Impossible Decisions

Ch. 7: A Samurai and a Whore

Mokona sat on his throne in Heaven, watching his friends on Cephiro carry on. "Anthea…?"

The cute little angel looked up from her finger painting and brightly smiled up at him. "Yes, Mokona-san?" Her voice ringed with sweet innocence, the innocence that had been ripped from Hikaru's lonely soul.

"My sweet angel, how would you like to play with your old friends and owner?"

"Oooh! Anthea like that very much!" She hopped up, and with a swift wave of her hand, her picture was gone and so were her messy clothes. She was wearing, instead, a sleek pinstripe pantsuit that screamed sophistication. Her bell-like voice took on a deeper, more seductive tone. "Mokona-sama, I am yours to do with what you will."

"Anthea-chan…I'm so glad you've finally mastered your emotions. You're certainly a wonderful actress," praised Mokona, smiling at Anthea. She was gorgeous, with straight blond hair, and cold blue eyes. Her hair reached to her knees, and was devoid of bangs. Instead, a simple black hat perched on her head.

The girl immediately became as giggly as ever, and jumped into Mokona's lap. For Mokona had taken a human form… He, too, would be visiting his countries. "You must not make a mistake, Anthea. Don't you want to return to your owner?"

The girl became wide-eyed, and nodded. "Oh, yes! Anthea-chan want to return to Hikaru-sama! But Anthea-chan happy to stay with Mokona-sama, too!"

Mokona smiled down at her. In his human form, he had a face that was too perfect to even be called human. His godliness shined through his eyes, and every curve of his face was faultless. Shiny, shoulder-length silver hair graced his perfect porcelain face. Underneath the perfectly combed bangs, his eyes were like glass: white with a reflective surface.

He was beautiful. He was the Creator.

"But… Anthea no stay with Mokona-sama?"

"No, Anthea no stay with Mokona," said the Creator, gently stroking his creation's face. She was so adorable, even with the chilling looks that he had bestowed upon her. Mokona had hoped to make her the exact opposite of Hikaru. If anyone were to figure out who Anthea truly was… No doubt they'd try to cram her down Hikaru's throat, or something. Knowing Lantis, he'd probably try the old 'do what I say or I'll chop your head off' trick.

The child-like angel stared down at Cephiro for a few moments, and then looked up into the Creator's face. In her now dark and sensual voice, she declared, "Then let's go play."

~*~

Lady Aska was sipping tea in the sitting room and she had pretty much forced Fuu and Umi to join her. "Our friends… So good of you to join us."

The two knights smiled weakly, as they remembered how Aska had threatened to drag them over with her yarn. Fuu looked down at the cup of warm tea in her hands and sighed. There was nothing they could do for Hikaru right now. The only person who had a chance of reaching her was Lantis… And maybe…? No, no. Of course not.

"So, why'd you call us here, Lady?" prodded Umi, in an obvious rush.

Lady Aska was, for once, without the company of Sanyun and Old One. The lady smiled delicately, her usual eccentric behavior had seemed nonexistent lately. She held such a regal air about her, that Umi and Fuu found themselves sitting like they were having tea with the Queen of England. It was if it had just now dawned on them that they were in the presence of a princess. "We shall get straight to the point. We worry about-,"

"We know. Hikaru will be—,"

"No, not Hikaru. We worry about Eagle Vision, of Autozam." The two girls looked at her in surprise, but Lady pretended not to notice. "He is of a strong heart. Beautiful Cephiro is greatly influenced by him, as well as the Princess's heart."

"Yes, we know. But why are you worried about him?" asked Fuu, looking rather curious.

"We would think two hearts of such power would be able to defend Cephiro. And we notice that the first sign of danger was when Eagle woke up-."

"Lady Aska! Eagle nor Autozam would EVER do anything to harm Hikaru or Cephiro. They pledged to us that—,"

"UMI-SAN! We never made any accusations towards Autozam! We are trying to tell you that Hikaru and Eagle were disturbed! They were attracted to one another."

Both girls looked at Aska blankly, and the little girl sighed. "Perhaps it would help if we were to tell a story… Like I mentioned before, the Fahren Samurai who is in love with a whore…"

"This story was told to mock the system of Succession in our monarchy. It's a system that is still followed… People call it a cursed system, for every child born within our monarchy has been a girl. In this system, the to-be Queen is to always give birth to a child before marriage. You see, the Princess is to mate with a scholar, and have a child. This is to ensure that the child will be of the brightest mind. After the birth of the child, the father (the scholar) is allowed to hold it once. Then he is executed—,"

The two girls gasped at this. Fuu whispered, barely audibly, "They KILL him?"

