Chapter 21: Golden Carp and Green Buck

The door shuts and Taira immediately places a soundproof barrier around the room. Taiyou stands from his seat out and says, "Shall we begin?"

The two get to work quickly. "The amount of bugs we have to clean up every day is becoming excessive. How many did you find?" Taira asks. They check between every book and in every drawer to seal the spying creatures.

"Fourty-five," Taiyou responds. He looks over to the man then shoots a dark-blue ray of Chi at his back. Taira grunts. "Omph. What the hell was that for?"

"Fourty-six. There's one on your on your armor," Taiyou scoffs.

He takes off his armor and sees a small hole in the metal. "Tch."

They finally finish sealing each and every one. "The amount of effort they put into listening to us is ridiculous." Taira huffs. "We should have gotten rid of these when we first got here this morning or at least placed a barrier to mess with with the sound they are receiving. Now we have to meet Miyamoto out in public."

"It's fine. I previously accounted for this. Now that they heard our conversation with the General, they're bound to change their route to the one we want as soon as tonight. For the General to come here, will remind them that they have to stop being so careless. This means that they'll try to slow down their plans to make things seem as seamless and natural as possible." Taiyou does one last quick sweep of the room and finds one last bug hidden behind the curtains. "And believe it or not, public areas are much more private than this office." With the room clear, he sits back in his chair. "I actually bought out a bar in the 6th for this exact purpose. We can't hold important conversations here anymore. Though that district may be filled with a lot of dangerous people, the council isn't one of them. With that much black-market and underworld dealings going on, the Council won't possibly infiltrate it. It's too profitable for them, too much of a headache to clean up. Not to mention, they need the 6th too. If they stirred up or spied in the 6th, all of the underground would rebel against them."

Taira's tanned face grins. "Hm.. Ambassador, about this bar..."

Not even turning back to him, Taiyo declines. "No. Don't think I haven't heard the stories about you when you were younger. I heard that you were as heavy a drinker as Yua and more violent than Honoka. People still use the saying 'to be as rowdy as a Sail-heir of the Taira Clan.' We want this place to be inconspicuous not a hot spot for every member of your clan to run amok."

He irately grumbles in the corner as he releases the soundproof barrier around the room.

Taiyou reads over the reports General Miyamoto gave him. "It seems like the those those two generals have been working really hard lately. They even convinced that puppet prince to place even more corrupt donkeys in the castle. Shikakokka's monarchy is full of imbeciles and asses. In only a little more than a decade, those two have really made a mess of things. It's only a little while before they realize that they are only pawns for Koisan."

Taira Sr. isn't able to say much. If it weren't for the Ambassador, he would also be a tiny pawn for his country's ambitions. The Taira Clan has been a large diplomatic power in Koisan for generations. In the past few decades however, a shift has changed where the clan has become more and more of a just a useful tool for the monarchy rather than a unparalleled power. By producing talented earth-Chibushi, the Taira Clan can help with infrastructure of Koisan, as well as help with the behind the scenes.

The Ambassador leans stretches from his seat. "Haah.. My country sure is a piece of work."

