Necessary Corruption 3: Trust and Start (Patreon)

Necessary Corruption
Chapter 3: Trust and Start

-VB-

I sat in what was once my father’s throne room in the full regalia of a Land of Rivers nobility sokutai attire, but unlike the traditional blue many Rivers nobility preferred, I opted for a red and green to signify to myself and those close to me what exactly I would be doing from now on. Red signified the blood of our enemies and the green signified the agricultural reforms I intended to bring about.

I waited upon the raised dais, and watched as the three men and a single woman I’ve called to see me approached me before kneeling in front of the dais with their heads bowed.

These four were my most trustworthy retinue.

“I am Takanori Jin, Lord of the Gyushi Province of the Land of the Rivers,” I began. “I welcome my father - and now my - most trusted retinue before me.”

My words got the four to feel relaxed. To hear that they were the most trusted would do that to most people.

“I am however with sufficient protection. I also now possess the means to fill that weakness.”

No response.

“I call you four here because I know that I can trust you four, and what I am about to bestow upon you must not be spread to anyone else, even to your families, until I decide that the time is right. If you do not believe that you can keep yourself shrouded in secrets… please stand up and leave. I will not bear any ill will towards you nor consider you any less. This is simply security I must take to ensure that the Takanori Clan and the Gyushi people can rise up without being hindered by the enigmatic ninjas or their daimyos.”

No one moved.

“Washimoto Kiro, stand and approach me.”

The eldest men quickly obeyed without seeming hurried. He stood up, walked up a few steps up the dais, and knelt again with his head bowed.

I stood up and approached him.

I’ve already tested my newfound power. I knew that I could do this.

“I bestow upon you a power. Use it wisely for the Takanori Clan and your people.”

I felt an energy within me leave and Washimoto glowed briefly. There was a pause as the elderly man gasped before he went from kneeling to prostrating before me.

“By your will!”

I paused minutely to allow his words to settle into all.

“Ichinan Yunta, stand up and approach me.”

Washimoto quickly stood up and walked down the stairs while still facing me and keeping his head bowed. Once he was back on the ground level, he went back to prostrating.

Yunta, the most significantly “round” man among us five, stood up and hurried up. He knelt on both of his knees and bowed.

“By your will.”

“ I bestow upon you a power. Use it wisely for the Takanori Clan and your people.”

He too glowed briefly before he nearly repeated Washimoto’s prostration. He opted for a kowtow before he stood back up and joined Washimoto.

“Nari, stand up and approach me.”

Nari was the only woman as well as the only true commoner to have risen up to join the court of the Takanori Clan. My father had never cared about the class of an individual, though he did publicly make a show of caring about the caste system, and sought to recruit what he considered “talents” into the clan. Nari was one such talent who excelled in management.

She too knelt before me.

“I bestow upon you a name and a power. Use this power well, Saiyonori Nari, for the Takanori Clan and your people.”

She left to join the other two.

I turned to the last man.

He was … my older half-brother. A bastard, he may be, but he’s stuck with us for a long time even when he didn’t need to. I knew for a fact that other clans and nobility had tried to bribe him for information on the clan, but he’d refused them all, even reporting them to father and I multiple times.

I trusted him. He was my brother.

“Takanori Hisou.”

My brother’s head snapped up, and I smiled gently.

“Stand up and approach me.”

He did. I placed my hand on his shoulder, not his head.

“You have served the family for a long time. I trust you, brother.”

I ignored the tear that fell from his face.

“I bestow upon you this power. Serve the Takanori Clan well for you are one of us.”

When he left to join the others, I too walked back onto my seat and sat down, feeling a little empty after spending what was eight of the nineteen portions of my power. “Now, tell me the powers you have received so that others may know them.”

My brother spoke up first. “I can… see more. Every detail stands out for me.”

Yunta spoke up next. “I feel like I can do more with my body. I can … fight like no one else can.”

“I am aware of everything around me in 2 Se* with me in the center,” Nari mumbled. “This is beyond anything I have heard about ninjas…”

“I can alter minor changes to any room I find myself in,” Washimoto hummed. “This is extremely useful for defensive purposes, milord.”

“Oh? How so?”

“I am a warrior, milord. Not exactly a samurai nor a ninja for I know nothing about chakra. However, all warriors require steady feet to fight, but with this power…” The floor next to him shifted, lengthening, before snapping right back. “When the very floor they stand on cannot be trusted, could they even approach us?”

I grinned. “Good. You are thinking as well as I had hoped you would. Then let us share a meal and a drink to commemorate this event.”

They smiled and grinned as they followed me to join me in the dining hall.

-VB-

*1 Se = 1,067 sq. ft.