Mirror Friend, Mirror Foe

by Asprin, Robert

  They lingered over coffee in a quiet corner of the employees' cafeteriaIt was a huge place with lots of alcoves painted in bright, cheery colors.

  Hosato had found Sasha's company surprisingly pleasantShe had let her hair down off duty, both figuratively and literallyHer dark hair now tumbled over her shoulders, framing her face and contrasting with the beige dress she was wearingThe dress was obviously not a uniform; it was cut too low at the neck for thatIt was some kind of jersey material, conservative in style but tight enough to be provoca-​tive.

  Hosato studied her in a leisurely fashion as she talked.

  “So there I was with eight years' experience and not a black mark on my recordWell the fact I was willing to take the job for less pay than most probably entered into it, too.”

  Hosato smiled appreciatively.

  “Actually,” she said confidentially, “I think some of the people who signed the authorization were hoping I'd fall flat on my faceTo this day I don't know which ones resented me because I was young and which ones didn't like me because I was a woman in one of the last fields dominated by men, but the bad feeling was thereThey were like a pack of vul-​tures waiting for me to stumbleLet me tell you, Hayama, it's great incentive not to make a mistake.”

  “I know what you mean,” Hosato murmured.

  He meant it as a random comment, but Sasha ze-​roed in on it for some reason.

  “How's thatOhYes, I guess there isn't much room for error as a duelist, either.”

  Hosato smiled and shruggedHe had not intended to turn the conversation to himselfIn fact, he was anxious to avoid it.

  “It's very impressive,” he said“Shoplifter patrol to corporation security chief in eight yearsThere aren't many people of either sex who have that kind of a success record.”

  “Well, I had a couple lucky breaks.” She shrugged“I guess I'm just a little more stubborn than most about pursuing themDarn ill There I go talking about myself againWe've gone through an entire meal, and all we've done is talk about me.”

  “I think it's fascinating,” Hosato insisted“I don't usually get a chance to talk to someone in your line of workTell me, why did you go into Security in the first place?”

  “No,” Sasha said firmly“We're going to talk about you for a change.”

  “WhyMy life is terribly dull compared to yours.”

  “DullA professional duelistI find that hard to believe, Hayama.”

  “ReallyPeople tend to romanticize the profession, but it's quite a drab existence.”

  “So tell me a little about this drab existence of yours.”

  In the face of her persistence, Hosato changed tack“Actually,” he said, lowering his eyes, “I'd rather not talk about itI've fought a lot of duels and killed a lot of menThere's no way of elaborating on that without it sounding like bragging, and I don't think it's the kind of thing one should brag aboutSo, if you don't mind, let's just drop the subject and keep talking about youOkay?”

  “If you dislike dueling so much, why did you go into it in the first place?” she pressed.

  “Shimatta!” He shrugged, grinning wryly.

  “How's that?” Sasha frowned.

  “I said, 'Shimatta,'” Hosato explained“It's an old Japanese expression, one of the few I use.”

  “What does it mean?”

  “It means 'I have made a mistake!'” He smiled, “In common usage, it's an exclamation or a curse, usually just after a major disasterThat's how I got into duelingShimatta. I made a mistake, and I've been trying to correct it ever since.”

  Sasha cocked her head at him“You're a strange man, HayamaMost men Fve met would try to use their violent past to impress me.”

  “Don't misunderstand me.” Hosato smiled“It's not that I don't want to impress youYou're a charming and attractive womanI guess I was raised differently from most people as to what is included in polite con-​versation.”

  “OkayThen let's talk about that Your upbring-​ingYou were raised on Musashi, weren't you?”

  “That's right.” Hosato felt vaguely uncomfortableSasha's tenacity was disquieting.

  “That's one of the colony planets, isn't itOne of those where a special interest group established a col-​ony independent of corporation or government spon-​sorship?”

  “I'm surprised you've heard of itYes, it was orig-​inally a Japanese-​American settlement, but it's pretty homogeneous now.”

  “I have a confession to make.” Sasha smiled“I hadn't heard of it until it showed up on your person-​nel formAfter we contacted them to confirm your records, I did a little research on the place.”

