Here's the first chapter for those who don't want to click, in which we meet Yoritomo Yukari and Toku Minamo, esteemed Magistrates of the Emerald Empire!
_______________________________________________________
Toku Minamo knew that Yukari was still asleep when she saw the Miya Herald standing outside her quarters in the Imperial Palace. A similar herald came to Minamo's door early in the morning bearing a message from her superiors. Based on what little content there was in the message, Minamo figured that the herald arrived outside Yukari's apartment at the same time.
It was now almost midday, and the herald was still standing outside Yukari's apartment.
Minamo sighed. She probably should have come earlier, but this new assignment had many troubling things in it. Or rather, not in it. Minamo felt it was necessary to get her contact in the Imperial Court looking into the matter right away. Otherwise, she would have woken up Yukari right away.
"Good morning, Miya-san!" she said with cheerful politeness. The herald had a resigned, dejected look on his face, and Minamo didn't think he needed any more passive abuse than he had already received. "I apologize for Yukari keeping you waiting for so long."
The herald-one that Minamo didn't recognize-turned to face Minamo and gave a weak smile. "There's nothing to apologize for, Toku-san. I'll wait as long as I have to in order to discharge my duties." He turned back to the apartment's screen door and knocked on the wooden frame. Minamo politely waited to allow a reasonable amount of time for his latest knock to work its magic.
There was no reply.
"Aren't heralds permitted to wake up recipients up if they are sleeping?" Minamo wondered out loud.
The herald sighed. "Ordinarily, yes. My brothers have told me, however, that Yoritomo-san requires…special consideration."
Minamo glared at the screen door. Yoritomo Yukari was a water shugenja. Water shugenja did not have the destructive reputation that fire shugenja possessed, but Yukari was certainly doing her best to make up for that. In the 10 years they have worked together, the people, monsters, and building that Yukari has managed to punch into oblivion has been steadily increasing. And when they were near the sea…well, let's just say Minamo would be having nervous breakdowns regularly if the capital was still in Otosan Uchi. Add in Yukari's dangerous temper, and simply having her in your precinct was an invitation for a staggering repair bill. Yukari's impulse to bash whatever is in front of her was probably more suited for the Mantis Storm Riders, not the Jade Magistrates. And yet, here she was.
And Minamo had been working with her the entire time. By the time she had thought to request a change, Yukari was beginning to listen to Minamo and her behavior had been somewhat restrained in her presence. She was still very mercurial, but at least she stopped trying to punch apart castles on a regular basis.
With a sigh, Minamo opened the screen door and walked in. Remarkably, the quarters Yukari had been assigned were still clean. Then again, Yukari only returned to Toshi Ranbo last night. Minamo knew that she only had to wait for nature to take its course. Along the desks and tables, Yukari had hastily arranged the baubles and decorations she brought back from the Mantis Isles in a really disorganized manner. Ambient light poured in from two windows.
Minamo walked to the center of the room. Yukari had thrown herself down onto her mat late last night, not even bothering to remove her leaf-green kimono. A drool stain was forming underneath her mouth. Minamo shook her head. It was hard to believe that this disheveled creature was a highly respected Magistrate (if not well regarded).
"Oi, Yukari!" Minamo said at a volume she had perfected over the years-loud enough to wake Yukari, but not so loud as to spook her. "Get up, it's almost noon!"
"Mmmm," Yukari moaned as she began to stir. "My hangover has paralyzed me."
Minamo crossed her arms below her chest. "So? You're a water shugenja. Shouldn't you be able to get rid of hangovers?"
"I could do that, but that somehow feels like it would be cheating." Yukari pushed herself up until she was sitting more or less upright. Her eyes drooped half open, and her long black hair fell messily to her shoulders.
Minamo remained standing, arms crossed. "There's a Miya Herald outside your door, with new orders for you."
Yukari dropped her head into her hands, her hair spilling down her face. "Don't those jerks know that I just got back from a three month trip?" Yukari groaned. "I'm readjusting to the fact that the weather here sucks. Can you tell him to wait a few minutes?"
"He's been waiting there for five hours," Minamo said, her annoyance audible.
