The Rise of Shiroi Nami – Chapter 10

The shuttle sets down at night in the middle of a field of grass. I inhale through my nose and out through my mouth, inhale, exhale, circular breathing. I can already tell I’m going to regret returning to Hikari in about four to six hours.

“All clear to open the aft door,” the pilot says over the loudspeaker.

People sigh and unbuckle from their seats. The door opens, and a brisk wind laden with humidity fills the once dry and stuffy space.

Shintaro leans out the back door. “Oh, nice. Back home, is it?”

I laugh at him as I help Isao out of his seat. “If only.”

“No. It’s our home away from home,” he insists, ushering Mari, Jonathan, Ryoko, and Chiéko to the outside. The others, Maddie and Erik, follow along in silence.

“I was hoping we’d return here.” Ryoko jerks her head at Chiéko. “Come on. If we’re staying in the same houses, then I know the way.”

I glance up at Isao. “Have you been here before?” he asks.

I shrug. “Let’s get going.”

Rin watches my face as we leave the shuttle, but I merely smile at him and continue forward with Isao and Saki. I’m not sure what signal he’s looking for from me, but I’m too tired to figure it out right now.

“I’m going to move the shuttle to a Kiiroi Yama facility on the other end of town. We need fuel if we plan to be on the move again,” the pilot says, joining us before we get moving.

“Thanks, Toro. I’ll be in touch tomorrow.”

Toro gives a jaunty salute and returns to the shuttle, closing the aft door behind him.

“Which way?” I ask Rin.

He frowns and gestures to the backs of everyone else in front of us. “This way.”

Saki sticks by Isao’s side even though he’s rested enough now to walk on his own. He keeps his wings pulled tight against his body, and in the dark, he almost looks normal.

Normal. Whatever that means.

“Did I say or do something wrong?” I whisper to Rin. The weight of the barometric pressure here on Hikari sits on my head like an elephant standing on a watermelon. Breathe in and out, in and out.

“No. Not at all. Let’s keep walking.”

Something about this situation nags at me. “I feel like I did something wrong. Are you mad at me for not going to the moon base? I know that returning to Hikari is especially fraught with peril for me, but I’m going to do my best to take care of myself.” I place my hand on my heart. “I promise.”

“It’s fine,” he says, but his manner is stiff and a little anxious. He’s probably worried about what comes next.

We exit the landing field, cross a road, and then enter a small town along a bubbling river. The buildings are lit with paper lanterns, their soft glow reflecting off the wet cobblestone streets. I inhale again, trying to acclimatize my body to the new air, and the smell of the wind is familiar.

Rin takes my hand, laces his fingers with mine, and swings them at our side as we stroll along the riverbank behind our friends. We pass a shuttered florist, an izakaya closed for the night, an all-night convenience store with no one in it, and several apartment buildings. We must have arrived in the middle of the night because there’s not a soul around, which I’m grateful for. We can’t have anyone spotting Isao and giving us a hard time.

I keep my eyes on the buildings, trying to catalog them like I did in Kitakyushu. I might have to come back this way again. And though I’ve done this kind of cataloging a million times now, the details slot in and melt away.

I sigh and wonder why my brain is so broken. What is it about this place that feels so different?

I inhale again, and the rich scent of baking bread hits me like a speeding train. I stumble to a stop and close my eyes.

“Yumi…” Rin’s voice is quiet.

“Wait. Wait…”

When I open my eyes, a memory comes to me of a sunny day. Rin and I sat on the riverbank right up ahead, and we ate freshly baked bread with aged cheese and smoked seafood, a bottle of wine between us.

“Oh,” I breathe out. “We’re in…” Why can I never remember the name?

I raise my hand to stop him from reminding me.

“Awashikawa.” Tears form in my eyes, and I nod. He was worried I wouldn’t remember, that’s why he kept looking at me.

And I almost didn’t.

He squeezes my fingers. “The bread did it, yes?”

“Mmm,” I affirm, unable to trust my clouded voice. I clear my throat gently. “It must be early in the morning for them to be up and baking.”

Rin’s smile returns. “I’ll pop in later and get some for everyone.”

Our walk through town produces more memories from the back of my head. I pull them from memory drawers and dust them off enough to remember the few dinners we treated ourselves to or the stores we shopped at. But so much is missing; pockets of dark in my brain terrify me.