  “That must have been a chore,” Hosato com-​mented, “checking my records, I meanMy family moved around a lot, so my records are pretty scat-​tered, with several gaps in them.”

  There was another reason for his family's frequent relocation and the sporadic condition of their recordsBoth Hosato and his sister had received their educa- tion under three different namesIt added to the com-​pleteness of their covers.

  “Oh, it wasn't that much trouble,” Sasha assured him“I've always been fascinated by the old Japanese cultureIt was interesting to see what had survived the relocation into spaceDo you know much about old Japan?”

  “A bit,” Hosato admitted..“had to learn about it as self-​defenseA lot of people on Musashi were big on retaining ancestral tiesFortunately, my family wasn't so fanatical on the subject as most.” “Do you know anything about Ninjas?” Hosato suppressed his reaction with difficultyIf this was a trap, Sasha had laid it well.

  “A smattering,” he replied casually“I always con-​sidered them more folklore than history.”

  “Oh, they were real enoughThe Invisible Assas-​sinsThe main problem is separating fact from fan-​tasyEven their name, Ninja, comes from the word ninjitsu, the 'art of invisibility.' You wouldn't believe some of the things they were able to doThat's how the folklore thing got startedThey did the impossible with such regularity that people thought they were somehow supernatural.”

  “What I can't believe is how much attention you've given them,” Hosato commented“I somehow never pictured you as the sort who got wound up over an-​cient history.”

  Sasha shrugged“Normally I don't,” she admitted“But the Ninjas fascinate me. professionallyI mean, security is my main field of expertise, but from what I've researched about the Ninjas, I'm not sure I could stop one.”

  “Oh, come now,” Hosato chided“You just finished saying they were humanSurely today's security-”

  Sasha interrupted him with a wave of her hand“You didn't let me finishLet me give you an idea of how the Ninjas operateThe invisibility thing-​they had a lot of fairly inventive gadgets that let them move freely where anyone else would be stopped cold, but that wasn't their main weaponTheir real strength was in their secrecy.”

  “They can't have been very secretive if you've found out so much about them,” Hosato interrupted.

  “What I've found out is probably just the tip of the iceberg,” she retorted“The Ninjas were very close, organized in clans or familiesAll their secrets were passed on from generation to generation within the familyCan you read between the lines what that meansThe children were raised into the system, trained from birthCan you imagine someone trained his entire life to be a spy and assassin?”

  Hosato didn't have to imagine itWhat was more, the memories were making him uncomfortable, par-​ticularly considering the current situation.

  “But they're still just human,” he argued“One thing I've learned as a duelist is that a sword or a bullet kills a highly trained opponent just as dead as an untrained opponent.”

  “If you know who your opponent isLook, the av-​erage thug we have to deal with today is fairly easy to unmaskHis idea of a cover story is to use a differ-​ent name and list some phony referencesCheck his references closely-​say, like we did yours-​and he's caughtThe Ninjas were required to maintain three, sometimes four completely separate livesThat's what I meant about t
he invisibility thingSomeone in town is assassinated, but no one new has been seen entering or leavingObviously the assassin was 'invisible,' com-​ing and going without being seenWhat actually hap-​pened was that the guy who sells you your vegetables every morning is a Ninja, and has been living in the town for five yearsHe's not really invisible, just very well camouflagedIf someone like that popped up to-​day, we wouldn't catch him, no matter how many checks we ran on his background.”

  Hosato was now desperate to change the subject.

  “It is interesting,” he admitted“But academicAs I recall, the Ninjas died out a long time ago.”

  “Don't be so sure,” Sasha chided“There were re-​ports the clans were active into the twentieth centuryThere's no real reason why they should have died outRemember, their strength is their anonymityThe fact we haven't heard of them lately could mean they've died outIt could also mean they're still around and very successful.”

  “If that's a possibility”-Hosato laughed-“I'm glad it's your problem and not mineYou make me very happy I chose the line of work I didInciden-​tally, I think you've proved my point for meNext to your job, mine as a professional duelist is drab and unexciting.”

