“You are smoking” Nobunaga commented to Yoshiaki, Major Altan Niraj saw the man removed the cigar from his mouth and inspect it as though surprised himself, while blowing out smoke with a sound like a sigh. He hadn’t noticed when the man had first put it in his mouth but he was sure that when he first walked in there had been no cigar

  “Uhm….. I guess I am.”

  Genrral Altan continued to wait in tranquility but no one refused his offer.

  At his home, the general unlocked the door and walked in before announcing his presence, the reply came from somewhere in the house.

  “Welcome dear, direct your friends to the living room. Niraj set the table for me, you know where the plates are.”

  All present looked toward the general except Altan Niraj who walked past them going deeper into the house while general Altan just shrugged and said

  “Come along, dinner will soon be ready.”He lead the rest to an eight sitter dinning table “please sit” he said as he took one of the head chairs.

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  A woman walked in carrying a big bowl of food and dropped it in the center of the table.

  “I hope you all are hungry?”

  “Director Amari” the sergeant major greeted

  “Call me Mrs. Altan here. Please, no cigars in the house.” She said as she left in a hurry. Everyone turned to Yoshiaki and he replied.

  “It is important.” But the woman had already gone into the kitchen.

  Mrs. Altan walked in again this time carrying a big spoon, she paused when she noticed Yoshiaki still with the cigar in his mouth.

  “Please, no cigars in my home.” she said looking him dead in the eye.

  “It is important” Yoshiaki repeated

  “No, it is not”

  “I assure you, it is.”

  “No”

  “It helps me with my anger, woman” Yoshiaki replied the base of the cigar already getting hot

  “No cigars in my home” Mrs Altan eyes turned blue and ice grew on the butt of the cigar, it grew till halfway before stopping then it began to reduce, letting of steam all the way, it reduced till the last third of the cigar that part of the ice refused to budge. The tension in the air grew, the others where looking between the two in a standoff and general Altan expecting him to intervene but he didn’t, infact he looked amused. It continued for a while before Professor Yoshiaki reached for his cigar

  “I see” he said looking between the general and his wife as he put his cigar in a case and in into his pocket.

  “I will bring another spoon” Mrs. Altan spoke. When she said that the others noticed that the handle of the metal spoon she held had been squeezed between her fingers.