On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

Four Hundred And Seventy-Three

“That’s good. Your accent is a little off, but it’s totally understandable.” Yu-mi chortled, reclining back in her seat. “And you are coming along as well, Eri. Is this really the benefits of Chirurgery?”

“One of them, though as we explained, Eri’s worked harder than just that and had more advantages.” I said in passable Korean, only a couple of words requiring me to use English, as I hadn’t learned them yet on the flight. “But increased memory and learning speed definitely makes a difference when you push it to the maximum.”

Eri agreed. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt and cardigan combo, looking relaxed and satisfied. Yu-mi, in a casual pantsuit, sighed, a touch enviously. “I’m jealous.” Yu-mi protested. “Considering how much we all struggle to learn English, this seems so unfair.”

“It wasn’t hard for me to learn.” Eri pointed out slyly. “After all, I grew up with Akio, and since mother-in-law Emily is British, we naturally learned both languages from an early age. It made classes at school very easy.”

“I’ll bet.” Yu-mi laughed. “I suppose it makes my choice all the more sensible though.” She stifled a yawn. “It was fun, wasn’t it? The club? And I guess what came after, though that wasn’t so fun for me… what a mess.”

“Yeah, maybe I need to hire my own cleaning crew to go around after me…” I managed a slightly off-colour joke that made Eri flush. “We’ll be landing soon. So our relaxation is over.” I looked down to where my phone was, irritated. First thing in the morning I had received a message from Haru, and then ones from Shiro and Shaeula. Christina Bakker had appeared unexpectedly, demanding to see me, and she had brought the kidnapped citizens with her, apparently. What a mess.

“At least she’s under the watchful eye of the others.” Eri commiserated. “Is she as bad as you’ve said?”

“Probably worse. Imagine Ixitt’s excessive curiosity, with a healthy dose of sociopathy and willingness to do unethical, even deadly research. In addition, she’s got deep connections with the Americans who are dealing with Chosen matters.” I could feel a headache coming on. “Such a nuisance. But…”

“At least she’s not a Chosen.” Eri finished, and I nodded.

“No kidding. That would be a nightmare. Though I’d give her fifty-fifty chances of dying or being as strong as me. Great risks and great rewards go hand in hand.”

“The press conference should be starting shortly.” Yu-mi said in Korean, and I nodded. Turning to the TV on the private plane we were on, I pressed the power button and changed the channel to KBS. Soon we were watching a live broadcast of the President of Korea, as well as several heads of important Ministries, the South Korean Army and more.

“It is an unavoidable fact…” Subtitles were turned on to translate to English, but we also followed along with our recently learned Korean as best we could. “…that strange powers have awakened in people all over the world.” The President was saying, his expression grim. “We have seen the results worldwide, in Japan, Britain, and in other countries as well, stories are starting to surface, many small tragedies. Korea is no exception. There have been… rumours…” he continued, his tone stern. “…of troubles affecting a school. Sadly, it was true. These powers come to all, and many are not suited for or responsible enough to wield such dreadful gifts. Is there an answer?”

The leader of the Army spoke next, and I noticed the similarities to the press conference that the Queen of Britain had delivered. Coincidence or not?

“Some have said these people are an ever-present threat to Korea and our way of life.” The speaker, a stern, authoritarian man of middle age, said coldly. “And such fires will only have been fuelled by the actions at the aforementioned Choe-Museon Academy. We have heard voices saying that these people should be quarantined, or worse, wiped out. But matters are hardly so simple.”

“I should say not.” Yu-mi smiled bitterly. “Wiping you out, Akio? I don’t see it happening without appalling casualties.”

“It probably wouldn’t be possible now, through purely Material means.” I shook my head, still watching. “You’d need to take me out in the Boundary as well.”

“So you’re immortal then?” Yu-mi said, surprised, and Eri nodded proudly, though that wasn’t quite right.

“… even if we could wipe out these people with unnatural powers, should we? We all know the words of the Western world, of Britain, and the Pope of the Catholic Church. And indeed, our own people have said that the world will change, with our consent or without it.” The man continued, his words powerful and heavy.

“No, even if my injuries don’t entirely reflect across my subtle bodies, damage will inevitably build up. Nothing is immortal, not even the Gods, I expect. But hard to kill? I suspect I’d give a cockroach a run for its money.”

