Chaos in Kadoma Ward – Chapter 10

“There she is.”

Kazuo, waiting out in the hallway, softens when he sees me, his arms opening for a hug, and I’m grateful to sink straight into him. Thankfully, he doesn’t look that different, still unshaven and his hair pulled back. The Kiiroi Yama gear I associate with Rin looks good on him, but then all black has always been Kazuo’s ‘thing.’

“Sorry I’m late.” He squeezes me and attempts to let go, but I hold on even harder. I just missed — just — being sent to my death on the Southern Continent if all those charges against me had held, and I owe a huge debt to Rin and Tamura.

I hate owing people. I hate being in debt.

There’s nothing I can do about that.

“I didn’t even know you were coming.” I break away from Kazuo, strengthened by his warmth and familiarity, and glance over at Rin who’s staring into space, his eyes directed out the window. The judge’s final words linger in the air between us, and I wonder if Rin’s taking the sentiment seriously.

“Rin messaged me this morning,” Kazuo says, turning to nod at him. “I’m surprised you haven’t been answering your messages.”

I bite my lip and look at my shoes.

“You haven’t even touched your tablet, have you?” The amount of weariness in his voice is at an all-time high. “I know you miss your tablet, but it’s time to put that behind you. Own this one. Talk to it. Record your thoughts. I know it’s not the same. But someday, you’ll want to tell everyone at home what happened here, and you don’t want to forget.”

“You’re right,” I say, lifting my chin. “I don’t want to let Chiéko down. Wherever she is.”

Kazuo nods, not expressing the obvious. Chiéko is most likely dead, but I won’t believe it until I know for sure.

“Well, the good news is that Yumi is free for the time being.” Rin rubs his face, pulling his attention away from the window. I wonder what he’s thinking about. “Tamura and I pulled some strings.”

The door to Saruma’s chambers opens, and Tamura exits into the hallway. We bow to him as a crowd of people a few meters away snap to attention.

“Rin Hara, it turns out this one is more of a handful than I originally thought.” Tamura leans in closer to Rin. “I’m sorry to have gotten you into this.”

Rin blinks in surprise. “It’s my duty to serve.”

Tamura’s smile is a light pressing of the lips, almost nonexistent. “That’s what I thought. I was going to suggest we transfer her contract to someone a little more, hmmm, strict. Get you back on the good side of your boss, Ms. Sekino. She’s adamant that this is a bad decision for you.”

Rin’s eyes harden in a deathly stare. “And just who would you transfer her to?”

Tamura twitches his fingers, and out of the crowd down the hall, Sayaka comes forward. Great. Another one who loves to push me around. Tamura whispers to her.

“Your colleague, Kengo Hosonuma,” Sayaka says, switching on her tablet, “has come forward for the job. He says he can employ her in a family laundry, and she can sleep on a cot in his android’s room. He’ll swap the contract for 300,000 credits.”

“300,000 credits?” Rin asks, his eyebrows raised. Sayaka nods. “I wouldn’t sell a dog to Kengo for 300,000 credits.” Rin waves her off, and she steps away, her lips set in a frown. “No. I have plans for Miss Minamoto, and I’ve made my peace with the situation. Between us, and your support, we can earn out her contract before the year is up, I’m sure.”

“If you wish. Let’s hope you both stay out of trouble, no?” Tamura walks away, his people lining up behind him. I hope that’s the last I see of him for a while.

Kazuo lets out a held breath. “That was a close one.” He clasps Rin on the shoulder, his strong hand squeezing enough for his knuckles to turn white. “I thought he was going to insist.”

“No. Our plan is still in place.”

I look between Rin and Kazuo. “My mission?” They both freeze. Uh oh. “Or are there alternate plans?”

“It’s not safe to talk about this here,” Rin whispers, eyeing us both. “We should head to my apartment.”

“I’m not sure that’s safer. Atsumi used to live there.” I fold my arms over my chest, raising my eyebrows at Rin.

“Point taken. I never scanned the place after she left. We’ll have to find someplace else.”

The suspense will kill me, but I agree. Whatever these two have cooked up between them, I’m not going to know about until it we’re in a safe spot. Though I’m grateful for the modern amenities of Hikari, I wish we were back in the temple on Kurai. The food sucked, but at least we had privacy.

“You’ve only been here a day,” Kazuo says, turning to the windows. “What haven’t you seen yet? Unfortunately, Kengo was not much of a tour guide. I hear from your brother that everyone working for Aka Matsuba got a guided tour of Kadoma Ward, were treated to a fancy dinner, and then drank all night long.” Kazuo chuckles, shaking his head. “Shintaro is sleeping off the hangover right now.”

