Disclaimer: I do not own Jackie Chan Adventures.

Queen of Shadows

A Jackie Chan Adventures Fanfiction

Written by Eduard Kassel

Created by Nocturne no Kitsune

Beta'ed by Zim'smostloyalservant

Adopted to Finish what a Friend Began

Summary: Jade paces like a caged little blue tiger in its plush cage. Recovering from the shock of her near death, evaluating her own plans as wanting, the adventurous girl must seriusly reconsider her course of action. Seeking to regain the trust of the Shadowkhan leadership and the limited freedom that came with it, she throws herself into her role as the Queen of Shadows.

But this is not surrender, as she seeks to gain masterty of the only weapon left to her, the magic of the Shadowkhan.

Meanwhile, despite the heroic defiance of Toguro, the Hero of Kyushu, that island has fallen before the onslaught of the Shadowkhan armies led by General Ikazuki. Despite friction between Generals Ikazuki and Jirobo, the Shadowkhan remain an unstoppable force, and can now integrate this land and its people into their domain.

In a bid to provide some relief, Jade has recalled all the triumphant Generals to a banquet to honor them.

But events continue to proceed across the sea. The Shogunate in the Shadows, despite some of its members being exposed, yet remains secret in its full extent. In particular, the membership of Nonki the Peaceful Musician in its ranks is something Lord Rokutaro is pleased to have preserved.

And in his palace in Hong Kong, Shendu himself has taken notice of the Shadowkhan, and has sent a member of his court to investigate.

Even as one campaign ends, players new and old begin to make preparations for the next round in this game of magic and might.

A Feast With Foes

Jade had not expected this with her desire for a big shindig to pull the Generals all out of the way of harming others. "This", being a lot of paperwork.

Apparently that last banquet in her honor had been hands off for her, for that reason. But now, supposedly comfortable in the role of Queen and acting as the hostess rather than the hosted — a strange and fine distinction in her opinion — she was expected to review and approve everything, down to a seating chart, to entertainers, and the menu.

The very worst kind of hard work, where you sit down for hours on end and once done feel like you have done exactly nothing!

Still, she put on her best politely bored Queen face, and read and stamped it with her fancy purple seal. She couldn't skim, because of either Hiruzen or Hiroyuki, a Sumo Khan who was seemingly the master for all the nuts and bolts of revelry in the Shadowkhan empire.

Those two regularly asked her for clarification for some oddity, or informed her of some change not reflected in the form to influence the outcome. She never had to write any changes anyway, Hiroyuki did, with a skilled handwriting that had ceased to surprise her from those massive sumo fingers.

The sumo, she felt, was only honest in his queries and prompts, and when they finished the forms for the day, he handed them off to an assistant sumo who saw to their delivery to concerned parties, before politely withdrawing himself. Yes, he was only doing his job, and she actually found herself once or twice smiling at him from behind her veil.

Hiruzen, on the other hand… she was certain he was keeping pressure on. He was making sure she was giving this what he felt was sufficient attention. The way he lingered slightly before leaving when business was done, something in the tone when he asked her something, a bit of tension as she thought over her answer.

Well, nuts to him! She was planning the pants off this banquet! Not so much as a human sacrifice or animal bloodsport to be had for entertainment, or any humans or other thinking creatures on the menu! And she'd like to see any of the horror show list of guests and human traitors complain, because it would be Jadestastically awesome!

Seemingly alone, she smacked her forehead into the now empty desk. She was getting exited and treating like revenge, the planning of a banquet.

'How is this my life again? Oh yeah, magic book and ancient vindictive dragon possessing my badass uncle Jackie. That's how it happened. I oughta write a book someday! A whole series to be adapted into a sell-out movie trilogy with poorly cast actors and product endorsements!'

"More tea please," she asked, raising a hand.

Kyushu:

The castle had been sacked during the campaign, but the sumo had gotten to work on it the next day. Already it was getting a Shadowkhan feel to it as well as being repaired, Ikazuki thought, looking out over the conquered town.

They had chosen this as their headquarters for occupation. Kuro would have preferred a port, of course, but Ozeki supported this location, and it would soon be his place, as prime governor.

'As far as I can see are territories of the Empire of Shadows. Two of the isles subdued in their entirety,' Ikazuki thought as he turned his back to it.

His troops shared his mood, unlike the other armies and Generals. Save perhaps Ozeki, who seemed unflappable in victory as in everything save Kamisori's antics.

He swiftly arrived at the audience chamber that had been repurposed into a meeting room. He lingered in the doorway, taking a moment to savor the lingering essence of the last stand made by samurai and a handful of female bodyguards to defend their recently deceased master's widow and children.

