Ghost in the City: Cyberpunk Gamer SI

[Seras]

*Thanks again for watching over me.* I called out as I slipped down into the Netrunner Combat Zone through the bar-like entrance.

*Hey no problem. You bought food. So I'm just hanging around. Besides, it's still interesting.* Malcolm confirmed and I nodded.

I had come to earn some XP. Or try to. I had maybe burned some bridges a bit too much trying to get every ounce of XP I could get last few times.

So I was planning on taking a different tact.

I slipped into a booth and like I expected, when I put my name up for combat. No one seemed interested.

That wasn't entirely unusual though. Not everyone wanted to fight everyone. So I had to put up something a little extra.

*Reward: 1 hour code debugging assistance.*

Then I settled in. Most of the time people put up eddies if they were really new, or information. Some put up hacks, or things. But every netrunner I had run into had some deep desperate need to debug their code.

It didn't take long before I got a message.

*Vortex: Debugging assistance. The fuck does that mean?*

I laughed at the question and responded honestly.

*Ghost in the Shell: Exactly what it sounds like. I debug code as a side gig. You can check with Yoko if you don't believe me, she's never complained about my work.*

*Vortex: I will.*

And the chat was closed. I shrugged and settled in. Answering a few questions from similar messages, but an hour passed without any hits.

Then I got a response.

*Vortex: Okay. Yoko confirms you aren't a rezzer. I got a program I've been tinkering with.*

*Ghost in the Shell: Tell you what. I'm looking for something specific. I'll look over your code, win or lose, in exchange, I want you to spam any Daemons you have at me.*

*Vortex: Okay what's the scop you're selling here?*

*Ghost in the Shell: Not Scop. I'm working on something, but I need more practice against every type of Daemon I can find. You can think of it like debugging. I'm trying to find the weaknesses in my skills.*

*Vortex: You know what? I don't care what scop you're shoveling. Yoko vouched and I need a set of eyes on my code. Deal.*

I smiled as the request for a duel went through.

Excellent.

It seems a bit of honey was all I needed to get the flys to show up.

—--

I raced around smiling as another group of Soldier Daemons came around the corner.

This had been a really good idea, not just because I was getting XP, but because I had come up with a really interesting thought.

My Onryo Hack. I had originally came up with the idea to fuck with people, but you know what it would be extremely effective against?

Daemons. I would need a few adjustments, but Daemons weren't smart enough to realize what they were attacking wasn't a real netrunner!

Once this was over, and once I finished debugging whatever Vortex wanted, I was going to spend some time updating my hack. Making it a bit more flexible would be nice.

I turned and started uploading [HEAT Bullet Mk.01] over and over, the tiny fire balls appearing, waiting for me to launch them.

Then as I was hitting the maximum I could handle, I sent them all off at once, and the Soldier Daemons were smashed apart.

*250 XP Gained.*

*250 XP Gained.*

*250 XP Gained.*

*250 XP Gained.*

Hehehe!

I moved on. Vortex might be willing to upload Daemons into the server while we fought, but she was still being aggressive too. She wanted this match to end.

A moment later where I had been was hit by an AOE virus, and the whole place started melting for a few seconds. But I was long gone, and I could hear her grumbles over the server audio as I moved on to harass her a bit more.

—--

I blinked as between one moment and the next I was out of the server.

Huh. She had actually managed to launch an attack that hit me. It was another large scale attack. She was good at them, that really surprised me. I would have to adapt some better defenses just in case someone like that tried to do it again.

Either way, this had been entirely worth it. After a long list of XP alerts I had earned it.

*250 XP Gained.*

*Level up achieved!*

*One Stat Point Gained.*

*One Skill Point Gained.*

It had been what distracted me enough that I hadn't moved fast enough.

I stretched as I walked out of the lobby room and back into the bar like server level. There Vortex was already waiting for me, looking like she was going to attack me at any minute.

"Relax Choom, a deals a deal. Good hit by the way. I got distracted."

"Hmm. Well come on then. Let's use a private room. And don't you dare start the clock until we actually start!"
I just raised my arms at the woman with glaring red eyes and gave her a calm down gesture.

Geeze did everyone just flake on the net when they made a promise?

I entered a small side room, and it was a cozy little lounge. I could feel the security on the space, and I took a moment to look it over before nodding. It actually was pretty safe as long as someone wasn't watching through your line, like Malcolm was.

"Here's the code. It bloats and fails to run after a certain point." She said, sounding pissed, and I just nodded as I took her data transfer, ran it through every security check I had before being satisfied it was safe, and popping it up in a test environment.

"Hmmm." I muttered as I looked it over. Nearly instantly seeing the problem.

Vortex was shit at coding.

90% of this program was frankensteined together with other code. "Okay I'm going to pause your timer here." I said and she twitched as I looked away from the code. "Gonna be honest this is a mess of code, so you got two options. I can either start fixing it, from start to finish, which I'll doubt I'll finish in one go. That means you'll need to fight me again in the arena another time. Or I start highlighting and giving you advice about errors I'm seeing and you can try and use that to fix it yourself."

"Can you actually fix it?"
"This is… Some kind of skimming code right? To-"

"Hey! Don't fucking talk about it!" She snapped and I raised my hands.

"Okay choom. I'm a professional, and I don't care what you do with it. Yes I know how to fix it."

"Then do it. I'll throw daemons and nukes at you as much as you want." She snapped, and I just laughed.

"Alright let me get started. You want my commentary or for me to just get at it?"

"Just do it."

"Alright."

—--

"So what's the deal with Vortex?" Malcolm asked and I shrugged.

"Pretty sure she's trying to skim eddies out of some machine. Maybe she works at a bank or something." I offered. "She had the machine code in the program, but I'm not going to stick my nose into it."

"Gotcha." He offered and then to my delight offered me a plate of still warm noodles.

"Thanks choom."

I dug in and the two of us chatted for a while as we ate, but my mind and eyes were on my stat screen.

Level 21

Body 9(17) Due to Cyberization, Maximum value has increased by 8.
-Athletics 7
-Street Brawler 8
-Annihilation 5

Reflex 9(15) Due to Cyberization, Maximum value has increased by 6.
-Blades 8
-Handguns 8
-Assault 8
-Driving 7


Intelligence 13 (14) Due to Cyberization, Maximum value has increased by 4.
-Breach Protocol 12
-Quick Hacks 9
-Programming 13

Cool 10
-Ninjutsu 10
-Cold Blood 8
-Rockerboy 9

Technical Ability 8 (12) Due to Cyberization, Maximum value has increased by 4.
-Crafting 6
-Engineering 7

1 Stat point.
8 Skill point.


Perks.
Ambidextrous Blades 2
Quickdraw Handguns 2
Gun Nut Assault 2
Parkour Athletics 2
Grappling Street Brawler 2
Drive By Driving 2
Cat-like Athletics 5
Cool Nerves Cold Blood 2
Danger Sense Ninjutsu 2
Wall Breaking Breach Protocol 2
Cyber Security Quick Hack 2
Recoil Reduction Annihilation 2
Cyber Ninja Ninjutsu 5
Fearless Chill Cold Blood 5.
Improvised Weapons Street Brawler 5
Parry Blades 5
Robotics wizard Crafting 2
Drifting Driving 5
Rapid Reload Handguns 5
Design Wizard Engineering 2
Rifle Ace Assault 5
Ghost touch Breach 5
Perfect Musical Memory Rockerboy 2.
Debug Programming 2
Siren Song Rockerboy 5
Hacking Wizard Quick Hacks 5
Inspired Programmer Programming 5
A.I. Whisperer Programming 10
Slam Fire Annihilation 5
Enduring Builds Crafting 5
Robotics Engineering Engineering 5
Strong Breach Breach Protocol 10
Ninja Running Ninjutsu 10

Cyberware:
Arasaka Corporation Cyberdeck 'Shadow' Mk.4 *Adaptation 'Shadow' Mk.4 0/0*
Kiroshi Mk1 *Adaptation Kiroshi Mk1 1/2*
Militech Condor *Adaptation Militech Condor 6/6*
Arasaka Smart Link System. *Adaptation Smart Link 0/0*
Arasaka Ex-Disk *Adaptation Ex-Disk 0/0*
Militech-Armalite Ballistic Guard *Adaptation Ballistic Guard 1/2*
Serano Air-Groove Ankles *Adaptation Serano Air 1/1*
MoorE Titanium Bones (Shoulders, back, and ribs. +Legs, Pelvis, and Ribs.) *Adaptation Titanium Bones 0/2*
Biotechnica Muscle and Bone Lace *Adaptation Muscle and Bone Lace 0/0*
Arasaka ODA Neural Link Mk3 *Adaptation ODA Mk.3 1/2*
Dynalar Sandevistan Mk.2 *Adaptation Dynalar Sandevistan 1/4*


All in all it looked pretty good.

That stat point was calling me, and there was no point in holding onto it. Last time I had leveled Intelligence, so this time it needed to go into Adaptation. That was the deal. I instantly put one into my Sandy.

Dynalar Sandevistan Mk.2 *Adaptation Dynalar Sandevistan 2/4*

I didn't feel any different right away which was a bit unusual, but the Sandy itself wasn't some massive piece of Cyberware, it was just a chip that unlocked functionality, so it would only really make a difference when I used it.

"Well that was fun." I told Malcolm, and he looked at me for a moment before laughing. "I liked when she made the world melt." He offered and I scoffed.

"That was such an overcompensation! She could have made it more targeted and got something out of that!"
"I thought it was nova." He offered and I scoffed.

I'd show him Nova!

My hacks would be far superior!

—--

"Hey choom!" I greeted Rebecca as she arrived and she was grinning happily as she entered the apartment.

"Sup Strings." She greeted back and hefted the duffel bag on her back through the door which had me grinning.

"We're just waiting on Hiromi. She apparently had a big thing for us." I explained, and Rebecca nodded as she headed over to the couch and flopped back, dropping off the duffel bag and reaching to grab some of the snacks I had spread out.

"Yo Becca." Ichi called out looking away from the game that Ichi and Malcolm were both playing with.

"Sup chooms. Who's winning?"

"Me!" Malcolm cheered out as suddenly Ichi's distraction cost him a round.

I rolled my eyes at the boys breaking into a scuffle and instead continued to wait.

It was time for Section 9 to take on another gig. Hiromi said she had found something, and so we were all gathering up to take part.

I rested sitting on the back of the couch watching the boys play, and Rebecca eventually jumped in fighting for a turn as well. Then finally the door opened, and Hiromi walked in. She was dressed up in her corpo attire, looking like a miniature Arasaka Corporate stooge as she stalked around the couch and then to everyone's amusement she stepped up onto the table in the center

"I just got out of a meeting with Padre, and we have a gig. And it's gonna be a nova one." She said and I clapped to show my appreciation which had her blushing a bit in embarrassment, from my teasing.

"Alright Crush, don't leave us all waiting, what's the deets?" Rebecca demanded and Hiromi glared at her for a moment. Obviously she didn't like the interruption to her little performance.

Also that nickname was still weird.

"Fine. So Padre needs someone removed."

"Assassinated." I cut in, and Hiromi stalled a bit as she was caught off guard.

"What?"

"Assassinated. You shouldn't use euphemisms when talking about work like that." I explained frankly. "We get hired to do a job, and we shouldn't shy away from what that really means. After all. Removed, and Assassinated are two different things." I really didn't want to end up having some confusion on what a gig actually was some day. Best to be clear.

"Pfft. God Motoko! You're such a gonk! Fuck yeah. Tell 'em straight Crush! We assassinate gonks in this house!" Rebecca added cackling.

"That's right!" I said and then looked at Hiromi who was looking irritated.

"Okay fine. Assassinated. Does anyone else have any critique about my explanation of the gig?" She asked the room which really, was just a mistake on her part.

"Yeah, can you hurry up?" Malcolm said instantly, and I barely moved out of the way as Hiromi charged, and launched herself at Malcolm.

—--

"So Padre hired us to Assassinate someone that is causing trouble. In this case, we are hunting Miguel Hernandez. Here's his dossier." Hiromi continued, her sharp corpo outfit a mess as she and Malcolm had rolled around as they tussled.

I looked over the information packet, which was familiar enough, and there wasn't anything that interesting…

Oh wait.

"Huh. He's a rich boy?"

"Worse, he's a rich boy with a father that wants to protect him." Hiromi added, and a second file was sent over to us, and after scanning it I opened it to confirm.

"Animals."

"That's right. He's got an entire squad for bodyguards, at his home up in North Oak."

"This seems like it could be hot. What if the father wants revenge?" I asked and Hiromi smirked.

"That won't be an issue. Padre is also putting out a hit on the old man, so while we take care of the son, the father will also be removed."

"Nasty." I mumbled, but nodded, that seemed like Padre… "So… That means we'll have looting time?" I asked and Hiromi nodded. "That's right. With the father flatlined, and us taking care of the son, we'll have time to go through and acquire some additional resources."

"Did Padre say when the father would be assassinated?"

"No." Hiromi added. "Only that it was part of the plan, when I pushed him on the dangers involved."

"Okay in that case, let's start building up a plan… Malcolm? I think you're going to be integral here."

"What? How?" He asked and I grinned.

"You're going to be our camouflage." I explained simply. Time to get this going.

—--

North Oak, was the hollywood hills of Night City. Full of million eddie mansions, and celebrities around every corner. It wasn't a place a bunch of street kids could just walk around without worry. Which is why Malcolm's Caliburn was actually important.

With his car he was able to drop me off near the target's compound without anyone caring. Then Ichi and Hiromi worked in tandem. Ichi's truck set up on the side of a street, with Malcolm driving down the road close to it, while Hiromi had picked up an actual video camera from somewhere to sell it all the more.

Anyone noticing the kids would think they were just rich brats making videos of their parents Caliburn.

So they wouldn't notice the fact we were set up up the street from Miguels mansion compound, that would let us see directly into it.

Rebecca was set up for an emergency hiding in Ichi's truck with full equipment, the HMG's could be pulled over and she could start firing into the compound in case they caught me or something.

Hiromi's 'Camera' was actually giving me a real time look from the air of where the Animals were so I could make my attempt at infiltrating the place.

It was actually a lot tougher than you'd expect.

The mansion had its own security room, and its own group of patrolling robots. Along with the Animals all over the place. It was a lot of security for a residence.

But it wasn't enough. I was pressed against the side of the outer wall, well outside any view of the cameras, and just sitting in the shadows as I waited.

Then at the perfect moment, as a Robot passed by my location giving me a minute or so until the next patrol, I picked up the Tachikoma from my lap and gave it a toss over the top of the wall.

I smiled as I heard it land safely in the bush, and then closed my eyes, giving me the Tachikoma's sight.

Crawling out of the bush I followed in the path of the Robot, tiny legs skittering quietly after it.

Hmm. But not that quietly. I'd have to get some better rubber friction pads for the feet to quiet the movement even more. I noted it to myself for later and then focused.

There was a side door the animals were leaving open as they came and went. That would be my entrance point.

As the Robot walked past it, I pushed the Tachikoma to the side and waited.

Hiromi's camera that I was watching out of my left eye showed me what was about to happen.

An Animal stepped out and stretched. Massive muscles stretched over Chrome and biotech, and drugs anything and everything they could get to pump themselves up. They finished stretching and walked on.

The Animals weren't the most alert. Most of them were either working out, pumping iron, or just lazing around it seemed. But actually doing their job was left mostly to the robots.

From their point of view, they weren't there to find the enemy, just to fight them after they had been found. Which was perfect for me, because they weren't ever going to find me.

Tachikoma slipped inside the open door and I had it shift over to hide under a coffee table quickly. As the room wasn't empty.

A few Animals sitting around, this was the room they were coming in and out of, and it showed. Their stuff lay all over the room, but I ignored that because I had what I needed.

We had been watching them for a few hours, so I had their approximate numbers. And here were the rest of them, at least I'm pretty sure.

Which meant. I could infiltrate the building to try and get to the security room, while knowing where almost all the Animals were.

*I'm moving in. Give me another pass.* I called out and grinned as I heard the sound of the Caliburn roar up the road, attracting attention away from the back of the compound. I rose and leapt, clearing the edge of the wall, and landing in a crouch on the other side. I had already hacked into the camera systems, so I should be mostly a blur, but I still needed to try and access the security room as soon as possible.

I didn't wait long, and moved, running straight across the small side path and then up, climbing up onto the second floor, and using the inbuilt little bar area to hide me from the front of the house as I crept over towards the door that would lead me inside.

Sliding the door open I slipped in, and instantly rolled behind a plant to keep myself hidden from the people on the bottom floor. The mansion had an airy main room, and I could be seen from the bottom floor if I wasn't careful.

Which is why I slowly crawled along the carpeted floor towards the door I needed to access. Security room was hidden inside the main office.

I reached the door without any issues, and slipped inside, before rising up and brushing myself off.

Now to find the security center. It was somewhere in here. I glanced around. High end office, everything was expensive but not wood. Meant to look wealthy, but not actually reach that point. One wall had all sorts of little awards, and diplomas? Ah. I see, they were work commendations. The guy was a corpo after all.

But I found the door across the room. No way to access it, just a door shaped outline in the wall. Scanning around I didn't see any readers, or set up. So either the man had no access to his own security system, it used some weird off location unlock system, or there was something else.

I wasn't seeing any obvious cords or cables with my scans, but that wasn't unusual. Kiroshi Mk.1's could only do so much. Instead I walked over to his desk. Rule of overconfident bad guys they'd have some switch on their desk right? I checked all over, but didn't find anything, and there was a nice desktop system, but it didn't have the actual tower. There was a section where he could place a computer in and hook it up to the system.

I looked around, not seeing any other option to open the security room.

Dangit.

I walked over to the door again and just looked it over, trying to find something. Why not have an extra scanner? If the access point was his attached computer, what happened if his computer stopped working? He'd never get inside his security room again.

I reached out and rested my hand on the hidden door and stilled, as it sort of shifted….

I pushed harder and it slid back and then sideways opening the office to the small security room with a server for the security system.

"He opted for the mechanical door?" I asked myself breathlessly, because that was the stupidest thing I'd ever seen! There wasn't even a lock! It was just a facade door? This guy for all that he owned a big mansion was cheap!

Shaking my head I entered in, and within a minute had taken over the entire security system. There would be no alerts to NCPD if there were any problems, and more importantly, it gave me direct access to all the Animals, Robots, and Miguel who was currently pacing around in one of the main rooms.

*Alright everyone. Get ready. I'm in.*

 

[Seras]

Miguel Hernandez

Everything was falling apart! Just because he had taken the drugs! They should have been his anyway! Who cares that Daniel that Tino fucker thought it was his. Miguel was important, not some street scop fucker!

But now, despite having flatlined the gonk for refusing to do what Miguel wanted, everything was going wrong.

The first attack had almost worked, if not for his bodyguard. And now Father hired an entire horde of Animal Hustle to protect him…

But now Father had gone quiet.

"Well!?" He yelled at the Animal that was the leader of the Squad.

"Told you already. We were hired to protect you. Not to find out what's up with your pops. Eddies are already paid, so we do our job."

"And I'm telling you to find him!" He yelled, but the animal didn't even acknowledge his words, just going back to pumping weights.

Fucker.

Father was an important man! He had ties to the mayor! There was no way some street trash Valentino would touch him! He's probably just… Busy.

His thoughts were interrupted once again by the sound of a loud engine roaring up the street,

"Someone kill that fucker driving the Caliburn!" He screamed. It had been hours where the same Caliburn would drive up and down the street outside revving the engine and making noise.

Miguel had no idea who it was, probably some rich brat driving his fathers car that he had no right to. But it was infuriating, as the engine was loud enough it was constantly disrupting Miguel's thoughts.

Then it happened, just as he was going to start yelling for the Animals to go do what he said for once, the animal that was with him suddenly rose up. "Runner!" He managed to shout just before he roared and groaned as the spark of electricity ran up the Borg's body and he tumbled onto the floor shaking.

Then the gun fire started.

Adrenaline shot through him, and he reached for the engraved Overture he had left on the table beside him, but it was gone.

Nothing was on the table.

"Wha-" He was cut off as everything ended.

—--

*Target Eliminated.* I confirmed into the group comm, and then turned. Overture raised I dropped two rounds into the Animal that was protecting the target.

*250 XP Gained.*

*750 XP Gained.*

Hmm. That Animal was probably the leader then.

I stepped over the bodies and left the room, entering in the mansion's massive open floor plan to see my team clearing up already. The sound of gunfire as they peppered twitching bodies coming out in short bursts.

Well that was easy.

I walked past my team, and dug under a table to pull out the Tachikoma that was hiding there.

Well that had been pretty easy. Blinding and locking down the Animals with Short Circuit, letting my team move in and kill them easily.

"Clear over here!" I called out having checked my little area and making sure all the animals were dead. My call prompted everyone to join in, calling out that they cleared everyone.

I wasn't seeing any more lines from Ping either, so we had gotten everyone.

I looked outside and noticed the robots slumped over. I had turned them all off from the security center, meaning all of them could be recovered. THose were expensive, and Hiromi would be very happy we had snagged them intact.

Plus robots were neat!

*Alright Ichi, let's bring in the truck.* I called over the line and I turned around and just smiled as Rebecca and Malcolm both looked over the mansion and all the stuff that was just laying around.

A few moments later Hiromi pulled in with Malcolms Caliburn, and then the massive Behemoth Ichi was driving came in, and turned for easy loading.

I really did love it when everything came together.

—--

"Cheers!" I called back as I smashed my soda into Rebecca's drink.

"That's right! We're the best!" She shouted out and more people called out their agreement as they raised the alcohol we paid for to celebrate our gig.

It still felt weird to me to do this, but Rebecca ran with Maine and had a better idea on how the normal edgerunner celebrations went.

Once again we were outside Turbo's and cheering our success to the world. I suppose in this case, considering the Animals were used to working as mercs, and weren't known for holding grudges against that sort of thing, and the target and family already flatlined, I felt pretty comfortable with talking about our success.

We were now once more flush with eddies, the small amount from actually completing the gig, and then a whole lot more for stealing everything of value in the mansion.

I had even stripped the security system server and packed that away, because that sort of thing was good eddies.

I watched on from the top of the Quadra enjoying the atmosphere, even if it wasn't really my thing.

It was purely by chance. A headlight turning off the ramp flashing a bit of light into the sky, causing a reflection that had me glancing over.

Rainbow pastel colors.

I stilled as I looked up over the city skyline and there it was.

A familiar hair color that stood out in the colors of Night City. Waving gently against the stars as a familiar women leaned on the wall of her apartments roof, smoke trailing slowly into the sky.

Before I could think I stood up, reaching over and grabbing one of the Brosefs, already planning my path.

I raced up the street towards the familiar apartment complex, and then smiled as I started moving.

A food stand onto a rooftop, then taking a moment and jumping across to a windowsill then across to another and then back and forth until I climbed up onto the roof of the apartment complex.

I sauntered over and let myself go cold as I wasn't sure how to do this properly. So I figured, fuck it.

I walked over making sure to scuff my boots loudly so she wouldn't startle at my sudden appearance.

That was something fun to do to fuck with my friends, but not her.

"You know. There's a party going on. You're welcome to join. It's open to everyone." I offered openly as dropped the sweating bottle of Brosef onto the ledge beside her arms. Our eyes met. And I nodded, not wanting to push it. There might be time for that another time. "Well, offers open. Feel free to enjoy the beer." I offered and then since I wasn't in the mood to take the long way, I put my hand on the railing, and just leveraged myself over.

"Wait!?" She gasped as I disappeared over the edge, and I flashed her a confident smirk upwards as she suddenly reacted as I fell.

Lucy Kushinada. A little different than I remember. Her outfit was a bit less confident. But it was definitely her. I sent her a cheeky wave as I fell, before I stopped my descent, by bouncing off a ledge, hitting a street light spinning around it a bit and then landing softly on the sidewalk and sauntering back to the party.

—--

I pushed myself hard once again. The weights went up and down as I worked myself as hard as I could. That final level up for training Body was constantly teasing me. I wanted that little bit more!

Sweat poured down my face, across my Kiroshi, but the feeling didn't matter. There was only one more push after the next. And the one after that.

What was discomfort?

What was tiredness?

Both only lasted moments, while improvement lasted forever. Temporary pain was something I could deal with.

So I pushed once again. The weights held in my hands tightly as my core screamed, and my legs felt numb.

I was back in my little corner of the downstairs gym area. The TC guys once more ignored me as I claimed a back corner, hidden away and just worked out for as long and hard as I could.

I needed just a little more.

Then finally as I pushed myself up from another crunch it happened.

*100 Body XP Gained*

*Body Leveled up!*

I felt it, a shift in my muscles, and strength. I slowly let the weights touch the ground and just sat there for a while breathing in and out, as I felt my body shift under my clothes.

Body 10.

I exhaled, and felt my breath come out cool and strong, without wavering despite how tired I was.

I had finally managed to do it. The final point. My body that was still flesh despite being tired and numb in places, felt strong.

I was now more than I had been just before that point.

And more importantly?

I'd never have to hit the gym again! Gonna go get something sweet and pig out to celebrate! Weee!

—--

"So you had another gig?"

"Yep! Assassination for Padre." I answered back as I ducked to avoid another fist. Heh. Hayato was so cruel! She'd ask a question and attack just after to try and get an advantage!

Sneaky! I approved!

"Padre? The Valentino Fixer?"

"That's the one. Interesting gig. We killed this guy and looted his mansion, got a ton of stuff. You interested in richy-rich booze or something? The guy had a major liquor cabinet and we took it with us. Hiromi is trying to sell it off." I explained as I activated my Sandy and burst into motion and started jabbing over and over pushing Hayato back as she struggled to keep up with my Sandevistan speed.

But I turned it off pretty quickly and backed off giving Hayato a chance to recover.

"Bit-Do you have to do that?"

"Keeping you on your toes!" I said with a happy smile and then we went back at it.

"I'm not really interested in alcohol. No thank you." She admitted a breathing heavily, answering my question.

"Ah well, I tried. Hiromi will be happy that I did at least." I said with a smile as I ducked and blocked Hayato's returning blows. Then she shifted, and I activated my Sandy for a split second to dodge back as her foot swept up and nearly took my face off, but instead I avoided it and swept out my own leg hitting her on the back of her knee and sweeping her right off her feet.

"Fu-Owe!" She cursed as she hit the mat.

"Too aggressive. But good job trying to keep your tells down. I almost didn't spot that!"

"Ughh." She groaned for a moment before taking my offered hand and rising up.

"Again." She demanded and I nodded, backing up and we went back into it.

Hayato was a good partner, Street Brawling alerts kept coming in, as every time I faced her she tried something new.

I was pretty sure she was getting actual training from someone in between our little sparring matches and was being taught things to try and beat me with.

Heh. It was pretty fun though.

We went at it again, and I was delighted in the way my body felt so strong. I was able to block her blows nearly without effort as I simply powered through. Hayato might have more chrome than I did, but I was stronger than she was now and it showed, when I punched and she blocked it knocked her back.

"Stupid!" She hissed at me, and then went aggressive and I laughed as I shifted to duck under more of her jabs.

Hayato had a tendency to go on the offensive whenever she got angry. It was cute, but I needed to work on her for that. Her temper was going to get her in trouble at some point.

When she jabbed I flashed my Sandy, and of course she was pushing a bit too much, so instead of blocking or dodging, I grabbed her wrist, which meant I got to see the way her face shifted in rapid speed into shock and then outrage, and then her mouth opened.

"YouBitchNotThisAgaiiiiiin!" She screamed as I once more hip tossed her until she stopped with an oof as she hit the mat.

"You got a bit too aggressive in your anger." I told her, and reached down and poked her forehead, letting my cooler fingers feel the warmth of her forehead. "Cool and calm, especially on the attack."

She looked up at me, her eyes practically glowing under the lights as our eyes met for a while before her face scrunched up in embarrassment and she looked away, flapping a hand at me to push me away.

"Stop that!" She demanded and I just laughed.

—---

"Yo." I greeted, and looked over at the woman that had requested a meeting with me.

"Ghost. Glad you arrived." Vortex greeted me. I was back on the net. Vortex had messaged me about the debugging I had done for her, and wanting to talk.

I slipped into the seat, and looked around the club. We were at Yoko's place and as I sat, she waved a hand, and the area locked down, giving us some privacy.

"So. You fixed my code. Thanks for that."

"It was part of the deal." I answered back and she nodded before getting serious.

"I need some more work done on the program. But uh… I'll need to do some reveals about what it's for. So before we get started. I want to hire you."

"Hmm." I offered in reply the woman was sort of desperate and I wasn't sure I liked it. Frankly the code was pretty obvious. It was an eddie skimmer. Take some eddies off the top of some sort of transaction system.

I didn't know, and didn't want to know, and didn't want to get involved. That's the sort of crime that corps send hit squads after. Kill some of their guys? Meh. Take their money? Get ready for an apocalypse.

"Honestly. I don't know if I want to get involved."

"Hey, I get it. I'm not asking for a partner though. So as you know I'm trying to make some eddies with it, so I'm not exactly flush, but I do have other things. I'm a programmer too. I have some code."

I very pointedly didn't mention that her code was dogshit.

But she got my disinterest.

"Listen. I got data you might find very interesting. I just need some more debugging help."

I considered it. Honestly I wasn't in a lot of danger even if I helped on this.

And I could use more XP.