  Sasha winced“I did it again, didn't INo matter what I try, we always end up talking about me and my interests.”

  “Don't apologize,” Hosato insisted“I get the feel-​ing there aren't many people here at the complex you can talk to.”

  “That's the truth.” Sasha made a face“All in all, the people here are a pretty grim crew,”

  The robot that had been servicing their table chose this moment to wheel up and present the bill.

  “Almost robotlike?” joked Hosato, nodding his head at the intruder.

  Sasha produced her employee card and started to feed it into the robot.

  Hosato slapped her hand lightly“Stop that.” He smiled, producing his own card“Allow me this one concession to romanticism.” He fed the card into the robot, charging the meal to his own account.

  “Romanticism?” Sasha leaned back, studying him with a cocked eyebrow“I suppose you feel that en-​titles you to carry me off to your room for activities of dubious morality.”

  “Certainly not,” Hosato laughed“In fact, that was the furthest thing from my mind.”

  As soon as he said it, he knew he had made a mis-​takeSomething went out of his dinner partnerShe seemed to shrink for an instant, and when she moved again, it was with the brisk, efficient motions of the security chief again.

  “What I mean,” he hastened to add, “was that I really found your thoughts on Ninjas quite fascinatingSo fascinating, in fact-”

  “That's all right, Hayama,” Sasha said, cutting him short“It's rather late, anyway.” She rose but motioned for him to remain seated“Go ahead and finish your coffeeI'll just..”

  She stopped suddenly, staring at nothing; then a slow smile crept over her face.

  “Since you're interested, Hayama, you should be the first to knowI think I've figured out a way to catch a Ninja.”

  “Oh, reallyWhat?” Now she was smiling directly at him“I'll tell you, once I find out if it works or not.” A wave of her hand and she was gone, leaving Hosato feeling more than vaguely uneasy.

  “Make that feint believableIf you don't draw the parry, you'll parry yourself by attacking into a closed line when you disengage.”

  James nodded his acknowledgment without looking at Hosato, settled into his en garde position once more and again launched his attack against SuziExtending his sword to threaten the manikin's chest, he hesitated a split second, then dipped his point and circled it left to evade the anticipated parry, and lunged.

  The sword in Suzi's single arm remained rigidly in place, refusing to react to the feintAs such, James's final lunge met an unyielding wall of steel as the blades met, and his point slid harmlessly past the tar-​get.

  Hosato rolled his eyes in exasperation but regained his composure before he stepped forward to address his student.

  “First off, you're too tenseRelax for a minute and loosen up your sword armIf it's tense, your move-​ments are jerkyThat slows you up and telegraphs to your opponent what you're trying to doMinus two points, and you loseLoosen that arm.”

  James obediently stepped back and dropped his sword arm to his side, flexing and shaking it in an effort to reestablish its supplenessHosato watched for a few moments before nodding his satisfaction and continuing.

  “Now, then,” he said firmly“From the topA dis-​engage attack the old one-​twoWhat are we try-​ing to do?”

  “Hit the opponent,” James replied.

  “Hit the opponent,” Hosato mimicked“That's what you're trying to do with any fencing move.”

  James gave a small sigh of exasperation“The dis-​engage attack is intended to negate your opponent's defensive speed,” he recited“As the defender has to move his weapon only four inches to parry an attack, and an attacker has to move his point four feet to score a hit, the defender is able to easily stop a straight lungeTherefore, to successfully complete an attack, we first feint, drawing the opponent's parry, then evade or deceive the parry and launch the actual attack.”

  “Correct,” commented Hosato, picking up his own sword“Now, watch.”

  He came en garde smoothly, facing the boy, hesi-​tated a moment, then extended the point without twitching any other part of his body.

  James watched with rapt interest.

  Hosato withdrew his arm to resume the en garde position once more“You didn't react,” he said ac-​cusingly.

  “React to what?” the boy asked, surprised“That's what I'm trying to show you.” Hosato smiled“Heeii!”

  He was suddenly a blur of motionHis foot hit the floor with a slap as he crouched, sighting down his arm and sword at James's chestThe boy's reaction was instantaneous and reflexiveHe bounced back a step, and his sword whipped up to defend against the attack.

