Zero Sum Game (35 page)

She reached the arrow-shaped bomb.

She wasn't sure what to do with it. Her first impulse was to crush it until it couldn't get any smaller. She wanted to release her anger and frustration onto it, but wasn't sure if destroying the case would somehow release the catoms. Voice would know what to do with them; he must have a way to turn them off or make them inactive or whatever it was called to make these tiny machines stop working.

He spoke. "I'm deactivating the catoms now."

The swirling mass slowed and dimmed. The glow disappeared, becoming a dull solid purple. It was done; the bomb was deactivated. The catoms were inert.

Earth was saved.

Her chest warned her she needed to hurry and breathe again. She turned towards the submarine as Shimizu grabbed her arm. She barely stopped herself from screaming; his grip was weak and unthreatening. His mouths twitched open and his body jerked like a string puppet. A stream of bubbles erupted from his speaking mouth and his body flew away from her. He grabbed his throat with one hand. He screamed and spasmed; his hand reached out for her again but missed. Then he was still.

For a few moments Hina floated and watched the unmoving body sink to the ocean floor. His feet touched bottom, then he went to his knees. His arms unfurled at his sides and he landed face first onto the sandy bottom.

Voice said, "Return to the submarine. You will not survive out here much longer."

Hina tapped with two fingers.

"You must leave him, Hina. You can't save him."

She tapped with two fingers again.

"Hina, please," Voice pleaded.

She stared at the dead alien. She tapped with one finger.

She swam back to the submarine, whose bright lights now illuminated the scene. She hoped the submarine had cameras and Captain Ekimori had spotted her. She swam and her chest tightened even further. She grew colder and her once powerful legs moved slower and slower.

She opened the outer hatch and closed it. The cramped space flashed with warning lights as the hatched sealed and ran through its preprogrammed cycle.

She passed out before it finished.

— — —

When Hina woke up, she felt more like herself. She lay on a narrow bed in a small white room. Bottles and stainless steel instruments were packed into cupboards, and several large red crosses were painted on drawers. She was in the submarine's hospital, or whatever it was called. She was sure her father knew the proper name, he liked machines. She sat up; a second later a man spoke into a telephone mounted on the wall.

She had gotten into a comfortable sitting position, with help from the doctor, when Captain Ekimori entered. He grabbed a nearby chair and sat beside her bed.

"How long have I been asleep?" Hina asked. Her voice cracked and sounded like gravel being grated with a rake.

Ekimori poured water from the pitcher on the table beside her bed. He gave the glass to her and Hina drank; slow at first, then in large gulps until it was empty. Ekimori took it from her, refilled it, and she drank it all again. When she received the third glass, she took smaller sips.

"A few hours," he replied. "We're not back to Hiroshima yet." Ekimori looked at the man watching from the other side of the room. "The doctor says you're perfectly healthy. A little dehydrated, some fatigue. You shouldn't even be alive."

Hina didn't respond. She finished her glass of water, set it on the table, and shook her head when the captain moved to refill it. "I need some time alone."

The captain didn't look pleased but said nothing. Before he stood up, Hina added, "And my school uniform." She was uncomfortable and embarrassed in the gray smock she now wore. The doctor and the captain exchanged unspoken words, then both men left the room.

A few minutes later, Hina was dressed in her school uniform and sitting atop of the sheets on her bed. "Voice? Are you there?" Her own voice sounded small to her, not much above a whisper.

"Of course. You are wearing me, aren't you?"

She smiled. "Thank you. I couldn't have done it without you. You saved me, and my entire world. I can't thank you enough."

"It was your courage, Hina. I'm a battle suit, nothing more."

"You're not a battle suit. You're a friend."

No reply came. For once, she had left Voice speechless.

It didn't last long. "Captain Ekimori will no doubt have many questions. We should tell him nothing."

Hina shook her head. "No, we have to tell him the truth. People in his crew died. He needs to know why. Besides, everyone saw Shimizu and Fujiya as aliens. We need to tell them something."