"Do you still want to derez Daemons?" She asked suddenly and at my interest she started smiling. "I know of a server that's infested with old Daemons. It's safe-ish. As much as any server can be, but I checked it out myself. How about it? I'll give you the deets, in exchange, for the debugging."

"Hmm." I offered again, and she seemed to realize that I wasn't all that interested. A random server full of Daemons? That could be seriously dangerous, and it might not even be as useful as just going into the netrunner combat zone.

"On the server. Rumor is it has some interesting data. I found it but couldn't get through the architecture. The place is a bit of a mess. But it could be valuable!"

I sighed. "Okay, fine. Give me the server address, and tell me what you know about it. And then tell me what your program is supposed to be skimming eddies off of."

"Casino machines. See, it'll skim an integer off the profits!"

I nodded. Well it wasn't corp, but Casino? That meant gang, which was bad in a different way.

Whatever. "Don't tell me any more, and just give me the code. I can figure out what you neeeeed… Are you dumb?" I asked, looking over what she had done.

"What?"

"This integer is waaay too high. Do you want whoever you are trying to steal from to notice instantly? Hell, with this, over just a hundred transactions, You'd be taking like one percent. That's crazy."

"I'm trying to make something here!"

I looked at the code and realized that this woman was a moron. I was going to have to explain this like I was talking to a kid.

"You either have a large surge, or you have stealth. Pick one." I said, and she twitched.

"It's stealthy!"

"There is no way, the casino you are stealing from isn't going to notice this much theft. You want to make eddies? Do it over a much longer period, and you'll be much safer." She didn't really answer, but I shrugged and started working.

I poked at her code, pulled up a screen right there, and going to work. Altering numbers, and values until I was satisfied.

"That's… Nothing!"

"That's safe. But the input numbers are variable. If you want to be crazy and go higher, that's on you." I mumbled, as I continued cleaning up the code errors I was seeing. Talk about a bloated mess.

"Why are you deleting that!?"

"Because it's pointless and it's going to cause errors in the machines if I don't." I mumbled distractedly.

I noticed she didn't argue though as I continued cleaning up the code. Minutes flew by as I altered the whole thing. Ripping parts of the code apart that I had already removed the last time she had sent me the program.

I gave her a bit of a glare through the transparent screen as I removed the garbage again.

She looked like she wanted to argue for a moment, but instead as I continued to alter the program she shifted to watching avidly. Unable to tear her eyes away.

Finally I was satisfied and compiled, handing the much neater code back to her.

"There. That's my side."

"Who are you?" She asked after a moment and I just gave her a look but that didn't satisfy her.

"Listen I know how to code-"

"Arguable."

"-But you… Yeah I know. You're something else. I've never seen anyone go through a program that fast!"

"It's my special talent." I offered jokingly, but then held out a hand. "My payment."

She looked from my hand to me, and then nodded. "Sure, Ghost in the Shell." She said my name formally. And then passing over some web address and a small file with some data from the server she had found.

I looked it over and shrugged.

"Alright. See you around." I offered as I slipped out of the booth and jumped out of the server. Back to my Lobby. I'd check it out later if I even cared that much.

 

[Seras]

"Motokooooo!" I blinked looking away from my lunch.

"Hey Hiromi." I greeted as she rushed inside the apartment and leapt onto the couch. "Shouldn't you be at school?"

"Noooo!" She whined and I just watched her until finally she stopped. "Yes, technically. But more importantly, Section 9 needs to sell some of the goods we picked up, and I set up some sales today. Guard my body?" She asked, suddenly throwing her head back as she lay on the couch. If this was an old movie, she'd have asked me to paint her like a french girl or something.

"Goof." I told her as I reached out and poked her nose causing her to shift a bit more backwards and end up flat on her back. "Let me finish my lunch?"

"If you must! Ichi is downstairs in the truck."

"Poor Ichi." I said and then grabbed my lunch and took a big bite.

I continued to eat as Hiromi lay on the couch looking up at me upside down and it took until she reached out and poked my side that I realized she was focusing on something.

"Hiromi? I'm not ticklish, you know." I said as her fingers were exploring my side. Showing no signs of stopping.

"Shush Motoko. If you are going to make me wait, then I'm going to enjoy the view." She said and I laughed at that, but she was pressing against my side with a look of something on her face.

"You could get muscles if you exercised too."

"Shush." She instantly hissed and then shook herself off as she sat. "I don't think I could get those kind of muscles even if I worked out a lot Motoko. Jeez. What did you do to yourself?"

"Yesterday was a big workout day." I said blandly, not giving anything away. "I'm pretty satisfied though."

"Yeah me too,"

"Hmm?"

"Nothing! You done yet?"

"Ugh." I grumbled as I grabbed the remains of my food and started stuffing it down. Can't even enjoy my own lunch in peace!

—--

"-Should cover the entire purchase." Hiromi offered, smiling at the Tino gangsters. They looked over the array of junk we had laid out. Although Hiromi had called it valuable merchandise, it was stuff like entertainment systems, and other electronics from the mansion.

I was keeping an eye out as the bodyguard, but was fighting my own boredom as Hiromi worked.

Just as I was thinking this entire thing was going to be boring. I noticed trouble.

A vehicle, the low riding Villefort Alvarado pulling into the parking lot, and then another pickup behind it.

I instantly sent a call to Ichi, as I casually started scanning and preparing to breach into targets.

I was still leaning against the van behind me, and I smirked as I felt the shift inside as the HMG's activated. The door was still up, but it would only take a moment.

"Hiromi. We have company." I called as the vehicles approached, and she went still glancing at me, and I nodded, as I walked over beside her, and made sure she was in reach. I might need to pull her out of danger if this went bad.

Out from the front vehicle jumped an obvious Tino. Gold and chrome on full display as he looked around, including at the stuff we had out for the gonks we were selling to to look over.

"Well ain't this interesting!" He called out, and I knew from his tone this was going to be trouble.

"Good afternoon!" Hiromi offered chirping happily. "We have plenty of things for sale! I hope you find something you like!" She chirped, as if chocolate wouldn't melt in her mouth.

But I was focused on the men getting out of the truck, a little too casually.

"Yeah? Chica, you think you have anything I want? Hell, you even know what I want?" He asked mocking, and I glared at his tone.

Yeah this wasn't good.

Hiromi realized it too, as her smile shifted from fake saleswoman to a more serious stare.

"Then excuse me, I obviously misunderstood. What do you want?"

"I want to know why a couple of chinks are on my turf with a shit ton of scop!" He growled and kicked one of the bottles of booze we had been hawking.

It shattered against the van after sailing past Hiromi and I. Suddenly the air stank of fruit and alcohol. And I realized this wasn't going well.

"We're leaving." I said, and stepped in front of Hiromi a bit pushing her back towards the van. But the leader of this Tino group wasn't going to let that stand.

"The fuck you are!" He pulled a Nova out of his jacket, and pointed the revolver at us, and it was only because I had already started breaching into him that I was able to upload a weapon glitch. The moment he drew, my hands grabbed Hiromi and pulled her away, the only reason he didn't get a bullet immediately back.

I continued to keep Hiromi behind me as I stared him down, realizing with pleasure he wasn't pulling the trigger yet. I went to work, uploading weapon glitches into the group as fast as I could, letting him have what he wanted.

Time to monologue.

"You fucking chink bitches! You think you can come on down to our turf, and flash your scop, like you some high tower, Clouds fucking dolls?" He snapped and it took me a moment to parse that I think he was calling Hiromi and I whores?

Man sometimes people just didn't make a lick of fucking sense.

"We work with Padre. Not sure what the problem is here." I offered, and Hiromi thankfully was remaining huddled behind me.

"Fucking Padre? The fuck you take me for? Some dumb cunt like you? I'm going to send a message to you chinks about coming out here!" He scoffed and it was only then that I heard it, that we all heard it.

The click of his Nova failing to fire.

So I reacted. I activated my Sandy, to give myself just a moment longer.

I moved doing everything I could in the short time I had with the Sandy active, continuing to hack as many of them as I could. I started to push Hiromi back and drew my Burya, but I aborted it and instead grabbed Hiromi and leapt, pushing my body between hers and the gunmen.

While their leader's gun failed, Where a few of the others weapons failed to fire. Some of the others didn't have any such trouble, I had only gotten through about eighty percent of the group.

I managed to just get around the Van, when I heard the rear van doors open, and the cries of shock from the Tino's. I rushed, pushing Hiromi with me towards the cab. We piled inside, Hiromi screaming out in shock and fear at everything and Ichi didn't even need to hear my order to start driving as we basically jumped half in before he hit the gas, and his Van peeled out, the HMG's firing behind us, and I had no idea how effective it was, because not long after I heard the noise, we were down the street.

I had pushed Hiromi into the passenger seat and I was holding on mostly by digging my hands into the furniture of the cab, but as we managed to get mostly away I felt it. A pain that ran up my back.

"Fuck fuck fuck!" Hiromi was screaming aloud, absolutely freaking out as she started to adjust herself so she wasn't just half pushed over the center console. I looked her over, my eyes scanning and felt relieved when I realized she hadn't been hit.

"Fuck is right." I said, and was surprised at how weak my voice sounded in my own ears, I reached back and when I brought my hand back it was covered in blood.

Owe. Getting shot stings.

"Motoko!?"
"Gonna need to hit Viks." I said, as strongly as I could as I just managed to adjust myself and reach into my pouch for a Maxdoc.

I don't know how many times I had been shot, but I definitely had been.

I popped the Maxdoc and instantly everything became clearer.

Grunting a bit I shifted, getting myself better wedged inside, so I wouldn't fall out and so I could look out the van to check behind us.

Looked clear.

"Oh my God. Motoko!"

"It's fine Hiromi." I said without even looking. "Just get me to Viks." I assured her, even though I knew it had been a bit more serious than that. I felt her hand leaping onto my bag and looked over to realize she had taken off her jacket and was holding it against my back.

Oh. She ruined her jacket. I didn't have any way to tell her I was fine, so instead I just flashed her a smile.

"Looks like they aren't chasing." I said towards Ichi, and I took in his pale face, and white knuckled grip on the steering wheel. "Ichi, you okay you didn't get hit did you?"

"I'm fine! My cab is armored." He said back sounding frantic and I relaxed a bit enough to close the door and lean back a bit into Hiromi.

"That sucked." I decided and Hiromi gave a sound between a sob and an agreement all at once.

—--

"She'll live." Vik assured Hiromi who had been hovering since I climbed down the steps despite her fussing over me the whole time. He looked to me, then to Hiromi. "Her subdermal caught it, and she didn't bleed that badly. She'll be fine. I've already given her some stuff to help heal it up."

Vik's words finally seemed to get through and Hiromi slumped, and I stepped out of the section he had covered off with a curtain already putting my jacket back on.

Dammit. The bullet had gone right through my jacket and leotard. I'd have to fix that. Again.

"See? I'm fine." I said with a chipper smile.

"Motoko!" Hiromi leapt at me, but came up short and sort of dithered, so I pulled her into a hug.

"I'm fine. Just a scratch." I told her, and looked past her shoulder to see Vik and mouth a thank you towards him.

He nodded, and that was that.

"Now, we have something a bit more important than my scrapes to talk about." I said and Hiromi pulled away looking like she was going to argue with me about downplaying my wounds, but she stopped when she saw my face.

"They die. I'm going to kill them. Every single one of them." I told her, and I noticed Vik looking back over in surprise at the tone of my voice.

"Yeah. They… They can't get away with this." She said and I nodded.

"That's right. We'll need to hit my netrunner cave. I need to know exactly who needs to die."

—--

"Shit choom, you alright?" Malcolm asked, and there was something in his voice. I nodded and threw him a thumbs up.

"It was minor, and Ichi drove me to Viks. I'm fine Malcolm."

"Good, that's good. Don't worry me like that." He said and I just nodded, because I could understand why Malcolm was twitchy about it.

We were all gathering at the Netrunner cave. Because of course I was going to have to do another dive.

I dropped the to-go order of Ramen on the table and dug in, as Malcolm greeted Ichi and Hiromi, checking in with everyone.

I needed to eat, and then I was going to dive. As the broth hit my tongue it let me think for a moment about what had just happened.

Was it just a normal theft? My instincts said yes, but either way it wasn't acceptable.

Those men and women that had jumped us were going to die, and it was going to be loud, and obvious.

Hiromi had nearly gotten shot, and I took it personally whenever I took a bullet.

"I got a response back from Padre." Hiromi said, as she settled into the table opposite me, she pushed around the food we had grabbed on our way over but didn't look interested in eating it.

"What did he say?"

"Nothing important, but he isn't going to get involved one way or another. The guys might have misstepped but he isn't going to do anything about it."

"Well if he doesn't want to get involved. I don't want to hear him complain aftwards about any damage we do." I replied with a shrug.

"I want to pilot the Minotaur." She said suddenly and I looked up at her in surprise.

"What?"

"I know you Motoko. You'll want to bring it along, but Ichi won't be driving it this time. I will." Hiromi said firmly. And there was a deadly edge to her voice.

That's right. I might have been the one shot, but Hiromi had almost been shot, and she didn't handle that well.

"Sure. You have to tell Ichi though." I teased, but she just nodded without rising to my teasing.

Fair enough. If Hiromi needed some safe revenge, then she would get it.

"Alright, catch Rebecca up when she gets here, I'm going to jump into the net."

"Got it. Be safe." Hiromi whispered and I just flashed her a confident smile as I walked over, settling in and putting on my netrunner cap to keep my brain cool.

Then I blinked and I was in my lobby.

The room greeted me like usual, and I noticed the Tachikoma were still doing the learning tasks I had put them towards, so with that I jumped into the net itself.

I remembered the area, the fact was there were plenty of shops in the area for me to get some camera perspectives from.

I wasn't going to let these gonks get away.

—--

"I'm back." I called out and stretched, folding over a bit to touch my toes with a grunt before rising up.

"Jeeze Strings, should I start calling you Stretch?" Rebecca asked, and I just laughed.

"What you can't touch your toes?" I asked innocently.

"Sure I can, but like hell I can bend myself in half like that." She grumbled and I just laughed a bit. My mood had improved now that I knew where the gonks had gone.

"Okay so we have their names, their homes, and where they are." I said and Ichi and Hiromi were still going over the data on the laptop both looked up and nodded. Hiromi looked furious as she read over the information I had gathered.

"A bunch of overconfident dolts? This is what nearly…" Hiromi trailed off, and I nodded.

I didn't have the heart to explain to her, that sometimes that's all it took. A single idiot with a gun can do a lot of damage.

"A bunch of dead men." I said instead, catching Hiromi's eyes as she nodded firmly. "Alright. We got the data, and we have the target. Let's lock in our plan here." I offered and everyone gathered around.

The boys had an old abandoned shop they had taken over. At least the records didn't indicate anyone should be in there.

"I can't believe they took everything." Hiromi grumbled, and I shrugged. Looking at the video of the Tino, after shooting at us, picking up and taking everything we had come to sell.

"It's fine. It'll be our loot twice over. Nothing better than double looted loot." I said jokingly and she sent me a smile that didn't last.

Yeah Hiromi was still bothered.

It pissed me off too.

I was strong, skilled enough I could fight entire groups of people, but as a bodyguard I was limited. I wasn't bullet proof.

I was no Adam Smasher. Not yet anyways. I couldn't block bullets…

Yet.

I looked over, at my equipment piled up on one of the tables.

I needed to level up Blades to 10, to unlock the perk that would teach me how to deflect bullets…

Yeah, I needed to get my skills up to ten, to get more perks. A lot of my strength came from the perks. So I needed more of them.

My Reflex Stat was still stuck at 9, and it was taking forever to level up. That would be my hyper focus from now on.

"Alright. Let's take these gonks out. I want to get our stuff back."

—--

It was time.

I nodded to Malcolm and Rebecca, both of them loaded and armored up.

We had pulled up in the alley behind the supposedly empty store front the Tino boys had taken over and were just waiting on the signal.

It didn't take long. The sound of a big truck braking was rather unmistakable. Then the sound of the doors opened.

*Go.* I ordered out and lept, crossing the barbed wire fence in a single leap. Malcolm and Rebecca both pushed through a cut through the fence we had made and we rushed in.

The Tino inside still had no idea what was happening, and it was too late for them.

I had breached their security. Each of them had their weapon glitched out, and I had already prepped a Short Circuit in case they actually tried anything.

Then we reached the back door, and I entered the old storefront with a bang as I kicked in the door.

I didn't bring my Copperhead like I normally would have. Instead one of my hands held my Katana, the fine blade cleaned and ready, the other my Lexington.

Then it was on. The back room was mostly empty, but the golden lights of Ping gave me easy paths straight towards the enemies.

I leapt, clearing the six foot tall shelves, and then spinning around to the other side.

The first gonk was rising from an old couch that had been hauled back here facing a TV and he screamed as my Katana flashed out.

Then he stopped screaming.

*500 XP Gained.*

Before I turned I already heard gunshots.

Smart Rounds shot over the shelves towards the front where one of the men had opened the door to find out what was going on, Malcolm took him out. The homing rounds thunked into his head and chest and he went down.

I charged, sword leading the way as I burst into the main room, to find all of the others. Our loot was laying on a table in the center being picked through, some of it I noticed already damaged, or in use, as the alcohol was obviously being used.

I charged not towards any of the normal gonks, but the one that I wanted more than any other.

The leader. The one that had dared to start all of this.

He yelped as he saw me charging with an open blade and brought up his Nova, which once again clicked as it failed to fire.

Then I tackled him to the floor.

"Aaaaahahahahaha!" Came out a moment later, as Rebecca had used the time to get herself set up.

Suddenly the wall between the back of the store and the front was swiss cheesed as HMG rounds blasted through it, and the gonks turned into blood chunky salsa as high explosive rounds ripped into them.

But my gonk was on the ground, avoiding the bullets Rebecca was sending through as I started pistol whipping him in the face over and over. While using my sword to keep his hands back by just putting it into the path of his fists as he tried to lash out.

The screaming got loud, and I heard at least one of them try to make a break for it, only for even more noise to echo out and the front of the store to shatter as Hiromi was there in the Minotaur. Twin HMG's turned one specific gonk into nothing but mist as Hiromi made sure to vent her frustration.

Then as I continued to beat the gonk until he stopped I looked up and realized it was over.

Standing up, I sheathed the Katana, and holstered the Lexington.

"Clear!" I called out, and heard the repeated phrase from the back section of the store.

I reached down to the still moaning gonk and grabbed him by his stupid overly product filled hair and started dragging. Ignoring his moans of pain and cries as I dragged him out of the store through the broken front and right in front of the Minotaur.

Hiromi looked down in the massive machine for a moment, and he blinked through his bruised face looking up into the face of a massive robot and he raised his hands probably to plead for his life.

Hiromi lifted a large heavy foot and stomped down.

I winced, because that was going to take forever to clean out.

"Alright! Let's get looting!" I called out, turning to Malcolm and Rebecca. Already plenty of Tino toughs were around looking at what was going on, but none seemed to want to approach.

Which made sense.

The Behemoth moved closer, practically right up to the now broken windows as it opened up to allow everyone to start looting, while I walked over to the cab.

"You good?" I whispered quietly to Hiromi who was still controlling the Minotaur.

"I'm good." She said firmly, none of the waver in her voice. "Thanks Motoko."

"Sure." I responded back as gently as I could. "Talk to me if you need to." I demanded and then climbed back out and adjusted myself. Wiping a bit of blood off the front of my helmet I looked over at the audience.

I took a breath and then pulled off my helmet. Jerking my head a bit to settle my hair I dropped the helmet on the ground and sauntered over to the watchers.

I could see the surprise run through them as I approached.

It didn't take long as I crossed the street before one of them stepped forward a bit more than the others. The leader.

"This was personal business. Has nothing to do with the rest of you." I called out a bit loudly. "We won't give you any trouble, if you don't start any"

"You just walked in and killed some chooms on our turf. You think that's just gonna be dropped?"

"It will. We took a job from Padre. Went above and beyond." I continued to speak loudly, and at the name drop faces shifted. "Everything went nova. We flatlined his target, like requested. And grabbed some spare loot. We were selling it to a client. Normal shit, no trouble, everyone was going to walk home happy. Until these gonks showed up. They pulled iron. Shot at me and my chooms. I still have a bullet hole in my ass because of them."

I got a few actual snorts of laughter from the boys at my joke, but then I went serious.

"They died. All of them. Badly." I said, and the leader took a step back as my casual voice shifted into something sinister. "So take it as the gonks getting a direct lesson on not fucking with someone out of their league. Now. My chooms and I are going to clean up our stuff, and get out of here. If we aren't bothered. It'll be quick. If we are bothered. We brought enough firepower that we won't be running."

I think Hiromi in the Minotaur still stomping around gave my point rather direct connotations.

A moment later the leader guy nodded.

"I'll talk to Padre." He offered instead of any agreement. Not showing weakness, but not stepping on my toes.

I nodded and just walked away.

Thank fuck that worked. I didn't look forward to starting my own gang war today.

 

[Seras]

"Oh… Uh, hey Alice." I greeted as I opened the door to see our neighbor.

"Hey, Motoko. So yeah. Umm, you had time to think about that offer?" She asked and I blinked and rubbed my head. I felt like I was still pulling blood out of my knuckles despite a shower.

"Yeah I thought about it. Yeah…" I said despite not having thought about it at all. I'd been focused on grinding skills this week, and then our scheduled Section 9 work.

"So, uh hey. We have a meeting tonight. Just to play some songs and get some things worked out for a gig. Figured I'd invite you."

"Did your band figure out the problems you guys were having?"

"Not exactly." She said and I looked her up and down and winced.

"I'm not exactly looking."

"I know. Listen. Come play with us, some of our songs, some of yours? We're looking for another, for the gig I mentioned, but it's not a forced thing. Just come play. See if you fit?"
I ran my hand through my hair. It had been a stressful day. I had gotten shot after all. I really could use a distraction.

"Alright, fine, let me grab my guitar."

"Nova!" She cheered out and I had a feeling she was banking on me for more than just a one night jam session.

I shrugged and grabbed my stuff, before meeting her at the door and following her down.

I ended up going with her, in her little van, which wasn't the most comfortable ride, but I didn't have room in the Quadra for her equipment and mine.

She made pretty shit small talk as she drove, mostly about Jun to my amusement. But I wasn't really interested in that, so I decided to get to the point.

"So what's the deal with your band?"

"You remember Carmen?"

"Nope." I answered back, and she snorted.

"He was the lead Guitarist of VH. That gig we did to help him out with his NiCola song? Well afterwards he bailed on us. I've been trying to get him to stick around at least long enough to get a replacement, because we had gigs coming up and we need someone."

"Ah, but he refused, and now you are desperate to find someone that can play."

She was quiet for a while but as we stopped at a red light behind a few trucks, their brake lights lighting up the vans cab she turned to me.

"That's right. I've dedicated everything to be a musician. To get VH going, to try and do something. So I'm willing to try anything… So please. Just, jam with us. See if you like it, and maybe do a gig or two? No contract shit, we're street Rockers, but we need someone until we get a replacement."

"I'm not really the band type."

"Maybe not, but there are eddies in it, and more." She offered and the light changed, so she focused on driving instead of answering my raised eyebrow, what was 'more' about being in a band?

—--

We didn't go to Denny's place. Which made me remember how expensive it was supposed to be… Had Hiromi tricked me into spending lots of eddies for something I didn't really need?

I decided I would try to remember to ask her about that later, but we were meeting up in a storage unit of all things.

It was one similar to the Tyger Claw place we had used when we did the yacht gig. But closer to our current apartments.

I had a feeling it was something Fujimura, Alice's Uncle, had set up for her.

But we parked and as I stepped out I noticed the unit was open, and I guess it was cold enough being winter, that it wasn't that big a deal.

"Yo yo! I got us a temp!" Alice called out and I rolled my eyes at her as she called out waving her hands up in the air.

"Finally!"

"Hell yeah!" I looked at the other two. I recognized both men from when I saw VH play, and when we went to Denny's for the first time, but I had never spoken to either of them.

"Alright everyone, this is Motoko, she plays Guitar and?" Alice looked at me, and I just blinked.

"Anything really." I confirmed and got a blank look but a nod from her at that.

"And can cover pretty much anything."

"Yeah? Well I got some things that I could enjoy if I was off the drums." One of the guys called out and then looked me over and I could see his lips quirk up.

"Well damn, Alice. Where'd you get this one? Some Animal convention?"

"Fuck off Klein, you ass. Be nice. Motoko does merc work." Alice offered, but she glanced at me, and then down as well.

Unfortunately I wasn't exactly blowing anyone away with my massive chest, so I knew it was my well defined abs stretching my Leotard. I hadn't gone to get them updated again after hitting Body 10 so the leotards were a bit tight.

"I work out." I offered blandly.

"Yeah no shit. You want to drum?"

"Sure I could use some stress relief." I offered, and that was that. Sticks handed over and I spun them with the same dexterity I used while cutting gonks into pieces.

Yeah I could do this.

Hmm. I hadn't done much drums, mostly sticking to electronics. What could I do…

Well I did like Dave Grohl.

I settled into the seat, and checked the equipment, as the band got together.

"You know our songs?" Klein asked, as he switched over to a guitar.

"Violent Hemmorage? I heard you guys live once."

"Alright, then we definitely played Spilled Blood. You good?"

"Should be." I said with faux casualness, and before they could even start playing the first strings I started in on the drum intro much to their surprise.
I had to play it twice before they caught up and started playing. And then I just lost myself in the tune. I remember the rhythm, had it memorized in my brain thanks to Perfect Musical Memory.

It wasn't exactly a thrilling song to play, but I kept it going even when the other band mates flubbed things, or Alice made me cringe from her singing.

It was alright. It was… Therapeutic to smash the drums. I was even getting into it, before the other guy suddenly stopped with a curse.

"Fucking hell Jared? Why'd you stop?"

"Cause you keep fucking it up!" He yelled at Alice who cursed him right back, and I relaxed and settled back a bit. Looking around I noticed a SCSM across the way, and I was thirsty. I headed over and no one noticed me, and then got back while they were still arguing.

Friction in the band huh.

That's fair, but I wasn't here to fucking listen to it. Hmm, I could play some Nirvana, but I had done most of those myself.

Then I remembered another band that I liked.

Heh, that could work.

The song started in my head, and I just took on the drummer. Dave was a legend, and I was just a copy cat, but hopefully I could make the sound right.

No One Knows, was a Queens of the Stone Age song. Definitely a fun band, and the song was a really interesting rock song.

So I waited and ignoring the gonks arguing about stupid shit, I just started. Feeling a smile come over my face, as I let myself enjoy the song in my head.

I hadn't heard it in over a year after all, but as I played it was like listening to it back.

Only when I finished did I pay any attention to the band, who to my surprise had picked up their instruments and played along.

Badly, but they had tried their own additions to the beat.

"Nice." Klein offered me as the song finished. "Okay, you're the better drummer. What was that beat?"

"Here I'll show you. I have no idea what the official name of it would be. It's a three beat with a delayed fourth. Here." I showed it slowed down to the drummer, and soon we swapped spots as he started tinkering with it…

Well if he was going to try and drum it.

"Mind if I sing?" I asked Alice and she blinked before hesitating and shaking her head.

"This an actual song?"

"Yeah, It's called No One Knows. I mean, unless you guys want to play something else?"
"Nah fuck that. I'm sick of our shit anyways. Let's hear it." Jared called as he grabbed his bass and I nodded. Alice picked up a Guitar and I grabbed mine, and I started.

"Yeah, follow this beat for the first half." I instructed Jared, and then walked to Alice. "Can you do this?" I offered, and she nodded with a bit of hesitation.

And then once I got them all synced up I started singing.

"We got some rules to follow, that and this, these and those!" I started and despite multiple stops soon we were actually jamming.

They weren't terrible musicians, they were just terrible song writers I decided.

Alice, I noticed wasn't very happy about me singing, so I shrugged and walked over to her, standing in front of her, as we did a restart, and this time I played the guitar and she hesitated, before starting the song herself.

Her version was more electronic, her cyberware picking up, but that was fine. It was about having fun anyways.

—--

"Fuck Alice, where'd you find this one? Hey Motoko right? Fucking join the band, no scop you rock girl."

"Thanks. I'm not sure, I'm really a band type though." I offered, waving my hands a bit.

"Aww fuck. Alice! You know her! Tell her she has to do some gigs with us! She's a monster!" Jared demanded, and Alice still looked a little irritated at my performance, but at the same time, she knew how skilled I was, and was swallowing it down, not letting it influence her.

"Motoko, we have a gig, Saturday and we need another member. Please."

I definitely still hesitated even with the begging. "Listen, I'm just not that interested."

"How about a trade then?" Klein offered, and I looked over as he walked to a section of the garage that had a bunch of junk stacked up. Old equipment that was dusty and abandoned, and I was about to make some sarcastic comment about it when Klein pulled out something that actually had me sit up.

"Noticed your guitar is store slop, it's alright for minor shit, but it's not gonna serve."

"And that's supposed to be better?" I asked, looking at the incredibly expensive piece of trash. The guitar was broken. Which was a real shame, because it was a DeLuze Orphean. The color wasn't to my liking, a sort of orange, but that was the same type of guitar that Johnny used. Old, retro, but solid, a real playing guitar.

"Hey, even jacked up, this thing is worth eddies… Carmen's. He wrecked it when he left the band."

