Last modification date: 11/27/98 ====================================================================== CONFLICTS OF INTEREST: A Final Fantasy VII fanfic by Madamhydra ====================================================================== PART 7 (side story): THE FALL OF WUTAI ====================================================================== --------------- Disclaimer: All rights and privileges to Final Fantasy VII and its characters belong to Square Co., Ltd. The characters of this series are used without permission for the purpose of entertainment only. This work of fiction is not meant for sale or profit. All original characters are the creation of the author. All copyright privileges to these characters are reserved for the author. --------------- Author's notes: WARNING: Violence, Adult language and subject matter. This is a CONTINUATION - ALTERNATE REALITY Final Fantasy VII fanfic. It contains major SPOILERS for the game. ********************************************************************** ********************************************************************** It was said that Wutai fell when Lord Godo Kisaragi was defeated in single combat by the great Shinra general Sephiroth. That was a lie, perpetrated by Shinra's PR department to glorify the corporation's victory over the island nation of Wutai. Much of the legend was true. Sephiroth did do a superb job leading the Shinra forces against the warriors of Wutai. It was also true that Sephiroth indeed met and defeated Lord Godo in hand-to-hand combat. However, the truth behind the actual downfall of the small island nation was much uglier. The defeat of Wutai was sealed even before Lord Godo faced Sephiroth. It all started -- or rather ended -- with the cold, calculated assassination of a single woman. --------------------------- [ Wutai, twelve years ago ] Sephiroth tossed the reports down in a gesture of disgust. A few days ago, he had been summoned back to Midgar to deliver a personal report to President Shinra on the progress in the Wutai war. The news awaiting him upon his return to the front had not been good. He glanced to his second-in-command who had been placidly watching his superior officer stalking back and forth in ominous silence. "That damned fool Thorn. I'm gone less than a week and what happens? He loses nearly every bit of territory we've gained over the last several months. And have you seen these casualty figures?" Sephiroth's voice was cold and sharp with annoyance. "What the hell was the fool thinking of, Zack?" His dark-haired friend and subordinate shrugged in that careless way of his. "Personal glory. A place in history. Who knows? I kept telling him that we weren't facing a bunch of half-witted terrorists or rebels. The Wutai people are fighting for their homeland and they're damn good at it. But he wouldn't listen to me." "What an ass." "I do believe he's related to Palmer." "Well, that explains everything." There was no doubt that Shinra would eventually win, but if matters continued on their present course, it would be a long, bloody war. Sephiroth had long since figured out how the minds of the Wutai people worked. They had an ancient warrior tradition that prized pride and honor above death. Shinra might defeat the military forces of Wutai, but that wouldn't be the true end of the war. Shinra would be forced to take Wutai, village by village, practically house by house. The campaign could take months, even years, and there was no guarantee that the Wutai would stay suppressed for any length of time. Sephiroth had no intention of getting bogged down in a long, drawn out guerrilla war. There had to be a better way. Mere military victory wasn't enough. He had to break Wutai's morale and fighting spirit. "Zack, we need to find a way to break up the coalition of Wutai clans. Otherwise, this war can take forever. Right now they have Shinra as a common enemy, but if we can find a way to turn them against each other, the clans will do most of our work for us." Zack suddenly gave his superior officer a laconic grin and said, "Well, while you were in Midgar, I got an idea that just might do the trick. Kunitora." Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. "Lord Godo's wife?" The dark-haired man nodded. "Yup. I've heard that Godo's madly in love with her. He doesn't even keep any concubines, although under Wutai custom, he's entitled -- actually, he's practically obligated -- have at least four or five. Lord Godo may be the front man, but she's the real force behind the throne, so to speak. She's got a fanatical hatred of anything Shinra. As long as she's alive, there's no hope of Wutai surrendering." They exchanged a long glance. "We don't need a martyr, Zack." "Someone as outspoken and strong-minded as Kinutora has plenty of enemies. For example, some of the more recent intelligence reports say that several of the more powerful clans want to come to terms with Shinra before Wutai is totally destroyed. Kinutora would block any attempt to negotiate. Other clans want Kunitora out the way so they can maneuver their own daughters or sisters into Godo's household and eventually into his bed. If any of these females can produce a male heir, her family gains a hell of a political advantage over the other clans." Zack grinned wolfishly. "Not to mention that there are several members in Godo's own Kisaragi clan who have plenty of reason to see Kinutora dead. At the moment, she's over eight months pregnant and that doesn't make Godo's male relatives too happy. As long as there's only a female heir, those guys stand a good chance of taking over when Godo dies. They certainly wouldn't want another heir -- especially a male heir -- between them and Godo's title. I could go on. We're just another tree in a very crowded forest." Sephiroth smiled slowly. "Perfect." "Kinutora's the only daughter of the Misa clan, the second most powerful clan in Wutai. They're notoriously hotheaded. It's been less than thirty years since the last major clan war in Wutai. If she dies of a suspicious accident, her family is bound to start pointing fingers and making accusations." Zack propped his hip on a nearby table. "Seph, you know that Godo and his wife are holding the clans together with sheer willpower and personality. With Kinutora dead, Godo devastated by her loss, and wild accusations flying around, the clan alliance will fall apart. And with their clans and their leaders in disarray, the Wutai people will lose their will to fight." "Give me the downside." "It's a hell of a gamble. It's going to be tricky to kill her in a way that raises suspicions, but isn't too blatantly obvious. And if we've got our information screwed up or anything goes wrong, this operation could blow up in our faces. The last thing we need is to have her death blamed on Shinra," Zack said. Sephiroth laughed softly and shook his head. "We're bound to come under suspicion, but that doesn't matter. All we need is plausible deniability. As long as there's no direct proof pointing to Shinra and as long as there are plenty of equally good -- if not better -- suspects within Wutai itself, the plan will work." His decision made, Sephiroth rose to his feet and said, "Well, Zack, are you up to it? It's not going to be easy, sneaking into Godo's palace on such short notice, but if she's nearly ready to give birth, we can't afford to wait." With that familiar easy grin, his friend said, "Consider it done." --------------------------- Three days later, Kinutora Kisaragi, the only wife of Lord Godo of Wutai, was found at the bottom of a staircase. The actual cause of death -- a broken neck -- was indisputable. But other questions, such as HOW Kinutora managed to fall down a flight of stairs and WHEN precisely did her neck get broken, started a firestorm of controversy as rumors of foul murder began to spread throughout Wutai. A grief-stricken Lord Godo locked himself into his study, abandoning the clan council to their own devices and leaving his young daughter Yuffie alone to deal with the loss of her beloved mother. Two days after Kinatora's death, her cousin Mokoto Misa killed the heir of the powerful Azuma clan for his rumored involvement in Kinutora's murder. In retaliation, the Azuma clan burned down several buildings on the Misa clan's estate, killing several of Lord Misa's prized concubines. The fathers of these women then in turn attacked the Azuma clan seeking revenge. And so it went.... Sephiroth and his shadow coolly watched as the aristocratic clans of Wutai began to tear each other apart. Less than three weeks after Kinutora's suspicious death, Lord Godo was defeated and Wutai fell like a ripe fruit into Sephiroth's hands. The Shinra occupation troops, under the strictest orders from the General to be on their best behavior, met virtually no resistance from the Wutai people who had been dreading a return to the bloody chaos of the old clan wars. ********************************************************************** ********************************************************************** -------------------------------------------- madamhydra@aol.com /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/:E http://www.geocities.com/~madamhydra/