My name is Riku, and I am a dog.

I have long, white fur and a bushy tail. I usually look like I am happy and smiling, though that is not necessarily always the case.

My master's name is Shizu.

–

Master Shizu had been travelling since this morning. By now, the buggy had been completely caked in mud. So much in fact, that the paintwork was barely visible. The old engine wheezed pathetically in the back. At times, a thick puff of black smoke would trail from the exhaust.

"I knew I should have had it repaired back in the last country we visited," said Master Shizu, as he smacked the engine in a futile attempt to restore some life into it

"Would you have been able to afford it?" I asked.

"Probably not."

It was almost nightfall when we made out the silhouette of a small country off in the distance. Somehow, we eventually made it before the buggy broke down. I followed Master Shizu into the customs office, where he was approached by a young man.

"Welcome to our country. How long do you plan on staying?"

"A couple of days. If I can afford to have my vehicle repaired, I'd like to stay until it's fixed."

The customs officer nodded, before scribbling onto a nearby form.

"Are you carrying any weapons?"

Master Shizu walked back towards the buggy, and took his favourite sword from the back seat.

"Will it be a problem if I carry this?"

The officer looked at the sword carefully, then collected a large handful of forms.

"We don't usually allow weapons in this country, but we accept that travelers feel safer when they have some form of protection, though I can't agree with it. Please fill out those forms. I'll also have to ask you to hide it, we don't want you to scare any of the citizens."

Master Shizu reluctantly began to fill out the forms. The questions appeared extremely specific, and covered a range of topics, including dietary habits, hobbies, past criminal records, and several personality quizzes. When Master Shizu had finally finished, he handed the forms back to the officer, who looked through them approvingly.

"Very well, please go on through."

Master Shizu took a blanket from the back of the buggy and wrapped it around his sword before we entered. Inside, the country seemed immaculate. I couldn't make out a single piece of litter, and wherever we looked, the citizens seemed to be smiling happily,

"This sure seems like quite the idyllic country" Master Shizu remarked.

We decided to stop at a nearby café. Even though it was dark, the air was hot and humid, and we decided to sit indoors with the air conditioning. Master Shizu brought a small coffee for himself and sat down at a nearby table.

"There should be a garage nearby. We'll ask about getting the buggy fixed before it gets too late."

Master Shizu was about to take a sip of his coffee, but was soon disturbed when the sound of raised voices could be heard at the opposite end of the room.

"You call this coffee?!" a middle aged man shouted angrily as he slammed the cup on the table, "I want a refund!"

The rest of the customers watched in horror. Some held onto their children while others backed away from fear.

"Does he really seem that dangerous? Why does everyone look so scared?" Master Shizu wondered.

Within minutes, several tall, heavily built men wearing the same coloured uniform burst into the café and wrestled the man to the ground. They soon placed him in handcuffs, then dragged him away. The man tried to beg for forgiveness, but his voice was soon lost as the restaurant was filled with chatter again.

"I guess the police here take their job seriously. I should try and stay out of trouble."

Master Shizu quickly finished his drink, then made his way back out onto the streets. It didn't take us long to find the garage, there was only one in the entire town after all.

"How much will it cost to get my buggy repaired?" asked Master Shizu to the mechanic.

"Wait, are you the traveler that just arrived?" the mechanic asked while scratching his beard, "we don't get many travelers around here. How about I fix it for free?"

"I couldn't possibly accept such a generous offer."

"Don't worry about it. It's fine, really."

"In that case, I humbly accept."

The mechanic explained that it would take at least a day to repair, and that we should collect the buggy tomorrow. By now, the sky had become pitch black, and Master Shizu hurried over to the nearest hotel. He had enough money to book a small room, but we waited in the reception area for a small while.

"That was generous of him. This town doesn't seem so bad."

Master Shizu might have spoken too soon. I noticed two men laughing towards the back of the room, and decided to eavesdrop.

"I heard that the food in this place isn't that great. Plus some of the rooms are dirty."

"You're right! That hotel down the other street is much better."

Without saying a word to the two men, one of the receptionists picked up a phone and muttered something to someone on the other end of the line, though I was not able to make it out what she said. It wasn't long before a group of men wearing the same uniform burst into the hotel, before apprehending them and dragging them away.

"Excuse me," said Master Shizu to the receptionist, "those men were police, correct?"

"Yes, that's right. Those men work for the good of the country to protect us all."

"What did they want with those men exactly?"

"I overheard them talking badly of our hotel, so I told the police that they should come immediately and arrest them."

