I could hear breathing in the room beyond. I tugged at my tie, then pulled it out from around my neck as I stepped into the main room. Lounging on the bed, propped against the wall, was a white tigress casually reading something on a smartphone. Her red velvet sleeveless evening gown strained between her expansive chest, and her fur gleamed where the light touched it. At her waist was a wide black belt to emphasize her figure, and a golden chain choker sat close to her neck, with a familiar agate bauble at the hollow of her throat. I’d seen all of Ms. Teozen’s girls wear something like it somewhere, probably a gift from the madam herself.

I coughed once to try to get her attention, but her eyes remained deliberately on her screen. I waited several seconds, then spoke into the silence, my voice seeming too loud for the small space. “Ms. Teozen sent you?”

“She did, yes,” the tigress confirmed, still not turning her head. “My name is… well, call me Bianca.”

“Bianca, that’s very pretty. I… well, I brought you something.” I pulled a second envelope from my pocket, unmarked, and held it out to her. “A gift, not part of the deal.”

Finally, Bianca turned her head; her eyes were pale blue, like a cloudless summer sky. “Thank you, Reggie.” She sat up and took the check from me, then slid it into a pouch of a duffel bag on the floor beside the bed.

I winced at the shorthand. “Please, call me Reginald. I haven’t been called Reggie since high school.”

She chuffed softly, the tip of her tail flicking in amusement behind her. “Funny, that. First things first, though.” She held up a small cut crystal vial, about the length of my finger, stoppered at one end with a cork wrapped in wax. Inside swirled a dark amber liquid. “I’ll need three drops of your blood, to finish this.”

I watched Bianca roll the prism around in her fingers, the fluid inside shifting about. “Is that…?” I wiped my hands on my slacks; no matter how many times I did this, confronting the moment always made me nervous.

Bianca laughed again, a deeper rumble in the back of her throat. “Oh, poor boy. It’s more than you could imagine, that’s what it is.” She held out a paw. “Your hand, please… Reginald.”

With quickening pulse, I offered Bianca my hand, and she took it in hers, then closed her fingers around mine. An ivory claw slid out of her thumb, and she scratched my palm with it. Instantly, blood welled up in the cut, the salty sweat making it sting. I hissed against pursed lips, but I couldn’t look away as she broke the seal on the vial in her other paw, then counted off the crimson drops that she dribbled into the crystal. As each hit the amber within, the fluids reacted, mixing in rainbow hues. “One… two… three.” She let go of my hand and corked the small tube again. “That will take about five minutes to settle. Go run that under cold water for a bit.”

I nodded. “Yes, Bianca.” That familiar constriction returned as I held my hand under the faucet, watching drops of blood wash down the drain. My fingers and toes had started to go numb again. “Ms. Teozen never has told me where she gets her potions. They’ve got to eat up most of what I’m paying.”

“Ms. Teozen doesn’t encourage us to discuss finances,” the tigress called from the other room. “It ruins the mood.”

“I’m just wondering,” I responded over the running water, rubbing at the cut with my palm. “I’m fascinated by all this, really.”

Bianca chuckled again, and then I saw her in the bathroom mirror, leaning against the doorframe. She’d slid out of her dress, revealing a hunter green satin corset laced with white cord, accompanied by a matching thong below. “And you get so little opportunity to study it, I’m sure.” Her pale blue eyes burned into my reflection.

I shrugged and looked down at the sink quickly. “Let’s say it doesn’t come up much in my line of work.”

Bianca smiled tightly. “I’m sure it doesn’t.” She nodded, then slid back out of the doorframe, beckoning with her tail as she returned to the bed. “Has it stopped?”

I pulled my hand out of the water; the line of red was still visible, and as I watched, it slowly darkened, but it was mostly sealed. “Pretty much, yes.”

“Good,” the tigress responded. “Join me.”

When I stepped back into the bedroom, Bianca was busily shaking the vial in one paw, her other arm across her chest. She held it up before her eyes; the fluid within had gone completely clear. “It’s ready.” She tossed it to me. “Drink.”

I studied the crystal vial carefully; rainbows danced in its depths. “All of it?”

She nodded again, smiling with that hint of fang again. “One gulp.”

A shudder ran through me, but I nodded and pulled the stopper from the vial. The scents of jasmine and copper hit my nose and I sneezed, but before I could lose my nerve, I tossed back the contents like a shot. It was oily and tangy and it burned down my throat like liquid fire, then settled into a warm tingle in my stomach. I grunted and sat heavily on the bed. “It’s like an itch,” I muttered, not really thinking about it.

“Those sensations will fade soon,” Bianca soothed. “You should go ahead and strip.”

I shook my head, but I started fumbling with the buttons on my shirt. “I know. No, I—” The words caught in my throat, then tumbled out of me. “It’s like an itch. If you try to scratch it, it only itches worse.”

Bianca’s tail hooked behind her. “You’re not talking about your palm, or the potion.” That half-smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “How do you feel?”

I shuddered again; far from fading, the tingle was starting to spread, a faint burning like acid reflux, but deep in my gut. “Not good,” I admitted. “It wasn’t like this last time.”

Bianca’s smile spread, but her eyes grew harder. “You met with Selina last time. You asked Ms. Teozen to up the tension. We seek to please.”

The pain was starting to spread; every brush of my clothes made my skin crawl, and I struggled with the buttons, trying to get the clothing off. “I know what I—” A wave of nausea washed up my throat, making me gag. “Oh fuck….”

The tigress folded her arms beneath her ample chest. “Oh, poor boy. Is this too much for you?”

With a rising groan, I tore my starched shirt off my chest and threw it on the floor; beneath it, fire crawled beneath my flesh, turning it dark and coarse. Stiff brown fur forced itself through the leathery hide, and I desperately rubbed at the skin, trying to scrape away with the pain with palsied, agony-riddled fingers. Something ripped behind me, and for a moment I thought I had torn a hole in my skin, but when I reached back, the rear seam of my slacks had given way, the shivering nub of a tail forcing itself through the fabric. I dropped to my knees, a sob cracking up my throat, breaking over parched lips.

Softly, Bianca tsked behind me. “You should be careful who you ask to make things harder on you, Reggie.” Her voice was surprisingly soft, her whiskers a maddening tickle against my ear. “Somebody might take it as a challenge.”

I whined again, more at the burning than the name. I tried rolling onto my back, but the carpet burned against my fur. I thrashed up into my rump, but that just ground my boxers into my ass. “Oh fuck,” I panted again, putting my head in my muzzle. “M-make it stop, make it stop make it stop, please….” Another sob broke out of me, and the tears started to roll freely down my muzzle, stopped short by a bleating cry when Bianca’s needle-sharp teeth clamped down on my ear.

“That’s enough out of you,” she growled. “You wanted this. You wanted it rough, so Ms. Teozen sent me, and I take my job seriously.” She tugged at my ear, then let go, the hot blood running down my cheek a fresh spark of pain mixing with the mounting burn of the fabric touching me everywhere. “You want it to stop?” I nodded mutely and she held out her paw. “Stand up.”

I took her paw in my hand and forced myself to my hinds, then struggled out of the last of my clothing and tossed it aside. Nude, the pain finally began to abate, and the end of so much agony was so intense that I moved to latch onto my tormentor, to weep my relief into her breast. As my chest brushed against her corset, though, pain seared itself across my chest and I stumbled backwards with another cry, landing on the bed. Instantly, my back was a field of flames, and a fresh scream tore itself from my mouth as I thrashed back upright.

“Enough!” Bianca gripped my shoulders in her paws. “Hold still.” I froze, and again the pain vanished, as if it had never been. Tears rolled down my cheeks, and I looked down at myself. At the end of my legs, hooves insulated me from the carpet, and understanding dawned. “Those are the only things keeping me upright, aren’t they?” I whispered. My heart pounded in my chest, my blood pulsing in my ears. I felt nauseous, giddy, ready to throw up, and I realized only seconds later that my cock was jutting upright and a thin stream of pre was pouring down my shaft.

The tigress chuckled again. “He learns fast.”

Cautiously, I brushed my hand against Bianca’s corset, then jerked it back as if I’d just pressed it against a hot stovetop. I looked at my hands; the fingertips were hard and black, glittering slightly. I tapped one tip against her chest, but nothing happened. I held my breath, then pressed one fingertip into the fabric, but nothing happened. I let out a sigh of relief. “Okay, okay… I can handle this, but… um… how can we…?” I blushed, suddenly; I’d been so distracted by the effects of the potion that I’d almost forgotten that part of the bargain.

“You won’t like it,” Bianca chuckled, then nipped my other ear, making me whimper. She knelt beside the bed, then reached into the duffel bag and pulled out a small stack of something white. She set the pile on the nightstand, and then plastic rustled as she unfolded one and approached.

My ears reflexively folded back against my head as I realized what it was. “You can’t be—” My protest died in my throat at Bianca’s calculating smile.

“I am, in fact,” the tigress growled deep in her throat. “And until that potion wears off, it’s these or…” She glanced meaningfully at the bed.

I swallowed heavily at that. “Yes, ma’am,” I whispered, crossing my arms behind my back. I didn’t mean to say it, but the word slipped out along with my cock, aching in front of me.

“Good boy,” Bianca smirked. “But this won’t be enough. Only water can cool that fire. I hope you can relieve yourself through that.” I winced as she flicked a claw against my throbbing erection. “Otherwise, when this goes on, it’s going to hurt. Think you can manage that, Reggie?”

“I… don’t know, ma’am.” I swallowed hard, chest tightening from humiliation. “I… I can try.”

The tigress chuckled again. “You’d better do more than try, or you’re going to be in a lot of pain until you manage.” Then, without further ado, she pressed the adult diaper into my crotch, sending a blistering ache over my groin. I immediately let out a fresh cry and my knees started to tremble, but I grabbed Bianca’s fur and pushed, and the white padding started to yellow and soften. Almost at once, the fire gave way to a soothing warmth, the relief and the pleasure making me groan.

“Hold that here,” Bianca directed, moving my hands to the front of my padding. I gingerly took the waistband in between my fingers, and while I supported my end, her fingers moved quickly to the sides and behind, pulling up the rear and taping everything into place. The plastic rustled every time my short tail flicked against it, reminding me of its presence and making me blush anew. “There we go, little Reggie.”

I whimpered and folded my arms behind my back, my cock pulsing against the wet padding. “Thank you, ma’am.”

