The Gentleman Acquisitors
Title: The Gentleman Acquisitors
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Sho + Aiba friendship with Sho/Jun
Summary: Aiba Masaki is the galaxy’s worst treasure hunter, and once again Sakurai Sho must come to his friend’s rescue. But has Aiba gone too far this time?
Notes/Warnings: For this year's Sakuraiba Exchange. This is a space AU crossed with a thievery AU because why not?
The intercom at his bedside crackled with static before he heard Ohno’s voice come through, calm as ever. “Five minutes to dock. Repeat. Five minutes to dock.”
“You’re supposed to wake me an hour before!” Sakurai Sho howled needlessly at the intercom, knowing Ohno had already switched it off to prepare for their arrival at the Hayabusa space dock. The seventh planet in the system, Hayabusa was a rocky wasteland of a planet that had hosted civilizations for millennia. They’d died out centuries before Sho had even been born, leaving all their junk behind.
How Aiba had managed to get himself into trouble here of all places had left Sho confused and annoyed as usual. His friend was truly the worst at his chosen profession. He’d have been better off back on his home planet, working in the Chinese food capsule plant his family ran.
With his hour-long “getting ready” timeframe compressed into five minutes, Sho hurriedly tossed off his pajamas and slipped into his guild uniform, glad that he’d hung up his jacket and slacks the night before. He was still buttoning his shiny brass buttons as he rushed from his quarters and up to the bridge of the small ship that zipped him to and fro across the galaxy. His guild pilot, Ohno Satoshi, had never risen higher than Rank 4 Acquisitor and seemed perfectly content to give up on his career in favor of hauling Sho around.
Sho arrived just in time for their ship, the abhorrently-named Tawdry Wench, to ease on in to the space dock orbiting the planet below. Though civilization on the planet had long since disappeared, Hayabusa was under Empire control and treasure hunting on the planet’s surface was still technically outlawed. But all you really had to do was slip past their radar and make sure the space dock trackers didn’t pick up your signal. A child could sneak down to Hayabusa and leave without them knowing.
Aiba Masaki, however, was no child.
Sho ran his fingers through his messy mop of black hair, frowning at his faint reflection in the view screen on the control panel beside Ohno’s nav controls. “I have bed hair.”
“You look very important, Sho-kun,” Ohno assured him, not even glancing over as he eased the ship through the busy dock to anchor in one of the far bays.
“Shut up,” Sho replied huffily, choking down a Breath Fresh capsule. He grabbed his briefcase, brushed a bit of lint off of his jacket, and headed for the exit.
Sho was just entering his ninth year as Chief Negotiator for the Gentleman Acquisitors guild. On paper (and in computer files from Hayabusa to Sakigake), the Gentleman Acquisitors were a league of like-minded individuals engaged in the pursuit of artifacts. “Treasure hunting” was the industry classification on all of their official documentation, but at the end of the day they were really just a band of thieves with nothing better to do than sift through junk in search of gold and other riches.
As Chief Negotiator for the guild, Sho was responsible for getting guild members out of trouble. He wore a fancy uniform and traveled in his own guild-provided ship, but he really just showed up with bail money or a bribe. It wasn’t the best line of work, but it at least allowed him to indulge in his favorite pastime: traveling the galaxy.
He hadn’t been to Hayabusa space dock in ages since no guild members had been boneheaded enough to get caught treasure hunting here. But leave it to Aiba Masaki to find a way. Aiba was a grown man, just a year younger than Sho in his early thirties, and yet he was still only a Rank 2 Acquisitor after eleven years on the job. He was always too open and friendly with strangers, blabbing about where he was off to next and getting scooped by less scrupulous guild members. He interfered with local customs, he stole things that were designated as off-limits, and then of course there’d been the one time he’d crash landed on a moon, causing considerable damage to a moisture farm.
Sho liked Aiba, he really did. Of all the guild members he helped, Aiba was always the most grateful. He even gave some of his earnings to Sho as a thank you, even though Sho was already paid handsomely by the guild for his services. But as nice as Aiba was, he was still the worst treasure hunter Sho had ever seen.
He met with Hayabusa’s chief of security, the bad toupee-wearing Ogura-san, who’d been in charge of the place as long as Sho had been alive. “Sakurai-san,” Ogura greeted him with faux politeness. “I’ve been told you’re here for a prisoner.”
“Surely a case of mistaken identity,” Sho said as smoothly as he could manage, shaking Ogura’s reluctantly outstretched hand. “Our guild members know better than to try and get around your high-level security!”
“Cut the act,” Ogura grumbled, rolling his eyes. “He’s this way. We’ve fed him too, so that’ll be on his tab.”
Despite himself, Sho kept his smile plastered on his face. His job was to always appear amiable and polite unless negotiations started to break down and he had to play hardball. Sometimes prison wardens on the more lawless planets and moons wanted to take the guild for as much money as they could. They needed to do repairs to their station or some boss wanted a fat payday. At the very least, Hayabusa wasn’t going to rip them off.
Ogura led Sho through the station and down to the lowest level where the jail cubes were. They were isolated little cells with nothing more than a toilet, a hard bench, and maybe a pillow, and when the hatch opened and Ogura brought Sho inside, he could immediately hear movement inside one of the cubes. In moments, Aiba Masaki’s face was plastered against the small window of his cube. His cheek was going to leave a smeary print on the glass.
“Sho-chaaaaaan!” came his friend’s muffled, husky voice through the cube. “Sho-chaaaaaan, I’m over here!”
Sho tightened his grip on his briefcase to keep from rolling his eyes. Aiba was the only one down here, it was pretty obvious where he was. Ogura produced a swipe card, opening Aiba’s prison cube. “You have 10 minutes to get your stories straight, and then we’ll discuss the terms of his release in my office.”
The frizzy-haired Aiba backed away from the door, still super giddy at the sight of Sho coming to his rescue yet again. His eyes were puffy, as though he’d been crying only minutes before. Aiba was a rather sensitive soul, especially for a thief, and Sho had lost count of how many times he’d seen Aiba sobbing like a baby by now. He was in his usual treasure hunting garb - his shin-length pants, his shirt and bright neon green vest, and his belt (although of course his stun gun had been confiscated). As soon as Ogura departed, Aiba threw his arms around him, clinging to him until they were a Sakurai and Aiba pretzel.
“Oh thank the stars you’re here!” Aiba was blubbering against Sho’s jacket. “I’ve been here four days! The food has been awful!”
“Well it takes a while to get here,” Sho protested, detaching himself from his friend. “You’re not the only person I have to help, you know.”
Aiba beamed his usual supernova-bright smile. “Sho-chan, you’re the best. Thank you!”
Sho sighed, having a seat on Aiba’s bench and setting down his briefcase. “Okay, so tell me what you did wrong this time.”
Aiba’s mouth formed an “O” shape of surprise at Sho’s not-so-surprising request, and he was soon stomping his feet childishly. “I did everything he told me! I did an approach from the south pole side, way down there so I’d avoid detection! And I visited the site he recommended, part of the Sobusen continent, this huge haul of gold! I’d crammed it into every little nook of my ship, and it was going to be smooth sailing! But I had barely broken atmo when I found two Hayabusa patrol ships waiting to escort me here. It was a trick! I was a distraction, Sho-chan, and I feel so used!”
Aiba was pacing the floor angrily, and Sho grabbed a Choco Mint capsule pack from his briefcase, tossing it to Aiba. Rewarded with a treat, he calmed down a bit, munching on a few capsules. “You keep saying ‘he,’ who the heck are you talking about?”
He heard Aiba’s teeth crunch on a Choco Mint harder than necessary. “Well Nino of course! This is all his fault! He was probably snagging his own score on the other side of the planet and just set me up so he could get away!”
Sho pinched the bridge of his nose, shutting his eyes. “And why, may I ask, were you talking with him again? You know he always does this.”
“He swore he’d changed! He said ‘Aiba-shi, I have a great haul for you on Hayabusa, together we’ll be rich as the Emperor. I’m not lying!’ and he was so sincere this time. You know he’s got those cute little puppy dog eyes and that smile of friendship and…”
“Aiba-san…”
Aiba stopped midway through a lengthy description of all the various types of outlawed beer Nino had treated him to, sighing. “Well anyhow, I fell for it.” He sat down at Sho’s side, leaning his elbows on his knees and holding his head in his hands. “I want to believe him. I want to believe him sometimes, I can’t help it!”
Ninomiya Kazunari had taken only a year and a half to reach the top of the Gentleman Acquisitors and was one of a mere handful of Rank 10 Acquisitors, known as the Master Class. They knew all the galaxy’s secrets, kept the best loot for themselves, and were experts at sneaking around and lock picking and all sorts of tricks of the trade. These guild members would happily throw another member aside to achieve their aims, to get filthy rich and lord it over everyone.
To Aiba though, Ninomiya Kazunari was simply “Nino,” his best friend from childhood. They’d joined the Gentleman Acquisitors as partners, and when Aiba had not proved to be an equal contributor to their success, Nino had ditched him. Even though Nino frequently screwed Aiba over, getting him into trouble repeatedly, theirs was a strange friendship. In fact, the money that Sho had been authorized to spend to free Aiba from Hayabusa that day had mostly come as a donation from Ninomiya himself.
“Just ignore him when he calls you from now on,” Sho ordered, patting a frustrated Aiba on the shoulder. “No matter how many weird beers he offers you.”
“I know, I know,” Aiba replied, grumbling under his breath.
He was left behind in the cube while Sho headed to Ogura-san’s office. The negotiated price for Aiba’s release was slightly less than Sho had planned for, so the guild leadership would be glad to save the money. Aiba’s freedom purchased and his Hayabusa arrest record lessened from “Grand Larceny” to “Petty Larceny,” Sho returned to the cubes to find Aiba was in better spirits and pleased to be getting out.
“There have to be better hauls in the galaxy than breaking in here,” Sho warned him, escorting his friend toward where the ships were docked. “Be more careful next time.”
Aiba’s small transport ship, a castoff of Ninomiya’s called the Lucky Lucky Lucky My Life, was probably the unluckiest ship in the guild fleet. It bore dozens of scary scorch marks from miscalculated planetary descents and cost more to fuel than a ship three times its size. But it had been a gift, Aiba was always telling him, so he couldn’t bear to part with it.
Ohno was outside the Tawdry Wench, doing final checks before they headed off to Sho’s next case. To Sho’s dismay, Aiba immediately raced forward to wrap Ohno in a big bear hug. Ohno, usually a quiet man, always had a million questions for Aiba whenever they got him released. Where Ohno ought to have done Aiba a favor, encouraging him to take up a job doing almost anything else, he instead said things like “Wow Aiba-chan, that’s awesome!” and “No way, you’re a great treasure hunter!” With Ohno’s encouragement and Ninomiya’s bail money, Aiba was never going to quit. Sho would never understand it. Already Ohno’s jaw had dropped with Aiba’s exciting tales of his Hayabusa capture.
“Come on, that’s enough,” Sho grumbled, pulling his planner from inside his uniform jacket. He wiggled the leather-bound book at them. “I have to be at Akari IV in two days. Yokoyama got pinched on a safecracking excursion, and they’re going to take a toe if I’m not there in time. You know how rough and tumble they are on Akari IV.”
Aiba nodded in understanding. “I suppose if a toe’s involved…”
“They almost took my pinky there once,” Ohno said wistfully, gazing off into the distance.
Sho gave Aiba a slight push in the direction of his ship. “Now behave yourself. I don’t want to see you again for a long time.”
Aiba turned to look back at him, his eyes filling with tears and Sho knew he’d made a bad choice of words. He shook his head, holding up his hands in apology.
“I meant in this sort of situation! I’m trying to say don’t get in trouble so I have to come get you out.”
Aiba wiped his tears. It had apparently been an emotional week for him. “I’ll do my best, I promise!”
-
TWO WEEKS LATER
-
“You were there when he said he wasn’t going to get in any more trouble!”
Ohno had engaged the auto-pilot as they cruised through the Yamaguchi cluster, and he was seated comfortably in his pilot’s seat, feet up on the control panel. “He’s just a bit clumsy,” Ohno said. “He never means to get caught or anything. It just…happens.”