As Eri and Yu-mi snickered at that unpleasant image, the President was speaking again. “Perhaps our only defence against the changing world is our own people. There are those countries out there which have long eyed us threateningly, which have embraced or conscripted their own citizens of power. And we have seen what they can do, sadly. Fire can only be fought by fire. The situation at Choe-Museon was resolved. Too late, and with too many losses, but…”

Suddenly the press conference cut away, and I frowned. “That’s footage of Choe-Museon…”

The first images were taken from high above, perhaps a low orbit spy satellite, and showed the mind-controlled Korean military being dealt with. This isn’t going to be good. A voiceover in Korean was saying that even the military were helpless against some Chosen. Worse, the images changed again, to a live feed-style recording of my sis and her Golden Sisters, as well as Haru and Ginneka, against the bastard with super speed who ambushed them.

“Isn’t that bad?” Eri said urgently. “Didn’t Aiko’s powers come from…” She glanced at Yu-mi worriedly, and the older girl shrugged.

“If you can’t say, don’t. But I’m in your camp now, Eri. I won’t betray. I can’t.”

“It’s secret.” Eri nodded. “You don’t know the person who used to have the Golden Warriors, but… Akio had no choice, he couldn’t save him, so he took it, and now Aiko can use it to help Akio, help us. But…” The scene changed, to show some other footage, of haggard, wounded children and young adults being taken from the school.

“…but people won’t understand that, right?” Yu-mi finished, narrowing her eyes. “Is it going to be a problem?”

“It’s unlikely that Uchida-san or some of Susanoo won’t see this. So yes, it’s not going to be good.” Damn them, this wasn’t part of the agreement. I clenched my fist, pissed off, and Eri grabbed my other arm to try and console me. It was going to come out sooner or later, Aiko’s becoming more important on the field of battle. Her Golden Sisters are excellent, expendable tanks, which definitely reduce our risk during fights… but this is the worst way for it to happen.

“…the scenes are harrowing, and we have kept you from the worst.” The President said sadly. “But then, not all is evil.” The footage cut to scenes of parents rejoicing, meeting their healed children again. “There is good and bad. And those who have developed these powers are your friends, neighbours, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, fathers and mothers, coworkers and acquaintances. We will not be a party to genocide. However…” he took a deep breath. “…as a government, we owe it to the people to make our country both safe and strong, as we always have. Hence we passed the laws requiring certification as an official Hunter. Rumours and gossip have been spreading about what that entails, but first…”

“We would like to thank our foreign collaborators, for bringing the Choe-Museon incident to a close.” Another man said. “As head of the Ministry of the Interior, Safety and Hunters, we reached out to a known, skilled agent. While our relationships with Japan aren’t cordial…” The image switched again, and I wondered just how they had some of the footage of me. Perhaps they retrieved it from the cameras at the Academy?

“That’s Soo-Ah’s uncle.” Yu-mi frowned, angry. “I’ll give her a piece of my mind. This isn’t the place for this, right?”

I nodded. “While we do want recognition of our support, to shore up relations, showing our abilities in action is quite the breach of our agreement.” I looked at Eri, who sighed.

“You’re not discrete yourself, Akio. And now others are leaking too? This isn’t good… Hinata is going to be furious.”

I nodded. I’m pretty pissed myself. Oh well, the cat is out of the bag, now we have to deal with it. The Minister continued. “…so it is now illegal to utilise any ability beyond human limits, unless one is an officially licenced Hunter, under our Ministry.” Yeah, they’ve adopted a similar pattern to our Ministry for Spiritual Matters. “If people wish to keep themselves to themselves, they can, but they must refrain from using such powers. This goes for foreigners too. Any visitor to Korea must refrain from using abilities, or they will be breaking the law. Oh… obviously, officially sanctioned diplomats such as Oshiro-nim from Japan and his party carry the same rights as Hunters. But unsanctioned use of powers to cause harm or loss to others will be punished with penalties three times in excess of similar unaugmented crimes…”

The conference droned on, and more footage of us was displayed. Fortunately most of it was of me, Shiro and the Korean Hunters, only a little of it low-resolution images of my sis and her party. Even so, the damage was done. As the conference ended, my phone rang, and as expected, it was Hinata.

“Are you watching the news?” Hinata fumed, without any preamble.

“Yes, we’re seeing it now.” I replied, and she continued angrily.

“The agreement was they would only show your images, showing you went to help, and praise our international cooperation! Showing your abilities in action was strictly off limits. Especially Aiko’s! This is going to be really big trouble. After all, everyone at Conclave saw Uchida-san use his Golden Warriors, I remember you saying?”

Eri spoke up as Yu-mi listened intently. “That’s right. I was there. All the representatives did see. This is bad.”

“Fortunately the images aren’t crystal clear. It might buy us some deniability, but… those who know will know.” Hinata finished her thoughts, before growling. “Don’t worry, it’s scant consolation, but I’ll certainly be lodging a protest with the Korean ruling party. Motoko’s grandfather will be doing the same. I’ll get compensation and concessions, but I’d rather not have this trouble.” She sighed bitterly. “Looks like I’ll have to push my flight back to deal with this. Sorry Akio.”

