Even so, there was a differeween his personal way of thinking and his duty. Duty was absolute, paramount, and unbending. His duty was to the health and safety of every citizen in the sn nation of Japan. He wondered sometimes if perhaps it was because of his open mindedness or in spite of it that he had been chosen for his position as the national representative for the Pandora ittee. This was one of those times.
In the eyes of the politis and leaders of his homend, Sapporo represehe opportunity to stand above the other nations of the world. While there were titans on the rise in other nations, Sapporo stood apart. He was a wall against intrusion and his patriotism was not to be questioned. Yet his respect for his peers among the iional heroes and disi in turning himself into a symbol had put him at odds with those who saw to use him for their own agenda. At his heart, Takehara deeply respected Sapporo. As a representative of his nation and the Pandora ittee, he found the man to be tiresome.
“The juvenile Ameri is certainly not helping the situation,” one of the others murmured, “His obnoxious personality is unbeing of Lord Sapporo and is beginning to affect his judgement.”
“I would remind you, minister,” Takehara said evenly, “That man you are speaking of is a member of the very guild who’s creator we are weling in just a few minutes, a veteran of the Battle of Vegas, and a scout-type hero with very good hearing.”
The minister paled a little, leaning bad shutting his mouth.
“Wise choice, minister,” Takehara said, “Now is not the time to be pushing Sapporo towards an agenda. We discuss the matter at aime. As for his slip about some manner of sensory ability he possesses, that is irrelevant. It is likely some trick that belongs in the realm of the heroid mythics. We will leave it there until we are in a situation where he will be more amicable to discussing the topic.”
“Representative Takehara…” another politi chimed in reproachfully.
“End of discussion. We are here to put our best foot forward with a potential ally,” he remihem with a sterure.
The others frowned but nodded in agreement. He stood up straight and adjusted his coat, getting bato lio Sapporo. He gnced sidelong at the others araihe urge to shake his head. They were, of course, here for their own agendas. All of them and those they stood in for wanted a piece of the pie that was Sonya ovna. She had money and influence among the Pandora ittee as well as access to the best post-pandora material refi methods avaible. They also khat she was there to push for setting up a bran Japan.
This was not about whether or not she would establish a foothold here. This was about how much they could bleed out of the young woman before they gave her what she wanted.
Fools. She may look young but she is far from it, you are c an eagle in the guise of a songbird.
“I’m relieved the ittee sent you, Takehara,” Sapporo said o him.
He gnced up at the mountain of a man who hadn’t shifted his gaze from the nding aircraft.
“Who else would it be?” Takehara grunted, a small smile creeping on his face, “You should really stop teasing those idiots with breadcrumbs. Yoing to get into trouble.”
“Perhaps, what are they going to do about it, though?” Sapporo asked.
Takehara shook his head, “It worries me that I ’t argue that point.”
“It’s the world we live in now,” Sappreed with a grave nod as the jet came to a stop. The gathered representatives and heroes approached as the engines wound down. Takehara noticed that it did not take nearly as long as it would for a traditional engine. He wondered if that man who worked for Sonya had made some ges to the vehicle. It wasn’t on the ma but who was ho about such things these days? The door on the side flipped out and dowending into a staircase that rested oarmac.
Something strange washed over Takehara the moment before the first person stepped off the aircraft. It was an odd feeling. An uplifting sense of pead unity that took him off guard as he tasted the faint hints of challenge beh it. It was like standing behind a great lion that had put itself between him and all the terrors of the world. Protective but still a source of danger. He caught his breath as the other representatives shifted on their feet. o him, Sapporo and Bandit stood very still, their eyes on the opening.
A woman stepped out, she had long brown hair and deep brown eyes. She wore a european-style maids gown, her hands held at her p in a polite way. She was wearing gauhat gleamed with that odd reflectiveness ongst post-pandora materials. She took a step off the pne and desded until she touched the ground and the feeling intensified before fading all together. She cast her gaze over those present with a stoic expression before turning and ining her head towards Sapporo and Bandit. They returhe gesture.
