1 The audacity to die in plain sight

"Mom, mom! What's wrong with that mister? Is he dead?"

"Don't point at him, Chi." The mother hurriedly herded her loud-mouthed child away. The young child followed obediently, one hand captured in his mother's. However, he couldn't help but stare at that suspicious spot as they walked away.

Shai looked over curiously. The market was full as usual, with jacks peddling their wares on the hot cobbles of the ground, and farmers selling what sorry harvests they could. The air shimmered with heat so people didn't linger, but rather got along with their business as fast as the crowded market square would let them. She had just arrived with a caravan of jacks, but even she could see that among the brisk business of the market, there was a specific spot people chose to avoid.

She made her way over curiously, ignoring the merchants and crowd along the way. It wasn't as if she had money for their wares anyhow. Two silver triffles for a scoopule of salt! It was daylight robbery.

Despite the fact that she was clearly not looking to buy, the merchants crowded around her. They were persistent creatures, and the press of the crowd was stifling.

"Sharp steel! New blades!"

"The finest apples on this side of the Westinds! Our orchards have the best irrigation—"

"Your orchards? Who would pay silver for a few wormy apples? Beans! Beans give you energy! Why do you think all our soldiers eat them? Beans will keep you strong!"

Shai ignored the quibbling farmers and continued forward. She was sick and tired of beans. Just then, a rough-looking fellow grabbed her arm with a hand the size of a dustbin. She jerked to a stop abruptly.

"Young man, are you brave and looking for adventure?" he boomed loudly. "Join the army and get paid two pennies a day!" Some of the folks around them gave him the stink eye.

Shai turned to stare at him coldly. "Wash the sand out of your eyes," she said to the recruiter. Even with the sounds of the crowd, her high, clear tone was unmistakable.

"M-my error, girl," he stuttered, reddening. Even so, he recovered quickly, renewing his grip on her arm. "What are you doing out here? You should be at home cooking and sewing for your man!" He pulled her closer as she took a step back, pulling her off balance. "Speaking of which, do you have any strapping young brothers who would like to join the army and—"

Shai lithely twisted out of his grip. He paused for a moment, astounded. Then, she slammed her fist into his face.

The man screeched and stumbled away, his fingers trying to staunch the flow of blood from his nose. A few people around Shai shifted away hastily, while some shameless guy even called out, "Hey, can you help me with my boss? He's a persistent bastard, too!"

One of Shai's eyebrows twitched in irritation. She wiped her fingers on her black trousers to rid them of the recruiter's blood, all the while muttering under her breath. "How dare that guy! Not to mention grabbing me so rudely, he even mistook me for a man. Just because I have short hair, am dressed like a man, and am pretty flat—"

Waaah, how depressing! Even she was thinking like this, now. It was one thing for her aunts and sisters to tell her she was built along the lines of a board and would never be a respectable wife, but for her to be thinking that herself, they must have thoroughly brainwashed her. She sighed. To think that the most psychological damage she would take was self-inflicted! She shook the thoughts out of her head, irritated.

Maybe she had been a bit too harsh with that recruiter, though. A teeny, tiny spark of guilt twisted her expression. Just a teeny one. Never mind! He was probably one of those leeches who forcefully made boys sign up for the army. Recruiters were mostly paid per head they snatched, so they resorted to all sorts of filthy ways to drag people in. It wasn't worth worrying about someone like him for more than a moment.

Shai took stock of her location instead. Finally, she had reached the corner of the market where something strange seemed to be going on.

She had been paid to guard the caravan of jacks as they moved from one city to the next, so her job was officially over once they had reached the safe confines of the city walls. She had just left the jacks, who were all contently stuffed into a corner with other cobblers and tanners. Even so, there was never anything wrong with doing a little extra, and building a reputation of being reliable. Of course, she was simply being a good citizen. She nodded to herself resolutely. Yup, just being a good person! No ulterior motives whatsoever!

Shai glanced at them sneakily from the corner of her eye. Hm, they could definitely still see her from where they were. The caravan master, who currently wasn't attending to any customers, was actually watching the market, occasionally glancing at where she was. That was pretty good!

She crept forward carefully now, a hand on the hilt of her kodachi. Out of habit, she continued to wear the short sword at her waist, even after she entered the city. With how things were going lately, she might even need it, despite all the city's walls and guards.

After a moment, she cleared the crowd, stepping into the bubble of space everyone was avoiding. She straightened in shock. The child she had heard just now was quite right. Before her lay a dead man. Er, boy.

The fact that there hadn't been an outcry spoke strongly of the situation nowadays. The man—or rather boy—was dressed in threadbare clothes and coated in grease and dust. He had the characteristic sunburn and cracked lips of someone who had been out in the desert sun for too long and couldn't afford a life-saving drink. His sandy hair stuck out at odd angles, and he lay with the limp acceptance of those who had finally acknowledged their fate.

Shai swallowed past a lump in her throat. She knew she was one of the lucky ones. She had a trade that afforded her food, drink, and a roof over her head—sometimes. This boy wasn't so lucky. She tried to ignore the fact that he looked barely older than she was. Things like this happened all the time, now. Things like this weren't supposed to be sad, now. They were just a fact of life. She stood for a moment, a spot of stillness in the churning market, and wondered if it was better to desperately join the army, fighting hard for the king's coin, knowing you could die at any moment, or to slowly wither away like this boy had, looking death in the face as it came to grab you.

Finally, she turned around to survey the rest of the market. There should have been city guards to take the boy away already, to load him onto one of the carts out of the city, into the burial grounds. She realized they were probably slacking off due to the time of day. It was noon, after all. Right now, the sun was at its highest point, in terms of both its position in the sky, and its intensity. All the guards would be hiding in the shade, possessively clutching their wineskins. She couldn't find nary a one of them.

Fingers curled around her ankle. Shai jumped in surprise and kicked back, her heart racing. She had good habits born out of experience, though. Her kodaichi was drawn and ready before she even finished turning. She narrowly missed taking his head off. Yes, the head of that boy.

There, sprawled on the ground before her, the dead had come to life. Or had it? Maybe he hadn't actually been dead yet. She stared in confusion. He was still red with sunburn and pale with thirst, but he actually had the strength to grab on to her and half lift his body up. His fingers were grimy, and left an imprint on the skin of her leg, which was exposed by her half-trousers. Looking more like a ghost than a person, he grabbed Shai by the ankle again as she took a step back. She was still trying to decide how dangerous he was, and if he was going to fall over and die at any moment, when he looked up at her. She managed to register the shockingly bright green of his eyes.

Then he croaked, "Water..."