Good stuff. We need a footnote on Midori sometime though.

Though I suppose "I'm letting you live even though you insulted me to my face" is reward enough from Akiko.

Nice story that demonstrates the crimelord's ruthless character. I'm also interested to see if we learn what makes Midori so special.

I still owe you footnotes on pretty much all of my cast.

It's the gift that keeps on giving, after all.


It's on my to-do list.

That kind of sheds a different light on the friendship between Akiko and the Psychic Samurai. Chiaki seems to be an exception to the rules in this case - she has to be highly valuable to Akiko, or she would be dead for the way she speaks to the gangster, yet at the same time Akiko makes no effort to treat her as a possession like everyone else.

Which means one of two things: Either Akiko sees Chiaki as a true friend - her only true one - or she sees Chiaki as someone she has to keep close, yet not tie down, because the samurai can destroy her and her organization so easily.

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I suspect that Chiaki filled a similar position in Akiko's eyes as Midori does now... Not in actual job, but as a most highly valued associate. I wouldn't advise Chiaki to publicly embarrass Akiko, but then that's not Chiaki's style. Still, I imagine behind closed doors Akiko allows certain people to speak freely. But I am sure that's how she looks at it... that she allows it, even if she doesn't make pains to make that clear.

As I've written her since her first appearance (where she was a bit broader than she later became), she has two main traits by which she operates: Her reluctance to dispose of resources that may one day prove valuable, and a lighter touch in manipulating those resources into getting the most out of them.

Whereas the Lynchpin might simply lean on everyone to intimidate them into doing what he wants, Akiko is more likely to find the right shaped peg for each hole she needs filled... one that won't need a great deal of force to fall into place. She understands how far she can push Chiaki, or the Legion, and understands when she's putting energy in against diminishing returns and cutting off a future resource in an exercise of ego. And she takes different tactics with different personalities. With Visionary she tends to stay pleasant with an undercurrent of menace. With Rupert, they apparently both know the score, and so she is perhaps more blunt with him than with most anyone else.

One final thing to note is that Rupert was right... this wasn't about a little girl. Akiko is flexing her muscles for show in this story more often than she normally does, first with the corporate executive and then with the gang. It, like everything else, is a very calculated move in her eyes.

I always thought that Midori worked for Akiko at the same time Chiaki did, which meant that Chiaki held another position. Also, historically the atmosphere between Akiko and Chiaki is different. There's more of a friendly atmosphere (though occasionally that atmosphere has been taunted by Akiko's coldness). And Chiaki has argued with Akiko in the past to the point where other minions would slide quietly out of the room, expecting violence...but then there was none.

The closest I can think of to explain the way I've written Akiko and Chiaki together is like Akiko, being the older of the two, behaves like an older sister to Chiaki. Chiaki argues with Akiko, and never quite complies exactly with instructions - there must have been a dozen times when Akiko wanted someone killed and Chiaki found some other way to deal with it, or Chiaki went behind Akiko's back to do something without being asked. But Akiko allows it because she secretly knows Chiaki is very smart, maybe smarter than herself, and gets results. And possibly because Chiaki is so fiercely loyal, even as she's stuck on her own beliefs.

In fact if you'd ask Chiaki about it, Chiaki calls Akiko her "big sister". Not really, since Chiaki is an only child, but conveys the atmosphere between the two, at least how Chiaki sees it.



That's where it gets tricky. Chiaki believes that Akiko has been honest with her all this time. She believes she knows Akiko's dark side well. If Chiaki finds that Akiko has not really been honest with her all that time, she will become hurt and angry. The last thing Akiko needs is a hurt and angry Samurai who knows her business and her methods.

Which is why I established, hopefully, that Akiko would have to be honest with Chiaki. Really honest. Because Chiaki would likely accept anything Akiko says or does, knowing the nature of her business and personality.



Chiaki is the embodiment of "grey area". She's very secretive, yet also brutally honest. She is a strong believer in justice, yet she'll take decidedly unjust methods to obtain it, and she's friends with a known violent gangster. It could never have really worked out between her and Hatman, because he expects things from her that she can never give.

What I'm exploring now, though, is just how far her friendship with Akiko goes, and whether eventually either will have a breaking point, and what the result of it might be. Can Akiko bring herself to attempt to kill off her "little sister"? Can Chiaki cut off her "big sister"? Or will the worst they reach be a cold war?



That part I figured out. And I wonder if Akiko knows it was Chiaki who triggered the mass release from jail?

It's possible... As I said, they don't share the actual job. Midori is Akiko's personal assistant, where Chiaki was her bodyguard. However, Midori was not hired until after a few run-ins with the Lair Legion.