Yukari blinked a few times, then looked at Minamo. "Five hours? How-
"Because a Miya Herald came to my apartment at that time, with instructions that mentions you. So unless the Miya have wizened up and have stopped trying to reach you early in the morning, I'm assuming the guy outside came at the same time. And these orders are pretty out of the ordinary." She narrowed her eyes slightly for emphasis.
Yukari pushed herself out of bed and made the minimal effort to straighten out her kimono before stomping over to the screen door. She opened the door and saw the herald waiting patiently for her with no expression. Yukari gave him a stare that she reserved for two and only two situations. The first situation was right before she was about to unleash her fury on a den of bloodspeakers. The second situation was whenever she was disturbed from her sleep.
The herald bowed, then pulled an envelope from his sash. "In the name of the Emperor, I bring an urgent mes-"
Yukari snatched the letter from the man's hands and slammed the screen door shut. The herald stood there for a second before walking away without comment, his duty fulfilled.
Yukari stomped back into her room and sat down at a small table where Minamo was waiting. Tea was prepared thanks to the servant assigned to Yukari (Minamo pitied any commoner that has Yukari for a lord). Yukari looked at the envelope, and began to realize that there was something weird about it already. Whenever she and Minamo worked together, the envelopes with their instructions had two wax seals on them-one marked by Yukari's immediate superior, the Jade Champion Asahina Sekawa, and one marked by Minamo's immediate superior, the Emerald Champion Yasuki Hachi.
This letter had five wax seals.
"Nyamo," Yukari began, calling her partner by a nickname she gave her, "when you got your letter this morning, did the envelope have five wax seals?"
Minamo nodded.
"And those seals: did they belong to Hachi-sama, Sekawa-sama, the Imperial Chancellor, the Shogun, and the Emperor?"
Minamo nodded a second time.
Yukari leaned back and whistled. "That's really weird."
Minamo sighed. "Just wait to you see what our instructions are," she said with a mix of dread and exasperation.
Yukari looked over to the portable shrine she had set up in the room for the purpose of ignoring, and wondered for a moment if all her antics were now coming back to haunt her.
She dismissed the thought right away-there was absolutely nothing wrong with how she did her job. She broke the seals and opened the letter.
"To the Honorable Magistrate Yoritomo Yukari," she read out loud. Briefly, Minamo considered how hard the person who wrote the message was laughing when he or she put down 'honorable' and 'Yukari' in the same sentence. "You and the Emerald Magistrate Toku Minamo are to begin an investigation. Assemble a team of qualified Samurai no more than one year removed from their gempukku. This team should reflect a diverse profile of the many clans that make up the Empire. These individuals will serve as your deputies in carrying out your investigation." She flipped over the paper to check if there was anything else, but that was it. The letter had ended.
Yukari looked up at Minamo, who's chin was resting in her chin, the two locks of her hair swaying slightly to the side. "Nyamo, did your letter say anything about what you and I are supposed to investigate?" she asked.
"I'll let you take one guess," Minamo replied bitterly. For a minute, there was complete silence save for the crackling of a small fire heating water. Yukari and Minamo just looked at each other.
"Okay…what do we do about this?" Yukari asked. There was a bit of apprehension in her voice, maybe even fear. Her normal reaction to orders that were vague to the point of being useless – ignoring them – was out of the question when so many higher ups had signed off on them. And neither she nor Minamo were at a high enough social strata to ask them for clarification.
Minamo moved her hand from under her chin and facing away from her. "Only one thing is for sure-this isn't some dumb clerical error. Something bigger is going on here. I've asked my contact in the Imperial Court to try to find out what that something is. But until she finds something out, I have no idea…"
"Hah! Losing hope already are we? Well it's a good thing you have Yoritomo Yukari as your partner, Nyamo-baby!" Yukari folded her arms, her earlier uncertainty giving way to her usual smug confidence.
Minamo pinched the bridge of her nose. Simply being around Yukari was enough to give her migraines sometimes. Although Minamo suspected that doing something was preferable to waiting for the axe to fall. "Okay, then what's your plan, Yoritomo-san?"
Yukari shot her hand forward, a single digit extended. "One! We do anything and everything that our orders state explicitly. That means we put together a team of deputies. Not just any team though:" Yukari pumped her fist into the air for emphasis. "We put together a Celestial Thunder Super Team!"
