Vicissitude: Yang Side (Lost Earth Series) Read online

  I get up and head back to the shrine gates. Sliding my phone out of my pocket, I descend the steps and scroll for Jin’s name.

  “Heh. Nice night to be out for a walk, eh Hound?”

  I lower my phone.

  The living epitome of People-Who-Only-Seem-To-Exist-To-Be-A-Jackass steps out into the open. White dress shirt, black suit vest, and matching pants bowtie. Hair pulled into a samurai ponytail. Deceptively benign smile on his lips. If there was ever a person who can ruin your day with the same trollish grace of a bbq stain on a brand new white shirt, it’s the Geisha. “What do you want?”

  The Geisha clasps his hands behind his back. “Just wondering if you’re all finished?”

  My eyes narrow. I slip my phone back into my pocket. “What are you doing here?”

  He shrugs. “Was visiting the area. I noticed a familiar face and thought I should stop by and have a chat.”

  Bullshit story. “Not interested, Geisha,” I quip, stepping around him. “I’ve got someone waiting on me.”

  The Geisha stretches a hand out in front of me. “They can wait, Hound. Unless you want headquarters getting wind of you having unauthorized access to restricted equipment.”

  Ice threads through my blood. I swallow, steeling from my expression from giving way. If the Geisha says anything, the least I could be looking at is losing my reputation, the most, my life. “I’m listening.”

  “Good. You’re going to be doing quite a bit of it from now on.” He taps my cheek. “Now you’re going to get a very important phone call tonight, Hound. And you’re going to decline. The reason is because you’re quitting Showguns.”

  My hands clamp into fists. “Quit? What am I supposed to do then?”

  “I have other plans for you, of course. I’m not so cruel that I’d leave you with no livelihood.” The Geisha retracts his hand. “But if you have a problem, I suppose I could just—”

  “No. I’ll do it.” The words sour my mouth like a shot of lime juice. But I’d much rather have lime juice fall on in my eyes than agree to this. “When am I getting that phone call?”

  “Tonight,” the Geisha says. “Keep your issued phone on. But I’d imagine you’d do that anyway so you get calls from me, correct?” He says it with the demurest of smiles.

  I clench my teeth behind pressed lips. “Yes.”

  “Good.” The Geisha takes a few steps back, gesturing to the shrine path in a mock-gentlemanly way. “Have a nice night, Hound.”

  1-2 'Ah'

  Thank gods Tammy’s car isn’t parked on the driveway. I can do without her firing millions of questions about where I took her son at the ungodly hours of the night. Our house—it’s the kind of house you can’t miss unless you’re blind: minty puke green double-storied Victorian house that makes it just a few degrees more snobbish looking than the other Victorian houses on Sakura Boulevard, so Tammy can feel rich without looking too rich.

  I cut off my engine, glancing in the mirror.

  Behind me, Jin’s seatbelt clicks. He’s pulling the door handle. “Let me out.”

  My eyes narrow. “Hold on. I’m not done with you.”

  Jin falls back in his seat with a noisy huff.

  I rest a hand on the unlock button. “You know you could’ve gotten us both in big trouble?”

  “I wasn’t trying to—”

  My fingers drum against the door. “Then what were you trying to do? Why were you even in my stuff?”

  He’s silent, pale hands clenching into fists. “I didn’t know any of that stuff would happen. I just…I just…”

  “Just what?”

  “I don’t want you to be a part of Showguns anymore.”

  My fingers stop drumming. “Excuse me?”

  Jin is looking away. “That box is from them, isn’t it? Aren’t they criminals?”

  I clench the wheel, part frustration of being found out, other part angry that I can’t say anything to that. “Showguns is my business, Jin. Don’t worry about them. I…” I exhale through my nose. “I can’t stay with them anyway.”

  Jin stares up at the mirror. “Really?”

  “Yeah.” I say. “If anyone asks, tonight didn’t happen.”

  Jin gives a quiet, “Okay.”

  I press the unlock button.

  Jin steps out, heads to the porch, and rings the doorbell.

