So, again, not dead. This chapter fought me, mostly because power has been a thing of imagination and memory, but I have notebooks and pencils, a wood stove, and a whole lot of lamp-oil. And oil lamps to go with them. ANYWAY. It's a thing. Generator's been down and no one to come and fix it, and I hardly know what to do with the thing. So, we make do. Myself and my bunny rabbit. Who is no help whatsoever.

So, this is what I have time to type up today while hanging out in town, and I'm sorry but the next chapter proper may be a while. It is written, so it'll end up posted eventually, but written and typed are two different things these days. That said, this is something of an interlude.

Also, if anyone spots mistakes I've missed, feel free to point them out. I'll address what I can, when I can.

Outside Looking In
(Mostly)

Five Weeks Before, Undisclosed American Military Base:

"All right, boys," Colonel Mavers stated, looking at his disoriented, forcibly returned group that used to be in South Korea. "As you all have probably figured out - South Korea is under new management. What you may not have heard yet is that North Korea is also under new management - and as far as anyone can tell, it's the same management."

There was some uncomfortable shifting, but the boys were disciplined enough not to say anything.

"Now, them being under new management is not itself a problem," Mavers continued. "The problem is that we don't know who's managing. We don't know where they came from, how they shut down all communications with the borders as outer limits, or what they want. Aside, apparently, for a united Korea."

Some more shifting. Every last one of them had been debriefed upon winding up back in America en masse, no idea what had happened or how they'd been transported. Which was bad, because the guys inside couldn't tell, either, they'd just been dropped just outside Washington in a proverbial heap with a very large, apparently hand-written note that all possessions, weapons, and technology from the base would be cleaned and returned within two weeks.

It had only been two days, but no one was counting on that note having been true, even if all the men were unharmed.

"Korea - which is now claiming to be one country again - has declared its borders closed, with a few exceptions that just don't make sense," Mavers saw hand or three rise, people finally confused enough to ask questions and uncertain enough to treat it like school. Cute.

"If you're asking what those exceptions are, I'm getting to it. Non-nationals have been permitted to leave unmolested or even continue their tours as though nothing has happened. Nationals have been allowed to return. And communications of all kinds are freely permitted both in and out of the country, which leaves us with several points of contact that have been providing a lot of information, almost none of it useful."

Hands went back down.

"All of you will be reassigned," Mavers told them. "You've each been given one week of light duty around here, under medical observation - that part you should already know. We don't know how you ended up back in the States, and we intend to make sure it's not going to have any unexpected consequences. After this week, barring medical complications, you'll have three weeks' leave. Take the time to see your loved ones. Visit home. After that, your new assignments will be handed out. If any of you hear anything on the Korea situation, report it immediately."

He got a chorused "Yes, sir!" and smiled.

Yes, the situation was bizarre and could still turn very ugly, but all their people had come home safe. No injuries, no new mental trauma. As forceful evictions from established bases went, this one was positively benign.

"Dismissed!"

Four Weeks Before, CIA Agent's Private Home:

"Well, it could be worse," James Rivers of the CIA informed his rather more military ally.

Colonel Mavers glowered at him, "I don't know whether to be worried or grateful that whoever's in there is keeping their promises. Everything but the damn buildings returned, down to the last bullet on file, even security footage... except that of during the actual attack. And we all know there wasn't any of that, because the guys on security have already confirmed that every camera and mike cut out; only things that worked during their little invasion were human senses and the invaders' equipment."

"I was half expecting to find the buildings behind the White House or something," James admitted. "How are they even doing this?"

"Who even are they?" Mavers retorted.

James shrugged, "All we're getting is that no one knows, and for the most part the nationals don't seem to care. There's no major violence and their lives haven't been disrupted - no sudden taxes levied, no soldiers in the streets. A few reports of an illness starting in on the populace, but that could be unrelated, or incidental. Bringing in people from the outside may well come with accidental disease spread, after all."

