The Hinomoto Rebellion (30 page)

Shogun Kunota sat on the edge of his bed, his elbows on his knees and head in his hands.
I can’t believe that Shinrai is dead... My best friend since school, and now... he’s gone. Just... gone, like that.

Kunota felt Shinsetu sit down next to him on the bed. She put her arm around his shoulders and embraced him. They were silent for a few minutes, then she spoke. “Maybe you should cancel the banquet tomorrow. Give yourself some time to-”

Kunota shook his head. “No... No. This was important to Shinrai,” he lifted his head and looked into her eyes. “He would’ve wanted me to keep going forward. He was so adamant about this vote, and the press conference.” He reached up and grabbed his wife’s hands, bringing them in front of him so he could hold them together and press his lips to her fingers. “I’m going to try to keep you all safe. I swear to god, I will die before I let anything happen to you and the kids. But I can’t keep living like this. I can’t keep dealing with all the lies and the deceit... and.. And the
blackmail.
” He closed his eyes for a moment and sighed. “Maybe you and the kids should get out of here for awhile. Go see your mother or something.”

“Absolutely not. If you’re going to do this, then I’m going to be here with you. I’m not afraid of Daimyo Yasakuto.” She winked at Kunota. “Besides, you can’t go stag to a banquet. What will people say?”

Kunota smiled. “Alright. But... if something bad happens, please,” he puts his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. “Please promise me you will grab the kids and run as fast as you can. I can’t live without you, and if anything happened to our children... I can’t go through losing another one, Shinsetsu.” He covered his face with his hands, his shoulders slumped in despair. “I just... can’t go through it again...” he sobbed.

She wrapped her arms around her husband’s neck as tears rolled down his cheeks. There was no need for him to continue talking. They stayed there holding each other for a long time while the rain hit the windows.

Andrea was sitting outside in the rain when Roni came up and sat beside her. They both had their legs dangling over the side of the footbridge that crossed over the lake as the rain cascaded over them, sticking their hair and clothes to their skin.

“Hey,” said Roni after a moment.
“You shouldn’t be out here, kid. You’ll catch a cold.”

Roni glared at Andrea as water ran down her face and dripped off her chin. “I could say the same for you, you know?”

Andrea looked over at Roni, her eyebrows raised. It was the first time she’d ever heard a sarcastic tone out of the pig-tailed girl. “Yeah, you’re right.”

They were quiet for a few minutes more before Andrea spoke again. “It’s alright for you to cry, Roni. If you need to, go ahead.” Roni sniffled, then set her jaw in an expression of determination. “You didn’t cry over Tony.”

Andrea paused to think about that statement. “I grieve for Tony in my own way. You should grieve for Shinrai in yours.” With a serious expression, she turned her head to look at the little girl. Roni had tears welling up in her violet eyes that she was trying to keep back. “It’s perfectly normal to grieve over a loss.” said Andrea, her expression unchanging.

At that, Roni burst into tears and let out a wail. Before Andrea could do anything the little girl’s arms were around her neck and her head was buried into her shoulder. Andrea’s eyes widened, her arms out at her sides as though she wasn’t quite sure what to do with them. Finally, with a look of uncertainty, Andrea put one arm around Roni. She said nothing as she sat there looking uncomfortable. Roni pulled away after awhile, wiping at her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she sobbed, trying to get control of herself.

Andrea turned back to look at the lake, not offering a reply. They sat there in silence for another a quarter of an hour before getting up together and heading back inside to get some sleep.

Daimyo Yasakuto watched the rain drip down the blackened window of his home office, a smirk across his face. He heard Ryoku enter the room behind him and stand on the opposite side of his desk, waiting to be acknowledged.

After a few moments of silence, Yasakuto spoke. “Report.” “Damiyo Shinrai is dead,” said Ryoku, his voice empty of emotion.

 

The smirk on Yasakuto’s face turned into a mad grin. “Excellent work, Ryoku. I knew I could count on you.”

 

“Sir, if it isn’t too brash to be saying so, I don’t think killing Daimyo Shinrai will make a difference.”

 

Yasakuto spun his chair around slowly. “And why is that?”

Ryoku took a deep breath and straightened his back. “Sir, the Aka Ryuu are the type that would only let this make them more determined. They will not give up so easily, especially not Andrea. I believe we’ve made a martyr out of Shinrai, rather than making an example of him.”

The Daimyo paused for a long moment. “I believe you’ve missed the point of this,” Yasakuto pretended to examine his fingernails as he spoke. “The point is not to deter the Aka Ryuu from their chosen task. No, actually, I look very much forward to crushing their spirits myself when they try their
coup de grace.
This, however, is merely to cut off their information flow. I am cutting the head off the snake and demoralizing them. Then if they still attempt an attack they’ll be angry and make a mistake.