“God, I’ve lost so much. I should remember all of this, but I don’t.”

He tightens his grip on my hand, and fear clouds his face. He opens his mouth to say something but stops, probably realizing there’s nothing he can say to make this any better.

Shintaro comes jogging back to us when we round the bend for the road we used to live on.

“Hey, Rin. Same houses as before?”

“I spoke to Okamoto yesterday in anticipation of the coming mission, and he said these houses were all for us. He did nothing with them after we left. I expect Kiiroi Yama employees in the next day, so we should get some rest.”

“I can take Chiéko, Mari, and Jonathan,” Shintaro volunteers. “I have a two-bedroom plus a couch. It’ll be enough space, and between you and me, Jon is a nice piece of ass, if you know what I mean.”

I roll my eyes hard enough that they almost fall out of my head. “You didn’t hear it from me, but I think he and Mari are involved.”

“Oh, damn.” He sighs. “Fine.”

“What? That’s it?” I ask, tightening my grip on Rin. “You’re not going to just pursue him because you can?”

“Oh, sweet Yumi. I only do that to you and Rin to piss you off.”

“Thanks, asshole.”

“You love me, and you know it.”

He turns to leave, and I have to admit, I do still love him even if he is an asshole. I guess that’s what happens when you grow up together.

“Wait!” I raise my voice. “I don’t think we should wait until tomorrow to brief everyone. Let’s go to our place first and have a quick discussion about what’s coming next.”

“You sure about that? You look ready to pass out.” Concern forms two lines between Rin’s eyebrows.

“If we delay, we may be waiting three or more days for me to do anything.” I point to my head. “This way, everyone will know what’s happening, and they can get busy on this without me.”

Shintaro rests his hand on my shoulder and then brings it to the back of my neck. He knows a lot of my migraines can start there. “You gonna be okay, sis?”

“I really don’t know anymore.”

My smile is weak, but it’s all I can muster for right now. My stomach is a mess, but it settles as we approach the house Rin and I lived in after escaping Shin-Osaka.

Yes, yes. It is good to be home.

—-

When I open the door, and my hand reflexively goes to the old-fashioned light switch, I feel a sense of peace. We liked this place because of how low tech it was, and it remains a cottage stuck in time — no voice-automated lights, blinds, or thermostats. No tōsha. Nobody listening in. Secure, safe, and anonymous.

“Come in, come in.” I beckon everyone in the front door. The front room with the dining table is cramped, but I think it’ll fit everybody. They all step inside and shiver at the low temperature.

“I would give you a tour, but this is about it for this place.” I wave to the open area. The dining table takes up most of the front room. The space flows straight into the tiny kitchen that Rin and I used to make noodles in. The bathroom with a compact laundry is adjacent to the bedroom at the back of the house. We don’t even have a living room with a couch here.

With the light on, I’m keenly aware of the halos around people and objects in the room, a sure sign of my impending migraine. Maybe if I sleep, I can keep it to a five out of ten on the pain scale instead of an eight or nine.

Rin turns up the heat on the thermostat and checks each room to make sure we’re alone, and nothing has changed.

“I cleaned out the fridge before I moved into my place,” Shintaro says, coming to stand beside me.

“Don’t lie. You took the food with you because you didn’t want to shop for yourself.”

“Well, that too.” He glides his arm across my shoulders and pulls me in to kiss my temple. “It’s good to see you with your passion back, sis. I was afraid Kurai would break you.”

“It almost did,” I whisper. “It still could.”

He shakes his head. “You have too many allies now.”

“Cute place.” Chiéko looks around the tiny dining room and kitchen. “Did you live here?”

I step forward into the light so everyone can see and hear me.

“For a short time, after we escaped Shin-Osaka and the chaos there, we lived here. I don’t think we can live here for much longer than a week, so don’t get too comfortable, okay?” I sigh as I press my hand to my forehead.

“Migraine coming?” Kazuo asks, concern blanketing his eyes in tiny wrinkles.

“Do you need meds?” Aimi holds up the medkit from the shuttle. “Toro told me to take it with me.”

“Thanks. I think I’m going to need it.”

Kazuo takes the kit from Aimi and thanks her too.

“This is terrible timing,” Chiéko says, a frown returning to her face. As my former boss, she was used to the inevitable sick days from my migraines.

