"Dairoku?" Yumi called from the two-bedroom, Tokyo apartment's short hall.
Ace, Yu-chan. Ace. Even Okaasan… never called me Dairoku.
"Where're you going?" Yumi shuffled into the kitchen and poured a glass of water.
"To meet some friends. I'll be back late."
"Well," Yumi took a long sip of her water, "I'm going to bed."
"Don't forget to take your vitamin supplements." Ace tapped the foil-wrapped capsules. They rattled in their packaging like marbles in a tin cup.
Yumi covered a yawn but popped out a capsule. "You worry too much, Niisan."
"That's my job." Ace squeezed her hand and left.
Darkness coated the alley.
Power's not coming back to this street, is it? Ace stopped. The stars flickered bright here with the lights gone.
Skittering feet skirted Ace.
Rats don't care, I suppose. He sighed. Can't blame them for sticking to places like this. No one sees them. No one bothers them, and no one interferes with their lives. Ace checked his comm. No messages. That blackout knocked three quarters of the small businesses in this area into bankruptcy. Even the backup generators fried when that shock hit. Ace shook his head. No businesses, no trucking. No trucking, no work.
Laughter greeted Ace when he found the group of twenty and thirty-something's huddled in a doorway. Lamps glowed warm and welcoming around them.
"You're late, Ace," said the dealer as he shuffled a deck of worn cards.
"Had to make sure Yumi got to bed all right." Ace sat cross-legged in the spot the men opened for him. He flipped a metal token into the middle of the circle. "Deal me in."
The dealer grinned and included Ace in the card distribution. "What's the game tonight, boys? Supercharge? Or the daring Celestial Vortex?"
"Vortex!" they chorused.
"Place your bets wisely."
Ace sneaked into the kitchen. Dawn's first light tinted the horizon as he slipped another supplement package into Yumi's dwindling stack.
He mixed powdered milk with water and poured dry bran flakes into his bowl.
"Morning, Roku." Yumi rubbed her sore back with both hands before grabbing a vitamin capsule and meal bar.
"Morning, Yu-chan." Ace took another bite of cereal. Still tastes like cardboard sloshed in dishwater. He hid a grimace. "How're you feeling today?"
"Tired." Yumi slowly sat opposite Ace. "Won't have to leave work for another five weeks."
"I'll find work. I promise."
"I know," said Yumi.
The public park bench bit into Ace's thin legs as he hunched over, keeping his face hidden from passersby.
"No route yet?" Ace growled. "What're they doing out there?" He gripped the comm so hard his hand cramped.
"I'm sorry, Akagi. I can't make other freight companies pick up our routes," Ace's boss said. "You know business slowed down because of the Lunar power station's destruction. There's nothing we can do. I wish we had reserves to give you a stipend, but…"
"The blackout ate your safety net. I know." Ace rubbed his aching head. "Just… keep me informed. Okay?"
That night Ace kept his face blank as his last Vortex opponent, a sixteen-year-old kid with a dark brown birthmark smeared in the middle of his forehead studied his own hand. Kid looks clueless. Ace smirked. But clueless didn't win the last two hands. And I can't afford another loss. "All right. Cough 'em up, kid." Ace slipped an extra card from his sleeve. The dim light hid his movement.
His opponent dropped his cards. Two Queens, a four, a King, and a two.
Ace grinned and displayed a full Vortex – Ace, King, Queen, Jack, ten – of matching suite. "Gotcha."
"Still nothing on the route?" Yumi pulled on her jacket and hefted a small purse.
"No…" Ace ate his dry bran flakes. No dishwater today. The sour memory of the powdered milk almost made him spit out the dry flakes. Ugh…
"I'm sorry…" She started to leave. "Oh! Roku, I thought we only had one more pack of meal bars."
"Hm? Must've been another stuck in back of the cabinet," Ace muttered around a bite of cereal.
Yumi nodded. "Must have. I haven't been able to clean those cabinets for a month. Thanks for doing it."
"Always glad to help."
Ace swallowed his pride and stepped into the employment center. Dozens of people packed the seats. He checked in and waited.
"Stupid kid," a man seated across the room growled at a teenager. "Tryin' to take jobs from us adults."
"Shut up!" the boy snapped. "It's just me and my little brother. I'm seventeen. I can work."
"Shoulda sent you both to Family Services." The angry man sneered.
"Nobody's taking my brother!" The boy stood.
