Ch. 49: The Invitation
11:37 AM, September 26th, 1921, Port of Tokyo
A large crowd of people gathered in front of the ship carrying Hirohito. As the Crown Prince appeared at the top of the gangway, the jubilant crowd below immediately started to cheer and wave small Japanese flags. Hirohito, followed by Kotohito and other Japanese officials, disembarked from the ship.
"It seems like you are very popular with the people." Kotohito whispered to Hirohito.
"Well our visit to Europe was productive and an overall success." Hirohito replied as he continued to wave at the crowd. "Hopefully our standing in the international arena will be improved, resulting in us being viewed as equals to the Europeans."
As the two men walked off the gangway, a man wearing a suit walked up to them and bowed.
"Your Imperial Highness, an escort has been arranged for you. If you would follow me."
Hirohito and Kotohito followed the man as he led them down the clear, red-carpeted pathway that divided the large crowd. Once they arrived at the car, the man opened the passenger door.
"Oh by the way, I have a message from His Grace Prince Yamagata Aritomo." the man added.
Hirohito took the folded paper from the man and entered the car with Kotohito. Once both princes were in, the man shut the door and instructed the driver to take them to the Imperial Palace. The car, along with the motorcade of police officers surrounding it, proceeded to drive away. Hirohito then opened up the message and read it thoroughly.
"Is it anything important sir? I mean Aritomo is one of the most influential people in the nobility and the military." Kotohito asked.
"Seems that Kojima has been keeping an eye on a particular individual named Lelouch Lamperouge. Sadanaru says that Kojima believes Mr. Lamperouge is not what he seems and has ulterior motives besides investing in the Japanese economy. The man has no known biographical records prior to this year and is currently sending large amounts of money to a bank in Shanghai. As a result he is currently monitoring banks worldwide."
"So what has Kojima made a breakthrough with his investigation?"
"According to the report he somewhat has. A bank over in America said they received several large donations from missionary groups, which was then transferred to Mr. Lamperouge's account. Further research in this missionary group show that it is mostly supported by Koreans who have emigrated."
"So why hasn't this Mr. Lamperouge guy been detained for questioning?"
"Because it seems Kojima and Sadanaru want to be absolutely sure he is 100% guilty and fear of hurting Japan's economic credibility if they arrest an innocent investor trying to make a living. That's why Kojima has sent out his personal security to investigate the matter. Spies have been instructed to trail and watch Mr. Lamperouge as much as possible." Hirohito answered. "In fact one of them recently saw Mr. Lamperouge pass by and seemingly talk with Prime Minister Hara during one of his leisurely walks."
"The Prime Minister!?" said a shocked Kotohito. "Why the hell would a simple businessman want to chat with the Prime Minister? Also how did they time crossing paths with him during his walk? I refuse to believe that they just happen to bump into him on purpose."
"I agree. Mr. Lamperouge must've had someone research Hara's habits."
"I presume someone has approached the Prime Minister about this little encounter."
"The report says that Sadanaru and other officials have been trying to meet with Hara, however he has refused to attend or grant meetings with Sadanaru and our other political allies in the military. Currently they are trying to surround Hara and put more pressure in order to put him back in line."
"And what shall your response be to this revelation?"
"Nothing. Sadanaru, Aritomo, and Kojima can deal with Lelouch Lamperouge along with Prime Minister Hara. Me and Konoe have to focus on convincing the representatives and the peers in the Imperial Diet to support us when we make our move." replied Hirohito.
5:09 PM, November 4th, 1921, Kyōbashi District, Tokyo
Sitting at his desk, Lelouch wrote in his journal,
"Activity has been slow ever since it appeared we are being spied on. As a result I have scaled back on the Zero Division's intelligence gathering missions and relied more on native sympathizers. Also with Hirohito back in Japan, we now have to be even more cautious. Nevertheless, it seems that geassing the Prime Minister has paid off greatly. According to recent articles in the press, he is slowly becoming more vocal against the military. The fact that Hirohito and his allies have not seemed to make any large political gains recently also shows that the they are having a hard time getting the Prime Minister to not oppose their plans.
Meanwhile the idea of returning back to my home world never leaves my mind. According to C.C., my presence in this world has caused the universe to reorient itself and adapt to my presence, meaning my sudden removal would bring about chaos. The meaning of finding a "replacement" itches the back of my brain daily. What does it mean? How would I replace myself in this world? Perhaps it revolves around the idea of someone succeeding me as leader of the Black Army. If that's the case, then the universe will be stabilized once more, allowing me to return back to my world via the C.C.'s Code, which according to her is one of the remaining things connecting me to my world."
"MR. LAMPEROUGE! MR. LAMPEROUGE!" yelled Seo as he ran into the office and panted. "JUST...RECEIVED...TERRIBLE...NEWS!"
