Project: Gamer Ver. Error, File Not Found
Anime Adjacent Entry: 085
Disclaimer Me Do: I own nothing you recognize. And most of what you don't recognize, I still don't own.
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2/8/1993
The actions of the night before echoed across the entirety of Japan. The ripples and waves were noticed, in one degree or another, by countless people both great and small.
In Kyoto, in a compound that held the traditional practitioners of Japan's pact magic, the Onmyodo were in something of a quiet panic.
In the northern reaches of Tokyo, in a school that pushed the envelope of current magical understanding, an old man worked frantically to keep his contacts and allies onboard with the effort to spin the blatant magic as something, literally anything other than what it had been.
In a temple housing a trio of foreign goddesses and one very local man, two of the three goddesses were rather busy trying to figure out who the involved parties had been. The third was rather busy sleeping off a hangover.
In a small house next to a small shrine, a trio of people watched the news with some trepidation and confusion. One additional person was there but the girl didn't understand why her mother was so worried about a video game.
In the Azabu-Juban ward of Tokyo, in a more respectable house connected to another Shinto shrine, a trio of girls were in the process of waking up after staying up very, very late during their sleepover. In no small part because one of their members hadn't arrived until nearly midnight!
Elsewhere, in an inn-turned-dormitory, only one person was awake and aware of the events occurring in Tokyo. However, the stoic smoker did not especially care for the events as they had nothing at all to do with her.
But, in the Nerima ward of Tokyo, one young man was staring with wide eyes at the screen. His gaze was locked on the hands of the armored figure as they went through a series of motions. A circle that was cut through. A gesture he recognized.
Unlike everybody else? The young martial artist in Nerima recognized the armored figure on screen. He alone knew the answer that so many people throughout Japan were asking.
Who was the Adamant Knight?
Only Saotome Ranma, current master of the Saotome school of Anything Goes Martial Arts knew that the Adamant Knight was some giant half-westerner named Ginji. Who'd refused to fight Ranma (even though the guy clearly knew how to handle himself given the footage Ranma had watched over and over) and had taken down the 'Jadeite' guy in a way that Ranma himself respected.
Which some people would likely find funny, given the fact that Ranma showed zero respect during the middle of a fight. And apparently, neither did Ginji.
-----
Konoe Eishun regretted his choices every single day.
The man, formerly the head of the Aoyama family of samurai, was charged with the responsibilities of heading the Kansai Magic Association. Which sounded like an important position of power.
Reality, of course, begged to disagree.
Sitting in his office was his cousin, Aoyama Tsuruko. The current head of the Aoyama family. The woman was largely fine, despite the absolute mess her assignment had turned into. All she had to show for the fight was an ugly bruise across her face.
"The Shido family is calling for your censure," Eishun began to tell the woman.
He'd read her report. And the reports of the children that had been sent along with her. Even her counterpart, the mage from the Kanto Magic Association, had been able to fill out a preliminary report that Konoe Konoemon had been kind enough to fax over for him.
It was a confused mess, given the man was still struggling to recover from a sudden and violent bout of magical exhaustion. But it still helped to paint a more complete picture.
"Which one was the Shido family?" Tsuruko asked, clear belligerence in her voice. "That's not the delightful firefly girl, is it?"
"That was Kokokawa," Eishun corrected the woman. "Shido Morino. The young man you brought back that needed to have his jaw reconstructed? His family is furious that you let the boy come to harm and allowed the interloper to abscond with the Inugami."
"And what, pray tell, did they want me to do in the face of an opponent that first matched me, then overpowered and killed an Oni?" Tsuruko asked, her voice as calm and placid as a lake in winter.
"More," Eishun simply stated.
The former Aoyama tensed as Tsuruko drew the blade at her side. They both knew this particular song and dance would go nowhere but Tsuruko had been especially terse with him and Eishun feared he'd pressed her too far...
But, rather than bare her steel against him? She simply set her blade upon the desk.
He looked at her in confusion for a moment but got only a severe stare in return. Her eyes flickered down towards the sword, and Eishun took a moment to grasp her meaning to follow her gaze.
The sword, the Aoyama Honor Blade, was both a weapon and a symbol of status. It once adorned Eishun's own side, a badge of honor and a mark of his station all at once. Forged by Hikoshirō Sadamune, it was a masterpiece!
And the blade upon his desk was chipped and cracked. A ruined husk of what it was supposed to be!
"What...?" Eishun asked, his throat dry as he picked up the sword as though it were made of glass. "What... Tsuruko, what happened?!"
"The Shadow Blade did this," Tsuruko told him, her voice still poisonously calm. "Now, you were in the process of dishonoring yourself? Please, continue."
Eishun swallowed thickly and set the katana back down on his desk.
"...I'll handle the Shido issue," Eishun quietly said as Tsuruko picked up the ruined sword and re-sheathed it.
She said nothing for a long moment, her cold gaze kept locked upon him all the while. Eventually, as the seconds of the pause grew into minutes, the woman simply turned around and walked away.
And Eishun simply let her.
Once the door clicked shut behind her, Eishun allowed himself to relax. The man sank into his chair with a deep, heavy sigh.
He couldn't just ignore the Okayama issue. Not anymore than his father-in-law could ignore the Youma issue in Tokyo.
But he didn't have anyone else on the same level as Tsuruko. Just the same as Konoemon didn't have anyone he could field on the level of Evangeline.
He had to do something but, at the same time, there was nothing he could do!
A knock on his door drew Eishun's attention and he looked up to see his secretary poking her head through the door.
"Sir?" she said, her voice quiet and meek. Which meant bad news. "Shido Masoyashi is here to see you."
And there it was.
The easiest way for his day to get worse.