"The fuck he do that for?" I asked as I walked over and took the damaged axe. Looks like he tried to smash it, but the neck was strong enough to take it. Chipped the fuck out of the body though, and the Bridge was bent in, did he hit it against something? I looked it over, the ports were fucked too, two of them were bent in, would need a full replacement.

"He just didn't need it anymore." Alice offered bitterly, there was more to the story, but that didn't matter to me.

Because the fact was, while it was damaged, I could replace it… Probably. "How much are these things normally worth?"

"A preem good condition one? 5 kay, easy." Alice offered and I blinked, looked at the guitar in my hands…

That's all?

I thought back to my Guitar that I bought and winced as I realized I hadn't really bought anything good. Just a cheap off the rack. Sure I made it work, I had the skill thanks to Rockerboy to tune it and set it up right, but I could do better with better equipment.

"Alright. I'll take this as payment then. You said the gig was this weekend?" I asked and Alice nodded while Klein looked pleased with himself.

"That's right kid. Now we'll need to get our set list going, hey you slackers, let's play some music we need to make sure our new guitarist knows what to do."

I rolled my eyes at the drummers words, but set the broken guitar to the side and picked up my own.

Time to make sure I know all the Violent Hemorrhage songs… Blegh.

—--

*That's amazing!* Hiromi cheered to me, as I informed her about the new update

*It's okay. I'm mostly getting paid in an old guitar that I really didn't need, but I figured it was… It was enough to make me do it.* It was hard to admit that I could have just turned around and bought a brand new guitar no problem for just 5 grand. But…

I was going to fix this guitar, it would be a good week project while I prepped for the gig, and… It was a good enough excuse.

Maybe I needed the excuse to get up on stage again. At least this time I was just playing some garbage songs, and not ones that I have any real emotional investment in.

*Hmm, that's no good, make sure they are paying you eddies as well! I'll talk to them if I have to, as your manager.*

*Thanks Hiromi, I know you got my back. Anyway, you have school right?*

*Yeah, I'm getting ready for it now.* She muttered darkly, and I looked out the window to see the bright california sun glaring down on us.

*Alright, how about we meet for lunch then?*

*Yes! I'll see you then?*

*I'll see you then.* I confirmed, and the call ended.

I guess I should go get this guitar fixed up then. I got dressed noting that Jun was still passed out, it was early for him though.

A quick stop on the way out to grab some food and I went looking for a shop.

The first place I stopped in was the shop I bought my original guitar from. It only took me pulling out the guitar before the old man took one look at it and shook his head.

"You can't just go to some scop seller like this place for a DeLuze you gonk." He said quietly but firmly glaring at me, over the top of the guitar. "Damaging a fucking DeLuze. Brats these days. That thing needs real replacement parts you won't find in this sort of place." He whispered, his face locked on me, but I could tell he was keeping his boss in his periphery.

"Any idea where I could go to get replacement parts?"

"Pfft. Course I do. Can't tell you though." He offered, and I smirked as I walked over and grabbed three shitty albums off the side of the wall.

"Course not, only paying customers am I right?"

"Heh." He finally cracked a smile and he rang me up, and only as I was leaving did I get a message from the grumpy old man.

*Martin: Time Machine. Near Senate and Market, Glen.*

Well I guess I knew where to go.

A quick jump into the Quadra and I was across town, checking out Heywood and finally I found it. A corner store with a big neon strip going around the building. "Time Machine Huh?" I wondered, there was something familiar about this place. Was it a game location?

I honestly didn't remember and so took a parking spot and stepped inside.

Oh wow. This was a high end shop. I glanced around and noticed that despite being a much more expensive sort of music shop, the guitars on the walls were… The same sort of scop I'd find in the other shop.

But he said I should come here?

I walked up to the counter and a moment later a woman with an unfortunate haircut noticed me and sauntered over.

"What can I get ya? Oh shit, who wrecked the DeLuze?"

"The former owner." I answered her question as she was looking at the guitar I had settled onto the counter. "I'm looking for some replacement parts to fix her up. The Bridge is wrecked, and the-"

"Yeah I see it. Smashed it hard by the looks of it, the frets look good, the neck isn't damaged." She started to mutter and I relaxed, she knew what she was talking about. Going through the guitar and cataloging everything.

"It's gonna be expensive to repair this. At least a month to do it, I'm backlogged."

"I can do the repairs, just need the parts." I answered and she looked at me like she wanted to argue.

"Yeah alright… Just don't break it, if you think you can't handle something just hand it over."

"I can do it. Thanks though." I answered back because I wasn't going to take her concern about the expensive guitar against her.

"Alright, let me grab what you need. You got the eddies?"

"I have the eddies." I waved her off, and she nodded. A few minutes later she came out of the backroom, which I noticed as she opened the door was full of much more expensive guitars than what was out here.

Now I understood. Sell the scop to normal rockers, and keep the expensive stuff safe.

I took the parts, checked them over, my Kiroshi scanning the parts confirmed they were good, and a few checks verified even that.

"Preem. Thanks Choom."

"Sure kid. Remember! Bring it in if you can't handle it! Those DeLuze are classics!"

"I waved her off and headed out of the shop.

—--

Pulling the bridge out of the guitar I winced at how much damage it had taken. Luckily, the internals were easy enough to fix, and I had the replacements. Slowly I started putting the expensive guitar back together. Piece by piece.

I laughed as almost instantly I got a Crafting Alert.

I hummed some old songs as I worked, using some tools making sure the internals still worked. With the bridge out, I started replacing the connectors that were broken, unscrewing the section, and then pulling out the two that were damaged, and putting the new ends on. Slowly it all came back together. A guitar no matter how expensive had nothing on the complicated internals of a Tachikoma.

And then I put the new bridge into place, and restrung the guitar.

Looking it over I nodded. It still looks a bit rough. The body was chipped, and the color was faded. Also it wasn't a color I really liked.

I ran my fingers over it, the sensitive pads letting me feel all the indents and damage…

Repainting it wouldn't be hard.

I sighed, and started dismantling the entire thing. I'd have to do a full restore on this thing.

 

[Seras]

"Yo!" I greeted the group of classy Arasaka students all wearing their fancy uniforms as I walked up.

"Motoko!" Hiromi cheered her previous flat look shifting into the smile I was so familiar with.

"Hey Hiromi. Hey David. How're you?" I asked, the boy had been standing beside Hiromi.

"Who is this trash?" Answered another boy instead, surprising me. I looked over and…

"Wow, that's a shitty haircut. You should fire your hairdresser." I said instantly, before I could think on it, and then I blinked, wait wasn't that David's Bully. Kat… Katsu? Katsu-

"See Katsuo, even someone off the street instantly knows your haircut is shit." Hiromi said, and I could see the boy's face twitch as rage ran over his features.

"Shut your mouth Mitsunashi! You dumb whore, the onl-" He was cut off as I stepped forward and suddenly he was lifted off his feet.

"Apologize." I demanded simply, my voice calm as I held the boy by his jacket's Lapels.

"Wha- Let go of me your street bitch! Do you have any idea who I am?" He argued and I could see his chooms, two stooges that previously had his back had stepped back.

Heh. Scaredy cats.

A moment later he lashed out.

Slow, weak.

I ducked his punch if you could call it that, and dropped him, grabbing his wrist and twisted. When I had his arm held behind his back I reached out and grabbed him by his shitty bowl cut mullet thing.

Then I forced him to stare right into Hiromi's face.

"Apologize to Hiromi for calling her a whore. That was rude." I said simply, and Hiromi looked tied between wanting to stop me, and wanting to egg me on.

In the end, I didn't get what I wanted, as two men dressed in Arasaka suits stepped forward from the building.

Dammit.

They approached calmly, showing no rush, but also complete intent. I caught them quickly thanks to my Kiroshi, but while Katsuo was hissing and cussing me out, he didn't notice until everyone else turned to the two men.

"Let him go." I was threatened, and I made no move to release the brat, who now noticed he had saviors.

"Kill this street rat! Get her filthy hands off me!" Katsuo yelled, and I noticed his friends had come back forward looking ready to 'help' by looming.

Menacingly. I'm sure.

But the two guards had all my attention.

"Wait!" Hiromi called out and leapt forward, getting between me and them. "This is my Bodyguard, she was defending me. So this matter is resolved. Motoko release Katsuo."

I did so and he stumbled forward for a moment before rising up.

"Ms. Mitsunashi. There is to be no problems on Arasaka Tower Property."

"I understand. I believe the issue is resolved."

The two men looked from Hiromi to me, and I could see it in their posture. Both had either cyberware or glasses hiding their eyes, but they were thinking of making something of it.

But then as they looked at me, and scanned me suddenly they shifted and nodded.

"Very well." And both turned to walk away. I blinked actually surprised. I expected there to be-

"Wait! I am Katsuo Tanaka! I demand you to do something! Or my father will hear of this!" He said not quite shrieking, but it was close.

"The matter is resolved." One of the guards said and I continued to be surprised.

Huh.

"Well since that's been resolved. Let's go Motoko!" Hiromi said with a fake smile on her face as she ignored Katsuo who was looking at the retreating backs of the guards with real anger.

I followed along, and stopped when David was still just standing there, under the three gonks glares.

"David. Let's go choom." I said and he twitched a bit at his name, but decided to walk after us.

"I didn't really intend for David to come." Hiromi whispered to me, and I just smiled at her.

"Can't just leave him there. I think Katsuo was going to start screaming."

"Nah, he's full of hot air, and his dad doesn't really care that much. Not that it stops him from name dropping him whenever he can." Hiromi spoke but I shrugged, turning to David who was walking behind us with hesitant steps.

"Hungry? Hiromi and I were going to get some lunch."

"Ah… I could eat?" That taller boy offered a bit awkwardly.
"Preem! Let's find something! My treat!"
"Then I can definitely eat." He said almost too quickly and I chuckled as I turned and started searching for food.
—--

"So those guards didn't shoot me."

"Of course they didn't!" Hiromi argued as we settled around a bench in the little park area to eat.

"Yeah it's weird." David offered and I smiled as at least one of the people that go to Arasaka Academy understands exactly how untrustworthy Arasaka is.

"It's not!"

"They scanned me and decided to leave me alone which is a bit weird." I offered as I took a bite of my lunch.

"Hmm. Maybe your Counter Intel… Contact?"

"V?" I asked suddenly and blinked… That was certainly possible, so I decided to find out.

*Motoko: Hey, just had a minor run in with some Arasaka Security outside the tower, they scanned me and decided to drop it. Was that you?*

I blinked away the text I just sent to V, and looked over at our newest guest.

"How's work been David? Making Eddies?"

"Some. Not so much recently, things have been slow… You uh. Doing anymore Ghost BD's?"

"Oh." I realized at that, It had been a while since I've bothered to record any BD's that I would actually want to hand off.

The fact was, most of the gigs I had done recently had been the TC and 6th Street ones, or when Kang Tao attacked us, and fact was, I didn't want to sell a BD of me hitting a corp. That just ran too much risk of the BD's being taken as an insult, or something.

"I'll have to prep some more. I hadn't really been thinking about them."

"Me either." Hiromi added with a shrug. "Business has been good, so I wasn't pushing you for more."

"Hmm. Maybe our next gig then." I decided and Hiromi nodded looking happy as ever at the idea we might make more eddies.

"Preem." David whispered a bit breathily, and then I looked to David.

He might go a bit overboard with the Sandy, but he had become an acceptable Solo. His experience had shown through in a lot of ways.

Should I try to bring him in? I'm sure Rebecca would thank me, well… Maybe. There was no telling if Rebecca would have the same thoughts about him she had in the anime.

People were funny like that.

But then I shook it off. I wasn't really looking to hire just another Solo to Section 9. I'd be more likely to try and hire Lucy if anything. Another netrunner would be nice.

Sorry David, if you want to be an Edgerunner, it won't be because of me, or a Sandy this time. But I did plan on making sure Gloria survived. I'd already decided to do that much in exchange for making sure that Sandy ended up in my hands.

I hummed a little thinking on it.

"Motoko?"

"Just thinking about what day it is." I answered Hiromi's question. It would happen in the next couple months at least. I'd have to set up a few things to make sure I didn't miss it. Luckily it was pretty unlikely anything I had done would change what's his face from being the test dummy for the Prototype Sandy that would drive him to Cyberpsychosis.

All I would have to do is set up some Daemons to alert me for specific Cyberpsycho attacks, and maybe a camera or two right here in City Center.

That would be enough. I'd just have to be there before Gloria makes a call to Maine to plan to sell it off. I hummed feeling a smile cross my lips as I imagined having such a nova piece of tech.

Aaah! I wanted to be perfect! And that might just be the first big step towards getting there

—--

"What are you doing?" Jun asked as he got home and I looked up from the living room table where I was watching paint dry.

"The most boring thing in the world. Welcome home Jun-nii."

"Hmm." He responded with a suspicious noise as he entered the apartment and started getting comfortable throwing his jacket over the back of the couch and heading for the fridge.

"What?"

"You don't usually call me Jun-nii anymore. Are you trying to butter me up for something?"

"Pfft." I responded, breaking into snickers at his words. "No, I'm good. I just felt like it was right. I talked to Alice."

"Oh yeah?" He asked, suddenly interested as he poked his head out of the fridge.

"Did a jam session with her and her band last night. They were nice enough, they invited me to play with them on their gig this weekend. They needed a temp."

"Did you say yes? You should say yes!" He said ignoring the fridge and hurrying over.

"Gonk. I already said I would, they paid me in a nice Guitar." I explained waving at the Orphean. "It was broken, so I've been fixing it all day." I explained and Jun was suddenly there, grabbing me up and lifting me off the couch.

"Motoko!"

"Hey! Idiot! Watch the guitar!" I growled as he spun me around, if he smashed me into the guitar after I just spent all this time fixing it I was going to be pissed!

"You're gonna be an awesome Rockerboy!"

"Shut up! Alice's band sucks, and so do you! I'm just doing it because I figured I might as well. Idiot!"

"I'm so happy! When is the gig? I want to come?"

"Ugh, yeah I know. I'm sure Alice would have invited you anyways." I grumbled and Jun finally let me down as I stood on the couch glaring at Jun for once actually being almost as tall as him.

"I'll come to see you play." He assured me with a big goofy, stupid, idiot, gonk smile.

"Do what you want. Now get out of the way, the paint is still drying." I told him and made sure he wasn't touching the guitar with his legs or something.

—--

Finally that night I put the guitar back together and hooked it up to the amp. The guitar was newly painted. I smirked at the colors. White and Blue. "It's a TachiGuitar!" I whispered to myself so Jun wouldn't hear and giggled at the thought.

But then I took a breath and slowly adjusted the volume, and the tone knobs. Altering the sound a bit, as I started strumming.

A few more adjustments, and I had the sound as I wanted for the song I was going to play, and then started up Never Fade Away.

I made it halfway through the song before stopping and making some more adjustments. The pickups on the treble side were a bit low, so I adjusted them and went back to it. The smooth sound of Samurai came out and I couldn't help but get drawn into the song, singing along softly as I played and gave the repaired guitar a bit of a chance to stretch its legs.

"Yep. Sounds good." I muttered looking at the guitar and I couldn't help but be a little irritated at how much better the sound was.

I'd have to redo a ton of songs now!

Grumbling, I rose up and stretched. Now I had some other work to do.

I headed into my room, and pulled up my CAD program and got to work on another project I had put on the back burner.

My Tachikoma had proven itself on a gig, and I needed to keep improving them, and getting them ready.

Wheels.

I had started the project to make the Tachikoma more mobile but had gotten side tracked with all the shit that kept happening.

So I settled in and started adjusting the design. The same problem hit me though. The Tachikoma was already too compact. I couldn't fit more things into the legs without removing functionality that was already there.

At least not yet.

I hadn't had any idea how to get around the problem but that had been a while ago. I had weeks to sleep on it, and I came up with an idea.

I started work on a new device. A battery pack, a small electric motor and a wheel.

And a place for the Tachikoma to lock its feet in, so that it could drive around, equipping the wheels, or losing them as needed.

Detachable wheel modules.

I hummed pleased with the idea as I went to work. I would need to do some slight modification on the grippers of the Tachikoma, but after that, I could just manufacture the wheels and the Tachi would have some temporary mobility.

I hummed some more as I went to work.

Ignoring the soft drip of alerts that came through as I worked.

—--

"Okay, so test one on the Tachikoma Wheel extensions." I whispered to myself as I placed the Tachikoma on the floor of the living room, and then settled in cross legged behind it.

With a nudge I prompted the Tachikoma to use the newly installed hardware, and software drivers and a moment later the quickly noise of tiny engines activated and the Tachikoma started rolling forward,

Then about .5 seconds after that the engines went to absolutely max RPM and the Tachikoma shot off losing control of the torque and suddenly back wheels shot out from under the poor thing and it flipped onto its back.

I stared at it.

It stared at everything, its tiny little optic looking around as the wheels continued buzzing at max speed.

I quickly ordered it to stop, before it burned out the motors, and pulled up the laptop.

Going to have to work on that.

—--

"No, no that's the-Fridge…"

—--

"Well got that dent buffed out, okay let's try-No slow down that's the… Shrine… Whew. Nothing was broken."

—--

"Okay. Trial nineteen. I've adjusted the Tachikoma's internal speedometer, which isn't something it even had before, but now that it can internalize how fast it's going, it should… Should! Work." I set the Tachikoma down and it wheeled forward looking around, then it started moving not nearly as fast as before, but soon enough it was driving around the apartment, and after a minute of it not smashing into anything I relaxed.

And then winced as it took a turn going full speed without bothering to brake or slow down.

Hmm… the Tachikoma… Needed driving lessons… Actually! That was doable!

I scooped up the Tachikoma and hurried over to the entertainment system. There was something… Here!

Malcolm and Ichi had played a racing game! I quickly paid the eddies for the subscription to the racing game, and set up an account.

Hmm, normally it was a VR game, and the Tachikoma wouldn't really interact with that right, but I was a netrunner!

Grabbing my laptop I started programming a VR emulation program for the Tachikoma. Which wasn't hard. I was already dropping them into my Net Lobby, so this was just a emulation of that. I did have to set up the laptop to run the emulation though as the Tachikoma's hardware wasn't strong enough on its own.

I still needed to get it some upgrades.

Shaking that off, I set it up so the Tachikoma was dropped into the VR, and did a few clicks.

The game had a race practice sim. So I set it up, and added some code so the Tachikoma would know how to restart the practice. With that I looked at the laptop where an emulation of the VR was displaying and watched as the Tachikoma just sat there in its little beat up Thorton Galena starter car.

The ghostly race instructor was already off, taking clean racing lines as it disappeared.

But the Tachikoma just sat there.

I reached over and hit the gas for a second, and the car jerked forward, and the Tachikoma finally reacted.

The virtual wheel turned all the way around and it hit the gas.

I watched as the Tachikoma spun in circles for a minute before realizing it wasn't quite understanding the instructions.

I reset the track and told it to follow the Ghost.

It sort of started out, and then fumbled into a wall… But it was learning now.

Rising up I stretched, enjoying the feeling of the muscles between my shoulders extending out. Time to get some lunch.

 

[Seras]

"You got it?" I asked Hiromi who nodded firmly. I took that as the truth and moved away from her.

Malcolm was already shooting away. He wasn't using his Shingen since smart rounds were expensive, but a Shigure he had pulled out of his truck.

He was firing away, which I nodded at his accuracy. He could use some work, but that was why we were here.

I hadn't really planned on a group meeting, but Hiromi had requested it, and then the boys had joined in, and so instead of a normal weeknight doing whatever, we were at the shooting range.

"Ichi?"

"I'm going to practice with this." He said pulling out a Kenshin of all things. I don't even remember him picking that up. But at least he wasn't shooting his Yukimura. Again, smart rounds were expensive.

"Sure, make sure you practice drawing it from your holster. You're going to be in the truck most of the time, so maybe even get a chair in here and draw it sitting." I added and he looked amused at my words, and didn't look like he was going to listen, but I shrugged.

I turned to my aisle, and pulled up my Copperhead. I took a breath, activated my Sandy and raised the copperhead, firing as many rounds as accurately as I could into the target, before turning off the Sandy.

The score popped up shooting up rapidly as rapidly as I had just unloaded into the targets.

"Cheater!"

"What?" I looked over at Malcolm who was pointing a finger at me from across the range.

"I'm not cheating!"

"Cheater!"

What? I turned to look at Ichi who also was now pointing at me, and Hiromi looked over, looked between all of us, and then sighed, stepping away from the range, and then pointed at me. "Cheater!"
"Fuck all of you!" I shouted out barely able to hide my laughter, as all my friends picked on me.

"Who's cheating!?" A new voice called out as Rebecca came in clutching a Carnage shotgun in her arms and looking ready to start swinging.

"Motoko!"

"Motoko."

"Motoko."

"I'm not!"

"Punishment!" Rebecca screamed as she charged and I yelped as the midget tackled me right then and there. The two of us went down in a tangle of limbs and curses and she started trying to pin me to the concrete.

My shock and surprise at this betrayal was complete. I grabbed Rebecca and my eyes narrowed at her as she wiggled against my firm grip on her shoulders and realized I had her completely pinned.

"Help!" She called out, but it was too late. I roared as I benched Rebecca right off me, getting my feet and holding her way up off the ground.

"Rebecca missile!" I called out my special attack and spun around before launching her at Malcolm who released a girlish scream and went down.

"Ch-cheater!" Hiromi called out, but it was disrupted by how much she was cackling.

"I can't believe you threw me!" Rebecca called out, jumping up from Malcolm while unfortunately stepping on his stomach knocking the wind out of him.

"You deserved it!"

"You! Well that's fair." She replied suddenly completely calm as she started cackling and walked over to pick up her discarded Carnage.

"Ow. Why me?"

"You started it." I answered back instantly and earned a middle finger in my direction in exchange.

"Okay! So what does the winner get?" Rebecca asked, pumping her Carnage, and then smirking evilly. "What does the loser get?"

"Oooh!" Hiromi said grinning just as evilly and I had an uncomfortable feeling about it.

"No, no bets." I decided nipping that in the bud. "We all need some range time, and while competition is good, we are trying to work on improving not just beating others." I called out, arms crossed and firmly giving everyone a look.

"Fiiiine. Boring." Rebecca said and I nodded pleased.

"Alright, I'm going to start getting some practice in, don't get distracted!" I called out, and everyone nodded. I turned towards the range and picked up my Copperhead. Right. Time to do some practice.

I reloaded, and flashed my Sandy once more, raising the barrel up and firing everything as fast as possible.

—--

*100 Handguns XP Gained.*

*Handguns skill level up!*

I blinked coming out of the zone. I had switched from my Copperhead after a while and started practicing with my Lexington, either doing bursts of Sandy, or not depending on how warm it was feeling.

But to hit a new level up!
I grinned happily as I stretched and let the knowledge flood through my neck, down my shoulders, and to the tips of my fingers.

Handguns 9 was already maxed out since my Reflex Stat was only 9 as well, so I slowly put the gun down mind already set on switching back to the Copperhead. I could use more time with Assault skill, and maybe even get my Reflex up!

Of course as I was now stopping I looked around and scowled as all my friends were gone.

Where had they gone? They were all supposed to be practicing! Hiromi had even wanted more range time!

I grabbed my stuff and headed out, only to instantly see them all outside the range sitting around a table. I pouted as I walked over and flopped beside them.

"Motoko! Finished up?" Hiromi asked and I pouted at her harder. "What?" She asked.

"We were supposed to be training!"

"We did?" Rebecca offered, looking confused. "We all shot a bunch, I burned like a hundred rounds through my Carnage. And called it good."

"You should really be firing even more… Well maybe not with the Carnage. But you should all be practicing more!"

"Sorry Motoko." Hiromi said, but she didn't sound sorry. "I'm just not as dedicated as you are. I can't just do something like that for too long before I get tired."

I opened my mouth to argue that it was really easy, you just kept going, but then again.

Before the Gamer System. Before all of this, I had been the same way. Keeping consistent in practicing something was… Pretty tough.

Huh. I guess I did have a rather skewed perspective on it, considering that I could easily practice something all day if I had to.

"Alright. You're right. But, if we aren't going to have a single long practice session we need to do some more short ones… Every couple of days maybe? We get together at a range?"

"Hmm." Rebecca was the first to speak. Hands on her chin as she looked me over. "It's pretty unusual, but practice is good… As long as I'm not footing the bill, I guess I don't see a problem."

"It's a Section 9 activity!" I argued and Hiromi nodded slowly.

"We can do that. Although ammo costs can shoot up there."

"We've been collecting plenty of ammo from our gigs, are we even close to running out?"

"No, but it's just something to keep in mind." Hiromi mumbled, and I couldn't help but giggle at her pout. That was our Corpo, always trying to save a dollar, even when we weren't spending anything.

"Alright shooting practice, sounds fun I guess." Rebecca offered and I nodded. Then I remembered.

"Hey Rebecca? Any word on those Gorilla arms you wanted?"

"Oh." She said, blinking in surprise. "Umm. Yeah I've got a contact that I'm talking with. I've been saving up some eddies for it."

I blinked, while we hadn't done a lot of big gigs together. We had just recently done a huge one. "Do you still need more eddies after the mansion gig?"

"Oh! Well, not exactly. But I had a bunch of stuff I had to take care of before that." She explained and didn't go any further into it, I could see she was getting cagey so I shrugged.

"Fair enough. Let me know when you get them! Oh! And you should visit Vik! He's the best ripper in the city!"

"I'll think about it." She said casually smirking at me, and I realized she was humoring me.

"He is!"

"Sure."

I glared at her, and decided to steal some of Malcolms fries!

"Hey!"

I settled into the casual atmosphere. Rebecca was cackling as she prodded Malcolm about his racing experience.

Or lack thereof.

But as we were getting close to finishing up I remembered I had to mention something.

"Oh, so I'm going to be doing a Rockerboy gig this weekend." I said, and suddenly the boy's attention was on me.

"Yeah? Where at?"

"Ooh, I want to come!" Malcolm added instantly to Ichi's question.

"I have back stage passes for us already." Hiromi added suddenly. "I was actually thinking of trying to get us added on as security, but the Venue wasn't interested, so we'll just be there to support Motoko."

"Security?" I asked, almost laughing but Hiromi shrugged.

"Rockerboys have security, Motoko. If you keep doing gigs, I'll be hiring Section 9 to do some of the security." I blinked at the statement and then chuckled as I looked at the group and realized that meant Rebecca would be trying to bounce drunks or something and the idea was incredibly funny.

"What?" Hiromi asked.

"Nothing!" I answered back instantly, waving my hands. Rebecca would not react well to the thought. "But that's… Okay, sure I'm actually okay with that. It's actually kind of a good idea even." I offered thinking on it further.

"Hmm! Of course it is! I can even hire out some of the SLS gang on as well if we need more security as your fame grows!" Hiromi said with a tone in her voice that made me a little nervous.

"I'm sure I won't become that famous Hiromi…" Yep. Definitely not worried about that considering I was able to remember some of the most famous songs ever written… Yep.

—--

The clack of shinai on shinai echoed through the room as Hayato came at me with all the aggression she had in her.

But my defense continued to be a wall too much for her to break through and that was irritating her.

"This is!" She cut off a curse and glared at me.

"Sorry. I told you, duel wielding is my speciality.

"I know! But it's still!" She argued again, glaring at the two blades in my hands.

There was something really cool about being ambidextrous, like this. I flourished the blades and put myself into a stance daring her to continue but she scoffed and wandered over to the chair next to her bodyguard and grabbed her water bottle.

"Tired?"

"Yes!" She snapped and I just laughed at her tone.

"You did really well though! I like that one move you tried."

"I learned that from Sensei." She reveled after a moment and then glared at me. "It didn't work!"

"Well it would have but my wrists aren't natural, so my range of motion is much higher."

"Indeed." A new voice popped up and we both looked to Sensei who walked over while we were talking. "That move will not work on someone with cyberware, as I informed you." He told Hayato who flushed a little at the reminder.

"I thought I could surprise her with it."

"I've seen that one before though." I answered with a shrug. Musashi had done something similar.

"I asked you to teach me something I could use." Hayato said a little too petulantly, and Sensei just raised an eyebrow at her.

"And I did. But anything taught, needs to be used correctly. And against the correct opponent." His rebuke made Hayato look away and I could see her neck get a little red as it ran up her pale skin.

Hehe.

"Kusanagi." Sensei suddenly spoke and I jumped as everyone's attention was on me.

"Yes?"

"A spar." He demanded, requested, and it took me a minute to realize he meant.

A spar with him.

I wanted to glance at my system. To see how close I was to another Blades skill, but you know what would be great way to improve?

I loosened up my shoulders without hesitation and that was all the agreement he needed.

We walked over to the center of the tatami and he pulled a shinai off the wall racks.

Then he brought his shinai up to a normal stance and he nodded, which I matched.

He stepped in, a simple but incredibly smooth cut that I pushed away with more effort than just a simple move would normally take.

He knew what he was doing. Refined skill. Not something I had faced much yet. I felt my smile widen as with that the battle was on, he struck with forceful super fast blows attempting to knock me back, but between my two Shinai I had enough to parry away his blows.

The smack of shinai filled the air as we went at each other, nothing fancy, just strikes and parries between the two of us, until I proved that I was at least on this point his match.

Then he shifted, and started poking holes right through my defenses.

Even with the Parry Perk, and being level 8 in Blades I found myself nearly instantly on the back foot as he went at me with a dogged determination of someone that had dedicated his life to the blade.