  Hosato relaxed and stood upright again“That time you reacted.” He smiled“Why?”

  “I thought you were going to hit me,” the boy re-​torted, cautiously relaxing his guard.

  “Look at the distance between usEven if you hadn't jumped back, I couldn't have reached you with my longest lunge.”

  James studied the floor between them.

  "A feint isn't a move, it's a threatThe first time,

  when I just pointed the sword at you, I made a moveYou didn't feel threatened, so you didn't reactThe second time, you felt threatened and reactedThat was a feintIt isn't done with the sword or even the sword armIt's done with the entire body, and most of all with the entire mindNow, let's try it again."

  James obediently took up his position in front of the robot againHosato's practiced eye noted the ten-​sion still in the boy's sword armApparently his stu-​dent was getting tiredThey'd have to end this lesson soon.

  The boy feinted and attacked, better than last time but still clumsySurprisingly, Suzi reacted, moving smoothly to parry the feintThe boy's disengage slipped under the parry, and his point thumped home against the manikin.

  “Good!” Hosato called“Try it again.”

  To himself, he wondered for the hundredth time about Suzi's circuitsIf the Hungarian had not assured him time and time again Suzi had no emotional capac-​ity, he would have sworn she was going soft, overre-​acting to give James confidence.

  He let James complete half a dozen repetitions be-​fore commenting again.

  “Much better,” he called out at last“Okay, let's call it a day.”

  The quick sag in the boy's body betrayed his care-​fully concealed fatigueHosato pretended not to no-​tice.

  “Tell you what, James,” he said“When you get home, find a full-​length mirror and practice your lunge in front of it, lunging dead ahead at your own reflectionThen alternate the lunges with feintsWhen you can't see the difference between your lunges and your feints, you'll be ready to fool an opponent.”

  The boy nodded weakly.

  “Oka
y,” Hosato concluded, turning quickly away to store his gear in Suzi“Same time tomorrow?”

  “Urn. HayamaCould. can we talk?”

  Hosato shot a glance at the boyHe was still droop-​ing with fatigue, but there was something intense about his eyes.

  “Sure, James.” He smiled, wandering over to a folding chair“What's on your mind?”

  The boy hesitated, then followed him“I've been taking lessons for two weeks now.” he began, “. and you say I've been learning fast.”

  “You have.” Hosato wondered what this conversa-​tion was leading to.

  “You meant it, didn't youYou weren't just saying that?”

  “Seriously, James, you're one of the best students I.” He broke off his comments as a thought oc-​curred to him“You haven't gotten into a duel, have you?”

  Hosato was suddenly towering over the boy.

  “WhatNoNothing like that.”

  “Good.” Hosato sighed, sinking back into his chair“What is it, then?”

  “I. I was wonderingDo I show enough promise for you to take me with you. as sort of an ap-​prentice?”

  Hosato was surprised by the sudden wave of af-​fection he felt for the boy.

  “James,” he said, shaking his head slowly, “being a duelist is a lousy way to earn a livingThat's why I'm trying to give it upYou wouldn't-”

  “I'm not talking about being a duelist or a fencing master.”

  The sharpness in James's tone brought Hosato's head up with a snapTheir eyes met.

  “That isn't what you're doing here, Hayama.” The boy's voice was as steady as his gaze“You know it, and I know it, so let's not kid each otherOkay?”

  Hosato's protest died in his throat before that gazeInstead, he studied the boy coolly for several mo-​ments.

  “All right, James,” he said at last“What is it ex-​actly that you think I'm doing?”

  “I. I don't know,” the boy admitted, his cer-​tainty faltering at last“Theft maybe industrial espionage maybe you're just hiding from the au-​thoritiesWhatever it is, you're no fencing coach.”

  “Really?” Hosato forced a mocking smile.

  “Oh, you can coach fencing, all right, but that's not all you can doMaybe you can fool my father, or Sasha, or even the computers, but remember, I'm the one you kicked your first day hereI have that as proof that you and Suzi there are more than you pre-​tend to be.”