Tsuki no Kage

[Evangeline Anovilis]

OOC: All posts in this thread are confidential, unless specified otherwise.

IC:

The weather in the Tōhoku region was getting gradually harsher over the days. The days became shorter, colder and the trees had fewer and fewer leaves, until it was already November and most of the trees in sendai had lost their foliage. The streets of Sendai were populated with people still, but most had already taken out their coats, scarves and gloves and it was a bit of a cold and grey atmosphere that surrounded the place. But cold and unapproachable were qualities not new to Tsukino Aoko. It pretty much described a good part of her job. The work of the Totsū...

It was pretty telling, insiders would note, that while most government agencies had been moved to Tokyo, the Special Communications Research Institute (Tokubetsu Tsūshin Kenkyūjo) had never left the Northern region of the country and only was transferred from Minamimaki to Sendai. Abbreviated Totsū, it was afiliated with the Japanese military and was tasked with a broad, ambigious mission, including many that were already covered by other institutions. It's mission profile was mostly summarised (from various other sources), as an institution that accepted promising officer graduates from the National Defence Academy or the Etajima Naval Academy, who worked together with the military, civil industries and intelligence agencies, as well as the foreign service and after several years, Totsū employees generally were assigned to other branches of the armed forces. Publications from the institution were few, headlines were none, it pretty much was a quiet place, seen by many as a leftover from the times prior to national unification.

The continued existence of the institution, just like its location, were not without reason. And Tsukino Aoko knew as much. The Totsū had over the years been involved in many of the foreign policy disasters that had plagued Japan and it was seen by many within the higher ranks of the military and the political elite, as a bit of a liability. What had protected this service, were the strong influence of the Northern Clique, conservative elites of the old Dai-Tōhoku regions, who held quite a bit of power. Only after the most recent crisis, which had caused Date and Akechi to be sacked and the conservatives to be shaken, a shorter leash could be put on the Totsū, if it couldn't even be finally dissolved. However, the conservatives had won the elections and the bare minimum of change and investigation happened. Tsukino Aoko had been appointed as the new director of the Totsū. Now it was her responsibility to improve the Totsū.

 

As Tsukino finally arrived at her office, the atmosphere within the headquarters was about as frosty as it had been outside. People first looked up from their desks to see the new arrival, cautiously poking their heads out, still unsure who it was. Though she noted the sudden attention and the inquisitive stares, the new director merely went straight to the reception and presented her ID. "Tsukino Aoko. From today on, I'm working here." The man at the reception nodded and the many heads went back to work. For a moment, she wondered whether to comment on it, but she decided not to. There were more pressing matters at hand.

 

"Welcome to the headquarters, your office is over there, at the end of the hallway, Director Tsukino.", the receptionist stated, as he handed the ID back. With a short "Thanks", Tsukino took it and walked down the corridor, to her bureau, in order to start her work.

 

OOC: With post #5,000, a new character got introduced.

Edited November 2, 2014 by Evangeline Anovilis

[Evangeline Anovilis]

As the weeks passed by, Tsukino Aoko slowly got accustomed to the inner workings of the Totsū, even though that did not necessarily mean the Totsū got accustomed to her. Having arrived as the government's watchdog, even if the Akiyama cabinet mostly just wanted her to ensure that no further trouble ensued, even if the government oversight remained lackluster, the Totsū employees distrusted Tsukino. But knowing that their service could very well be abolished, should the number of issues increase, at least minimal cooperation happened. Tsukino just could never be sure whether the data arriving at her office was all the data, or just the amount deemed necessary to prevent the worst of issues.

 

Adding to these problems was that the Totsū had trained officers who now served in other branches, to whom the employees confided their worries. While Tsukino hoped that no critical information leaked out, some former Totsū officers did work in pretty high-ranking positions and such she soon witnessed, when one day meeting the director of the Naval Intelligence Bureau (Kaigun Jōhōkyoku) Akubana, who joked that "I know maybe not as much about the Totsū than about my own service, but I sure know more than their director." To Akubana, Tsukino was a person without any remarkable qualities. Tsukino had not the profound military career associated with a director of the nation's oldest still existing intelligence service and her greatest quality seemed to be a personal loyalty to some in power. To Tsukino however, Akubana likewise was only director of the Naval Intelligence Bureau, because of Date's patronage. To a degree, Tsukino wondered whether it would be worth pointing out that she was privy to how the Kokumin Hoshutō operated, given they both came from pretty much the same party, though from different factions. Akubana was a surviving acquaintance of Date, something not widely known, which was why Akubana was still around, Tsukino meanwhile was of the moderate faction of Akiyama.

