AND THEN HE FELL

The streets were suffocating her as she ran, squeezing through artificially enhanced crowds, barging through holographic projections of kawaii maid characters beckoning patrons inside and through the pouring rain as the air transport vehicles whizzed over her head on the CloudRail. Minori Matsuoka was barely thirteen when she woke up, surrounded by a pool of her own blood and mistakenly let the friendly cyber nurse prick her finger on the way to school. She'd been running ever since, her once pristine school uniform becoming more and more soiled. Minori wasn't Minori-chan anymore, on the outskirts of the Hiyokuna she was a part of the rabble, caked in ears of sweat, dirt, and blood she couldn't get rid of. The Repop officers were hot on her tail, the orange holo-light of their gun visors reflecting in the puddles. One of her shoes slipped off in the chase, but she had to keep going. Wet socks were the least of her worries. If they captured her, she would be doomed to become a Yōki like her mother had when her father chose Japan over his family. If she was caught, there would be no one to protect her little sister Hitomi from the RPF when she came of age. She willed herself forward, trying to drown out the screams of          NLET1's captain telling her to stop and focus on not crying. Years of running from the Militant Forces had given her stamina but because food was scare outside of the Hiyokuna, she was malnourished and unable to keep running. The officers were ten times stronger, fitter, and faster than she was, but also bigger and therefore, unable to weave through the thick crowd she'd purposefully flanked into. Minori took a left into an alleyway, hoping her pursuers would lose her. Here the lights weren't as overwhelming as in the main roads and the drone of the CloudRail was softer. Here Minori could afford to breathe. Her long, once silky black hair fell flat on her shoulders, and her first-year-yellow ribbon hung wilted like a flower from her once-white school shirt. Her entire body was soaked from the rain, but she was grateful. Her hair would dry to be less oily and she would look cleaner. She sat down underneath a balcony, now confident she had lost the officers, and then she cried. She cried for the girl she'd lost, for her mother, for Hitomi, for her wilted first-year ribbon and her ragged school uniform and for her wet left foot. She'd been running since she was thirteen, and she wasn't sure how much longer she could do it. No child was supposed to spend their life running, but for Minori it was run or repopulate, and that was worse than slowly starving to death in the Sectors. At least she had something, Yōki were nothing but glorified baby makers. The orange reflection of an officer's weapon caught her off guard, and without registering it, she bolted upward and started running clumsily through the dimly lit alleyway. She didn't get far before she felt something pierce the skin in-between her shoulder blades and overwhelm her. She couldn't feel her legs. This was it, no more running, she thought. And then she fell.

When she awoke once again, she was enclosed by four walls painted white. She was back in the lab, she knew that much. Her back ached and she was starving, but she was alive. Gone was her grime-caked school uniform, and instead she was dressed in a loose-fitting blue dress that reached her knees. Her hair was cleaner, and her fingers looked pristine once again. She wanted to cry, but no tears came, only the footsteps of an approaching officer. It could have gone two ways for Minori, she could either become a Yōki, or she could become government property and spend the rest of her miserable life working like a slave. If presented with the opportunity, she would become a Yōki, it was, after all, her unavoidable fate. Two officers entered the room, one with hair as blonde as the sun and another wil short black hair. Both were of a pretty high rank, at least she thought, foot soldiers usually only wore the black and red manoeuvrability suits with the military insignia along with their last names printed on their chests. On the blonde one's chest stood Sergeant Nakamura and on the other Lieutenant Nanami. Both soldiers were from rich families, the Nakamura family responsible for education, and the Nanami family entrenched in fertility science. Nakamura picked up her file, and read her name out loud, "Minori Jun Matsuoka." He said pristinely. She'd thought he was a foreigner with the hair, but his Japanese said otherwise.

"She's been running from the militant forces ever since she was thirteen." He brought the see-through tablet up to her face, and with a simple ping her entire life came to view.

"Born January 14th, 2097, 16 years old. Fertility statues positive. She is unmarried and has had no sexual interactions with neither man nor woman. Her vitals show she is healthy, however, underweight, due to malnourishment, she will have to gain some weight before entering the Program." Nakamura's monologue went right over Minori's head.

"Thank you, sergeant. You may go." Lieutenant Nanami said. Reluctantly Nakamura placed the tablet down on the table, bowed, and left the room apprehensively.

"What is your name?" Lieutenant Nanami asked, and smiled when she didn't reply. She was sure he'd heard Nakamura's monologue, unless he'd tuned it out like she did.

"Don't be scared. My name is Nanami Mamoru. You may call me Mamoru if it makes you more comfortable." He said with a genuine smile.

She was still apprehensive when she spoke again, "Matsuoka Minori."

"May I call you Minori?" He asked politely. She could only nod. Officers weren't supposed to be nice, she was waiting for him to announce that she was property of the Japanese government. He didn't, however.

"Alright, Minori. Tell me about yourself, then." One of her eyebrows arched upwards in confusion.

"Nanami-san, I'm sure you can find all the relevant information within my Digicord." She answered in pristine Japanese, not the kind you learn on the streets, the kind that years of Hiyokuna-funded education drills into you. She was definitely not a street rat.

"Mamoru. And I would rather hear it from you, Minori." Reluctantly she started relaying information like she was taught in school.

