Chapter 7: The More Things Change…

The situation did not look good, and just when Keisuke believed that things could not possibly get any worse…

They did.

They were having a private discussion with Lord Katsu in his study. It was only early morning, but the advisor already looked tired and haggard. Probably been up the whole night, he decided. In fact, it was doubtful that anyone in the palace had gotten a great deal of sleep lately…Keisuke himself included. Everyone had dark shadows under their eyes…except Nicholas, he amended silently. And I've never even seen him resting! Unless he sleeps with his eyes open…

Somehow, the thought of anyone doing such a thing made his skin crawl. Still, I wouldn't put it past him! That man is NOT normal…

"I'm afraid this conspiracy goes far deeper than we originally thought," Katsu informed them grimly. "We had Gentokuin's quarters searched, and found several letters from Lord Shinjiku." The advisor's hand clenched into a fist, crumpling the paper he held. "There was mention of a pact which had been made with Kutou. Once Empress Houki was dead, Kutou's army would invade and make Konan one of their protectorates. In return for his help, Kutou would put Lord Shinjiku on the throne and recognise him as the new emperor."

Miaka's eyebrows drew together in a frown, not knowing the significance of the name, "Lord Shinjiku?"

"One of Hotohori-sama's half-brothers," Katsu said bitterly through gritted teeth.

Miaka paled, "Hotohori's…half-brother was behind all this?" She sagged back into the chair she was sitting in, disbelief written across her face, "Why? Why would he do something like this…to his own family?" she whispered, her eyes clouding over with sadness. Naze! Family should support one another…care for each other…

"Lord Shinjiku believes that he should have been emperor instead of Hotohori-sama, and now he is determined to get what he wants even if it involves becoming a traitor and allying himself with Konan's enemies." Katsu spat angrily, his expression was one of disgust.

Keisuke listened carefully, becoming more and more apprehensive with each passing moment. We just stumbled on an ants' nest…solving one mystery only reveals a bigger and more serious problem! When will all this end? He could only hope that everything could be resolved soon, before someone got seriously hurt…

He turned his head to see how Nicholas was reacting the news…only to find that the former Seiryuu shichi seishi wasn'treacting. No big surprise there. Being the only person in the room who was not sitting down; the blonde man had his arms loosely folded and was leaning against the wall by the window; leisurely taking in the view of the sunlit garden outside. Relaxed and indifferent, he did not seem to be paying the slightest attention to anyone else. In fact, Keisuke thought that Nicholas looked almost…bored.

"But why go to all the trouble to kill the Empress? Kutou's army is large enough to invade Konan whenever they feel like it," Taka pointed out, a puzzled note in his voice. For someone who, up until recently, had no idea that he had once been part of the world inside the Book of the Four Gods, he was adapting relatively quickly to the situations they were faced with; accepting the fact that the world inside the Shijintenchisho was as real as the world they had come from. The dangers they had faced so far were certainly real enough.

The advisor sighed, wearily shaking his head to indicate he had no answer to the question before lifting a hand to gingerly rub his temples, and Keisuke would have laid odds that Katsu was nursing a massive headache. He himself was starting to feel an insistent dull throb behind his eyes which promised to develop into a full-blown migraine in the near future. Uhhhh…Maybe not quite the mother of all headaches…more like a close aunt. A very close aunt.

"Ahou."

Nicholas had not bothered hiding his disdain, and the single word fairly dripped with contempt. However, it was not clear who the insult was directed at, Taka or Katsu. Or more likely, all of us, Keisuke thought, tensing with annoyance. He's got one hell of an attitude problem! Good looks, intelligence that is probably off the charts, but the social graces of a scorpion!

"I'm amazed you people haven't figured it out yet." The blonde man did not turn to face them, but continued looking out the window.