I could have felt shocked at the change. Gotten outraged that this man was showing me up, but I wasn't like Musashi, I only felt my grin grow wide as I doubled down on fighting back.

This was a spar so I didn't use my Sandy even if it was tempting, instead I fixed my footwork and pushed into the attacks, blocking them with sharp clacks of the shinai beating into each other as I pushed him back, trying to find a weakness in him.

I could get the truest sense of the man. Old wood, hardened over time. That was what I felt as our blades smashed into each other.

And then as I pushed away another attempt to force a shinai from my hand, I felt it.

A level up.

Blades 9.

Gained almost purely through being challenged so hard by a master of the blade.

And then I pushed back, doubling down. My attacks were wild, duel wielding was tiring, if not for my physical condition I'd have slowed down. If not for Parry ensuring I was always ready for that instinctual block, I'd have lost.

If not for the combination of so many skills and tricks I would have been whacked upside the head like a foolish child.

Then the clash was over and Sensei took a step back his feet never leaving the floor as he moved almost like a ghost himself.

"I see. You adapt quickly, and you learn even quicker. It is no wonder you've improved so rapidly."

"Thanks." I replied back because what else was there to say.

"Hmm. Again. This time I will strike you."

"Oh yeah?" I asked, taunting him a bit. "You certainly tried before."

"Yes. I tried. Now I will." And then he rushed in and I laughed as our weapons once more clashed. Then as if what he said was simple truth, as I went to block his blade, his blade shifted and struck and I yelped a bit as I was knocked right on the side of my head.

"Ow!" I recoiled and hissed a bit, he hadn't held back on that at all!

"Hmm." He offered and then bowed to me, and walked away.

Asshole! I didn't need a lesson like that today! I know I'm not perfect!

"Wow." Hayato said from behind me and I turned, wiping a bit of sweat from my brow as I did.

"What?"

"You forced him to use his Cyberware." She said and I blinked…

"Wait? He cheated!? He has a Sandy!?"

"Of course. A good one too. He used to-" She cut herself off as the bodyguard beside her coughed and she blinked before nodding. "Never mind that. Sensei is a skilled warrior, even if he now teaches. You forced him into going beyond just traditional sword play."

"Tsk. If I had known that I'd have used my own Sandy and he wouldn't have hit me. I was playing fair!"

"Ah the feeling of losing? I know that feeling well." Hayato grumbled and I laughed as she was still annoyed that I was winning so often.

"Forget that then. You want to grab some food? My treat?" My offer surprised her so much that Hayato actually had a moment where her jaw dropped before she recovered, and then huffed a little. As she looked away.

"I believe a meal would be acceptable." She added and I nodded happily.

"Let's clean up and get out of here then." I hurried over to drop my shinai off. Some food sounded great right now!

—--

The knocking at the door had me roll my eyes as I walked over and opened it.

Alice, nearly about to smack the door again, stopped and then looked me over.

"You're wearing that?"

"I'm wearing this." I said back without hesitation. "Relax, I'm ready." I offered throwing a hand behind me at the small stack of my music equipment.

"Okay. Good. Right. Let's get moving, we need time to set everything up!" She argued and I just nodded along as I walked over to grab some stuff, but Jun was there and he hefted my music equipment up without effort.

"Show off." I grumbled at him, but I flashed him a smile anyway in thanks. That was taken care of. I followed Alice as the three of us left the apartment.

It was gig night, and I had discovered Alice was the type to overly worry about things. I had just stopped answering her calls after a while.

But it was time. And I followed her down to her little minivan, which I rolled my eyes and walked to the Quadra. The trunk was mostly full, but there was still plenty of space for the extra stuff.

"Jeeze Motoko, stuff enough weapons into this thing?" Jun asked as I opened the trunk and I just gave him a look.

"Stuff enough burritos in your ass?" I grumbled and Jun sent me a look that had me turn away.

"Sorry."

"You're more worried about this than you let on. Relax." He said calmly and I just ignored his advice. I wasn't worried!
That was stupid, this was just a stupid gig that I was only doing because Alice had given me a guitar and that's it. Once this was over, it was over, and I'd never do this again.

Yep.

"I'll see you later."

"Try to enjoy the stage. I wish I could be there, but I have a job." Jun once more repeated and I just rolled my eyes as I slammed the trunk shut and headed to the driver seat of the Quadra. A short drive over to the bar and this whole thing would be over after a few songs.

 

[Seras]

The bar wasn't the same japanese themed bar I had watched the Violent Hemorrhage play at last time. It was actually more like a dive bar.

Jeez. Were they struggling to get gigs or something?

I shrugged it off as I found a place to park and just settled in. Alice drove slow so I had time, which is of course when I recognized a very familiar Caliburn in the lot.

Smirking, I got out and headed over, to see Malcolm trying to play up his coolness by leaning against his car as some of the club goers were standing around checking out the expensive car.

I decided not to interrupt as he was definitely flirting with a girl right now.

Good luck Malcolm. I mentally offered him as I turned around.

I knew Hiromi would be here, with everyone as well, but it was still embarrassing to have all my chooms show up.

Felt like some weird school recital where your parents appeared.

I shook off the odd thought and instead decided to start unpacking.

"Hey! Motoko." A voice I recognized called out as I grabbed my guitar out of the trunk.

"Hey Jared." I greeted the other band mate. The guy was decked out in Rockerboy gear, his hair flashing in a pulse with his heartbeat and sticking up in a mohawk.

"You got your stuff?"
"Got it." I offered as I hauled the Orphean out of the trunk along with my amp and gear.

"Preem. Come on, I'll show you our space." He offered and I nodded following after as he led me to the back of the bar and through an employee only door that was propped open.

Inside was a back room that was messy and covered in old Brosef bottles and a few Rockerboy types sitting around.

"Let's get the gear checked, we're on in thirty." He explained and led me over to where the other member of Violent Hemorrhage was sitting next to his gear. His drums mostly put together and just waiting to be transported out onto the stage.

"Hey kid."

"Klein." I greeted back and he flashed me a smile, that was that. Now just time to wait for the big show…

I plopped my amp down and then put my guitar in my lap. I had played with the Deluze through the week to get a feel for it, and I couldn't complain. She sounded preem compared to my off the shelf guitar I had bought back at the start of my musical grind.

Hilarious that I hadn't even thought about upgrading. Maybe that was why I was so willing to go along with this…

Yep. That was it, definitely no other reason.

—--

"Next up is Violent Hemorrhage!" The club owner called out, and the lights went on, showing us to the club.

It was a dive bar. Probably slightly up scale from the Red Dirt bar I had played in before, but this certainly wasn't a high end joint.

But that all went out of my mind when Alice sauntered up to the mic.

"Our first song! Bloody Cry!" She roared out and a few of the crowd cheered.

I shrugged and as the drums began, I looked down to the guitar in my hands and breathed in and out. Cold suffused my veins.

And I played. The song was scop. Repetitive noise, and shitty screams interspersed with Alice trying to sound sensual.

It honestly reminded me of what Evanescence would sound like if it was written by an idiot, and performed with someone that only knew how to sing through autotune.

But I wasn't thinking right that minute. I was just playing, letting the song rumble through the Orphean strings.

It wasn't any real effort to play, so I played, doing everything I could to keep my face away from the crowd as I just played.

It was practically effortless, the songs were simple, and with my chrome arms I could have played the songs forever without getting tired.

There just was nothing to it. But despite how nice it might be, it was also boring.

Repetitive music with no real soul.

And then after a half dozen songs it was over.

Alice cheered towards the crowd who clapped, Hiromi and my chooms most of all, but then it was just a casual walk off stage. Of course Rebecca was howling the loudest. Good old Rebecca, always quick to be the loudest supporter in the room.

But unlike when I played the Red Dirt, I just felt… Kinda bored.

Where was all the excitement? The Anxiety, the tension of playing music in front of people. I wasn't even embarrassed, just… Bland.

"You did great!" Alice cheered towards us as we fell off the back stage and into the back room dropping the start of our equipment down in a pile. "We can do this without Carmen!"

"Do what without me? Play shit dives for the rest of your life?" A voice interrupted and I looked over and narrowed my eyes…

Yep I had no idea who that was.

"Carmen." Alice hissed.

Well now I had a name… Had we met before? I ignored the back and forth just focusing on my head. I remember the name I think. Wasn't he at Denny's place the first time? The one that was being scoped out by some music guy or something…

I shrugged. Whatever, I focused back around me on the argument taking place.

"And you pull some bitch to take over guitar? C'mon! Don't think I didn't notice the girl playing my guitar as well!"

"You fucking left it after breaking it, don't blame us for giving it away."

"Whatever. I don't need that scop anyways! Simon hooks me up with everything I need, and Tessa is with me!" He yelled out, and Jared I noticed looked ready to throw some hands but just looked away in the end.

Ah. Drama. This is what I didn't want to deal with.

"Hey! I don't know you lot, but unless you want to get up on stage and play, get out of here!" A much older guy came around the corner calling out glaring at the stand off between former bandmates.

I shrugged. Set was over, my gig was done. That was… Way less fun than I had kinda secretly hoped it would be? Sure, I still felt the butterflies up on stage, but even if I would never admit it, partially even to myself, it had been fun to get up on stage and sing my heart out.

Violent Hemorrhage just didn't quite reach what I was looking for.

"Pfft as if I'd play some shitty dive bar like this! Get a fucking clue!" Carmen threw a finger at the bar owner who looked pissed at the response.

"Oh get that arrogance out of here Carmen, even if you held a set here, you'd be booed off the stage before you made it to your third song! You're a hack!" Alice cussed loudly, suddenly getting close to the bigger guy.

Shit. Was I gonna have to flatline this guy? I didn't really want to, but Jun liked Alice. Ugh. Nah, looks like she was alright, Jared, and Klein were both standing beside Alice looking pissed.

Cool they'd take care of it, and so I turned around to pick up my stuff and get out of here. Hiromi and everyone were probably wai-

"Please. I just listened to your shit set, you still can't sing. You still can't play the drums, and that new bitch can't play the guitar!"

"The fuck you say?" I asked, hissing as I turned back around.

Carmen, this Rocker Boy wannabe turned from Alice and gave me a once over up and down.

"Get lost kid. The adults are talking."

Huh. I pushed down on the urge to simply flatline this gonk and go home to a nice nap.

I considered instead how to best roast some stupid corpo wannabe rockerboy…

"Go back to your studio and sing a song for Mr. Studd Ads or whatever it is you do. The real musicians are here." The words came out of my throat raw and cold. Exactly how I wanted them.

From the way his jaw dropped, and even Alice turned to look at me in surprise…

Well it hurt my feelings when it happened, I can completely imagine how much of a burn it would be.

"You little bitch!"

"Yeah yeah, whatever loser. Go back to your corpo ads." I shooed him away with a silver hand waving for him to go.

"Whoa!" One of the boys he'd walked in with grabbed him as he made a motion at me, and I almost wished he had missed. I'd have loved to take this guy apart.

Calling me a kid… Just because I was.

Asshole.

"Fuck you bitch!"

"I guess I hit the mark then. When is your Mr. Studd jingle coming out?" I asked, and Alice snorted, unable to hold it in.

Carmen stopped fighting against his boy and instead shifted, doing something I didn't expect.

He opened up his jacket and showed off an ostentatious Malorian in his jacket.

It took about three seconds as he was trying to show off how cool he was to disable it. "Wow. I'm so scared. Like. Totally." I told him flatly, just begging for him to pull on me.

It'd make the bullet that would go through his head super satisfying.

But then something happened I hadn't exactly planned.

"Hey! Drop the threats or I'll take out the trash." A thick voice called out, and one of the security guards for the club stepped around. The guy was an animal, with arms wider than Carmen's torso and he looked ready to prove that fact.

"Fuck off rent a bitch. I'm not the bottom scop wannabes you deal with." He said flipping off the animal that only raised an eyebrow and waited, obviously the guy was used to drunk assholes. He looked at me but then turned to Alice and the others. "That's right. I almost forgot, but you're all nothings. Playing dirt holes and worthless trash heaps. You're nothing, and will never be anything but nothing."

"Fuck you!" Alice shouted rising up but her bandmates held her back. "You stepped on our backs to get where you are! You're the fucking wannabe!"

"Please I have a career and eddies, and no one is coming to listen to your Violent Regurgitation." Damn, if it wasn't the asshole saying that I'd be tempted to snort. That was kinda funny.

Carmen turned and brushed past the idiots that followed him around as he left. Well that was that.

"Fucker!" Alice hissed, turning to kick at an amp knocking it over.

"Hey, kick your own amp." Klein muttered, but it sounded like he didn't have his heart in it.

I just stood there, watching this crappy band splinter apart even more. On one hand, I didn't really care. On the other, for the reason the band splintered because of that asshole?

It kinda pissed me off. Ugh, this stupid shit.This is why I didn't want to deal with bands and people and stages!

I looked towards the stage, the empty stage and the sound of people outside. There wasn't another act tonight. That's how shitty this fucking dive bar was. It wasn't even that late. The owner would just put on a radio station or something for the rest of the night.

The sigh that left me was full bodied, what a disappointing night after the excitement of my first gig. Was this what it would really be like? Playing shitting songs without emotion or care?

"Alright well… It was a nice… Night." I said looking at Alice who wasn't quite crying, but was obviously emotional.

"Yeah." She offered a bit weakly, but to my surprise Jared gave me a legit nod.

"Thanks for coming out. Think about that offer, we'd be happy to play with you again."

"Yeah." I said in a similar tone to Alice because that probably wasn't going to happen, this hadn't exactly filled me with happy fun feelings.

I went to grab my kit, my guitar in one hand and my Amp in the other hefting both up without issue when I suddenly heard something that left me with a full body shudder of absolute horror.

The radio had turned onto the stage. I turned slowly wanting to stare in horror because… That was me.

"I feel stupid! And Contagious! Here we are now!" Smells Like Teen Spirit came out, then shifting into the final bits of the song and to my even worse horror. People seemed to like it, but it was ending and so most didn't show any attention.

"I gotta get out of here." I muttered, shuddering in horror, but then I heard it.

"Motokoooo! Encore! Whooo!" Hiromi screamed at the top of her lungs from inside the club as the song ended, and…

My eyes flashed.

I hacked into the system and turned it the fuck off. No more radio, and then because fuck it, I spun and tossed my Amp onto the stage. It squealed as it went rolling across the way and suddenly the club went quiet as it stopped at just the right spot.

My music box joined it a moment later sliding out to stop just as it tapped the side of the Amp.

The whole confusion was obvious and I could see the club owner coming out from behind the back wondering what the fuck was going on, but I moved stepping out onto the stage.

There were no bright lights, although it was bright enough. I could see the crowd clearly as I stepped out, Cool, the only thing keeping my face from heating up as I walked up to the microphone still there on stage.

As I passed my Music Box woke up, and even as the lights above me dimmed a little, as I hacked in, and took control, it started sending out the holograms on the stage.

"The fuck?" I heard the owner say as I walked up and stopped at the mic.

"If you all are going to be forced to listen to my songs, since I'm here, at least you'll listen to them live. This is Smells Like Teen Spirit." I spoke using my most sexy of sexy voice to mask my own anxiety.

The tinny chords echoed out over the room, as I started and I could see Hiromi lighting up like Christmas came early as Malcolm and Ichi both inside now perked up, while Rebecca looked up from a drink in absolute surprise.

I had a brief moment to wonder how Malcolms flirting had gone before I started singing.

It was easy. Almost absurdly so, to get back into the rhythm, the feelings these songs gave me, like sliding into well worn jeans, and I shared that emotion with every note.

Teen angst, something I was well aware of considering I've gotten to experience it twice now, and so the sound of Nirvana through my throat and guitar echoed out, and the club partied.

This was a rock club after all. What dive bar wouldn't get into a rendition of Smells Like Teen Spirit?

I hadn't planned on doing a solo act tonight, but dammit if I wasn't going to do it! It was less embarrassing to hearing my own song playing at a club I was currently at on the radio… Probably.

"A Deniaaaaal!" I finished, and even as the crowd cheered for the song the next on the set list was already queued up and going.

And so I sang. Rise went well, as I put myself into the song. That desire to rise, to grow to be more than what I was!

"Push through hell, and! RIISE!" I sang letting my voice fry letting that desperation in.

I took a moment pause after finishing, I was sweating, the room was hot, and I'd been playing now for a while. Hiromi as always was there and tossed up a bottle of water for me just like she had last time.

I took a moment to drink before pouring some over my hair and tossing it away, along with my jacket a moment later.

"This Ffffire!" I called out, and then started jamming out giving the intro riff my all really flourishing it as I reached the vocals and crooned out the lyrics.

The frantic energy of the song ending had the club go quiet before once again I got the excitement and cheering from the crowd, but I didn't start the next song, instead I brought the mic in, and said something I really needed to say.

"This next song is going out to all those wannabe asshole Rockerboys that give in, that become corporate stooges, those that end up serving, 'The Pretender!' I said, and started playing again.

I played with all my rage when it came to the aggressive sections. Really throwing my all into it, because fuck Carmen and all those like him! Fuck Dick ads, and asshole old washed up crusty fucking has been Rockerboys!

Fuck them all!

I had to stop and cool off for a second to put myself in a different mindset for Let you Down.

But I took a breath and breathed out arctic and then started playing Sasha's Song.

When I finished I stood there before the crowd. I was tired, and my throat was tired. Yeah that had probably been a little brash…

At least I got the feelings out.

"That's the set for tonight." I rumbled into the mic feeling much calmer.

"Encore!" Hiromi screamed wildly from her position and to my surprise there were more than a few shouts for the same. It spread until more people were calling for more.

Fuck.

I blinked, staring across the groups of people. This was a dive bar, there was no sea, and it wasn't even that packed…

"Motoko! Encoooore!" Rebecca shouted standing on top of a chair and waving her arms.

Jeez that girl.

"You guys want more?" I asked, and the crowd of people shouted back that they indeed wanted more.

"Well, I have a few other songs, but I'm not sure what's really ready to play…" I trailed off but Hiromi shouted.

"Something new!" I rolled my eyes at her shout and just considered it. Something new huh?

What hadn't I showed Hiromi? Would could I play without any real accompaniment, and what could I do with just a guitar. Acoustic cover?

Well, I did know of one Acoustic cover, and Dave Grohl was one of my favorites.

"Alright, This is something new, bit slower paced since I don't have a full set for it. It's called… Everlong."

A soft few chords shifted into a gentle repeated pattern.

"Hello, I've waited here for you… Everlong." I crooned softly, which was actually nice because I didn't have to strain my throat anymore and just sank into that familiar song.

It was… A love song, of sorts, and so I crooned to the room of rockers and partiers. A love song not just to a person, but to the loss of love.

Despite being a chill song, I played my heart out. Trying to let every ounce of emotion drip through my lungs onto my tongue.

"The only thing I'll ever ask of you, you got to promise not to stop when I say when."

And then it was over. I breathed out and took a moment as I took off my guitar wiping a hand through my sweaty hair. I lifted it into the air.

"My name is Motoko, and this isn't the last you heard of me!" I called out, not arrogantly, but angrily. Because fuck this music culture!

But the people reacted in a way I probably should have expected.

They cheered.

 

[Seras]

"She's okay." Hiromi assured everyone as I sat face down on the table in the back of the club. The cool towel over the back of my head helped, but…

AAAAAAAAAAAAH!

What had I just done!?

"Well, normally I don't let randoms steal my stage, but damn if that wasn't an act. Hell, pretty funny to be playing some amateurs songs only for her to be there." The owner of the club mentioned laughing a bit.

"Well if she's on the radio, and she sent your club pounding, she's not an amateur is she?" Hiromi argued a bit hotly.

"Heh, maybe, maybe not. Solo act didn't do her any favors, but she at least knows how to play and sing. Wish I could say the same for most of the live bands I pull in."

"Well maybe we can talk about another gig, say next friday night?"

"Hmm. I might be tempted."

"Hiromi." I said rising up and rubbing the damp towel over my head. "Leave it."

"Okay Motoko, but think about it." She needled just a little and I nodded…

Honestly other than the embarrassment, and the desire to curl up in a ball and scream… I felt better than I did after finishing with Violent Hemorrhage. At least, at least I could admit I felt some pride from the songs now. And not just a bitter boredom.

"I liked the new song." Malcolm offered, as I took in the fact both boys were sitting across from me. The first time I realized they were even here. Jeez. I'd really been freaking when I finished up.

"Yeah it's… Well I played a more acoustic version, but it's a rock song actually." I stood up. "I'm gonna head out. I'm tired." I decided, and Malcolm and Ichi sort of checked each other before shaking their heads .

"I think I'm going to stay for a bit."

"Me too." Both boys confirmed, and there was definitely a hint of excitement.

"Don't get robbed or worse." I ordered and then picked up my equipment, and headed for the back door.

"Hey wait up!" Hiromi called out and I hummed as she held the door open for me which did help out.

The parking lot was half full, people hanging out doing drugs that would get them kicked out, or just saying goodbyes, but I ignored that and popped the trunk on the Quadra to throw my equipment inside.

"Hey, Motoko." Alice called out, the boys with her just outside of her little van as they both walked over as they saw me.

"Jesus what is all that?" Jared asked as he looked into the trunk and saw my ordinance.

"Work equipment." I answered jokingly, as I threw everything inside and closed up. "What's up Alice?"

"Fuck, just… Let us work with you." She asked, begged, and kinda demanded. All of it was there. A need.

"What?"

"You need a band, you've got the songs, you got the talent, but solo acts aren't gonna get you what you need. We got a drummer, a Bass, and I play guitar… You can sing. Better than me, I'm fucking done playing… I want to be more than just some scop no life band. We're all dedicated, we all play." I realized that these three were serious.

"Listen that-" I started off uncomfortable at the idea of what Alice was saying.

"We can talk about it, but now isn't the best time." Hiromi called out saving me like usual. "Here's my number. I'm Hiromi Mitsunashi, Motoko's Manager. I'm sure we can have a few practice sessions, see if you're a good fit for Motoko's songs and style before we lock anything in."

I turned to look at my corpo, and couldn't help but relax a bit.

Of course Hiromi would see the situation and just hammer through it in her most corpo style.

"Ah." Alice muttered as she reached out and took the card.

"Preem. I'm getting out of here." I decided and started to do just that. Heading straight for the driver seat. I wanted to get far away from this club.

"I'm coming too!" Hiromi called out and I just shrugged as she climbed in.

"I'm not really heading home, want me to drop you off?"
"No way!" She cheered, smiling and I just shrugged. "Wherever you're going is fine with me!"

Alright, I guess… Yeah that works.

—--

"When you said you were tired, I wasn't expecting this." Hiromi muttered.

"I am tired, but I feel… Too wired to really relax, so I'm doing this." Then I struck and she deflected the blow and retaliated.

I'd ended up at the dojo, figuring that swinging a stick around for a while would help me calm down.

Hiromi had followed me inside, and now I was facing her with shinai in both our hands.

It had been a long time since I've seen her really use a sword.

I struck out a few testing pokes, and she retaliated, and then responded in kind, the clack of the shinai filling the empty dojo as only a few people were still around exercising at this time of night.

Hiromi responded competently, but I recognized quickly that despite her practice with a blade, she wasn't a Musashi. She was competent enough though, and so I decided to enjoy the motion of my body. I felt my shoulders relaxing from the tension I'd had on them, and my face broke into a smile.

"Don't smile like that while whooping my ass Motoko, it's making things difficult!" Hiromi eventually gasped out, and I chuckled as we stopped clashing.

"You're doing fine. When's the last time you really practiced?"

"It's been a while. Too long obviously, if you can beat me now. Ugh."

"That was fun, thanks Hiromi."

"Yeah yeah, you seem better… Want to talk about it?"

"I-" I started only to stop so I ran my fingers through my hair scratching at my scalp. "I don't know. It was unexpected. Jumping up onto that stage, no time to plan and just playing…

It felt good. Better than playing for VH. Better than playing some boring song that had no soul. Eh. I was being a bit toxic, the VH songs were still songs, still written by a bunch of young musicians wanting to play through soul out.

It just kinda wasn't good.

Ugh, I felt like some stuck up asshole. Maybe I just wasn't into whatever genre VH played.

"You were amazing up on stage you know?" Hiromi offered and I just… It was nice to hear. I liked being good at things, but it felt so weird to do musician stuff.

"Thanks." I decided to say but then held out my Shinai. "But you need some practice."

Hiromi looked from me to the Shinai and her shoulders slumped.

"Go easy on me."

"Never!" I cheered and we began again. The movement and action, carefully tracking Hiromi's attempts to bat my shinai away from poking her continuously, was quite fun.

It… Was a nice stress relief. I could be good at this without the feeling of anxiety. I could just let my body move, my brain didn't need to worry.

I saw it, Hiromi was tricky. She lashed out with her blade below my vision, well it would be if not for my Kiroshi, and I tapped it twice, once on the top to knock it away and then another lower done causing her to stumble.

Then tapped my blade on top of her head.

"Boop."

I laughed at her stupified look as she glared at me for a moment.

And then I stilled.

*100 Reflex XP Gained*

*Reflex Leveled up!*

I felt my muscles tense and relax, a shift in how I held myself, and Hiromi seeing me stalled out for a second lashing out.

I bent backward almost casually, and then stepped past her, my shinai not even raised as I spun with her as she tried to swing down on me, Another duck to the side and the blade went past without even ruffling my hair.

And then again.

"Okay, now you're just being mean." Hiromi huffed out as she stopped swinging. I reached out before she could react and lifted her up and spun around.

"Hahaha!" I cheered happily ignoring Hiromi's squeak of surprise before setting her back on the ground. "Hiromi, you're the best." I told her.

Reflex 10 was… Huge. I'd finally done it! I could grind out Handguns, or Blades! And all the other skills!

Maybe I'd finally take the time to grind out Driving as well, that skill had been on the back burner for a while…

Hmm Blades first.

"Again?" I asked eagerly as I took a few steps back and held my shinai out, but Hiromi just huffed and hugged herself. Her face was a bit red, did I surprise her that much? Was she angry because I had beaten her?

"I'm good for now Motoko. You seem to have cheered up." She said, and I blinked…

I guess I had.

—--

We left the Dojo not long after and I drove Hiromi around to grab some food and we just ate it while parked laughing at drunk people stumbling out of clubs and puking all over the sidewalk ruining any hope of them being cool.

"Look at that one!" I cheered as a lady completely bent over in half, her massive stilt heels keeping her upright and she puked basically backwards through her own legs.

"Gross!" Hiromi cackled as she stuffed some fries in her mouth.

I grabbed some and joined her, both of us laughing at the disaster people.

"Thanks Hiromi." I said after a while as we ate.

"What?"

"For saving me when Alice asked to join 'my' band. I don't even have a band!"
"I thought you wanted to be called Stand Alone Complex?"

"That's!" I looked away. I had said that. "It's different when it's just like a solo band name, and an actual band name."

"Honestly Motoko I don't really get your discomfort. I mean it's funny, and cute, but you have nothing to be embarrassed about. You rock."

I didn't know how to explain it. I had no talent with music before. In my last life, I was tone deaf. I mean sure I wanted to play the guitar or something as much as the next teenager, but I was no good.

"I just… You remember when you first heard me sing and I was super bad?"

"Yeah! That was hilarious!"

"... Mean." I mumbled and Hiromi just laughed for a moment as she leaned over and poked at my cheek.

"It's funny because you got good so quick. Don't pout."

"Yeah, but whenever I sing, whenever I go up on stage I feel like that person that couldn't sing. I know up here, I can do it." I said poking at my head for a moment, and then I looked over and caught her eyes. "But I feel like I'm about to sing my heart out and show my emotions and just end up laughed at."

"That'll never happen. You're so good now, no one will laugh at you."
"Yeah I know… But my heart doesn't. When I played with Violent Hemorrhage it was like… I didn't care, it wasn't my music, I had no attachment, so I didn't care that it kinda sucked, and I didn't feel much. But then I played my songs and I felt so much more. It was better, I liked it, but it also makes me feel anxious."

"But you liked it?"

"Yeah. A lot more than playing for VH."

"Well I'll never stop trying to get you to play more. You're too amazing. I want to see your name right there." Hiromi said, pointing out the window. There in the distance at the top of a building was one of the giant ads.

Right now it was playing an ad for Lizzy Wizzy.

"Right there?"

"Right there. I'll make sure of it. When it happens I'll bring you right here and we can watch it together." Hiromi said confidently, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"I'll cry."

"I'm willing to accept that." Hiromi said almost stuffily, so I poked her just below her ribs making her squeal. "Nooo!"

"I guess I'll just have to keep playing music so your little idea comes true."

"That's right! I promise! So you can't make me a liar Motoko!" Hiromi offered back and I couldn't help but laugh at her.

"You're such a corpo! Making me live up to a promise you made."

"I'm your manager, that's my job. Gotta whip the talent into action." She teased me and I just laughed along with her.

It was… Nice. To think about the future like that.

"Well you'll have to schedule stuff around my mercenary contracts."

"Pfft. They won't be able to afford you, once you get going."

"I like doing it though." I countered, and she scoffed.

"Fine, I'll just set up a group to watch your back. We can call them Section 9, or something, a couple idiots, one with a car, the other with a car that he doesn't know how to dri-"

We both stopped and started cackling wildly, as Malcolm still had a tendency to lose control of his Caliburn.

"Really need to get Malcolm some lessons."

"Yeah really." Hiromi agreed. "Oh look! He's losing it!"

