Crash Land on Kurai – Chapter 33

The negotiation room in the temple is a vast open space, beige tatami mats, and cream-colored shōji screens. One door is open on a wide porch stretching to infinity, the golden light filtering down to warm the room. Narumi and Akikazé sit with their Aoi Uma companions, and we sit on the opposite side of the room. I avoid making eye contact with them and pretend like they don’t even exist. Besides, I don’t want to start this negotiation off on the wrong foot by hurling across the room and trying to choke Akikazé with my bare hands.

Though I really want to.

I’m the odd woman out. I’m not native to this world, nor do I have my own corporation to support me. Still, I sit with my back straight, my hands resting on my thighs, and my eyes glued to the door. Only Rin sits with me, the rest of his men and women many paces behind us. I regret not making Tamura come. I’m a tiny little bug compared to these people.

The door to the room slides open, and three men and two women dressed in white kimono enter. They are all what I consider ‘rough around the edges’ for this world. Long shaggy hair and beards are the norm, and darkened eyes scan the room, daring anyone to speak out of turn. Though they all look like they’ve been camping for the last thirty years, they’re formidable and command authority through glare alone. They’re not to be trifled with.

I run through my options before proceedings begin. I could go in strong with my highest offer and blow them out of the water. But I believe I should start low with the bidding and work my way up, be careful not to show my hand too early.

First things first. Introductions, of course.

“Yumi, this is Michio Hayashi, the head of the Shiroi Nami Corporation. The men and women behind Hayashi are members of his family,” Rin whispers to me, inclining his head and indicating that I should bow. I follow his lead and bring my forehead to the tatami mat.

“Shiroi Nami Shachō-san, this is Yumi Minamoto, from the Minamoto clan of Orihimé.”

Whispers escalate amongst the Shiroi Nami people, one woman clutching the arm of the man next to her and saying, “It’s true then.” Her eyes fill with tears, and I squirm under her attention. Are these long lost relatives? How badly do they want to keep Shintaro then? They must’ve been fawning over him.

“As you probably already know,” Rin continues, “she’s a member of the spaceship that came into orbit several days ago and was met with destruction at the hands of Aoi Uma.”

“We will not take responsibility for firing on their ship,” Narumi says, huffing and turning her head from me. “Aka Matsuba baited us into firing.”

Hayashi has yet to say a word, but his eyes bounce back and forth between us. He clears his throat. “How do you respond to these accusations?” he asks me, and I draw back in surprise.

“From what I saw from the bridge of the Murasaki, Aoi Uma and Aka Matsuba fought like spoiled children, and when neither of them got their way, Aoi Uma fired first. Which is why I am now aligned with Aka Matsuba. This is merely a lesser of two evils maneuver. But it’s not what we came here today for. I would like to see the hostages before negotiations can begin.”

“Lesser of two evils? Is that so?”

“It is what it is, and any corporation that rightly sees the value in aligning itself with us from Orihimé will get our gratitude and our cooperation.” I raise my shoulders and defy him to think differently with a hard stare. My people back home want this alliance more than anything. Orihimé is a beautiful planet, but our landmass is tiny, and with the influx of citizens from Earth, we’ll outgrow it in only a few generations. These people are far more advanced than we are, but we have ships and history on our side. If we can come together, we can do a lot more than apart.

The people behind Hayashi nod their heads, and Narumi’s lips pinch.

“We’re interested in hearing more about your world, Minamoto, and your family. Aka Matsuba and Aoi Uma are weak and fragile, and they’re the reason why Shiroi Nami has been exiled for a generation. They’re responsible for sterilizing our men and women.”

My eyes jerk to the woman whose eyes filled with tears. Her head is bowed, ashamed. Well, shit. That’s no good.

“But we’re loathe to trust anyone new right out of the gate. You will have to prove yourself.”

I let these statements bounce around in my head for a moment while I try to catch my breath. I’m desperate to lean over and talk to Rin about what’s going on. I was under the impression my ancestors here had been gone for a few generations. But now, I think that might not be the case.

“I have the backing of Aka Matsuba, and I’m here to do business on their account. We want to see the hostages.”

Across the room, Narumi bows her head to the tatami. “I would also like to see the hostages. I refuse to bid when I can’t see the merchandise.”