Sho rolled his eyes, doing his best to memorize legal precedents for breaking and entering on the Negai lunar colony. Negai was a fairly large moon, and the satellite’s surface was dotted with several domed city-states. To break in to one of the domes, you needed an override code for one of the security entrances. And you also had to know which security entrances were unmanned when you arrived. Basically you had to be a competent guild member to even try it.
Aiba Masaki, of course, was not a competent guild member.
“Do you think it was Ninomiya, putting him up to it again?”
Ohno shrugged. “Beats me.”
Sho sincerely hoped Aiba had just been overly ambitious this time. This one was really going to cost him. The domes of Negai were usually headed by a wealthy family who could apparently punish infractions to their territory as they saw fit, so long as it was still within Empire protocols for prisoner treatment. Sho had been reading and reading and reading ever since the word had gotten out that Aiba once again was in need of his services.
He’d managed to get into one of the domes in the northern hemisphere without incident, but then he’d foolishly aimed high, breaking into the residence of the dome’s leader. He’d set off a security alarm, and that was that. But he’d sent Sho a video message, wiggling his fingers and toes to reassure Sho that the dome’s leader had no plans to dismember him.
He would, however, be charging quite a premium to allow for Aiba’s release. The dome in question, Dome Yoji, had been one of the most prosperous domes for generations, and they did not welcome strangers, especially strangers intent to rob them. Aiba had been caught red-handed, reaching for a jewelry box. The dome’s leader was apparently a collector of rare stones and wore them in gaudy rings for all his subjects to see.
Sho swished through the various screens of information briskly, hoping he wouldn’t make a grave error in his negotiations. Aiba was already a guild problem child, and they were getting sick of bailing him out. Sooner or later they were going to stop throwing money at him, and Aiba would have to cool his heels in a jail cell for a few years, the prime years of his thieving life.
A few hours later, the Tawdry Wench was being granted landing permission within Dome Yoji airspace, and Ohno eased them down at a hangar bay connected by monorail to the dome itself. He and Ohno had been granted access to the place for three whole days. Ohno immediately took advantage of this, barely waiting for the ship’s engines to shut down before he was grabbing his small overnight satchel and speeding off for the dome’s pleasure district.
Sho, unfortunately, would not get to see much of the sights as he would be staying under the roof of Dome Yoji’s leader, the Grand High Duke Matsumoto Jun. The Matsumoto family had ruled the dome for centuries, and Sho tried to keep his awe to himself as the monorail ventured from the hangar and into the massive dome, taking in the enormous skyscrapers and soaring residences of Dome Yoji. At the monorail terminus, he was met by Matsumoto’s chief of security, Oguri Shun, who then escorted Sho to the Matsumoto residence at the heart of the dome.
It was even grander than the other towers around it, a forty-story skyscraper with shimmering tinted windows, sparkling in the artificial sunlight of the dome. He and Oguri in the shuttle car vanished into darkness, entering a garage under the Matsumoto skyscraper. It was then a stomach-churning ride to the top of the building in an elevator that offered views of the outside as it climbed into the sky. Sho, not so fond of heights, stared instead at the floor numbers as they rose higher and higher.
The elevator chimed at the 32nd floor, and the tall, professional Oguri-san directed him to a guest suite. It was all very proper, all very civilized, which made Sho wonder just what kind of treatment his friend was enduring at the present moment. Apparently Matsumoto would be meeting with Sho after dinner that evening, so while Sho relaxed in his well-appointed guest suite, Aiba was somewhere imprisoned, and he doubted his accommodations were as nice.
Sho used the remainder of his free time to cram in as much as he could about Dome Yoji, its mining industry wealth, and the best opening offer he could present during his meeting with Matsumoto. Unfortunately, all of Sho’s negotiator skills fled him in an instant as Oguri brought him in to Matsumoto’s office on the top floor of the skyscraper.
Unlike most dome leaders, elderly men and women clinging to power as long as they could, Matsumoto Jun was younger, of an age with Sho. And even worse, Matsumoto Jun was ridiculously attractive. His office was floor to ceiling windows on three sides, offering views of the entire dome now twinkling in the starlight. The room was softly lit to let visitors bask in the view, the light casting shadows on the dome’s leader.
He was dressed in a well-made and well-fitted suit of violet fabric, and he stood maybe an inch or two taller than Sho. Matsumoto’s entire demeanor screamed wealth and privilege, from his permed hair to his aristocratic eyebrows to his smirking mouth. He was not seated in his desk chair but had instead leaned back against his desk, arms crossed and haughty. Ready to cut to the chase and get rid of his Aiba problem.
Sho, who had always thought of himself as a professional who wouldn’t let a pretty face lead him astray, was probably going to let a pretty face lead him astray. With all the traveling and working he did, he’d had very little time for romance as of late. He fumbled with his business card, nearly tripping over his own boots as he approached. “Sak-Sakurai S-S-Sho,” he stuttered, clearing his throat to try again. “Sakurai Sho, Chief Negotiator, Gentleman Acquisitors. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
“No pleasure here,” Matsumoto snapped back at him instantly, taking Sho’s card and flinging it over his shoulder. When it landed perfectly, right side up on the desk behind him, Sho knew he was at an incredible disadvantage already. “Your guild is a joke, you know. You think you can steal and do whatever you want and assume we’ll all let you if you just throw money at the damages you incur.” Matsumoto looked him up and down, scoffing. “Take a look around, Sakurai Sho. We don’t need any more money here.”
Wealthy marks took on this air often enough. Sho usually had to take a different tack, offering partnership offers with Master Class guild members or assurances that their enemies would be pilfered from instead. From the disgusted look on Grand High Duke Matsumoto’s face, Sho had a feeling that no guild apology money would be exchanged this time around. Even as Matsumoto sneered at him, Sho was lost in lustful feelings. He’d always had a thing for honest people who wouldn’t ignore that the guild was, essentially, a band of criminals. Even though Sho worked for the guild, he admired people who stood up to them.
Sho stood his ground as best he could under Matsumoto’s handsome glare. “The prisoner, Aiba Masaki-san. I would like to speak with him, confirm he’s been treated with decency.”
Matsumoto snapped his fingers and a panel in the wall behind Sho slid open, revealing a brightly lit holding cell. Within there were no seats, no benches, only Aiba himself sitting on the floor with his legs crossed. At the sight of Sho in the office, Aiba sprung to his feet in an instant, smacking his hands against the glass wall as though Sho couldn’t see him.
“Sho-chaaaaaan, you came!” Aiba shouted, and Sho could see Matsumoto’s lip curl at the smears on the glass.
Compared to the state Sho often found guild members in, Aiba seemed in much better shape than he could have been. Though his belongings had been confiscated, and he was dressed in a purple prisoner jumpsuit (did Matsumoto have something for purple?) Aiba seemed to be fine. In fact, his usual shaggy locks had even been trimmed. They groomed their prisoners in Dome Yoji!
As Aiba, oblivious to the fact that they could really see him, kept smacking the glass and aiming friendly peace signs in Sho’s direction, Matsumoto spoke again. “Behind my desk I have a button that can release poison gas into that chamber at any time…”
Sho’s attraction to Matsumoto wobbled. The guy was probably bluffing, right? Hadn’t Sho trained himself thoroughly to notice that? When he looked at the Grand High Duke, his face was serious as could be, an eyebrow raised in Sho’s direction.
“I need only push the button, and this problem is gone.”
Sho swallowed, seeing Aiba still noisily trying to get his attention. “May I ask what he attempted to steal?”
Matsumoto held up his hand, showing him a rather hideous skull ring with what seemed to be diamonds to either side of the skull. “My favorite.”
Sho nodded, the ugly ring snapping him out of his silly reverie. He finally noticed the way Matsumoto was tapping his toe nervously. Definitely bluffing. He was angry about the ring, but he was bluffing. After all, he had given Aiba a haircut.
“You’re not really going to kill him. What can I do to set him free?”
Matsumoto’s large, thankfully expressive eyes seemed astonished that Sho had seen through him so quickly. “I…I have poison gas! I’ll kill him, I will!”
In an instant, all of the intimidating aura surrounding the Grand High Duke Matsumoto Jun started fading. Sho could see how the lighting of the room had been aimed just so at Matsumoto’s desk, to cast him in a sinister light as soon as Sho had entered, to turn the negotiations in his favor. There were pictures on the wall, Sho noticed now, a rather genial and friendly Matsumoto Jun smiling with an equally smily Oguri beside him. The common denominator in all the photos, of course, was the hideous skull ring on Matsumoto’s finger.
It seemed that Aiba Masaki, the galaxy’s most useless treasure hunter, had nearly pulled off a feat that a Master Class treasure hunter couldn’t accomplish - stealing Matsumoto Jun’s favorite ring. It would be like stealing a child’s teddy bear, an unforgivable act of cruelty.
“Your Grace,” Sho said politely, hiding his smile. Matsumoto Jun wasn’t really scary. He was still handsome as all get out, but he wasn’t scary. “On behalf of the Gentleman Acquisitors, I’d like to sincerely apologize for the attempted theft of your cherished possession.” He bowed humbly. “I would like to secure the release of Aiba Masaki with assurances that he will never visit Dome Yoji again.”
Matsumoto was pouting now that Sho had seen through his lame threat. “This is a one of a kind, you know. The thought of that…that oaf absconding with my ring, fencing it like any other bit of stolen merchandise…”
“Again, I am truly sorry for his miscalculation and poor judgment…” Sho looked over, seeing that Aiba had finally figured out Sho and Matsumoto could see him. He was plastered to the glass, his breath fogging it up as he seemed to realize that Sho’s bargaining for his release had already begun. “I know you expressed no interest, but if there’s any sort of monetary compensation the guild could provide you with to alleviate your, er, your inconvenience in this matter…”
Matsumoto snapped his fingers and the panel on Aiba’s holding cell started to close again. A heavy screen came down from the ceiling, and Aiba followed it the whole way, crouching and waving. “Sho-chan! Hey Sho-chaaaaan!” Aiba’s voice called until he had disappeared from view.
Matsumoto moved to his chair, sitting down and sulking. “I said I don’t want your money. This isn’t just about my ring, you know. If someone like that weirdo could get in, the entire dome’s at risk. They want me to make an example of him, to scare other people from doing the same thing. It’s a matter of Dome Yoji security, Sakurai-san. I wouldn’t really gas your guildsman, I’m not barbaric. But I can’t just turn him over, you see. My dome won’t allow it.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean,” Matsumoto said, a stray lock of his dark hair falling attractively over his brow, “that this is out of my hands. He tried to take my ring, and for that I’m still really mad. But forgiveness is a good quality in a leader, so I’m willing to let that go. But my subjects here are not so forgiving. They will protest if I just let you take him.”
Sho was confused. “Then why did you give me and my pilot three days to visit and negotiate for Aiba-san’s release? If you have no intention of releasing him at all?”
“You’re the Chief Negotiator, aren’t you?” Matsumoto said with a grin. “Give me an offer I can’t refuse. And then maybe your Aiba Masaki can go free.”
-
“The food’s really good,” Aiba admitted to him from where he was sitting with his back to the wall. “The best prison food I’ve ever had actually…”
Sho had nothing to say to that, leaning against the wall and frowning.
“Jun-kun’s a nice guy, it’s just politics, I know…”
“Jun-kun?” Sho exclaimed in surprise. “How close are you two? You’re his prisoner, for goodness sake!”
Aiba shrugged, scratching an itch on his purple jumpsuit-clad thigh. “He’s not such a bad guy, you know, for someone with a whole lot of money and a whole lot of power. It could be worse.”
“Masaki, if I don’t find a way to get you out of here, you may stay here forever.” When Aiba had no reply to that, Sho thumped the wall with his fist. “I highly doubt they’ll keep giving you gourmet meals and manicures when you’re imprisoned for good!”
It was the morning after Sho had met with Grand High Duke Matsumoto Jun for the first time. Aiba’s holding cell, the one that had appeared in Matsumoto’s 40th floor office, was actually automated. Most of the time it resided on a prison level underground, under the dome, and Matsumoto could lift any cell up to his office if he wanted to conduct an interrogation or have a chat.
Things on the prison level weren’t bad so far for Aiba. If he had to use the washroom, he simply had to press a buzzer on the wall for a guard to escort him. Aiba was as always a model prisoner and hadn’t been foolish enough to attempt escape. He was fed regularly, given a clean jumpsuit each morning, and got music piped in during the afternoon so he could exercise.
