Chaos in Kadoma Ward – Chapter 9

The courthouse in the downtown of Kadoma Ward is a modern towering monstrosity at least fifty stories tall. Every part of the ward is represented here according to the map on display when we enter the building. Groups of people crowd the welcoming atrium, and I step around them to scan the directory.

“Who are we here to see?” I ask, my eyes searching the board, trying to make sense of the schedule, the floors open or closed to the public, and the case numbers.

“Our case was logged with my neighborhood.” Rin points to the board and a list of three lines for three floors dedicated to Nishi San-Ku Kadoma Ward. Hmmm, there’s a lot more I need to learn about how the city is organized. “We’re not on the board though. We’re going to meet with Judge Saruma in his chambers.”

“Is that normal?” I ask, as he steps up to a screen on the wall, enters his credentials, scans his chip, and makes three appointments.

“Put your wrist here,” he directs, and I’m added to his appointments. “It’s not abnormal. Eventually, we would be called to trial in a few weeks, and we’d have to hire lawyers and so on and so on. The charges are not severe on their own, but all put together?” He shrugs his shoulders as he leads me off to a bank of elevators.

I straighten out my shirt and smack the creases out of my pants, nervous I don’t appear trustworthy wearing Atsumi’s clothes. My hands go to my hair, running my fingers through it, fluffing it, and pulling it over my shoulder. Pressure at the base of my skull alerts me to the migraine I’ve been expecting since we landed. But I think I have a few hours before it gets bad.

Rin’s fingers close over mine, the warmth of his skin silencing my inner fears. “Did you know you fidget when you’re nervous?” He pulls my hand down to my side, sandwiching our grip between us. “You don’t need to worry. This is a show of bluster and ruffled feathers. Aoi Uma is well known for creating drama where there is no need for it.” With a quick squeeze of my fingers, he lets go of my hand.

Wait. Don’t let go.

“Rin Hara, elevator three,” the system calls out.

“Remember. This is why we decided to stick together, to handle these disruptions as a team, right?” He gestures me into the elevator.

I huff, annoyed to my core. One minute we’re sharing an intimate touch or glance. The next we’re back to business.

“You don’t think this relationship is incredibly one-sided?” I wait as the doors close to tick off points on my fingers. “I cost you a whole bunch of money, I interrupt your space and time, and now I’ll cost you court favors too.” I drop my hands to my side. “Who knows what’s next? I’m gathering all the benefits here. I’d probably be dead right now if it weren’t for you. How do you benefit in this partnership?”

He stares straight forward for so long I can count my heartbeats. Five, six, ten…

“Well, obviously I’m being paid.”

“You don’t need the money. Try again.”

“Fine. You want to know how I’ll benefit? Because you are unique, a different viewpoint to consider. Things need to change here. We’re at each other’s throats constantly. One war leads to the next which leads to a regime change which leads to pain and suffering for every level of society. Now we’re stuck, and our population is declining. We look stable, but it’s all a cracking facade.”

“It reminds me of Old Earth Japan, except modern.”

“That’s exactly what it is. Except we have corporations worried about profits instead of emperors worried about their people. Something tells me one is better than the other. I want to hear what it’s like for your people. Besides, I’m familiar with the Minamoto name. Pretty much everyone here knows about the history of your family.”

I swallow in a dry throat, aware of where he’s going with this. My own family, many, many generations ago, were emperors in Japan. Somewhere along history, the throne had been taken from us, not that I cared. I don’t have those kinds of desires to rule.

But this means my mission may be fruitful. Mom tasked me with figuring these people out. I was to determine if they’d either ally with us or be able to withstand the rule of an emperor who could bring us together. The empress has two sons, one for each planet.

I’m not the person to rule here, but I know who’d be perfect for the job.

I’m just a scout.

“I’m ready for a change. We’re ready for a change.”

