Endless Waltz

By: Daishi Prime

-33 – Reactions-

Hughes watched the speech, listening to the running translation with half his attention, with conflicting emotions. There was pride, of course, and hope. Noriko had just delivered Japan, and while Hughes had been confident of that before, there was a difference between an ally of practicality, and an ally determined to prevail at any cost. He was impressed by fact that she had the strength of character and will to stand up there in front of the entire world, when she had to be in terrible pain, and challenge the very demons of Hell. There was also shame and cold calculation, shame because of the cold calculation and what he and Hayate and the rest of the world were going to do to that girl, in the name of victory.

The ACES leadership was watching the speech live at a ridiculously early hour. They had gathered specifically for that, prior to more concrete planning, along with their Pentagon, CIA, and State Department liaisons. The only person missing was Arlain, who had taken over Project Chuchulain from 'Schuster', but the former SAS Sergeant claimed to be 'too busy' for the trip to DC. Hughes noted his staff's reactions as Noriko's speech came to an end, and was generally happy with them. None were reacting too strongly, but they were all reacting.

Major Laersh, the Defense Department liaison, was the first to speak when Jennifer turned down the volume on the television. "Joan of Arc," she said, "Christ, that kid's a modern Joan of Arc. That whole country's going to explode."

"Worse," said Ellington, the State Department liaison, "she's going to take China right along with her. All those references to the defense of Hong Kong, especially giving so much credit to the PLA..." he shook his head slowly. "China's taking a lot of pride in the defense of Hong Kong, and the way she credited the PLA will appeal to that pride. Tying herself into that, along with the sympathy for suffering her own attack, will hand her China on a silver platter, despite the historical enmity."

"China won't go along with her that easily," Laersh protested. "Those countries have been at loggerheads since the twenties."

Ellington shrugged, "Loggerheads, yes. But both nations have been attacked without warning or provocation by a hated enemy. A new hated enemy, one that has just committed atrocities that are a lot fresher than Nanking. That girl and her teacher helped China defend Hong Kong, without being asked or demanding any sort of concessions for Japan. Add to that the rumors running around that one of China's mythical Dragon Kings is at that school and supporting Hayate. Now Japan has been attacked by the same people that attacked Hong Kong. A mutual enemy, especially a hated enemy like Al Hanthis, will easily outweigh any national competition or seventy-year-old bad blood. Oh, the Chinese government won't be blatant about it, they'll make all sorts of noise about 'allowing Japan to assist' and 'international cooperation in pursuit peace' and all, but they'll go along with Japan. If we can get Japan to go along with us, all the better."

"I'll agree that was a rather inflammatory speech," Heller said from next to Rodriguez, the two highest ranking mages Hughes had in Washington, "but can she really follow through on it? The Prime Minister looks rather unhappy, and from the translation he's improvising rather quickly. I think she just surprised him more than she surprised us. Can she get away with that? More importantly, can she promise anything on Japan's behalf?"

"I thought only a son could inherit the throne," Rodriguez added.

"Hence the Joan of Arc," Laersh said. "An inspiring figure to get the troops moving, but not a real power."

"That I'd agree with," Ellington said. "She'll make an excellent rallying point, and if she keeps giving speeches like that they'll have no problem with motivating the populace. The government would never let her inherit, though, not with the Diet's current make-up, they won't have enough votes to amend their constitution to let a girl inherit the throne. They'll probably appoint a regent until the princess has a son and that son comes of age. There's some precedent."

Hughes had focused on watching the Prime Minister while the others debated, listening with half a mind, but now he shook his head, "You're all wrong."

"Sir?"

He looked back at his people, and pointed at Laersh, "You say she's 'Joan of Arc'." He turned to Ellington. "You say they'll appoint a regent, that Noriko will remain a figurehead princess. You're both wrong.

"I don't know how the inheritance will play out, I lack the intimate knowledge of Japanese politics and national identity, but I do know that the Prime Minister will not dare do anything that smacks of disrespect for or dishonor towards Noriko now. If he does, or if he tries to weasel out of the promises she just made, the people will tear him apart, politically, and his successor will follow her. And look at his face," he gestured at the nearly-silent television, "that's not a man who's angry or offended. He's emotional and off-balance, because Noriko affected him just as much as she did the rest of her country.

"To Paraphrase, 'while I have the frail body of a woman, in this frail chest beats the heart of a king'. She's not a modern day 'Joan of Arc'," Hughes finished, "She's Elizabeth the First."

00000

"And that, children, is why Protectors handle law enforcement, and the Guard handles warfare," Szash said, muting the screen and dropping her head onto the back of her chair to stare at the ceiling. "Damn Yosho and his meddling."

Luen protested, "I still don't see how Lord Yosho is to blame for this. He was just as deceived by this 'Sheirn' and 'Akar' as Master Adept Willan was."

Szash gave her a disbelieving look, but it was Eri who answered her. "Yosho knows everything about everything he is involved in. He knew precisely what was going to happen with that ritual. We have already analyzed it, and the spell required genetic identifiers for targeting. There are only two places in Al Hanthis that have such information on Hayate or her students – the Guard, and Yosho."

Luen flinched, then shook her head, "No data is secure, someone could have..."

Szash laughed once, harshly. "Yosho and I both keep the data on crystals, not in the net. I don't know what protocols he has for accessing it, but I wiped a reader clean – physically removed the network port, erased all the data already on it, and hard-formatted it – and only use that reader to access the data crystal. Yosho, being the paranoid old bastard he is, probably has stricter protocols.

