Wildfire
Chapter two: Spark and Tinder
By Funara
Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me, but I'm working on it. In a few millennia, I may own the top of Hiei's right ear…though I doubt it. Right now, I only own this fic and the nameless, bland, original characters who have the misfortune to be in this story.
Notes: First off, a big thank you to those of you who reviewed chapter one. You all made my day! Thanks to all! And on the subject of thanks, thanks to mocha-chan for providing me with lots of detailed information on Yomi (despite which I still mangled his character) and Natatsu-chan, my little sister, who will be costume designer for this story. (Most of the time)
All right, you all probably just want to read this next chapter, but just one more warning: Mukuro appears in this chapter, but since I can't write her character for my life, there's a high chance that she's OOC. Sorry.
And now, onto the fic! Read and review!
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The imperial palace was designed so as to be confusing. The main entrance to the large group of buildings that comprised the palace did not point directly towards any particular building, but rather the entire cluster. Most of the buildings looked similar—same roof style, same crimson columns, same intricately painted doors.
As Kurama wound his way confidently through the structures, he remembered that he had once heard a scholar say that the imperial palace's architecture mirrored the personalities of the courtiers and nobles within. They were every bit as beautiful and perplexing as the buildings in which they lived.
Kurama disagreed. The palace was difficult to navigate, but for the most part, there was nothing hidden from the eye. It was only the sameness of the buildings that confused visitors. Once mapped out, nothing changed. The courtiers, on the other hand, hid everything behind a respectful demeanor, so that the true personality underneath was completely mutable.
That was what made them so dangerous, especially to Kurama who, ideally, should have been able to count on them as supporters. Doubtless many of them had been eyeing the throne after the demise of first Saruda—Yomi's predecessor—then Yomi himself. He would have to prove to them his competence and earn their regard if he wanted to succeed.
He intended to accomplish that today. In the month or so since his coronation, nothing especially important had come up—he had merely signed official documents and met with his six advisors, who, at least, seemed to like him. Today Mukuro, the empress of Alaric, the larger neighboring country, was to arrive at the palace to officially recognize the new emperor and initiate talks between the two countries.
Earlier that morning, he had met with his two advisors who were best versed in foreign policy and history: Oshiki, the scholar, and Kaishou, the white-bearded old man. In two hours, they had explained Gandara's history of relations with Alaric, their common problems and disputes, described the personality of the current empress, and related the most recent reason why Gandara and Alaric had recently been engaging in negotiations. Oshiki and Kaishou had assured him that the matter would be summarized once the conference had begun, but Kurama had wanted to be fully informed ahead of time.
The main entrance to the palace came into view as Kurama rounded a corner. Sixteen guards, armor polished and lances glinting, were positioned there, as were the three main generals of the army. The ten highest seats in the royal assembly, the body with representatives from every parts of Gandara, were also present, as were Kurama's personal advisors.
One of the generals approached Kurama and bowed. "Your Majesty, a messenger arrived a few minutes ago. Mukuro-sama will be arriving shortly." Kurama nodded, and the man left to check on his other troops.
Scarcely five minutes later, a far off shout was heard, barely discernible over the sound of galloping hoofs. Kurama moved to the right side of the entrance, his advisors behind him. The members of the royal assembly stood at the other side.
When the procession was a dozen yards away from the entrance, the horses slowed down and walked to the gate. The two horses in front bore, respectively, an orange-haired woman in a deep blue, almost black, tunic, red belt around her waist, and what appeared to be a general, fully armored. Both individuals had striking countenances, the woman because one of her eyes was clearly synthetic, and the man because of the four earrings that pierced his jaw. From the description given by Kaishou, Kurama immediately recognized the woman as Mukuro.
Mukuro and her general dismounted, and she approached Kurama and extended a hand. "Kurama-san. I congratulate you on your emperorship." Kurama shook her hand, a little surprised by the informality of the gesture and her clothing.
Mukuro motioned to her general and identified him as Shigure. He bowed in response, not bothering to take off his helmet.
