So, you know how complicated families can be? All the drama, the traditions, the expectations that the older generations foist upon you? Well, take all that drama that normally ends in open fighting, bottle it up in a small, wooden box, and keep adding pressure for twenty years.

  And you will be one step closer to how crazy Japanese family dynamics can be, let alone Japanese corporate families. The one time I visited the Keiretsu in Japan, they were alright, but the family I roomed with? Hoo boy, I felt a metaphorical knife at my jugular the entire time I was there.

  -Vanguard Red Panda talking about her trip to Japan, 2054

  A fleet of black hover cars speed through the night, peeling off in five different directions in large groups. They flew above and between hover traffic lanes, not registering on any sensors or cameras, flowing like the void between stars.

  As the moon begins to dip in the sky, five corporate headquarters compounds are alight in activity, bullets flying, explosions ringing out in the night, blood flowing to the sewers below.

  In a heavily reinforced conference room, easily two hundred feet in each dimension, dozens of heavily armed guards aim at the only entrance with a dozen corporate types in an even more reinforced panic room behind them.

  “Are we sure this thing will work? It has never been tested before!” one of them says, the anxiety in his voice is palpable.

  “Do we have another option, Gref? With how much money we spent on this, it has to work.” another says.

  There is a thumping coming from the exterior door, sounds of gunfire and explosions uncomfortably close.

  “Is it good to go?!” Gref shouts.

  The screen on the table lights green, and they all shout in excitement. One of them hits a big green button on the table, and the room vibrates. They all get pressed to the ground for a bit as the rocket thrusters engage their boosters.

  They all cheer and shout, feeling safe in the knowledge that once they reach orbit, they can dock in their company space station and retaliate from a safe distance. The toxins would spread quickly, and those fools would be begging for help.

  Then the room splits in two down the middle, and those two halves are pulled apart. They see the night sky is not moving as they would expect if they were moving up. Instead, a figure floats between the new halves, one they all recognize.

  “Good evening, executives of Bestlé’s New Phoenix branch. Thank you for gathering on such short notice for this emergency meeting.” Doma says dramatically, “Unfortunately, your actions have warranted a heavy audit of your practices, and you have been found wanting. As such, a few of my friends and I have decided to perform a hostile takeover of your local holdings, and your presence is required for this.”

  A few of them have pissed themselves, a few of them gave up. Two of them, the youngest people in the ‘room’ pulled guns, only to collapse, grasping their throats as their lungs collapsed.

  Doma smiled.

  **********************************

  I awoke to the sound of metal chimes, the alarm I chose for this morning. I haven't woken up to alarms in a bit now, so it is a bit jarring, but I had to today. Cari and Jill made me promise to.

  Finishing my daily routine, I walk out in the comfortable wear I was in last night and saddle up to the dining section. Baba Yaga and Jim have joined the family for breakfast, joking around and acting as if Cari has always been there. Buddy places a mass of pancakes and bacon and other breakfast foods on the large table, and everyone digs in.

  Between bites, Roger speaks up, “So, Cari, Jill mentioned that you have a job for us?”

  She nods, putting down her fork, “You could refer to my request as such, yes.” She takes a drink of orange juice, “My family situation is… complicated, as I tried to explain to Victor last night.”

  I blush in embarrassment, and the others snicker at me. “Oh, bite me. All of you. You try to keep your composure with…” I am unable to finish my sentence as Cari just smiles at me, and I feel my blush deepen.

  Roger clears his throat after laughing at me for a bit. “Please, continue.”

  “My mother had taken her sister away from our family years ago, once she initialized as a Samurai, and placed an ocean between us and them. She made a life for herself and her sister here, with aunt Susato finding love in Texas, and mother settling here in New Phoenix after falling in love with the sunrise. She made her life away from her family and their oppression, and became who she felt she was supposed to be. The only thing she kept from her old family was their name.”

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “Then I was born, and mother did an excellent job of hiding me from them, of allowing me to have a normal childhood full of friends and love, up until three years ago when I attended my first concert. Alice wanted to see this Electro Swing cover band for her birthday, and once her dad vetted the attendees and the band and, well, everything else, we were allowed to go.” Her face softened as she relived a memory, “It was amazing. The energy of the crowd, the base thumping in my body, the scent of life in the air. I went to a few more afterwards, but none felt as right as the first one.” She lingers in the memory for a few more moments, then refocused. “The problem was one of ignorance. Jynie scanned the venue for any threats related to Alice, but had no idea to scan for threats to me or mother. The venue was in part owned by my extended family, and when my name appeared on the guest register, it set off an internal family alarm that l, well, I existed.”

