Fukusha Model Eight – Chapter 26

At the Nomura estate’s main meeting room, my fingers drum a beat on the table, and my knee bounces along with it.

Rin eyes my nervous energy.

“You know,” he says, drawing out the last syllable until I turn to look at him. “I saw you babying your left arm earlier while you were getting dressed.”

I stop myself from pulling down the sleeve of my kimono to cover the bruise on my wrist. “Mmm-hm.”

“And according to the logs of your” — he clears his throat as he lifts my battered tablet up off the table — “newly destroyed tablet, you were occupied on a side street for a good fifteen minutes today. Want to tell me about it?”

“Are you spying on me?”

His smile is one of a cat playing with a mouse. It’s stupid that I find it sexy. “Always.”

I huff. “If you’re so smart, you’ll figure it out for yourself.”

“Oh, I already know what happened. I just wanted to see what you would say. I have champagne waiting at home to celebrate that elbow to the nose. It was quite satisfying to watch.”

“Hmmph. She said she turned off all the cameras.” I try to cover my smile and not gloat, but it’s difficult when Rin is looking at me like I’m the best thing that’s ever entered his life.

I’m a lucky girl.

“Atsumi usually delegates the bullying to other people, and so, she’s a bit out of practice. She didn’t know that the cameras in Susami have backups. Too much yakuza activity here to let them go without safeguards. She’s… Well, she won’t be happy with the new videos circulating in the forums.”

I can only imagine what’s already online and how it makes me look. Hopefully, like someone who doesn’t take shit from anyone.

I shrug my shoulders and plaster on a sweet smile. “Not my problem.”

Rin rises from his spot at the table and comes around to my side. He leans down and kisses the top of my head. “No, it’s not. But you deserve my apologies. You said she might come after you, and she did. I should’ve listened.”

I nod, not wanting to rub it in. “You don’t have to apologize, but we both need to be more wary of others.”

“Truer words were never spoken. I’m going to see if any of our guests are here yet.”

I smile at him as he leaves the room to take care of business.

A long, calming breath escapes me as I close my eyes and try to keep my brain busy with facts and theories.

The Fukusha Model Eights. They’re Narumi Ogawa’s chance to control Hikari once and for all. First, they’ll take over common households, then businesses. Narumi will encourage people to live forever by stuffing their consciousness into a synthetic body. It’s only a matter of time before real humans are only used to grow conscious thoughts for androids. And why? Because Narumi wants to live forever is my guess. And I feel it deep in my bones that the Fukusha Model Eight is the wrong way to go. It’s a mistake so grave, it could mean the end of this world.

I sigh as I keep the drumbeat going on the table.

Then there’s Shiroi Nami. Are they any better than Aoi Uma? They want to build ships and leave this world behind, and in my heart, I can’t really blame them. This society is not something I have much love for so far. But I have too many questions. Reina Hirohata said, “We take our genetic and terraforming technology to you and your people.” What if this is technology we don’t even want? Earth barely survived their own brush with genetic engineering and artificial intelligence, and on Orihimé, we’ve taken our cue on ethics from the Terrans who brought technology to us.

Rin returns to the room, jolting me out of my thoughts and back to the present.

“Why are you so twitchy? This isn’t just about your fight with Atsumi, is it? You were so much more relaxed this morning when I left.”

I look into his eyes as he sits next to me, and I falter. Is it concern or suspicion I see there? Is he worried about me or worried about something else?

I haven’t told him of Shiroi Nami’s proposal yet. It was only a few hours ago. After I dealt with Atsumi, I returned to Rin’s apartment and showered. He only arrived there after I changed, and then we both came here, so we didn’t have the chance to talk. I need more time to think… as if time solves everything.

“Too much coffee,” I respond, closing my eyes to calm both my brain and heart. “Who are we waiting for, anyway?”

Rin’s eyes read every bit of my face and determine it’s not the right moment to question me further.

