June 14th, 3020
En route to Proserpina Zenith Point
Excalibur-class DropShip Hiei
Takashi Kurita, seated in perfect seizabefore his daishō, brooded in silence. When the challenge of an honor duel had been put forth by Prince Davion, he had known it was a cunning trap. However, it was one he could not ignore. His own Royal Battlemaster was an incomparable foe, with but a handful of pilots alive matching his skill. But, he had seen the reports of the Oni that had fought on Galedon. There was no doubt in his mind that the First Prince's Atlas was similarly enhanced.
It would be a challenging battle. Takashi knew that his 'Mechs superior speed would be the deciding factor, and by all accounts, years of ruling the Suns behind the desk had dulled Davion's skills. That had proven to not be the case. The man had fought like a true warrior, unflinching in the face of death, and after feeling the sting of his Atlas, Takashi knew that only the fickle whims of fate would allow him to survive that day.
With that, he had charged into melee, hoping that his fists would triumph when his weapons had failed. Davion had risen to the provocation, and as the titans clashed, Takashi witnessed his imminent death.
If he had fallen there and then, his honor would be satisfied. The Combine, however, would not survive him. Those lurking in the shadows of Luthien would strike down Theodore and greedily consume the riches of his realm for their own desires. Only by seizing a victory from the clutches of defeat would the Combine endure.
And to sacrifice oneself to slay a mortal nemesis was an honorable destiny.
But, Amateratsu had apparently chosen his fortunes... differently.
That both of them had survived his reactor overload could only have been through divine intervention. The mercy shown to Tai-Sho Rentoshi when he continued the duel was unprecedented. It had been a herculean task to retain his composure at the utter magnanimousness of the First Prince when he had allowed the Combine to retain Deiron.
That had outright shamed him.
No one would ever learn of this. In time, when his rule was no longer needed, Takashi vowed that he would simply invite Ian Davion to the Imperial Palace, to serve as his kaishakunin.