"Just calm down Seo and spit it out!" Lelouch yelled.
Seo then took some deep breaths in order to calm himself down. He then proceeded to slowly explain what he had just heard.
"Members of a local anarchist group has alerted me that Prime Minister Hara Takashi was just reported dead."
"WHAT?! DEAD?!" yelled Lelouch as he bolted out of his chair. "WHEN, WHERE, AND HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?"
"We're not exactly sure. Information regarding the situation is pretty scarce and mostly being kept under wraps by Japanese authorities. From what little we have, we have determined that the killer was an extremist who killed Hara via stabbing at Tokyo Station only about about an hour and a half ago."
"Damn it! Hara was our only effective tool to halting Hirohito's moves. Now we have nothing."
"They must've figured out that Hara talked with you behind everyone's back." Seo replied. "Why else would they send someone to kill him?"
"Of course we must understand that we have no evidence indicating someone ordered his death. His killer could've just have been a crazy extremist who hated the guy. Nevertheless, we cannot rule out the possibility of this being the work of conspirators tied with Hirohito."
What do you suggest we do Lelouch?"
"I want the whole Zero Division to stay inside at all times. Cancel all planned intel gathering plans. We cannot risk sending our personnel in a potentially compromising environment. In the meanwhile I will contact Black Army HQ and alert them of the situation."
Seo then saluted Lelouch before leaving the office. Once he was gone, Lelouch grabbed the telegraph key on his desk and proceeded to contact another bank, which in reality was a front for the Black Army HQ. Repeating beeping sounds echoed throughout the room as Lelouch kept tapping the key and transferred his message in code.
Unbeknownst to Lelouch, a telegrapher working at a nearby telegraph station was listening to Lelouch's coded message. He carefully wrote down every dot and dash, which at first glance appeared to be gibberish. Once he finished writing the coded message, the telegrapher proceeded to give the recorded message to the man in the charcoal-gray, three-piece suit and fedora.
After pocketing the piece of paper, the man in the fedora gave the telegrapher a check for a large amount of money made in the name of the Kojima Group before leaving. The man then proceeded to take out and light a cigarette as he walked down the crowded street.
9:12 PM, November 4th, 1921, Imperial Japanese Army General Staff HQ
Prince Sadanaru called Prince Aritomo to come to his office. Once Aritomo arrived, Sadanaru instructed him to make sure the door was shut all the way and the curtains to the window were pulled.
"So what's the reason you called me here at this hour?"
"You must've heard about the recent tragedy that occurred to the Prime Minister earlier today? Investigators already have concluded that the killer was a radical hardliner who was politically motivated. Is any of this familiar to you?" Sadanaru asked. "Because intel I have received seems to indicate you had contacted him a few days ago."
"I won't deny what I decided to do because it was the right decision for the Empire. He was undermining the Empire's power with his promotion of civilian participation and helping the commoners. I'm surprised you would be shocked by my decision." replied Aritomo.
"You're absolutely right that Prime Minister Hara was getting in the way of our plans. But we had alternative solutions. We could've continued applying pressure on him until he would concede to our demands."
"We've been trying that strategy for the past month, along with offering huge bribes and threatening to start a smear campaign. Still, the Prime Minister told me and my associates that he would be willing to let the current cabinet dissolve than to comply with us. By now my patience has run out and we must move on with the plan. We cannot afford any delays."
"I understand your reasoning and desire. However you did so behind the Crown Prince's back. If he finds out you killed a top-ranking government official..."
"Which is why he won't know about it." Aritomo interrupted. "The man who killed Hara is a die-hard patriot who is willing to go throw his life away for the sake of the Imperial Family and the Empire. Convincing him to kill the Prime Minister and accept full responsibility of the crime was extremely easy. And once the courts convict him based on that info, then no one will suspect him being connected to us."
"Still, I feel very uneasy doing this without telling the Crown Prince."
"You shouldn't. The Crown Prince is currently busy working on getting the Diet and the peers to approve a declaration of regency. We don't need to preoccupy him with more problems. Besides, it's better for him if he is not aware of this. That way he claim plausible deniability should anything pop up."
"Hmmm...you make some good points. Very well, I'll play along and pretend this conversation never happened." said Sadanaru. "However, we still have to deal with Mr. Lamperouge. Obviously he somehow convinced the Prime Minister to resist our threats and demands."
"I just talked to Kojima about this and his team of private investigators are working around the clock watching Mr. Lamperouge's actions. In fact he told me earlier that his men had managed to tap into telegraph lines and discover an increase in communications between here and Shanghai. The only problem is that these messages are in code and have proven hard to decrypt. Nevertheless, due to the secrecy of the messages and their destination, I say we arrest Lelouch Lamperouge right now so we can interrogate him." said Aritomo.
