==Lap 36=
A few hours went by, Chiya had typically spent the day isolated in her room again-not because she was angry at Earl, rather because she was so embarrassed that she openly began to express her anger on the matter of marriage in front of him. Earl had come to her room a few times asking to speak with her, but each time she simply told him to come back another time in a calm tone. Unlike the last time she had failed to seal the deal with Earl, she wasn't ignoring him, but she kept her lights off like last time. Chiya was sitting on her bed wrapped in her blanket, she was watching TV with a somewhat disappointed look on her face.
Chiya sighed and rubbed her head negatively, "I wonder if a girl's ever proposed to a guy before…" she pondered aloud. Chiya sighed and stood up, but kept her blanket wrapped around her-she found that her blanket was a common comfort place when her feelings got hurt, "Well, let's get this mess out of the way…" she said as she looked at the door.
Chiya had cleaned up about a quarter of the bullets that were on the ground, she simply pushed most of the bullets out of the way so that she could walk without tripping. She approached her door and breathed in as she grabbed the knob, momentarily opening the door slowly. She held her blanket with one hand as she was immediately faced with Earl's door wide opened. She raised an eyebrow as she could slightly see a dim light flashing inside of his room-clearly coming from his TV. She approached his door and lowered her eyebrows as she could hear something-constant light tapping. What's he doing? she wondered as she took a slow step inside of his room. She peered around his door and looked at his bed, she then gasped at the sight of Earl doing something very unusual-he was playing a video game.
Chiya made a humorous grunt as she tapped her foot down constantly at him, "Um, am I seeing this correctly?"
Earl then turned his head towards her after pausing the game, he had a surprised look on his face but momentarily smiled at her, "Oh, hey, didn't think I'd see you at all today."
Chiya brushed off his comment and tilted her head with a smirk, "Am I seeing Earl Bendek, a fully grown man, playing a video game?" Earl lowered his eyebrows and nodded, "What are you ten?"
Earl chuckled at her and scooted over on his bed, momentarily patting his hand down on the empty space, "Have a seat, you can play too."
Chiya grunted at him and looked back at the door, "Wha- me? Play a video game?" Earl shrugged at her, she then lowered her eyebrows and dipped her head, "U-uh, yeah, okay!" she said gleefully.
She then leaped onto the bed with him with little hesitation, she dropped her blanket in the middle of the floor as she leaped. She immediately held her knees and began to bounce around on his bed as she looked at the TV and Earl back and forth.
"What are we playing?"
Earl then unpaused the game and continued to play, Chiya immediately widened her eyes and gasped, "Oh my God! Is that-"
"F-Zero: XP," he answered.
Chiya continued to shake her head in disbelief, "An F-Zero video game?" she then began to chuckle, "That's just silly…"
"Not really, F-Zero is so popular-imagine the sales this game got when it was released!"
Chiya placed her finger on her lips, "I dunno' what can you do in it?"
"Pick from Thirty-Five racers, enter any of the five grand prix's, story mode, time attack, even make your own machine-there's even an emblem editor."
"Emblem editor?"
Earl nodded as he then side attacked a racer in the game, "Yeah, if you're good with art, you can make emblems and put them on either custom or original machines."
Chiya then let out a grunt of awe and looked back at the screen, she then narrowed her eyes and pointed at the machine he was driving, "Hey what the Hell! Why are you playing as Blood Falcon!?"
Earl shrugged, "Eh, it's just a game."
"But he's trying to kill us!"
"Just a game Chiya…"
She shook her head negatively at Earl, he then drove up to the Blue Falcon and side attacked it, sending it flying and momentarily leaving it in an explosive fireball, "Bo-oom! Captain Falcon's-"
"What the Hell!"
Earl then began to chuckle as he looked back at her, "Calm down Chiya, I usually play as Captain Falcon."
She then puckered her lips, "Why not Chiya Flower? She's a pretty cool racer…" Earl simply chuckled at her, she then closed her eyes and nodded, "Well, why not Seppuku?"
Earl swished his hand at her, "Well, maybe if they would make a new damn F-Zero game already, we could see some of these new features-wouldn't it be sweet if Chiya Flower was a playable character in any new F-Zero game?" Earl then slowly began to lower his eyebrows, "Hint hint…"
Earl then got first place, Chiya began to clap for him, "Wow! So now what?"
Earl shrugged, "That's about it." He then selected the track Mist Flow and handed her the controller, "Here, you can tell me if they designed your planet's track correctly."
