Chapter 52:
Imperial Archivist Hideo Yoshinaka sat in his office awaiting the arrival of the Imperial Academy's only Regent.
He had heard a lot about this young man from his fellow archivists. The young man's exploits within the Urashima Conglomerate caused significant change within Japanese heavy industry marking the Urashima Heir as someone not to be trifled with. Everyone he went after was fired, fined, jailed, or all of the above. How did this young man manage to unseat such powerful men so decisively in a short period of time? Were his colleagues not aware of the financial moves the Urashima Heir was making? Did they not take precautions that could have protected them from his sweeping changes? Or were they just careless in keeping their dirty little secrets hidden?
Either way, the young man was obviously young, ambitious, and powerful. Perhaps a little too powerful. There had never been a situation where the Emperor's precious Academy was under the management of a single regent. This was unheard of and completely unacceptable. While this situation was not in violation of any known laws in the decree, the Archivist felt that such power should not only be held by one man. He felt that the management of such a prestigious historical asset should be done by committee. Preferably, by men who have been serving the Emperor for a long time. Like himself, for instance.
As such, he had been looking for a way to depose the young regent. The Urashima Heir already had a powerful conglomerate under his thumb, so why should he have sole control over the First Academy of Exceptional Servants? With his wealth, he could buy anything, or anyone, he wanted. Young women from all over Japan were probably vying for his attention, so why would he need to be in charge of a facility which trained young girls in the sexual arts and made them all available to him at his whim? This was extremely unfair.
Many powerful Japanese men made sure to become "friends" with one of the Regents of the Imperial Academy. In exchange for economical and political favors, the Regents would allow them to partake of the benefits provided by the Emperor's most unique national asset. All it needed was a good word here, a positive vote there, and they could be entertained by a girl who could outperform any of the high class prostitutes they frequently called on. Graduates of the Academy were all young, beautiful, intelligent, and above all, discrete. Thus, these opportunistic men never had to worry about their indiscretions being revealed by a rival. So being with these slave girls was not only immensely more enjoyable, it was also provided a level of safety and security as well.
But now that was all gone. The aftermath of the Urashima Heir's work caused a silent ripple effect within Japanese government and industry. Without the old Regents, there was much dissension within various political circles as agreements were no longer being honored and new deals couldn't be made. As the dirty old men bickered among themselves, the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), swept in and took advantage of their conflict. With the loss of solidarity within "good ol' boy" network, they no longer covered for each other and thus it became a small matter for law enforcement officials to arrest the corrupt men one by one. In the end, nearly all of them were either jailed or fled the country. Only a handful remained, fortunate to have kept themselves hidden by shying away from everyone else once they saw the writing on the wall.
Now the Archivist had a plan. With the information he received from the Kingdom of Molmol, he planned on removing the young Regent from his post. At the very least, the allegations he would present would be enough to suspend the young man's operations. This would allow him to appoint "temporary" Regents whom both he and the Kingdom of Molmol would have agreed upon ahead of time. And while the Urashima Heir scrambled in his legal affairs, he would partake of the benefits of being a "friend" of a Regent. It would be the start of restoring his circle of influence while using Academy for what it really was. A resource to be used by Japan's privileged few.
A knock on the door brought the Archivist out of his musings and signaled the arrival of the Urashima Heir. His secretary walked in escorting the young man to his seat, and then waited for nervously for any further instructions. She had only been on this job a few weeks, and had been resistant to his advances. He had considered using more forceful means of coercion on the girl until he met with the Molmolian Emissary. Now, he didn't really care about her anymore. He was going to get an Academy girl, after all. So much to the girl's relief, she was quickly dismissed.
"So you wanted to see me Mister Yoshinaka?" Keitaro asked pleasantly as he sat down.
"Yes. I had some questions regarding the re-establishment of the Imperial Academy in Hinata. We have been going over the paperwork and have some concerns we would like you to address," the Archivist said simply.
"Ummm…okay, what concerns?" the young man asked curiously.
"Our main concern is the statute of secrecy surrounding the Imperial Decree. By law, information regarding the Academy is to kept in confidence and must only be shared with authorized individuals. As such, we're wondering what your justification was for informing a Miss Shinobu Maehara of the Imperial Decree. She is neither an Urashima family member, nor is she a registered member of the Academy. Can you explain her paperwork?" asked Yoshinaka.
