Dimension Fracture (5 page)

“Thank you, Star!” Misaki's grin was wide, for she was magnanimous in her victory.

“You're q-quite welcome,” Star managed as Misaki predictably pounced upon her, wrapping her arms and tail around our boss in one of her trademarked hugs, despite the fact that Star was still sitting down.

I stifled a giggle at the sight of Misaki pretty much curled up in Star's lap. “Okay, okay, don't embarrass the boss too much.”

Misaki disentangled herself from Star and I stood up, standing next to my fiancee. Star remained seated. I suspected she would stay for a few moments after we left to finish her report on the case assignment.

“I'll be sending you data on the case as it becomes available,” Star said. “I know we have very little information to work with, but I have faith in the both of you. I know you two will get to the bottom of this quickly.”

We left the conference room and the door sealed shut behind us. Neither Misaki nor myself spoke for a long moment as we walked back to the car. Misaki stood by the driver's side door and turned a querying gaze on me.

“Do you feel okay to drive?”

I shook my head. “No, you go ahead. I'm still fuzzy from the medication.”

Misaki smiled and opened the door, settling into the driver's seat, her tail curling around her thigh as she buckled her seatbelt. She disengaged the door locks and I settled into the passenger's seat. The vehicle's electric motors powered up almost silently and Misaki expertly backed out into the street, merging easily with the flow of traffic.

I reached out to turn on the radio, but Misaki placed her hand on mine and glanced at me out of the corner of her eye.

“Karin, I think we should go visit So-yi and Yoshiko tonight, not this weekend.”

I blinked. Sometimes Misaki and I thought so similarly it was scary. I'd been thinking the same exact thing considering the succession of extremely unusual events. Weird shit happening all at once usually worried most rational beings, including Karin Ashley.

“I think so, too.”

“Really?” Misaki's ears flicked in surprise. “I was expecting you to protest such a spur-of-the-moment decision to go. Are you really feeling okay, Karin?”

“I'm fine. I think. I just… have a feeling that we should go visit them now.” While we have the chance, I didn't add, but Misaki probably already knew that. With this case we'd been assigned, things were going to get very busy. More than that, things could also get very dangerous and it would be a good idea for us to keep a bit of distance between bystanders until we had enough for AEGIS to go after the perpetrators.

“Do you want to go back to the apartment first, or just go?”

I thought about that for a moment. “Let's just go. I'm sure Mama will make us stay the night, but we can just use the laundry the night before. No big deal.”

“Should I call ahead and let them know?”

I was about to nod, but I stopped myself and grinned evilly. “No. Let's just go. I will absolutely not waste this chance to make jaws drop.”

Misaki giggled and turned off the surface street onto the freeway on-ramp, goosing the accelerator and sending the car rocketing onto Interstate 5 that'd take us almost all the way to my sister's house. I sent her a sidelong glance that she understood immediately, dropping speed to match that of the slower lanes as she merged into traffic.

“You can play around when you get a real license,” I grumbled. “I really don't want to have to try and explain to the police why I let a fox-eared girl without a driver's license race across the freeway at a hundred and sixty kilometers per hour.”

“Fine, fine,” Misaki grumbled. “You never let me have any fun.”

“Oh, so what I was doing to you last night wasn't fun? I'll have to remember that.”

My fiancee blushed and her ears laid flat and forward, but she said nothing, only hunkering down on the wheel, her driving becoming even more careful and exacting. Score one for Karin.

from love

It only took two and a half hours to get to So-yi's house, not a surprise considering it was a weekday. As Misaki pulled the car off the freeway and onto the Portland surface streets, the traffic began to thicken considerably. I pulled out my phone and glanced at the time; it wasn't quite rush hour, but things would start getting more and more congested the longer we tarried.

Fortunately the last leg of the trip was uneventful and Misaki parked the car on the street outside. There were two cars in the driveway, a small sedan and a minivan that belonged to my sister and Nicole, respectively. At least someone was home, then.

“I don't think they know we're here just yet,” I pointed out. “Come on, let's go bang on the door before they decide to peek out the window and see my car.”

Misaki nodded, giggling, and the both of us stepped out onto the concrete. It was chilly, but not quite cold just yet. It was October, and with November would come cooler and even shorter days. The snow probably wouldn't start until the end of December. A not-insignificant part of me hoped that it would snow on Christmas Day. Misaki would absolutely love a white Christmas and I couldn't think of a better present for myself than a chance to see her so happy.

I walked up to my sister's front door and knocked loudly three times, then waited. A few moments later, the door opened and So-yi's jaw dropped open in complete shock. Score two for Karin. If I could surprise Mama, a difficult task indeed, we'd be three for three.

“Karin! What are you doing here?”

“Hi, little sis,” I said.

“This is a shock! You never just come over to visit like this! Come in, you two, come in out of the cold.” So-yi ducked back into the house with Misaki and I trailing after her. “Nicole is in the bath right now—”

“Where's Mama?” I wondered.

“She's out taking Kaede for a walk. I'm sure she'll be surprised when she gets back to find you and Misaki here like a bolt out of the blue!”