Chiya widened her eyes and began to examine the controller, she was looking around every inch of it for buttons, "Th- there's so many buttons!"
"Well, you really just need to hold the green one to accelerate, and occasionally the left and right bumpers."
Chiya puckered her lips with a determined look and nodded, now holding the controller firmly-she held the controller out in front of her like a steering wheel, "I am ready to drive!"
Earl then grabbed her hands and lowered them down to her lap, "Easy…"
"But, I can't see the buttons then, and how am I suppose to turn the wheel if it's on my lap?"
Earl raised an eyebrow at her and chuckled, "You've never played a video game, have you?"
She shook her head negatively, "Banned on Mysteria, my teachers taught me that video games were made by the Federation warmongers in order to brainwash children."
Earl shook his head negatively, "Ye-eah, no."
Chiya was holding the controller oddly and was constantly looking down, she found herself on the machine selection screen, "How do I create Chiya Flower?"
"No character creation."
"Bollocks!"
She then moved up to the Blue Falcon slowly, "I'll pick Captain Falcon, because then I will win!"
Earl nodded at her, "Press the green button the-"
Just then Seppuku charged into the room with a look of shock, "Flower!"
She immediately dropped the controlled and grabbed Earl with a look of fright, "Ye- yes sir?"
Seppuku growled at the sight of Chiya and Earl together in bed, "Oh for the love of- next time I should just get two workers of the same gender…" Chiya and Earl both glanced at each other for a moment-leaving both with slight flattered looks, "Chiya, I want you in my office, now!"
She gasped and got off of the bed immediately, "What'd I do this time?"
Seppuku turned his head towards her as he approached the door, "Phone call for you…"
Chiya and Earl both gasped at this, she began to approach the door with a look of surprise, "From who?"
Seppuku stood perfectly still and gave her an intense stare, he then tilted his fedora to her, "The Emperor…"
Chiya mere moments later found herself behind Seppuku's desk with a look of complete shock. Seppuku was standing in front of her with his arms crossed, Earl was standing next to Seppuku with a look of confusion.
"You will speak with manners, only refer to the Emperor as the Emperor, and none of that stupid English slang-you're not ruining this Chiya!" Seppuku lectured.
Chiya swallowed nervously and nodded, momentarily placing her hand on his phone-which was on hold. Earl quirked his mouth and shook negatively, "This is a bunch of bull, why would the Emperor want with Chiya? He won't even take Jody's calls…"
Seppuku grabbed Earl's mouth and pointed at Chiya, "Speak."
She then lifted the phone up to her ear and began to tremble, "Uh, he- hello, Chiya Flower speaking…"
Earl lowered his eyebrows as he stared at Chiya, she bit her lip as she constantly looked at the two, "Uh, I dunno'…"
Seppuku slightly growled at her, she then dipped her head down, "I uh, I don't know…"
Seppuku then reached over and pressed a button on the phone-switching it over to speaker.
"Ms. Flower, allow me to introduce myself more properly, I am Komoto Takashi-Emperor Yamato's secretary," said a female voice.
Chiya lowered her eyebrows and quirked her mouth, "Uh, okay…"
"Manners…" Seppuku silently growled at her.
Chiya widened her eyes at Seppuku and swallowed, "Yes, hello, how can I help?"
"Emperor Yamato was secretly present at the recent race, and he was fairly impressed with you."
Chiya let out a loud gasp and looked at Earl with an excited smile, Earl returned her a thumbs up, "Really? Be- because I was having technical issues with my machine that entire race."
"We noticed, you appeared to be struggling around the final lap-the Emperor was especially fascinated with your determination to not give up after crashing."
Chiya grunted and licked her lips, "I'm very honored."
"Emperor Yamato would like to know if you are available to meet him in person at the Imperial Palace, in one hour."
All three gasped loudly at the request, Earl and Seppuku both flailed their hands at her constantly while nodding, Chiya then widened her eyes and nodded constantly.
"Uh, yes! That would be great! Can I bring my two friends?"
"The Emperor would like to meet any accomplices you have that work as your pit crew-so only your workers."
"Great!" she responded gleefully.
Earl rubbed his forehead and let out an amazed exhale, Seppuku had a smirk on his face as he looked at Chiya. "We will expect your arrival Ms. Flower in one hour, please do not keep the Emperor waiting." Chiya closed her eyes and nodded, "Farewell, Ms. Flower."
The secretary then closed the call, leaving Chiya with a stunned look. She looked at Seppuku back and forth and momentarily put the phone down.
"Um, so we're going to meet the Emperor then?"
