The Fate of Shin-Osaka – Chapter 28

Everything is dark and quiet. Sensation slowly returns to my fingers and toes, legs and arms. My breathing is shallow. I can’t grasp my breath.

Can’t breathe.

Can’t breathe!

“Hold on. It’s okay.” Something touches my face, and cool air wafts over my cheeks and nose. Breathing becomes easier, deeper, slower. “There. That’s better. Pulse ox is up. Good. I think it’s the new skin formulation that caused the dip.”

“Maybe so.”

“Yumi, can you move your right hand?”

I have to think about it for a second, and then it happens. My fingers brush something warm and soft, like bedsheets straight out of the summer sun.

“How about your left hand?”

This time it happens without thought. That’s a relief.

I try to lift my arm, but it feels like it weighs a hundred tonnes.

I try to open my mouth to talk, but nothing happens. My lips don’t part.

I try my eyes, and they’re stuck shut.

“Let’s take off the tape,” a voice says… the second one I’ve heard.

The oxygen mask lifts. Warm fingers on my cheeks, plucking. “We’re going to take the tape off your mouth and eyes. Lie still, okay?”

An adhesive gradually detaches from my right cheek, across my lips, and off my left cheek. I let out a long sigh. I try to wet my lips with my tongue, but my mouth doesn’t move.

The same thing happens to my eyes, and when I open them, they take a moment to focus.

I’m not surprised since the room is almost pitch dark except for the glow of tablets held by two people — my cousins, Isao and Wataru.

“Hi,” Isao says, his tone gentle and kind. “Welcome back, Yumi.” He turns the tablet and holds it against his chest, folding his arms over it. “Now, don’t panic. Sensation and movement will all return in the next six hours. Are you ready for Rin? Blink once for yes, twice for no.”

“Yessssss….” I push the breathy response out of my mouth, and Isao’s eyes widen.

“Excellent! That’s the fastest I’ve ever seen anyone produce speech.” Isao makes a note on his tablet, presses his warm hand over mine, and exits the room. Wataru checks the machines next to my bed.

“Worked?” I ask.

Wataru looks up. “Did it work? Yes, of course.” He’s always so practical. “What do you remember last?”

“Gen dead. Foxes.”

He nods. “See? The transfer was flawless. Your friend Yoshi helped. He’s quite the find. Very smart.”

I close my eyes and try to parse my thoughts. Everything seems strange again, being in a human body. I had gotten used to seeing stats crawl across my vision or talking to people in my head. Now, all I see is darkness and whatever my imagination can dream up. But the world feels real, present, and inescapable, and that’s more comforting than I ever thought possible.

I draw in a raspy breath, and tears well in my eyes. The moment of truth is coming, speeding at me like an out-of-control train. What will Rin see when he comes in the door? Will it be an alien who looks like the woman he loved? Or will he recognize me?

“How will I know it’s really her?”

I’ll have to prove it.

The door opens, and Rin stands on the threshold. Wataru excuses himself. As he and Rin pass each other, Wataru’s eyes coast over Rin, checking his every movement. He glances at me, concern replacing cold calculation.

“’S okay,” I whisper, my voice clearing a bit.

I have no fear of Rin. If he suddenly decided I was evil and he should kill me, I would die at his hands, and I’d tell him I love him, anyway.

My smile is weak and shaky, but it exists. I exist.

Rin swallows as he takes a few hesitant steps forward. I can’t lift my hand, but my fingers twitch, and he notices them. Coming to the bedside, he picks up my hand as his eyes travel up and down my body. I’m wearing a thin gown, and I’m under the sheets, so he can’t see much.

“Are my… scars gone?” My voice is just above a whisper. But I jerk my head enough for him to know what to do.

He gently pulls the hospital gown down to see the spot where he slashed me in the river the first time we met. His fingers trace the area where it was, and my skin pebbles with goosebumps.

“Leg?”

He moves the covers aside and pulls up my gown.

“It’s gone.”

“Never there… to begin with.” My tongue stumbles over the words.

I watch him as he puts everything back, his movements careful and deliberate, and he stares into the distance above my head. The room is cool, but my body heats remembering his touch, the way he held me, and his promises.

“Remember… Club Seiun?”

He nods, bringing his attention back to me.

The memories are so clear in my head now. Yoshi fixed them when I was an android, and now they live in this fresh, advanced brain that won’t get migraines anymore. A brain that will remember everything forever, even if it hurts.