The man stood too. "Street trash!" He grabbed the boy's arm.
"That's enough!" The receptionist pried them apart. "You." She glared at the man. "Leave."
"Find anything today?" Dinner now over, Yumi sat at the kitchen table and sipped her water.
Ace shook his head and paced. "Nobody's hiring. Too much going on right now. Only ones offering jobs are the EDF and that's for a five-year contract."
Yumi nodded. "You're doing all you can. The only reason I still have my job is because I've been there forever – since the Gamilon war started."
Ace sighed and sat. "What if I can't find anything, Yu-chan?" He leaned back in the plain metal chair.
"We'll be okay. We always are." Yumi patted his hand. "Stop worrying."
Ace sat on his sleeping mat, lights out, house quiet. Yumi snored lightly on the other side of the privacy screen.
I remember this. He scrolled through old family pictures he still had on his comm. And this. An image of Yumi and her husband, Izu stopped him. Has it only been a month since Izu's funeral? Since the blackout? The… accident? Ace still remembered going to identify his brother-in-law's body after the big train wreck prompted by the power station explosion.
I know you loved him, Yu-chan… Ace turned off his comm. I won't let you do this alone.
The line at the employment office didn't shorten the next day. Ace sat with everyone else, waiting.
A teenage girl approached the receptionist. "Is there a job I can get? I – I'm s-sixteen."
Terrible liar.
"Honey, you'll have to go check the underage job board, just like all the other kids."
"But – but I'm sixteen!"
"No, you're not."
"Yes, I am."
"Go on, sweetie." The receptionist's tone was kind but firm.
"All right…" The girl slunk over to the almost empty board.
I know how ya feel, kid. It's hard enough getting work with years of experience under your belt.
"Going out," Ace called to Yumi as he tossed his meal bar wrapper in the recycler. "Be back late. Don't wait up."
"All right." Yumi put on her jacket and sat in the big, comfy chair by the window – one of the few luxuries their meager wages afforded them. "Goodnight." She smiled and waved before starting an episode of her favorite net drama, Yesterday's Regrets.
Ace started for the door. He stopped, backtracked.
Yumi watched the drama, rapt, but despite the jacket she hugged herself and shivered, not from anticipation.
Ace tiptoed to the door. Why didn't she say anything?
The kid with the birthmark wasn't at the game that night, so Ace won easily. He played a couple hands and left, winnings thickening his account just enough to do what he needed to do.
Ace headed home but stopped at a little store lucky enough to have an independent solar-powered generator. He chose a deep green blanket, thick and warm and paid the owner.
Once home, he found Yumi asleep in the chair. Slowly, Ace reclined the chair a little and draped the blanket over his sister. He smoothed a lock of black hair out of her face. Goodnight.
"Out of service…"
Ace read the message five times as the other train passengers chatted or sat quietly nearby. The same message every time he tried to call his old boss.
They're never going to run the trucks again… are they? They lost too much in the blackout… just like a lot of other companies… It's over… He shoved his comm in his pocket and leaned forward, head in his hands. What do I do? I can't keep sitting around that office all day then scraping up cash in games… He surveyed the passengers. No one paid him any mind.
"They can't just drop everyone without notice," Yumi said as she pulled her new blanket around her while she ate breakfast the next day.
"They can. And they did."
"But can't another hauler company just pick up the routes?"
"There's no one to run stuff to, Yu-chan." Ace stared at his dry bran flakes. He crunched one and swallowed it, chasing it down with some water. "Most of the businesses on my route went bankrupt – some last month, some this month."
Yumi finished her own cereal. "I never thought it would be this bad again. Not after the war ended…"
That night, Ace got to the street game early, but the kid was already there, blue and white uniform jacket slung over one shoulder. He grinned as the other guys slapped him on the back and offered congratulations.
Got an EDF conscription. Good for him. At least he'll have something to live on, even if he has to sell the next five years of his life to the military.
Ace picked up his dealt hand.
The kid looked at him before he took his cards.
Ace gave the boy a respectful nod. Five years is just… Maybe Yu-chan would understand…
"What information do you have on EDF contracts?" Ace asked the receptionist at the employment center.
"Everything's over there." She pointed to a holo-board near the door.