Earl let out a whistle and beamed at her, "Congratulations, not many people get to do this-not like you could centuries ago."
Chiya returned an excited look, "I wonder if he's going to give us anything…"
Earl smirked at Seppuku, "I bet you're happy, Jody tries getting a meeting with the Emperor like every week-he obviously just ignores her requests." Seppuku then began to chuckle, "See what bringing a sweet girl like Chiya into your organization does?"
Chiya smiled at the two, but then found Seppuku reaching for his phone. "I know who I'm calling!"
Chiya stood up and walked over by Earl, the two stared at Seppuku as he had a prideful smile on his face, he held the phone up and tapped his fingers on his desk constantly. Chiya and Earl glanced at each other, wondering who he could be calling about this-Earl then sighed and face palmed as he just figured it out.
"Galactic Federation HQ, Jody Summer spea-"
"Sup Summer?"
Jody let out a long sigh, "What do you want this time, Lieutenant?"
Chiya somewhat giggled as she watched Seppuku playfully call Jody. Earl momentarily smirked as well.
"O-oh, not much, just thought I'd give you a call, see what you're up to…"
Jody hesitated to respond, a tapping sound could then be heard in the background-the sound of her fingers tapping, "Well, I'm trying to get some paperwork done, we were going to go bowling soon, and I'm heading out to Sand Ocean tomorrow on a good will mission."
Seppuku nodded his head and began to jiggle, "Bowling eh? That sounds fun, I had a fun time with you that night, even if we did beat you-I'm very sorry about that by the way…"
Chiya grunted and rubbed her forehead, she then moved towards Earl's face, "I- is he joking, or is he flirting with her?"
Earl smirked, "I've seen this all before…"
"Well thank you Lieutenant, an apology from you means al-"
"Not a bad job in the last race either, you very well could win another Grand Prix."
Jody was still hesitating between responses, clearly still suspicious of his behavior, "Uh, thanks," she then cleared her throat, "So-o, what has the Lieutenant been up to then?"
Seppuku began to chuckle, "O-oh, you know, just got an invitation to the Imperial Palace, thought I'd rub it in before I go…"
"Wha- what?"
Chiya began to silently laugh, Earl puckered his lips as he nodded at Seppuku.
"Yeah, Flower was just invited to meet the Emperor, and she can bring guests, just thought I'd rub it in since the Empe-"
"Why the Hell did he invite that sick minded girl, but not me!?"
Chiya narrowed her eyes and growled, Seppuku then began to chuckle, "Trust me, I know a few sick things about Chiya as well…" he then waved his index finger up in the air at Chiya.
Chiya dipped her head down and glanced away from Earl, "Come on ma-an…"
Earl rubbed his chin at Chiya, "Someone will have to explain to me what that means la-"
"But anyways, we really must be going, so enjoy your time at the office Summer!" he gloated.
"Seppuku, stay, there," she ordered, immediately hanging up.
Seppuku began to chuckle as he dropped the phone, "Excellent, thank you Chiya, that was very enjoyable."
She smiled at him and nodded, "Shall we go then?"
Seppuku shook negatively, "You two get the door, I'm sure Summer's rushing over here as we speak."
Chiya puckered her lips playfully and lowered her eyelids, "You should just ask Jody out on a date, you two obviously are in love."
Earl gasped and widened his eyes at Chiya, the two were then completely stunned as Seppuku fired his rifle towards Chiya. She quickly turned around and found that he shot between Chiya and Earl-though he wasn't trying to actually hit anyone.
"What are you crazy!?" Chiya panicked.
"Anyone who thinks there's something going on between us is crazier than me."
A few minutes went by, both Chiya and Earl remained in the lobby waiting to see if Jody would show up. Seppuku had decided to give her five more minutes.
"Come on, we could get stuck in traffic, we should just get going," Chiya proposed impatiently.
"No, I think we can butter something out of Jody if we just wait."
Earl raised an eyebrow at him, "What are we taking from her this time?"
Chiya immediately puckered her lips and put her hands together, "How about she pays for a movie-for us three."
Earl nodded in agreement and glanced up at Seppuku, "I don't watch movies in the theatres, you two could just go alone," Chiya widened her eyes and smiled at Seppuku's proposal, he then quirked his mouth, "On second thought, why would I do something that doesn't benefit me?"
Chiya then frowned and nodded, "Geez…"
"She could pay for machine repa-"
At that moment Jody had run right into the lobby, she was panting as she looked up at Seppuku. Chiya and Earl both stared at the panting Jody in shock, she had clearly been running.
