Miraibanashi the Trilogy: Miraibanashi

By James Litherland

In this dystopian future Japan, a few brave souls take on a corrupt system—from the inside.

In the shadow of Mt. Fuji, the oppressive Batsu government controls the rebuilding of the devastated country, bestowing boons on privileged citizens while leaving the rest to fend for themselves on the fringes. After a disastrous job ends with Batsu enforcers hunting him, reformed thief Roshike runs—right into the heart of their regime, the fortified Gaku complex, to take on an almost impossible task. And he just might stand a slim chance of success, if only he'll accept some help. But first he has to figure out who to trust.

 

An unusual revolution has begun…

All 3 novels of adventure and espionage in 1 huge volume! (Contains the complete text of Miraibanashi Book 1: Code of the Kyoushi, Book 2: Enemies of the Batsu, and Book 3: Endurance of the Free.)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Outpost Stories
• Release date: Nov 6, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386680420

James Litherland

James Litherland is a graduate of the University of South Florida who currently resides as a Virtual Hermit in the wilds of West Tennessee. He’s lived various places and done a number of jobs – he’s been an office worker and done hard manual labor, worked (briefly) in the retail and service sectors, and he’s been an instructor. But through all that, he’s always been a writer. And after over thirty years of studying and practicing his craft, he took the plunge and published independently. He is a Christian who tries to walk the walk (and not talk much.)

Book preview

Code of the Kyoushi

(Miraibanashi Book 1)

Chapter 1 | Complete Disaster

Chapter 2 | The Morning After

Chapter 3 | City of Ghosts

Chapter 4 | Paths of the Past

Chapter 5 | A Sea of Strange Faces

Chapter 6 | The Belly of the Beast

Chapter 7 | Locked In

Chapter 8 | Chosen Course

Chapter 9 | Apparitions at Night

Chapter 10 | Indebted

Chapter 11 | Problem Professor

Chapter 12 | Testing and Trusting

Chapter 13 | A Revealing Rendezvous

Chapter 14 | Free Day

Chapter 15 | On a Wing and a Prayer

Chapter 16 | A Difficult Decision

Chapter 1

Complete Disaster

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New Osaka at night

ROSHIKE STOOD UNFLINCHING as a great gust of wind blew a sheet of water beneath the overhang where they sheltered from the rain. The spray only spattered against the bulky black raincoat Teresa was wearing before running down to drip into the puddle on the ground, but he was swiftly getting soaked. At least the expensive slicker was keeping her warm and dry, well-protected from the weather. She would also be almost invisible—if her pale skin didn’t reflect what little light there was, her auburn hair didn’t shine with its own luster, and her white teeth didn’t gleam as she gave him an encouraging smile. She looked every bit the elite citizen she was.

The two-story building they were using for cover was dark at that late hour, like most of the others here, and the thick ceiling of clouds obscured moon and stars. Though tall posts dotted this Batsu controlled section of the city, shining with light at night, their glow was mostly muted by the downpour. And no citizens seemed to be braving this weather, other than Teresa.

Only in her company was Roshike even allowed to be here, since she was still technically a citizen—but since she was also wanted by the enforcers, that wouldn’t help him. The Batsu would always find or make a loophole in their laws to let them do what it was they wanted to do. So he and Teresa needed to avoid getting caught in the first place.

These were the perfect conditions for the job he had to do, and they’d planned things out as well as they could in advance. Nevertheless, he felt uneasy. Glancing over her shoulder, he could see one corner of the dark hulk that was their target. The concrete edifice that served as Batsu headquarters here, and for all of Kansai, was three stories tall and occupied one whole block at the center of New Osaka. It was the biggest building around.

Only in the surrounding sections of Old Osaka did you find the odd towering and tottering monument to ages past, when people built tall. Desperate people sometimes stayed in those abandoned structures, even knowing that Batsu engineers occasionally demolished one of those ruins without warning. Or any apparent regard for who might be inside.

But for all their activity, New Osaka had grown only a few dozen blocks from its beginning with the one original building at its center. Over three generations of reconstruction and that was all they had accomplished. Why was the rebuilding proceeding so slowly? That was one of the many questions Roshike had—hoping to find some answers was one of the reasons he’d agreed to this job.

Though mainly he was doing this because Teresa was his employer. Returning his gaze to her, he noticed the way her bright blue eyes seemed to glow within the wide hood of her raincoat. He’d resisted the idea of her playing any role at all in this operation—because of the risk involved—but at least her part in the plan didn’t require her to remain unnoticed. Quite the opposite.

Teresa had gotten her way as usual, but he’d devised a plan which wouldn’t put her in a lot of peril. He hoped. Working as a hakken-ya, he helped people deal with problems no one else could or would, but there were also some things Roshike refused to do, and he’d let her know upfront what those were. To her credit, Teresa had never asked him to violate his conscience, but tonight she’d convinced him to go against his better judgment. And not simply by pointing out that he worked for her. She was also a couple centimeters taller than him and had an air of authority about her that seemed to come naturally. But then she’d been brought up to privilege.

