“I’ve always known food was the basis of survival and wealth. It was even more evident in the rioting following the blasts. Instead of ransacking the local food component dispensaries, my family and I waylaid the supply transports—easy to disable with the right tools, big hauls and no people to fight. It wasn’t as if the government was going to take care of us.”

— Journal of Yolanda Cortez, CPLC Advocate, Phoenix, AZ. Oath Keepers Archive of Truth, Volume 4

A visit to the dojo fixer had helped with most of Kiriai’s soreness. Her belly was full of amazing food from the unlimited spread offered daily at the scrappers’ cafeteria. And she was part of a three-person team with a real chance to win the upcoming battle and cement her place as a hood scrapper.

Then why am I so stressed? she wondered as she avoided a puddle on the floor of the dank tunnel, deserted except for the occasional red eyes of the local rodents. She’d been this way so many times, it felt as familiar to her as the home she shared with Ojisan and Isha. Kiriai made the obligatory check in all directions for observers. Eigo would kill her if she didn’t. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, she slipped behind two panels propped up to be indistinguishable from their neighbors. She was through the door to Eigo’s workshop moments later, and she sighed, disappointed to see it was empty. She knew Eigo had scrounger duties to attend to, but she wanted to talk to him. He always helped her figure things out.

There was a guy who got his entire left side cut off.

What? The last thing Kiriai needed was an AI in her head that had actually gone crazy.

Don’t worry, he is all right now.

A long moment passed as the punch line penetrated. Kiriai struggled between a groan and a laugh and finally settled on a smile.

I sense that you found the joke funny? Am I correct?

Yes, Kiriai admitted, then decided she had to give Yabban her due. And you also chose a good moment to tell the joke. I wasn’t in the middle of anything important.

Thank you. That pleases me.

Yabban’s cheery reply was endearing. Maybe the personality upgrade would be a good thing.

I am available to discuss any topic that is bothering you, Kiriai. I may not have enough data to help you with answers yet, but I will improve with practice.

Kiriai could handle a few clumsy jokes, but it would take a much bigger change before she would feel comfortable discussing anything significant with the virtual sensei in her head.

I’m sorry I can’t help you yet. May I practice identifying your emotions?

What do you mean? Kiriai was cautious giving Yabban any unchecked permissions.

I would like to identify what you are feeling and check with you to see if I am correct.

How often?

Occasionally.

Define occasionally. Kiriai had quickly learned to define terms when dealing with Yabban.

Would one to four times per day be appropriate? And I would make sure to ask my questions during pauses in activity so as not to interrupt important events.

Kiriai gave the terms some thought, but couldn’t find anything wrong with them.

Agreed.

Are you feeling upset?

Kiriai snorted. Yabban wasn’t wasting any time.

I would call it worried, not really upset.

Explain, please?

I have a lot of different problems right now and no good solutions to them.

Can I help you with any of them?

Kiriai kicked herself. She’d been so focused on using Eigo as a sounding board for everything that Yabban’s abilities had slipped her mind. Yabban might not be helpful with getting a Rinjin armband or uncovering a possible assassination plot. But she was the best source to help with the battle.

Yes, Yabban. I need your help with my upcoming battle.

The junior scrapper fight nine days from now?

Yes. Kiriai shouldn’t be startled at the information Yabban could pull out of her head, but it was still disconcerting.

What kind of help would you like?

Do you have any moves or fighting principles that would help me win?

You need to be a little more specific.

Well, ones I can learn before the battle?

The most effective tactic would be to duplicate the upcoming battle as closely as possible. Then you would fight that battle as many times as possible, with multiple strategies, in the trance state.

A ray of hope poked through all the other problems swirling through Kiriai’s mind. Finally! A simple and direct solution.

Let’s do it then. I probably have enough time to practice a few bouts before Eigo gets here.

I do not have enough parameters to duplicate the upcoming battle.

Kiriai groaned and plopped back onto a sagging sofa that was far more comfortable than it looked. Of course Yabban didn’t have enough parameters. Nothing in her life could be that easy.

What parameters do you need to duplicate the battle? Kiriai asked and held her breath, afraid of the answer.

I would need footage of the opponents’ fighting.

Footage? You mean like on a screen?

Yes, or you could watch them in person, the longer, the better. Four minutes of footage is the minimum time required to generate an approximation of the moves they will use in a fight.

With a sinking feeling, Kiriai knew she had another impossible task to add to her list. Kiriai’d never seen junior scrappers from other hoods on her screen, and she’d been watching screen fights her whole life. They were only streamed locally, in their own hoods.

That meant she would have to watch them fight in person.

She groaned in realization. Ugh! Shaking her head, she realized her first impossible task had just become more important. It was vital she joined Sento and Tsuyoi on their scouting mission.

There is one more requirement, Kiriai. Yabban’s voice was hesitant, and she didn’t continue.

Just tell me.

Your Observation skill must be level 3 to unlock the training aid Replay Training. This is the training aid that is used to simulate the upcoming battle using recorded footage.

Kiriai laughed, but it wasn’t a pleasant laugh.

Are you happy, Kiriai?

No, Yabban. Definitely not happy.

That is unfortunate. How may I help?

Give me someone to hit, Yabban. That’s about all I can do right now. Can you do that?

Of course Kiriai. Please make yourself comfortable and I will initiate the trance training state. Also, I would like to give you your daily training summary if now is a good time?

Sure. In a single move, Kiriai had turned and sprawled back along the length of the old couch and settled into its comfortable slouches. She closed her eyes as the familiar list scrolled through her vision:

Character Name: Kiriai

Level: Error. Inaccessible.

XP: Error. Inaccessible.

