messiah novel (you are in shine, part 21)

[devilism]

Near the official residence of the Prime Minister in New Tokyo is the old summit venue at the Imperial Hotel.

The big hall had been renovated just for today in order to become the temporary stage for the disarmament conference about "World Reforming."

The day of the world disarmament conference, March 14th.

For the first time in ten years they would discuss the results and efficiency of "World Reforming" and vote as to whether to continue the disarmament or not. The summit had been a hot topic in newspapers all over the world during the days before the summit.

Since the meeting was being held in Japan, the success or failure of said meeting would have a huge effect on the election of the House of Representatives which would be held right after it. So every TV station was only having live coverage of the conference, skipping the usual celebrity love life coverage.

Even so, it wasn't as if all gazes in Japan were fixed onto the TV and the news about the conference. Many working adults carried out their usual daily schedule, and many students who were preparing for their exams headed to an examination site with pale faces. But rather than the Japanese people who didn't have much interest in politics, people involved with the military and investors in military companies all over the world were watching the motions at the conference.

"Prime Minister, it's almost time."

Ushio Junjirou blinked violently as his assistant told him so.

Suddenly he seemed to sweat as his hand became soaked due to the glass of ice coffee he was holding. Although he had taken great care in brewing it, he had barely drank any of it, and the ice had melted and made the coffee grow thin.

He regretted not making hot coffee. Junjirou usually drank ice coffee, even in the middle of the winter, but just for today he wanted to stop shivering from the bottom of his stomach.

— — — — — — — — —
--- Fifteen hours had passed since Junjirou's son, Ushio Yoshiya, had been kidnapped by someone.

For the moment that fact was still completely confidential, both within the government itself and from the mass media, and there was still a group out there searching for him. But most of the police in the entire Kanto region had already been sent out for the disarmament conference, so it was difficult to secure personnel that would be able to move quickly in an emergency situation like this. Not to mention that someone would have to know the area well to be able to solve a kidnapping case like this one. So it was out of the question to call police from outside of the Kanto region.

There still hadn't been any requests from the group that kidnapped him.

If this had been carried out by a communist or religious group, it was high time for said group to contact them. But according to the investigation headquarters there hadn't been even the slightest signs of contact.

(So was this done by the North as well?)

Yoshiya had already been shot once. Even though he himself had been unaware of it, he had been shot in the back with a paint bullet right after the mock exam was done. It seems he didn't worry about it and just figured that someone's pen ink made a stain on him while he was shoving and pushing his way past the other test takers.

Junjirou thought that was only natural. His son was a high school student during a time where he was completely submerged in this peaceful Japan. Even if his father was the Prime Minister, it would definitely be unthinkable for him that his life would be targetted by spies from the North.

And even though his father had a big voice in the political world, he wasn't able to actually do much. He was just a third generation politician who had inherited the glory of his father and grandfather and had gotten the position of Prime Minister that way.

Junjirou bitterly understood how Yoshiya thought of him. It was difficult for children his age to like their parents a lot. He knew he wasn't thought of as a great man, but he was fine with it as long as he just wouldn't be seen as a bad example.

Still, parents have a duty to protect their children. In order to rescue his son who was on the brink of despair at the important time of his third year in middle school when he was forced to stop playing his beloved baseball, Junjirou didn't let him go to the public high school in their home area as a parent. He at least had to send him to the same private school he had gone to, so his son would be able to calmly think about his future and recover. A school with a higher education level was necessary for that.

That's why he recommended going to S School so he could advance to Tokyo University.

Junjirou had faith in Tokyo University, since he himself had gone there too. But if Yoshiya had any concrete dreams or future prospects for himself, Junjirou wouldn't force him to become a politician or even go to Tokyo University.

The problem was that there was none of that inside of his son. Dreams like the ones he held when he was at that age, or even belief or vague hope didn't show at all with him. All of today's youth seemed that way. It was like a tasteless and odorless atmosphere.

That was fine during private times, but you wouldn't be able to make money with that sort of atmosphere. You wouldn't be able to become a good working adult that way. The amount of young people who didn't become independent from their parents at the right age and just kept living at their parents' house without earning money was increasing. How much would parents with those kinds of children grieve? But even so, parents couldn't forsake their children.

Fortunately Yoshiya was still a high school student. So his parents just had to pray for him to come to his senses.

Junjirou thought so, and so he had been watching over Yoshiya in his own way until now.