“Very well,” Hayashi says, waving to the man at the door. There’s a period of shouting, people relaying orders down the hall and back again, before the door slides open and in comes my brother.

“Shintaro,” I whisper, unable to get the words out of my throat. He locks eyes with me from across the room, and his face distorts as if he’s about to cry before he pulls it together and nods to me. He rushes forward, only to be snapped back by a man holding his hands in bindings. Shintaro crashes to his knees and grunts, and I lean forward to jump up. Rin’s hand comes down on mine, he shakes his head, and yanks me to the floor.

Screw all these people. I’m so tired of being treated like dirt, and rage burns in my stomach, egging me on, daring me to put someone in their place. Everyone is about to learn just how far I’ll go for the people I love.

“We’re okay, Yumi. They’ve treated our injuries, and everyone who came here is still alive,” Shintaro says, keeping eye contact. I would know he was lying if he looked away.

“Well, that’s more than I can say about the people captured by Aoi Uma,” I say, nodding to Shintaro.

Hayashi draws his body up, the people behind him gasping and murmuring to each other. Rin’s hand closes over my arm, squeezing. His eyes are scanning the room, watching every movement, ready to fight in a blink.

“Is this true?” Hayashi growls, turning to Narumi. She pales, pressing her lips together. This is the first time I’ve seen her show fear, and it’s enough to make my legs shake.

“We… We had some injuries, and people did die. It wasn’t our fault.” Her posture stays rigid, but the quaver in her voice gives her away.

“It wasn’t your fault?” I scoff at her, letting anger saturate my voice. “I saw that man, Akikazé, kill a Shiroi Nami man before he killed several of my own. Many would have survived if they’d only had medical attention.”

During that moment, when they lopped off his head, the wind and smoke whipped around me, and I was lost, not knowing anything. I didn’t know what happened at the crash site with the life pod on fire. But now that I witnessed another crash site with a fire and the Aoi Uma androids on a rampage, I’m sure Aoi Uma was behind it all from the beginning.

“This is outrageous!” Hayashi, with his booming voice and broad chest, is formidable, and I have to stop myself from shrinking away. “How do you know he was one of my men?” he asks, turning to me.

“He wore a kimono like the one you’re wearing now. He was clean-shaven, hair pulled back in a tail, and he carried a sword that had the name Hayato stenciled on the side.”

I close my eyes and remember him, how at the time, I thought he was the one who killed my shipmates. But no, I see the truth of it now. It was Narumi’s androids who killed them and set fire to the woods. That’s how Narumi knew to take me there. It was a ruse the whole time, having Akikazé convince me they needed me and my tablet there. It was a show to get me to fold, to be afraid of them.

I open my eyes and stare across the floor at her. You manipulative bitch. I see you for what you are now. She stares back as if to say, “You haven’t seen anything yet.”

A woman behind Hayashi breaks into a sob. “My husband. You killed my husband.”

Narumi stands, her face solidifying into outrage. I’ve only ever seen her calm and collected. I must push her even further if I want to win this. “I came here to do business, not be accused of crimes you have no evidence of. If you wish to settle this matter later, we can fly out to the crash site and see what we see.” She jams her index finger downward to the floor. “But I am here now, and I demand respect, the respect my corporation deserves. Are you refusing to do business with me?”

A ripple of horror rips through Rin, Hayashi, and the other corporation members in attendance, their noses flaring, their shoulders squaring, their chins lifting. Business is business, and business always comes first. It’s a matter of honor here, unlike at home where family comes first before anything else.

Narumi has called everyone’s honor into question.

I glance over at Shintaro, and he makes eye contact with me. I know those eyes. They say, “What the hell have you gotten us into?” I shake my head a fraction of a centimeter. Not my fault. Four other Murasaki shipmates sit behind Shintaro, and I lock eyes with each one. Damn. These are some of the smartest people on the ship which shouldn’t surprise me since they’re with Shintaro. All of them are more valuable than anything else I could provide. They must come home with me.

I almost chuckle. Home? Where is that?

“We will do business together, as that is the way of honor amongst our corporations.” Hayashi bows forward, and he waits for Narumi to sit back down and bow as well. Rin taps my shoulder, and we bow to show our respect.

When we all rise, Hayashi turns to me first. Score. I’ve already been able to get the upper hand.

