Overdue premotion

Ryuko sat upright on her throne trying her best to look regal as she wore one of her nicest dresses. Typically she liked to lounge a bit when dealing with less important matters but today she was dealing with the kind of state matters that she couldn’t afford to slack off with since she was about to perform a rank up ceremony.

Given that she was close to the people being ranked up she didn’t want someone to accuse her of favoritism if she showed more decorum here then she did with other ceremonies which she had always taken seriously in the past. The only difference here was that she hadn’t told the recipient in question they were about to be promoted, wanting to leave it as a surprise. She had merely called on them to come see here and right now she was just waiting for them to arrive so she could begin.

With Shimiko retiring and Tamwyn leaving the village to wander she was short on Jounin at the moment and so had turned to the most promising candidates among the Chunnin to promote. Honestly speaking she wished it hadn’t come to this and that she could have promoted them sooner somehow so that it wouldn’t seem like she was only doing it as some kind of last ditch replacement to fill in the gaps.

Normally there would be a test of some kind but the Twins were more than qualified for the job and had proven themselves with the deft way they had taken over running the Orthodox Church of Jashin. Yui and Yua had both come a long way since the Queen had first met them all those years ago, In every regard Ryuko couldn’t have been more proud of the progress they had made.

[1]

The twins had been summoned by big sister Ryuko to come to her office, they did wonder just what she was planning. Maybe they had earned some sort of prize but they were unsure what the prize would be, they had been quietly doing things for the village like changing the Jashin religion as well as making sure the true scum were taken care of without leaving trails. They pair would knock on the door and enter the office as Yua would smile and wink at Ryuko with Yui giving a light bow.

"We have arrived as requested, if my brother did something dumb I am sorry he's just a playboy and doesn't mean to offend people."

"I take that personally sis what says it isn't about you, you may act all innocent but you are quite the freak."

She would scowl at her brother before they would both laugh, they were certainly a unique pair, to say the least. Not at all orthodox people to become a Jounin but sometimes you needed special people to do special jobs, those two were quite suited for certain tasks.

"I am sure you called us here for a reason how can we be of assistance Empress Ryuko, are we going to take out the worthless Damiyo system from the nation yet ?"

While it was true that a woman of Ryuko’s status did have several offices in the village the current location they where in wasn’t one of them. Normally that was where she normally would have taken a meeting with the twins since she preferred the more intimate setting when among family but today she wanted to make a spectacle of things, to show to people of her village how special the twins really were.

Seeing the two of them snipe at each other like that reminded Ryuko of a simpler time, years ago when she was still a relatively innocent and naive girl, not the battle hardened politician that she had become now. Things had been so much simpler then back when she hadn’t had to worry about the fate of an entire nation. How she missed the days when she ran around with her teammates doing missions, now she hardly ever had the opportunity to step outside the village.

“Tis Queen not Emperess.” Ryuko gently chided, cringing slightly at being called the wrong title. The distinction was an important one. A Queen ruled over a country or sometimes a group of countries such as the United Kingdom. An Empress ruled over two or more countries often gained through the spoils of war.

Technically Ryuko could have chosen to be called either. The land of lightning had conquered the land of Frost by force years ago when the previous Raikage Nariko had taken the Damiyo’s head. Since then though it had expanded though more peaceful means acquiring The Land of Snow with the full consent of its citizens. When Ryuko had merged the three lands into the Kingdom of Thunder she had named the new country such as a delecartation of her intent. Mainly that she wasn’t setting out to conquer further lands. Despite that some people called her the Lightning empress anyhow, a fact that she disliked but could do little about since she had no intention of acting like a tyrant if she could avoid it.

“Are you feeling well? You didn't eat anything funny did you?” Ryuko asked with a touch of concern in her voice. “I overthrew the Daimyo system a couple years ago. You were here for my coronation.” She hadn’t wanted to toss the old Daimyo on his ass but his corruption and refusal for her to become the Raikage after Nariko had nominated her for the post had left Ryuko with no choice but to force his hand.

Frankly he was lucky to still be alive. Most rulers wouldn’t tolerate a potential threat to their legitimacy like that. Ryuko already had plenty of blood on her hands so what would have been one more death really? It was only by the grace of her god Hakkin that she had spared him.

