Kyokan -- Capuan Diplomatic Agreements

Almost two months after the great voyage of Kyokai in discovering the land of Capua, another soon was put into place. Acting off of the behest of Antony Lassale, the de-facto leader of the fledgling Republic, the Shogun soon started plans for yet another voyage, albeit for a completely different reason. This new voyage had the full intentions of a diplomatic meeting between an envoy of the Shogunate, and the new government of Capua.

After a full month of the voyage, the land of Capua was finally in view. The smaller ship that held a crew of ten - the Regent of Foreign Affair's envoy, five soldiers, and four crewmen who would sail the ship. The envoy's name was Yukihiro Demihara, a shrew and cunning politician of sorts who was most notable for his war-time negotiations. Wearing the normal attire of a noble Kyokan, the one thing that allowed him to stand out as a representative of the Bakufu was the Torunaga Clan's crest that was embroidered upon his haori (flowing jacket worn over the kimono). Being of a well known Samurai family, he also carried a wakizashi at his side, and a flintlock pistol concealed within his kimono.

One of the soldiers that accompanied Yukihiro was the very same Shinsengumi who had been aboard during the first voyage. Saito Hajime was there to make a proposed deal of a military cooperation pact, of course none of this was completely necessary. He had to go however as a major representative within the Kyokan military, and especially within the Shogun's special forces.

Landing at the same pier, however under much different circumstances, the representatives followed by their guard disembarked from the ship. No longer did dead bodies litter the docks, nor buildings burn. The Capuans seemed to work hard at cleaning up and making the place a bit more inhabitable. Some of the soldiers were also from the first voyage and silently made remarks on the obvious difference between their first impression of this place, and the current. Of course, the feeling of them being foreigners was still obvious, as locals would give them curious stares as they walked past.

Surrounded by the soldiers who carried muskets, short-swords, and naginata pole-blades, the party made their way by direction of the locals to the late Palace of Marsailles. Upon arriving in the great stone square outside, they couldn't help but admire the fantastic architecture of the buildings that surrounded them. The Palace was immense; holding in-laid sculpture of the most Hellenistic of designs. The roof shined like gold.. in fact it might as well have been. The architecture of the entire palace was baroque in design however contained feudal hints to the old world that once ruled this place.

Approaching the great double doors leading in, two guards halted them with bayoneted muskets. Saito stepped forward, bowing curtly and speaking with his broken but coherent Capuan.

"We are here to see Antony Lassale in order to make diplomatic agreements between our nations. Please, allow us to pass through." Saito said.

The more senior of the two soldiers nodded gruffly. They appeared hardened; though the Capital City was mostly peaceful, there were still tensions. It was obvious that the ruling powers took security seriously, especially in this place.

As they were let in, the opulent interior of the palace, recently put back together after its ravaging by Communist revolutionaries, sunk in. The floors here were tiled in an interesting, tesselated pattern of shapes, focusing on the colours white and black; the walls were gilded, and upon them hung lamps, paintings, the occasional shield, and other artifacts of particular historical note. The stateliness of the place was completely undeniable.

They were approached by a political aide. The military half of the foreign duo would have recognized him as one of the men accompanying Antony--one of the few not carrying a musket on that fateful day.

"Kyokai, I presume?" he asked. Upon receiving a response in the affirmative, he nodded and continued. "The President will see you now. Ahh--I must regret to inform you that you must leave your weapons in this room. They are not permitted past this point. Once the servants have dealt with your armaments, the President will see you."

As they finally gained entry into the palace, the affluence of the interior was just as fantastic as that of the exterior. In the main lobby, there stood a grand fountain depicting a hard-working dwarf with a hammer and chisel. He appeared to be hammering out a tablet of stone bearing the supposed rights of the citizens. Water fell from the sides in peaceful trickles that gave the majesty of such a hall quite a different feel. It was the now a building of upended nobility, and every action taken after its sacking was quite planned.

However much the Capuans tried to mask the past struggle in the place, signs of the fight that went on inside were quite apparent. A few musket-ball holes could be spotted here and there, imbedded into the walls. Torn drapery being tailored by helping hands had blood spatter and apparent sword slashes. The Kyokans could only imagine what these people had to go through to win their victory.