"And we won't know if it's intentional for a while," Mavers grimaced. "Still no travel, and still open communication?"

"No change there. Although I did get a report from one of my men - a North Korean woman went to one of the government buildings, pleading to be allowed to leave. Said her mother was dying, off in Japan. Her husband ran in to pull her away, probably fearing retribution from a bunch of weapons-bearing people that everyone knows next to nothing about, and the two were escorted into the building under armed guard. Ten minutes later, they're running home to pack. Another hour after that, and they walk into the government building and walk out of a building in Tokyo with a translator-guide who takes them to the hospital where the woman's mother is. We don't know how it happened. They jumped two people from Korea to Japan with no witnesses on methodology, in less than ten minutes."

"Uh," Mavers managed, staring. "Are you having me on?"

"No," James grimaced. "On the one hand, whoever's in charge isn't suppressing the citizens, but that's been obvious since day three. On the other, they're seriously screwing with us. Showing us they can transport people across countries on a whim - this isn't something that took a lot of preparation, which means that our guys showing up in our own damn backyard? Didn't require anything they consider special. We checked: the woman's mother was in the hospital for a sudden decline, but has been battling cancer for years. This isn't something that could be faked."

"That we know of," Mavers pointed out.

Which was fair. These people could hop countries with no one the wiser. Who knew what they could do medically? "Fine, it doesn't look faked. Nothing suspicious about it, aside from the method of getting the daughter and her husband in. And the fact that they were let out of a building in Japan with a local providing translation and guiding services. Which means they have a base in Japan, which - could be a big problem."

"What does the Japanese government have to say?"

"They're the ones who reported the sudden appearance of two Koreans at a hospital desk, looking to visit, with no sign of having crossed any borders. They're nervous."

"Which means they probably don't know what's going on, either."

"And that they might be next in line for a sudden, peacefully hostile takeover."

Mavers grimaced. "Wonderful."

James managed a completely mirthless grin, "Isn't it just?"

Three Weeks Before, undisclosed INTERPOL Base:

"Well, lads, we've got confirmation on a three things out of Korea. Or one thing. Or seven, if you're feeling optimistic," Linden Gardener informed.

"Oh?" one of said 'lads' looked up, Arthur clearly curious about the sudden announcement.

"That's right," a grin, less mirthful than a gesture of helpless frustration.

"I'll bite," the American of the group, a Dennis Smith, piped in. "What've we got?"

"Our boys still in country say the locals say the people running the show are Chinese. Or Japanese. Some even claim Spanish or Italian. They also say there are three people at the top, and I don't know about you, but I think that says multinational."

"Chinese and Japanese working together to take over Korea would be strange enough, but how do Spaniards or Italians factor in?"

"Organized crime?" came the offhand suggestion. "I don't know. If we managed to get more than rumors and hearsay..."

"It's very clear that whoever these guys are, they know exactly who we have. They also know every CIA, MI-6, or bloody ICR agent in their borders. And they have made Korea theirs, make no mistake about that. We get what they let us get."

"Yeah, what's with that? I mean, wouldn't it be easier to just deport, imprison, or kill anyone they don't want around? They're letting them communicate but also somehow limiting their ability to get information from anything but second or third-hand accounts from local civilians - or worse, rumors - but it's still information that seems to be matching up from all of them."

"Easier, yes," Linden agreed. "Which means they want us to find out what the people think of them and why, without actually letting us find out what they're after."

"And the people are starting to trust them," Arthur said slowly, in a tone of realization. "They haven't been hurting civilians. They haven't been letting anyone else hurt civilians. When people started getting sick, they tracked down the cause, treated the ill, and started to repair the problem while educating the locals on how to keep themselves healthy. They've reunited the Koreas, and now they're working on generating goodwill."

"And they've got more of it in three weeks than the Americans managed in South Korea in years - no offense, Smith. But America was a presence, not a ruling entity."

"... Okay, so they're being nice. Responsible. Getting the people to like them. Why?"

