He LIVES!!!!
And he's not even FJ45, yet!
Seeing this in Revolutions should be cool.
Rensslaer
And he's not even FJ45, yet!
Seeing this in Revolutions should be cool.
Rensslaer
Rensslaer said:Ooh! Very interesting.
A portentous statement -- announcing tomorrow. There is no small degree of suspense, then, in this selection.
I wonder what Osahito's up to about now.
It's great to be back at work.Rensslaer said:Great to see you back at work, FJ!
fj44 said:Aizawa Seishisai accepted the teacup without a word, and placed it on the mat without sipping from it. It was always better, when meeting with former enemies, to keep them on their toes. The subtle ways were best in his estimation.
The short, lean man across from him placed his own teacup as Aizawa had. He took a couple minutes to position himself comfortably before looking over at his guest.
“Aizawa-san, it warms me to see you well.” Aizawa kept himself from wincing at the false welcome. Still enemies, then. Well, he could match the insincerity.
“It pleases me also, old friend.” His host broke the forced smile for an instant, then resumed it, and broke eye contact from the strain. Aizawa would have guessed that had he not looked away, his face would have shattered like glass. A slightly amusing thought.
“The Shogun said he will choose the regent tomorrow.” All cool and collected. Ah, the man had learned something from his ordeal.
“Why would this matter concern me?”
His host leaned forward, peering into Aizawa’s eyes. “We have known each other as friends and enemies for years, Seishi. Do not pretend I am stupid.” Aizawa stared back in shock. Not only had he used the shortened name, like the accursed barbarians at Deshima, but that second part was a threat!
“You cannot address me—“
“Yes I can, Aizawa.” The hand interrupting Aizawa had an aura of compulsion about it. “But that does not matter at this point. You know who Ieyoshi will name. Himself.”
Aizawa gave the man a level look. “You have been saying this for two years past, even before Osahito disappeared. You said then that Ieyoshi would assassinate him.”
“He tried, but by a stroke of luck, the Prince survived. I don’t know where he is now, but my contacts sighted him after the attack, appearing to be uninjured.”
“And you haven’t found him yet?”
“No, I haven’t. Aizawa, do you truly realize how big these islands are? Or how many of them there are? It will be very difficult to find him, he is hiding, remember. But this is not why I came to you.”
“Then why?”
“If Ieyoshi takes the Imperial crown, the whole Empire will collapse. This is the thing Great Jimmu warned us of.”
“Yes, I know. It is my discipline, remember?”
“Well, will you take action?”
“You mean speaking to the Lord Shogun in his palace, surrounded by the Shogun’s Own?”
“I mean speaking to him, yes. You are more devious than I ever was. You will find a way, Aizawa.”
“I will try, but I believe that he will not listen if he already has his mind set. He always was stubborn.”
“I think I knew that, Aizawa.”
For the first time in years, Aizawa the Quiet burst into uncontrollable laughter. The joke wasn’t very funny, but the idea of a single man trying to arrest the collapse of an Empire was hilarious at the moment.
“Date, when this is all over, I see your head on a pike outside of the Dragon Gate in Edo.” The laughter collapsed into a wide grin, which Aizawa hated. It looked like a foreigner’s grin—all teeth. Date gave him a grim smile.
“Aizawa, that is all too likely to be prophecy. Now, go. There is much work to be done.”
SO Japanese!fj44 said:Yes, he would submit to a weapons search. Yes, he understood the situation was not stable right now. No, he was not offended by the search. No, he really was not offended.