Vicissitude Yang Side

by Destine Williams

  “Why am I the phoenix? Isn’t Yin the female one?”

  The Geisha smirks. “Because Yin is slower paced and more patient. Which you are clearly not.”

  I scoff and follow him off the train. I stuff the phoenix in my pocket to keep it from getting wet. From the train station, Pole Control is a short walk of about two blocks and the parking lot is crowded with people looking for a space. If there’s one thing that I won’t miss, it’s the early morning parking frenzy.

  Once inside, we take the elevator two floors down. Lab workers wheel carts of chemicals or lab animals down the corridor. All over there’s that same lingering stench of rubbing alcohol and formaldehyde from years ago when I first came here. And it’s strange that PoleControl of all places doesn’t seem to change all that much even though everything around it has changed over the years.

  People give us curious looks, but don’t fuss as we walk through the halls. The Geisha leads me all the way to the back to a room that’s locked with a keypad. He inputs the code and the door chuffs open. We step inside.

  Vials, desks, chords, and huge machines lay everywhere and it’s hard not to step somewhere without almost stepping on something else.

  The Geisha gestures to a chair in the corner. “Have a seat. I’ll be back in a moment.”

  Not really having the choice to do otherwise, I do exactly that while he leaves. He still hasn’t said anything about what I’m supposed to do. I should’ve asked while he was here.

  The more minutes tick by, the tighter my stomach starts to feel. What is he doing? This is a whole lot longer than a “moment”.

  Finally the door opens, and when it does, the Geisha is in a hazmat suit with a box in hand. The door closes behind him. “Sorry for the wait. I’ll need you to take off your jacket and roll up any sleeves that you have, Hound.”

  My heart thumps against my ribs. “Wait a minute. Roll up my sleeves?”

  “Yes.” He opens the lid of the box, and pulls out a syringe needle full of a glowing red fluid. “I need to give you this.”

  My eyes widen. Then it makes sense. The trip to the lab. The hazmat suit. The needle. “That’s an Akuma injection?”

  “Very sharp of you to notice,” the Geisha says dryly.

  I ball my hands into fists. “I thought you said you wanted me to do lab work.”

  “Being my personal lab rat is lab work, Hound.” He lowers the box. “If you’re really opposed, you don’t have to go through with it. But keep in mind where we are. A word about your tagging incident and you’re dead before the end of the day guaranteed. But that’s your choice.”

  I grit my teeth. I’ve never hated the Geisha more than I’ve ever hated him now. Get Devil’s Disease and die a prolonged uncomfortable death? Or refuse and die by murder? I don’t want to die today. And definitely not by gun.

  The Geisha holds the needle up and meets my gaze. “What will you do, Hound?”

  My lip curls. I peel off my jacket and push up my sleeve. “Fine.”

  “Excellent.” He stands in front of me, holding my arm steady. “This will only take a second…”

  The syringe pierces me. And every last drop drains into my body.

  Secret Room 3-5 (Heaven) 'Ah'

  1 new message!

  Bastet

  How long do you need us to be out of the house?

  You lay your bag of groceries on the counter and look up at the clock. 4:02 now. It shouldn’t take that long to make dinner. You text back. Until about 6.

  The door slides open with a loud sssshhhh. Flame brings more groceries in and sets them by the stairs. “You’ve got me curious now. What’s with the early take-off?”

  “The chicks have been telling me that they wish I was home more often, so I decided to plan a little surprise dinner for everyone,” You say. “I hope you like curry and padsiu.”

  “Mmm, curry I love. But I can’t say I’ve ever had padsiu,” Flame says. “Is that a Pua Moana dish?”

  You move into the living room, poking through the remaining bags. “It is. Would you like to help out?”

  “Of course,” Flame says. “Just let me wash my hands.” He turns on the sink.

  You, on the other hand, open a brown grocery bag and take out a small sketchbook and a PC game version of The Red Hood: gifts for the chicks. Now to hide these. You tuck both under your arm and head upstairs to the chicks’ room.