Minamo just stared back at Yukari as she took a sip of tea, perplexed as ever over what she had in mind. "All right. And once we have our team…?" she asked.
Yukari slammed her hand down on the table, spilling her tea. "We investigate!" she exclaimed.
There was a brief silence before Minamo asked the obvious: "Investigate what?"
"Anything we want!" she threw her hands outward. "You know as well as I do that there is more going on in this city than 20 magistrates working day and night could unravel in their lifetime. The Chancellor, the Shogun, and the Son of Heaven himself have just told us to investigate, so by the Seven Fortunes, we're going to investigate!"
Minamo just put her hand to her forehead, but hidden behind her arm, she was smiling. There were just a few times when Yukari's brand of insanity was exactly what the situation needed. And this happened to be one of them.
xxxxxxxxxx
The two magistrates had commandeered a study room in the lower halls of the Imperial Palace. It was one of the parts of the palace avoided by courtiers most of the time but used frequently by bureaucrats responsible for running the machinery of the Empire. Servants had brought stacks of dossiers into the conference room that the two women were now going through, selecting members of their team.
"We probably should bring my contact in the court onto the team. She fits the criteria set by our instructions," Minamo said. She passed a dossier over to Yukari that bore the mons of the Crane Clan and the Doji Family. "She was the top student at the Doji Courtier School, and she already has experience working with the Emerald Magistrates."
Yukari paged through the dossier. "Is this the same Crane who left a single strand of hair un-dyed and wears that tiny mask?" she asked.
"That's the one," Minamo replied, "except that's not a mask she wears. They're called 'glasses.' They're something the Unicorn make, and are supposed to help you see better."
"Speaking of Unicorn, if we're bringing your Crane on, then we might as well take her friend too."
"You mean the Ide?" Minamo asked. She knew the courtier that Yukari was referring to. Minamo saw a lot of similarities between Yukari and the Unicorn in question, and none of those similarities were good. "Are you sure they're even friends?"
"Of course they're friends!" Yukari answered, brushing aside her concern with a handwave. "Why else would they be with each other all the time? Trust me, if we bring one along, we get the other, so we might as well have both on the team officially!"
Minamo had a tough time seeing the two as friends, given what limited glimpses she had of their relationship together. Then again, she realized, most people that saw her and Yukari work together wouldn't guess they were friends.
Point to Yukari, her mind said bitterly. She made a gesture to silently acquiesce to Yukari's argument. Yukari flipped through the stack, pulled out the Ide's dossier, and placed it on top of the folder Minamo had pulled out. The two then continued to look through different profiles for several minutes, until a smile on Yukari's face told Minamo that something had caught her friend's attention.
"Okay, Nyamo, here's a two for one deal for you!" She handed two dossiers to Minamo dramitacally. "The shugenja on top is none other than the next Master of Fire! And we get her yojimbo too to sweeten the deal."
Minamo examined the top dossier, marked with the mons of the Phoenix Clan and Isawa family. The Isawa-ko's profile was impressive. No, it was very impressive. And she had thought Yukari was exaggerating about her becoming a future elemental master, but the notes did in fact say that she was one of Isawa Ochiai's (the current Master of Fire) apprentices. Members of the Elemental Council were usually selected from among those who studied under the outgoing master. There was one detail that bugged her though.
"Someone must have wrote down the wrong year of birth," Minamo said, "Because according to the dossier, she's only ten!"
Yukari shrugged, "Eh, everyone makes mistakes. I'll stop by the Phoenix embassy to make certain if you want."
"That's okay, Yukari. You're probably right: it's just a mistake." She turned to the other dossier, which had the mons of the Phoenix Clan and the Shiba family. The yojimbo was well qualified in his own right, though it was clear that his charge was the main attraction of the pair. She hardly noticed that one note included the comment 'works well with children.'
Minamo began to go through the stack of Lion Clan dossiers. She was looking for one name in particular.
"Ah, here's an excellent candidate, Yukari-san," Minamo said, and handed her a dossier bearing the mons of the Lion Clan and Matsu family. "I actually met this samurai-ko a year ago when she was near the end of her training. What really struck me about her was that she has an awareness of her faults, an awareness that her family is sorely lacking, while still being as assertive and physically capable as any Matsu. She's spent time with other clans as a kid, and she can actually appreciate views other than hers, even if she's a daughter of her lineage through and through. After I met her, I knew she was worthy of a tour with the Magistrates."
