Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Chained World: The Fall of the House of Kuno ❯ The Shadow of the Emperor & a Queen's Hand ( Chapter 42 )

This was originally published by me under the name Anduril at Anime Addventures, with the only changes being a few corrections in spelling, punctuation and the occasional word choice. If you like the beginning of my story but think I've gone off the rails, or have your own ideas for a great branch-off, or think I'm taking too long to update and want to continue the story yourself, come to Anime Addventures and join in the fun!

I claim no ownership rights to any of the works of Rumiko Takahashi, or anyone else's published work.

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Ku Lon looked up from her preparations for a new day of feeding the masses as the sound of the tiny bell attached to the cat flap in the back door of the Cat Café, along with the `flavor' of Xian Pu's ki, signaled the return of her heir. “Mu Tse!” she called out, and was quickly joined by the bespectacled boy from where he had been setting up the dining room. “Xian Pu has returned, keep these pots from boiling over and stir them regularly until I get back.”

Without waiting for a response, the ancient matriarch pogoed out of the kitchen and headed for the stairs to the living quarters above, where she found her naked granddaughter in the bathroom turning off the faucet to the sink. {So, what did Nabiki have to say?} Ku Lon asked in their native tongue as the teenager wiped her hand before grabbing her waitress `uniform'.

{It wasn't what Nabiki had to say, but Ai — Ranma,} Xian Pu replied. {He tried out Kodachi's suggestion, and it worked, he showed up at the Tendos' while I was meeting with Nabiki.}

{He did? I'm surprised you aren't still there,} Ku Lon commented neutrally.

Xian Pu paused for a moment in the act of pulling on her dress, then continued. {He only had eyes for Akane, so once we were done exchanging news there was no point in staying,} she said in a voice leached of all emotion.

Good, she at least recognized the reality of the situation even if she doesn't like it, Ku Lon thought. She'd been a little worried that the teenager would take advantage of the chaos to move against the youngest Tendo.

{Great-grandmother, good news,} Xian Pu continued, {Ranma won't need the Neko-ken to beat the Adjustment — it failed during the fight yesterday!} Quickly, she told her great-grandmother what she had learned during her visit to the Tendos'.

{That is good news,} Ku Lon agreed when Xian Pu was finished, {but what about the other Adjustment, had that failed as well?}

{I don't know, I didn't ask,} Xian Pu replied soberly, wincing. {From what Ranma and Nabiki said he was going back whether or not it had, he would not have welcomed my sympathy, and it would have seemed callous to simply ignore it. Better not to know.} She hesitated, then asked, {Great-grandmother, what now? I know we can't leave until we unlock Ranma's curse, but will me and Mu Tse still be joining the fighting at the Kuno mansion?}

{A good question, child, what do you think? Should you?}

{I ... am not sure,} Xian Pu said slowly. {My heart says yes, we should. And if we do, we will secure the friendship of the God-Slayer, not a minor thing. But we will also risk the anger of the government of the Empire, and that could be catastrophic for the tribe even with the God-Slayer on our side.}

Ku Lon nodded approvingly. {Good, you are thinking things through — yes, those are the risks, and not an easy choice. But we have some time, yet, before we need to make a final decision. Consider the problem, and let me know later which course you think we should take and why. And in the meantime,} she continued, straightening, {we have a restaurant to run.}

/oOo\

The tall, white-haired Emperor strode into one of the minor audience rooms of the Imperial Palace and over to the throne, ignoring the muscular, if slightly soft, figure of his Shogun kneeling with his forehead pressed to the floor. Seating himself, the emperor carefully arranged his robes before granting the Shogun permission to rise. He gazed at his ostensible subordinate for a time, before finally saying, “My people tell me that you are preparing a strike force to send against the Tendo household.”

The Shogun started, but quickly recovered and nodded. “Yes I am, Your Majesty. Saotome Genma and his adopted daughter, along with her servant, have inserted themselves into the affairs of the Nerima lording's law enforcement, taking upon themselves authority that rightfully belongs to their lord and his appointed retainers. Saotome-san is a powerful warrior, and Lord Kuno's difficulties have stretched his resources thin, even with the aid that your army has given by assuming security for some of the Kuno clan's factories and refineries.”

“I see,” the Emperor said approvingly as he considered his Shogun's response. “So your spies have word that Saotome-san is planning strikes on Kuno facilities of interest to my military, then.”

“I ... no, Your Majesty.”

The Emperor's approval vanished, replaced by the faintest hint of a frown. “Then the Saotomes are planning an assault on their lord directly?”

“Ah ... Saotome-san has restarted classes at the Tendo dojo, and he is focusing on staves. And staves have become a very popular daily accessory throughout Nerima, even among those not taking his classes. And my agents report that there is a great deal of discontent among the people for how their lord is perceived to have mistreated the Tendos, and for what he has demanded of Saotome Ranma.”