"That leaves someone getting at Kriegsen, getting the information from him. Except he's been to this city a total of two times, both times under strict quarantine by the Protectors. He's Yosho's little secret weapon, to trot out when our dear Lord Protector needs an advantage over me in the Conclave, or just needs to distract the Conclave while he does something underhanded. At present, he's secreted away all the way up at the top of the Protectors' tower, plotting gods-know-what but effectively non-extant, for all the chance anyone else has of getting to him.

"As for knowing what the information was going to be used for, Yosho knew. He would never let information out of his control without knowing precisely what it was going to be used for. In this case, he would have insisted on a copy of the spell, full details, and there are no scrying spells that rely on genetic information. Most rely on something personally associated with the target, or a very strong memory of the target, but scrying spells are too close to the Void, they rely on less physical connections than simple genetics. You'd scry everyone related to the target back who-knows-how-many generations, without necessarily getting anything usable on the target. Yosho knows that as well as I do, anyone who makes Master should know that. So Yosho knew that was no scrying spell he was helping with."

Szash settled back in her chair, looking at the now-still image of the fierce young girl at a podium, and shook her head. "Now we just have to prove it. This happened in Cairo, in our part of the city, on our watch. That makes it a Guard investigation. Luen, since it was your area and you set it up, you are now responsible for finding the bastards that did this." Luen started to say something, but Szash cut her off with a slashing gesture. "No. This is your mess, as much as it is the Guard's, you're going to clean it up. That is your assignment, Captain, your only assignment. Your duty post is now where ever the investigation leads you. You find them, the two masters and their apprentices, and you bring them to me. Then you find whoever set them up, whoever they work for. I don't care if it was half the gods-be-damned Conclave! You find them, and you bring them to me. I don't care what physical condition they're in, so long as they're alive and can be made coherent. That is your mission, Captain, your sole purpose in life. Understood?" Luen looked like she could not decide between being insulted or afraid, but bit her tongue and nodded. "Then dismissed, Captain. Get to work."

Szash, Eri and Gali watched her leave, then Eri turned to her, "A little hard on her, weren't you? Even if he had come to me, I probably would have arranged something for the Lord Protector's 'project'."

"But you would have told me about it, you would have made certain there was a Guard mage present and monitoring, and they would have prevented this travesty from happening," Szash said, leaning her head back on her chair and rubbing her eyes. "We were fighting a number of discrete enemies, Eri. Capable on their own, dangerous, but easily handled and defeated in detail. Three, maybe four more strike waves, and Africa would belong to us. We could relax then, take a century or so to solidify control. Yeah, that would give the rebels time to build up their forces, but you saw the Hong Kong reports same as I did. Their so-called 'empowered' are atrocious, and without implants to regulate the incoming power from the support teams, these Circles are less like their traitorous ancestors than like Seed – good at doing one thing at a time, but otherwise useless and vulnerable. Now..."

She rolled back down, fixing her eyes on Noriko's image. "Now, that little girl is going to rally every nation on this mudball against us. That lovely divided enemy command structure is going to vanish – oh, not instantly, but it's gone. We're going to be facing a single unified enemy, with sheer numbers we can't hope to match, and the sort of motivation the gods send along once in a blue moon."

Eri knew all that, but asked, "So what do we do about it? Step up or back off?"

"We can't back off," Gali answered. "The Conclave would never allow it, and if we try now the Terrans will just swarm us under. Al Hanthis isn't space-capable, let alone FTL-capable, until we replace the generators drained by the Void and by the return. By the time we manage that, the Terrans will find a way through the shield, then through us, and the city will fall."

"We'll do a little of both," Szash murmured, studying Noriko's image, "a little of both. Gali, go ahead and start waking the Seed for the next strike, but make it twice the increase we discussed, in two forces. We'll hit New York and London at the same time, instead of in sequence. The Eight-thirty-second and Two-seventy-seventh to New York, the Four-oh-seventh and Five-twenty-fifth to London, with the Five-oh-first's survivors on suppression duty. I'll take the New York strike, along with Yosho's pet traitor, while you take the London strike and Eri overseas the second expansion wave. Make sure word leaks to the Terrans on both targets before we launch.

"Eri, instead of territory and population, we'll have to go for mundane resources. Focus the entire second wave on the gulf east of us, what they call the Middle East. Bypass everything between here and those oil fields and the ports. They may be useless to us, but the locals apparently depend on that stuff. Take all six companies we had planned for the southward expansion, we'll have to cover that later. Maybe have the Conclave's diplomats step up, see if they can pressure or cajole a few of the nations south of us to surrender or accept vassal status or something."

"Should you be taking the Morisovitch girl?" Gali sounded curious more than concerned. "I know Yosho asked if you would be willing to, to test the girl's loyalty again, but she's a liability no matter how you look at it."

"She's bait," Szash answered. "Wherever she goes, Hayate will focus her attention, concentrate her forces. Having her show up in New York will rattle Hayate's plan, and screw up her coordination with her students. The young ones will want payback, and even if they keep discipline, it will still be a distraction for them. And if the traitor does decide to go back to them, or was a plant like the intel weenies worry... well," she shrugged, "friendly fire isn't, but it still happens to the best of us. Oops."