Kurama's three generals moved forward to guide the Alaric soldiers to their quarters as Kurama himself led Mukuro and Shigure to the palace. "Welcome to Gandara, Mukuro-san. There will be a banquet tonight in your honor. Tomorrow, our negotiations will begin." Mukuro nodded her agreement as they proceeded towards the main building.
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The next morning found Kurama, Mukuro, Shigure and Kaishou gathered in a small discussion chamber. They were seated at a round table of dark wood.
Kurama, as host, opened the official talks. "Let it be known that on this day the imperial representatives of Alaric and Ganda—" but Mukuro interrupted.
"I don't think that that is really necessary, Kurama-san. Such official speech is usually reserved for larger ceremonies."
Kurama's eyes narrowed just the slightest bit. Even he knew, with the brief coaching in etiquette he had been given, that interrupting the opening of official ceremonies—which these talks most certainly were—was frowned upon and rude. Surely Mukuro would know that, he thought, gazing at her. For a moment, her tone had even been condescending…
He let it go. "Very well then."
Mukuro proceeded. "Doubtless, everyone present already knows of the matter with which these negotiations deal, but I will briefly summarize anyway." Her real eye flicked towards Kurama.
"Thousands of years ago, when Gandara and Alaric were one nation, there appeared among our people an Orb of great power. Stories were handed down that the Orb granted longevity, prosperity and luck to those who used it. Some went so far as to say that the Orb was a gift from our god Sosen to the people.
"However, a few hundred years ago, an incident occurred that obliterated an entire group of mountains and the people who lived on it. Neighboring tribes claimed that they had witnessed a white explosion. There were no survivors, but investigations showed that the areas around the site had absorbed a special kind of energy. This energy was identified as originating from the Orb, which was found nearby. Since then, the Orb has been kept by Sosen no miko and banned from use."
Kurama listened quietly. He had heard this story from Oshiki the day before.
"Now, though, Alaric has a proposition for Gandara." Mukuro fixed her gaze on Kurama. "We are an enormously large country and for a while now, we have been running low on energy sources. Our natural resources have been rapidly declining, and soon, our people will be unable to use fire, because they will have nothing to burn.
"The Orb's energy, as our ancestors saw, is extremely potent. If we had the ability to harness that energy, neither Gandara nor Alaric would have to worry about energy crises. Our proposal is that the energy be extracted from the Orb and used to serve international interests."
Kurama folded his hands and considered for a moment, frowning slightly. "I understand very well what your goal is, but how do you propose to obtain the energy in the first place? From what you have said, the repercussions of unleashing that energy are far greater than the benefits."
Mukuro smirked slightly. "Alaric has been doing some preliminary investigations, headed by a monk from the dou branch of the Kyoudou monastery." Kurama raised an eyebrow.
"The Kyoudou monastery was founded by a man known only as Kyo," came Kaishou's voice, a little raspy from nonuse. "The dou branch specializes in exactly what its name says—energy."
Mukuro continued. "Technical details aside, this monk contrived of a theoretical means to isolate energy from the Orb, which was, unfortunately, left untested at the time of his death. Our hope is to procure another monk from his branch who will aid us. Incidentally, the dou branch is located in Gandara, which is why we requested your assistance. And besides," she added, "Gandara and Alaric have always been allies."
Kurama rested his chin on his hands briefly, gaze still fixed on Mukuro. "This proposition is…promising, Mukuro-san. However, I cannot give you a definite answer until I have consulted with the royal assembly."
"Go ahead," she said. "But consider Alaric's proposal carefully."
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Kurama had donned an elegant, dark green robe with an intricate, pale yellow design sewn on the front. He slipped the golden disk over his head, its weight reminiscent of his own burden of responsibility, and left his quarters for the forum where he would meet with the thirty members of the royal assembly.
