Roleplay > Vignettes

To Control an Empire... (Disregard this)

(1/2) > >>

Daitō:
Shinkyō--
10 June, 2021--
1630 Hours--

The atmosphere of the room was one that seemed frozen in the moment. A large number of personnel of the Imperial Military had taken the time to watch His Imperial Majesty's speech on global denuclearization, and yet now, it had turned so very, very wrong. Hidetoshi Fukuda, known by his friends as Hide and by his comrades as Fukuda-Shōsa, was among them. To think that the very heart of the Empire was attacked...
   "...At this time, we cannot be certain of the fate of His Lordship, the Emperor Emeritus. We do know, however, that Prime Minister..."

The anchor seemed sad, in a way. Understandably so, given the nation's reverence for the position. Hell, even Hide felt some sorrow, but there was more... Trepidation, perhaps. He needed to know whether His Imperial Majesty was still alive, a sentiment that was undoubtedly shared by others in the room. Even now, many were undoubtedly thinking about who could be responsible for this travesty. A former Emperor and a Prime Minister... Hide had an idea as to who it could be. Then, he got a call, one he had been anticipating for several minutes now. So, he would step out of the room and find a nice, secluded area to talk, away from prying eyes.

When this was done, he would answer the call; The number was unfamiliar but he knew exactly who it was.
   "Yomi Yomi Yomi." The voice said; Hide knew exactly what this meant upon hearing it. The plan had failed. Their main mark was still alive.
   "Shit. What's your status, Ijima-chūi?" Hide asked in a hushed tone; outside, he could hear the news about the Emperor's survival on the television and the collective sigh of relief of the crowd gathered around it.
   "I'm currently on my way out of the gate district. Ducked into an alley to give you the call, but... The Emperor's still alive. Targets Bravo and Foxtrot are KIA, but Charlie through Echo weren't present."
   "Alright... Well, once you get out of dodge, I'll see what we can do about making sure you don't get caught. You destroy the documents you had at your holdout?"
   "Yeah, for the most part. All they should get are docs that point to... what was that organization Fukushi-Taishō mentioned?"
   "The RAC? Yeah, I'm sure they'll fall for it. It won't hurt that they'll... claim responsibility for it." Hide replied.
   "What makes you so sure about that? Wouldn't regicide, attempted or otherwise, just make their situation worse?" Ijima asked.
   "Fukushi-Taishō's already handled it. Gave them an... incentive to do it, from what I know."
   "Kinda suspicious, huh. Well, I'd absolutely love to chat, but I'm supposed to be getting out of here, so... Be seeing you, Fukuda-Shōsa."
   "And you, Ijima. Good luck." Hide said before hanging up. Their original plan had failed, but he was certain they would pull through. And with an Emperor who had witnessed such an attack still living, he could be enticed to do their bidding after all...

...Perhaps this would work to their favor after all.

Daitō:
Imperial Palace, Shinkyō--
11 June, 2021--
1100 Hours--

Normally, the palace was a lively place. Despite being the residence of the Imperial family, the grounds were also home to the families of some of the palace staff, mostly those deemed important enough to its running that they were kept on hand at all times of the day. Yet despite this, as the flag of mourning was raised over the Tenshu of the old castle, an eerie silence befell its grounds. Yet despite the great tragedy that had occurred, Eijiro had much work to do. Yes, he had lost his father, and the government was plunged into crisis, but that didn't mean that he could just drop everything. Now, more than ever before, his people needed someone they could turn to...

That was why he was, at the urging of his advisor, Benkei Hiraide, preparing to take action.