Probably all they had in common was that they had both run away from their own people. Though he’d never really belonged anywhere, if Roshike did have ‘a people’ it would be the Kyoushi, and he’d left them several years ago. But without a doubt Teresa belonged to the Batsu elite, even if she had run away and renounced all they stood for. If she acted superior, it was how she’d been raised.

Most of what she’d hired him to do had been to hide her from the enforcers who wanted to find her and bring her back to the Batsu. And with all his experience avoiding their attention himself, he’d kept her safe. Of course he didn’t like letting her put herself in harm’s way. But it was her call.

Taking a deep breath, he met her smile with one of his own. You’re sure you want to do this? I can manage on my own, you know. Roshike took risks for her all the time, though none before had been as challenging. But it was what she paid him to do.

Her smile turned to a thin line, her irises glittering like ice as she glared at him. I thought we’d discussed this already. My part is small enough, and it makes everything that much easier for you, and you promised I could help this time.

Roshike sighed and nodded. She had extracted that commitment from him, and now he was bound by it. And this would be her first time fighting back—he didn’t know what her life among the Batsu had been like or why she’d run from them, but he could not deny her the opportunity to stand up for herself. Even in this small way.

Still she continued to argue her point. This is our best opportunity. You said I got everything you need and that the plan is sound. And you’ve got to admit tonight’s weather is perfect for our purpose. So why are we waiting?

We shouldn’t rush this, but you’re right. She hadn’t balked at buying the equipment for this job, though it had cost dearly. And he didn’t know how much she’d paid for the intelligence she’d acquired. Or where she’d gotten it. That might explain some of his uneasiness—he didn’t know how reliable that information would be. He was used to things going wrong on a job, but this time was different. Teresa was there. Tonight’s the night to do this. Remember though, no plan ever plays out exactly how you expect it to. Which is why I’d feel much more comfortable if you’d let me take the risks while you wait somewhere safe.

She scowled at him. This isn’t about either of us being comfortable, it’s about doing what needs to be done. You said you could use my help, Ro. And it’s not like my part in this is that difficult. No, not difficult. But dangerous.

He didn’t care for her calling him Ro, or for his position either, unable to just tell her no—that she couldn’t do this. And since he couldn’t stop her, he wanted to review her part in the plan again. But he could see by the glint in her eye it wouldn’t be a welcome suggestion. And it was true they’d never get a better chance to do this. Then if you’re ready, let’s go.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Teresa turned and walked from under the overhang into the night. Roshike followed, ducking low and staying right behind her, matching her pace precisely so that in the dark he’d seem nothing but a shadow. That would do for the moment, when he was only worried about somebody looking out one of the windows. Striding swiftly along the sidewalk, Teresa rounded the corner of the building and angled across the street toward the Batsu headquarters. Straight for the only entrance.

As she approached, Roshike slipped under the back of her raincoat and crouched low, scuttling behind her, hidden by the bulky slicker from the eyes of the guards who would come to the door. He also appreciated the temporary shelter it afforded from the downpour. Though the driving rain had already soaked him through and the water from his sopping wet hair ran down his ponytail as if it were pouring from a faucet.

He knew when she reached the door, and soon he heard her thumping on the glass. Batsu guards would leave the security station and cross the lobby to see who had come knocking. In the middle of the night and in this weather, probably an informer.

Roshike heard the dull clack as she slapped the screen in her hand against the glass to show her pass to a guard who must’ve come to the other side of the door. She had the highest quality forged identification her money could buy, but no fake would stand up to a proper check. They had to hope the guards wouldn’t be that thorough, not with somebody who looked like her. Even an enforcer would likely give her the benefit of the doubt.

This was one reason Teresa’s participation was useful, even if he didn’t like it. With her they likely wouldn’t take the trouble to scan the identification displayed on her screen, not before they were ready to take her report. They should let her in, and him with her, all unknowing. If not, if they sounded the alarm, the two of them should be able to escape easily enough, especially in this weather.

Fortunately, the Batsu treated the mikkokusha in a decidedly low-tech fashion, requiring the eyes-and-ears to make their reports in person instead of through a screen. So spies showing up in the dead of night wouldn’t be an unusual phenomenon. Particularly as many wouldn’t want to be seen.

Everybody knew there were informants at every level of society, including among the elites, because anybody might come across choice bits of information to sell to the Batsu. Non-citizens wouldn’t care about being seen by the citizens of New Osaka, but the guards would subject them to much closer scrutiny. An elite citizen, though, would be treated differently.

And while her identification might be fake, Teresa didn’t just look like an elite with those fair foreign features. Everything about her, how she spoke, her expressions, even the way she carried herself—all announced she was somebody who should be deferred to.

Hence the plan they’d hatched. Roshike waited with careful focus until the door finally opened with a whoosh as it was pulled inward. Accepted for the moment as who she appeared to be, Teresa walked into the headquarters building with him hiding beneath her coat.

As she strode forward across the lobby’s carpet, Roshike moved with her, matching her steady pace. He could hear the stiff steps of a guard leading her, but he also felt the presence of a second guard falling away behind them, the man who would be closing the door. Just what they’d expected.

