The Tiny Emperor's Great Wall (Revised)

Chapter Six

Shinko sat at the round table in the command tent. Golden leaf coated the top while dragons formed the legs. Sitting on an elevated chair, Hideyoshi sipped on a Han teacup. Flowers and butterflies covered the edge of the cup. To the right of the lord sat a tengu with two sakura flowers on his shoulder. His clawed toes held his cup up. Next to him sat a thin human with a broken nose. A warm smile played on his lips while he drank. His three sakura showed him as being the same rank as Shinko. These, including their lord, were the three highest generals within the Acciro army right now.

Shinko wondered when the meeting would start. They had been sitting here for a good fifteen minutes now.

"It seems that the air is just getting colder," said Hideyoshi. "Think it will snow soon?"

"Snow would be nice," said the human general, named Gaun Di, if Shinko remembered correctly. It was hard to recall all the Han traitor's names. "It would be a great way to enjoy the mountains."

"It's going to make it harder to get out of here." Placing his cup down, the tengu, Himeko, yawned. "Or into the mountains. It won't be impossible, but ..."

"Maybe a couple of snow women will come around." Hideyoshi grinned as he rubbed his hands together. "I could use the company."

"My lord, there are plenty of women in camp," Shinko said. Rolling his eyes, he sighed in annoyance. "Just go and find one of them. I'm sure that they will help with any needs." Shinko personally found little need to do such a thing. Not because he had a wife at home, but because he found it uncouth to take any woman into his bed. He at least wanted to know them a little before any action.

Before his lord could reply, the door to the tent flew open. A tall human marched into the room. His long black shirt with a large red stripe across his chest covered the top of white pants. Rubbing together his oak-colored hands, he blew into them. He peered over the hands to glare at Hideyoshi. Dark brown eyes damned him for a sin unknown to Shinko.

Hideyoshi kept on drinking as he offered a wide smile. "Come on now, Menkonnen," he cooed. "You know that waiting for you would only make the tea colder."

Placing his hands on top of his shaven head, Menkonnen offered a dark smirk. "It always seems that you are letting me out of things."

"Hey, I invited you over to talk, right?" said Hideyoshi with a tense smile. Shinko placed his cup down while holding back a sigh. He reached into his pocket and grabbed hold of the fox statue. Speaking out would be improper. Pitying stares were traded between the lower ranked generals. None of them wanted their lord's wrath upon them.

As Menkonnen took a seat, Shinko grabbed the teapot and cup. Setting the cup in front of the allied forces general, he poured Menkonnen a cup.

"Thank you, Shinko," said Menkonnen with a kind smile. "At least someone knows how to show respect." That caused Hideyoshi's tail to stick up. Shinko turned to the lord with the pot.

Clearing his throat, the kitsune offered a bright smile. "Sir," he said. "Would you like some more tea?" The cup was still mostly full, but his lord needed to be distracted for a moment. Long enough to keep his mind from plotting against their allied forces.

"I was only testing the enemy lines," stated the lord. He refused to break eye contact with the allied general. "Is it wrong to do so?"

"By wasting lives and our time?" demanded the allied general. As he sipped on his tea, his gaze turned to the east. "Anyhow, it seems that you have talked with the enemy. What did you learn?"

Shinko's stiffening tails hid under the table to conceal his irk. Invisible spies were not unheard of, but allies needed to trust one another. Then again, Hideyoshi and Menkonnen seemed content to glare at one another. Good thing that this was happening in private. Their troops needed to believe that the two empires treated one another as a family.