"Though I agree with you that he is hiding something in Shanghai, I still think arresting him now would be a big mistake. These messages could simply be secret business transactions. I say we wait till the messages are decoded so we can find out who exactly he is communicating with."
"I said it before, we don't have that much time on our hands. Kojima has even hired the best cryptographers in the Empire, and even they are having much difficulty decoding it. We have to confront Mr. Lamperouge and bring him in for questioning."
"I agree. And I know the perfect opportunity to approach him."
"And that would be what?"
"We invite him to the post-funeral reception of Hara Takashi. It's being held at the Akasaka Palace, which is one of the most secure locations I can think of. It's the perfect place to confront him without us looking hostile. Also he probably will have his guard down and be less resistant to our questions."
"You're joking right?" Aritomo asked. "I mean you're saying we should invite a guy we know little about and could be a potential criminal to one of the biggest state functions that will gather the most powerful people in the Empire? No offense, but such a plan sounds ludicrous and mad."
"Well will it comfort you that the Crown Prince earlier today contacted me and wanted to meet Mr. Lamperouge in person?"
"The Crown Prince came up with this idea? Doesn't he realize the risk he's putting himself in?"
"Like I said before, it's being held at a secure location that we can easily control. Besides, the Crown Prince has told me that he has taken an interest with Mr. Lamperouge and would like to know him a little better." explained Sadanaru.
"If the Crown Prince thinks it's an ok idea, then I will not stand in the way. I have full faith he has already anticipated most of the potential risks. However, I'm still skeptical about this and I feel uneasy about this."
Aritomo then excused himself out of the office while Sadanaru resumed to read some reports.
8:58 PM, November 5th, 1921, Kyōbashi District
Sitting alone at the end of the dining room table, Lelouch was eating dinner which consisted of sauce-covered crab and well-cooked vegetables. As he took another bite, Kae entered the room. She asked if she could sit down and keep him company. Lelouch nodded his head in approval.
"Seems like we've been here forever. I mean I know it's only been a few months, but it feels like we've been here for a few years."
"Well hopefully we'll soon be able to clearly find out what Hirohito's intentions are once he becomes Regent. I was really hoping the Prime Minister Hara could curb the influence of Hirohito and his associated. Now that's he dead, there's nothing stopping them from carrying out their plan."
"Those spies are also making things more difficult for us." Kae added. "A simple task such as leaving the building or talking to a suspicious person can potentially blow our cover."
"Fortunately we're still safe, seeing how they haven't arrested us so far. What I do fear though is how long can we maintain this charade."
"Speaking of charade, where did you come up with the name Lelouch Lamperouge?"
Lelouch suddenly coughed on a piece of crab for a moment. He proceeded to bang his chest in order to stop the coughing.
"What makes you ask that?" he nervously asked.
"Just curiosity mainly. Never heard the name Lelouch before. Is it French or something like that?"
Lelouch, knowing he couldn't tell Kae the truth that Lelouch Lamperouge was actually his real name, tried to come up with any potential solution in his head.
"Well...um...it comes from..." he muttered.
It was then Jeong bursted into the dining room.
"Couldn't have been timed any better." Lelouch thought to himself with relief.
"Sorry to interrupt you during your dinner, but you have a caller on the telephone."
"Ok, but why do you look distressed?" Lelouch asked.
"Because...because...the caller is a representative from the Imperial Household Agency." Jeong answered.
"WHAT?" Lelouch shouted as he jumped out of his chair.
He immediately left the dining room and entered the lounge where the phone was located. He then proceeded to pick up the candlestick phone along with its unhooked receiver.
"Hello? This is Mr. Lelouch Lamperouge. To whom am I currently speaking with?"
"Mr. Lamperouge. This is Kazuya Mori, Secretary for the Board of Ceremonies of the Imperial Household Agency. I'm calling you in regards to a personal invitation."
"Invitation? Invitation to what?"
"The post-funeral reception of the late Prime Minister Hara Takasahi. It's being held at the Akasaka Palace six days from now at 8:00 PM. We called to verify whether or not you care coming or not."
"If you don't mind me asking, but who was the one who invited me to come?"
"It was His Imperial Highness Prince Sadanaru who requested you should to come. According to the information I received, he apparently thinks you should come due to the financial potential you have brought to this country. He also stated the His Imperial Highness The Crown Prince personally wanted to meet with you."
Lelouch's eyes then opened wide upon hearing that both Hirohito and Sadanaru wanted to meet him. He knew that this could be the only opportunity to infiltrate Hirohito's inner circle and find out what he his planning next. On the other hand, he also knew that it seemed too good to be true and could easily be a trap to lure him. For a moment he calculated the risks and rewards of both scenarios before responding.
"Mr. Lamperouge are you still there?" asked Mori.
"Yes I am. Seeing that both the Crown Prince and Prince Sadanaru want me to come, it would be an absolute honor to come."