  I’ve had enough excitement for one night. I reach over into the passenger's seat to get my purse. A buzzing goes off from inside. I tilt my head. That’s not my phone, is it? I reach a hand into my purse, find the vibrating device, and pull it out. It’s my Showguns-issued phone, not my regular phone, and from Mai: leader of the Showguns’ own Silent Seven, my mentor, and unfortunately the Geisha's mentor too as well as his mom.

  I shouldn’t take this in the house. I glance up at Jin.

  The door slides open. Jin slips past the four-foot-ten silhouette of my friend Megumi.

  I lean back and press the phone to my ear. “Good evening, sensei. Are you okay? How did the surgery go?”

  “I wouldn’t call it a surgery. They didn’t even take the bullets out.” Every word is drenched with exhaustion. I almost don’t recognize her. “My Akuma genes helped a lot, but everything still hurts, and the painkillers are doing fuck all right now.”

  Relief and pain mingle in my chest at the sound of her voice. Thank gods. I figured she’d live through it. Unlike me, Mai has pure Akuma genes in her, she’s the only person in Showguns to have them. There’s no way she would’ve survived three gunshots to the chest without them. “I’m glad you’re okay. But whoever did it, just say the word and I’ll return the favor for you.”

  “No. I don’t want you getting involved. Besides, it’s already being looked into,” Mai says.

  My empty hand clamps into a fist, then I release my grip. Why not? This is what you trained me to do!

  “Where are you right now? Home?” She asks.

  “Yes, I just pulled into the driveway. I’m alone.”

  “Good, good.” Her voice warms. “I’m…not going to be able to return to my position after this.”

  “What do you mean? I thought you were going to be okay?”

  “No. I’ll live, but there are other things I ought to take care of so…my position is open. I know you told me before that you wanted it, and Shogun Tatsuo asked me who I recommended so I told him you.”

  My heart stops. Me in Mai’s position. Being one of the Silent Seven is a great opportunity—no, the greatest opportunity that any assassin could have. It pays well. Then of course there’s the prestige. The privileges. Being able to fly anywhere via private jet, healthcare and dental being taken care of.

  “And you are going to decline.” The Geisha's reminder sneers.

  Ache mounts in the pit of my throat. This…This must be the conversation that the Geisha was talking about. Everything in me deflates. I croak a quiet, “Really?”

  Mai pauses. I can almost see her expression slipping the same way wet soap slips from a hand. “You’re not interested?”

  Interested is an understatment. My dream job is right here in my face, and I can’t take it. I hope you burn in the hottest corner of hell, Geisha. I don’t understand how Mai could give birth to someone so…so…argh, there isn’t even a swear foul enough for him. “No, it’s not that. It’s just…” I slump in my seat, sighing. “I’ve—I’ve been thinking. And…” Out with it.

  “And…?”

  “I’m quitting Showguns.”

  Mai is quiet. Long enough to make my pulse to quicken in place. So long that I add in a quieter, “Are you mad at me, sensei?”

  “Mad?” She echoes. “Why would I be mad at you for that?”

  “I don’t know.” I cup my elbow with my empty hand. “I just thought maybe you really wanted me to take it.”

  “Well, of course you’re my first choice. But I’d much rather see you safe and happy. Showguns isn’t ideal for that anyway.”

  My chest warms a little. “What about Shogun Tatsuo?�
��

  “I’ll just have to tell him that you have other plans,” Mai says. “Would you like to be added to the list of retirees for Sunday, then? Or are you holding off for a little?”

  “Yes. For Sunday I mean.” I spit out the words. “That would be great.”

  “Alright. I’m coming by maybe tomorrow or the day after. There’s something I need to give you.”

  “Saturday is probably better. I have work and a game tomorrow.”

  “Very well. I’ll see you then.” She hangs up.

  The breeze from the back seat reminds me that Jin left the door open. I lock both doors, then head to the house. I press the pad of my finger against the chi-reading glass.

  It beeps. Reading chi. Please do not remove sample…

  Chi reading complete!

