"On the upside, if you can help my sister, I can make it worth your while."

 

 

Toshi and Officer Mukai Yori were waiting in a room for visitors. His sister Yumi was being transported to the room. They were sitting at the table, waiting for her to be brought in. The officer has listed Toshi in as his younger brother, and Toshi didn't raise a fuss. Now they were sitting there, waiting for this meeting. Toshi looked sideways at Yori, "Explain."

 

Yori shrugged, "I take it your rape case hasn't moved much, has it? Oddly enough, it seems like there might be some push back from someone important to keep things static. Not quite sure where the pushback is coming from, but I have a fairly good idea who performed the hit."

 

Toshi tilted his head and furrowed his eyebrows as his stare intensified, "What do you mean... 'hit'?"

 

Yori smirked, "What? You thought it was just a stalker? It sure appears someone was trying to send you a message and things just..." He turned to look at the door as he heard noise coming from behind it, "...Went south." He lowered his voice and whispered, "We'll talk after you get me results."

 

The door opened and two orderlies brought in a rather small woman in a white jumpsuit, chained at the wrists and ankles. She had black hair, dark eyes, looked to be maybe twenty, and had a striking resemblance to Yori. She was brought over to the table and chained to the two metal loops on the floor on either side of her chair, that was also bolted to the floor. The orderlies stood off to the side. Yori stared at them and said, "You can go." The orderlies looked at each other with a puzzled expression. One looked  like he was going to speak when Yori held up his badge, "I'm afraid we can't violate her rights. So you need to leave." They shrugged and turned to leave. As they left Yori added, "And make sure the cameras and microphones are turned off." They glanced back and didn't seem to care, but one nodded as they left and locked the door behind them.

 

Yori took out a long, shiney scarf from his pocket and laid it out across the table between them while taking a small box out of his other pocket. He placed the box in the center of the table on top of the center of the scarf and slapped the big red button on top. It started to let out a low, yet constant humm. He glanced at Yori and his sister and said, "Just in case."

 

The woman eyed both of  them for a few moments before asking, "I almost told them I didn't want to see you, but when I was told both my older and YOUNGER brother were visiting, I had to come." She leveled her glare upon Toshi, "Because I know I don't have one."

 

Yori gestured from Toshi to the woman and back as he introduced them to one another, "Toshi, This is my sister, Yumi. Yumi this is-"

 

She cut him off, "You aren't my brother."

 

Yori let out a short sigh then continued, "This is Toshi. I... think he's like you."

 

Yumi blinked, "Excuse me?"

 

Toshi stared at her, then leaned forward, "In the real world, women control access to sex, but the men control access to relationships." Her eyes widened as Toshi continued, "About three months ago, you got violently ill. You slipped in and out of lucidity for about a week and when you came out of it, sexual morality was flipped. Everyone was acting strange. Everyone knew you, but everyone you knew was acting wrong."

 

She turned her head to the side to stare at Yoshi out of the corner of her eye, "A little over six months, but everything else is right."

 

Toshi looked surprised, "Wait... Six months? That's not possible. The gap is at three-" He stopped cold. His eyes slid off her to the side as he tried to process this new data, "Hold it. I'm the one who came across at six months. But only one person comes across at a time. Why would there be-" He snapped his fingers, "Wait a minute. I'm the irregularity, aren't I?" He scratched his chin in thought, "Or do they flip multiple people at the same time? That's a possibility."

 

Yori grabbed Toshi's shoulder and made him turn so he could look him in the eye, "They WHO?"

 

Toshi looked taken off guard, "Uh. We don't know. We just know the pattern seemed to be every three months, give or take." He jogged his head towards Yumi, "We didn't have anyone who flipped at three months, so I assumed she was the missing victim." He turned back to Yumi, "But you flipped six months ago, right about the time I got out of my coma, I assume." He leaned back and looked at the ceiling, "Assuming someone is doing it, when they botched my flip, I assume they flipped her as a replacement. So that would mean there is another victim out there who flipped three months ago."

 

Yumi shook her head as if to clear it, "Hold it! Wait..." She looked at both of them, "You both believe me..." She pointed at Toshi, "And... you claim to have... flipped as well?" Toshi nodded. She closed her eyes and pitched forward as if all the tension just left her body, "Finally..." She then looked up, "This had better not be a trick."

 

Toshi shook his head and Yori did as well, "No trick, sis."

 

Yumi hissed at him, "Stop acting like you are my brother, you monster!"

 

Toshi held up a hand towards her, "Whoa whoa WHOA! Why the hostility?"

 

She looked at Toshi like he was an idiot and then pointed at Yori, "You know he's my brother's evil twin, right?"

 

Toshi's jaw dropped open, "What?" He closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Is that what you think? Keanu Christ on a crutch!" He looked up, "It's reversed SEXUAL morality, not ALL morality! Gender roles are flipped, nothing else! Everything else is the same here! It all started a few thousand years ago when they started mass cultivating a certain plant that was excellent at birth control." Toshi hooked a thumb over his shoulder, "In our world it went extinct. Otherwise it all seems to line up... somehow. It doesn't make sense. I think there's some sort of... correcting force keeping things in synch. It's just a theory, right now."