I don't recall that happening in a story, and I don't believe it would be a good thing to introduce. Regardless of any personal relationship, there was a definite chain of command to be respected, and Chiaki doesn't strike me as one who would take an insulting action in front of an audience.

Masamune plays a delicate game when it comes to her self image in that she does not usually go out of her way to threaten and inspire fear in those she deals with, like other crime bosses might. However, the world of organized crime is one where the jackals are always circling, looking for signs of weakness, and if she doesn't keep up a powerful front she'll have to spend time and resources fighting them back. Chiaki would know that, and be smart enough not to contribute to any appearance of weakness by displaying open insubordination.




As I mentioned before, Akiko looks for the right shaped peg to fill each hole. If she wanted someone killed, she would not mention it to Chiaki at all, as Chiaki doesn't want to kill. It is no great trouble to find someone who does.




I would doubt that Akiko has outright lied to Chiaki... but I see no reason why she would have told her everything she was doing as well. As far as the sister aspect goes, if Chiaki saw her as a big sister then it's quite plausible that Akiko specifically shielded Chiaki from the dirtier aspects of the business so that the samurai could keep her hands relatively clean.

From Akiko's perspective, she gave Chiaki all sorts of advantages, made honorable use of her talents, never asked her to do anything that went against her nature, and allowed her to walk away to live her life after it was over. If Chiaki should disapprove of how Akiko handles the rest of her affairs and turn on her, using what she learned in Akiko's service against the crime boss, then Chiaki would be the one leading a great betrayal.

Akiko is not and has never been a "good" person. She was created to be a antagonist, albeit a reasonable one. She is dangerous, and she is a criminal, but she has shown a sense of honor and has generally been left alone by the LL because there are far worse that could take her place. Rupert's assessment of her mental make-up is largely correct... Akiko is broken on the inside, and there are some things she's simply not capable of... and true empathy is one of them. She is missing a big piece of what many would call a soul, and compensates through extraordinarily disciplined thinking, often passing up the immediate gratification in exchange for long-term goals.

There's no reason that Chiaki could not be aware of that, or even admire her for her discipline. She may fear that one day her mentor may be pushed too far and lose her grip on that discipline that keeps her from becoming a truly sadistic monster... fearing as much for her friend as she fears what Akiko might be capable of doing.

But I don't believe she can be angry at Akiko for her nature. It's dishonest... She was a crimelord when Chiaki met her, and she didn't get there by bathing puppies.

As for Akiko, I believe she's capable of enjoying the company of others. I believe she enjoys the chance to mentally and verbally spar with the Baroness, for instance. She's not emotionless... she's able to find people and interactions engaging. But for her, living is much like playing a video game... There's no deep emotional attachment to anything... it's all just experiences on the way to some final goal. I think her time with Chiaki is an experience that made that part of the game more fun.



Midori likely mentioned Chiaki due to security and visitors logs from the safe, so I would guess so. I don't know that Akiko would disapprove greatly... it's just another thing to watch and see how it develops. The part that directly affected her Mangatown (so far) has been dealt with, after all.

Not an audience of strangers, for sure. Chiaki is much too reserved for that. In front of "family", though (like Midori, and maybe a couple of trusted soldiers), she might argue with Akiko a bit. Midori is probably used to it, but the soldiers might get a little nervous.



As I said, never in front of strangers. If at all, in her private home or office, and in front of only trusted "family". Which would be kind of funny, because of those who witness Chiaki arguing with or contradicting Akiko, the retribution for speaking about it might be worse from Chiaki.

Chiaki does feel and speak highly of Akiko, so even with their occasional butting of heads, she believes Akiko's accomplishments are worthy of respect. That's why anyone who calls Akiko a criminal in her presence gets a lecture.



I meant that there were probably a dozen times when Akiko's instant reaction was to have someone killed, but Chiaki headed it off with a better solution. That could be considered defiance, but not disrespect. Akiko might have been impressed with the solutions as well.




It's probably a big game. Chiaki does know everything Akiko does, but chooses not to focus on it. Akiko knows Chiaki doesn't want to focus on it, so she doesn't push the issue.



Chiaki has never led any kind of betrayal - that would be the ultimate dishonor. No matter what Akiko is, she took care of Chiaki, and the samurai remembers that forever. The worst thing Chiaki would ever do to Akiko is stop talking to her, if it came down to it. But then she would feel bad about that too.



What might be interesting is if Chiaki knows that too. Maybe Chiaki maintains her friendship with Akiko even after working for her is done because she believes she's partly Akiko's conscience. Maybe because she helped change Akiko's mind a few times, or helped her see the other side of things. Chiaki may even believe that someday she'll be able to save Akiko's life through that.