“Yuu..., Yui.” Ryuko said each of their name one at a time, pausing between to take a good look at them. “You have provided exemplary services to this country in the time since I ascended to the throne. Few are called upon to become Jounin and tis my distinct honor to now add you to those elite ranks. Congratulations, I couldn’t be more proud of you.” said Ryuko as she clapped her hands prompting the crowds of onlookers to begin applauding.

A moment later a servant came out carrying two pairs of Cuirass and Hauberk that Ryuko had personally crafted for the twins. This was high A grade equipment just one step short of the kind of armor the queen wore herself. The truth was that she had made this for them shortly before she had disappeared and hadn’t found a good time to give it to them until now.

“May this gift protect you in your new role.” She said ceremoniously as the servant held out the gear for the twins to take. Ryuko only wished that she could have presented them with something even better but her duties often kept her away from the forge and she’d had a hard time procuring new equipment with Damian gone. She’d been meaning to speak to his wife Kara but finding the right time to do so had proven tricky so far since she was always busy with some business or other.

“Do you have any requests for me?” Ryuko asked. The village had a large treasury at the moment and she was hoping to use some of it to provide for the needs of her men. The tricky part sometimes was knowing what exactly they wanted or needed. She could buy things blindly but that was a fairly risky prospect at best.

[2]

Transferring Ownership of the following items to Yua and Yui.
Knight Cuirass x2
Superior Hauberk x2

There was no warning of what was to come, thought that didn’t stop the Queen from blaming herself for not noticing the early warning signs of the plague coma sooner.  One minute the Twins had stood at attention as she spoke to them and the next they had crumpled towards the floor like a pair of puppets with their strings cut.   Ryuko felt her mind go blank for a split second at the sight but that wasn’t enough to stop her from reacting.  Bolting from her throne she managed to catch the twins before their unconscious bodies could hit the cold floor of the audience chamber,  placing them down gently on the red carpet that ran through the center of the room instead so that she could give them a quick examination.

Part of her prayed that this was something else, anything else then the plague.  It had been so long since the last wave had struck that she had almost forgotten that it was even still an active threat.  Seeing the Twins lying on the ground was a sobering reminder that it was still all too real.

Almost anything else such as fainting from fatigue would have been preferable.  It was true that the Plague coma wasn’t quite as deadly as it had been back when the pandemic had first started all those years ago. For one it didn’t kill people during the first few months if they received proper treatment.   In addition fewer people were catching it overall.  

The problem was that for the vast majority of those that did showed no signs of waking even after being kept at the hospital for years.    Before the war had even begun she’d lost one of her students Eli that way. Despite all the time that had passed the young woman had shown zero signs of waking.  She wasn’t dead but she wasn’t alive either.   It was in Ryuko’s opinion a terrible fate, one she wouldn’t wish even on her enemies.

Whenever it happened to someone in her country it made her feel so powerless. Seeing it happen here was a thousand times worse than normal though.   On a professional level losing potential Jounin when she was still trying to rebuild the village’s command structure that had been devastated by the war strung but on a personal level seeing them like this was devastating.  

If she treated Shimiko like a sister then Yui and Yua were her Niece and Nephew.  They were for all intents and purposes the only real family she had left since she was estranged from her actual birth parents who had wanted nothing more but to use her existence to further their own political agenda.  

Was this crushing feeling of abject horror that felt like a knife was stabbing her what the Twins had felt when Ryuko had collapsed in front of them at the restaurant all those years ago?   Her hands glowing green with medical chakra the Queen tried her best to revive them but to no avail.   All of her training and all of her wealth meant nothing in the face of this disease.

“Please Rafaela help them!” begged the Queen, her voice tinged with desperation as tears streaming down her face.   Since coming back from the place that was an endless time and immeasurable distance away the First Vestal had been oddly quiet, not butting in to add her own two cents the way she had before.    

Still the two of them were linked, two souls in the same body that had slowly begun to blur together at the edges so that it was sometimes hard to say where one ended and the other began.  Until Ryuko gained full control of the power inside of her she would slowly be eroded with each use until she invariably faded away and yet the danger to her very existence was not enough to deter her.  This was all she had left that might be able to help the twins and wake them up again.