Back in Club Seiun, I confessed to him that I was protecting myself from unreturned love, meaningless sex, and squandered attention. He told me everything he loved about me, how he wanted to be with me, no one else.

And then he said…

“I own you, Rin Hara.”

A small smile tugs at his lips.

“You love me. You… never… stopped.”

Without a response, he slips off his shoes, climbs onto the bed, and straddles my body. Taking my face into his hands, he looks into my eyes, and I breathe a gasp of a laugh.

“Yumi?” he asks, his gaze intense.

“Yeah?”

“The gods brought you across the stars to me.” His voice breaks, and my heart goes along with it. “And now they brought you back from the dead.”

As tears cover my vision, I press my lips together. I blink, and they roll down my cheeks.

“I love you. I’ve missed you,” he says.

“I know.”

He laughs at this and sighs, a contented sigh. One of my very favorite sighs.

“Kiss,” I demand in a whisper.

He leans in and lays his lips on mine. And wow. Just wow. He claims the kiss like it’s his chance to mark me as his for the rest of our lives. His lips move over mine, and his tongue slides into my mouth. When he hums, I hum too, loving every moment of this contact. If I could move my arms and legs, I’d take my clothes off and lie naked with him. I mean, what’s this body for anyway, right?

He nips at my lower lip, and it takes my breath away. Literally.

A machine beeps, and I pull back to gulp air. He holds onto my head and looks me over.

“I may have gone too far.” Smoothing my hair down, he grimaces. “Sorry.” He pulls the oxygen mask from next to the bed and fits it to my face. The machine stops beeping, and my breathing steadies. “Mind if I stay?”

“Please.”

He pulls the covers aside and slips into the bed next to me. With his arm over my chest, and his legs pulling me close, he snuggles into the pillow with a sigh.

I forgot how much I missed this. All those days as an android, barely sleeping or touching anyone else.

This is part of being human, and I wouldn’t trade it for all the immortality in the universe.

We both drift off to sleep together.

—-

Recovery is surprisingly swift. I’m able to move my whole body by the time I’m done with my nap. My first few steps out of bed are wobbly and hesitant, and my head spins when I turn too fast. But my human instincts are quick to kick in. Within an hour, I can walk in a straight line, crouch, turn, and squat. This means I can take a shower.

“We’ll take out your IVs so you can soap up.” Isao gestures to the lone chair in the room, indicating I should sit. “Now, let’s talk enhancements.”

“I think I already know of a few,” I say with a smile. “Thanks for the boobs.”

“You’re welcome,” he says, not missing a beat. “By now, you’re already aware that we’ve enhanced your brain quite a bit. We included the animal translation code change. As soon as Aka Matsuba produces animals with the added genes, you’ll be able to communicate with them all.”

I squirm in my seat, excited to finally experience what my fellow Orihimé natives can do — talk to animals. I can’t wait! Only I won’t be able to speak with Ninjin because he won’t be changed. It’s okay. I only hope he’ll recognize me when we meet again.

“Your recall should be clear and lightning fast. You’ll also find that doing simple tasks is instinctual. Like, what’s 183 times 235?”

“43,005,” I spit out, surprised. The numbers just appeared without a thought. “Damn. I was never good at math.”

“Well, you are now. Reflexes and muscle mass have been enhanced, including better pulmonary and cardiac responses. Your skin can absorb light and create energy.” He looks up from his tablet. “This is my favorite enhancement. We’ve been working on it for years.”

“Cool. So, I don’t have to eat? I’m actually craving a big bowl of ramen right now.”

“Oh, you still have to eat.” He laughs. “Sorry. Humans still like food, and it’s bad for morale when we take it away. Learned that lesson the hard way. But food will go further energy-wise, and you may not need to eat as much. Watch out for that because overeating can make you sick. Your metabolism will speed up and slow down to compensate.”

“So, I’ll never get too under or overweight?”

He nods. “You’ll find there are fluctuations in your weight, but nothing extreme. This reminds me that your hair is now going to grow a lot,” he stresses, and I reach up to stroke the shiny, thick black locks I never realized I wanted. “Sorry, but it’s a gene we enhanced and can’t repress because it messes with other things. You’ll need to cut it more often, and short styles will be hard to maintain. Body hair, which is controlled by different genes, hasn’t changed. You can have it lasered if you want it gone.”