"Thanks." Ace checked the board. He flipped through ads, lists, info-vids, everything on the board. There was even an impressive short video featuring a gigantic space battleship he recognized from news broadcast. Isn't that the Argo? The ship that made the trip to Iscandar and back? He tapped the caption. It is. The great ship beckoned him, like a songbird summoned home for winter. All right. I'll do it. I'll sign a contract.
That night, Ace attended what he knew would be his last game for a long while. The kid was there too and won a hand or two with Ace still coming out ahead.
They dispersed an hour or two early and as the kid started to leave, Ace stopped him. "Hey. How's the military thing going?"
"Good." The boy grinned.
"Hope it works out for you."
"Yeah." The kid extended a hand. "Bando Heiji. The guys call me Bando."
Ace took the hand. "Akagi Dairoku but call me Ace."
"Good to know ya, Ace. See you around."
"You too, kid."
"You did what?!" Yumi paled and almost fell out of her chair.
"I'm joining the EDF," said Ace.
"But – but –"
"There's nothing else I can do, Yu-chan. I'm not just going to sit around the employment office hoping they give me a job. The EDF pays decently, and you won't have to work so much. You'll need time off soon. This way, you can take it."
Yumi squeezed Ace's hand across the small table. "Thank you, Niisan, but… please… please… be careful… I can't –" she choked; tears welled in her eyes. "I can't lose you too."
"You won't."
"Space trucking, huh?" said the admissions officer. "Sounds like you'll ace the evals. Might not even need any of the academy classes depending on what specialty you pick." The man pointed right. "Finish checking in at the next available kiosk. You'll get a list of the assessments and the times they're offered over the next few days. Take as many as you want. Good luck."
Ace took the kiosk a twenty-something woman just vacated. He pressed his palm to the print reader. His name and personal information flashed on-screen. "Please present your comm for wireless data transfer," instructed the computer.
"I passed the engineering assessments, Yu-chan!" Ace announced as he returned home after four days of tests. "No Academy classes – just a two-week orientation."
"Two weeks… When… do you leave?"
"Starts tomorrow."
"T-tomorrow? That soon? Niisan… what if…?"
"If you need me, I'll be here in five minutes." He hugged Yumi. "Promise. It's for the best. First pay day is Wednesday. I'll send you everything I don't absolutely need."
"But, Dairoku –"
"No protests, Yu-chan. I'll come see you as often as I can."
Yumi started to cry.
"None of that." Ace wiped her tears. "Everything's going to be okay."
Ace unpacked his bags. The small barracks he was assigned to held four bunks, all set into the wall like big shelves. A single three-inch ledge afforded each bunk occupant with room to place personal mementos. Ace propped up a picture of his parents and one of Yumi and Izu before the accident.
He stowed his bag under the bunk and curled up in the plain, warm blanket. Wonder how soon the first session is. Maybe it won't run too long. He checked the time. Schedule says dinner's in an hour or so.
He yawned.
I'll catch a short nap.
"I am General Stone, personal adjunct to Commander Singleton, head of the EDF. I'll be conducting this orientation session." Stone scowled at the group. "The EDF maintains order by adhering to strict rules and codes of conduct. Insubordination or misbehavior of any kind will be dealt with swiftly."
Ace rolled his eyes. With so many people, they can't possibly squash every incident. This guy's laced tighter than a loaded boot strung over a fence.
"Room assignments are subject to change. Not all of you will make it through these next two weeks, so tread carefully." Stone glowered, frowned, and commenced.
The next morning, Ace considered his breakfast options with awe. Bacon and eggs! Must've shipped it in from somewhere else. He chose a cinnamon bagel, an apple, and some water. Don't want to tie up my gut any more than it already is…
Ace sat alone and ate. Wish you had food this decent at home, Yu-chan… My pay'll help. Lots. He set the half-eaten bagel on his food tray. I almost feel guilty eating this, but I know you understand. Just don't work too much. And get plenty of rest.
He took a long drink. Things will get better.
Ace rounded the corner just outside the orientation hall.
"Stupid kid!" A thirty-something man screamed at a young recruit. "Watch where you're going!"
"Hey, you ran into me." The young man bristled. Ace recognized him then – the kid from the alley - Bando. And the man shouting at him was the same one who'd grouched at the teenager in the employment office.
Must've had to break down and sign up… like me.
"Break it up!" A burly security officer stepped in. "Both of you are coming with me." He dragged Bando and the other man off without breaking a sweat.