There was a long moment of silence before a voice inside of her that only Ryuko could hear spoke up.  “At full power I might be able to do something for them, or I might not.   The main type of healing I can typically bestow on others is the physical regeneration of wounds.   Hard to say if that will be effective against a viral infection.”  Rafaela demurred.   Her power was beyond that of most medical jutsu to the point it was often referred to as miraculous but even so it still had its limits.    After all she was a Saint not a God.

“But even if I could, Why should I help them?” asked Rafaela pointedly. “I mean sure, I guess they are ok people as far as Jashinist go which is why I’m willing to tolerate their presence near us but that’s as far as I’m willing to go.”  said the Vestal.  In her own way she was being monogamous just allowing the Twins to be around her.  The Church of Hakkin and Jashin had a long history of rivalry, being the founder Rafaela was there at the start of it all and her hatred of Jashin and his followers who had tormented her ran deep.

It if were up to Rafaela the Worship of Jashin in the Kingdom of Lightning would be banned and the Cathedral built in Kumogakure would have been burnt to the ground.  She was too merciful to outright wish for their deaths but that didn’t mean she liked having hertics in her presence.  The way they worshiped the spilling of blood and the pain they inflicted on others was despicable in her eyes.

“Things are different now Rafaela. People change, religions change. The Twins have been working hard to reform the church, the Jashinist aren’t nearly as bad as they were in your day anymore.”  argued Ryuko passionately.

“My head knows that, but after over a thousand years convincing my heart is a different matter.” replied Rafaela shaking her head sadly. “Of course if it’s you asking I think I might be willing to make an exception just the once...” she added with a wan smile. “Assuming you can gain control, that is….” she continued leaving the part about if Ryuko had the guts to try unspoken.

The both of them knew that the Queen had put countless hours of preparation and planning towards the final test.  When going to face a god it was wise to not leave any stone unturned.  Ryuko had personally built the best armor with her own two hands, sourced legendary weapons and scounged for Forbidden Jutsu for years  just to be ready.   But the truth was if she was fighting the real thing and not just an avatar then no amount would ever be enough.  This was a God she would be facing, by definition a fair fight with one was impossible, hence the need for Hakkin to restrict his power so that she would have at least a sliver of a chance of coming out on top.

The truth was Rafaela had a soft spot for her host.  Ryuko was like the daughter she’d never had in life, and out of all the Vestal she had possessed over the years the Queen was the first to display the potential to surpass her.  In light of that, putting aside her admonisty for the Jashinist seemed like a trivial thing if it made Ryuko happy.

Of course getting control would be no easy feat. Even with his power diminished in his avatar state, facing Hakkin would be like facing the equivalent of a Bijuu in all of its glory.  Ryuko was strong but that was only by human standards.  It was almost like pitting an ant against an elephant.  Normally you’d think she’d have no chance but if she could somehow transform into a mouse she just might find a way to victory.

Of course even now nobody could blame her for backing out.   To face God in the test meant to risk your life.  Even worse in Ryuko’s case she was risking her very soul.    If one was erased they would be removed from the cycle of death and rebirth, only oblivion awaited them.   A worse fate Rafaela could hardly conceive.

She herself was a step removed from the typical cycle.  Instead of reincarnating directly she remained a spirit attaching herself to a new host each generation in order to preserve her power and her knowledge.  Perhaps if Ryuko did surpass her she would be able to let go and move on to the next stage but was her own peace worth risking the Queen’s very existence to accomplish?  

She would live again, rising like a phoenix but would it be worth the steep price?  Rafaela had no answers to those questions, rather she wished she would never have to know such answers.  If only they lived in an age of peace where her powers would not be needed then the Queen could live without the need to subject herself to such risky trials.

“Just watch me….” Ryuko muttered as she picked up the twins and carried them out of the Castle and over to the village’s hospital.  The Place had an infirmary but it wasn’t equipped for the type of long term cary a coma plague victim would require.    For now all she would ensure they received top of the line treatment.  Hopefully it wouldn’t be long now until the last pieces of her grand strategy fell into place.  

It would be all too easy to give up in despair, and yet she persisted.

[3]

[exit - Taking Yui and Yua to the hospital]

Control Fight Preperation post part 1.   1606 out of 8000.