"Father!"

The strident voice was that of Theodore and Tomoe's eldest son. Hohiro ran past the door of the room, bare feet slapping hard on the polished wood. He skidded to a stop and returned to the door.

"Father! Look what I found!"

Tomoe and Theodore separated as their son approached, but her hand remained at the small of his back as her husband bent to see what Hohiro held out to him.

"Isn't it marvelous?"

The boy held an intricately folded piece of rice paper. The origami cat crouched threateningly on Hohiro's palm, its tail curled up, frozen in mid-lash.

"Where did you find it?" Theodore said urgently. "Is Omi all right?"

Hohiro was startled by the tension in his father's voice. His brows furrowed in confusion. "Sure. She's playing in the garden."

Theodore's eyes locked with Tomoe's. She moved to the door, cautiously peering outside. Her affirming nod released a sigh of shared relief.

"Now," Theodore said calmly, taking the cat from his son's hand, "where did you find this?”

“In the hall near your swords."

"And there was nothing else there? Nothing out of place?"

"I don't think so."

Hohiro was looking more worried. Theodore smiled to reassure him. "You have done well to bring this directly to me. It's a secret message," he added conspiratorially. "If you find any more you must bring them to your mother or me."

Hohiro nodded vigorously.

"All right. Go get your sister, and take her to Tetsuhara- sensei.Tell him that it is time for your kendolesson. Your sister is to watch."

"But my lesson's not till three," Hohiro protested. He was clearly upset at being left out of the intrigue he had uncovered.

"Your lesson is now. Go!"

Hohiro's face hardened into a pout, but he left dutifully, making it clear that it was his own idea by taking a circuitous route to the garden. Theodore and Tomoe watched until their son and daughter had disappeared into the shadows of the dojowhere Tetsuhara-senseiwaited. Theodore handed the origami cat to Tomoe.

"Is it?"

She examined it carefully. "Definitely nekogami."

Taking it back, he held it to the light from the garden, looking to see if a message was written on the paper. He had thought the cat looked like the one Ninyu had identified at the headquarters on Moore in '29, but he wanted her to confirm it. The nekogami were few in number and rarely acted, but they had a fearsome reputation and were often blamed for the acts they did not commit. They were the premier spies and assassins of the Combine, masters of deceit and subterfuge. His own brushes with intrigue and assassinations over the years had not made him like them any better.

"What does it mean? We've no secrets here to be stolen. No one and nothing seems to be missing."

"It is most likely a message," Tomoe concluded. "You felt the characters embossed onto the paper?"

He hadn't. Rubbing the paper, he traced the strokes now. They were in the formal Chinese syllabary.

"Loyalty?"

"They offer you their services ... I think. They serve the Dragon's best interests, as they see those interests. It appears that they have decided that you embody the Dragon."

"I suppose I should be honored. This will require a good deal of consideration."

Theodore paced across the room to a console and tapped in his ID code. Tomoe stepped up behind him, laying her hand on his arm. He turned to her. Gazing into his eyes, she gave a slight shake of the head.

"I leave my other life outside this place. Let it go for now."

"I can't."

"You won't," she accused.

"When I'm here, I want to forget what goes on outside. Truly. But I never seem able to. Outside concerns come intruding of their own accord," he said, holding up the origami cat.

"I don't want to lose you," she breathed in his ear, throwing her arms around him to hug him tightly. Theodore felt her strength, strength he knew could snap his spine if applied with the cunning grips of her martial arts training. But there was no danger for him in her arms, only desperate love.

The paper cat crumpled in his grip, dropping forgotten to the floor as he stroked her hair.

57

Kanrei's Palace, Deber City, Benjamin

Benjamin Military District, Draconis Combine

28 December 3038

 

Dechan Fraser and Jenette Rand bowed to Tai-shunKester Hsium Chi. The Warlord had headed over to them as soon as the strategy meeting broke up. The white-haired Tai-shubeamed happily, his wispy beard hobbling as he spoke. "I am pleased that you two will be serving in my district of Galedon."

"It was not our first choice," Jenette grumbled.

Dechan elbowed her in the ribs at the lapse in manners. In return, she scowled in annoyance. Tai-shuChi laughed, relieving the tension. Dechan knew at once that this man was very different from the last Galedon warlord he had known.

As soon as his mirth subsided, Chi clamped a cigarette between the fingers of his artificial hand. The stark white of the cigarette contrasted sharply with the black bioplast of the prosthesis as he held it out for an aide to light. He treated himself to a long drag before fixing them with his shrewd eyes. "I appreciate your dedication to duty, then. Your previous experience should prove useful if I am not mistaken. You do know the District?"

"Too well," Dechan agreed.

"Even disagreeable experiences can be enlightening," Chi counseled, with a wink. "I met your Colonel Wolf once."

"They're no longer affiliated," Theodore reminded him as he stepped up. The Kanrei towered over the diminutive Taishu,but Chi showed not the slightest sign of being intimidated by either Theodore's rank or his imposing physical presence. Whether that was due to familiarity with the Kanrei or to Chi's own easygoing nature, Dechan could not discern. The Tai-shusimply smiled enigmatically, leaving Dechan to wonder what the Warlord had heard of the circumstances of his and Jenette's departure from the Dragoons.

"As I was saying," Chi continued, "I met Colonel Wolfe on his last visit to Luthien. He is a remarkable man, very adept at his craft. I must say that I admire him greatly. What followed was most unfortunate."

"I am sure the old Wolf will be tickled to hear that," Ninyu quipped as he and Fuhito joined the circle. "Theodore- sama, surely you could have found a better use for me than wet-nursing that pirate and his cronies in Dieron?"

Chi exhaled a long puff of smoke, causing eyes to water and cutting off the Kanrei's response by forcing a cough from him. "I knew that Noketsuna had an unusual past, even more so than my monkish confederate Shotugama, but he seems to have ordered his District well. I had not heard that he was a pirate. Is it true, Theodore, that you allow barbarians to run one of our important districts, instead of confining them to the ranks of the ISF?"

"You are impertinent, Tai-shuChi," Ninyu said, warning clear in his voice and tightened jaw muscles.

"Yet you prove him correct with your bad manners, Ninyu- kun," Theodore chuckled. The others followed the Kanrei's lead, pretending to find the comments humorous and thereby avoiding conflict. Dechan found the reaction very Kuritan, but he observed that Ninyu's slow-growing smile did not extend to his eyes.