Miaka stared at Nicholas in tired surprise, the sum total of all she could muster at the moment. The tension and anxiety of the last few days had taken their toll, and she was too worn out to be angry at him. Anger simply took up too much energy…

"You know what's going on?" she asked softly, letting her exhaustion show, knowing that he would catch the faint plea in her voice.�

"You could say that." A hint of wry amusement in his tone. Pausing slightly to give himself some time, he rapidly and systematically organised his thoughts. It really wasn't difficult for him to see what Kutou was up to…after all, this had been one of the scenarios he had mapped out when he had been in control of Kutou's military forces…

Although some of the details had been changed to fit the current situation, they were using a strategy he had devised years ago.

Once again, the deeds of his past life had come back to haunt him.

When he spoke again, his voice was cool and unfailingly logical. All traces of emotion were gone, as if they had never existed. "Kutou has had its eye on Konan for years, and now the perfect opportunity has presented itself in the form of an ambitious member of the royal family who is willing to betray his own people. If the Empress dies, this country will be thrown into political turmoil. In the chaos, it will be an easy matter for Kutou to invade, and it will be a victory won with minimum effort. This is the best way conceivable to take over Konan. Invading this country amidst the confusion caused by the empress' death would take the people by surprise, and they would not be able to put up much of a fight. What Kutou aims is to have as little destruction as possible. They intend to make use of Konan's resources,� and would wish to keep as much of it intact as they can."

No one dared to interrupt him as he laid the other country's plans plainly before them; his eyes closed as he read from his mental checklist. He knew that he had their undivided attention, and could feel their eyes boring into his back.

Katsu stroked his beard thoughtfully, "That makes sense…but the people of Konan know that Crown-Prince Boushin is the next in line to the throne. They would never accept Lord Shinjiku as emperor… there would be an uprising!"

Nicholas looked back over his shoulder, letting out a dry, sarcastic chuckle as he did so, "You think in such two dimensional terms…you should know that mishaps do happen during a war. No one would question it if the crown prince were to be killed in an unforeseen…accident." The same way his father was, he added silently, wisely leaving that part unsaid.

The mere thought of it nearly caused the advisor to recoil in horror; his hands tightening on the edge of his desk until the knuckles turned white. He had never considered the possibility…with Prince Boushin dead, the next in line for the throne would be…

Lord Shinjiku.

Katsu's distress went unheeded by the tall blonde, who seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. Nicholas' voice lowered almost imperceptibly as he said distractedly, "A good strategy tactically… although less than honourable. Fitting…for a country such as Kutou. Nothing has changed."

After all that had happened, the part of him which was the shogun—always the consummate strategist and military leader—had not been able to resist making that last observation. It had not been meant to be heard by anyone…he had merely been thinking aloud.

How careless of me.

Breathing slowly and deeply, Nicholas slipped into the calm, detached state of mind which enabled him to analyse the situation from several different angles. He could not undo his words, but he could prevent himself from making another such mistake in the future. Knowing that, he swiftly made a decision.

This would be the last time he would offer any assistance in solving Konan's internal problems.

He had already revealed too much. His knowledge of Kutou, his grasp of their military tactics…it would only be a matter of time before they guessed who he was. Unfortunately, his small slip could well have given away his true identity; inviting questions neither he nor the Suzaku no Miko were prepared to answer. If and when they found out who he was, Miaka would probably come under hostile scrutiny for her association with him.

More importantly however, helping them required him to delve into his past…and the emotional cost for him to continue doing so was far too great.

No more, he silently promised himself.

He did not particularly care if everybody accused him of being uncaring and selfish…he simply had no wish to torment himself any further.

He inhaled the cool air as he listened to the symphony of sounds made by nocturnal creatures. Not quite Andrew Lloyd Webber, but the real music of the night is quite impressive its own way, he mused, smirking slightly at the thought. The pavilion he was in had a perfect view of the palace lake and its surrounding gardens. By night, everything underwent a dramatic change; colours faded, shapes merged and blended into each other, until all that remained were stark outlines of light and shadow.

How peaceful everything seemed, belying the problems brewing just below the surface.

He sensed the approach of another person even before he heard the telltale sound of footsteps.