“I see — so you can report discontent, but no actual plotting other than the resumption of classes by the only provider for a pair of families that are badly in need of income even with the debt removed from the Tendos' shoulders. I am unsure how apparently siding with Kuno in what his people would see as a further assault on those he has already unjustly injured is supposed to calm things down, especially in that plotting's absence. And do you consider staves to be effective against a fully trained and equipped security force and the Kuno estate's security systems?”

“No, Your Majesty,” the Shogun replied abruptly. He was outwardly calm, but the faintest sheen of sweat could be seen on his brow as for the first time the Emperor ignored his political connections and called him on his sometimes ... creative ... interpretations of his legal limits.

“And is there any indication that they are receiving help from outside the lording?”

“No, Your Majesty.”

“Then you have received a further request for aid from Lord Kuno's people in arresting the Saotomes for their unwarranted support of the lording's law enforcement?”

“No, Your Majesty. I consider this an extension of the previous request.” The sheen of sweat was no longer faint, as the Emperor's frown was no longer a hint.

“That request was for protection from assaults on the Kuno clan's holdings. The Saotomes' aid of the police raid, while perhaps illegal, was on an illegal slave transshipment point and was in support of Kuno retainers, not an assault on a Kuno holding, and you say there is no indication that they plan such, much less that any turmoil they cause may spill across into other lordings or daimyos' holdings. In the absence of such spreading chaos or a further public request for aid from Lord Kuno or his steward, I would have to rule any move by Imperial forces against the Saotomes to be an unwarranted interference in Lord Kuno's internal affairs. If he feels that he needs further assistance, I am certain he will ask. Unless you wish to amend the laws governing the relationship of the Shogunate with the lords and daimyos?”

The Shogun jerkily indicated that he had no such intention, and the now faintly smiling Emperor rose to his feet. “Very well, I am sure you have other more important matters to occupy your attention in managing my empire.” Ignoring his pale and shaking supposed subordinate as he hastily knelt and pressed his forehead to the floor, the Emperor strode from the room.

/oOo\

Setsuna relaxed her concentration, allowing the view of the shaken Shogun rising to his feet to melt into the neutral flicker of mixing, flashing images within the Time Gates, a shark's hungry grin on her face. So much for the Master of Servant's attempt to get the government to do some of his dirty work for him, that is a truly obscene bribe the Shogun's going to have to return, she thought to herself as she turned away. Not that it'll make much difference in the short run, but it does push the Shogun and the Emperor further apart. Or rather, makes the Shogun more aware of just how far apart they are, she mused. It's not like the Emperor can detest the man more than he already does.

But it was nice to have things go her way occasionally without having to lift a finger, especially when it involved humiliating someone that was as much a corrupt waste of space as the Shogun. And then there was the way Natsume Akiko had `just happened' to roll over one of the Kuno secret research facilities while `in pursuit' of her errant husband, son and insanely expensive battle android. Setsuna idly wondered how Natsume-san had learned of its location

The emerald-haired woman stepped into the kitchen of the house where she'd been spending more and more of her free time, over the past few weeks. Too much time, perhaps, she suspected that people in her usual `free' time haunts were beginning to wonder where she'd gone to. But after years, decades — centuries — of cold-bloodedly weighing every relationship, be it acquaintance, employee, ally, or lover by what they could contribute to her purpose, she was finding the time she spent with the other Outer Senshi when she could simply relax and enjoy the company of people instead of tools a balm to her soul. I suppose it doesn't matter if I'm missed, she decided. It isn't as if I won't be moving out of their social orbit soon enough. When the news breaks, they'll just assume I was too busy plotting to play. It's even true, mostly.

Pouring a cup of tea, she sat at the kitchen table. Briefly, she considered how quickly the simple house she was in had become home — how even when she wasn't looking for company like now (good thing, with Haruka preparing for a race, Michiru away practicing for an upcoming concert, and Hotaru at school), she still found herself coming to the kitchen to sit and think.

Then, smiling wryly at the foolishness she just couldn't seem to even consider giving up (and deliberately avoiding thinking of the inevitable pain down the road, that she had felt too often before), she turned her thoughts to everything else she had seen in the Time Gates, the recent past, the present across the world, and the future that lay before them if she hadn't made her recent visit to them. That future was no longer the dystopian tide of chaos and death that she had seen for so long — in fact, it wasn't anything, the future was in flux in a way that she hadn't seen in centuries, and slow tears trickled down her cheeks as she let herself hope that finally, finally she was turning things around from her catastrophic series of mistakes that had enslaved and impoverished so much of the world.

