Waiting for Kuniko

A chance encounter behind enemy linesA Risuko prequel short storyMieko is waiting at a rendezvous behind enemy lines. In the rain. Without a hat. The person who comes up the road is the last person she expected to encounter.Preview:Mieko wanted to leave.She was waiting on a worn stone shrine beneath a dripping red pine. Rain was falling, and she had been waiting here, slowly getting wet, since the clouds had sloshed in around midday. She and Kuniko had split, Mieko searching the area on the south side of the valley while Kuniko searched in the village on the north side. They were looking for young Sachi and Hoshi, the two newest kunioichi, who were supposed to have checked in from their mission at dawn.Mieko wasn't worried — not really. Kuniko was more than capable of taking care of herself, and Sachi and Hoshi weren't stupid. Their mission was a fairly simple one:...