Corpse March

Chapter 52 Six-Man Pod

“Sorry for calling an emergency meeting so late in the night, and so early after  the bombing, but there’s something we can’t ignore.” Tsuki stops pacing, sits down in her seat, and turns towards her fellow councilors. “It’s hard to believe, but it seems that there’s a traitor in our midst.”

Tsumugi, Florence, Gleam, Jessica, and Tomoe all nod their heads. 

“Are we absolutely sure?” Florence folds his hands. “Perhaps this is the act of an insurgent group?” 

“No, the scale of the attack would be impossible to pull off for anyone who doesn’t have a councilor’s influence.” 

Florence meets Tsuki’s eyes. A single bead of sweat drips from the side of his face. “Do you have any particular suspicions?”

“Hmmm…” Tsuki makes a big show of stroking her chin. “...nope.” 

“Let’s take stock.” With those three words, it becomes apparent to everyone in the room that Tsumugi’s usual nonchalance, politeness and gentleness are all gone. In their place, she has a roboticism that wasn’t there before. And her puffy eyes poorly hide her barely controlled rage. “As reported by the security specialist in charge of the event, there were terrorist attacks on the first and second floor. The one on the first floor was conducted by Kuroko Shindou–”

“Who is an outsider.” Gleam interjects. Technically, she’s right, Kuroko is an outsider and her hands are clean. But it’s plain to see for everyone in the room who it was that gave the order. “And the bomb yield was only enough to destroy the bathroom. It’s highly likely that the intent behind the first floor attack was only to scare us.” 

“Right…” Tsumugi clears her throat. “That aside, the main issue is what happened during the attack on the second floor. Several people were killed, including Public Morals Committee Head Nui, and a close friend of mine, Asuka Katame. May Lady Tsubame welcome them both in the afterlife.” 

“Let it be so.” A refrain of mourning passes through everyone’s mouths. 

Nui was one of the few supporters Gleam had. Now that she’s gone, it’s just her and Florence left. Not the greatest forecast on her part. 

“Nui probably wasn’t their only goal. That bomb was strong enough to kill all of us.” Tsuki offers a theory of hers. “If I had to guess, these attacks aren’t going to stop until we’re all gone.”

“So, whodunnit?” Florence raises his hands before letting them fall to his side.

“Let’s think for a moment.” Jessica takes a long drag from her cigarette. Who among us would resort to something like this?” Eyes shift from Jessica to Gleam. 

“What are you all implying?” 

“We’re not saying that it’s you. We’re not saying that it isn’t either. But staging a high-profile attack to prove your point regarding the dangers of the outside to the public is a pretty strong move.” 

Gleam shrugs. “Very well. Yes, I did give out the order to plant a bomb on the first floor.” 

“Well…” Tsuki shrugs. “That was easy–”

“However, the bomb on the second floor was not my doing.” 

“It makes sense.” Tsumugi nods her head. “Two bombs would be redundant. And I don’t think you believe in backup plans.” 

Gleam smiles at Tsumugi. “Why waste resources planning for failure?”

“Mhm.” Tsumugi nods her head but does not smile back. It’s strange, the most trustworthy person in the room is the person who she’s been enemies with up until a few hours ago. “I think that this recontextualizes Lady Kentomi’s death as well. Now that a rogue factor is in the picture, it’s entirely likely that neither I nor Gleam assassinated Lady Kentomi.” 

“Agreed.” Gleam raises a glass at Tsumugi. “It’s good to be on the same side again.”  

Tsumugi half-heartedly raises a glass as well. “And Gleam, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. In the first place, our political stances have not changed. But yes, for now, we are allies.” 

“Ah, that’s… that’s right.” Gleam almost imperceptibly deflates back into her chair. 

“I’ll call off the rest of the festivities for the night. Plays included.” Tomoe picks at the hair on the back of her head. “It wouldn’t do to have an ally be accused of someone else’s crimes. Forgive me for being hasty.” 

Tomoe bows at Gleam, who only nods in return. 

“And make sure you check with your allies  before making any more bold plays, hmmm?”  Tsumugi takes a sip of her tea before adding more sugar. “Anywho, who else among us seems the most suspicious?”

Tsuki raises her hand. “Florence.” 

Tomoe snaps her fingers at her and asks “Why?” 

“Vibes.”

“Tsuki.” Tomoe sighs. “This is no time for jokes.”

“Well.” Tsuki plants her mechanical arms on her mechanical waist. “Excuse me for trying to lighten the mood.” 

“...” Silence envelops the room. 

“Come on, It was pretty funny.” Tsuki claps both Florence and Tsumugi on the shoulders but he shrugs her off and Tsumugi forces a smile as she gently lifts her hand off her shoulder and places it on the table. 

“Not now, Tsuki.” Those words are a silver bullet to Tsuki. She shrinks back into her chair, head turned downwards and hands folded neatly at her lap. It’s not often that Tsumugi is stern with Tsuki, but desperate times call for a tame Tsuki.

“Back on topic.” Tomoe takes another sip of her black tea. “Anyone else have any ideas?” 

Gleam raises her hand. “May I?”

“Go ahead.” 

“My suspicion falls on Florence.”