He had not been there to witness it, but down to denying their charges the humiliation of capture and their fight to the death, his bannermen on sight had repotted it as exquisite.

Yes, a chamber blessed by such honorable deeds had been an ideal choice for policy making.

Ozeki was there of course, and Kuro had made the journey, with Jirobo in attendance.

"New orders have arrived. We are to return to the court at our swiftest competence for a grand banquet to celebrate the Empire's victory," Ikazuki announced.

"All of us?" Ozeki questioned, tone not changing, but Ikazuki could still see the curiosity in his eyes.

"Indeed, Ozeki-dono. Though I expect you are to return immediately following the celebration. In the meantime, our lieutenants are to take command in our absences until such time as administration of the new territories can be wholly transitioned to Sumo control."

"I will prepare our swiftest ships to to return us the Fortress as quickly as possible," Kuro stated.

"Excellent. I wish for us to be underway the day after tomorrow," Ikazuki commanded. As the others nodded their assent, the meeting moved onto what other issues could be handled before the Generals returned to the Fortress.

Day of the Victory Over Kyushu Banquet:

Jade sat in her tub, chanting. Why? Because her bathhouse privileges had yet to be reinstated.

Which was quite the drag, as she was certain the potion was not as hot after being carried here. And it was a fact that the hobby room was not as relaxing, and another fact that this was only a fifth, maybe sixth the the size of the bathhouse basin.

Was she being a bit bratty about her baths? Yes, yes she was. She had lost TV, video games, and other conveniences. She was not going to lose one of the things actually improved in her current predicament, without having mental fits.

Still holding up her green, dripping right hand, she chanted and the substance formed. And while it threatened to dribble, it pulled itself back, forming up into a cone. Lowering her hand, she watched the substance harden at her will.

The spell described using it like a full body shield. The most advanced shied being Shadow Cocoon, a Queen sealing herself in the substance, constantly producing and hardening it even as foes attacked.

Drawbacks were that, firstly, it immobilized you, limiting what magic you could do. And second, Queens still needed to breathe, so it had to have the proper porous lies to let the air in, while filtering out toxins.

Yeah, looking over the sell for that, she had decided it would take longer than she would be around to master that surgical precision.

But this had not been mentioned. Jade tapped the shadow cone adhered to her palm against the tub's rim. It rang, and the substance did not chip. Thoughtfully, she frowned and scratched the rim with the tip. She smiled a bit, having scratched the character for "Queen" on it.

'Got myself an ever portable knife and invented graffiti. I am one gangster of a royal. Jackie and Hiruzen would be mad,' she chuckled aloud to her silent joke.

Still, probably best to stop lazing about. She'd be expected to prepare getting ready for the banquet soon. So, with a sigh, she dismissed the shadow blade and called for an attendant to help her out of the tub.

X X X

"So it is nothing but truth?" Ozeki asked. He sat in his personal office, pouring a saucer of sake for Kamisori.

"Yes, all true. Most disturbing, good to have you back, stalwart mountain," the Reza General said. He only sipped his sake, Ozeki noted.

"Hmm, yes, disturbing. But perhaps inevitable."

"What? No Queen has been so reckless!" Kamisori objected.

"You would say that?"

"Well, yes, I talk big on the matter, but still. The Queens are not Reza. Our ways are not theirs," Kamisori said.

"Yet all our tribes were born from the Queens. Their desires, as the lore teaches. The Kamikiri keep many secrets from us, as did the priesthood before them. I wonder if the Yojimbo truly knows all, or if a great deal of vital information is hidden behind masks of reeds and overplayed subservience?"

"…Paranoia is the path of madness."

"Yes, and more to my point. No Queen has ever been so imprisoned as this one and her mother. While secure, they traveled between fortresses, they saw and experienced a wider world. It may be that this unnatural defiance is merely an attempt to assert a normal impulse our policy has denied.

"Though the situation with Hishu is tragic. And puzzling. The Queen does not seem so foolish, and she has never been cruel. Yet she is turning out to be more exceptional than we had ever thought," the sumo mused, tending to a teapot.

"I had another matter to discuss," Kamisori said, "I fear Hiruzen's time is coming to an end. The weight grows too heavy, and the Queen is a trial that may break him. Ikazuki and Jirobo both aspire, but they are arrogant and young."

"As was Daigoro," Ozeki reminded him. Hre piyred the tea out into the cup breathing in the aroma.

"Don't be foolish, neither I nor they are Daigoro. What's needed is wisdom and strength unmoving, both for this Queen of dangerous potential and this expanding empire. It's time the second eldest of tribes held the highest office. I came here to pledge my support for you as Hiruzen's successor, friend."