  Strawberry incense wafts from a bird-shaped censer on their shared dresser and everything else is OCD-neat. Bastet must have put her foot down before she took the chicks out because their rooms are never this neat whenever you make them clean up.

  You quickly scan the room. Put the gifts in the desk drawers? Maybe not. You don’t know how often they even go in those drawers. The dresser? You pull the first drawer out.

  Mura and Masah’s colored socks stuff it up to the brim. No room. You open their second drawer. Underwear mixed with hair products. No room here either. You open the third and fourth drawers but they don’t look any better.

  Maybe I should put it under the pillows? The chicks have to find it then. You move to their bunk bed, and stick Mura’s new sketchbook inside, only for it to make contact with something else solid. What is that? You pull the striped pillow away.

  A cracked phone rests behind it.

  Your eyebrows furrow. A phone? What is Mura doing with a phone? You know you didn’t buy them one. You lift it away from the bed and tilt it, studying it from different angles. It looks familiar…

  Once you see the charm, your chests tightens like a bear trap. It’s Megumi’s! How did the chicks get a hold of it? For a whole minute, you sit there on the bed staring, then you finally summon the nerve to push a button.

  The phone prompts you with the passcode screen. But you notice that the top-right corner of the phone has a full battery. They must’ve charged it recently. You scratch your head. But how do they know the passcode? Even though they share Megumi’s DNA, they can’t possibly share memories. And even so, that doesn’t even begin to solve the bigger concerns you have like how did the chicks even get near Megumi in the first place? Are they responsible for—

  No. Even if the chicks saw her, why would they do anything to her? If anything, they might think they have another sister. More likely, the chicks picked the phone up out of curiosity. But still…

  You slide your thumb over the screen crack. But what should you do with the phone? You wish you had the passcode. There could be a clue in Megumi’s messages. Maybe Jun knows the passcode? The two are best friends after all. But first things first, questioning both chicks is first priority. Whether they had something to do with it or not, you can’t ignore the fact that they could’ve very well have been the last people who saw Megumi.

  You return downstairs to find Flame at the mail chute, picking through the envelopes for his mail. His green eyes find yours. “What’s wrong?”

  You shake your head. “I just got…distracted.”

  Flame stares for a heartbeat more and then wordlessly moves into the kitchen. You’re not sure that he believes you, but you’re glad he doesn’t press further. Hearing about the phone would only solidify his opinions on the chicks, and you aren’t in the mood to argue with him over it.

  The two of you cook side-by-side with only the sizzling skillet and the knife lopping veggies against the cutting board as your background noise. More and more as the minute hand makes its laps around the kitchen clock, you become painfully aware of the silence like a thick wall between the both of you. You almost feel unwelcome to speak to him these days.

  “The party is coming up soon,” You say, testing the waters. “Are you going to stay here with Bastet and the chicks?”

  Flame frowns and stirs the yellow curry with his spoon. “I’m not sure yet.”

  You pour soy sauce and sugar into the skillet with the padsiu noodles, beef, garlic, and chinese broccoli. “You already have plans?”

  “The Moonrunners back in Xypher have been asking about my return no
nstop. I may return to them soon for a visit.”

  Because you don’t want to be around the chicks? You have to bite your tongue to keep from saying those words. “What about the mission?”

  “I didn’t decide anything yet, my lady,” Flame says. “But they need me too.”

  “That reminds me…you never told me how you ended up in Xypher.” You adjust the fire on the stove down a notch. “That’s nowhere near Vak’ Bahar.”

  He shrugs. “We gods don’t have anymore control over where we reincarnate than you do over where you’re born. Not that it hinders god duties in any way.”

  You nod slowly, but before you can ask another question, Flame beats you to it.

  “What about that Genji Fujiwara fellow?”

  “Oh him? Supposedly he has a better version of the Akuma gene that he wants to share in exchange for my research on the Radiance gene. But…I don’t know about him.”

  Flame shoots you a sidelong glance. “What do you mean?”

  “I do want the version of the gene that he has since the one in Masah is synthetic, but I’m not sure how much I want to tell him about the Radiance gene.”

