Meeting with the Devil

[Triyun]

Jia had agreed to take a meeting with Kei at his personal offices in Budapest. They were ones he rarely occupied and clearly intended for a spousal role, rather than the political operation for the ruler of a continent, but the irony amused him.

Jia's reaction in the morning to Kei was predictably what Xuehua predicted it would be. Rage. But after he had calmed down, he had agreed with Wei that the intelligence benefits outweighed the risks.

"How the $%&@ are we supposed to trust the Germans again, when they have this guy living in their backyard?!" was Jia's default line throughout the morning. Both Theresia and Wei had dissuaded him from repeating it too loudly, but it never the less had been planted in his head. He would be having a word with the Althing soon enough.

For the meeting, Jia's Imperial Guards were mostly lined in the hall way. Kei would find himself hard pressed to beat them if he tried anything. Afterall Kei had other pursuits, while these guards were exclusively in the business of beating ass and would search the man extensively for weapons. Inside the Jia's office, he'd only have one guard though, his left hand, Ryu Hayabusa, the master shinobi. Besides, Jia was not that unskilled himself.

Jia leaned back in his chair looking out the window. "So how many ways can you kill this guy?" Jia asked musing.

"How many ways do I need?" Ryu replied.

"Fair point." Jia said chuckling.

[Kankou]

Kei had spent a nice night in Danubius Hotel Gellért, the most famous hotel in Budapest, bathing in the spas. It was amusing to think of how all this luxury, from the best whisky to the most delicate food amounted to just a small dent in his wealth, given his substantial income as retired chairperson of LKAB and Tenmu Stål AB. After all, he hadn't been the Steel Baron of Nordheim for nothing.

Near the appointed time, he would appear near the palace, with all the usual procedures being done to him to secure safety of the Imperator. The large security detail made him chuckle, sicne this pretty much proved his theory that the most unsecure person would try to show that one was as secure as possible. Why people never realized that things inevitably always came down to oneself, he would never know. No matter how much power one has, no matter how one has masters of the secret arts surrounded one, in the end everyone has to fend oneself. Maybe this young one will realize that in the future.

Finally, Kei stepped into the office, where he gave a slight glance to Ryu and noticed that spirit of endurance that a [i]shinobi no mono[/i] would have. It would be entertaining to trade turns with this new sprout, since himself had been considered the greatest shiobi since Fuma Kotaro and Hattori Hanzo, but perhaps another time. Today was for strictly business.

"Hello, Yuan Jia. I believe we haven't met before, but since we seem to know each other, I'll spare the introductions, unless you wish to be referred by a specific title. Shall we begin discussing the past, present, and future of your Empire and Asia?"

Edited September 6, 2011 by Kankou

[Triyun]

"I could give a damn about titles." Jia said. "Lets discuss whatever you wanted to say to me. Spit it out quickly, as you'll find I have little patience for those who cause incidents with my family."

[Kankou]

"Quite an impatience we have here. I've only been flirting a bit, since your sister is really a fresh girl with a wildness that is nice. But as you wish. i would like to first see if there is any specific policies you might have against specific groups of people who are mentioned quite a bit whenever the issue of racism and fascism comes up concerning Asia, like say the Empire of the Rising Sun, Neo Japan, or the Jucheists. We all know that there had been crimes in the past, but it would be quite a waste to continue persecuting the descendents for what they themselves have not done, wouldn't it?"

[Triyun]

"Koreans and Japanese if thats what you mean are being given a chance to live in peace and with rights, as citizens of the Federation and of the Republic of Japan, both free states. I don't even see the point of your question. Neo Japan, the Empire of the Rising Sun, and the Jucheists all of these are political entities not ethnic groups or people. My issue is with these political groups and I will continue to oppose their policies, however, they represent only a fraction of the Koreans or Japanese and an increasingly marginalized fraction at that, so I don't really see why you asked for a meeting over that. Most Japanese and Koreans want to live as part of a free and open Asia, not stuck in 1943." Jia replied. "I do not blame ancestors of mine that undoubtedly committed crimes in the past, but I am concerned about those who think that these ideologies are a good idea today, not whose parents are who."

[Kankou]

"The past will always come back to haunt the present, and just because what seems to be now might not hold up in the near future. Just take this as a precaution from someone who had his fair share of revolutions and counterrevolutions, of political upheavals that changed the entire playground. Of course, I don't see the ideologies of the past rising up again, and even if they do, I'll see to it that they be..... exterminated."

A slight glaze was over the garnet eyes, as if Kei was thinking of the past

"That being said, there seems to be a bit of trouble in Korea nowadays, with all those cults, raiders, criminals running around. Perhaps you wish to have a bit of help in taking care of them, aside from the usual police and military forces? I don't particularly care about who rules the peninsula, but it is definitely in my interest to see to it that the Koreans still living there are at least in peace and safety from such threats."

[Triyun]

Jia was amused by the stereotypical nature of the man.

"Heh indeed, well..." Jia said. "I think that its safe to say my associate has this one."

Ryu nodded.

"If there is anything else?" he asked.