Finally having something to reply to, Taira jokes, "Mine as well."

~~~

Miyamoto sits in his study and reads the reports Taiyou gave him. 'MS Case III'

[Summary of Findings in recent investigation: Coverts were not all accounted for. On 10.31.76 at 20:38, Covert 4 left 6th district hideout, headed west, then disappeared at 20:40. Remaining Coverts seen covering access to eastern forest. At 20:41 all officers patrolling eastern slopes state that disorderly conduct prevented them from noticing fire-outbreak. At 21:00, Fire Squad 3 arrives at scene.]

[Statements of Ayame Miyamoto claimed all family members left the residence at 17:00, leaving her and Youta Miyamoto alone at the residence. Activity began around 20:45 after an unidentified adult male broke into the home. Ayame Miyamoto, a Chibushi in training, did not sense the presence of perpetrator. However, after smelling smoke, she left her room and ran over to the scene. Before reaching the area, she was stopped by a man dressed all black. The two engaged in battle, but she was heavily injured and paralyzed by him. Youta Miyamoto heard the noise and hurried over. The man paralyzed him as well as and escaped before the fire completely surrounded them. Once the effects wore off, Ayame was unable to escape do to injuries. Causing Youta to use his Blessing to protect the two.]

[With Youta's preexisting condition, excessive exercise and the use of Chi will have negative affects on his body. After the use of Chi, Youta Miyamoto has been in an persisting coma. At the current time 11.18.76_16:00, there have no been no signs of him waking up.]

[Statements from Officer 14-21 patrolling area all claimed the following: 'All disorderly conduct displayed before fire all occurred 15-20 minutes before any signs of fire were visible. Disturbances displayed were all of normal citizens, returning from various events. All suspects appeared between the ages of 25-29 years old. No detection of the use of drugs or alcohol; no sobriety tests. After officers stepped in, none of the disputes were settled until the signs of the fire.']

[Suspects were described by Officers match descriptions of Coverts 5-17.]

[Covert activity between 11.1-11.18: After fire, activity of Coverts has stopped dramatically. All interactions between Coverts and the Golden Carp halted. There was a significant drop in front door activity in Covert hideout. Port-side activities has decreased significantly. Golden Carp has focused its eyes on the tower's activities. With their plans ending in partial failure, Golden Carp is currently going under a major reorganization. Phase two of their plans began overseas as of 11.1.]

~

General Miyamoto finishes reading the first page. Anger boils inside him. 'What the hell did I just read? Where did the Ambassador get this information? If this report is true and the fire was a planned event, then why?' He rereads over the last part and the Code-name Carp turns his stomach. 'Carp.. who can this be? What would they gain by attacking my family?' Deep down he had a feeling that he understood who the 'Carp' in the report was, but he refused to believe it. 'Koisan is in the country of the God of Koi, a God whose spirit beast is a golden carp. To use the name of a spirit beast, it must mean that it is a high-ranking official. To say Golden Carp.. It must mean..'

General Miyamoto shakes his head. 'No. I've given all I could to my country. My Majesty will not betray me like this.' He reads the rest of the report, most of which only contained various activities of the Coverts. 'Another underground group? I haven't heard about them in any of my reports. They must be fairly new.. or just fake.'

He folds it up and carries it with him. With a report so insinuating, he cannot allow for anyone to see it. He finishes the remainder of tasks for the day. He exits his study and heads back to the Medical Center. Walking down the hall he can hear the laughter of his children. He takes the time to ingrain the sound into his soul. He opens up the door and the brown haired, brown eyed Honoka greets him, "General Miyamoto, welcome back."

The raven-haired man nods his head. "Good afternoon." He stands at the door rigidly. The three pairs of eyes watch him, wondering whether he will step in or leave again. Ayame and Youta's laughter ceases and have become two proper mannequins.

Honoka catches the nature of their relationship and stands up to excuse herself from the awkwardness. "Well then, I'll give you all some privacy. I'll be leaving for the day, another medic will be on duty. Youta, if you feel anything other than perfectly fine, be sure to tell them okay? You may be in good health right now, but you still have only woken up." She heads to the door and the General finally steps inside the room. The door shuts.

Ayame and Youta hide the small smiles on their faces. Although they could have done without the circumstances, the two were happy to see their father after such a long time. He stands at the foot of the bed although there an empty seat left by Honoka. With a stiff face, he says, "Son, I'm very glad to see that you have recovered. I was very worried when I heard the news overseas."

Youta his hidden smile turns up on his face as he pokes fun at the General. "Father, you said this earlier, but I'm glad that you feel that way."

The General grimaces. "Ah. Yes, well, I just thought that I'd say it again." Ayame mouth twitches, but she is able to hold in her laughter. Ever since she was young, she has noticed her father was horrible at two things: holding normal conversations and showing the correct emotions. Of course, Youta knew the same. Being blessed with a mother that knew the secret meanings in each of their faces of their father, the two grew up knowing to never judge a person by their cover.

Internally Youta and Ayame were giggling, but externally they show a tiny simper; knowing that if that if they laugh, there father would probably 'run away' in embarrassment. 'He is such a shy man.' They thought

The three of them stare at each other a bit awkwardly. The General clears his throat. "So Ayame, I haven't been able to ask you how things at school have been."

Her soft voice replies, "It's a bit tough. The Initiation Trials are this Friday and I'm a bit afraid of how it will go. I wasn't able to take the mock exams, so I'm not exactly sure how I'll do... But Mai-chan has been practicing with me during training hours."

The Generals face doesn't change. "I see... It seems that it would be more opportunistic for you to focus the rest of your time on preparing for the exams for the next few days. Now that Youta has regained consciousness and is what the Medics say 'the epitome of health', you won't have to visit anymore."

Ayame shakes her head, "No, I'm-"

Youta stops her. "'Nee-chan, Father is right. Please don't worry about me. I want you to do your best. And I have basically the entire Center looking after me!"

Her eyes look at him endearingly. "Thank you, Youta, but I'm fine. I want to be here for you until you can come home. No matter what."

General Miyamoto's stone face cracks. A single tear rolls down from his eye while he looks at his children. Their kind hearts remind him of his beloved wife, who has been gone for quite some time now. 'How I wish I could have been there for them.. All this time that I've been gone, I've been secretly running away from the truth by keeping busy. But these two, they lived in the house where she spent her last days, surrounded by things that would remind them of her. They are so young, but so strong.' He quickly wipes the tear, but he cannot change the color of his eyes.

The two children see it out of the corners of their eyes and quit their bickering. They each for their arms to their father. General Miyamoto breaks character and holds the two of them in his long arms. "I'm sorry for not returning sooner...I'm "

There's a knock on the door.

An medical center aide opens it up. "Sir, a few officials have come looking for you."

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