"Is that really so much of a crime?"

The woman looked at Shizu with an expression full of shock.

"Words can be dangerous! We might lose sales. People might stop coming to our hotel if they believe those rumours. For our safety, they had to be stopped."

"I see… Either way, I'd like to book a room please."

We made our way to a small room on the first floor. It was quite small, but not as dirty as the men had made it out to be.

"I've never seen a country that was so strict before, maybe they're taking things a bit too far."

"You should be careful," I said, "maybe they'll come for you too."

Master Shizu woke early, and after some light practice with his sword, he woke me and made his way outside. Luckily, the air was cooler than last night, and we could travel comfortably.

"The buggy should be fixed by now. Let's go and collect it."

On the way to the garage, Master Shizu noticed a street performer who was singing loudly. He had a talented voice, or at least it was talented enough to impress Master Shizu. However, two men in coloured uniforms quickly arrived and approached the man. They carried a small machine which displayed a figure on its screen.

"Excuse me. According to this, you are singing louder than the allowed limit. Surely you must know, this could damage peoples hearing! I'll have to ask you to come with us."

And with that, the man was dragged away.

"The sooner we leave this place, the better."

"You're right," I agreed.

When we reached the garage, Master Shizu was amazed when he saw the buggy. The mechanic had been thorough, and it seemed to shine more brightly than the day it was first made. It looked brand new – even better than brand new. The broken wing mirrors had been fixed, a new window had been fitted, even the paint had been given a new coat. Master Shizu fired up the engine, which sparked into life effortlessly.

"I take it I did a good job?" asked the mechanic, who cleaned his hands with an old rag.

"This is amazing! I've never seen it run so well before. I can't believe that you did all this for free."

"Well, about that. I must admit, I had another motive when I told you I'd fix it for free."

Master Shizu's face changed to a more serious expression.

"Which is?"

"To tell you the truth, over the years this country's population has rapidly declined."

"I wonder why…" interrupted Master Shizu.

"Needless to say, the country wants to encourage people to live here. Say, you're quite a handsome young man. I have a daughter about the same age. Won't you consider marrying her and living here?"

A beautiful girl with long, chestnut hair entered the garage. She wore a long dress decorated with flowers. She coyly lowered her gaze when she saw Master Shizu, and bowed while smiling. Master Shizu must have been quite flattered, because at this point, his face had turned red. Normally Master Shizu might have jumped at the chance, the entire reason for our journey was to find a place to settle down, after all.

"I-I appreciate the offer. But I don't think this country is for me."

"What?!" exclaimed the mechanic, "after I fixed your buggy for free, this is how you treat me? How dare you turn down my daughter! Damn yo-"

"Father, please!" the girl pleaded, "you know what'll happen if they hear you. You know swearing is against the law."

"To hell with it!"

Unsurprisingly, a group of men in coloured uniforms shortly arrived, and dragged away the man who disappeared from sight, kicking and screaming.

"I'm very sorry, but I must be leaving. For the record, I think you're very pretty. Maybe if things were different, I might have accepted your father's offer."

Master Shizu started up the buggy as I hopped into the passenger's seat, and soon left. As we approached the gate, the customs officer stopped us.

"Excuse me, before you leave, I was wondering if we could talk. I can't tell this to anyone else, but you're a traveler, you're not like them."

"What is it?"

"Don't you think something is wrong with this country? These laws are supposed to protect us, but don't they cause more harm than good? Surely you must have seen people being dragged away for petty crimes. Safety is important, but this is madness! Most of the town has embraced the law by now, except for a few trouble makers. Am I crazy? Is it wrong for me to think this way?"

"Yes," Master Shizu replied bluntly, "you're very lucky to live in a place like this. Everyone lives here safely, you can see how happy the citizens are. All you have to do is follow the laws. You should be thankful to live in such a great country.

"I see, so you think so too…"

The officer lowered his head, then walked back into his office dejectedly. Without wasting any time, Master Shizu raced out of the town. We stopped by a large tree halfway through the day to take a rest.

"What you said back there, you didn't really mean it, did you? Why did you say those things?" I asked.

"You saw how easy it was to get taken away. What do you think they'd do to someone who tries to challenge their entire system? Safety really is more important sometimes. At least he won't share the same fate as everyone else."

"What do you suppose they do with everyone they capture?"

"I don't know… Or rather, I don't want to know."

"It's a shame. That girl was really pretty. You might have found somewhere to settle down."

Master Shizu smiled and emptied his cup, before climbing back into the buggy.

"Come on. We've got more searching to do."