 

But while most people saw Tsukino as an obscure political crony, the new director was just like the institution she was in charge of - more than what met the eye, with ambitions of her own...

[Evangeline Anovilis]

Hatsutori Tarō was sitting in the Kantei, just outside the Prime Minister's office. Already a bit older, Hatsutori looked hardly different from an average Japanese entrepeneur in his 50s, his small moustache already showing the first few greying hairs. Most people didn't know him, the security personal had no idea what the man was doing at the Kantei, apart from him having an appointment with Prime Minister Akiyama. Yet, Akiyama was not the first Prime Minister to have contacted him. Just as the clock hit the full hour, a woman approached Hatsutori. Although Hatsutori was seated, he could tell that the person before him was even taller than him, maybe reaching 180 centimetres, though quite lean. Despite wearing her long black hair in two orderly, yet a bit childish twintails, she seemed not like a person to mess with. Coldly, she made a polite bow towards Hatsutori. "Hatsutori-san, Prime Minister Akiyama is awaiting us." Turning towards the office door, the woman knocked twice, before entering. "Gokigen'yo. You called?"

 

Within the office, the prime minister was already awaiting the two, offering them a seat in front of her desk. While many saw Akiyama as breaking with old traditions, one thing that Hatsutori immediatly sensed was the prime minister's typical northern background. Not so much due to any dialect, than due to the demeanor, that was just so very similar to the many politicians of the Northern Clique he had met before. "Prime Minister, what is it you called us for?"

 

"I called the two of you, in order to discuss a matter that I want the two of you to cooperate on, if possible. As head of the Totsū and the founder of the service, I would think noone else is better suited for the task.", Akiyama explained with a rather calm and refined tone. Hatsutori wondered what the matter was, but at least, he could now guess who the third person in the room was. He had already guessed, when he had heard stories of the new Director, but it seemed now confirmed. "What do you want us to do?"

 

"The Totsū is to be dissolved. It has roused a lot of hostility within the Diet and many are wary of its activities. Tsukino-san's reports on the status of the Totsū show no real future for it in its current state.", Akiyama exclaimed calmly. Hatsutori had feared that it would come to this, after he heard there'd be investigtions into the service. But he had never thought it to be axed by a conservative prime minister. "Prime Minister, why are you asking me for this though? I-I must decline this task, I do not think I'm really needed for this dissolution." Even though it could be construed as a bit disrespectful, he couldn't stay any longer. Despite trying to keep his cool, this was a bit too much to take.

 

But just as he wanted to stand up to say his good bye, Akiyama gestured for him to sit down. "Hatsutori-san, I am not requesting you to just help in the dismantling of the service you founded. But it must be clear to you too, that the Totsū has served its purpose some time ago and is no longer useful the way it is. Tsukino-san has sadly found the service to be quite ineffective and not to be up to the task. But a mere dissolution, I just would need people intelligent enough to properly archive or destroy files and pay the employees. No, that I called you, Hatsutori-san, is for a different reason. I would like you to help Tsukino-san in creating a successor to the Totsū."

 

For a moment, Hatutori was dumbfounded. He slumped back in his seat and thought for a while. He had been rash, he thought. "But what do you have in mind for a successor?" Akiyama pointed at Tsukino, before giving a response. "I want to have the Totsū and Naichō dissolved and in their place a new service that takes over a broader agenda, with more means at their disposal. I think, as the leading expert in the field, entrusting you to assist Tsukino-san in this endeavour would be quite helpful. And in these problematic times, Japan needs to have as many options at its disposal as possible."

 

Hatsutori looked over to Tsukino, who sat there silent, though watching him expectantly. He wondered for a moment, what to say, but in the end, at this age and at this time... what better job could he get. "I will do what I can, Prime Minister."