Subject: [FFML] [Eva][Fanfic] Jyotei Heika Banzai!
From: EeL
Date: 11/8/1998, 6:11 AM
To: ffml@fanfic.com
Reply-to:
teloong@cwcom.net

JYOTEI HEIKA BANZAI!
an Evangelion fanfic by EeL (TOH, Ee Loong)
completed 8 Nov 98

Neon Genesis Evangelion is owned by the people at GAINAX.
English translation rights and distribution in the UK 
belong to ADVision.

This fanfic is my first attempt at a period piece and 
parallels the end of Tokugawa era and the Meiji Restoration 
in Japan. It is dedicated to all students of Japanese history.

		*		*		*

      Souryuu Asuka Langley smiled to herself as she inspected the
records of the Imperial Treasury. Apparently it had not been as badly
managed as she had feared. Still she needed someone who was both able
and trustworthy for the position of Finance Minister so as to ensure 
the long term stability of the government. 

      Lord Aida Kensuke of Tosa had already been given the post of 
War Minister. He was simply the ideal choice for carrying out the
amibitious modernization of the Imperial Army - the abolition of the
samurai class, conscription, the introduction of a General Staff from
her native Germany and the establishment of an military-industrial 
complex to produce war materiel. No, better to leave him where he was. 

      Likewise her close friend and ally, Horaki Hikari had already
been appointed as head of the Imperial Household. Although the job 
had no executive functions, it controlled access to the Empress. It 
would prevent Jyotei-heika from dabbling in politics, not that she
had shown an inclination to do so. More importantly, Hikari could 
head off any attempts to use the Empress to endorse policies that 
Asuka was against. Love strengthened Asuka's hand once again. Hikari 
would keep that hotheaded Lord Suzuhara Touji of Hizen from doing 
anything stupid - like his demand to 'teach the Koreans a lesson' for 
refusing to acknowledge the Empress. As part of the peace pact, 
Shinji-kun had been insistent on appointing his loyal if bellicose 
friend to the General Staff. Asuka suspected that Shinji-kun was 
still feeling guilty about Gendou's hand in crippling Touji.

      Most of the Old Guard that could be relied upon where either
out of the picture or already involved in the administration. Among
those of the latter were the Foreign Minister, Lord Hyuuga Makoto of 
Choshu and the Home Minister, Lord Aoba Shigeru of Satsuma. Asuka
toyed briefly with the idea of calling Field Marshal Katsuragi Misato
out of her retirement. She quickly discarded it. Better to leave her 
as she was, caring for her war-wounded lover, Ryouji Kaji. Asuka had 
no regrets about that one.

      Her thoughts were interrupted by a rapping on the door.
She looked up to see Shinji being ushered into her chambers. He was
in formal ceremonial robes. His heirloom sword, the Murasaki-Tasogare,
at his side. Asuka smiled. It always pleased her to see her husband.

      "Asuka," said Shinji. "It's almost time to confirm the  
Proclamation."

      She rose from her seat and fixed her own sword to her belt.
The Akairu-no-Ha was the symbol of her family's authority over the
city of Nagasaki. It was also the epitome of her mixed heritage.
During the Ikari Shogunate, the island of Heshima, just off the coast 
from Nagasaki, was the only place foreigners had been allowed to dock
and trade. 

      Asuka had come a long way. Her mother was the only survivor of
the Shogun's massacre of Nagasaki's tozama-daimyo. She escaped abroad 
a German ship. Marrying the captain of the ship, Kyoko later gave 
birth to Asuka in Hamburg. Before Asuka was even four, her faithless 
father simply left them. Her mother soon died of heartache, leaving 
her to be cared for by other sympathetic exiles. Through their backing 
and her own sheer willpower, Asuka mastered the essence of German 
military organization and technology. Putting together a fleet of 
four ironclads, she sailed back to Yamato.

      The appearance of the strange girl bearing the Souryuu name, the
Akairu-no-Ha and backed by metal ships caused a stir in Nagasaki. The
local governor was quickly overthrown and Asuka established her foot
hold in Yamato. This enraged Shogun Ikari Gendou who sent an army to
destroy the upstart. Like boats against a rocky shoreline, wave after 
wave of samurai on horseback were cut down by Asuka's musket infantry 
and cannon batteries. Her band of three thousand had utterly 
annihilated an army of ten thousand.