“Okay, that’s strange and weird, but I’ll take it.”

Isao references his tablet again. My feet fidget back and forth.

“Now, let’s go back to your brain. We fixed the genetic anomalies causing migraines and memory lapses. When Yoshi repaired your memories in the android brain, it made porting them over easier.” He sets down his tablet. “Really, he’s quite a genius. How did you ever find him?”

“Dumb luck,” I say, remembering the hours I spent watching him before I approached him. It’s a good thing he stuck around.

“He’s working for us now. I can’t wait to get him up to speed on the recent work we’ve been doing.”

The door opens, and Rin appears with Ninjin at his side. I catch my breath and hold it. Oh, my sweet puppy.

He’s stalled on the threshold, his tail at rest and eyes searching the room. I turn and get on my knees so my face is at the same height as his.

“Ninjin,” I say, sweetening my voice, “come here, boy.” I pat my leg like I always did, and his ears prick.

I steady my breath while I wait for him to respond.

Instead of bounding towards me, he slinks into the room, his head lowered and his tail wagging slowly. I do what any person would do and lay my body on the floor in his path. He approaches me and sniffs for a moment at my shoulder, chest, and face. The licking starts immediately after.

“That’s a good boy!” I sink my fingers into the fur at his neck and try to move my face to a position he can’t lick from. No dice. He’s too quick. So I hold my breath and let him have his moment.

“I think he’s happy to see you,” Rin says around hearty chuckles.

“Ninjin. Ninjin!” I call out between licks. He’ll lick the inside of my mouth if I’m not careful. I force myself up and out of his reach, so he jumps up to get at me. “Calm down. Calm down, buddy. It’s good to see you too.” I lean over and give him a big hug. “So good to see you.”

“Well, I’m pleased,” Isao says, his hand on his hip. “I was worried about him not recognizing you with all the enhancements, but I was wrong.”

Ninjin lies down and presents his belly for rubs. I couldn’t be happier to do it. I sit cross-legged next to him.

“Now,” Isao says, pulling up the chair and sitting down. Rin sits on the bed. “I would like an entire week of physical therapy and testing, but we only have twelve hours before we have to let you out of here.”

I raise my eyebrows at Rin, and he nods.

“But I want you to promise me that as soon as the ceremony is over, you’ll return, and we’ll get you up and running to one-hundred percent again.”

“Uh, sure.” I pop up to my feet and waver a moment before regaining my balance. “Obviously, yes,” I say with a laugh. “But what ceremony?”

“It’s time to return to Shin-Osaka,” Rin says, waving me over to the bed. I sit next to him and put my hand in his. “It’s been two weeks since Gen died, and the news service revealed that Narumi Ogawa is dead, too. Aoi Uma has gone into default. After we turned the power back on, the majority of their androids were dead, and their batteries were spent. Our people have been working to send the Three Laws to the remaining androids outside of the original update. The rest, we’ve recalled to the factory. The city is settling down. It’s time to start the new government and get everything moving. Sanaa will be presented with the Sword of Hikari, and we’ll hold a press conference with all the details.”

“A press conference? There is no real journalism on this world.”

Rin turns on the wallscreen from the bed controls. “There is now.”

My jaw drops to see my old boss, Chiéko, interviewing Ryoko and Akari. Across the bottom of the screen is a banner that reads “Shin-Osaka News Network.” Not named for a corporation but for the city it covers.

I press my fingers to my lips as I watch the interview. Ryoko glances at Akari and says, “We’re excited to be working together to bring this new generation of animals to Hikari.”

I smile, and this one comes straight up from my gut and to my face like happiness on steroids. “Wow. I never thought I’d see the day.”

“Things are changing. For the good.” Rin’s hand squeezes mine. “I hope you’ll be ready to face the crowds. They’ll have a lot of questions.”

“I can’t wait.” This is amazing news. If I weren’t so wobbly, I’d do a little dance to celebrate. Instead, I slide off the bed and get my feet under me. “In the meantime, I’m ready for that shower.”

I cross the room to Isao and present my hand to him. “Please?” He removes the IV, and I put pressure on the entrance point for ten seconds. When I lift my fingers, the wound is already gone. Faster healing times were also an enhancement I didn’t know I needed.

“You,” I say, turning and pointing to Rin. “You will join me.”

His smile matches mine.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

I’m ready to test out this body and having his hands slip and slide all over it sounds like the perfect way to start this new life.