaning of this?"

[Kuroimaken]

Perhaps most surprising, Hachirou would notice there seemed to be a child, no older than ten, standing in a corner watching the exchange. Long black hair, tanned skin, dressed in a black-and-white ensemble of jeans, shirt and vest.

He didn't look like he was lost.

He did, however, look fairly amused.

[KnightDisciple]

Hachirou freezes when he sees the other Japanese man. Frowning, he steps into the room, but remains standing and close to the door. "Moto Yoshiro. It is... surprising to see you here." Hachirou turns to look Anthony. "Anderson Anthony. What is the meaning of this?"

Anthony sighs at Hachirou's reaction.

"Yoshiro-san approached us independent of the rest of his family. He has not expressed his full reasons as of yet, but suffice to say, he believes something is rotten in the state of Denmark, as it were."

His eyes slid over to the young Moto heir, raising an eyebrow as if encouraging the young man to explain things a bit more. It was clear the Akiyama family member was not very trusting right now.

[strawberryman]

[Anderson Safehouse]

"...I can understand any distrust you might have. It was no easy task earning the Anderson's trust either. But I assure you, I'm not merely acting out of self-interest, or the interests of my family, though I am not convinced my mother is satisfied with the way things are going either." Yoshiro sighs. "But that is simply a matter of survival to her."

"But nonetheless, I acknowledge that these simple words will only do so much to make you trust me. If it makes you feel any better, you all could kill me several times over with barely any effort. I don't practice our ways." He looks around the table calmly. But there's a genuine sort of sadness in his eyes.

"...I have come here to discover the facts about the Akiyama assassination, as well as to attempt to create an alliance. Because we cannot allow this 'Zerreißen Himmel' to dictate our way of life. I am on my own in my venture, because I can't risk my families' lives. But there are those in my family that would oppose them, if given the opportunity. Unfortunately, you could say we are opportunists, or in slightly less neutral terms, cowards."

"...take of that what you will." He sighs, obviously done with his speech. He certainly was one who could express his opinion in a multitude of words.

[Kuroimaken]

"There's nothing wrong with not taking an opponent head-on that might eat ya whole."

The voice comes from the 10-year-old but has a surprisingly adult tone to it.

[Frozen_Feet]

Hachirou ignores the apparent 10-year-old, focusing on Yoshiro and Anthony. " 'Discover the facts?' That's charming. Considering it was your family who pinned this assassination on the Andersons, you, if anyone in this room, should already know what the truth is." Hachirou places his suitcase on the table and takes a seat. "I will take your words as an admission of your family not having been entirely honest with either you or us. It's almost as if they don't trust you, Moto-kun." Hachirou turns to Anthony. "Speaking of trust, your lot shouldn't have fled the scene in Ikari, Anderson-san. That day, you showed a concerning lack of confidence, towards our ability to be just, towards the Kuzunoha's ability to keep you safe... and towards your own ability to prove your family innocent in this debacle." Hachirou leans back on his chair.

"It was through your distrust of us that convinced most of my family to consider you guilty. So now, after three months, what do you have to remedy that?"

[KnightDisciple]

Hachirou ignores the apparent 10-year-old, focusing on Yoshiro and Anthony. " 'Discover the facts?' That's charming. Considering it was your family who pinned this assassination on the Andersons, you, if anyone in this room, should already know what the truth is." Hachirou places his suitcase on the table and takes a seat. "I will take your words as an admission of your family not having been entirely honest with either you or us. It's almost as if they don't trust you, Moto-kun." Hachirou turns to Anthony. "Speaking of trust, your lot shouldn't have fled the scene in Ikari, Anderson-san. That day, you showed a concerning lack of confidence, towards our ability to be just, towards the Kuzunoha's ability to keep you safe... and towards your own ability to prove your family innocent in this debacle." Hachirou leans back on his chair.

"It was through your distrust of us that convinced most of my family to consider you guilty. So now, after three months, what do you have to remedy that?"

Anthony Anderson's face was an implacable mask as he spoke.

"Considering one of our brightest rising stars was nearly turned into chunky red paste in the burned ruins of his apartment by some sort of biological experiment from a faction from your family that has, thankfully, been curtailed, I don't find our decision to withdraw overly bad.

Considering your family has been systematically dismantled by Zerreißen Himmel, with all the major controlling persons eliminated or missing, and the fact that the only safe spot would have been the Kuzonoha household, who we did not want to bring undo attention upon, you will forgive me if we made a tactical decision in the heat of the moment.

