“Errm, well don’t forget that PoleControl’s headquarters is in Yamamura. That’s where Devil’s Disease is the worst.”
“Oh yeah. Good thing no one in my family has to go that way for anything,” Regi says. “But before I forget, Tammy is leaving this weekend, right? I don’t remember the exact day.”
“This Sunday, why?” I ask.
“Do you mind if I come over for a bit? Wanted to get some important stuff out of the way,” he says. “But I’m going to be a little packed this weekend. It would have to be Monday or something.”
“I’ve got something to do Monday afternoon. What time were you thinking about coming?”
“It wouldn’t be until seven or eight. Dad wants me in the studio all day. Film directors are coming in to talk to us.”
Ah yes that “Showguns” movie. “That’s fine with me. I should be home before five—” A jolt courses through my chest. I forgot about work on Monday! How am I going to get around that?
“Okay. I’ll see you then.”
“See you.” I tap my screen to hang up and scrub a hand over my face. Nice going, genius. You’ve already told Ken to do the turn off on Monday. Maybe I should wait until the weekend— Fuck, I can’t do that either. Mail doesn’t get delivered in the mail chute on weekends. I have to take a day off no matter what. Hopefully, Heaven will let me miss Monday.
I lay my head back down, but the itching from my tattoo spreads like hot flood. Good gods, is it supposed to itch this much? And all over? I clench the mattress. After a minute it dies down. Maybe I should do a little research to see if there’s anything I can do.
A strange throb in my mouth stops me. What the hell? I run my tongue over the roof of my mouth—well try to. Smooth enamel walls my tongue tip away from touching the top. Long and very pointed enamel where my canines are supposed to be.
Ice gores my chest. I wrench the blankets back and run up to the bathroom. I open my mouth.
My canines are longer, pointed, and curved like a dog’s.
I jump away from the mirror, stumbling into the towel rack. What is that in my body? Why is that in my body?
Gawking in the mirror is all I can do, as if stupefied open-mouthed staring can make my teeth go back to normal size. Chest thudding, I trace my tongue over the length of an upper fang. Every inch of it is real.
When my tongue gets to the bottom, the fangs seem looser. They move. I feel movement deep in my gums, too. When I press my tongue against it, the fang doesn’t move forward much, but when I press back, it folds against the roof of my mouth like a switchblade. My original tooth slips back into position as if it had been there the whole time.
All tension in me releases. Okay, this is controllable. This is good. Controllable is good. Control means power. Power means I can do something.
I fold every fang back one by one until I look normal again. Perfect. I'm shaking. But holy hell. How? How?
I step back to the sink, opening my mouth just to double check that it’s gone.
In the mirror, my face is ten shades paler. The countertop digs into my palm. Was this why my fitness results came out funny? This…this… I don’t even know what to call it. What the hell did the Geisha put in me? It’s gotta be a symptom of the injection? A mutation he’s experimenting with? Something the injection caused? I’ve heard of Showguns using animal genes to make the different Akuma variants for assassins, but I’ve never heard of the Akuma cell pulling off anything like this!
I run a trembling hand through my hair. My finger comes into contact with something soft and silky. But not hair silky.
Fur silky. I flinch. Then tease it out of my hair for a better look. It’s an ear: white, triangular, and a lot of fur on the inside. I hold my arms. Just stay calm. Just stay—
Tremors wrack my knees. I crumble to the floor, staring at the bathroom cabinets. I try to calm my breaths, but it feels like someone lodged walnuts in my windpipe. Can't get air. I'm shaking. Desperate for air.
Stop. Stop. Stop.
A raw mousy squeaks escapes my throat. I can't hold back anything anymore. Not tears. Not shakes. Not anything.
Pull yourself together dammit! I focus on my breath. Breathe in. Breathe out. The air fills my chest and flows out. Twinges of pain follow every breath. But the pressure in my throat is leaving. I can breathe through my nose. In. Out.
One breath at a time.
In. Out.