"Sup?" asked Seppuku.
Jody pointed her finger up at Seppuku, "I'm going with you."
Chiya sighed and dipped her head down, Seppuku then smirked at her, "Why would I take you with us?"
Jody grunted and then got a very fake smile, "Be- because, we're friends…"
Seppuku twitched his eyebrow at her for a few moments, then broke out into laughter. Chiya smiled and shook her head negatively, Did she actually think that was gonna' work? Jody then sighed and dipped her head down.
"I suppose you want compensation then?"
Seppuku nodded, "But money is no fun, I want something other than money."
"Oh for God sakes, I just want to ask the Emperor a few damn questions!"
Seppuku chuckled at her, "I don't like your attitude, how about you tone it down."
Jody grunted and then growled, "What is it you want?"
Seppuku held his hand out towards her, "I already had something in mind…" Chiya and Earl both raised their eyebrows at Seppuku, "Do remember, I still have access to the Federation database-I know about your secret operation on Magica you're trying to pull off…"
Chiya immediately gasped at the mentioning of Magica, this was the rival planet of Mysteria. Jody grinded her teeth and shook negatively, "I- I honestly have no idea what you-"
"Let's face it, the queen of Mysteria is too ill right now, she'll be dead in a week maximum…" Chiya let out a loud gasp and shook negatively, "Soon the heir to the throne will take over…"
"Ou- our glorious leader is dying?" asked a surprised Chiya.
Seppuku slowly nodded at her, he then pointed at Chiya, "I think you see where I'm going with this Summer…"
Earl had a concerned look as he looked at the three constantly, "What are you guys talking about?"
Jody quirked her mouth, "You're right, Chiya does look a bit like the heir…"
Chiya grunted and rubbed her forehead, "Come on then, what are you talking about?"
Jody disregarded Chiya and narrowed her eyes at Seppuku, "Interesting proposal, but why do you care about this operation?"
Seppuku and Chiya then continued to stare at each other, Seppuku licked his lips and momentarily looked at Chiya and Earl, "Nothing much, but it will benefit me."
Chiya stomped her foot down, "Oh come on already, what do I have to do w-"
"Take me before the Emperor, and we can continue this discussion in privacy," she narrowed her eyes at Chiya, "This matter really should be kept private from your associates…"
Seppuku smirked and held his hand out towards her, "Deal."
The two then shook hands, but both Earl and Chiya were left wondering what this deal was about, clearly Chiya was involved in some way. Seppuku then closed the lobby door and nodded.
"Very well Summer, you can hitch a ride with us-both our F-Zero machines are under maintenance so we'll be taking Bendek's car."
Jody sighed, "Fine…"
Not much later, the four went driving down the streets of the Upper City-Seppuku was driving Earl's car, Jody was sitting next to him, leaving Chiya and Earl to sit in the back. Chiya and Earl both showed signs of discomfort having Jody ride along with them, Chiya was alarmed at the secret deal the two had made, as she knew that she would be involved in some way. Earl glanced down at Chiya's hand for a few moment and frowned, her fingernails were now practically void of paint-but he could easily tell that she had scraped it off. There were small bits of purple paint still around the edges of her nails, he then grunted and looked at her face-her hair was no longer combed as beautifully as before; he was completely lost as to why a girl would intentionally remove their beauty. Chiya then turned her head towards Earl with a surprised look, Earl then quirked his mouth and glanced away from her. Chiya simply dipped her head down and revealed a faint smile.
"Maybe the Emperor is going to arrest you guys, considering each and every one of you are criminals," Jody proposed.
Chiya narrowed her eyes angrily, "I'm no crim-"
"I can kick you out of the car whenever I wish Summer, I suggest you don't provoke me or my associates," threatened Seppuku.
Earl made a grunt of approval and nodded, Jody moved her eyes towards Earl in response and raised an eyebrow, "I heard about your historic speech to the Manchurians," she then glanced at Chiya for a moment, "Well, I heard more about her, but regardless…"
Earl smirked and nodded, "That's right, and now I can finally rest easy knowing that not every person in Korea hates me."
Jody sighed and shrugged, "Yeah, we live in a time where you can get away with mass murder with a simple apology," she then smirked and rolled her eyes, "Maybe Black Shadow will come and apologize, I'm sure we'd let him off the hook if it was good enough," she said sarcastically.
