The Red Hand

"My Lord, it would seem that surveillance of our movements has increased in these last few weeks," Yumi said while sitting down next to Akagi.

The two were currently in the garden of Akagi's new estate courtesy of the Tokugawa family. Yumi had prepared sake and the two began drinking together. It had been a little over a week since Naomi had turned the property over to her and Akagi had been spending most of her time here, sorting out living arrangements and making improvements and changes where necessary.

The estate was essentially a feudal Japanese manner with the main house surrounded by wooden exterior walls. It had a pond, a small garden and a few other buildings such as a servants quarters. It was large by Japanese standards and covered quite a lot of the mountain side, enough that one could even call it a compound. Akagi was surprised that Naomi was able to transfer the property quite quickly but apparently, while it was considered historically significant, the Tokugawa family still owned it and the land itself outright.

"Chloe has reported an increase in police activity as well as military presence in and around Kyoto. From what her team has gathered, it appears that the Japanese government intends to make some kind of move against you." Yumi said handing a sake cup to Akagi.

“Thank you.” Akagi thanked Yumi and the two sat down on the blanket Yumi had prepared.

After agreeing to Naomi's request, Akagi deployed many of her subordinates to gather intelligence. At present, 47 of her followers were deployed on three separate missions. The first group, headed by Chloe, was tasked with keeping an eye on the situation in Kyoto. Akagi had assumed that the Japanese government would begin to make moves against those who had retained their powers from FWO and wanted to be informed on their movements. To further add to her concerns, Hishya told her that some of the players she knew IRL had disappeared.

Hishya couldn't be sure it was the Japanese government that was involved. However, their disappearances always coincided with suspicious activity. Hishya herself was under almost constant surveillance and on more than one occasion, she had to request that her privacy be respected. Naturally, they had attempted to put Akagi under surveillance as well, but the government found markedly less success with this endeavor.

"I knew the government wouldn't exactly sit on its ass forever," Akagi said while sipping some sake. "To be honest, they were faster than I expected; and here I thought the government was supposed to be slow and cumbersome." Akagi said with a wry smile.

"Was Chloe able to ascertain exactly what they intend to do? Because that's going to determine our next course of action." Akagi asked.

{I don't exactly want an all out war with the Japanese government, but it wouldn't be the first to pick a fight with me.} (Akagi)

"From what her report said, they are determined to enter into some kind of conflict with you. Apparently, they intend to provoke you into taking some drastic action so that they can look justified in the use of force." Yumi explained. “Although, I doubt they would launch any direct offensive action as doing so would be..... quite unlikely to succeed even if they have a few players on their side.” Akagi and her team were quite adept at combat, even if the military decided to strike them, chances are they would be annihilated.

"Apparently, they don't intend to allow any of the "returnees", as they are calling those who retained their abilities, to run around freely. Chloe's report said they are giving people two choices; work for the Japanese government or....." Yumi trailed off.

"So basically, they know they won't be able to recruit me, so they want me to fly off the handle so they can crush me. All that for what? To show people that the government has a handle on the situation? Is provoking all out war really the best idea they could think of in this situation?” She sighed at the absurdity. “What a stupid idea, politics really is the same whether it's in the game or the real world. I bet they want to use this as some political football to keep power right?” Akagi growled in irritation. (Akagi)

Yumi agreed with her master's conclusion. “Based on what Chloe brought me, I would say that seems highly likely.”

Akagi shook her head in disbelief. “Politicians being desperate to hold onto power, I guess the game and real life really weren't much different in that aspect. Though the Empire tended to be much more direct with its methods. If you caught their attention you could kiss your freedom goodbye.” Akagi said with a shrug. "Although when they tried applying that strategy to players, it didn't exactly work out as they expected.” Akagi snickered remembering how players had utterly crushed the Empires attempt to control them.

"I must say that it is not us who I worry about my Lord. From everything I've seen, I doubt the Japanese government would be much more of a threat than the Empire. However, what does concern me is that in addition to taking measures to surveil you; they have been increasing surveillance on your sister, as well as Mika and Naomi. If I would have to guess, they intend to involve them in this situation." Yumi said with a concerned look in her eyes.

"Let them. If they're stupid enough to actually go after those girls; then I'll give them exactly what they're looking for." Akagi said with a wide grin.

"Yes well. What order shall I give the shadows currently guarding them? At present, they've been told to remain hidden unless the girls' lives are in danger." Yumi had seen the look in her master's eye before and it always involved trouble.

"If the girls are taken by government agents, the shadows should prioritize their safety; but otherwise let things play out how the government wants." Akagi smiled. "All we have to do is sit back and give them the rope with which to hang themselves." (Akagi)

"Ok, I will pass that along and tell the shadows to alert you to any changes in the girl's condition. If they're taken, we'll know right away." Yumi said crossing something off her list.

"Just do me a favor and keep this a secret. I can't imagine they would be too pleased being used as bait." Akagi said while scratching her cheek.