The tigress grinned and massaged me through my diaper, and I started to grind against her capable fingers, but after a few seconds of teasing, she put her other paw on my shoulder and pushed me down. “Kneel, little boy.”

I winced but nodded. “Yes, ma’am.” Ginger, I sank to my knees, but true to her word, the only sting when I knelt was the normal carpet burn. I let out the breath I hadn’t meant to hold as Bianca stepped up in front of me, her legs spread, the front of her sodden panties before her.

Hungrily, I threw myself at her, muzzle pressed against her thatch. The satin was soaked with her juices and the faint sour tinge of urine, but I lapped like a parched dog at an oasis. She growled and moaned, moving her paw to the back of my head, holding me against her crotch. I sucked her nectar from the fabric and traced her folds with my tongue through the thin material, frantically rubbing myself through the front of my own soggy undergarment, squishing the wet padding against my shaft and grinding against my hand.

“If you come before I do, I’m taking half that stack with me when I leave,” Bianca growled, and I forced my hand away from my crotch. I groaned into her sex, whimpering with need, trying to ignore the throbbing of my cock as I poured my energies into the tigress’ cunt. After what felt like hours of worshiping her through her panties, she pulled aside the sheer fabric, bearing her folds to me directly. “Now, little boy,” she whispered hoarsely. “Get me off.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I grunted in response, my tongue already starting to go numb. I was no expert, but she wasn’t my first, and she was as turned on by what she’d been doing as I was. She was already growling by the time she bared herself to me, and her clit was already throbbing when I touched my tonguetip to it. She let out a yowl and sunk her claws into my shoulders, but the pain was only an encouragement. I traced her netherlips and circled her clit, then dragged my tongue over it, and her whole body tightened and shook under me, tailtip batting at my chest.

When the moment passed, she pulled her paws off of my shoulder and retrieved her dress from her bag. “If you can get off through that, you’re welcome to do so.” She patted the stack of diapers on the nightstand. “Water will work as well as urine; the spell only cares about moisture. Just be careful; I’m leaving you six, and they have to last until the potion fades.”

I swallowed heavily, but my hand was already back on the front of my diaper, rubbing frantically against myself through the wet padding. Within seconds, I was groaning, and then a fresh burst of spunk added to the mess. I sank gratefully against the carpet, letting it tickle my chest. “How long… how long until it wears off?”

Bianca grinned and pulled the dress on over her head. “Long enough to make six diapers a challenge. The room is reserved through the end of the week.” She carefully tugged the velvet into place, then buckled her belt. “You have Ms. Teozen’s number if anything too disastrous happens.” With that, she retrieved her bag and slung it incongruously over her shoulder. “Enjoy your weekend, Reginald.”

I rolled onto my back and smiled up at the departing tigress. “I will, Bianca.” As the door opened and closed behind her, I sighed happily and soaked the diaper further, hoping that this would scratch the itch, at least for a while.

The words stopped me in my tracks, one paw on the edge of the door, the other tugging at the buttons of my polo shirt, my eyes trapped by my girlfriend. Despite being tall for a raccoon, she was usually a study in curves: wide hips, a gentle tummy that made her giggle when I tickled it, and ample breasts that my paws longed to caress. Today, though, she was all red leather angles, severe and imposing. The platform boots she wore brought her almost eye to eye with me and tilted her onto her toes, making her look like she was looming. Her corset accentuated her already-generous figure, pushing out her chest and drawing her waist into a sharp line. Elbow-length fingerless gloves covered her forearms, and in one paw, she lazily twirled a slim rattan cane.

In the other, she held my collar, its small gems glittered against the powder-blue leather. Her deep blue eyes were cold and unreadable, bright against the black band of fur. She held my gaze for several seconds, until I had to force myself to look away. My ears flattened against my head and my tail drooped, and I could feel its tip flicking nervously to spite me. I glanced back, cautiously, and forced a smile to my muzzle. “Sorry, love. I got stuck in a meeting and couldn’t—”

My voice froze when the switch in my mate’s fingers stopped. “I said you’re late, kitty.” My chest froze as Mistress invoked scene. “And by over two hours, I should note. Kneel, paws behind your back, and they had better stay there.”

I swallowed heavily but did as she asked, lacing my fingers together, the backs of my paws pressed against the small of my back. As I sunk to my knees and bowed my head, the tip of her cane tapped my shoulder, and I heard the door close behind me with an ominous thunk. “Do you remember what you’re supposed to do if you’re going to be late?”

I winced, my muzzle suddenly dry. I licked my lips nervously and swallowed. “Yes, ma’am.”

I heard Mistress’ boots step closer, and her short claws gripped the scruff of my neck. “Tell me. I want to hear you say it.”

The tug at the sensitive fur sent a ripple of heat down my spine even as my cheeks burned. “I’m to call if I can, text if I can’t, before our meeting.” My voice came out a lot smaller than before. “And I’m to either tell you when I’ll be there, or when I’ll next contact you, ma’am.”

“So why didn’t you message me, pet?” Mistress’ tone was far too light, too casual. “I’m curious. How long did you plan on making me wait?”

I swallowed heavily again. My knees were starting to hurt, but I didn’t dare move. My chest felt tight and my paws were sweating, but my cock was already starting to twitch. “I’m sorry, ma’am.” The words started to spill out of me. “Paul and some of the other guys in the office invited me to join them for drinks. I tried to tell them I had a date, but they started cracking jokes about me being whipped. I had to go! I had to save face!”

Mistress was quiet for a few seconds after that, though her claws never stopped their teasing. Then I felt her breath on my ear, her words a murmur. “Are you embarrassed by our relationship, kitty?”

“Are you sure?” She drew out the last word, rising in gentle mockery. “You’re such a big, strong, buff tiger.” A tap from Mistress’ cane emphasized every word, sending a fresh rush of warmth to my cheeks. “And I’m just a meek little raccoon. Everybody thinks you’re the alpha and I’m the omega, but…” She paused and nipped my eartip, making me mewl. Her voice fell to a husky whisper. “We both remember rule number one, don’t we, kitty?”

“You own me, ma’am, and I’m glad to be owned.” The words were a mantra of arousal; just saying it was enough to make my shaft throb in its sheath.

Mistress’ claws suddenly dug into the scruff of my neck, though her voice never rose in pitch or volume. “So why don’t your coworkers know when your mistress expects you to be home, hmm?”

The strength of her grip in such a sensitive location made me whimper. “I… I’m sorry, ma’am.”

“Oh, not yet you aren’t,” Mistress hissed in my ear, “but you will be.” The cane left my shoulder, and then I felt her paws at my neck, fastening my collar in place, followed by the click of a lock behind me. “Rise, strip, and follow.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said as I got up off of my knees. I wanted to take a minute to rub some blood flow back into them, but I knew better than to delay any longer. I shed my pants and shirt, then my underwear, bundling it all under my arm as I followed Mistress back into our bedroom. Inside, the room smelled of her musk, velvety and warm. Red lights in the lamps on the nightstands made the room seem a few degrees warmer, and a pile of nylon strapping and leather cuffs sat in the middle of the bed.

Mistress took my clothes from me as I entered. “On the bed, kitty. All fours.” Once I was in position, she pulled the restraints from under me, then quickly tied my ankles to the foot of the bed, forcing me to spread my legs. She balled my paws into fists, then tucked them into a pair of mitts, which she then fixed to the bedsides. I heard her climb up beside me, and then the room went dark as she put a padded blindfold over my eyes. My shaft bobbed out of its sheath, but with my arms tied, I couldn’t do anything about it. Not that I would have dared without her permission.

The cane bounced lightly against my back, but I quickly bit my tongue. “That was just a warmup, kitty,” Mistress said from behind me, her voice still tight. “Seven strokes, one for every fifteen minutes you made me wait. Count out loud.” Then the air whistled, and the slim rattan rod landed squarely across my rump with a crack.

“One!” I yelped, jumping slightly. The blow sounded worse than it felt, but the sting it left still hurt. The cane whistled again, and the second stroke fell just below the first. “Two!” My cheeks burned a bit more with each number, my ears pulling more tightly against my head. Tears welled up behind the blindfold, as much from shame as from pain. Every lash made my cock jump, spattering a few more drops of precum against the sheets.

I tried to imagine how the scene had to look from the outside, the apex predator whipped, figuratively and literally. The next stripe of pain caught me off-guard, landing just above the first. “Three!” My voice broke. Not even halfway and you’re crying. Sissy. The imagined words sent a wave of warmth and embarrassment down my back and made my balls twitch, like I was going to cum just from the thought. Another whistle, and the backs of my thighs lit up. “Four!” I drew in a ragged breath, tensing all over.

“Oh, poor kitten.” Mistress’ voice poured like honey into my ears, rich with her amusement and arousal. The smell of her had thickened with every blow, rolling around in my nostrils. “I’m pulling my punches, and I’m not even that strong.” She pressed her paw gently against one abused rump cheek and rubbed, warmth overriding the pain. “I’d better stop, or I might actually hurt you.”

“I… I’m sorry, ma’am.” My voice cracked again.

I felt her moving in front of me, her tail briefly brushing against my muzzle, and then her fingers were at the back of my head. “It’s okay, pet. I have a better way you can work off those strokes.” The fur of her thighs brushed against my cheeks, and then her scent was full and rich below me. “Lick, kitty,” Mistress hissed as she tugged my collar. “Back of tongue only.” I mewled softly, squirming against my bonds, but I did as she ordered, careful to keep my tongue curled. Blind, I worked by feel and taste, caressing her labia, then dipping down to circle the opening of her tunnel, before rising to carefully glide around her clit.

The lingering sting in my rump and the burning in my cheeks had me almost in a trance. I poured my arousal and shame into my servitude, letting Mistress’ moans guide my tongue. As her breath rose and fell, I followed her gasps, hoping to make her cum, but the sudden chime of the doorbell snapped me sharply of the reverie. She groaned in response, and then I felt her pull away from me. “And that’s the rest of your lesson.” I heard her boots hit the floor, and then steps as she left the room. She closed the door behind her, and then I was alone with the scent of her arousal lingering in my muzzle.

It felt like several minutes passed while I squirmed against my ropes. I had a little slack, but only enough to shift my weight from one side to the other. I started to think that making me wonder what she was doing was part of my punishment. Before long, though, the bedroom door opened, and Mistress’ voice came through. “—n here. I was just getting him warmed up.” I caught whiff of a second scent, male, canine, and very earthy, but I couldn’t place it.