His voice is a small, soft mouse, timid and tired. Exhausted. Nothing like the unknown man wielding a sword and dressed in black from head to toe. I close my eyes and remember him in the river, our first encounter. He fought me, tried to stab me, nearly drowned me. Then he tested me, knocked me unconscious, and delivered me to Aoi Uma. That’s all the bad stuff that always comes to mind first.

But he’s changed over the weeks we’ve spent together. I wish I could put my finger on what has shifted, but I can feel it. Something is different.

Whatever happens now, I won’t jeopardize this opportunity to pay him back for saving my ass. My body thrills with the idea I may hold up my end of the bargain with my mom.

Deep breath. My mission has the chance to succeed.

Don’t fuck it up, Yumi.

I lift my head up as I follow Rin out of the elevator. Show no weakness. I’m not sure what these people will ask of me, but I’ll try to give them what they want.

Within reason.

I stand with Rin outside of a door in a hallway with windows on one side, overlooking the sprawling city. I watch flying vehicles and drones cruise by while people walk past us oblivious to the view. It’s old hat to them. They see it every day. I try not to look like a country bumpkin as I glance at their designer animals from underneath my lashes. Dogs with fine, silky black and tan coats follow in one woman’s wake; the best clones money can buy. A man in an expensive suit swipes at his tablet while two squirrels perch on his shoulders. I wonder if the animals are toilet-trained.

What does it say about a society that values animals in this way? They’re a part of normal, everyday life. They come to work and school. They travel with their human companions. They seem to have displaced children, and I can see why. They’re docile and obedient, easier to raise than a kid. Another woman rushes past me, her arms and orbit devoid of animals. They must be a status symbol.

“Be on your best behavior,” Rin whispers at me, and his face melts into a warm smile directed behind me. My neck prickles before I turn around, my body oddly prescient about who I’m supposed to be on good behavior for.

Striding up the hall behind a man in black judges’ robes, Narumi Ogawa and a coterie of her minions follow on his heels. Narumi is dressed to impress today; her bright blue kimono is embroidered from the hem to the waist in wispy cloud shapes. She turns to speak to the man next to her, revealing an elaborate scene on the kimono’s back, a wild stallion on his hind legs. The whole outfit screams, ‘I’m more wealthy than you could possibly imagine,’ and I’m standing in hand-me-down clothing worn by the ex-wife of the man who owns me.

“Rin Hara, it’s good to see you,” the judge says, his round face breaking into a genuine smile as Narumi halts behind him. The two shake hands and bow to each other. “How are Kotashi and Gina? Is business good? I was just there the other day for lunch.”

“They’re doing well, thank you, Your Honor. Kotashi sold off one of their androids a few weeks ago and started making the noodles again by hand.”

“Is that why there was a line out the door?”

“Most likely,” Rin says with a chuckle.

Narumi clears her throat, and the judge ignores her.

“You be sure to give them my best next time you see them.” He leans in close to Rin. “And tell them that if they make a super spicy hot sauce, I want it to be named after me.”

“Saruma Sauce is the perfect name for something meant to kick ass.”

Judge Saruma lifts a wicked smile at Rin, opens the door to his chamber and enters.

“After you,” Rin says, waving Narumi and her five people in.

“You know…” I hear his voice before I run straight into him. My blood turns icy as I come face to face with Gen Miyazawa. He hid in the background to watch me before I could see him. “Back on Orihimé, my father took your father to court because your father had locked up the market on goat-sheep hybrids and effectively wiped out our family business.”

“You don’t say,” I reply, acting like I haven’t heard this story before.

“Of course, the judge sided with your family. They always do.”

Gen pulls himself away from the wall and stands over me. This was always his favorite intimidation tactic. The I’m-bigger-I’m-stronger-I’m-an-asshole technique is a tried and true Miyazawa ritual. They should’ve gone in with the yakuza instead of farming.

“If you think you’re going to get away with the same underhanded bullshit here, you’re mistaken.” His voice is ice, and his smile is fire. He’d be handsome if he weren’t such a smarmy prick.