Everything went well, and the only trouble were mock exams and stress-induced acne. But now his son was kidnapped by spies from the North.

— — — — — — — — —
(I wonder where you are now, Yoshiya.)

Although there was only an hour left until the disarmament summit about World Reforming would begin, Junjirou couldn't focus on reading over the many replies that had been sent to him by bureaucrats and copied for him by his aide.

That kid was delicate. There was no way he could have forseen that he'd be targeted. Perhaps that timid Yoshiya would get nervous and not be able to speak and anger their enemies---

"Prime Minister, chief Kurusu is..."

Chief Cabinet Secretary Narashino whispered into his ear. He nodded as he remembered that he had called chief Kurusu to the waiting room during this busy time right ahead of the summit.

The door opened and a large body entered. The face that had been nicknamed the "talking rock" opened his mouth.

"Forgive me. There was a slight problem, so I was late."

It definitely was already quite a bit past the scheduled time. As he entered the room, Junjirou said,

"Haven't you figured out anything yet? What about demands from the culprit?!"

Kurusu silently and curtly shook his head no.

"Nothing yet."

"That's... Are you looking into it properly? If you don't have enough manpower, ask the rural departments...!"

"It's necessary to proceed with absolute secrecy. Besides, it makes no sense to call in people who aren't familiar with Tokyo at all. Of course we are taking into account the fact that the spies from the North could be hiding in the countryside..."

The "talking rock" spoke calmly the whole way through. Junjirou thought that this sort of response from the police is normal, since it's supposed to sound level-headed to the parents of abducted children.

"At this moment there are hunderds ambassadors and heads of state from various countries staying in our New Tokyo. We've used up all personnel to protect the honorable visitors from other nations from terrorist organizations. Of course all of Tokyo's police force as part of Public Safety have given up their free day to be vigilant during these 24 hours. It would be a big problem if the press caught wind of this incident in the middle of all this. The summit would be blown off, and there never would be another international summit held in Japan again. A situation would be created where Japan's credibility as a nation would be questioned. We have to absolutely avoid that."

There was a hint of something like spirit or passion on Kurusu's face.

Junjirou was speechless and couldn't rebuke him. After all, he was the one who didn't listen to Kurusu's plan from the beginning and didn't bring his family along with him to live in the official residence. He felt responsible for that.

".. Is it the North's doing like we suspected?"

Junjirou feebly sat down. He glanced at Kurusu, who was still standing.

It would most likely stand out that the Superintendent General of the Metropolitan Police was going in and out of the Prime Minister's office. Even if the worst case scenario happened and the media caught wind of this, it wouldn't be unbearable. It'd be a problem for the police's side.

"Didn't you consider that it could be the work of some other organisation? Like abduction just for the sake of getting money, or a religious organisation..."

"If that was the case, your son's life would be in even more danger."

"W... Why?"

"The North's intentions are plain and simple. As we've already heard from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the North has taken up the position of being the leader of the anti-disarmament alliance. In other words, they want Japan's vote to destroy the disarmament agreement."

"... Mm."

"Therefore, they should release your son if you as the Prime Minister fall in line with their side at the summit. If they kidnapped him to get ransom, it isn't very rare in those cases to only get a corpse back after they have snatched up the money they demanded. If this had anything to do with religious terrorism, there would be even less opportunity for negotiation. Your son is merely being used as a chip..."

"Chief Kurusu."

Narashino cleared his throat.　Kurusu, who hadn't chosen his words well enough, gradually saw Junjirou's complexion get worse and worse.

"Forgive me. It was just an example."

Even if he called it an example, it was a certain fact that Yoshiya had been kidnapped. He wasn't able to say anything that would reassure him. To not speak of how the summit would be soon and he would have to make a decision about an important agenda that could change the fate of the world.

"... Prime Minister, you doubtlessly also know that there is no doubt that the culprit is a spy from the North. Our own intelligence agency consists of a very limited number of people, since we need to make sure their identities are unknown."

Junjirou feebly let his wrists hang along his thighs, and dropped his shoulders, crestfallen.

"I think there won't be any contact from the culprit in the future either. Since it was all just in preparation for this."

"That's right. I.. I suppose so..."

Kurusu's gaze fall on the documents that were spread out on the table. They were cheat sheets for the summit, prepared by the bureaucrats of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Predicted responses from all countries, the current disarmament situation, the expectations and political world inside of the summit, the reactions from the financial world, etc. It had all been put together so even Junjirou could understand it.

