That Special Magic
-by: the Yarnspinner-
the_yarnspinner@yahoo.com
http://strands-of-moonlight.my3gb.com
-or- http://strands-of-moonlight.6te.net
A Sekkushiaru Roman
featuring characters from the anime "Sailor Moon"> Chapter 62 - Sideshow <
Kenji emerged from his office, switching off the light and pulling the door closed behind him. From out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the lights were on in one of the conference rooms, turning to see Yamashita, the political editor, standing there with two of his reporters.
Yamashita turned and waved. "Tsukino-san. Do you have a moment?"
Kenji glanced at the clock. "My wife and I have plans this evening..."
Yamashita nodded. "We have a problem. The story on the cabinet shuffle has just taken a major turn, and we need to do a rewrite."
Kenji sighed, stepping into the room with them and setting down his briefcase. "What has happened?"
"Do you recall the name Hino Tadamichi?" Yamashita asked.
Kenji grimaced. "Of course. He ran for the leadership of the Social Democrats about ten years ago, but his campaign collapsed in a corruption scandal that split the party. He was forced to resign from the party."
"That's correct, Tsukino-san," said Nagata, one of the reporters. "But five years ago, Hino joined the new Progressive Reform Alliance."
"Which is now a part of the coalition," Kenji said. "And the Alliance leader, Toichi Yukio, is one of the leaders who tried to force concessions from the prime minister."
Nagata nodded. "At the party conference, Toichi offered his resignation as a gesture of contrition for failing to secure the expected concessions. It is a customary move under such circumstances, and it is equally customary that the resignation is not accepted."
"But this time, events did not follow custom," added Genda, the other reporter.
Kenji raised an eyebrow.
"When Toichi offered his resignation, Hino immediately called for accepting it," Nagata said. "One of the junior members, a man who is one of Hino's small circle, immediately proposed Hino for the leadership."
"A spontaneous gesture?" Kenji asked with obvious doubt.
"Oh, yes. Very spontaneous," Genda said with a scowl. "But there was clearly considerable lingering discontent within the party caucus, because Hino was able to muster enough support to force a vote."
"And there is the problem," Yamashita said. "It is possible that Hino Tadamichi could be the next leader of the Alliance."
"What does that do to the Alliance's place in the coalition?" Kenji asked.
"It will finish it," Nagata said. "The prime minister has left open the possibility of the Alliance remaining in the coalition, although it is certain to find itself in a reduced position after the shuffle... but we have sources in the prime minister's office who say that if Hino becomes leader, the Alliance is out."
"It is said the prime minister despises Hino as a man without honor," Genda added.
"That is a fairly common assessment of the man," Yamashita said.
"Will the Alliance elect Hino as their leader?" Kenji asked.
"It is not yet clear on that," Nagata said. "Those who are taking a more pragmatic view are rallying to Toichi, while those who are still angered by the failure of their gambit with the prime minister are supporting Hino. All that can be said with certainty is that the vote will be very close."
"But Hino seems already to be anticipating victory," Genda said. "The leadership ballot is scheduled for late tomorrow morning. With only two declared candidates and the urgency of the cabinet reshuffle, it should be over fairly quickly. Hino has announced a press conference for late tomorrow afternoon, and sources in Hino's camp say he is planning it to announce his victory, and that he expects to have family there to support him."
"Family?" Yamashita asked. "I thought he didn't have any."
Genda flipped open a notebook. "As far as we can determine, Hino presently has only one living relative. He was married fifteen years ago, but quickly abandoned his wife when a political opportunity presented itself, leaving her pregnant. There is a record of a birth announcement in the Juuban district of Minato-ku which suggests the child was a girl, but the privacy laws forbid us from pursuing that research any further since the girl would be underage."
Kenji nodded in understanding, but putting the pieces together for a pretty good idea of just who Hino Tadamichi's daughter was.
"Hino's wife died of cancer while he was campaigning for the leadership of the Social Democrats," Genda continued. "The fact that he had completely abandoned his roles as husband and father, and then had refused to divorce her, contributed to the scandal that ruined him."
"I thought it centered on supposed misuse of party funds," Yamashita said.
"That was the key issue that finished his campaign and forced him to resign from the party, but his personal conduct, particularly his callous behavior when his wife died, cost him almost all of the support within the party that he would have needed to defend himself," Genda said.