We both turned to watch another drunk or drugged guy stumble out of the club and after a few moments blew chunks over his expensive boots.

Hiromi and I laughed at his misfortune.

—---

With Reflex complete, I had a new grind to get through. I had a goal, one I'd wanted to do since I first picked up a Katana.

I was gonna deflect bullets. I was gonna do it!

The dojo had been fun the night before, but it was empty even Sensei wasn't around, but today was a bright day and I was going to get this shit done.

I drove the Kusanagi out of the apartment's garage enjoying the feel of her under my legs as I cut into an empty spot in traffic, my signals alerting everyone which way I was going, and I accelerated to the speed limit.

Yeah, a nice morning drive was perfect.

It felt like it had been a while since I just drove my Kusanagi around. I was always in my Quadra for the extra space for everything.

The californian wind in my hair felt great even if it was more chilly than normal since winter was definitely here.

Stopping at a red light, I sat up and stretched a bit as I waited, looking around as I took in all the people living here in NC. The sidewalks were packed, and I had to wait a long while even after the light had changed for people to finish crossing.

Lot of people wandering around today. I guess it just meant it was a good day.

No gang wars or the like heating up. The 6th Street, TC thing had calmed down and so NC was… Well as peaceful as it ever got right now.

The way cleared I hit the gas accelerating faster than I would since I was at the front of the pack. Shooting off until I hit the speed limit and I matched it, still more than enough to fly down the tight NC streets.

The dojo came up sooner than I would have liked. If not for my eagerness to jump into a grind I'd have just driven past and continued on, but it was time to work not play.

I parked next to the other batch of Kusanagi, all of them with the stupid upgrades, or alterations. Why they'd destroy a beautiful Kusanagi with all that junk I will never know.

I headed inside, and quickly found what I came here for.

"Sensei." I greeted the stoic man as I headed straight at him.

"Kusanagi."

"I need a sparring partner, someone to push me to my absolute limits for as long as I can take it. Please." I asked, actually giving him a bow as I did so.

He was quiet as he seemed to consider what I'd just said. "Very well. Gather your blades." He ordered before turning to the room, and releasing a single shout. Not a word but just a noise that stilled everyone even me for a moment at it's force. "A challenge has been issued. The one who cut down Musashi will be faced. Come forward." He called out his voice loud enough to echo around the entire room.

Well. I had wanted a challenge

I took the shinai and gave them a single flourish to feel their weight before approaching the mats.

Already not just students but some of the Tyger Claw full gangers that hung around walked over to join.

Time to get to work.

—--

"Do you need a rest?" Sensei asked as another of the students stumbled away. I'd learned quickly that this was full contact sparring not kendo.

The Shinai were struck full force and I'd matched it, quite a few bruised limbs or faces had stumbled off the mat away from me over the…

I focused on my system. Been about an hour and a half? Not bad.

But to answer Sensei's question I shook my head, I was sweating from the exertion, and my chest was working faster, but I was controlling my breathing, and my body was more than ready for more.

"No. Next." I demanded and he nodded looking pleased as the crowd that had only grown larger as I continued to beat every challenger.

There had been some trouble. Some had their feelings hurt, but sensei had been quick to fix that, and some of the TC guys had shut up the rest.

I was known well enough now that what I was doing was seen more as something cool, than as insulting.

The crowd was quiet for a moment as everyone seemed to try and figure out who to bring out next, but then Sensei himself stepped forward and faced me.

We began without a word, his single shinai against my dual wielding. He stepped forward and struck and our match began. I'd fought him before, but I was much more competent now. My body easily deflected his quiet powerful blows, and my skills were high enough that he wasn't just teaching me but actually facing me fully.

The clack of our Shinai was quite loud, a repeated noise as I swung and stabbed and deflected. Forced back, before shifting my style a bit to focus on more fast paced swings.

Back and forth, and neither of us actually got a hit on the other. Sensei was truly a skilled Swordsman. It made me wonder what he was doing at this small dojo instead of as some Arasaka ninja or something, but then again.

Who says he wasn't?

I wasn't the only person that moonlighted as something else.

But I was also tired, hours of fighting was enough to drain anyone, and I miss timed a defense and got a bonk on the head that sent me stumbling back a bit.

"I believe that is my win." Sensei offers out, noticeably more out of breath than normal.

"Heh!" I offered him with a smile because he'd gotten me another XP alert. "Seems so… Again?" I offered and I noticed he actually seemed surprised.

"Still more?"

"Yeah? I'm close. I can feel it." I told him, lying, but it was accurate enough.

"I see. Then you will face the challenge again." He called out and everyone looked surprised but eventually one of the first boys I'd fought stepped forward and bowed to Sensei and then me.

Oh we were going through the whole thing again?

Okay.

I grinned and raised my blades.

The other guy swallowed and raised his.

—---

A towel dropped over my face wasn't exactly the most comfortable thing.

"Thanks."

"You hit your limit. There is no shame in it, but do not overdo it again. You gain nothing from this."

"Oh, I gained a lot." I spoke through the wet towel. I felt rough. Muscles in my chest and back that were attached to my arms were really sore. I reached up and dragged the towel off. The cool towel was actual heaven as I ran it over my forehead and across my cheeks. Couldn't run it over the back of my neck for relief as that was all chrome now.

I hadn't reached the level up I'd sought, but swinging my sword until I dropped put me a good way towards it.

"But not what you came for." He stated, and I looked up. I sat up with a groan, my abs were killing me.

"No. I'm close though."

"Then you will come back when you have recovered." He demanded and I couldn't help but smile at his words.

"Yeah I'll do that." I agreed as I slowly rose back to my feet. Ow. I still felt like I had a big bump on the top of my head. Sensei really had to strike the same place twice in a row?

"Recover before you attempt to drive. I will not condone you dying in such a way." He told me, surprising me as he turned and walked away.

Huh.

I think… He kinda liked me?

"Finally up Motoko?" One of the boys I'd fought twice called out as I stared at Sensei's back.

"Uh, yeah, not feeling so overheated anymore."

"C'mon then, we're grabbing some lunch from the stalls. It's on us, as thanks for the lessons." The much older guy smiled at me happily and I had a serious sense of disconnect because usually the TC guys were glaring at me at this point.

"Sure?"

 

[Seras]

I slurped the soba noodles as the Tyger Claw guys around me all joked and chattered about whatever their discussion drifted to.

The Soba was good, I'd had noodles here before, but it had been since Jun and I stayed at the Dojo, so it was a good memory.

The weirdness of all these gangsters joking around me without issue was a bit strange.

"Did you see his face, when she just locked his blade and slapped him in the face with it?"

"Oh, shit I was howling inside. Couldn't actually laugh in front of sensei, but if I didn't have some chrome, I think I would have broken a rib."

The boys all laughed and joked as if they were normal people and not well, murderers and gangsters.

What a weird situation.

I slurped my noodles, and looked over. Men that would happily do terrible things to others were joking and acting normal…

It reminded me of a song.

"You'll never know the murderer sitting next to you." I half whispered and half sang before stuffing my face with noodles.

"What's that?"

"Hmm?" I asked, looking up before quickly swallowing the mouthful. "Nothing, just a song stuck in my head."

"Oh that's right. I heard the Oni mention it, you're a Rockerboy too right?" I blinked at the tattooed man that was probably ten years my senior who seemed to talk to me like he would his own kid sister.

Fucking weird.

"Yeah something like that. Alright. I'm done. Thanks for the meal boys."

"Anytime Yurei!" One of them called out and I winced at the name before waving and heading out.

The situation with the Tyger Claws was… Different now.

Was it Fujimura, the fact I was working with Hayato, or just my general actions?

Either way I was too tired to train anymore without a nap so I slid onto the Kusanagi, and enjoyed the way my girl rumbled to life.

Another thing to consider, but not worry about at the moment.

The streets were busy as I slipped into the traffic, and I ended up caught in light after light. The slow stop and go traffic gave me plenty of time to consider what I should do from here.

Probably needed to set up the next Section 9 training day. Maybe some sniper training? I bet I could get an Ashura and train everyone in using it, giving Section 9 some low level sniper support if needed?

I was just about to start moving again when gunshots rang out, and like many of the people in cars around me we ducked down. I took cover on the other side of the Kusanagi, as I was already drawing my Burya ready to fire, but the bullets were coming my way.

A gangoon came stumbling down from a building, his feet practically slipping and failing to catch the steps as he held a Unity up towards the door before just rocketing away with the gun pointed in the general direction of the doorway as ran.

I considered taking a shot.

He was right there. Probably some gangster causing issues. It was free XP.

The Burya was out and pointed and his stumbling run wasn't enough for me to miss but…

I holstered my gun as two goons stumbled out of the entrance. Some minor gang I had no idea of, shouting and cursing at the running man.

Yeah, not any of my business. I slipped back onto the Kusanagi and hit the gas.

Just another day in Night City.

—--

I was tinkering with some songs at home, I'd had plans for something big, but it turns out that even with my memory getting the whole thing put together was a big mess.

So I was mostly putting off that and playing with the song that had popped into my head at the noodle stand.

"All my friends are heathens, take it slow." I crooned as I strummed the chords. Heathens was a great song, and it really fit the dangerous gangoon lifestyle. I had no doubt it would be popular if I ever played it.

I hesitated mid chord.

Would I play it? I shook off the thought. That was a problem for future Motoko.

Instead I kept playing the song, recording it into my music box as I suddenly got a call.

I checked the number and frowned.

That wasn't someone I expected to see again.

*This is Motoko.*

*Kid. It's Bishop from the Afterlife. Got a situation. You open for work?* Bishop. The Afterlife merc and his Edgerunner team I'd worked with a while back. Bishop the solo that reminded me a lot of someone trying to be Morgan Blackhand too hard. Mira the Sniper Exotic… Stupid exotics. Sam? It was Sam something, their corpo front, and Hakase the Street Samurai.

*I'm kinda just hanging out, what's the sitch?*

*Sam got klepped trying to have a meeting with a corpo contact. The meeting didn't go well. We need to bust him out. We're on a time limit, before Ion Frontier decides he isn't worth trying to get info out of. I remember you're good at sneaking around.*

*Pay?* I asked, instead of what I really wanted to say which was hell yes.

Rescuing a gonk from some corpo sounded like fun.

I was already setting my gear aside, and reaching for a maxdoc. My muscles were still sore from earlier, but a maxdoc, would make up for not taking a nap.

*I'll pay at the Afterlife rate, with hazard pay.* I hummed, because frankly I had no idea what that was like, but I was already in my room grabbing some stuff. Copperhead? It was bulkier, but corpo security tended towards body armor. All the better to take out any street kids causing trouble.

No.

I looked at the two Katana I had resting against the corner of the room. My older Thermal Katana, and the much higher quality, but also more brittle Musashi blade.

Infiltration Ninja?

*So you in?*

*I'm in.* I agreed, grabbing my Thermal Blade, I liked the brutality of it more. Sliding it into my belt.

I turned and headed out to the living room, and slipped on my boots.

*Where are we meeting?*

*I'll send you the deets. Talk to you when you get here kid.*

*Yeah yeah.* I grumbled as the call cut off, and I hurried out of the apartment.

Time to have some fun!

—--

Normally I would have taken the Quadra but traffic was still pretty rough right now, and with a time limit I couldn't just amble along.

My Kusanagi roared as I lane split, and then cut into a turn lane as they had a green and then cut over to keep going straight.

The maneuver had me laughing a little.

*100 Driving XP Gained.*

An alert meant it was well done I guess? Either way my unsafe driving cut off at least a few minutes from the drive as I pulled off the street and into an alley that my GPS was guiding me towards.

The small pack of vehicles and familiar faces father inside meant I didn't hesitate in driving right up.

"I'm here."

"Good timing." Bishop offered and Mira, despite how she had acted last time just gave me a single nod before turning her eyes back up to the sky. The joking shark girl was gone, instead a much more worried woman took her place.

We were in an alley that connected a lot of office buildings, and the one she was focused on was probably where the target was.

"Got any data on this Frontier Ion?"

"Ion Frontier. They're a small corp. They produce some of the EMP equipment for Militech. They're not big, but we were on a gig to pull some data from their server. Sam got grabbed while he was holding an above board meeting with them. He got an alert off." Bishop started explaining as I arrived.

"Can you get us in?" Mira asked, and I shrugged, as I looked up at the building.

"Do you have blueprints or anything? What floor the corp is on?"

"Seventh." Hakase offered, while Bishop handed me a shard. I slotted it, and instantly firewalled it and checked it over verifying it was clean before I accessed it.

Hmm. They controlled all of floor seven, and it had security, turrets, and goons. Nothing like Kang Tao, or Arasaka, but big guns, and at least some military surplus.

Of course this data was old. I could practically taste the netrunner who had pulled this data, some little net rat grabbing data from everything and anything they could get their hands on. The way the data was formatted meant for quick infiltrations and grabs.

I unslotted the shard and tossed it back to Bishop.

"Okay, I can help with this. Instead of getting you all in. I can get in and get to him, but it's the exfil that could be sketchy." I offered as I looked at the group. Hmm. A Sniper, a Solo, and a Samurai. Another Netrunner would make this more comfortable, but I'd deal with what I had.

"Are you sure? We can't take any risks with Sam." Mira asked, and I waved her off.

"Infiltrating is my speciality. You want him to get out and fast? Without the corp that captured him just finishing him off when they notice you try to rescue him? Then I go in alone." I stated the fact as confidently as I could as I met the woman's eyes.

"We'll hold the lobby. We can lock it down and give you an exit." Bishop offered already formulating some sort of plan.

"No." I denied instantly. "If I'm infiltrating the moment anyone in that building gets a whiff something is up, they'll lock it down or worse. Mira is already looking at our exfiltration point." I said and everyone looked to Mira who had looked back down, then she looked back up.

"No fucking way."

"Fucking way." I denied as I looked up at the large glass windows. The buildings were tightly packed next to each other, and would be more than capable of giving sight lines. There were even old fire escapes on the other building.

I was already off. A single bounce hit a concrete wall and then another had me over the guard wall around the building and I was off, with another jump I hit the bottom of an old fire escape, and with a bit of muscle got the ladder to descend to let the others follow.

"Seventh floor." I reminded them, not wasting any more time, as I jumped off and headed towards the building's back door. Time to infiltrate a corpo building!

The rear door was just like every rear door, locked, but that barely slowed me down. My Kiroshi scanned the door and confirmed a security trigger. If the door opened it would let out an alarm, but I didn't even have to do anything to disable that, I popped open the security pad and licked two fingers, and a moment later the door unlocked, I quickly checked inside the long hallway wasn't empty unfortunately, and I just huddled down fingers pressed against the pad keeping the lock from activating and watching through the tiny crack as the worker of the place walked down the hall and then into one of the rooms.

Once he was gone, I slipped in, noticing the foil taped over the security system that would sound the alarm in case anyone opened the door.

Workers making sure they had rear access no doubt, likely a smoke break if the cigarette butts littering the alley told the story correctly.

I was in with a whisper, I crept down the hall and checked into the room the worker had just left. Breakroom. Perfect. I went past and right into another door that said employees only. The workers were rent a cops. The cheap kind. Nothing better than greeters at the front desk. So I wasn't worried about them, but unfortunately, this wasn't just a motel or something. Corpo rented space meant security was tighter.

I needed a jack in point. Something in the building, so I could slip into their security. Unfortunately the room I was in was nothing but a storage room. There wasn't even a computer, or security access point.

I flashed my Kiroshi as I started scanning. They had some security obviously, where did they keep their security room?

Not on the ground floor, which is already impressive for building security. Someone knew what they were doing… I turned around and after checking slipped into the hallway and went back the way I came.

Only one way forward.

I opened the breakroom, and sauntered in like everything was normal. The casual movements gave me the few seconds I needed to approach the worker. He looked up from his coffee and then back down, and then jerked up just as I reached him.

One hand around his mouth giving me half a second to muffle his shout as my arm wrapped around and secured his larynx, I leapt a bit to get the right grip so I was practically monkeying on his back, but he choked out his cry for help and as I adjusted my grip I cut off the blood to his brain and he dropped. I made sure he didn't break his skull on the way down and laid him out.

*250 XP Gained.*

"Sorry buddy." I whispered as I started undressing him while grabbing his ID shard which would give me access to the elevator.

I ended up tying him up as best I could with the crap in the breakroom and stuffing him in one of the cupboards around the room. That should at least slow him down when he woke up.

I headed out, and pulled the security guard's cap lower over my face as I walked past a security camera, and towards the elevator.

My finger hovered around the 7 for a moment, but I ended up hitting 2 instead.

The shard Bishop had given me, had shown there was a set of stairs on the seventh floor. There just weren't any matching stairs on the bottom floor.

Definitely a fire hazard but the exact sort of security concern NC cared more about.

The elevator opened and it hit what I expected. It was a large room that had doors connecting to multiple different businesses. I walked around for a moment as if just doing checks as a security guard, until I found what I was looking for. The black "Security Only" Letters on the door told me I'd found what I was looking for. I tapped my badge against the security panel and the door unlocked.

I stepped in, and instantly I was moving. The small security room wasn't empty, and the second rent a cop never even got time to yelp as I wrapped my arms around the second guy.

*250 XP Gained.*

I looked around the room and grinned. Here was the security access point. I pulled the Katana out from under my jacket and in my pants and put it to the side as I secured the second guard with his own belt and pants and then stuffed him into a corner.

Now let's find out what kind of security we're dealing with here.

—--

Mira Carcharodon

"See anything?" Bishop asked, and Mira just snarled at him, showing her teeth. They were stuck up on the stupid fire escape while Sam could be tortured to death and the only thing she could see was a fucking hallway.

"Get a new pair of Kiroshi if you can't see the same shit I am!" She snapped and Bishop stepped back a bit, but all of them were tense.

"Peace. She will succeed, or she will fail. We will act when the time is right either way." Hakase offered and Mira rolled her eyes.

He'd heard that from some old mystic and often repeated it in slightly different terms whenever the chance popped up.

"Where is she? What's taking so long?" Mira whispered, but then stalled out because someone sauntered down the hallway. Someone that didn't fit. "That's her." She whispered and Bishop jerked to look. Watching as our infiltrator walked down the hallway calmly without trying to sneak or anything until she hit a door, she looked it over for a second and then knocked…

"Did she just fucking knock? How is that sneaking around!?" Mira hissed and Bishop had no answers as the door obviously opened, a moment later there was a blur and the girl was no longer unarmed as her Katana was out and having just finished a cut.

"A fine cut." Hakase muttered the blade obsessed gonk, sounded seriously impressed. Mira could just make out the blood as the girl walked into the room.

"I guess she's doing okay then." Bishop whispered and Mira took a breath. Okay. The kid was good enough to be in the Afterlife. Trust in that.

—--

The slump of the body hitting the floor would have alerted the other two guards in this security room that something was up, if I hadn't already moved through the room.

Thrown knife, into Guard two. He was stupid enough not to have his helmet on, and the knife thunked into the back of his head, as the Katana slipped through the spine of gonk three.

*500 XP Gained.*

*500 XP Gained.*

*500 XP Gained.*

I drew out my blade, and retrieved my knife as I walked over to the security terminal.

The second floor mall cops had some of the building security, but this floor was a black wall to their systems, but between their data, and the shard that Bishop had given me, I'd had everything I needed to get around up here.

Corporate office's weren't exactly black sites. It wasn't hard to slip onto the floor through the stair access and head straight for the security office. With these three gone, and the security terminal, I should be able to disable all the rest of their defenses.

I looked over the gonks for a moment.

Yeah the armor was crap. Old Militech stuff, but I doubted they'd even bothered to change the inserts since they bought them. On top of that, these guys weren't ex-soldiers. Just hired goons.

I slipped into their network without any trouble. Old Militech firewalls. Nothing that would slow me down, especially not from inside the network.

I blinked my eyes and had access to all the camera systems, as well as the personnel ID's.

Hmm. The data shard from Bishop had mentioned the corpo that Sam was coming to meet, and… There he was. Alongside two other security guards.

Well now…

I pulled out of the system and walked back out to the hallway. I was clear for now so I checked out the window. I could see Mira, and the others looking at me but I ignored them. I could take the elevator, the stairs, or right here. The window wasn't bullet proof, we were too high up for that to really be needed.

My Katana heated up as I slowly poked it through the glass, cutting out a weak point I could use.

I could see the three of them watching me, probably thinking I was crazy as I cut through the glass to weaken it for later.

Once I was satisfied I headed back and turned a corner. Slowing a bit to stay silent as I approached an open room.

There were two more inside. I did a quick peek and then I was across the door without anyone noticing and moving on.

As much as I wanted the XP, no point in killing a bunch of civvy workers. Sneaking around this office was kinda odd, but now that I had vision on everyone it was a simple job to just keep moving.

Finally I reached where I needed to go. A hallway that had a locked and secured door. Two security guards outside, and another couple in, along with the man that had last been with Sam, so probably he was inside.

I loosened my Katana in the sheath and then simply activated my Sandy.

Everything slowed as I rushed out down the hall. A blur of motion that the guards' organic, or cybernetic eyes were just starting to catch when I reached them. I skipped the first guy, instead my cut as I pulled my Katana from the sheath went through the second guard just under his helmet and all the way out and through.

The return cut had me bouncing a bit back slicing through the second guards throat before bringing it back around and stabbing through.

The quiet gasps as both men died and slumped to the floor was quiet, but I still waited to see if there was any motion from inside.

Nothing.

*500 XP Gained.*

*500 XP Gained.*

I took a breath, let the Sandy cycle a bit. The warmth on my neck telling me I'd be getting close to my limit soon.

I took the moment I had to check the guards.

Again shit quality equipment. Nothing worth even looting at this rate, although I took a moment to adjust the Ajax the guard had been carrying up against the wall that would come in handy.

Then I rose up and opened the door.

—--

Samuel Perry

This had not gone as planned.

He spat blood, truly Hanson hadn't changed at all from when he was just an up and comer.

"Now my old friend, you know I don't like doing this, but I need to know what gonk fuck shitstain thinks they're going to steal from me? Just give me the name and I promise I won't just throw you in the trash. As a respect for an old boss."

Hanson was lying of course. The moment he cracked he would get a bullet and a quick toss into the nearest trash can.

Hanson had always been a piece of scop.

He breathed out, painfully, his ribs were killing him. His Pain Editor was working, but he didn't want to turn it on fully.

The fact was, letting it hurt meant that Hanson was enjoying playing with him, and if he thought it wasn't working, worse things than just pain would be in his future.

"Just tell me Sam, that's all I want." Hanson lied with a smirk that wasn't even trying to hide that fact.

C'mon Bishop. I have enough contacts, I'm valuable enough to get out of here. C'mon Mira, I know you like me. Force that cold bastard to come rescue me.

The door opened, and for a moment Sam didn't really register it. Why would he? It wasn't the first time the guards had swapped out, or Hanson had left to take a leak.

But then as Sam opened his one good eye, he couldn't help but blink at what he was seeing.

Who was that?

There was a blur of motion that Sam had to slowly replay in his mind to understand.

She stepped in, and cut with her Katana, drew a knife and tossed it at another guard, before spinning around using the guard she had just cut down as a shield to draw close and cut off the arm of the third.

His scream was silenced before it could even begin. And as Hanson reached to pull his pistol suddenly a Burya of all things was pointed at him, as the girl had simply followed the motion her blade still stuck into the second guard's chest where she had cut into him from shoulder to chest.

There had been no hesitation. Just a single constant movement that left death in her wake.

"Don't." She offered simply as a Burya pointed at Hanson's head.

"H-Hey we can talk about this!"

"Sam. Nice to see you again. I'm your extraction, are you able to move?" The sound of a confident woman cut off Hanson entirely, and it was a cut off.

Hanson for once in his life had a brain and shut up as Sam blinked weakly.

"Shoot him." He said instead of answering her question and to his surprise the sound of a Burya echoed out through the room making him flinch and Hanson splattered across the wall.

"Are you able to move?" She asked again as she finally pulled her sword out of the dying guard, and holstered her pistol and sword in a single movement.

"Yes." He hissed, but he was still tied to the chair. She gathered her thrown knife and quickly cut his bonds, and Sam rose before almost instantly falling forward into a much smaller body that hefted him a bit.

"I'll take that as a no. I'm afraid that my shot has set off the alarms. This isn't going to be an easy path for you. Here, put this on." She plopped him lightly back into the chair and a moment later put something on his head… One of the Guards helmets?

"Alright time to go." She said and hefted him up into a shoulder carry that knocked the air out of him, but to his surprise she started moving just a moment later.

He really wanted to tell her he could probably walk, but she didn't seem to care. Grabbing one of the guards Ajax at the door and instantly firing down the hall. Sam couldn't see anything other than her back as she started jogging which hurt, but he could hear a scream of people not used to being shot at.

She hurried on and then around a corner. And again firing every once in a while and sending people screaming.

"Okay hold on." She ordered a bit strained as he heard gun shots the rest of the magazine going off, and the sound of shattering glass. "This is going to hurt." She said and he wondered what she meant, before he managed to just see past her and…

"No no no!" He managed to gasp out, but she didn't stop as she raced for an open window and leapt.

Her shoulder plowed into his stomach as she leapt and that hurt,. But then they were weightless for a while before suddenly they slammed into something metal and very painful.

"Ow." She muttered after a few moments when to his surprise they didn't keep falling despite the fact he was looking down at a long drop. "Hold on." She grunted, he moved up a bit and then more and then he was thrown over a metal railing landing painfully, but…

"Sam!" Mira was there grabbing at him and Bishop and Hakase too.

Fuck. The woman rolled over the railing and then slammed into the ground next to him. She was breathing heavily and she rose wincing as she grabbed her ribs.

"Not doing that again." She muttered as she stood.

"Let's go!" Bishop ordered and he and Hakase grabbed him and then there were a lot of stairs, but he was free.

 

[Seras]

I ended up following the group to their ripper, in some upstairs clinic. Sam was put into a chair and instantly filled with drugs which had the man relaxing and falling into a listless sleep.

"Thanks again." Bishop said to me, as we all watched the Ripper go over Sam scanning and looking him over.

"It was fun. Don't get to sneak into a corp office like that very often." I said simply before looking at the older man. His eyes hidden behind a set of glasses might give him some protection, but I could see the relief in them even so.

"Still. It was an emergency job. I tried a few others but everyone told me no. So thanks. We all appreciate it."

"Eh, it was a job and I said yes." I offered and grinned as I looked at all the XP alerts. It's not like I wasn't double dipping here. I was getting paid twice.

"An emergency job… The offer is still on the table. We'd be happy to work with you."

"I appreciate it, really, but like I said last time I've got my own crew." I shrugged as I pushed off the wall I'd been leaning against. "This was fun, feel free to call me if you need some help but I'm not really a joiner. Later Bishop."

"Motoko." He waved goodbye back and I headed out. That was fun, the XP especially so, but I didn't like the idea of working with Edgerunners.

They were all crazy.

I jumped onto my Kusanagi and started driving, not sure where to go. I wasn't sore anymore, after a sneaky Maxdoc on the drive over, but I felt a bit mentally tired.

Training all morning followed, by doing some music work, only to get called into a rush job. It'd been a busy day.

I headed home.

Even if Traffic was rough once again.

Night City traffic never ends.

—--

"Motoko. Welcome home." Jun offered from the couch, which I instantly walked over and slumped over it.

"Hey Jun." I yawned and laid down to watch whatever trash Jun was binge watching today.

"Long day?"

"Yeah. I fought the entire Dojo today. I asked Sensei for some hard practice, and he basically had me fight everyone."
"You challenged the Dojo?"

"Hmm?" I asked, opening my eyes, I'd closed them because I was tired.

"The Dojo, with Sensei. You challenged the Dojo?"

"I guess? He called it that. I'd just asked if he would find someone to spar with me. I needed a push to go past my limits."

"How far did you get?"

"How far?"

"Through the challenge?"

"I don't know?" Was this an actual thing? It sounded like a thing, and I hated things. "I just fought everyone twice."

"Twice?"

"Well I fought Sensei, and he beat me cause I was tired, but I wasn't like, tired tired, you know? So I asked for more, and Sensei said the challenge was happening again."

"Motoko… Challenging the Dojo is how the students at the Dojo determine their place in the hierarchy. You fought Sensei?"

"Yeeeeah?"

Suddenly a big stupid gorilla hand was on the front of my face and Jun was mashing me into the couch. "You're so unaware! That's a huge deal."

"It's just a Dojo!"

"The Deravaja Dojo is not just a dojo." Jun countered and then sighed, looking at me with pity in his eyes.

Which was unacceptable! Only I got to pity a sibling! Mostly for his shit taste and lack of awareness! How could a guy with so many girls after him, barely notice!

"Idiot!" I grumbled fighting off his hand, and then shooting up a kick over my head which he dodged.

"Hey no kicking!"

"Then don't start shit!"
To my surprise Jun stalled out for a second, and despite looking like he was about to start throwing hands, he instead nodded.

"Alright sorry. Shouldn't have grabbed your face."

I stared at him, eyes wide, taking in every detail.

This was a trick. Jun didn't have the brain power to stop from being an idiot. What was wrong here.

"You look like a startled cat." He said flatly, and I shot up, sitting up so I could climb up onto the back of the couch and narrow my eyes at him.

"You're acting weird."

"I just don't want to fight. I'm… Proud of you and stuff."