This was mostly for appearance’s sake, Sho figured. Matsumoto, who didn’t actually want to have to imprison Aiba for good, was treating him well in hopes that Sho would come up with a solid negotiating tactic. And if Sho didn’t, well, then that was Sho’s fault and the people of Dome Yoji would have their vengeance on the criminal who tried to rob their duke.
Sho was witnessing Dome Yoji’s negative feelings for Aiba and the Gentleman Acquisitors up close and personal. The morning news broadcast had called openly for lifelong imprisonment, even his execution. “Stay out of our dome!” the news vid screens read, visible from every monorail car. One impassioned protester in front of the Grand High Duke’s skyscraper had stood with a graphic digital sign calling for “the thief” to have his “thieving hands chopped off!”
“I’m sure you’re doing everything you can, Sho-chan. You always do,” Aiba said, pride in his voice. “You’ll think of something.”
“I’ll do my best,” he said quietly.
“Besides, you’ll get to see him again. When you negotiate.”
“What are you talking about?” Sho asked, feeling his face go hot. Despite his lack of skill at treasure hunting, Aiba was often a quick study of character.
“Jun-kun of course!” Aiba said, chuckling. “You think he’s cute.”
Sho looked the other way. “That has nothing to do with anything. And it’s not true…”
“No, Sho-chan, really,” Aiba answered, getting to his feet. He walked over, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. “This is a good thing. You can work it into your negotiations. Because I know that before they let you come here, Jun-kun was looking you up, asking around about you so he knew what to expect.”
“He what?”
Aiba nodded conspiratorially. “You’re staying in a really nice room, right? He didn’t have to do that. So maybe it’s like, a mutual thing. Your butt does look rather good in your uniform, I’m sure he was checking you out too. You can use it to your advantage. Wear your tightest slacks, use that negotiator smile, go for it. Say ‘let Aiba-chan go and I’ll have sex with you!’”
“Masaki!”
Aiba backed off, giggling. “Just a suggestion. You do so many nice things for the guild and for me, so why not have a little fun while you’re working? Two birds, one stone right?”
He could not believe Aiba was suggesting that the way to his release involved Sho seducing Dome Yoji’s leader. It was out of the question. And besides, Sho’s duties required him to report back to the guild in detail about all the terms of a prison release. “Sex with the aggrieved party” did not belong anywhere in his report.
“Can you behave a little more seriously please? This is your livelihood we’re talking about here.”
Aiba shrugged. “Maybe it’s for the best. I know I’m a pretty lousy treasure hunter…”
Sho stood firm. Yeah, Aiba was terrible at his job. Yeah, Sho had to come bail him out all the time. But Aiba was his friend, and he wouldn’t see any harm come to him. He’d never lost a negotiation in all these years, and he wasn’t going to lose one now.
“I’m going to get you out. That’s a promise.”
“Maybe if you let him come on to you…”
“Shut up.”
-
It was mere hours now before his window of negotiating time would come to a close, and he and Ohno would be asked to leave Dome Yoji. From the comforts of his guest suite, Sho had spent the last day and a half chatting with every connection he had in the galaxy.
Guild leadership refused to make any sort of special deal with Grand High Duke Matsumoto Jun. There were too many other deals in place with various Negai domes - allying specially with Matsumoto might upset the balance of power. And then Sho had been in touch with Acquisitors rank 8 and higher, expert thieves who might be willing to help. To snatch something precious from Matsumoto’s enemies, to sign a finder’s contract and seek out treasures with half the profits going straight to Dome Yoji to enhance their security and defenses. Nobody was biting, no matter what Sho offered.
“But you’d be helping a guild member in need!” Sho would repeatedly plead with them.
“You know he’ll just get caught again in a week,” came their replies. “And then you’ll be bothering us again.”
And then none of the offers and counteroffers Sho presented in repeated meetings with Matsumoto Jun were acceptable. Money, guild favors, nothing was good enough to spring Aiba. It seemed like he and Matsumoto were chatting every other hour, sitting in that office arguing while Aiba watched them from his little holding cell, trying and failing to wink at Sho in hopes that he’d give up his pride and go the seduction route. Thus far, Sho had not stooped to that level, no matter how badly Aiba thought it would work. Even with the long hours in Matsumoto’s company, sitting just across the desk from him and his beguiling eyes, Sho was treating Aiba’s case with the utmost seriousness.
Ohno, hanging out in Sho’s suite in some strange stupor after two days binging on alcohol and purple-miniskirted Dome Yoji women, was even more unhelpful. He’d been watching Sho’s negotiations from the comfort of the suite sofa, humming to himself as Sho angrily turned off the vid screen after yet another rejection.
“I can’t believe how cruel they’re being,” Sho complained. “What if it was them in this situation? What’s the point of being in a guild that won’t help one another out?”
“Sho-kun, my idea would work…”
Sho shut his eyes, trying to tamp down his anger. “For the last time, Satoshi-kun, I’m not going to do that.”
Ohno rolled onto his back, gazing up listlessly at the ceiling. “If I was Chief Negotiator, I’d do it.”
“Well it’s a good thing you’re a pilot and not the Chief Negotiator,” Sho shot back at him. “This is about Aiba-kun’s life, you know. And it breaches every code of ethics I try to uphold!”
“But he’s the only one you haven’t tried,” Ohno pointed out. “And like you said, this is about Aiba-chan’s life. You know he’d say yes.”
Sho frowned, staring at the blank vid screen. It really was the only option he had left save for stripping nude in Matsumoto Jun’s office, and at some point during Ohno’s crazy tour of the pleasure district, he’d managed to run in to him. It seemed that when Aiba Masaki was in peril, true peril, it brought his friend out of the woodwork. He’d been here in Dome Yoji, lurking about, waiting for his chance.
Now Sho could give him that chance, but it went against everything he stood for. He was Chief Negotiator, the most ethical, upstanding member the guild had. To do this, to behave this way, would break every rule.
The vid screen lit up, showing Oguri’s face. In his office, wherever it was in the skyscraper, he had an identical photo of himself with Matsumoto Jun, smiling cheerfully, hanging on his wall. You’d never know Dome Yoji’s people were so bloodthirsty. “Sakurai-san, the Grand High Duke has requested your presence for final negotiations in one hour. You will then be asked to leave with or without Aiba-san. Is that understood?”
Sho took a long look at the photo behind Oguri before nodding. “Understood. I’m fairly certain that the Grand High Duke will accept my new terms.”
With that, Oguri turned off the vid. Sho didn’t have any other options.
“Satoshi-kun, I need a private line.”
That got the slurring, stumbling Ohno off the sofa and he came over to Sho’s vid screen, opening the back and fiddling with the wires. Despite his hangover, Ohno had always been good with this sort of thing. He hadn’t gotten to Rank 4 Acquisitor without knowing a little something about encoding a private transmission, and they couldn’t risk Oguri or Dome Yoji security listening in on this particular conversation.
In moments Sho was connected with a ship in Dome Yoji’s hangar bay, the ostentatious and super sleek Guts Mark II. “You have reached the Master of the Master Class,” came a snarky voice from somewhere in the Guts Mark II’s cockpit. “I’m sorry I can’t come to the screen right now…”
“Ninomiya Kazunari, this is Chief Negotiator Sakurai Sho on a matter of extreme urgency.” Although Sho knew that any serious undertones to his message were probably lessened by Ohno standing behind him scratching an itch on his butt.
A face popped in from the right, and the screen was tilted to reveal Rank 10 Acquisitor Ninomiya relaxing in his pilot’s chair. He was a slim fellow with intelligent eyes and a wicked smile. “Ah, it’s about time you called. Cutting it awfully close, aren’t you?”
Sho took a deep breath. “All my tactics have failed, and I was hoping you could help.”
“And you called upon the guild’s patron saint of lost causes…”
Sho was already out of patience with the man. “Ninomiya, you’ve never lifted a finger to help the guild unless it lined your pockets, and you know it.”
Where most Acquisitors would be insulted, Ninomiya smiled at him. “Go on.”
“Aiba-kun needs your help. After all the trouble you’ve caused him time and time again, can I convince you to help him for once? While I know that the Grand High Duke doesn’t really want to, he may be forced to act harshly.”
Sho was surprised to see the solemn look in the master thief’s face then. “It was me. I told Aiba-shi the dome’s exterior security codes. I didn’t think he’d be stupid enough to try and steal from their leader when the city is overflowing with jewels in every other building. But I never thought…I honestly didn’t think it would go this far.”
“They might kill him.”
“I know.”
“So will you help him?”
“What’s the plan?”
So Sho told him, the plan that Ohno had suggested and that Sho had refined in his head, even if he’d been 99% certain he wouldn’t have to go through with it. As Chief Negotiator, it was a betrayal. It was an especially awful betrayal because he’d spent the last two days in meetings with Matsumoto Jun, and he had such a crush on him it was embarrassing. If Matsumoto found out…if Matsumoto learned about this…
“I have to meet with the Grand High Duke in less than an hour,” Sho said, tamping down his nervousness and shame. “How soon can you get here?”
Ninomiya winked at him. “Just send me the security codes. I’ll be there in a jiffy.”
-
Sho paced the suite anxiously, Ohno having passed out in the bed after his suggestion had finally been accepted. Hopefully he’d be awake and ready to fly soon. How was Sho going to be able to look Matsumoto in the eye? After all, the Grand High Duke had treated Aiba as kindly as he could given the circumstances. He was beholden to his people, not the guild. And his people were out for blood.
Oguri arrived, and Sho hoped he didn’t look suspicious. He followed the security chief to the elevator, once again rising up to Matsumoto’s office. It was still daytime outside (well, artificial daytime) and the Grand High Duke looked more handsome than ever. Today he was in a showy lavender yukata. He was giving a press conference after his meeting with Sho to tell the people of Dome Yoji what would happen with the prisoner Aiba Masaki, and he was dressed to impress.
Sho tamped down his hormones, remembering that this was all for Aiba’s sake. Matsumoto, already accustomed to their days of negotiating, snapped his fingers right off the bat to let Aiba in his see-through cell observe the proceedings. Unlike in previous days where Aiba had smiled and laughed in hopes that his good cheer would change Matsumoto Jun’s mind, he was quiet.
“You better have a good plan,” Matsumoto said huffily while Oguri stood beside him. “Just look outside.”
Sho moved to the window, gulping down his anxiety about heights to see that an angry mob had gathered at the base of the tower. They wanted Matsumoto to come down hard on the Dome Yoji intruder. When he turned, he could see a desperate Aiba in his cell thrusting his hips back and forth, suggesting that Sho ought to go ahead and try a last ditch seduction of Matsumoto. But even if Oguri wasn’t in the room, Sho wasn’t that stupid.
“What the hell is he doing?” Oguri asked, pointing at the holding cell.
Matsumoto shook his head. “Maybe he’s lost his mind.”
Sho was the only one to hear the gentle thump on the glass behind them. It took only a few seconds, and Sho ducked out of the way just in time as the windows of Matsumoto Jun’s office shattered. Before Oguri could press an alarm, Ninomiya had swung into the office on some sort of tether and knocked him unconscious with his stun gun. As the security chief fell to the floor, Matsumoto put his hands up in fright. Ninomiya grinned, training his stun gun on the Grand High Duke.
They didn’t have long because surely the shattering glass had alerted some sort of other security teams in the building.
“So easy!” Nino said, laughing to himself. He held out his other hand. “I’ll take that ring of yours.”
Matsumoto scowled at Ninomiya, trying to seem braver than he was. “Who the hell do you think you are? I’m not giving you anything!”
Nino, knowing they were low on time, rolled his eyes and sent a shot from his stun gun straight into the carpet at Matsumoto’s feet. “Everybody knows you’ve got the most expensive ring in the quadrant. Hand it over, and I won’t stun you. I’ll have you know, Purple Guy, that in three out of four cases people hit with this kind of weapon are inclined to wet their pants.”
As Sho looked nervously at the prone Oguri on the floor, Matsumoto’s lip quivered in sadness as he slid his hideous skull ring off of his finger and set it in Nino’s palm. He didn’t feel like peeing on his beautiful clothes, it seemed, not with a press conference coming. Grinning in victory, Nino gave a quick little tug on his tether and in an instant he was yanked out of the office and out into the open air. He’d managed to steal or rig up some sort of hovercraft, and he landed right on top of it, speeding off in the direction of the hangar bay.
