From above where the winds were high, Youko, also known as the Royal Kei, was flashing a relieved smile. She decided to ride on Hyouki to visit the provinces within a quick aerial tour. Still at the body of an attractive seventeen-year old girl, her reputation as Empress however was taking a deliberate road to prestige. Experiences strengthened her bonds among her trusted ministers and the rest of her government, together with the intuitive advices of the Taiho, Keiki.
"You are doing well, as far as I observe. Stay in that course and you might just wake up one day you have reigned for a hundred years." Shouryuu, the Royal En, remarked as she visited the following morning. They were discussing about the remaining refugees of Kei in the Kingdom of En.
Youko shook her head. "I am very much further away from being that kind of a ruler. There are still many things to be accomplished back in Kei, and I need all the time that I have to complete them."
With an amused look, Shouryuu slid back to his chair and gave her a teasing smile. "Now, aren't you serious like your Taiho."
The Royal Kei sighed and gazed at the fair fine greenery flourishing outside the window. "I want to rebut strongly but I guess it's true. After all, Keiki is always working hard, and I have still have a lot to learn. But really, he needs to stop scolding me."
King En nodded and perched his chin on his palm as he threw his gaze on the same scenery.
"It might be because you are requiring less of his presence now…you have been running Kei in an admirable way for such a beginner in this world." Youko gave him a long look. Shouryuu met her eyes and smiled.
"But you know it is such a relief for us to finally find Kei stable and constantly progressing. I bet you are more than ready in facing your own tenth year hurdle.."
He waited for her reaction. Youko gave him a puzzled look. Sure she once heard that longer ruling kings and empresses passed their first ten years with a major problem which would eventually give them the full capacity to govern a peaceful and relatively wealthy kingdom for another fifty years or so. But she never thought about the nature of that "problem" except that it would be a powerful threat like a rebellion or the like.
"I heard of it once." Youko looked down on her hands and laced her fingers. "Do I have to worry about that?"
Shouryuu shrugged and rose from his chair to take a closer look by the window. "You are the Queen of Kei. Youko, you are the first person to gauge the prowess of your people and your crown."
Hearing the composed tone of King En's voice, Youko had to pout. "When would you adults talk to younger ones in understandable terms?"
The Royal En laughed. Just then, the door opened in an excited swing and a golden-haired young man entered with a faint scowl on his bright face. Following him was a gray-furred rat almost having the same height as him.
"Rokuta!" Shouryuu exclaimed as the kirin slumped on the seat next to him. "Can't we even hear a knock?"
"Your minister woke me up late!" He pouted as he grabbed a pink peach from the nearby fruit bowl.
"Trying to wake you up for ten times is not included in the minister's line of work."
Youko let out an amused smile. She redirected her gaze to the creature standing before her. It nodded to her and took an adjacent seat.
"Rakushun. It has been a while."
"Ten years was short, wasn't it, and you have become a very good queen, Youko."
"Thanks to everyone, I managed to get through with special nonstop airing of Keiki's schedule from morning till night."
Rakushun smiled. "Still, you are the same Youko as ever."
The Royal Kei gave him a quick nod. "Guess so. Koukan and Enho are really trying hard not to get me into trouble when my statements hardly make it to the "dignified speech" scale during court meetings and such."
Rakushun was about to answer when Rokuta jumped from behind them.
"Hey!" They both chimed.
"Haha, sorry."
Rakushun met Enki's eyes and nodded. He turned to Youko with a serious face now. Rokuta sat back to his chair.
"We came here not only just to see you, Youko." He began giving a quick glance at the King En. Shouryuu was glancing at some documents laid out in front of him.
Rokuta was the one who took the cue and spoke. "Shun just lost their king. He abdicated after killing about one hundred thousand people mostly those who you would call the "weak" part of the society. The others were the part of the rebellion who rose up against him. But it still rumored that some of the bodies were not included in this count and were burned."
He shifted uneasily and stretched his gaze at the pile of papers and scrolls on the Royal En's table. The room fell awfully quiet and the only sound that could be heard was the hurried footsteps outside the door. Youko looked at the three with profound curiosity now. They looked really troubled and it seemed that whatever this problem was, it was no trivial matter. Being just at ten-year mark, the Royal Kei saw every experience as a vital requirement especially when it concerns angles that she had not had a chance to look upon. She, Keiki, and the kingdom had still many things to get their hands and minds in to. The King En and Enki, and even Rakushun, were knowledgeable in the matters that currently affect En and the other kingdoms. It would surely be a serious undertaking as when they tried to help Tai and find Taiki in Yamato.
"The number is not what worries us though," Shouryuu pulled on to his feet and walked to the tall wooden shelf and faced the scrolls neatly arranged. Then he turned to meet Youko's eyes.
"It is how they did it."
Youko tilted her head in puzzlement. "What do you mean?"
"It is normal for us to hear such a large number of deaths during a war, but this one is different." Rakushun nodded at King En as he answered Youko's question.
"I was with Rokuta when we inquired about the people's situation in Shun. The people do not remember having a large enough war to cause such deaths in such a short period of time."
"How long are we talking about?"
"Three months."
The revelation struck her cold like ice. Unknowingly, she felt shivers ran down her spine. Of course it was not new to her to hear such a deed, given that she knew Shoukei's father killed six hundred thousand. However, it was a different and notably more intimidating to have a report about such a happening very close to her kingdom.
Rokuta observed the color draining from the Royal Kei's face. He folded up his legs on his seat and arched his hands so his chin could rest upon it. He knew that being very close to Kei, Youko had to be disturbed. But not even he had the full details that he could not offer a tangible solution. Shouryuu was likewise in deep thought.
"The kirin of Shun, Shunki, after recovering from the shitsudou postponed his search for the king to be able to address the emergencies of the kingdom. As the Taiho, he had to establish at least an interim court to lead the land until a new ruler has been chosen. He has a very "strong" attitude like Hanrin, but he is usually sarcastic rather than acting like a spoiled child, and because he could not believe he had caused great suffering to the people by choosing Ko-Ou, he wanted to carefully take his time."
"Shunki is trying his best to gather up the remaining pillars of Shun to support the kingdom. A report also was written that Sou is already lending a hand by accepting refugees and sending financial help to Shun. Shunki must have requested their aid as soon as he got better. Other than that, he also launched an investigation on the mysterious deaths."
In anticipation, Youko gripped the armrest of the chair. "What had become of it?"
A dark expression passed over like a cloud on Shouryuu's face. "He discovered the reason apparently, but he never told the people. What reached us was a warning, to be careful of letting the refugees mingle with the common folk around the whole kingdom. He encourages us not bring them as far as north, or send them back to Shun."
It was not new to Youko, too. The scenario has been lectured many times when she was still a high school student in Yamato. Shunki was trying to establish a quarantine and isolation. These are techniques to prevent a spread of a disease. Whatever it was, the kirin of Shun did not want the other kingdom to panic until he found all about the details of the sickness, especially the cure.
"It's a disease." Youko breathed out as she straightened her back on the chair. The three nodded in agreement.
"When we first talked about this, we all surmised what you did, but still we only have that alone as a lead." Rokuta said as he tossed back a peach to the fruit bowl.
"For now, we have to trust Shunki." Rakushun said in a grim tone. He certainly wanted to understand more of the subject. But with their limited knowledge in medicine, they could do but to feed on the little light that the kirin and the people give them.
"Shun is the kingdom of medicinal practices…they know more than what we do. But it they are having a hard time, it means we have something really unexplored."
"Whatever you do, Youko, keep your eyes open. This is a problem not even I can be fully sure of."