Then I heard his voice, faintly accented, and recognition flared. “I have to tell you, I’ve been—”

“Paul?” The name was out of me before I could stop it. The thought of any of my coworkers seeing me like this was enough to freeze my blood. Imagining his expression as he stared at me, naked and bound, made me thrash against my restraints. “Sarah, what’s—”

Mistress’ cane landed sharply on my hip, an echo of the earlier stripes. “Did I tell you to speak, pet?”

Her words cut across my panic. “No, ma’am,” I whimpered in response. My head was swimming, my heart pounding in my chest.

“He’s usually much better behaved.” The switch bounced lightly against my side, emphasizing her words.

“No worries,” Paul drawled casually. “How should we handle this?” One of his paws rested on my back, his claws drumming against my spine like I were a piece of furniture. The thought and the touch made my cock jump and a moan escaped my muzzle.

The bed rustled, and then Mistress’ paw slowly brushed down my shoulder and back. “There’s lube and some condoms in the drawer by my bed. Take your time getting ready; he’s not going anywhere.” Her breath was suddenly warm against my ear, her voice that heady whisper. “I can hear your heart pounding, kitty, so let’s talk. Lemon-drop.”

Hearing her use my safeword, I drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. I wasn’t ready to run, but my heart was still racing. “Okay, but… that’s Paul. From work. I—”

“I’ve already talked with him,” Mistress said quietly, still brushing my back with her paw. Behind her I could hear my coworker muttering to himself. “You said you thought you’d be okay if he knew, so I reached out to him and he’s fine with everything. Around six o’clock, I asked him if he knew where you were. He said you were out with your team, and I explained where I thought you were supposed to be. He offered to help. I told him to wait ten minutes after you left, then come over. Okay?”

I hesitated for a moment, then nodded. My chest was still pounding, but I was breathing easier, and I couldn’t deny being turned on by the exposure; my cock was drooling precum onto the bed and every touch sent a fresh shiver down my spine. “So, kitty,” Mistress continued as she sat back, restoring scene. “We’re going to clear up a few misconceptions. One, when I say you’re going to let me know when you’re going to be late, you will let me know. Is that understood, pet?”

Paul groaned loudly behind me, punctuating Mistress’ words. “Yes, ma’am,” I moaned into the mattress, lifting my rump in the air.

“Two.” She gripped my scruff around my collar, and a second pair of paws landed on my back. “When somebody teases you about being whipped, kitten, you’re to remember rule number one, which is…?”

I blushed hard, ears flattening against my head, knowing that Paul would hear me, but I couldn’t stop myself. “You own me, ma’am, and I’m glad to be owned.”

“Three.” The bed shifted as Paul knelt behind me, and I felt his paws spread my rumpcheeks. “I don’t ask you what you do with your time, kitten, but mine isn’t yours to waste.” A cold dollop of lube fell on my pucker, making me wince, but it warmed quickly as my coworker positioned the head of his shaft against it. “So, we’re going to play hurry-up-and-wait. Paul?”

Paul’s response was a grunt and groan as he pushed himself into me, forcing me open. I’d been pegged before, Mistress riding me with a strap-on, but it had been some time and I was out of practice, so there was a lot of pain mixed with the pleasure of his cock filling me. His paws moved to my hips, and then he began to ride me, long slow strokes in and out. I did my best to match his movements, but he was bigger than I was expecting, and my heart was still thumping in my chest. All I could really manage was to squirm against my bonds and whimper into the mattress while my cock bounced under me with every one of his thrusts.

All the while Paul rode me, I could feel Mistress sitting beside me, her finger lightly rubbing my scruff and stroking the backs of my ears. You’re being fucked by your coworker, I heard in my head, my shaft throbbing at the thought. Everybody’s going to smell him on you on Monday. They’ll know your secret. You’re the sissy. You’re the slave. Was she saying it? Was I just imagining it? I started to grind back against the wolf, losing myself into the embarrassment, the exposure.

Something sharp and hard rammed into my pucker, and I heard Paul whine. His muttering got louder and growls started punctuating his words. His thrusts started coming shorter, harder, faster. Another stab ran up from under my tail, and I realized what he was trying to do. “Ma’am?” I managed to whimper. Despite my arousal, I knew what was coming. “He’s… he’s trying…” His hips ground urgently against my rump. “Oh, gods… too much…”

Mistress’ paw tugged at my collar. “What’s rule number one, kitty?”

I tried to respond, but Paul’s insistence made it hard to focus. “You o-own me, ma’am, and… and I’m….” My chest was starting to feel tight again, my voice shaking. “I’m glad to… to be owned.”

“That means your tailhole is mine, too,” Mistress cooed, kneading my neck. “To use or give away, doesn’t it? That means that—unless you safeword—Paul’s going to tie with you. He says it’s about… oh… two hours or so for that to go down enough to get free.”

“T-tie?” My voice cracked. “Bu-but…” Paul’s knot slammed against my pucker again, grinding more urgently against me. “Oh gods…”

“I’m getting close,” Paul huffed behind me, his claws digging into my hips. “Say it or take it, kitty.”

I bit my lip, whimpering into the mattress. “I… I…” For an instant, I thought about safewording, but then I clamped down on my tongue, and agony blossomed behind me, followed a moment later by a wave of pure bliss as I clamped down on Paul’s knot. My coworker bent over me, whining, and then let out a howl as he jammed himself deep into me. Heat rippled up from my guts, and I shot my own load into the mattress, collapsing with a groan into the puddle a few seconds later.

Mistress’ paw brushed my cheek. “Status, kitten,” she murmured in the suddenly still room.

I shook my head to try to clear it. “I… hurt, ma’am, but… feels so good. Paul’s heavy. Arms starting to tingle. Ashamed. Loved.”

I could feel Mistress’ smile in the brush of her lips against mine. “Good kitty.” She shifted off the mattress, and I heard her fussing with the straps. Then the tension in my arms and legs vanished, and I felt her paw at my hip. “Let’s get you two on your sides.” He groaned his assent, and we managed to roll over, with the wolf’s arm under my head. “Paul, do you need anything?”

“Towel might be nice,” Paul groaned behind me. “And some water.” I heard Mistress’ steps head into the bathroom, then come back, and something soft fell on my hip. “Other than that….” He moved behind me and pain spasmed up my spine, dragging a hiss out of me. “Nothing for it. We’ll have to wait.”

Mistress’ gloved paw brushed my cheek again. “Then I’ll get you some water, and I’ll be back in a few hours. If you’re free before then, kitty, come get me. I’ll be in the living room.” I vaguely nodded, and the world drifted around me.

A light jostle at my shoulder brought me back to attention. “Status, kitten?”

I squirmed against the wolf behind me. “Still sore, ma’am. Warm.”

“Paul?”

“Oh, fine. Just about…” Paul shifted, making me spasm again, but I felt his paw at my hip. “Yeah, I think… ready?” Without waiting for an answer, he shifted away, slowly but insistently pulling his knot out of me.

A last spasm of pain ran up my spine, followed by a wave of relief as he withdrew from my stretched tailhole. My pucker burned from the abuse. “Ow.” I put a paw against my rump, rubbing the bruises to distract myself from the ache. “Oh… oh gods.”

One of Mistress’ bare paws carefully removed the blindfold, the other resting on my shoulder. “How’s the condom, Paul?”

“Feels intact; the tip’s still full.” Paul sat up, and my back was suddenly cold. “Care to check it?”

Mistress’ shook her head. “No, go ahead. Robert?”

I drew in a sharp breath and let it out with a smile, sliding back out of scene. “Yes, Sarah?”

Sarah gently gripped my shoulder. “Seriously, full status.” Her blue eyes, set in her black-furred mask, were wide and shimmering. “I just pushed a lot of boundaries. I want to know how you feel.”

I rolled onto my back, staring up to the ceiling. “I’m…” I put my paws behind my head. “Hearing Paul’s voice was a shock; I was terrified you’d outed me to the whole office. The knot was more than I was ready for, but not more than I could handle. That was two hours?”

“About… thirty minutes,” Paul said from the edge of the bed.

“It felt like days,” I replied, shaking my head. “I hurt, but it’s a really good hurt.”

Sarah lay down beside me; she’d taken off the rest of her clothes and curled up naked against my side. “I told you when we started this that I would test your limits. You said you were afraid of exposure, and you were scared of being seen as weak. I figure my job as your mistress, as well as your mate, is to help you get over those fears.”

I nodded and tugged at my collar, looking towards my coworker; the wolf sat with his elbows on his knees, wiping at his fur with the towel. “I’m still afraid of what happens on Monday.”

Paul barked a laugh. “You tell folks you and Sarah kissed and made up, and I tell folks about the sweet bit of tail I found after I left the bar. Nobody has to know more than that.”

I shook my head. “I…” I drew in a deep breath, then sighed. “I don’t want to be afraid any more.”

Sarah put her arm around my waist and hugged herself to me. “Bobby, I’m not asking you to bare every detail of what we do, but I think you have a lot of reasons to be proud of who you are, and I don’t think that pride will hurt your career.”

I nodded, but my attention was still on Paul. “What do you think will happen if I… if I wear my collar to work?”

Paul shrugged. “Assuming anybody even notices, they’ll think it’s a nice piece of jewelry. The ones who know what it means probably won’t say anything. The ones who do, you can tell ‘em to take it up with her.”

“Then…” I held still for a moment, then turned to my mate and mistress. “With your permission, ma’am, I’d like to start wearing it out more.”

Mistress smiled at that and kissed my shoulder. “Of course, kitty. You remember rule number one, don’t you?”

I smiled. “You own me, ma’am, and I’m glad to be owned.”

Mojibake (æ–‡å—化け)
by Jessie Tracer / Electric Keet

The young black cat tapped at the pane of glass; when she turned it to face me it became milky and spattered with nonsense. “This is the first message I got. There are four more from before, just like it but longer.” She nudged it forward in offering. “And thank you for taking the time, Officer Red Panda.”

I accepted the display panel from Abby and returned a warm smile. “Please, call me Yasuki.” On closer viewing, the deep blue nonsense resolved into fragmented English with bursts of near-random accented letters and punctuation. “This is… very strange. It’s been many years since I saw mojibake like this.”

Her head tilted slightly, the motion almost a caricature. “Pardon?”

“It’s a sort of error that can happen with digital text.” I pointed out the errant characters. “These are the result of letters from one language being misinterpreted by the system as being from another. Moji means ‘character’, bake means ‘change’. Mojibake.”

