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A Castle of Silence and Bones
warning: even more!major screwing of history.
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010.
quench their thirsts in blood
(because knives and daggers are simply the less-pained ways of resolving conflicts)
It is the beginning of a week - which week, he neither knows nor cares. Kiku has the list of 'possibilities' on a sheet of paper; the 'candidates' pictures and names are listed. They have no defining qualities, a dozen or so similar faces, he doesn't really care. There was a solution, would always be a solution. So Francis had failed to maintain sovereignty; had failed to continue existing.
It mattered not - he knew of the solution, had spoken with his generals, and had gotten their approval.
(He refuses - with more fervor than he had throughout the entirety of the war - to let Yao end up like Francis.)
And so, he acts. With the signatures of the war generals (heroes of the people), with the acquiescence of the Empress (she had hid her tears; he had refused to see them), he goes to the innermost chamber of the Imperial Palace. The guards know he is, and he needs only give a nod of the head, before they bow their way out. And despite this resolution, this lack of inner turmoil - because he sees the lines, and he sees where to walk and how to walk - he hesitates before turning the knob.
No matter; there's always a larger purpose, a bigger picture.
Always.
"Tenn ou-sama," he whispers, crouching into the most formal of bows. The emperor - his emperor - raises an eyebrow. Kiku is normally strictly formal, but never to this degree. "Surely you have you heard of the casualty numbers on the fields," he begins, because it's better to rationalize this through, "There are more and more good men dying every day - more and more good men willingly giving up their very lives, for the sake of this glorious nation."
(For my sake - in your name.)
"Of course," The Emperor Hirohito replies.
"And if there were some way to alleviate the suffering, to make it even the slightest fraction better..."
"I would do everything in my power to help the people of my country," is the ready response. And for this split second, Kiku finds himself feeling sorry for the other man. There is no way out; it matters not if he has his own mind or not, because he has been placed on a high pedestal - too high to actually get down from. But then the second passes, and Kiku doesn't need to steel his resolve because outside of this plan - there is nothing.
(And he will not lose Yao; he is the 'winner' and winners deserve all the possible spoils of 'victory'.)
"Tennou-sama, the generals have concurred with the simplest way to end the entirety of the conflict," Kiku says, taking a sealed envelope from the pocket above his chest and giving it to the emperor.
Their representative from Heaven, their physical manifestation of God - he is trembling with something like rage-fury-and-utter-disbelief with each character of the letter. But years of training - of proper courtly behavior - have been ingrained in him. The Emperor purses his lips in response, folding the letter and putting it in the envelope one more. Kiku knows that any lesser man would be howling and seething and he feels a swell of pride.
"What is the meaning of this?" The Emperor's voice is steady, unfazed.
"Precisely as is dictated by the letter," Kiku replies.
"I already have a wife," The Emperor states.
"She has read over the conditions of this plan," Kiku counters. "She sees the possibilities and has given her approval of such actions." Any lesser man might have broken down here, but not him - not The Emperor. And for this, Kiku is still proud. Wrongly so, but all the same -
"I refuse," The Emperor crisply says, "This is nothing more than a political gamble. Our peoples will not be able to assimilate so quickly; our cultures have been divided for thousands of years, there is no chance of convergence." And it is a logical argument, but only an arugment at best, and not an actual reason.
Kiku has seen the line - has seen how to get what he wants - all of it.
"It will succeed," Kiku replies. "The generals will see to it."
"What of my son?" The Emperor questions, "He has been raised to be an emperor. What will become of him?"
"An emperor he shall be," Kiku says evenly, "The Empire of Japan has many islands, many places of beauty - all worthy of the Imperial Prince to rule. The generals have even agreed to ten thousand person troop, who will accompany him, and never let him catch on to the existence of another Emperor."
"This is ridiculous," The Emperor says, "I refuse to blind my people like this. I refuse to rob my wife of her position - my son of his inheritance. And what of my daughters? My second son? My parents?"
"They will all be cared for accordingly," Kiku assures, bowing his head in some mock form of subservience. "Tennou-sama," he murmurs, and it is the most The Emperor will have of an apology, "The nation of Japan needs you - needs your blood, needs your image, your name," he looks up, directly at his Emperor - only to see a face void of any expression at all. "Will you not give them to your country?"
"This is doomed to fail," The Emperor says.
"It will succeed," Kiku repeats.
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