Yamashita nodded.
Kenji gazed at the ceiling for a moment. "What is the basic point of your new story?"
"The fact of the split within the Alliance, and the sentiments that are driving it. Also the personalities and backgrounds of Toichi and Hino," Nagata answered.
"You are aware of the difficulty of presenting balanced coverage of a man of Hino's reputation?" Kenji asked.
Nagata nodded with a frown. "Very aware, Tsukino-san."
"I'd been discussing that problem with them for nearly twenty minutes before asking for your involvement, Tsukino-san," Yamashita said.
"Are you satisfied with their handling of it, Yamashita-san?" Kenji asked.
Yamashita nodded. "Yes, Tsukino-san."
"Very well," Kenji said. "The rewrite is approved, once it meets with your approval, Yamashita-san."
"Thank you," Yamashita said.
"Thank you, Tsukino-san," Nagata said.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The elevator ride seemed to take forever as Kenji struggled with internal conflict. There were several other people in the elevator, and more entered as the car went down. Reaching the lobby, the usual crowd of people was present as most of those in the elevator left. Kenji and several others continued down to the private parking garage.
Stepping into his car and pulling the door closed, he enjoyed a brief moment of privacy in this tremendously crowded city. What he had just learned was privileged information. Yet, if he was right about the identity of Hino Tadamichi's daughter, he had to suspect she didn't know anything about Hino's plans.
He sighed, then reached for his cell phone.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Rei sat at the table with several books open in front of her. Hearing a soft squeal of delight, she glanced up to see Atana playing with Kara. She smiled happily.
Just then, her cell phone rang. She reached into her purse for it, knowing only a handful of people even had the number. Opening the phone, she saw the name 'Chiba Mamoru' on the display. She pressed the button and brought the phone to her ear. "Hello, Chiba-san."
"Good evening, Magi-san," Usagi said. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
Rei glanced over at Atana and Kara. "Well, I'm just working on homework right now," she said. "How about you?"
"Oh, Mamo-chan's been helping me with some of it, but I'm doing alright," Usagi said.
Rei chuckled softly "I'm sure," she said softly. "So, what's up?"
"Uhm, have you seen the news tonight?" Usagi asked.
"No," Rei answered. "Should I have?"
"Well... I, I'm afraid your... your father has turned up again," Usagi said.
Rei clenched her fist. "That bastard was never a 'father' to me," she said through clenched teeth. "What's he done now?" She looked up, seeing Atana already steering Kara back toward her bedroom.
"He's mounting a challenge for the leadership of his party," Usagi said. "Daddy called me. The party is supposed to vote tomorrow morning, and your, uhm, father has scheduled a press conference for later that afternoon. You can't tell anybody where you heard this from, but Daddy says his magazine has sources in the party that say your father is telling people he plans to have 'family' there with him when he accepts victory."
"He what?!" Rei sputtered. "That damned presumptive bastard! Unless he's managed to knock up some bimbo, he doesn't have any family. He's already cut every last tie with me." She took a breath, working to calm herself. "Is that party really dumb enough to elect him?"
"Daddy says this planned victory speech is very premature," Usagi said. "The vote is expected to be very close... and the prime minister is supposedly threatening to throw them out of the coalition if your, uhm, the bastard... is elected."
"Good for him," Rei declared.
"Daddy says the vote looks like it will be close," Usagi said again. "But since the party could lose their place in the coalition, they'll probably reelect their current leader."
"That's good," Rei said with a sigh. "I'll have to call my grandfather, and let him know about this."
"Alright, Rei-chan," Usagi said. "I just wanted to warn you. I didn't want to see you and Atana getting dragged into a publicity mess with a corrupt politician."
"Thank you. I really appreciate that," Rei said. "Good night, Mrs. Chiba."
"Good night, Mrs. Magi," Usagi said, chuckling softly.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"So, what happened, Usako?" Mamoru asked, sitting down next to her.
Usagi leaned over and kissed him. "Rei's father is trying to take over the leadership of his party."
He nodded. "Yes. I heard that."
"Daddy called. He's learned that Rei's father is planning a press conference tomorrow to announce his victory, and that he plans to have family there," she said.
"Does Hino Tadamichi have any family?" he asked.