Aska nodded gravely, and continued. "This is usually quite heartbreaking for the Queen… You see, the scholar that fathers their child is their aid during their childhood. A personal servant, I guess you could say. Immediately after the birth, the Princess is married to a Samurai and named Queen. This is to guarantee that the child will be of strong body. For a child's mind is judged at birth, but a child's health is judged by habits."

"This story, you see, is about the Samurai… and the difficulties he faces when he is to be married to an unwilling and suicidal Queen. This samurai is Hokusai, one of the greatest samurai's in Fahren, at the time. The Queen is Mika, the first Queen to fall prisoner to the then new law of succession. This story was during the great civil war of Fahren. 'The War of Hate'."

"Hokusai had just been declared a hero for saving tens of thousands of men. He had bravely snuck into the camp of their enemy. Hokusai was a handsome man, and he knew that their enemy's leader liked pretty men. So Hokusai dressed himself in rags, and hid his sword and fine uniform. He let his hair down, and used cannon powder to make himself look like a dark and dirty servant. The wise soldier knew that the General would find himself attracted. So, Hokusai slipped a small Kodachi into his sleeve, and picked up the food in the fanciest tray."

"Hokusai slipped into the General's tent. One guard was drunk and sleeping, and the other had walked off with a nicely shaped prostitute. The General fell right into Hokusai's trap, by inviting him into his bed. At first, Hokusai went along and sat on the bed, acting like an embarrassed child. Then, when the General looked down to untie his pants, Hokusai stabbed the Kodachi through his head. With that, he quickly left the camp, his clothes and sword tucked under one arm."

"The next morning, when the troops awakened, they found their General dead. Afraid, they retreated. The Monarchy had won that battle. For this Civil War was between Monarchy and a Republic, like Autozam's. Some say that the Monarchy had the war in their pocket after that battle. For when the soldiers tried to retreat, they instead found the original troop of the Monarchy, accompanied by many others troops, from both the Monarchy and Chizeta. Immediately, almost all the soldiers threw down their weapons and surrendered."

"So Hokusai and his fellow samurai decided to rest and celebrate at an inn. There, his friends bought him a whore for the night, saying he deserved it for saving so many lives and guaranteeing the war for the Monarchy. They had chosen the most beautiful and expensive whore they could find: Namika the Sea Rose. Hokusai found himself enraptured at once, for Namika was truly lovely. She had ebony hair like the finest silk of Fahren, and her eyes were the dark blue of Cephiro's stormy sea's. Her skin was the white of fine china, and she was almost like a little porcelain doll: perfect, frail, and lovely."

"But that was not why Hokusai found himself enthralled with this lovely maiden, too fine to be just a whore. No, he was completely captivated by the strong spirit behind her stormy eyes. They held such a regal air about them, that he longed to know the story concealed in them." Aska paused then, to take a sip of her tea. The two knights were absolutely enchanted by the tale.

"They spent the night together, but Hokusai didn't once touch her body. Rather they had spent the night talking, Hokusai about his life as a Samurai, and Namika about her life as a whore and before that as a great daughter of a fallen noble family. The powerful samurai knew at once that he was in love with the Sea Rose. She was intelligent, beautiful and strong… The perfect wife. To him, her position was just a fact that he chose to ignore."

"In the most noble way, he bought her. He laid down a more than generous sum, determined to keep his love by him at all times. For many months they were together, except for the times he had to fight. But he would always return, a bit battered and desperate to see his lover."

"Soon, the war was won! The Monarchy had prevailed with the help of their Chizetan friends. A great celebration was held! And the soon-to-be queen was announced to be pregnant! While the rest of the country celebrated this great stroke of luck, Princess Mika sobbed quietly behind curtains of silk. She knew what was to come - the execution of her beloved Alio, the genius scholar that had fathered her child. From the whispers she had heard among her family, it seemed that her soon-to-be husband was a samurai named Hokusai."

