An Opening Move

Daitokuji Kiyoshi made his way through the upper halls of the central offices of Goshi Mining Corp, ignoring the various messengers and assistants who quickly removed themselves from his path and bowed as he walked by. His was a warrior's stride, not that any of those he passed would recognize such. Of the Silver Phoenix clan, he wore the traditional pale gray kimono proudly, making him stand out among the various business suits that usually graced the halls. His appearance was striking not only for his clothing, however: unusually tall and thin, his features were pale and cruelly perfect enough that not a few people had mistaken him for Biomade at first glance. Fluorescent lights reflected off his glasses in such a way that it made it impossible to tell his eye color, but everyone here knew well that they matched his hair, silver even though he was still a young man, thick and unbound as it flowed halfway down his back. His coloration marked him as a pure blood of his clan, features for which it had been named so very long ago; not that anyone other than an Allskin would know or care. He held his position not due to the honor and history of his clan, but due to the influence of his father, Daitokuji Noboru, in the Academy.

He reached his office, unlocked it, and stepped inside. Flicking on the lights, he was immediately made aware of a most distressing fact: he had a visitor, one who was quietly sitting in his chair at his own desk, waiting for him patiently in the dark. Even more disconcerting was that this person clearly did not belong here: by all appearances some punk kid out of the nearest club! A young woman, barely of the age of majority, clad in black leather meant to accentuate what little form she had, the intruder could not have been more than five feet tall. Still, she looked quite sure of herself as she sat there, quietly watching the owner of the desk she sat at with large, expressive eyes made to seem even larger with expertly applied makeup. Like Kiyoshi himself, however, her most striking feature was her coloration. Like him she was alabaster pale of skin, but more unusual by far was the fact that her eyes were red and her short, raggedly cropped hair was bright pink!

Kiyoshi took a moment to take in her appearance as he calmly closed the office door. "Do you have any idea who..." he began, but she cut in smoothly.

"I know precisely who you are, Director Daitokuji Kiyoshi, son of Daitokuji Noboru, the Grand Master of the..."

Kiyoshi interrupted her in turn. "I am familiar with my own identity, and that of my father. What I am not familiar with is yours. I would suggest you explain yourself. Now."

"I am not just a 'punk kid', Director Daitokuji."

He narrowed his eyes at the girl. "A mind reader," he stated more than asked. She simply smirked. "Then you know precisely what I will do to you if you do not immediately explain who you are and what you are doing in my office."

Her eyes widened slightly. "My, my, how deliciously naughty. Very well, Kiyoshi. May I call you Kiyoshi?"

"No."

His rebuttal did not seem to phase her. "My name is Aimi."

"An assassin?"

She gave a shrug with just one shoulder. "Sometimes. Not today though. Today I am just a messenger." She gestured to a document sitting on the desk. Curious, Kiyoshi picked it up and quickly looked it over. It was a notice of his termination from his position on the board.

"By whose authority?" he asked, obviously agitated.

"Why, it was a unanimous decision by the entirety of your fellow Directors. Not even your father will be able to overturn this decision. Apparently your recent attempts to take jobs away from poor Mechafied workers did not go over very well."

He glared indignantly. "I have been fighting to improve their conditions! They are our fellow Cheldrun and the Corporation treats them like slaves! It should mean something more to be Cheldrun; they should not have to die in those forsaken mines for little pay and less recognition!"

Aimi gave a dismissive snort. "You Allskins, always so arrogant, so shortsighted. You just cannot stand not being in charge, so you would take work and food away from the mouths of your fellows just to show your power! And even if you got your way, how then would we get the Blackrock necessary for our way of life? Or would you have us all live in the dark for your arrogance?"

Kiyoshi snarled. "We have captured Karian war criminals, do we not? Use them! Work every last one of them to death for all I care! We, the Cheldrun, deserve better than what your masters would give any but their own!"

She shook her head, affecting a look of disappointment and sadness. "You would even seek to hurt the poor, misguided natives? Does your cruelty and ambition know no bounds? It is well done that you are removed from your position, Kiyoshi."