Yet despite that, there was some second thought as he prepared to sign this edict. He would, for lack of a better term, be making history. Doing away with over a century of progress.
   "I don't know, Benkei... This feels... wrong, almost." He said as he sat at his desk, the State Minister behind him as he read over the bill drafted by the National Assembly.
   "It's the right thing to do, Tennō..." The minister responded, showing deep reverence for the man. "For the safety of our people, I mean."
   "You think I don't know that? I'm having to sign away a system that has been in place for over a century."
   "At the request of the National Assembly, Tennō." Benkei noted. "Think of it like its the people themselves who call for this."
   "But it isn't, is it? The people didn't make this vote. Just some scared politicians who think the target is on their backs."
   "I mean, the Rokkenjimans ditched their diet for a-"
   "That's the thing. We are not Rokkenjima." Eiji sighed. "We cannot just undo all the hard work we have performed out of fear."
   "Then perhaps, Tennō, you should do this to protect the rights of our nation's citizens. Prevent another Eita Fukimoto or Tsugio Esumi from rising to power. And if the people will that you maintain power, then grant them the right to make petitions to you going forwards."
   "...Maybe." The Emperor sighed. "Heh... 'Protect the rights of our nation's citizens'... Do good by them, no matter what... At the cost of sliding back into the trappings of the Empire before the first constitution." He said as he mulled it over. There was much that he wanted to see done that, due to the gridlock which frequently plagued the assembly, often wasn't able to be achieved.
   "Sign, your Highness, and make good on your promise to serve and protect our people."
   "...Alright." The Emperor said, taking his pen and affixing his signature and seal to the edict, after which he would pass it to his advisor.
   "You've made the right choice, Tennō." Benkei said before making his way to the door. "I will stand with you, your highness. No matter where you lead the nation, I will be here." He stated before taking a deep bow, after which he would leave.

Upon leaving, Benkei would pull out his phone and make a call. He knew the call was being listened in on by the Tokkō, which is why he would make it as brief as possible. A risk, yes, but a necessary one. He would wait a minute, after which the other party would pick up.
   "Fukushi-Taishō... It's done." He said in as clear a voice as possible.
   "Good work, Benkei. Because of you, we are now in the endgame."

A shadow is cast over the Empire.

Daitō:
Shinkyō--
11 June, 2021--
1300 Hours--

It wasn't even a full day since the attack which claimed the life of the Emperor Emeritus, and already, personnel from the Tokkō, Imperial Guard, Military, and local police forces were swarming ground zero. They needed to find every shred of evidence that they could on who was responsible. Already, the RAC, the Rusani National Front, had claimed responsibility for the attack, but to be safe, they were duty-bound to perform a full investigation into the incident. It could take months, but Jin Hiraishi, Director of the Tokkō, vowed to find those responsible no matter the cost. Failure meant one thing: Death. If the former Emperor's killers were not found, he would, in order to restore the honour of his family, have to take his own life.

Escorted by a squad of his subordinates, he would make his way down the road towards where the gunshot which took the life of Prime Minister Anabuki was believed to have come from. If they were going to make a significant find, he wanted to be there, just in case. He couldn't afford for any mistakes to be made.
   "Hiraka-Gunsō, I want you to take a squad and check every drain within a five kilometer radius of the gate." He told one of the sergeants as they walked over a bridge. "Imaizumi-Gunsō, I want you to likewise check every alleyway in the same area."
   "Yes, Director." Sergeant Imaizumi responded, breaking off from the group.
   "As for the rest of you, I want you to gather some men and go door to door. Search every building." He stated as the sound of glass cracking underfoot could be heard, debris from the explosion that finished off the attack. "Leave no stone unturned and no leaf undisturbed, men. Do your duty as the Heavenly Sovereign demands of us. Good luck." He said as the rest left him; Up ahead, the sniper's nest loomed over him.

1310 Hours--

Jin glanced around the hall for a minute, waiting in case anyone else would join them. When it was clear that nobody else but those already present would take part in this search, he would move over to the door. Locked. That was... unfortunate, but he could wait. He'd just have someone pick the lock on it, after all, it would be unwise to break the door down as that would risk damaging potentially important evidence. And so, a few more minutes would pass before they would enter, but it would certainly be worth the wait... he hoped.

