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  • 📅 February and March 2024 are YE 46.2 in the RP.

RP Ice Cold Candidate

hyralt

Well-Known Member
RP Date
YE 44
RP Location
Ice Queen Sake Facilities, Ice Queen Mountains
"<Aunty, I just don't think this is a good idea,>" a young man spoke in Yamataigo, his voice crackling and sputtering into the air from an ancient comm device that sat on the floor.

The flickering light of the last dying embers of a once-roaring fire in a pit at the centre of the room illuminated the space around it. A cast iron kettle hung from a hook that descended from the utter darkness above the rafters overhead, steam gently curling and dancing out from its spout. The room was bounded on two sides by paper sliding screens and the back wall was also a series of sliding panels, but these were wooden and coated in black lacquer with a gold leaf inlay depicting a tiger crouching in a bamboo forest.

The flickering light from the dying fire made the bamboo leaves look like they were swaying in a breeze, and the same light made the tiger look like it was breathing, ready and about to pounce. The screens that normally made up the fourth wall had been moved aside to open the room up to the crisp night air. The floor of the room was covered in well-worn tatami mats, on which the comm device sat next to a pillow on which Kinoshita Fusako sat, gazing out at the moonlit forest beyond her sake facilities in the Ice Queen Mountains on Yamatai.

"<What do you even know about politics?>" Fusako's nephew asked. Fusako drew a slow breath before she replied.

"<I know that it's too important to be left to the politicians.>" Just then, a dim red bulb lit up on the side of the comm. "<I will call you back if I feel there is more to discuss. I am getting another call.>"

"<My father, no doubt,>" Takashi stated tensely. "<Well, Aunty. I support you, even if I don't think it's a good idea. Good luck.>"

"<Thank you, little one,>" Fusako said before switching over to the incoming call. "もしもし?"

"<Hello, Fusako. How are you?>" An older man's voice barely faded into life over the static hiss. Indeed, he sounded identical to young Takashi, except older.

"<I am not interested in your pleasantries, Akira,>" Fusako told him softly. In the silence of her pause, she heard the waterwheel that powered her facilities creak gently as it turned slowly, propelled by the quiet trickle of the stream that descended from the mountains behind her. "I know why you're calling."

"<Very well,>" Akira said with a sigh. "<I don't think you should run in this election. It will only make you, and by extension our family, look foolish when you lose.>"

"<Then I don't think we have anything more to discuss,>" Fusako said before shutting off the comm. The device flickered and slowly dimmed, leaving the air silent but for the wind in the trees.

Fusako simply breathed for some time, watching as her breath turned to vapour in the cool air of early autumn. Finally, she turned the comm back on and dialed the only reporter she knew.

"Twelve Gauge here," a man's high-pitched and nasal voice snapped, before his rapid-fire Trade speech was interrupted by a yawn. "Do you have any idea what time it is? I've gotta get my beauty rest, y'see. And what are you even using to call me? There's no video."

"I understand you do your best work without video, Gauge-san," Fusako replied with a smirk, her own Trade had a slight but detectable Yamataigo accent. "You don't know me, but I am Kinoshita Fusako. I make Ice Queen Sake, and I am considering a venture into politics after the recent resignation of the Imperial Premier. Would you be able to publish an article announcing my campaign?"

"Hell no," she could practically hear him spitting. "That's Yam news, ain't got nothing to do with me."

"I will send you a crate of sake," she offered. For a moment, nothing but static came from the comm speaker.

"The answer is still no," he said, softer this time, but no less rapidly. He spoke like a well-maintained fully-automatic rifle. "But for a crate of sake, I'll put you in contact with a buddy of mine our your way. Owes me a favour."

"Thank you Gauge-san," Fusako smiled. "You can expect the crate the day after you introduce me to your contact."

"That fast? You know I'm in Funky City, right?"

"If there's one thing I know, Gauge-san, it's how to move sake. I look forward to hearing from you again."

Once again, Fusako shut off the ancient comm device and it instantly went silent, but its light slowly dimmed over the next minute. Fusako sighed softly, and wondered what the coming months would bring.
 
Fusako's mind drifted for some time. Exactly how long, she couldn't tell. That was how things were in the middle of nowhere. She knew when to get up to start work, well before sunrise, and she knew when to dismiss her employees, well after dark, and finally when to end her own day, much later. But exact times or how long things took, she was never sure.

A thought brought her mind back to the idea of her candidacy for Premier, and this thought brought with it a name of someone whom she had met some time ago, who had arranged the production of her sake in such large quantities she could hardly fathom. Never before or since had her sake been produced or distributed on such a scale, and it was all for a gift to each and every member of the Star Army for the occasion of Love Day last year.

For what Fusako hoped was the final time this evening, she switched the comm unit on and dialed Motoyoshi-Ieyasu Taro. "I wonder if he will take my call," Fusako mused to herself.

 
A volumetric image of green-haired Minkan in a Star Army Uniform appeared next to the comm unit, "Strange, I was just thinking about you. How are you Fusako? I'm not sure if you heard but I'm about to head out into the great unknown. I could sure use a rush order before I go if it wouldn't be too much," Taro said with a wide smile. He remembered his trip to the Ice Queen fondly, he had ordered from them for Takeda House and several of the other ventures along with a frequent case or two for himself or a gift. "You called me though, what can I do for you?" he asked.
 