"The best option is that they intend to rule fairly. That they wanted something the country had, took over to get it, and are at least intending to be responsible with their new property - some people are like that. Get something, take good care of it."

"Yeah, but most of those don't take over countries."

"Which leaves other, less friendly, options. They want people grateful, or unsuspecting. Considering the diseases and subsequent treatments, possibly experimenting with some kind of biological weapon, and wanting an available populace to test on."

"Agh," Arthur made a face, "Oh, that's a bad thought."

"Very. But the fact that they're treating it implies it's at least containable, even if they are."

"Not planning on releasing something they can't control?"

"I hope they're not planning on releasing something at all, but even a threat would have that country solidly theirs. We can't afford bio-weapons being turned loose, especially not if they've somehow begun immunizing what's now their own people, because that means they won't have to worry about it in their own backyard."

"Which... kind of implies they care?"

"Or they're practical. You can't rule people without people to rule."

"I'm going to hope for the 'care about human life' option, and that whatever they're up to, it's limited to location."

Linden grimaced acknowledgement. "Here, here. Hope for the best - plan for the worst. What do we do if they are looking at biological weapons?"

Two Weeks Before, Tokyo Metropolitan Police Break Room:

"What I still don't get is how the managed to get two people from Korea to that office building downtown in less than ten minutes with no one the wiser," came from one of the rookies just as Hakuro-keibu walked into the break room.

Which instantly made it clear what the current conversation was about, if nothing else.

"They had all their papers," that one was from Division Two - theft, mostly. "It's not like we can do anything. The lady and her husband weren't doing anything wrong."

"It's not the lady and her husband that worry me," one of Hakuro's own pointed out, tundra-dry. "It's their current government, whoever or whatever it may be, and how they instated themselves without anyone having any forewarning whatsoever. Unless it was an impulsive attack with no prior planning - which is impossible considering the outcome - whoever's running the show is damn good. And they have people in our country."

"They have a lot of people in our country," Hakuro agreed. "And all of them seem to be Yakuza. Or - what were Yakuza. That group that's been running all the Yakuza out of business, moving in and taking over?"

"The cult?"

Hakuro didn't grace that with an answer, "'Sora', they call themselves. It's been confirmed that the office building trading long-distance, high-speed visitors belongs to them."

"Yeah, did we ever figure out who's running that show?"

"... After a fashion," Hakuro said grudgingly. One of their usual drug boys managed to get an in with the Sora. He'd given three reports and then gone native, as it were - and he'd lasted the longest of any of the police agents that managed to get in. The ones in Namimori had just turned around and quit their jobs, and the one in Osaka had given one report. Kyoto's ranked second at two. "He might not be running it, but they've apparently decided some fifteen-year-old in Namimori is a god incarnate. We slapped some surveillance on the kid for a while, but aside from abysmal school grades, mild clumsiness such as one would expect from a growing teen, and a propensity to be trailed by small children that he is ferociously protective of - he seems like a normal kid. His father, on the other hand, lives in Italy and clearly has ties to the Italian Mafia. Kid got dragged off to Italy a few weeks back, so we've lost track of him, but he's a genuinely sweet kid. I can't imagine he'd approve, and his mother is... frankly, inept. She shouldn't have been left alone with the kid."

"So... whatever's going on, the kid's being used as a smokescreen?"

"Likely. I'm betting the father's mixed up in there somewhere, but the kid and the wife have nothing to do with it."

"Is she hurting the kid?" one of the so-far silent skulkers asked, straightening in his corner.

"No. She's just... not all there. It's fine now that he's old enough to mostly take care of himself, and she definitely loves the kid, she's just incapable. With the four other children in the house, now - the kid is really the one taking care of them. He's even managed to get the neighborhood women helping out while he's gone. She's neglectful, and it's completely unintentional - background check indicates a head injury years back, and she apparently didn't ever fully recover."