"My name is Minori Jun Matsuoka, and I'm from Hiyokuna Sub-Sector 13. My parents are Matsuoka Ai and Matsuoka Hajime. I have a younger sister called Hitomi, we were both cultivated within in Lab 17, under the supervision of Nanami Ken'ichi-san. I went to school in Sub-Sector 13, at SS12, until I entered twelfth High School, and during my first year, came of age. Ever since then my sister and I have been running." She couldn't lie to Lieutenant Nanami, she was sure the translucent visor hanging over his left eyes was scanning her body language for signs of deception.        

Lieutenant Nanami nodded, "I assume that was some time ago?"

"Three years, I was thirteen." She answered automatically.

"Why did you not just accept your fate as a Yōki?" He asked, his tone sincere but his words stung.

"I did not want to meet the same fate as my mother did," she answered bitterly, without thinking about it, "she was given up by my father after I was adopted and he purchased a cyber nurse to take care of me. She died when I was seven." Lieutenant Nanami nodded once again.

"Thank you for your candour, Minori. You should rest, you have a big day tomorrow." He pressed a button on the tablet and she felt the calmness envelope her again.

It was days before she saw Lieutenant Nanami again. She began to adjust herself to her surroundings. Her cyber nurse was a male android with trademark Japanese characteristics who simply went by Aki. Sometimes Nakamura would pop in and converse with Aki, but other than him, she saw no one. It was only three days after, when she was dressed in a white dress when Lieutenant Nanami showed up again. She was sure he was coming to brief her on her initiation into the Program, but he could have had Nakamura do that. Upon entering, he dismissed Aki, and closed the door. Without saying a word, he grabbed the tablet with her Digicord on it, and from his pocket, produced a silver, octahedral shaped object. She heard the beeping and typing on the tablet, and suddenly she felt a tingling sensation in her back. Lieutenant Nanami put the octahedron away, and walked around her bed.  His hands were soft on her bare skin, and she felt him pull something from her skin. After stomping on it with his foot, he dumped a cybernetic implant into a nearby trashcan.

"What did you say your second name was, Minori-chan?" He asked.

She was shocked, "Jun." She replied apprehensively.

He nodded, and then pulled a tool from his pocket. Shaped like a stylus, he turned it horizontally, and a holographic display appeared. He scrolled through what appeared to be a personal inventory and then minimized the display. He pulled on the stylus and it broke into two equal parts, which digistructed a pile of clothes and other items in front of her eyes.

"Please stand." He asked politely, and she obeyed. He took the two pairs of styluses and released them. The soft whir of Nano engines filled the air and they travelled around her. The bots returned to Lieutenant Nanami, who pressed a command on the screen. The bots immediately sprang into action, creating a ridiculously realistic, 3D holographic copy of Minori Matsuoka.

"While that's busy, please stand in front of the mirror." His soft voice snapped her out of the daze the bots had put her in.

"Why?" She dared to ask. He picked up a pair of scissors the bots had digistructed earlier, and stood behind her. He took her hair in his hands, and in a straight line cut it so that it fell under her chin. He cut her hair into a military style complete with the embarrassing undercut. She looked in the mirror, with her high cheekbones and soft jawline she didn't look even the slightest bit masculine. Lieutenant Nanami handed her the uniform.

"Change. From now on your name is Cadet Matsuoka Jun. you are from Sub-Sector 13 and you have no family. From now on you are male." His voice was resolute and filled the room. Even with her hair short Minori, or rather Jun, still looked feminine. Lieutenant Nanami seemed rather confident she would be okay due to her dainty structure and endurance. He instructed her to stand against the wall after she'd put on the uniform and raised the tablet. He produced the octahedron again, and tapped on the screen. He turned it around so she could see, as well. There she – he – was, Jun Matsuoka, undercut, cadet uniform and high cheekbones.

"Why are you doing this?" She finally got herself to sk. Lieutenant Nanami's face softened and he stopped typing.

"Because, Minori-chan. You were right, becoming a Yōki is a death sentence." He said. She couldn't find it in herself to reply. A soft beep turned both their attentions to Minori Matsuoka – the holographic copy – sitting on the bed. She looked utterly realistic and Jun doubted anyone would notice the difference. In any case, it was only supposed to last until Lieutenant Nanami got her safely out of the Lab. When she refocused her gaze on Lieutenant Nanami, his stylus was in the middle of digistructing something else. He handed her a skin-coloured patch.

"It's a voice modulator," he placed it on her wrist, and she felt the adhesive stick to her skin, "you cannot remove it, but you can turn it off. Tap it twice to deactivate and once to activate."

She tapped it once, "thank you." Her voice was deep and self-assured, completely different from the way Minori used to speak.

"Youare most welcome, cadet. And good luck." He said, and for the first time shesmiled, because she knew she was going to need it.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

little late, but here nonetheless! first chapter of and then he fell, tell me what u think!!

hopefully the tech in this isn't too... farout?? but this is a scifi novel and i tried my best to help u visualize that scene where they create the holo!!

also just a note digistruct = digitally construct :-) kinda stole the term from borderlands but shhh

last lil note!! if ur sitting there like... wat? after the whole name change scene lemme break it down for u!! so MINORI is a trademark female japanese name, whereas JUN is a unisex name typically given to MALES ! also if the whole -chan, -san thing is bothering u, the honorific -san typically translates to mr or mrs/ms and -chan is for cute girls (or rather kawaii) okok, hmu if anything else is unclear!

w love

dan <33