North Winds Fall (Xianxia - Survive the Protagonist)

Lead by one of the Governor General's assistants, She entered the large room with a dozen people playing or watching games of Go or backgammon at several large tables, and there was even another game that she didn't recognize, that was played on a large circular table with posts.

These were well-dressed men and women, mostly a lot older than Autumn herself, but there was one woman maybe a few years older than her.

It was one thing to socialize on your own turf, but in a totally new place where you didn't know anyone, that was hard. She watched one of the games of Go as the two competitors placed Go stones in utter silence. She couldn't discern anything about who was winning between the two men in front of her.

Someone else broke the tension for her. It was the woman in her twenties.

"Masumi has never lost to Koji. Still Koji tries."

"I'm not much of a Go player," Autumn said. "But why not watch, since I'm not acquainted with anyone."

"Kubota Naoki. And I'm sure most of us would be interested in becoming acquainted. Koji's an old hand of the Minshutō party, used to be Trade minister. Masumi has been a Seidjiteki rep for twenty years."

It was a good thing that Minister Kasai hinted during the ride over that he was a member of the Minshutō party, she could have put her foot in mouth if she didn't know which was which.

"Kasai Shūsui," she said. "I just came back from the North a month ago, and there, the competition is between families loyal to the Emperor. Sang vs. Snow vs. Conner. I understand the Conner family is from our nation originally, as well."

"Oh, so you visited the last Emperor before his death?"

Autumn took a deep breath, and forced herself to stay calm.

"It's not so easy to go see the Emperor. I met with the Snow family, who were gracious hosts. I was also curious about their martial arts and sword fighting, and I was introduced to a club of melee weapon enthusiasts.."

"What is your own interest in the subject?" Miss Kubota asked.

"I've learned the basics of the katana. It is an interesting artform, if you truly consider it."

The two men playing Go stood up then, and there were more introductions.

Ozawa Masumi and Tsutsui Koji.

"I regret that I didn't get a chance to meet you, Shūsui. I understand you stayed with your grandparents while Shigeru was touring our nation's farms," Koji said.

"Yes, it was hard for all of us. But father's hard work has paid off, and now I can get to know this gem of a city," Autumn gave the best answer she could.

"You may not know then, and Naoki wouldn't say anything, but she is the Governor General's wonderful daughter."

Naoki spoke up, "You're embarrassing me Koji. Why don't you play Shūsui, and I'll challenge Masumi. Is that fair?"

They sat at one of the long tables instead of the hightops. Koji and Masumi laid up a pair of Go boards and Naoki brought over enough white and black stones for everyone.

Koji was a grey-haired man with a well-kept beard, wheres Masumi looked more like a soldier being clean shaven and he had that familiar intensity.

Occasionally, during cold winter months, Autumn's brothers played Go, but even Tuan, who wasn't much interested in it, always defeated her. She had a beginner's ability in Go, but even that was rusty. Backgammon was something she had played once or twice, mostly in hightown or with registered family young masters, as a gambling game.

Koji soundly defeated her while the other two were still in the middle of their battle over the board.

"I have to say, I have met your mother, and you look like the spitting image!" Koji said. "Of course, I can see your eyes are Shigeru's. He isn't much of a Go player either."

She smiled, but admitted to herself it was freaky how extensively Miss Chou had made her look like a Kasai.

"Everyone finds something different fascinating," she said. "For me it was the sword."

"Indeed," Koji said, seemingly taken aback. "Was there a specific person who inspired you in that? I know Masumi has an idle interest in such things."

"I guess it was more the old stories that are told about masters of the sword," she answered.

They started another game to pass the time, but it was broken up when one of the Governor General's staff informed them that The Governor and Minister were ready to share in dinner with the guests.

"You improved a bit in the second game," Koji said.

"It's been a while since I played."

Autumn expected that, being a more formal event, where to sit would be quite defined, but Naoki told her it didn't matter where that sat, as long as they left plenty of room near the front of the table for the most important people.

So she ended up sitting at the far end of the long table, in between Koji and Naoki and across from Masumi and his wife.

She glanced for just a moment at Warrant Officer Saito, who held his hands behind his back, and was wearing the formal special forces uniform. Nagano was at his side. They were in one of the corners near Minister Kasai, and the Governor General's own security people were at the other corner.

She had more reason to look at her 'father' and the Governor General, and she asked who the man sitting next to and across from Minister Kasai were. They looked military.

"General Shoji is the overall commander of all military forces, he's sitting across from your father. The other man is Captain Kibe. Captain Kibe's unit just received a citation. Apparently the South Winds special forces were trying to gain access to the Great Western Sea, planning to land at any number of places in our interior, but Kibe's unit prevented them from even getting onto the water with a daring amphibious attack. His company is one of three companies with amphibious sea-land training."