“Lucky bastard,” I mumble. “And here I am at court, trying to save my own skin. Typical.”

“Well, that’s why I’m here with you and not with your brother. He lives a charmed life. Always has.” Kazuo leans forward to peer out at the ward below us. “What’s it going to be?”

I join him at the window, Rin on my other side, keeping quiet as usual. I wonder what’s going through his head. Looking out over the buildings and streets that surround the Municipal Court building, I follow the arteries and veins of the city, pulsing with the lifeblood of this planet, its people.

“You know what’s different about this place? The streets are so narrow. And I have yet to see ground transportation. Well, except for bikes,” I say, as a bicycle speeds past the building. “At home, we have carts, cars, and other wheeled vehicles, like buses. I see none of that here.” Looking down at the tiny walkway between buildings, I’m surprised the buildings aren’t all interconnected since the main form of transportation seems to be walking.

Rin laughs, closing his eyes and shaking his head. “All the things I take for granted. Let’s go. I’ll give you the guided tour.”

I grab him as he turns away. “What about your job? Atsumi was nuclear-level pissed that you’d be here with me today. Shouldn’t you go in?”

“Fuck her.”

I let go of his arm and raise my eyebrows at Kazuo. He shrugs his shoulders.

Down on the street, we stand to the side of the door and out of the way of pedestrian traffic.

“The majority of Shin-Osaka is built on a grid. It’s a completely engineered city, from the underground up.” Rin sweeps out his arms, both to the left and right. “During terraforming, the city designers compromised on two things. One, we wanted exposure to the outside air and elements. After years of living in domes and on spaceships, people longed for the open space of a real planet. Being outside and experiencing our world is very important. It was something we missed about Earth and wanted to replicate here. Two, we wanted to make traveling safe and reliable.”

I listen intently, marveling over the education of this orphan boy. He must’ve worked hard to bring him to this place of knowledge and trust. I imagine myself behind the camera, filming this lecture like a documentary. The people at home would eat this up. But once again I’m unprepared, and I left my tablet in Rin’s apartment because I don’t even have a bag of my own. That has to change. Soon.

Rin continues as we walk to the nearest corner, “Streets here in the city are only for pedestrian or bicycle traffic. Nothing motorized. If you’re injured or need assistance, there are bicycle taxis and emergency air vehicles. If you need to get someplace faster than walking, you take the butsu or underground trains or subways. All deliveries are made using the UPN.”

“What’s the UPN?” I ask.

“The Underground Parcel Network. It’s just for goods, produce, stuff like that. We don’t transport those things aboveground. They create traffic and congestion. Via the UPN, you can get something delivered from thirty kilometers away, the other side of the city, in about twenty to thirty minutes. Goods transferred within wards? Even less time.”

We stop on the corner, and tōsha projected signs in the air direct people to nearby points of interest. The nearest subway stop on the red line is three blocks behind us. The closest subway stop on the green line is five blocks to my right. The butsu is to the left, and projections on the pavement point the way to nearby government buildings. I love this projection technology, but I have no idea where they come from or what happens in bad weather. What if the power goes out?

I grab at my hair and pull hard. Having this many questions every day is bad for my health. I like questions answered, not unresolved. Anxiety tightens my chest, and I blink my eyes to rid the scenery of halos, but they insist on staying put.

Six hours and counting until my migraine is so severe it’ll incapacitate me.

“Now seems like a good time to go check out this butsu,” I say, ushering Rin in the direction indicated by the floating signs. “I don’t think I can stand being heckled by children again.”

“Already making friends with the natives, Yumi?” Kazuo pats me on the shoulder. “That’s my girl.”

I jerk my shoulder out from under his grasp as he laughs, and I find I’m laughing too. I missed him, and we were only apart for a day. But that’s what happens when you think you’re going to be apart for longer. I watch Rin’s body language as we walk behind him, and I’m glad he smiles and laughs with a shake of his head. This is not like dealing with everyone else who would rather see me cowed and quiet.

Foot traffic on the street increases as we near the butsu. The outdoor spaces become more lively, street vendors sell meat on sticks, steamed dumplings, and one vendor has a line twenty people deep for tacos. Tacos! The people from Earth brought tacos to Orihimé, and natives from all over the continent would travel to our town just to eat them. My mouth waters as we walk past.