00000

The morning after Noriko's speech, Allison was up early running Signum's obstacle course through the woods behind the dorm. They had discussed her idea for infiltrating Al Hanthis the day before, and while Signum had made no decision either way, she had set Allison to training for the infiltration, 'just in case'. Allison ran the course twice that day under Signum's direction, but returned on her own the next morning. One run-through took ten minutes, so she ran it twice to get her heart-rate up and see if she could improve, with the intent to go twice more.

When she was trotting back to the start for a third go, she found someone waiting for her. Fate was standing by the course start point, a cup of coffee in each hand. "Juliet said you drink this stuff too," she said, extending a cup to Allison.

Allison shrugged and took it, "Sometimes. Usually to stay awake, rather than wake up. Annoys my father, though."

"It's warm, the weather's cold," Fate replied with a small grin, "and it's only a little evil." Allison chuckled at that, remembering comments from both her parents, then hissed as an experimental sip showed the coffee still far too hot to drink. Fate grinned at her, sipped the coffee easily, then said, "Walk with me."

Allison nodded and fell into step as Fate headed along the edge of the woods, behind the dorms. "Signum discussed your idea with Nanoha, Yuuno and I last night."

"Figured she would," Allison said, "some of you, anyhow. Any suggestions on how to go about it?"

"We're still discussing it, among other things," Fate said, "but it's a good idea. Signum wants to test your Cloak of Shades herself, see if any of us or the volunteers could match your stealth, which we'll start this afternoon, through tomorrow. Several of the volunteers are up for the attempt, I'm interested, and Zafira thinks he could manage it."

That was annoying, but not unexpected. Allison was quite proud of how stealthy she could be, and had been looking forward to the attempt. But it was far more logical to have one of the teachers or volunteers – someone with years of experience extricating themselves from dangerous situations – make the attempt. So she shrugged and nodded, "I'll show them the Cloak, it's not that hard."

Fate chuckled, "It's not that hard for you. I've studied the recordings and notes, and still can't quite manage it."

"Laura managed it… well, eventually. Took her a couple weeks straight. I'll show you, don't worry about it."

"That'll be later today," Fate told her, "along with some of the others. For now, though, I wanted to talk about your plan for getting in. Signum gave me an overview, but I'd like to hear a detailed plan, if you have one."

"I've got one," Allison replied, "but it needs work." It took her nearly half an hour to talk Fate through all the permutations she and Noah had come up with, the contingencies and back-ups. They were actually past the look-out and into the woods across the street before she finished.

Fate was silent for most of the explanation, paying attention but letting Allison talk. When Allison finally wound down, Fate nodded. "You have a good basic plan, but there's the one problem I expected from Signum's description. The initial teleport."

Allison shrugged, "I know, they're easy to spot. I figure I'll go in somewhere remote, then fly in under stealth."

"That could work," Fate said, "but the more time you spend moving under the Cloak, the greater the chances of someone seeing through it. You want to spend as little time as possible under the Cloak and in the city's environs. So you need a way to teleport in quickly without being noticed."

"But the only teleport any of us know is easy to spot." Allison frowned, "Don't tell me… The Russian and Ichigo found an old relic version of the teleport, didn't they?"

Fate chuckled, but shook her head, "No, they found the Bureau standard teleport. It's part of the second year curriculum, and if it weren't for Al Hanthis you would all be learning it about now anyhow. But it's not the only way to teleport, just the safest and easiest." She paused, smile fading into a serious look. "The one I'm going to show you today is extremely dangerous, and you need to understand how and why before you attempt it."

Allison gave her a doubtful look. The original teleport had some downright frightening warnings appended to it. Teleporting was simple enough, mechanically speaking, just requiring a great deal of power and the sort of precision you could only get from a device. Even then, there were all sorts of ways to mess it up, with the least frightening being ending up somewhere wrong – variations on that error ranged from a few thousand feet up, to a few miles up, to outer orbit to inside a nearby (or not so nearby) object. Then came the possibilities of leaving bits of yourself behind, or simply never coming out of the teleport, being lost for eternity in the border of reality. "You know a way to make a more dangerous teleport than normal?"

Fate's smile returned, but it was a sickly expression, as was the chuckle. "Oh, I know one, and Hayate-chan's going to be unhappy with me for showing it to you. But it suits you too well for you not to know it, and while it is officially proscribed by the Bureau for anyone below S-rank, I'll be teaching it to everyone you teach the Cloak of Shades to. You know how the basic teleport works, right?"

Allison nodded, "Yes. You open a channel through the border of reality to connect your origin and destination, then send yourself through that channel. The dimensional teleport is more complicated, but that's a matter of locating and relating the origin and end points, right?"

"Correct, and that is the gross difference between the basic teleport and what I'm about to show you. Takashi developed this teleport before he became a Deva mage, and I learned it from monitoring the original Akira and puzzling out his method. It will bypass some teleport barriers, though it won't reach into the school or directly into Al Hanthis – standard teleport barriers will generally stop it, only low-grade barriers won't stop it. Its primary advantage is that it is incredibly difficult to detect before the portal opens, and even then the only reliable detection method I know of is visual – if you see it, it's painfully obvious, otherwise it's devilishly hard to pick up. The teleport is also significantly more accurate than normal, though I haven't figured out why yet.

"The thing is, part of what makes it so difficult to detect is that you are actually transiting through null space, what Al Hanthis calls the Void. All the energy bleed that characteristically precedes and follows a teleport is instead drained into the Void. The danger is, it is very easy for all your energy to be drained into the Void, and for you to be lost there just as if you had fallen into a null space."

