The First Celestial Conference [FINISHED]

[Kouzetsu Gin]

Gin watched as Mei poured her heart out in front of those gather at the conference, waiting patiently until she finished her words. "Lady Mei, the kind of person that stands their and watches, obliviously did not view you as a comrade, which is why Ren sits with Hell, and not his fellow kings. I concur, that I too am unaware of Ren's stance on any matter dealing with Heavenly or Hellion relations, leading me to believe that due to his lack of action or in opinion on any matter, has lead to an inability to function properly as a king. I can only imagine how his responsibility as King of reconnaissance has aided his... 'lover', and been detrimental to his own Realm, tell us Ren for once, how do you feel about anything..." Gin said.

[Sanada Tomo]

Tomoyo then took the opportunity to stand. While she rather wished that the subject of Ren's loyalty could be brought up so that he could just leave Heaven and stay with him, this meeting took precedence over everything in her life at the moment, and even the possibility of her husband coming home with her could not deter her from her path.

"We are not here to settle infighting or betrayals on our sides--these are issues that you have to settle within your own ranks. Any members on either sides who have issues with other will settle them after the meeting, when the treaty of peace allowing us to meet has dissolved, then you can argue and fight. For now, I will ask you all to sit so that we can start the general course of this meeting."

She looked around at her own Kings and hoped that they would follow her lead. She sent a look of disdain at Rei and hoped that she could keep her mouth shut for the duration of this event, since she seemed to not be able to do anything other than instigate conflict.

Looking at her Mortal "notepad", she saw the first item.

"The first issue that we need to settle is general information and facts about recent events. I have had to deal with several messengers from the citizens of Heaven attempting to threaten me to give up the whereabouts of three of your Kings, which leads me to believe that they have disappeared from your ranks. I want to officially declare that Hell has had no part in the vanishings of Hishikawa Tohru, Morita Haruhi, or Akito Asaba. Furthermore we would like to officially declare in your presence--since some of you here now may not have heard before--that The Ishii Shoko, Itsuki Karasu, and Kamori Kasumi are considered traitors to Hell. They have been stripped of their titles and honors and they are forfeit. If Heaven feels that they deserve to be punished by death or some other form of torture then so be it."

Tomoyo paused, then asked, "Are there any questions about that before we move on the next item?"

[Tsubarisu Kojiro]

Kojiro smirked and winked at Ayaka. Not only was she cute, she played video games and obviously didnt take this meeting as seriously as everyone else. Thrusting his PSP into sleep mode and into a secret compartment of his robes. He overheard what was said concerning Mei and how she lost and how Ren just stood there. He laughed out loud at it and looked at Mei.

"C'mon now, you gotta cut this Ren guy some slack, he obviously saw how I fucked you up, and he didnt wanna get fucked up either." Kojiro said leaning back into his chair.

"Jesus Christ, you cant get mad at people for not wanting to die, sheesh......"

[Sanada Tomo]

Tomoyo glared at Kojiro. If he didn't shut his mouth now and allow this meeting to take its course, she would forced to enact the most severe of punishments. She knew that her own Kings like the discord in Heaven, but this was ridiculous.

"Silence, if you want to remain at this meeting," she said darkly, and her aura of anger rippled freely off of her in waves, all in Kojiro's direction.

"Does anyone have a comment about the subject at hand?"

[Uesugi Lailis]

Lailis didn't bother to respond to Kojiro's teasing. He didn't know if it was all the power gathered in one place or what, but the Kings of Heaven were responding very poorly to those from Hell, and he didn't know why they weren't ignoring the petty jabs like they usually did.

Tomoyo was trying to keep the peace, but Heaven wasn't letting them. However, he did have his own comment about Tohru and the others.