1316 Hours--

After what felt like an eternity, the door would finally be unlocked and the group would enter the room. There, they found some burned papers, only barely legible, as well as a rifle. It had to be the one used in the attack. With luck, it might be their ticket to finding who was responsible for it.
   "A Yamakawa R73, eh? Buddy had quite the connections if they could get their hands on that." One of the agents said, seemingly marveling at it.
   "Care to explain?" Jin asked, turning to him.
   "Well, you see, sir, this isn't something the RAC can just get their hands on." The agent said. "It's never been sold overseas and certainly never to civilians either."
   "And that's important how, exactly?" Jin asked, getting annoyed with his subordinate's apparent obsession with the rifle.
   "Because there's simply no way that the RAC could've gotten ahold of it. They're never deployed off base and we haven't had an incursion by the group or its predecessor since the uprising on any of our facilities."
   "Hm. I see. Well, in any case, someone get it back to headquarters. See if there are any fingerprints on it and run them against every database we can. I don't like how this is looking." Jin ordered. "The rest of you, collect anything you think might be valuable to the case." He stated before leaving. He had a lot of more work to do.

There was more to this case than initially thought.

Daitō:
Imperial Palace, Shinkyō--
18 June, 2021--
1330 Hours--

Jin had only ever been here twice in his career within the Tokkō. The first time was when he was appointed director, back in December of 2020. The other, just a little over a week ago, when he vowed that no attack would occur. Had he known saying that would cause it to happen, he thought, he would've probably never said anything. Joking aside, he was... nervous. He had made a promise, not to an ordinary man, but to the Emperor himself. It was a promise he had broken, and now, he was being granted an audience with him. What did he want with him?

A lot had changed in the week since the attack. While yes, the Imperial Guard had always maintained a presence at the various palaces across the nation, more had been called up to bolster security here. Not only that, but the number of patrols had been increased significantly in advance of the upcoming funeral of the late Emperor-emeritus. Not only that, the agency which Jin represented was working a lot harder than it usually did, which was quite the feat due to the field they were in. Regardless of that, he was here for a very specific purpose; he had been summoned to report on the recent findings in the 6/10 investigation.

He would be ushered into a courtyard within the main residence, wherein the Emperor waited. Before then, however, a guard would remind him of the proper behavior he should maintain here; this was simply protocol for outsiders who were visiting him in his own home, nothing more. He just needed to never speak unless spoken to, to never use his given name, never to look him in the eyes unless spoken to directly, the works. He would, with great trepidation, walk over to him as he sat at a table in the courtyard; the Emperor seemed to be watching him closely, his eyes unwavering as they tracked his movements towards him.
   "I am seeing His Majesty, the reigning Emperor of Daitō. Ten-thousand years to the Emperor." Jin said in a most reverential manner, bowing deeply as is custom in the presence of a member of the Imperial family.
   "Rise, Hiraishi-san." The Emperor said in a calm albeit exhausted manner; it was clear that he had been busy himself in the last week, though with what Jin was not entirely certain nor would be willing to ask. "Do you have anything to report?"
   "Yes, Tennō. Our investigation currently points to the gunman who killed Prime Minister Anabuki being from the RAC, although we cannot be entirely certain at this time." Jin reported. "We expect to receive word on the results of our tests before the week is out. That being said, if I'm being completely honest, we can't rule out them having a contact within the military."
   "Oh? And why is that, Hiraishi-san?" The Emperor asked him, intrigued by this possibility.
   "Well, it's either they have a contact or they are imbedded in it already. First of all, the firearm used was a Yamakawa R73." Jin stated as he opened a file and grabbed a few papers; it was outdated, yes, but he was playing it safe in case the RAC or whoever else had compromised their network. Didn't want anything getting deleted, after all. "Attached to this paper is a photo of the rifle used by the gunman. We are currently running analysis on fingerprints found on it as well as a DNA test to try and find who was responsible." He would say before stating "It is next to impossible for someone to have gotten their hands on one of these without someone in the military knowing... unless, and I don't like saying this, one of our marksmen running surveillance that day was responsible."
   "I see... Most troubling, if true, but these allegations, while serious, have no direct proof, no?"
   "Yes, your Highness. Regardless, it is not a lead we can overlook. I promise that we will not fail you."
   "Funny... Did you not say the same about the speech I held last week?"
   "Your Highness, I-"
   "I expect you will keep to your word, Jin Hiraishi. Otherwise... Well, I'd hate to see a man with such a storied career... retire... in disgrace, wouldn't you?" The Emperor said with a sigh. "You will report to me every week. Keep anything hidden from me, and you will be ousted from your position on the spot. I may be giving you a chance to redeem yourself, Jin Hiraishi, but know that this is your only chance."
   "I understand, your Highness."
   "Then you are dismissed. Good luck in your investigation, Director Hiraishi." The Emperor said, allowing for him to leave. Of course, Jin was relieved that he wasn't having to take his own life for his failure, but he also understood what was actually meant by him saying "retire". For now, while it was a looming shadow over his head, at the very least he had a second chance.