My eyes narrowed even more. Something was sketchy here! This wasn't like Jun at all. I climbed over the back of the couch and glared at him with just my eyes in case I needed to dash for the exit or something.

"What are you freaking out for?" He said grumpily and I just continued to glare at him over the back of the couch.

"Who are you and what have you done with Jun?" I demanded and Jun just stared at me for a moment before his face shifted into a glare. Then he threw a pillow at me.

I of course dodged it! I'm too fast!

"Stop being a moron!"

"You can't trick me! Jun doesn't have the brain power to stop himself!"

"I'll show you brain power!" He roared and jumped over the back of the couch. I of course laughed in delight as he tried to grab me, as I bounced around and soon pillows were fired from both of us as we attempted to get the other.

Jun was puffing and he finally had his arm wrapped around me holding me up sideways. "Finally… Caught you!"

"I'm just tired and decided I was done playing." I informed him instead. "You're missing your show."

"What? Aw fuck! I wanted to see this episode Motoko!"

"Don't blame me. Just re-watch it."

"It's not a recording! This is a new release!"

"Ugh. Then just find a copy of it."

"I wanted to watch it now!" Jun yelled and then slumped and dropped me on the couch and grumbled a bit as he headed for the kitchen…

Ugh fine. I guess it was my fault.

"Alright, fine. I'll go get you a recording of it. Just chill." I stood up and headed out. Stupid Jun. This was totally his fault, and not mine at all.

—--

"Satisfied?" I asked as I yawned and really wanted to go get my eight hours.

"Very. Thanks Motoko.. Even if it was your fault I missed the show." Jun added because he was a butt.

I just ignored him and rolled over on the couch.

"Going to sleep now!"

And then did just that. Closed my eyes and set myself for eight hours.

I blinked awake, and noticed the sunlight coming in through the curtains. I had a blanket over me. Jun must have wrapped me up.

I stretched and yawned, feeling so much better.

Sensei would expect me over again…

Well fuck that for now. I didn't feel like fighting the entire dojo especially since Jun had hinted there was more than just letting me get some training in.

Seriously, why does everyone have to make things more complicated than they needed to be! I just wanted to sword fight people without it being like… A thing.

I looked around and noticed Jun's boots were at the door so he was still home.

Yeah breakfast sounded good.

I quickly got dressed and headed out, jogging a bit to find a ramen stand and getting enough for two before heading home.

Things felt normal in Night City today. No unusual amounts of random shots echoing off the buildings, and people were moving around and acting normally. So no gang war, or random issue popping up.

I carried my bowls of Ramen home and up to the apartment.

"Jun! Breakfast!" I called out as I dug in, and soon enough Jun blinking sleepily stepped out of his room, hair completely sticking up on one side making me snicker, but chose not to tease him as he flopped down and started eating.

It was a quiet breakfast for a while until Jun opened his mouth. "Motoko, you shouldn't eat so much Ramen, it's not good for you."

I felt my jaw drop as I stared at the audacity of this bitch!

"Coming from your burrito filled ass I don't want to hear that!"

"Do as I say, not as I do. Ah, I've achieved wisdom." He said sagely, and considering how much I was tempted to dump the rest of my ramen on his head. I think his 'sage wisdom' was a bit more lacking than he expected.

But I wanted to eat my food so I just ignored him and finished slurping up my noodles. Hmm… I should get some more songs ready. I've been playing with a few different tunes, but most of them are half finished.

I tossed my trash, and grabbed my guitar and prepped my music box.

"Going to work on a new song?" Jun asked, with a smile and I scoffed, before nodding.
"Yeah. I was… Well I was invited to lunch with all the dojo guys after I fought all of them, and it made me… Well listen to this."

I didn't have everything finished, but I started the music box for some of the backing track, and pulled up the guitar.

"All my friends are Heathens, take it slow."

I started singing, and gently tapping the chords. The snare and drums kicked in, but still lightly, as I got into the groove. I didn't have the drum track finished, but, if I did this, and this I could keep playing and just loop some of it…

"But after all I've said, please don't forget."

I hit the drop and stopped.

"Hold on." I said as the music stilled.

I rushed into my room and found my carnage, emptying it out I brought it out.

"Motoko?"

"It's empty. Let me restart that section." I told Jun, as the drums kicked back in, and I started singing again. But this time on the drop.

I cocked the Carnage, the heavy mechanical grinding noise of a carnage came through very clearly, and I nodded.

Yeah the Carnage was definitely the instrument of choice for the cocking noise.

"You might be one of us!" I crooned out the last lyric, as everything went silent.

That came out pretty well. Of course I still need to actually record all the tracks. The drums could use an actual drum set, I might need to get a few hours at a studio to clean it up, but the new DeLuze had a much throatier purr that just sounded so much better than my old guitar.

Jun though was quiet and as I looked up from my stuff to see him. I saw him leaning back and trying to look cool…

"What's with you?"

"That's gonna be my song from now on."

"It's my song." I denied him instantly.

"Nope. I'm stealing it. It totally fits me." He argued and I resisted smacking him over the head with my Carnage that was still in reach.

"You aren't nearly cool enough for that song!"

"Watch me!" He taunted, and I just scoffed and flipped him off instead. Before we could actually start fighting any further a knock at the door had both of us looking up.

"I'll get it." Jun offered before I could say anything and since I still had my guitar over my shoulder I couldn't just bounce past him to open it.

"Oh Alice." Jun greeted with a happy smile, and I could see the woman shift from whatever was on her mind to Jun.

"Hey Jun, I was hoping to see you today… But uh. I'm here to talk to your sister." She admitted a bit embarrassed and Jun just smiled and opened the door for her.

"Alice." I greeted a bit awkwardly, as I realized this was that thing.

The band thing.

"I heard you playing. Sounded preem." She offered as she walked over and awkwardly took a seat after a moment. "Uh. You uh, thought about things?"

"The band thing."

"Band thing?" Jun interrupted and I was actually thankful, because this was super awkward!

"After the last gig… It didn't go well… No, I mean, the music was good. Motoko knows how to play, but uh… Violent Hemorrhage is on life support. The band is falling apart… So, after I heard Motoko play a solo performance, I asked her if she wanted some backup. We can play her songs and stuff… Jared and Klein are good on drums and Bass, and I can Sin-Well, I can play guitar."

Oof. That catch was rather telling wasn't it.

I ran a hand through my hair trying to avoid the atmosphere. I really didn't want to deal with this.

"Well that sounds great! Motoko is super talented, but she's been trying to do everything on her own. She'll need an actual band to play. And Alice, you and your band are great. Sorry to hear you guys are going through some scop." Jun offered sympathetically, and Alice soaked up the sympathy like a flower soaking up water.

Which was nice for her, but didn't really fix things for me.

"I'm not sure I really want to do the band thing Jun. It's… Awkward."

"You're shy about the weirdest things." Jun instantly shot back and I felt my hackles rise up.

"I'm not shy! I'm an awesome badass! Look how cool I am!" I waved at myself.

Jun looked me up and down then snorted.

I was reaching for my Carnage to start beating a dumb brother's head in when Alice spoke up.

"I think I get it. It took a long time before I decided to turn my music into a career. Before that I just played and sang for myself and my family. But if I can say Motoko, you obviously love it. Playing music, getting up on stage."

"I don't know if I do love it." I denied, but the girls knowing look was hitting a bit too close to home. I didn't need her telling me what I liked!

I just thought… It was exciting sometimes.

"It's not like you have to listen to us… Violent Hemorrhage as a band is done. We're falling apart at the seams, but we can be your backup. It's better that, then nothing." She admitted with a rather painful sigh. "Listen. I'm a musician. I'll do music work for cheap. I'm not ready to give up on my dream of being a musician."

I stayed silent, as Alice finished her offer, and I could see Jun looking from me to Alice, and seemingly waiting to see what I would do.

My hand went through my hair.

What to do about this?

There was a large part of me that wanted to deny her right now. Part of it, I just wasn't sure if she could keep up.

I had a lot of songs, different genres and more that I wanted to play and I wanted them to be perfect.

But…

There was an element to a band that I would always be missing.

So instead I played the opening chords to Heathens.

"Copy that." I told her, and offered her the guitar.

If she wanted in, then she could help.

She blinked and nodded. Taking my DeLuze, and throwing it over her shoulder. Soon she started the chords, and I clicked when she flubbed it.

"Do this instead." I guided, and soon she got it, and so I readied the music box, set up the drums that I was controlling through my connection, and the apartment was filled with music.

Did I want a band?

No. Did I need one? Also no, but should I get one if I was going to play music on stage again?

Yeah. I probably should. It was a bit of a bitter pill to admit to myself that I wanted to be on stage again. That I liked it.

I didn't appreciate my nose being pushed into something I was trying to pretend didn't exist.

Fine, whatever. I'd whip this band into shape, and we'd play some music soon.

But first I needed Alice to prove she could play this song.

—--

"So you decided to accept?" Hiromi asked, practically buzzing. I'd picked her up after school and I was driving her home while we chatted about the Violent Hemorrhage issue.

"Yeah. I wasn't sure, but okay don't give me a look or say anything I know… I liked getting up on stage. It's embarrassing and I feel like I want to die every time I think about it, but when I was up there playing music, it just… clicked."

"Okay I won't say anything. Eeeeee!" She instead squealed which was just as bad, but that was Hiromi after all.

"Yeah yeah… Anyway, I agreed to bring Alice and her bandmates on."

"I'll get a contract set up."

"Do we really need that?" I asked, and instantly quailed at the look Hiromi sent me.

"Of course! What happens if you write a song and perform it, and blow up, but they argue that it's their song? A contract will make it clear that the music you perform is yours and they are just musicians attached."

"Well if they do well, I don't mind them getting something Hiromi."

"Ugh. You're so nice… Fine I'll make sure they get something, but they still won't be able to claim the copyrights! That stays with us!"

"Us?" I asked, smirking as I stopped at a light and looked Hiromi over.

"Of course! As your manager, I'll be in charge of handing out the copyrights to new businesses looking for your music." Hiromi said, eyes twinkling and a distant look in her eye.

Pretty sure she wasn't even thinking about the here and now, but was instead drooling about all the eddies she'd make in the future through business deals.

That's my Hiromi though. So I rolled my eyes and focused on the drive home.

"We'll need to have a meeting. So they can all get on board." Hiromi said out of the blue and I just hummed, Corpo's were gonna corpo.

"I'll message Alice about it." I accepted. My eyes flashing as I sent off a text to do just that. I got a message back really fast. "She says she's good now. The whole band is with her."

"Excellent! Tell them… No, we should make them meet us someplace." She muttered and it took me a second to realize why she'd said that.

"Hiromi, this isn't some mega corporate deal. It's Alice and a couple of street Rockerboys."

She looked at me for a moment or two before nodding. "Right. No point in needing an advantage, we already have all of the advantages anyways!"

Sure Hiromi, whatever helps you justify it.

"Want to stop and get food?"

"Oh yes!"

 

[Seras]

I clicked onto the Comm call we were all using as I looked away from rechecking the scope. *Check in.*

*All clear.*

*Nothing here either.*

*Same as before.*

I nodded and continued to scan the area. It was Section 9's work day, and we'd gotten a bit of a different gig than normal.

Fujimura was our client this time. Apparently a few too many of his shipments of product had been hit, a bit too routinely.

Shipments of drugs of course, but I was doing my best not to think of that. Either way, he'd wanted a group off the TC radar, as he suspected another internal issue. Basically he thought he had a mole, so he was doing the old tell different people different things trick.

Rebecca and Hiromi were across the street, hanging out inside a shop, snacking and chattering away.

Malcolm and Ichi were both in vehicles, Ichi was in his box truck, and set up down one side of the street, and Malcolm in an old beat up clunker was down the other. If there was an attack they'd either block the street, ram them, or just start shooting.

While I was sniping.

One hundred feet off the ground, dangling upside down from a walkway between two buildings.

I had planned on something a bit closer to the ground, but honestly, this was the most out of sight location to snipe from.

Blending in among the shadows of the bottom of the walkway I side eyed the strap that was my fail safe. Luckily there was a bunch of piping under this thing that I could cling to, and strap myself into.

Hanging by my legs from some old electrical conduits wasn't the most comfortable thing, but no one could argue that I wasn't in the most literal overwatch position of my life.

Far down below was a row of street shops. Including the TC's little drug operation.

It was quiet, I reached over to the bag I'd carried up here, and fiddled around without looking away from the ground, grabbing a soda.

I'd been up here for a while, so as I'd learned from the few other times I'd done any sort of overwatch stuff. Bring snacks.

My eyes narrowed as I stilled.

*We've got movement. Hiromi get secure.*

I listened as everyone confirmed and moved to their positions. A trio of Tyger Claw vehicles had just pulled in, but Fujimura had been very clear. No one should be arriving here unless they were the traitor.

I quickly checked my scope, and took a few pictures through the amplified image and sent them to Fujimura.

*Motoko: Movement, and people.*

*Fujimura: They are traitors, take them out.*

*Fujimura: Where are you taking this image from?*

I ignored his question as I realized I wasn't in position, hand not on my rifle, and holding a can I couldn't easily get rid of…

Well actually. I took aim, this wouldn't be an easy shot. Narrowing my eyesI tightened my legs to keep myself stable and fired my shot.

The Ni-Cola went flying through the air, freeing my hand, as I adjusted and brought up the Nekomata.

Malcolm and Ichi would be moving into position, while Rebecca opened her bag with her HMG she would be opening up with from across the street.

I took aim… Then adjusted a bit so I could watch the can.

"Come on… Come on!" I whispered, waiting as it sailed down and down and-smacked into the ground at one of the idiot's feet.

Fuck.

Okay it was fine, no one would ever know. I took aim, charged my rifle and fired.

The Nekomata slug nearly instantly smashed into one of them from above.

*500 XP Gained.*

I shifted and fired again.

*500 XP Gained.*

The rest scattered, but Rebecca was soon joining in, and the Tygers took cover from her, meaning that they were easy pickings from me.

We didn't take long to clear them out. One of them jumped into his Shion, escaping from Rebecca's HMG by driving as erratically as he could until he came back up onto the street.

I tracked him the whole time. Nekomata on target just waiting, and then Malcolm was there slamming into the side of the Shion… Honestly that was a bit of a mistake probably, that Shion would be good loot.

But Malcolm opened up with his Shingen and I watched the smart rounds battered into the damaged glass, and then… Well considering the car just sort of drifted until it hit a post from there Malcolm got him.

Nice.

*Check in.* I called out just to make sure.

*I'm fine.*

*Not even a scratch.* Rebecca and Malcolm called out, and Hiromi and Ichi both checked in just after.

*Great. I'll let Fujimura know, let's lock our loot down. Ichi bring in the truck… I'll be down soon.* I said as I looked around my little hidden space, grabbing my little bag I put it on my back, and tightened it down while strapping the Nekomata down a bit more as well. Then I slipped out, hanging a hundred feet above the street by my hands. I slowly monkey gymed my way down towards the building, and then slipped onto the small ledge at the end, and used that to slide along until I could jump fully onto the walking path.

I adjusted my netgogs, so I could ignore the people that were looking down over the side to try and find out where the gunfire had been coming from, ignoring the gasps I turned and headed into the building where I had already set up an elevator access key.

Not long after a quiet ride down to the ground level I met up with everyone.

To my irritation NCPD actually showed up.

To my relief Hiromi was already throwing paperwork at them and the two cops seeing the carnage didn't look very interested in pressing into things.

I walked past, to meet up with Hiromi getting a bit of a startled jump out of one of the officers as they hadn't noticed me approaching from behind.

"Got everything here?" I asked, and Hiromi nodded.

"Yes, everything is in order. NCPD are just verifying." She offered with a smirk, and I knew she would be fine.

Hiromi had done a ton of paperwork in setting up Section 9 as a merc company. The fact we had actual paperwork and weren't just a group of street kids meant we were already a step ahead of the norm.

Walking over I caught up to Rebecca who was keeping an eye on Hiromi, but hiding her HMG under a small barrier so the cops wouldn't notice it.

"Everything good?" She asked me and I nodded.

"Yeah Hiromi has got it. How's clean up?"

"Not great. The cops got here quick. We didn't manage to get the good stuff just yet. Malcolm and Ichi managed a few chips, and the weapons. We might lose the vehicles."

"Maybe." I agreed and walked on, to check on the boys. Both of them were sitting in the back of Ichi's truck and I noticed a pile of boxes and things stacked up just behind them…

"What's behind the boxes?"

"Nothing. Especially if it's a cop asking." Malcolm told me with a smirk, and I couldn't help but snort. The two HMG's that were in the back of the Van just in front fo the boxes would make a pretty firm fuck off, for anyone that wanted a peek."

"Alright. We might go light this time, but I'm going to see what Hiromi can do."

"You got it." Ichi agreed, already looking bored, but pleased.

This would be good eddies for us.

Now it's just time to wait.

—--

"Uuuuugh."

"Sorry." I told Rebecca who was hissing and spitting in irritation at the NCPD.

"It's fine. Whatever." She grunted as she continued to kick out with her legs like she was killing someone.

Hiromi had got us out without issues, but the bodies, and vehicles had gone straight to the Lotto. Well the bodies and cyberware anyways, I'm fairly confident those cars would end up sold back to the TC or something.

Either way we got out with some loot, and we had completed a gig, quick and easy eddies were my favorite.

Especially when I got to kill some gonks for XP for it.

We were set up down the street, having left the crime scene as the cops called it once everything was cleared up just to avoid any officers deciding to search us, or something.

"I've spoken with the client, payment has gone through, he is very happy." Hiromi called out as she stepped out of the Quadra that she'd been camping in.

"Hell yes!" Rebecca was the first to jump up and shout. Her previous bad mood completely disappeared as she laughed into the air as Hiromi started passing out Eddies.

"Well that was fun. Glad this wasn't like a multi day thing again." Malcolm called out stretching as he threw a soda into the trash. "We wanna have a party tonight?" He asked, but the general sense was pretty meh.

"While this gig was easy it wasn't like we did anything super cool." I offered, only to get jabbed in the ribs by Rebecca.

"Says the insane girl that was hanging from the sky!"

"Yeah that was pretty cool." Ichi added, "And Malcolm flatlined a gonk."

"Hell yeah I did!" Malcolm laughed thankfully unbothered by his murder.

"Sorry everyone! Motoko already agreed to something if we finished fast enough! Right? Right? You'll still do it? You aren't too tired?" Hiromi jumped on me, literally jumping on my back as she hugged me tightly and begged.

"I'm not too tired. So I guess I'll still go." I agreed and Hiromi cackled in my ear as she kicked her feet.

"What's got Hiromi in such a good mood? Eddies?"

"Motoko is going to finish a new song! It's gonna be a hit! We got Violent Hemorrhage to help play it! I'll call Alice." Hiromi said and out of my extended vision I could see her eyes go yellow as she made a call.

"When did you get close enough to just call Alice?" I whispered, even if I knew. Hiromi had forced the poor VH guys into a meeting for a contract.

The fact they'd all signed had been surprising to be honest, but well… I had a band…

I exhaled, not even bothered by Hiromi's weight as she continued to hang from my back and giggle into my ear as she spoke to Alice.

"New song?" Malcolm asked, looking interested and I just shrugged.

"It came to me the other day while I was hanging out with a bunch of Tyger Claw guys after I hit the dojo. I got it all ready, just need to play it all out, and record it."

"Huh. Mind if I come?" He asked and I blinked and instantly nodded.

"Course you're always welcome, Malcolm."

"Oh me too! Me too!" Rebecca called out and I turned around to see her jumping up and down on the back of Ichi's truck. "I mean… If that's cool, like Malcolm."

"Rebecca, Choom, you're always welcome as well." I said and then I slumped. As I felt my cheeks redden. They were going to hear me play again. With other people!

"Aww, Strings is all shy!" Rebecca teased and I just walked over ignoring that Hiromi was still on my back and picked her up, tucking her under my arm like a piece of luggage.

"Wha-Hey! Put me down!"

"Kids shouldn't talk shit unless they want to face the repercussions." I told her, and she wiggled, disrupting Hiromi a bit who slapped my shoulder.

"I'm older than you!"

"Details details." I offered airily, as I walked around a bit just to prove that Rebecca was completely trapped.

Heh. No wonder Jun picked me up like this so much it was funny…

He can never know.

—--

We arrived at Denny's music studio. Honestly we could probably go somewhere cheaper, but something about the place really called to Hiromi, so here we are.

A bunch of street kids, half the age of normal men and women that would walk these halls. Luckily Hiromi had already paid for our time, and so there was no issue with security or the people already here. I did get like usual an upraised eye as I moved to the room we had rented.

I stepped in and noticed that thankfully it was already full. Alice and her chooms were already here.

Jared, Klein, Alice." I greeted as I stepped in and settled my music box and my DeLuze to the side.

"Motoko, and chooms." Alice greeted, her two chooms nodded as they looked over my chooms.

There was tension, as two groups met each other and realized there would have to be some relationship but no trust yet…

That actually fit the song we were going to play all the better… Hmm.

I might have to figure out some way to use that, for now I nodded at the three. "Okay I got a song all set, I'll need drums, bass and guitar, I'm going to be doing a lot of synth and some piano work. Hiromi, can you get a keyboard, and drums from the instrument room?"

"Yes!" She cheered and instantly reached over to grab Ichi and Malcolm and pulled them out.

I looked back over the three. "Any questions?" I asked and the three all looked to each other and then to me.

"A few." Alice decided to speak and I nodded. As I headed into the recording studio.

"Alright, well, get asking. Rebecca, chill anywhere."

"Hell yeah I will!" She said smirking as she took a seat on top of an amp looking around the room.

"So you already have a song? Prepped?" Alice asked me as I started hooking up the music box, into the system.

"That's right. You ever walked into a room, and sat down next to someone you realized was super dangerous?" I asked her, and she blinked before rolling her eyes.

"You know my Uncle."

"Exactly. The song is about that. Let me play what I have so far." I set it up and soon the guitar track for Heathens began.

What I didn't have was a good recording for vocals, so I grabbed one of the mics, and started singing.

"All my friends are heathens, take it slow." I crooned, going through the first stanza along with the guitar track, before stopping, as Malcolm was carrying in a drum set and I went to help him.

"That's definitely a sound. Not quite my usual." Klein said to me as I moved and I shrugged.

"The song is already done, I just need to play it. You guys wanted a job, so you're saving me some time, that's all." I explained and the three all looked at each other.

"And we're okay with that. Hiromi already talked about Eddies, so we're in."

"Cool." I said, smirking as I looked over the three. "Listen, I get this is a bit out of the usual for you, it is for me too. So… We're just here to test things out. See how it goes."
"Not for us Motoko." Alice said, and I looked up at her in surprise. "This is serious for us. All three of us are musicians first and only. We need work, and we need a band. For us? This is as serious as it gets." She said looking at her chooms who nodded in agreement with her.

"Well… Okay." I said a little lamely looking at Rebecca who just snorted at my look.

"Actin' all shy again Strings?"

"Shut up!" I hissed at her, before sighing, as Hiromi got back. "Hiromi, I forgot, can you grab the Carnage out of the trunk of the Quadra? Go ahead and unload it first."

"The Carnage?" Hiromi asked, and I nodded.

"Yep!"

The carnage was a real piece of shit grinding and grating when it was pumped..

Klein started setting up the drums, thankfully we all got to work, and soon it was time to start making music.

Klein on drums, Jared on Bass, and Alice taking main guitar, while I did synth and vocals. It was… Weird.

"Alright. We're going to get the drums down first, let's start on the opening." I started and basically guided Klein on what I wanted. It took a few times, but he was competent enough to get started.

Jared was already strumming along to the track I'd had playing along, and I basically wandered between the three as Alice joined in, showing them what I wanted, making adjustments.

Putting together a song in a different way.

And I winked at Rebecca nodding her way at the right times as she cocked the Carnage. I did have to remind her not to cackle afterwards, but she was into it, and soon the song started coming together.

It wasn't quick. I definitely could have finished a full track by myself faster, but…

If I ever wanted to play live, then I'd need a band that could play with me.

I was… Satisfied with Alice and her band… My band.

It had been a few hours, and I sat back taking a drink that Hiromi had ordered from upstairs, as we all listened to the mostly completed song. It was getting there, a few adjustments, some alterations, some flubs fixed, enough that the non-Rockerboys could hear the full song and get the idea.

"Ooh, I like this one." Rebecca said smirking casually still holding the carnage and cocking it along with the song.

"Well, all of you are mercs with plenty of kills under your gun. I'd be surprised if you didn't like the theme of the song." I told her, casually, purposefully making sure Alice and her chooms heard and they all realized.

I'd sent a message to my chooms earlier. So they all played up the fact. Smirking and Ichi even winked at Alice, although she rolled her eyes, her two chooms didn't.

Good. It might come out in their playing a bit if they felt that same emotion, and of course it was also useful for them to know I had a crew of mercs.

Sure they might still just see kids, but a gun was a gun. Hopefully it would keep everyone honest.

—--

The next morning I was looking through the fridge, realizing it was full of Jun's stupid burritos and realized I would have to go out for food again.

Grumbling, I stretched and started getting ready. Noticing my Tachikoma was racing along in the video game I'd set up. They were getting better. They weren't just crashing constantly and actually following the track.

I popped open my system as I left the apartment, checking everything over as I hit the elevator and headed down.

"Huh?"

Why did I have a Stat Point?

I had zero yesterday I was pretty sure.

I looked over the entire character sheet.

Level 21

Body 10(18) Due to Cyberization, Maximum value has increased by 8.
-Athletics 8
-Street Brawler 8
-Annihilation 5

Reflex 10(16) Due to Cyberization, Maximum value has increased by 6.
-Blades 9
-Handguns 9
-Assault 8
-Driving 7


Intelligence 13 (14) Due to Cyberization, Maximum value has increased by 4.
-Breach Protocol 12
-Quick Hacks 9
-Programming 13

Cool 10
-Ninjutsu 10
-Cold Blood 8
-Rockerboy 9

Technical Ability 8 (12) Due to Cyberization, Maximum value has increased by 4.
-Crafting 6
-Engineering 7

1 Stat point.
8 Skill point.


Perks.
Ambidextrous Blades 2
Quickdraw Handguns 2
Gun Nut Assault 2
Parkour Athletics 2
Grappling Street Brawler 2
Drive By Driving 2
Cat-like Athletics 5
Cool Nerves Cold Blood 2
Danger Sense Ninjutsu 2
Wall Breaking Breach Protocol 2
Cyber Security Quick Hack 2
Recoil Reduction Annihilation 2
Cyber Ninja Ninjutsu 5
Fearless Chill Cold Blood 5.
Improvised Weapons Street Brawler 5
Parry Blades 5
Robotics wizard Crafting 2
Drifting Driving 5
Rapid Reload Handguns 5
Design Wizard Engineering 2
Rifle Ace Assault 5
Ghost touch Breach 5
Perfect Musical Memory Rockerboy 2.
Debug Programming 2
Siren Song Rockerboy 5
Hacking Wizard Quick Hacks 5
Inspired Programmer Programming 5
A.I. Whisperer Programming 10
Slam Fire Annihilation 5
Enduring Builds Crafting 5
Robotics Engineering Engineering 5
Strong Breach Breach Protocol 10
Ninja Running Ninjutsu 10

Cyberware:
Arasaka Corporation Cyberdeck 'Shadow' Mk.4 *Adaptation 'Shadow' Mk.4 0/0*
Kiroshi Mk1 *Adaptation Kiroshi Mk1 1/2*
Militech Condor *Adaptation Militech Condor 5/5* (1 Stat Point Redeemed.)
Arasaka Smart Link System. *Adaptation Smart Link 0/0*
Arasaka Ex-Disk *Adaptation Ex-Disk 0/0*
Militech-Armalite Ballistic Guard *Adaptation Ballistic Guard 1/2*
Serano Air-Groove Ankles *Adaptation Serano Air 1/1*
MoorE Titanium Bones (Shoulders, back, and ribs. +Legs, Pelvis, and Ribs.) *Adaptation Titanium Bones 0/2*
Biotechnica Muscle and Bone Lace *Adaptation Muscle and Bone Lace 0/0*
Arasaka ODA Neural Link Mk3 *Adaptation ODA Mk.3 1/2*
Dynalar Sandevistan Mk.2 *Adaptation Dynalar Sandevistan 2/4*

Near the end I finally saw it. A shift in adaptation, and a little message next to my Condors.

"Point redeemed… Huh?" I hadn't expected that. Sure I'd lowered Adaptation before, but… So if I pushed a bunch of adaptation points into a stat before I'd settled it, I could get those points back?

That was honestly a huge relief, even if I had decided a long time ago to just accept losing them, getting some points back?

Hehe!

What should I level up? I'd done my Sandy last time… Ugh, the deal I'd decided was Adaptation and Stat, but I was really tempted to put another point into my Sandy now!

The elevator opened and I headed out, half skip in my step as I was quite happy with the update. No, I should stick to stats for now. Besides I had a lot of stats maxed out without using a stat point…

Do I level Intelligence, or start pushing another stat beyond 10?

I instantly looked at Cool, but unfortunately, I didn't have any of the cyberization for Cool to go beyond 10 anyways.

My eyes drifted to the small hud that I had for my Kiroshi, it was pretty early, but Vik would be awake by now… Did I want to go on a new cyberware hunt?

I sighed and shook it off, no. I would need more stat points for more adaptation for that. What I needed more than anything was cold hard numbers.

The idea sent a thrill up my spine.