Young Charles gave us what data he could on the thing that took over one of his friends, as well as on the general situation in Ikari, pre-FUBAR. Frankly, to stay in town we would have had to isolate ourselves to the Kuzonoha compound, which would in turn have ultimately trapped them in there for fear of being killed by zealous members of Himmel, or your family.

Instead, the focus remains on us, and the Kuzonohas are free to try and aid the regular citizens of the town and perhaps seek to mitigate the damages the brewing war will cause.

But, if that reasoning is not enough, I have two offers for you.

The first is sanctuary for what members of your family wish to and are able to come to our home. We will not require you to subsume yourselves into our family structure or philosophy, unlike the Himmel or, to a degree, the Motos.

Second, no matter what, we're offering you as many Seele Stechen as you desire, along with notes on how to produce them, sync with them, use them, and so on. These are far more adaptive weapons than the Quincy bows, and they provide a mechanism wherein we are no longer Monks of Destruction.

We are Reiniger, Monks of Purification. And we will share this power with you even if you ultimately turn it against us."

[Frozen_Feet]

"What I hear is a lot of after-the-fact rationalization, and little facts", Hachirou says sourly. " 'A tactical decision', Anderson-san? You didn't know the Zerreißen Himmel were pointing a gun at us from the shadows, and you can't know what would've happened if you stayed. Furthermore, Charles-kun only met that rogue creature because you let him out to the scene of crime! Or should I say back out?" Hachirou crosses his arms, as well as he can with one arm in a sling.

"Your offers are both hopelessly late and besides the point. Your promises of sanctuary do nothing to free the friends and loved ones of my kin from under the watch of those thrice-cursed Europeans. None of them would join anyway before the truth regarding Charles-kun's part in all this is revealed. Saying we wouldn't have to subsume is, likewise, unrealistic. Our best warriors are gone, and with them, important parts of our tradition have been lost forever. Before this is over, many more will follow. No power you could give them would bring the dead back to life. Whatever happens, the Akiyama as you once knew them will cease to exist. They don't care about surviving, Anderson-san. They care about justice. So what do you have to offer in that refard?"

[KnightDisciple]

"What I hear is a lot of after-the-fact rationalization, and little facts", Hachirou says sourly. " 'A tactical decision', Anderson-san? You didn't know the Zerreißen Himmel were pointing a gun at us from the shadows, and you can't know what would've happened if you stayed. Furthermore, Charles-kun only met that rogue creature because you let him out to the scene of crime! Or should I say back out?" Hachirou crosses his arms, as well as he can with one arm in a sling.

"Your offers are both hopelessly late and besides the point. Your promises of sanctuary do nothing to free the friends and loved ones of my kin from under the watch of those thrice-cursed Europeans. None of them would join anyway before the truth regarding Charles-kun's part in all this is revealed. Saying we wouldn't have to subsume is, likewise, unrealistic. Our best warriors are gone, and with them, important parts of our tradition have been lost forever. Before this is over, many more will follow. No power you could give them would bring the dead back to life. Whatever happens, the Akiyama as you once knew them will cease to exist. They don't care about surviving, Anderson-san. They care about justice. So what do you have to offer in that refard?"

"What is it you want us to offer, Akiyama-san?"

The words are delivered with zero emotion.

[Frozen_Feet]

"What my mistress wants is for Charles-kun to get back to Ikari and explain himself", Hachirou states. "What I want is irrelevant."

[KnightDisciple]

"What my mistress wants is for Charles-kun to get back to Ikari and explain himself", Hachirou states. "What I want is irrelevant."

"Well, Charles does wish to return to Ikari to see to the safety of his friends and attempt to assist his friend trapped inside the bioweapon.

Assuming for a moment that we follow this line of events, the only possible way we will agree to meet with any of you is at the warded Kuzonoha facility. Where violent action is flatly impossible.

I believe the Kuzonohas have been working on determining what events took place in that time.

This should be helped by the fact that Charles retrieved the last unaltered secure hard drive in his apartment, detailing various communications between himself and this family. Obviously it's not a "slam dunk case" but it should help.
Especially since it was passed to the Kuzonohas the same day as he was retrieved, by way of Jehoel Yurius, a founding signatory of the document we have dubbed the Unseelie Accords."

He pauses, adjusting a few papers, before looking Hachirou in the eye.

"Putting aside that slavish devotion to a "mistress" to the point of subsuming your own independent thought processes, opinions, and judgement is worrisome, I feel compelled to inquire just who this "Mistress" is?"

[Kuroimaken]

The ten-year-old calmly approached the table. Silently enough as to not be noticed, he pulled a chair, himself, to watch more closely. For now, he remained eerily silent, but he produced a pen and paper and set about to writing.