Matsumoto hurried to the window, shaking his fist at the sky. “You bastard!” He turned, kicking at Oguri with his slippered foot. “Wake up, Shun, you worthless sack of crap. Wake up!”
Oguri merely groaned in confusion on the floor. Sho knew he had to act quickly, seeing Aiba pounding on the glass in surprise behind them. “Your grace, that was Ninomiya Kazunari, one of the guild’s leading Acquisitors!”
“I don’t care if it was my grandma, Sakurai. Nobody takes my ring!” Matsumoto howled, smacking his desk with his fist. “I’ll kill him!”
“He’s probably halfway to his ship by now. I know thieves of his caliber, and they know every trick for slipping past your security,” Sho said as steadily as he could manage, approaching Matsumoto’s desk with his hands raised in a peaceful gesture. “But perhaps…perhaps if you let Aiba-san go, he could give chase and return your ring to you. As recompense for his initial infraction against you.”
There it was, the plan, and since Aiba had stopped pounding on the glass, he seemed to realize it too. From the way he was trying and mostly failing to hide a smile in the crook of his arm, Sho could tell that Aiba knew Nino was doing all this to help him. After so many years of getting screwed over, his friend had finally come through for him.
“The people expect to see him punished,” Matsumoto protested weakly, but now he had an even worse breach of security to account for. And his precious ring was gone. So Sho set forth the next part of the plan.
“Say Aiba-san returns your ring. And then the money initially set out to win him from your custody, the money you refused, could go to restoring Dome Yoji’s security,” Sho said calmly. “And the guild will agree to stay out of your dome…for good. Any breaches of this agreement would result in a justifiable and painful execution.”
Matsumoto was considering this as quickly as he could, looking between Sho and Aiba, seeing how Aiba was proudly standing tall, waiting to go “hunt down” the evil thief Ninomiya. How eager Aiba was to go get his ring back. He really did love that thing…
The Grand High Duke clapped his hands twice, and the glass separating Aiba from them lifted. He raced into the office in his purple jumpsuit, bowing down on his hands and knees to Matsumoto Jun. “Please allow me to go retrieve your ring! I’ll do everything in my power, please!”
“I want Ninomiya dead,” Matsumoto said, just as Sho and Ohno had expected he would. He looked at Sho directly, none of the kindness left in his eyes. “You have 24 Earth hours to return with my ring or I’m hiring assassins to kill the both of them.”
-
“Well how do you want me to pose?” Nino was asking, doing final touch-ups on his fancy makeup job. “Like with my mouth gaping open and my tongue hanging out? Or am I flat on my stomach with a big hole blasted through my skull? Because that’ll take some time, you know.”
Ohno yanked the little paintbrush from Nino’s hand, dabbing it back in the blood red stage makeup. “A blast wound would do much more damage than that. Let me do it already.”
While Nino did his best to stay still and Ohno got to work making Nino’s “injuries” look even more gruesome, Aiba found Sho sitting in a quiet alcove just off the cockpit of the Guts Mark II. Nino had thoughtfully moored his ship on the dark side of Negai, which had allowed Ohno, Sho, and Aiba in the Tawdry Wench to pull up easily for docking. The Guts Mark II’s state of the art cloaking technology allowed Nino to keep both ships shielded from Dome Yoji’s security ships that were on the lookout for Nino.
Aiba sat down beside him, his eyes brimming with tears. “Sho-chan, thank you…thank you for everything.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” Sho said, looking at Matsumoto’s ring as it sat in the center of his palm. “For this to work, these pictures have to turn out perfectly.”
Aiba was quiet for a while, and the only sounds they could hear were Ohno and Nino’s grumbling in the cockpit and the humming of the ship. The ring was safe, of course, and now they were working on confirming the “proof” that Aiba had managed to track down Nino and kill him. They were hoping that photographic “proof” of Nino’s demise would be enough. It was a big risk, but it was all they had. Nino wasn’t generous enough to let them kill him for real.
Aiba sniffled, leaning his head on Sho’s shoulder in gratitude. “You’re the best friend a guy could ask for.”
“Stop,” Sho complained, blushing. “And this was Satoshi-kun’s plan…”
Aiba was full-on crying now and had been on the verge of it ever since they’d boarded the Tawdry Wench and blasted off to meet up with Nino. “No, I mean it. You went to all this trouble for me, putting your own reputation on the line, lying like that. It means a lot, and I’m super grateful…”
Sho sensed there was more Aiba wanted to say. “Just spit it out already.”
“…I’m super grateful, but by banning the guild from Dome Yoji, that means you can never see Jun-kun again, since you work for the guild and all.”
“Would you stop calling him that? If we don’t get back in time, your buddy Jun-kun is sending a death squad after you.” Sho sighed. “Look, I didn’t want anything bad to happen to you. If it means never coming back to Negai, then who cares?”
Aiba patted Sho’s knee, clearly not crying now. “You’re such a bad liar. You were totally checking him out in that yukata.”
“I was not. Shut up already,” Sho replied, jostling Aiba away from him. “This is a serious matter!”
Aiba snatched the ring from Sho’s palm, jamming it onto his own finger, presumably so he wouldn’t lose it. “Well, you could have taken my advice from the start and just had sex with him…”
Sho opened his mouth to protest again, but he knew it was useless. Together they headed to the cockpit, both recoiling in disgust at the sight in front of them. Not only could Ohno pilot the Tawdry Wench and rewire fancy transmission circuits, but he was an artist with a makeup brush.
It looked like a shot from a blaster rifle had burned entirely through Nino’s face. Ohno had thoughtfully moved beyond blood colored face paint to some whites and blacks to add revealed bone and some singe marks to the entire left side of Nino’s face. If Sho didn’t see the sparkle of mischief in Ninomiya’s eyes he might have really thought he was dead.
“That’s disgusting!” Aiba said, wincing.
“Thank you,” Ohno said proudly, setting down his brush.
“Alright, let’s get this show on the road,” Nino said, hopping out of the chair and proceeding to sprawl uncomfortably across the cockpit floor. “I don’t intend to be dead for very long since I’ve got some emeralds to fence and an impatient buyer waiting for me on Hinode III.”
Aiba used one of the cameras Nino had for various spying activities and snapped a dozen photos of Nino’s “corpse.” To his credit, Nino played dead extremely well. Sho didn’t even want to know how many times he’d faked his own death to get out of trouble. Photos taken, along with a handful of shots of Jun’s ring, they forwarded them to a Dome Yoji security team.
Once they were sent, Nino immediately reached for a handkerchief in his pocket, wiping the makeup away. For the entire flight back to Dome Yoji, Sho and Aiba sat uncomfortably while Ohno complained about the “destruction” of his artistic masterpiece.
-
Sho noticed that Head of Security Oguri Shun stayed as far away from the windows as possible. Well, they weren’t quite “windows” now as they’d need to be replaced. There was currently no view looking out from Grand High Duke Matsumoto Jun’s office on the 40th floor of his skyscraper - several thick tarps were covering the area now, and a billowing wind rustled them every few seconds.
They knew that success had been achieved even before their arrival in the office, having seen the graphic images of Nino’s untimely demise plastered across vid screens in the domed city from the hangar bay all the way in to Matsumoto’s building. Nino had been a bit angry that Sho had used his real name as part of their ruse because he’d have to use an alias to work in this part of the quadrant again, if only so Dome Yoji didn’t learn the truth. But Sho thought it was a small price to pay for his friend’s freedom.
Even if Sho thought it was a bit over the top when Aiba got down on one knee and held out Matsumoto’s ring to him, it had struck just the right tone. Matsumoto was overjoyed to be reunited with his precious ring, and he’d clearly held back tears at the lengths his prisoner was willing to go to in order to return it to him.
A smiling Aiba was given a full pardon, albeit a hush hush one. He was forbidden from ever entering the dome again and had to sign contracts to that effect. His ship, the Lucky Lucky Lucky My Life, had also been ordered to the scrap heap as a “symbolic” destruction to make up for Aiba not being imprisoned or executed. With the bloodlust of Dome Yoji’s citizens satisfied, Aiba was now free to go. The money for Dome Yoji security had cleared as well. Only one task remained.
While Oguri escorted Aiba away to meet up with Ohno in the hangar bay, Sho was asked to remain behind in Matsumoto’s office.
As they had so many times already, Matsumoto sat behind his desk and Sho sat across from him. He tried to remain calm as Matsumoto set out another contract, this time banning one Sakurai Sho from ever again entering Dome Yoji on pain of death.
The Grand High Duke was looking at him rather fondly, a look that Aiba certainly would have commented on. “You’re very dedicated to your guild, Sakurai-san.”
“Yes I am.”
While he was worried that their plan had been transparent, their trickery weak from the start, Matsumoto actually smiled. He probably had an idea what they’d done, but he wasn’t angry. He clearly found the execution of prisoners to be unnecessary, and they’d found a way to get him out of doing it. Plus they’d given his ring back.
“I admire your dedication. You are certainly an asset to your organization.”
“Your grace?”
“…which is why I was hoping you’d show me the same loyalty,” Matsumoto said, turning a rather charming shade of embarrassed pink. He took the contract threatening Sho’s death and ripped it in half, pulling a new contract out of his desk drawer. “Um, this one is an employment contract. I was hoping to hire you as a negotiator for Dome Yoji. We’re always engaging in these little tiffs with some of the other domes. Mine worker mobility, trade agreements, all that boring stuff.”
“You want to hire me?”
Matsumoto looked anywhere but into Sho’s eyes. “If you worked for me, then you could come and go as you chose. None of that, you know, execution business. If it’s a matter of money, I can pay better than your guild. You could name your price, really.”
No more bargaining with ruthless prison wardens and gang bosses. It was certainly tempting. “May I ask why you wish to hire me for such a position, knowing my roots in such an…unlawful industry?”
Matsumoto got up from his desk, placing a hand on Sho’s shoulder. He leaned forward to whisper in his ear. “Aiba-kun said you liked me, and he said I should follow my heart. He’s a very persuasive guy.”
-
A very persuasive guy indeed, Sho decided as Aiba shook hands with Ogura-san of the Hayabusa space dock. A terrible treasure hunter, but a rather skilled negotiator.
The freed guild member, a young Rank 1 Acquisitor that the infamous Ninomiya had clearly tricked into visiting Hayabusa, was grateful for Aiba’s help, giving him a hug before he boarded his own ship and departed the space dock. While Ohno refueled the Tawdry Wench, Sho and Aiba stood together inhaling the harsh smells of the ships’ exhaust in the dock.
It had been a full two months now that Aiba had been shadowing him as part of his new position as Chief Negotiator for the Gentleman Acquisitors. As a relative “insider,” having been in most of these prisons before himself, Aiba seemed to know exactly how to deal with each security team, each warden, each gang. While Sho had always had his misgivings about Aiba as a guild member, Aiba’s new job seemed to suit him perfectly. And he’d get into far less trouble.
He put an arm around Sho’s waist, giving him a friendly squeeze. The negotiation with Ogura-san had gone perfectly, and moving forward, Aiba would now be taking Sho’s place, traveling the galaxy in the Tawdry Wench with Ohno.
“I’m going to miss you, Sho-chan.”
Sho sighed, shaking his head. “You just can’t go to Dome Yoji. The rest of Negai is fine, you know. I’ll be traveling all over the place. You can come see me all you want.”
“I know, I know. It was just nice to be rescued, to know someone had my back.”
“I still have your back, Masaki. Always.”
A Dome Yoji ship was waiting to take Sho back to Negai and his new job. His suite on the 32nd floor of Matsumoto’s skyscraper had become his new home, and much as it had embarrassed him at first, knowing that his new job existed mainly because Aiba had played matchmaker, Sho was really enjoying it. And not just because he’d gotten intimately acquainted with his new boss.
Aiba gave him one last hug, turning to head for his new ship and his new adventure. Sho knew his friend was a worthy successor. He looked very professional in his new uniform - no more prison jumpsuits, at least. Sho was halfway to the Dome Yoji ship when Aiba hollered his name. He turned, seeing Aiba waving to him proudly.