So, how to push things in the direction the world needs? she thought to herself. The strongest temptation was to stand back, do what she had planned before her just-ended time at the Gates and let things play out, just roll Fate's dice and wait until the flux settled on its own, especially considering how things had worked out last time. But finally, she shook her head, berating herself for her own cowardice. No, she could not leave it alone to escape more guilt — refusal to decide was itself a decision, and if it didn't work she would never forgive herself. She needed to be able to say that at least she had tried. But if she was going to act, change her plans based on what she had just seen, what to do?

Well, let's start with what happened last time, she mused silently. When the future went into flux — face it, Setsuna, you panicked, turned to murder and blackmail, whatever it took, and not only didn't you fix things, you just made the outcome worse with every attempt until you gave up and stared at your navel for a couple of generations. So this time, why don't you try mercy — go with the easy choice instead of the hard one? That way, if it doesn't work out you can say you've made things better for somebody, even if not for everybody.

So, Jupiter. Should she give the newest Senshi to join the team forewarning of what was coming? Would the teenager handle it better if she knew in advance the future that awaited the master that had earned her loyalty? Finally, Setsuna reluctantly concluded that she couldn't tell her — the Senshi of Time couldn't know if Jupiter would suffer less for being prepared, or more from knowing what was coming and having to stand back and let it happen. But there was a significant risk that she might try to interfere, warn her former master, and if it didn't rise to a `more likely than not' possibility the Time Gates wouldn't show it.

Then that would leave Ranma. It was time to stop easing the pressure on Lord Kuno, actually get him working late nights again. It would take time to kick in, move up the ladder to the top, so the cute redhead she had just been watching at the Tendos would have to make it through one or two more nights sharing a bed with her master, but she was turning out as strong as hoped for. Setsuna would just have to hope that the additional lost resources wouldn't turn out to be vital to the future. At least Mars will be delighted, she thought wryly. Between getting to stop `hiding' her relationship with Endymion — nobody had had the heart to tell the pair just how obvious they were being — and watching as the Family she despises more than any other takes blow after blow, she's in heaven.

But just stopping the Senshi's protection probably wouldn't be enough, the attacks had been dropping off a bit as the Kunos gave the outward appearance of weathering the storm. She was going to need to actually increase the pressure, and that ... would mean Ryoga; he would prove useful in helping out during the blowout, as well. And that meant that if she hurried, she could get started right away. Rising to her feet, she rinsed out her teacup and put it in the sink, summoned her henshin wand, and a quick transformation later stepped away.

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One of the comments at Anime Addventures on my last episode asked just how the world had gotten so screwed up, with Pluto on the job — how did she drop the ball that badly? It wasn't something I'd really thought about much, since I'd just handwaved it when I began the story — the world is the way it is, however it got that way. Initially, I think I responded that either she stopped paying attention for a time for some reason, or the Time Gates don't work quite the same in this version. I gave it some further thought, including speculating on Setsuna possibly falling in love with a mortal and having a family, then becoming obsessed with playing God for her children and children's children, etc., for a few generations, before coming to her senses and reluctantly leaving her now multitudinous descendants to fate; but by that time, the damage was done. However, I've decided to go with the second option: in this setting, the Time Gates only show one future, the most likely one — and that based on what Pluto would have done if she wasn't taking her latest look into the future. That means that she can see the future that would be without her own future interference, but can't see what the effects of her own-future sight-informed actions would have — the very act of looking almost certainly makes what's viewed out of date. In such a case, a cascading series of unintended consequences of future-informed interventions could seriously screw things up.

I haven't decided yet if she can travel backward in time to change things. I'm leaning toward yes, but she has to avoid doing anything that would change any of her choices up to the point that she traveled back in time, or be wiped from existence by the resulting paradox. Time travel isn't something for the sane and non-suicidal.

Also, some background for the Emperor's and Shogun's conversation, Japan in this setting is much like the United States, with the Clans/Families the next thing to independent inside their own territories and the Shogun in place to suppress rebellion — at the request of the daimyo or lord in question for commoners or if it spills across into another's territory — and otherwise to manage the institutions that cover the entire empire (such as the Imperial armed forces), relationships between the various lords, relationships with foreign nationalities, and manage conquered territory not yet deeded to a lord (often a new one, due to service to the state). Theoretically, the Shogun can make any law he wishes by public announcement in the name of the Emperor, after consultation with the emperor in question. As a practical matter, he has to be careful not to tread on too many toes or he's apt to wake up dead one morning.

As for the various Clans/Families themselves, relationships between many of them have obviously become much less than ideal, to the point of secret warfare. The situation is not sustainable — either it will be abandoned or suppressed, or it will blow up the Empire.