Teresa kept walking, while Roshike rolled backward, out from under her raincoat to come silently to his feet behind a guard who was indeed about to shut and lock their only way out. Roshike wrapped an arm around the man’s neck to catch his throat in a triangle choke. After several seconds without getting any oxygen to his brain, the guard slipped into unconsciousness and slumped down. Roshike lowered him softly to the carpet, then moved swiftly to finish what the man had begun. But as he closed the door, Roshike put a magnetic strip over the lock. It would keep it from engaging and fool the sensor.

He turned just as the guard who had been guiding Teresa across the lobby happened to look back. She reacted right away, her hands flying toward the man’s face, forcing him to flinch and try to grab her wrists. Roshike dived off to the side and out of the man’s field of vision, hoping it all happened too fast for the guard to process properly, then rolled across the carpet back toward Teresa.

Trying to keep her fingernails from his face was also keeping the man’s hands occupied and unable to grab his screen to summon help. Which gave Roshike the chance he needed to get behind the guard and reach around the man’s throat to cut off his air. Just the same as he’d done with the other one.

This time after the man had lost consciousness, Roshike immediately started sliding his body backward across the carpet toward the security station. Come on.

Free from the guard’s grip, Teresa darted across the lobby and behind the desk serving as the security station, massaging her wrists as she went. Looking back over his shoulder as he followed, dragging the dead weight of the unconscious guard, Roshike saw her start to study the screen which supposedly controlled some but not all of the building’s defenses. According to the intelligence she’d bought. So far that information had been correct, but it was too soon to say it was reliable.

Pulling the man behind the desk, Roshike then took the guard’s thumb in one hand and the screen from the uniform’s shirt pocket with the other. Roshike used the man’s print to unlock the screen and started scrolling through the options. The individual screens seem to be connected to a central server somewhere close by. That must be the room on the third floor marked on the plans. That intelligence she’d bought had included blueprints for the building which showed where the server room was located. And that was where he had to go. Considering what he’d have to do to get there, he hoped he’d be able to get what they’d come for.

Teresa nodded brusquely. "Just as we thought. See, it’s all going according to plan. Now, hurry up and lift him enough to stretch his arm over here, so I can use his thumb to unlock this screen and get access to the security controls."

Roshike raised the fellow half up off the ground and gave the limp hand over to Teresa. Before you begin messing around with their system though, I want you to assume your role.

She nodded, and as soon as she had pressed the man’s thumb to the screen to unlock it, she started helping Roshike strip the guard’s uniform off him. It was unlikely anybody else would be visiting here tonight, but if anyone did come to the door, or any of the workers still in the building wandered down into the lobby, everything needed to appear as normal as possible. Usually there would be two guards on duty—though Teresa dressed up as one ought to be sufficiently convincing. At least long enough for Roshike to do what he’d come to do.

Leaving her to shed her damp raincoat and don the guard’s uniform, he ran back across the lobby to where he had left the other man unconscious on the floor in front of the door, which now looked locked even though it wasn’t. But if anyone saw one of the guards lying there dead to the world, it would spoil the effect. Roshike reached under the man’s shoulders to grab him by the armpits and start dragging him back toward the security station. Both guards would have to be bound and gagged, and stuffed out of sight, too. Since they wouldn’t remain out much longer. It would be up to Teresa then to stay here to handle any problems that arose on this end.

Leaving her here alone and on her own while he did his part of the job would be another cause of his unprecedented discomfort. It would require quite a lot of time to do what he had to do, and that meant more chance something would go wrong. Still she’d insisted on playing her part.

By the time he’d lugged the second guard back behind the desk, Teresa had assumed the guise of a guard and was able to help him bind the hands and feet of both men and gag them and shove them into a utility closet. Only then did he take his first good look at her in that uniform. She looked good in the dark blue tunic and slacks, but she did in whatever she wore. And between the bulk added by her regular clothes underneath and her height, she ought to pass as a guard well enough. You’ll do.

She narrowed her eyes at him and frowned. I’ll lock down the elevators once you’ve gone, and I can make it look like a system error. At this hour, they shouldn’t be moving between floors very often anyway, and they’d probably take the stairs when they do, but now they’ll have to, which would mean turning off the motion detectors in the stairwell. Which I can’t do from here.

Trading one problem for another, as he’d then have to deal with guards on the stairs. But then he would have to handle them if and when the system was alerted to his intrusion. I can take care of myself whatever happens. I want you to sit tight. Unless there’s trouble, then I want you to run.

She gave him a level look, and he could tell she wasn’t happy with him. Thank you for the advice. But whatever happens, I expect you to do what I’ve hired you to do.

Roshike shrugged. If you hire an expert, then you should expect expert advice. And she ought to listen to it. But over the past couple years, most of his work had been for her, and they’d had plenty of time to get to know each other. And he hadn’t seen any evidence that she’d do anything but what she’d set her mind to do. She’d clearly decided what that would be, and he was just an employee.

As tempting as it was to keep staring into those blue eyes, he didn’t have the time or inclination for a contest of wills. Instead, he turned away from her and stalked across to the door to the stairwell, still uneasy. Everything had gone smoothly so far, true, but the job was far from over.