When he notices Kurusu's gaze, Junjirou bashfully turned his face away.

Until now Junjirou's cabinet had been planning to act according to the direction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the summit. Without any abduction involved. But..

"Although I might be repeating myself, it seems that your son will be returned safely if you follow the demands of the North. Please keep that in mind when push comes to shove."

"K.. Keep it in mind, what do you mean by that? Are you saying that I should turn my back on the anti-military side? Are you saying that at the venue of that enormous summit, right here in Tokyo, I should tear up the concept of world peace in front of the whole world and say we should all get an army again?!"

Bang, Junjirou hit the low table, almost in an exaggerated sort of way.

"I'm the Prime Minister of Japan. It's impossible to brazenly rip apart the consitution at an international conference!"

"... I understand the way you're thinking, Prime Minister, but if you glance even just a little bit past the surface, your son's life is at risk."

There was no room to object. Junjirou stared at Narashino, as if he was asking for help, but he only frowned as if he also felt uncomfortable about all of this.

Junjirou felt irritated at seeing that sort of behaviour from Narashino. It was always like this with that guy. He made that face as if he was also a victim, just because he was next to a powerful man before he knew it..

The party leadership had been talking him up around the time the cabinet was formed, saying, "Narashino-san is a former Foreign Affairs bureaucrat and doesn't speak excessively, so he won't make any verbal gaffes." Now Junjirou just regretted choosing him.　It wasn't that he didn't make verbal gaffes. He just didn't say anything at all.

"... That... would be irresponsible. It's you guys, the police, who are responsible for having to catch the culprit! My son is a good, ordinary citizen!"

"I'd find it hard to say he's ordinary."

This time around Junjirou stayed completely silent.

There would be no problem if the police could get Yoshiya back before the disarmament vote at the summit. Then it would be possible for him to cast a vote that would be in line with the Japan-United States alliance that had already been going on for several decades and stick to his own policy of "love & peace."

But there would be a problem if they wouldn't get Yoshiya back. In the worst case scenario Junjirou would have to choose between taking his son's life and taking Japan's disarmament stance away.

(That's... That would be---)

His habit of saying "it's fine like this" didn't come out of nowhere.

But to say "it's fine like this" wasn't possible as a conclusion in this case. What the hell was he supposed to do?

Until now he had been pressed many times to make a final decision. If you'd look back further in time, he had picked up his father's beloved profession and had married a woman who wasn't beautiful, but was the daughter of the chairman of a big company at his father's advice.

A politician who can make decisions. That was Ushio Junjirou's biggest selling point. If he had been in a brochure, the tag line would have been "Taking drastic decisions for Japan's sake". Many times he said the things that the Japanese people wanted to say, but couldn't say. Due to that he occassionally made verbal gaffes, which often left him in difficult situations with foreign bureaucrats. But to the citizens, who had felt disconnected from the Japanese government which seemed to show very little individuality, he was a Prime Minister who had left a very favorable impression with them.

But even though that Ushio Junjirou had weathered great storms through optimism and making big decisions, he couldn't think of anything now at this critical moment. His mind was blank.

"... Prime Minister, it's time."

Narashino anxiously said, drawing attention to the aide's wristwatch.

Junjirou stood up without saying anything. Narashino quickly gathered the summaries lying on top of the low table in a panic as Junjirou was about to leave empty-handed.

"Chief Kurusu."

Narashino spoke up in a way that was unlike himself.

"What is it?"

"I just ask the police department to carry out their duties. Which is to say, there won't be any problems as long as you bring back his son before the vote at the summit."

"There are only 26 hours left until then."

The summit would be opened in 40 minutes.

It was planned that after two days of deliberation the vote would be held first thing in the afternoon tomorrow.

"We can't change our diplomatic course as the Japanese government. Especially if it's for such a foul reason."

Kurusu silently listened.

"You only have one chance. There's a training school for that secret service called "Sakura." Use those students."

For a moment everything seemed to freeze.

Narashino had said it calmly, like a principal trying to gently urge a bad student to drop out of school.

"Sakura, is it?"

"Even normally we already give you a huge budget due to the police department forcing our hand. But the subordinates you have gathered there are only social misfits and criminals. They aren't capable people we'd miss if something were to happen to them."

"... But they're still..."

They're still students, Kurusu meant to say, when Narashino pushily interrupted him.

"Are the police in any position to be able to object at a time like this?"