"Hey, I'm all for walking engines of mayhem," Yukari said as she flipped through her profile. "Although I'm surprised you would want to have a Matsu Beserker on our team, Nyamo."
Minamo gave an innocent shrug. "A little intimidation can go a long way at times."
The two continued to look through profiles for a few minutes. Then, while reading one of the dossiers, Yukari's eyes went wide. "Wow!" She said loudly, in a way that made Minamo nervous. Yukari continued to read the dossier, completely enthralled. "Wow! Wow! WOW!"
Yukari slammed her hands down on table with the dossier. Minamo jumped back, afraid that Yukari would break the table. "THIS SAMURAI-KO HAS TO BE ON THE TEAM!" She shouted.
Minamo put up her hands defensively, "Calm down, Yukari-san! Will you at least let me see who you found?"
Yukari held the dossier close to her hip, and a devilish smile formed on her face. "Nyamo, I present to you:" and she thrusted the dossier in front of Minamo as though she were making an iajutsu strike.
"THE WOLF OF THE WALL!"
Minamo stared at the dossier for a few seconds, then pulled it out of Yukari's hand.
The dossier was marked with the mons of the Crab Clan and the Hida family. Minamo opened the dossier.
The very first words she saw were: "Killed an oni during her gempukku."
She read the other details and comments: her other significant kills, including nine ogres and yet another demon; her skill at leading by example; her surprising tactical acumen; her ability to inspire those around her with her quiet determination. All of these accomplishments were made and noted just six months since she became an adult in the eyes of Rokugani society. None of those details really mattered to Minamo.
The Hida-ko had her at "Killed an oni during her gempukku."
Sadly, there was one complication, "We might be going a little top heavy with a Hida bushi and a Matsu beserker," she said idly.
"Oh, don't be such a party pooper!" Yukari said throwing up her arms. "We are talking about a heroic legend in the making here! We would be fools to pass her up!"
"Well…" she began to say, but stopped. Yukari was right: this was a once-in-a-generation samurai. Bringing her on board would not just be a benefit to their team, but it would expand the Hida's horizons greatly.
That left the Matsu the odd one out. Minamo sighed; she had really wanted to include her.
But maybe she still could. After all, their instructions were to build a team that was 'a diverse profile of the many clans that make up the Empire,' so why not have someone from each Great Clan as part of the team? And if they were going to include a Lion, they might as well have a bushi. Lion shugenja were notoriously insular, and Yukari already filled the need for a water shugenja. And a Lion-trained courtier would just be redundant when they already had the best young Doji courtier and (ugh) her Ide friend.
That left the Lion's two major bushi schools, the Akodo and the Matsu. While it was foolish to suggest that there were no differences between the two (not to mention fatal around those who trained in those schools) they both were heavily armed and armored warriors. And though Akodo-trained Lion were usually a lot more level-headed than their Matsu brethren, the whole reason she wanted this Matsu in particular was because she thought she was different from the norm.
"Okay then, both the Matsu and the Hida are in."
"Yes!" Yukari shouted and pumped her fist. Minamo got a flash of Yukari and two very large bushi tearing apart every building in Toshi Ranbo. She realized that she needed to handle her partner with extra care for this mission.
"Okay, we just need a Dragon and a Scorpion now," Minamo said. Including Yukari, all eight Great Clans would be represented in the group. Of course, that also meant that Minamo would be the sole representative of the more numerous minor clans, but Minamo didn't care; she had long since gotten over any lingering inferiority issues over her birth into a minor clan.
"Right!" Yukari shouted, and reached for another pile of dossiers. She stopped midway and gave Minamo a funny look. "Wait, we're actually going to have one Samurai from each Great Clan?" she asked.
"Yeah. Is there a problem with that?" Minamo asked.
"Not at all, Nyamo! It's just that I was certain that if I brought the idea up, you would have said 'that's a stupid idea, Yukari,' or some other excuse not to have fun."
Minamo shrugged with her left shoulder. "Well, it seemed as though we were headed in that direction anyway, so why not role with it?
"So, in terms of what type of Scorpion we could have on the team," Minamo started, "there are a couple options-"
"Shinobi," Yukari said.