Usagi shook her head. "Only Rei... and she says she'll have nothing to do with him."
Mamoru rubbed his chin thoughtfully, frowning. "But the fact remains," he said. "Does Hino Tadamichi have any legal standing as her father? Any parental rights?"
"I don't think so," Usagi said. "Rei has said that her mother's will gave sole custody of her to her grandfather, and that her father never challenged that."
He nodded. "That's a good sign. The fact that Hino never challenged the custody grant from the beginning should make it tough for him to do so now, ten years later... But even if he loses his leadership bid, he could still make trouble for Rei, and even more so for Atana."
"Yes. I know," she said softly. "That was why I had to let Rei know what was going on."
"That threat will still be there, I'm afraid," he said. "She's underage, and living with him. As long as they're not married, there is a risk, especially since Atana's a foreigner and this situation would be absolutely illegal in Hawaii, even with her grandfather's consent."
"But it is legal here, as long as her grandfather allows it," she said.
He nodded. "But there are still people who think our laws are wrong to allow it at all. And there are a few politicians who sincerely agree with that view, and many more, like Hino, who have no compunction about using the issue to stir up the public in the hope of turning that burst of emotion to whatever their pet issue is."
"That's just wrong," she exclaimed.
"I can't really argue. Taken to the extreme, that sort of political conduct can leave the people with leaders like Hitler, Mussolini, or the military warlords who controlled Japan's government in the 1930's and '40's," he said. "Hino Tadamichi is nowhere near that level, but he still has enough influence to be dangerous."
"He's stayed away from Rei before," she said.
"But now he potentially has some significant leverage to use, if he learns about her relationship with Atana," he said. "And I doubt he'd even think twice about violating the privacy laws to do it."
"Isn't there anything we can do?"
He sighed and shook his head. "Not really, I'm afraid. I can't vote yet, and even if I could, I wouldn't support the Alliance."
"What about the connections you have through your companies?" she asked.
He held up his hand and shook his head emphatically. "That is out of the question, Usako," he said firmly. "Your father committed a breach of professional conduct by calling you, but he knows he won't get caught at it. And he was obviously trusting that I wouldn't report this to Kobayashi, which I won't. But my position is different, I'm afraid. I would get caught, and if I'm discovered pulling strings to influence a political leadership campaign, it could very easily destroy the credibility of the entire Chiba media division. That would throw a great many people out of work, and throw away decades of work by my father and grandfather, and Kobayashi of course, to build up solid, respected media enterprises."
Usagi frowned but nodded in understanding. "I just hate feeling so powerless," she muttered.
He slipped his armed around her. "I know," he said softly. "I don't like it either."- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
After putting Kara to bed, Atana turned on the television news. Rei sat down next to him on the sofa, just as the anchor introduced a story on the latest developments in the Progressive Reform Alliance leadership challenge.
"Is that your father?" Atana asked, as video footage showed Hino Tadamichi leaving an earlier party conference session. Hino was a tall man, with thinning black hair, and a pale complexion. Thick glasses made his eyes seem oversized, while his mouth was curled in a frown.
She scowled with distaste. "In a purely biological sense."
He nodded, having heard of her father before. "It looks like he's still a political opportunist," he said.
"He's always out for himself," she muttered. "No matter who gets hurt."
"Is that what Usagi called about?"
She nodded. "And she wanted to tell me she's heard that bastard is planning a press conference tomorrow to announce his victory, even though that's far from certain, and that he supposedly expects to have 'family' there to support him."
"Does he have any family?" he asked.
She shook her head. "Not anymore. He has only one living blood relative... but no family."
"Could he try to do anything if you refused to attend?"
A slight shiver went through her. "Possibly," she said softly.
"Say... if he learned you were living with a 23-year-old foreigner?" he suggested.
She didn't respond, but slipped her hand into his.
He leaned over and kissed her. "I won't let anything happen to you," he said softly.
"But this isn't a threat like the Dark Kingdom," she said.
"I know," he said. "But I still love you more than anything."
"And I love you," she said.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The phone rang at the Tsukino house just as Kenji and Ikuko returned from dinner and a movie.
"Who could that be?" she wondered.
He shrugged, as he slipped off his shoes, then reached for the phone. "Tsukino residence," he said.
"Tsukino-san. This is Yamashita. I'm sorry to bother you at home," Yamashita said.