 

Toshi thought to himself, ~Well, I'll say its a theory until I can double check everything with God. I wish you would hurry back!~

 

Yumi just looked at Toshi, then at her brother then back at Toshi, "Really?"

 

Yori nodded and sighed, "Yes. Look... I... accept you aren't my sister, but that makes you the best lead I have on getting her back. You wanna go home? I want my sister back. Can't we work together?"

 

Yumi looked from one to the other, then back again. Finally she leaned back in her chair to the sound of rattling chains and nodded, "O-okay. Maybe you aren't my brother's evil twin and I can try to work with you to... get your sister back and me back home." She looked to Toshi, "Is there a way?"

 

Toshi gritted his teeth, "As of right now, no, but you aren't alone. We have someone else who flipped a year ago. She wants to go back as well." He chuckled softly, "It seems all the guys are okay with staying, and the girls all want to go. Who'd a thunk?"

 

Yori looked at Toshi, "You... want to stay?"

 

Toshi froze up for a second, then he started speaking softly, "The... last person to come through. He... uh..." Toshi scratched the back of his neck, "He told me my opposite never woke up." He turned to look directly at Yori, "He fell into a coma and died." He turned back to Yumi, "I have no body to return to." He folded his hands in front of himself and stared at his fists, "The family I'm living with... they are good people. They aren't my family, but they are damn close. I've also got..." He tapped the side of his head, "Fragments of this world's Toshi is in my head. So..." He took a deep breath and straightened up, "So part of me is him. That makes me their son and I'm going to do my best to be the son they deserve."

 

Yumi snorted, "How lucky for you."

 

Toshi squinted, "Excuse me?"

 

Yumi gestured to up and down Toshi, "Back home, I bet you were some loser who got the crap beat of them on a semi-regular basis." She gestured to herself, "Do you have any idea what I lost?" She started stab her finger into the table with every word, "Three.  Hundred. And. Eighty. Eight. Thousand!" She snarled as she ground her teeth, "Followers on Instagram!"

 

Both Toshi and Yori's jaws fell open.

 

"DO you have any idea how popular I am? How many people value my opinion? I don't even need to get naked and my OnlyFan's account has absolutely exploded! I just need to flirt and-and-and-" Yumi gestured towards Toshi, "And LOSERS like you throw money at me!" She held up both her hands and rattled her chains, "I hit one guy and they throw me in the loony bin!"

 

Yori blinked in disbelief, "You didn't just HIT a guy! You threw a pot of hot coffee at him then started to kick him in the head while he was on the ground screaming!"

 

Yumi slapped both palms down on the table and partially stood up, "Do you have any idea what he said to me? He should have known better and backed off when I warned him the first time!"

 

Toshi started to rub his eyes, "Miss. I don't particularly think it was LUCKY that my body died. Where would you even get-"

 

Yumi suddenly started to panic, "Oh god. What-what if I'm dead on the other side as well, what if you ALWAYS-"

 

Toshi cut her off, "WHOA! Hold on! We've already confirmed Ichi's duplicate is alive on the other side! I think I'm the odd one out. I'd bet money all you guys have living duplicates!"

 

Yumi looked desperately at Toshi, "But how do you know?"

 

Toshi waggled is head from side to side, "We know she's alive... Be... cause... Ugi had sex with her." The conversation ground to a halt. Toshi looked at both of them then added, "The women from this world are total hound dogs! How the hell do you think they would act in a world of horny men?"

 

Yumi went pale, "Wait... do you think my duplicate is... slutting it up?" She started to look angry, "IN MY BODY?" She started to run her fingers through her hair, "What if she gets pregnant in my body???" Her face went white with terror, "Oh God... What if she starts to eat so much she gets FAT! DO you have any idea how many hours a day I have to exercise to maintain my figure?" She points at her own belly, "It took my six months just to get this body to the point I can look at himself in the mirror without VOMITING!"

 

Yori held up a hand, "Hey! Calm down! One disaster at a time!"

 

Toshi held up his hands, "Hey! I'm not slutting it up! The new guy isn't either. Ugi..." Toshi paused, then let his head fall forward, "Never mind. As your brother says, let's stay focused on the current disaster."

 

Yumi narrowed her eyes at Toshi, "Seriously? You are actually telling me that a kid like you isn't screwing everything with legs including this table?" She tapped a finger on it while she leaned in closer.

 

Something snapped in Toshi.

 

Toshi was on his feet, grabbed her by the collar, and pulled back his arm to backhand her across the face in an instant. It was only his upbringing that caused him to hesitate long enough for Yori to grab him from behind, preventing Toshi from smacking the shit out of her. Yori pulled Toshi back, "WHOA! Hold On!" Yumi tried to back off herself, but the chains restricted her. She fell back into her chair and shielded her face.

 

"I was raped, you self-centered DICK!" Toshi wasn't quite sure where this rage was coming from, but he couldn't keep it under control.

 

Yumi lowered her hands and squinted with one eye while looking completely flummoxed, "By a woman? How is that even possible?"

 

Toshi's eyebrow twitched briefly, just as all the lights turned off, leaving them in darkness for a moment. The emergency lights flickered to life giving some shadowy illumination to the room. At that exact moment, Toshi's phone started to ring in Yori's pocket, which was very strange.

 

 

 

 

Because Yori had taken out the SIM card.