Conversation quieted down as Minister Kasai gave a toast.

"I am thankful for the Honorable Governor General's invitation to his fine home. To harmony and good stewardship, the fruits of the Great Society of which you have played a key part in establishing."

Autumn toasted the Governor General, and took a drink from her water glass.

In the next instant she heard the shattering of glass, and she looked up to see Warrant Officer Saito pulling Minister Kasai away from the table.

Specialist Nagano stood beside Captain Kibe, but the rookie was nervous. Kibe lashed out at the new operative, shoving him to the ground as he drew a hidden dagger and threw it at Minister Kasai.
The table was in an uproar, and Autumn was about to make a reckless decision, but Saito not only deflected Kibe's thrown weapon, but surged towards the man, knocked him over and pinned his arms to the floor..

"Did you just poison Minister Kasai's drink?" Officer Saito said in a firm voice.

The Governor General's guards pulled him into a separate room, but Nagano and Kasai stayed in the corner.

Captain Kibe had only one goal, and one end when he was caught. He immediately started foaming at the mouth as if he had held poison under his tongue for the moment when he needed to die.

General Shoji was furious. "What did you see that made you suspicious?" he asked Officer Saito.

The Warrant Officer explained himself only briefly, "It's obvious that the Governor General and Minister Kasai shared a refined liquor that is only spoiled by ice, and yet Minister Kasai's had the clear sign of an ice cube, just a single ice cube. I surmised that the Captain's path had some intersection with water, additionally he was the closest to the Minister."

"Captain Kibe had an astonishing path ahead of him, to perhaps become a General in the next ten years. Truly tragic. I hope that your minister is unharmed?"

Autumn went over to see her "father" who was shaken by the incident.

"Are you okay, father?" she asked.

"Someone dared disturb the Governor General. I have to go apologize to him," Minister Kasai said.

"Why are you apologizing when you didn't do anything?"

"Perhaps it is my radical ideas that are inciting such anger," he responded.

"Father, tell me about some of these ideas?"

"The abolition of labor and military service for those under the age of 14. Children will be able to work in their parents business but otherwise barred at 13 and under. It was part of the Minshutō party platform, not specifically my idea."

"Forgive me, sweet daughter, I'll return shortly."

-|>--~
It wasn't until they were riding home that Minister Kasai told her about his conversation with the Governor General.

"He was deeply concerned and ashamed, as he repeatedly informed me. He felt responsible for someone being invited to his home with such hostile intentions. The man was just decorated days ago for valor, it would be hard to suspect such a man. He swore that the guest list would be reduced for the formal ceremony as much as possible."

Autumn found it difficult to isolate her job, so to speak, and the role of daughter. It was easier to slip into the role, but it would be harder to extract herself when it was time to move on to another assignment.

"I wished I could do something, and then your new security detail seemed to prove themselves quite impressive," she said.

"What is required is standing up, and not letting it get to you. Even Prime Ministers of the Seidjiteki party have faced such things. Our true opponent seeks to destroy democracy itself."

"What do you have to do tomorrow, papa?" she asked.

"The Government in Transition will ask for my advise in choosing between their recommendations for various positions. Since I am taking over from another Minshutō party administration, most of the positions will be the same. Of course, I'll have to recommend my preferred successor for Agricultural minister, but I want to speak with all of the other department heads before I re-confirm them.

You should spend tomorrow getting settled in at home, and spend some time with your mother. As to that, it looks like we're here."

Minister Kasai went into the darkened house first, there seemed to be raised voices, and then Mrs. Kasai was standing at the door.

"What are you standing out there for, Shūsui. Come on in. I've made up a bedroom for you."

Mrs. Kasai was a gray-haired lady, slender, walking with a bit of a limp, but she seemed to be intense to her husband and perfectly sweet to Autumn.

Did Mr. and Mrs. Kasai had acting classes? They seemed to never slip up in the pretense they were involved in. Maybe it was the fact that she didn't have a mother and father present in her life growing up, but Autumn found the part she was playing perfectly suited to her.

She had left her new katana in the safe keeping of the Government Offices. She wanted to pick that up, to bring back to her new temporary home, but afterwards, there were a few things she might do while her protective "target" Minister Kasai, was gone.

Vote for what Autumn will do:
Approval Vote. Top 2 will be chosen.

[ ] Mothers' Day Out. Mrs. Kasai will take Autumn out to the places she has chosen for some mother daughter time. Get to know the Kasai family in more detail.

[ ] War News. Find news on the early days of the War with South Winds. If possible, find out where the Cherry Blossom girls are headed. {Roll to find out just how much you discovered : 25% of just propoganda, 50% chance of real news, 25% of Cherry Blossom news}

[ ] Practice with the Katana. Find out the differences between Autumn's Dao blade, and the Katana. How does the weight balance differ, and the striking power, et. cetera.

