Oh, so you mean we'll actually be writing about the same amount for once? What a shame...
So, yeah. Having the presence of things like the HiME and the Orphans be common knowledge was a bit of a shock to a lot of people. Fuuka was under martial law by the end of the day, to give you some idea, and by the time I was out of the hospital Mai, Natsuki, and Nao had already had to field some rather pointed questions from the authorities.
I wouldn't think so if not for the persistent uncertainty of just how far the SEARRS Foundation's clout went, but fortunately Nao, bless her poisonous little soul, had managed to find a balance between telling all and lying her cute little behind off that made it quite clear the degree of access to government records we thought the First District had, and that their agenda was likely to be fatal to any HiME they IDed. Then she dropped the bombshell about the Red Star and Kokuyou's agenda.
By the time the dust had settled from that little revelation, the forms we'd be spending the rest of the Festival under had been pretty much hammered out. All in all, it was a pretty good deal for all involved - the world political community got better odds of avoiding a victory on Kokuyou's part, along with a promise from the girls to stay out of international politics; the HiME got immunity from prosecution for the duration, a (by an individual's standards) quite generous compensation package, and the knowledge that their identities would never go farther than the Public Security Investigation agents assigned to monitor them; the city of Fuuka got to go on with business mostly as usual - for every two people who wanted to get out of the line of fire, there were three more who wanted a chance to be where the most interesting events in the world were happening - and a guarantee of government money for reconstruction in the event of an act of God, Artemis, or Kagutsuchi; SEARRS got to avoid having its name and nature splashed over more front pages than even it's scale could afford; and Nagi, well, Nagi got a far grander stage to carry his play out on.
It took me quite a while to figure out just how the three 'open' HiME had managed to coordinate with each other well enough to present the united front needed to pull that negotiation off, but eventually Yukino let me off the hook and admitted that she'd had Diana transcribe and relay messages between them without their ever needing to leave their cells, sorry, protective accomodations.
Blech. That's pathetically short even for me. OTOH, it wraps up the last of the loose threads before I tackle the N!Tate/Shizuru scene in the hospital, so I guess I'll count it as good.
Ja, -n
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"V, did you do something foolish?"
"Yes, and it was glorious."
So, yeah. Having the presence of things like the HiME and the Orphans be common knowledge was a bit of a shock to a lot of people. Fuuka was under martial law by the end of the day, to give you some idea, and by the time I was out of the hospital Mai, Natsuki, and Nao had already had to field some rather pointed questions from the authorities.
I wouldn't think so if not for the persistent uncertainty of just how far the SEARRS Foundation's clout went, but fortunately Nao, bless her poisonous little soul, had managed to find a balance between telling all and lying her cute little behind off that made it quite clear the degree of access to government records we thought the First District had, and that their agenda was likely to be fatal to any HiME they IDed. Then she dropped the bombshell about the Red Star and Kokuyou's agenda.
By the time the dust had settled from that little revelation, the forms we'd be spending the rest of the Festival under had been pretty much hammered out. All in all, it was a pretty good deal for all involved - the world political community got better odds of avoiding a victory on Kokuyou's part, along with a promise from the girls to stay out of international politics; the HiME got immunity from prosecution for the duration, a (by an individual's standards) quite generous compensation package, and the knowledge that their identities would never go farther than the Public Security Investigation agents assigned to monitor them; the city of Fuuka got to go on with business mostly as usual - for every two people who wanted to get out of the line of fire, there were three more who wanted a chance to be where the most interesting events in the world were happening - and a guarantee of government money for reconstruction in the event of an act of God, Artemis, or Kagutsuchi; SEARRS got to avoid having its name and nature splashed over more front pages than even it's scale could afford; and Nagi, well, Nagi got a far grander stage to carry his play out on.
It took me quite a while to figure out just how the three 'open' HiME had managed to coordinate with each other well enough to present the united front needed to pull that negotiation off, but eventually Yukino let me off the hook and admitted that she'd had Diana transcribe and relay messages between them without their ever needing to leave their cells, sorry, protective accomodations.
Blech. That's pathetically short even for me. OTOH, it wraps up the last of the loose threads before I tackle the N!Tate/Shizuru scene in the hospital, so I guess I'll count it as good.
Ja, -n
===========
===============================================
"V, did you do something foolish?"
"Yes, and it was glorious."