Junjirou felt his own backbone extend a little at Narashino's words. That's right. Anyone was fine. Just as long as they got his son back within the time limit.

"In the unlikely event that something were to happen to the Prime Minister's son, or the incident isn't resolved by the time the summit's vote comes around, the police force would get dismantled this time around. It'd be a painful experience if the police force was cut off from the ex-army once more and was reduced to a pitiful state.　Of course that includes ridiculous expensive organisations like Sakura as well."

In 26 hours, Narashino emphasized.

Junjirou, urged by him, left the room.

They only saw Kurusu's polite bow that implied he'd handle the matter carefully in passing.

— — — — — — — — —
After a number of security checks, Kurusu left the hotel and made a phone call. He wanted to choose a place to talk where there wouldn't be any people around, which was a habit from his time working actively within Public Safety.

"Ichijima, it's me."

He knew that the other had been waiting for Kurusu to contact him for security purposes.

"What was Prime Minister Ushio's reaction?"

"It was just as expected. The Prime Minister didn't even have the composure to look through the notes prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But Narashino was unexpectedly difficult."

"Chief Cabinet Secretary Narashino... He certainly is in favor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and doesn't like Public Safety in general, huh?"

"That Narashino said that we should send out students from Maru School."

For a moment there was silence. 　Ichijima's next reply made it very clear whether that was due to admonishment or agreement.

"So it's a problem we can't escape without making some sacrifice, hm? Is he acting that confident because he knows his position isn't endangered by the police's votes?"

"Diplomacy is important. No matter whether he thinks that support is important if the summit succeeds, Narashino's family can't abandon their dislike for Public Safety. He intends to drive the police force into a corner, even if it means throwing away the police vote."

"So what are you going to do then?"

Kurusu answered briefly.

"There's a 26 hour extension. It's necessary to secure Ushio Yoshiya before the vote occurs at the summit."

"That'll be difficult, hm?"

"That's right. Even if we were to use all Sakura cadets, it's virtually impossible to track down a single high school student among 20 million people in this big New Tokyo area. From here on out we'll have to start from scratch."

Kurusu broke the subject off as if to say 'until there'.

"I'll try to negotiate with the government once more. During the discussions ahead of the summit's vote, Prime Minister Ushio has to be kept away from the North. If he doesn't succumb to the North's pressure until the end and keeps showing signs that he approves of the disarmament, the North might get impatient and send another message."

"But wouldn't Ushio Yoshiya be endangered if you did that?"

He basically said that a father whose child had been taken hostage should try to provoke the culprits in order to get more information about the child's whereabouts.

"Although Prime Minister Ushio's selling point is supposed to be boldness, he's actually just been put in his position by the bigwigs from his party. To put it in diplomatic terms, he's a palanquin. Could he really pick a fight with that Kaminski if it came down to it?"

"The final decisions will be made by the Prime Minister anyway. In the end he might not have any choice but to voice opposition to the disarmament. I want to take as many measures as we can right now to ensure that won't happen."

"Yes."

"--- Is there any way to get in touch with "Tower"?"

Ichijima didn't immediately reply. He chose his words and said,

"There isn't no such way."

"Well, then I'd like to negotiate with the North. Ginzburg came to Japan specially just to bring his younger brother, Mitsumi Haku, back to the North. He would be useful, along with that Sakura whose parents were killed by Ginzburg. Do you think so as well, Ichijima?"

There was a slight pause. Then he answered as if he understood it.

"I'll contact you again."

"Please do it quickly."

Kurusu hung up and started walking again.

During the next 16 hours they had to find Ushio Yoshiya, no matter what it would take. For that purpose he'd try to lure out the spy from the North by using those one or two Sakura cadets as bait.

Bait.

That boy who Ginzburg seems to be clinging to for some reason.

"... Kaidou.. Eiri, hm?"

A survivor of the massacre of an entire family in the Setagaya ward. A boy who, according to the family register, died back then as well.

He wondered if that boy would learn the truth this time. Who his family was, and why they were killed.

And then Mitsumi Haku.

What in heaven's name was Egor Ginzburg, who had the same face as him, planning on doing with him?

Those brothers with the unfortunate fate of having been enlisted in respectively the Japanese and Northern intelligence agencies, how will their dispute be settled during this incident where the Prime Minister's son was kidnapped...?

(First of all I have to ask for the Prime Minister's cooperation.)

Kurusu turned around in the middle of the lobby of the Imperial Hotel, full of police officers, to be sucked up again once more.


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