“So it’s not corrupted data after all?”

“It certainly is! It shouldn’t even happen in normal circumstances. Mixed in with pieces of normal, readable text….” I shook my head and handed the panel back to her. “Oh, neko-san, you have presented me with an enigma. May I have the other messages?”

She swept her fingers over the surface in smooth motions. “I received that one about a month ago, and these… every few days after. I wouldn’t have waited this long, but I thought they were just side effects from my time on that other server.”

My tail frizzed slightly. “You were also displaced during the Irokai no Minshukakumei attacks?” I remembered a cramped, impossibly white room stuffed to capacity with people waiting out an emergency server reboot. There was confusion, then panic—

She nodded with a chagrined smile. “Do you remember the cat who was caught by the memory corruption inside there?”

I remembered very well indeed.

My left paw kept busy, worrying at the edge of my suit jacket while I stared at message headers. An hour in my office with the messages sprawled across my workspace hadn’t done much to clear up the matter. Even with the mistranslated characters converted back to their original Cyrillic, it was all little more than a mess. The system helpfully pronounced the intact name “Perchik Zaytsev” for me, but the messages themselves seemed to have only occasional whole words of either Russian or English. The rest were untranslatable fragments.

Worse, the source of the messages was technically impossible. Before I’d joined Irokai Security – and before my permanent upload to the virtual world – I’d spent enough time beta-testing and sorting out small bugs to know a few things about how the massive computer system operated. Every autonomous process stored information about what object spawned it. The process delivering the corrupted messages to her belonged to something which simply didn’t exist in the database. It was like getting mail addressed from a city that wasn’t on the map.

I closed my eyes tightly, took a deep breath, and considered. Something about that cat and her enigma gnawed at me. I could dive deeper into the problem, focus all my efforts on a simple but odd-looking issue, and discover an obscure bug. I could report the matter to the development department and let them do all the digging for me. I could also simply put a filter on messages from that object and call the issue fixed.

I cleared my workspace, then began to type a message to Abby Paprika. «Your case is raising more questions than answers. I wish to meet with you as soon as possible….»

“Oi. You look like a cop.”

“I am a cop.” I flashed my credentials while staring evenly at the collie, doing my best to not let the garish lights of the club distract me. “It’s convenient that you’re logged in, korī-san. I have some questions for you as part of an investigation.”

She shifted in her chair with a jangle of the buckles and rings on her jacket… and some of her piercings. “Still playing at being in charge, hunh? How’s the arm?”

“Hold on a moment.” I invoked an administrative menu which floated obligingly for only myself to see. A few hand motions later, the raucous electronica surrounding us dropped to a murmur. “I’m sure you won’t mind the attenuation sphere?”

The effect only ranged for a couple metres, so nobody outside the pair of us had noticed it. She didn’t appear pleased, regardless. “Well, well. You’ve changed. So, like I asked, how’s the arm, lass?”

I flexed my left paw a little. “Getting better. Easier than learning the prosthetic was.”

Her voice dropped into a rumbly tone, a very familiar one. “Imagine what you can do with it now, eh?”

“Allow me to remind you that I am here as Security, not your paramour.”

She narrowed her eyes and muttered stiffly, “What can I do for you, constable?”

I sat across from her and tapped my display panel on the table between us. “Somebody’s having trouble with corrupted data. I examined her mods, and the name ‘Triska Dek’ was in every code header. Since that’s your alias now—”

“That’s my name.”

I tilted my head calmly. She glanced away for a moment, then back with a huff. I continued, “I would like to know more about the work you’ve done for Abby Paprika.”

“Who?”

I peered at her a bit harder. “The name doesn’t jog any memories, then?” She seemed genuinely perplexed. “I see. In that case, how about name Perchik Zaytsev?”

The collie shrugged. “Not a sausage.” With concern, she added, “Listen, I didn’t cause any corruption, right? I heard about the revolution, but I swear I wasn’t involved in the hacks!”

I held up a hand. “I don’t need to hear it, Tris. As far as I care, that’s old news.”

“So much is, nowadays.”

Don’t let her try your patience, girl. “I just want to know what’s going on with this code.” I swept a paw across the panel to light it up, then handed it over.

“Hunh.” Her expression lightened. “Oh! Right. I worked this up years ago for some guy.” She coughed. “Sorry, but I respect the privacy of my clients.”

I held back my first response. “Don’t worry about the name,” I soothed. “Just help me understand – what does the code do?”

Her ears went back. “Look, you’ve nicked me fair an’ square. It violates the terms of service. All over the place.” She extended her paws toward me, palms up. “Cuff me one last time, lass!”

“Stop that! I know the code’s illegal but I don’t care about that right now. I’m only concerned for the data integrity of an uploaded citizen.” Suddenly, I had her full attention. “If I have enough information to make sure she’ll be all right, then I can consider this case closed, and I’ll be so glad that I’ll certainly forget your name in the excitement.” I smiled. “Please?”

“Surprised you haven’t already,” she grumbled.

“Tris….”

“Uploaded, you say?” She hesitated, then leaned back with a heavy sigh. “All right. The code lets the user swap most everything about their avatar with a second configuration, incuding interaction history and memory stream. Bored with being the same old horse? Set up a new self as a fox, swap into it, customise all you like. It’s a new life. Change back whenever you want, be that other person again, remember nothing or everything as desired. It’s the alter ego starter kit.” She grinned widely. “You look startled, lass.”

Thoughts raced through my head. Perhaps the messages were meant for Abby’s other persona, and something had been confused? Could a person really go so far as to have an alternate self learn another language? I certainly have….

Pride bubbled forth as she spoke of her work. “Figured you’d appreciate that. Best part is, all of that info gets stored in a separate object, so there’s no sudden spike of data storage to bust your quota. Scored ace yens for that one.”

She was correct about the policy violations, but Irokai had bigger worries than another illegal coder. I considered the original problem briefly. “Just what happens to messages that come in for that alter ego if it’s not loaded?”

“They’re diverted to a hidden queue for later delivery, though the user can set the buffer object up to send a notice. There’s a simple script to—” She sighed, then motioned in the air, her own system menus invisible to me. “Look, I’ve gotta log out soon. Go ask Daniil Skaryna. He commissioned the code. Just don’t tell him I told you that, right?”

I nodded, slightly numb. “Oh. I’ll do what I can.”

“Take care o’ yourself, Yasuki.” She stood, waved to the bartender, glanced to me once more, then opened the hatch-door to the club, all with her tail hanging low.

The paired mirror-walls at each end of the library made it infinite. Unhindered by the imperfections that would be in real mirrors, the image travelled into the reflected distance without losing clarity. Uncountable red panda women in identical dark blue business suits stared at each other. Endless borzois stood behind mahogany desks, each of them tall and dressed simply, each of them facing the bookshelves instead of their guests.

After a long moment, the one standing in front of me finally responded. His voice was rhythmic as though he’d learned English from listening to music. “This will be in strict confidence, yes? Like medical records.”

I turned quickly and nodded. “Of course, Daniil. I can promise you that any information you give me will be secure, and used only for necessary operational purposes,” I replied with a nod.

“Good.” He turned toward me and said, “You could say that… Abby and Perchik are within the same person.”

I suddenly felt uncomfortable in my tailored suit. A familiar motive—

“By your expression, I can tell that you have now put together more of this puzzle, my lady.” He chuckled slightly. “Yes, my friend is fond of his feminine side, and he wished to make her into a separate character, but he did not wish to pay for a second account for that simple privilege. As for the modification code you mention, I bought it as a gift to them both.”

Between my own troubled thoughts and his rhythmic, almost dancing way of gesturing when he spoke, I had to consciously remind myself to remain on the task. “I see. Still, neither name matches an active account.”

“They are nicknames, you understand. Perchik was not very fond of his physical self. This is why he spent all of his savings to be here as much as he could manage. Finally, he would upload… not long before the most terrible climax of the Democratic Revolution of Irokai.” He grimaced, sounding wounded. “Even before that difficult time, I saw more of Abby and very little of Perchik anymore.”

“But she says she doesn’t know who he is. How can—”

Instantly wild-eyed, he motioned with a a silver-furred fist. “That is not to be broken under any circumstance!”

Even startled, I used the same calm, admonishing tone that I had with Tris earlier. “I promised that I wouldn’t, did I not?”

He relaxed his stance and nodded. “Yes. Yes, I suppose you did. Apologies, my lady. You see, I am Perchik’s only confidant, and that is by his design. Nobody else is to know the connection between those two, and I tell you of it only because you tell me of urgent concerns.” He stared distantly into his infinite reflections. “It pains me to see so much less of my friend Perchik, but if Abby is happy and does not know of her past… then I will not complain. I have done right by them both.”

“I understand. Thank you for being honest.” I picked at the edge of my jacket. “When did you last hear from Perchik?”

“Perhaps two months ago. I have sent messages to him, but the mod is made so that he will only see them when he switches back to that character. In fact, I sent another message to him just a few minutes ago when you mentioned his name.”

“One moment, please.” I gestured through my admin menu to track the database number of that most recent message. It had been delivered directly to Abby. Shortly after, it was unsuccessfully rerouted to the object that didn’t exist.

Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, the chief of security said, “For this purpose, I shall allow the access. However, I will hold you to your promise of a full explanation when the case is closed.”

“Arigatō, Sasaki-sama.” I bowed gratefully to his projected image, then quickly pulled up the secure private information for Abby Paprika. As anticipated, she had been uploaded on the date Daniil mentioned. My tail frizzed. “Remind me, please; how far back do our rolling data backups go?”

“Previously, fourteen days,” he said in a deep rumble. “That was extended to twenty-one for all citizens during the clean-up, in order to ensure that all reported corruption or discrepancies could be restored. It has not been reverted to fourteen, but if you are asking whether the data remains from before the system reboot, then the answer is ‘no’.”

I had the five messages displayed on my office desk when the call came in. “This is Maezawa Yasuki, Security,” I answered.

“Miss Yasuki?” Abby’s young voice seemed weaker over the call than in person. “I have a sixth message for you. I was asleep when it arrived.”

I perked up. More to work with? “Oh, please, do send it over. What time did you receive it?”

“Two hours ago.”

Two hours previous, Daniil had sent a message to Perchik. “Arigatō. I’ll look at it immediately.”

“Thanks!” She disconnected, and a moment later, the message arrived. It looked exactly the same as the others had, full of garbled nonsense.

