Obligation
Chapter 2

The sky burned crimson and the falling evening light gilt the planetary defense system, turning the arching structures into filaments of gold ringing the sky. Akiko looked up to the sky, past the enfolding tengou trees that lined the Students’ Walk, imagining that perhaps those structures were the remnants of ancient domed cities, a practice long since abandoned in technologically driven realms in favor of environmental manipulation. As it was though, it was far less a romantic image and much more a practical one, being a system bristling with weaponry and shielding to protect the inhabitants of Todain.

Idly, she touched the warm band of stone that came to life beneath her fingertips, glowing lines of embedded circuitry flowering across its surface.

Three years ago. It was then when he came into her life, when she was first transferred into Sector Eight.

She had arrived in Sector Eight one gray rainy day, two hours after landing on Todain, her reflection skittering off the puddles of water that had collected on the stone paving, the dark shadows of the trees shivering in the wind. She had been sick and dizzy with fever when a tall…very, very tall man showed up to welcome her. Though technically, welcome was a far kinder word than the meeting deserved.

At first she had thought he was much older, with his silvery-pale hair dampening in the falling rain. But as she looked closely at his impassive countenance, at the drops of water that trickled down his face and beaded upon his glasses, she realized he could not have been much older than her.

“Kagato,” he had mumbled begrudgingly when she asked him his name, and he had gone onto blandly state that he had been assigned as her student mentor, a senior student that would guide their junior through the world of the Royal Space Academy. He was cold, unkind, and acted as if he greatly resented her presence, barely managing a curt nod to her greetings. And the way he carried himself was terribly strange, never once lifting his hands out from beneath his long formal cloak as they walked along the corridors.

He had seemed so internally focused, barely managing to pay attention to her half-formed attempts at asking questions. Her heart had sunk, realizing this distant, unpleasant young man would be her guide through the most important goal she had ever had in her life, studying at the Academy.

And then, rounding the corner toward the historical research library, it happened.

It was mainly the sickness, but the travel, the lapse of time between the regions, the fearsome strangeness of everything around her—a variety of factors, really, she would later decide, contributed to what happened. Partway-through Kagato’s disinterested little speech on library protocols, the cool stone floor that she had been eyeing covetously had curiously decided to come rising up at her. She would have fallen, but for Kagato, who had casually reached out and caught her, mid-fall. And in that moment, as she was having trouble staying conscious, he had looked at her, surprised, as if he had only noticed her for the first time. And realizing that she was direly ill, he had called for medics.

Further investigation into the matter had revealed that coming from a world almost completely isolated from the interstellar trade and traffic of other planets, she had almost no immunity against many of the galaxy’s common diseases. Though they had given her nearly every immunization known to the empire, her first contact with fellow students from all over the empire resulted in new and exciting illnesses that her immune system had never encountered.

And though he was cold, unkind, and initially resentful, he seemed to take his responsibilities very seriously, which made her respect him, even if his icy demeanor had made her fear him. Kagato had stayed with her through the worst of it, appearing to have no concern for missed classes or lost study time, becoming focused—no—obsessed with finding an answer to solving the problem of her lack of immunity to basic diseases for which there were no immunizations available.

A few frustrating days grilling a variety of microbiological specialists and books on epidemiology with no answer in sight, he had gone out of his way to jealously guard her health. He had harried her on the importance of not directly touching common surfaces with her bare hands, installed various devices around her living quarters to make sure the air was pure from contaminants, and even harassed the building management into ensuring that her classrooms all had optimum air filtration and sterilization.

Most of the details of his doings, she would find out later from various sources, as he tended to forge ahead on his own without consulting her. It troubled her, but it was nothing she could speak out against, being obligated to him for his kindness. And it truly became kindness as time passed, for he grew less cold and less preoccupied. This became particularly the case after finding out that like him, she was well versed in a variety of subjects, and had a mutual passion for studying and collecting ancient relics.

She had always found his desire for forbidden knowledge at times both disconcerting and delightful. He had not only the interest but also the skill and focus necessary to divulge the information he sought. Idle curiosity on her part had in at least one incident occasioned activities that were most likely illegal on at least twenty three planets, if not more.