"Sanada, I'm sure you mean well by telling us about what was going on with those Kings or whatever, but we don't really care. Honestly, I hope that Tohru is dead so that we can elect a new King. Haruhi has done nothing for us, and Asaba as well. Tohru and Asaba were humans instated by Chiyo, the foolish woman, and I for one could not be anymore overjoyed at their banishment. As far as the rebels go, I think that it should be your responsibility to bring them to us, since they were of your ranks to begin with."

[Kouzetsu Gin]

Gin raised his hand, "I have one question in reference to the traitors of the Hellion ranks that have caused the angst among my comrades that permeates this meeting, does stripping them of their titles mean that Hell is absolved from any damage they have yet to cause?

"Titles and power are not the same, and though you have taken one, the other remains intact, and it is the worst of the two, because it may prompt them to go to lengths to use that said power to acquire more titles and recognition without fear of reprisal. I can assure you, that no action will be sparred in the purging of these miscreants, and if Hell feels it can detach itself from these 'fallen' defectors and have no responsibility over them using the power that they were given for their actions, is more insulting then any jest from 'fallen' subordinates, or traitorous kings." Gin said, looking at Tomo, a plain look upon his face as waited for a response.

[Hanajima Satori]

Satori was outraged. How could Lailis say something like that?

"What do you mean we don't care? Of course we care! Just because they were Humans doesn't mean that they weren't Kings of ours! Besides, they weren't just any Humans--they were Lords of Havoc!! They had power beyond that of mere Mortals, not that it should matter. They were Kings, and looking into their disappearances should be important!!!"

[Sanada Tomo]

Tomoyo addressed Gin, since Satori wasn't speaking to him.

"I am not detaching Hell from their actions or punishment. I am simply now informing Heaven that they are allowed to persecute said miscreants without pursuit from Hell. In terms of capturing them we are tracking them just as maticulously as you are. However, The Ishii Shoko has a knack for creating powerful Kekkai--he will be hard to find."

[Isurugi Mei]

"I too have something to say as well." Mei said while she did her best to ignore Kojiro's comment. "I agree that their disappearance shouldn't be overlooked. Now," She stared Tomo down, "don't tell me that Hell has nothing to do with their disappearance. Last that I heard or seen from Haruhi was when I was in Hell. She hasn't even been seen since, she hasn't even step foot in her realm since she left to aid me in my attack.

"I also am concerned about the rebels as well. Stripping them of their titles doesn't mean that they won't wreck havoc any more. In fact, as Gin has mentioned, it could make things worse for us. They are out lose and you don't even know of their whereabouts."

[Tsubarisu Hotaka]

Hotaka sat there listening and shaking his head at the current going ons of the meeting. He ran his fingers through his hair, a sure sign of his growing weariness of this meeting. SO far this was nothing but a damned volleyball game of insults. Now it was our serve........A sudden realization came to Hotaka at the moment. "How did Sanada learn of our missing kings?" A sudden righteous anger surged through him, but he was quick to quell it before he spoke.

"How is it that you learned of our Missing Kings, Sanada?" Hotaka asked glaring at Ren.

[Shirogane Yamashiro]

Yamashiro said in response to the subject at hand, "Satori, if you look at what was accomplished during the reigns of those Kings it all amounts to nothing. They have done nothing to uplift Heaven--they did not even keep up with their smaller duties. You have no right to speak up for Tohru or the rest of them, and two of those vanished Kings being Lords of Havoc only means less trouble for us. It only means that there is less for us to worry about."

[Kouzetsu Gin]

"I'd imagine that a solitary being with that much power would not be difficult to track here in the Mortal Realm. He is not in Hell as you assure, and if he were in the Heaven's, I'm sure your... 'liason' would have informed you of such, and for the sake of an honest gathering you would have in term informed us, I'm sure." Gin said in a non passionate tone.

"I also find it quite perplexing that the same effort used to erect this barrier that shrouds and protects the 'sanctity' of this 'meeting', is not being employed to detect ones similar to it." Gin said, adjusting his glasses. "Are the forces of Hell really looking into the matter, or are they caught up in several other... worldly pursuits, drinking and copulation being among the highest of Hellion priorities as of late."