Nicholas did not move from his position as the footfalls stopped directly behind him. He should have known that this meeting had been inevitable. Nevertheless, his mood rapidly deteriorated at the intrusion.

"It's amazing how different everything looks by day," the chief advisor's voice was polite and conversational, as if this had been no more than a coincidental meeting between strangers.

However, Nicholas knew that this was not the case. He had a nagging feeling that Katsu had deliberately approached him for a reason. The advisor definitely had something in mind, and Nicholas would bide his time until the other man chose to reveal what the real topic of this conversation was. He was nothing, if not patient…

There was a faint rustle as the advisor moved to stand alongside him. For a while, neither of them spoke as they both studied the reflection of the full moon in the still, dark waters of the lake. The image almost appeared to be a perfect replica of the original, had it not been for the occasional ripple which marred the illusion.

"I wanted to thank you for saving Empress Houki, and for your valuable input this morning," Katsu said abruptly, breaking the silence. "Now that we know the true nature of the threat, we can take steps to contain it." The older man turned his head to look at Nicholas, the expression in his eyes serious.

"This isn't why you're here," Nicholas stated dryly.

The surprise which passed over Katsu's face did not escape notice, and the blonde man's lips twitched with something that could have been mild amusement. The advisor cleared his throat in embarrassment, "You are very perceptive and display extensive knowledge of a great many things… rare traits, in one so young."

When Nicholas did not respond to the complement, Katsu decided on a more direct approach. Suspecting that the Suzaku no Miko's enigmatic friend would immediately detect pretense of any sort, he opted to speak openly and frankly of the matter which had been weighing on his mind. "A few years ago, before the Suzaku no Miko appeared, I visited Kutou as part of a diplomatic envoy. While there, I saw someone. Although I did not have a chance to talk to him, I was told that despite his age, he had already attained the highest possible rank in the military. However…"

Katsu paused as he gave the man beside him a meaningful look before he continued slowly, "…the thing that struck me most about him was his height…and the extraordinary colour of his hair."

"I can't say I know him," Nicholas said quietly, holding the advisor's gaze with an unwavering stare of his own, aware that he had been recognised. In the partial darkness, his irises took on the same ghostly moonlit silver as their surroundings. "Can you?"

Realising that a great deal hinged on his answer to that one simple question, Katsu thought about it for a long moment, then turned his eyes to look back over the lake; focusing on the pinpoints of light from the stone lanterns which dotted the dark landscape.

"No. I can't say that I do," he said finally.

Nicholas closed his eyes briefly, an instant longer than a blink; silently acknowledging the advisor's words and what it must have cost to utter them, after all of Kutou's attacks on Konan…after all the suffering Kutou's shogun had caused.

Katsu sighed and prepared to leave, taking a few steps in the direction from which he had originally come, before stopping and turning around to address Nicholas, "You must have had your reasons," his voice was gentle and undemanding, knowing that the young man standing behind him had no intention of sharing any of those reasons.

He was beginning to feel uncomfortable for even bringing up the subject, sensing that it was something intensely private, but felt compelled to add softly, "The Suzaku no Miko, she trusts you… and I will too. Once again, I sincerely thank you for all that you have done for us."

With that, he bowed respectfully and resumed his departure, leaving the blonde man to his solitude.

Nicholas listened to the sound of the chief advisor's footsteps fading into the distance until they were completely replaced by the sounds of the night…until he was alone once more. The moon had risen to its zenith, flooding the pavilion with its cold silver light. Looking up into the night sky, he identified the group of stars which had once spelt out his destiny.

Once upon a time, Nakago had made it a point to observe those very same stars every night in order to constantly remind himself of who he was and his purpose for living.

I had my reasons…only they were all the wrong ones.

Notes:

1) The cat is out of the bag! Katsu has figured out who Nicholas is, but the advisor accepts that the former shogun of Kutou is a different person from before. After all, you can't blame people for what they did in their past life, can you?