"…You underestimate Hiruzen and overestimate me, old friend. Do not speak of this matter anymore," Ozeki replied.

Kamisori saw the dismissal in the words and rose, giving a bow a bit too deep before departing. Ozeki sipped his drink before speaking to himself.

"Too many pieces in motion. And I suspect more of them are out of sight than in. Hishu is an ill omen, I fear," the great sumo confided to no one.

X X X

Kuro reclined in the ornate indoor saltwater pool, considering the recent revelation.

Of course, how close the Queen and their species had come to death was jarring, but a General could not dwell on mortal terror.

The Queen had acted rashly. But it was only fair, with her behavior growing into her regalness. Not since Daigoro's day had a Queen grown without a mother to guide her from so young an age. He expected that the weak mind Jirobo had easily manipulated to their ends had rapidly matured and strengthened, much as a male Khan body swiftly grew into power once its puberty truly ignited.

Perhaps the change was normally unnoticed because the heir was the Queen's responsibility, only truly entering the court's and Circle's politics as their mother waned. The Yojimbos would know, of course, but they always had kept secrets from the other men.

So, for all his rage, Jirobo was missing the fact the Queen had simply outgrown their mutual ambitions.

Well, it had been too good to last. And maybe it was for the best. While he was certain Jirobo's ambitions had not crossed the line, controlling a Queen so much might have set a precedent, leading them to human levels of corruption in the generations to come.

So, while his dreams of a new kind of fleet and new glories for his tribe faded, Kuro pulled himself from his soaking to dress for the banquet, and make new plans. Plans that may well involve fewer bats and more samurai. After all, every sailor knew that one must heed the tides.

Ikazuki's main chamber held a map of Nihon, both the Shadow Empire and the Mikado's realm, nearby islands, and the southernmost territories of the Land of the Morning Calm across the sea.

Tobe, that was the only thing he could see now. Even after approaching Kyushu anew and rearranging the markers to convey the new reality, Tobe was what drew him back.

The incident had been Hiruzen's fault, that much was clear. He should have sensed something amiss with the Queen, such was his role as much as direct action. And the business with Hishu… it was also his place to educate the boy.

The Yojimbo was growing weary and sloppy. He needed to be replaced, and soon.

Still, even if Tobe's force had exploited his weakness, it had only validated they were indeed a threat.

A Demon Queller, and wielding Houka. Ikazuki smiled, recalling that battle. Unlike Kyushu, he had not wanted for worthy foes in that glorious battle. Toguro was grand, but only one man. That clan, they had fought worthy of remembrance; his men had composed poetry to that day when their old foes had finally fallen, bleeding hands clutching broken blades raised in defiance.

And one remained. An avenger, no doubt. A woman, not that it mattered with that clan. Human women in general were pathetic, oppressible things, far removed from the divine glory of the Royalty. But there were exceptions, and the Demon Queller women had been one.

He shook his head from the vaporous thoughts of battle, and tapped Awaji island on the map. That would be his proposal once normal business resumed. An example had to be made. And he would need to find a way to deal with Hiruzen, for all their sakes.

But first, he had a victory banquet to prepare for.

X X X

In most movies, Jade thought, the overlord was supposed to make a grand entrance. But for this party, she was among the first to arrive.

Not to the throne room, either. This was a massive, sectioned banquet hall she had only seen in her astral experience. She had ignorantly assumed it was some kind of training room. Hmm, though she supposed it could double for that as it likely didn't see much use.

Apparently this was specifically for when the Shadowkhan hosted outsiders. So it was outside the heart of the Fortress, which they would not allow anyone without blue skin to enter and leave again. And her upraised section was not only curtained off by silk banners, but a wall of wood dominated by downward tilted slates painted in blue and decorated with red writing she recognized as wards.

She could see the banquet fairly well from the angle of this throne. But in addition to being so thoroughly out of sight, there were two ranks of Khan officers armed for battle, one behind the wooden barrier, one in front.

Hiruzen himself sat before the curtain, a placeholder before the part of the screen painted with the elaborate crest for the Queen of Shadows; apparently, a writing system predating any currently in use was its origin. And having seen from the other side, not only did the screen/curtain make it seem like there was only the lone warrior and magic silk between the Queen and sight, but the actual throne was quite a ways to the left of where you would think it to be looking in.

So, to put it mildly, this seemed to be part party, part accepting a temporary siege that must be guarded against at all costs.

And naturally, she had to be on her throne and all dolled up for no one to see, with every ward and its cousin refreshed on the throne and the floor around it.