I crawl out of the bathroom, getting my phone from the floor. Only my upper body makes it into bed. The rest of me kinda…chills at the end. My phone meows.
Please no more. No more tonight. My hand closes around it. I bring it to my face.
Jin
Is that you making scary noises? ._.
Oh. Ha. Just Jin. I text back. Just scared myself. :(
Jin
~(*O*)~ OOGA BOOGA
A much-needed smile cracks my face. A little bit of strength returns. This… staying like this isn’t helping. It takes all my strength, but I stand up.
I wish there was someone I could talk to about this. Tammy an automatic no. Jin…I really don’t know. Megumi is missing. No one from Fedora Clan would understand. This is too weird, even for Regi and Ken. Shig would tell me to smoke something. Nobody fucking knows what’s going on with Mai.
Heaven crosses my mind.
“If you do find out the reason…I’d like to be the first to know.”
Could I trust her? Her questions were a little strange. But then again, she already knows my results are strange. She’d been probing, but not assuming.
And what other options do I really have?
I hope she’s still awake. I scroll through my contacts and call her number.
Please pick up.
“Jun?” She sounds tired. “It’s really late.”
“I know, but something really weird is going on, and I don’t know if I can talk to anyone else I can ask about it.”
“Oh?” The tiredness leaves her tone. “And what’s that?”
“About what you said at the lab. I figured out why my lab results came out funny.”
A long pause follows. “Uh-huh.”
“Is there anyone around you right now?” I ask. “It’s kind of confidential.”
“Just my pet snake.”
“Good. I’m kinda not…” Come on. Out with it.
“Human?” Heaven finishes, sounding amused. “I knew that after one look at your results.”
I wince. “You know? Do the doctors know, too?”
“No. They’re probably still scratching their heads about it, but I wouldn’t worry too much,” Heaven says. “You aren’t the only one with weird scores.”
I pull myself into a sitting position. “I’m glad. There are others like me, I mean.”
“Like us.”
“Wait…you mean ,you—?”
“Yep. One hundred percent fox— kitsune, if you know Oldspeak.”
“But how did you know I’m a fox and not some other thing?”
“Your speed test doesn't match much else. But also, there aren’t many things that can turn human, so that limits guess options by a lot.”
I touch the ears atop of my head. “Foxes like the ones in stories? Foxfire, nine tails, eating people’s liver, seducing other people to feed from them?”
“Mmm… The liver thing was kind of a passing fad. And I don’t really see the last one so much anymore. It’s a waste of time to invest so much effort into someone you’re going to eat.”
“So we do kill humans?”
“Most don’t, especially if they’ve been brought up around humans. I don’t. But it does happen on occasion. Often by accident, if you’re hungry.”
“I’ll kill people?” The fear in my own voice surprises me. Before I told Regi about my Showguns involvement, those words wouldn’t have even fazed me. I’m an assassin for fuck’s sake! But now, it’s suddenly unthinkable.
“You’ve had the urge to hurt someone?”
“No.” After a pause, I ad
d, “Is fox thing caused by Akuma cells?”
“Nope. Completely unrelated. But they’re probably what triggered you to turn.”
“What?”
“Turned. As in, is this the first time your powers have shown up?”
“Yes.”
“But don’t worry, you’re not in danger. And as long as you’re not in any pain, everything you’re going through is one hundred percent normal,” Heaven says. “However, I need to ask. Have you gotten hungry yet?”
“Hungry? I ate a little while ago.”
Heaven chuckles. “No, Jun. Different from eating food. Have you had the urge to bite a person?”
“That’s a thing?”
“Yes. If your chi levels deplete below a certain threshold, you’ll get the urge, but is it safe for me to assume that you don’t have this urge right now?”
“No, I don’t. How do fix that? Is there a cure?”
“Well, no. It’s no different than the hunger you get when you want food, just satisfied by a different source. But you can take care of it easily.”
Hearing the words comforts me, but only a little. “That’s a relief.”
