Chapter 40:Shattered Risk
We got back to the genshi palace to see Chief Lenny standing there with Yanagi and some other officers dressed in a good shade of velvet.
"We've been waiting an hour for you guys."Chief Lenny rested his faced and stopped leaning off the wall.
"Good."We all went inside and sat down.There was a whole table of food prepared for us.
"We'll have a nice long chat about what the hell just happened!"He sat down frustrated,sipping a cup of tea.
Some of the guards looked tired.They had their eyes barely open and were sweating due the humid heat.After all,warm air rises so the burning villages from below would have had the smoke rise gradually towards the Genshi palace.
"Those villages…fix them Maku."Lenny said with pride and an old grumpy voice.
"I was planning to but right now we need extra defence."
"That might have been only one of his attacks.There could be more and we aren't sure so…fix those villages and upgrade defence."
"Maybe we can use the wall in Okinawa to build a safe zone protecting us from South Korea."
"We'd need way more material for that."
"THEN SO BE IT!"I slammed the table in fury.
"Where are we getting that much rock from?"
"Mountains. We'll have people carving rocks and placing them on the coast of Japan facing South Korea. So up north from Tokyo then."
"Got it."
"How do you know Kraven will attack again?"Kimiko raised a finger.
"What do you mean child?This is probably one of many attacks that Kraven has planned!He mixes intelligence with destruction."Chief Lenny scolded Kimiko and she had a slight smirk after making Lenny angry.Silence again.The only thing that could be heard was the resting mist hovering outside.
"We need..a strategy. We have to predict Kraven's movements like a chess game."
"Don't even bring it up again Maku."Lenny frowned his eyes. He was questioning if he had missed something in the conversation.
"Chess?What does chess have to do with Kraven bombing villages?"
"It's his favourite game."Irai sighed calmly.
"And how would you know that?"
"He told me once."
"That must have been random.."
"He had me locked up in cursed chains at the time and..strangely played a chess game with me…"
"STOP TALKING ABOUT CHESS."Yanagi grew more angry. We nodded and resumed back to the previous topic.
"Well I think we should upgrade our defence rather than our offence."
"What makes you say that Maku?"Chief Lenny placed down the cup of tea,brushing off the remaining warm drops off his mustache.
"Well.You all know Kraven. He plays cold and calculated. He's calm in situations,thinking about what to do. He chose this personality based off his tragic childhood and I'm sure you've all head of it. If anything,he's probably testing us to see how we would react now that he's got hold of South Korea."
"He wouldn't do it alone now would he?"Chief Lenny suddenly interrupted.
"Actually I was about to talk about that.Yes he may have hundreds of trained and skilled guards BUT they could be wiped out easily by Japan as a country."
"He moved to South Korea to spy on us and to control it."
"He's getting more crows from different asian countries."
"Wait a minute…"
"What is it Kimiko?"
"There's things that don't add up."
"Are you going to say it or not?"
Lenny was getting on her nerves.She was getting on his.I could tell based off the tones of their voices.
But we didn't have time for hidden arguments.Kimiko needed to talk right now or a whole country would fall.
"Kraven wasn't even in prison for long.All his guards were there as well. He must have gotten a longer sentence than a few days right?"
"Kimiko…where is this going to?"
"I'm saying somebody bailed him out."
"What like an inside job?"
"Yeah.Someone from Japan.And then they fled with Kraven."
"Could it have been a crow?"
"Don't think so.Anyone that's not in Kraven's empire is poor I mean most crows are poor is what I'm saying."
"SO A HUMAN BAILED HIM OUT?"Lenny slammed the cup of tea down,some spilt on the table.
"Don't be so rough Lenny!But yeah,it is possible."
"THEN WHO?"
"We don't know for sure but-"
"OH NO."Realisation came to him. He was shocked he had forgotten for such a long time and only now he had come to realization of who bailed out Kraven.Well not quite..
"Lenny?What is it?"
"After the blood moon,a masked individual came up to me with a special type of yen,he demanded to release Kraven and I was reluctant for a moment but I complied.I WAS SO STUPID TO TRUST THAT MAN!"
"It's not your fault Lenny,you didn't know."
"Thanks Kimiko,"He wiped his tears from his face and raised his hand,
"I'm not done yet."
"There's more?"
"Yeah.Irai I'm sure you know who Kibo is right?"
"Yeah."
"Well,I saw him outside the building losing his mind. He used to work along side me and I saw him with this individual while they were walking up to the police station."
"They're working together?"
"Most likely.Kibo,Kraven and the other person…"
"You figure another thing out?"
"I'm afraid I did.I've arrested Kibo before for harming random people on the street.I've also arrested Red before.They're brothers."
"THEY'RE WORKING WITH RED!"Irai lost himself between vengeance and peace.
"DAMN IT!"I slammed the table and stood up from my seat.Irai threw his hat to the ground and cried.Kimiko and Yanagi didn't know what to say and Lenny stayed quiet,he knew the fate of this country if we didn't act.
"Wait so that means…"
"Red,Kraven and Kibo are all in South Korea right now."Some of the guards backed up.Everybody gasped and their eyes widened.I had this horrible feeling in my stomach that just wouldn't leave.I turned to the glass box inside my room and stared at my luxurious shiny crown.
Was I going to lose my status as emperor?
The thought lingered through the back of my mind for a moment.I halted in my tracks.
Don't grab that crown Maku.Whatever you do,don't grab that crown.Don't let your greed get to you.
I wore off.But I almost grabbed that crown.I was greedy for a moment.But deep down in my heart,I knew that I couldn't resort to a distorted state of greed.I would be a good emperor.
Certainly a better one than the previous emperor but turning to greed?The Maku I know wouldn't do that. So I won't.
"They're blood brothers."I muttered under my own warm breath.Everybody turned to me,ruptured faces indeed.
The hope of this world could be shattered in a battle of peace against dominance.
We needed to up our game or else we would lose to a crow and two mentally ill homeless outsiders…