All told, she had been sitting there for seven hours before the first guests started to enter.

Times like this made her miss having to pee. It was such an excuse to leave. But here, with no further plans to make, she had nothing to do but nap and eat little rice cakes, slouching in the throne with her legs tucked under her.

Apparently that was normal, as they woke her shortly before the guests arrived and adjusted her eye makeup and righted some stray strands of hair, before adjusting one of the pins.

Her role in the banquet was simple. To be there, be awake, and eat what was in front of her.

The speeches offering congratulations had been written up by her and subject to edit feedback and approval already. They would be read aloud by Hiruzen, and awards and honors would be given as scripted.

The gifts of tribute and/or respect would be accepted on her behalf by Hiruzen, who would turn, holding it toward the crest if it was small enough to be held. She would signal her approval to a shinobi sitting crosslegged at the spot the guests would think the throne was at, and he would ring a hand bell.

Naturally, it was assumed the Queen was signaling her approval with that little brass bell. Which she was, she just so happened to be using a minion to actually ring the thing.

It was so paranoid it could make her sick. That is, if the guest list hadn't had an unwelcome last minute addition that had made her start to choke on her eels — Shendu was sending a lackey to gatecrash on his behalf.

Sure, he had a standing invitation as some form of protocol, but the Dragon Court of Infernal Flame and the Court of Ten Thousand Candles had never once been cordial, and had rarely even been allies of convenience. His big sister eating one of the past Queens may have had something to do with it. Along with the fact he was an overpowered, utterly honor-less, immoral tyrant who seemed to delight in petty torment of all life be it mortal or magical.

So him sending a high official of the court had sent the Khan into overdrive. And considering he may be 'her' Shendu, it was vital he learn nothing that might clue him in to her presence.

So she had signed and sealed every measure of paranoid security Hiruzen had come up with. Heck, she wouldn't have minded chilling back in the tower while they dressed up some shinobi in drag to fill in for her. After all, she wasn't certain if even Superman would see though this blockade, anyway.

Later:

All told, it was a rather dull affair thus far, the Grand Eunuch thought. But then, the Shadowkhan were only shortly removed from flamboyant bandits hiding amongst the humans of these backwater isles.

While there was a definite influence from the mainland, it was tainted by local customs. And the other guests. There wasn't even a proper court to entertain and intrigue.

Still, enduring bad banquets was a skill every courtier had to develop.

And looking to the great screen, he could sense it. Power — thick, rich and perhaps even primordial. This Queen was here, despite all efforts to conceal and misdirect.

He sipped the rice spirits, a high quality, so no doubt pilfered from China. Everything he observed had to be embedded in his memory for review, every hint that may be of value.

His Imperial Majesty's interest in these barbarians was sudden and unusual, but it was not his place to guess a dark god's motive. Perhaps Almighty Shendu wished a dark goddess as an empress? She certainly seemed the only prize here that might be worth his taking.

Meanwhile, The Queen's Tower:

Hishu patrolled the tower. While it kept him distinctly separated from his fellow Generals at the banquet, it was still an honorable posting for one so disgraced. After all, there was a risk, however slim, that a foe would use this gathering and the diversion of the Generals' attention to sabotage the most secure room of all.

He was grateful. After all, while his disgrace was beyond redeeming, he could at least show that his tribe could serve well.

He came to the forbidden door, and as instructed by Hiruzen, traveled through shadow beyond it. Good, the tower slaves appeared to be in good order. Hmm, two seemed in poor health; they may need to be replaced soon. That would go into his report.

The Feast:

All in all, Jade found the evening passing as a rather dull affair. She had been interested in seeing the various mystic creatures coming. Hiruzen had dropped a hint about paying mind to the kitsune. Perhaps there was some bad blood, as the Queen's waiting room had a kitsune tail proudly displayed in it.

But so far, it had been just formally welcoming the triumphant Generals back. And then eating the extensive appetizers while the others chatted in their respective levels or chambers. Seeing as she wrote the speeches, there were no surprises. Though she didn't have any food to eat during them to maintain the illusion, she supposed.

The actual honors given and such would wait until after the guests left, a Shadowkhan only deal. Which only furthered her view that this was pointless revelry, she thought, sipping her tea.

'Wait, pointless revelry? Since when do I think like that? Queenie, are you hiding in there, crossing my wires?'

Jade sighed and resisted rubbing her eyes; it might mess up the purple makeup elaborately adorning them. At least there was no lipstick or paint, the veil and all.

"I don't suppose I could get more eels?" she asked the attendant ninja.

"It is time for the guests to present their gifts, then the true feast will begin," he replied.

