Chapter 27
Parking lot of Ogiya Inn, Subashiri, Oyama, Sunto District, Shizuoka
May 13, 2013
6:27 P.M.
Ohta Ichigo
“What was that about human breeding herds?” Minister Onodera asked Juin Myoi in an appalled manner.
“Everyone, pardon me!” I suddenly shouted to get everyone’s attention. Once I saw I did get the attention I wanted I told them I wanted to take my daughter back to our current place of residence in light of the fact that the conversation has taken a turn into extremely unsuitable topics for children to hear.
“Alright. I will tell you the details of what they talked about later, Ichigo,” Izanami immediately said while waving me goodbye.
That left everyone human, mortal and part of the government looking at each other for a few moments before someone finally took initiative.
“Alright. Suzumoto, escort these two back to the police koban. The kid doesn’t need to learn what I think is going to be discussed right about now.”
“Yes sir!” Major Suzumoto responded.
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The three of us walked through the tent opening and started to walk through the parking lot towards the unlighted road that would take us towards the police koban, with our only source of illumination the LED flashlight on his cellphone that the Major would turn on the moment we got out of the parking lot.
I took that moment to have a look around the parking lot, which was illuminated by the headlights of all the vehicles currently inside the parking lot and parked on the road beside the parking lot.
The Type 96 APC’s and Type 87 RCV’s were still parked there, joined by the Type 73 Medium and Light Trucks that the 13th Infantry Regiment used as transport to get here in Subashiri.
Self Defense Forces troops were walking everywhere, armed with Type 89 rifles of both the black colored ordinary ones and Krauncha’s grey and bronze colored Magic Indian Specials…and some Smellie rifles, to my surprise.
And in the middle of the park was a table where Krauncha was creating more and more items that were being stockpiled in wooden crates that one of the armorers from before were labelling with brush and ink.
And after the armorer was finished with his labelling, he would lean in and say something into the ears of a waiting Self Defense Forces member. And then said member would start carrying the crate out to locations in Subashiri I was not privy to, escorted by another member using a flashlight or their cellphone for illumination.
“Ichigo, what are you waiting for?” Major Suzumoto asked me, his cellphone’s LED flashlight already turned on.
“Papa, let’s go back to Mama and the others,” Ao added in, from right beside the Major.
Chastised, I quickly followed them.
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The three of us arrived to see a peculiar, and somewhat concerning, sight on the street in front of the Police Koban.
The street was illuminated by the combined light of tens of candles scattered equidistantly all around the two sidewalks around it.
There were several people watching the event in the middle of the street. From the inside of the parking lot serving as the police koban’s front yard was Mom, standing there with her arms crossed over her chest. From the inside of the Police Koban, Dad and Kentaro were looking through the windows of the second floor, with no lights illuminating in the background.
And through the doorway of the ground floor, Police Officer Wakaba Shiori was…asleep, her head laying on top of a table while sitting on the most comfortable looking chair inside the Police Koban.
And in the middle of the street was Magdalena and my wife, practicing what I recall Magdalena called…Arnis.
‘Still feels like I made a mistake when I didn’t ask more about it. I wonder why, when I am well trained in Jukendo and had some practice with the pre-2008 hand to hand combat system.’
Right now Kurumi was desperately trying to block Magdalena’s strikes with her own stick, but she was only succeeding half the time. The other times she was too late to block, and Magdalena would lightly and silently hit Kurumi’s body.
Magdalena all of a sudden stopped swinging her stick, and told Kurumi two unfamiliar words, followed by saying that Ao and I are here.
‘What does bigay pugay mean?’
Kurumi was left with her arm in midair, trying to block a stick that will never swing at her left leg. A moment later she held her stick to her chest in an upright position and bowed towards Magdalena. And then she turned around and looked at us.
“Hello Mama! Are you ok?” Ao asked as she waved at her mother.
Kurumi took a few breaths first before she gave an answer.