"Huh?" Minamo said, somewhat surprised at her partner's decisiveness.
"You know, Shinobi-saboteur, combat scout, shadow walker, part-time geisha, special advisor, roof-runner, retirement enabler, acrobat hobbyist-that type of Scorpion."
"Wait a second, Yukari, let's be serious about this," Minamo said. "There are a bunch of good fits for the group we have." Thanks to the Scorpion's patronage of the Monkey Clan, Minamo had the opportunity to get to know the Clan of Secrets somewhat better than other outsiders usually do, and she knew that there was more to them than just a bunch of people in black pajamas.
"I am serious, Nyamo!" Yukari protested. "Look at who's in the group so far: The Doji and the Ide cover our diplomatic needs; Me and Isawa-san can provide whatever magic is required. The Hida and Matsu fill out the heavy combat role, while you and the Shiba yojimbo fill out the light combat role. The only thing we're lacking is someone who can get around without being noticed."
"I don't know," Minamo hesitated. Using ninja (let's be honest, that's what Yukari was talking about) wasn't honorable. Then again, Minamo was sadly no stranger to sacrificing honor for the purpose of expediency. And Yukari (yet again) had a good point: having a team member that was trained in less-than-honorable activities filled a role that genuinely couldn't be filled by the others they had selected.
"Okay," Minamo conceded, "But he or she has to be good at his role. That means he has to keep his…specialty…secret from the members of the team, even you and me."
"Excellent! Shinobi city, here we come!" Yukari said with a smile, and pulled out all the relevant dossiers-they were marked with the mons of the Scorpion Clan and the Shosuro family. Yukari opened the first dossier, and her smile turned to an annoyed frown.
Minamo opened one a dossier, and what she saw didn't really surprise her.
Most of the information in the dossier had been redacted. Everything they might use to distinguish candidates-such as name or record of service-had been covered in black ink. Even the name was covered. The only items not blacked out were a code name, a cover-profession, and selected comments by their sensei.
"Damn Scorpion! How are we supposed to choose a good candidate when everything's blacked out?" Yukari complained.
"Don't panic, Yukari. Maybe someone will stand out based on the sensei's comments," Minamo consoled, though she wasn't very hopeful the comments would be very useful. Remarkably, though, there was a standout.
"Hey Nyamo, check out this shinobi," Yukari said, and passed over a dossier. Minamo began to read over the sensei's comments.
"The guy is practically gushing over the student's skill. I know it isn't much to go on, but to hear it from the sensei, this one stands above the others."
"Assuming this is a truthful assessment, of course," Minamo qualified, well aware of the reputation of the Scorpion. It was rather convenient that this dossier alone had anything other than generic comments from the Sensei. There was also something else odd about the dossier. The shinobi's cover occupation was Shaimasen player, and her code-name was 'Cutey.' That alone wasn't too odd, but when taken into context with some of the comments the Sensei made, they had rather disturbing implications.
But if they wanted a shinobi, then the only alternative to taking the candidate the Scorpion wanted them to have was to select a candidate at random. And if they were all using code names, how would Minamo know the difference anyway?
"Okay, let's add…'Cutey'…to the team." Minamo said, hoping that she would get a real name once she met the candidate in person. "That leaves us with selecting a member of the Dragon Clan. I would recommend against a Kitsuki, despite it seeming like an obvious choice."
"Well, of course," Yukari replied, sounding like she was about to say the exact same thing. Then she gave Minamo a confused look. "Wait, why don't we want a Kitsuki?" she asked.
"The Kitsuki are real good at sniffing out secrets," Minamo explained. "But in this case, when they're fresh out of training, they're probably too good at it for their own health. Taking a young investigator into the heart of the Empire and giving him or her free reign to investigate whatever he wants is a sure way to put a knife in his back."
"Feh, you and your overthinking," Yukari said in a partially dismissive manner-one that told Minamo that Yukari saw her point, but wasn't going to admit it. "Then who do you recommend?"
"A tattooed monk," Minamo responded. Arguments could be made for other schools the Dragon had, but like the shinobi, a Dragon monk had unique abilities and talents that no other family in the Empire could easily replicate.