He opened one of the pouches on his belt to get the shadow screen Teresa’s bits had bought. These things were terribly expensive, but the job wouldn’t have been possible without one. Roshike held it in his hand and set it scanning for other screens in the area, to find the registration with the highest access level he could copy. Then he set his screen to temporarily take that other screen’s spot in the network and unlocked the door to the stairwell. With a deep breath he turned the handle and stepped through—not forgetting to slap another of the magnetic strips over the lock. He always liked to make sure he had a way out.

Now came the hard part. Halfway up this first flight of stairs was the first motion detector, and he would have to be extremely precise from this point on if he was going to avoid setting them off. Standing there on the other side of the door, he took time to get his breathing under control. As important as finishing this job and getting out fast was, this part of the plan couldn’t be rushed.

Roshike used his breathing to help him reach a state of perfect peace in his spirit, then let that calm fill his mind and pervade every nerve and muscle in his body, every single cell. Only when he was completely in the moment, in the detached space where no stray thought could distract him, did he start to move. And he moved with a glacial grace which always amazed him, as he knew it was something he shouldn’t be able to do. Yet here he was.

His right foot glided forward, the leg lifting up, the heel sinking onto the first step and the pressure slowly shifting across onto the ball of his foot. The rest of his body remaining perfectly still as he gradually pushed his weight upward. Then left foot lifting and gliding. Climbing in slow motion.

His thoughts completely focused on the way his body was moving, he was unaware of time passing. He made it up to the first landing and the hundred-eighty degree turn which took him past the door to the second floor. Then he started climbing another flight of stairs, again with agonizing slowness in one protracted moment. It lasted until he’d reached the third floor landing. Beyond the range of the last of the motion detectors.

Releasing a pent-up sigh, Roshike returned his senses to a more normal perception of his environment and once again took the shadow screen out of its pouch on his belt. Checking the time, he saw that though it had seemed only a brief span to him, over half an hour had passed since he’d left Teresa in the lobby. But now he could move faster.

There was a security reader next to the door to the third floor, so he set his screen to briefly assume the registration of the nearby one with a high clearance before he slid it into the waiting slot. The light turned green, and he heard the lock click open. This shadow screen was turning out to be every bit as capable as advertised. And he’d never have been able to afford one for himself.

Slowly pushing down the handle, Roshike only opened the door a crack, just enough to peer out into the corridor and see it was completely empty. It should be at this hour, according to what the inside information Teresa had acquired said. Supposedly the more exalted functionaries occupying offices on this third floor never worked at night. But Roshike didn’t like to take anything for granted.

That same intelligence described the routine of the guards—it had been accurate so far, but it failed to show any patrol at all of the third floor. Perhaps that was true. The Batsu tended to be a bit overconfident and might think it was unnecessary, or maybe the guards weren’t welcome up here. Regardless, it felt as eerily quiet as a ghost town.

It continued to prove just as empty as one too, as Roshike slipped through the door and made his way swiftly down one hallway after another according to the mental map he’d made when he’d examined the blueprints Teresa had bought. Only a few minutes passed before he reached the door marked as the server room on those plans.

The heavy steel door certainly appeared intimidating, but that wasn’t the reason Roshike stopped there to consider what he was about to do. The level of clearance that would be needed to enter such a secure place as this was would have to be quite high. Supposedly there was always someone in the building with the necessary access—the registration that the shadow screen had already copied should have been that. He hoped it was, anyway. But if the access code he used wasn’t sufficient to the task, that might send a signal of some sort to the guards. Or even set off an alarm. And he had to be prepared for the eventuality. Still, he hadn’t come this far just to turn back because of what might happen.

So he made sure his mind and body were ready to respond if things went wrong, then slid the shadow screen into the security reader set into the door. But again the light turned from red to green and the lock clicked open without any alarms sounding. So he slowly pushed the door inward and checked that the room was empty before entering.

Pausing with his hand on the door, Roshike reconsidered his original plan. He doubted a magnetic strip would be sufficient to block the sort of lock this thing sported, and since this floor seemed just as deserted as it was supposed to be, he decided he was less worried about an open door attracting the attention of anyone who came along than being able to hear someone coming. So he took a small spike from one of the pouches on his belt and used it as a wedge to prop the door wide open. That also meant he could exit easily when he had to.

That taken care of, Roshike walked farther into the room and up to a small desk with a large screen sitting atop its otherwise pristine surface. That had to be the server running the Batsu’s network for the Kansai area. Ignoring the chair, he stood in front of the thing and slid his shadow screen into the slot in its side and hit the button to activate the advanced hacking program he’d installed. Another of the useful tools Teresa’s money had purchased.

Roshike had made a promise, long ago, never to steal again, and even in the years since he’d left the Kyoushi, he’d kept their code. After all, theft meant taking something from its rightful owner. And he’d used the skills he possessed to retrieve stolen property and return it. Tonight’s job was comparable in his judgment, and his conscience was clear. The information he was after belonged to everybody, and the Batsu had no right to keep it to themselves. Teresa wanted to share it with the world, and Roshike meant to make sure she did.

The large screen came alive as the borrowed access codes started the server’s interface, then small lights on the side of the shadow screen flashed rapidly as the hacking tool tried to trick the server into granting Roshike admin authority. It soon succeeded. Then he was able to open the node for the local network and see the details of every connection, including information on every screen in New Osaka and the old city and beyond. And he could confirm something he’d long suspected.

