Changing Masks

by Nicholas Metelsky

  Fighting robots, not to mention mobile armor is common, and any self-respecting clan has as much heavy equipment as they can afford, on average, between ten and thirty machines. However, heavy equipment is prohibited within borders of the city. Oh, I almost forgot. Clans can be sure that no one will fabricate a case against them, and that they will never be approached by an anonymous individual, taken to prison and left there to rot without trial or prosecution. Every clan member knows that if he or she was prosecuted, the Court would be as fair as possible. However, the flip side of the coin is that if a clan member is prosecuted, it can only mean they were guilty 80 times out of 100.

  In response, the clans swear allegiance to the Head of State and provide full support. Taking into account their economic and military power, that's substantial backing. No one can give orders to the clans, as they are a State within the State. The emperor can only ask for their assistance, and if his request does not concern the security of either himself or the country as a whole, the clans can politely decline. I suspect that there is a lot more to the terms and nuances of the relationship between the emperor and the clans.

  In the history of Japan, there is a centuries-old incident connected to this very relationship. Everyone knows that after 1192, the emperor's power was nominal while the shōgun ruled together with his government, Bakufu. The emperor was left the right to grant permission for the creation of a clan and had various other rights and ceremonial functions—My knowledge of Japanese history isn't great. The point is that historians still can't understand why the Imperial family, who entered into the agreement with the other clans didn't challenge the clans for superiority either prior to the reign of the shogunate or afterwards. It's also a mystery why the Meiji rulers sat on the bench, content with their insignificant roles. After all, the solution was obvious. Had they asked for help from the clans, an army no smaller than the army of the shogun, would have gathered under their banners. And if they had chosen the right time, they could even have managed do so whilst avoiding a civil war. Evidently, the imperial clan suffered from the same shortfall as me: they just couldn't see what was right in front of them. So, the situation was that the clans promised to support the head of state, who was, in fact, a shogun, but the person from whom they received permission to create a clan and to whom they gave their word was the emperor. Finally, the cunning Meiji took advantage of this in the nineteenth century, regaining full power. This is also an interesting story when you compare it to the history of my own world, although that's not the point here.

  Let's get back to the present day. Clans get a lot of rights and bonuses and only have two or three responsibilities. Not surprisingly, their main privilege is the right to create a clan which is considered a great honor and a great gift, and acquiring this right is insanely difficult. At the same time, clans, like money, would depreciate if there were too many of them. Even if we discard the cynicism of my world and assume that clan members will not violate the agreement and tell the head of state what to do, or anything worse like organize a revolution, anyway... No ruler is going to like having a bunch of mob men who are armed to the teeth and greater in number than his own army, constantly clashing on his land. So, whatever one might say, no head of state would benefit from having too many clans.

  Most likely, two hundred years ago, everything was simpler and creating a clan was difficult but still possible. These days, one can barely imagine what would have to be done in order for the emperor to give his consent. Perhaps, you just gave him something eternal, something like a perpetual-motion machine or eternal life. In Japan, the last time this happened was two hundred years ago, in the early nineteenth century. At that time, a new clan Kurumu started to prosper during the Meiji restoration.

  An international clan is, put very simply, a clan that has been recognized by two or more state rulers. There are fourteen worldwide, twelve that have managed to persuade two rulers and two that have managed to persuade three. The words ‘honor’ and ‘reputation’ mean a lot in this case, if not everything. Spain, for instance, has suffered for four hundred years because their king, now long-dead, once broke his word. Once a mighty state, it slipped to the position of a third-rate country for many years, only being selected for secondary roles post World War II, which also took place in this world — quite an achievement. Generally speaking, in this world, you can be sure that no ruler of a more or less developed state will risk getting their hands dirty by entering into an agreement with the first clan that comes its way. To accomplish this kind of relationship with a state ruler, the clan must be old, respected, strong, wealthy... and basically, the best. Of course, they don't come to the ruler empty-handed. No-one is going to listen to you just for the sake of it. Shina's father once said that it's easier to find a secondary gift, after all, giving recognition to a superclan is not quite the same thing as permitting the establishment of a new, young clan that can as yet give little support to the State. Him saying this should have raised another red flag for me. And although the clan would have more problems to deal with, as two countries could never be best friends forever, the advantages would still be greater, especially once their reputation grew…

  Now, it should be clear how difficult it is to become an international clan and how prestigious and profitable it is. Most importantly, the power of the old man sitting in front of me is now clear and he is a Virtuoso as well! It's funny to think that there I was, poisoning him with my cheap coffee. I should have started asking questions. If the old man didn't have any business, he could sit like that for hours, but my curiosity would soon start to boil. When I finally got the courage and inhaled ready to say something, the doorbell made me jump. There was a long ring, then another one, and another. Then it rang a couple more times. Then the unexpected visitor rang an uncomplicated melody and there was another long sounding of the bell.

  'Who’s that?' The old man's nerves are not designed for this. That's ok, I'll tell him who it is.

