As the turan headed towards the large double doors, Kiisan darted into his path, "Turan Magno! Wait! Wait!" Turan Magno stopped and looked down at Kiisan. The ruler of Serif was a least six feet tall with ebony hair although he was beginning to go bald.
He had deep hazel eyes that seemed to search Kiisan's mind as he asked patiently, "What's the matter? Who are you, young man?"
Kiisan heaved a sigh of relief; he was going to be able to tell his story. "I'm Kiisan. My friend Falina and I came here from Finnel Village last night after soldiers from Medina attacked and set the fields on fire. I thought the faster news of the attack traveled to you, the faster the issue could be addressed..." Kiisan was no longer sure of what to say. He had been prepared to volunteer his services to the turan, but he didn't know what to do about Falina. He couldn't just leave her at this point; she was his best friend after all.
Turan Magno closed his eyes for a few silent seconds, which felt to Kiisan like an eternity. When he opened them again he looked first at Falina and then back at Kiisan. "I understand. The problem will be looked into immediately. ...I have other business to attend to at the moment, but I will speak with you again later if you can wait here..." He looked at his secretary, "Amarilla, can you get Rizu and Junsuke? We can leave these two with them." The receptionist, Amarilla, got up and hurriedly click-clacked off down the hall. Turan Magno bowed to Falina and Kiisan and with a quick salute in farewell strode out the doors to catch Mayor Gurenne without seeming too late.
Murasaki Fuji no Shita ni Kuni
"The Country Under the Purple Wisteria"
Chapter 3- Two Signals of Tension in the Mist
Amarilla returned with two young men, one who looked rather everyday and ordinary, and another with dark skin and hair who obviously wasn't a native of Serif. The more native-looking fellow had light brown hair he wore in a short ponytail and one dark scar on each cheek; his name was Rizu. Junsuke was the name of the man with the dark braid who wore mostly black. Falina thought he looked somewhat like what she had heard ninja were supposed to look like. They were both rather friendly, but Junsuke seemed a bit suspicious of Kiisan and spoke in a strained, measured tone. Rizu and Junsuke led the two friends to some sort of sitting room and upon closing the door the laughter began. "You two look like chimney sweeps!" choked Rizu. Junsuke smiled and whacked his companion on the back to end the gagging. Falina became rather indignant at the statement, but upon seeing her reflection in the window she grew quite sober. Junsuke offered her a handkerchief, which she accepted without hesitation and used to wipe the ashes off her face. Kiisan took off his hat and jacket, which were both a funny gray color, and wiped his face off too, but not as carefully as Falina, leaving some darkness under his eyes.
Rizu started laughing again, "Now you look like a raccoon!" He sat down hard and pounded his fist onto the low table. The force with which he swung his hand was such that it caused him some pain and he continued to chuckle with his teeth clenched at his own stupidity. Junsuke rolled his eyes and sat down beside his associate.
"Do you two work for Turan Magno?" asked Falina. Junsuke nodded and Rizu continued to laugh.
Kiisan finished brushing off his hat and put it back on awkwardly, "Is he a nice guy to work for?" Junsuke nodded once again and Rizu held his breath, trying to stop laughing.
Junsuke's silence was unnerving to Falina; trying to break through to him she inquired, "What kind of work do you do?"
The young man in question, sick of his companion's antics, shook him nearly senseless before turning back to Falina, "We are messengers, guards, or spies. Whatever the turan needs us to do at the time. We get paid quite well- you just can't ask any questions." Having finished he smiled a tiny bit before shaking Rizu again to see if he was conscious.
Rizu groaned and set his arms on the table, dropping his head down into them.
"What do you think of the Kingdom of Aronia?" Kiisan burst out suddenly, "I don't mean the state of Serif. I don't see much wrong with it, but, well, I sort of have some doubts about the way this country is run...and I wondered if I'm the only one..."
Falina stared at her friend, not understanding his statement. "What does he think is wrong with the country?" she wondered.