Walking forward without the guards that accompanied them, who silently went back outside of the palace, the two of them quickly met Lassale's political aide.

"Kyokai, I presume?" The aide started. "The President will see you now. Ahh--I must regret to inform you that you must leave your weapons in this room. They are not permitted past this point. Once the servants have dealt with your armaments, the President will see you."

While Yukihiro had no issue removing his wakizashi and pistol from his being, Saito stood stoney-faced for a few seconds. In Kyokai, if a Samurai - let alone one of the Shinsengumi - were to remove their swords by order of another, it was usually considered a great insult, and it also was a traditional sign of inferiority among two people. Trying to mask his emotions from the aide, whom likely saw his momentarily distraught expression, Saito resolved that their customs were different in Capua. With almost a palpable reluctance, he withdrew his katana and wakizashi from his obi sash, and then two pistols from within his kimono.

Walking into the President's office alongside Yukihiro, Saito bowed low to Lassale as was customary in Kyokai.

"Good afternoon, President Lassale. I have voyaged from Kyokai under the orders of the Bakufu to present to you Yukihiro Demihara-san, a emissary of the Regent of Foreign Affairs to the Lord Shogun." Saito began, however remembered he had yet to introduce himself. "I'm sorry - and I am Saito Hajime - Captain of the 2nd Unit of the Shinsengumi."

Antony and Leon, both of whom were present in the office when the Kyokan delegates entered, upon the appearance of the newcomers, immediately recognized the cultural awkwardness that would go into this moment. Antony decided to take a gamble; he returned their bow. Shortly afterwards, Leon joined in. They didn't go quite as low; Antony reckoned there might be some kind of significance to that, and given that this was his country, he hoped a little bit of universal language would take over. Frankly, given their incredible friendliness in learning Capuan, he felt rather embarrassed. He repressed that and continued on, after the bow.

"I apologize for the sad state of this place," the President began. "And for our lack of cultural sensitivity. Surely you must understand we have been busy as of late, with the emergency matters of this turbulent land."

He decided against handshakes and immediately went into diplomacy. He hoped that this room, in particular, would impress. Not only was there the usual stately furniture, the respectable paintings, and the grand Republican symbolism--behind his desk was mounted a white warhammer with LEF marked on its side--but behind them, which he motioned to, was another, somewhat more temporary, artifact--a Kyokai flag, abandoned in the haste of the foreigners' first visit and picked up by one of the Republican Guards. As the visitors took the sight in, he smiled.

"Now, I'm sure you are busy men yourselves. Let's delve into the meat of the matter, your purpose for gracing our halls." He spoke jovially, charismatically, and invitingly, but with an air of leadership and strength. He looked at Saito. "I am sure your words rang honestly. If, as I believe, Kyokai has friendly intentions in our new Republic, this office is prepared to hear them. What did you have in mind?"

"Every warrior, from any land, can be greatly impressed with a hard fought battle won for the right reasons, President Lassale." Saito replied as the man apologized for the state of the Palace at the moment. Yukihiro nodded his own affirmation of such a sentiment as well.

Lassale quickly moved on to the main event. Saito told Yukihiro in their own tongue to go before himself with the proposal from the Shogun. Clearing his throat, Yukihiro began.

"Per will of our Lord Shogun, Ieyasu Torunaga, the Shogunate of Kyokai wishes to extend hands of fellowship and relations between our two wonderful countries. I have come alongside Hajime-san in order to propose a mutually beneficial trade agreement between our countries. Lord Torunaga believe that should we begin trade across the seas to the Republic for Capua, it would prove as being most lucrative for both parties."

Next, Saito stepped forward and began his own offer.

"Unlike Yukihiro-dono, I do not answer to anyone but Lord Torunaga. He has bid me personally to ask you for a temporary defensive pact - an alliance in other words. In such a time in which both countries seem to be undergoing military conflicts, albeit of separate natures, this agreement would likely pose as beneficial to us both - until the viability of this pact ends in the future of course." Saito stated in his gravelly voice. "And finally.."