He had a chance to survive.

Daitō:
Tokkō HQ, Shinkyō--
21 June, 2021--
1400 Hours--

It had been a few hours since the results of the tests came in, since the startling discovery of the identity of the 6/10 gunman. One Lieutenant Katsuo Ijima, the commander of a platoon in the 11th "Phoenix" Division. The problem, however, was that since the attack, he had gone entirely missing. Where had he gone, Director Hiraishi wondered as he poured over several documents relating to the case. His first instinct was that he had fled the country, not an unlikely scenario on account of the severity of his crimes. The question was, if he indeed had fled the country, where did he go? His first instinct was Tamora or maybe Lijiang, the former due to animosity between the two countries and the latter due to it being relatively easy to blend in for someone such as him and its technological and social backwardness that would make it difficult to track him down. Of course, those were just hypotheses and nothing more.

A few minutes would pass before a call would come through from reception. Apparently, as the receptionist told him, he had a visitor. Probably some bureaucrat or politician wanting for him to perform a favor for them, not that they would get it. Whatever the case was, he was currently unaware of who had come to visit. Then, he entered.
   "Director Hiraishi... It's been a while." A man in a military uniform said in a calm, collected manner. It was General Hakaru Fukushi.
   "Fukushi-taisho." Jin said, standing up and bowing. "It has. What brings you to my office, sir?" He asked, confused by his presence.
   "Oh, nothing, I just figured I'd make a social call for one of my oldest allies." Hakaru said, closing the door behind him before locking it. "Oh, and I thought you could use my help in finding the culprit of the attacks back on the tenth."
   "If you have information, Fukushi-taisho," Jin began before asking "Why bring it to me directly instead of calling?"
   "Because I happen to know the current state of Lieutenant Katsuo Ijima, Jin."
   "Well, that's definitely something we need to know. Please, tell me."
   "He turned up in Ikishima- Rusan, as the natives called it. Eyes gouged out and his throat was slit, so I've heard."
   "He's dead, isn't he."
   "I'm afraid so. Seems the RAC got to him first." Hakaru said in an unconcerned manner. "Probably because he left evidence pointing towards them, after all."
   "So you're trying to say that he was a member, hm?" Jin said with a sigh.
   "That, or he was at the very least hired by them for the job."
   "An intriguing theory, Fukushi-taisho, but save for his killing, there really isn't enough for us to go on. We'll need to investiga-"
   "I'm gonna need you to do me a favor, Jin." Hakaru cut him off. "I want you to drop the investigation."
   "Why is that?"
   "You know why, Director." Hakaru stated. "Before you were promoted, back before the incident last year, you made an oath to devote yourself to the Sumeragi Michi. To fight tooth and nail for a stronger Empire."
   "So that's what this is, eh?" Jin said, his eyes focused on Hakaru's. "You may as well have admitted to being His Majesty's killer yourself." He said, quiet enough not to be heard. "I left the movement after my promotion. Give me one reason I shouldn't arrest you right now."
   "You forget who you're dealing with, Jin. You'd be better off with me as your ally than your enemy." Hakaru said, still entirely calm. "You arrest me, and who is to say your family won't get the same treatment as Lieutenant Ijima?"
   "You... You bastard." Jin said, clenching his fists. He knew the general wasn't bluffing, after all, this wasn't the only person who tried to cross him only to... disappear. "...Alright. I'll see what I can do."
   "Good, Jin. I'm glad you made the right choice." Hakaru said before leaving.

The Director had to do something about this, but what?

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page