“She’s gotten much stronger, projeg like that. She was making a point,” Sapporo ented quietly. “Rude, but effective.”
Takehara dabbed his neck with a handkerchief, “And the point she was trying to make?”
“‘I am a naked bde and the person who es is the wielder, show respect’, is the gist of it,” Sapporo expined.
“Tyrannical but effective,” Takehara murmured.
“That’s Sonya in a boardroom for you,” Bandit chimed in before tensing, “What the hell is that?”
Sapporo ched his fists and Takehara looked from the two heroes to the ramp where the most audacious woman he had ever seen stepped out. Sonya ovna was in a white pants suit and pink tie, a long gray trench coat hung on her shoulders like a cape. She we suhat reflected the light sharply against her sparkling skin. Long starlight-white hair fluttering about her head as she stepped down, a leash in her hand. At the other end was a siberian husky that strode forward with a regal air about it. “She has a dog?”
“That is not a dog,” Sapprowled.
“What?”
“Oh hey!” Sonya called, reag up to wave delightedly at Sapporo and Bandit, “Boys! It’s so good to see you!” she said as she arrived at their level, panning her gaze around with a smug grin while Handmaiden stepped in behind her. She walked out a few steps as four young people desded as well. A blonde girl, a muscur boy, a girl with short bck hair, and a smaller girl with white and bck hair.
Those are the graduates the ma mentioned. One of them is Crusader, the girl with the short bck hair if I am not mistaken.
“Miss ovna…” Sapprowled as he took a step forward. Takehara turo stop him from whatever foolishness he was about to engage in but Sapporo crossed the distaween him and Sonya in an instant. The movement sending her hair fluttering. She looked up at him with a grin as he looked down at her, “Yht a monster with you?”
“He’s my familiar, Sapporo, o get all huffy,” she said pyfully, not fling at all as he loomed over her, “A friend gave the egg to me. I’ve already registered Levi with the ittee.”
Takehara felt his blood pressure rise, he was about to shout at Sapporo when Bandit sauntered over, further breaking the well chraphed greeting down into a hubbub. “A familiar, huh? Dungeon reward?” Bandit asked, “Good to see you Sonya.”
“My friend is something of a collector,” Sonya said with a smile and reached out to Bandit who took her hand and shook it, “Good to see you too, dear, Bluestar sends her love.”
Takehara sighed and g the others before jerking his head towards the gathering. It looked like this would be informal after all.
I should have listeo Sapporo about her etricities. Oh well.
–
Sonya looked up at Sapporo with a broad smile, “You know it’s not that hot outside.”
He blinked and looked at her, tearing his gaze away from Levi, “Pardon?”
“Well I wondered if you were trying to give me a little shade, that’s sweet and all but it’s actually a bit chilly this time of year,” Sonya said and reached up to tug on the coat on her shoulders, “That’s what the coat’s for.”
He blinked a few more times before setting his expression into a frown. He nodded and took a full step bad out of her space. She wiggled her eyebrows at him with a grin before turning to the approag politis, “Now, Levi, these people may smell like they want to bleed the life out of me but it might just be their cologne,” she said to the dog, “So be nice,” she warned before taking a merry step forward aending a hand to the first man roached. “Representative Takehara! This is our first time meeting in person. I didn’t get to have a talk with you at the Hague.”
“You were a bit busy getting kidnapped, as I recall,” Takehara said with an easy smile and took her gloved hand. The old man had a good grip. She squi him with amusement as the other politis gave him aghast looks. “I’d appreciate you not cast aspersions about the iion of the rest of the delegatioo meet you.”
She pursed her lips and wi him, “Only if you’ll reign them in for me if it es to it.”
“I am certain that’s agreeable,” he said with a smile.
“It’s a deal, Representative, I’ll be more polite, apologies,” she said.
Proceed with Deal, Analyze.
Rare tier, nice.
