Mark of the Firefly (Tsukkiyama)

Trespassing on Empirical Property

Right to the left of the glorious building was a well-kept, although sparsely vegetated, green space that Tsukishima said to be the public gardens. There, Hinata split from the group and expertly clambered up into the tallest spruce tree he could find. He would wait there as backup; in case anything went awry, they agreed to run to an open area where he was to fly them out and to safety. If the plan worked out, as they hoped it would, then Hinata could take Kageyama and Yamaguchi back to the Nekarasi, assuming it would already be gone. Hinata was also the only one of them who could stand to stay out all night in the freezing cold of winter, him being a Kamelion and all.

With Hinata in his position, Kei and Yachi led them out to the back of the palace, the servant's entrance by the stables, which was still mostly unguarded and easy to sneak into with the right knowledge, which Tsukishima had. The servant's corridors were sturdy but had clearly been built for the sake of convenience over aesthetics. The walls and ceiling were close and made mostly of unpolished stone, lit only by hanging lanterns coated in a fine layer of dust. The three boys all had to stoop over somewhat as to not scrape their heads on said lanterns, and movement was slow going as Yachi and Tsukishima tried to navigate the maze-like corridors. The goal was to get as close to Daishou's room as possible. The servant corridors never led into the personal quarters of any of the elites that spent time in the palace, but Tsukishima insisted that there was an exit close to where the advisors stayed while on call.

Sure enough, at the corner of a hallway, there was a hidden door, made so the servants could be of use without being seen. Each door was guarded, with another soldier patrolling the hallway. It was painstaking, trying to sneak past each guard and hide in the ill-lit places of the hallway, but if they were discovered before Daishou was dealt with, he would poison the ears of the Empress and mark Tsukishima as a traitor and heretic. The snake's room was alone in its hallway, as all the other rooms for the advisors had been, so there were only four guards for them to take out: one for each person. Kageyama had wanted to kill the guards while they set up the plan, but both Tsukishima and Yachi had insisted on simply knocking them unconscious, insisting that they were all good men and women.

The four of them each made quick work of the guards, Tsukishima and Kageyama with brute force and Yachi and Yamaguchi with chemical-soaked rags. Once each guard was thoroughly bound and gagged, Kageyama made for Daishou's door. Here was where they parted with the black-haired boy. Kageyama was well equipped, courtesy of Bokuto and Hinata, with a knife, rope, and, most importantly, a handheld pistol with a full round of bullets. Expensive equipment, yes, but essential if Kageyama was to do his job properly. He would take out Daishou, render him unconscious and immobile preferably, but kill him if absolutely necessary. Over his time on the Nekarasi, Kageyama had grown even better at combat from his training with Yachi, Bokuto, and Hinata. He was well-rounded with all weapons and, most importantly, unafraid to take necessary actions and kill if needed. It may have just been Kageyama's disposition, or maybe it stemmed from the rough and tumble life of scrapper towns, but either way, he was the least squeamish, the coldest when it came to fighting. Daishou was likely asleep; Yamaguchi had full faith that Kageyama would succeed.

The party of now three snuck back into the servant corridors and made their way to the royal quarters. The Empress had a habit of wandering early in the morning in her royal gardens, so she would not be in the room with her husband. Akiteru, however, would be in his room and could easily request an audience with his mother without raising suspicion. So, through the labyrinth, they once again traversed, on their way to Akiteru's chambers. They no longer had the numbers to take out each guard at the door, so, instead, they snuck out to a viewing balcony. It was from that balcony that Tsukishima claimed to have climbed the vines and made his way into his brother's room many times before, all without the guards ever noticing.