I converted the misinterpreted characters to Cyrillic and aligned the message on the display table. It was half the length of the first four, and thus matched the fifth. Are they paired somehow? I thought. I rearranged them by stacking them as sets of two. They still didn’t make any sense. Why can’t I see through this?

See through it? I tapped the last message, made it half translucent, then dragged it over its complement. If I looked at the result just right—

I gasped audibly and set my paws in motion. Once I swapped the Cyrillic characters in each top message with the English in the bottom, the English appeared plain as day! I hurried to fix the other pairs, which proved to be parts of a single message in each language.

The three English parts formed a message which was sent from Daniil to Abby from only a month ago… and minutes before the server evacuation and reboot. He expressed worry for her having to suffer through the strange events of the Revolution so soon after being uploaded, but also gently assured her that she would be all right once everything settled down.

The three-part Belarusian message dated from several years prior, not long before Abby’s mod was coded. It was addressed from Perchik to Daniil. I felt suddenly guilty for prodding; the translated text was a sort of pleading confession. He wrote affectionately of his second personality – Abby – and how much he wished her to be as “free” of him as possible, unaffected by what he called a “troubled history”. He begged for his borzoi friend to help him effect a genuine split and to never tell her of it.

I closed my eyes and remembered. I still had dark dreams of the time after I’d lost my left arm but before the prosthetic. I spent as much time in Irokai as I could, being who I wanted to be, being whole again. When I finally uploaded, I had to go through therapy again for the arm, just like getting used to the tail that was suddenly a new part of me and no longer handled by automatic code. Every moment of practice reminded me that I’d finally shaken off the person I didn’t want to be anymore… but it still reminded me of him. What would I have given to be free of that memory? What would I give now?

I rubbed at the suddenly moist fur beneath my eyes, composed myself, and began to type a message to the chief of Irokai Security.

“Abby was the first to encounter the memory overflow inside the temporary server,” I explained to the tiger. “My best guess is that the object storing Perchik became unlinked when she switched servers, and then the corrupted memory scrambled the first and last of her stored messages from outside.”

Sasaki Rei, chief of security for Irokai, nodded slowly. “But why would she receive pieces at a time?”

“Every time her friend tried to make contact with Perchik, the notification system in her mod would try to reference an object that had been deleted in the corrupt code purge. The new message would vanish, and the mod would spit out another piece of the old, mangled messages in a confused attempt to report the error.”

He crossed his arms and leaned toward me. “You speak of them as separate people.”

I paused for several seconds. “They very much are. Even if they shared an account. Even… when they shared a physical body outside our virtual world.”

“I see.” He shook his head slowly. “I would prefer not to think of them that way, if only because it would imply that we have lost another person due to the actions of Irokai no Minshukakumei, and this time in a fashion that cannot be recovered.”

I breathed deeply to centre myself. “With all due respect, sir… that is precisely the case, however we choose to think of it.”

“That is for the ethics panel to decide.”

“Please reconsider this. Abby knows nothing of Perchik, who very much wanted it that way. The only person to know that they were linked and uploaded will remain silent out of respect for his friend… friends. Anybody else who knew him has already assumed that he simply stopped logging in. And Tris— Excuse me.” This drew an interested expression. “The person who coded the character swap mod doesn’t even know who it went to, and couldn’t have anticipated what happened. The messages have stopped – I checked that myself – so really, the original complaint is resolved. In the end… nobody is at fault, nobody needs informing, and from what I can tell, everyone would be happiest if this issue simply went away.”

The tiger closed his eyes tightly. “That would be convenient, Yasuki, but incomplete. An uploaded citizen has disappeared – either in half, or in whole. This is an existential matter of the sort that we are specifically to refer to the ethics panel. Please complete your report, and I will submit it to them.” He then put a heavy paw on my shoulder. “Off the record and for what it is worth… I think I understand what this means to you, and I hope you are correct in how to resolve it.”

Per the ruling of the ethics panel, I bundled my documentation along with the full report and closed the security ticket. It would be the closest Irokai had known to a death certificate, and I would be the one to sign it.

I opened my administrative menu one more time, selected the bundle, and entered the command to seal and archive it. I added my own name as the signatory, and for the subject I used the database number of the unlinked object. Once completed, I stared hard at the final result. The system had helpfully attempted to expand the name belonging to the number.

The subject name displayed as a short string of mojibake.

Much of the plaza itself was blocked by the rising swell of protesters. Most people gave the tower itself a wide berth, and a clear strip of tile ran from the front door of the tower to the edge of the sidewalk, but even that space had people crossing it on their way to or from the gathering. Judging by the movement of people crossing the concrete divide, though, more people were still arriving, coming in from every prefecture still online to give voice to their frustrations. My access panel confirmed that, since the protest had begun, most of the residents of Irokai were either at or on their way to make themselves known. A majority of the remainder were inside this building.

A voice behind me pulled my attention away from the scene below. “It is an impressive sight, isn’t it?”

I turned away from the window and bowed to the chairman of Tadashiissei. “Oh, hai, sir, as always.”

He returned the gesture, a deep bow from the waist, his hands held together in front of his chest. He remained bent for several seconds before rising again, gesturing to the glossy black boardroom table like the ones in the security offices. “Please, Mitsuko, sit.”

I hesitated a moment, then did so, cupping my paws together on the table as I bowed again. “Sir, with respect, by now Johnathan will be frantic in his search for me.”

The chairman held up one taloned hand and shook his head. “I have always appreciated your decorum, but please, this is not a time to stand on formality. You may call me Kūsō if you wish.”

I lifted my head, unable to repress my wry smile entirely. “If it would put you at ease, Kūsō, I would be glad to do so. How else may I be of service to you this morning?”

The irony of attempting to put the chairman of Tadashiissei at ease within the world that he had helped create was not lost on Kūsō; he smiled broadly in return, showing rows of needle-sharp teeth. “I have a number of questions for you, Mitsuko. It seems that your lover’s gathering has turned out to be popular.” I nodded, and he continued. “I’ve heard that even Imogen Franklin put in an appearance. Is that correct?”

I nodded again. “She directly challenged Rei Sasaki in support of Giri, yes.”

Kūsō stood quietly for a moment, stroking the white wisps of beard on his chin, then took a seat at the table opposite me. His fingers tapped rapidly across the surface, and soon several pages hovered in the air between us. The first said Why do you pay to live? in bold letters across the top, asked several other leading questions, and then displayed the date in one bottom corner and the Minshukakumei logo in the other. “Did John put this together?”

I considered how much to explain, but I could think of no reason not to tell him everything. The decisions were likely made at this point; it was my role to facilitate them. “It was a suggestion from Giri and our mutual… friend… Jules, that he take advantage of past visibility to spread his message. I opposed the idea, because of how the organization had sought to spread its message before. However, neither seemed convinced by the argument, and it does not seem to have hurt their popularity. This seems to confirm the suspicions of many within Hospitality, that our actions have created a wellspring of antipathy towards the company. Fortunately, that does not seem to have extended to Irokai itself.”

The chairman leaned back in his chair, steepling his talons. “Tell me about him. John.”

I took a deep breath. “Tadashiissei lost a brilliant developer when he presented his separation this morning.” I paused a moment, considering my words. “His visions are inspirational. His dedication is phenomenal. He may hesitate on which course of action to take, but once he has committed himself, he will see it through to its conclusion.”

“Interesting.” Kūsō tapped on the table, shuffling papers until he came to Johnathan’s—Minshukakumei’s—list of demands. “Do you believe he’s committed to this?”

I held my tongue, considering. I wanted to believe that he did, but I remembered all too well the times he had proclaimed that something had to change, only to return to old habits once he had to fight someone for his beliefs. He stopped advocating to have Jules’ account access restored once the company legal department began asking difficult questions. He abandoned his friendship with Adam rather than risk confrontation with one of his oldest friends. He gave into Hideaki’s design requests rather than defend his vision. In all honesty, I expected this, too, to be a temporary fight for him.

Thinking about his anger on the beach at Kigiku, though, overshadowed those memories. His eyes were filled with a fire that I could not recall having ever seen before. He stood with his back straight, his head held high. His words burned with barely-contained passion. A fresh shiver ran down my tail as I remembered John insisting upon his rights. I smiled to the chairman. “I do.”

Kūsō rose again, slowly walking around the table that dominated the boardroom. He stopped at the window, gazing down upon the crowd below. “This entire situation must be very difficult for you,” he offered.

I shook my head. “My responsibility as an employee of Tadashiissei has been to perform my duties to the best of my ability, Kūsō.” Then I smiled, rising from my seat to join him at the window. “In addition, my duty as a member of Irokai no Minshukakumei was always to further our cause by any means necessary. It has been difficult, hai, but I suspect that it will be over soon.”

At that, the chairman turned to face me, grinning broadly, but hints of sorrow held in his eyes. He looked back to the window, tapping the talons of his hands against the blue-white scales of his arms. “I used to think this would never happen. Now that it has, it’s hard to follow through.”

I smiled and rested a paw on Kūsō’s shoulder. “It is difficult for any parent to deal with a child that insists on independence.”

Kūsō opened his snout to speak, but then looked past me as the door to the boardroom opened. I followed the chairman’s gaze, facing the door as Rei stepped into the room. He bowed contritely at the waist, holding himself prostrate for several seconds. “I apologize for my tardiness, Kajō-sama. Word of the protest has reached the outside, and I was needed to reassure some of our department heads.”

The chairman nodded on response. “Do we know the source of the information leak?”

The tiger’s tailtip twitched. “At this point, I think it would be impossible to tell. All it would take is one person that opted to speak with the press. We’ve attempted to identify who it was in specific, but I lack the additional resources to both follow up on that and continue preparations.”

“Yes, preparations.” Kūsō looked from the head of Irokai Security back to to me, his eyes burning with a familiar light. “What is your status? How soon can we proceed?”

Rei rose, his back straight and his arms held stiffly at his sides. “I’ve conveyed the plan to everyone outside in my division, and the heads of Hospitality and Operations. We have some last-minute validations to perform, but I’m confident that we’ll be ready to begin in an hour.”

The chairman folded his arms across his chest, glancing to the clock. “That’s more of a delay than I’d like, but I would rather this go smoothly. How confident are you of that hour? Is that forty-five minutes or ninety?”

The tiger hesitated, then nodded sharply. “I’m confident that it’s sixty, Kajō-sama.”