[Sanada Tomo]

Tomoyo scoffed. She wished that Ren had given up his loyalty to Heaven enough for him to give her any real information. The fact of the the matter was that Ren didn't know where he wanted to be. He didn't want to be with Tomoyo in Hell but he was tired of Heaven.

Normally, Tomoyo would have been flattered by the idea of deception from her husband in the Heavenly ranks. However, it only served in this case to dredge up communication problems and Ren's indecision in their relationship, and it rather stung more than it gave her pride.

"I did not acquire the information of all the missing Kings at once. Asaba has been missing from Heaven almost very soon after the wedding; he had been missing even before then, from what Tohru told me the day of. She distinctly told me she wished that he would return even if it was just for the wedding. When he did, and he saved her from the rebels she was very, very happy.

"If those of you will remember, we had a gathering shortly before Mei attacked a layer of Hell in a Mortal coffee house to throw our squabbles aside so that we could work together to capture the rebels. Alas, we could not--you should remember that well, as you left your fiance in favor of Tsubasa. She was left in tears.

"Later on, she attacked Kojiro in hopes of forcing him to marry her. There was something strange about her, but she vowed that she would stay in Hell if he agreed. I would imagine that she would not be allowed to re-enter Heaven after such an incident, as I am sure that you all eventually found out about it. That is the only thing that would justify her lack of presence here. Even Tsubasa wouldn't dare hold a meeting without her Ha-ou--that is, if one still existed in Heaven.

"As for Haruhi; she was a close friend of Rei's in their past life, and so even while we were battling the Rai-ou here refused to allow anyone to hurt her that badly. Thus we have not had a hand in her disappearance, but I assume that she is missing because she is not here. If two other Kings I know to be missing are not here, why would Haruhi not be here if not for the same reasoning? I see what it is that you are trying to do, Hotaka. But I would not kidnap your Kings and not tell you. If anything, I would want you to know that you are losing Kings. I am not a coward, though I might be cautious."

[Mikage Tsubasa]

Tsubasa drank in everything happening before her. The Elders bickering about their lost Ha-ou, and other Kings questioning Sanada about some traitor in Heaven or another, one that was sure to be eliminated soon if she had anything to say about it. There was something familiar about the reference, as though it should have rang a bell. Perhaps she knew this traitor?

...no, she did not think she did. But he would be taken care of all the same.

Tsubasa could have cared less about the Kings that Sanada was discussing, and thus she did not comment. She could have pushed, of course, to argue that Hell was hiding the dead Kings and that was infact how they knew the whereabouts--but that would distract from the topic of conversation that she really wanted to get to: The War. Heaven was not backing down, and she needed to make that clear to Sanada. So she was waiting patiently, biding her time until the subject was addressed. That was the only reason for her good behavior now.

Her Kings seemed to be handling the questioning quite well, and even though Satori was one to watch out for, the other Elders even seemed to echo her thoughts on these subjects. It was not to know that Heaven was as broken as she had first thought. Perhaps there was a common ground that could salvage relationships that were crumbling.

[Isurugi Mei]

"I find that hard to believe, Tomo. The fact that Haruhi's life wouldn't be endangered because she was friends with Rei in the past life. People change, just like those rebels that were once your Kings in Hell. You're probably lying about the whole thing, Haruhi is probably dead, Tohru is probably dead, Asaba is probably dead. You haven't mentioned where Asaba went after he saved Tohru. You're..you're just full of lies."

Mei started to get angry, angry at the lies coming from her mouth. Mei started thinking that maybe this whole peace treaty to get the kings to come here was a lie too. She started to get this vulnerable feeling. If all the Kings and Elders are here, that would lead Heaven to be open for an attack.