Numbers? Numbers I could do. I dropped the point into Intelligence. Enjoying the nice 14 (14) number listed.

I had plenty of skill points, and I could easily pump up my netrunning now, even Programming could go up!

But more importantly, I had a lot of netrunning stuff I'd been putting off including the IP of an old server I could explore, and the Netrunning arena, which I'd been basically ignoring for a bit.

I'd been planning on focusing on my blades for a bit, but…

Well! This was fine too! Let's get some lunch, and bug one of the chooms to come watch over me! Time to dive into the net!

 

[Seras]

"So you're basically exploring a haunted house?" I sent a very flat look over at Malcolm who from the smirk he was sending me knew that wasn't what I had said at all.

"It's an old server."

"So like an old house, abandoned and alone."

"Full of old data."

"Good stuff hidden in the attic." He added and I felt my eye twitching.

"And full of Daemons to protect it."

"Ghosts there to kill trespassers."

"I'll kill you."

"You love me." He offered instead and the elevator opened to the netrunning cave.

I, being the bigger and better person, ignored him, and didn't punch him in the arm. The fact he was carrying the food had nothing to do with it, but I did notice that when he put the food down he pointedly moved out of my reach.

Smart boy.

"Alright, let me set up. You need anything?" I asked him, as I wandered over to my netrunning chair.

"Nope. All good." He said, tapping on the bags of food.

"Preem. It might take me a while to get going, so feel free to relax." I told him as I went through some checks. The chair coolant was a little low, I'd likely need to update it soon, but it was still good. Everything was set. I leaned back, hooked myself up and closed my eyes.

Then opened them in a new room. I walked over to the nice couches and flopped in, which didn't really feel like anything since I was now in the net.

First thing first? I needed to finish leveling up. I was going to pump some numbers up, but I remembered previous issues.

Glancing at my current netrunner stats it really proved the issue.

Intelligence 14 (14) Due to Cyberization, Maximum value has increased by 4.
-Breach Protocol 12
-Quick Hacks 9
-Programming 13

Other than Programming everything was way too low! As much as my fingers itched to put a point into Quick Hacks, I skipped it, and instead put a point into Breach Protocol.

I shivered as I suddenly had experience in skimming data centers. Cutting back traces while digging through data, and moving through server architecture.

Sorting the feeling I processed it and only when I was feeling like it had all settled did I pull up my system and drop another.

As I knew getting too many skill upgrades close together was a bit intense. The second data drop gave me even more on moving through the net, the sense that what we saw wasn't the truth, and if you looked at it in different ways, you could move and slip through things as if they were simply suggestions.

There was knowledge touching on something big I felt, but it wasn't quite complete. Not ready.

I started looking, just without my eyes, noticing how… Fragile this lobby room was. The walls, despite looking like warm woods, and stone, were… Fragile. Cardboard with pictures on them. There was no durability. I could break them down even without my admin access.

A server was a series of data points but… The connections between them were only natural suggestions. It wasn't like data on a hard drive was stored in rooms to access only through a door. No, it was all data, and the access was usually the knowledge on how the computer could process the data listed, where to find those numbers to represent-

I shook off my thoughts and stood up. Internalize the information and move on.

Pulling up the old data that Vortex had given me, I found the IP for the server she'd told me about and I slipped out of my lobby and into the net. Then instantly into a leap across the city along the web lines taking me far out of the normal connection points. If I had to position this from reality…

Not out of the city, but deeper than normal, like it was buried under ground as the new net was built upon the old.

I checked the details she'd given me, and looked down, huh. That wasn't actually a sewer along the street, but an old door that now only showed a sliver of what it had once been, a data access point.

I squatted down and sent in a Ping, watching my data stream through without too much disruption. I can see why Vortex might not have wanted to check this place out for long before leaving. A squeezed data point like this would make latency increase inside…

Unless you fixed it. Hmm. I looked over the connection. Technically it was being overlaid with a more modern data net, which is what the street I was standing on represented.

Technically it was a programming issue, rather than hardware, or else this connection wouldn't even exist.

Could I reroute the data stream to give better access? Yes. Could I do it without pissing off whoever owned this data stream?

Hmm… Maybe. As long as the adjustment was short term, and I kept it from causing too many ripples. A data choke point would be noticed pretty quickly.

I looked around, confirmed no one was around so to speak, and dived into the data.

Slow and steady, I hacked in. The router that controlled this data area was accessed as quietly as I could, then with just a little work, I made a single adjustment on the router's workload.

The net around me shifted, the small door that led to this server was now bare, a set of ancient steps leading down into it, as the street had seemed to split open.

There was no hesitation as I entered, time wasn't on my side. I didn't need to rush, but the longer I waited the higher chance someone would fix what I had just done and cut me off while in a dangerous server.

I slipped through the door and instantly stilled.

This server was old. The architecture didn't… I looked around, but even that caused some visual issues. The server was… Flat? Like a 3d person looked at 2d. That's what the sense it gave me was.

*Whoa what is that?* Malcolm asked in my ear and I shook my head.

"Some sort of weird server architecture…" I explained as I looked around. I was in a lobby structure, but it wasn't anything like the servers I'd been in before. I remembered the white empty room that the idiots that had tried to kill Malcolm had used for their car dealership website.

I remembered the fractured distorted realm of the broken server Yoko had showed me.

This wasn't like either of them. A distorted low res area, that my display was struggling to properly convey.

Almost instinctively, I pulled open my Cyber Decks systems, and clocked back some settings, and suddenly the area reshaped itself correctly.

Comparing it to 2d had been correct.

I realized what I was seeing, this was an old school server. Back before netrunning had gotten as advanced, this server didn't have the architecture for the sort of interactivity I was used to, so everything showed up as data lines, and untextured shapes.

*Jeez, this is crazy, I feel like it's giving me a headache.* Malcolm added, and I nodded but remembered he couldn't see that.

"Yeah, old server, see that? That's the data line to the server data." I pointed out a sort of hallway made out of glowing lights. But… "Fortunately this server is so old a lot of the security won't even work on modern netrunners."

Instead of heading down the hallway, I simply walked over and walked up the wall as if it was the ground, and then 'out' of the room that was meant to keep runners inside.

Standing on top of the hallway I simply walked over it, bypassing the access and security restrictions, by jumping over the data node.

Digital architecture had changed drastically with the advent of netrunners. Just putting a password on a file wasn't going to stop a netrunner. You needed to build server fortifications, and defenses from entities that were partially digital.

It was funny, but the same advancements meant to stop Netrunners were how AI could be stopped as well. Even if Netrunners were nothing compared to a proper AI.

I had a thought that maybe it had been the AI that had pushed the advent of these defenses instead of netrunners, and it was the netrunners that came after that had run into AI defenses.

Either way it didn't matter. I walked over the hall, and the next 'room' although really it was more like a mess of data points was supposed to be some sort of hub page. Unfortunately it wasn't unprotected.

I could see four IMP Daemons wandering around. The Daemons were old, slow and stuttering along pre planned paths, not the sort of thing that would be a danger to a modern netrunner… Well, only if they knew how to move out of the architecture.

I poked my hand into the room, the security of this room already bypassed meant it was less a solid wall, and more just a data processing node.

Then I started uploading and after everything was ready I sent off my [HEAT Bullet Mk.1] the attack was registered by the server and the entire glowing lights shifted to a darker red. Huh an early alert system for the Daemons inside the server.

Neat.

But it was too late, the attack was too strong for old Daemons.

*250 XP Gained.*

*250 XP Gained.*

*250 XP Gained.*

*250 XP Gained.*

They burst into sparkles of broken data and that was enough for me.

I started hacking now that I was past the security and the Daemons were gone. Sending in a Ping to the data node, and watching as the my own light, a purple hue burst out and started pinging through the server. Lines of purple light shifting and spiraling all over as I stood up and just watched as the lights showed me an outline of the entire server…

Hmm. Okay over there was data storage. But I narrowed my eyes… I pinged again as the light faded after a while and watched again.

Something was off. There was definitely… There. A data node that had multiple pathways, but only one lit up, the others remained dark.

Definitely a security feature. Something keeping files off the root access?

I blurred as I Breach Jumped along the server. There were some defenses here and there, but not any other Daemons. Just old server traps that I bypassed by literally walking over the normal access channels.

I arrived at the data node, and slipped inside. The channel had four pathways. Normal entrance, and exit, and then two that…

There was a bit of floating data hidden within the data of the structure, it would be difficult to see. I imagine if I was using old Netrunner decks using a small screen as my visual point.

So was it added after the server had been created to mitigate Netrunners?

Either way I was able to access it, and with barely a thought cracked the security that it represented and then opened up a new path.

I once more jumped out of the server architecture as I headed through the path. Another set of Daemons, were guarding this section of the server, and once more they were destroyed without being able to register I even existed.

*250 XP Gained.*

*250 XP Gained.*

I slipped back in, and accessed the data. "Malcolm, I'm going to download this. You might see some lag distortion."

*Sure Motoko, find something good?*

"Yeah actually. This is old weapon data, and it was stolen from its source."

*Oh yeah?* He prompted and I could hear him breaking up a bit as the bandwidth was used up as I started downloading.

"Yeah, Militech Electronics looks like. Someone really wanted their laser technology."

*Laser tech? Why bother with that garbage?*

"It's only garbage because the tech got stuck after the datakrash. This looks like pre-Datakrash files, so someone might be interested."

*Whoa, what? You think it'll be worth a ton of eddies?*

"Nah, probably not. This is all stuff Militech already has I think. I recognize some of these weapons." I looked through the blueprints, and yeah, I think that was a Militech Electronics Laser Canon? Yeah definitely the laser canon.

It was just too bad Militech gave such a cool sounding name to a weapon that was notoriously bad. Not only was it incredibly unreliable, the effect of the laser was… Not great…

I mean, I was still tempted to get one, but they just weren't sold over the counter at gun shops or something. Lasers were cool, and I really wanted to pew pew at people with one, but they just sucked, and no one even sold them anymore.

Militech was one of the few companies that had worked on laser tech before the datakrash, and they hadn't really kept up with it. Too many other projects to try and focus on in the meantime.

Still this data could definitely sell to someone. Arasaka probably already had it. It's been more than fifty years after all, but other smaller corps? Newer ones?

Anyone that still had ideas for making laser weapons might want Militechs old weapon blueprints…

Hell, I wanted them too.

Definitely going to keep a copy.

The lag ended as the download ended, and I jumped back to the previous node, and broke into the second hidden data point.

Once again I simply walked outside of the pathway, avoiding whatever nonsense danger existed within until I reached the data node. This one didn't have any obvious defenses, no patrolling Daemons, or anything…

I slipped inside, keeping myself aware even with the stilted way of looking at things. But when I accessed the data point there was nothing, at least nothing bad. Just another file repository. I brought it up, swiping through it, and quickly realized this wasn't something I had any interest in, ancient, billing and sales. I quickly noticed plenty of blackmarket dealings, and illegal goods flowing through this ancient corporation, and finally an actual name.

Elite Electronics.

Never heard of them, and they probably didn't exist anymore. I copied the data, and then once the lag ended I disappeared out of the server back to the street. A few moments tp fix the data adjustment I did, and I disappeared from the area.

"Going to see if I can sell this stuff. Just a bit longer Malcolm."

*Take your time 'Toko. I'm just hanging around.*

Honestly I was kind of disappointed. I'd wanted XP, which I guess I'd gotten a little of, but I wanted more than what little I'd found in the server. Oh well, not all of them could hide Balrons, or be full of distorted Daemons looking to murder whoever slipped inside.

I popped back out at the facsimile of Kabuki Roundabout. Yoko was my first stop.

Taking a slow path up to her club, I looked around, nothing really changed here it seems, but at least it felt like there were three dimensions, and textures existed.

I felt almost light headed after being in that old server, the flatness of it, and the flowing lights felt like a Tron movie.

The first one, if that.

I slipped into the club bobbing to the music, and spotting Yoko without issue, as I threw up a hand in hello at her, she nodded, but went back to the conversation she was having. She wasn't alone with a few Netrunners sitting around her and they were obviously having a thing.

There wasn't any rush to sell ancient data so I took another seat, and waited.

I took in the music that was playing. Not a band I recognized, and it wasn't terrible. Very electronic, but it sounded alright. I was tapping my finger to the beat, processing the changes and already figuring out the pattern when I stilled, as I realized someone was there beside me.

Our eyes met, and I realized this wasn't a conversation I really wanted, but…

"Hey." I greeted Sasha who seemed to my surprise to hesitate for a second before building herself up.

"Hi Kit-Uh, Motoko… Uh, you mind if we chat?" She asked with a smile that was trying to be confident, and not too much.

I waved at the seat across from me, and she slipped in. We stared at each other for a while but I realized I really should start.

"Hey listen, about what happened-"

"No, wait, please… I'm sorry I pulled that scop on you. Like… Yeah it was a rezzer move." She started cutting me off and even waving her hands at me, like she would have covered my mouth if she could. "I screwed up, I wasn't… No, I don't have any excuse. I was showing you around, but wanted to play. It was stupid."

"It was… Well yeah don't throw me into stuff like that, but what happened was my fault. Not yours." I offered, and the older woman brightened up at my response.

"Thanks Kitten."

"Sure thing Pain in my Ass." I offered back smiling and she flashed a look of shock for a moment, before smiling, her lips quirked into that very cat-like smirk.

"Hehehe!" She giggled in return. "I've been called worse!"

"That I believe."

"Preem. I was honestly… I've been in touch with Becca, she mentioned you were okay, but like… That was a lot of damage."

"It was fine I had backup. It gave me a good excuse to go get an upgrade."

"Yeah I can see, you're not skezzing as much anymore. What is that?" She asked, obviously interested.

"Arasaka Shadow. Mk.4."

She whistled at my answer. "Really? Where did you get your cute little kitten paws on one of those? Arasaka are protective."

"It was stolen, and my choom is an Arasaka student. She got it covered in their logs, so I won't have any ninjas sniffing around for it."

"Nova!" She cheered. "Well oh my, that's quite a jump from that Seacho you used to have! That's great! Maybe that whole thing wasn't so bad after all!" She offered and I realized what kind of person Sasha was.

She was the type to accept any instance of a silver lining to excuse bad actions…I considered calling her on it, but I'd been honest. My freakout in the netrunner arena was my thing, not her.

"It wasn't great, but it's over. No lasting harm done." I agreed and she once more smiled sunnily.

"Well well, if it isn't a certain mangy stray cat." Yoko suddenly broke in her body, more detailed and formed than both of ours loomed over the table glaring down at Sasha.

"Nuh-uh! Motoko forgave me!" She looked at me, with big pleading eyes and I snorted.

"I don't remember asking." Yoko offered, not quite hissing, but there was a threat in there.

"Yoko, I was looking for you." I said interrupting the two netrunner women.

"Oh?" She asked, and instantly slid into the seat, pushing Sasha back as she basically took her place…

Pfft. I held back my laughter as the noise Sasha made in turn really was like a cat.

"Don't push my avatar around you bitch!" Sasha grumbled, and Yoko just quirked an eyebrow.

"Vixen is more accurate." She offered then turned entirely to me.

"I just came out of an old server, ancient really. Pulled some data, some tech, and some finance crud. Wanted to see if you had any interest."

"Alr-"

"Ooh! Let me see!" Sasha begged, jumped up and waved her hand doing gimme motions.

"I'll throw the flea ridden stray out." Yoko said and Sasha only had a moment to yelp before vanishing.

I blinked and realized Yoko had force booted Sasha…

"She's not going to be happy about that."

"It's fine. The Stray knows what she did." Yoko offered simply and then held out a hand. So I pulled a bit of the data for the laser weapon blueprints, and handed them over.

She looked them over and I could tell from the smirk on her face that she found it cute rather than interesting.

"Old data."

"Yeah I know. Don't look at me, like I'm a pre-schooler showing off a finger painting, that's rude."

She chuckled deep throated and amused at my description, but honestly it was true.

"Unfortunately this isn't worth much."

"Yeah I figured. Not many into lasers, and anyone who is probably has it."

"Yes, I can sell it though." She added and I perked up.

"Yeah?"

"Yes. I know a company netrunner that would be interested, you have the rest?"

"The whole lot I think." I offered, and then pointedly didn't offer it to her, just smiling.

She responded to my smile with a smile of her own. "Good, if you had just handed the data over I'd have disappeared just to teach you a lesson." She said without any shame and I scoffed.

"I know where you are in the real world you fox." I reminded her, and she just smirked, her face shifting in a way a humans couldn't.

"That would be a fun time."

I returned her smile, and then waved a hand at her. "I'm looking more for server locations than anything."

"Ah, decided to do some more diving?"

"Something like that. The more full of Daemons the better."

"Hmm. I see… I'll give you a nice bonus for this, if you tell me why you're so fascinated by destroying Daemons." She added slyly, and at that, I knew she'd been keeping an eye on me.

"Is that knowledge something netrunners at the arena have been asking about?"

"Just one or two. Vortex is one of them."

"Ugh. Not her again. But no, I'm not telling you."

"Very well. Let me pull up some servers I know about that fit your bill." And so we got to haggling, and as always I was sure I was being swindled.

Should have called Hiromi for this.

 

[Seras]

When I exited the club I was struck with by the image of Sasha hissing and cussing as she actively was trying to breach into the club, despite… No, she was playing more than anything, like throwing rocks at a wall. It would send a message to Yoko every time no doubt, but it wasn't enough that the defenses started up.

"Sasha?"

"Huh? Oh Kitten." She stood up from her slightly hunched over position and wiped herself down like she hadn't been doing anything weird before looking at me with a smile. "You free for a minute?"

I blinked at the sudden request and realized she said with actual maturity. She wasn't kidding.

"Sure Sasha."

"It's still Neko-Nyan<3!" She reminded me, once more enunciating the heart, and I still flinched at her response. Her cackling didn't make me feel any better. But then her kitten face smile shifted back to a mature look. "I'm happy you're okay. I just… If you ever need any help you can call me, okay Kohai? I know I didn't exactly give a good impression, and I'm upset at myself for that."

"It's fine Sasha. Like I said, that was more of a me thing than anything. I could have just left."

"But you didn't and I threw you into it. Sorry."

"Okay. I accept your apology." Again. But… "How's the arm?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah that." She replied and I noticed she didn't flinch to grab her arm or something like she had before. "Got a proper replacement. Flash cloned. Lost my scratchers, but honestly, I just like flesh and blood more." She offered a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"I'm glad. I was worried about that." I offered back and there was a moment where Sasha looked like she was going to deny what I had meant, but instead she sent me a bashful smile.

"Yeah. I'm doing better. Maine complained about it, but most of the time I just do the opposite of what he recommends when it comes to chrome."

"Yeah that's probably a good idea." I accepted, and looked around, we weren't really surrounded by anyone but we were on a public server. No doubt someone was listening in.

"I have something I want to ask you about, but not here. Follow?" She asked, and I took a moment before nodding.

Then we were off, jumping off the Kabuki Roundabout server and then across the city jumping from net space to net space, until she sent me a private access code, and I slipped into…

"I'm leaving." I said flatly and turned to do just that, but Sasha was there unable to grab me she still jumped in front of me and made a yowl like a cat.

"Nyoooo!"

I groaned and looked around again.

It was very pink…

And full of anime cat stuff. I like cats, I like anime cats, I don't cover literally everything in them.

"Welcome to my lobby Nyah!" She offered, when I didn't run away and even did a cat motion with her hands like they were paws.

I moved to slip past her and leave and she once more yowled.

"Nyoooo! Sorry! Sorry!" She begged and I sighed and looked at her.

"Alright, we're as private as we're likely to get, what's up Sasha?"

"Okay! Serious time. See? Serious face." She pointed at her cheeks which were still fighting to shift into a smile.

I just waited.

"Right, so… I've got a gig, Maine jumped into it, and it's going nova for something easy to slide back into, but the client is a total Corp type, and wanted his pet netrunner to take part. You know how it is." She grumbled, and I very much did not know how it was, but I just nodded along and made accepting noises.

"Right right."

"Right? So this total ugh type, she's so uptight, anyway… She has a cadet Netrunner and totally showed off their teamwork! This kid is like Nova. I'll admit, she's definitely got some real hardware under the hood you know? But it's not faaaaair!" She whined at me. Looking at me with big watery eyes.

I just sent her a flat look "Sasha. The point?"

"Right, serious! I can do that." She said and her serious face lasted half a second before she smiled. "Anyway, the gig is going fine, but I got a little heated, and made some remarks to the other runner. And I maaaay have a bit of a challenge on my hands?"

I blinked slowly, very slowly, letting Sasha know exactly how little I cared about this.

"Nyooo! Don't look at me like that! I said, I'm sooooorry!"

"I'm not sure if you're more annoying now or before." I commented and I watched her jaw drop for a second before she went full pout mode, her cheeks puffing up and she glared at me with eyes that were about to start crying.

Which was literally something she had to choose to do, the avatar didn't replicate tears.

"Kiiiiittten!"

"Sasha, did you come find me just to ask me to help you again?" I asked and she instantly shook her head back and forth.

"Nooo! Sashanyan wouldn't do that!" She stopped and seemed to regain herself. "It was just coincidence Motoko, I was there to grab some data for Maine, and saw you and had to take my chance to apologize, you haven't been answering my calls. You can ask Yoko if you don't believe me!"

"I do, it's fine. Okay so what is this challenge, and why do you need me?"

"Well… That old bitch! She said that since her having an apprentice was part of her talent that her apprentice could help! She tried to say I didn't have an apprentice because I'm a scop runner… I just yelled that she was dumb, but… Pleeease! If you back me up we can totally derezz this bitch! She'll have to apologize and everything!"

I looked at Sasha. I honestly wanted to just tell her, no thanks. That I wasn't interested, because I wasn't. I had my own things to deal with but…

"This netrunner that the client pulled in. Do I know her?"

"Oh, some uptight bitch called Kiwi… She's alright, honestly, but she's got this ego! Ugh!" I breathed in and out, a sympathetic response, as I wasn't actually breathing as my Avatar…

"Okay fine, I'll help."

"What, really? Yes! Kitten!" She jumped around like a happy cat that was getting a treat and I just rolled my eyes.

I did want to see Lucy again, but more importantly?

I really really wanted to do something to Kiwi. She… I really liked her in the show. Cool trench coat. Mysterious mask, spider web chem skin, like she was cool.

Then she turned traitor.

It was a complicated feeling, but if I could ruin her day by letting Sasha one up her? Well that was worth a bit of time.

I glanced at my stat sheet.

Intelligence 14 (14) Due to Cyberization, Maximum value has increased by 4.
-Breach Protocol 14
-Quick Hacks 9
-Programming 13

That was… Solid, but nothing amazing. Not if I was going to face a top netrunner in some challenge, so I'd need to put in a lot of extra work. Maybe make a slight change and put a few extra stat points in just to really build my netrunning up. But that reminded me that I needed to know something.

"Sasha. What's this challenge all about?"

"Oh, breaking into some corpo security. We each try from different angles. Pretty standard Netrunner challenge."

"Oh… I can probably sneak into the location if we need."

"Hiss! Bad Kitten! You can't cheat at a netrunner challenge!" She cat scratched at me, and I continued to just look at her blankly until she stopped. "But uh… Yeah it's not a good idea, the location is tight, but we can get in from the net for sure. It's just a matter of who can do it faster and with less trouble."

"Alright. Well I guess I'll be helping you out then Sasha."

My words didn't get the response I wanted as she shifted to looking at me with once again teary eyes as she begged for something… I had no idea what she wanted.

"What?"

"My Kouhai! You should! You should call me Senpai! How can I show off to that nasty old hag without my cute Kohai calling out to m-"

"Not a chance."

"Nyoooo!"

Motoko, Motoko why do you put yourself into these positions? I sighed, and just shook my head as this stray cat that apparently adopted me continued to badger me. This was such a stupid waste of my time. I should be leveling up like I had planned for today-

"Sasha."

"Yeah Nyan?"

"I need a server full of Daemons to test some things on. You know of a good one?" I asked, and she instantly nodded and opened her mouth to tell me, but then her brain caught up and she shifted back to that look.

I sighed.

"Please help me Senpai, you're my only hope." I said, maybe a little flat, but it worked and Sasha cheered as she once more bounced around.

"Yes! Nyahahaha! Don't worry! Sasha Senpai will hook you up!"

"I regret asking. I'm gonna go."

"Nyoooo!"

—--

*Sooo.*

"Sorry Malcolm. You good still?"

*Yeah Choom, just checking in, that was quite… An experience?*

"Tell me about it." I grumbled as I appeared at the IP address that Sasha had sent me.

"Welcome my Little Apprentice Kohai-Kitten-Chan!"

"Don't call me that."

"You wanted a server that has a lot of defenses? Welcome to the old No/Brainer corporate access server!" She waved her hand, shaking it around as if unveiling something at a circus.

"Okay? Never heard of them."

"Course not. No/Brainer's been scop for like twenty years kid." She teased with a stuck out tongue. "They used to make agent progs. Stupid shit, but they had a prog called HusTool."

"Hustle?"

"Basically. You'd sign up and it would connect the gonk doing it to someone that needed something ran. Packages, food pickups. All sorts of things."

"That sounds…" Like UBER, or DoorDash. I didn't say, but I got the idea.

"Exactly! Stupidly dangerous! What kind of gonk would run packages across the city for like 10 eds? You're likely to end up walking through territory you shouldn't be in, or some ganger sees you walking with a package. Easy mark." She explained making a throat slicing motion.

"Right, and this server is theirs?"

"Yep! See the gonks needed a server that could process the calls and requests. All good, but they expanded a bit too much. They tried to move into Pacifica, and well the VD boys at the time didn't like it. No/Brainer though they'd just harden up their server. Didn't work, not really. They lasted a while until their whole corp crashed down, and then the server got bought up by a new corp but the server was fucked with by the VD."

Sasha waved for me to enter and I took that with a lot of hesitation as I moved into the server lobby…

"Wow."

"Right? The server is still up, let's just say one of the big netrunners tricked the current owners into not realizing they're powering the thing, but it's an absolute jungle. Not quite as bad as going over the Blackwall, but for just a random run? It's pretty intense."

I looked over the lobby. Multiple IMP's wandered around, along with Static 'turret' Daemons, just waiting for an alert. I could see that the pathways out of the lobby were also pretty well secured just from a glance. That would take time to break through.

"Well? You wanted a mess of defenses."

"It's…" I didn't want to say perfect, that would give Sasha too much credit. "Is there anything good on the server? Data or something?"

"Nope! There's a reason no one comes here. Everything's been pulled, this entire server is dead code. But hey, it's what you wanted… Now can you tell your big Senpai Mysterious Neko-Nyan! Why you want to fight Daemons? Pleeeeease." I ignored her and moved in, HEAT Bullet already loading.

Time to get to wor-"Waaaaait!" I was halted as Sasha jumped in front of me with her arms out.

"What?" I stopped in surprise, not sure what she was doing but she smiled.

"This is the perfect chance for us to get a bit more used to each other! If we want to beat that bitch Kiwi, then we need to know how to netrun together… So let Senpai help!"

I blinked, and realized she… Yeah okay. This wasn't just for me to grind some XP, but also to get used to working with another netrunner, something I hadn't really done before.

The Arena with Sasha had just been the two of us splitting up and that was it.

"Okay. You're right. We should do this together. It's a good time to figure out how to work together.

"Yay!" Sasha bounced up and down and then threw me a wink while trying to act cute. "Then as your Senpai-Sensei-Sama I'll guide you in the first steps of working together as netrunners!"

"I regret everything already."

"Nyoooo!"

—--

Sasha Yakovlleva

"ICE is down." She called out and looked up, as Kitten finished off another Daemon giving Sasha time to break through. She stepped into the data path and Motoko joined her in moments.

Seriously even after burning herself out, she still tended to Breach Jump around like a rabbit.

Maybe Usagi-Chan should be her new nickname? No Kitten-Nyan was much cuter!

The path behind them closed blocking the resurging Daemons from following.

"That worked well." Motoko said as always her Avatar had a tendency to look around, her eyes checking every corner as if just waiting for something to pop out.

"Yes! You're little sight Daemon was cute. Wouldn't mind trading for some data."

"No. That ones private." Her very uncute Kohai responded back instantly.

Mooooe! Always so mean to her Senpai. Not that Sasha didn't deserve it, she looked away. She'd never tried to take another netrunner under her wing like that, but cute little Motoko with her obvious crush had just been too much to ignore!

Only for her to fuck it up.

She squeezed her arm and relaxed. All good. Everything was good. She was flesh and blood. It was her, and not a monster under her skin.

She wiped that thought from her brain, and focused on the here and now.

"Next room will have a data moat. You ever came across one?"

"I know what it is." She said but didn't really answer the question.

"Nova-Preem! Okay I'll get the bridge rezzed, and you just keep the Daemons off me, good?"

"Yeah, leave them to me."

"Yay! Usually baby netrunners hate being on Daemon duty! I'm adopting you forever!"

"Denied." Motoko offered back with her arms crossed, Sasha just cackled at the fact that Motoko was such a fluffed up kitten absolutely denying attention.

She should invite her to hang out in real skin. That would be nice. The door opened, and they both entered the next security room.

The data moat was just as she remembered a massive chunk missing from the bottom of the room, it wasn't just a visual thing, even Motoko's little Breach Jumps wouldn't be able to cross it, not until the servers bridge was reconnected. It was a literal hardware disconnect.

