The Fate of Shin-Osaka – Chapter 26

I turn my senses back up to full. I want to hear every blade of grass, every breath of every insect, every flap of a bird’s wing. There’s no way Gen is here alone. He must have androids or soldiers hiding in the forest behind the main building… or they’re in the air or on the road. Either way, I want to know when they’re coming.

We approach the building slowly, and I keep my ears and eyes alert for any sign of an ambush.

Seeing him standing there, smug and full of himself, I always knew it would be this way at the end. He’s the last thing standing between me and a long life on this world. The last obstacle for most people on this world, actually. I can’t let him win.

“I knew you’d be here!” Gen calls out, his face twisted in a cocky smile.

“Same,” I say, approaching the front porch. I step up to face him, and I’m pleased that I’m just a little taller than him in this body. Thank you, Yoshi.

Sanaa immediately draws his attention. I wish I could capture this moment forever. It’s satisfying to see him so disappointed.

“What is she doing here?”

“Hello, Gen,” Sanaa says, keeping her expression as neutral as possible.

He looks at me, and a million questions die on his lips. How is she here? Where did she get a consciousness from? Who is she going to be?

“It’s a surprise, no?” I smile at him. “It was nice to see a familiar face from home.”

His anger explodes, and he steps forward with his index finger pointed at me. “You stole her from me.”

I glance between Sanaa and Gen. Sanaa is relaxed, her hip jutted to the side, and her head tilted, listening in.

“She came willingly.”

He huffs a breath through his nose and steps away.

“So, it’s Kara now, is it?” His eyes coast down my body and back up. “This is quite the upgrade, Yumi. Look,” he says, sweeping his hand out, “you’re tall now, and —” His eyes fall on my chest.

I cut him off before he can continue. “And I’m here to do business.”

He would love to belittle me by talking about how unattractive I used to be in my old body, but I’m having none of that.

His lips settle into a firm line. “There will be no business done here today. The power is out for some reason, and people are trying to troubleshoot the problem.”

“I’m sure we can work something out without power.” I push past him, but he stops me with his hand on my shoulder. Rin and Kazuo move their hands to their swords, and I step out of Gen’s grip.

“What are you trying to pull?” He growls. “This is not a game. I was here first. They will hear my proposal and nothing else.”

“I have every right to be here. Where’s Narumi?” I pretend to look around for her and shrug. “Seems she’s gone missing these last two weeks.”

His smile falls. “She’s concentrating on our shared mission. She can’t be bothered with tasks this small.”

I take a step closer to him. “Face it, Gen. She’s dead and not returning.” I raise my hand when he tries to speak. “But if your lie comforts you, I’ll let you have it.”

Movement catches my eye from the door. At first, I think it’s our host, and I’ll finally get to meet Buichi Tamura’s daughter, Akari.

A giant cat slinks out, her tail held high, and her eyes bright and curious as she looks from me to Gen.

“Come, my princess,” Gen says to her. My body cools as I watch her circle his feet, twitch her tail, and sit at his side. His fingers reach down to scratch her head, and she closes her eyes and leans into it. “I believe you’ve met my jaguars, though it was a shame you and your people had to be so unkind to her sisters.”

I glance at my team, and Aimi’s eyes are narrowed at the cat. She killed one of them last time and almost lost her life on that roller coaster. If this cat is anything like the others, I can’t let her scratch either Kazuo or Ryoko.

My instinct is to put myself between this cat and my family, but if I move even a fraction of a centimeter, Gen will use my weakness against me.

“Yumi, this is Fuku.”

My lips twitch, trying to hide my smile but still letting him know I’m amused. Fuku means ‘lucky’ in Japanese. He’s going to need a lot more than a lucky cat to get through today.

“It’s Kara, and she’s beautiful.”

Gen pretends to look around, just like I did for Narumi. “And where are your animals that you have to offer to Aka Matsuba?”

“Why would I show my hand so early in the game? We still have a few rounds of betting in front of us before I lay my cards on the table.”

Gen’s face settles into a stony expression. “Yumi, you have never once played poker. Now is not the best time to start.”

“You know nothing about me, and you never have.”

Gen has always pretended to understand me, know my family, know my job. Why? Because he was jealous. Always.

And I’m about to turn that jealousy around on him.

“We have guests.”

A woman in her twenties appears in the doorway, and the resemblance to Buichi Tamura is so striking that I blink my eyes to ensure she’s not an illusion. I often called her father ‘bug-eyed’ because his old-fashioned glasses magnified his eyes to ten times their size. Akari’s eyes are rounded and seem to dominate her face like she’s jumped right out of a popular manga. Her straight hair grazes her chin with side-swept bangs. She floats like a bird with her slight frame and tiny feet. Tamura must have married a dainty woman to have produced this daughter.