“We have five men and women from your ship in our custody. We value their lives at three hundred thousand credits a piece with the potential to make much more than that in their fields of study. Their contracts are now up for bid. They have all expressed a willingness to be entered into the free market. Though we are interested in employing them, they have shown the desire to know their options.” Hayashi turns to address the hostages. “I will do my best to look after your welfare.”

Several of the people behind Shintaro panic, their eyes wide and lips moving without speaking. I bet the last few days have been spent wondering about this world and their society and thinking things couldn’t get much worse, as I did in the first few days with Aka Matsuba. Narumi and Aoi Uma, though, are far, far worse.

I clear my throat and call on a reserve of energy. My whole body hurts at this point, and there’s not much left to give. I must dig deep. “I wish to bid on all five at once. I don’t think they should be separated.”

“All or nothing?” He raises his eyebrows, lifting his right hand.

“Yumi…” Rin hisses in my ear. “Remember. We’re here for your brother.” But I raise my right hand as well.

“All or nothing.”

“The bidding will start at three hundred thousand credits a person.” Times five is one point five million credits. Okay. I can work with this.

I play along for a while, knowing I have land in my back pocket. We can afford to go high, not as high as how much I cost, but at least a million credits a person. I lift my hand over and over, never letting Narumi even blink before I raise the price. Her patience begins to dwindle as we get closer to a million credits. So, she skips right to it.

“One million credits a person.” She huffs, blowing a puff of air through her lips before opening a fan. “These people can’t be worth much more, and I must have them. I have need of geneticists. You will let me have them.” Her eyes are laser-focused on me from across the room, daring me to up my bid.

I swallow, dying for some water or tea or something to soothe my dry throat. The pain-killing leaves I chewed earlier are beginning to wear off, and my entire body pulses with pain. I have to end this soon, get out of here, and onto our new lives. Until we can go home. I plan to go home someday.

I turn my eyes from Narumi and meet Shintaro’s. He’s quiet and observant, reminding me of our teens together and how he snared Takéji’s heart by being this port in the storm. Shintaro is the sweet and straightforward part of that relationship. I loved the brash and fun nature of Takéji, how he took risks, leapt without looking. So much like me. I thought I had found my soulmate, someone who would understand my outbursts and temper. Opposites attracted instead.

Takéji will never forgive me if I return to Orihimé without Shintaro. I’ll never forgive myself either. I can’t let him fall into Narumi’s hands.

Ayamé’s voice in my head whispers, “Go in for the kill.”

“I have what you asked for.” My voice booms in the quiet room. Narumi pulls back with widened eyes.

“What is this?” Narumi looks between Hayashi and me. “What did you ask for? Have I come to this negotiation without the same information as that outsider?” She snaps her fan at me.

Hayashi ignores her. “You are prepared to bid credits and land? We thought it would be one or the other?”

“Yes. Credits and land. One million credits per person and your rights to the Southern Continent restored.” Whatever that means. I didn’t ask for details.

Hayashi’s eyes narrow. “All our rights?”

Narumi jumps to her feet. “This is outrageous! I was not aware you wanted land. If you had told me —”

“What?” Hayashi asks, staring up at her. “What land do you have to offer me? You’re no longer the ruling power on Hikari. Aka Matsuba owns the contracts to the land and holdings on the Southern Continent now.”

“What could I possibly offer then to compete with this?”

Akikazé rises next to his boss. I want to laugh with glee that I’ve riled them both enough for them to panic, but I hold my cheer except for a quick snort of laughter.

Narumi’s eyes fall on me. Shit.

“Your newest androids,” Hayashi interrupts. “I want them all.”

“What?” Narumi pales, her hand flying to her chest. “Never. Why would you even want them?”

“We will either return to Hikari, to our land and holdings on the Southern Continent and live in peace once more with Aka Matsuba’s bid. Or we will take your androids, leave this planet and terraform the fourth planet in the system.”

I blink, finally seeing his plan laid before me. They want to be a contending corporation again. Shiroi Nami wishes to gain a footing, no longer exiled.

“Wait!” I wave my hand out between them. “I can sweeten the deal even further.”

“Do not talk, outsider, or you will die,” Narumi whispers, her voice low like the rumble of an earthquake.