'Man, when I'm not getting myself nearly killed, it seems sitting around and eating is my main activity.'

Still, as instructed, she gestured the bell to be rung three times.

Then things got interesting.

First came the kappa. The delegation of scaled monkey turtles were quite a sight. They did not wear traditional clothing, but wore belts of woven reeds, dyed different colors and worn at different angles denoting the complex hierarchy of the reclusive race.

They brought forth two chests. One contained rarities and magical objects, including a hairpin which could grant its wearer the ability to bind a gaki to their will for one night every lunar cycle, if it was feed for a full prior lunar cycle with the owner's blood. The second chest held crafts of their own race; a set of kimonos woven from materials gathered at the water's edge, soft as silk yet utterly resistant to water, be it rain or rivers. But they warned it would not hold well against waters of the sea.

Finally, they all bowed to her, emptying the water on their heads into bowls they held. Though they then replaced the water, restoring their strength, the gesture was appreciated.

The Tengu were elegant in their delegation; despite their fierce faces, dominated by noses that should have been comical, the representative of the prince most closely aligned with the Shadowkhan spoke with passion but brevity on the ties of the two peoples. Though she wondered if there was some disapproval in referencing how the Shadowkhan had ceased to be a hidden "nation".

While the different clans gave small treasure boxes which were nice, the Prince's red-skinned man presented a short sword that was bone white at the blade. Forged from a tooth taken from one of the rare dragons of Nihon. Once claimed with blood and breath, it would only cut for its owner, and fortune would lead it back to the owner however lost it became. And he claimed it could even cut the ethereal.

Others came, of course. Women with long, snakelike necks with silk from afar. Others were strange and their names unpronounceable, and their gifts just as odd.

There were humans, too. Seeing them enter the main chamber had made her neck hairs stiffen despite herself. The fact these were evil humans and thus not a danger, unlike her last encounter… Well, it made her feel quite odd, and she ended up waving the ninja, majo witches, and some kind of pirates, off midway through their speeches.

She was surprised the first time the ninja had politely but firmly hustled the humans off the stage, forcing them to quickly give up their gifts.

Not that they were even good gifts. The pirates' treasure was just more loot. The ninja brought relics stolen from a temple, but Jade could sense no magic in them. And the pickled fetus in a glass jar from the witches… that was just poor taste. Even the magic she sensed from the ugly little necromantic seemed rotten. She would order Hiruzen to burn that later.

Some collaborator merchant actually took the hint that she was not giving the humans much time, and hastily laid out his gold, and soil from his native Kyushu as a symbol of the allegiance of him and other human subjects of that land to its new owner. They must have caught her appreciation of his lack of exposition; he was not touched as the ninja rushed him off.

Then, came the kitsune. Four of them. Two were in full fox form, standing large as horses, three tails waving in the air behind them, red as blood and orange like fire, respectfully.

Between the two stood a male who was, quite frankly, beautiful even with his eyes closed. Black of hair and wearing a solid black hakama, his pale face and neck stood out in magnificent contrast. A quartet of black fox tails rose up behind him, and black fox ears rose through his hair.

To his left was unmistakably his twin, though female and as white as he was black. Her own pale skin and the red circles on her cheek and cherry blossom-colored eyes made her seem like a ghost. She had only two tails floating behind her though Jade noticed.

The fox fire floating over the procession granted them an otherworldly majesty. It seemed far too much for a routine victory banquet that was just on a larger scale.

"There have been many speeches tonight, others to come. So we will left our gifts speak. For each occasion, a different clan has offered a gift, as is our way. And on this grand occasion, it is my own clan that has been chosen to present a gift. And in the wise views of our elders, there is only one gift worthy of Her Divine Majesty, the Queen of Shadows."

He drew from a wide sleeve a purple silk scarf, or no, a belt? A long piece of silk, she concluded, frowning at failing to put a proper term to the thing.

She watched in curiosity as he tied the silk around his twin's neck, and she elegantly kowtowed to the seal.

Hiruzen stepped forward and accepted the silk from him.

"A fine gift indeed. She submits to all that must be done?"

"She has the scrolls, sealed by her will and blood. For the glory of our clan, we offer her life as a handmaiden to Her Shrouded Majesty. Will you honor us with this gift being accepted?"

WUuuuuuuT?

She watched the fox woman turn into a fox which she was certain was bigger than a normal fox, and be passed off to Jounin Toda. Who led the… slave? She had just gotten a slave as a fancy gift? Well, anyway, he led her off.

Jade went through the next one on autopilot, something that looked like a fishman with a basket of pearls.