“No, I’m the one who is sorry.” I apologised from the heart. “You’re missing a lot of school due to taking care of my interests, and it must be hard work. Oh, and make sure you do come back today. I want to gather all of you for a meeting, to discuss…”

“The spoils, right? I understand. I donbt there’ll be any that work for me, but I wouldn’t miss the chance to support the others. Although… can the members of Adamant be invited too? It’ll be an opportunity to show off, and increase their loyalty. Besides, maybe some of them might be suitable.”

“That’s not a bad idea.” I agreed. Favours aren’t easy to place. While I’d prefer them to go to my girls, or a friend or member of our family, so long as it is in the hands of someone loyal who supports us, it’s better than lying fallow and just draining my reserves of adherence…

“No, it’s not, in principle.” Eri agreed, speaking into my phone. “But just watch yourself, Hinata. Adamant isn’t entirely a terrible idea, but… we need to manage it together, and make sure Akio doesn’t have any more surprises.”

“I promise.” Hinata giggled, her irritation diminishing for a moment. “I won’t make that mistake again. But… Eri, is everything all sorted out now? Have you and Akio finally understood each other?”

“People are complicated. I dare say we’ll misunderstand each other again in the future, but… we know we love each other, and neither of us are dissatisfied with our choices. Compromise isn’t sacrifice, and dreams can fade, to be replaced by better, brighter dreams, and that’s a cause for joy, not sorrow.”

“That’s great. I’m glad!” Hinata was enthusiastic. “Honestly, we all worried. But we can support each other to get through anything. Oh, Yu-mi, good job on helping out.”

Yu-mi flushed, a little embarrassed. “I didn’t do anything to speak of. Just set the scene, and dropped a few words here and there.”

“Even so, results count in Adamant. You’ve proven yourself useful” Hinata paused. “So, how did you find it? Going from being ordered by your father to marry Akio, to ending up being his subordinate and chaperone in just a handful of days?”

“Honestly? Pretty fun.” Yu-mi giggled softly, though her face was red. “It was so different, yet still the same. Seeing all my friends and acquaintances desperate to interact with Akio and Eri here was amazing. Though some things were embarrassing…”

“Oho. Feeling regret at turning Akio down? Don’t feel too bad. I wavered as well, as did Motoko and Natsumi. But in the end, a leap of faith is all it takes. So, out of curiosity…” Hinata teased. “What was embarrassing?”

“Nothing major. She was just drunk and flashed me a little. Just underwear.”

“To a girl that’s a big thing.” Eri whacked my shoulder gently. “You’d never have been so casual about it before. We have changed.”

“True.” I remember when seeing a bra through Karen-chan’s shirt on a hot day used to make me flustered. I was such a fool back then. You’d have thought I was used to girls, what with Eri and my sis growing up, but… my mindset wasn’t right. It’s amazing how much I have changed in a few months. “But don’t worry, I blotted it out my mind with Eri later.” I grinned, and Eri slapped me again, as Yu-mi pouted, face flushed.

“I don’t regret. I’m not a hasty girl. But I do wonder what would have happened if I had said I was willing, rather than throwing a tantrum and complaining.”

“I hardly think resisting that was complaining.” I pointed out, and Yu-mi shrugged.

“Maybe not, but I still feel ashamed. You never asked for this, and I took it out on you. Instead, you were a gentleman, saved my cousin, and have treated me very well since. It’d be strange if I didn’t think well of you. But again… I’m not a hasty girl, okay?”

“Nor am I a hasty guy. Not now.” As Eri coughed in disbelief, and Hinata laughed on the other end of the phone, I repeated it. “I’m not! I’ve made my peace now. But I do love you all, and want to spend time with you all, and make you all the happiest girls on Earth. No, in the multiverse. So I can’t just go adding more at random. But I also won’t reject the potential of others just because they were pushed towards me. After all… I love you, Hinata. Despite how we started.”

There was an embarrassed pause. “I love you too.” She whispered finally. “You know I do. Which is why I won’t let the Koreans get away with putting our plans at risk!”

“Hinata, what he’s trying to say is… and he has my full support as his first wife, you have people in mind for him. Which is fine. In principle. I’ve already resigned myself to some. But each one we add takes from us. It’s not a sacrifice as we all are willing to shoulder that, and honestly, we’ve come so far already that I don’t believe Akio can’t come up with more solutions to the dilemma of time. I mean, there’s his dual bodies, the fact that the Boundary has time dilation… it’s hardly ideal, but… well, you know what I mean!”