"Heard you're stuck in here for a couple days." Ace pulled up a chair outside Bando's brig cell. "Ole Knuckles over there said I could visit." He cocked a thumb at the scowling brig guard.
"He started it…" Bando muttered.
"Yeah, I saw." Ace pulled out a deck of cards. "And Stone probably didn't care."
"Nope."
"At least they've got the guy in another block. Game?" Ace cut and shuffled the deck.
"Sure. Thanks." Bando brightened. "I'll be out in time for my first lecture class. Don't know how interesting it's gonna be, but it'll be better than the brig."
Two days later, in the mess hall Ace and Bando set their trays on the table and sat. The smell of dinner made Ace's mouth water.
"What was it like being a space trucker?" Bando stuffed a huge bite of potatoes in his mouth.
"Long hours, but not so bad."
Bando stabbed a green bean. "Why'd you join up? You're good enough at cards to get by."
"Maybe if it was just me, but I've got a sister to take care of… and she's pregnant. Her husband died in the blackout."
"Oh… Guess that's a pretty good reason." Bando nodded.
The next orientation session brought a new truckload of headaches – more do's and don'ts than Ace could count, all read in Stone's brain-numbing monotone.
The cranky guy who'd yelled at Bando – Nishimura, Ace discovered – challenged half the rules, earning General Stone's death glare seventeen times.
If he interrupts the General again, Stone's going to throw him out. Ace smirked. Go ahead and push him, Nishimura. Seeing the old gas bag blow up would be a lot more entertaining than this.
But Nishimura didn't say another word.
There's always tomorrow. Ace stood with the group and saluted when the session ended.
"Akagi!" Bando sprinted to catch Ace before he made it to the non-Academy barracks. "Hey!" Bando pulled up beside Ace. "Some of my friends are having a game tonight. Want in?"
A game? With kids ten years younger than me? He thought of all the dour faces represented by the men and woman his own age. Guess I don't have anything important to do, anyway. "Sure."
"Twenty-one hundred. We're in block B-7." Bando pointed at the Academy dorm. "I'll tell the supervisor you're coming."
"I'll bring the cards." Ace grinned. "Your friends as good as you?"
"You'll find out later."
Ace arrived at twenty fifty-eight, deck in hand. The barracks supervisor eyed Ace like he was a ferret in a pillow factory.
"Destination?" said the supervisor.
"B-7."
The man studied his tablet computer. "Hmm… Yes, Mr. Uh… Akagi. Go on up."
Ace nodded and took the stairs.
Bando's friends turned out to be his bunkmates, and two guys from across the hall. None of them stood a chance against Ace, but Bando challenged him on a couple of hands.
The young men cheered Ace's prowess and asked him for tips.
Ace wagged a finger. "A professional never tells his secrets."
A few hours later, back in his barracks, Ace changed for bed. He started to crawl into his bed when the man above him swung over the bunk lip.
"Those kids are no real fun."
"Nishimura!" Ace was so startled he almost punched the man. "What're you doing in Jenkins' bunk?"
"Change of room assignments." Nishimura grinned like a cat about to shred his master's favorite pants. "If you want real fun, come out with me and the guys tomorrow night. We'll show you a good time."
"All right…" Guess he deserves a chance too.
"Oh-two hundred. Behind the building."
"What're we doing outside the Academy dorm?" Ace whispered as Nishimura led him and five other men toward the next building.
"Real fun needs real stakes." It was too dark to see much besides Nishimura's unnaturally white teeth.
Ace hung further and further back, but when Nishimura scaled the barracks wall like a giant four-legged spider and picked the second-floor window's electronic lock, he hurried to catch up. What's this guy doing? How'd he…?
Nishimura slithered through the open window and the rest of the group followed.
Dread ate Ace's throat, but he climbed after them, curious if nothing else.
A fist whizzed past Ace's face as he braved the sea of yelling, brawling men. "Idiot!" he thundered. "I'm not losing this contract because of you, Nishimura!"
Ace ducked another punch and shoved aside two Academy students. Where's an emergency bell? He fought through another wave of chaos. Should never have agreed to come with that little snake tonight.
He stumbled into an open room. There! He rigged the fire alarm to wail so loudly a deaf man would've run. Ace covered his ears and hit the alarm.
Pain tore into his head, but he smirked as the halls cleared.
"I thought you were a man!" Nishimura hissed as the guard Ace called Ole' Knuckles shoved Ace and Nishimura into adjoining brig cells.