“Our candidates for partnership and enforcement will arrive one by one. We’re going to interview them individually and then make a decision on what to do with them. I made sure none of them had advanced notice of this meeting, and we’ll be gone from here directly afterward. It was our best bet to avoid an ambush.” A soft knock on the door calls Rin’s attention away from mine. “And I’ve called in an expert to help,” Rin says, trying to hide a smile.

The door opens, and Kazuo enters, a grin on his face.

I jump up from my spot and throw myself at his chest. “Kazuo! Thank goodness you’re here.” With everything in my life called into question in the last day, having Kazuo back means a lot to me. “I’ve missed you.”

The door slides open again, and Miho Nomura pokes her head in. “Your guests are here, Mr. Hara.”

“Show in the first appointment,” Rin directs, dismissing Miho with a wave of his hand.

“Kazuo,” I urge him, squeezing his arm. “We should debrief before we get started.”

“Looks like we have work to do,” he says with a shrug. “Later.”

Ugh. I want to talk to him about Atsumi and my meeting with Shiroi Nami and so many other things. But he’s right. There’s no time, and we can’t delay these meetings. The more time that passes, the more danger we’re in. I pull on a stern expression for our first guest.

The person who walks through the door is not expected, at least by me.

Sayaka, Buichi Tamura’s assistant before he was killed, enters the room and sits seiza, on her knees, in front of us. I sit up and pay attention.

She bows before us and Rin explains the situation to her. I’m going to start my own corporation, but I need assistance in both the executive side and the enforcement side. No, we don’t have the corporation set up yet. Yes, I plan on executing a hostile takeover of Aoi Uma.

“For what purpose?” Sayaka asks. “I will hazard a guess that you have a long-term plan for Hikari.”

“Miss Minamoto has long-term plans for many things, not just Hikari. What, in particular, do you have questions about?” Rin taps into his tablet, taking notes.

“Those leftover from Aka Matsuba wish to have their livelihoods restored. If your corporation can bring back the cloning of recreational animals and the work we’ve done with seeding the oceans with fish, then I can promise an enforcement team of three hundred men and women.”

Though the offer is low on my list of priorities, it’s not a horrible offer either. I’m not opposed to bringing back animal cloning. Sure, it was vain and unnecessary, but it’s certainly not worse than androids. And despite how Sayaka and Tamura treated my people and me when we first landed, they were a hell of a lot more helpful than anyone else has been.

“Sayaka —” Rin starts, and I can tell from the tone of his voice he’s ready to turn her down. I grasp his arm and stop him.

“I will consider your offer,” I say, butting in.

Sayaka looks at each of us and nods. “Thank you for taking the time to meet with me.”

She stands up, bows again, and leaves the room, closing the door behind her.

Rin raises his eyebrows at me. “That’s unexpected. You do remember how she tore you down that first day on Hikari, right?”

“She was a Grade A bitch, for sure,” I say, and Kazuo snorts. “And I know Aka Matsuba had their problems, but they’re much better than the alternative.”

“You being the alternative?” Rin asks, as a soft knock echoes from the door.

“No.” There are a hundred alternatives I can think of that would be a hell of a lot worse.

And one of them comes walking through the door.

Yori Okamoto arrives with Atsumi right behind him. I’m actually impressed with how well she was able to clean herself up. Her nose has a small bandage across the bridge, and makeup covers dark circles under her eyes from the bruising. She must have rushed off to a clinic right after our fight.

Now, if Okamoto had walked in the room alone, we might be in business. Shiroi Nami might not trust Kiiroi Yama, but I do if Atsumi isn’t involved.

Okamoto sits seiza and bows, and Atsumi follows suit behind him.

“You can probably guess why I’m here,” he begins, his back straight and chin held up. “I received your video this afternoon, after which, I called up all the surrounding surveillance footage and spoke with Mr. Hara about your time in Kitakyushu.” He sighs, shaking his head. “I know now just how badly my orders were followed.” He throws a glance over his shoulder at Atsumi, but she doesn’t blink. “Did you know I grew up in Kitakyushu?”

“No, I did not.” I keep my tone neutral, unable to let go of what happened to me there.