Fusako bowed her head to the volumetric image. "Good evening, Taro," Fusako felt a little uncomfortable referring to him by his given name, but she appreciated the lack of formalities he showed her, and wished to respond in kind. "I hope it is not too late, where you are. I had not heard that you were about to depart. This timing is most fortunate. I will send you a selection of my finest vintages from my cellar. If I have them delivered to the Uesureyan Fortress in Kyoto, will they know how to get them to you?"

Fusako paused only long enough to clear her throat before she continued. "Indeed, I called you because I have my own favour to ask. I intend to put my name forward as a candidate for Premier. I pale in comparison to the former Premier, of course, but nevertheless I feel I will make an excellent Premier. Which brings me to my point. I have the will, determination, and means to accomplish this task, but I lack the knowledge of how to put my name on the lips of the citizens of our great empire.

"Once upon a time, you helped me put my sake on the lips of all the Star Army personnel. Would you be able to help me scale up my campaign in a similar way?"
 
Taro nodded and replied, "It might be easier if you just ship them to Motoyoshi-jo, our castle just outside of Kyoto. We have Samurai moving back and forth right now, half the clan has its tail in a twist." It was good to see her, at least some things didn't change. He heard what she had to say next though and he had to take pause.

"Fusako, I would help you do just about anything. You've been good to me, and I don't forget that. I can have my son hook up with you to help with the campaign, he is staying behind to Govern Jiyuu," he then took a breath before he continued, "Though I would not be much of a friend if I didn't give you fair warning. The Senate is a steaming pile of excrement right now, I wouldn't wish the job Katsuko had on Melisson, and we all know what I think about the Mishhuvurthyar," he of course was going to have to explain. His arms folded over his chest and he sighed. "There is a nasty effort being made by some in the Senate to change Yamatai, and I don't mean an increase in taxes. I mean an outright switch to some kind of democratic state or constitutional monarchy where the Empress is reduced to some kind of symbolic tot," he explained, "Katsuko ended up at the end of his barrel because of her convictions, I'm not saying you will but I figured I should give you fair warning. These Iemochi people have taken up a place in key areas in the Star Army as well, and the same story is everywhere. It is why what was supposed to happen years from now is happening with this mission we're on," he gave a thoughtful pause.

Taro then gave a bright smile, "I'm not trying to talk you out of it, you're a determined woman. You might even be a little better suited for it than my dear orchid was. I can have Tetsuya help you out, and we can get some flashy YTP Entertainment concerts and a big rally set up for you to help announce your candidacy," he offered, "If you're willing and in need, I'd be happy to provide a Samurai or Keibi detail to you, plain clothes of course - we don't need to bring complications to anything," He waited to see what she would say anxiously.
 
Fusako sat quietly and listened, nodding slowly as Taro explained.

"Very well, I will make my selections tonight and send one of my employees first thing in the morning. Expect them at Motoyoshi-jo by the end of day tomorrow.

"I would appreciate your son's help very much, I will endeavour to absorb what I can of his wisdom in these matters. Concerts and a rally would be most appropriate. I'm sure that a Samurai or Keibi will not be necessary. I can't imagine anyone trying to kill an old sake maker such as myself.

"Please accept my deepest appreciation for your concern and your warning, I value your opinion very much. As for my political stance, I'm sure I don't need to convince you that I'm the last person who would want to change the things that make the Empire great. You have seen my facilities. I am a strong believer in only fixing what is broken."
 
Taro nodded and then, "I will have Tetsuya get in touch with you." He understood what she was telling him, "The offer will always be open, things change every day. Everything has happened so fast. I think if she could do it, Katsuko would fold the entire Colonial Sector with us. Hopefully, her spouse will help with that. She can be like a storm when she is emotional," He was always the one to worry about his family, one of the burdens of being the Clan's true leader was that when Katsuko was hurt or tired the weight fell back on him even more. "I look forward to receiving the order, if I find anything I think that will interest you out there among the stars I might send something back. I certainly will visit if I ever return," he dropped his arms to his sides, "Do me a favor, keep making that wonderful sake of yours even if you dive into politics full time, what you have there is special. I still believe food and drink can bring anyone together, and Yamatai needs that right now." He waited to see if there was anything else she had to say or needed.
 
"I look forward to hearing from Tetsuya and seeing what you find," Fusako smiled. "I took my first vacation in decades recently. Consider it a dry-run for leaving my employees to run my facilities. My apprentice's sake is not the same as mine, for the soul of the sake maker is imparted into every batch. But it is of the highest quality, and I would have been proud if I had made it myself. Most importantly, it was made using the old ways."

Fusako bowed once more to Taro's image.

"Good night, Taro. I wish you well on your journey. Drink my sake and think of me when you do."
 
"Goodnight Fusako, Tell you what, I'll make sure I have a cup of your sake in my hand the first time I sit in the chair again, " he bowed solemnly to his friend and then ended the transmission.
 
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