"Shinobu is my employee and I'm having her manage the day to day operation of the Hinata Inn. Due to her working in close proximity to the First Academy, it was necessary for her to be under my employ in order to follow the rules of the Imperial Decree," Keitaro answered honestly.
"I see. Were you not aware that the decree specifically states that only Urashima Retainers are allowed knowledge of the decree?" The Archivist asked pointedly.
"Actually, the decree doesn't say that. The only time the issue of a Retainer comes up in the Decree is for access to the First Academy. While Shinobu is allowed knowledge of the facility, she isn't allowed in it," answered the young Regent as he wondered what the old man was getting at.
"Mr. Urashima, as an Archivist I assure you I am very well versed in the Imperial Decree regarding the Academy. The verbiage that differentiates a Retainer versus an Employee applies to everything about the Imperial Academy, not just access to a specific building," pushed the Archivist condescendingly.
"Really? That was the interpretation given to us, and I even confirmed it with our legal team and other member's of the Imperial Archive," Keitaro reasoned.
"Be that as it may, that is not my interpretation. I intend to present this to the Archive council as a violation of the statute," Yoshinaka said firmly.
"But why? I mean, the interpretation is sound and we had the approval of the Archive in writing. I even read it myself multiple times and thought the decree's distinction between 'retainer' and 'employee' was clearly for access to anything pertaining to the Academy," the young Regent asked, wondering why he was sensing so much hostility from the older man.
"Because it is STILL a violation of an Imperial decree, Regent Urashima. Such violations must not be allowed to stand, and it is our job here at the Archive to ensure that you follow what you have been decreed to do to the letter," the Archivist answered.
"Well, all right. Could I be present when you present this to the council so I can give my justification for it?" Keitaro asked, not liking where this was going.
"Of course you can. In fact, you are required to be present as this isn't the only item that will be raised. There is also the matter of Naru Narusegawa," the old man stated.
"Naru? What about her? Is she in trouble or something?" The young man asked with concern.
"Actually, she's not the one in trouble. You are. Ms. Narusegawa is another individual that you revealed the Imperial Decree to. Once again, she is neither a family member nor a retainer of the Urashima. This is another violation on your part," Yoshinaka accused.
"What? What are you talking about? I haven't told Naru anything!" Keitaro argued.
"That is not what we are led to believe. We have a sworn statement from her indicating that not only does she have knowledge of the Imperial Decree and the First Academy but also that it came directly from you. And this time, you did not even bother with going through the non-disclosure process. This is an even bigger violation and will probably cost you your Regency," the Archivist said, internally enjoying the panic in the young man's eyes.
"That's nuts! She and I aren't even in speaking terms. Why would I even tell her anything about that? There has to be some mistake!" The young landlord contested.
"There is no mistake, Mister Urashima. This document and the questionable disclosure to Ms. Maehara points to a lack of responsibility on your part. Not only are we troubled by your disregard for the finer points of the decree and but we also have concerns about your questionable machinations to make yourself the only Regent of the Academy. We have taken notice of how you went about removing the old Regents and deemed it necessary to investigate further. Once we confirm our suspicions, a motion to remove your Regency will be submitted to the Imperial court," Yoshinaka explained firmly.
Keitaro nearly screamed, "What? You can't do that! Then there would be no Regents!"
"Correct. In the interim, control of the Academy would fall to the Imperial Archive until this matter is resolved. I'm sorry Mr. Urashima but you leave us no choice. You have clearly violated the decree and the Archive will most likely release you and your family's ownership of the Imperial Academy. We already have people in line who are more suited to run the Emperor's most prestigious asset."
"P-People in line?" Keitaro asked.
"Yes. We at the Archive believe that a single Regent is insufficient to run the Academy. Thus, we have selected three people who not only are more qualified, but already have years of experience of running the school," said Yoshinaka condescendingly.
"Years of experience? What are you talking about?"
"Former Regents Mr. Sorayama, Mr. Kawazu, and Mr. Takamine, have been selected to manage the Academy by re-instating them as Regents," said the Archivist.
"WHAT? They were some of the more corrupt Regents we removed! Do you even know what they were doing before they were fired? They're STILL being sought after by several government agencies including the Ministry of Justice," Keitaro argued.
"Yes, but they will now be working very closely with the Archive. This will ensure they act appropriately as well as preventing further transgressions such as yours form occurring in the future. They have all been extremely cooperative and have even agreed to various concessions in order to resume their old posts," Yoshinka said firmly. Deep inside, he reveled at the young man's panic. Such a weakling had no place running the Emperor's Academy.