“Where’s Ryoko, huh? Why isn’t she here too?” I regret leaving her behind with this asshole.

He shrugs. “Who knows. Who cares.”

“I do.” I won’t get anywhere with him, so I smile and gesture him in with everyone else. “After you.”

Inside the judge’s chambers, the room is a time-locked masterpiece of dark wood, real books in bookshelves and quiet video screens along the wall opposite his desk. It takes many moments for me to realize the interior decor come from tōsha, not the real thing. Wow. Everyone uses them.

Narumi and her lawyer take the two seats at the desk, not leaving one for Rin or me.

Judge Saruma sets his tablet on the desk, swipes through hidden notifications, blurred on our side, at his desk projection, and dismisses them.

“Get out,” he says, sitting down. “All of you except your lawyer.”

“Your Honor, Gen Miyazawa is a witness and must stay,” Narumi states, not deigning to plead.

“Fine. Both of you” — Saruma points to Narumi’s lawyer too — “can sit in the back with Miss Minamoto, is it?”

“Yes… sir.” I stumble over my tongue, not used to being addressed. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“The pleasure is mine,” he deadpans, not happy at all.

I hurry to the back of the room to sit on a padded bench next to Narumi’s lawyer, Gen on the other side of him. The lawyer shifts away from me and my toxic energy, I guess. I inch closer to him, just to fuck with him.

“Now, let’s go over the charges because, quite frankly, Ms. Ogawa, I find it hard to believe one woman can cause all the damage you’ve attempted to lay at the feet of Miss Minamoto.”

“I assure you, Your Honor, I’ve been conservative with the charges. She also attacked one of my most trusted employees and punched one of her shipmates in the face.”

Ryoko? I huff a laugh and roll my eyes. Rin turns around and narrows his eyes at me. I jerk my head at Gen, but Rin turns back around. Well, I guess Gen Miyazawa is fine with dragging me through the mud because there’s no way Ryoko would lie about something like that.

“The charges are excessive property damage, illegal termination of ten androids, arson of Shiroi Nami’s temple, and breach of contract. Plus a few lower charges. Littering? Are you serious?” Saruma sets aside his tablet. “You must pay your lawyers a fortune. Let’s start with excessive property damage.”

“Your Honor, Miss Minamoto set fire to a downed life pod, one that was on our land and therefore our property under article fourteen of the New Okinawa Treaty’s clause of salvage rights.”

My mouth drops open. I set fire to the life pod? What a crock of shit.

“And I assume you have evidence to support this claim?”

“I do indeed, Your Honor. We have her fingerprints and the testimony of one of her shipmates, Mr. Gen Miyazawa. He’s here today to testify.”

Judge Saruma looks from Narumi to Rin to Gen, and my brow begins to sweat.

“Mr. Miyazawa, did you witness Miss Minamoto setting fire to the life pod?” Saruma’s eyes are steely and focused on Gen.

Gen pops up from his seat, his expensive charcoal gray suit conforming to his lithe body.

“Your Honor, I did witness Miss Minamoto setting fire to the life pod.”

“What a lie,” I grumble, shooting a deathly glare at him.

“And why would she do what you’re accusing her of?” Saruma asks.

Gen shrugs. “Her family is influential and their reputation back home would be sunk if this mission failed. I believe she was trying to destroy the evidence.”

My body heats by ten degrees. What utter nonsense! This mission belongs to everyone, not just my family.

Rin clears his throat as Gen sits. “Sir, you will find video surveillance evidence in your inbox from a Kiiroi Yama drone that flew over the scene prior to Miss Minamoto arriving there with Ms. Ogawa’s men. It clearly shows Aoi Uma androids setting fire to the life pod before Miss Minamoto arrives at the scene. It also shows Aoi Uma androids violating the same New Okinawa Treaty that Aoi Uma and Ms. Ogawa are bound by.”

“Is this so?”

I want to cheer, to jump up and give Rin a high five and a genuine kiss on the lips for being so awesome, but I keep my seat. Rin was there — he saw it all — and he was smart enough to gather evidence.