      With news of her success spreading like wildfire, other tozama
daimyo took the chance to revolt against the Ikari Shogunate. Among
her most important allies were the hans of Choshu and Satsuma. Located
in the south-western corner of Japan, they stood to benefit most from 
the end of the Shogun's policy of isolation from the rest of the world
- they were ideally placed to grow rich from the trade that would 
follow from opening up. Their defection put Asuka relatively on par 
with the Shogun's forces.

      Even among the more conservative daimyo, there was sentiment
against Gendou on two counts. Firstly that he was not the rightful 
Shogun. He was not of Ikari blood. Having married Yui, a daughter of 
the previous shogun, it was whispered that he had his father-in-law 
poisoned and his brother-in-law assassinated. Ikari Yui also met her
end in mysterious circumstances when her son was three years old. 
Gendou's lack of humanity was exemplified when he sent his only son, 
Ikari Shinji, to certain death at the head of only two thousand 
troops. He held back the bulk of his forces to guard the puppet 
Empress in Kyoto and his own hide in Edo. Secondly, while it was 
accepted that the Shogun ruled on behalf of a powerless Imperial 
will, Gendou blatantly abused Imperial edicts to confiscate land 
from his enemies or to sanction their deaths. He manipulated the 
Aoi Empress since she came to the throne as a child of four years. 
In addition, Gendou ruled without consulting the court nobles or 
the tozama-daimyo. Instead he relied on advice from his 
court physician, Akagi Naoko. Following Naoko's death, he turned to 
her daughter, Ritsuko. He was also in cahoots with Kihl Lorenz, head 
of both the Privy Council and the shadowy Reikon-in. Many feared that 
once the Shogun had obtained exclusive control over the new military 
technology offered by the old man, a dark reign of terror by a 
Rokubungi Shogunate would fall over Japan.

      The Ikari Shinji expedition proved to be turning point. Spies
had told Asuka that the young Ikari was estranged from his cold and 
cruel father. Field Marshal Katsuragi, who had raised him since
the age of fourteen, had protested against Gendou's lastest maneuver.
Nonetheless Shinji still obeyed his father and rode at the head of
his personal guard. As he approached the front, he sent forth a 
messenger to ask for a duel instead of a battle. He had no wish to
send his men to die in a fruitless and futile gesture. Impressed by
his honourable intentions, Asuka agreed to meet him outside Kobe.

      He had brown hair and, strangely, blue eyes. He was a handsome
young man but he had a fatalistic air about him. Asuka regretted that
she would have to kill him. Her skill and her sword had proved to be
unmatched in the campaign so far. But as they duelled, Asuka found
herself facing a powerful swordsman who wielded a keen blade. This
sword had been made for him and him only. It was said that the spirit
of his mother was bound into it. 

      In the evening light, Asuka's blade was wrenched from her grip. 
It stabbed into the ground several feet away, the blood-red light of 
dusk glinting off its edge. She had been beaten. As Asuka looked at 
the katana pointed at her throat and into those sorrow-filled blue 
eyes, she understood that Gendou had forced his son into risking a 
personal duel. He was a compassionate young man who loathed senseless 
violence and the raw greed for power. Instead of slaying her that day,
he took her prisoner. It had been surprising that he had not slain her 
outright, it was even more surprising that he treated her with as 
much decorum and dignity as circumstances allowed. They would spend 
many evenings talking to each other, through the bars of Asuka's 
comfortably furnished cell. 

      Then he received two messages that changed the course of 
history. Lord Suzuhara, a childhood friend of his, had railed against
the Shogun for taking such a risk with the life of his son. Touji 
had a habit of speaking his mind even after the rest of the nobles
still in Edo were terrified into silence. The Shogun had sent ninja
to prevent another outburst that might be emulated elsewhere. They
failed and Suzuhara managed to escape with his life back to his
fortress in Hizen. However, the assassination attempt had cost him
an arm and a leg. As a result, Hizen and Tosa had risen in revolt
as well. 

      The other message was from Gendou. He ordered Shinji to bring
Asuka back to Edo where she would be put to death slowly, by the
most cruel and barbaric methods, as an example to others.

      The combined news was too much for Shinji's fragile soul.
He surrendered himself and his troops to his erstwhile prisoner.
Field Marshal Katsuragi quickly followed suit, ensuring that 
Asuka's forces took Kyoto without any resistance. Asuka, Shinji
and Misato sought an audience with the Empress who reluctantly
issued an edict declaring that Rokubungi Gendou be stripped of
his title of Shogun and that his son, Ikari Shinji, would assume
the position instead.