She suddenly stood up. "This could be a set up! This whole meeting could be a lie as well. A lie that would leave us open to any surprising attacks. We can't trust you Hellion people, we can't trust those that are in ties with Hell. Hells occupation over Heaven will be no more. In fact I think anyone from Hell that gets anywhere near Heaven should be killed on sight!" Mei started shaking now from her anger.

[Sanada Tomo]

Tomoyo's eyes narrowed. However, she kept her voice calm, gentle, and kind.

"I think that it is safe to say that you, at the very least Mei-sama, do not know about the workings of the Realm that you reside in. You say that I am lying, that this could be an attempt to attack you--yes, it very well could be. Unfortunately for you, your superiors have decided to attend anyway. Personally, I would like for you to give me a bit more credit though it is not likely to happen; I would have already attacked you if that was all that this was for. I could have killed you when you attacked me, Mei."

Tomoyo gave the Faerie a piercing stare. "You know that I could have, even when your compatriots, as you say, left you to die. But I did not. I told you from the moment you entered my Realm to leave, but you did not. Even when we fought, I did not injure any of your soldiers--outside of the one who tried to breach my shield.

"You seem to not understand how things in Heaven work, and I'm sure that your co-rulers will be very embarrassed to know that I have had to tell you this when it is so very obvious. The invitation to this meeting has been accepted by both Mikage Tsubasa, Shirogane Setsuna, as well as all of the Elders. That is why they are all here. They think me a coward, that I will not attack you--and I will admit that for the purposes of this meeting that it is true. Regardless of what you may think, Mei-sama, this meeting is in effect. Do you dare defy the actions of your cohorts and order them to leave. Already Heavenly Kings and Elders are engrossed in discussing the subject at hand for this meeting. I am not sure if I have to speak Faeish for you to understand or not, but you are here. You decided to come to this meeting like the rest of the Kings and Elders. That cannot change unless you are ordered from a higher. Conversation has already begun. Your whining won't change a thing. Your accusing me won't change a thing.

"I cannot help it if you are bitter because your life has been confirmed but those of the missing Kings have not. It is not my business to confirm whether or not they are alive--I have not seen them even recently, so I do not have the information that you seek. If you feel so guilty about you having your life and being so uncertain about theirs, why have you not launched a search party to find them? Why have you not expressed the need to find them to your fellow Kings so that those more powerful than you may begin a search?

"They Elders themselves do not care for their whereabouts. Why question me about individuals that Heaven desperately want to be rid of? I could just as easily claim that Heaven has already killed the Ishii Shoko and Itsuki Karasu as well as Kamori Kasumi and are only using them against me so that you may blame me for their actions even though they have already been taken care of. The last being to see the Ishii Shoko in person was your old Ha-ou, Hishikawa Tohru. But what good will it do when I no longer care about where they are and I hope they are all dead?

"Whether you want to recognize it or not, we are at a stalemate in terms of wanted individuals; you want your Kings, but I do not have them. I want the heads of the Rebels, but you do not have them. We can explore conspiracy theories all day, but that doesn't change the fact that we cannot find three individuals per side. Considering that you, Mei-sama, are the one who brought this fact to life for me, I suggest that we cut our losses on this particular subject, since all the commentary I get are mere theories and accusations. Does anyone object?"

[Kouzetsu Gin]

"Not really an objection, as much as a desire for clarification." Gin interjected, clasping his hands together, his fingers intertwined like tapestry. "There are few Kings here of Heavenly origin, and several of them seem to be... 'uncertain' where their alliances lie." Gin said looking at Ren and Setsuna.

"Furthermore, tell us Tomo, it is apparent that the only being present that knows the full extent of the 'workings of Heaven' as you put it, would be you. It would seem you've had the entirety of the the realm to yourself, despite our Kings, and 'Elders', there hasn't been a capable leader that we've had without your influence, or one that didn't defect to your side, as in the cases of our previous Ha-ou and our current Jou-ou. Why have you not taking the reign of the Heaven's for yourself? from a tactical stand point you have all that's required short of the explicit permission of the Elders to rule. Why do you continue with this false talk of peace during an apparent occupation, in which Hell has gone so far as to supplement replacement kings and puppets within our ranks to further destabilize the Realm. Why have you not taken everything for yourself, as you so plainly put it to Lady Mei, 'I could have killed you when you attacked me, Mei'. to quote you Tomo.