“Lies, Your Honor,” Narumi interrupts. “My androids are the best in the business. They help humans, and we have a perfect record of service. They have all the safeguards in place.”

Judge Saruma holds up his hand to stop her from going on.

“I will defer to the video. Please give me a moment.” The judge picks up his tablet while Narumi’s eyes grow to the size of watermelons. Gen’s face is set in stone.

“Sir, videos can be doctored. They can be… They ah…” She stumbles over her words but grows quiet as Judge Saruma narrows his eyes at the tablet.

Narumi freezes before slowly turning around to make eye contact with her lawyer. I smile at her, coating the facial expression in every bit of smugness I can manage. Her eyes sweep over me as she disconnects contact with her attorney.

“You’re dead,” she mouths at me.

I raise my middle finger and mouth, “Fuck you,” back at her.

Judge Saruma looks up, and I transfer my rude gesture to a casual arm stretch. Nothing to see here, Your Honor.

“I’m striking down the excessive property damage charge. Next is illegal termination of ten androids, and if it’s anything like I just saw in this video, it’s also being struck down. Evidence?”

Narumi swallows. “I have testimony from several of my employees and the terminated androids.”

Judge Saruma sighs. “You know that’s not enough. I need a reliable third party witness.”

Rin sits forward. “I also have video evidence and testimony from both Kiiroi Yama and Shiroi Nami employees. All also in your inbox.”

“Right. Those charges are dismissed. Moving on.”

A bead of sweat trails down Narumi’s neck. Gen is now bored and inspecting his nails.

“Arson of Shiroi Nami’s temple. I’ve spoken with Michio Hayashi, and though Aoi Uma has pursued this with a lower circuit judge, I’m inclined to side with the people who own the actual temple and who have told me they saw Aoi Uma androids set fire to their temple.” He clears his throat. Narumi is as still as stone. “Right now there are more causes for me to put you in jail, Ms. Ogawa, than there are to put Miss Minamoto in jail.”

“Your Honor, I…” Narumi pulls her hand to her chest, her skin ashen white. “I am the CEO of my company. I took the time out of my busy schedule to come here —” Judge Saruma raises his hand again, and Rin glances to the side, trying to make eye contact with me without turning around. I nod at him. Good work.

“Enough, Ms. Ogawa. And last, but not least, breach of contract.”

The door chimes and the judge glances at his display, torn away from the current drama to whoever is requesting entry.

“Well, well,” he says, and swiping his fingers in the air, the door clicks open.

Buichi Tamura, CEO of Aka Matsuba and Principal of Hikari, saunters into Judge Saruma’s office. Everyone jumps to their feet, me last because the previous time I saw him, I had no idea what normal protocol was. His favorite white bird is perched on his shoulder, and Tamura’s owl eyes behind his glasses scan the room before coming to bow before the judge.

“Judge Saruma, thank you for letting me join you here to give testimony on behalf of Rin Hara of Kiiroi Yama Corporation.”

The judge hesitates before sitting down, looking side to side to see who will surrender their chair for Tamura. Rin is the quickest, jumping up and gesturing for Tamura to sit in his spot. He comes and sits next to me, not before resting his hand on my knee and giving it a quick squeeze. Unlike him but comforting all the same.

“Are we speaking about the alleged breach of contract that Yumi Minamoto perpetrated?” Tamura asks, transferring his bird to the arm of the chair.

“We are indeed,” Judge Saruma drawls.

“I’d like to drop the charges,” Narumi says, standing up. I think she’s hoping to run out of the room as fast as possible, but Saruma stares her back into her seat. I lean forward and raise my eyebrows at Gen, sitting past the attorney. His lip twitches.

“After her ship crash landed on Kurai, I purchased Miss Minamoto’s contract at considerable expense since she has no potential for profitability. I figured, with her family lineage, she would come in handy somehow. And then she tried to escape my employment, not Aoi Uma’s. Now, knowing how scared and displaced she was feeling, I asked for Rin Hara to retrieve her, but she ended up in Aoi Uma’s hands, anyway. I then found out that Narumi Ogawa hacked my contract and transferred Miss Minamoto into her employ.”