“Yes, I believe in Akio too. We all do.” Hinata said softly. “And we’ll listen to you.”

“Good.” Eri said, satisfied. “So here’s the thing, who have you lined up for Akio?”

There was silence, and Hinata was embarrassed. “It’s hard to say in front of him… can I… tell you privately later?”

“Sure. You should. But if it’s just for gain politically, or for other benefits, then I’m going to go against you.” Eri warned. “They should love Akio, and he should at least like them back. And they need to fit in. Even then, we can’t pressure Akio.”

“Listening to two of your women plot to get you more is scandalous.” Yu-mi chuckled. “But… I get it. It’s like the Naemyeongbu.” She said a Korean term we hadn’t learned. “Basically, back when Korea was in the Josean period, they were the concubines and consorts of the King. With power and authority, come desires, right? And…” she paused, weighing up her thoughts. “I think that the world is going to get very feudal again. It shouldn’t have been possible, technology and wealth distribution made class differences shrink worldwide… but what you can do… it’s the opposite. Eventually cream rises to the top.”

“You’re smart, Yu-mi. I definitely like you!” Hinata declared. “We think the same way. Japan has its nobility, as you know. Not in traditional ways, but by holding financial, political and military power, and working together. But even we are unable to stop the flow of the times. Fortunately we don’t need to. Akio is the King we chose, even if not all of the nobility has realised it yet. The shrines are his, although… the damn Koreans have put that in danger. The nobility… Fujiwara-sama is in his corner. With Miyu as one of his treasured granddaughters, he’s no way to refuse. I control Takatsukasa house, and… Kira-sama is no fool. Mayumi… well, she’s a hassle at times, but I have her on the hook now. Then with Princess Mikasa a good friend of Akio’s and Tsukiko’s… yeah. He’ll be our King in due time!”

“With Adamant, his loyal army of Naemyeongbu, correct?” Yu-mi pointed out, and Hinata snorted.

“Only the ones Akio chooses. I do agree with Eri, much as she may not believe me. I just think that Akio needs loyal followers, and if something more develops, I wouldn’t be sad. After all, we all have our tasks, don’t we Eri? We wouldn’t want Akio to be lonely…”

“My task has been set. After all, even the universe itself has acknowledged my love for Akio is beyond ordinary.” Eri said proudly. “But look, we’ll talk about this after the meeting later.”

“Yeah, I do have to go.” Hinata agreed. “I’m going to rake those idiots over the coals! I’ll see you tonight. Bye Eri, Yu-mi. Bye Akio, love you!”

As she hung up, we exchanged looks. “She has it tough too.” Yu-mi said sympathetically. “Uh… I know you want my dad to keep our connection with you hush-hush, but if there’s anything we can do…”

“I appreciate it. But for now… we’ll have to see what Hinata and the Japanese government say. Besides… we have more pressing worries.” Christina Bakker. Just what I don’t need right now…

“So… Eri.” Yu-mi said, changing the subject. “Do you think you could ever…” she trailed off, but Eri understood.

“I hardly hate you. I’m grateful you tried to help us get through our issues. And I like that you’re a steady girl who isn’t impulsive. I think we can be friends.”

“I’d like that.” Yu-mi agreed happily. “I could use the support as well. After all, I’ll be helping run your Korean branch, right? And those Hunters seem hard to work with…” As Eri and Yu-mi chatted, the TV was now focussed on dry commentary from the news anchors. Fortunately they had little understanding of what was displayed, but it was still troubling. Yeah, in a way it’s definitely good more of the world is starting to bring in laws to regulate Chosen, and raise awareness, but… it causes problems too…

********

“Welcome back.” As I entered the office at Shirohebizumi shrine, Karen-chan greeted me with a smile. The office was bustling with activity, and on seeing us, Shugo-kun came rushing over.

“Hey Akio-kun, Eri-chan… uh…”

“Yu-mi.” she said in English, and Shugo-kun frowned.

“My English is okay, but if I make mistakes, forgive me, okay?”

“No problem!” Yu-mi agreed cheerfully.

“So yeah, we saw the news. That was scary stuff. You okay, man? I know Shiro said you were fine, but…” He trailed off as the aforementioned Shiro walked in, followed by Shaeula.

“Hey, welcome back. Did you have fun?” Shiro winked at us. Eri reddened, but nodded.

“I definitely did. Seoul was very interesting. We brought gifts. But they can wait.”

“Indeed they can-can.” Shaeula agreed, before striding up to Eri and patting her shoulder gently. “But I am pleased. Your eyes… Eri, it seems-seems you have reached a resolution. I like the look in them.”