Kūsō nodded, then took a seat at the head of the table, folding his arms. “Mitsuko, what do you think John’s response will be?”

I leaned back against the window, closing my eyes. “John purchased a licensed development environment some time ago from Tadashiissei, and he has continued to maintain it out of his personal salary separate from his professional work. In addition, one of the members of Minshukakumei, Jules, is on a custom induction rig specifically built for him from components slated for replacement but not actually broken. I suspect that John will retreat to there, then send Jules for help. They may try some kind of physical action.”

The chairman leaned back in his chair, then turned to Rei. “Identify the data center hosting John’s environment. Find four specialists that you trust in the area and have them waiting on-site for any arrivals. Get final confirmation from all departments involved, and then tell everyone to be ready to commence at—” He stopped, then looked at the clock. “Fourteen. You have sixty-seven minutes. Go.”

“Hai!” Rei bowed sharply, then rose and walked out of the boardroom, pulling the door closed behind him.

Once the head of Irokai Security had excused himself, I looked back to the chairman, crossing my arms. “He does not know, does he?”

Kūsō’s grin threatened to split his snout. He leaned back in his chair, putting his hinds on the boardroom table. “Know what, Fuki?” His thick blue-scaled tail thumped against the ground.

I shook my head and smiled wanly. “Never mind, Kūsō-kun. We all do what we must in this.”

“Indeed.” He stood, then bowed to me. “You have proven yourself invaluable to Tadashiissei, Mitsuko. May I leave the rest here in your control?”

I drew in a deep breath, but bowed in response. “Oh, hai,” I agreed. “I understand my instructions.”

With that, the chairman walked out the door, leaving me alone in the boardroom. I rose and walked to the window, gazing down to the protest below. I hope you will forgive me, John,. I opened my administrative access, flipping rapidly through menus until I came to the Hospitality access to the Voice of Irokai. Opening the menu, I drew in a deep breath, then spoke, all too aware that my words were being broadcast to everyone in the world. “Attention, please. Due to ongoing system instabilities, Tadashiissei has decided to perform a system rollback. At fourteen, we will be bringing Irokai offline, then restoring to a previous validated snapshot. All residents, please cancel all personal backups. All tourists within Irokai will be escorted out over the next half-hour. Thank you for your cooperation.”

Almost as impressive as the tower, was the crowd that had gathered around it. The clock had not yet touched eight, but already over a hundred people stood on the tessellated tiles, milling about slowly, murmuring. I scanned faces and accounts as I walked through the crowd. Many were nervous, or excited. A few people were visibly angry. Many in the audience had had at least one encounter with Tadashiissei’s terms of serve and account access policies. I kept my expression carefully level, but inside I was smiling; this was precisely the type of audience I hoped would come.

At the opposite side of the plaza from the transit center, a waist-height platform stood near the main entrance to the Tadashiissei Tower. Whoever had placed it had chosen its location well; it stood too far from the doors to be considered an obstacle, but it forced the crowd to stand close enough to the building to be an implicit barrier. A small group clustered behind it, talking amongst themselves. The rabbit I didn’t know, but she struck me as familiar. The other two, however, I recognized as soon as I saw them. John stood with his arms crossed defensively across his chest, his tail lashing and his ears against his head. Mitsuko rested one paw on his shoulder, her eyes full of concern but her tail held low and her shoulders hunched. All of them were dressed in professional wear, as if for a job interview.

As I stepped out of the crowd, a voice behind me spoke. “I do not believe you are welcome here.”

The smile that I had attempted to hold inside let itself out in a smirk. “Giri.” I turned to look at the fox. He stood relaxed, his paws jammed into the pockets of his coat. He had replaced his usual sweater, though, with a simple button-down shirt. His muzzle was expressionless, but his tail wagged behind him in amusement, almost wolf-like. “I would like to say I’m surprised to see you here, but I suppose I shouldn’t be.”

Giri half-bowed, but he kept his muzzle lifted, his gaze locked with mine. “I would say the same.”

I returned the gesture, even though there was no respect in his. “I work for Tadashiissei Security. It’s my responsibility to ensure the safety of Irokai.”

The words hurt me to say, but that was nothing compared to the pain visible in Giri’s response. His tail brushed out behind him. His eyes narrowed in a squint, and the corners of his muzzle tightened. He raised one paw to his waist, hesitating a moment before grabbing his belt. “I suggest that you leave, Rei. Have Security send someone else to cover this event.”

My own tail lashed; it was hard not to respond to his anger. Before I could do more, however, the rest of the gathered group had joined him. The rabbit put a paw on Giri’s waist, while Mitsuko and John interposed themselves between us. “Giri, go keep an eye on the crowd for me; I’ll call you when I need you.” As the fox nodded and walked away, the raccoon nodded to me. “Rei. I’m glad you could make it.”

I folded my arms over my chest. “Are you the ones who organized this event?”

John shrugged. “They organized themselves; I just put together the flyers. It’s more like a flash mob than anything else.”

“And your reason for the flyers was?” I asked, narrowing my eyes in suspicion.

The raccoons exchanged glances, then Mitsuko said. “I believe that will become apparent in a moment. John, I believe it is time.”

John nodded back, then turned to me. “Excuse me, Rei.” With that, he hopped up onto the platform, raising his arms over his head. He closed his eyes for a moment, and then when he next spoke, his voice boomed out over the crowd. “If I may have your attention, everybody?”

The crowd fell silent, turning to face the podium. “Thank you all for coming out here so early; I know most of you are probably just thinking about sleep.” He paused, letting a brief chuckle pass through the audience. “I also want to take a minute to thank the folks who run the FutureShock for helping me get this together so fast.” He paused to let the applause run its course, then lifted his arms again, projecting his voice out over the whole of the plaza. “I don’t want to bore you or waste your time, so I’ll get to the point. There’s something wrong with this place, but it’s something we can fix.”

He stopped a moment, looking down to Mitsuko, then back out over the crowd. “When I first came to Irokai, I did so because I thought it would be fun, a chance to be something else, somebody else for a while. I came back afterwards because I found something more. I found a place where I could do things I just couldn’t do outside. I found a place I could experience things that simply had no analog equivalent.” He brought his paws together overhead. “I moved to Irokai, uploaded myself and became a resident, because I found a place where magic could be real. I found a place where the old rules just didn’t have to apply any more.” He spread his arms wide, and a pair of pigeons flew from the space between his cupped fingers.

He paused a moment, letting the crowd applaud in response, then dropped his voice. “That, however, didn’t mean that people wouldn’t try to make some new rules. Different rules. Less popular rules. Outside, the rules you simply couldn’t escape were things like gravity, the speed of light, or your own heartbeat. In Irokai, they’re rules like subscription fees and access charges.” The light around the podium began to dim, as if gathering the shadows from the corporate tower over the stage. “Sure, they’re small. A nickel here, a dime there, a dollar somewhere else. It’s never too much to ask, but is it too much to pay? What’s the difference between walking and flying, if gravity’s just a number in a database? What’s the difference between raccoon and rabbit, between wolf and weasel, when you can change your body as easily as your clothes?”

The people in the audience began to murmur, with scattered claps, but John continued to speak over the swelling throng. “I took a job with Tadashiissei because I wanted to help make Irokai a place where anything was possible. Where anything is possible. When the attacks started, I pitched in and helped as much as I could, figuring out what was wrong. When that required me to make changes to the environment, I made them. I did what I had to do to make Irokai safe again. Now, Tadashiissei’s told me I have to pay for everything I did in the line of duty!” He paused, then broke into a shout. “They’re threatening to suspend my account—to turn me off—if I don’t agree to pay!”

The crowd, already grumbling, broke out into a full-throated growl. “It gets worse,” Giri called back to the stage, his own voice even but matching John’s in pitch.

“Giri!” John motioned for the fox to join him. “Come up here, tell everybody what happened to you that night in Beni Prefecture.”

Giri nodded, the crowd parting as he approached the platform. “I worked for Tadashiissei since my inception, in their security department. I saw the signs of the coming assault and tried, time and again, to warn them, to investigate, to take steps to stop it, but they did nothing.” As he spoke, he stood straighter, lifting his head, visibly projecting the pride he took in his work. “When the attacks began in earnest, they acted surprised that it would happen. After working almost two complete shifts, I was ordered to take a break. There were still emergencies to resolve, but I was assured they would be. So I went home to sleep, only to be woken by a request for help that no-one else could answer, from several people trapped in a building in Beni Prefecture. I did what any decent person would do, and I went to help. My intervention saved two residents from the virus currently keeping Beni offline.”

He paused, letting the crowd absorb his words, then sighed, visibly slumping on stage. “No sooner had I finished, than my manager arrived to fire me for disobeying an order.”

“It’s not right!” The rabbit from earlier cried out, and suddenly the growl became a rumble of discontent. “If you hadn’t acted, at least two of those people would still be stuck waiting for a restore. And who knows how many other residents got hit when Beni got taken offline.”

“No, it isn’t right,” John echoed, talking over the rumbling crowd. “If we were just customers, maybe they could get away with it. Caveat emptor, sure, but for some of us this isn’t a game any more. This is our home. These are our lives, and we have rights, and Tadashiissei can’t take those away from us just because we can’t leave! We have a right to live without worrying about getting deleted because they can’t secure their systems. We have a right to know why Beni Prefecture’s still offline. We have a right to not have to pay just to live!”

Hearing his words, I couldn’t contain my smile any further, but I knew my part to play in this even if they didn’t. “Excuse me,” I called up to the stage, letting my voice carry over the crowd as the others had. “I am here as a representative of Tadashiissei Security, and—” The crowd turned ugly, hurling jeers and threats in my direction. I raised my voice to be heard over the mob. “And I feel it necessary to remind you, John, that as a fellow employee of the company, you’re obligated to abide by certain rules and regulations governing public conduct. I think you’ll find that this event is clearly in violation of them.”

“Oh, you’re still here?” The raccoon’s tail hooked, and he smiled, but his eyes were dark. “What’re you going to do, fire me?”

I chuckled. The whole of the event could not have gone better had I planned it myself, right down to the dialog. “No,” I conceded, gesturing towards the building. “But surely you must be aware that by now, your demonstration has not gone unnoticed, and no doubt your department manager is aware of your actions against Tadashiissei, and she will have many questions.”