[ ] Explore. Get some familiarity with the capital city Mizumi, and any unusual things that happen during wandering. {Roll to find out what was discovered: ???}

[ ] Connections. Try to plan a future time to hang out with Koji and/or Naoki. {Roll to find out which / both will socialize again outside of the Governor General's manor : each 50/50}.

Autumn left in the morning with Minister Kasai, promising Mrs. Kasai she would be back before lunch.

He recommended stopping at Tajima's gym, which was near Kaido avenue and the Government Offices.

"I hope everything goes well today, father," she said to the Minister.

The concierge retrieved her katana quickly, and she was on her way, going west a few blocks, and then back south to find Tajima's gym.

Minister Kasai said it was less attention getting and a safer place for her to go than the Military Gym which was the closest.

Tajima's gym was a private citizen's gym frequented by members of the government and wealthy business people and their families.

There was a separate office for paying or signing up for gym membership, lavishly decorated, instead of a podium or register at the front.

"I am Mr. Tajima's representative as he is with private clients at this time. May I know your member number?"

The representative was dressed in brown robes with a black cloth belt.

"Minister Kasai is my father," she said.

The representative seemed surprised, but he said, "Mr. Tajima will surely be along to aid you evaluating your belt. There is no embarrassment, even to start with White belt."

"Do you have a practice room where I might warm up and get comfortable with this weapon?" she asked.

"Oh, of course, Miss Kasai, please go ahead and slip on these practice shoes, to ensure the cleanliness of our facility and your safety. Room number 6."

It was nice to have a pair of indoor training shoes, the kind that were easy to slip on, and the Rep had judged her foot size perfectly as well.

Pulling the blade from its sheath, she enjoyed the sensation of examining a weapon that was brand new to her.

She knew in the North that there was a very scarce amount of special metals, which the masterwork swords were made with. On the other extreme, the true trashy blades were made with a type of iron that didn't deserve to be called steel, even after the smith's workmanship.

By tapping on the blade, and evaluating the way the new oil rag encountered the surface of the blade, her expert understanding of these things revealed that this was not a masterwork weapon, as there were not special metals, but it was made of something that could be classified as steel. Worthy for a special forces, junior grade operative.

She only noticed the mirror in the room after her eyes had left the blade. Tajima's representative was truly helpful.

Watching her reflection, she waved the katana in wild waves, slow and fast, up and down, every strange direction, keenly sensing the balance of the blade. Both its overall weight and also the centerpoint.

This was definitely a weapon tilted more towards maneuvering, foot speed, and weapon speed rather than brute force. The Dao blade had more distance from the front edge of the blade to the false edge, so there was greater leverage but also more catch.

The katana was longer, but roughly the same weight. The length gave it a slightly different balance and effectiveness. She thought the Dao blade had the victory in deflecting a blow, but for attack, with her own style of speedy feet and maneuvering, the Katana would be better.

When the door to the practice room opened up, she realized Mr. Tajima had played up his appearance as a great old martial arts elder. He had a long braided beard, black robes and a gold cloth belt.

Mr. Tajima held one sheathed weapon in each hand.

"This training room is equipped with a viewing room, where I was able to observe your curiosity, Miss Kasai. I understand you are wishing to start learning the Katana?"

"Yes, I was trying to get a sense of how the weapon was made, and it's quality. There are many things to consider," she said in truth. She couldn't call herself a true practitioner of a weapon until she knew its characteristics through and through.

Mr Tajima nodded. "Yes, there is much to practice. That is why at my gym, I have instituted the commonly used belt system, to judge where you need to improve. First of all, it would be best if you sheath the sharp blade. We don't practice with sharp weapons, to prevent accidents. I've brought a couple of training katanas which are blunted and much safer for practice. First of all, you must take a sword stance, before you do anything else."

Autumn sheathed her own sharp katana, and took the training katana from Mr. Tajima.

"Thank you sir."

She drew out the training katana, and took up her comfortable, default guard stance.

It seemed like Mr. Tajima focussed on consolidating the beginning foundations with a new weapon. He put Autumn through the gauntlet of techniques she had learned from Tuan and his trainers years ago.

These were simple stances, attacks, methods of controlling how to strike and defend, but Mr. Tajima picked up the pace as she demonstrated more advanced techniques with the katana.

"This is just the standard approach to a duel, Ms. Kasai. Follow the Approaching procedure with the appropriate type of response to my own actions."

Mr. Tajima perfectly played his part in every training exercise so far, but here, Tajima was unable to respond to her violent approach step.

She got a clean "strike" with her training katana.

Mr. Tajima laughed. "I'm sorry, Ms. Kasai, have you been given a Black belt rating, and thought to play a prank on me?

Autumn was confused. She appreciated the Master's warmup techniques, which helped her solidify control of the Katana, and she had noted a few differences and things Mr. Tajima corrected her slightly on.