A fox follows her out and sits at her feet. He looks up at me and tilts his head, maximizing his cuteness by a factor of one thousand. The urge to coo and fawn over the fluffy nugget is strong. I do my best to ignore it.

I step in front of Gen.

“Hello, I’m Kara Minamoto,” I say, offering my hand to her. She takes it gently. “CEO of Kazenoho Corporation.”

Her smile grows slowly. “It’s nice to meet you.”

I give her hand a firm shake and let go. “I knew your father. You remind me of him.”

She nods once. “Then you recognized what kind of man he was.”

“Yes. He was hardheaded and stubborn as hell.” She raises her eyebrows. “But he was also fair. Much to my dismay. Did he ever get his beautiful bird back?” I smile as I remember the bird standing on Shintaro’s head as we escaped the Aoi Uma building for the first time. “The white cockatoo. He had a crush on my cousin at one point.”

“Who hasn’t,” Gen mumbles. I’m surprised he’s kept the charade alive by not correcting me about my relationship with Shintaro.

“You,” I say, turning and addressing him. “But then again, with a heart made of dirt, how could you?”

His jaw works back and forth.

“Now, now,” Akari chides me. “I was just getting to know Gen when you showed up, and yes, the bird is living with my mother in Kitakyushu. I had my kitchen staff make tea and onigiri. The power has since gone out, so the house is dark. But the sitting room is open and well-lit. Won’t you and your team come in?”

I move to the side and allow everyone to introduce themselves to Akari before entering the building. When I step inside, I survey the room to assess the team Gen brought with him, and no one is there. He sits on a cushion, and Fuku lies down next to him, her eyes bright and alert and watching us.

He’s alone.

There is literally no one on this planet to back him up. No one he hasn’t manufactured or terrorized into following him. Seeing him alone here, I begin to feel bad for him. He put all of his money on Narumi, and she’s gone. What is he hoping for here?

When we sit across from him, he sits up, lifting his chin, and straightening his shoulders. He doesn’t want to appear weak. I check my posture and smooth my face into a passive mask. My battery charge is at twenty-seven percent.

Akari and two other women bring in trays of onigiri rice balls and cups of iced barley tea. Considering how hot it is outside, this comes as a blessed relief to everyone traveling with me. Rin lightly touches my right hip from behind before passing me a glass of tea. The brief weight of his hand is comforting and sets me in the proper frame of mind.

I’m here because I have worth.

Remember that, Yumi.

Now that we’re settled to negotiate, I turn my senses down to just above heightened. I still don’t trust this situation.

“Thank you. This is delicious,” Aimi says, lifting the rice ball after swallowing a bite. “It was quite the journey to get here.”

“I’m surprised you made it past the blockades,” Gen replies, and Akari narrows her eyes at him.

“We have our ways,” I reply, lifting my cup. “You’ve certainly buttoned up Shin-Osaka and made it hard for people to live their lives there, including traveling.”

“I gave them freedom from the drudgery of their lives.”

“You? I think you mean Aoi Uma, right?” His cheeks tighten, and his stare intensifies. “I’m sure it was Narumi Ogawa’s idea. Where is she, by the way?” I pretend to look around again because I know this drives him nuts. Watching him squirm is my favorite pastime.

“She has more important things to do.”

Akari pulls back. “Well, well. Aka Matsuba is not important to Aoi Uma, then?”

“On the contrary,” Gen says, trying to backpedal, “this is one of Aoi Uma’s top priorities. It’s just that caring for all of Shin-Osaka is a job Narumi cannot shirk. Animals are my area of expertise.”

I sit back and let Gen dig his own grave.

Akari sips her tea. “Well, I simply must know about the fate of Shin-Osaka. Once you have” — she waves her hand in the air — “imprisoned the population within their own homes and workplaces, what will you be doing then?”

Her stare is pointed, and the room holds its breath, waiting for Gen’s response.

His chest expands. “Is that what you think? That we are imprisoning people? Holding them hostage?”

Akari’s face hardens. “It’s not what I think. It’s what I see happening with my own eyes.”

Tread carefully, Gen, if you want to live.

“We are not imprisoning people. We are freeing them of a life of drudgery, sickness, and death.” He lifts his chin and looks at us all. “When the population eventually shifts to androids, we will no longer be chained to our human bodies. We will be free. Free forever.”

Hearing Gen say this aloud is worse than wondering if this is what they wanted. He thinks it’s life everlasting, but it’s death. It’s worse than death.

