Masters of Fate, Slaves to Duty

Chapter 1


The two men, once enemies now friends, stood against the wall, avoiding contact with anyone else in the room. The room itself was awash in the bold colors of the greatest military nations that Japan knew. The two men had skipped such formalities, opting to ‘dress down’ in their finest black jackets and pants, a simple white embroidered lotus blossom gracing the back of each jacket. Neither carried a military rank, but both served as trusted advisors to the Emperor’s Supreme War Council.

“I don’t understand why we have to represent the council at this dinner,” said the dark-haired man as he scanned the crowd. “I still have to prepare my report regarding Korea and China.”

“Now Tatsu,” said the silver-haired man in a chastising tone as he nodded to the Prime Minister. “You know we are the only two people in this room that the Emperor trusts. Has visiting those foreign countries stolen away your common sense?”

Tatsu laughed and watched as a brash German Brigadier General slapped the Council of State on the back. As he watched the men filling the dining room, he realized he had missed quite a bit. He hadn’t set foot within the palace walls in the last two years, opting instead for tours of the foreign continent as a mission for the War Council. Tatsu wore the harsh realities of his journey on his face. His skin was darker now from repeated exposure to jungle sunlight, and his face was marked by the worrisome wrinkles of his age. His once long hair was now short, favoring the simpler style of the Japanese military. Though he looked his age, physically he had never felt better.

When Tatsu turned to continue his conversation, he found his colleague was having a joke with a British Admiral. The Admiral looked up to catch his eye, and nodded.

Miki looked between the two men, and realized they were not acquainted. “Tatsumaki, this is Admiral Foxx of the British Royal Navy. Jonathan, this is my partner-in-arms, Fukuyomi Tatsumaki.”

The two men shook hands. Tatsu noticed how young the Admiral was compared to the other men in the room. Tatsu figured he had been military most of his life to be Admiral at his age, that or seen lots of action on the open seas. The man was large, if not imposing, but his soft face and gold curls told him the Admiral couldn’t be a day over thirty.

“Pardon my saying so, but you seem so young for your rank,” mentioned Tatsu, jumping right into the subject.

Foxx smiled at him as the servants began to bring large trays of fresh food to the table. “I have been fortunate enough to fight in several battles across the ocean,” he said. Foxx grabbed Miki’s shoulder and gave him a friendly squeeze. “My brother-in-law tells you me the two of you have had your share of adventures as well.”

Confused, Tatsu looked inquisitively to Miki and said, “Brother-in-law?”

“Oh, you’ve been gone so long that I forgot to tell you,” Miki said. “You remember my sister? The one that works for the Empress?”

Tatsu raised an eyebrow, becoming more curious by the moment. He had no idea what Miki was talking about. “Your sister? You’ve never mentioned a sister to me.”

Miki let out a short, uncomfortable laugh. “I am only just realizing that you and I have never discussed our families before.”

Foxx laughed at the two men. “Well, I’m amazed it didn’t come up,” he said, shaking a finger at Miki. “It is most unfortunate for you my friend. She is quite beautiful, and the lass is taken.”

“Really?” Tatsu exclaimed as he slapped Miki on the back. “You were holding out on me all this time? My feelings are hurt.”

The three men had a laugh, though it was extremely awkward for one of them. Foxx soon left their side when another gentleman wearing the same blue uniform waved him over. Miki was ready to slip away as well, especially when Tatsu turned his glare in his direction.

“Sister?” he asked.

Miki turned away to watch the men settling themselves around the table. “It wasn’t any of your business at the time. And I’ll have you know, I took a wife as well.”

Tatsu was in the process of taking his seat at the table when he stopped and looked at Miki again. How much had he actually missed in the last two years? “It seems you and I have some things to discuss.”

Servants continued to flock around the room carrying dishes piled high with food. There was fish, eel, squid, rice, and plenty of vegetables to go around. The Prime Minister sat at the head of the table and gave a short speech about brotherhood and the bonds between the nations. He was speaking on the Emperor’s behalf who unfortunately could not join the feast. The men raised a toast to the ongoing collaboration of the nations and to their continued military success.

Once the men started eating their fill of the fresh food, the doors to the left of the table slid open. Behind it stood two women and two children. The women were dressed in fine spring kimonos, one in pink, and the other in yellow. The women’s’ faces were hidden from the spectators by elaborate masks. The children bowed to the crowd, scanning their audience but not making direct eye contact with any of them. Tatsu immediately recognized them. Oh how his children had grown.

Seimei was lovely in a white kimono decorated with lotus blossoms. She stood in between the two women with a shamisen in her hands. Arashi took a seat in the corner, and pulled an ornate wooden flute from his sleeve. Seimei moved to stand behind Arashi, and together they filled the room with vibrant music.

Foxx slid into the seat next to Tatsu. “This is what I’ve been waiting for,” he said, ignoring his food to give the women his full attention.

The women moved gracefully to the music in a perfectly timed dance. First it was a dance of hands, next they added fans for another level of difficulty. The men started to clap along to the beat that flowed from Seimei’s hands. Not only was Foxx enthralled, but so was Miki, leaving Tatsumaki to ponder the identities of the two women.

“The lady in pink is my wife, Kurenai.” Foxx said over his shoulder. “The other is Miki’s wife, Sakiko.”

Tatsumaki watched more intently now. He could see the family resemblance. Kurenai wore her hair up, but Tatsu could see her hair was as silver as Miki’s. Yet he couldn’t figure out why Miki had never said anything before. Even more, he couldn’t understand why they let their wives dance for other men.