John folded his arms across his chest and motioned for me to join him up on the platform. “She already does, and she supports me. Since you’re here, though, I’ve got a couple of little favors to ask of you. They’re simple; they won’t take you long.” Once I was standing beside him, he held up a paw, then started ticking off points on his fingers. “One: go back to human resources and you tell them I quit. I can’t work for a company that treats me like this. I wouldn’t put up with it before and I refuse to put up with it now. Two, tell my old manager and my team that we demand that they make Beni Prefecture their top priority.”

As the crowd burst into applause, he turned to face them and grinned, then motioned for quiet. “Three,” he said as he faced me again. “Tell the board of directors that the residents of Irokai demand a seat at the negotiating table, not as employees, not as customers, but as citizens with inalienable rights, to collectively renegotiate our terms of service and account maintenance fees. Four, tell them that regardless of whether they meet with us or not, we demand an end to the user-level environment charges for residents. I’ll pay my taxes, but no more micropayments, no more death of a thousand bills.”

I crossed my arms and scowled, whipping my tail behind me. “They will be unlikely to listen to you. You did sign a contract with Tadashiissei before you came here.”

“As a tourist, yes, but not as a resident,” the raccoon countered with a smirk. “So, let’s put this in terms they’ll understand.” He closed his eyes, drew in a deep breath, and opened them again, lifting his voice to the crowd. “I just pulled my bank account information from your database. Five: you tell the board of directors that until Tadashiissei meets with us on our terms, they don’t get another dollar from me.”

I let myself laugh, knowing John and the rest would think it directed at him. “Do you really think that one rebellious resident will change corporate policy?”

A strong tenor rose out of the crowd in response. “No, but maybe two might.” A tall white-furred mouse in a sleeveless top, vest, and denim skirt stepped forward, her hairless tail whipping behind her.

I turned, raising one brow. “And who might you be?”

The mouse grinned. “Imogen Franklin.” The author adjusted her glasses, then put her paws on her hips. “Maybe you’ve heard of me. I’ve written a few books that folks seem to like, and your company’s been bragging for the last few years about saving my life. Maybe if they get a cease-and-desist telling ‘em to stop using my name, that’ll make ‘em listen.” She grinned up at the platform. “Give ‘em hell, John!”

In the wake of her words, a chorus of numbers rang out from the crowd as people rushed to be next to disable their payments. A flurry of cheers rose from the crowd as more and more people cut off Tadashiissei from their banks. Then the rabbit I saw earlier yelled out: “No more payments just to live!” Her words were infectious, and they too spread through the crowd, until the whole plaza was filled with people chanting Irokai no Minshukakumei‘s slogan.

John turned to me, a wide-eyed smile on his muzzle, his tail waving slowly behind him. He had the look of an artist, stunned by his own creation. “Do you think you can handle those for me, Rei?”

I smirked in response. “Perhaps Mitsuko will be telling them herself.” I gestured down to the empty space behind the platform where she had been standing some time ago. “While you were enraging our customers, she was summoned inside.” John’s eyes widened even further as his gaze followed my open paw. “Nevertheless, I’ll deliver your requests. Good morning.” Then, before he could reply, I bowed, opened my hardline, and teleported back into the tower, leaving behind a thunderclap and the echo of my smile.

Hideaki, a tall grey wolf that peered out at the world through half-lidded violet eyes, considered the question with his head bowed, tapping one claw against the dome of his bubble helmet. His tail wagged slowly, then tightened reflexively against his back as he shook his head. “We could do it, probably, but expanding the ring would then mean a longer station or slowing the rotation, which would affect other areas.”

I thought his response, holding one paw near the wall. The magnetic pads under my fingertips pulled them towards the metal. Hideaki had come to the design team from Customer Relations, which meant his primary concern was less about can and more about should. “We don’t really have people measuring the sizes of the prefectures, do we?”

He nodded in response, smiling more with his muzzle than his tail. “Irokai Geographic Society. They tried to create a definitive map of the area and determine the scale of the world. It was in response to their efforts that we put in the random-paths borders on the defined spaces.” He gestured back to the iris. “They will know if we change the rotational speed, meaning our sizes at least in some aspect will be fixed. If we have a ring, they will know its circumference.”

I frowned. The idea of somebody deliberately trying to map Irokai, forcing structure onto something so malleable, seemed like smugly telling a child how a stage magician did his tricks. Still, if it was a concern, we could accommodate. “So, working design. Let’s call our main ring a flat five kilometers in circumference, set our rotation speed to make the floor of that level just under one gee, and then make the story that resources are limited in space. That will drive up demand without really limiting our building capacity. We will also want a residential ring or a hotel at whatever distance amounts for half-gravity.”

Hideaki nodded in response. “That sounds reasonable. We can also work on the design of the station to maximize our ring count.”

I grinned at that, tailtip flicking in amusement. “Thanks for volunteering. Anyone want to design the outside of the station?” About half the team’s paws immediately went into the air, so I tapped my wrist. “I’ll schedule a meeting by the end of the week to assign that group; accept the invitation if you’re interested. We need to balance realism and ease of development against our expected visitor load, and apparently their preconceptions, too. More on that later, though.” I pulled up my hardline and checked the clock: almost eighteen. “Okay, that was everything I had to offer, and remember this is all preliminary design work, so anything you think you can improve, go ahead and make suggestions. Thanks, all, for coming.”

I gestured back towards the iris, which opened not to a maintenance tube but instead to the conference room I’d reserved that morning. I held back, waiting for everyone to shuffle out, then shut the portal. I glanced at my account, watching the numbers slowly ticking down. I didn’t have quite as much in it as I would have liked, but I really didn’t feel like walking home. I flicked through menus with my eyes, hooking up the portal to my front door, then acknowledged the charge for linking a development system to production. My account dropped as soon as I did so, but the iris dutifully opened to reveal Mitsuko’s and my front hall.

The front door closed behind me as though I had just stepped through it. I reflexively wiped my paws on the bristle-brush by the door, then shrugged myself out of the uchuufuku, letting the silvery weave slide to the floor. “Mits?” I called as I knelt, scooping up the puddle of cloth. The smoky-sweet scent of burning wax caught my nose as I stood.

“Hai!” she sang back from further within, her voice slightly muffled. “In here!”

I grinned and slung the garment over one arm, then walked nude to the bedroom. I nudged aside the sliding door with my free paw, the paper whispering quietly in its wooden frame, then drew in a sharp breath at what lay beyond. Violet forget-me-nots and cactus blossoms lay scattered about the room, with candles interspersed among them, their flickering flames filling the air with their scent. In the center of this, Mitsuko lay stretched out across the futon, a silk camisole of creamy jade clinging to her fur that didn’t quite reach the top of the matching panties that hugged her hips. Around her neck was a choker of forest green, with matching ribbons tied about her wrists and ankles. Braided strands encircled her tail, at the tip of which jangled a small silver bell.

A few flower petals clung to her top and her fur, as she stretched and sat upright, they fluttered to the mattress beside her. “Tell me,” she murmured, her emerald eyes shimmering in the firelight, “how may I be of service to you this evening?”

I stood, transfixed, my next words stuck in my throat, a familiar tension stirring in my crotch. “Mits…” was all I could manage as I walked over to the bed, the spacesuit falling, forgotten, to the floor.

Mitsuko slid from the edge of the mattress as I approached, kneeling beside the bed, her arms outstretched to me. Her pads slid across my thighs as she embraced me, her muzzle directly in front of my crotch. Wordlessly, she opened her lips in a smile, then extended her tongue and caressed my sheath. Her eyes closed in an expression of bliss as she drew out my cock, urging back the covering skin with her muzzle.

I tensed, my tail flicking behind me as I gazed down at my lover, caressing the backs of her ears with my fingerpads. “You… don’t—”

She drew back, looking up at me with the same smile as before, and lay a finger across her lips with a wink. Then she cupped one paw against my scrotum, carefully tugging back the sheath from the shaft, rapidly stiffening within. Once fully free of its protective cover, she leaned forward again to place a gentle kiss at its tip, then slid her lips down its length, taking me into her muzzle.

As her muzzle engulfed me, a shudder ran through me. I threw back my head, eyes shut tight, muzzle agape. My fingers stroked the back of her head, tracing through the short fur there, thumbclaws running along the edges of her ears. I panted in time with her strokes, out as she slid backwards, until my lungs burned and her muzzle just brushed the end of my cock, then in quickly as she dove down again, her lips touching my sheath and my cock slipping into her throat.

Even as Mitsuko went down on me, her attention seemingly focused on making my knees shake and my body tremble, her delicate fingers were busy elsewhere. One paw tenderly rolled the delicate orbs within my scrotum while a claw tickled along the sensitive skin behind it. The other she held against my rump, one finger teasing around the base of my tail, making it shudder along with the rest of me.

“Mits, I—” I half-moaned, helplessly rocking my hips in time with Mitsuko’s ministrations. “I can’t—” It felt like lightning running up my spine, from crotch to the back of my head and then scattering just behind my eyes. She did something, pressing with a finger in a place I didn’t know existed, and my chest froze in mid-gasp.

Time halted for a moment, my whole body burning with need, and then Mitsuko withdrew her paw from between my legs, clutching at my rump as she hungrily drove herself down onto my shaft. She moaned against my cock as I plunged it between her lips, fucking her muzzle urgently, my legs trembling with need. Then, in the space between one heartbeat and the next, I came, crying her name as I shot my load between her lips.

Mitsuko’s claws dug into my rump as I climaxed, holding herself against me, not a drop escaping her muzzle. Only after the aftershocks subsided did she help me turn, then let me collapse back against the bed, sending up a cloud of flower petals as the mattress shifted. She met my pleasure-sodden groan with a giggle, sliding up onto the futon beside me. “Oh, hai,” she said quietly, resting a paw on my stomach. “I could help you with that.”

“Oh, Mits,” I groaned, turning my head just enough to look into her emerald eyes, meeting her smile with a weak grin. “That was incredible.”

Mitsuko giggled again, resting her head on my shoulder, ruffling the fur of my stomach with her paw. “If you have found my assistance valuable, perhaps you would be so kind as to fill out a visitor survey?” Her green eyes twinkled, her tail arcing behind her in amusement. “Tadashiissei prides itself on exceeding expectations.”

At that, I rolled up onto my side, unable to keep the frustration out of my voice. “Sure, which is why we have to restrict the station to one commercial ring and a space hotel.”

At that, Mits’ eyes instantly softened, the intensely pleased grin fading back to a gentle smile. “Hideaki, again?”