“Sorry. Just tired dear. Are you finished with making predictions?”
“Uh…I don’t think so. Papa said I should go home because…the words they are speaking are not good for children?”
Kurumi looked at me with raised eyebrows at what my daughter said.
“The conversation became very child unfriendly because of supernatural beings on the other side of the communications device used.”
“…did she learn any new words I don’t want to hear from her mouth?”
I thought about it for a second or so before giving my honest answer to that question.
“I don’t know. She heard new words that when separated and used in other contexts aren’t…for adults only. But combine these particular words and you would be marching there right now in anger. Look, I’ll tell you about it. Let’s go inside now?”
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Subashiri Police Koban, Subashiri, Oyama, Sunto District, Shizuoka
May 13, 2013
6:41 P.M.
Ikeda Kurumi
As we all walked inside I noticed Police Officer Wakaba, who had silently and wordlessly passed by earlier while Mama and I are training in Arnis, was seemingly waking up from a nap.
“Good evening, officer. I hope we aren’t disturbing you,” Ichigo said with a bow towards her, an act that all of us performed immediately.
“Well, not really. It is my job to help civilians. But I do have a question, and I hope it doesn’t offend you folks.”
“Sure, what is it?” I asked, while wondering why we are going to feel offended by a question from a police officer.
“Until when do your families plan to sleep here in this Police Koban? Properly speaking this Police Koban isn’t an evacuation facility, neither is the town hall branch down the road. All you patients and family members of the patients from JGSDF Camp Fuji Regional Hospital were only settled into those places because they are the only locations open in the middle of the night. But right this evening, me and my co-workers are starting to perform a proper evacuation. Of everyone in Subashiri, including you folks. So, the proper evacuation facilities are Oyama Subashiri Junior High School and Oyama Subashiri Elementary School.”
‘Oh. So that’s why we would feel offended.’
“I presume you are asking if they are going to move to either of those two school facilities as soon as possible?” Major Suzumoto asked.
“Well, I should. A Police Koban isn’t a proper place for a family to sleep in for longer than necessary. Even I don’t sleep here overnight, but in a room that was for rent near here.”
Before Major Suzumoto managed to say something, Mama preempted him by making her own response.
“We can make do as long as there is running water, officer,” she proudly said towards office Wakaba. “Also, there is a reason we can’t evacuate with the other civilians away from the Self Defense Forces.”
“A reason that is classified, so please don’t bother to ask,” Major Suzumoto quickly added.
Officer Wakaba’s response to those words was to raise her eyebrows, and then shrug.
“Well, if that’s what you people insist on. When you folks need to evacuate, you know where to find us. I’ll leave for my current home now, so I bid everyone here goodbye. Oh, and please preserve the cleanliness of the Police Koban while you are all residing here, and extinguish the fires in the street in front of the building. They are fire hazards.”
After saying that she bowed to us, and then walked out of the building.
“Well, that feels…mildly rude,” Mother commented.
“So it is, Mother,” I said while shaking my head. “So it is.”
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Subashiri Police Koban, Subashiri, Oyama, Sunto District, Shizuoka
May 13, 2013
6:44 P.M.
Ohta Ichigo
As I helped Dad walk down the stairs, with Kentaro behind us to provide any assistance, I wondered…about what we are going to eat for dinner.
We did, after all, just removed ourselves from the responsibility of the civilian authorities in charge of the evacuation and had placed ourselves into the responsibility of the Self Defense Forces.
Which means now we might start eating combat rations from now on.
A moment later I realized that might be another issue left by the battle a few days earlier. I doubt there were enough combat rations left locally due to the absolute devastation caused by Konohanasakuya hime, and I don’t know how much of their own rations the 13th Infantry Regiment had brought.
That was why when I saw Izanami in the lobby of the Police koban the first thing that came to mind was if politely asking her to give us some food was rude, quickly followed by how to ask her.
It was rendered a moot point when I heard Izanami’s next words, aimed towards my wife, Mom and Magdalena.