I grinned wickedly. “That's what I'm counting on.”

The three of us sat down around the dinner table—the very same table where I first explained my new-found secret life of weirdness—and So-yi retrieved drinks for all of us from the fridge. This time she came prepared; I gawked at the lovely ice-cold bottle of amber ale she sat in front of me.

“I was actually going to see if you wanted to come visit soon, so I bought supplies,” So-yi admitted. “Imagine my surprise when you show up on my doorstep without so much as a message.”

I took a sip from my beer and grimaced. “It wasn't completely arbitrary. We caught a case this morning, a big one. It's a foregone conclusion that we're going to be extremely busy for a while.”

So-yi sat down and took a swig from her beer, one of those mildly-flavored Japanese lagers that she and our mother favored.

“I convinced our supervisor to delay until tomorrow morning,” Misaki added. Her tail swished lightly through the open lower back of the chair as she contemplated the vibrant reddish-pink, slightly frothy drink So-yi gave her. Usually she was okay with beer, but it wasn't her favorite; she generally preferred sweet drinks.

“Mama's favorite cocktail. It's watermelon and yuzu with soju,” So-yi explained in response to Misaki's hesitation. “It's cold, quite tart and very sweet. You'll like it, trust me.”

Misaki took an experimental sip from the glass. Her expression shifted from wary curiosity to real interest the moment the sweet-tangy mixture of pureed watermelon, yuzu juice and potent soju, a type of Korean distilled rice liquor, hit her tongue. I could barely hold back my laughter as Misaki drained half of the glass in one shot.

So-yi gawked at the sight. “A-are you going to be able to handle that?”

“Trust me, sis, it takes a
lot
for her to actually get drunk. She could easily drink all of us, including Mama, under the table and still fool the savviest highway patrolman into thinking she was dead sober.” I took another sip from my beer and watched as my fiancee downed the rest of her drink and gave So-yi her best pleading look, silently demanding more.

I couldn't stop myself at that point and burst out laughing. My sister joined in as well as she retrieved the entire pitcher and set it on the table next to Misaki. My fiancee promptly refilled her glass, but I noticed that she went at her second one a bit slower, likely to prolong her enjoyment of the flavors than over any real concern about the alcohol content.

“Mama should be back pretty soon,” So-yi said, and sure enough, I caught the sound of a passkey being tapped against the auto-lock on the front door. A skittering sound heralded the arrival of my mother's overly excitable Shiba Inu, Kaede.

“So-yi dear, I'm back,” my mother's voice called out.

“I'm in the dining room.” So-yi gave me a sly look and I nodded approvingly. I could hear my mother opening the sliding glass door leading to the back yard as she released Kaede into the wilds of her domain. The door shut and I waited, sipping at my beer calmly as Yoshiko Ashley walked into the dining room. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of me, showing absolutely no hint of surprise.

“What's this? You actually
want
to be a part of this family now?”

I rolled my eyes. Two out of three wasn't bad, I suppose. “Of course not. I was just stopping by to raid my sister's booze supply.”

Mama's sidelong gaze softened and she smiled widely. I stood up and obligingly allowed her to scoop me up in a hug that was surprisingly gentle. Usually Mama was the type to give rib-cracking bear hugs, but she knew very well that I wasn't in peak physical condition anymore.

“It's good to see you, Mama,” I said, my voice growing thick with emotion. My eyes started to sting just a little, and my mother gave me one of her patented Mom Looks as her infallible Mom Senses detected what was about to happen.

“You're never going to stop being a crybaby, are you?”

I sniffled and giggled simultaneously. “Hasn't happened yet in the past twenty years, so I doubt it.”

“If you wanted to surprise me with your random visit, you should have parked your car somewhere I wouldn't have seen it,” Mama told me as she sat down at the table. She took hold of the pitcher of watermelon soju cocktail and poured herself a glass, much to Misaki's obvious dismay.

“Oh, calm down, little fox,” my mother snapped, rolling her eyes exasperatedly. “I made this earlier and I can always make more. I'll even teach you how, if you want.”

“O-okay.” Misaki sipped self-consciously at her drink. Her expression brightened again as Nicole appeared, her hair still damp, dressed in a loose-fitting brown yukata that Mama probably brought from the Takeda house. Even beneath the relatively shapeless garment I could see the swell of her pregnant belly.

“Am I invited to this party, too?”

I held my beer bottle up in salute. “Of course, the more the merrier. Sit down next to your lovely wife and let's have ourselves a proper family visit.”

Nicole pulled a chair out across from Misaki and sat between So-yi and Mama, a glass of ice water in her hands. Of course she'd be abstaining from the alcohol, what with the pregnancy and all. I also noticed the ashtray my sister usually sat out for me was absent, again for Nicole's sake. Even though modern cigarettes were not much worse for you than a cup of coffee, the acrid smell of smoke was sure to nauseate a pregnant woman. I curbed my usual urge for a smoke by taking another sip from my drink.

“So, what brings my least favorite daughter to visit out of the blue like this? Usually it takes me days of nagging to get you to come down to see us.”