I press on. “Take our deal. Take the money and the land. And when my people come for us, I will give you a planet in our system for yourself with plenty of human help both from Earth and from Orihimé. Your terraforming knowledge is needed. Our planet…” I lick my lips, debating how much information I should give away. “Our planet is beautiful, but we have a lack of land mass. Eventually, we’ll need more space. We could be allies.”

Everyone pauses. The floor creaks as someone shifts. Even the wind holds its breath.

“We have a deal.”

My breath leaks slowly from my body, only to hasten as Rin pushes me to the floor.

“Get down!” Someone screams, and the room explodes in a flurry of movement. I’m stunned, not knowing where to turn. Rin shoves me, and I roll away from him, pushing up onto all fours. A gunshot rings out, and the wooden door behind me shatters, spraying splinters in every direction. I drop to the floor again, covering my head and silencing a sob. Guns. I’m so not used to guns. No one has them at home.

“Yumi, move!” Rin yells at me, so I look up. The room is a sickening chaos, people fighting in every corner. One of Rin’s men knocks a gun out of Akikazé’s hand, and it skitters across the floor. I jerk to go after it, but a Shiroi Nami man picks it up.

Rin is fighting two men at once, his sword a blur. Past him, Narumi tries to retreat from the room, but Hayashi fights her hand-to-hand, jumping at her escape route. He swings to chop down on her shoulder, but she blocks and kicks him in the chest. Despite how much I hate her already, I’m impressed with her fighting skills, especially in a kimono. Malice ripples across her face like a demon possessed her years ago and just now woke up. I shrink backwards, afraid she’ll go for me again.

Scrambling to the side, I crawl like a spider trying to evade being crushed by a shoe. I make it halfway to Shintaro when I’m forced flat to the floor. Rin leaps over me, slashing at Akikazé. He’s a force to behold, and my jaw drops open as he pushes Akikazé away from me. I get back to my hands and knees and lunge for Shintaro, pulling him down a second before a gunshot nearly takes off his head. The wall next to us splinters and breaks, groaning under the weight of the massive wooden beams.

“Stay down. I have no idea how many guns are in the room,” Hayashi hisses at us, coming to my side. I have a split second of happiness he’s choosing to stick with us before an explosion rips through the temple and bits of the ceiling rain down. I scream and cover my head, my body erupting with all the past and present pain. What the hell did I get myself into?

“I hope you meant everything in that negotiation, Miss Minamoto,” he continues, glancing around the room. “We’re going to need the money, land, and connections soon enough.” We startle as the room cracks so loud my ears ring, the temple shifting a few degrees south. Hayashi throws his arm over my head as we duck to the floor to miss another bullet.

“Money, land, and connections, but not if we’re dead!” I hold back a sob. I’d give anything for peace, quiet, and a vat of alcohol right about now.

Hayashi kicks at the papered door behind him, opening a hole for us to shimmy through. “Go!” I gesture to the other hostages, directing them to get away. “Down the hall and out the back. Head into the woods.”

The five of them make it through, including Shintaro.

“Get out and get safe. We’ll speak again soon.” Before I can thank Hayashi, he jumps up and runs, crouched and low, out the side of the temple.

I hesitate to assess the room. Most of Narumi’s people have escaped, torn through the papered doors, and out into the field, running for their ship. Rin forces Akikazé straight back, and his other men and women along with Shiroi Nami fighters secure the room, fighting three people who have come as reinforcements. Good, we may be fine yet.

The front door to the temple rips open, and terror washes over me. I spoke too soon. Androids. I would recognize Narumi’s fighters anywhere now. Their faces are blank slates, free of emotions. Her programmers left out joy and happiness to make room for more brutality. I groan as I watch one pick up a lit candle and throw it to the floor. Their first directive must be fire. Fire, smoke, and flames. Set the world alight and hope for the best.

“Shit. Go.” I push Shintaro to the hall, knowing we’re now in the path of the androids. “Rin!” I call over my shoulder, glancing back. Akikazé has taken off to Narumi’s ship, and Rin turns in our direction. His eyes widen as I pick up my pace and break into a sprint.

The hallway explodes, and Shintaro screams, his shoulder blossoming blood. He trips and falls, and I’m running too fast to avoid him. My body takes flight, soaring through the air, past my injured brother to the floor beyond. Air rushes from my lungs in one poof, and my tablet flies from my front inner pocket, clattering across the floor. I try to reclaim my footing and scramble back, throwing my body over Shintaro.