Even when Roshike had been a boy, an orphan living on the streets and stealing to survive, he had known better than to take someone’s screen. Mostly because he hadn’t needed one to survive and selling them was problematic. That alone kept it from being worth the risk. But he’d been sure swiping a screen would somehow help the enforcers find him, and now he knew why that would’ve been.

Memories of that day they’d finally caught him suddenly started to flood his thoughts, but Roshike turned his mind away from them, focusing instead on the task at hand. As interesting as it was to find out for sure that the Batsu really could monitor the location and activity of every screen on the network—even the cheap, supposedly anonymous ones that non-citizens had to use to conduct business—it was not what he had come for. But though he searched thoroughly through the entries, he couldn’t find any screen logged on outside the Kansai region. He dug into the root program running the local network. It was clear the server was completely independent of the Batsu’s Gaku-net in Tokyo. There was no connection, and this had all been for nothing.

The intelligence Teresa had gotten ahold of had been correct except for the most crucial bit. They’d built this whole operation around the idea that this would be the weak point where he’d be able to hack into the Gaku-net, by breaking into this less secure facility and going through the regional server. But that would be impossible.

All the money and time spent preparing for this job, the risks they’d taken, and it was a waste. Then Roshike heard the soft ping of an arriving elevator, and with a flash of foreboding, he knew it was something far worse than that. It was a trap.

Ripping his screen out of the server’s port, Roshike whirled and ran for the door. He heard boots pounding down another corridor to his right, so he sprinted down the hall to his left, glad he’d memorized the general layout of the building, rather than just the specific route he knew he’d need to take. It wasn’t possible to prepare too much ahead of time, because you never knew what would go wrong. The problem was you could never plan enough to cover every eventuality. But plenty of prep helped you react fast. When the unexpected inevitably occurred, you couldn’t take the time to think through all your options.

He never even considered heading for the stairwell, despite having made sure he could return that way and setting off the motion detectors having become a moot point. Instinctively he took a big risk and rounded a corner to head back in the direction the guards had come from. Because he understood their tactics and had the floor plan in his head. And because he knew their blind spots.

As an unseen net spread out to try to trap him, Roshike ran toward the elevator the enemy must’ve arrived on, coming at it from the other side, the one facing away from the server room, hoping the blueprint had been right where it had shown the elevator shaft not only with main doors opening onto the central corridor but also rear doors facing a service hallway. His shadow screen should still be capable of unlocking those and activating the elevator controls. Since they weren’t locked down anymore.

Roshike rounded a corner and ran right at one of the guards who was a knot in the net they meant to close around him, a man who expected an intruder to be intimidated by the mere sight of him in his uniform. Increasing speed, Roshike darted straight at the guard. Startled, the man hesitated between grabbing the screen in his pocket or the baton at his belt. That moment of indecision cost him.

Flinging his arm forward as if he were throwing the screen in his hand at the man’s face, causing the guard to flinch, Roshike dived low and clipped him across the knees, slamming the man backward onto the carpeted floor of the corridor. Then rolling right over him, Roshike sprang back to his feet and kept running down the hall. Turning another corner, he barreled along the service corridor he’d been looking for and quickly came to the back door of the elevator that had brought the guards to the third floor. It should also take him down to the lobby in a manner they wouldn’t be expecting.

Roshike slid the screen in his hand into the security reader and breathed a sigh of relief as it was able to trigger the doors to open. Ducking into the car, he hit the button for the ground floor and started to pray. If this was a trap, what had happened to Teresa?

The elevator descended the two stories in only a moment, faster even than Roshike could have flown down two flights of stairs, but by the time the doors were opening onto the lobby, he was prepared. He dived low through the gap as they parted and rolled across the carpet, trying to process all the revolving glimpses he got as he traveled the span between the elevator and the back of a chair in the middle of the lobby. He’d seen brief images of three guards and a man in his underclothes by the time he came up to a crouch behind some cover.

Peering around the edge of the chair, he altered his assessment. The one man was the guard they’d stripped of his uniform, and one of the ‘guards’ was Teresa. And another was actually an enforcer. Roshike knew the type, even if the man’s suit was blue like a guard’s instead of the typical black. And then there was the gun in the man’s hand. Guards were not allowed firearms. Worse, the enforcer was aiming at Teresa.

The two were standing over by the security station, some distance apart and staring at each other, apparently oblivious of his arrival. The enforcer in the unusual blue suit had a thick mop of curly dark hair and a smirk on his face. Teresa looked furious but under control, and kept at bay by the gun pointed at her.

Roshike saw all that in a flash, but he never had the time to think about it—the two guards had seen him spiraling out of the elevator and turned to advance toward him, snapping open their batons and coming at him from two different angles. He waited until they split up even more to move around the chairs sitting in the middle of the lobby, then leapt onto the one he’d been crouching behind and catapulted himself through the air toward the enforcer. And Teresa.

As Roshike hit the ground running, they turned and saw him coming. Teresa’s expression mingled relief and surprise. The enforcer scowled at him before turning back to Teresa and shooting her. Then the man was already swinging his weapon around, firing again, but this time at Roshike. But Roshike was zagging at an angle and throwing the screen in his hand at the enforcer’s face, and not as a feint. It flew tumbling through the air straight at its target, messing up the man’s aim as he dodged the projectile. While Roshike sprinted along the same trajectory. The screen crashed into the wall behind, and the shot went wide.