“I have.” Eri agreed. “Though you might regret it a little. I’m not going to oppose you at every turn, Shaeula, but I am going to make sure you keep your scheming to a certain level of moderation.”

“That is fine.” Shaeula snickered. “I do not-not mind if it is you, Eri. Anyway, I have been waiting. Shiro here tells me you have-have a present for me?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I do. Though it might fail, so don’t get your hopes up. But first…”

Shugo-kun nodded, Karen-chan handing him some files. “We’ve got the answers to the questions you texted Yasaka-san, plus the follow-up research. We couldn’t act on anything until you got back. Oh… by the way, preliminary tests of the Oracle Engine you asked us to build went well. Though there’s still a lot of work before we can think about scaling it up to the next stage.”

As he boasted, I took the documents. “Dorte Andreassen, age twenty-five, a laboratory technician at the Norwegian Research Centre – NORCE. University graduate, in Marine Biology. No particular unusual behaviour reported, other than… hey, how did you get all these files?” I asked. There were sickness records, which showed her absenteeism from work had skyrocketed since July. There was also some photographs. She was a rather pretty woman, though that was offset by her icy blue eyes, which seemed stern and unapproachable.

“It was all public record. Mostly.” Shugo-kun admitted. “But she’s the one you were looking for, it seems. But we haven’t approached her. It won’t be easy. It’s not like you can just message her on Facebook and say ‘hey there, are you a Chosen of Tyr?’ is it?”

“True.” I agreed, while Shaeula and Shiro laughed. Looking at the next file, it was another woman, from Greece, supposedly someone rather famous. That gives me an idea. We can put those siblings to use on this one.

Lastly, there was a final set of files, which was incomplete. “I see. Several locations in America, one in Botswana, and also Australia, as well as another person…” Tracking all these down, even with these details is going to be difficult. “How is Yasaka-san? I should probably go Heal him, but sadly we have a more pressing matter first.”

“If you’re doing it just so you can ask him follow-up questions, he’ll be mad. But yeah, he’s stable but hardly well right now.” Shiro snorted.

“Sadly, I think we need to. Though there’s no way I can spare the time, not with our unexpected visitor. Where is she by the way?”

“Yeah, no kidding. She’s being held at the Ministry right now, under guard. So… the news…” Shiro said, and I nodded.

“We’re dealing with it. But… have we heard anything from any of the shrines and temples yet?”

“Nothing yet, but it’s only been a couple of hours since the report from Korea, and the Japanese TV stations under the control of the nobility didn’t broadcast the footage that showed use of your abilities. They omitted the parts with your sister entirely.” Karen-chan said. “Though several more minor TV stations did air unedited and live footage. And the internet can’t be restrained.” I took another dossier, glancing at it. “So there’s probably a little time.”

“Great. In that case… can you do me a favour and let everyone from Adamant know that we’ll be having an important meeting this evening. That goes for all of you as well.” I said to Shiro and Shaeula, who both nodded. “By the way…” I turned my head, looking outside, where a new series of construction was complete. “Things have really moved on in just a few days.”

“Yeah, Kana’s been busting her ass. Grulgor too.” Shiro agreed. “Makes me happy knowing I’m not the only one. Since I had to rebuff Asha’s Tree the moment I got back. We lost out on some ether, but overall it’s not going to set us back much.”

“In fact, construction is actually ahead of schedule.” Karen-chan pointed out. “The connecting underground station has been installed here, and the tunnel has been dug through to the factory site, though installing lights, the rails and more will take time. The factory is coming along well too. Though the tunnel to your new estate is going to take a lot longer, being as it’s getting on for forty kilometres.”

“I see.” Everything seems to be in hand. In that case… “Shiro, Shaeula… meet me in the Boundary.” I separated my Astral body for the first time since the battle at Choe-Museon Academy. “We’ll move to your mansion by the Spring and I’ll try and get you your gift, Shaeula.” That way we will have some extra time.

As the Fae nodded happily, I turned to Eri and Yu-mi. “Eri, can you orient Yu-mi to my Territory and run her through how things work?”

At her nod, I dealt with a few more minor matters, before ending up in a car, driven by Trey, heading for the Ministry, while in the Boundary, I entered the Ring Gate, Shaeula and Shiro (and more importantly, Tan) in tow. I feel a bit bad attending to all these problems before I’ve even had chance to greet my family and the girls. But I’ll see the girls later in the Boundary, where we are going to have to discuss who can get the Favours I’ve brought back, if anyone can, and I can use my Material body once I’ve met with Christina Bakker and discovered what she wants… There was so much to do, and so little time as always…

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