[Frozen_Feet]

"Kaede-sama's daughter", Hachirou answers. "I'm rather amused you didn't know. Or guess." Hachirou leans forward, opens the suitcase, then turns it around so Anthony can see its contents. Inside, there's a Japanese passport, a set of clothes and a wig. "Yuina-sama was rather particular of the conditions, though. She wants to personally discuss with the alleged murderer of her mother. In private. Your wishes to meet at Kuzunoha safehouse are noted, but redundant. She's already in their care, and not going anywhere after that attack she suffered." Hachirou stands up. "I heard Charles-kun is already acquianted with the new head of Kuzunoha house. So if he's not as scared of an injured woman as you are, I trust he'll be able to find his way to the right destination."

"My job here is done. I'll be taking my leave now."

[KnightDisciple]

"Kaede-sama's daughter", Hachirou answers. "I'm rather amused you didn't know. Or guess." Hachirou leans forward, opens the suitcase, then turns it around so Anthony can see its contents. Inside, there's a Japanese passport, a set of clothes and a wig. "Yuina-sama was rather particular of the conditions, though. She wants to personally discuss with the alleged murderer of her mother. In private. Your wishes to meet at Kuzunoha safehouse are noted, but redundant. She's already in their care, and not going anywhere after that attack she suffered." Hachirou stands up. "I heard Charles-kun is already acquianted with the new head of Kuzunoha house. So if he's not as scared of an injured woman as you are, I trust he'll be able to find his way to the right destination."

"My job here is done. I'll be taking my leave now."

"We've been a bit busy trying to lock everything down in anticipation of a war arriving on our doorstep, as well as re-equipping all of our family with the means to stop destroying souls."

He closes his eyes and breathes out a sigh of frustration.

"I realize we could have handled things better from our end, but at this point can you at least see why we were maybe reluctant to stay in the city for very long?

I'm sure Charles will agree to explain how he had nothing to do with the attack.

Also, you will cease being condescending in our household. Stop assuming we knew some of these details, as we already explained we were not in constant communication with Ikari or the Kuzonoha. I may be a lawyer by profession but I do not appreciate implications of rank cowardice.

Now, I will speak with Charles Anderson to determine for certain what course he takes. Is there a method you would prefer we use to contact you to confirm our plans? Preferably one that won't get him sniped by the Himmel's forces."

[strawberryman]

Yoshiro is silent for the exchange, but Hachirou's mention of his family, or perhaps more accurately, his mother, not being honest with him have obviously provoked some dark thoughts. He was by no means a stupid man, so it likely occurred to him.

[Frozen_Feet]

"It's all there in the suitcase, Anthony-san", Hachirou speaks over his shoulder.

[Kuroimaken]

"Say, mate. I've been content on listening in to this whole conversation and just being the silent muscle. But you have spoken of my nephew in unkindly tones and I'd rather not have that."

The boy slid over the paper he was writing on. It was a timeline.

"Your grief and my beef notwithstanding, your proposal of his being the architect behind the death of the Akiyama's matriarch is physically impossible. My nephew isn't fast enough to cover that much ground, undetected, in the time it would take for him to get from the crime scene to the Kuzunoha safehouse and still stablish an alibi.

I read some reports on the attack too. You simply don't sneak that much hardware into the country without anyone knowing. By now the materiel has likely been destroyed, but you can't make an attack helicopter vanish completely. That takes terrain advantage, which we definitely didn't have.

Last but not least, Chuckles was meant to marry into the Akiyama. If his intent was murder, there are cleaner ways to execute it than urban warfare with that level of inside access.

The Akiyama clan suffers the largest loss in their recorded history and someone offers to 'protect' the remainders of the clan soon after. And you still suspect us.

Hachirou-san. I may be an Anderson but I don't really have a dog in this fight. I am a gun - you point and I shoot. But even I think you're being rather thoroughly deceived.

Work with us instead. Let the hatred aside for a second. We would be perfectly content to clear our names through actions, not words."

[Frozen_Feet]

Hachirou quirks an eyebrow at the apparent kid referring to the seemingly older man as his "nephew", but doesn't dwell on it. "I'm sorry to say I don't know who you are, but you're not adding anything new to this discussion. All those things you say are 'impossible' are very much doable, with a little help..." Hachirou's uncovered eye glances at Moto Yoshiro "... and you've had three months to come up with your defense and patch over the gaps. Seriously. I went to the Kuzunoha safehouse that day, precisely to hear these things. You're late. You had your chance to convince me, and you blew it back then. Work with you? You had your chance to work with us, and you didn't take it!" Hachirou coughs, and looks away. "... I said what I came here to say already. What you want is in the suitcase. You'd do us all a favour by escorting me out instead of wasting my time with pointless blather."

