Turn of the Century

Chapter 3.1 - Statecraft

MOFA Headquarters 3rd Floor Meeting Room B2, East Hallway

1:25 PM

At a door kept open, two ushered in; their hosts to follow right after without a word exchanged. Four men sat, pairs of two opposite to one another. All present were about the same age as one another with equally as slow or unhurried movement despite all the ushering; unimportant details and such.

Two men sat on the left, one caucasian with an inch of brown fluff on top wearing a contrast-collar dress shirt, and the other a Latino with thick, unfashionable sideburns that teetered on the line of mutton chops. The Latino had an American flag pin implanted into his left lapel, whilst the caucasian fashioned bloodshot eyes at the center of a fresh coat of light reddish swelling painted over much older blackish skin. Both kept their lips tight, gaze only partially focused on their hosts with a degree or so's difference. Both had come in with a newfound interest in clockwatching, and even though they were both conspicuously unsettled with unnaturally moist faces, they kept at their little facade. Representatives Andrews and Romero respectively.

Opposing them were two Japanese men with matching yellowish-peach pastel skin tones and equally contrasting generic dark suits. One, a peculiar five o'clock shadow and plump, yellow tie without all too much decorum, and the other armed by a not-so-prominent jawline and more than prominent combover. They both held their expressions to be grave, deep frowns and condoling looks high, though nowhere near as grave as their counterparts on the left. Representatives Hideki and Sora respectively.

None of the four had come into the room with any positive expectations for what they were to leave with; the Americans only anticipated, and the Japanese only worried.

Hideki and Sora looked down their counterparts, then to one another, as if to make for a humorous moment in a film. Simply seeing both, they were apprehensive. They made no faces, instead telepathically relaying their shared doubts that these two men were fit to negotiate any terms presently. If they were, then they wouldn't be resting easy—they looked shell-shocked. For all they knew, the two Americans could've been holding back a spillway's worth of tears.

Sora turned to the Americans and gave a nod, before reaching out to the two with a deliberate and steady tone with traces of warmth imbued into his speech, "We understand the situation that your countrymen have found yourselves in, and are open to discuss the issue for anything you may need," he'd say with a surprisingly low voice.

Whether Sora spoke empathetically or diplomatically, the Americans' reaction was all the same.

One of the Americans shuffled slightly, glaring at Sora. He wasn't so sure where Romero emotionally was—something just north of a heavy disbelief, but also just shy of desperation and depression. Whatever blend of emotions in his head must've made for one hell of a concoction with stronger effect than even the strongest of hallucinogens.

The ice, it would seem, had been cracked. Not yet broken, but half of an inch from doing so. Representative Andrews asked, almost right after clearing his throat, "...Mister Hideki, with that in mind, I feel the need to ask, and excuse me if I may sound accusatory, but is the Japanese Government being wholly and entirely transparent and truthful regarding this event?" His tone was captious, posture condemnatory, and expression wholly blank. His words traced from one into the next, a sense of elegance to their fluidity already implied.

Sora felt a tinge of doubt, its sting hanging high overhead as he briefly considered it. They were, weren't they? He thought they were, and he was hard-pressed to find evidence for the contrary, even if the Latino had tried pressuring him into doing so. Not all was settled either, this he knew for a fact, and they couldn't run the risk of letting these diplomats all have undersupplied information to run with, in the very words of Minister Yoshimune in a faxed memo already two hours and three minutes old.