Kenji frowned. "That is not a problem, Yamashita-san," he said. "Have there been new developments?"
"Yes," Yamashita said. "Genda-san was having a late dinner with two other reporters, one from the Tokyo Morning News and the other from All-Japan Television."
"Go on," Kenji said. He knew both were Chiba Media companies.
"They got to 'talking shop' over dinner," Yamashita continued. "All three are working covering the Alliance leadership challenge, and the challenger in particular. By comparing notes, they discovered that together they each had fragments of information that, alone, were too insubstantial to be reported, but together show conclusively that the Alliance challenger has been accepting bribes and other payoffs for the past several years."
Kenji's eyes widened and he felt the hair stand up on the back of his neck as his journalistic instincts went into overdrive. "But... the challenger... has repeatedly said, even just this morning, that the... one scandal in his past was actually an effort to frame him, and that it was isolated..."
"That's correct, Tsukino-san," Yamashita said. "But this combined information shows him to be a liar."
"Yes. I understand," Kenji said, now working to consider what Yamashita needed of him. "Uhm... I presume you need approval to share information?"
"That is correct," Yamashita confirmed. "We can't get the magazine out until tomorrow evening... well after the Alliance leadership election. But the Tokyo Morning News can have the story out in tomorrow morning's edition, if we can meet their deadline, and of course All-Japan Television can cover it on their morning news program."
"And why are we so urgent to have the story out before the election?" Kenji asked, already knowing the answer, but wanting to make sure Yamashita's judgement agreed with his own.
"It is clear that most of the members of the Alliance caucus are unaware of the challenger's recent deeds, Tsukino-san, as probably are nearly all of the Alliance's voters," Yamashita said.
Kenji nodded, satisfied. "I agree entirely, Yamashita-san. You have approval to proceed."
"Thank you, Tsukino-san," Yamashita said.
Kenji hung up the phone.
"What has happened?" Ikuko asked.
"We have a story on another scandal involving Hino Tadamichi," he said. "But it's shared with the Tokyo Morning News and All-Japan Television. They can get the story out faster than we can."- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Only forty minutes later, the Tsukino phone rang again.
"Tsukino residence," Kenji said into the phone.
"Tsukino-san. This is Yamashita again. We have a problem. Is there any chance you could come in?"
Kenji raised his eyebrows, glancing at the clock. "What's happened, Yamashita-san?"
"Tagawara-san, the head of the news department at All-Japan Television, doesn't want to cooperate," Yamashita said. "He says the story has too much of a politically motivated feel to it, and he doesn't want to be part of a political attack on a party leadership candidate."
Kenji grimaced. "Is there any chance he's actually a supporter of Hino?"
"That was certainly my guess," Yamashita said. "But I don't have any proof."
Kenji sighed. "Alright. I'll come in."
"Thank you, Tsukino-san," Yamashita said. "Tagawara is already here. He just showed up with Harada, my counterpart at All-Japan Television. Akibono-san, the political editor at the Tokyo Morning News is calling in Kuromi-san, your opposite number."
"I've met Kuromi," Kenji said. "I'll be there just as soon as I can."
"Thank you, Tsukino-san," Yamashita said again, hanging up.
Kenji hung up the phone with a sigh.
"Another problem?" Ikuko asked.
He nodded. "You could say that."- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Kenji entered the main conference room, immediately seeing Kuromi with Yamashita and two other men.
"Tsukino-san. It's good to see you again," Kuromi greeted him. He lowered his voice and glanced over at the older man seated at the far side of the room. "Although I could wish for a better occasion."
"I also, Kuromi-san," Kenji said.
"Tsukino-san, this is Akibono-san of the Tokyo Morning News," Yamashita said. "And this is Harada-san of All-Japan Television." He turned to the others. "This is Tsukino-san, my managing editor."
"A pleasure to meet you, Tsukino-san," Akibono said with a bow.
"Yes. A pleasure, Tsukino-san," Harada said. He then stepped back and gestured to the older man. "Tsukino-san, this is Tagawara-san."
The older man rose to his feet and bowed very formally. He was short and bald, with a thin, dark mustache, and attired in a flawlessly pressed three-piece suit. As he glanced at Kenji's far more casual after-hours attire, a frown crossed his face. "Tsukino-san," he said cooly.