Saito had entered the Palace with a gift for the President from the Shogun himself as a sign of hopeful friendship, however being an unlikely sort of gift, it was confiscated by the aide. Glancing to Yukihiro who remembered what the gift was, there was a short silence before Saito resumed his offer.

"... and finally, our Lord Shogun has sent me here with a gift for you... a sword of great quality - the likes of which is exceedingly rare to find even in our own country because it was made by one of the Three Great Swordsmiths of old. It was one of his last creations, named the Kumoheki Blade, which in our tongue means "Cloud Piercer" as the blade was forged so strong that it was thought to have been able to pierce to the heavens. Unfortunately... I believe your aid confiscated our weapons - a shame." Saito finished with another bow.

Whether Lassale caught on or not, he meant 'a shame' in the literal sense. In Kyokai, during a meeting with any authoritative figure, swords were allowed into the chamber - however taken off one person and laid at their side - as a sign of mutual trust and respect. The sword, in Kyokan culture was not only a symbol of the Samurai - noble warrior blood - but of honor, respect, and most of all responsibility. It had been an insult, though of course Saito knew that the Capuans had no such custom and thus resolved to forgive and forget.

It was at that moment that an embarrassed aide burst into the room, apologies streaming from his lips, carrying a peace-bound sword of incredible ornamental value and, Antony guessed, incredible diplomatic value as well. Wishing to avoid some sort of diplomatic incident (or rather, a more severe one than had already occurred), he nodded at the aide and, with a piercing stare, silently ordered him to remove himself from the room immediately. As he did, he presented the peace-bound blade to the Kyokan delegates.

"My my, this is awkward, isn't it?" he said, laughing a bit. He figured facing it would have it go away faster.

Upon receiving the sword, Saito bowed low, holding the blade out with two hands. Antony nodded, took the blade gingerly, and replied with audible thanks. They certainly meant well, these foreigners.

"With that, then, let us get down to economic business first. My office consents in principle to a pact to found trade routes betwixt our nations' ports."

This one was obvious. The Republic needed economic help. It also gave them a place to flex their political muscles; after all, further friendships with Kyokai would result in a valuable partner. The second proposal, however, was more problematic. Simply, there wasn't much information to go on. For all he knew, these people were warmongers, or slavers, or something else horrible. It wasn't likely, but there was no way he'd be getting dragged into any wars because of a blind decision.

"We are, however, unwilling to find ourselves in an alliance at this stage. We do not yet know enough about your people, nor can we guarantee that we would be of any assistance. I apologize, but our people simply could not go along with so haphazard a choice on my part."

"Quite wise of a decision, President Lassale." Saito started. "However, I can assure you that the people of Kyokai are no barbarians. Perhaps one day you would grace our soil with your presence. I am sure your opinion would change then. And I'm quite certain the Lord Shogun would consider it a great honor if you would pay him visit one day."

The two emissaries bowed low once again and for the last time. Straightening back up, Yukihiro smiled to the President.

"I am sure the Lord Shogun would be most pleased to hear of our future economic relations. On behalf of nation of Kyokai, thank you for your cooperation." Yukihiro stated.

After the farewells were given and all was said and done, the two of them left the President's chambers. They took a last, proud look to the Flag of the Rising Sun, another small trinket that they deemed proper to leave behind - perhaps as a memento of their successful sail across the ocean to new land. Walking briskly through the great hall of the Palace, the flustered aide approached, still apologizing it seemed for his error in judgement earlier. He bore their weapons, and with a grateful sigh, Saito took his own.

Sliding his swords into his obi sash, and placing his two pistols back into his kimono, he waited for his comrade to re-arm himself and thus they set off toward the Palace's entrance to rendezvous with their waiting guards outside.

Antony nodded apologetically to the newcomers. They were clearly quite skilled in diplomacy; certainly ones to be watched. Perhaps befriended also.

"I look forward to us meeting again," he said to both of them, "and I hope we may forgo the difficulties of first contact in later summits."

As the diplomats left, Antony stretched a little. Leon chuckled a bit. Privately, they held a toast--not just to their guests, but to the future of their Republic. Indeed, friends abroad would make this whole "governing" business much easier.