      After heavy fighting, Field Marshal Katsuragi captured Edo,
seat of the Shogunate government. Gendou and Kihl then retaliated
by bombarding the ancient city with their great fleet of nine 
destroyers. Asuka managed to sink five of them before her last
and personal ironclad was hopelessly damaged. Taking on water and
surrounded by flames, she prepared to go down with her ship as
the remaining four destroyers closed in. However victory was snatched 
from the jaws of defeat with the arrival of Shinji on board the 
battleship, Midori-ryuu. He had commandered the battleship from the
Yokosoka shipyards and had just managed to rush to the scene. The
arrival of the rightful Shogun, bearing an Imperial writ, on board
a floating behemoth caused three of the remaining ships to surrender. 

      Now out-numbered and out-gunned, Lorenz dumped the ousted 
Shogun and fled aboard the last destroyer. Shinji was rescuing 
survivors from both sides and could not give chase. To his relief,
Asuka clambered aboard with minor wounds and to their delight, one
of those fished out of the water was none other than Gendou himself.

      He had been too cowardly even to take the only honourable way 
out. With his miserable life was spared at the insistence of his son, 
he was banished to Hakodate, where he was put under house arrest.
Akagi Ritsuko was retired and her kindly apprentice Ibuki Maya 
installed as the new Imperial Physician. A peace pact was signed 
between the Shogun and the Nagasaki coalition.

      In his final act as Shogun, Ikari Shinji proclaimed the Aoi
Restoration. Dissolving the Shogunate, the victorious drew up a
new constitution for an open and progressive nation. And in a grand
act of love and diplomacy, Shinji took the Souryuu name when he 
married Asuka. Their union united all the factions of Yamato and the
passing of the Ikari name signalled the end of the Shogunate era.

      "Asuka?" asked Shinji, returning Asuka to the present. "Are 
you alright?"

      "Yes, Shinji-kun. Thank you."

      As Asuka headed towards the inner Imperial Sanctum where most
of the time the Empress was sequestered from the view of outsiders,
she was glad for Shinji's presence. She had doubted the legends about
the godly heritage and semi-divine status of the Empress. But those
doubts were shaken by her first audience with the Empress Ayanami
Rei. Through the translucent white curtain, Asuka could see a young
woman who had the fairest skin. But what stood out was her light 
blue hair and piercing red eyes. Likewise her pale consort Nagisa 
Kaworu, who was also of Imperial lineage, had greyish hair and those 
same red eyes. Both seemed very fond of Shinji who also appeared to 
reciprocate the quiet affection. She honestly felt afraid to be left 
alone in the duo's presence. She had become used to Shinji being by 
her side to support her through love and war. The decision she had 
been pondering over earlier suddenly came to her. It made perfect 
sense.

      They were met by Hikari who noted their appointment and ushered 
them into the audience chamber. The rest of the new cabinet was 
already waiting. All bowed as the Empress and her consort took their
places. Hikari looked through the Proclamation of Government and
spoke.

      "Does the first Imperial Cabinet wish the Empress to confirm 
the list of its members?"

      "Ministers," said Asuka. "If there are no objections, I would
like to put forth Viscount Souryuu Shinji for the position of Finance 
Minister. He has proven his organizational mettle in the Restoration 
campaign and I believe will be able to contribute greatly to our work."

      This was swiftly agreed to and also pleased the Aoi Empress. 
She retired to her chambers after affixing her seal to the document.

      The party then proceeded to the battlements over the gates of 
the Imperial Palace, before which a huge crowd had gathered. Hikari
stepped forward, raising the Imperial Proclamation above her head
and announced,"People of Yamato, in the Twenty-Fifth Year of the Aoi 
Era, the Empress has given her consent to the formation of the first 
Imperial Restoration Cabinet under Prime Minister Souryuu Asuka 
Langley. Jyotei Heika Banzai! Long live the Empress!"

      Amidst wild cheering, Asuka and Shinji embraced. And thus was
the dawn of a new age.

End.
 
		*		*		*


Jyotei-heika: Her Imperial Majesty
Murasaki-Tasogare: Purple Twilight      
Akairu-no-Ha: Red Blade
tozama-daimyo: senior feudal lord
han: province
Reikon-in: Council of Souls
Midori-ryuu: Green Dragon
Aoi: Blue (Japanese have a parallel calendar denoted by the
number of years of the current Emperor has reigned.)
Jyotei-heika banzai: Long live the Empress!

Comments and criticism welcome! 
(email: toheel@singnet.com.sg)

Previous works are archived at
http://sunflower.singnet.com.sg/~toheel/