Tyranny Of Steel

While the war in Japan reached a new stage of intensity, Itami had decided to redeem herself, not just by shifting the blame of her past sins onto her latest political rival, but by seeking forgiveness from those who were most affected by her reign of tyranny. 

In Little Kyoto, thousands of exiled Japanese citizens lived a peaceful and plentiful life. Though they were not citizens of the Reich, nor would they be eligible for such a privilege unless they underwent the process of Germanization, which took generations. They were still treated like any other resident of Germany. 

While the Japanese population of the Reich was concentrated in Little Kyoto, there were plenty of interactions between the Germans and these refugees. In fact, Japanese cuisine was considered an exotic treat by many German citizens who ventured into the ethnic enclave in search of a nice meal.

Itami sat in the back of one of Berengar's cars, as the driver took her to the heart of Little Kyoto. She did not know where she would begin to seek her redemption, but luckily the driver had a few ideas. In the center of Little Kyoto there was an orphanage, where minors who had lost their parents but still somehow managed to achieve refugee status resided. 

Berengar ensured that all orphanages were well funded across the Reich, even those in Little Kyoto, and while adoptions were extremely common in German households, the same could not be said for the Japanese minority. 

Thus, some of these kids had been living in the orphanage for years on end, without even the slightest hope of gaining new parents. When the car stopped in front of the orphanage, Itami gazed upon the sign, and immediately felt her heart bleed. Because she already knew that she was likely the reason these kids had been left without parents. 

It took the young Japanese Empress several moments to step out of the car, and when she finally did so, she found it difficult to walk towards the entrance of the facility. Ultimately, it was one of the bodyguards Berengar had assigned to her that led Itami into the building. 

Contrary to what Itami was expecting, the caretakers of the facility were not Japanese, instead they were German nuns, who immediately reacted with surprise when they noticed the Japanese Empress had visited their establishment out of the blue. The headmistress bowed slightly as a sign of respect towards Itami before greeting her in fluent Japanese.

"Empress Itami Riyo, I was not expecting your visit. Is there perhaps anything I can help you with?" 

Itami glanced around at the facility, and noticed the orphans numbered in the dozens, and ranged wildly in age. Some of them were as young as infants, while others were nearly adults. The kids had all lined up at the dining table, and were eating from bowls of Ramen, which had been prepared by the kitchen staff. 

Evidently, it was cooked well enough, because the kids appeared to be quite happy with their meals, as they sat and dined with wide smiles on their faces. It was only after the headmistress spoke again, did Itami come out of her trance. 

"Miss Itami? Are you okay?"

Upon realizing that she was being spoken to, Itami snapped back to reality and nodded her head, stammering over her words briefly as she explained her reason for visiting. 

"I... I'm sorry for the intrusion. I had heard that there was an orphanage here in Little Kyoto, and I felt compelled to drop by. If you're busy, then I will see myself out and visit some other time..." 

The headmistress smiled and shook her head before assuring Itami that she was more than welcome to sit down and speak to the children as they ate. 

"It is no trouble at all. Shall I prepare you a seat at the table? I'm sure the kids would be happy to see their Empress in person..." 

Itami was already having second thoughts, as she felt that the atmosphere was quite oppressive, not for the children. In fact, the Orphanage appeared to be extremely well funded. Not only did the building have proper electricity, but it also had access to modern luxuries such as radio, television, comfortable bedding with clean sheets, and a wardrobe for each child that did not in any way appear to be tattered or impoverished. 

The reason Itami felt the atmosphere was oppressive was because she knew that she was most likely the one responsible for these children not having any parents, and felt that the guilt might suffocate her if she spoke to her victims.

However, after a moment of thought, Itami sighed heavily, accepting that she needed to make amends to these children before she could ever redeem herself. And thus, the young Empress accepted the polite invitation. 

"Sure, lead the way..."

Itami was quickly led into the dining hall, where the children looked up at the albino beauty and instantly recognized her. By now these kids had been flooded with German propaganda painting Itami as a victim of Shiba's tyranny, and thus rather than feel contempt for the woman who had forced them into this situation, they instead flocked to her side, and greeted her with cheerful smiles on their young faces.  A young boy who was no older than ten rushed over to Itami and dragged on the sleeves of her dress while questioning whether or not this was reality. 

"Itami-sama, Itami-sama, is it really you?" 

The young empress forced a smile on her face, as she leaned down and rustled the boy's hair before greeting him. 

"It is, and who might you be?" 

The boy smiled and hugged Itami's waist as he quickly introduced himself. 