  'That’ll' be Shina, Kenta-san. She's such a goofball.'

  I opened the door only to be faced with an angry look. Shina stopped ringing the bell right after she heard me unlocking the door, and now she was just standing there with her left hand on her hip, and her right hand holding her school bag.

  'What the heck, freeloader? Am I supposed to wait out here all evening?' What? What does she mean —‘freeloader?’ Whose freeloader? How dare she speak to me in such a manner? It would have been okay if she had said it jokingly, but her tone left no doubt that she had not intended to veil her insult.

  Without even asking my permission, Shina pushed me aside and entered my house. This was not even arrogance, just outright rudeness. I didn't even understand at first what had just happened. I mean, she had always been somewhat audacious, but now she was crossing all the basic norm lines of morality. By the time I came to my senses, she was already in the living room, and it was somewhat inconvenient for me to argue with Shina in front of her grandfather. So I had to put aside my indignation growing every second into anger and play coy. So after locking the door, I followed her.

  I found Shina standing in the middle of the living room, faltering and confused.

  'Hello, grandfather, what are you doing here?' That's a very good question! The old man looked at her, then over her shoulder at me.

  'I'm just hanging out. Unlike you it would appear.'

  'Well, I ... umm ... Oh, and you're drinking that crappy coffee again. Don't you care about your health at all? Let me make you some tea instead.' She quickly picked up his cup and saucer and headed into the kitchen, without hesitation throwing a comment in my direction, 'Otherwise, this half-man will drive you to your grave.' Giving her a look, I sat back down on the couch. It was clearly time to break contact with her. Things were getting ridiculous. Something that I wouldn't pay attention to if I had been alone with her, sounded quite different in the presence of others. What about the 'half-man' quip? No comment on that one. If she were a boy, I would have broken her arms and leg
s. Neither her grandfather’s presence nor her fighting rank would have stopped me. Fortunately, I had almost fully restored my abilities a year ago. Yeah, almost. However, enough to sort her out.

  I calmed down a little and looked at the old man. What can I say? She was obviously going to get it in the neck once they got home. Her grandfather's face looked like a copy of a visual aid for the action of lemon juice on the tongue of the average person.

  'I apologize for the words... and actions of my granddaughter.' He clearly did not like the way Shina had behaved as a guest in my house. I was used to it, but he was witnessing it for the first time. It was kind of strange that being neighbors for so many years, this was the first time I had hosted them in my house at the same time. It felt like she owned the house, and I was the guest.

  'She’s the one who should apologize, not you.'

  'No, it's my job, first.' Right, this is Japan, and it's their custom. 'I am her grandfather, and her upbringing...'

  'I'm sorry to interrupt, Kenta-san, but you can't do much. Shina is no longer a child, and everything that could possibly have been invested in her has already been invested. If a man's fate is to be a maniac killer, you can nurture him all you want, but when he grows up, he'll become a maniac killer. Likewise, if a woman is a born witch, it's hard to change her.'

  'That's a very controversial assertion.'

  'No, not very, Kenta-san—simply controversial—and I understand that. But that's my opinion. Let's imagine two families with the same income, with parents who have similar personalities, the same social level, even similar friends yet their children grow up completely differently. That's a good example.'

  'Have you come across an example of this in life?'

  'Yes—both in my world and in this world.'

  'Well, let's not argue about it. Everyone is entitled to an opinion. I feel obliged to apologize to you.' I just waved my hand in response. 'I'll talk to her when we get home.'

  'You should tell Kagami-san.'

  'You might be right, who if not the mother should teach the girl how to behave.'

  Soon Shina returned, carrying a tray with two cups. She put one of them in front of the old man and took the second cup for herself. I just reached for my cigarettes.

  'Hmm, I seem to be missing something,' Kenta said without even touching his tea. 'I'm not seeing a third cup.'

  'That's because it's not there, grandpa.'

  'Why not?'

  'Because the little one can make his own tea if he wants.' That was not smart on her part. She'd have been better off playing dumb and saying something to get off scot-free.

  'Shina, the disgrace of the family, go home.' The old man's pleasant intonation did not correspond to the meaning of the phrase.

  'What?' Judging from the girl's squeal, she heard a lot more than I did in her grandfather’s words and intonation, which is not surprising.

  'Go home, and don't even think about leaving the house before I get back!' The head of the Koyama clan said, quietly, but insistently. Jumping up, Shina rushed to the door. She didn't run but she walked very quickly. In a couple of seconds, she came back and, having picked up her school bag, disappeared equally as fast.

  It was an interesting situation. It was like your best friend came to see you... Actually, you came to see your best friend, and your daughter, sister, or wife was there and began to insult and humiliate your friend. In the meantime, the friend would have to listen to the family drama. Yeah, Shina had just set up the old man.

  'I'm sorry, Shinji.' I nodded in response. I'm not gonna say that it's okay. 'I'll make sure she repents.' Oh, wow. She deserves it though. Okay, time to change the subject.