“The kids live with him too,” Foxx continued. “Apparently they were abandoned by their parents, so he took them in.”

Tatsu tried to keep focused on the stage, and not acknowledge the pain that comment gave him. “For an outsider,” Tatsu whispered back. “You seem to know a lot about the family tree.”

Foxx laughed, eliciting shushing sounds from the French conglomerate across the table. “The boy works for me. He’s learning his way around my vessel. If the Emperor permits, he will sail with me on my next trek to the Southern islands.”

That comment struck another chord in Tatsu, but this time it was concern, not sadness. It seemed to him that the Emperor was getting too friendly with these nations. Why would he let a outsider take his son onto a British vessel? Furthermore, why would a proud Japanese woman marry this light-skinned foreigner in the first place?

Tatsu was pulled from his thoughts by the quiet of the room. The men all clapped for the performance. The women and children properly bowed their thanks, and closed the doors to seal the room off once again. Conversation filled the empty space, the men continuing to drink while the servants carried the food away.

Foxx slapped Tatsu on the leg. “We’ll be right back,” he said, rising from the table with Miki. The two men left through the doors behind him, but did not close them fully.

Tatsu got up to follow. He glanced up the table, and found the Council of State watching him disapprovingly. He gave a short shake of his head. Tatsu could only look at the man. Why did he not want him to follow?

Tatsu ignored the man and crept out the same door the other two had slipped through. He stepped quietly along the wooden planks. As he rounded the corner, he heard voices. Peering around he found the two men chatting with the women. Seimei was in Miki’s arms, holding him tightly around the neck. Tatsu felt another pain in his chest. His children were getting so big. They had to be close to ten by now. And he had only spent a fraction of that time with them.

Arashi was hand-in-hand with the lady named Kurenai. It was too dark to see faces, but he could make out the distinctly different hair color. Miki set down Seimei, who promptly took Sakiko’s hand, and the two made their way across the palace grounds. Arashi let go of Kurenai’s hand, and quickly ran after them, leaving her alone with Foxx and Miki.

The threesome was speaking in hushed tones. He tried to listen, but the conversation was too low for him to make out anything definitive. A moment later, Foxx was heading away toward the main gates, leaving only the two. When he was out of earshot, Miki raised his voice in argument and the woman started to cry. Tatsu was ready to step in, but before he could, firelight started to head in their direction. They had attracted the guards’ attention.

“Why do you insist on disobeying me?” said a voice behind Tatsu. He turned quickly to find the Council standing beside him. The man had made no sound, or Tatsu was too wrapped up in the family feud to pay more attention to his surroundings.

When he turned back to the siblings, he caught a glimpse of their faces in the fire’s light before the guard escorted her away. Both of them were looking in his direction, and he thought for a moment that he had seen her face before.

Tatsu moved to walk past the Council, when he grabbed his arm. “When you disobey orders, you not only disgrace me, but the Emperor as well. You should be mindful of that.”

“And when you help with my own goal, I will no longer feel a need to be so disobedient,” Tatsu stated, a hint of distaste in his voice. “I know you only sent me to that primitive continent to keep my mind off of other matters. I come back to find my son in the hands of a foreigner, and you expect compliance from me?”

“There are larger forces at work here, Tatsumaki. You should be mindful of your place,” the Council said, turning to go back to the dining room. “And it is the Empress that dictates your place. And at this moment, she commands that you stay out of matters that are no longer your concern.”

Tatsumaki stood still as the Council disappeared down the darkened path. It took several breaths before the words sank in. ‘She’ commanded it? Ever since the Emperor took a wife, he has consistently backed down to her where Tatsu was concerned. She had recommended him for the War Council, and it was her idea that he visit the heathen continent.

“He’s right, you know,” said Miki from behind him.

Tatsu turned and grabbed Miki by the jacket, flinging him against a support post. “Was this something else you forgot to mention to me?”

Momentarily shocked by Tatsu’s hostility, he said, “I did not forget.” Miki pushed Tatsu away, making him release his grip. “I never intended to tell you.”

Tatsu shoved him against the post. Miki lost his balance as he bounced off of it, and fell into the pond below. Tatsu jumped down on top of Miki, and forced his head under water.

“You will tell me where she is!” he yelled, yanking Miki’s head out of the water.

A splash from behind, and suddenly Tatsu’s arms were wrenched backward and held tight. He turned to see his assailant, but only the Council came into his view. “This is a dangerous road you are traveling, Tatsumaki,” warned the Council. “I don’t know what’s going through that thick head of yours, but I’m beginning to think we left you on that dark continent for too long.”

Miki stood up, his good jacket and pants dripping with water. With Miki out of the way, Tatsu’s attacker shoved him forward, away from the other men. He lost his balance and fell onto his knees in the cold water. Miki offered his hand to the Council, helping him out of the pond, followed closely by a smaller man.

Miki glared back at Tatsu, letting the other two walk away before speaking again. “You may think you have done great, yet meaningless, things on the continent, but it pales in comparison to the sacrifice she was forced to make. You would do well to remember your place, Mibu wolf.”

~*~*~

He just wanted the pain of his reality to disappear. It was so prevalent in his thoughts that he didn’t even notice the smaller man following him. He only wandered through Yoshiwara to his little den of iniquity. The thin smoke caressed him as he pulled back the curtain. The floor cushions held him tight like a lover. And the pipe at his lips filled his soul with comfort, and soon, all of his pain went away in a wash of pure, unhindered darkness.




Want to get caught up? Make sure to read Rebel Encounter and Fuel to the Fire to get the whole story! Thank you for reading my story!