Roshike zigged and zagged as he closed the gap between them, but the enforcer managed to get off a second shot, and Roshike felt the tearing sensation in his left arm that told him he’d been hit—even as his right fist drove into the man’s diaphragm. With all the force of Roshike’s weight and momentum behind the punch, it doubled the fellow over and sent him flying backward. Roshike ran after him, slamming his heel through the enforcer’s jaw and knocking him out cold. Then he turned to Teresa.

Sprawled across the carpet, there was a pool of blood spreading out under her and soaking into the fibers as she bled out from where she’d been shot in the stomach. He stepped closer, looking down into her face. Her blue eyes were dull as they stared vacantly into space and her life leaked out. He should never have agreed to this job. I’m sorry.

He glanced back and saw only one guard warily approaching him with his baton drawn. The other one, the man in only his underclothes, sat slumped on the ground clutching a bleeding shoulder. That must’ve been from the shot that went wide. One of them would’ve already summoned reinforcements, and those wouldn’t take long to arrive. Until then, the only able guard would be more concerned with keeping Roshike contained. But he wasn’t trying to block the door. Either they had discovered and removed the magnetic strip Roshike had placed there, or the guard didn’t know it wasn’t really locked. It seemed Roshike would find out the hard way.

He looked again at Teresa and felt guilt, anger, and a host of other emotions welling up and threatening to swamp his senses. There was nothing that he could do for her now though. He had to get out of there. Get away before it was too late.

The sound of tramping boots came to his ears, and he ran for the exit at top speed. If that door was truly locked and secured, he’d either end up breaking the reinforced glass or himself. But neither happened.

The door blew open easily as he plowed into it, and he barreled out into the still pouring rain, onto the slick streets streaming with water. He kept going through the driving rain, pushing hard to get as far away as fast as he could. This horrible weather that had helped hide their approach would also aid his escape by hindering his pursuers. But it would not help Teresa.

Trying not to think about her, Roshike focused on orienting himself and running in the right direction. And being careful how he placed his feet so he wouldn’t slip. If it hadn’t already been done, soon a message would be sent to enforcers all over the city to start searching for him. So he couldn’t afford to make any mistakes. And he had to find a place he’d be able to hide, long enough to get a bit of rest and see to the bullet wound in his arm. But nowhere in the area would be safe for very long.

Thankfully, Roshike knew the streets well, both from his time as a boy living on the streets as a thief and as an adult working to help others. He knew all the alleyways and backstreets throughout Old Osaka, so that would be where he’d head first. What he would do after that...

He knew he had to be in shock over Teresa’s demise, but he’d get over it. He always did. He’d lost the parents he’d never known further back than he could remember, and then the woman who’d saved him from the streets and raised him. Even his first crush had disappeared without warning only a few years ago. He’d gotten used to losing people.

As he ran, the memories came, unbidden to his mind. That day enforcers had finally caught him as a boy, the years after he’d returned from the mountains and worked to help those the Batsu wouldn’t. That had put him at odds with the enforcers again, but he’d been able to avoid them after his time with the Kyoushi. He’d gotten plenty of practice at that, and clearly he’d get more.

Thinking through what had gone wrong, exactly what he’d do next, would have to wait. So would dealing with his feelings. For the moment he had to focus on fleeing.

Chapter 2

The Morning After

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Old Osaka during the day

ROSHIKE STOOD FROZEN facing the enforcer with the mop of dark curls and wearing the blue suit and with his gun leveled at Roshike’s chest. Between them Teresa’s body lay on the floor bleeding out. Guards stood in a ring around them, laughing and slapping their batons against their thighs. Roshike felt the world tilt as his head seemed to swim in a sea of pain, and he had trouble keeping his balance.

The man with the gun smirked. It’s your fault she’s dead, you know. If you’d come on your own, it would be you lying there on the carpet. I should’ve killed you, thief. At least you’ll die now.

As bad as he felt, Roshike knew he wasn’t dying and that this man wasn’t going to kill him. Apparently Teresa wasn’t dead, either, because suddenly he was beside her, kneeling in her blood and gazing into her blank blue eyes as they stared back at him unseeing, and she spoke. Though she never moved her mouth. Why did you abandon me, Ro?

That ‘why’ echoed sharply in his brain, like little slivers of glass flying. That had to be from when he had crashed through the door. No, it had not happened that way.

The next thing he knew, he was leaning over to cup the back of her head in his hand. And the only thing he saw in her eyes was his own reflection, but not his face as he stared into hers—he was watching his back as he ran away, deeper into the dark recesses of her pupils. Run. His own voice whispered urgently. Move. Get away. You can’t stay.

Roshike sat up with a start and only just missed banging his head on the ceiling. His heart was racing, his head pounded in time to that rhythm, while his left bicep ached from where the enforcer’s bullet had bitten into his flesh. And the nightmare receded as adrenaline coursed through his body to bring him fully awake. It still took a long moment for his mind to catch up and help him orient.