"So, we've got a brain-damaged mom, a fifteen-year-old being set up to take the fall for something that his only fault in was being born, and a man who's too far away for us to do anything about."

"That about sums it up. On the up-side, the Sora fanatics will probably do their damndest to see the kid and anyone he cares about safe and happy, because they actually believe their whole cult-worship thing, and seem to be content to mostly watch from Tokyo in some kind of weird and incomprehensible awe."

"So, a smokescreen that the father wants in one piece."

"Seems like. Either way, aside from keeping an eye on the situation, there's not much we can do at the moment."

"Do we get to know names, or is that classified?"

"Sawada, Nana and Tsunayoshi. Father's Sawada Iemitsu, and came to Japan less than a day after the kid got shipped to Italy on a private charter, spent a few hours in Namimori, and then went back to Italy. I'm not even entirely sure the kid knows he has a father, as that was the first time the guy has been in Japan in eight years and no one around town seems to have heard anything."

A grimace, "Damn. Poor kid. We got anyone keeping an eye out for trouble?"

"The Namimori PD know to keep an eye on the situation, and it seems contained for the moment. We're keeping an eye out for him returning to the country, but until then..."

"Right. Waiting game. I hate stakeouts."

"This isn't a stakeout, moron," someone muttered.

"Might as well be! All we can do is wait for something to happen!"

"Being on the side of the law means no pre-emptive attacks, and we all know it. Settle in, boys, we're in this for the long haul - and we still don't know if the father's in charge, or only has a convenient kid far enough away from the boss' home base."

"Ugh," was the general sentiment in response. Still all they could do for the moment was keep an eye on the situation and hope for the best.

One Week Before, Namimori Sora Base:

"Juudaime's really busy these days, and Reborn-san doesn't think it's anything to worry him about so long as it stays under control," Kuro explained, handing over the compilation of reports to Gokudera.

Gokudera hummed in agreement, shuffling through the files in case of anything troubling. Aside from the fact that the 'spies' that the police sent had easily been swayed to Juudaime's side and therefore made it easy to control the flow of information to their former masters, there was information on all current police theories involving the Sora, Juudaime, and Korea.

... he had to admit, if only to himself, that he felt a bit of vindictive pleasure that the police were pinning some kind of nebulous blame on that idiot Iemitsu. Even if they were wrong, and Juudaime was amazing and definitely not some helpless, unknowing victim.

"It looks handled," he decided after another few minutes. "So long as you keep Reborn updated, it should be fine." Juudaime had more than enough to worry about without adding police watchers, especially since they were easily able to convert who they found. Of course, the Myths helped. It was hard to argue Juudaime's amazingness when everything from unicorns to dragons were willing to follow him. "What about international?"

Kuro made a face, "That's more complicated, but Juudaime already has all those files. We're doing our best to keep from making the other countries nervous, but the invasion wasn't exactly my best idea."

Gokudera snorted. That was an understatement, but he could hardly fault Kuro for doing what he would have, if he'd been the one with incomplete information on Juudaime's unconsciousness and the idea that a cure might be somewhere in the Koreas. And taking over them both entirely had been reasonable damage control, as having either Korea or even America declare war on them would have been a problem of truly massive proportions, because they didn't - or hadn't - had a country, then. It would have probably been Japan that ended up caught in the crossfire, and Juudaime would have been very upset.

Juudaime annoyed and even frustrated was better than Juudiame upset. Everyone agreed on that.

"Well, keep watching the police. I think we're getting close to setting a date for the coronation, and we don't need anything getting in the way. Is there anything new I need to take to Chrome and the Pineapple?"

Kuro shook his head, "We haven't had any real internal security issues in a while. Everyone respects Juudaime too much to cause problems."

That was a satisfying thought. Even the Vongola Nono had to deal with internal problems, at least according to Mafia gossip. Although Juudaime had probably put a stop to that, too.

Good enough, for the moment. Once they got the coronation date set, they could really start sorting out the international front, too.

xxxx