Rin’s head drops, his shoulders slump, and he closes his eyes. I reach over and gently squeeze his knee.

Gen notices and turns his attention to Rin. “You disapprove?” he asks, a snarl in his voice.

Rin lifts his head and sighs as he drags his full palm across his cheeks and lips. I know that sigh all too well.

“You want to get rid of everything human.” He shrugs, and Kazuo nods. Sanaa watches the conversation closely. “Birth, life, family, love, hate, success, disappointment, aging, death — they’re all a part of what makes us special. And you just want it gone.”

“It’s what makes us weak,” Gen counters.

“That’s an interesting viewpoint.” Akari grabs an onigiri. Her slim fingers fold the nori seaweed around the rice ball. “Who are we afraid of looking weak to?”

Great question, Akari! The journalist I used to be is impressed with the way she walked Gen into that.

Silence.

Gen’s fingers come to a halt on Fuku’s head.

“If I may jump in here,” I say, adjusting my seat. “Gen doesn’t want us to appear weak to other humans who left Earth many years ago to colonize the galaxy. You see, back home on Orihimé, we ran into the same problem. A native Japanese population was already there, launched from Earth during the Exodus. They had a life ruled by despots and tyrants by the time a new colonization came three hundred years later.” I gesture to Gen. “He seems to believe that if the native population had been more advanced, they would have thrived and thrown off the newcomers. His parents were natives who chose to farm instead of getting involved with the bigger and brighter technology of the colonization. Gen does not want to appear weak. He’s ashamed of his roots, ashamed of his family.”

Gen jumps to his feet. “How dare you speak of my parents!”

Fuku growls as she leans back, ready to pounce. I don’t move.

“It’s the truth.” I meet his stare. “It’s always been the truth. You try to hide it, but everything comes back to your upbringing in the fields. You saw the perfect opportunity here to right old wrongs. But this is not your home. These are not your people. Hikari is not a mistake you need to correct.”

My attention flicks to Fuku. “Call off your cat, or I will snap her neck.”

Akari gasps. “Harm to animals —” she starts, but I interrupt.

“Harm to animals is wrong, but I will defend against an attack. And Gen’s cats carry a virus that kills people from our home planet.”

Gen gestures for Fuku to back down.

“Is this true?” Akari asks.

“Let’s get down to business before I am forced to deal with these people,” Gen says, sitting next to Fuku. She may have backed down, but she’s still watching us with predatory intent. “I believe animals will be the backbone of a new android society. Without the ability to have children, people will want something warm and alive to comfort them.”

My blood would be boiling if I were in my human body right now. Akari’s eyes are wide as she listens to him. She’s either completely enthralled or entirely disgusted. It’s hard to tell which. By the pace of her breathing and her heartbeat racing at her temple, she’s definitely excited.

“I have developed a compiled genome that gives any animal increased intelligence, loyalty, and empathy. As Fuku here has shown, these qualities are perfect for those who go on to an infinite life. They will take the place of progeny and be a boon to any business.”

Ryoko swears under her breath. “It’s worse than I thought,” she whispers.

I pause as I notice a new noise outside.

“Do you hear that?” Kazuo asks.

I nod. I can’t place it at first because the sound reaches the upper registers of my hearing. Is it crying? Yelling?

The fox with Akari sits up, his ears pricked. He turns and vocalizes at Akari.

“Something’s wrong with the foxes.” I jump to my feet and run for the front door. Someone at the front of the building beats me to the threshold and slides it open.

Oh yes! I had almost forgotten.

Isao, Michio Hayashi, and Reina Hirohata are striding across the grass with a team of kumojin and murasakijin. The expression on Isao’s face is hidden behind his stoic countenance. He doesn’t look at me, but I’m sure he knows I’m watching. His pace is slow, purposeful. Michio strides behind him, his long silver hair in a ponytail at his neck. Reina keeps her eyes on the long grass, her hands on the straps of her backpack. In the enclosure, a dozen or so foxes scamper around in a circle, their tails waving as they prance about, their noses pointed toward the house, their ears cocked.

I’m about to turn from the door to announce their arrival when another figure catches my eye. I press my hand to my heart. Yori Okamoto showed up too? I thought he was gone for good. He crests the hill a minute behind the others, stops, and lifts his hand to shield his eyes from the sun. I lift my hand in the air to wave, and he waves back.

My bluff worked. It’s good I held this hand of cards close to my chest.

Glancing over my shoulder towards the sitting room, I can feel the end coming.

Now I just need to play the hand before Gen blows up the whole game.