  After I put down my cigarette, I asked the old man, 'Kenta-san, I have a question or two for you. I just didn't have a chance to ask earlier.'

  'I'm listening, Shinji.'

  'Could you tell me how it happened that the head of the Koyama clan and his family settled here? I'm pretty sure that if you wanted to, you could build a castle anywhere. You live in a large house, but one clearly not suited to your status. Then, there’s the location. Why not downtown, but instead here on the outskirts of Tokyo?'

  'That's an interesting question. You see, Shinji, you're wrong about the status. There are some unspoken rules among the aristocracy, something like etiquette. They're more flexible and changing with time. One example is your own house. Up to the sixteenth century, the common belief was that a mansion, in addition to its basic functions, was a sign of strength and well-being. In the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries, castles took their place. Later, aristocratic houses started to get smaller in size. Nowadays, our house is a single-family residence that showcases the family’s taste. The more people in the family, the larger, respectively, their house is.

  'I apologize for interrupting again, Kenta-San, but in my opinion, your house is quite large for five people.'

  'It's not the house that's too large, Shinji, it's that our family is too small. The house is designed for a family of seven or eight people plus servants. That answers your question about size. Now let's talk about why we settled here. What do you know about ancestral lands?'

  'Judging by the name, it's the land that belongs to one specific clan.'

  'Right. I would add that the land given is the highest degree of commendation, after the permission to create a clan, of course. That's because here, in Japan, just as in the vast majority of other countries, the land belongs only to the head of state. So, only the head of state can grant part of it. The aristocracy only gets measly plots, and the vast territory that they manage on behalf of the Emperor does not actually belong to them. Many forgot this fact during the shogunate which came back to haunt them during the reign of Meiji. The lands granted by the Emperor are no longer his property: they can be bought and sold, granted or taken away. However, nowadays it's not as easy to take away land as it was before; there are more laws now, but more difficult does not mean impossible, and it still happens. Also, emperors occasionally bought out their ancestral lands, and sometimes even took them away—not from the clans, however, although that's happened before as well. This is the so-called cycle of land in nature. The total area of ancestral land in our country is approximately ten percent of the entire state. I can’t say that it's a small amount, but still, it’s not much.'

  'Almost like Italy.' Before World War II, the territory of Japan was approximately equal to the country in my world, but here, the Japanese have managed not only to occupy the Malay Archipelago, previously owned by the Netherlands, but also to hold onto it afterwards. So here and now, the Empire is the eighth largest in land area in the world. Is it worth mentioning that countries like Indonesia do not exist in this world?

  'Perhaps. I haven't checked. So, there is a rumor that ten percent is the limit the emperor will allocate as ancestral land. He's not going to increase it. So, before he grants someone new land, he’ll have to take something away from someone else. He can seize land to satisfy debts or just buy it out. So the problem of private ownership is very acute, here and in other countries. The cost of land is sky-high, and landowners receive significant status and reputation. It is worth noting that the closer ancestral lands are located to settlements and the larger the area, the more expensive they are, adding value to the settlements. For example, the land with your house that doesn't even have a yard, but is located in the heart of Tokyo, will cost the same as more than 250 acres near a small town. Yep, something like that.'

  'Ah, it's scary to think how much your house is worth, Kenta-san. I'm not surprised that you live here, even though it's not downtown. It is still in Tokyo. As I understand it, that is very good for status and authority?'

  'Exactly. Our house is ideal in terms of tacit etiquette, in addition to that, it stands on ancestral lands located within the precincts of the capital.'

  'Couldn't you find anything closer to downtown Tokyo?' Oops, that came out kind of rude! 'I'm sorry.'

  'Nope, nothing. The clan has plots of l
ands here and there, including in downtown Tokyo, but they are not very big — roughly the size of our house but with no adjacent territory.'

  'I thought, in theory, that would be cooler.'

  'Shinji ... Okay, you see, the Koyama clan owns the whole neighborhood not just the land of our home.' Fancy that!

  'You mean the land on which I live, and all our neighbors...'

  'Correct.'

  'But why ... What sense does that make... Why would you want to populate your own land with all and sundry?'

  'The land belongs to the Koyama clan, and, not counting you, only clan members and the clan's people live here.' Freeloader. So I really am a freeloader. Stop, I have to get my thoughts together! The whole time that I had been living in the neighborhood, I had diligently paid my rent, and now I suspected that I had been paying it to the clan. The fact that they could throw me out at any moment did not concern me. I wondered why they hadn't done so before. But that was not the point. Why was I living there? How did my parents end up here? And one more thing: what about the guards? Even taking into account that they could protect themselves perfectly well with a Virtuoso, Master, and Teacher in the family, not counting Kagami-San—I didn't know what rank she had, if any—anyway, their status obliged them to have guards. Given that the whole neighborhood consisted of clan members, there ought to be a whole swarm of guards. Yet, over the past six years, I had not noticed anything like that, which means either there were no guards, or I was a complete fool, most likely, the latter.