Fukusha Model Eight – Chapter 9

We wind our way through the streets again, following the path Saki and I took only about twenty hours ago, until we come to the block where the Aoi Uma building exploded. The fire is out, but the investigation continues. The entire block is crawling with Kiiroi Yama officers and officials. This is the first time I’ve seen them conduct any kind of investigation into a criminal act. I thought Kiiroi Yama would dump Aoi Uma as a client once the hostile takeover occurred, but that’s not the way of things here. If Kiiroi Yama didn’t have clients, how would they make money and keep their corporation afloat?

The scale of economics and ethics here drives me a little insane. There were people back home who my family refused to do business with on purely moral or ethical grounds. Here, anything goes.

“Four more blocks and we get to the bottom of the butsu-stairs. From there, we can take it up the side of the mountain to the temple,” Saki says, peering up the block. “Looks like this side is clear. We should go before any of them sees us.”

I let Saki and Shun lead as Ninjin and I walk with Kazuo.

“Tell me what’s going on,” I whisper. “Please. I’m going crazy here. It’s been three months with no contact and then suddenly this?”

Seeing Rin — ugh, not Rin — today was a salve to my aching heart. In the short time we had together, he had become someone I trusted, someone I tentatively loved, though I hate that word. I hadn’t felt love in so long, I wouldn’t know if that’s what it was, anyway. All I know now is I want to see him, be with him, hold his hand, and talk to him. I’d give anything for even the briefest of contacts.

Including my life.

“It’s complicated. I want to give you the whole story because you are not going to like what I have to say.” We reach a corner, stop, look both ways, and charge ahead. “But I saw him not too long ago, and he was alive. They promised they would wait to hear from me before they did anything. Then I left, and I ran into that thing and tracked it here. I had a feeling it was coming for you.”

“Where did you run into it?”

“There’s another port city to the east, Mugi. It’s smaller with more Aoi Uma security since they have a warehouse there. It came in on a boat with Aoi Uma employees. I was in the right place at the right time. Sheer dumb luck.”

“Did you and Rin ever find Shiroi Nami?”

I’m hungry for answers. I’ve been waiting for weeks to hear from them, and this is not enough information for me. Really not enough.

“Later,” he insists. “We can’t delay. We need to get out of town right now. Your safety is more important than you knowing everything.”

I grind my teeth together as I follow at his side. Kazuo would never lie to me. He’d never withhold information to ‘protect’ me in a psychological sense. That’s not something he would ever do. I’m sure this is him. I could see his concern, feel the love he has for me. And he called me ‘kako.’ Only he would know to do that.

So I must be in physical danger. Looking ahead at Saki and Shun, I wonder if they would’ve tried to hurt me if I hadn’t signed on to their revolution.

Whatever it is he has to tell me, he’ll do it when he has the time.

We climb the last hill towards the butsu-stairs when Saki and Shun come up short.

“Who’s there?” a voice calls out from the bench we sat at when we were here last.

I freeze, wondering what to do. Ninjin stops and backs up, and Kazuo grabs my arm. Two Kiiroi Yama police officers stand at the foot of the bustu-stairs, a barrier set up across them.

“Stay behind me,” Kazuo mutters under his breath. I’m wearing enough black for the blood on me to dissolve away in the shadows.

Kazuo trots up to the officers, a smile on his face. “Hello there. Good morning,” he says, bowing. They eye him warily. “We’re heading up to the temple for a day of meditation.” He looks past the two officers. “Is the way up the mountain closed?”

Saki steps in. “We were told Fukuju-ji would open for us an hour before sunrise. We don’t want to be late.”

The male officer looks back at the female officer. I guess she’s in charge.

“We have orders to detain anyone who tries to climb the mountain tonight,” he says, pulling out his tablet. “I’ll need your name and sujō-kazu.”

Perhaps this guy is looking for a way to get promoted quickly. Or maybe he’s just tired of serving under a woman because his attitude reminds me of Gen, self-important and arrogant.

“Kazuo Uchiyama. 987341-1p.” Kazuo rattles off his name and number like he’s been practicing it for months. It took me several days to say mine confidently, especially with a different last name. I wish I could see his face, but from the slope of his shoulders, I can tell he’s tense. I shorten Ninjin’s leash, just in case things go crazy.

The officer’s eyes widen as he looks at his tablet. His commanding officer glances over his shoulder to read the screen.

“I see,” she says, reaching for his tablet. “I can take it from here.”

“No. We should call it in,” he insists. “I was told to report anything irregular.”

Shun and Saki glance at each other. Shun’s body leans forward to the tips of his toes, and his hands ball into fists. Fight or flight? I’ll have to fight this time. Too bad I left my only weapon in the eye socket of a dead android.

“This isn’t irregular. The instructions are clear.” The annoyance in her voice is plain. She’s had enough of this.

“I disagree, and I’m going to call it in.”

Kazuo takes a step forward, but he doesn’t get very far. The supervisor pulls a stun gun from her pocket and zaps her subordinate officer right in his rib cage. The contact snaps and pops, and he falls to the ground like a sack of bricks.

Kazuo and Shun raise their hands, but the woman sighs and rolls her eyes.

“I’ve already complained about his behavior twice.” She crouches down to pick up his tablet. “I caught him betting on a dog race last week, and then I saw him drinking with Aoi Uma employees.” She places her foot on the side of his chest and rolls him onto his back. From his pocket, she grabs his stun gun and his other mini tablet. “I’ll have to turn him in.”

“I appreciate you looking out for us.” Kazuo bows. “Is there anything we can do to help you?”

“No. You should all get out of here. Okamoto left a note on your profile. Let me access it.”

She taps the tablet a few times, holding it up to her face so it can register her facial profile.

“You’ve been instructed to proceed on from here to Gobo where you’re to meet up with Atsumi Sekino. I’m sure you have more detailed instructions in your own account.”

Kazuo nods. “I haven’t been able to stop and check-in for several hours. I really appreciate you doing this for us.” He bows again, turning to address the rest of us. “Let’s get moving.”

The officer moves the barricade and lets us pass, Ninjin and me bringing up the rear. She stops and looks at me twice as I walk past.

“Wait a minute,” she says, and my blood turns cold.

She’s recognized me.

“You’re the one in the videos, the one from that other planet…”

Finding my voice is hard. My heart is beating way up in my throat, and I haven’t talked openly of home in several months. “Orihimé.”

She breaks into a wide smile, and my body relaxes. “What you said about us is true. We do value our corporations and credits way too much. I wanted a family. I wanted kids running around my house. Aunts and uncles coming over for dinner. Birthdays spent together.” She shakes her head, her eyes wet with tears. “And now it’s too late.”

I grasp her arm and look into her eyes. “It’s never too late.”