"My name is Inoue Yoshimori. I can't believe it's really you. You are so much prettier in person!"

Itami giggled when she heard this compliment, but before she could respond, a feminine voice hollered after the young boy from across the table. 

"Yoshi! Just what do you think you are doing to the Empress?"

A teenage girl who was roughly sixteen years of age immediately approached the boy and forced him away from Itami. She then kowtowed to the empress and apologized for her little brother's inappropriate behavior.

"I'm sorry, your majesty. My stupid brother doesn't understand the importance of your position. He acted out of turn... Please forgive him!" 

Itami did not react in the way that the teenage girl expected, instead she wore a gentle smile before assuring the girl that everything was alright. 

"It is fine. I'm used to it by now. Would you believe me if I told you that one of the Kaiser's kids has mistaken me for one of his mothers?"

At the mention of the Kaiser, the teenage girl blushed and looked away from Itami, as if too embarrassed to show her empress the expression she currently had. Itami did not immediately recognize why the girl had reacted in such a way until she spoke once more. 

"You're living with the Kaiser, right? Can I ask what he is like?" 

This question was like a slap in the face to Itami. After all, she had experienced two different sides of Berengar's personality. Currently, the man was keeping his distance away from the Japanese Empress, and she was quite salty about that. Thus, Itami instinctively pouted, before giving a surprisingly honest answer to the teenage girl. 

"He is distant..." 

This pouting expression caused the girl to giggle, as she immediately realized that she had no chances of ever ending up with her celebrity crush, not when a woman as fine as the Empress of Japan was pining after him. Itami looked at her with confusion in her sanguine eyes, but before she could ask what was so funny, the teenage girl introduced herself. 

"I'm Saiko, by the way, Inoue Saiko, and you have already met my little brother. May I ask why you have come to our home?" 

Itami looked around at the orphanage once more before expressing her reason for journeying so far into the city. 

"I have come to visit this orphanage because I fear it is my fault that you are all in this situation, and I wanted to see how I can possibly make up for that. In doing so, I hope to atone for my past mistakes..." 

Saiko looked at Itami with a peculiar expression. There was very clearly an expression of guilt on the albino beauty's face, but for the life of her, Saiko could not understand why. Thus, she was quick to dismiss the underlying reason behind the Itami's depressed appearance and even tried to cheer her up. 

"You don't need to apologize. It is not your fault we ended up in this place. It is that bastard shiba's. You were only doing what you had to in order to survive." 

This was the last thing Itami wanted to hear. It felt as if she was having a rusty iron stake driven into her heart. Though she could not admit the truth of the matter, not after the efforts Berengar had gone through to white wash her image, she still felt the need to take responsibility, and thus decided to ask just what had happened in order for this girl and her younger brother to end up in Little Kyoto.

"If you don't mind me asking, how exactly did you and your brother end up as orphans here in Kufstein?" 

Saiko looked away with an expression of dismay on her face. For a moment Itami thought the girl would not tell her story, but in the next moment Saiko took a deep breath before explaining her circumstances. 

"We have been here for a few years already. During the early days of Shiba's conquests, my father and elder brother both perished in Korea after being conscripted into the armed forces. As a result, my mother was forced to sell her body to care for Yoshi and me...

Luckily she grew quite close to a smuggler, and as after scraping by for some time she was able to afford to smuggle my brother and me to beijing. Eventually, the Kaiser took in all the Japanese refugees with open arms and thus we both ended up here. 

My mother didn't want me to share the same fate as her, nor did she want Yoshi to die in another pointless war like our father and elder brother. Unfortunately, our mother could not afford to smuggle herself out, and because of this, she is still in Japan. I hope that she has survived this horrific conflict, so that we can one day return to our home, and be a family again..." 

By the end of the girl's brief tale, Itami had begun to cry. It was only now that she was starting to realize the extent of the damage she had caused to the average citizen of Japan. With a heart full of remorse, Itami made a promise to the young girl and her brother, one that she intended to keep. 

"I promise to do everything in my power to get back to my throne and reunite the two of you with your mother. So please forgive me..." 

Neither of the two kids understood why Itami had asked them to forgive her, or why she had been driven to tears after hearing their tale of woe. But they simply nodded their heads in silence, thus giving Itami some form of reprieve from the guilt that was tearing her insides apart. 

After speaking with Saiko and her brother for quite some time, Itami helped out around the orphanage for the rest of the evening before retiring back to the Palace for the night. However, she had a difficult time falling to sleep after hearing about the depressing tales the orphans had told her about how they had lost their parents and ended up in Kufstein.

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