She knew the Shadow Empire had slaves, but it was something they seemed to isolate her from. It only made sense with how paranoid they were regarding her — meaning their Queen's — safety. And now this?

What the flying kick-butt heck?

"The Grand Eunuch of the Court of Emperor Shendu, the Illustrious and Terrible!" the courtier Khan announced.

Now that snapped her back. She watched the figure approach, seeming to glide. She blinked at what she was seeing.

She had been informed he was a human, only human too, with the Shadowkhan apparently finding his lack of certain parts amusing. Which had made her curious; given how Shadowkhan reproduction worked, did the blue boys have anything going on? Or was it just funny to them because humans were supposed to have it while eunuchs didn't?

She liked to think, as a tomboy, she was well versed in guy humor. But it went past her this time.

And this guy was freakier looking than most of the monsters.

He seemed to glide to the gift giving spot, clad in a garish robe outfit of gold, too bright green, and three shades of red, from dark to near blazing pink. The reds reminded her of burns, she thought queasily. His hair was a wild mane, utterly removed from any courtly decorum, dyed that same somehow sick pink. His face was painted chalk white, save for gold around his eyes and a bloody red on his lips. His fingernails were long claws, curling back on themselves and painted black, a ruby adorning the center of each curl catching the light.

He was carrying a small box, resting on his palms.

"My master, the destined supreme sovereign of the world, sends his congratulations to the esteemed Lady of Shikoku and Kyushu on seizing full control of her subjects. Such power and patience are qualities he finds desirable in his vassals," the eunuch said. His voice was pitched off. He was off, all of him. Jade raised her hand for the hasten motion, but stopped.

This wasn't just some human patsy. He was representing Shendu at his fullest might. Back in the days when he was seen as an unstoppable force… She lowered her hands as he somehow unlatched the box despite the decadent horror of his fingers.

He overturned it, and three oval gold coins fell out.

Jade blinked, and she felt every Khan in the room feel puzzlement, save Hiruzen. Surprised, she glanced to him, somehow knowing his fury even as he stood calmly.

"A dragon values nothing more than treasure. So there is no greater reward than this, a portion of His Infernal Majesty's Treasured Horde. May you cherish it alongside the esteem he holds for you, Great Lady," the Grand Eunuch bowed, leaving the box on the floor in the process.

After he was gone, Hiruzen calmly picked up the coins as Jade ground her teeth.

'Pocket change?! He showed up here to call me his vassal in so many words, and give me pocket change as a gift?!

'And Lady!?'

"I am a Queen, not his lady!" Jade hissed. She blinked at the words slipping out, but composed herself. Though she did drain an entire cup of tea immediately.

This party sucked more than she had expected.

Later that Night:

Jirobo's chambers were placed high in the Fortress, a tower unto themselves, holding both his residence and his immediate offices. Tonight, though, the heavy curtains had been drawn and every door bolted.

He stalked about the sitting room, still dressed in his finery from the feast, his eyes falling on the thin book laying on the small tea table. His treatise on new warfare. The Queen had apparently discovered it anew in the great library, and returned it to him via a Kamikiri messenger on his return.

The message was clear — she had not only dismissed him for this recent campaign, but deemed his ideas not even worthy of recording for the future Queens.

The Kamikiri may not spread gossip of this humiliation, or may even fail to recognize the scope, they were so strange after all. But it did not ease him at all.

And at the banquet… Ikazuki had been praised and been given a title as Conqueror of Kyushu, and presented with a token of her favor in the form of a dagger with a pattern engraved by the Queen's own hand. He had not even been close enough to see it.

Kuro had received praise for his good work in stealing rather than sinking so many vessels.

Even Ozeki, glorified bureaucrat with a warrior hobby that he was, had received instruction and acknowledgement of confidence that he could maintain a healthy, robust slave population to further the Empire's glory.

He, Jirobo, had received only minimal acknowledgement for his deeds.

And it made no sense. The Queen made no sense. She had been wrapped around his claws more than she or anyone realized. He had guessed that, as she grew, she would rebel against Hiruzen's influence, and he the one who was cultured to her liking, who both sought to make war swift and convinced her it would be less brutal. He was her natural ally.

Kuro had aided him as well, but the Queen had little attachment to other Generals save Hiruzen. Kamisori had put her off, and he had been the best set. As for Ikazuki, he was certain that fool would be removed when he convinced the Queen to have him commit seppuku for an inevitable blunder.

Slipping his control, he could see. Perhaps the Queens were more insightful than he realized. Perhaps he had overplayed his hand and she saw him as anther domineering General to humble?

But this? It made no sense, this favor to Ikazuki, who lacked the wit to even try and control the Queen. Having ideas of her own beyond drawing maps and sighing at horizons? And this madness of new Generals and sneaking out?