Allison's trepidation grew, "A teleport through the Void? No offense, but that's insane."

"Yes it is," Fate agreed, "which is what makes it so effective. Also, keep in mind who created it."

Allison chuckled at that, "Yeah, okay, he's crazy. But this sounds way more dangerous than it's worth."

Fate shook her head slightly, "Yes and no. I use it rarely because of how dangerous it is, but there are some situations where the ability to arrive unannounced is simply priceless. Such as arriving in Cairo to infiltrate Al Hanthis. In your case, it will be useful even if you don't go to Cairo. Even in battle, with the tactic Toushiro and Ichigo came up with, this teleport will serve you better than the standard method. Just whatever you do, do not show anyone else how to do it. I haven't asked Hayate if I can show you, and not all of your classmates have the combination of skill and need to make it worthwhile. Now, we're far enough away not to interfere with the teleport barrier or baseline wards, so we'll work from here.

"What I'm going to do is demonstrate the teleport once, leaving and arriving. You'll stay here and just observe it, see how it looks from both ends. Then I'll do a couple more, and bring you along so you can experience it. After that we'll go over how to actually perform the teleport, which we will review until I'm certain you're ready to try it. Only then will you try it, and it will be all short range work. Understood?"

"Loud and clear, Testarossa-sensei," Allison replied, waking Gallóglaigh. She still thought it was more dangerous than it was worth, but if it gave her a shot at the mission, she would do it. The teleport might even be worth the risk, once she figured it out.

00000

The two days after Noriko's address to Japan were some of the loudest Japan had ever experienced, in terms of public activity, government debate, and mass demonstrations. Little had been organized at all prior to the speech, in any of those areas. Certainly, no public demonstration to the scale even the smallest city experienced had ever occurred in Japan. Despite that, the demonstrations and gatherings took place with remarkable order for their scale. By most standards, the crowds that gathered – at shrines, Imperial palaces, or, failing the first two, government offices – were remarkably well behaved for impromptu demonstrations. There was little to no property damage, no mass hysteria, and even the tumult and volume was relatively low. That was generally put down to the Japanese peoples' traditional calm and reserve. Japan's notoriously efficient police proving oddly forgetful regarding required permits and prior notice, save the highway patrol around the Yagami Academy, also contributed, no doubt.

Calm and orderly though the crowds were for their size, there was no doubting what they were there for. Placards, signs and chants denouncing Al Hanthis abounded, mostly demanding vengeance. Almost as numerous were placards and signs expressing Japanese solidarity, especially the old Rising Sun flag. Of all the signs being waved, however, the most numerous was a single picture, a still image from Noriko's speech, with 'We will not deign to allow this!' positioned around it in various arrangements.

The largest and most continuous crowd formed in Tokyo, outside the National Diet Building. It reached thousands before most offices normally opened, passed ten thousand before noon, and did not stop growing until well on towards evening. It spilled out over Tokyo's streets, filling the area around the Diet with ease, becoming large enough that, simply for manpower purposes, the Prime Minister was forced to call up the Self Defense Forces – only to find that the Tokyo SDF personnel were largely already present.

The Prime Minister had called the Diet back into emergency closed-door session the night of Noriko's speech, and they remained there throughout the day and night following. The session covered only two subjects – the Throne and Al Hanthis – and despite the public outpouring, was highly contentious, as alternate answers and approaches were proposed, shouted down, modified, re-proposed, and generally refined. Those members not currently involved in the 'debates' would frequently appear on one of the impromptu stages set up outside the main entrances of the Diet to address the crowd.

The throngs gathered the second day as well, nearly as numerous, just as vocal. The Diet continued to meet, but after midmorning, did so without the Prime Minister. He had to leave the National Diet Building by helicopter, the crowds were far too thick for any sort of motorcade, but that simplified his journey, all things considered. The helicopter needed one refueling stop to reach the Yagami Academy, where he was met by the Justice Minister, a pair of priests, and Signum and a pair of Volunteers.

The Knight very politely searched them all, then guided them down the foot path to the school proper. Signum brought them into the Library, then back to Hayate's office, where Hayate and Noriko were waiting. Noriko and Hayate had arranged the conversation area, leaving both of them seated with Laura behind Noriko, Hidan by the door, and several chairs arranged comfortably in front of them. Signum waved the guests to seats, then took up her own position behind Hayate. The two ministers were patently uncomfortable with the arrangement, but at Noriko's gesture, sat anyhow. The two priests managed to be composed enough not to show any discomfort, if they felt any.

The Prime Minister began, bowing in his seat, "Heika, thank you for agreeing to see us so quickly."

Noriko nodded acknowledgement of his bow, and gave him a small smile. "Think nothing of it. I understand the need for rapid decisions, and Sanziro-san implied you had found a resolution to the inheritance issue." She was having to work very hard to keep her own nerves out of her voice and off her face. Whatever resolution, whoever they had found, would have to be perfect, or Noriko would have to fight it, and she had no idea how such a conflict would end up. It was entirely possible that, in trying to hold Japan together against Al Hanthis, she could destroy the country just as Al Hanthis had tried to.

The Prime Minister actually started sweating, which made Noriko more nervous. "We have found a resolution, and… the Diet voted on it not two hours ago. By decision of the Diet, the announcement will be made at dawn tomorrow, Tokyo time."