“I have to go save someone’s toe!”
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Sho + Aiba friendship with Sho/Jun
Summary: Aiba Masaki is the galaxy’s worst treasure hunter, and once again Sakurai Sho must come to his friend’s rescue. But has Aiba gone too far this time?
Notes/Warnings: For this year's Sakuraiba Exchange. This is a space AU crossed with a thievery AU because why not?
The intercom at his bedside crackled with static before he heard Ohno’s voice come through, calm as ever. “Five minutes to dock. Repeat. Five minutes to dock.”
“You’re supposed to wake me an hour before!” Sakurai Sho howled needlessly at the intercom, knowing Ohno had already switched it off to prepare for their arrival at the Hayabusa space dock. The seventh planet in the system, Hayabusa was a rocky wasteland of a planet that had hosted civilizations for millennia. They’d died out centuries before Sho had even been born, leaving all their junk behind.
How Aiba had managed to get himself into trouble here of all places had left Sho confused and annoyed as usual. His friend was truly the worst at his chosen profession. He’d have been better off back on his home planet, working in the Chinese food capsule plant his family ran.
With his hour-long “getting ready” timeframe compressed into five minutes, Sho hurriedly tossed off his pajamas and slipped into his guild uniform, glad that he’d hung up his jacket and slacks the night before. He was still buttoning his shiny brass buttons as he rushed from his quarters and up to the bridge of the small ship that zipped him to and fro across the galaxy. His guild pilot, Ohno Satoshi, had never risen higher than Rank 4 Acquisitor and seemed perfectly content to give up on his career in favor of hauling Sho around.
Sho arrived just in time for their ship, the abhorrently-named Tawdry Wench, to ease on in to the space dock orbiting the planet below. Though civilization on the planet had long since disappeared, Hayabusa was under Empire control and treasure hunting on the planet’s surface was still technically outlawed. But all you really had to do was slip past their radar and make sure the space dock trackers didn’t pick up your signal. A child could sneak down to Hayabusa and leave without them knowing.
Aiba Masaki, however, was no child.
Sho ran his fingers through his messy mop of black hair, frowning at his faint reflection in the view screen on the control panel beside Ohno’s nav controls. “I have bed hair.”
“You look very important, Sho-kun,” Ohno assured him, not even glancing over as he eased the ship through the busy dock to anchor in one of the far bays.
“Shut up,” Sho replied huffily, choking down a Breath Fresh capsule. He grabbed his briefcase, brushed a bit of lint off of his jacket, and headed for the exit.
Sho was just entering his ninth year as Chief Negotiator for the Gentleman Acquisitors guild. On paper (and in computer files from Hayabusa to Sakigake), the Gentleman Acquisitors were a league of like-minded individuals engaged in the pursuit of artifacts. “Treasure hunting” was the industry classification on all of their official documentation, but at the end of the day they were really just a band of thieves with nothing better to do than sift through junk in search of gold and other riches.
As Chief Negotiator for the guild, Sho was responsible for getting guild members out of trouble. He wore a fancy uniform and traveled in his own guild-provided ship, but he really just showed up with bail money or a bribe. It wasn’t the best line of work, but it at least allowed him to indulge in his favorite pastime: traveling the galaxy.
He hadn’t been to Hayabusa space dock in ages since no guild members had been boneheaded enough to get caught treasure hunting here. But leave it to Aiba Masaki to find a way. Aiba was a grown man, just a year younger than Sho in his early thirties, and yet he was still only a Rank 2 Acquisitor after eleven years on the job. He was always too open and friendly with strangers, blabbing about where he was off to next and getting scooped by less scrupulous guild members. He interfered with local customs, he stole things that were designated as off-limits, and then of course there’d been the one time he’d crash landed on a moon, causing considerable damage to a moisture farm.
Sho liked Aiba, he really did. Of all the guild members he helped, Aiba was always the most grateful. He even gave some of his earnings to Sho as a thank you, even though Sho was already paid handsomely by the guild for his services. But as nice as Aiba was, he was still the worst treasure hunter Sho had ever seen.
He met with Hayabusa’s chief of security, the bad toupee-wearing Ogura-san, who’d been in charge of the place as long as Sho had been alive. “Sakurai-san,” Ogura greeted him with faux politeness. “I’ve been told you’re here for a prisoner.”
“Surely a case of mistaken identity,” Sho said as smoothly as he could manage, shaking Ogura’s reluctantly outstretched hand. “Our guild members know better than to try and get around your high-level security!”
“Cut the act,” Ogura grumbled, rolling his eyes. “He’s this way. We’ve fed him too, so that’ll be on his tab.”
Despite himself, Sho kept his smile plastered on his face. His job was to always appear amiable and polite unless negotiations started to break down and he had to play hardball. Sometimes prison wardens on the more lawless planets and moons wanted to take the guild for as much money as they could. They needed to do repairs to their station or some boss wanted a fat payday. At the very least, Hayabusa wasn’t going to rip them off.
Ogura led Sho through the station and down to the lowest level where the jail cubes were. They were isolated little cells with nothing more than a toilet, a hard bench, and maybe a pillow, and when the hatch opened and Ogura brought Sho inside, he could immediately hear movement inside one of the cubes. In moments, Aiba Masaki’s face was plastered against the small window of his cube. His cheek was going to leave a smeary print on the glass.
“Sho-chaaaaaan!” came his friend’s muffled, husky voice through the cube. “Sho-chaaaaaan, I’m over here!”
Sho tightened his grip on his briefcase to keep from rolling his eyes. Aiba was the only one down here, it was pretty obvious where he was. Ogura produced a swipe card, opening Aiba’s prison cube. “You have 10 minutes to get your stories straight, and then we’ll discuss the terms of his release in my office.”
The frizzy-haired Aiba backed away from the door, still super giddy at the sight of Sho coming to his rescue yet again. His eyes were puffy, as though he’d been crying only minutes before. Aiba was a rather sensitive soul, especially for a thief, and Sho had lost count of how many times he’d seen Aiba sobbing like a baby by now. He was in his usual treasure hunting garb - his shin-length pants, his shirt and bright neon green vest, and his belt (although of course his stun gun had been confiscated). As soon as Ogura departed, Aiba threw his arms around him, clinging to him until they were a Sakurai and Aiba pretzel.
“Oh thank the stars you’re here!” Aiba was blubbering against Sho’s jacket. “I’ve been here four days! The food has been awful!”
“Well it takes a while to get here,” Sho protested, detaching himself from his friend. “You’re not the only person I have to help, you know.”
Aiba beamed his usual supernova-bright smile. “Sho-chan, you’re the best. Thank you!”
Sho sighed, having a seat on Aiba’s bench and setting down his briefcase. “Okay, so tell me what you did wrong this time.”
Aiba’s mouth formed an “O” shape of surprise at Sho’s not-so-surprising request, and he was soon stomping his feet childishly. “I did everything he told me! I did an approach from the south pole side, way down there so I’d avoid detection! And I visited the site he recommended, part of the Sobusen continent, this huge haul of gold! I’d crammed it into every little nook of my ship, and it was going to be smooth sailing! But I had barely broken atmo when I found two Hayabusa patrol ships waiting to escort me here. It was a trick! I was a distraction, Sho-chan, and I feel so used!”
Aiba was pacing the floor angrily, and Sho grabbed a Choco Mint capsule pack from his briefcase, tossing it to Aiba. Rewarded with a treat, he calmed down a bit, munching on a few capsules. “You keep saying ‘he,’ who the heck are you talking about?”
He heard Aiba’s teeth crunch on a Choco Mint harder than necessary. “Well Nino of course! This is all his fault! He was probably snagging his own score on the other side of the planet and just set me up so he could get away!”
Sho pinched the bridge of his nose, shutting his eyes. “And why, may I ask, were you talking with him again? You know he always does this.”
“He swore he’d changed! He said ‘Aiba-shi, I have a great haul for you on Hayabusa, together we’ll be rich as the Emperor. I’m not lying!’ and he was so sincere this time. You know he’s got those cute little puppy dog eyes and that smile of friendship and…”
“Aiba-san…”
Aiba stopped midway through a lengthy description of all the various types of outlawed beer Nino had treated him to, sighing. “Well anyhow, I fell for it.” He sat down at Sho’s side, leaning his elbows on his knees and holding his head in his hands. “I want to believe him. I want to believe him sometimes, I can’t help it!”
Ninomiya Kazunari had taken only a year and a half to reach the top of the Gentleman Acquisitors and was one of a mere handful of Rank 10 Acquisitors, known as the Master Class. They knew all the galaxy’s secrets, kept the best loot for themselves, and were experts at sneaking around and lock picking and all sorts of tricks of the trade. These guild members would happily throw another member aside to achieve their aims, to get filthy rich and lord it over everyone.
To Aiba though, Ninomiya Kazunari was simply “Nino,” his best friend from childhood. They’d joined the Gentleman Acquisitors as partners, and when Aiba had not proved to be an equal contributor to their success, Nino had ditched him. Even though Nino frequently screwed Aiba over, getting him into trouble repeatedly, theirs was a strange friendship. In fact, the money that Sho had been authorized to spend to free Aiba from Hayabusa that day had mostly come as a donation from Ninomiya himself.
“Just ignore him when he calls you from now on,” Sho ordered, patting a frustrated Aiba on the shoulder. “No matter how many weird beers he offers you.”
“I know, I know,” Aiba replied, grumbling under his breath.
He was left behind in the cube while Sho headed to Ogura-san’s office. The negotiated price for Aiba’s release was slightly less than Sho had planned for, so the guild leadership would be glad to save the money. Aiba’s freedom purchased and his Hayabusa arrest record lessened from “Grand Larceny” to “Petty Larceny,” Sho returned to the cubes to find Aiba was in better spirits and pleased to be getting out.
“There have to be better hauls in the galaxy than breaking in here,” Sho warned him, escorting his friend toward where the ships were docked. “Be more careful next time.”
Aiba’s small transport ship, a castoff of Ninomiya’s called the Lucky Lucky Lucky My Life, was probably the unluckiest ship in the guild fleet. It bore dozens of scary scorch marks from miscalculated planetary descents and cost more to fuel than a ship three times its size. But it had been a gift, Aiba was always telling him, so he couldn’t bear to part with it.
Ohno was outside the Tawdry Wench, doing final checks before they headed off to Sho’s next case. To Sho’s dismay, Aiba immediately raced forward to wrap Ohno in a big bear hug. Ohno, usually a quiet man, always had a million questions for Aiba whenever they got him released. Where Ohno ought to have done Aiba a favor, encouraging him to take up a job doing almost anything else, he instead said things like “Wow Aiba-chan, that’s awesome!” and “No way, you’re a great treasure hunter!” With Ohno’s encouragement and Ninomiya’s bail money, Aiba was never going to quit. Sho would never understand it. Already Ohno’s jaw had dropped with Aiba’s exciting tales of his Hayabusa capture.
“Come on, that’s enough,” Sho grumbled, pulling his planner from inside his uniform jacket. He wiggled the leather-bound book at them. “I have to be at Akari IV in two days. Yokoyama got pinched on a safecracking excursion, and they’re going to take a toe if I’m not there in time. You know how rough and tumble they are on Akari IV.”
Aiba nodded in understanding. “I suppose if a toe’s involved…”
“They almost took my pinky there once,” Ohno said wistfully, gazing off into the distance.
Sho gave Aiba a slight push in the direction of his ship. “Now behave yourself. I don’t want to see you again for a long time.”
Aiba turned to look back at him, his eyes filling with tears and Sho knew he’d made a bad choice of words. He shook his head, holding up his hands in apology.
“I meant in this sort of situation! I’m trying to say don’t get in trouble so I have to come get you out.”
Aiba wiped his tears. It had apparently been an emotional week for him. “I’ll do my best, I promise!”
-
TWO WEEKS LATER
-
“You were there when he said he wasn’t going to get in any more trouble!”
Ohno had engaged the auto-pilot as they cruised through the Yamaguchi cluster, and he was seated comfortably in his pilot’s seat, feet up on the control panel. “He’s just a bit clumsy,” Ohno said. “He never means to get caught or anything. It just…happens.”