{No, I can imagine not.} (Yumi)

"If that is what you desire then I shall remain silent." (Yumi)

"Now, I would like to move along to the main topic." Yumi continued. "Preparations are nearly complete for the take down of the Mitsuhide family. Team two, led by Marshal, has successfully infiltrated each of the family residences of the sixteen members of the Mitsuhide family we have been tasked with eliminating. " (Yumi)

"Marshal reported that security is tight for Speaker Miyori Mitsuhide, Secretary of Defense Nagumo Mitsuhide, and former Prime Minister Ryuji Mitsuhide." Yumi continued while flipping through her notes. "These three all live within relatively secure compounds, with the former Prime Minister living with his son Nagumo and his family." (Yumi)

Most of the family resided in Tokyo with a few scattered throughout the rest of Japan. Akagi and her subordinates would strike simultaneously to eliminate the entire family in one stroke.

"Since Naomi wanted special treatment for Nagumo, I suppose you and I will handle his place," Akagi added.

"Yes, that was the plan. The rest of the family members live in relatively lax security environments, so they will be easy to dispatch. Marshal and his team will deal with Speaker Miyori and her family while the other teams dispatch the lower priority targets." (Yumi)

"It shouldn't be too much longer until preparations are complete. We'll be ready to begin on your orders." (Yumi)

"Good, but we should wait to see what the government does. If we're lucky, they try to kidnap the girls in the next week or so. Perhaps we could even feed them a little false intel to light a fire under their asses." Akagi said while lighting her Kiseru. "If we do this right, we rescue the girls, then take out the Mitsuhide family. From the government's perspective, it will look like retaliation for messing with me. That should steer any investigation away from Naomi and also put the fear of god in them." She said letting out a puff of smoke.

"That's quite a good idea. I must admit I thought it was highly likely that Naomi would find herself in a great deal of trouble once we were done. On a list of suspects, she would be quite high up due to her connection to you." Yumi said with a smile. "But, I will say it's unusual for you to care about a client's wellbeing like that. Don't tell me you've gone soft?" She said with fake shock.

"Very funny.” Akagi said with the pipe in her mouth. “No, it's more like if something happens to Naomi, Kana would be sad, so I'll do what I can to prevent that from happening." Akagi replied while shaking her head. "If Naomi gets herself into trouble after this, that's her problem, but in this instance, let's consider this an extra service." (Akagi)

"Ok, then let's go over a few other items I had while we wait for lunch. It should be ready soon." Yumi said.

_____________________________________________________________________________

About five days later.

In one of the Kyoto Police Department's conference rooms, Chief Nakagumo just began a meeting with General Iseyama and Secretary of Defense Nagumo.

"Chief Nakagumo, I have been informed that the target has left the city and is currently residing at an estate near Enryakuji. According to our intel, she arrived there several days ago to assume ownership and won't be back for some time." Nagumo continued. "If we're going to launch "Operation Broken Blade" now is as good a time as any." (Nagumo)

"Indeed, we currently have eyes on the target's sister and her two friends. It will be a simple mission for my men to swoop in and grab the three of them." General Iseyama said with a cold smile.

Chief Nakagumo interjected. "I would like to remind you, General, that those three girls are just children. Please handle them with care. If possible, we should aim to perform this operation with as little force as possible. If we can bring them in peacefully, I humbly request that you do so." Chief Nakagumo asked while bowing his head.

{What's going on with this world? Have we fallen so far that we need to kidnap our own citizens, children no less? Those girls aren't much older than my granddaughter; they shouldn't be involved in this mess. I just hope things don't escalate to violence; I don't want them caught in the crossfire.} (Nakagumo)

"I would second Chief Nakagumo's opinion, if possible they should be brought in peacefully." Nagumo continued. "But if they resist, bring them in by any means necessary. This operation is too important; if we have to run cover over this, then so be it." Nagumo said with a serious expression.

"I will instruct my men to bring them into Protective Custody. We will inform them that there is a credible threat to their safety and that a temporary relocation will be necessary. If they're smart they will come along quietly and we won't have to harm them. (General Iseyama)

{Protective Custody, sure, you're planning on placing them within a military lock-up. There isn't even any guarantee that these girls will see the light of day, don't try and play the nice guy, I've been to all these meetings.} (Chief Nakagumo)

"That's good to hear. If possible, I would like to be present on the ground when we bring them it. I've been Kyoto's Police Chief for fifteen years; the girls might be more comfortable with me than your soldiers." (Chief Nakagumo)

"That sounds reasonable to me. General?" (Nagumo)

"Yes, that sounds fine." (General Iseyama)

It was clear that these two men didn't care about what happened to the girls.

"Then please act with haste. I want this whole operation completed ASAP. Time is not on our side." Nagumo said as he disconnected.

"Chief Nakagumo, please prepare your men and be ready to strike as soon as my preparations are complete. We will aim to target the girls when they leave school together, we know they tend to venture in to Shijō Kawaramachi so we will plan to strike then." General Iseyama disconnected.

Chief Nakagumo let out a sigh.

"Crazy how they even know these girls' afterschool schedule. It's honestly creepy how much surveillance they had on them." Chief Nakagumo took out a cigarette and lit it. "Once this ordeal is over I'm retiring; I can't take this anymore."

Chief Nakagumo sat in the conference room alone for nearly thirty minutes as he emptied his pack of cigarettes.