It was like the Queen he had worked on since her mother was removed from the picture had been replaced with someone far more capable and bold… He shook his head; that way lay madness. Some other member of the Circle had outmaneuvered him. Likely someone who had concealed their ambition. And won her over to tradition concealed with grandeur.

This Queen was a loss, but he would find out who his foe was and ensure the next Queen would truly be a reign for him to shape. And the Shadowkhan would not have their potential stifled by dated tradition.

The Shadowkhan would realize their full potential.

The Next Day:

The Grand Eunuch sat in his palanquin, being carried out by the two teracotta warriors animated by His Infernal Majesty's magic. The Shadowkhan Fortress was an obscenity, ridiculously large and clearly meant to be defensible. It spoke of insecurity and weakness. The palace of his master was ornate and beautiful. It offered no great fortification because no one would dare assault the Dragon Emperor in his home.

A dreary, overbearing castle for an unimaginative race, clinging to a backwater island chain. He was glad to be rid of it the pathetic excuse for honored guest chambers they had provided. the only thing exceptional had been their efforts to spy on him as per custom for dark forces and politics alike.

He lifted a hand, considering the rubies within his nails. In addition to his own observations, magics most subtle had made them all remembering eyes. Eyes that saw more than just sight. He had learned far more than they knew.

The Queen was powerful, but a coward, hiding not only out of sight, but with misdirection, and gathering all her chief officers. Ha! The elite of the Empire were never all so assembled. The Emperor had no need to gather such power to himself, he was invincible.

The palanquin was lowered in the outermost courtyard. His standing had afforded him the bare luxury of being able to have his carriage landed within the castle walls. Sharing space with the likes of the Tengu and filthy foxes… it would be an insult, if it wasn't what passed for courtesy to the barbarians.

The dragon clawed the ground and glared at him from its place at the head of the carriage. A minor demon sitting hunched and concealed in a saffron cloak lashed it twice with a glowing blue whip, subduing the beast.

Even lent out, the dragons of the master were loath to obey any but their one true master. A reminder, one of many, that all power came from the Blazing Throne, and its eternal occupant.

Getting into the carriage, the door was closed behind him, and he was already partially disrobed and his sandals removed with expert ease as he took his well appointed seat.

There were three of them, a beauty of China, a beauty of the steppes, and a brown-skinned beauty from the west. All beautiful, all nearly naked, and all there to both reward him with service and beauty, and for the Emperor to remind him of what he had to give up to rise so high.

Yes, these local foes of humanity did not impress, their cruelty was fleeting and juvenile compared to the true ruler and devastator of the world. They would bow in time like the rest, or be burned off the face of creation.

Hopefully he would bear news to the Emperor sufficient enough to not be burned himself, he thought, having the window of the flying carriage closed with a gesture.

Elsewhere in the Fortress:

Sanshobo presented the collar to Ozeki, who looked it over, even bringing out a magnifying lens to inspect its fine lines. With a nod, the esteemed sumo passed the steel band to the waiting Hiruzen.

The Yojimbo carried it over to where the kitsune woman knelt, panting slightly, but only slightly, her once immaculate body now decorated like a scroll in her human form. Standing nearby, the chief Kamikiri tattooist bowed to Hiruzen before departing.

The three Generals stood in the sterile chamber with the naked fox woman; for Hiruzen, it was a bit nostalgic, though not for this chamber. Holding out the collar for her to see, it glowed slightly in his hands, while all the writing scrolled across her flesh began to glow in a shifting pattern of blue and red.

"You have left your clan and the life you knew before. Why you would agree to this is irrelevant. It is done. But before we grant you new life in this court, we require your understanding.

"You were given by your clan, and any act of defiance or treachery that you are punished for, your clan shall face a hundred fold. Though it is we who shall wash the neck and strike with the blade, it is you who would bear the responsibility for their punishment.

"Accept this now and be bound, or reject it and depart, never to return here or whence you came, but your clan freed from all tie to you and your actions," Hiruzen said.

Sanshobo expertly sniped the bindings and stepped back, letting the kitsune rise.

Without hesitation, she took the collar from Hiruzen and sealed it around her neck. It shrank to sit flush with her neck, and the tattoos flared, along with the collar, fit to blind any mortal for a moment.

The Generals did not blink at the light, and nodded approval to the blue woman adorned with red streaks that reminded them slightly of a tiger.

"What is, is not what was. I now serve the Shadowkhan and the Queen of Shadows, holding their blood, ambitions, secrets, and treasures dearer than my life and all ties that came before."