But she wondered what would happen afterwards.
Will he believe my story?
She didn't think so; he had probably already called the police and the military. They would be waiting for her when she arrived back in Hiroshima. She would be arrested on the spot. Besides, who would believe a story about aliens and battle suits and super technology that could transform worlds?

On the other hand, people had died. And two real-life aliens had been on his ship. He had seen them and talked to them, even been intimidated and bullied by them. If the captain thought it was a trick, wasn't it too elaborate to be pulled off by a teenager even if she did have a couple friends helping? He had seen everything with his own eyes. He had to believe her.

That is what she hoped.

"Do you plan to tell every person you meet about what happened?"

Voice's snarkiness dampened her spirits. She explained her thoughts, about how he had seen everything and had been directly involved. Voice finally admitted she was correct.

She got out of bed and went to the wall-mounted phone. With Voice's help, she called Ekimori on the bridge. A few minutes later, he was back in his chair beside her bed. She sat cross-legged on top of the sheets and faced him. For half an hour she told him the story of the battle suit, the catoms, the loss of the Noigel home world, and Shimizu's plan to change the planet.

When she finished, Ekimori sat back in his chair and stared at her. He hadn't said a word during her entire story. He stared at her until she got embarrassed and turned away. He jumped out of his chair, startling Hina, and paced about the small room. He stopped, crossed his arms, and stared at her some more. His manner and silence made her nervous. After listening to herself, she couldn't believe how ridiculous it sounded. It seemed like the plot of an anime series.
That's what he'll think,
she told herself.
I've read too many stories and now I'm combining a bunch of stuff to cover up my actions.

"I don't believe you," Ekimori said. "What I do believe is that it was a terrorist act. My vessel was commandeered by two eco-extremists who didn't reveal their plan to me but would murder my crew if I didn't cooperate. They attempted to steal the mini sub for their plan, but something went wrong and they crashed. They died on the ocean floor."

Hina was puzzled. "But, they were aliens. I mean, everyone saw them."

"Very elaborate costumes, not doubt to hide their identities. They probably had scuba gear underneath, or something like that."

Hina looked at him in disbelief and the captain smiled. He took his seat again and leaned closer to her. "That's what's going in my report."

She wanted to feel relief, but one major detail held the emotion in check. "And me?" she almost whispered.

"You, my dear," the captain said, leaning back in the chair, "were never on board." He glanced at her uniform. "I'm sure with your skills, you'll be able to get off the boat undetected."

The emotional gate opened and relief flooded through her. Back in Hiroshima, there would be no police, no teachers, and no angry father waiting for her. Her friends would be safe and her world would go on like it always had. Her lips quivered and tears built in her eyes. "Why?" she asked.

"Because you saved every single person in the world."

She remembered her conversations with Voice and Ozaki, about focusing on saving individuals but not thinking of the planet. Now, she had done both. By focusing on stopping two beings, she had saved billions. She burst into tears. She leaned forward and hugged the submarine captain. She loosened her hold when he let out an "umph" of pain. She let go, and chuckled at the dark stain on his shoulder where her tears had soaked his shirt. Ekimori laughed and shrugged. He stood and stepped towards the door. He turned back to her and bowed deeply. "Thank you for all your hard work."

Hina laughed at the ritualistic expression and returned the bow. The captain left her.

CHAPTER 31

As Captain Ekimori had predicted, Hina had indeed been able to get off of the submarine and away from Hiroshima Port undetected. He had been forced to contact the port and inform them of the unexpected return. Military and government personnel, as well as media, were already present when the submarine docked. In the chaos, a lone girl had been easy to ignore.

She learned Ekimori had shared the cover story with the entire crew. She didn't think everyone had believed it, but it seemed highly unlikely anyone would be able to track her down. She left with the case of catoms and Fujiya's battle suit.

Hina took a deep breath, then opened the front door of the apartment and entered. She took her shoes off in the foyer and stepped into the kitchen. Her father stood at the stove, stirring something that sizzled in a frying pan. She watched him until he turned around. He smiled at her.