"It is true, Mei attacked, and in war there is no such thing as unprovoked, the war itself is justifiable cause for any provocation. This war, that was so clumsily tried to end with a wedding that ended in disaster, is still present and wither no one cares for the Kings or not, they were still Heaven's kings, not Hell's, and therefore any attack on them must be taken seriously, and since the perpetrators were of Hellion origins, the attack was rash, yet justified due to circumstances.

"Plus there is still the matter of what happened to our previous Ha-ou preceding Lady Tohru, a situation marred in controversy, and for the sake of the conference and the 'peace' within I will not bring to light the more explicit details, other than the most important one. The blood of a Ha-ou is on your hands, despite the cause, Lady Chiyo died by your hand, and their are many in Heaven, despite this 'peace', that are still disgruntled by this. No action has been taken detrimental to Hell has been taking because Heaven has not been strong enough to retaliate adequately, and despite the opinions of those here that disagree with my words, I am not afraid to admit the status of our situation.

"You must realize that descent and unrest still lies within the Heavens, and their are several that are not happy with partial control they have over their own Realm. The root of this problem can be traced to one thing, Hellion influence over Heavenly affairs. How can you hope for peace when the most heinous acts have been committed against those you seek to subjugate. If you truly desire peace, allow Heaven to build itself on its own, without your aid or influence, without the constant threat of a Hellion invasion every looming day as you parade around the Heaven's as if nothing has changed. Acknowledge we have lost to Ha-ou's, and ponder the fate of your own ilk as if the same twist of fate were to befall them, Hell without it's Yami-ou.

"If these thing don't come to pass soon, no conference, no wedding, no force or fear will stop the war from starting again, and this time it will be all the more atrocious because the animal that is to be tamed will be fought in it's own cage, per se'. If the war were to start today, we are all aware that it would start and end in Heaven, and I assure you, there will be no victory for Hell outside of the total destruction of Heaven itself, and if you are comfortable with this, please clarify so, so we may leave to prepare ourselves, or dispose of us now, and take Heaven for yourself. Either way, what is Hell's true stance, will there or won't there be war?" Kouzetsu asked, taking time to settle as his words soaked in the air, rife with the the heart of issues that would decide Heaven's fate.

[Sanada Tomo]

Tomoyo regarded this Angel with the same gentle smile that she had sported for the majority of the meeting. It was nice to see someone sticking up for Mei-sama; from what he heard from her, there weren't many people willing to do it. She wondered what his function was for this meeting--whose guest was he? He seemed to be very articulate in his persecution of Hellion beings. However, he spoke prematurely; it was obvious that either he was very young and did not know the details of Heaven's own history, or someone deemed so unimportant despite his services up until this point, and he had not been told anything. If either one of these was the case, then Tsubasa was using him for something. The Ha-ou of Hell prayed that the Shijin would have mercy on his soul if that was the scenario.

"You keep alluding, young Angel, to the fact that Ren is in Heaven and that I have "puppets". Other than my husband being in Heaven--which was accepted by Heaven at the time, by the way, and thus should not be an issue at this meeting--there aren't any so-called puppets. And Ren cannot be called a puppet after all, when I have never instructed him to do anything in regards to Heaven and he has never divulged any information other than that you are all trying to rip out each others' throats, which I can plainly see is true here.

"I never said that Mei's attack was unjustified. I knew that she came to Hell because it was where Shoko originated from. However, I quickly had him outsted and I informed her that he was no longer there but she was welcome to search so long as she did not harm the new King or the citizens, and she refused. I gave her the chance to leave because I still believe in peace between the two realms. That is why we are here."