Earl stuck his tongue out slightly, "It wasn't my apology that touched the people, it was that someone stood up for me-the courage it took to do that was inspiring to everyone, it proved to them that I'm not some heartless monster, I continued to stay strong and make friends." He then sighed and put his hand on Chiya's shoulder, "Well, a friend…"
Chiya smiled at him and nodded, Seppuku then held his finger up in the air, "We're friends too Bendek, you just annoy the crap out of me sometimes," he then looked at Chiya and smirked, "But not as much as Flower, she's naturally annoying and boneheaded…"
"Hey!" Chiya spat out taking offense to this.
Seppuku glanced over at Jody for a moment, "Is the Imperial Palace considered a part of the Upper City, or an entire different section?"
Jody quirked her mouth and looked away angrily, "What do you think?"
"I think you're a bat."
A moment of silence then followed, Earl momentarily took his hand off of Chiya's shoulder. Chiya continued to look both at Earl and the night sky, she placed her hand on her cheek and looked at the Federation HQ that towered over the metropolis. She then lowered her eyebrows and tapped her cheeks a few times.
"Why do you two hate each other?" she asked calmly.
Seppuku and Jody both jolted their heads up at the question, Earl got a puzzled look on his face and raised an eyebrow-he knew Seppuku's side of the story, but not Jody's.
"Because she sandbagged me at every corner during my job as an officer."
"Because he was and still is a ruthless killer who gets some high off of watching people die."
Chiya glared at the two and shrugged, "Work? That's it? Because of work?"
The two didn't respond, Chiya continued to shake her head negatively at both Jody and Seppuku, "Surely you guys knew each other outside of work too, what went wrong?"
Seppuku glanced over at Jody for a moment and nodded, "Stewart was my favorite friend in the Federation-but admittedly, there was a time that I didn't really hate Summer."
Jody smirked at him and chuckled slightly, "He and me were good bowling partners."
Chiya slightly smiled and nodded, "Were you guys, friends?"
Seppuku and Jody both looked at each other with fierce looks, Seppuku then shrugged and looked away, "I guess I considered her a buddy at times."
"Well, what went wrong?" asked Earl.
Jody looked out the window and sighed, "I didn't want to fire him, he was our best weapon at times-if you needed something done with brute force, the Lieutenant was always our man…" Seppuku grinned and nodded, Jody then placed her hand on her cheek and sighed, "But he never seemed to regard the fact that many of these crime scenes were broadcasted, or that children could be present at the scene…"
Seppuku then shook his head negatively at her, "Damn parents fault, keep the kiddies away!"
"Not only was he a brutal person, he also felt that it was necessary to grant himself with gifts found at the scene," she then poked Seppuku's rifle he had in the car, "That rifle isn't even legal to own, it was part of an arms deal-the right thing to do would be to scrap it, but he just took the loot for himself."
"I put it to better use."
"-by killing…" added Jody.
He began to chuckle and looked back at Chiya, "Sometimes I use it to scare Flower too."
Jody crossed her arms and exhaled, "Me and Stewart knew about what he was doing, but I seemed to be the only one who supported firing him-not because I wanted to, but because it was the right thing to-"
"You idiot, we wouldn't have even had a gang war in Mute City if you just kept me around a bit longer-I would've had both Chain and Blaskovitz dead before they even established a base of operations…"
"Dead is the keyword! Why kill Seppuku? How was this helping us?"
Seppuku shook his head negatively, "Well, since we didn't kill Blaskovitz earlier, he's now a zombie."
"We would have eventually fabricated a warrant for his execution-and we did, and your little killer back here did the dirty work."
Chiya growled and slammed her fists down angrily, "I'm not a killer! I haven't killed anyone for like a year!"
Jody slowly turned her head towards Chiya, "Six years ago, is when you became a killer…"
Chiya immediately gasped and shook her head at her constantly, "Okay, okay, I'll be quiet!"
Earl lowered his eyebrows and continued to stare at her, Chiya glanced at him for a moment and shook her head negatively. She then grabbed his arm and threw her face into his shoulder, "I- I'm not a killer…" she muttered softly.
The four eventually made it through the gates of the Imperial Palace, both Chiya and Earl had looks of shock as they looked at the large structure. There were two armed Japanese militiamen escorting them to the door. Chiya rubbed her head as she gazed up at the many floors of the building.
"This is pretty incredible, but I wonder why it's not as big as the Federation HQ…" Chiya pondered aloud.
"The Emperor doesn't require the largest building in the city-that's how an American thinks," said Jody.
Earl raised an eyebrow at her and tilted his head, "Are you from America?"
Jody swished her hand at him, "I'm not answering that."