Sho rolled his eyes, doing his best to memorize legal precedents for breaking and entering on the Negai lunar colony. Negai was a fairly large moon, and the satellite’s surface was dotted with several domed city-states. To break in to one of the domes, you needed an override code for one of the security entrances. And you also had to know which security entrances were unmanned when you arrived. Basically you had to be a competent guild member to even try it.
Aiba Masaki, of course, was not a competent guild member.
“Do you think it was Ninomiya, putting him up to it again?”
Ohno shrugged. “Beats me.”
Sho sincerely hoped Aiba had just been overly ambitious this time. This one was really going to cost him. The domes of Negai were usually headed by a wealthy family who could apparently punish infractions to their territory as they saw fit, so long as it was still within Empire protocols for prisoner treatment. Sho had been reading and reading and reading ever since the word had gotten out that Aiba once again was in need of his services.
He’d managed to get into one of the domes in the northern hemisphere without incident, but then he’d foolishly aimed high, breaking into the residence of the dome’s leader. He’d set off a security alarm, and that was that. But he’d sent Sho a video message, wiggling his fingers and toes to reassure Sho that the dome’s leader had no plans to dismember him.
He would, however, be charging quite a premium to allow for Aiba’s release. The dome in question, Dome Yoji, had been one of the most prosperous domes for generations, and they did not welcome strangers, especially strangers intent to rob them. Aiba had been caught red-handed, reaching for a jewelry box. The dome’s leader was apparently a collector of rare stones and wore them in gaudy rings for all his subjects to see.
Sho swished through the various screens of information briskly, hoping he wouldn’t make a grave error in his negotiations. Aiba was already a guild problem child, and they were getting sick of bailing him out. Sooner or later they were going to stop throwing money at him, and Aiba would have to cool his heels in a jail cell for a few years, the prime years of his thieving life.
A few hours later, the Tawdry Wench was being granted landing permission within Dome Yoji airspace, and Ohno eased them down at a hangar bay connected by monorail to the dome itself. He and Ohno had been granted access to the place for three whole days. Ohno immediately took advantage of this, barely waiting for the ship’s engines to shut down before he was grabbing his small overnight satchel and speeding off for the dome’s pleasure district.
Sho, unfortunately, would not get to see much of the sights as he would be staying under the roof of Dome Yoji’s leader, the Grand High Duke Matsumoto Jun. The Matsumoto family had ruled the dome for centuries, and Sho tried to keep his awe to himself as the monorail ventured from the hangar and into the massive dome, taking in the enormous skyscrapers and soaring residences of Dome Yoji. At the monorail terminus, he was met by Matsumoto’s chief of security, Oguri Shun, who then escorted Sho to the Matsumoto residence at the heart of the dome.
It was even grander than the other towers around it, a forty-story skyscraper with shimmering tinted windows, sparkling in the artificial sunlight of the dome. He and Oguri in the shuttle car vanished into darkness, entering a garage under the Matsumoto skyscraper. It was then a stomach-churning ride to the top of the building in an elevator that offered views of the outside as it climbed into the sky. Sho, not so fond of heights, stared instead at the floor numbers as they rose higher and higher.
The elevator chimed at the 32nd floor, and the tall, professional Oguri-san directed him to a guest suite. It was all very proper, all very civilized, which made Sho wonder just what kind of treatment his friend was enduring at the present moment. Apparently Matsumoto would be meeting with Sho after dinner that evening, so while Sho relaxed in his well-appointed guest suite, Aiba was somewhere imprisoned, and he doubted his accommodations were as nice.
Sho used the remainder of his free time to cram in as much as he could about Dome Yoji, its mining industry wealth, and the best opening offer he could present during his meeting with Matsumoto. Unfortunately, all of Sho’s negotiator skills fled him in an instant as Oguri brought him in to Matsumoto’s office on the top floor of the skyscraper.
Unlike most dome leaders, elderly men and women clinging to power as long as they could, Matsumoto Jun was younger, of an age with Sho. And even worse, Matsumoto Jun was ridiculously attractive. His office was floor to ceiling windows on three sides, offering views of the entire dome now twinkling in the starlight. The room was softly lit to let visitors bask in the view, the light casting shadows on the dome’s leader.
He was dressed in a well-made and well-fitted suit of violet fabric, and he stood maybe an inch or two taller than Sho. Matsumoto’s entire demeanor screamed wealth and privilege, from his permed hair to his aristocratic eyebrows to his smirking mouth. He was not seated in his desk chair but had instead leaned back against his desk, arms crossed and haughty. Ready to cut to the chase and get rid of his Aiba problem.
Sho, who had always thought of himself as a professional who wouldn’t let a pretty face lead him astray, was probably going to let a pretty face lead him astray. With all the traveling and working he did, he’d had very little time for romance as of late. He fumbled with his business card, nearly tripping over his own boots as he approached. “Sak-Sakurai S-S-Sho,” he stuttered, clearing his throat to try again. “Sakurai Sho, Chief Negotiator, Gentleman Acquisitors. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
“No pleasure here,” Matsumoto snapped back at him instantly, taking Sho’s card and flinging it over his shoulder. When it landed perfectly, right side up on the desk behind him, Sho knew he was at an incredible disadvantage already. “Your guild is a joke, you know. You think you can steal and do whatever you want and assume we’ll all let you if you just throw money at the damages you incur.” Matsumoto looked him up and down, scoffing. “Take a look around, Sakurai Sho. We don’t need any more money here.”
Wealthy marks took on this air often enough. Sho usually had to take a different tack, offering partnership offers with Master Class guild members or assurances that their enemies would be pilfered from instead. From the disgusted look on Grand High Duke Matsumoto’s face, Sho had a feeling that no guild apology money would be exchanged this time around. Even as Matsumoto sneered at him, Sho was lost in lustful feelings. He’d always had a thing for honest people who wouldn’t ignore that the guild was, essentially, a band of criminals. Even though Sho worked for the guild, he admired people who stood up to them.
Sho stood his ground as best he could under Matsumoto’s handsome glare. “The prisoner, Aiba Masaki-san. I would like to speak with him, confirm he’s been treated with decency.”
Matsumoto snapped his fingers and a panel in the wall behind Sho slid open, revealing a brightly lit holding cell. Within there were no seats, no benches, only Aiba himself sitting on the floor with his legs crossed. At the sight of Sho in the office, Aiba sprung to his feet in an instant, smacking his hands against the glass wall as though Sho couldn’t see him.
“Sho-chaaaaaan, you came!” Aiba shouted, and Sho could see Matsumoto’s lip curl at the smears on the glass.
Compared to the state Sho often found guild members in, Aiba seemed in much better shape than he could have been. Though his belongings had been confiscated, and he was dressed in a purple prisoner jumpsuit (did Matsumoto have something for purple?) Aiba seemed to be fine. In fact, his usual shaggy locks had even been trimmed. They groomed their prisoners in Dome Yoji!
As Aiba, oblivious to the fact that they could really see him, kept smacking the glass and aiming friendly peace signs in Sho’s direction, Matsumoto spoke again. “Behind my desk I have a button that can release poison gas into that chamber at any time…”
Sho’s attraction to Matsumoto wobbled. The guy was probably bluffing, right? Hadn’t Sho trained himself thoroughly to notice that? When he looked at the Grand High Duke, his face was serious as could be, an eyebrow raised in Sho’s direction.
“I need only push the button, and this problem is gone.”
Sho swallowed, seeing Aiba still noisily trying to get his attention. “May I ask what he attempted to steal?”
Matsumoto held up his hand, showing him a rather hideous skull ring with what seemed to be diamonds to either side of the skull. “My favorite.”
Sho nodded, the ugly ring snapping him out of his silly reverie. He finally noticed the way Matsumoto was tapping his toe nervously. Definitely bluffing. He was angry about the ring, but he was bluffing. After all, he had given Aiba a haircut.
“You’re not really going to kill him. What can I do to set him free?”
Matsumoto’s large, thankfully expressive eyes seemed astonished that Sho had seen through him so quickly. “I…I have poison gas! I’ll kill him, I will!”
In an instant, all of the intimidating aura surrounding the Grand High Duke Matsumoto Jun started fading. Sho could see how the lighting of the room had been aimed just so at Matsumoto’s desk, to cast him in a sinister light as soon as Sho had entered, to turn the negotiations in his favor. There were pictures on the wall, Sho noticed now, a rather genial and friendly Matsumoto Jun smiling with an equally smily Oguri beside him. The common denominator in all the photos, of course, was the hideous skull ring on Matsumoto’s finger.
It seemed that Aiba Masaki, the galaxy’s most useless treasure hunter, had nearly pulled off a feat that a Master Class treasure hunter couldn’t accomplish - stealing Matsumoto Jun’s favorite ring. It would be like stealing a child’s teddy bear, an unforgivable act of cruelty.
“Your Grace,” Sho said politely, hiding his smile. Matsumoto Jun wasn’t really scary. He was still handsome as all get out, but he wasn’t scary. “On behalf of the Gentleman Acquisitors, I’d like to sincerely apologize for the attempted theft of your cherished possession.” He bowed humbly. “I would like to secure the release of Aiba Masaki with assurances that he will never visit Dome Yoji again.”
Matsumoto was pouting now that Sho had seen through his lame threat. “This is a one of a kind, you know. The thought of that…that oaf absconding with my ring, fencing it like any other bit of stolen merchandise…”
“Again, I am truly sorry for his miscalculation and poor judgment…” Sho looked over, seeing that Aiba had finally figured out Sho and Matsumoto could see him. He was plastered to the glass, his breath fogging it up as he seemed to realize that Sho’s bargaining for his release had already begun. “I know you expressed no interest, but if there’s any sort of monetary compensation the guild could provide you with to alleviate your, er, your inconvenience in this matter…”
Matsumoto snapped his fingers and the panel on Aiba’s holding cell started to close again. A heavy screen came down from the ceiling, and Aiba followed it the whole way, crouching and waving. “Sho-chan! Hey Sho-chaaaaan!” Aiba’s voice called until he had disappeared from view.
Matsumoto moved to his chair, sitting down and sulking. “I said I don’t want your money. This isn’t just about my ring, you know. If someone like that weirdo could get in, the entire dome’s at risk. They want me to make an example of him, to scare other people from doing the same thing. It’s a matter of Dome Yoji security, Sakurai-san. I wouldn’t really gas your guildsman, I’m not barbaric. But I can’t just turn him over, you see. My dome won’t allow it.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean,” Matsumoto said, a stray lock of his dark hair falling attractively over his brow, “that this is out of my hands. He tried to take my ring, and for that I’m still really mad. But forgiveness is a good quality in a leader, so I’m willing to let that go. But my subjects here are not so forgiving. They will protest if I just let you take him.”
Sho was confused. “Then why did you give me and my pilot three days to visit and negotiate for Aiba-san’s release? If you have no intention of releasing him at all?”
“You’re the Chief Negotiator, aren’t you?” Matsumoto said with a grin. “Give me an offer I can’t refuse. And then maybe your Aiba Masaki can go free.”
-
“The food’s really good,” Aiba admitted to him from where he was sitting with his back to the wall. “The best prison food I’ve ever had actually…”
Sho had nothing to say to that, leaning against the wall and frowning.
“Jun-kun’s a nice guy, it’s just politics, I know…”
“Jun-kun?” Sho exclaimed in surprise. “How close are you two? You’re his prisoner, for goodness sake!”
Aiba shrugged, scratching an itch on his purple jumpsuit-clad thigh. “He’s not such a bad guy, you know, for someone with a whole lot of money and a whole lot of power. It could be worse.”
“Masaki, if I don’t find a way to get you out of here, you may stay here forever.” When Aiba had no reply to that, Sho thumped the wall with his fist. “I highly doubt they’ll keep giving you gourmet meals and manicures when you’re imprisoned for good!”
It was the morning after Sho had met with Grand High Duke Matsumoto Jun for the first time. Aiba’s holding cell, the one that had appeared in Matsumoto’s 40th floor office, was actually automated. Most of the time it resided on a prison level underground, under the dome, and Matsumoto could lift any cell up to his office if he wanted to conduct an interrogation or have a chat.
Things on the prison level weren’t bad so far for Aiba. If he had to use the washroom, he simply had to press a buzzer on the wall for a guard to escort him. Aiba was as always a model prisoner and hadn’t been foolish enough to attempt escape. He was fed regularly, given a clean jumpsuit each morning, and got music piped in during the afternoon so he could exercise.