Tomoyo's smiled turned to a frown at the mention of Chiyo. She avoided Gin's gaze. "Because of the relationship...that existed between Chiyo and I...I cannot...spare the details of that encounter. However, it is because of me that she was able to be brought back, and so...I consider that debt repaid. She is no longer in Heaven by her own choice." Tears gathered in the Ha-ou's eyes, and she held them in. Chiyo should not have that effect on her anymore; she was married to Ren, and that was all that mattered. She continued. "It is not my fault that she is no longer in Heaven. If she wanted to return, I'm sure that she would. I am not allowed to contact her, unless it is to speak to my children, and so you must investigate that yourself.

"I have not had a hand in Heavenly affairs since organizing the wedding with Tohru. I have nothing to say on Hellion control of Heaven because there is none. I know that you're trying to use my husband as an excuse, but our marriage was accepted at the time and cannot be used against me. YOU may not have had a hand in the decision, but it was made. You have to deal with it nonetheless."

Tomoyo chose to ignore the threat of Heaven's wrath. "As it is now, young Angel, Hell is not in a state of War. We have defended ourselves against your attacks, but we have not yet retaliated. That is the purpose of this meeting. Hell's stance will be based off of Heaven's; if Heaven declares War, we will no longer bother to only defend ourselves and parry your attacks--we will counter, and it will not be with the politeness that we have handled Heaven with in the past. By the way, what is your name? I see that your superiors have not bothered to introduce you to me, young Angel."

[Yamazaki Ren]

Ren distinctly ignored a few of the jibes at his loyalty. He didn't really feel that it needed to be said where his loyalties truly rested but with the last jibe at him from Kouzetsu he felt otherwise.

"Make no mistake. I have no covenant with Heaven or it's inhabitants." He began, rolling his eyes toward Tsubarisu the elder. "Not since your token mascot forced that peice of trash" He said, jerking a thumb toward Mizuki "on me have been utterly loyal and with each passing incident I grow less and less. If you want to blame anyone for the discent and corruption in heaven I would look to the one you all follow so blindly. Shouldn't we be the least bit suspicious that every king that has disappeared has questioned Tsubasa's motives? She weeded out her competition starting with the Shijin in the begining. Cast Tomo of out heaven when she was Ha-ou and forced Rei to fall. Anyone that would have opposed her she disposed of first and you question my my motives?" In a nervous gesture that he realized was fast becomming habit, pulled his hands through his hair.

"I accepted the throne of the sixth layer on behalf of my wife, because she needed someone there when the occupation was in full swing and she didn't trust heaven to operate logically without a capable Ha-ou. You've made you choices in that obviously area and obviously any idealistic hope I may have had that Heaven would turn itself around has turned around to bite me on the ass. So that's it. You got your wish. I'm done." He wasn't sure if he was speaking to the dubious heavenly kings or to his women, one of whom he knew was gaping at him at him as if he had grown tentacles and a third head.

He turned to Tomo now and grinned slowly.

"As I recall, this is a meeting for Celestial Kings, and as I'm not one, would you please open the kekkai, koishi?"

[Admin]

Rei was torn between epostulating in support of her friend and Ha-ou or of crying out in rage at Ren's extrodinarily rash decision. She was tired of being surprised by things once they happened, especially things having to do with her brother.

She stood up from her chair seconds after he stood from his.

"Y-you can't be serious, right? We need you up there. Don't we Tomo?!" She asked, turning to the Yami for support.

It wasn't that Ren had declared himself to be disloyal to heaven that upset her exactly....

...More like...His doing this...removed any chance of him remaining Upright. Falling was something she had desperately wished that her other half would never have had to to go through. EVER. She knew she was mostly to blame for it but...

Still...She'd hoped that being a leader in heaven would change his increasingly pessimistic outlook on things.

A look into his amber eyes, no longer gilded, gace her all the answer she needed and she sat back down into her chair with a thump, staring as he asked to be let out of the Kekkai.