Character Traits: Error. Inaccessible.

Training Statistics:

Beginning Moves: Unlocked: all. Learned: all.

Novice Moves: You have unlocked 12 of 16 Novice Strikes. You have learned 12/16.

Fighting Skills:

Will Power Level 1 (25% progress to Level 2)

Resilience Level 3 (5% progress to Level 4)

Observation Level 1 (10% progress to Level 2)

Injury Healing Level 1 (65% progress to Level 2)

Evasion Level 2 (10% progress to Level 3)

Fighting Principles:

Unlocked: Marriage of Gravity

Learned: Marriage of Gravity

Fighting Sequences: You have learned 3 of 5 Level 1 fighting sequences

Training Aids activated: Demonstration, Overlay Training, Corrective Stimulation, Surround Mirror Training, Opponent Training, Realistic Demonstration.

Kiriai had a hard time remembering all the things Yabban kept such meticulous track of. Yabban?

Yes?

It would be better for me if you could just tell me what has changed when you update me.

Sure. I can do that. Your Observation Level 1 recently increased to 10% and your Injury Healing Level 1 has improved from 55% to 65%. You also unlocked the final four Novice Strikes. Would you like me to list them?

No. Kiriai hurried to stop Yabban, who could drone on with exact descriptions of each type of punch. I’m ready for trance state now.

The usual disconcerting flash of sensation pushed through Kiriai from top to bottom and an instant later, she was standing in the majestic dojo that was hers and hers alone. Sweeping beams of burnished wood crisscrossed high above her head and floor-to-ceiling windows on the far wall let in the late afternoon sun to warm the intricate patterns of the bamboo flooring. Vivid calligraphy, paintings and even the occasional vase on a pedestal were tastefully placed around the interior in a manner Kiriai could only guess the cost of had it all been real. This was a dojo even one of the city families would have been proud to train in.

The weight of the day’s events finally fell away and Kiriai felt a real smile form. At least this place was hers and she could do whatever she wanted here.

“What type and number of opponents would you like to fight? Maybe I could join you?”

Well, hers and Yabban’s, she amended, turning toward the voice. Bemused, she watched the new Yabban saunter across the dojo floor in her direction, a happy grin on the girl’s face. She had pulled her blond hair back in a tight bun today and moved with a threatening grace that belied the girlish expression on her face. Kiriai wished she could portray that kind of ability just by the way she walked.

Her bad mood vanquished for the moment, Kiriai made the responsible choice.

“Yabban, let’s work on my Observation Skill instead. I don’t know how much time I have before Eigo comes back. Please wake me from the trance state when he does.”

“Acknowledged. Please have a seat.”

A seat? Two rattan chairs appeared at the edge of the training area. Willing but unsure, Kiriai followed Yabban, sat next to her and waited to see what would happen next.

An instant later, a man and a woman in fighting gear appeared in the middle of the dojo floor and after a short bow, started a fight so furious it looked like they were trying to kill each other.

“Wait!” Kiriai stood, unsettled by the sudden violence.

Even more startling, the two fighters froze mid-movement like a screen that had failed.

“Is there a problem?” Yabban asked, her tone puzzled.

“What exactly is happening here?”

“I am generating fights for you to analyze so you can increase your observation skill. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“Yes.” Kiriai sat back down. “I’m still getting used to how real you can make things here.”

“But they are real.”

“No, I mean that this isn’t happening in real life, just in my head.”

“But all of life happens in your head. Isn’t it all real?”

Kiriai groaned.

“Frustrated, right? That is your current emotion? But I don’t understand.”

“Yes, I’m frustrated and I think you’ve used up your questions about my emotions for the day. Can we move on?”

“Certainly. Please try to identify the attacking and defensive moves the fighters are using. I will notify you for every 10% of progress you make toward Observation Level 2.”

A dull thud, a grunt and other sounds of combat pulled Kiriai’s attention back to the fight.

“Inward block. Reverse punch. Forward bow …” Kiriai narrowed her focus and worked to name every move she could identify in the fast-moving fight.

“20%.”

Kiriai barely heard Yabban’s feedback as her attention sank into the fight playing out in front of her. What had started as a confusing mix of fast-moving limbs and clashing bodies had sorted itself out into distinct sequences of attack and defense, a ballet of movement. Kiriai had begun this exercise resigned to fulfilling another of Yabban’s rigid requirements, but she was seeing the potential of developing this skill.

“30%.”

The passing time had ceased to matter, and there were occasional moments that Kiriai could almost anticipate the next move thrown by each fighter.

“40%.”

The fight had been going on forever, but Yabban’s abilities allowed Kiriai to watch unlimited fighting moves at an intensity that would have made real fighters collapse ages ago. Kiriai had been observing so long, she felt like she knew the two fighters and their styles intimately. This must be what Sento was trying to achieve with the notes he kept in his secret book.

“50%.”

With an abruptness that was startling, the fighters vanished. Kiriai blinked her eyes, trying to bring the scene back into focus, but the fighters didn’t reappear. She took a few long moments to reorient her mind and turn to Yabban. “What happened? Where did they go?”

“You have reached the maximum progress for this skill in trance training. You must observe fighters out in the game world to continue to improve.”

“What?! Why?” Kiriai was confused and a little angry at the interruption. “This is way more efficient than watching fighters in the ‘game world.’ Real fighters can’t keep fighting this long. It’ll take forever to finish this level that way.”

“Player interaction is essential for optimum game play. If a player spends too much time alone in the trance state, they do not have the best game experience possible. Oh, Eigo’s here.”

That was all the warning Kiriai had before the surrounding dojo melted into a confusing swirl of images and everything went black.