This was mostly for appearance’s sake, Sho figured. Matsumoto, who didn’t actually want to have to imprison Aiba for good, was treating him well in hopes that Sho would come up with a solid negotiating tactic. And if Sho didn’t, well, then that was Sho’s fault and the people of Dome Yoji would have their vengeance on the criminal who tried to rob their duke.
Sho was witnessing Dome Yoji’s negative feelings for Aiba and the Gentleman Acquisitors up close and personal. The morning news broadcast had called openly for lifelong imprisonment, even his execution. “Stay out of our dome!” the news vid screens read, visible from every monorail car. One impassioned protester in front of the Grand High Duke’s skyscraper had stood with a graphic digital sign calling for “the thief” to have his “thieving hands chopped off!”
“I’m sure you’re doing everything you can, Sho-chan. You always do,” Aiba said, pride in his voice. “You’ll think of something.”
“I’ll do my best,” he said quietly.
“Besides, you’ll get to see him again. When you negotiate.”
“What are you talking about?” Sho asked, feeling his face go hot. Despite his lack of skill at treasure hunting, Aiba was often a quick study of character.
“Jun-kun of course!” Aiba said, chuckling. “You think he’s cute.”
Sho looked the other way. “That has nothing to do with anything. And it’s not true…”
“No, Sho-chan, really,” Aiba answered, getting to his feet. He walked over, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. “This is a good thing. You can work it into your negotiations. Because I know that before they let you come here, Jun-kun was looking you up, asking around about you so he knew what to expect.”
“He what?”
Aiba nodded conspiratorially. “You’re staying in a really nice room, right? He didn’t have to do that. So maybe it’s like, a mutual thing. Your butt does look rather good in your uniform, I’m sure he was checking you out too. You can use it to your advantage. Wear your tightest slacks, use that negotiator smile, go for it. Say ‘let Aiba-chan go and I’ll have sex with you!’”
“Masaki!”
Aiba backed off, giggling. “Just a suggestion. You do so many nice things for the guild and for me, so why not have a little fun while you’re working? Two birds, one stone right?”
He could not believe Aiba was suggesting that the way to his release involved Sho seducing Dome Yoji’s leader. It was out of the question. And besides, Sho’s duties required him to report back to the guild in detail about all the terms of a prison release. “Sex with the aggrieved party” did not belong anywhere in his report.
“Can you behave a little more seriously please? This is your livelihood we’re talking about here.”
Aiba shrugged. “Maybe it’s for the best. I know I’m a pretty lousy treasure hunter…”
Sho stood firm. Yeah, Aiba was terrible at his job. Yeah, Sho had to come bail him out all the time. But Aiba was his friend, and he wouldn’t see any harm come to him. He’d never lost a negotiation in all these years, and he wasn’t going to lose one now.
“I’m going to get you out. That’s a promise.”
“Maybe if you let him come on to you…”
“Shut up.”
-
It was mere hours now before his window of negotiating time would come to a close, and he and Ohno would be asked to leave Dome Yoji. From the comforts of his guest suite, Sho had spent the last day and a half chatting with every connection he had in the galaxy.
Guild leadership refused to make any sort of special deal with Grand High Duke Matsumoto Jun. There were too many other deals in place with various Negai domes - allying specially with Matsumoto might upset the balance of power. And then Sho had been in touch with Acquisitors rank 8 and higher, expert thieves who might be willing to help. To snatch something precious from Matsumoto’s enemies, to sign a finder’s contract and seek out treasures with half the profits going straight to Dome Yoji to enhance their security and defenses. Nobody was biting, no matter what Sho offered.
“But you’d be helping a guild member in need!” Sho would repeatedly plead with them.
“You know he’ll just get caught again in a week,” came their replies. “And then you’ll be bothering us again.”
And then none of the offers and counteroffers Sho presented in repeated meetings with Matsumoto Jun were acceptable. Money, guild favors, nothing was good enough to spring Aiba. It seemed like he and Matsumoto were chatting every other hour, sitting in that office arguing while Aiba watched them from his little holding cell, trying and failing to wink at Sho in hopes that he’d give up his pride and go the seduction route. Thus far, Sho had not stooped to that level, no matter how badly Aiba thought it would work. Even with the long hours in Matsumoto’s company, sitting just across the desk from him and his beguiling eyes, Sho was treating Aiba’s case with the utmost seriousness.
Ohno, hanging out in Sho’s suite in some strange stupor after two days binging on alcohol and purple-miniskirted Dome Yoji women, was even more unhelpful. He’d been watching Sho’s negotiations from the comfort of the suite sofa, humming to himself as Sho angrily turned off the vid screen after yet another rejection.
“I can’t believe how cruel they’re being,” Sho complained. “What if it was them in this situation? What’s the point of being in a guild that won’t help one another out?”
“Sho-kun, my idea would work…”
Sho shut his eyes, trying to tamp down his anger. “For the last time, Satoshi-kun, I’m not going to do that.”
Ohno rolled onto his back, gazing up listlessly at the ceiling. “If I was Chief Negotiator, I’d do it.”
“Well it’s a good thing you’re a pilot and not the Chief Negotiator,” Sho shot back at him. “This is about Aiba-kun’s life, you know. And it breaches every code of ethics I try to uphold!”
“But he’s the only one you haven’t tried,” Ohno pointed out. “And like you said, this is about Aiba-chan’s life. You know he’d say yes.”
Sho frowned, staring at the blank vid screen. It really was the only option he had left save for stripping nude in Matsumoto Jun’s office, and at some point during Ohno’s crazy tour of the pleasure district, he’d managed to run in to him. It seemed that when Aiba Masaki was in peril, true peril, it brought his friend out of the woodwork. He’d been here in Dome Yoji, lurking about, waiting for his chance.
Now Sho could give him that chance, but it went against everything he stood for. He was Chief Negotiator, the most ethical, upstanding member the guild had. To do this, to behave this way, would break every rule.
The vid screen lit up, showing Oguri’s face. In his office, wherever it was in the skyscraper, he had an identical photo of himself with Matsumoto Jun, smiling cheerfully, hanging on his wall. You’d never know Dome Yoji’s people were so bloodthirsty. “Sakurai-san, the Grand High Duke has requested your presence for final negotiations in one hour. You will then be asked to leave with or without Aiba-san. Is that understood?”
Sho took a long look at the photo behind Oguri before nodding. “Understood. I’m fairly certain that the Grand High Duke will accept my new terms.”
With that, Oguri turned off the vid. Sho didn’t have any other options.
“Satoshi-kun, I need a private line.”
That got the slurring, stumbling Ohno off the sofa and he came over to Sho’s vid screen, opening the back and fiddling with the wires. Despite his hangover, Ohno had always been good with this sort of thing. He hadn’t gotten to Rank 4 Acquisitor without knowing a little something about encoding a private transmission, and they couldn’t risk Oguri or Dome Yoji security listening in on this particular conversation.
In moments Sho was connected with a ship in Dome Yoji’s hangar bay, the ostentatious and super sleek Guts Mark II. “You have reached the Master of the Master Class,” came a snarky voice from somewhere in the Guts Mark II’s cockpit. “I’m sorry I can’t come to the screen right now…”
“Ninomiya Kazunari, this is Chief Negotiator Sakurai Sho on a matter of extreme urgency.” Although Sho knew that any serious undertones to his message were probably lessened by Ohno standing behind him scratching an itch on his butt.
A face popped in from the right, and the screen was tilted to reveal Rank 10 Acquisitor Ninomiya relaxing in his pilot’s chair. He was a slim fellow with intelligent eyes and a wicked smile. “Ah, it’s about time you called. Cutting it awfully close, aren’t you?”
Sho took a deep breath. “All my tactics have failed, and I was hoping you could help.”
“And you called upon the guild’s patron saint of lost causes…”
Sho was already out of patience with the man. “Ninomiya, you’ve never lifted a finger to help the guild unless it lined your pockets, and you know it.”
Where most Acquisitors would be insulted, Ninomiya smiled at him. “Go on.”
“Aiba-kun needs your help. After all the trouble you’ve caused him time and time again, can I convince you to help him for once? While I know that the Grand High Duke doesn’t really want to, he may be forced to act harshly.”
Sho was surprised to see the solemn look in the master thief’s face then. “It was me. I told Aiba-shi the dome’s exterior security codes. I didn’t think he’d be stupid enough to try and steal from their leader when the city is overflowing with jewels in every other building. But I never thought…I honestly didn’t think it would go this far.”
“They might kill him.”
“I know.”
“So will you help him?”
“What’s the plan?”
So Sho told him, the plan that Ohno had suggested and that Sho had refined in his head, even if he’d been 99% certain he wouldn’t have to go through with it. As Chief Negotiator, it was a betrayal. It was an especially awful betrayal because he’d spent the last two days in meetings with Matsumoto Jun, and he had such a crush on him it was embarrassing. If Matsumoto found out…if Matsumoto learned about this…
“I have to meet with the Grand High Duke in less than an hour,” Sho said, tamping down his nervousness and shame. “How soon can you get here?”
Ninomiya winked at him. “Just send me the security codes. I’ll be there in a jiffy.”
-
Sho paced the suite anxiously, Ohno having passed out in the bed after his suggestion had finally been accepted. Hopefully he’d be awake and ready to fly soon. How was Sho going to be able to look Matsumoto in the eye? After all, the Grand High Duke had treated Aiba as kindly as he could given the circumstances. He was beholden to his people, not the guild. And his people were out for blood.
Oguri arrived, and Sho hoped he didn’t look suspicious. He followed the security chief to the elevator, once again rising up to Matsumoto’s office. It was still daytime outside (well, artificial daytime) and the Grand High Duke looked more handsome than ever. Today he was in a showy lavender yukata. He was giving a press conference after his meeting with Sho to tell the people of Dome Yoji what would happen with the prisoner Aiba Masaki, and he was dressed to impress.
Sho tamped down his hormones, remembering that this was all for Aiba’s sake. Matsumoto, already accustomed to their days of negotiating, snapped his fingers right off the bat to let Aiba in his see-through cell observe the proceedings. Unlike in previous days where Aiba had smiled and laughed in hopes that his good cheer would change Matsumoto Jun’s mind, he was quiet.
“You better have a good plan,” Matsumoto said huffily while Oguri stood beside him. “Just look outside.”
Sho moved to the window, gulping down his anxiety about heights to see that an angry mob had gathered at the base of the tower. They wanted Matsumoto to come down hard on the Dome Yoji intruder. When he turned, he could see a desperate Aiba in his cell thrusting his hips back and forth, suggesting that Sho ought to go ahead and try a last ditch seduction of Matsumoto. But even if Oguri wasn’t in the room, Sho wasn’t that stupid.
“What the hell is he doing?” Oguri asked, pointing at the holding cell.
Matsumoto shook his head. “Maybe he’s lost his mind.”
Sho was the only one to hear the gentle thump on the glass behind them. It took only a few seconds, and Sho ducked out of the way just in time as the windows of Matsumoto Jun’s office shattered. Before Oguri could press an alarm, Ninomiya had swung into the office on some sort of tether and knocked him unconscious with his stun gun. As the security chief fell to the floor, Matsumoto put his hands up in fright. Ninomiya grinned, training his stun gun on the Grand High Duke.
They didn’t have long because surely the shattering glass had alerted some sort of other security teams in the building.
“So easy!” Nino said, laughing to himself. He held out his other hand. “I’ll take that ring of yours.”
Matsumoto scowled at Ninomiya, trying to seem braver than he was. “Who the hell do you think you are? I’m not giving you anything!”
Nino, knowing they were low on time, rolled his eyes and sent a shot from his stun gun straight into the carpet at Matsumoto’s feet. “Everybody knows you’ve got the most expensive ring in the quadrant. Hand it over, and I won’t stun you. I’ll have you know, Purple Guy, that in three out of four cases people hit with this kind of weapon are inclined to wet their pants.”
As Sho looked nervously at the prone Oguri on the floor, Matsumoto’s lip quivered in sadness as he slid his hideous skull ring off of his finger and set it in Nino’s palm. He didn’t feel like peeing on his beautiful clothes, it seemed, not with a press conference coming. Grinning in victory, Nino gave a quick little tug on his tether and in an instant he was yanked out of the office and out into the open air. He’d managed to steal or rig up some sort of hovercraft, and he landed right on top of it, speeding off in the direction of the hangar bay.