  “Welcome home, Jun Mei Akiyama!”

  The door slides open.

  The only one in the living room is my friend Megumi. She’s got her head in one hand, ears plugged with her noise-canceling earbuds and a pencil in the other, jotting calculus answers down like a runaway bullet train. As I get closer I see her graphite-smeared hand scribbling numbers and symbols down as if her entire life revolves around taking the derivative of a sine function. Everything she writes is ancient hieroglyphics to me; her study guide has me thoroughly convinced that hell is a real place and she’s going tomorrow for two hours at the horrible hour of 8:00 am sharp. I suspect the word problems have eaten her soul.

  I press my lips together and consider telling her dropping out and becoming the neighborhood hobo is a legitimate career option, too. Who needs to take the derivative of anything in real life, anyway? I can tell she hasn’t moved from that spot since she came in from work; she’s accumulating a dirty napkin origami pile at the corner of her desk: neat and crisply folded—as if it actually matters if your garbage looks like a crane or a lily when they take it to the landfill. Glancing up at me, Megumi plucks one earbud out. “You closed shop today?”

  It takes a few seconds for my mind to fully register the question. Another few to register that I still have my barista’s apron under my jacket on with my Thanks-A-Latte name tag clasped over my breast. I toss my keys on the mahogany table. “No. Just forgot to take it off before I ran out of here. Did Tammy leave a note for us?”

  “She texted me saying she’ll be working late tonight.” Megumi points toward the kitchen with pencil. “I brought plenty of pho from that new place that opened down the street.”

  My shoulders lighten. Good. Cooking is the last thing I want to do right now. I’d rather crawl into bed and drink my sorrows away with soup. “Thanks.” I shed my jacket and apron, hanging both over my arm.

  “By the way,” Megumi resumes scribbling in her notes. “Your boyfriend came by.”

  You know his name. Regi is never Regi to her. He’s always, ‘your boyfriend’ or ‘him’. Other. The foreigner. Literally and figuratively. “Was he mad?”

  She shrugs. “Wasn’t paying attention. He tried calling you though.”

  “Are you gonna stay down here and study?”

  “For another two hours probably. Are you gonna play Lords of Earth?”

  I’m certain that if I go anywhere near any online MOBA account now I’ll rage-lose half my ranking. “Honestly, I don’t even feel like playing tonight. Are we still cool for playing tomorrow with the rest of iSo?”

  “Yep. Do you have the address to the gaming house?”

  “No. Give it to me later. I need to call Regi right now.”

  Megumi stiffens up. “Is he spending the night?”

  “Probably not. Why?”

  She twirls her pencil. “Just asking.”

  You don’t sound like you ‘just’ want to know. I claim my pho from the kitchen counter and head upstairs.

  At the top, King, our red Alaskan Malamute puppy curls into his beige cushion. His head droops as he peers at me, tail only managing a few weak wags. He looks exactly how I feel.

  I plop into the bottom bunk, set my regular phone aside on the nightstand, and push my leopard-headed monk, Tora, plush pillow aside. Salty beef broth warms my throat, pouring life back into me. I clear the whole styrofoam before I pick up my phone.

  The alerts are there now. He must’ve called while I’ve been driving. Two texts and a missed call from Regi.

  First one.

  Still on for tonight?

  Second one.

  Where r u? I thought u said u were gonna be home around now.

  I dial his number. Hope he’s not too mad.

  Rrrriiiiing! Rrrriiiiiing!

  The first thing that comes out of his mouth is, “What happened to you? I thought we were going out tonight.”

  I lean my back against the wall. “I came home from work early and I found Jin going through my drawer.”

  Regi goes quiet. “Which drawer?”

  My fingers thread through my hair. “Take a wild guess.”

  “Please don’t tell me it was the one you keep your ‘special tools’ in.”

  I inhale, drumming my nails against my knee. “It was.”

  “Oh no. He’s not hurt is he?”

  “Thank gods no. But it got tagged and I had to drive all the way up to Ise to clear it.”

  “Ise?” Regi echoes. “You mean that old shrine?”