The real memories came flooding back, and his hands dug into the pad he’d been sleeping on. He’d reached his bolt hole in one of the box hotels in Old Osaka. That’s where he was. He’d cleaned out the bullet wound, sprayed it with antiseptic, and bandaged up his arm before the exhaustion had overtaken him. And as he’d drifted off, he’d wondered what he could’ve done different.

Rubbing his hands over his face, Roshike didn’t flinch from asking himself that question again, now that he was awake and semi-alert. He might’ve refused the job altogether or to take Teresa with him on the operation. But he knew in either case she’d almost certainly have hired another hakken-ya, one who’d do what they were told, which wouldn’t have ended any better. Though it was hard to see how it could’ve been any worse.

He rapidly reviewed how he’d executed the job itself, but he couldn’t imagine what course of action would’ve prevented Teresa from being shot. It was strange, inexplicable even, that the enforcer should have shot her at all. It wasn’t as if she’d been threatening him in any way. There seemed to be no sense in it, and while Roshike had seen enforcers act with savage disregard for someone’s life, he never knew them to act without purpose. But he couldn’t conceive of any reason that would explain why the man would want to shoot an unarmed woman. Especially one the Batsu would’ve presumably liked to question. Roshike shook his head.

At least he’d easily lost his pursuers and made it to this temporary sanctuary. The room might only be a meter high, and barely long enough for him to stretch out when he slept, but then he only used the place when he had to. And last night he’d needed to take care of his arm and get a bit of rest, even more than he’d needed to keep moving. And he had to get the things he kept stored here.

Roshike felt a twinge of pain in his arm, and his hand moved to the temporary bandage he had tied around the wound. Removing the dressing, he took a look at the tiny tear and saw it had stopped bleeding. So he slapped on a new bandage and shrugged into a clean shirt.

Of course he’d have to leave behind the bloody, torn shirt he’d been wearing last night. His soaked pants looked awful, and he didn’t have time to take care of them, so they’d have to go too. He grabbed a clean pair of pants and slid them on as he looked around him to decide what he needed to take when he left. Because the Batsu would soon trace him to this place and he wouldn’t be coming back. Probably anywhere he’d been seen with Teresa would no longer be safe for him either. That didn’t leave a lot of options.

He carefully folded a couple changes of clothes into a thin pile and wrapped them up with the raincoat he hadn’t had with him last night, turning it into a pack he could wear on his back. A couple other items, such as his small bottle of antiseptic spray and a spare bandage, he stuffed into pouches on his belt. What he needed the most wasn’t as easily accessible though.

When Roshike had arrived here, dawn had still been far off, so Roshike had carefully snuck into the hotel and then his room, making sure nobody saw. There were always those who kept an eye on everybody’s coming and goings, seeking something they could report to the Batsu in the hope of receiving a few bits for the information. Being out and about at night was seen as suspicious, and the enforcers certainly would’ve paid special attention to any report of such activity last night.

So since Roshike had wanted rest, rather than a horde of Batsu thugs descending on him here while he slept, he hadn’t risked retrieving the things he’d hidden. In case anyone had noticed and reported it. But as he planned to be moving on any minute now, being seen was no longer a huge problem.

Shifting around in the small space, he unlocked the door and pulled it open. One of the things he’d liked about this place was the way the doors swung both ways—not very secure, but that was a false sort of security anyway. Roshike appreciated being able to always push his way in or out, whichever way he was going.

This time, though, he wanted to bring the edge of the door into the room with him, away from any prying eyes. When he’d first rented this room, he’d considered replacing the lock with one of his own so the staff wouldn’t be able to enter at their leisure—that would only have raised everybody’s interest in what he kept here though. So instead, he’d hid his valuables.

Taking a tiny multifunction tool from a pouch on his belt, Roshike removed the lock from the door frame, then used a separate part of the same tool to reach into the cavity and snag a loose cord lying inside the hollow space. Pulling on the cord, he lifted out the small bag he’d tied to the other end and left sitting in there. He swiftly put the lock back in place and closed the door, then dumped the contents out on the floor—lots of buttons and the anon screen he normally used. He’d left that behind last night, taking the shadow screen with him instead.

That had been destroyed in his encounter with the enforcer, though, and left behind when Roshike fled. So the anon was all he had now. He sat there frowning at it—after what he’d learned last night, he thought it too risky to take with him. From now on, he’d have to change screens regularly as a standard precaution.

Before he left it behind with all the dirty clothes and other detritus of his habitation though, he had to use it to sort his buttons. Some of them were useful programs, but most contained various amounts of bits. And without a screen, he wouldn’t be able to tell which was which or how much it had, so he began inserting one button after another to see. Then he sorted them into separate piles. One for the programs, one for the few with sufficient bits for things like buying new screens, one for moderate sums he could use to rent rooms, and one for the buttons to use for food. Then he carefully placed the piles into different compartments on his belt. He hoped he’d be able to recall which held what buttons.

With a sigh he remembered the advanced hacking program Teresa had bought him. It would have been nice to keep ahold of that, but he’d never even thought of trying to retrieve it from the remnants of the shadow screen it had been in. Other things had occupied his mind at the time.