"That's very good to hear. Your invitation will be sent to you via the mail as soon as possible."
Lelouch then hung the receiver on the hook and explained the situation to both Kae and Jeong.
"You're actually going to go to this event?" Jeong asked with disbelief. "No disrespect or anything, but you were the one who told all of us to stay indoors because of potential spies. Now you're saying you want to go to the Akasaka Palace and surround yourself with Japanese authorities. Also don't you find this opportunity to be a little too good?"
"Jeong I respect the fact that you look out for our overall safety and well-being. However the mission ever since we got here was to slowly integrate ourselves into the highest ranks of Japanese society and hopefully use it as a stepping stone to directly approaching Hirohito and his allies. We've already made progress with meeting with Kojima. Backing out of this opportunity will make all of our waiting and work go to waste." Lelouch responded.
"So are you just planning to simply walk in and ask Hirohito what his secret plans are or something like that?" Kae asked sarcastically.
"Of course not. This meeting must be done in a specific manner. If we even show the slightest amount of pressure, then I assure you he will be suspicious of us." Lelouch answered.
"He probably already is suspicious of you. Why else would he personally want to meet you?"
"That is true Jeong. However I feel that fact can help us with planning this operation." Kae and Jeong then looked at each other with confusion. "We can assume Hirohito wants to get to know me and my intentions better. The fact that he hasn't had us arrested so far shows that he doesn't have enough information on who we truly are. If this is correct, then we will have the upper hand because we know his intentions while he doesn't know ours."
"Well said. However what will be your backup plan should things drastically fall-apart?" Kae asked.
"I haven't fully prepared that part yet. But by tomorrow morning I assure we will have a plan."
Lelouch then headed back to the dining room so he could finish eating his dinner and plan everything in advance.
9:00 AM, November 6th, 1921
Lelouch, dressed in his usual suit, left his apartment and entered the backseat of his car. Kae, once again dressed as his chauffeur, started it up and proceeded to drive down the various busy streets of Tokyo.
"So why exactly are we driving around leisurely around the city?" asked Kae.
"Because with every member of the Zero Division out on duty, I want to minimize the risk of them being caught by anyone who is potentially spying on us." Lelouch answered as he turned around and looked out the rearview window. "I figured that since I am their prime target, they would focus most if not all of their intentions on me."
"By the way, what did you send the others out to do?"
"I instructed them to receive the necessary resources and intel I will need to create an effective escape should the situation fail. I've also had them thoroughly review the emergency protocols I made back when we first arrived here. Because if something goes wrong, we definitely are not going to be safe here anymore."
"If you don't mind me asking, but what exactly did you ask for?"
"Well I sent Jeong and Roh out to do some analyze the perimeter of the Akasaka Palace. As for Park and Seo, I instructed them to buy things such as a delivery truck and some disguises. That reminds me, I hope that I gave them the right measurements."
"Measurements?"
"Well measurements for women aren't my expertise, but I'm pretty sure my estimates based on your dimensions should suffice..."
Kae immediately made a hard turn onto an empty side street and hit the brakes, causing Lelouch to lurch forward from his seat slightly.
"Geez, are you trying to give me a heart attack or something?" Lelouch yelled as he straightened himself.
"What does the dimensions of my body have to do with any of this?" Kae angrily asked as she turned her head around to face Lelouch. "What did you have Park and Seo buy for me?"
"Seeing that I was going to attend such an extravagant event that will be attended by the most influential people in Japan, I assumed that bringing someone along would allow me to make myself more "relatable" to them. I figured you would be the best choice. However to make your charade convincing, it was necessary that a change of attire was necessary." Lelouch carefully explained. "As Head of the Zero Division, I thought you wouldn't mind something like this."
"I do mind when someone plans to dress me up in something without my knowledge, especially when the measurements they are using are based solely on perverted observations!"
"Also consider the fact that I am going in alone in there, not having someone personally at my side to protect me would put my safety in more at risk. It's the same reason I made you my chauffeur. I am going to need the best protection at hand." Lelouch explained.
Kae, still angry, thought about Lelouch's response for a few seconds.
"While I am upset by the fact that none of this was consulted with me, I am still obligated to protect you at all times." she answered.
"Thank you for understanding Kae and I apologize for the lack of consultation."
Author's Note: With the anti-military/aristocratic Prime Minister now dead, there is little that can stop Hirohito from having himself declared Regent. Nevertheless, Lelouch will finally have the chance to meet the Crown Prince and potentially find out what he plans to do once he becomes Regent. We also get to see an emotional connection along with a little humor between Lelouch/Zero and Kae.
Next chapter will introduce us to the most powerful people within Imperial Japan along with several overseas guests, some of whom have other reasons for attending the event. We'll also see the social life of Japan's nobility and politicians.
Please review and feel free to ask any questions or make any predictions.