"On behalf of the United States of America," the ambassador proudly announced as he faced the Emperor, "the signing of this treaty will usher in an era of unprecedented prosperity and cooperation between our two great nations ( Read more... )

"//Will you fight the white man, too?//" Higen had asked Nathan upon his return to the village ( Read more... )

Packing. Packing to leave. Nathan had gotten in touch with Portalocity, informed those who he was working under that he was heading back to America. He didn't have to specify when in America, or where. Gone was gone, after all ( Read more... )

The trip into Tokyo itself had been quiet, to say the least. The arrival into Tokyo, on the other hand, escorted by at least a dozen Samurai on horseback, was an event to be remembered. Those who didn't scream and scatter from the streets lined up by the side of the road, bowing as the group of them made their way into the city ( Read more... )

Ah, the theatre. While Nathan had kind of failed at all aspects of it back before his time spent at Fandom, he could certainly appreciate the art of it from his viewpoint in the audience as the members of the village put on a rather entertaining kyōgen performance in the late evening, well after the sun had set ( Read more... )

Nathan had managed, by some miracle, to keep some lolling sort of semblance of consciousness as the Samurai took him and Tony back to their stronghold in the mountains of Japan. Through some sort of haze, he watched Katsumoto lop off the head of General Hashigawa. The rest, haze. There were moments, when he almost had enough focus to look to make ( Read more... )

Another day. More training. The men seemed eager to learn, though the going was slow. After all, they were working with weapons that even a decade before, they might never have dreamed of using. Algren supposed, as he surveyed the troops attempting with little avail to riddle their targets with bullets, that he should at least be grateful they were ( Read more... )

The boat (ship, really) that Nathan and Tony had been whisked away to was none other than the same one that Nathan had been passenger on, en route to Japan before he'd even wound up in Fandom. He supposed it was entirely too kind of the universe at large to have his own timeline wait up for him to return, but the circumstances of his arrival could ( Read more... )

July 12th, 1876

There is some comfort in the emptiness of the sea. No past. No future. And then at once I am confronted by a hard truth in present circumstances. I have been hired to suppress the rebellion of yet another tribal leader. Apparently, this is the only job for which I am suited. I am beset by the ironies of my life. Algren paused in ( Read more... )

Somewhere, deep in the mountains of Japan, a man was meditating. In his mind, he saw a vision- it was a vision of a tiger, cornered, wounded, snarling and roaring and clawing. Fighting to survive, teeth and claws against a swarm of men, armed with spears.

It was the vision of an animal.

It was the vision of a man.

( San Francisco )