“Yes.” I suck another breath in through my nose. “So let’s make this quick so we can all get some rest. I’m going to go over the basics of the plan, but Rin, Kazuo, and Shintaro will handle the specifics.”

My eyes fall on Isao, propped up in the table’s corner, his wings folded behind him. He’s quiet, but his breaths are labored, and a soft sheen of sweat covers his brow.

“Our strategy to fix the problems here on Hikari will need to start with Aoi Uma’s androids. But our plan cannot come to a fruition without a new corporation to take power here once Aoi Uma falls.”

Saki nods, and her earnest expression pushes me onward.

“So, we have two separate missions we need to accomplish at about the same time, or at least one right after the other.” Pain radiates through my temples, but I press my fingers together and try to ignore it. “Rin and a team of people will infiltrate the main android production facility in Amagasaki and reprogram the androids. Aoi Uma will then no longer have an undefeatable army at their disposal. Right now, the androids are lawless, with only the most basic parameters set to help human beings. We’ve fixed that with Saki’s programming.” I gesture to her, and she lifts her hand and smiles sheepishly. “We can reprogram the androids in the facility and send out an update to all the others with a ninety-five percent margin of error? Right, Isao?”

“Yes, Yumi. The other five percent will need to be dealt with, but that’s only a few thousand androids.”

“Five percent is only a few thousand androids?” Chiéko’s face pales.

“Yes, the situation is way out of control. They didn’t just make androids to help out here and there. They outnumber humans. I’ll brief you about the declining birth rate and cultural norms tomorrow.”

If I’m even conscious tomorrow.

“While our primary team is handling that, I plan to send several of you back into Shin-Osaka to find all of our crewmates. Shintaro will help with the assistance of some former Aka Matsuba employees. We’ll gather everyone up and make them a part of the new corporation I’m planning to form.”

Mari raises her hand, and the gesture makes me smile. I nod at her. “Do we really need to form a corporation and do this? Why can’t we just hide out somewhere until our people come back?”

I think for a moment about where she’s coming from before I answer. “I get that you hid out on Kurai for a few months, and you were fine enough, right?” She nods. “But it wouldn’t have lasted, I’m sorry to say. Aoi Uma would have found you eventually and sold you into slavery. The same thing will happen here too. It’s tough to live off the network. I only know of one place in the whole world that will allow it, and those people may have already packed up and moved because they were discovered.”

Saki lowers her eyes, her pain and embarrassment showing from what happened in that coastal town months ago.

“We either stay and fight for what we need, or there will only be a short time to live free, and then that’s it.”

Mari nods, her eyes sad and distant. Jon takes her hand.

“But with our own corporation and the help of Kiiroi Yama and Shiroi Nami, we can accomplish a lot.” I put more hope and optimism into my voice. “It’ll be hard, and we may fail, but it has the best chance of keeping us alive for the long haul.”

I close my eyes against the oncoming pain. With another cleansing breath, I open my eyes and continue.

“I also want to produce some videos about us and our hopes and plans for this world. Positive, heart-warming propaganda type shit, you know?”

Chiéko snorts and laughs. “The stuff I was making in my twenties for the political machine.”

I point at her. “Exactly. Let’s blanket them with positive stories about Orihimé and what we can do for them.”

I wait for it all to sink in, and slowly, the vibe in the room changes to something more like confidence. We’ve got this.

“Ryoko, I’m going to put you in charge of dealing with Kiiroi Yama for the details of this mission, okay? I want Kazuo and Rin to concentrate on what our infiltration team will do.”

She shrugs. “Sure. I can do that.” It’s nice to see her take the job so easily. I was afraid I’d have to motivate her. But she’s changed a lot since the time we escaped the Aoi Uma building in Shin-Osaka. She’s more confident and independent now.

“So, everyone, go get some rest. Eat well and listen to the people who have lived here and can tell us more about what we’re up against. Okay?”

With that, everyone gets moving, and Shintaro does his best to direct people to the houses where they’ll bed down for the night and live for the next few days.

Before I can turn away to barricade myself in the bedroom, though, Chiéko grabs my arm.

“How many people are we going to find from our ship?”

I shrug. “Most everyone left alive unless they’ve turned to the other side.”

“You think that’s possible?”

“I know it’s possible. Gen Miyazawa turned. Anyone else could have as well.”

She sighs. “That fucker had no common sense.”

“No, he did not.”

And he will die at my hands if I have anything to say about it.