"Then we grant you the name Koeri, and welcome you to this court that is your home and cage for so long as it pleases the Queen that you may live," Hiruzen said.

Still, even as he was pleased the Queen would have feminine influence in her education, and the spell colored this one as a sign of irreversible property, it did not make her anything close to a Shadowkhan.

But the past maidens had done well enough.

X X X

Jade was sitting in the waiting room again, waiting this time to start the first official meeting of the Circle since the banquet. She had gone over it with Hiruzen; it was mostly just affirming what messages she had signed and sent regarding orders, and them reiterating major points of reports in person that she had already read, allowing her to ask questions where they were at liberty to gauge one another for weakness.

Meetings could and did have relevant actions and revelations, but sometimes — like today — it was just a show. With one big diversion.

She was going to receive her personal slave.

Hiruzen had actually come across as a bit awkward explaining it. Apparently the gift was no surprise — even before her disastrous escape attempt, there had been worry that she required a feminine influence in her life. And that incident had made him move up the timetable.

Others might hire a tutor or try and wrangle some gal pals. The Shadowkhan, they negotiated a personal slave to be a female companion and tutor of the feminine to their evil overlady.

And wasn't that just swell — in addition to guilt for all the offscreen tragedy here, it was going to be staring her in the face.

Hiruzen even seemed to know far more about this kitsune's, Koeri apparently, linage than the woman herself. The fact they had apparently dyed the beautiful white kitsune blue and red as a form of control and cattle brand…

It was just so swell, wasn't it?

The herbalism scroll was long gone; Jade had had it replaced with one on wind musical theory, something she could actually use.

She had finished it nearly half an hour ago.

Delaying was pointless. It would undo nothing done, and wouldn't help anything coming.

Getting up, she opened the cabinet and looked at the floating kitsune tail still surrounded by foxfire and wandered, as she had every time in this room, what its story was. She had found no record, and worried asking would raise suspicion; the Queen may have well known why and requested it be put there.

It reminded her how vulnerable she really was, not just to the Queen's enemies but the Queen's vassals as well. She was an impostor who knew too little, and a simple question not answered right could still expose her.

To get a happy ending for this story and herself, she needed to put her Queen face on and cross another line by accepting a slave into her house. Endorsing free woman being reduced to her personal property and the humiliation of her branding being complimented as if a new haircut.

'I can do it, I have been doing it. Surviving and winning will make it worth it,' she told herself as she settled her face into its familiar queenly set and fastened her veil into place. She clapped and walked toward the door, already sliding open.

Tobe Castle:

Rokutaro once more sat before the assembled Inner Circle of the Shogunate in the Shadows. Save for Nonki and Kyouaku, they seemed anxious. They had heard the news, after all. General Murakami sat at his lord's right hand, holding a wide, thin box, painted white.

"You have heard the news. Kyushu has fallen. Its hero has been slain, his body burned on the shores of Honshu by the lucky few who escaped. They claim it was only his spirit's intervention that allowed their vessel to escape the fury of the Shadowkhan. And Those who Dwell Above the Clouds, are silent."

There was no surprise. But even Nonki seemed to feel some disgust for the delusional neglect he framed the Mikado's court as having. A truth exaggerated, but still a lie well anchored in the truth that Heian-Kyo was slow and uncertain in how to act, and would likely end up doing nothing again.

"Yet today is a day to rejoice. For today we have seen the fruition of our long work. Many of you have gathered materials and knowledge from across our land. Sometimes stolen or bought, other times hunted and retrieved from the border of mortal attainability. And only one of you has known why," Rokutaro announced. Himitsu smiled, his eyes sliding to the box.

Murakami offered the box to Lord Rokutaro who, taking it, held it reverently before himself.

"Rejoice, for I hold here in my hand the weapon by which we will change the fate of Nihon and end the threat of the Shadowkhan to this nation and all humanity forever. Behold," he declared. With an aged hand, he slid the lid off and placed it aside against his armrest. Then, setting down the box before him, he gently reached in with both hands and lifted its contents out.

Nonki and Himitsu smiled, but the others, particularly Rosuto, seemed puzzled and a tad displeased.

"It isn't much to look at, I know. But this shall be the face of victory. The first of many," Rokutaro smiled. He held the blank, featureless white mask out, lifting it up so it eclipsed his own face to their eyes.

"Soon, it will be the Shadowkhan who fear us," he told them all.

Author's Note:

Happy New Year!

So happy to finally have Rokutaro make his reveal after all these years. I expect many of yo guessed what was being worked on in his basement.

Well hope you enjoyed reading this as we enjoyed working on it.

Long days an pleasant nights to you all.