*If you have not read my story, "Nakanaori", or it's first sequel, you may not understand
everything that is happening.*

Act I: Unsettling

     Munenori wakes up, showers, gets dressed in a new suit, and exits his room to be
escorted by other fine dressed people. One talks with him.
     "Are you sure you are ready to handle these questions now?" the man asks.
     "I guess so, shouldn't I?" he asks.
     "It seems so," the man answers. "It will look better that your respond quickly."
     "Is the committee taking care of advisor assignments?"
     "Yes, you will have your cabinet shortly."
     "That's good," Munenori comments. "Cause I don't know anything about running an
empire."
     "Yes, well, don't tell them that."
     The men enter a large room, where many reporters are waiting. The instance he enters,
photographers are taking pictures of the young emperor. Munenori sits on a chair next to a set up
podium as the man he was talking to speaks to the crowd.
     "His excellency the emperor, will answer your questions at this time."
     The man steps down and Munenori stands up to the podium. The reporters begin their
barrage of questioning.
     "Do you feel you will be able to take control of this fragile empire?" a female reporter
asks.
     "Yes, I do," Munenori calmly states.
     A man dressed in a dark suit with chilling green eyes asks, "Are you afraid that
bureaucrats will end up controlling you? Will you become just a figure with little or no political
significance?"
     "Ah," Munenori stammers at the denigrative question. "I feel I am strong enough to take
care of it."
     The same man questions him again, "Such confidence from a boy of only fourteen years
suddenly jolted into this high position?"
     "I said I can take care of it," Munenori restates.
     "Isn't the former council selecting advisors to ‘run' the government for you until you can
handle it primarily by yourself? Don't you think one of them may try to take advantage of your
age and lack of experience? How will you handle the situation if that happens?"
     Munenori sweats under the brutal questioning. He manages to speak, "Well, like I....like
I..." he continues to stammer and takes a deep breath. "...said, I can take care of it."
     Another reporter speaks up, "How did you make the predictions that rallied the people to
your side?"
     "Well, I..." he shortly stops to look at the man he came in with, the one who helps him
with his image, and decides to continue with their prefabricated answer to such a question.
"...could tell what was going to happen. I could see that something was going wrong behind the
scenes."
     "What did you do to gain the trust of the many representatives who came to help you?"
one reporter asks.
     "Many came because of my ‘prophetic' words," Munenori answers. "Others came
because of my reputation as a member of the Hachimonguu group."
     The green-eyed reporter asks him, "Why did they end up dead or missing, like those from
the Hachimonguu group?"
     Munenori is beginning to take personal offense to this man. He feels he is edging on
accusing him of hurting his own friends.
     "These are bad times, but now I'm here to make them good," Munenori says with
composure. He glances over to see his "image" man happy to see that he was able to turn the
tough question into a positive statement for himself.
     "Will you explain to us how they died?" a female reporter asks.
     Munenori bows his head as he remembers the frightening scene. Each and every one of
them who helped him, impaled. "No, I will not. It may be too graphic. It was a terrible thing, that
should have never happened."
     The crowd accepts his dismissal of the question. They are silent for a moment, when the
green-eyed reporter speaks up again, "Who is responsible for their death? You? Aritsune?"
     Munenori snaps a little, "It was not me. The responsibility lies on those in control at the
time. Unfortunately, yes, partly Aritsune, but I'm sure others were involved."
     "Are you really the one responsible for the death of the former empress?" a reporter asks
in disbelief at the young man's seeming incapability of accepting death.
     "No! I mean...yes," Munenori gets confused and thinks to himself, Am I really
responsible? The events that took place were not at all in my control. The dragon who possessed
me is responsible. But they won't believe me.
     "So?" The reporter urges. "Yes or no?"
     "Yes, I am responsible," he finally manages.
     Munenori has grown pale at this time, his nervousness has made him soaked with sweat
beneath his suit jacket. The green-eyed man asks another question, "Wasn't she your friend?"
     Munenori bows his head lower than before. He starts breathing heavily. Soon, the man he
came with is on stage, hand over the microphone, saying, "A lot has happened to the emperor
recently. Please, forgive us but no more questions for today."
     The man helps Munenori out of the press room. On the way back to his room they talk.
     "Until the end, I think you were doing okay," the man tells him.
     "Except for that bastard," Munenori mentions referring the green-eyed reporter. "It felt
like I was facing a court trial."
     "That's the way these things are," the man explains. "You'll have to learn to handle it
better."
     "Yeah," Munenori agrees. "But I can't do it right now."
     He leaves the man and enters his room nearby. Once inside, he starts pacing as the
questions ring out in his mind.
     "Why did they end up dead or missing, like those from the Hachimonguu group?"
     "Will you explain to us how they died?"
     "Who is responsible for their death? You?..."
     "Do you feel you will be able to take control of this fragile empire?"
     "Are you afraid that bureaucrats will end up controlling you?"
     "Will you become just a figure with little or no political significance?"
     "Are you really the one responsible for the death of the former empress?"
     "Wasn't she your friend?"
     Munenori brings his hands up to his ears as if trying to block it out. He starts shaking his
head violently and talks to himself.
     "I can't do this alone. But who's left?" Munenori thinks for a moment. "I need my
cousin. The only family I have left. Where did she go? I must find her."
     Munenori rushes out of the room to meet someone from the group in charge of taking
care of him.
     "I want to go to Earth immediately," Munenori orders.
     "But, sir, is this a good time?" one of the aides ask.
     "Doesn't matter," Munenori exclaims. "Do it now!"
     The aide leaves to set up the trip. Munenori says to the group, "And I don't want you
following me around either." He pulls out his weapons which he always manages to hide
somewhere. "These are enough protection."
     The aide comes back, "Okay, sir, we can leave whenever you want."
     "Then let's go now."
     "Don't you want to pack?" the aide asks.
     "I want to leave."
     The group leaves with him just to escort him on the way to Earth. Together, they leave
the government compound and head to a ship station.
     They arrive and Munenori boards his ship headed for Earth with his crew. 
He says to himself as the ship takes off, "I'll find you out there, Akari. First I'll check what's left
of your hometown. Maybe I can figure out there where you are."