"Then you won't come along," Theodore said, hoping to end the fruitless discussion.
"Iie.I've told you too many times that I think this plan is foolish," Ninyu snapped. "The Combine doesn't need criminals in its army. Besides, I don't trust this adventurer, and you shouldn't, either."
Michi, leaning in the corner he had appropriated upon entering the room, stood silent under Ninyu's accusation.
"He was a loyal retainer of my brother," Fuhito objected, stepping in to defend the silent man.
Theodore let Fuhito speak. Perhaps his words would succeed where Theodore's had failed, persuading Ninyu to accept Michi as the newest addition to his inner circle, those he called his shitenno.
In ancient Japanese history, that name had been applied to the loyal companions of Kiso Yoshinaka, the husband of another Tomoe. Yoshinaka's wife had been the celebrated Tomoe Gozen, a female samurai like his own Tomoe. Giving his companions the same name as Yoshinaka's seemed apt. Theodore also had it on good authority that his use of the term bothered his father, who remembered the fate of Yoshinaka. Theodore, of course, had no intention of ending up the same way.
Ninyu dismissed Fuhito's argument with a slash of his hand. "This fellow served your brother a long time ago. Noketsuna went rogue after Misery. He's a renegade who consorts with other renegades. He cannot be trusted."
"If, by renegades, you refer to Fraser and Rand, you are mistaken, Nmyu-kun,"Tomoe said. "They voluntarily left Wolf's Dragoons to join Michi -sanin seeking vengeance for Minobu Tetsuhara. Their loyalty to him has been exemplary."
"Hai!"Fuhito agreed forcefully.
Ninyu snorted his disgust as he turned to Theodore. "If you wish to be surrounded by the naive," he said, shrugging his shoulders to indicate that he refused to take responsibility for the results. "At least, don't give them any power. Keep them as advisors if you must, but don't follow them blindly. Abandon this renegade's plan to recruit soldiers from the yakuza. The yakuza are criminals, worthless scum who stand apart from our ordered society. They are untrustworthy. The Combine doesn't need soldiers who would disgrace their uniforms. If you need warriors, look to our ordinary citizens. When their belief in the Dragon is strong, they are more than good enough. If you think they are insufficiently capable, and that the Combine still needs manpower, draft ISF civilian agents. Their loyalty is beyond question."
"All the loyalty in the worlds is insufficient to stand up to a BattleMech and defeat it," Tomoe countered.
"She's right," Theodore agreed. "We need warriors, trained fighters. I believe we'll find many among the yakuza. Michigan has informed me that some gangs even maintain MechWarriors. We need that strength."
"Noketsuna again," Ninyu said through clenched teeth. He heaved himself up from his seat and leaned over the table to stare into Theodore's eyes. "You are blinded by your bushido,tricked by the illusion of nobility. Do you think he's some kind of noble paladin just because he kills people for revenge and calls it a vendetta of honor? Perhaps you think you are play-acting in some galactic version of Chushingura.Well, you know what happened to the forty-seven ronin. They died."
"Wasn't their greatest virtue supposed to be loyalty, Ninyu- kun?" Tomoe asked. Her voice was light in tone, deliberately innocent.
Ninyu straightened and glared at her. He let out his breath through distended nostrils. His voice was brittle as he stomped to the door. "Go on then, be a fool. Go on to hell!" The door slammed.
With stance and expression broadcasting his outrage at Ninyu's poor manners, Fuhito offered, "I'll bring him back, Theodore- sama."
"Iie,"Theodore said. "Let him go work it off."
"You are better off without him, Tono,"Tomoe avered. "His attitude would be a hindrance to your efforts, making the issue of his skills irrelevant. I shall replace him."
"Always looking to get into the action, To-chan,"Theodore said with a smile. He had no doubt her skills could replace those of his nekogami-trained friend. Their workouts left him with no doubt that she retained all her finesse, though she had borne him two children. But he needed something else from her now. She had valuable assets far beyond her dark-night talents.
"You know I have a greater need of you in the sunlight. While I am trying to gain these allies, someone must cover my absences and handle the day-to-day business. Someone must oversee the reconstruction plans and guide the development of the regiments as we rebuild."
"What about Asano and Earnst?" she protested. "Armstrong?"
"All good officers, but I trust no one as much as you to see that the old, wild attitudes do not corrupt the rebuilt army. Those you suggest are vital to our future, but they do not yet have the vision. Only you have the strength to guide my plans when I am elsewhere." Theodore reached across the table toward the hands she held tightly clenched before her. At the tentative touch of his fingers, her tension relaxed. He felt her surrender to his argument, submitting to necessity, though her heart wished otherwise. For all her teasing that he was unreasonably bound by giri,she, too, understood the iron call of duty.
"Trust Fuhito- kunbefore the others, though," he said. "He's matured into an excellent officer with a superior tactical sense. More important, he understands our goals and has a firm grasp of my intent.". Theodore ignored the look of surprise that washed over Fuhito's features. "Dechan- kunand his lady Jenette will help you as well. You cannot trust them with everything, of course, but I believe you can rely on them to train soldiers. Their Dragoon experience will be invaluable.
"I cannot be in two places at once. While I search for new soldiers, someone must guide the old. I need you to do that, To -chan."
She nodded. He sensed the fear that she felt for him. That was understandable. He certainly wasn't blind to the danger. The criminal underworld of the Combine was a dangerous place, a world unto itself whose rules he didn't understand. From what Michi had told him, his position as Heir-Designate might not be sufficient armor. The yakuza, or some other underworld denizens, might be just as happy to see Theodore die as talk to him. But this was a job that only he could do, for only he had any hope of commanding allegiance from the outlaw yakuza. He wanted to hold Tomoe, to kiss away her fear and thereby lose his own. He could not. Even here among his closest friends, propriety forbade it.
Michi stirred. "Time to go," he announced.
42
Pleasure Quarter, Deber City, Benjamin
Benjamin Military District, Draconis Combine
15 January 3031
Sound struck Theodore with almost physical force as Michi opened the door into the bar. The pounding, cardiac beat overwhelmed all noise from the milling inhabitants of the dim chamber, which was darker by far than the neon-strobed night of the street. Spotlit on platforms suspended by gossamer threads above the crowded floor, scantily clad dancers gyrated provocatively. Not until one of the women misstepped and nearly plunged from her platform did he realize that the dancers were not holographic projections, but were real. Of course. Live entertainers cost much less and had other capabilities no holo ever would.
Theodore started down the five steps to the main floor, following his companion. While Michi paused at the bottom to scan for a path through the milling bodies and crowded gambling tables, Theodore observed the grim-faced pair of rogues reflected in the mirror-like metal wall just opposite where they stood. One was significantly taller than the other, but their garb was almost identical. They could have been any two of the thousands of restless soldiers who roamed the Combine, unwilling or unable to return to their homeworlds after their regiments were shattered in the recent war. No one would guess that these two were the Heir-Designate and a former officer of the Ryuken.