The Prime Minister's patent discomfort was worrying her, but it did not seem right to be some sort of coup. Something about the guests made her think they were… embarrassed? "May I know what the decision was? I give you my word, none here will reveal it prior to the official announcement."

The Prime Minister fidgeted, then reached up to loosen his collar. "Ah… Heika… the arrangement is… unorthodox. Given the unusual situation and dangerous circumstances, I am afraid it is the only answer we have been able to assemble in the time available…"

While his attempts to skirt the issue and obvious discomfort were making her more nervous by the second, Noriko held up a hand. "Please, Ozawa-san, be at ease. I understand the difficult circumstances, and so long as Japan remains strong, I will not judge you."

"I… thank you, Heika. We…" He took a deep breath, then bowed low in his chair again, and the words spilled out, "the Diet voted this morning to confirm you as Emperor and proceed with your coronation the day after your grandfather's funeral."

Noriko blinked, surprised both at his words, and that they had made him so uncomfortable. There was no reason for him to be so uncomfortable, unless… "Ozawa-san, I cannot inherit the throne. I am a daughter, not a son. Please, don't tell me the Diet voted to raise me Emperor in violation of the Constitution. Critical as this time is, I could not support that."

The Justice Minister, Riku Sanziro, drew a set of papers out of her briefcase. "With your permission, Heika," she said, bowing and extending them, "I believe these will explain. No laws were violated, certainly not the Constitution, and as you can see from the final page, the High Court issued a ruling on the matter late last night."

Noriko took the papers, and already half-expected that the High Court had authorized some sort of over-ride on the Constitution. The first piece of paper was an official copy of her birth certificate, which she flipped past automatically, to the two short legal documents below that. She got halfway through the first page, then flipped to the last, confirmed what it said, and could not keep from shouting, "What?! I most certainly am not a boy!"

Hayate coughed in surprise, and Noriko thought she might have heard something from Hidan, but Laura distracted her. Her friend was very quick, and Noriko was still too surprised to begin to react as Laura snatched the papers right out of her hands and started flipping through them. While she did that, Sanziro bowed in her chair and said, "Our apologies for any disrespect or insult, Tenno, but speed is of the essence. Japan cannot be without an Emperor in this crisis, but there is none close enough to the bloodline save yourself."

"Your nearest living male relative is a distant cousin, in his forties," the Prime Minister told her. "He inherited a fishing trawler from his father, that he had from his father, and now runs a tourist diving and fishing business out of Okinawa, with his own son. He had no idea he was related to the Imperial family until genealogists contacted him this morning, as the relation is through his great-great-grandmother's mother. Even we are uncertain of the connection, and research is underway to verify it. Even if it is verified," he shrugged, "you are all that remains of the Imperial Family. The people have certainly made their opinion clear, and while we could not assemble the votes to amend the Constitution with such speed, and there were some strenuous objections to this course, confirming an Emperor's inheritance and ascension requires only a majority, not a super-majority."

"Wow," Laura commented, "That's a neat trick, Riko-chan, you just became the world's most eligible bachelor. Or should I call you Riko-kun now?"

"No! Laura, this isn't funny!"

Laura laughed outright at her, passing the papers back, "Yes it is! Oh, come on, Riko-chan, it's like a bad movie plot or something."

"Twelfth Night was the best take on the idea, I think," Hayate said, reaching out to take Noriko's hand. "But this is not that bad, Noriko. It may be embarrassing and ridiculous, but it could very well be legal. You have commented yourself how strangely the law can be interpreted. It will work, if you are willing to undertake it. It is your choice."

"It is an emergency measure, Heika," The Prime Minister stated, "that is all. No insult or shame is meant. We are putting together a plan to amend the Constitution at a later date, in a year or so perhaps, and correct your birth certificate again, but for the moment…" He hesitated, then bowed in his seat, "My apologies, Heika, but speed is of the essence. Japan cannot be without an Emperor."

"I am not a boy," Noriko repeated, but without nearly as much force. She stared morosely at the papers for a moment, "This is going to be so horribly embarrassing. It's so transparent and manipulative…"

"It will work, Heika," the Prime Minister repeated, "long enough. The people will accept it, they are already prepared to follow you regardless, this simply satisfies the legal requirements."

Noriko sighed, then her face firmed, "I am not cross-dressing, I am not playing to this silliness. The law can say whatever it likes, I remain who I am. Clear?"

"Clear, Heika, and we intended nothing else. This simply required a lower bar to accomplish than amending the Constitution."

"In that case," she turned to the priests, who had remained silent the entire time. "May I ask if you or your fellows have any objections?"

The younger of the two priests shifted slightly, but remained silent. The older of the two priests, the same man who had escorted her to her family's remains days before, shrugged. "As this is the first we have heard of it, I cannot say for certain. But, Heika, the laws have been observed and obeyed, if stretched, and I believe most of us will support you. Enough to allow the Kamikaze to remain."

"I am curious," Hayate said, "the Emperor said something about that as well, according to Hidan. I am familiar with the myth, of course, but what is the Kamikaze you speak of? I rather doubt it is anything like the World War Two pilots."

The priest grimaced slightly in obvious distaste, "That was an aberration, and no part of the Kamikaze. No, the Kamikaze is just that, a divine wind which protects Japan in times of strife and war. It is summoned by the Emperor and flows from him through the Relics, focused by the Kusanagi no Tsurugi and supported by the priests in their shrines. It protects our islands from all who would seek to harm or conquer us, though it is a physical protection, not magical."