"Forgive me, Mr. Tajima. Wasn't this just your warmup procedure to assist me in learning a new weapon? I've used other types of weapons but this katana is new to me."

"No, Ms. Kasai. I expected you would fail at the first, or at least the third test. Then you could start practicing with those basics. What is your belt rating?"

"Forgive me," she said. "I had previously used the Dao blade, and I spent a year in North Winds where I trained with people who didn't use the belt system. Plus, I didn't learn such a system at home. Admittedly, I am a Pathist with my Way in swords."

"A fellow master of the blade. Forgive me for starting on the wrong foot. I have achieved the 2nd step in single-edged blades, but most of my customers are men and women who have a Path in administration or government, but want to learn a bit of the respected blade arts."

Autumn was appreciative of the chance to warm up, despite confusions. "I would like to test your blade at some time in the future. It's very commendable to run a place like this. Thank you for putting my Katana skills through their proving ground."

Mr. Tajima chuckled. "Check with my representative, and he will know my schedule. Perhaps soon our blades will meet from a place of initial understanding."

Returning the training blade to Mr. Tajima, she retrieved her real katana, and returned back to Mr and Mrs. Kasai's home.

"Shūsui, your morning went well?" Mrs. Kasai said.

"Mr. Tajima helped clarify my understanding of the katana."

"I thought it would be appropriate to do a little shopping, after we get lunch, and then I had a hair appointment this afternoon."

The afternoon with Mrs. Kasai was much duller than the morning with Mr. Tajima and the new katana, but Autumn tried to pay attention to relevant details.

Mr. Kasai wasn't much for actually farming or understanding agriculture himself, but he was skilled in identifying good field workers. The field workers reported on farming efficiencies and ideas of what crops could be established in what province, in which microclimate, and they tested agricultural ideas, as well as off-world crops in the Federal Agricultural Science Laboratories.

Mr. Kasai's administrative Path enabled him to collate all the data that his staff acquired, and produce recommendations for the Government.

Mr. Kasai also made social calls on important farmers with Mrs. Kasai, and they had developed plenty of patience with the most rough and tumble farmers.

Mr. Kasai had received the promotion to Ag. Minister after he became a mid-4th step Admin-type pathist, as the Government as well as the Pathist association saw the greatest need in Agriculture, at that time.

Mr. and Mrs. Kasai had met while both were attending the Dai ichi-shū university. Mrs. Kasai was studying medicine, and was part of the "Mortal" track, while Mr. Kasai was part of the "Immortal" track at the University, studying Admin-Type cultivation.

Autumn knew that Pathists (Cultivators) could die of old age so calling them Immortals was a bit odd. Absent a violent outcome, Autumn's own life expectancy was in the 120s, although it would be 30 or 40 years longer if she reached 4th step, and who knows how long the 5th Step pathists lived.

Mrs. Kasai didn't tell her exactly how the two of them met, but she said she put aside her potential career to support Mr. Kasai's own rising career hopes. In addition to two terms as Ag. Minister when his party had been in power, Mr. Kasai served as a legislator from Sabaku no tochi, even when the Minshutō were the minority party.

The constant travel as Ag. Minister meant they decided it wasn't practical to have kids of their own. Mr. Kasai's father had been a very successful Admin-type businessman-Pathist in the dry Sabaku no tochi province.

The other thing Autumn experienced during the afternoon were the consolations women were giving Mrs. Kasai about her husband, as if he was already dead.

"What can you do? Make sure to keep yourself safe, Haruko," one woman said.

After hearing all of these women who already assumed Mr. Kasai was dead, Autumn swore to herself that she would protect Mr. and Mrs. Kasai, even if her Commanding Officer ordered her to stand aside.

She waited idly in the living room with Mrs. Kasai, wanting to make sure Mr. Kasai made it home safely. It was late when he did arrive home.

Perhaps it was fortune or fate that her bedroom had a window looking into the front yard of the Kasai house.

She couldn't fall asleep after they all went to bed, and while laying wide awake, she was sure something was going on outside.

She crept to the window to look. Three men in military uniforms were standing a few steps from the road, having brought their own lantern, which was why she could see them.

She had brought her katana into the bedroom that night, and now she was resolved to do something.

Did Minister Kasai have access to any form of communication formation or talisman? How should she handle this situation?


Vote on your approach:

[ ] Deadly Aggression. You know what these men are here for. Take full advantage of surprise and strike to kill without hesitation.

[ ] Fierce Confrontation. Blade step outside the front-door and confront these men. Demand a rapid explanation or else.

[ ] Lay in waiting. Go to Mr. and Mrs. Kasai's bedroom quietly, and prepare to strike if they try to burst in.

[ ] Involve the Kasai family. Wake up Mr. and Mrs. Kasai and prepare a response together.