Roshike pushed open the door, then slid out of the room for the last time. It was late enough in the morning that several people were milling around in the halls, but he studiously ignored them, much as they did each other. He waited until he got outside to tuck his ponytail down the back of his shirt, then slip a paper mask over his face. It wasn’t much of a disguise, but plenty of people wore them in the hope they wouldn’t catch something. Because there was always a bug or two going around.

Keeping to the main streets, he mixed with the crowds such as they were as he worked his way out of Old Osaka toward what people used to call Kobe. The Batsu’s presence was weaker there, which gave Roshike more room to maneuver. And a number of his older contacts were there, those he’d had little to no contact with since he’d been working mostly for Teresa.

Tears threatened to well up in his eyes when he thought about her. At the same time a smile forced its way to his lips as he recalled the first time he had seen her, standing up to a pair of enforcers with an icy and imperious glare. He hadn’t known who she was then, but it had been clear she wouldn’t be going with them, not without a fight.

Her defiance would’ve been for naught though, if Roshike hadn’t rushed to her rescue. She’d paid him for that, and offered him more work. She had run away from her family, full Batsu citizens, and of course they wanted her back. Apparently choosing to leave the Batsu wasn’t an option. From then on, keeping her off the enforcers’ radar had required a lot of his time, but she’d rewarded him well for that. But he’d never heard anything more from her about her family or why she’d felt compelled to leave. He might be happier not knowing.

Then the tears flowed, thinking of those missed opportunities to get to know her better, how he had failed her in the end. At least she no longer worried about the Batsu dragging her back. He wondered if she’d have preferred it this way.

Blinking back the tears and wiping away water at the corners of his eyes with the convenient paper mask, Roshike forced himself to focus on the future. Teresa was gone, and there wasn’t anything he’d be able to do for her now. He’d have his hands full trying to take care of himself.

Not that he had a lot of options as things stood, but staying a step ahead of the enforcers would be a good start. He’d begin by putting some distance between himself and anything associated with Teresa, as they’d have her screen and started tracing her recent movements by now. Soon they would have her entire history since she’d run away. They might’ve found out a lot about Roshike too, tracing her connections, but if they hadn’t yet they would.

Eventually they might even track down some of his old haunts like the one he was headed for, but he felt sure that would take them time. He had to take advantage while he could.

Staying alert for any sign somebody was following him, Roshike wound his way along the ruins of the elevated express that had once soared above the streets here. In its shadow, ramshackle shops and houses littered the path travelers still took between cities.

Eventually Roshike found himself back in Sannomiya and stepped down one side street after another and through a narrow alley until he found the squalid little square he’d been heading for all along. Dusty, dilapidated buildings surrounded an empty space barren of people. The shops looked deserted and the offices abandoned.

Roshike removed the paper mask from his face and walked around the edge of the square, then he paused before a building with blacked-out windows and a dark, unmarked door. It had been almost two years since he’d been here, and he had to hope this place hadn’t changed. Pressing his hand against the door, he pushed his way into the dimly lit bar.

Though it was still early afternoon, a number of patrons already sat at tables or slumped against the bar itself, nursing their drinks. The prices were outrageous, so everybody tried to make them last. As they were also watered down, anybody who wanted to get drunk took a long time to get there.

The master of the bar stood behind the counter, swiping it down with a rag. The burly man glanced briefly in Roshike’s direction, but no one else bothered to look at him as he entered. That didn’t surprise him, but something else did. A man Roshike had never seen before, with close-cropped hair and wearing a drab, olive-green jacket sitting sideways to him at the bar. It wasn’t the person himself that shocked Roshike, but the quick intricate motion he had flashed with his left hand.

Roshike kept his expression blank though, and continued his stroll up to the counter. The man behind the bar finally turned his attention back to the newcomer with a frown. Well, what’ll it be?

With a look of defiance, Roshike dug a handful of ancient coins from his pocket and slapped them down. As much beer as that will buy.

The master scowled something fierce. What is it you’re trying to do to me? That wouldn’t buy you a single drop. Of course, nobody was supposed to accept the ancient currency, according to the Batsu. And no one used it if they wanted to avoid trouble. You’re not wanted here—take it to somebody else’s bar. He jerked his head at a thick giant who stood silent in one of the dark corners of the bar. Throw him out the back, Ivan, so we don’t scare away any potential customers.

With a grim expression, the intimidating looking Ivan strode over without a word and clamped a massive hand on Roshike’s shoulder, then began to drag him across the floor toward a door at the back of the bar. Opening the door with his free hand, the towering man pushed Roshike through and down a dusty corridor, then thrust him into a murky storeroom. At least he turned on the overhead light before slamming the door shut and locking him in.

Roshike sat down on an empty crate to wait for his old friend. He was happy to find one of the few people he knew he could count on, still in the same place as two years ago. And probably still doing the same good work.

It seemed a long time, but it was probably only a few minutes before the door was unlocked and the master of the bar walked in, firmly closing the door behind him before saying a word. It’s been a long time. But why make such a spectacle of yourself?

Roshike found himself grinning at the man who had helped him get his first few jobs after coming to the city. "You’ll be glad I did, Keep, when enforcers come around asking questions. Everybody will say I wasn’t welcome. Much better than if the two