Keitaro took a moment to calm himself while mulling over the situation he was in. It baffled him that the Imperial Archive would consider appointing individuals already suspected of graft and fraud while removing him on the grounds of a technicality. In fact, this entire situation reeked of the same corruption that he had removed from the Urashima conglomerate many months ago. He pondered this a bit until he remembered a recent conversation he had with Granny Hina.
The Urashima Matriarch had commended him on removing the criminals who were managing his family's assets but warned him that not everyone who was corrupt was caught. There were still a small number of individuals out there who made themselves scarce when he implemented his plan to clean up the family business. Granny Hina warned him that his actions would probably make him many enemies, and they would most likely strike him quickly and decisively once they acquired the means. Unfortunately, he began to realize that the corruption probably went further up than he expected.
Sadly, the Urashima Heir had to accept that the Archive wasn't the bastion of honor and tradition it used to be. If it would allow an Archivist to associate with the likes of Sorayama, then it certainly wasn't immune to corruption. The former Regent was the one that allowed Molmol to trade with Japan while paying very little in the form of tariffs. Several other foreign interests also gained similar favor from him through bribes and kickbacks. Money was coming from everywhere, and the corrupt executive made sure to take advantage of his former position as Regent and Chairman of the Urashima International Trade division to help himself to it. And now this man was going to regain control of the Academy, and in effect, his little sisters? This was not going to stand.
Keitaro had not only been raised to become the next Urashima head, but he was also taken aside and educated by Granny Hina who was perhaps the most ruthless political mover in all of Japan. The Urashima Matriarch took the conditioning her grandson received from the former family council and channeled his knowledge into more productive and honorable, yet still devious, methods of acquisition in order to assure the security of the family and their enterprises. She even shared many anecdotes as if they were bedtime stories and lovingly filled his mind with ideas on how to protect all that he cherished. Through her care, he had learned how act, react, and move decisively with whatever resources he was given.
It would have surprised most to know that such resolve actually existed in the usually passive young man. But then again, such cunning was hardly necessary when he merely had to deal with the random abuse he experienced from his tenants. They were his friends, after all. And allowing them their nuances meant that he could keep their comfortable, yet somewhat dysfunctional, home intact. But things were different now. They had become more than just his friends. They were his loved ones. His sisters. His girls. And now they were in danger.
Upon coming to this realization, the instinct that drove Keitaro to go against his own family to save his sister once again came storming out of its resting place deep within his psyche. There would be no more games. The Hinata Inn's pushover landlord disappeared and was quickly replaced by the Urashima Heir in full "soon-to-be-head-of-family" mode. It only took him a few moments to take stock of the situation before he decided his next courses of action. The first of which was to stop the arrogant Archivist's current monologue.
"…and further, we will most likely seize control of the Hinata compound so that…" the Archivist rattled off only to be interrupted by a significantly less passive young man.
"No," Keitaro said firmly.
"Excuse me, did you say something?" Yoshinaka asked, unhappy that he was interrupted.
"I said, NO. Those old criminals won't be re-instated and I will NOT be relinquishing control of the Academy to you," the young Regent reiterated.
"I'm afraid you have no say in the matter, Mr. Urashima. Once I submit this paperwork, you will no longer be a Regent," the Archivist said menacingly. How dare this upstart challenge a member of the Archive!
"By the Imperial decree, the Academy is property of the Urashima family. You cannot tell us how to run our business," Keitaro said.
"A business which was mandated BY an Imperial Decree. The business is property of the Japanese government, of which I am a representative of," the older man argued.
"Incorrect. The Urashima have records which say otherwise. The Emperor tasked us to build something and run it, which we did. OUR family was specifically chosen for this task since he did not trust any other family to do it honorably and discretely. YOU represent the library of rules that govern how the Urashima are to run the Academy but you are NOT in charge of enforcing it. If anything, you would have to present your case to the Imperial court. But prior to that, you would have to get it reviewed by the Emperor's advisors," Keitaro explained.
The Archivist blinked. The young man was technically correct. Perhaps he wouldn't be such a pushover after all. "Which I intend to do as soon as this meeting is over," the Archivist said defensively.
"Good, because I will also be there when you present your case. And I not only intend to contest the outrageous claims you are making but I will also insist that you explain why you feel three individuals suspected of various criminal acts would be fit to run the Emperor's Academy," the young man added.