  “Yeah, I just got home from that. Sorry, I didn’t call to tell you.”

  “It shouldn’t have been there, you know.”

  I frown. “What?”

  “I’ve been telling you to get rid of that,” Regi says. “Someone was bound to find out.”

  My jaw clenches. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “I’m just saying: no gun, no problem.”

  My hand balls into a fist. “So you’re saying this is all my fault?”

  ”Babe, you gotta think…Jin is what like twelve or something? It probably looks like a toy to—”

  “He knows what a real gun looks like. He could’ve shot himself. And he went through my private stuff. That’s no excuse.”

  There’s a noisy sigh from the other side. “Well, it doesn’t matter anymore now. The gun is gone. No one’s hurt. Happy day, alright?”

  Tension eddies out from my muscles, but not all. Regi’s words make me wonder if he really understands. An assassin can’t just walk around with no weapon. For one, it’s against protocol. Two, it’s like having an ocean with no water. Clouds with no sky.

  When I don’t respond, Regi says, “What about our date then? What are you doing tomorrow?”

  “I have my team matches with Megumi tomorrow.”

  “What about Saturday?”

  “I’m stuck at home Saturday. Tammy is going to be working so I have to baby-sit Jin.”

  “God is that woman ever home? Sunday?”

  “I'm going to a Showguns party on Sunday.”

  “Again?” Regi sighs. “Jun—”

  “It’s my last one, baby. I promise.”

  “Last one? You mean you quit?”

  “Yes. They’re just throwing me a retirement party.”

  “Oh really?” He’s trying not to sound so cheerful, but it’s not working. His glee oozes through the phone the way jelly oozes from a donut. “Didn’t know they cared about that sort of thing.”

  “Outsiders usually don’t get told.”

  “Monday?” He asks sheepishly.

  I peer at the calendar on my wall. “Monday is fine, I think.”

  Regi gives a soft chuckle. “Thank gods. Otherwise, I’m going to drive back to your house and see you now.”

  “Not a good idea. Megumi is studying.”

  Regi snorts. “So what? She can study while I see you.”

  “No. Megumi has her final tomorrow.” I sling an arm around Tora, holding it close to my chest while I pick knots of lint from the bridge of its nose. “I don’t think she wants to have us… around.”

  “Tch. There’s a guest room.”

  “Tammy decided to turn it into a home office. It doesn’t hav
e the bed anymore.”

  He sighs. “I’m really not going to get to see you, am I?”

  “Does it have to be tonight, Regi?”

  “Babe, it’s almost the weekend and I didn’t even see you this week…” His voice softens. “I miss you.”

  “Well if you want to visit that badly, then do it Saturday when I’m stuck here.” I finger the monk’s soft tufted ears. “Besides I need to get up early to drive Megumi to class. So Monday or nothing.”

  “Fiiiiiine. Monday. Call me after the retirement party?”

  “I’ll try. It’s going to run past midnight, so it might be late when I call you.”

  That finally seems satisfactory enough for him to hang up with a happy goodbye. His voice fades and the room falls into a strange silence. The hallway grandfather clock ticks loud.

  I slip my phone underneath the leopard monk’s thick tail and lay my head on his robed garland-sashed belly. Finally time to re— My issued phone goes off. Mai again? I pull it out.

  Incoming Call: Genji Fujiwara

  I grimace. What does he want now? Hasn’t he tortured me enough already tonight? I swipe my thumb across the screen to accept and press the phone back to my ear. “Hello?”

  “What did she say, Hound?” His words are rushed.

  “I’m surprised you don’t know already, considering you knew she called me and all.”

  “Don’t get sassy with me, Hound,” the Geisha snaps. “What did she say about you quitting?”

  “Just that I’d be added to the list of retirees for Sunday’s party.”

  “And who is she picking in her place?”

  “I don’t know. She didn’t say any—”

  “Did she throw any guesses around? Did you even ask?”

  “No. And no, I didn’t ask.”

  “Then ask her next time, Hound. I thought you were smarter than that.” He hangs up without preamble.