[Kuroimaken]

"You mean we had a chance to hand you a scapegoat?

Can you honestly say you would have kept every revenge-thirsty man and woman in your clan under your control as the presumed murderer of their leadership walked among you? Can you honestly say anything would have come of it besides the de facto incarceration of our peers? Don't give me that noise. We'd appear guilty if we stayed and we'd appear guilty if we leave. At least the way we did things, there was something left to salvage of this bloody mess.

Furthermore, what's done is done. What are you holding things from back then against us now for? You really think if we'd handed you my nephew things would have been different?

And why are you in such a hurry to leave and have us check that briefcase? If I didn't know any better I'd think there was a bomb inside and you're trying to clear the blast radius."

[Frozen_Feet]

"Your lack of trust towards my clan was already noted", Hachirou says flatly, trying to see if one hand is enough to get out of the door. If not, he resumes waiting next to it, tapping the ground with his foot.

[strawberryman]

Yoshiro weathers the glare with a calm disposition. But he responds with a simple retort. "...I don't know how much my mother had to do with this, but I am not her."

[KnightDisciple]

Anthony Anderson just opens the briefcase calmly.

Assuming it doesn't explode and kill everyone in the room, he'll start perusing the contents. Without looking up from that task, he will speak, his voice calm and emotionless.

"Let him leave, Margrave. We've each said our piece, and aren't willing to budge any further at the moment. There's nothing more to be gained here today.

Jack will escort you back to the airport, Mister Akiyama, unless you have another destination or set of destinations in mind. You have my assurance that, if necessary, he will do everything in his power, including laying down his life, to protect you. You can believe me, or not. That is your decision."

[Draken]

[Three Months Pass]

The common cold has become mildly nastier over time, not that anyone would notice that, and reports of the bubonic plague have greatly increased in ports around the world, begging vaccination drives to begin. Quite a scare, but nothing too terrible, altogether.

On a completely separate note, a religious movement grew quite quickly over these months, named the Cult of the Threefold Eye, specially prominent in eastern Europe and Japan, with a few holdings in America and even a small temple in a small port town north of Australia, they did prove to put quite the effort in the aforementioned vaccination drives, however, earning a modicum of help.

In Ikari, the old warehouse remains in use, but six actual temples are being built around the city. Finding unusually quick approval and a very engaged workforce under the watchful eyes of the large man who serves as foreman of the projects. Nothing big, sure, but still.

The Lancaster estate has grown, in the while. From the four members it had before the expansion, up to many more now, specially with the arrival of lord Erich, a figure that has gained mild prominence in the town for philanthropic endeavors in education and medicine.

Why, it is like they are not even trying to hide anymore.

And perhaps with reason. Ikari's police patrols the estate, and important figures, local and sometimes national, stroll the gardens in spirituous talks with the lord and lady or their retainers.

But nothing of that is of particular relevance right now.

Back to the building church... The one closest to... The northeastern area of the town.

Oscar Meyers, acting foreman of the project, has an important job to complete today. And as such, he is on one knee, feeling the flow of energy on the ground. All goes well.

Until he clenches his fist, and the energy knots, twists and reverses. It is quite a shock to the city's geomancy and causes a minor quake, nothing too terrible, if sudden. Life goes on.

But, for anyone who can truly see. There is a lot of bad, bad feng shui going on, for lack of better description.

Job done, Oscar tells the construction team to continue the work, and goes for his car, he has five more of these to do today.

[Kuroimaken]

Strangely enough, the Kuzunohas do nothing to prevent this violation of the leylines.

Why, it is almost like they don't even bother to patrol them anymore.

[Frozen_Feet]

[Australia]

As Anthony saw earlier, the suitcase contains a few sets of clothes, a wig, and a Japanese passport. The passport appears to be genuine. Further examination reveals there's also quite a bit of expensive make-up, and between pages of the passport, a flight ticket for one person. Apparently, the passport and the ticket belong to a person who's on a vacation in Sydney, and should be returning in three days. Under the clothes, there's also a cheap pre-paid phone, which has a single number stored in memory. It belongs to one of Kuzunoha family's retainers. It probably won't work right until the user and the phone are within Japanese operator networks.

Overall, it's all a single, normal person would reasonably need to disguise themselves and get to Japan.

[Kuroimaken]

Strangely enough, the Kuzunohas do nothing to prevent this violation of the leylines.

Why, it is almost like they don't even bother to patrol them anymore.

Actually, that's not entirely true.

One of them does. It's their boss.

It may be weird for a boy in his mid-teens to show up in a suit as the acting foreman heads for his car.

"Oscar Meyers. I would have words with you."