"As I said, they will be working closely with the Imperial Archive…" the old man started, only to be interrupted by Keitaro once more.
"I will also be asking exactly which members of the Archive these crooks will be working with. By the Emperor's mandate, only those with impeccable histories may be elevated to Regency. Their direct liaisons are also expected to maintain the same standard. Unfortunately, these men have a history of associating with individuals with questionable motives. So as part of my appeal, I will be demanding background checks on everyone involved," suggested the young Regent.
Yoshinaka could only gape at the young man in shock. Would he really do such a thing? "Are you threatening the Imperial Archive with an investigation?" The Archivist said, aghast.
"No, just you and whoever you're working with. If it turns out that the entire Archive supports this travesty then I will be using my family's position in the Imperial Court to force an investigation into the most venerable of all the Emperor's institutions. I'm guessing it will only be you since I doubt anyone else would be stupid enough to work with Sorayama and Takamine. Both men are still being sought after by the Japanese government, after all. In fact, the only way those criminals could have avoided jail time was if they were given political asylum by a foreign government. I'm starting to think that they already got that from the Kingdom of Molmol," Keitaro stated as he began to work things out in his head.
"Which makes the charges against them useless as they cannot be prosecuted due to their diplomatic immunity," the old man said with a sneer, despite his growing concern. He had assumed that the young man would try to bargain or bribe him, which would allow him to revoke the Urashima Heir's regency on the spot. Instead, he was turning the tables on him.
"Doesn't matter. Even if the Japanese government is unable to prosecute, I have enough evidence of their corruption to make them ineligible to run the Academy. Not to mention, there is also the issue of them no longer being Japanese nationals which is yet ANOTHER requirement for Regency. Either way, the point is moot because the decision isn't yours to make. You, and whoever you get to agree with you, will have to take this case to the Imperial Court. I'll be there waiting for you, evidence in hand. And since we're going to be fighting over the Emperor's Academy, it will be fitting that we argue over this in front of the Emperor himself," the young Regent explained firmly.
"T-The Emperor?" Yoshinaka asked worriedly. Was this young man serious? Would he really have the means to have an audience with the Emperor?
"Essentially you're removing the Academy from Urashima control. I'm sure the present Emperor will want to know your reasoning behind this decision. Hopefully you will have your answers prepared. Besides, I've been meaning to tell him about the awful things certain people have been doing to the Academy established by his honored ancestors, so I think this would be a great time for me to do so," Keitaro explained.
The Archivist's mind was reeling at this turn of events. This was not the behavior he was expecting from the young man. The reports he received from his conspirators said that the Urashima Heir was a passive imbecile. Instead, here he was slowly painting the Archive into a corner by suggesting that they speak directly to the Emperor about one of his most guarded secrets. Ludicrous! "Y-You're bluffing! No one can have such ties to the Emperor!" he exclaimed.
Keitaro just shrugged. "I don't have to. Very few of the old families that were members of the Imperial Court remain. The Urashima are one of them. You're in change of the historical archives. You think he'll refuse an audience with one of the few remaining members of his court?" he asked.
The older man thought for a moment and grimaced. History and tradition were a very important part of the new Japan. With so many of the old families gone, the remaining families in the court were elevated to near nobility. The Urashima were no exception, especially since they had been instrumental in many projects that helped stimulate the Japanese economy since the war. The Emperor would be hard pressed to refuse an audience requested by the Urashima Heir.
"Given your family's history with the Imperial Court, I believe the Emperor would allow an audience. Nonetheless, the allegations are sound and you are clearly in violation," Yoshinaka said, not entirely convinced of it himself. At best, it really was a technicality. It essentially did have to be argued. And since it was an Imperial Decree, the final say in the matter would have to come from the Emperor. He did not expect someone so young to actually know about the Decree and the laws surrounding it.
"If you say so. As I said, I'll want to know exactly who supports your interpretation of this rule. Let me know when you want to have that meeting with the Imperial Court. If you don't schedule it by next week, I'll schedule it myself," Keitaro warned.
"You would schedule your own trial yourself?" The Archivist asked disbelievingly.
The young man shrugged and said, "Whatever gets me to talk to the Emperor quicker. It's not like the Archive is going to drop their allegations anytime soon, are they?"
"Even if you stand to lose the Academy and everything?"
"I believe that I've been diligent, honest, and honorable in everything I've done in order to follow the Emperor's Decree. The Archive you work for even holds the evidence for this. Can YOU make the same claim?" The young man replied.
