WORD COUNT: 0.4k // SUMMARY: In which an unidentified flying creature is encountered and a mountain is climbed.
There was a screech, and Konoe looked up to see something large and dark bearing down on him. It swept over him before he could even make out any of its features, soaring away on its enormous wings, borne up by the wind, and Konoe felt a surge of adrenaline ripple through his muscles. Inhaling loudly through his mouth, he planted his left foot in front of his right with renewed verve and continued trudging up the mountain, a few other men in tow.
He reached the summit in half an hour.
The family which occupied the summit of this mountain had held sway over the city which crouched below for a long time. They had maintained a semi-legal political machine throughout the twentieth century, and had withstood the assaults of the yakuza when they had attempted to overpower them. They were old and proud, but when Konoe’s boss had wiped out the yakuza, they had bent the knee like any other.
Co-operation was always better than conflict, after all.
Once Konoe had arrived at the summit, there were a few rituals that he had to go through, as an emissary of his boss, before he could enter through their massive, wrought-iron gates. These he duly performed. They still held some real power, after all, and he had to humour them.
She received him in a palatial living room, lavishly-furnished with various artworks, and Konoe went through another irritating, archaic ritual before being allowed to sit.
“This is merely a formalization of the arrangement which you had beforehand with -“
“Well,“ the woman sneered, “on account of my family’s long-standing vows, and on account of my friendship with dear Natsuko, I suppose I might be able to consent to placing myself - nominally - under your authority.“
“We have created identities for you to use,“ Konoe tried.
“I’ll be making a spectacle of myself on international television, regardless of whether I do it under this surname or that.“ A pause. “You’d better give us some fun. It’s been a while since I’ve had a real challenge.”
“I will do my best,“ Konoe muttered, keeping his gaze fixed on the floor, and relaxed when he heard the telltale scritch-scratch of her pen across the paper.