"An honor, Tagawara-san," Kenji said, bowing in return.
The three political editors drifted back, letting their bosses take charge of the issue.
"I understand we have a difference of opinion over this story," Kenji said, without preamble.
Tagawara's frown grew colder. "This story is dangerously political, and all too likely to be just an attack against a party leader."
Kuromi shook his head. "I don't see how you can continue to say that given what our reporters have jointly uncovered."
Tagawara held up his hand. "Experience dictates that we proceed with grave caution," he said, sounding like a university professor addressing first-year students.
Kenji glanced at Kuromi. "What do you need to ease your concerns, Tagawara-san?"
Tagawara glared at Kenji, plainly not happy at being addressed as an equal by two much younger men. "It is not quite that simple..."
"Are you prepared to just bury this story, Tagawara-san?" Kuromi challenged.
"No, Kuromi-san," Tagawara said slowly. "But we must take proper precautions to protect the honor and reputation of the network, and your publications, and Chiba Media, of course."
Kenji raised an eyebrow. "Suppose we had explicit permission from Go-san, the vice-president for news operations of Chiba Media? Would you agree to it then?"
Tagawara hesitated, then nodded.
Kuromi pulled his phone directory from his pocket and reached for the phone. "Excellent. I'll call him right now." He punched in a number and waited, a frown spreading across his face. "He's not answering his cell phone."
"Let's try Ishida-san, the president of Chiba Media," Kenji suggested.
Kuromi nodded, flipping a page in his book, then punching in a new number. "No answer from him either." He looked up at Kenji. "Any suggestions?"
"Well, let's go right to the top," Kenji suggested.
"Kobayashi-san?" Kuromi asked.
Kenji nodded. "If you have no objection, Tagawara-san."
"Of course not," Tagawara said, his voice still cool. "Kobayashi-san is well known as a man of impeccable judgment. Almost as good as our late founder, Chiba Hiroyuki-san." He looked at the two younger men with a frown. "Although recently he has at least tolerated some rather questionable innovations."
Ignoring the jibe, Kuromi looked at Kenji. "I've only met Kobayashi-san once," he said.
"I'll call him," Kenji said, picking up the phone closest to him and punching in the number for Kobayashi's cell phone. He heard it ring several times, and then a recorded voice-mail greeting began to play. Kenji groaned softly. "He's not answering," he said softly.
Kuromi slapped his hand on the table in frustration. "I can't believe it! Now what do we do?"
A faint smile crossed Tagawara's face. "I take it as an omen. Clearly, we were meant to wait on this."
"I disagree," Kenji said firmly. "The fact that a candidate for the leadership of one of the coalition parties has been taking bribes and other payoffs for the past several years is far too important a story to just sit on."
"It is your opinion that you are not being led astray on this," Tagawara said.
"You have no confidence in your own reporter?" Kuromi asked.
Tagawara looked at him coldly. "That is not the issue here. But without approval, All-Japan Television will have no part in this very dubious story."
Kenji turned to Yamashita and Akibono. "Yamashita-san. Akibono-san. Do you have a solid enough story between the two of you?"
"No, Tsukino-san," Akibono answered without hesitation. "Harada-san's reporter has the financial records that confirm the money was actually received by Hino. Without those records, we can only show the money went to a campaign organization that Hino and his supporters have set up, but not that he knew about it."
Yamashita nodded in agreement.
"Thank you for your frank assessment," Kenji said.
"So, now what?" Kuromi asked.
"We wait," Tagawara said, returning to his seat. "There is no one else to ask."
A thought occurred to Kenji. His jaw set as he weighed the option. It was not something he was particularly happy with, but there was no other choice, and he was unwilling to let Tagawara block this story. With a smile, he turned back to face Tagawara. "That's not entirely true, Tagawara-san. There is one other person, who has an even greater stake in the honor and reputation of all the Chiba companies than even Kobayashi-san."
Kuromi looked at him quizzically.
"Chiba Mamoru-san," Kenji said, by way of explanation.
Kuromi's eyes widened. "But... he's still underage... isn't he?"
Kenji nodded. "But not by much. Less than two months. And I happen to know Kobayashi-san has been increasingly involving him in business decisions, and has recently left several decisions to him."
Kuromi nodded, turning to see Tagawara's reaction.