"Weak central government," responded Junsuke, "The states do pretty much whatever they want and then the emperor just waves his little white-gloved hand at them. Aronians kill other Aronians every single day just because of nationalism-Medina, Serif, Gyurenn, and all the others- and other pointless junk. ...And the taxes are unfair..."
Rizu blinked a few times before stating his opinion; "The emperor is just a puppet of the Guild."
Kiisan and Falina looked at each other, "The 'Guild'?"
"The Howling Voice Guild..." explained Rizu, "They have two jobs: to protect important people and to assassinate important people."
"But that theory is debatable" Junsuke added.
"That doesn't sound good..." worried Falina.
"Don't you worry Miss Falina...I doubt you'll run into anyone from the Guild anytime soon. They're not the sort of people I imagine associating with you," commented Rizu.
The uncomfortable silence resumed. Falina stared out the window at some finches in a birch tree that chirped cheerily. Rizu closed his eyes and dozed sitting up. Junsuke sat back and meditated on the koan he had been puzzling over all week. Kiisan fidgeted nervously and watched the three others in the room. This continued for about twenty minutes that felt like hours to Kiisan. After a time someone knocked three times loudly. Rizu nearly fainted while, Falina and Kiisan turned to stare at the door with wide eyes. Junsuke, who thought he almost had his answer, cursed under his breath before going to the door and opening it apathetically.
In the doorway stood a man wearing a large round hat and rather elaborate blue and white robes, signifying he was some sort of priest. "Hallo," he smiled, "Turan Magno is back and he wants all four of you to come see him in his office. Come on, let's go." Kiisan and Falina followed behind Rizu and Junsuke as the scaled the slightly crooked staircase and walked down a red carpeted hall to Turan Magno's office.
The religious man entered without knocking and whistled at the turan who swatted the hat off his visitor and grumbled to himself, "That's what you get for letting some free-loader priest take up residence at your place." He tossed the priest back his hat and took a moment to introduce the nearly carefree man; "This is Father Carlos. He's our live-in priest I suppose. Don't mind him- he's crazy, but harmless."
"No, no, not Father Carlos! Just Carlos! I just turned twenty-seven last week!"
Turan Magno gestured for them to sit down, "See- what did I tell you?" While Rizu, Junsuke, and Falina chose to ignore Carlos Kiisan was somewhat intrigued by the enigmatic man. Carlos flashed him a bright green-eyed smile and Kiisan responded with his own.
"I've sent some soldiers to go visit what's left of your village. They'll watch the border and keep an eye open for anything suspicious coming out of Medina. Meanwhile, what will you two do with yourselves? Do you have anywhere to stay?" He peered at Falina and Kiisan over his desk.
Falina responded quietly, "No, we don't have anywhere to stay..." "Ah...I see...as I expected..." was the turan's response.
Junsuke looked at Turan Magno in frustration; "If you don't have anywhere to send them you shouldn't be afraid to say so."
The turan shook his head; "No, no, it's not that Junsuke. I just have a feeling that they might be the right ones for the task Mayor Gurenne proposed at our meeting." Falina glanced at Kiisan anxiously, but Kiisan wasn't looking her way. "Would you two at least hear my request? I'm not forcing you into anything."
Kiisan nodded solemnly, "Sure. Shoot."
"We want to topple the current regime. We want to start a revolution- and you might be able to do it for us."
Falina watched Turan Magno apprehensively, "What do you mean 'start a revolution?' Wouldn't that be dangerous? ...I don't think revolutions just start that easily..."
The turan waved a hand dismissively at her last remark, "Miss Falina, revolution is like fever. It's hot and passionate... and most of all it's catching."
They lapsed into silence as Turan Magno and Kiisan both regarded each other seriously. "Will you go to Ablin City and start the our rebellion Kiisan? You've lost everything, haven't you? ...And that means you have nothing to lose. And everything to gain."
Kiisan shook his head knowingly, "My lord Turan... I haven't lost quite everything. I have Falina to think of." The hazel-eyed young man looked at Falina; "Will you accompany me?"
Falina breathed out slowly, "I will. ...I trust you, Kiisan."
Kiisan returned his gaze to Turan Magno, "Then I'll do it. Give me your instructions."