"She had her child. Hokusai, under strict orders from the Monarchy, was to be her husband. Both Mika and Namika were devastated. So the three of them stood, at Alio's execution, cursing the system that they had fought for. Namika and Mika embraced, knowing that their souls would eternally be allies for the similar pain that they felt. Then Alio was killed. Mika became devastated, as the day after she was to wed Hokusai. Namika, heartbroken, committed suicide after writing a letter to Mika. The letter promised Mika that the Sea Rose would help her gain her vengeance."

"Hokusai was devastated, and threw himself into depression and isolation. Mika herself went crazy, mourning over the loss of her love, her friend, and in a way, her husband. She knew she was alone, but continued to live, ruling the Fahren kingdom. On her death bed, she cursed the Monarchy system and promised that her soul and Namika's soul would take the ultimate vengeance on Fahren and the Monarchy."

Lady Aska took a long sip of her tea, and then focused her eyes on the two stunned girls. "That is the fate of all who is born in the Fahren royal family."

Fuu's hands trembled. "B-But… that means… you and Sanyun…"

Aska turned her face away and sighed. "Yes. But that is not why I told the story. I'm saying that the Pillar system is even more dangerous than the Monarchy system of Fahren. You MUST prevent the destruction of Hikaru's heart and along with it, the destruction of Cephiro." Her hand traced her elegant tea cup. "It's of most importance that you also find out who brought on the destruction of those towns. They have been subdued but are still out there. You must attack before they do."

Umi stood up, and bowed. "Your highness, Princess of Fahren, we thank you for sharing your wisdom with us." She tilted her face up, and smiled. "And I wish you the greatest luck in your own battle."

The young princess blinked in surprise, before grinning. "OHOHOHOHOHO! Do not doubt our greatness, Umi-san! We are the crown Princess of Fahren! We. Are. INVINCIBLE!"

Fuu and Umi just smiled and giggled.

~*~

Hikaru sat at the end of the magnificent and imposing table, her composure completely professional and devoid of all nervousness. It was as if she was sitting down for a friendly cup of coffee, rather than to discuss world changing political decisions with some of the most powerful people in the Cephiran universe.

Eagle was sitting at her left side, and he couldn't seem to keep his eyes off her. Fortunately, if Hikaru had felt or seen his gaze on her, she made no sign of it. Geo, who was sitting next to him, noticed this and frowned slightly. His good friend was going through so much torture - even if Hikaru went back to normal, she'd return to Lantis' arms, not Eagle's.

"Where IS Serenada's representative?!?" demanded Tarta angrily, hitting the expensive table with her fist. "We can't wait forever for them! This is SO rude! Especially when they're the only country not of our alliance!"

"Calm, Chizeta." Hikaru moved her empty eyes over to Tarta. "They will arrive shortly. The trip from Serenada to Cephiro is a long and tiring one…"

"Nonetheless, I must apologize." All the representatives started and shifted their gaze to where a beautiful woman, dressed in the most formal pinstripe suit, stood. Her knee length blond hair cascaded down her back, and her blue eyes showed nothing but a fierce passion. A man with shoulder length silver hair stood next to her, bowing his head so that they couldn't see his inhumanly beautiful face. "I am Anthea Emon, the representative of Serenada. And this is my personal servant, his name is Miracle." She smiled seductively, and then tilted Miracle's face up for a lingering kiss.

Everyone, except for the stony Hikaru, started at the beauty of this God-like creature. His white eyes were even more shockingly beautiful than the golden orbs that Eagle had as eyes. His silver hair flowed out and he uttered a soft sigh when Anthea pulled away.

"Now, let us begin this meeting. Please, Serenada, make yourselves comfortable." Hikaru motioned towards the two chairs at the other end of the table. Bowing their heads respectfully, their arms folded to the side in the Cephiran manner, they sat down in the chairs she had indicated.

"I, as the representative of the country of Serenada, would like to propose an alliance with Cephiro, ultimately joining forces with Autozam, Fahren and Chizeta. To show our loyalty to the alliance, we will trust Cephiro with our greatest treasure…"

"The Universal Database of Wars."

…To Be Continued…

A.N.

^_^ HEY EVERYONE! Thought I was dead, didn't you? Didn't you~? I was thinking about discontinuing this story…But after re-reading the kind reviews that everyone has given me for this story as well as realizing how much I enjoyed writing it…

I decided to go ahead an continue it! YAY! Thank you so much, minna-san, for reviewing and inspiring me.