Kenji leaned forward. "So, Tagawara-san. If Chiba-san gives his approval, will you allow All-Japan Television's news department to collaborate on this story without further delay?"
Tagawara hesitated, clearly torn. "He is young... and has to be inexperienced... but... I had only the utmost respect for his grandfather... and his father was also a man of very sound judgment," he said softly. Finally, he looked up, meeting Kenji's gaze. "Yes, Tsukino-san. I will accept Chiba-san's verdict."
"Do you even know how to reach him, Tsukino-san?" Kuromi asked. "I know I certainly don't have Chiba-san's number."
"Uhm, actually, it happens that I do have his number," Kenji said, picking up the phone again and punching in the number before anyone could ask further questions.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Usagi glanced over at the phone as it rang. "Who could be calling this late?" she asked, yawning.
Mamoru picked up the phone. "Chiba residence."
"Hello, Chiba-san. This is Tsukino Kenji, managing editor of The Rising Sun weekly, one of the Chiba Media publications. I'm sorry to bother you at home and so late."
"Is that Daddy?" Usagi asked.
Mamoru nodded, but brought his finger to his lips, indicating for her to remain quiet as he tried to figure out why Kenji was being so formal. "That's not a problem, Tsukino-san," he said into the phone. "How may I help you?"
"With your permission, sir, I'm going to switch to speakerphone," Kenji said.
"That's fine," Mamoru said. He heard a click, and Kenji's voice sounded a bit more distant.
"Thank you, Chiba-san," Kenji said. "I'm joined by Tagawara-san, head of the news department of All-Japan Television, and Kuromi-san, managing editor of the Tokyo Morning News. Between our three news departments we have put together a story concerning the challenger in the current leadership election being held by the Progressive Reform Alliance."
"I see," Mamoru said.
"You may recall that the challenger was involved in a previous scandal some years ago," Kenji said. "He has repeatedly claimed that the allegations against him then were manufactured by his opponents and that he has never taken part in any such activities, either before or since. We have determined, however, that that is totally false. He has been accepting bribes and payoffs in exchange for political favors for the past several years."
Mamoru nodded, inwardly pleased that someone had the goods to bring down Hino Tadamichi. "Uhm, excuse me, Tsukino-san. How does this involve me?"
"My apologies, Chiba-san," Kenji said. "But Tagawara-san has some reservations. We tried to reach Go-san, the vice-president for news operations of Chiba Media, and Ichida-san, the president of Chiba Media, in the hopes they could resolve the situation, but neither was available. We also tried to reach Kobayashi-san, but he too was unavailable. We understand Kobayashi-san has been involving you in more of the decisions concerning the Chiba companies, and hoped you would be willing to settle this."
Mamoru took a breath, considering. "I'll do what I can," he finally said. "What is your reservation, Tagawara-san?"
"I am concerned that the timing makes this story appear to have a very strong political motivation, Chiba-san," Tagawara said. "There remains a strong belief in some circles that the previous charges against the challenger were false, and those too appeared quite suddenly during a leadership campaign. I am reluctant to see All-Japan Television, or any of the Chiba Media outlets, embroiled in something that could badly tarnish their reputations if the charges should prove anything less than absolutely solid."
"I thank you for your concern, Tagawara-san, but it may be overstated," Mamoru said, taking a dislike to Tagawara's suggestion that the previous scandal involving Hino Tadamichi was trumped up. "Kuromi-san. Do you have any reservations about the validity of the story?"
"No, sir. No reservations," Kuromi said. "But the story does depend on the three of us being able to pool our information. Otherwise, the story is too weak to run."
Mamoru rubbed his brow, knowing he was hardly qualified to judge the journalistic merits of a story. "Uhm, what is it you wish me to settle?"
"We need approval for a collaboration on this story, Chiba-san," Kenji said. "Tagawara-san has said he will not permit All-Japan Television to collaborate on this without a specific approval."
Mamoru paused, carefully considering his response as his negative opinion of Tagawara grew even stronger. He couldn't allow dislike of the man to cloud his judgment. "And I presume you have no time to spare," he finally said.
"This is Kuromi again, sir. If we don't have approval to proceed within the next... thirty-five minutes, we will miss our final chance to include the story in tomorrow morning's edition of the Tokyo Morning News. The story would only be able to run on All-Japan Television's morning news program."