“Mmmm,” Kazuo hums, weaving around the people in lines and craning his neck to see what’s on offer. “I always judge how healthy a society is by their street food. I suspect you all are doing quite well for yourselves.”

“That’s good to hear. Actually, I can always tell when there’s a regime change based on the stalls in the street.” Rin slows down, sidling up next to me. “That’s the thing about living on the streets as a kid. You spend a lot of time examining the people around you, the businesses that come and go, and how busy the foot traffic is at certain times of the day. They all mean something.”

One block in front of me, through the bustle of hundreds of people walking, the butsu stretches out, about four street-widths deep. People ‘walk’ at varying paces from a saunter to race car sprinting. Though some move their legs to go faster, not everyone is walking. They’re being pulled along by… something.

“From this walkway over here, we can get a better view of the butsu,” Rin says, gesturing to a pedestrian overpass.

Turning to watch the people zip by, Rin rests his hand on my lower back, directing me out of traffic. My muscles tense under his hand, and I wish the contact would stop because his subtle display of affection in front of Kazuo is embarrassing the hell out of me. And I don’t embarrass easily.

Rin removes his hand as he points down at the butsu.

I check myself. Affection? Or politeness?

Does it matter?

The pressure in my head intensifies.

Down below, a man steps from the sidewalk into the street at a flashing purple projection spot on the pavement, and he’s moved away by an unseen force faster than a normal, healthy person can walk. The man ‘walks’ while being carried along before crossing to a yellow section of the butsu where he goes even faster. Then he stands as he’s whisked off into the distance.

“Wow,” I breathe out, leaning over the railing.

“I guess you don’t have these on Orihimé.”

Kazuo leans with me. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

We both watch the people speeding past, going faster or slower depending on their lane, entering and exiting at regular intervals.

“So, why ‘butsu?’” I ask Rin. His eyes scan the surrounding people. “Like grumbling? Butsu-butsu?” It’s an onomatopoeia I often heard at home. Mom hated when people talked under their breath. ‘Butsu-butsu-butsu-butsu, speak up!’ I can hear her saying it in my head.

“No. Like short for butsuri.”

“Ah, the laws of physics. They look like they don’t apply here.” I watch a woman move from the yellow lane of the butsu to the purple and onto the sidewalk. Her graceful, small steps pick up as she steps onto the non-moving sidewalk.

“I have no idea how the technology works. It just does. The butsu hits the most popular areas of the city and there are loops for every ward. In general, flying is the fastest and most precise method of travel. Kiiroi Yama uses flying vehicles the most for policing the city, along with sorabō. The trains travel into and out of the city and around the perimeter. The subway is the most popular method of travel for longer city distances, and the butsu is for shorter distances along with walking. Only the very highest class of daimyō own any of the flying vehicles outside of the police though a few flying taxi companies operate for the wealthy too.”

I gulp considering how big the city is. Millions of people live and work here, know how to use the traffic system, how to pay for goods or services. I know nothing.

I bring my attention from my lack of social skills to the scene in front of me. The purple lane appears to be the slowest, the yellow lane is medium speed, and the green lane is the fastest. Elevated walkways interrupt my view of the butsu at regular intervals into the distance.

“What happens if it rains?”

Rin crosses his arms and leans his shoulder against the railing. “The butsu slows down and stops, people walk or take the subway. When the rain stops, the butsu starts back up again. The weather here is pretty consistent.”

“I wish it were warmer,” Kazuo says, turning away from the butsu. “Does it cost anything to use the butsu?”

“Nope. Though it will cost you if you interfere with it.”

What an amazing place! My chest aches with the desire to catch it all on camera. I want to talk to regular citizens on the street, hear their hopes and dreams, understand their desires for prospering on this world. But men and women walk past us, staring straight ahead, hardly talking or interacting with the world around them. We’re the oddity in the mix, three people standing around talking to each other. I’m not sure I could stop anyone and interview them. What makes them so detached?

“Should we give it a shot, Yumi?” Kazuo elbows me, and I warm to the idea quickly. Now is as good a time as any. And with an oncoming migraine, I’m bound to be bed-ridden for a day or two.

“You guys know how to live it up,” Rin says, laughing.

“Yeah, let’s do it.” I turn from them both, looking left and right. “Which side?”

“Depends on where you want to go.”

I know exactly where I want to go.

“I think Kazuo would love some noodles.”

Kazuo licks his lips. “I’m always down for noodles.”

Rin’s face warms with a gentle smile. “We can take the butsu almost all the way there.”