The cold, bare walls reminded Ace of his and Yumi's apartment.
"Men don't bully and beat up kids," Ace growled.
"Gotta teach 'em who's boss around here – teach 'em to respect us." Nishimura spit. The wet wad splattered the floor and earned a snarl from Knuckles who tromped to Nishimura's cell and glared at him for a full minute before he returned to his perch atop a tall, metal stool.
"Respect is earned…" Ace whispered. "Not extorted."
"Akagi Dairoku," the disciplinary head called Ace's name. "Last night you broke into a dorm and engaged in a mass altercation. Security footage shows you engaged three students before altering and pulling the alarm. Luckily no one suffered permanent hearing loss." The thin man cleared his throat and set down his tablet to took Ace in the eyes. "Because you stopped the fight, you've been allowed an honorable discharge and two months' severance pay. We'll say nothing more of the incident, but you will be barred from rejoining the EDF."
"No, please. I –" Ace pleaded.
"The decision is made."
I'm so sorry, Yu-chan. Ace shoved a shirt into his bag, not caring that it would be wrinkled beyond recognition before he got home. They hadn't given him his discharge date yet, but he knew it wouldn't be long, and he wanted to be ready to pick up and leave the instant he got word.
I never should've gone – never should've climbed through that window. I should've stopped him before he punched that kid. The memory of the young stranger's bloodied nose and shocked, angry eyes stung. If I ever get another chance to stop a fight, I'll act sooner.
Two days later, Ace sat in the library, comm out, reading his newest message from Yumi.
"Only four more weeks," she said. "I wish you could be here, but I know you can't. I love you, Niisan. Thank you for helping me do this. With Izu gone, I don't know what I'd do without you."
Ace held his face in his hands. How do I tell her…? Should I tell her? He held his breath and refreshed his messages. Still no discharge notice. How long are they going to dangle me over the pit? Just drop me already, will you!
"Well, Mr. Akagi, it seems someone has given testimony in your defense." General Stone motioned for Ace to approached his polished, oak-topped desk. "One of the students says your efforts to stop the fight were consistent and any blows you gave were necessary to achieve that goal."
Ace stood stiff as a new box. What? Who would've –
"After further review of the incident, we agree with this student's assessment and hereby reinstate you. I'm afraid you won't be going home any time soon, Mr. Akagi."
Ace grinned wide. Butterflies the size of seagulls swam in his stomach. A second chance!
Bando took the chair beside Ace at breakfast the next day. "Still here, huh?" He gnawed a raisin bagel.
"Someone told the discipline committee I shouldn't be discharged."
Bando chewed a dried apricot. "Wonder who did that." He licked his fingers and stuffed a spoonful of oatmeal in his mouth.
"Yeah, eat your food kid. You've got a good poker face, but you lie worse than a cat caught with a fish tail stickin' out of his mouth." Ace elbowed him hard.
Bando grinned, sending a fine crease through his birthmark.
I owe ya, kid. I owe ya big time.
Ace made it back to the barracks just in time to meet Nishimura, leaving, escorted by two security officers.
"Got a kid to lie for you?" Nishimura sneered. "Pop always said kids were only good for lyin', thievin', and lettin' off stress. Guess he was right. Got your own little servant now, don't you, Akagi?"
Ace growled but ignored the jabs. "Beating up kids should get you more than two months in detention."
Nishimura spit, but missed Ace's white boot.
"If I ever see you here again, I'll knock out all those shiny teeth." Ace brandished a fist. "Got it?"
A month and two days later, at breakfast Ace held up a picture for Bando to see. "She named him Kazuko."
Bando nodded. "Good name." He eyed Ace's unfinished food. "You gonna eat that?"
"You can have it." Ace smiled at the next picture. Yumi held up sleeping Kazuko and grinned so hard her sparkling eyes almost shut. "Thanks, Bando."
Bando raised a brow. "For what?"
"Helping me give them a second chance."
Bando swiped the untouched toast. "No problem, Ace." Bando ate the cold bread in two bites. "Now, you've gotta show me how you keep winning at Vortex."
Author's Note: Written for the WA Drabble Challenge no fanfiction.net
Didn't think I'd be able to do this challenge for a variety of reasons, but I'm glad I got the opportunity. It turned into a great experience, and I got to work with Ace and Bando, which I've never done before.
Thanks for reading.