"Is that a problem?" Mamoru asked.
"Yes, Chiba-san," Kuromi answered. "The political insiders will want to know details before they accept the charges. We have the details to prove how the payments were funneled to, ah, the challenger, and to prove that he knowingly received them. That type of detail, however, does not translate well to a one or two minute television story, and to try to rely on television presentation alone will leave us open to just the sort of claims that Tagawara-san fears. To be sure of full, credible coverage, we need to release the story in a print medium as well."
"I understand," Mamoru said slowly. "Alright. I fully agree to the collaboration... and I'll have Kobayashi-san make it official in the morning. But don't wait on that. I know my grandfather would never have wanted one of his papers or networks to sit on a story because we were afraid of repercussions... and he didn't tolerate those who did shy away."
"Thank you, Chiba-san," Kenji said. "Thank you very much. We all now have quite a bit of work to do."
"I understand. Thank you for calling me. You did the right thing," Mamoru said. "Good night, gentlemen." As the others called good night in response, Mamoru hung up the phone.
"What happened?" Usagi asked. "They needed you to approve a story?"
He nodded. "The head of the news department of All-Japan Television was excessively cautious. I'll have to bring that up with Kobayashi." He turned to look at her with a smile. "But the important thing is they have the evidence to nail Hino Tadamichi to the wall for taking bribes."
She gasped in shock. "You're sure?"
He nodded again. "Yes. That's why they called me. They couldn't reach the heads of Chiba Media, and they couldn't reach Kobayashi. The news chief of All-Japan Television wouldn't go along without approval from higher up, and if they don't get the story out first thing in the morning, there's no certainty that it would have any real effect on tomorrow's leadership vote."
She smiled in understanding. "And if the story does go out first thing tomorrow, Rei's father will have to drop his challenge, or he'll be defeated."
"That's right," he said. "And it sounds like that will be only the start of his problems."
"Such a pity," she said, grinning.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Kenji saw the color drain from Tagawara's face following Mamoru's reference to his grandfather, and could also see Kuromi struggling to suppress a smirk. Even the three political editors seemed to have picked up on it. It seemed quite obvious, painfully so for Tagawara, that Mamoru would be discussing this with Kobayashi, along with obtaining the older man's formal approval of the collaboration.
As soon as he disconnected the phone, Kenji leaned toward Tagawara. "You said you would accept Chiba-san's verdict, Tagawara-san?"
Tagawara nodded. "Yes... I did." He took another slow breath. "With Chiba-san's approval, the All-Japan Television news department will collaborate."
"Excellent," Kuromi said. He turned to the three political editors. "Gentlemen, I believe it is up to you now."
Akibono nodded. "Yamashita and I have our people on stand-by, Kuromi-san. We only need to make a few phone calls."
"Yes. And, uhm, I've already taken the liberty of sharing our information," Harada said. "Now that we have authorization to use it, Kuromi-san's people should already have their story ready. We'll have ours ready for the morning news program."
"Excellent," Kuromi said. He reached over and shook Kenji's hand. "Special credit to you, Tsukino-san. If not for your brainstorm about calling Chiba-san, our story would be dead right now."
Kenji shook his head. "No special credit is due to me. We all put in every bit of extra effort tonight. But right now you are correct, Kuromi-san. It is in the hands of our very capable political editors and their staffs, and I think the best thing we can do right now is to remove ourselves from their way."
"Very true," Kuromi agreed. "Do you concur, Tagawara-san?"
Tagawara looked up at the mention of his name. "Hmm? What? Oh, ah... yes. Yes, of course." He rose to his feet. "I leave our part of it in your hands, Harada-san. Good night, Tsukino-san. Kuromi-san."
Kenji and Kuromi both stood up as well, finding the political editors already on the phones.< To be continued >
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NOTE: More to come.Hopeless Romantic and I now have a message group to notify our readers when we post new stories/chapters. Those who are interested can sign up at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/strands_of_moonlight/ .
Always remember, good gentles, that a yarnspinner works from and within existing legends and stories. The characters of "Sailor Moon" belong to others. In spinning my yarns, I do not seek to infringe on their rights of ownership, but merely to join with other fans to spread the legend still further. "The moonlight carries a message of love." Enjoy.
-08.24.2003