“You only want raw ingredients, cooking utensils and chopped wood? I could have cooked food present in a few seconds, you know?”
“Well…how do I say this,” Kurumi said in a slightly embarrassed tone.
“We’re housewives. We can do the cooking ourselves, we just need the tools,” Magdalena suddenly said.
“Magdalena,” Mom groaned as Kurumi sighed and started to bow to Izanami and apologize for Magdalena’s words.
“Honesty is the best policy, you know?” Magdalena defended herself.
“There is being honest, and then there’s being rude. Guess which one you just did was?” Mom retorted.
“Being honest with someone who might be able to read minds.”
Mom was left open mouthed, unable to give a reply to that very reasonable answer. And in the background, Izanami stopped Kurumi from apologizing while Ao and Major Suzumoto silently looked on from their seats.
“It’s alright, I understand that you three have your pride as homemakers, and are not sure of the safety of ready to eat food created with magic. I understand, I understand. It is just…please understand that I have some vague limits to what I can make if you are asking for raw ingredients, ok?”
As I helped Dad sit down on one of the chairs, I heard my wife, Mom and Magdalena start listing what they wanted.
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Subashiri Police Koban, Subashiri, Oyama, Sunto District, Shizuoka
May 13, 2013
7:32 P.M.
Ikeda Kurumi
A plain white, rectangular porcelain platter with a mound of hard boiled quail eggs I peeled one by one.
A cast iron pot filled with Mother’s cooked rice.
A thick, unglazed earthenware pot filled with a soup Mama called tinola, but a version involving quail meat, Chinese cabbage, shishito pepper, garlic and ginger.
Several unadorned bronze fork and spoon sets, a threesome of Chinese spoons for serving purposes, a wooden rice paddle, and plain white porcelain bowls for our usage.
The candles we had earlier used for illumination during arnis practice, moved indoors from the sidewalks outside and placed at the four corners of the room for illumination.
And outside, in the police koban’s parking lot, was the extinguished log fire that Izanami used to cook our dishes.
Yes, Izanami, because she had been honest with us earlier and told us she will do all the fire related stuff, because she said we don’t know anything about camp fires.
Anyways, what was present was the result of all our efforts.
“Dinner is served!” I announced to everyone as Mother finished putting the rice filled pot beside the platter and the earthenware pot on top of a wet rag in the middle of the table placed there to prevent any heat damage to the plastic tables of the police koban.
“Thank you all for inviting me to your table,” Major Suzumoto said as everyone, including Izanami, started to take turns putting viand and rice into their bowls.
“No problem, Suzumoto. We’re friends,” Papa replied in a good natured way.
‘And because since you are technically Ao’s co-worker, it doesn’t hurt to make you feel appreciated.’
“Major Suzumoto, if I may ask a question of you?” Izanami suddenly asked, a reversal of roles where it was the Major who was asking Izanami a question.
“About?”
“From what I heard earlier, I gained the impression that you and the government had been fully informed of all the terms of the Chains of 1171.”
“...yes. We learned it from interrogating Krauncha around last week.”
“Then could you please tell me what those terms are? I…think I have a need to know now.”
“Wait a moment please,” Ichigo suddenly interrupted. “Major, is said topic child friendly enough to be heard by Ao?”
‘I should’ve thought of that.’
It took the Major a few seconds before answering the question.
“Well, in movie rating terms I would say it is PG12. So safe enough I would let my nonexistent child listen in on my explanation.”
“Non-existent? You, uh, didn’t get married Suzumoto?” Papa asked. Mama immediately pinched his right arm.
“Oy, that’s too personal,” Mama said.
“It’s alright, Mrs. Ikeda. It’s not too personal. To answer your question Ikeda, I had two exes so far. They can’t stand the life of a Self Defense Forces member’s significant other,” Major Suzumoto grumbled.