Seppuku grabbed Chiya and forced her to the front of the group, she immediately looked at him with a shocked look, "Wha-"
"You're the one he wants to see, certainly not me or Summer."
Chiya nodded and continued up a small fleet of stairs, the group stayed closely behind her as she nervously looked at the door. She stood in front of the door and hesitantly moved her hand towards it-but it opened before she even touched it. She gasped and looked up, she was immediately confronted with a young black haired woman who was bowing to her.
"Ms. Flower, Emperor Yamato is ecstatic that you accepted his invitation to the palace."
Chiya swallowed and nodded quickly, "You're the one I was speaking with on the phone?" She quickly nodded her head, Chiya then smiled and shook her hand, "You're very pretty, I wish-"
"Are, these all your guests?" she asked with one eye closed.
Chiya narrowed her eyes and nodded, "Between you and me, I would've only brought one of the three if it were my choice…" she whispered to her.
Seppuku began to chuckle and punched Earl's arm, "Damn Bendek, she would've left you and Summer behind if she could. Earl simply rolled his eyes at him.
"Please, come in, and remove your footwear as you enter."
Chiya nodded and immediately slipped out of her jackboots, Jody and Earl did the same as they walked in-but Seppuku kept his on. Jody sighed and face palmed as she walked alongside Seppuku.
"Can't even take your boots off?"
Seppuku got a smug look on his face and shook negatively, "I don't take em' off in my own base, certainly not taking them off here."
Earl walked up to Chiya quickly and tapped her shoulder, she moved her eyes towards him without turning her head.
"Maybe you should confront the Emperor alone, then call us in when you're done," he proposed silently.
Chiya nodded, "Yes, Seppuku and Jody will stay outside while we talk to him."
Earl grunted and glanced back at the two, then back at her, "We?"
Chiya nodded affirmatively, "Because you're not trouble, those two are practically the same-only Jody's a woman. My point being, those two will just make things bad."
The group then approached a traditional sliding door, the secretary moved over and opened it for Chiya. Chiya grabbed Earl's hand and brought him towards the door, she then stopped and looked at the secretary.
"I'll tell these two when they can come in."
Seppuku and Jody both gasped in shock, the secretary bowed to her and smiled, "As you wish."
"What the Hell, Flower!" Seppuku complained.
Chiya smirked at him and continued through the door with Earl, closing the slide door behind her. Jody then sighed and dipped her head down. Seppuku simply quirked his mouth and nodded.
"See, my life isn't that easy-I have to put up with her…"
Chiya immediately let go of Earl's hand and continued with him up the room, it was a very casual looking part of the building-almost like an ordinary household. Chiya puckered her lips and looked at Earl, "What does the Emperor look like anyways?"
Earl shrugged, "Never saw a picture of him, I imagine he wears some big robe, crown, carries a cane, gold, maybe s-"
The two then gasped as a fairly young man in a white uniform came walking towards them from across the room. The man had black combed hair and a very clean appearance, he came forward with his arms behind his back. Earl widened his eyes at the man, he then looked over at Chiya-who had a love struck look on her face. Chiya made a few grunting noises at the young man-who could only be a bit older than her.
"Hello, Ms. Flower, Mr. Bendek."
Earl grunted and widened his eyes, wondering how the man knew his name. Chiya bowed to him and shook his hand immediately, "Uh, hi! Is your father around?"
The man had a slight smile on his face as he bowed to her, "My father had passed years ago, I was heir to the throne."
Chiya gasped and widened her eyes at him, "Wait, wha- you're the Emperor of Japan!?"
The man nodded affirmatively, "Yes, I am Emperor Yamato."
Earl rubbed his forehead and shook in disbelief, "I pictured you being much older…"
The Emperor turned his head towards Earl and grinned, "I'm thirty-seven."
Chiya and Earl both gasped, Chiya began to chuckle, "Uh, really? Because you look younger than Earl!"
Earl then lowered his eyebrows and grunted, "I- I'm only five years younger than you Chiya…"
"I apologize for having little availability for this meeting, so I will keep things brief so we may all retire for rest." The Emperor then put his legs together firmly and looked at Chiya with a determined smile, "You are going to be a good racer, and a model for many-Japan needs more people like you."
Earl raised an eyebrow at him suspiciously, Chiya gave the Emperor a puzzled look, "I think I'm a kindhearted person, but how could that help this country?"
"A simple request really, and I am hopeful that you will accept my request…" Chiya patiently waited to hear the request, the Emperor had a simple and determined look on his face, "I would be honored if you represented Japan as an F-Zero racer."