  Flame’s eyes narrow in thought. “Well, he only asked for the information right? You don’t have to give him anything else, do you?”

  “No.”

  “Then if he asks, tell him you can’t give it. Simple as that.”

  “Oh I’m fine with that, but it’s just…there’s just something about him I feel I’m missing,” You say. “I asked questions, but it just didn’t feel like enough.”

  Flame cocks his head. He shrugs again. “All I can say on the subject is ask him more questions. Your research is precious, he should understand why you want to protect it. And if he doesn’t, then pull the plug on him.”

  Yes. And I could keep Jun on the job. You don’t have the same apprehension for Jun that you do for Genji, and you’re confident that Jun will want to stay on the Beta team once she’s been in the simulator.

  Six o’ clock stalks the house like a silent predator. You and Flame barely have enough time to set the table before the front door slides open and Mura comes bouncing in. Her eyes go wide. “Mother, you’re home so early!”

  You smile. “I wanted to be here with you both for a change.”

  Amusement warms Bastet’s eyes. “Does this mean I get to do something that I want to do for once?”

  “Oh come on. They aren’t that bad.”

  Flame scoffs playfully. “And what pray tell could an Egyptian goddess want to do on a weekday?”

  Bastet sticks her tongue out at Flame. “Go out clubbing, sleep, maybe go out to the jazz festival that’s going on tonight.” Then she sniffs the air. “Ooooh, what smells good?”

  Masah slides inside behind Bastet and slips upstairs, making eye contact with no one.

  Your gaze follows her. “Pua Moana food. You can go ahead and help yourself.”

  Mura’s eyes brighten. “I’ve never had that before. I bet it tastes really good.”

  “You’ll have to wait. I want to talk to you upstairs with your sister.”

  Her smile shortens. “About what?”

  You put a hand on her shoulder. “You’ll see, dear.”

  Flame glances curiously in your direction, but you usher Mura upstairs and don’t look his way. When you get to the chick’s room, you let Mura in first before shutting the door behind you.

  Masah is mid-way through taking her jacket off before she looks up at you. “Mother? You’re here so early.”

  “That I am.” You lean against the door. “I have a question for you two.”

  Mura’s eyebrows push together. “Something’s not wrong is it? You don’t seem happy.”

  “Depends.” You reach into your pocket, pulling out the phone. “I found this here. And I know this doesn’t belong to either one of you.”

  Mura’s eyes go wide. Masah looks away. Neither of them say anything.

  “Where did you get this? Do you even know who this belongs to?” You demand.

  Mura quickly shakes her head no, but Masah is slowly nodding. Your eyes narrow at Mura. Which is it? “Why are you shaking your head no? It was under your pillow.”

  Mura takes a step back, her lips quivering. Then she whirls on her sister. “Why would you do something like that? I didn’t do it Mother, I swear! I just thought it was a fun thing that humans played with!”

  Now Masah’s eyes go wide. “What?”

  “You’re always so mean and sneaky. You framed me didn’t you? You framed me because Mother likes me better! Didn’t you?” Mura clenches her fist, tears streaking down her face. “Didn’t you?”

  The room goes silent with the exception of Mura’s sobbing.

  Your hand with the phone lowers. Turning to Masah, you ask, “Is that true?”

  Masah’s gaze switches from her sister to you back to her sister, which earns her a burning glare from Mura. The quiet chick stares at her feet with a grimace. “It’s true, Mother.”

  Ache fractures your heart. “What about the girl who owned this phone? Do you two know anything about her?” Both chicks shake their heads and you’re relieved. Thank gods, they had nothing to do with Megumi directly.

  To Mura, you say, “I didn’t really talk to you about phones or taking other people’s things so I won’t punish you. Next time, don’t touch anything that belongs to someone else, that’s stealing and that will get you into a lot of trouble in this world.”

  Then you turn back to Masah, “As for you, I can’t believe you’d try to lie on your sister. You are both family. All of us are.”

  Masah’s head dips even lower. “I’m sorry, Mother. It won’t happen again.”