"Ugh, not another monk!" Yukari whined. "There's nothing worse than being lectured about the nature of reality, especially when it's done by someone 15 years your junior."
"You have a better suggestion?" Minamo asked, knowing fully well that she didn't.
Yukari started to say something, but then stopped.
"Okay, then let's see who's available," Minamo said, and grabbed a dossier while she handed one to Yukari. The Dossiers were marked with the mons of the Dragon Clan and the Togashi 'family.'
Yukari opened the dossier, and a look of confused disgust came over her face.
Minamo opened the dossier she had. It was empty, save for a single note.
"Esteemed Magistrate, we appreciate your desire to have the assistance of one of our order for your mission," Minamo read. "Please contact our embassy to express your interest, and we will send an appropriate candidate to the location you specify."
"See? This is what pisses me off about Dragon monks!" Yukari yelled, gesturing at the dossier in her hand. She tossed it aside, then in rapid succession, she began checking every other dossier in the stack and tossing it aside when she saw they had the same note. It wasn't long before the entire room was a mess.
"Would you calm down?" Minamo admonished. "Even if there had been something for us to read, it probably would be gibberish to us."
Yukari said nothing, but sulked in her chair.
"Look, having a monk won't be that bad. In all likelihood, you can just spend all your time with the Hida, the Matsu, and the crazy Ide woman and ignore what the monk has to say."
"Fine," Yukari conceded, "but this one better have a vocabulary range that extends beyond Shensei quotes, or there will be Jingoku to pay!" Yukari was still bitter about the last Dragon monk they had with them.
"I'm sure he'll be fine," Minamo said. She began to pile together the seven dossiers they had selected. "I'll go drop these off at their respectful embassies-"
An arm wrapped around Minamo's shoulder-"Don't bother! Just have a servant take care of it, Nyamo. You and I have much more important things to do!" Yukari shouted, her bad mood over having a monk on the team having instantly evaporated.
Minamo shot a confused look at Yukari. "Ehhh? What else do we have to do?" she asked.
Yukari threw out her free hand. "We got to celebrate our new mission and our new team!" She herded Minamo towards the door. Minamo barely had the opportunity to drop the dossiers into the arms of a waiting servant.
"Look out, Toshi Ranbo!" Yukari exclaimed. "This city will never know what hit it!"
Minamo was worried her friend was right.
edited 14th Apr '11 9:34:00 PM by Mahoshonen
http://www.fanfiction.net/u/2805385/Its a crossover blog fic between Panty And Stocking With Garterbelt and The Slender Man Mythos. It's still on going and you can participate in the comments, but don't try to game jack or anything, please?
These are the words that shall come from my mouth. I shall be known for speaking them.http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5594934/1/The_Butterfly_Effect
This story is perhaps one of the best Elfen Lied Fanfiction I've ever read.
Fellow troper Gojirob is also starting a set of really good Elfen Lied fanfics that continue and complement the Manga. That goes without mentioning his Other song drabbles.
And as for me: I have an Elfen Lied/Dragon Ball Z Crossover titled Elfen Lied: Children Of Destruction going on. It's currently on a small hiatus, but I'm working as hard as I can in the upcoming chapters.
edited 14th Apr '11 9:28:27 PM by LSSJ2Gohan
A trve man never dies, even when he's killed!

For those who want to share anime/manga fanfiction and Doujinshi, this thread is for you. Whether you're still writing and want feedback, want to let people know about a particularly good/bad/funny/anyeurism-inducing fanfic, or just show any old shames or gems you might have.
I myself have started a rather odd project: a cross-fic between Legendofthe Five Rings and Azumanga Diaoh. The premise is that the Azumanga characters (well, the students) are young samurai born in Rokugan (at the age we first see them in them in the anime, they would be considered adults in the L 5 Rverse (well not Chiyo, but, well, you know...)). Their adventures vary between the nonsequitors they went through in the anime, and fantastic oriental-themed adventures and intrigue found in L 5 R. While I'm aiming to keep them in character, being Rokugani Samurai, every one [[tookalevelofbadass]]. For characters that were sort of badass to begin with, things can be ridiculous at some points.
Here is the link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6904956/1/The_Tao_of_Azumanga
.
edited 14th Apr '11 7:56:40 PM by Mahoshonen
http://www.fanfiction.net/u/2805385/