“You see, Ryoku, I want them to come. If they attack us, then I will use them as leverage to hunt down all the
ochiudo
. Think about it– Shogun Kunota and his lovable family, murdered by a pack of savage
ochiudo
scum. The public will be outraged, and I will be able to organize the manpower to crush these criminals once and for all. They’ll give me anything I want or need to avenge the Shogun. All I must do is keep bleeding-heart Kunota from naming me directly to the public, and everything will be going according to my plans.”

Yasakuto stood, smiling evilly. “The Aka Ryuu believe they’re going to save Hinomoto from the ‘corruption’ of the government. What they don’t realize is that they’re playing straight into my plan to destroy their kind forever. Just do as I tell you to, Ryoku, and I will give you the honor of killing Densetsu yourself, as you wished.” Ryoku straightened, a blank expression on his face. “Sir!”

Kanjou’s sleep was restless and permeated with dreams full of blood, harrowing chases and imprisonment. He tossed and turned, muttering under his breath as sweat dripped off his face. All through his dreams he could see Shinrai’s dull, lifeless eyes staring up at him.

Finally, a pair of hands grabbed Kanjou’s shirt and shook him hard. “Hey! Get up! Dammit! Get up!”

 

Kanjou’s green eyes shot open and he found himself looking up at a silver-haired
ronin
. “A... Andrea?” he said, confused.

“Duh, who else would it be? We have training, remember?” “Huh?” Kanjou was still half asleep.

“Meditation.” Andrea replied impatiently, looking at him like she thought he was stupid.

 

“Oh! Oh yeah... sorry.” He sat up, rubbing the sleep from his bleary eyes.

Andrea leaned back on her heels and made a small noise that Kanjou thought might have been a strangled laugh. “No wonder you get up before everybody else. Your hair looks like you were just outside holding a lightning rod,” she chided.

Kanjou hurriedly ran his fingers through his hair, trying to tame it back into a ponytail as Andrea stood. “Meet you out front,” she said as she left the room.

It took Kanjou a few minutes to get his hair to cooperate, but soon he got them formed into a ponytail and tied back with his headband. He finished getting dressed and headed out front to meet Andrea.

She leaned against the front of the temple, her arms crossed and one of her feet up against the wall. The two of them headed out past the old
torii
and for the clearing that had become their normal spot for meditation exercises. After a moment Andrea broke the silence of the summer morning.

“So, two wanted criminals in the Aka Ryuu, huh? It’s kind of nice to not be the only one.”

 

Kanjou glanced at Andrea out of the corner of his eye. “It’ll make tonight interesting.”

 

Andrea raised an eyebrow. “How so?”

‘The banquet is tonight. Shogun Kunota will be announcing the vote to make Martial Arts legal again, so long as Yasakuto doesn’t scare him out of it anyway. With Daimyo Shinrai gone now, who knows what will happen. All of this may have been for nothing. There may not even be a press conference next week for us to go to.” He sighed, his shoulders slumping as he did so.

Andrea huffed. “I don’t know about you, Kanjou, but at this point I don’t care of there is any vote
or
press conference. Right now, it’s payback time. The government needs to answer for what it’s done, and
ronin
deserve a chance to be heard. We’ll find a way to finish this, even if we have to tear down the capitol with our bare hands. We can’t quit now.”

Kanjou smiled and stopped in the middle of the path. She halted a second later, staring at him over her shoulder. “What?” she asked.

“You just,” he searched for the words he wanted, “really sounded like a member of the team right then, Andrea. Thank you. You’re right, we can’t give up just because of this. Even if there is no vote, and no press conference, we’ll still take down Yasakuto. We have to. It wouldn’t be right to have come this far and then not go through with it.” He put a hand out and placed it on Andrea’s shoulder, his smile widening.

Dusk was closing in on Shibasaki like a predator stalking its prey. The bars and clubs of the city were beginning to come alive as the day surrendered to the night. The corporate types surrendered the streets to those who were considered to be the criminals. Neon and crime held sway in the bad parts of the city, cemented there by illegal martial arts and the weight of oppression.

In one of the larger
ochiudo
bars sat Ryoku, Bear, and Foxfire. They were spread out among the occupants, waiting as it came alive with tournament hopefuls for the evening. Foxfire nursed the drink that he had ordered, not interested in having it for anything more than appearances. He felt like he might puke at any moment, and he hadn’t even started doing what Yasakuto was forcing them into.

Ryoku and Yasakuto had come to the holding cell that Bear and Foxfire were being held in and informed them that they were going to help with the destruction of the rebellion and every
ronin
in Hinomoto. And despite his protests Foxfire had to go along with it because his family was a group of innocents, and Andrea could take care of herself.