Loud keyboard clacking fills my ear. Then Heaven yawns. “Where are you right now?”
“At home.”
“At home where?”
“In my room.”
“Are there people in the house with you?”
“Yeah…”
“I’ll tell you what… You sound pretty level-headed and it is really late, so I don’t think you need any extreme intervention. But to be safe, I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning and deal with things from there.”
“What about work?”
“It’s better not to risk any shenanigans,” Heaven says curtly. “Besides, I need to give you some equipment anyway.”
"Is there anything I can do in the meantime?" I ask.
"Try to keep away from other humans, obviously," Heaven says. "Have a cup of tea or coffee if you're really feeling bothered. Anything with caffeine has a little bit of chi that your body is craving. Usually, that's enough to keep the urge away for about twelve hours. But don't run for a cup of coffee every time you feel the urge. It’s only a delay, not a fix." She pauses. “But if you don’t handle lots of caffeine well, stick to tea.”
I find a piece of paper and a pen to take notes. "Anything else?"
"Just don't do anything crazy until I come get you tomorrow morning.”
3-9 'Ah'
Pines and oaks swarm the roadsides, converting the urban road to full-blown wilderness. Deer crossing signs are plentiful, but not a glimpse of any life yet.
My eyes are glued to the woodlands out the window. The road seems to get thinner; branches reach overhead to twine with the trees opposite them like archways, bullying the light out. The bold rays that beamed down when we were on the main streets wither down to just rare specks of sun.
I roll down the window to get a long whiff of green earth and feel the breeze on my face. “Never been down this way before. Where are we headed?”
“A special reserve called Club Del Fox,” Heaven asks. “We’ll need to sign you up with the Grand Council.”
“And they are…?”
Heaven frowns. “They’re the self-proclaimed fox police around here. The Grand Council runs the reserve and keeps an eye on the hunting that goes on in the city. We’re all free to use the reserve at any time as long as we don't kill humans or tell anyone what we are. Personally I don’t like them, but it is what it is.”
Then it's a good thing I didn't tell anyone else who knows. “How come? Are they sketchy?”
“They don’t include everyone in their decisions,” Heaven says. “And there’s a gang called Xypher that backs them. They haven’t done anything that bad…but hard to ignore how flawed the system is.”
Not that human systems are any better.
Up ahead, the trees give way to a clearing where a lot of other cars are parked next to a inn and a separate garage beside it. The inn is decent-looking: a triple-storied lemon-colored cottage that looks like something out of every generic RPG game, but the garage is a run-down shithole, broken boards, broken side window, chipped paint, the garage door doesn't reach all the way to the ground. Given how clean the inn looks and with all the cars in the lot, you’d think the owner would care enough to fix the piece of shit that they live next to, but honestly the contrast is so blatant that it looks like the garage is being left like that on purpose.
“Here we are,” Heaven says. “Club Del Fox.”
“This is all of it, is it?”
“No. The actual reservation is out back.” Heaven unbuckles her seatbelt. “But all of us have to check in so they can tag you and let others can see you’re allowed to be here. They don’t really take kindly to strangers here.”
“Then it’s a territorial thing like real foxes?”
Heaven raises an eyebrow. “Of course. We are real foxes, Jun. And it doesn't take much for someone to try and claw your ears off.”
“Sounds like a violent world,” I mutter.
“Not my rules,” Heaven says.
The smell of baking chicken greets us on the way in. It’s more cramped in here than how the outside makes it out to be. Barely two steps in this place, and the stairs are in right in front of you. I kinda have to sidestep my way to the actual common area. Wisps of blue fire hang free in mid-air, dousing the mahogany tables in a blue glow.
An apron-clad guy scribbles notes at the counter. Glancing up, he gives a fanged smile. “Long time no see, Heaven. Going out back with your friend or just here to eat?”
“Jun, this is Bo, one of the council workers.” Heaven gestures to him. “We’re just here to eat.”