"Welcome back. I didn't hear you come in. Sorry, I had to restart dinner. I burnt the first dish," he said.

Hina stood still and watched her father. In the course of a day she had snuck on to a submarine, battled aliens on the ocean's floor, and saved the world, and her father didn't know. To him, another day had passed like any other. He had gone to work, ate lunch, and did everything else he had always done.

And she realized he would continue doing those things because of what she had done today. She, Hina Takamachi, had made sure her father's world kept spinning.

"Are you okay, Hina?" Concern colored his tone.

She couldn't speak for a moment. "I'm fine, Dad. It's…" She wasn't sure what to say. "I'm back. And…I love you."

Mitsuo looked embarrassed at the display of affection. He walked up to her. "I love you, too."

She left her father perplexed in the kitchen and went into her bedroom. She picked up her iPhone from the table beside her bed. Messages from Ozaki filled the home screen, asking her to contact him as soon as she could. She pressed the Messages app but stopped before typing. She would meet him tomorrow at the sports festival at school. He was worried about her, but she didn't feel like talking yet. But he shared in her secret; he should know she was alive. She typed a simple reply: 'I'm fine. See you tomorrow.'

A two word answer came back less than thirty seconds later. 'I'm glad.'

She smiled.

"Dinner's ready," her father announced.

— — —

Most of the students of Hiroshima City Junior High School gathered near the front gate talking. Sports Day had ended with the red team winning. Ami hadn't been allowed to participate since she was still recovering from her injuries, but she had donned her gym clothes and sat under the hot sun and cheered as loud as she could.

Although Hina had come in second to last in the 100 meter race, she had been an unstoppable force in the tire pull. Even when she had four other girls pulling on the tire she had a hold of, she managed to drag them to her side of the field.

The tire pull was Hina's favorite event. Eight rubber tires, four large and four small, were laid out in a line in the middle of the field. Participants from opposing teams lined up on their respective sides; at the whistle everyone ran and grabbed a tire, trying to pull it to their side of the field. The big tires were worth ten points and the small ones five. There were no rules to how many students could grab the same tire. Many students were knocked off their feet and dragged across the sand, laughing as they slid. In this game, Hina's strength was a large asset.

She thought she would have been too exhausted to be much help in the sports festival due to yesterday's events, but Voice had helped restore her physically, and the normalcy and fun of the festival had relaxed her mentally. She had been happy to take a break from the stress of trying to figure out how to stop aliens and save the human race. For the first time in a long time, she had felt like a normal girl.

In the girls bathroom she washed her hands and dried them on her Hello Kitty hand towel. She slipped her skirt and top over her gym clothes. After fastening and fixing the ribbon, she tucked the shirt tails into her skirt and straightened everything out.

"Hina," Voice said.

His sudden auditory bursts no longer surprised her. "Yeah?"

"Please enter the stall."

"What for?"

"Please."

Curious to what Voice was up to, she entered the stall at the farthest end and bolted the door closed.

"Now, look down at yourself," he said.

Hina saw the uniform she had put on. It changed; her shirt and skirt lost their color, coldness moved across the back of her neck. Her skirt shortened and came together between her legs, then split in two. Her shirt became a different texture and the sleeves formed a stripe at the bottom of them. In a moment she was wearing her gym clothes. She grabbed the shirt and pulled it away from her, underneath was her original gym shirt. She discovered she was also wearing two pairs of shorts.

Voice explained. "Last night, I was able to interact with the remaining battle suit. In a process too complex to explain, I was able to incorporate its programming to repair my damaged systems. I have regained my shapeshifting ability. I am now a fully functional Claytronic Atom Mark 2 Military Armature."

Hina wanted to laugh, but she was afraid she would draw attention to herself. "Wow. Wonderful," she whispered. "This means…"

Voice sounded pleased. "It means I can now shapeshift into any set of clothing you desire. You will no longer have to separate yourself from me to participate in gym class. In a practical sense, you will now be protected all the time. I will also save you money on your wardrobe."