With typical bluntness, Laura asked, "Then where was it during World War II? I mean, shouldn't it have stopped the bombers?"

At that, even the elder priest looked uncomfortable. "There was… disagreement, amongst the priesthood, as to the… appropriateness of the military's activities at that time. Sufficient disagreement that the Kamikaze, when summoned by the Emperor, was not properly supported."

"Didn't think anyone opposed the war," Laura commented.

"There was opposition, though I doubt you would be familiar with the reasons. Many, especially amongst the priesthood, quietly felt that, were Japan meant to rule the mainland, our nation would not have been created as islands. They felt the conquests risked polluting Japan's divine purity."

"Interesting, but not pertinent," Noriko said, "unless similar issues are arising now?"

The priest shook his head, "No, Heika. There will be some complaints and arguments, such is human nature, but not enough to limit the Kamikaze."

"It sounds like some sort of interlocking ward structure," Hayate commented. "Physical anchors such as the relics… if I may, the Kusanagi, it is embedded in a stone, yes?"

The priest nodded, "In the living rock of the mountain, in a specially secured shrine on Mount Fuji, yes."

Hayate nodded slowly, "Yes, I can see that. The sword tying the relics to the land, the shrines functioning as relays and amplifiers. That should make for some very stable wards, especially given how prolific the shrines are. Very good work, to have lasted so long."

"It is not 'work'," the priest insisted politely, "it is divine. The Kamikaze has existed as long as Japan."

Hayate started to say something, but Noriko held up a hand, 'Please, sensei, we can study the relics and the wards later.' "What is required of me for the Kamikaze?"

"Power, Heika," the priest replied. "The structure of the Kamikaze is part of the land, part of the Islands themselves. You, once your coronation is complete, may use the relics to trigger the Kamikaze, which the shrines will then support. You must maintain the flow through the relics at all times, but that is all that is required. That is why your grandfather spent the last month and more in the Kyoto palace – he was powering the Kamikaze, continuously."

"Against Al Hanthis?"

The priest nodded slightly. "He feared, given their actions in Cairo and the decision to allow Miss Yagami to assist in combating them, that the newcomers would attempt to attack Japan."

"Which they did," Noriko muttered, feeling a twist in her chest at the reminder. Laura's hand on her shoulder helped, and she looked back up, "I'll resume powering the Kamikaze once my coronation is complete. For now, however, what is immediately necessary, and what is needed of me?"

00000

Gillaume managed not to jump when the Speaker announced, "The Floor recognizes Member Gillaume Akalé."

He stood from his desk slowly, and, sheaf of papers in hand, and made his way to the Floor, nodding politely to the Speaker. The Speaker studied the documents in his hand and reminded him, "Only ten minutes per speaker, Member."

"I remember, Mister Speaker," Gillaume replied, then settled his papers on the podium, adjusted the microphone, and looked out over the gathered members of parliament. They were familiar faces to him, by now. He had been in the Côte d'Ivoire's Parliament for years now, seen other members come and go, and he knew how most of the men seated about him would react. The few new faces were all foreigners, the invaders watching over what they expected to be an orderly surrender of a defeated nation.

"My fellow Members of Parliament, my fellow citizens," he said, "much as it pains me, much as it hurts my pride to say it, Mister Sundal is correct in his basic assessment. The forces of Al Hanthis have demonstrated their power quite thoroughly in the days since their arrival. The speed with which this session has been called, this bill drafted and accepted for debate, speaks to that. Their constructs are immune to all but our army's most powerful weapons, weapons which have already been seized. Their soldiers are immune even to those weapons. Mister Sundal is correct, that to fight these invaders is sheer madness. All we would accomplish by fighting them is the slaughter of our brave young soldiers. A slaughter I, for one, am unwilling to countenance."

He paused, noting the lack of response, which was not unexpected. So far, he had said nothing that had not already been repeated ad nauseum by those who had preceded him to the Floor. Now he began the part of his speech that he fully expected would get him killed, in a few days if not immediately. "However, I find equally repugnant the idea of surrendering our hard won sovereignty so easily. We have had many foreigners telling us what to do over the centuries, how to live our lives, how to rule our country. We have shown them all that we are not their puppets, not their colonies, we are our own nation, however young, however turbulent, however poor. To surrender our hard-won sovereignty so easily goes against the grain.

"While contemplating these two conflicting thoughts, the impossibility of fighting these invaders with the impossibility of simply surrendering decades of work and sacrifice, something else occurred to me." He had their attention now, of most of them, if not all. He definitely had the attention of the invader's soldiers, who were frowning at their fellow who sat with the Speaker. "The something else was so simple in its conception, so clear in its principle, so familiar from my studies, that I am ashamed it did not occur to me when this crisis came upon us. It is simply this – we need not fight these invaders, only resist them. We need not surrender to them, only resist them. Ignore their commands, ignore their soldiers, give them nothing, take nothing from them. We need only resist, we need only prevent them from enforcing their will upon our nation, and we will defeat them. We do not need to surrender, fearful though their powers are.

"I understand how frightening their powers are, how much all of you have to loose. I know this is an easy decision for me to make – my son Didier is safely beyond the invaders' reach, my wife and daughter are dead these many years. I risk nothing save myself in resisting these invaders. I understand how much more all of you risk, how difficult the decision will be for each of you. So I am not going to do more than ask that you consider it, that you think of joining me in resisting these new colonialists, before you surrender so quickly to them.