Matsumoto hurried to the window, shaking his fist at the sky. “You bastard!” He turned, kicking at Oguri with his slippered foot. “Wake up, Shun, you worthless sack of crap. Wake up!”
Oguri merely groaned in confusion on the floor. Sho knew he had to act quickly, seeing Aiba pounding on the glass in surprise behind them. “Your grace, that was Ninomiya Kazunari, one of the guild’s leading Acquisitors!”
“I don’t care if it was my grandma, Sakurai. Nobody takes my ring!” Matsumoto howled, smacking his desk with his fist. “I’ll kill him!”
“He’s probably halfway to his ship by now. I know thieves of his caliber, and they know every trick for slipping past your security,” Sho said as steadily as he could manage, approaching Matsumoto’s desk with his hands raised in a peaceful gesture. “But perhaps…perhaps if you let Aiba-san go, he could give chase and return your ring to you. As recompense for his initial infraction against you.”
There it was, the plan, and since Aiba had stopped pounding on the glass, he seemed to realize it too. From the way he was trying and mostly failing to hide a smile in the crook of his arm, Sho could tell that Aiba knew Nino was doing all this to help him. After so many years of getting screwed over, his friend had finally come through for him.
“The people expect to see him punished,” Matsumoto protested weakly, but now he had an even worse breach of security to account for. And his precious ring was gone. So Sho set forth the next part of the plan.
“Say Aiba-san returns your ring. And then the money initially set out to win him from your custody, the money you refused, could go to restoring Dome Yoji’s security,” Sho said calmly. “And the guild will agree to stay out of your dome…for good. Any breaches of this agreement would result in a justifiable and painful execution.”
Matsumoto was considering this as quickly as he could, looking between Sho and Aiba, seeing how Aiba was proudly standing tall, waiting to go “hunt down” the evil thief Ninomiya. How eager Aiba was to go get his ring back. He really did love that thing…
The Grand High Duke clapped his hands twice, and the glass separating Aiba from them lifted. He raced into the office in his purple jumpsuit, bowing down on his hands and knees to Matsumoto Jun. “Please allow me to go retrieve your ring! I’ll do everything in my power, please!”
“I want Ninomiya dead,” Matsumoto said, just as Sho and Ohno had expected he would. He looked at Sho directly, none of the kindness left in his eyes. “You have 24 Earth hours to return with my ring or I’m hiring assassins to kill the both of them.”
-
“Well how do you want me to pose?” Nino was asking, doing final touch-ups on his fancy makeup job. “Like with my mouth gaping open and my tongue hanging out? Or am I flat on my stomach with a big hole blasted through my skull? Because that’ll take some time, you know.”
Ohno yanked the little paintbrush from Nino’s hand, dabbing it back in the blood red stage makeup. “A blast wound would do much more damage than that. Let me do it already.”
While Nino did his best to stay still and Ohno got to work making Nino’s “injuries” look even more gruesome, Aiba found Sho sitting in a quiet alcove just off the cockpit of the Guts Mark II. Nino had thoughtfully moored his ship on the dark side of Negai, which had allowed Ohno, Sho, and Aiba in the Tawdry Wench to pull up easily for docking. The Guts Mark II’s state of the art cloaking technology allowed Nino to keep both ships shielded from Dome Yoji’s security ships that were on the lookout for Nino.
Aiba sat down beside him, his eyes brimming with tears. “Sho-chan, thank you…thank you for everything.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” Sho said, looking at Matsumoto’s ring as it sat in the center of his palm. “For this to work, these pictures have to turn out perfectly.”
Aiba was quiet for a while, and the only sounds they could hear were Ohno and Nino’s grumbling in the cockpit and the humming of the ship. The ring was safe, of course, and now they were working on confirming the “proof” that Aiba had managed to track down Nino and kill him. They were hoping that photographic “proof” of Nino’s demise would be enough. It was a big risk, but it was all they had. Nino wasn’t generous enough to let them kill him for real.
Aiba sniffled, leaning his head on Sho’s shoulder in gratitude. “You’re the best friend a guy could ask for.”
“Stop,” Sho complained, blushing. “And this was Satoshi-kun’s plan…”
Aiba was full-on crying now and had been on the verge of it ever since they’d boarded the Tawdry Wench and blasted off to meet up with Nino. “No, I mean it. You went to all this trouble for me, putting your own reputation on the line, lying like that. It means a lot, and I’m super grateful…”
Sho sensed there was more Aiba wanted to say. “Just spit it out already.”
“…I’m super grateful, but by banning the guild from Dome Yoji, that means you can never see Jun-kun again, since you work for the guild and all.”
“Would you stop calling him that? If we don’t get back in time, your buddy Jun-kun is sending a death squad after you.” Sho sighed. “Look, I didn’t want anything bad to happen to you. If it means never coming back to Negai, then who cares?”
Aiba patted Sho’s knee, clearly not crying now. “You’re such a bad liar. You were totally checking him out in that yukata.”
“I was not. Shut up already,” Sho replied, jostling Aiba away from him. “This is a serious matter!”
Aiba snatched the ring from Sho’s palm, jamming it onto his own finger, presumably so he wouldn’t lose it. “Well, you could have taken my advice from the start and just had sex with him…”
Sho opened his mouth to protest again, but he knew it was useless. Together they headed to the cockpit, both recoiling in disgust at the sight in front of them. Not only could Ohno pilot the Tawdry Wench and rewire fancy transmission circuits, but he was an artist with a makeup brush.
It looked like a shot from a blaster rifle had burned entirely through Nino’s face. Ohno had thoughtfully moved beyond blood colored face paint to some whites and blacks to add revealed bone and some singe marks to the entire left side of Nino’s face. If Sho didn’t see the sparkle of mischief in Ninomiya’s eyes he might have really thought he was dead.
“That’s disgusting!” Aiba said, wincing.
“Thank you,” Ohno said proudly, setting down his brush.
“Alright, let’s get this show on the road,” Nino said, hopping out of the chair and proceeding to sprawl uncomfortably across the cockpit floor. “I don’t intend to be dead for very long since I’ve got some emeralds to fence and an impatient buyer waiting for me on Hinode III.”
Aiba used one of the cameras Nino had for various spying activities and snapped a dozen photos of Nino’s “corpse.” To his credit, Nino played dead extremely well. Sho didn’t even want to know how many times he’d faked his own death to get out of trouble. Photos taken, along with a handful of shots of Jun’s ring, they forwarded them to a Dome Yoji security team.
Once they were sent, Nino immediately reached for a handkerchief in his pocket, wiping the makeup away. For the entire flight back to Dome Yoji, Sho and Aiba sat uncomfortably while Ohno complained about the “destruction” of his artistic masterpiece.
-
Sho noticed that Head of Security Oguri Shun stayed as far away from the windows as possible. Well, they weren’t quite “windows” now as they’d need to be replaced. There was currently no view looking out from Grand High Duke Matsumoto Jun’s office on the 40th floor of his skyscraper - several thick tarps were covering the area now, and a billowing wind rustled them every few seconds.
They knew that success had been achieved even before their arrival in the office, having seen the graphic images of Nino’s untimely demise plastered across vid screens in the domed city from the hangar bay all the way in to Matsumoto’s building. Nino had been a bit angry that Sho had used his real name as part of their ruse because he’d have to use an alias to work in this part of the quadrant again, if only so Dome Yoji didn’t learn the truth. But Sho thought it was a small price to pay for his friend’s freedom.
Even if Sho thought it was a bit over the top when Aiba got down on one knee and held out Matsumoto’s ring to him, it had struck just the right tone. Matsumoto was overjoyed to be reunited with his precious ring, and he’d clearly held back tears at the lengths his prisoner was willing to go to in order to return it to him.
A smiling Aiba was given a full pardon, albeit a hush hush one. He was forbidden from ever entering the dome again and had to sign contracts to that effect. His ship, the Lucky Lucky Lucky My Life, had also been ordered to the scrap heap as a “symbolic” destruction to make up for Aiba not being imprisoned or executed. With the bloodlust of Dome Yoji’s citizens satisfied, Aiba was now free to go. The money for Dome Yoji security had cleared as well. Only one task remained.
While Oguri escorted Aiba away to meet up with Ohno in the hangar bay, Sho was asked to remain behind in Matsumoto’s office.
As they had so many times already, Matsumoto sat behind his desk and Sho sat across from him. He tried to remain calm as Matsumoto set out another contract, this time banning one Sakurai Sho from ever again entering Dome Yoji on pain of death.
The Grand High Duke was looking at him rather fondly, a look that Aiba certainly would have commented on. “You’re very dedicated to your guild, Sakurai-san.”
“Yes I am.”
While he was worried that their plan had been transparent, their trickery weak from the start, Matsumoto actually smiled. He probably had an idea what they’d done, but he wasn’t angry. He clearly found the execution of prisoners to be unnecessary, and they’d found a way to get him out of doing it. Plus they’d given his ring back.
“I admire your dedication. You are certainly an asset to your organization.”
“Your grace?”
“…which is why I was hoping you’d show me the same loyalty,” Matsumoto said, turning a rather charming shade of embarrassed pink. He took the contract threatening Sho’s death and ripped it in half, pulling a new contract out of his desk drawer. “Um, this one is an employment contract. I was hoping to hire you as a negotiator for Dome Yoji. We’re always engaging in these little tiffs with some of the other domes. Mine worker mobility, trade agreements, all that boring stuff.”
“You want to hire me?”
Matsumoto looked anywhere but into Sho’s eyes. “If you worked for me, then you could come and go as you chose. None of that, you know, execution business. If it’s a matter of money, I can pay better than your guild. You could name your price, really.”
No more bargaining with ruthless prison wardens and gang bosses. It was certainly tempting. “May I ask why you wish to hire me for such a position, knowing my roots in such an…unlawful industry?”
Matsumoto got up from his desk, placing a hand on Sho’s shoulder. He leaned forward to whisper in his ear. “Aiba-kun said you liked me, and he said I should follow my heart. He’s a very persuasive guy.”
-
A very persuasive guy indeed, Sho decided as Aiba shook hands with Ogura-san of the Hayabusa space dock. A terrible treasure hunter, but a rather skilled negotiator.
The freed guild member, a young Rank 1 Acquisitor that the infamous Ninomiya had clearly tricked into visiting Hayabusa, was grateful for Aiba’s help, giving him a hug before he boarded his own ship and departed the space dock. While Ohno refueled the Tawdry Wench, Sho and Aiba stood together inhaling the harsh smells of the ships’ exhaust in the dock.
It had been a full two months now that Aiba had been shadowing him as part of his new position as Chief Negotiator for the Gentleman Acquisitors. As a relative “insider,” having been in most of these prisons before himself, Aiba seemed to know exactly how to deal with each security team, each warden, each gang. While Sho had always had his misgivings about Aiba as a guild member, Aiba’s new job seemed to suit him perfectly. And he’d get into far less trouble.
He put an arm around Sho’s waist, giving him a friendly squeeze. The negotiation with Ogura-san had gone perfectly, and moving forward, Aiba would now be taking Sho’s place, traveling the galaxy in the Tawdry Wench with Ohno.
“I’m going to miss you, Sho-chan.”
Sho sighed, shaking his head. “You just can’t go to Dome Yoji. The rest of Negai is fine, you know. I’ll be traveling all over the place. You can come see me all you want.”
“I know, I know. It was just nice to be rescued, to know someone had my back.”
“I still have your back, Masaki. Always.”
A Dome Yoji ship was waiting to take Sho back to Negai and his new job. His suite on the 32nd floor of Matsumoto’s skyscraper had become his new home, and much as it had embarrassed him at first, knowing that his new job existed mainly because Aiba had played matchmaker, Sho was really enjoying it. And not just because he’d gotten intimately acquainted with his new boss.
Aiba gave him one last hug, turning to head for his new ship and his new adventure. Sho knew his friend was a worthy successor. He looked very professional in his new uniform - no more prison jumpsuits, at least. Sho was halfway to the Dome Yoji ship when Aiba hollered his name. He turned, seeing Aiba waving to him proudly.
“I have to go save someone’s toe!”