I sighed; she got it in one. “I shouldn’t be pissed; he’s doing his job, and he’s good at it. It’s just… he’s not an artist. His background’s in Hospitality, which means he’s worried more about what people think of the art than the art itself.” I held out a paw. “I know, I know; so are you. But… you’ve got vision, Mits.” I smiled when I said it, reaching out to cup her cheek.

She put her paw over mine, fingers curling around it. “You flatter me, John,” she said quietly. “But I do not think it is his past career that bothers you, is it?”

I hesitated, then shook my head. “It’s… Irokai Geographic Society?” I tried really hard to keep my tone even, but I could see in Mitsuko’s wince that I’d let my irritation show. “Sorry. It’s… we’ve got an infinite amount of room to build, subject to memory availability and rendering power, and we’re worrying about whether the trees on Kigiku are in the same place every day? What kind of person looks at a place like this and worries that the roads aren’t straight?”

Mitsuko was quiet for a few seconds, her expression suddenly unreadable. When she did finally speak, she sounded hesitant… almost nervous. “Perhaps it is the same kind of person who expects to pay for basic services such as food and happiness?”

That thought made me grimace, tail kinking against my back. “I don’t even want to go down that road; I’m sorry, Mits.” I stroked my claws over her cheek and down her neck. “I should not bring work home with me, and being mad at Hideaki is definitely work. He means well; I just get mad at the pedantry sometimes. He will come around eventually; we just have to get out of final design with something he can approve. After that, the rest of the team can make adjustments based on artistic license and company revenue potentials. That will mollify him, even if it gives the Geographic Society mange.”

That made Mitsuko laugh, which made me smile, the first really comfortable smile I’d had since lunchtime. I gave her a quick hug, nuzzling into her neck, then pulled back. “Let’s go out for dinner. I’m sure there’s a café somewhere in Beni we haven’t seen yet.”

“Oh, hai,” Mitsuko agreed, rolling onto her back. “My coworker Momoko mentioned a taverna that I think you might like. She said their dolmades were quite good.”

“Sounds good.” I nodded, then pulled myself out of bed. A quick series of eye-flicks through the hardline and I had my wardrobe open and ready. I stood in front of the mirror, scrolling through options. “Blue polo or green?”

“Blue, I think,” she said as she rose, her lingerie morphing into a gauzy sky-blue blouse and a medium grey skirt. “And your slacks.”

“Works for me,” I replied. A few quick filters and crops later, I had the exact shade of her blouse applied to my shirt. I considered, then darkened the whole outfit a few shades, leaving the pants just barely above charcoal. I nodded my approval, then spread my arms as everything whirled into place. I turned, trying to look at the back of my pants in the mirror, tail curling behind me. “Are you sure they fit these right? These always feel loose.”

Mitsuko laughed and walked over, putting her paws on my waist. “That is because you never wore tailored clothing before. You expect looking nice to be uncomfortable.” She lifted onto her toes and kissed the back of my neck, running one paw over the back of my shirt, tugging lightly at the hem. “Being attractive should always be this easy, ne?”

The only way I could respond to her lighthearted giggle was with a happy sigh. I turned and took her paws in mine. “Let’s walk. It’s a beautiful evening and I’m not in any hurry.”

She nodded her approval, giving my paws a squeeze with her own. “I agree.” She nudged aside the sliding rice-paper door, and we stepped outside. The sky overhead was a brilliant blue, with long streaks of pink and gold stretching out across it as the sun slipped below the horizon. The walk to the tram station was a good chance to stretch out my legs and just enjoy the company of the woman I loved, and by the time we had arrived at the underground terminal in Beni Prefecture, I was really looking forward to a good dinner and the conversation that inevitably came with it.

The skies in Beni were perpetually overcast, but today the usual mist had strengthened to an actual shower, one that left puddles along the uneven sidewalks. We dashed from awning to awning, winding through curving streets lined with storefronts and tenements. A pair of wolves leading a small pack of cubs behind them peered in through windows. One of Mitsuko’s coworkers, a mouse in a white blouse and black skirt with a rainbow scarf around her neck, led a small group of obvious tourists through the streets, gesturing to various landmarks while they snapped photos and gawked, muttering cheerfully about the rain.

Fat raindrops spattered off of broad canvas umbrellas set up over wooden tables in front of the Greek café, and we both sighed in relief as we ducked underneath one, taking a seat out of the rain. Almost as soon as we sat, a wolf in a black button-down shirt and slacks approached us. “Hello and welcome! Have you two been here before?” When we both shook our head, his smile broadened and then sent an offer for a local link to their menu. “Well, welcome to Timeus. My name is Rich, I’ll be at your service today. We try to serve things in the traditional style, which means a lot of smaller dishes so you can try different things….” While he continued with his patter, I accepted his request, then started scrutinizing the code. It was a clever system, a manifested object that sent a request to their central system for the daily specials, accessible from anywhere in Irokai. I made a note to dig more deeply into it to see how they had set up their security.

The chatter stopped, and I realized that I’d been asked a question. Ducking my head, tail curling behind me, I took a guess. “Uh… tall glass of water and… what’s retsina?”

The waiter grinned. “So, retsina’s a traditional Greek wine that’s sealed in flasks with pine resin while it ages, so the alcohol takes on a really distinct flavor and aroma. Some say it’s an acquired… hey, that’s funny.” He blinked, then held out his arm, pads upturned. “It’s stopped raining.”

At that, Mitsuko and I looked at each other in confusion, then back to the road. Sure enough, the puddles on the ground no longer rippled with raindrops, and even the ever-present mist seemed to be clearing up. Then I looked up to the sky, and a sinking feeling spread through my gut as I watched the clouds drift apart. The sky lit up in an unnaturally vibrant blue, and the opening passages of Grieg’s Spring from Peer Gynt began to play from nowehere. Then, for the first time since its inception, the sun began to shine over Beni Prefecture.

Mitsuko’s paw found mine and squeezed it. “Something is very wrong.”

The moment after she said that, my hardline snapped on, followed moments later by a priority summons: All Hospitality, Development, and Security staff please prepare for relocation to the nearest Tadashiissei office. This is an emergency. The signature on the summons came from Rei Sasaki, one of the security division chiefs.

I squeezed Mitsuko’s paw in return, then looked at the waiter. “I think dinner will have to wait.” Then I accepted the summons, and the world dissolved around me.

At the head of the table, a broad-shouldered tiger in a black silk Mandarin top with off-center buttons and matching pants loomed over the map, sorting through collections of flagged reports. He looked up as we approached, nodded and held up one massive paw, the other shuffling a collection of flagged red dots hovering over Beni Prefecture. He flicked three of the set aside, then drew the rest together and circled them with a paw, and they fused into a single larger light. “Open bug report. Description begin: building with doors connected to the outside have all exits randomly assigned to other interior rooms, teleport disabled as per local secure facilities, security override disabled as per local administrator, local administrator access returns non-existent user, description end. Attachment begin, security parent report one-one-eight-one-one. Send. Confirm report number.” His claws tapped against the flickering dot, attaching the ticket to the security report, then fading from view.

Once finished, the paw aimed at us lowered, and he looked up from the map, bowing. “Dart-san, Ikanobari-san. Thank you for accepting the summons.”

Mitsuko stepped forward, a faint smile on her muzzle despite the nervous flicker of her ears and tail. “Do not be so formal, Rei-kun. It is good to know Tadashiissei has assigned its best to this situation. What is happening?”

For a moment, the tiger held curiously still, only his tail lashing behind him, but then he turned suddenly and gestured to the map. “Multiple large-scale disruptions. Visitors have reported everything from clothing and items randomly disappearing to unscheduled severe weather to the complete disappearance of geographic features. The Nanakousei building vanished approximately twenty minutes ago, starting from the ground floor upwards.”

My eyes went wide, and my fingers tensed against Mitsuko’s paw. “How?”

The tiger started to answer, but Mitsuko interrupted. “What of the occupants, Rei-kun? Are they all right?”

Rei looked back to the map. “The travelers who were within the building at the time were caught by the system integrity verification routines and extracted from Irokai. Some are experiencing transition shock and are being treated. They are also being given a refund for their most recent visit and credit towards a future trip.” He grimaced. “This will severely hurt Tadashiissei’s image.”

“I don’t give a damn about the company right now, Rei,” I replied, squinting. “You said ‘the travelers,’ not ‘everyone.’ What about the residents?”

Rei paused, then adjusted the spectacles sitting on the bridge of his muzzle. “Residents?”

I gestured back to Mitsuko with my free paw. “You know, the folks like Mits and I?”

The security chief paused, looking from me to Mitsuko and back. “Of the approximately four-hundred individuals present within Nanakousei at the time of its disappearance, all but two have been identified outside. The two missing are both permanent residents of Irokai; one is an emigrant, the other a native. Neither can presently be located.” His voice was eerily calm, which only made the fur on my tail bristle all the more. “Checking their user account records show that both were archived as of fourteen local time, suggesting a minimum of loss when we restore them from backup.”

“Backup?” My shout drew the entire room’s attention. Mitsuko’s grip tightened on my paw, but I ignored it. “You’re telling me two people may theoretically have just died and that’s all you can offer?”

Rei’s voice remained infuriatingly level. “John-kun, We are all doing everything we can to resolve this situation as quickly as possible. Right now an unknown number of hackers have managed to bypass all of our security and cause disruptions to Irokai’s codebase on a level that we are simply unprepared to handle. Multiple large-scale structures have had their internals scrambled, three buildings have reported inverse gravity, and at least one apartment complex has had all external exits rerouted. No-one knows how deeply these intrusions run, or who is actually responsible. Most of the external development staff is currently attempting to rewrite the entire world on a live system as quickly as possible in hopes that most of the attacks will simply fail once they are done, and the remainder are presently verifying the state of the backup system, which is presently offline to prevent further corruption. I understand how much worse this situation is for you than most, but at present my entire staff is dedicated to ensure the integrity of the area and identify additional attacks.”

He nodded in my direction. “Presently we are minimizing access to external communication to prevent wide-scale panic, and teleportation has been limited to recalls initiated by senior members of Security or Hospitality to prevent future accidents. but we can’t maintain that forever. I’ll ensure that you have a secured line to the outside so that you can coordinate with the rest of your team.” Then he turned to Mitsuko. “Hospitality has been authorized to take any necessary steps to ensure safety. I would ask that you coordinate with those still available to ensure that we escort as many travelers out of Irokai as quickly as possible. The fewer people we have to protect, the safer we can make the remainder.”