  “It better not.” You step up to the computer desk and unplug the laptop from its charger. “Otherwise, I’m keeping this for longer.”

  Masah raises her head. “You’re taking the computer?”

  “If you’re good, you’ll get it back along with your surprise next week,” You say. “Now, downstairs with you two, or dinner is going to get cold.”

  3-6 'Ah'

  One hundred and fifty search results across three different search engines. Eighty medical websites. Twenty academic journals. Thirty guilt-tripping charity websites. Ten useless academic journals. And ten websites that talk about Devil’s Disease just for shits and giggles. The only conclusive thing about Devil’s Disease that I’ve found is that you’re generally not contagious until you’ve had a case of the sweats.

  I close my laptop and scrub a hand over my forehead. Gods, what do I do? It’s been two hours since I’ve holed myself in my room. Three since the Geisha injected me with the deadliest form of the Akuma gene and the beginning of my ‘Holy-Shit-Am-I-Going-To-Infect-The World’ anxiety spike. I don’t have any symptoms, which worries me. I don’t want to be out and about and then suddenly get a case of the sweats. At the same time, if I go to the hospital, my only choice is to lay in quarantine indefinitely until I die an anti-climactic veggie death. And there is no way in hell, I’m sitting in a hospital while the Geisha gets to run free and do what he wants.

  If I’m going down, then he’s going down with me.

  I’m going to need to act fast. Starting with my old house. If what Shig said earlier today is on point and the Geisha is using that as a separate mail address, then I should be able to crack the security system on the house and get his mail before he gets there. Hopefully, whatever I find there will be good enough in case the Shig’s retiree search comes up empty. I open my laptop once more and boot up the internet again. I click the search bar and enter 323.F Cha Avenue, Taitai Prefecture.

  The internet brings up images of my old two-story sukiya-zukuri house. It hasn’t changed much. Same old ugly ash-gray roof. Same old droopy tree in the front yard. The grass arguably looks better than when I lived there with Mom, Dad, and Kyo. But there is something new on the front lawn that catches my eye.

  Secured by PoleControl Chi-Guard 220.

  My heart pounds again
st the base of my throat. Gods, why does it have to be that model? It’s not too hard to crack, but it’s time-consuming. If I get there the exact moment the mail does, it’ll take me at least ten minutes just to disable the damn thing, leaving me with twenty minutes to look at the Geisha’s mail and get the hell out before he shows up. I could try and get there early and wait for the mail. Only problem with that is if someone comes by early for any reason, I’d be fucked and I’m not sure if I should risk that. There’s no telling what strings the Geisha might have pulled to be able to go in and out of my old house in the first place. Of course and none of that even includes the initial problem of the chi towers that’ll be watching me from the minute I set foot on that street. If I were still in Showguns, it’d be stupid easy. But now that I’m a retiree, I don’t get first priority for Data Erasure teams like I used to. If anything I’ll be lucky to get even one IT worker on board.

  I drum my fingers against the edge of my laptop. I could ask Shig. But he’s already doing enough as it is, and without much in return. There’s Ken. Ken isn’t an IT guy, but being the son of the Shogun, he could probably round up some people, if I can figure out how to talk him into it. My last option is maybe to see if I can arrange something with one of the Silent Seven. Apart from Mai, the only other person who I know beyond acquaintanceship is Tamotsu, but getting past his questions on why I’m breaking into an abandoned house is probably harder than cracking the chi-guard itself. I sigh. I wish Mai was still here. She wouldn’t ask too many questions since she knows what happened in that house. I guess I might as well ask Ken when I get there.

  Two more hours and still no sweats. I go to the internet one last time and search up how long does it take to catch Devil’s Disease. The general consensus seems to be 24 hours. Good. I won’t infect Ken then.

  I reach forward and pull back the blinds to peer outside.

  Rainwater pit-pats down from the muggy sky, still every bit as bad as it was this morning. The windows are fogged over too. I don’t really feel like going back out, but I’d rather not die with my horimono unfinished.