Saruma’s face blanches and his jaw stiffens. “Hacked the contract system? Sir, this is an outrageous allegation. Do you have proof?”

“Of course, I do.” I stiffen at the tone of Tamura’s voice. I’ve been on the receiving end of that anger and it’s not pretty. “I can give you all the evidence you need. But the fact of the matter is Miss Minamoto did not breach her contract. She couldn’t know how to do that or even that it was possible. Once she was retrieved from Aoi Uma, I transferred her contract to Rin Hara as a proxy, and he swore he would look after her. She is an important member of her mission, and I need her, should her family show up in our system soon. I do not wish to have that deal messed with in any way.”

Judge Saruma stops to look at us all. Tamura’s bird squawks and shakes out her feathers.

“Then this matter is closed. All charges against Miss Minamoto have been dropped, and I’m remanding Aoi Uma to the ward courts to answer for these other charges that have come to light during this discussion.”

Narumi hangs her head for a moment, but I can see the anger in the set of her jaw and the lines between her eyes. She’s pissed, and this will not be the last I hear from her. Gen, as well.

“You may leave Ms. Ogawa,” the judge says, dismissing Narumi with a wave of his hand. Narumi swipes her kimono flat as she stands up, bows, and meets her attorney at the door.

Gen rises and buttons his jacket. “I’ll be watching you,” he whispers to me. He pauses in the doorway with Narumi to stare me down, so I bring my hand up and wave my fingers at them both.

“Miss Minamoto, it would appear as if you’ve made some formidable enemies here on Hikari.” Judge Saruma smiles wearily at me, and I push my giddiness down into my stomach. “Rin Hara, you came in well-prepared today, which is always a treat, but your new household member is bound to get into trouble soon if you don’t keep her on a tight leash.”

My body heat flares as I realize he’s talking about me. I sit forward to protest, but Saruma raises his hand.

“Please spare me your objections. I’ve seen the records, and I know your kind well.” He clears his throat, picking up his tablet again. “Mr. Hara, due to the other myriad of small charges and the fact that this nonsense has taken up an hour of my time, I’ve downgraded Miss Minamoto’s status to Level Zero and docked her another ten thousand credits. I’m docking you ten thousand credits as well.”

“Sir,” Rin says, jumping to his feet.

“Sit. Down.” Saruma is not pleased with Rin’s protest.

I reach up and grab Rin’s shirt, tugging him back, and the judge stares at him until Rin retakes his seat next to me.

“Be glad I didn’t downgrade her caste level too. I’m only keeping her in your caste as a favor to Aka Matsuba.”

“But ten thousand credits, Your Honor? After all she’s already been through?”

In this moment, I find comfort in the fact that he’s more upset about me losing the credits than he is about his own.

“This is what happens when you don’t keep your people in line, Mr. Hara.”

Tamura ignores the whole conversation to pet his bird, a small smirk crossing his lips.

“You’re to find Miss Minamoto a job before the end of the week or I’ll have her picked up for loitering and being a public nuisance. You know the fines for that, I’m sure?”

“Yes, sir. I understand.” Rin bows to him, tugging on my arm to follow suit. “Any job?”

“Any job. I’m sure you can come up with something. And if her net worth keeps dropping, she’ll be downgraded to an Outcaste and sent to the Southern Continent.” He sets down his tablet and nods to Rin. “You may both leave now. I need to speak with Mr. Tamura alone.”

“Thank you, Your Honor. I appreciate all your help.” Rin takes me by the elbow leading me to the door.

“You’re welcome. Mr. Hara, one more thing.”

Rin and I pause in the doorway.

“Be careful not to fall in love with the merchandise. It’s unbecoming.”

Rin stiffens, nods his head once, and closes the door behind him.