About to retort, Kiyoshi noticed that, despite her tone, her eyes were flashing with what could only be glee. This impertinent Biomade girl was enjoying this! He realized then that this was a battle, perhaps as deadly as any, and that he had to react accordingly. Anger had no place in battle, nor confusion. And so he did as he had been taught since he was a child: he fed his emotions, his very self, to the Void. When in battle there was no time for thought, no time for distraction, and so a true warrior learned to become one with the Void. What was not there could not be cut; what was not detected could not be defended against. In order to win, there must be no thought, only action, only the need to cut down one's opponent immediately and utterly. He entered the Void then and so became invincible.

He saw Aimi's eyes widen for the first time in genuine shock, even fear. He saw her start to reach for a concealed weapon in her vest. Any onlooker would have said that she moved astonishingly fast, almost faster than the eye could follow. It was not fast enough. The problem, as with so many others who fought but were not truly warriors, was thought. First she had to realize that something was wrong; then she had to reach the decision that something had to be done about it. She then had to decide what needed to be done and only then did her brain tell her hand to reach for her gun. All of this happened in mere fractions of a second, but it still took time. Kiyoshi did not; he simply acted.

Before her weapon was even halfway out of its holster, Aimi found a long, slightly curved sword resting at the hollow of her throat, deep purple runes glowing along the silvery blade. The blade had sprung out of the hilt that simply seemed to be in Kiyoshi's hand instantly, as though by magic. Slowly, she released her hold on her gun and put her hands in the air.

"How do you do that?" she gasped. "How do you keep me out of your mind? That should be impossible for an Allskin!"

His blade did not waver in the slightest. "That is the arrogance of your kind; you think that we Allskins were left pure for no other reason than to be a control group. You think that we are now obsolete, that our place in the Grand Experiment of the First Minds is no longer necessary. But perhaps your manipulations have not been as successful as you thought. Perhaps we, who have remained pure all this time, are evolving in a way you cannot comprehend, a way guided by nature instead of by the fallible hands of our fellows."

She sneered. "Nature is obsolete."

"If that is the case, why are you at my mercy? Why can you not enter my mind?"

Again, her expression changed, seemingly as mutable as quicksilver. She was now staring at him with what could only be described as open and unabashed admiration. "What a Biomade you would make," she breathed. "With some genetic enhancements you could be... magnificent!"

This sudden change of direction threw him off, and Kiyoshi felt his grip on the Void waver. "You are mad."

Aimi's face became stern and angry; she looked older now than she had before. "Do not presume to speak to me of madness until you have experienced what it is like to hear the thoughts of everyone around you, deafening, not being able to sort out one from another." The anger slipped away and she looked then like nothing more than what she was: a sad and frightened young woman, barely more than a girl, at the mercy of a man more than a foot taller and half again her age. Feeling disgusted with himself, Kiyoshi retracted the blade and turned away, the Void fleeing for now.

She spoke, her voice soft and wondering. "You are not going to kill me then?"

He shook his head. "No, there would be no honor in it. You cannot help the way they made you." He turned around to find her standing very close, only inches away. She looked up at him with her big, red eyes and then smiled at him impishly.

"Do you think I'm cute?" she asked out of nowhere. Startled, Kiyoshi stepped back and stared at her disbelievingly, coloring slightly. She took this as a cue to pose, then laughed in delight. "Oh, this is going to be a fun game!"

Rolling his eyes at her declaration, he gave her a curt nod and opened the door to leave what was no longer his office. There was nothing in there worth trying to retrieve under the eyes of the crazed Biomade. Just as the door was shutting behind him he heard a giggle and her voice saying "Your move."

Daitokuji Kiyoshi made his way through the upper halls of the central offices of Goshi Mining Corp, ignoring the various messengers and assistants who quickly removed themselves from his path and bowed as he walked by. He had contacts of his own, strings to pull. He found himself smiling and quickly schooled his features. He could not help but think that she had been right about one thing: this was going to be a fun game.