Mother, who herself was one example of a Self Defense Forces member’s significant other until this morning, suddenly had this smug smile on her face for a few moments before it fell away and she turned to ladling viand and rice into Father’s bowl.
Father glumly and silently watched as Mother put hard boiled quail eggs as a partner for the rice, unable to do it himself because of his shaking hands.
‘Can Father feed himself, or does Mother have to do it for him?’
Once Mother finished, everyone recited the customary itadakimasu and promptly started to eat.
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Subashiri Police Koban, Subashiri, Oyama, Sunto District, Shizuoka
May 13, 2013
8:00 P.M.
Ohta Ichigo
“And that…is the so called Chains of 1171,” Major Suzumoto said, ending his explanation of what this famous, or infamous, treaty was about by sucking a piece of Chinese cabbage and soup into his mouth.
And I didn’t like what I heard.
“Why does that so called treaty sound like…it was something that a child Ao’s age might come up with?” I asked with much skepticism.
My sentiment was echoed by the facial expressions of roughly…every adult inside the police koban, even Major Suzumoto himself despite it being him who provided the information about the topic.
Major Suzumoto swallowed his food before answering me.
“Krauncha told me it was because the majority of the Known Area polities are autocratic monarchies. With most of the responsible adults dead or extremely injured, with everyone of any age in a magical society being functionally armed to the teeth all the time, and any remaining adult heads of state not bothering to intervene in the fiasco happening to their rivals or were even trying to take advantage of it, no one was able to do the sane thing and tell the surviving, underaged and underprepared heirs they should let the adults perform the negotiations.”
“...Suzumoto that is insane,” Kentaro remarked after gulping down his spoonful of soup drenched rice. “It’s like…”
“The American movie ‘Home Alone,’ national politics version with corresponding effects,” Magdalena provided as an answer to her husband’s search for a description.
‘Home Alone? Where did I…oh. That movie set during Christmas with a child against burglars.’
“Yes. What Magdalena said,” Kentaro lamely answered.
“I know, Ikeda. I know. But it already happened, so what can I even do about it?” Major Suzumoto grumbled.
As Major Suzumoto returned to his bowl, I thought further about the treaty that was the root cause of my family’s difficulties at this very moment.
The Chains of 1171 had the following articles.
First, no one from Earth, member of the supernatural community or not, was allowed to go into the place called by the aliens ‘The Known Area.’ If they are found to have done so, Earth shall be made to suffer the consequences in the form of mass casualty events conducted by the collective might of the Known Area signatories. On the other hand, no such restrictions apply to the citizens of the Known Area.
Second, all conflicts between the Known Area signatories of the Chains of 1171 from that point on will be resolved on Earth by single combat between selected champions, in a selected area and selected time and with selected boundaries. Any violation will be met by the collective might of the rest of the signatories.
Third, additional signatories from the Known Area who had never participated in the war of 1171 are allowed to join with the only requirement being the consent of two original or senior signatory members.
Fourth, the Supernatural Community of Earth is forbidden from interfering with the activities of the people of the Known Area unless their homes and places of worship are being damaged on the pain of targeted retaliation being visited upon mortals and vulnerable members of the Supernatural Community related to the violator by the collective might of the Known Area signatories. On their part, Known Area citizens are also forbidden from interacting with the Supernatural Community unless it is under the orders from the collective treaty members of the Chains of 1171 for the purposes of diplomacy.
Fifth, the Supernatural Community of Earth is to avoid any meaningful interaction with the mortals of Earth from that point onwards. Any interactions will be cause for retaliation to be visited upon the mortals and vulnerable members of the Supernatural Community related to the offending party by the collective might of the Known Area signatories.
Sixth, the mortals of Earth are forbidden from learning knowledge of the Known Area, and the Chains of 1171. Any Earth mortal who is discovered to have proper knowledge of said subjects will be killed, and have their souls be deliberately destroyed.
Seventh, the treaty as it was written and agreed upon will be forever as it was.
‘And of all those articles, it was the most normal sounding one that dragged us into this mess.’