“Close to where you lived, which is why I own that building and many others in that district. It’s also why I was surprised to hear you were even anywhere near there.” His voice is a low, surreal growl, more of an animal than man.

I swallow to keep the dread in my stomach. The memories of Kitakyushu were beginning to fade, ever so slightly, and hearing sympathy from Okamoto brings it all crashing back on me.

Sweat, fear, adrenaline, screaming, the knife.

I clutch my knees under the table to stop my brain from spiraling down into a panic attack.

“I’m here today for a few different reasons. First, I have disciplined Ms. Sekino and demoted her.”

Hatred oozes from Atsumi’s eyes, and I know, oh god, I know I’m in a lot of trouble with her. I am the only person, besides Rin, who wasn’t afraid of her and was willing to defy her.

She will definitely kill me now.

“She apologizes profusely for putting you in danger during your mission and for attacking you today.” He turns around to stare at her, and she silently bows. No apologies from her lips now.

Okamoto clears his throat. “Second, I am here to put in our bid to work with your new corporation. Though you may feel a great loss of trust from what happened with Ms. Sekino, I assure you I would personally handle all liaisons between our corporations. I would very much look forward to working with Rin Hara again. It is a detriment to my corporation that he resigned.”

I lick my lips, practically tasting the deliciousness of this new offer. Kiiroi Yama would be a formidable ally. They have the police force locked up, they’ve wanted the same goal as me, to be rid of Aoi Uma and their androids, and Okamoto himself has never been anything but sincere with me.

But I lost trust during my three months in Kitakyushu, and Shiroi Nami tells me not to trust them as well.

Do I trust Shiroi Nami?

Hell, I don’t think I trust anyone.

I look to Kazuo and Rin for guidance, and these two men, whom I have put my trust in, nod with satisfaction. Rin has worked for Kiiroi Yama for years. Kazuo has been my mentor and my guide my whole life, and he’s worked for Kiiroi Yama since we landed here.

But I stare across the room at Atsumi, and I wonder how deep her hatred goes.

“Excuse me, Mr. Okamoto. Thank you for your generous offer of allegiance which I’m sure will come at a price, as it should.” I nod to him, and he nods in return. “But what’s keeping you from taking the data from me?”

Both Rin and Kazuo’s heads slowly turn to me.

“I don’t understand why you didn’t kill me and take the data for yourself in the first place.” I gesture to Atsumi whose face has adopted a small smirk. “That’s what she would’ve done. That’s what she planned to do.”

The room is silent long enough for me to start to sweat. A smile seeps onto Okamoto’s face like dry earth taking on the first rain of spring.

“We could, you know. Don’t think I haven’t thought of it.”

A chill dances up my back, and I clench my teeth to keep it from showing.

“But, in the end, it doesn’t suit our long-range goals for you to be dead. Your shipmates know you are alive and that you have the information. The populace has seen your videos. Your family back home is trusted and has the ear of your world’s empress, according to Kazuo.”

Kazuo nods to him, acknowledging this information.

“And I hear wisdom in your voice every time we speak. It would be foolish for us to kill you. If anything, we should’ve protected you better. I trusted someone else with that job, and it was a mistake.” He bows again, and Atsumi directs her eyes out the window. “I would understand if our partnership ends here today.”

A memory pops forward in my head of the police officer we encountered on our way out of Kitakyushu. “I wanted a family. I wanted kids running around my house. Aunts and uncles coming over for dinner. Birthdays spent together. And now it’s too late.” She works for Okamoto’s corporation. She wanted those things, yet she still trusts Kiiroi Yama.

I don’t need to condemn his entire corporation for the actions of just one person.

Or do I?

“Thank you for coming to speak with me today,” I say, summoning up all the good manners my parents taught me. “I appreciate your candor.”

When Okamoto and Atsumi are out of the room, I breathe a sigh of relief.

“What do you think?” I ask them both.

I expect them both to be enthusiastic, but instead, I’m met with frowns.

Why can’t anything be easy lately?

“Did Atsumi seem a little off?” Kazuo asks, stroking his chin.

