Part 4: Chapter 7

    The soft sound of the geigi's nails plucking the strings of a shamisen drifted from the Crane Room in the Takabayashi Pavillion located in Akasaka. Seated on the tatami floor, several men faced each other: Hamano, Minister of Foreign Affairs and aide to the Liberal Party Chairman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Fujita, and Chief Secretary Ota. The three men appeared to be smiling and chatting amicably, but the fact that their chopsticks had barely touched the food in front of them belied the tension that was heavy in the air.
    With a whiff, the sound of the Shamisen stopped.
    "Could you leave us alone?" Looking at Hamano straight on, Ota spoke to the geigi. The moment she left the room, he bowed down and spoke again in a dramatic voice.
    "Mr. Hamano, I have a request of you from one man to another. In this autumn's Chair Election, please support my candidacy. Of course, after two years I will turn the reins over to you. I will never ask anything of you again so long as I live; please grant my request."
    "Well, this is a shame. I had been informed that the party had been wanting me to be elected Prime Minister this autumn, but without your consent things could get messy." Hamano's reply was cold and hardly accommodating.
    "So basically what you're saying is that we'll settle this in the election?" Ota's face clouded with anger.
    "Come on, you two, let's not get carried away now..." Fujita interrupted the men.
    "Mr. Hamano, Mr. Ota, either of you are perfectly qualified to take power. Well, of course, it is true that my faction would hold a lot of sway as to who gets the chairmanship this autumn..." Trailing off his attempt at appeasing the men, Fujita removed his glasses and slowly rubbed the bridge of his nose. Full of impatience, Ota and Hamano's sharp glares turned to the forehead of the composed Chief Cabinet Secretary.
    Putting on his glasses, Fujita looked back and forth, comparing the two men.
    "However...the Prime Minister has been thinking that he would feel better if Hamano won this autumn, and then Ota take over the post afterwards. I think it would be better for the party if Ota were to concede for the time being."
    Ota's lips started trembling at Fujita's words. At this point, he had thought that Shimazaki had somehow managed to persuade these two heavy-hitter politicians.
    "Mr. Ota, don't feel bad. I'm not trying to force you, but the Prime Minister has indicated who he'd like to be his successor directly." As Hamano's mouth continued to spout excuses, he started to get up. His blood boiling with humilitation, Ota stared down at the other man's feet.
    Right at that moment, in his peripheral vision he saw a white shape dart across the room.
    "Ooh!"
    All of a sudden, Hamano cried out and bent over, his face turning purple.
    "Mr. Hamano, are you all right!?"
    As Fujita ran over to Hamano, Ota clearly saw a small white snake coil around the Chief Cabinet Secretary's leg. Taken aback, Ota turned around and saw that the sliding door to the room was open a crack; in its shadow he noticed Shimazaki's face grinning psychotically, and a chill ran down his spine.