"Therefore, to give you all time to consider, to stand as I must against these invaders, I shall remain at this podium, I shall hold the Floor, indefinitely. I apologize for the rudeness, for the violation of our rules or order, but I cannot…"

00000

"Get rid of him," Adept Yerun growled softly, the local language weird in his mouth.

The Speaker of Parliament glared at him, before replying with a surprisingly calm tone, "He has four more minutes. After that he will have to stand down. You wanted this to be official and formal and legal, so it will be. The rules will be followed. Akalé is a dreamer, everyone knows that. Nothing he says will make a difference."

"You have no idea what he's doing," Yerun said, mentally sneering at the man's political inexperience. He had no idea if the locals had an equivalent of Denath Maltin and his 'strike no enemy' philosophy, but Akalé was sounding too much like Denath for Yerun's comfort. "Get rid of him."

The Speaker waved him silent, but as Akalé's ten minutes ran out, he signaled the technician watching from the side, who switched off Akalé's microphone, and activated the Speaker's. While that was happening, he said somewhat spitefully, "This should satisfy you. The next Member has been one of Akalé's most frequent detractors." When his microphone came live, he said, "The Floor recognizes Member Thomas d'Sauve."

D'Sauve rose at his desk, and called out, "Mister Speaker, while it is common knowledge that I find Mister Akalé to be a dreamer and a fantasist, I find his points relevant, however impractical, and wish to hear more. I yield my time on the Floor to Mister Akalé."

Yelun flinched, barely managed not to grimace, and mentally swore. I hate it when I'm right. Damn Denath and damn Akalé for making this harder than it has to be.

Ten minutes later, Akalé's defeat of the surrender treaty was complete. Another Member, when called to the Floor, instead addressed the crowd, "Mister Speaker, I find Mister Akalé's discourse too pertinent to interrupt. I move that we grant Mister Akalé an unlimited extension on the Floor."

The Speaker looked shocked for a moment, then turned and gave Yerun a victorious smile. "Motion accepted for voice vote." It carried by general acclamation, the request for 'nay' votes met only with Gillaume Akalé's uninterrupted speech.

00000

Jack Bauer Reborn: Noriko has had it in her to give that speech all along, especially with Hayate's presence at the press conference. She also has it in her to be Emperor, the question is what will it cost her? As for Laura, 'playful' is actually a perfect description of her, but she's fully capable of being serious. It's just hard to tell when she's serious and when she's playing, since she often does both at once.

Jack Inqu: I make no demands for reviews, so no apologies necessary, and don't worry about chapter titles – I snitch half of mine from elsewhere anyhow, just like the people I snitch them from. I'm familiar with the 'never do an enemy a small injury' quote, and it was one of Machiavelli's. Takashi used it on Hughes towards the end of Academy Blues, and it does apply to Al Hanthis. Thing is, Al Hanthis as a whole isn't really responsible for Blood Penance, though they're going to take the blame for it. Noriko's speech has been sitting in a 'quotes' file of mine for ages now, almost since I started Endless Waltz, so I've had time to refine it. Thing is, how do I follow up something that powerful? Not easy, a massive pain in fact, but here's the next step.

Kell Shock: Here's the initial responses from major outsiders. A lot of the reactions won't play out until more time has passed, and will probably be background to other events.

Nijiru: Thank you for the CMA, it's really good to get an entry on there, though Noriko isn't finished yet. I've got a potential scene towards the end that could top the Rising Sun Speech, in more general terms if not in outright emotion. As for animesuki, I'm afraid I'm not a forumite anywhere, really – it requires more sociability than I'm comfortable with.