When he reached the doors of the building, outwardly similar to its neighbors, he paused a moment before entering. The thirty representatives inside, chosen by each of the thirty provinces of Gandara, transferred information to and from the throne. Their influence was indubitable, and though Gandara's government was a monarchy, they often determined whether or not the emperor's policies would be successful. Gaining their support was crucial.
The main chamber of the forum contained thirty seven seats, with thirty of them arranged in arcs of ten, and the other seven arranged in another arc opposite the thirty. About two thirds of the seats had already been filled when Kurama entered, and his six advisors were already there. He took the middle seat between them.
When the last representative had taken his seat, the doors were closed tightly. Homura, the broad shouldered man with the braided hair, rose from his seat at the left end of Kurama's arc of seven. "His Majesty has gathered the royal assembly with the purpose of discussing a proposal made to Gandara by Alaric. This proposal entailed the use of the Orb of Sosen's energy as an alternative to conventional methods. Gandara's cooperation was requested in the matter of asking the aid of the dou branch of the Kyoudou monks. His Majesty will speak first."
Kurama rose as Homura sat down. After the previous day's negotiations, he had spent a while going over the main points of the offer, weighing pros and cons, and had made his decision. He had ended up following the first reaction he'd had. "As all of you know, it is necessary for Gandara to conserve its natural resources, and so far, we have been able to do so. Alaric, as a larger country, has been unable to keep its usage of resources in check. As a result, they have expressed the desire to exploit the energy contained within the sacred Orb.
"This is not a practical option. So little is known about the volatile energy that attempting to remove and use it is foolhardy, especially since the means proposed is only hypothetical and has not been tested. It is best to refuse Alaric's offer." Kurama sat down.
A tall, brown-haired representative signaled to Homura, who nodded, and stood. "Your Majesty, I must disagree with you. Surely the pursuit of alternate energy sources is worthy, even if it requires a little risk. It is something that will benefit our posterity for generations."
Kurama glanced at the end of the row, and Homura nodded once. "Sir, the last time the Orb was unleashed, the effects were devastating. An entire region was eradicated. That is an indisputable cause for apprehension."
A young man with short, tufty black hair rose to speak. "But Your Highness! Alaric merely requires our cooperation in a small matter! And we would reap the benefits anyway!"
"There's no progress without risk!"
"It's not as though we're sending soldiers or engaging in war. No one will be killed."
"Alaric must have tested it before they came to us. They wouldn't have come only on a conjectural premise."
Kurama answered their arguments. "It is simply too dangerous and too abstract to consider. How would the energy be contained? How would we change it to a useable form? And besides, " he said as he suddenly realized something, "if Alaric were to conduct these tests, would they not take the lion's share of any possible gains?"
There was an uproar of noise. "Alaric would never betray us! We've been allies for too long!"
"There are ways to control the energy! Of course we're not going to let it run amok!"
In the front row, a sly looking man leaned toward his companion and said, somehow audible to Kurama despite the noise, "Such a conservative, this young emperor. Afraid to take risks. Probably not very hardy, either." His companion smirked slightly.
Kurama felt anger and impulsive hatred welling up inside of him, and began to retort when Homura roared, "SILENCE!"
The forum went abruptly silent as the tumult drained out of the air. Homura's expression was hard and furious as he glared at everyone. "This is a government assembly! You will respect your emperor and your fellows, or you will be removed forcibly from this room! This is ridiculous!"
The stillness, fragile and saturated with guilt and embarrassment, settled as everyone tried not to make eye contact with the master of ceremonies, who still wore an infuriated expression.
The doors burst open explosively. Heads jerked towards the doorway and a messenger, preceded by a guard, stumbled through and fell on his knees before the assembly. "Y-your Majesty, Kurama-sama! Near the village of Honetadare! Sosen no miko—she—she's badly hurt! And the Orb has been stolen!"
—to be continued—
Sosen no miko: the priestess of Sosen. Yes, this is the same god Sosen who appeared in my fic Swing. Different time period, though.
Notes: So, how was it? These earlier chapters will be a little heavy on the politics and current problems, but it'll go away soon. Next chapter, Hiei is introduced.