The treaty immediately suffered difficulties in implementation because the people of the Known Area had never factored into their plans the faith of human mortals in the first place, or the fact humans can’t feel magic so humans can’t definitively say divine or magical intervention had or had not happened after they had prayed for something.
Then later on implementation became more difficult when it was the Known Area signatories themselves who wanted to change something in the treaty, because the leaders were embarrassed of this example of their childhood being a monument to how childish they once were and much later on when the Known Area signatories simply no longer wanted to be held to the creation of literal children.
“So why…is treaty…in ples…up to now?” Dad asked in his now normal halting manner, after swallowing the last piece of rice and quail egg that Mom had fed him.
“Because apparently the Chains of 1171 served to create an era of unprecedented peace for the Known Area signatories thanks to the second article, as well as to permanently restrict the power of the most numerous group of...High Magic, Pantheon beings ever known to the Known Area.”
“Peace? Through deciding conflicts via selected combatants? These alien civilizations must be extremely violent and bereft of the art of diplomacy if they think peace is when you limit the amount of people who must die for a decision between countries to be created and agreed to,” Mom suddenly said with a derisive tone.
“As much as I don’t want to say it Mrs. Ohta, that is unfair to the peoples of the Known Area,” Major Suzumoto protested. “These people are apparently operating under rules and restrictions that are extremely different from that of the modern day…and in many ways different from even those that our ancestors, who can understand the mindset involved, operated under.”
“What is an example of said rules and restrictions, Major?” Mother asked.
“An example, Mrs. Ohta, would be that for the Known Area polities, civilians as a concept don’t truly exist. The reasoning being that because of magic, even newborn babies are armed and dangerous to everyone around them, including their parents.”
I winced at the idea of civilians not being recognized outside of Earth. And winced once more at the utter hardship parents everywhere outside of Earth experience in taking care of their children if babies can use magic when they throw a tantrum.
“That is a stupid reason. I gave normal birth to thirty four children. None of them attacked me while I took care of them, including the child who mortally wounded me by burning me out from the inside out as I gave birth to him,” Izanami suddenly stated in a heated manner.
Before anyone could give a reaction to that, Izanami continued onwards, her bronze spoon waving in the air for added emphasis.
“And if anyone protests that I am a god, and thus should not count, then they should ask the non-deities of Earth if their children attacked them when they are babies or young children. The answer should be a universal no. These Outsiders must simply be bad parents for magic to start getting involved during temper tantrums.”
Izanami finally stopped talking with a huff after saying those words, still looking offended. Probably on behalf of the supernatural community of Earth.
“…alright,” I said after a few seconds after Izanami’s tirade had ended. “You have asked Major Suzumoto about the Chains of 1171. Now can I ask you what happened at the command tent after we left? A child friendly version, mind you.”
Major Suzumoto leaned in closer upon hearing that.
Izanami blinked, and then shook her head.
“I’m afraid there is no way to make the conversation that ensued child friendly. But in the end Defense Minister Onodera issued a demand that Juin Myoi was to pass to the rest of the supernatural community.”
My eyes widened upon hearing that, seeing as…that wasn’t an ordinary event, to say the least.
“What…is the…demand?” Dad asked.
“That all independent resistance activities by the Japanese supernatural community are to cease at once, and for them to start coordinating with the nearest Self Defense Forces units or members immediately.”
“What was this…Juin Myoi’s response to Minister Onodera’s demand?” Kurumi asked.
“He said there is no example whatsoever of a successful coordination between mortals and the supernatural community as of this moment, so that demand is going to certainly be ignored. Defense Minister Onodera promptly revised his demand.”
“Into what?” Major Suzumoto asked.
“All independent resistance activities by the Japanese supernatural community are to cease immediately, and everyone is to wait and watch the events here in Fuji to make their conclusions.”
“...oh shit. He’s going to use the Special Skills Support Group as a demonstration,” Major Suzumoto hissed.