Such as that time when he somehow convinced her to go raid an ancient subspace laboratory with him…

Akiko shook her head. That was nearly disastrous. They had been lucky to escape alive.

As the falling light faded and the evening wind picked up, scattering and swirling the bright yellow petals of the tengou trees around her, Akiko turned her attention back to figuring out the mechanics of the bracelet Kagato gave her. The smooth stone surface spoke nothing to her; no discernable buttons or controls made it a daunting task. Pure will was apparently not enough; there were specific thought protocols that had to be followed. Mentally Akiko cursed herself for not having asked him for a manual. The least it could do was tell her what time it was, she thought to herself.

But it was getting late, and the wind was turning cold. She turned back toward Sector Eight, as passing groups of students chattered along merrily in the deepening evening and floating orbs of light flicked on along the Walk among the branches of the trees.

Suddenly, a hand clasped her shoulder from behind.

“Kina, if this is about Kagato,” Akiko began, turning to see who had caught her, “I have nothing to…to…”

The young man looked at her curiously. Akiko’s words trailed off in blankly. Short hair. It was undoubtedly the mark of a barbarian. Even little boys never wore their hair shorter than collar-length, or at the least had a little tail of longer hair. But that coloring, that height, those eyes…it couldn’t be, could it?

“Um…excuse me, sir…I don’t…don’t think I know you, and...and…” All around them, students passing by stared at the incongruous sight of a person who was obviously and extremely out of place. It seemed that all regular conversation around them stopped and turned quickly into fervent whispers.

“Are you Akiko of Durance?” He let her go, seemingly amused by her response. Akiko silently thanked the blue-eyed goddess that there were so many people around. An adult Reposian was never unarmed. They were a barbarous people who followed the customs of none but themselves. Unlike the planets within the civilized empire of Jurai where weapons were made of hilts of sacred wood that formed energy weapons or mechanical blasters, they had chosen to implant themselves, men and women, with augments that would allow them to form energy weapons without any actual physical devices, making them deadly even if stripped to the skin. Besides that, they were also known for their physical prowess, many of their warrior caste families having bred for generations for such traits. As the old saying went, if one had only enough charge left for one blaster shot, and had a choice between a Reposian and a hunter-killer, one should definitely shoot the Reposian and take one’s chances with the hunter-killer. After all, hunter-killers only ate flesh and drank blood.

It sent a chill through her. Kagato was different; he had no hands and thus was of course unarmed. This was the first armed Reposian she had ever met, and it was starting to scare her.

“Y-yes.”

“I am Kagemni. You know my elder brother.” Kagemni turned to rest his gaze upon someone who was staring just a little too much. The passerby scuttled off.

“Elder brother?”

“Yes, by an hour or two.”

“Are you his twin then?” Akiko studied him closely. Compared to Kagato, Kagemni seemed of somewhat lighter build with sharper features, with his hair perhaps a shade closer to a pale cyan than Kagato’s silvery blue. His eyes were of a darker amber hue; his hair was cropped neat and short, trimmed close to his skull. He wore a plain but well-fitted uniform of black highlighted in swirls of red, designating his status. It complimented his height, but gave him a forbidding air.

“No. But our mothers are sisters.” Kagemni’s lips quirked in a tiny smile as if he knew what sort of response his statement would elicit.

“Oh.” Akiko turned slightly pink, embarrassed at the scandalousness of such a match. Polygamy was a taboo custom among most non-Juraian peoples, and even in the Empire it was uncommon, a practice usually reserved only for those in the royal family and the highest echelons of nobility.

But sisters! And on the same day? At the same time? Akiko turned a little pinker.

An awkward few seconds passed.

“It seems,” Kagemni continued smoothly, “that I have gotten myself turned around after we disembarked from the fleet ship. If it’s no trouble, can you please direct me to the guest quarters?”

Akiko paused, momentarily. Though it was not an outlandish or rude request, it was a bit odd to say the least. Anyone who could secure a position in the royal guards and thus commandeer imperial fleet vessels was generally augmented to the hilt and could easily access any number of local public databases, the most basic being location maps. But hospitality didn’t allow her room to refuse him – after all, he was Kagato’s brother by blood.

She wondered what he was up to, if anything. For all she knew the system might have temporarily glitched. The thought went by as quickly as a blink.

“Of course.”



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