  I could see Cody perk up as though he, too, understood where this plot line was going, but unlike me, he went to say something. Jill tossed a sausage in his mouth before he could. She motioned for Cari to continue.

  “As you can probably guess, they tried to contact me, to get me to come back voluntarily. Mother stopped them, of course, and when they started to escalate things, they were stopped each time. The other Samurai she worked with offered to help, of course. Mother was a close friend of theirs. And so, for the last few years, the extended family kept their distance. But now that mother died, they have already grown brave enough to act against me. Last night, while we were at the party, I briefly lost contact with my home's security system. It was less than a second, but it was enough for me to know my home was compromised. And as I was contemplating my next steps, Victor arrived.”

  I could see everyone had questions to ask, hell, I had questions, but we stayed polite and let her finish.

  “Of course I knew who he was, Doma was the one who… returned mother to me, telling me everything that happened. And no, Victor, I did not resolve myself to forgive you at the gala. I know you were not to blame, and mother always told me that this was a possibility. But I also knew the possibility you presented. A third party Samurai that has yet to make their debut in society at large, and one I knew was strong enough to fight side by side with mother. And one who might feel guilty enough to help me.”

  Roger raised his eyebrow at her, and I could see the others grow angry at Cari. Well, everyone other than Jill.

  “Don't worry, guys. I vetted her last night. While that was her plan, she actually fell for our dork over the course of the evening,“ she said, then wiggled her eyebrows at me, ”especially after he flexed his Samurai might at a douche and his family.”

  I could tell they calmed down, but they were a bit wary of Cari still. “Okay, so, you are planning to use us as bait to deal with your extended family, something that I already foresee failing, but not for the reasons you are thinking of.” Roger started, ”No, the biggest question I have is why aren't you going to the other Samurai and asking them for help? Blizzard was a big name and very popular with not just the people but also the Family Samurai. I'm sure they would be willing to help you.”

  Cari shook her head, “While I'm sure that they would, I'm sure Victor understands well as to why that is not an option for me.” She looks at me.

  I sigh and lean back into the chair. She's right, I do. “Last night, at the gala while you held me hostage, we both agreed on the same opinion, one that your friends all couldn't understand. If we can solve a problem on our own, with our own power, we will. If it is clear that we are out of our depth and need help, we will ask.”

  Cari nods as I see the others slump in understanding. Over the years, we have only had each other, and each of us could only rely on each other, on our own power. The two times we have ever called for reinforcements from the company, they ended with us almost dying anyway.

  The first called in a gunship on our location, with them barely missing us by a matter of feet as we just took cover. The second took control of the neighboring buildings AA guns and had them light up the floor we were on. We only survived that one by diving into the elevator shaft and landing on the elevator four floors down.

  We never called for help again, and the only time I did in the last week was when we were truly out of our depth. The whole building is a hive? Fuck, I may be a Samurai but that sounds like too much! And the other two was when I discovered city ending hive networks and I knew that I needed help from that. Well, then there was also when I called Heracles about food distribution, but that was a logical step, with no life or death consequences, just food waste.

  Cari smiles, “That is correct, Victor. My original plan was to honey pot you into protecting me from my family while building up my own forces or strength, then traveling to Japan to remove them as a threat. But then I developed actual feelings for you over the course of one night and Opal told me her dad discovered how dense you are, so I tossed that plan out the window in exchange for honesty. And after having a riveting conversation last night with Big Sister Jill, I have decided that I wish to become a permanent member of your family.”

  Her smile was fox-like as she said that last part, pointed at me very obviously. And I could feel my blush spread to my shoulders as Roger looked at me with pride, Cody with shock, Jill with the same shit eating grin I have grown used to seeing on her recently and Buddy… he was cleaning up plates and moving to the kitchen.

  Well, maybe she means it as ado-

  “And no, Victor. I do mean as your spouse, not as your sister.” She said, dashing my thoughts, “While that may be a very popular category of porn, I have no interest in sleeping with my sibling.”

  Roger started laughing heavily, falling out of his chair, while Jill wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “Mozel-tops or whatever.” She said, that smile getting bigger on her face.

  Shall I start looking for wedding venues? Or shall I have Morrigan redesign the common room for an in-house wedding? Or, would you prefer to skip the event and schedule a time to go to the courthouse and sign the wedding registry? Synaptic asks over the speakers. I could hear the shit eating grin she sported even though she didn't have a body!

  “Does that mean I have less game than Victor?” Cody mumbled, causing Roger to laugh harder on the ground.