Maybe it’s not the smart thing to do, shielding my brother with my own body, but I’ve had only one mission since we crash landed, and that was to find him alive. Considering the stupid situation I’m already in, sacrificing myself to save him seems like the best option.

I crush my eyes closed, tensing my body for the inevitable assault.

Shintaro swears, throwing his arms around me and rolling me to the side. We both look up as two androids short out and fall in the spot we just were. Rin pulls his sword from one android, its back sparking and popping. He whirls around and cuts another one down. This one crashes through a paper door into a separate room. The hall behind Rin is awash in flames, and smoke curls along the ceiling, tiny tendrils reaching out to consume all breathable air.

“Are you all right?” Rin asks, his hands on my face. I’m reminded of how I told him he could touch me now, and his hands are careful, strong, needed. I’m falling apart. “I’m going to get you a sword.”

I laugh, though my chin shakes with fear. “I’m shit with the sword.”

“Let’s go,” he says, picking up Shintaro and throwing his arm over his shoulder. I take the other side, and we rush out of the hallway, through the back door, into the forest’s edge.

“Wait! I lost my tablet!” I turn around, but the hallway we just came from is engulfed in flames. “Fuck!” I scream it so loud, my throat aches. How could I be so careless? All of my work is gone. I turn to go back, but Shintaro grabs me before I get far.

“Don’t do it,” he warns me.

This would be a great time to kick or throw things, but the other Orihimé hostages hide behind trees, their eyes wide and scared. I bet they’d never seen an android before that. One woman points to the sky, watching a new ship descend onto the grass.

Help has arrived.

“That’s ours! Come on!” Rin frowns at me as I let go of Shintaro, knowing he’s in better hands with him, since he’s stronger and far less injured than I am. I urge the other four to go, giving assistance to one woman who’s cradling her arm to her chest. “I know how you feel, but we’ve got to run, or we’ll be dead.” She shifts into a jog.

I bring up the rear, scanning to my right to check on the state of my enemies. Kinyoake coughs out black smoke, flames consuming the giant beast from the inside out. People are still fleeing, spilling out the back and running into the woods.

I summon up even more speed as I catch sight of Narumi’s ship. Their engines have spooled up, and men dressed in black haul munitions out to the grass — giant guns the size of cattle. This place is insane. What were we thinking coming here?

“We gotta go!” I scream running up the back ramp and into the cargo space. I fall into a seat next to Shintaro getting first-aid from Rin while being strapped in at the same time.

“Go now. Guns. No time.” I huff each word between inhales, strapping myself in.

Rin rises to his toes to look out the window, swearing when a strafe of gunfire peppers the hull of the ship. He shouts commands, closing airlocks, securing cargo, and speaking to the pilot before heading to the cockpit himself. My heart is in my throat, and a good thing too because it’s stopping me from puking everywhere.

“Come on, come on, come on,” I mutter, as the cargo ship door grinds closed, and we lift off, turning our tail to our enemy.

I snap my hand over and hold Shintaro’s. I need him now.

“Who the hell was that?” Shintaro asks, and I tear my eyes from the scene outside back to him. He’s staring at the cockpit door.

“Who? Rin?”

“I think I’m in love,” Shintaro says, his voice sleepy, almost drunk.

I burst out a frustrated laugh. He’s in shock, but of course, he’s still trying to find a way to one-up me. Because stealing one man from my life is not enough. Wait, stealing Rin? What’s wrong with me?

“Definitely in love,” he slurs.

Fucking brothers.

I turn my face from him, both relieved that he’s the same as he ever was and annoyed by my own reaction.

Our ascent feels achingly slow. We hang over the field like a hummingbird flying in one spot, suspended in time and space. Get moving already! Out the back door, I have a view of the fiery field we just alighted from. Akikazé emerges from Narumi’s shuttle, a long gray metal tube hoisted on his shoulder.

“What the hell is that?” I point, my hand shaking. Everyone’s heads turn to look.

One of Rin’s soldiers bangs on the wall. “Incoming!”

I watch in horror as Akikazé is briefly engulfed with smoke and a rocket shoots from the end of the tube.

The engines scream, twisting metal and acceleration throwing me to the side, hard against my restraints. I can’t see out the window because I can’t open my eyes, but my stomach and my inner ear know what’s up.

And it’s not us.