Earl lowered his eyebrows and quirked his mouth at the request, Chiya scratched her head in confusion, "Represent Japan? How?"
"Simply declare your loyalty to the Land of the Rising Sun, perhaps attach some Japanese emblems to your machine-allow everyone to know that you race for Japan."
Chiya hummed and placed her finger on her lip, Earl then pointed at the Emperor with a somewhat frustrated look, "Now hold on a second, you already have Samurai Goroh doing that."
The Emperor dipped his head down and sighed, "Goroh is not an honorable man, he represents Japan-but we do not condone this," he then looked back at Chiya, "Perhaps if a kinder soul such as yourself were to represent Japan, we could finally be looked at as a nation of kindhearted heroes-not pirates."
"I don't kno-ow…"
Earl then smirked at the Emperor, "That's all good, but I was kind of hoping that she may represent Korea."
The Emperor immediately lowered his eyebrows in disapproval, Chiya grunted as she looked at Earl, "Well, yes, I do love Korea too…"
"Korea is not your home, many of the people there dislike both of you currently-Japan is your true home Chiya."
"I guess so, but my real home-"
"There's probably more Chiya fans in Korea than Japan, mind you, Chiya did move a lot of hearts when she gave her speech."
Chiya closed her eyes in discomfort and pointed up, "If I may just spe-"
"Japan is a much more advanced nation as well, Korea is only independent because of us."
Earl then narrowed his eyes at her, "What was that?" he asked in a cold tone.
Chiya grunted and widened her eyes at the two, the Emperor then smirked at Earl calmly, "Korea only remained independent because we did, if it were not for Japan, the United Powers would have annexed Korea years ago." He then brushed his hair and stared at Earl more intensely, "And regardless, Korea may have been annexed if it weren't for your destructive decision during the war."
Chiya finally sighed and dipped her head down, realizing that she had no say in the matter.
Earl shook his fist at the Emperor and growled, "She'll pick Korea because she has more Korean culture than Japanese!"
"I for one believe she will pick Japan merely out of logic, Korea isn't worth representing."
Earl growled more loudly and glared at him, "No one regards Japan as anything great either, not when you have sports, theme parks, and a superior military in the United Powers."
"Korea wouldn't be a nation if it weren't for Japan, the peninsula would have likely been a part of China if it weren't for us in the twentieth century."
Earl grinded his teeth, "How about you calm down for a minute Mr. Tojo."
The Emperor immediately took offense to this and narrowed his eyes at Earl and vice-versa. Chiya was simply standing in between the two with an angered look as the two had a stare down.
"Just pick Korea so we can leave Chiya…"
"Japan is the superior choice Ms. Flower."
Chiya growled and began to tremble in anger, "Can I speak now?"
Both Earl and the Emperor gasped, she then lifted her head up and looked at Earl, "I'm not representing Korea, I have no heritage from the land and little knowledge about it."
The Emperor smirked at Earl with a look of pride, Earl snapped his fingers and sighed, "Damn."
Chiya then looked at the Emperor, "I'm not representing Japan either, I do have heritage from this nation-but ultimately this was just where I ended up as a result of a dark past…"
The Emperor grunted and began to tap his foot, "I urge you to reconsider!"
"Oh God, you're not gonna' represent the United Powers, are you?" asked Earl.
Chiya shook negatively, she then turned towards the two, giving them a look of pride, "I am an independent woman and will make my own decisions." Earl dipped his head down and closed his eyes, feeling bad that he was trying to control her decision. Chiya momentarily nodded at the two, "I represent my planet-Mysteria."
Both Earl and the Emperor gasped, the Emperor momentarily narrowed his eyes in disgust at Chiya, "Mysteria? Why not just put a big swastika on your machine while you're at it?"
Chiya gave him an angry look and puckered her lips, "Maybe I will!"
Earl then grabbed her arm and moved up to her ear, "N- no, we're not putting a swastika on your machine…"
Chiya grunted and raised an eyebrow at him, "Wait, what's a swastika?"
"Ms. Flower, why would you represent such a planet? They threaten the galaxy on a regular basis."
Earl nodded in agreement, Chiya licked her lips as she looked at the two, "I love the planet, not the government-therefore I race for the planet, and not the government."
She then brushed her bangs aside and gave the Emperor a solid stare, "I once heard from a role model; you should never hate a nation, just the government, but not the land, people, or soldiers."