She turned and handed off Levi’s leash to Marta who ined her head once before stepping away with the disguised hound. She bowed politely to the other men, switg to the kind of greeting they’re more fortable with. “Gentlemen, thank you for allowio visit your try. I’m looking forward t with you all for the betterment of yanizations and my own.”
The gathered men looked at one another in surprise and then at Takehara. The way they looked at him shifted from frustration to something akin to respect. She resisted the urge to grin at them as they all bowed at her in response. One of their epped forward first. He wore the suit amongst them and her seold her that it was lined with some good stuff. At least rare-tier materials. She g his suit before he could speak and pulled off her sungsses, “I love your suit,” she said with a smile before meeting his eyes.
“Thank you, Miss ovna,” he said, the single bob of his throat the only sign of rea to her meical eyes, “I am Kaguma Kendo, a representative of the tral gover. I am here on behalf of the Prime Minister and the Emperor.”
“It’s a pleasure, Mister Kaguma,” she said before turning to gesture to Marta and the others, “This is Handmaiden, my personal attendant and mythic-tier hero. With me are the newly lised heroes Snow, BLF, Harbinger, and Crusader.”
The man’s carefully schooled expression shifted just slightly at the mention of Lillian’s code name. Sonya kept her own smile just as it was, only tilting her head slightly. “I wa them to meet their guild senior, Bandit and to perhaps eh the local guilds for a time while enjoying their grace periods. Tourism, you know?”
“Of course,” the man said, “Guests of such stature are always wele and we hope our homend lives up to their expectations. Perhaps we arrange for a visit to some more unique cultural locations while they are here.”
“That would be very generous of you, Mister Kaguma,” Sonya said brightly, “I’m sure that we work our schedule around anyone who might be operating on a restrictive schedule of their own. Such as yourself, of course.”
“Of course,” he said with a nod, his eyes gng towards Crusader briefly before meeting her gaze, “Thank you for being so forthing.”
“Thank you for being so weling,” Sonya replied with a grin, “Now I best not tarry. I think your friends are eager to speak with me as well. We’ll have plenty of time to talk during our visit.”
“I suspect we will,” Mister Kaguma said and bowed again, “Allow me to be the first to wele you to Japan. Miss Sonya ovna.”
She returhe gesture and turo the other men who had approached, “How about we talk over a meal, gentlemen?”
–
Lillian sat in a limousine for the first time in her life. They’d e by taxi to the airport leaving the Uates in order to avoid too much attention but the Japanese seemed to have a different perspective on things. She shifted in her seat and turowards Snow, “What do you think Sonya and that maalking about?”
Snow gnced up at her and made a face, “Hell if I know. They were obviously talking about two things at the same time,” she said with a shrug and a fre of static.
“They were talking about you,” Bandit said from his seat across from them. His dark eyes were fixed on Lillian as he leaned on his knees. He seemed used to croug which wasn’t surprising given that he was ae scout and stealth specialist.
When the party had made their way into the various vehicles waiting for them, Lillian and Snow had been paired off with Bandit while Cass and Alex joined Sapporo. Sonya and Marta had goh several of the politis to speak with them privately as they made their way to whatever restaurant had been chosen. Lillian frowned and thought back about the versation that Sonya had with the man, “Me?” she said thoughtfully, “Something to do with the Prime Minister or the Emperor? That’s a little above my head, don’t you think?”
Bandit smirked, “You’re observant, I heard you were,” he said, “I don’t know much but I have heard that someone close to the Emperor of Japan is something of a fan of yours. They were talking about setting up a ce for this person to meet you, probably in exge for some kind of cession.”
“That’s a bit shady,” Snow said with a frown.
Bandit shrugged, “Sonya said it to me once before so I’ll say it to you now; ‘That’s politics’. You guys don’t realize that you’re already big names and you haven’t even knocked over a dungeon boss. I’ll be ging that while you’re here, by the way.”
Lillia out a sigh, “I k.”