Rin shrugs as he sets his tablet aside. “I don’t think she’s going to forgive Yumi for what happened today.”

“Sorry,” I reply, though I’m not sorry. Not in the least. “I suppose I could’ve let her beat me up, kidnap me, and kill me. Would that have been easier for you?”

“No.” He sighs, raising his eyes to the ceiling. “I’m not suggesting that at all. If anything, you didn’t go far enough.”

Far enough? He thinks I should’ve killed her. I swallow hard. Maybe I should’ve. I just left my enemy, another enemy, alive to come after me.

The door opens again, and this time I don’t recognize the person who enters.

The man is the perfect imitation of a barrel with legs. He lumbers to his spot opposite us and drops to his knees with a jolt that makes the table we’re at jump. I press my fingers to my mouth to halt a smile, and the smile fades naturally as I realize he’s not planning to show any deference. No bows. No smiles. No affable good humor.

Who the hell is this?

Rin glances at his tablet again and scrolls through his lists there, and I sense he’s just as puzzled as I am. I thought these meetings were by invitation only.

“You have something that belongs to me, and I’m here to take it back,” the man says, locking eyes with me.

“And, who are you?” I try to keep my voice non-confrontational.

“I am Masato Atago. My brother is Haku, the leader of the Atago Yakuza of Kitakyushu.”

A rain of goosebumps flows down my back.

They’ve found me, and we let them walk straight in.

Rin stands up at the table, but Masato doesn’t budge.

“We own Yumi Minamoto’s contract.” He produces his mini-tablet from inside his shirt pocket. On the screen, my contract states that I’m now the property of Haku Atago, head of the Atago Yakuza, and I’m also more than a million credits in his debt. My stomach sinks to my toes. “She was sold to us by Atsumi Sekino of Kiiroi Yama. We paid good, honorable credits for her and all her belongings. I am here to collect her, and I will not leave without her.”

His hand rests at his waist where I detect the outline of a knife handle.

My heart is beating so fast, I’m about to keel over and die.

Maybe that would be easier for everyone involved.

Rin’s face is blank, but his frown is what I focus on. He had forgotten about this. I told him. I told Kazuo. No one believed me.

“You cannot own her contract.” Rin’s voice is iron-clad as he points his finger at Masato. “It was not for sale. Even if Atsumi Sekino did sell you the contract, she had no right, no claim to do so.” Rin pauses for a moment. “You will sit here, and I will bring back Yori Okamoto and Atsumi Sekino, and we will put this matter to rest.”

Masato lumbers to his feet, and I raise my eyes to follow him. Dear god, this man is huge. I thought Akikazé was a big man, but this one beats him out by at least thirty kilos. Yakuza snake tattoos wrap up his arms and disappear under his black shirt. He’s probably covered with them.

“We don’t want money now. We want her.” He points to me, and Kazuo’s hand tightens over my forearm. “She’s worth more than whatever you’ll pay us.”

“Why? So you can sell me back to Gen Miyazawa and Aoi Uma?” My ears are ringing, panic settling into my bones.

He smiles, and the scene chills me. “We’ll rent you out. Whatever they want you for, we can still have you back when they’re done. Then, the real moneymaking can begin.” He nods in satisfaction, and I’m sure it’s because he and his brother have been cooking up all types of situations to abuse and use me.

“No,” I say, standing up. “I’m a free person. You can’t own my contract.” I point to the door. “Get out! Guard!”

The door zips open, and two men with swords enter. Rin draws his sword too, and Masato’s face falls.

“I had it on good authority that you were all honorable people who understood the way things work here.” Masato looks at each man surrounding him before looking at me. “If you will not come with me, we will take you… the hard way.”

“Over my dead body.” Screw this guy. I’m not going anywhere with him.

I’m tired of people throwing around my freedom, selling it off and purchasing it up, like I’m a basket for sale at the local market.

“Nobody owns me but me.”

The guards’ gesture to Masato to leave. His eyes stay on me all the way out the door.

“So much for preventing ambushes,” I say, swiping my tablet from the table. “We need to go. Now.”

This? This is not good. Not good at all.