Bo sticks out his hand. “A bit of a late bloomer?”
I take it. “I guess. I’m new to the whole fox thing.”
“No worries then." He rubs his hands together. "Sit tight, ladies. I’ll be right back with everything.” Bo retreats into the kitchen behind him.
Reflexively, I rummage through my pockets for my wallet only to not find it. “Fuck. I don’t think I brought my wallet.”
“You don’t need money. The services here are free,” Heaven says.
“Really?” I sit down at a covered table. “How do they stay running then?”
Heaven pulls a chair to the other side of my table. “It’s easier than you think. Utilities aren’t really relevant when you can start fires and currents with magic. Donations help with other things.” She lays a black briefcase on the counter. “Now, about your work equipment…”
I bring up a chair to sit in. “Which reminds me, I meant to ask you if it’s alright if I miss Monday? I’ve got an appointment in Taitai prefecture that I can’t put off.”
“That’s fine.” Heaven slides a black box with a Gene Watch printed on the front towards me. “You’ll need this for sparring and for every session in the simulator, so keep it with you at all times. There are rental watches incase you forget, but you’ll be stuck with the institute’s presets, and those are yuck. Also, your daily work schedule gets sent to your watch every night. You’ll get important work emails from me, occasional video calls from staff, sometimes hints about the games you’ll be playing. So I recommend you check often.”
I open the box, slipping the watch out of its protective casing.
It’s gorgeous. A rose gold fossil watch, studded with diamonds around the face. It has twelve depressions in the band for gene gems and chi stones. On the side, instead of a dial, there’s a power button.
I slip it onto my wrist, tightening the band. “Wow, this is a really nice watch.”
Heaven chuckles. “We like to spoil the simulator team, if it’s not obvious already.”
“I got the message at the Review Room.”
“But it’s not unjustified spoiling, I think. The job is physically intensive.” She hands me a stack of compression shirts, a pair of laceless, black running shoes, a complementary black towel monogrammed with
the initials "TRI".
“What about my fitness trainer?”
“You’ll meet him tomorrow. I was almost going to give you—”
Bo emerges from the kitchen with two plates of chicken radiating a soft pink glow, and papers stuffed under his arm-pit. He sets them both down in front of us along with our utensils. “Dig in!”
“Umm…” I poke the chicken with a fork. “Is it supposed to glow like this?”
“Of course!” Bo chirps. “It’s chi-fortified food, since you two aren’t hunting on the reserve.” He sets the papers beside me. “And these are for you. Just let me know when you’re done.”
“Cool.” I leaf through the pages. Typical consent forms, a membership form by the looks of it. And a convenient pen tucked inside. “What were you going to say earlier, Heaven?”
“That I was almost going see if I could match you with a trainer who knows magic,” Heaven says, grabbing her fork. “But the only coach that does is a volunteer for the Alpha team and he's not staying. But I could fill in if necessary.”
I flip through the pages, signing my name. “Is it hard?”
"Magic? No. But it is chi-consuming. So coming here will have to be a frequent thing."
"How frequent?"
"Weekly."
"That's not too bad."
“I drive up here on the weekends anyway,” Heaven closes the briefcase. “You could tag along with me.”
“What about work, though? This is it for today?”
“Not unless you’re dying to go work,” Heaven says. “I have a place I need to go tonight. And I pretty much need to leave like…” She checks her own Gene Watch, grimacing. “As soon as I drop you off.”
“For that baby shower thing?” Bo asks.
“Yes. It’s tomorrow night, but I need to get there and check in with my family today.” Then Heaven snaps her fingers. “I forgot to tell you. We finally have a clue on Megumi’s case.”
“What is it?” The words fly out of me faster than I can register them. “Do you know what happened to her yet?”
“To answer your first question, it’s her phone,” Heaven says. “As for your second question, unfortunately, no. Right now, her phone is the only thing from her that I have. But Megumi has a passcode on it. I was wondering if maybe you knew it.”
Vicissitude Yang Side Page 27