“On what grounds?” Florence reclines into his chair. “I’ve been nothing but loyal to our party.”

“Then why didn’t you come to me first with all this Kikimi business?” Gleam’s already steely eyes harden even more. “I won’t sugarcoat my words here. The existence of an heiress could have been live ammunition for us. So, why’d you pull the trigger yourself?”

“If I may interject.” Tsumugi raises her hand. “An alternate theory is that Florence was merely working in the interests of the council as a whole. After all, the existence of an heiress is not something that should be kept hidden.”

“Indeed.” Florence closes his eyes and lets his head loll backwards. “Forgive me, Gleam, I was overwhelmed when we found the letter during a search of Lady Kentomi’s room. I wasn’t thinking, my first instinct was to rush to the council room immediately to announce the good news. I ask for your forgiveness.”

Florence stares at Gleam, but Gleam doesn’t stare back. Instead, she stares directly at Tsumugi with a mixture of distaste, confusion and distrust. Tsumugi stares back, a silent smile on her face, as if saying “Trust me.” So Gleam does. 

“Very well, you have my forgiveness. But don’t you ever take sides against me again.” 

“Yes, Lady Gleam.” 

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“Very well. We can table the issue for another time.” Tomoe jots something down into a notebook of hers. ”For now, perhaps we can discuss a plan to root out this traitor among us?” 

“It seems a little counterintuitive to be discussing a plan to catch a rat with the rat present, no?” Jessica counters. 

“Then all we need is the sweetest cheese that not even they can resist. But then… whom will be our bait?” 

“If they’re after our lives, then I suppose it only makes sense to use ourselves as bait.” 

“Risky.” 

“Do we have much of a choice? It’s better that we were to engage them on our terms rather than having to react to whatever it is they throw at us, wouldn’t you agree?” 

“I think we’re focusing too much on trying to root out the traitors.” Tsumugi stirs her tea before taking a sip. “Let’s not forget that our lives are at stake here. Why don’t we focus on keeping ourselves safe first?”

Tomoe gestures at the empty seat “We were supposed to be the most protected we’ve ever been tonight and yet, look what happened. We lost Nui. And we’re lucky that we weren’t all killed in the process. Though, that does bring something else to mind…”

“I suggest you watch your next words very carefully, Tomoe.” Tsumugi’s lips press into a thin line. 

“If I recall correctly, you were in charge of tonight’s security. Would you care to explain how not one but two terrorist attacks slipped past your notice?” 

“Firstly, the terrorist attack on the first floor never came into fruition because of our efforts. Secondly, how dare you?” The barely controlled rage that was stewing inside of Tsumugi comes out in full force. “If not for the brave sacrifice of one of my closest friends, we would all be dead and buried.” 

“However, the fact remains that you are the one councilor most open to dealing with the outside world. If I had to guess, this might even be classified as a Monarchian attack.” 

“Tomoe.” Jessica tries to warn Tomoe to stop but it’s like she doesn’t even hear her. 

“After all, are you not a Monarch yourself–”

“Enough!” Tsumugi stands up. “Your claims are as baseless as the ideology you stand on. I am the only begotten daughter of Lady Tsubame. I was raised in Takakumo. I’ve spent my life taking care of Takakumo. You, on the other hand, aren’t even human.” 

“And yet, I have never been Takakumo’s enemy either. I saw the rise of this city, and I will do everything in my power to not see its fall.” Tomoe’s demeanor remains unchanged but the subtle way she grips her teacup ever so slightly too tightly reveals the sting of Tsumugi’s words. She sighs. “We’re not going to get anywhere just slinging insults at one another.”

“Agreed.” 

Lightning clashes in midair as the two stare at each other. One with callousness, and the other with sheer overwhelming anger. Though they both mask it well. 

On a deeper level, Tsumugi understands what Tomoe’s doing. Their alliance has always been founded on puppeting Kagami  and preventing Gleam from ascending to the throne. Now that Lady Kentomi is dead and Kikimi’s blocking Gleam’s ascent, this alliance is null and void.

Right now, Tomoe’s sole goal is to remove Tsumugi from the picture. She’s not beholden to any reason or sentimentality from their time together. She has no boundaries, no remorse, no rules. To her, anything and everything is allowed, even using the existence of a traitor as live ammunition. Strangely enough, to Tsumugi, Tomoe is far more dangerous than this traitor.

Tsumugi knows that she wants her to get mad. She wants her to make a mistake. She wants to rip her apart. And she’s made her first move. To counter, she needs to respond with elegance and a level head. But her anger gets the best of her. 

“I invoke Trial by Combat.” 

“Oh?” 

Tsumugi slams her hands onto the table. “If you refuse to listen, then I will prove my innocence to you through force.” 

“And you all.” Tomoe looks at the other councilors. “You’re all okay with this?”

Everyone else nods their head. They all know that Tsumugi’s innocent, it’s obvious when you think about it for even a moment. But still, Tomoe’s claims can’t be completely dismissed. If this is what it takes to officially prove Tsumugi’s innocence, then so be it. 

“Very well. I will meet you on the battlefield with my champion tomorrow. Prepare yourself, Tsumugi Tsubame. I have no intention of losing.”