Earl momentarily broke his angry look and began to grin, he momentarily ended up nodding in respect for her. The Emperor rubbed his chin and sighed, "I suppose it isn't mandatory that you represent Japan-but I implore that you don't ruin your reputation by representing Mysteria."
"Hey, she made her decision, it's a good decision-I like it."
Chiya smiled at Earl and looked at the Emperor again, who had a disappointed look, "Is this your final stance on the matter Ms. Flower? Will you reconsider?"
Chiya immediately shook negatively, "Mysteria, I am true to my family and planet."
The Emperor sighed and nodded, "Very well, I respect your desire to honor Mysteria, even if I do not agree with you."
Chiya poked Earl's arm, "Go get those two, I don't plan on staying much longer."
Earl nodded and ran over to the slide door, the Emperor then raised an eyebrow at her, "I was preparing for bed, who are these two you speak of, Ms. Flower?"
Seppuku and Jody then entered the room, the Emperor immediately widened his eyes and sighed at the sight of them.
"Ah, two more familiar faces to me…" he said with a look of displeasure.
Jody immediately approached the Emperor and bowed, "Emperor Yamato," she greeted.
The Emperor lowered his eyelids, "Jody Summer-Chief of the Federation…" The Emperor glanced over at Seppuku and widened his eyes in fear, "Uh, Lieutenant Seppuku."
"Yo."
The Emperor rubbed the back of his head nervously, "We've heard things about you…"
Chiya smiled, "Anything good?"
"N- no, not so much…"
"Emperor Yamato, I had sent a request quite some time ago asking-"
"Uh, yes, I've yet to read any of your many messages to me…"
Jody cleared her throat and nodded, "I was hoping you could acknowledge a specific request however, which is why I came in person…" Seppuku then lowered his eyebrows at Jody, "I would like you to consider the curfew for the Lower City-for all ages, it will help limit the amount of criminals on the streets."
Seppuku, Earl, and Chiya all gasped at the request, Jody smirked at Seppuku with a devious look. Seppuku immediately began to growl in response, having completely forgot about her past attempt to do this-which everyone agreed was likely aimed at Seppuku. The Emperor dipped his head down and rubbed his forehead.
"Uh, yes, I did read that request before, but I cannot condone such an unlawful piece of legislation…"
Jody gasped and widened her eyes, Seppuku immediately pointed at her, "Ha!"
"Emperor, it will greatly reduce the crime rate in Mute City, surely you-"
"It restricts freedom to the already suffering citizens of the Lower City, this would be unfair and be an example of authoritarianism if I agreed to this."
Jody dipped her head down and sighed, Chiya smiled at Seppuku and gave him a thumbs up, "Well, I guess everything's gonna' be okay!" Chiya said happily aloud.
The Emperor bowed to Jody with a stern look, "I recommend you not further speak publicly about this matter-people may start to accuse you of being a supporter of limited freedom."
Jody nodded and sighed again, "Yes, I see your point…"
The Emperor stretched and bowed again to the four as he backed up, "I am disheartened that Ms. Flower declined my request, but I must return to my study now-I look forward to watching you three in the Grand Prix."
He then turned around and proceeded through a door, Seppuku immediately wrapped his arm around Jody and smiled at her. She looked him in the eyes angrily, "What?"
"You lost, I won, and I expect you to honor your deal with me."
Jody growled at him, but nodded momentarily, "Be honest with me Seppuku, you want something out of this Magica mission-what is it?"
Seppuku quirked his mouth and shook negatively, "I have my reasoning, my point being, that Chiya would make the perfect resource for this mission, correct?"
Jody looked at Chiya and quirked her mouth, Chiya momentarily smiled nervously at Jody, "She is perfect, perhaps we should try something," she then turned her head towards Seppuku, "But I'm serious, if you're up to something, you tell me! Or I'll have you thrown in the slammer!"
Seppuku began to chuckle, then looked at Earl, "Those two would get me out…"
Earl shook negatively, "Actually, Chiya and me would retire and leave for Vietnam together."
Chiya grunted and began to blush, Seppuku immediately stomped his foot down and spun towards the two, "What!? Vietnam?"
Jody smirked, "Very loyal companions you have Lieutenant…"
Chiya exhaled and smiled, realizing that Earl was still on board with the idea of going to Vietnam with her. This told her that she needed to keep her chin up, realizing that he still wanted to do this with her badly-at any time she could leave with him. Chiya looked at Seppuku and bit her lip, she was being used in Seppuku and Jody's plan like an expendable resource-Chiya had a feeling that by the end of this, she'd be off to Hanoi with Earl in no time.
To be continued…