I gave my mother a look that defied description. “Star put us on a new case and it's going to be an ugly one. I doubt Misaki or I will have time to breathe, much less do normal-people things like spend time with family. So we thought it'd be a good idea to come visit before the investigation officially started.”

“How is she doing these days?” Mama asked. “Such an elegant young lady.”

“I don't know. We don't exactly socialize—or have any contact outside of work, really. Cell structure, compartmentalization, need-to-know basis, that sort of thing. And before you ask, no, I can't tell you anything about the case.”

My mother chuckled. “I know, dear, don't start that shit with me.”

“How's the little one coming along?” I asked Nicole, trying to simultaneously steer the conversation away from classified things which I couldn't talk about, and also attempt to defuse my mother's snark-bomb.

“Quite aggressively,” Nicole replied, her expression calm and easy. For years my sister's wife and I didn't get along, but ever since Misaki revealed her true form, both Nicole and I pretty much decided it was time for a peace treaty. Our interactions over the past six months had been nothing short of pleasant in comparison.

Misaki turned to Nicole. “Is it a boy or a girl?”

“We told the doctors we didn't want to decide our baby's gender before they're old enough to tell us themselves,” So-yi explained, her tone gentle. My sister was infinitely patient with Misaki's occasional blunders regarding social and cultural issues, especially those regarding gender identity and gender roles. Six centuries of patriarchal programming wasn't so easily overwritten, after all.

Misaki nodded. “Oh. That makes sense, since they were wrong about you.”

She adapted quickly, though.

“I can't believe how… big… it's gotten,” Misaki continued. “The last time I was here with Karin, there was barely even a bump and now—”

“I can't believe it either.” Nicole's lips curved into a purely maternal smile as she rubbed her own swollen belly. “We're going to have a very big, very healthy baby. The doctors aren't wavering on the due date, either: the fourth of December.”

I felt a not-so-pleasant chill. “That's Dad's birthday.”

“Yeah,” So-yi murmured. Our eyes met; my sister's expression was unreadable and I wasn't even going to try and decipher how I felt about that. We both had a lot of conflicting emotions about our deceased father and that's putting it mildly.

Our mother saved us both. “Karin dear, how about we discuss the wedding plans? You and the little fox have been engaged for over half a year now, but every time I try to talk about it you dodge the question.”

“Mama, I told you already, we just want to have a small ceremony with just the family. It doesn't have to be anywhere special. We could even have it here, at So-yi's house.” I blushed faintly as I glanced at my sister. “Um, I mean, if that's okay with you.”

“But this is your
wedding
, dear.” Mama finished her glass of soju cocktail and poured another; between my mother and Misaki, the pitcher was almost empty. “This is supposed to be the most special day for you and Misaki. If you're worried about the expense—”

“Mama, no, I'm not worried about money,” I interrupted, trying to keep my voice calm and level. I sighed and looked at Misaki, silently pleading for help, but she gave me a look that told me in no uncertain terms that I needed to just get over my embarrassment and stop avoiding the question.

“If money isn't the issue, why are you so insistent on having such a sparse ceremony?”

“B-because I don't want Misaki to have to hide her ears and tail,” I blurted, avoiding the eyes of everyone at the table. I was acutely aware of two things: one, my cheeks were hot and flushed and two, Misaki had scooted closer to me and was now curling protectively around me.

My mother glared at me. “If that's what the issue was, why didn't you just tell me that to begin with?”

“Because she's an idiot sometimes,” Misaki answered without missing a beat, eliciting a gale of laughter from both my mother and sister. I opened my mouth to object, but it was no use. She was right, I
was
being an idiot and I could have ended this silly debate with Mama months ago if I'd just told her.

“I don't want to look at our wedding pictures in twenty years and not be able to see my wife for who she really is,” I continued, not really caring that I was probably going to start crying. Mama was right, too. I really
was
just a big crybaby, no matter if I was twelve years old or thirty years old.

Misaki leaned over and kissed me lightly, wiping the moisture from my eyes.

“T-thanks, love,” I managed. I sniffled and let out a deep breath, trying to get my runaway emotions back under control. Fighting specters was generally easier than trying to stop the tears when they wanted to come.

“Well, even if you want to have an intimate, family-only ceremony, there are still things to plan and prepare for,” Mama informed me as she sipped away at her cocktail. I could smell the pungent scent of distilled liquor in the air; she must've mixed the drink at a one-to-one ratio. No surprises there.

My sister nodded in agreement. “What will you two wear for the ceremony?”

“I hadn't actually thought about that. I mean, you got to use Mama's wedding dress, and Nicole had one from her family… but Misaki doesn't
have
a family.” I could see the eyes narrowing dangerously all around me and quickly corrected my poor choice of words. “Um, I mean, she doesn't have any family outside of us…”

My mother rolled her eyes. “I'd advise you to close your mouth before more idiocy tumbles out, dear. Why don't you just let me take care of it? Let me have some enjoyment doing motherly tasks, other than just popping you out and then cleaning up your various messes for the past three decades.”