Baughn: You call that 'a little'? I'd hate to see you're idea of 'a lot'. I haven't watched enough to StrikerS to even get to Vivio's intro, so I only know of her second-hand, but from what I have heard, Vivio wasn't raised to power like Noriko was. Noriko was never supposed to inherit, no, but she did have to uphold the Family Traditions, so that gave her a… call it a 'basic grounding'. Her position amongst the students as the 'class confidant' and her talks with Hayate also helped. Technically, you are right about the position of Emperor having little to no legal power, but even social power – which the Japanese Emperor has in spades – can go a ridiculously long way, especially in times as emotional as what Japan is going through in-story. Noriko's offer to help Laura keep her oaths was not any suggestion of geasa or a binding, it was more of a 'let's keep each other honest' offer. Just because modern culture laughs at oaths and considers them impossible to keep doesn't actually mean that they are. Oaths are kept just as often as they are broken – look at the modern military, where your average military officer (Hollywood's hatred aside) has no trouble keeping their service oaths. Laura's oaths are more demanding by far, yes, but she understands that and that is part of why she trains and works as hard as she does. Cidela's amnesia is a partial thing, a side-effect of where she is and how she got there, but you are right that she would never deliberately destroy civilization. Regarding the potential for suicides amongst the Japanese cabinet and the Emperor's body-guards – it is entirely possible. Remember, Japan places no stigma on suicide and actually attaches honor to it, in some circumstances. Officially, one of the responsibilities of Japan's various ministers is to shelter and protect the Emperor – a responsibility they failed, massively, even if they could not have stopped Blood Penance. As for Japan collapsing, Hidan was positing worst-case scenarios, but it was a possibility – an enemy that can reach across the planet to, apparently, slay anyone, at will, is an enemy that cannot be defeated. Confusion over the response, blame for the Emperor's death and what to do without an heir, fear of Al Hanthis, anger at Al Hanthis, it could very easily spiral out of control to the point where what emerged would be 'Japan', but not as anyone would recognize it. The Kamikaze, as posited in this story, is mostly explained above, though some explanation came in earlier chapters (it's what Gali's scouts were trying to get past while Szash was attacking Hong Kong) – an interlocking structure of wards tied to the Japanese Home Islands by the shrines, reflecting one powered by the Emperor. Exactly what that will require from Noriko will become clear later, though even if Deva magic is incompatible, she can still power the ward through her old linker core in Senbonzakura. I think you figured out where I was going with who would inherit, but the legal maneuver above is it – a bald-faced lie with a legalistic cloak, which will be all sorts of fun to play with later. Noriko is not going to have an easy time of it as Emperor of Japan, especially not going right into a war – one big question, which is more important, protecting the Emperor, or having another device/Deva mage present at the next battle? You're right she had an abnormal childhood, but abnormal isn't necessarily bad, and her childhood was not a bad one. It's over early, but it was 'over' back in Operation Nimrod. I'm familiar with Masada and I've heard of the Sampson Option, and Israel would definitely follow them, though nukes will come into play later, elsewhere. As for Al Hanthis' reaction, Szash's is fairly accurate – remember, Yosho bypassed the Conclave for the Blood Penance. Turo's reaction will be interesting as well, when I get around to showing it. Like I told Jack Inqu, I've had Noriko's speech sitting on my hard-drive in various forms for a while, and it was supposed to be one of the two or three biggest events in the story. Lastly, regarding non-combatant students, I'm afraid this is a war story, I'm looking at what Hayate's precocious and brilliant students do in a situation where their own consciences won't let them not fight. There will be interludes and times when the kids aren't in combat or are back in lessons, but this is a war story.

pfeil: Noriko's speech has been a while coming, so I'm glad it had as much of an effect on everyone as it seemed to. That being said, following it up is a pain. As for Laura becoming Noriko's version of Signum, it's not quite what I originally intended for Laura, Noriko, or both, but it works for now.

boomer sooner: Cidela would work as the Goddess of Light, especially now that she's a Deva mage. There are still Hayate and Noriko, though:). The speech was fun to write, and to refine, but following it up has been almost impossible. I should never write a 'crowning moment of awesome' unless it's the last part of the story, they're such highs they make everything else pale.

Advent000: Noriko's not one to lie, and her speech was technically true, but arguments could be made either way about whether or not Japan was ever invaded – depends on how you define 'invade'. Cidela did not care for Kessenra's message, no, but the 'last thing she would want to hear' would more likely be something specific happening to Shamal, Rafiq, or her teachers and friends. Cidela's a nice girl, but too shy to worry about the rest of the world above her own people. As for the rest of the world, the only reason China hasn't declared war yet is they haven't gotten around to it. The Rising Sun Speech will definitely be a catalyst, though.

Templar Prime: regarding your PM on guesses – Chrono would be interesting, and I honestly had not seen that possibility until you mentioned it, and your memory of the Honor Harrington reference is spot on. Congratulations, have a pat on the back. Not that Noriko's happy about that, on a personal level, but desperate times and all that.

GeshronTyler: While Noriko is Emperor of Japan now, there's a ways to go before the Emperor of Terra is revealed. It will take something more than just defeating Al Hanthis to pull that off, at least for any of the allies. Kessenra's prediction is rather bleak, but remember, she's Circle (she was mentioned in the prologue, by Atarsamain), and she has some further hiccups that twist her world-view further – her idea of 'worst of bad options' could simply mean that Cidela's return will somehow allow Hayate to win, or her return could result in an Al Hanthis victory, or the outright destruction of civilization. Wait and see, wait and see:). Your supposition as to how a Terran Empire could come about is one option among three or four that I plotted out, generally speaking – things get so smashed, that whoever manages to hold it together even a little has everyone flocking to their banner. Not the only route, though, and two of them are still on the table for possible outcomes (conquest by Al Hanthis, or a legal fiction for dealing with off-worlders becoming less fictional over time, for example).

Eleventh Messenger: Glad you liked the speech, spent a lot of time on it – only problem, as I've mentioned above, is figuring out how to follow it up. Also, now that I think of it, how I'm going to pull off scenes later on that are supposed to be just as or more impressive. Ah well, me and my big mouth. Your guess about Allison is a good one – the Morrigan is a Celtic myth, after all, and Allison is half Irish, and the Mistress of Battles. Question would be, how would she get it? Laura named herself as well as Wrack and Ruin, the Myrmidons mark out Yussef, Noriko just got promoted, Natalia's on one of the darkest paths available, but how would Allison earn the title 'the Morrigan'? In other words, you may be right, you may be wrong, but I'm not saying at this point in time:).

Alucius Dawn: The advantage Noriko has in 'rabble rousing' is that she's being completely, utterly honest, and she was speaking to her people in a moment of great personal and national pain and openness. The really 'patriotic' ones are those throngs in the crowds that took to the streets after her speech. Noriko's the Emperor of Japan, certainly (Emperor, not Empress – it may be a legal technicality, but it's legal), and may yet become Emperor of Terra.

Moczo: So I almost made you speechless? Darn, so close…:). Thanks for the compliment!