Turrets dropped from the ceiling. The IMP's controlling the servers attack programs already opening up. While a Succubus also manifested.

Oh no! That was the old school fully nude ones! Good luck Motoko! Don't fall for her Digital whiles!

Senpai Sasha was busy!

Sasha focused on her task, a Succubus was a bit much for most newbies, but Motoko was a bit more than that.

Okay access node, entered, ICE bypassed, there's the Bridge connection, but it's behind a whole lot of protections. Whoever designed this room wanted to keep a netrunner stuck here for a while.

Sasha looked over and relaxed. Motoko had already ripped the Succubus apart, despite the Daemons four programs, it didn't matter to Motoko's speed. That girl really was quick. Not quite as fast as some of the best with a Keren, or Sandy setup for a real connection. Or those that went all out and got Deep Net Dive equipment.

Sasha didn't have that sort of eddies, or a hospital she trusted to actually do that to her.

Such was life.

Another ICE wall was cleared, and Motoko had wiped out the turrets, but the second wave had already activated. A small army of Soldier Daemons. They were battering down Motoko's own ICE that she'd surrounded both Sasha and herself with.

Sasha had been ready to raise her own, it was rare to be able to truly trust your back on the net to another runner.

Sasha was going to have to give her Kohai lots and lots of affection for being such a good girl!

ICE cleared.

"Bridge is loading!" She called out as she rose up, and set her own hacks to wiping Daemons to clear the path.

Motoko's rapid light hacks were very clean. Low Ram, high output, but Sasha liked things a bit beefier. She started loading, relying on Motoko to keep her safe, three seconds, five seconds.

Ten seconds.

Upload complete.

The wave of fire that exploded out of her hands wiped the entire group of Daemons, even causing some discoloration on the server walls.

"Hah! Take that!"

"Sasha… Don't kill steal." Motoko replied back, cutting the wind out of her sails.

"Wha! I was helping!"

"I almost had them all." Her Kohai grumbled like a grumpy little kitten and headed for the bridge.

Oh no! "I'm Sooooorry!" She called out rushing after. She'd ruined her little Kohai's big moment! She'd need to work extra hard to build up her confidence! Don't worry Kitten! Sasha is here!

—---

*250 XP Gained.*

*250 XP Gained.*

*250 XP Gained.*

*250 XP Gained.*

The numbers flowed, and I was a happy Gamer.

"And here is the end! Like I said, just an old data processing server, but it has crazy defenses huh-huh! I was right, right?"

"Yes Sasha, this was actually surprisingly tough. It was good training… We work well together."

"Hehe! Well next time we should switch jobs. I want to see how well Kitten does breaking down ICE instead of slaying Daemons."

All I could do was nod, it would be a good idea, but…

"How about we call it here for today though? I've been on the net all day, and my choom has been watching for me."

"Oh that's so smart! What a good girl! Having a choom watching out for you! Aaaa! You're such a good Kohai!" She squeed at me, and I once more got the feeling Sasha was sort of overcompensating a bit.

"It's just a good idea."

"Mhmm! It is, it is! I wish Sasha could trust Maine or one of the others to watch over her, but they're no good." She admitted, and I actually felt kinda bad.

Sure, it was a big ask to have Malcolm basically sit around all day, and I was kinda-sorta his boss as well, but he could say no, but hadn't so far…

I would have to thank him when I logged.

"Well thanks, Sasha, I appreciate this."

"Yes! Want to meet up with best Senpai tomorrow? Oh! Or is that too soon?"

"Let's say the day after at least. I have other things to do."

"Yes! I'll see you then okay?" She asked and I couldn't help but send her an actual smile.

"Yeah see you then."

"Hehe!" We both disappeared from the server not long after and I arrived back at my Lobby, and logged out.

"Malcolm?"

"Here 'Toko." Malcolm called out as I rose up blinking my eyes and stretching. Malcolm was laying across a few chairs with the laptop in his lap as he played some game on his agent while he watched.

"Hey, uh… Thanks Malcolm, really. I appreciate you covering me."

"Hey, it's cool choom. Seeing netrunner stuff is neat, and I don't like the idea of you laying there without someone covering you anyways." He offered as he sat up placing the laptop on the chair he had his legs up on as he rose up and stretched himself. "Oh man. I'm ready to move though."

"Yeah me too. Want to grab some food?"

"Ah, I can't, I ate like everything. I'm stuffed." I looked towards the bags of snacks we'd brought with and yeah he'd demolished it all.

"Alright, let's get out of here anyways."

"Definitely.

 

[Seras]

I'd hung out with Malcolm for a while, but we eventually split up as it was getting late.

Giving me time to look over my updates.

*Quick Hacks skill level up!*

*1 Perk Point Gained.*

This was big all on its own. I'd finally managed to get Quick Hacks to 10. That last level up from 9 to 10 was really a slog, but I'd managed it.

The feeling of surety in how to twist and alter Data on the fly felt surreal. What was a Quick Hack, but a long hack already programmed and ready, why not alter some variables when needed on the fly?

It was a big jump, but as always the perk was even bigger.

*Level up achieved!*

*One Stat Point Gained.*

*One Skill Point Gained.*

I had leveled up once after killing so many Daemons.

Dozens of the things had been spawned in that Server, it wasn't quite as crazy as that first Server that Yoko had tossed me into, but it was still an excellent spot for some practice.

I'd have to see if I could go through it solo at some point. Sure, balancing defending against Daemons, and clearing server fortifications like that Moat room would be a bit more than normal, but it was still just a server.

Most importantly though, I needed to choose with my Stat point. Aaaah! It was always so hard to choose! I wanted more Adaptation for my Sandy, and I wanted more numbers for everything else!

I sighed and just looked at Intelligence.

It was probably the best choice. Start getting some real specialty with Netrunning, especially since Sasha had asked me to join in her little challenge.

Honestly, I did want to impress Lucy. Although she was probably my superior in netrunning. Ugh. She probably wouldn't be using her deep dive port, but the girl was trained to dive beyond the Blackwall. She would be scary to deal with.

I sighed and just decided. Pushing the point into Intelligence.

I startled as I heard a negative tone and then looked at my Intelligence still at 14…. Wait.

Intelligence 14 (14) Due to Cyberization, Maximum value has increased by 4.

"Ah."

I was already maxed out without more cyberware…

I forgot.

Looking around I relaxed, driving through Night City meant no one had just seen me do something so stupid.

Ugh. Okay, so should I go get something new to pump my Intelligence Cyberization, or just start leveling another Stat? Or I could put another point into my Sandy…

I sighed, I really should focus on getting my netrunning up. I closed the stat page as I was at a red light and made a call.

*Kid everything alright?*

*Hey Vik, everythings fine. I'm on the lookout for something. You know of any good Ram Upgrades, or something? I'm getting ready for a netrunner challenge in a week, and I want to boost myself as much as I can.*

The light changed and I started driving.

*I don't have anything in stock, nothing that would be compatible with your netdeck. Let me put out some calls, for my favorite customer I'll see what I can do.*

*Thanks Vik. I'll try to look around as well, if you find something let me know?*

*Sure kid. Talk to you soon.*

*See ya!*

I changed my calls as I drove through the city.

*Motoko?*

*Hey Hiromi, I need some new cyberware, I already asked Vik about it, and he's looking around, but I'm looking for a Ram Upgrade.*

*Oh! Okay, let me see. I have a list of Rippers that we worked with last time, I'll ask around.*

*Okay just don't promise anything right away unless it's really good. I have Vik looking too.*

*Don't worry Motoko! I won't let you chip in some scop chrome! Just give me a minute! Bye!*

The call closed and I couldn't help but chuckle, as always Hiromi was so energetic.

Alright that gave me time to look at the last reward.

The perk.

Quick Hacks 10, it honestly felt amazing to reach. An offensive skill finally reaching 10.

The list of perks as always was long, and I browsed through them as I drove, as I parked, as I rode the elevator up, as I flopped on the couch.

There were a lot of amazing options, but I had to pick just one.

Ninja Hacking: Learn how to slip hacks below notice.

The perk's knowledge flooded me, and I had to stop for a moment and just close my eyes to process.

Mostly because it was just full of mathematics, and ways of thinking. Netrunning wasn't a science really. There was an art to it. An understanding of how to insert a program to get the longest amount of time before it was noticed, ways to bypass human perception, and more.

It was all one more step to being able to Laughing Man anyone I came across. I was getting closer to being able to truly alter someone's sight in real time, closer and closer to simply being a Ghost.

Hopefully Vik or Hiromi would get back to me soon.

—--

Despite having spent all day active on the net, my body didn't get the message and I felt antsy as I paced the apartment. Hiromi had only sent a single update text that she was working on a lead, so I didn't want to just go to sleep.

The information from the new perk still flowed through me, I was processing it, but I couldn't relax.

My pacing stopped as I headed into my room and pulled out Musashi's Katana and headed back to the living room. Drawing the blade I slipped into the forms relying on instinct to swing the blade.

I'd need to make some adjustments to my quick hacks. While the perk was mostly knowledge of what I could do, there were things I now understood about netrunning that meant with a few tweaks I could make all of my hacks more stealthy.

I wonder if I could entice Yoko with an even more stealthy Ping? I'd already called my older Ping a stealth Ping, but that had been arrogant. I could make it even less impactful on a network, I could upload it right to the face of a netrunner protecting a network and they probably wouldn't even notice.

Well unless it was someone like Yoko.

The fact was she was still better than I was, I still had heights to reach.

I stalled, my blade held for a cutting strike above my head as I held it. There was a moment, a stirring along the back of my neck, I shifted, adjusting to face the door and then it opened a moment later as Jun walked in stopping as he noticed me with my Katana out.

"Motoko?"
"Hey Jun." I greeted back and lowered my Katana, shifting into a completely casual position "I'm feeling antsy." I told him and he just nodded.

"Well, be careful in the apartment. I don't want to explain to Fujimura-Sama why he needs to send someone to fix a cut in the wall."

"I'd never! What do you take me for some sort of gonk, drawing a blade for the first time?"

"Yes."

I narrowed my eyes and lowered my sword before pointing the sheath at him threateningly.

"Those are fighting words." I said eyes narrowed, and he smirked, drawing his sheathed sword from his hip, pulling the blade out and laying it gently on a table near the door. I walked over and put my blade on the kitchen counter and then we both shifted. "Prepare to die." I told him, and he snorted.

"Prepare to be humiliated."

We charged and the sheaths smacked as we instantly fell into a rhythm.

"Foolish Nii-chan, you will be a good test for my progress!"

"Motoko… You're embarrassing." He told me to my face and I responded hotly, our 'blades' crossing and searching each other for weaknesses.

Jun was stronger. Annoying. But he was also more limited, his muscles, and strength were limited. Like a bodybuilder going for absolute gains, without realizing that he couldn't even scratch his own back anymore.

I abused that, coming up from angles, where he couldn't bring his strength to bear, and most importantly, I was just better than him.

I could taste his instincts, Jun had definitely been taught by Sensei, but I'd fought the entire Dojo.

I knew all the common motions and movements that sensei taught, and it was child's play to put Jun right into a position where suddenly I flicked up and his sheath was flying out of his hands.

"Hah! I'm invin-Hey!" I growled as he grabbed my wrist while I raised my hands in victory. "That's a real bit-Eeeee!" I went flying as he spun, lifting me entirely off my feet and flung me like a ragdoll towards the couch.

I spun, shifting my angle and landed feet first spread out and staring right at him.

"No, that's bullshit." he grumbled pointing at my successful save. "How did you do that? I just threw you!"

"Motoko is a ninja, Nin nin." I informed him, giving a big smirk and that only made him glare harder.

"Ninja my ass. Alright I'm done." He went to grab his sheath and I stood up and wiped myself down to do the same, we both put our swords away and honestly I did feel a lot better!

—--

*Thanks Vik.* I confirmed, as my favorite ripper had found something. A Ram Upgrade that would be a solid upgrade. It wasn't top of the line, and it wasn't bottom of the barrel, but anything was better than nothing to be fair.

I pulled away from the couch where I'd been lazing around and sent a text to Hiromi.

*Motoko: Vik pulled through, He found a Zetatech 6.5 RAM. It's usable.*

*Hiromi: Hold on.*

I blinked at the quick response, but Hiromi was going to Hiromi so I headed into my room to check some stuff. My Tachikoma project was doing well, I noticed. The little drone was wheeling around doing much better than it had when I first put it down. It still spent most of the day exploring my room, but that was fine.

Wandering around, I snatched up some equipment, grabbed my guns and such. Before stopping and grabbing a Katana.

I was so close! Just a little more and I could finally level it up!

Then I headed out, Jun was in his room napping so I left quietly and headed towards the elevator. I could go see Vik while I waited for Hiromi, probably go check out the RAM he found. I'd hate to find some scop shit from another ripper.

Just as I was unlocking my Quadra I got a call back from Hiromi.

*Motoko! Okay listen! I just got a contact, someone is selling some really nice netrunning cyberware! A whole batch!*

I blinked at how breathless she sounded coming through the agent, and then felt excited.

*Really? Do you know what?*

*Somewhat, I got confirmation on some RAM, a Raven Micro RAM, T3716.* She offered, and honestly?

I had no idea if that was good or not.

*Whoa! That's great Hiromi! Okay give me a second to check in with Vik, but I still want to check on this sale. Meet up?*

*Yes! Sending my cords!*

I nodded, and ended the call as I jumped in. Sending Vik a message asking about the T3716

—--

I pulled up to find Hiromi waiting on the side of a road, obviously having just come out of a market area in City Central, and sliding into the passenger seat. She was practically bouncing showing how excited she was.

"I talked to Vik, he said the T3716 is top of the line. Way better than the RAM he managed to find. Great job. Thanks Hiromi."

She sent me a big toothy smile, but then shook herself. "Don't thank me yet, we still need to actually buy it…. Uh, the dealer is in Dogtown."

"Fuck." I grumbled, but I nodded and turned towards Pacifica.

"Yeah I know. But it's a stand in the old stadium. I got confirmation they sell amazing stuff there, and they'll be there today."

"Alright. Well… We probably don't need to call everyone."

"We don't. It'll be fine. Barghest are focused on trying to make themselves official, they want things peaceful especially when it comes to trade."

"Yeah yeah." I grumbled, as I turned towards Pacifica. I still didn't like it, but Hiromi just shot me a triumphant look and I had to shift my grumpy face to something accepting.

"Thanks Hiromi, I know I bug you all the time."

"Pfft. My number one most trusted agent deserves the best of the best. How will I earn eddies, if my money maker doesn't have what she needs?" She said completely straight faced and I had to shift to look at her before she started giggling.

"Funny."

"I know! It's fine Motoko. We make so many eddies, and this is a great experience. My classes at Arasaka are good but… They leave a lot of things out. Like making contacts on the black market." She said and I heard her irritation. "Stupid formulaic classes. They tell you that having Black Market contacts can be useful, but don't actually teach you how."

"But you figured it out."

"But I figured it out! It's something I can put on my worker log. I've had some of the teachers pay a lot more attention to me after everything."

"And that's good?"

"It's great! I'm actually treated as an important student. You remember Tomaru?"

"Uhhh."

"You pulled your gun on him when he tried to touch you once. It was a while ago."

"Yeah I don't. Sorry." I made the turn onto the freeway.

"Heh! No it's better that you don't. He used to cause me a lot of problems, thought he was hot shit, but the teachers actually stopped him from fucking with me after class." She smirked. I could see it out of the corner of my eye as she told the story.

"Want me to kill him?"

"Nah." She denied and there was a sinister edge to it all. "He isn't worth it, and he's below me now in the hierarchy, everyone knows it. His father is a bit higher than my parents, but now I'm above him from my own work. It's made things interesting."

"Well I'm glad classes are going well."

"Yeah." She trailed off, but I didn't press. Hiromi had never really enjoyed her schooling. I think the only reason she even went is because of my urging her to go.

But if some shit lord corpo was fucking with my choom, I'd visit him and make sure that problem was nipped in the bud.

We made it to the massive wall around Dogtown, and went through their security with Hiromi handling the pass and then we were through. The badly maintained streets rumbled beneath the Quadra as we turned towards the old stadium. We found a parking space, and I locked up the Quadra and even activated the Tachikoma, just in case.

I wanted to know the moment someone stupidly tried to steal my Quadra.

I looked around double checking the wandering people around us, as I stuck close to Hiromi.

Hiromi didn't seem to mind my presence at her side as I stayed close. At least she understood this place was dangerous even if she constantly argued the opposite.

We headed up the long stairs, past more than a few Barghest troops. Most of them were street kids dressed up like soldiers. New recruits instead of the original unit that had turned traitor and took over Dogtown.

Walking inside, I let Hiromi guide us, keeping a close watch on everyone that even walked near us. My eyes locked open, and hand on the Katana at my hip. I watched, ready and willing to cut down anyone that caused trouble.

No Cyberpsychoes jumped out of the woodwork, and no one tried to pickpocket, or worse.

It was just a normal trip through the stadium as Hiromi guided us to a corner where an old van had been parked. An actual van… I had no idea how it had gotten up here, there must be some sort of vehicle entrance down the way.

The side door was closed and resting against an old beach chair was…

A netrunner? I guess? It felt like someone trying too hard to appear to be a netrunner than anything. Netrunning suit, goggles, that were pulled up, and some older equipment, an actual external cyberdeck, a Zetatech Micromate if my quick scan told the truth.

"I'm Mitsunashi, here to see Koko."

"Yeah?" The boy asked, his eyes flashing as he scanned over Hiromi, and looked at me. I just waited, letting it happen before he nodded. "Alright then chooms. Let me introduce you to the product." He waved behind him, and the door opened. And inside, there was a lot of gear.

Cyberware hung from little hooks through the van, plastic bags sealed and hopefully secure. Either way I'd be doing a full clean before installing any of this.

I had a feeling I was dealing with a scav seller now.

"Good. I'd like confirmation on what we discussed."

"Yeah yeah, Corp, I get you." He grumbled, seemingly annoyed at Hiromi's professionalism.

He stood up and stepped into the van, pulling a few packages off hooks more than what I had originally asked for, what was Hiromi up to?

Then he laid them all out and I looked it over.

There was the Raven Microcybernetics RAM. I looked over the package doing a quick scan, and it looked functional. "You wanted the T3716 right? Good shit right there. Real top of the line. Its former owner was a runner, got derezzed going up against corpo security, his chrome is going out to the public now with a bit of his anti-corpo spirit along with it… Or I guess if you're corps, then you can do something good with his chrome, or whatever you corpo's believe."

"I'm not!" Hiromi started, but then just shook it off. "Motoko?"

"Looks good. Nothing on my scan shows damage."

"Course not. I don't sell scop, Hansen would flatline any dealer here selling like that. I pay good eddies for a space right here." He grumbled at me, but I just nodded, uncaring about his opinion. As if that would stop him from selling me something not working if he could.

"And the other pieces?" Hiromi asked hesitantly, and I took a look away from what I had wanted to see what else Hiromi had found. The first that caught my eye was an Ex-Disk. Something I already had, but… Well mine was scop, literal trash I pulled from a Scav den.

This was another top of the line. Same company too. Raven Microcybernetics put out good equipment. It only took a glance over the cyberware to confirm they were functional. It… Yeah I wanted it.

I reached over and shifted the package on top of the other, then looked at what was left. Two packages and both…

Okay that was a good selection. I looked at Hiromi and she smiled as I gave her a nod in thanks.

"Is that Camillo?"

"Course it is." The seller commented. "Top of the line!"

"Well, top of the line for stuff that isn't super rare. It's a RAM Manager, and not a Reallocator."

"Pfft. If you think I'd be selling a Reallocator off the back of the van and not just calling up some top runners to bid it away you're crazy." He responded back and all I could do was chuckle along with him.

Fair enough. I looked it over. Camillo was not what I would call top of the line, but… It was functional, and it did what it said on the tin. More Ram, and a faster restore time. It meant more hacks, less heat.

I scanned it over, and once again everything seemed in order. Even the cords inside the packaging were individually wrapped so they wouldn't cause any issue for the delicate cyberware.

I put it on top of the pile. This was going to cost me, but…

I looked at the last thing and… I put it on top as well.

Not as needed, but this was definitely a Hiromi thing. Self-ICE. Protection against quick hacks, at least somewhat. I'd have to check what sort of ICE it was using, and probably program in something even better. Something more personal, but it would give me automatic protection without me needing to constantly fend everything off myself.

Plus it also came with an additional bit of RAM.

Literally everything here did. My Arasaka Shadow had eight RAM, I'm used to an extra bit from my EX-Disk, but all of this equipment together? I'd probably be doubling the available RAM to work with…

I couldn't help but think it was time to start installing some bigger hacks as well. I still had 'that' hack that Yoko had given me so long ago. She'd wanted to see what I could do with it, with my programming so far.

I put the other package with the others.

"Alright. Seems I got some interested customers! Let's talk price!" The runner said with a smile, and Hiromi of course had her smile grow even larger as she stepped forward, nearly into the man's space as she went to work at what she was best at.

 

[Seras]

Hiromi as usual haggled fiercely, but even her best wasn't enough to really give us much, if any, sort of discount.

It was fine. I'd been making a lot of eddies, and never really spending it. Buying new Cyberware was basically my main cost anyways.

Hiromi and I were leaving the stadium, she was holding the gear keeping my hands free as I kept my eyes on everyone and everything.

"Relax Motoko." She whispered to me voice teasing, but I just smiled at her, and then ignored her anyway.

We made it back out to the setting sun and I had a moment of realization that despite how dangerous this place was, and it was, no doubt about that. It still had its own kind of life. I watched people camping out all along the sort of valley that Dog Town was built into. Campfires, and parties.

Stupid to do it here, but I guess some people preferred Barghest to NCPD.

Just as we were about to hit the top of the stairs I heard it, and stilled.

The noise was familiar, perfectly tuned Quadra Super 640 Hyper engine.

My engine.

"Fuck." I whispered as I raced forward for a moment ignoring Hiromi as I jumped up, getting as high as I could to watch as my Quadra, my baby, with it's pretty black paint raced out of the parking area, slamming into a bit of abandoned junk along the sidewalk and then roared forward down the main boulevard away from the stadium.

"Motoko!" Hiromi called out from below me, but I waited, eyes locked, as I went to work. It was already almost too far. I sent a Ping and activation code to the trackers that littered the car.

I watched as golden spider webs stretched out as the trackers reached out for open network nodes to transmit to me, and then just a bit more the car was too far and my Kiroshi stopped tracking the access lines.

But I watched on anyways, come on.

Come on.

I waited. There were only a few streets in Dog Town, and the biggest issue was my car was heading right towards the turn off towards the exit.

If my car turned off into Night City proper…

It would take less than ten hours for my car to be turned into scrap and disappear. My network tracking method would be too slow.

I saw brake lights as they came up to the turn and felt my stomach drop, but a Barghest truck drove in front of them, and the Quadra's lights turned off and rushed forward.

Driving right past the entrance to Dog Town, and farther in.

I breathed a sigh of relief, even if the air passing my lips came out feeling like arctic cold.

Turning back I jumped down from the top of the kiosk I'd leapt onto. "C'mon Hiromi. We need to move." I told her, and reached over to help push her forward.

"Motoko? Was that your car!?"

"Yeah." I confirmed and she had a look of real anger spreading across her face.

"Those bastards! Hey you!" Hiromi called out to a Barghest guard that was leaning against the concrete wall of the stadium. "Someone stole my chooms car!" She called out and I watched as the guy just looked at her blankly before shrugging just once. Then ignoring her.

"Yeah. That's what I thought would happen." I confirmed, still moving her down the steps of the stadium. I needed….

"Fucker! Aren't you- Motoko!"

"There, let's go." I said pushing her along away from the Barghest guard that would more than likely just shoot her than listen to her.

"What? Motoko? I should call everyone! We need a ride-"

"We have a ride. I need to get you somewhere secure, and then I need to go get it." I told her back and pushed her forward, right towards the Heavy Hearts.

It would be safer inside there, a booth and time would keep Hiromi safe while I took care of things.

Hiromi looked like she was going to argue with me, but instead she simply nodded and put some effort into hurrying up. Good, that gave me time to think.

I had my weapons. Lexington with two spare mags on the back rig, my Burya with two replacement mags, and my Katana at my hip.

It would be enough, and if it wasn't, I'm sure whoever was stupid enough to steal my car would have some more weapons. We crossed the street and then ran up to the Pyramid entrance. The Barghest guards looked like he was going to stop us, but thought better of it, as we slowed and I walked Hiromi inside. "Just find a quiet place, let everyone know there might be trouble."

"Shouldn't you wait for backup? Isn't that what you always tell us?" Hiromi reminded me as I was already half turned away.

"Yeah probably, but if I don't hurry they might start taking apart my car. I'll keep you updated with my location just in case."

"Alright. You'll have backup soon, but be safe."

I nodded and hurried out the door, breaking into a light jog as I started moving across Dog Town. I didn't know this area at all. I had no idea the safe places if you could call it that, or the gang territory. The only thing I knew was that at least one person was about to die. When I found out who stole my car I was going to make it painful.

I paced myself perfectly, and wasn't bothered by a light jog. Across broken sidewalks and over old graffitied benches I crossed the area as quickly as I could on foot. Luckily Dog Town wasn't that large.

I made good headway, ignoring the looks I was receiving from the natives. I raced along the street until it ended, which was annoying, but I was still getting a few stray pings from my trackers. Further forward.

As I ran I ended up running right into what looked like a little shopping district. A large tree of all things, a real tree stood in the center. I looked around for a moment, but the ping which was coming from what looked like a netrunner center in a cargo container kept pointing me forward.

I jogged through and finally I found it. Turning a corner I heard it first. Russian voices. There was a chair set into an old container that was looking out over the gap in between two containers and a Scav was sitting there keeping watch… Mostly on his TV.

Okay. My breath was good, but I had exerted myself. Calm. Cool.

I sent a ping to Hiromi giving my location and a brief description of what I'd found. I activated the BD recorder, opening my eyes to a world recorded. Then I peaked out from around the container and pinged the Scav.

Lights splashed across my vision. More and more as the stealthiest Ping I could do stretched its web between all the Scavs connected to it.

I added onto the message to Hiromi that I was looking at fifty plus Scavs…

I reached up and realized I was smiling, my heart hammering in my chest in a completely different way from exertion.

An excuse to murder an entire Scav den, and a big one? Oh I was going to really enjoy this. I took a moment to upload another hack into the gonk.

[Onryo]

I installed it at a very low setting, basically it would slowly propagate along the network for now, but not actually do anything. Just enough that when I needed I could start really fucking with everyone.

Then I moved. Stepping back I took two leaps, once against the wall and then over the container. Getting above the guard they had posted. I hunkered down already cataloging the moving pieces all around me.

Okay, the first target was clear. I leapt across the gap, landing without a sound, and slipping in through the back of the container behind the Scav.

My knife came up and I muffled his mouth as steel slipped into his jugular, ending his life.

*500 XP Gained.*

I dragged him out of the plastic chair and tucked him into a corner out of sight. No one would even notice he was gone until long after I was done here.

This gave me an open view down a ramp and into a broken construction area. The large towers that I was shadowed by were skeletal things, incomplete and this was where the Scavs had set up their home.

There she was. Right down in the open my Quadra sitting at the base of the ramp and people were looking her over.

She was still complete. They hadn't started ripping her apart yet.

I moved. Leaping off the container, and slipping into a crouched position on an old rickety walk way. Using the covered railings to hide myself as I got closer and closer, until I could hear them.

"I said six kay, that's all I'll do."

"It's a fucking modded to fuck Quadra! She's worth more than that!"

"She's also klepped. Six Kay." I watched as the guy who obviously stole my ride haggled with a full faced Scav.

The kid… No I shouldn't call him that, he was older than me, probably late teens, and he was a target anyways.

He would die.

He looked like he wanted to argue even more but eventually just tsk'ed and nodded, holding out a hand. He shook with the Scav, and the deal was done.

Six thousand eddies… For my car? My baby?

The shit in her trunk was worth more than six thousand eddies!

I watched as the thief handed over a shard… He'd already copied the shard? That was… Actually impressive. I could do it… Probably. Never had before, but that was impressive considering it hadn't even… Well he probably started stealing my car the moment we went into the stadium.

The little thief turned and walked up the ramp, six thousand eddies richer.

I followed him.

—--

Tony Gonzalez

Tony walked calmly out of The Scrapers yard and only when he was sure that he was out of sight did he hurry a bit more to get away, finding a quiet corner to duck into and catch his breath.

Selling to Scavs was always a danger. Tony kept his Lexington visible in his waistband just in case.

He checked his account, six kay… That was a lot of eddies, not as much as the car was worth, but it was good eddies, more than he'd make in a couple of months working some scop job or worse.

Easy eddies. He'd go buy Melissa that skirt she'd been looking at. He wouldn't mind seeing her in it.

He patted his jacket, the car cracker was still there. It was his key to a good life. He'd klepped it from a dead runner. Old Etienne was a VDB, Tony did some work for him, moved things and the like, but he'd gone to pick up a new package only to find the old runner fried.

So Tony had helped himself, getting the fuck out of there hopefully without anyone noticing. He hadn't gone for any of the gear. Nah, that was shit that the other Boys would notice missing. No he klepped the little things that Etienne made. A car cracker, a runner stunner, and all the eddies he knew the old man kept around as he didn't trust virtual eddies.

It worked out for Tony. Months of living real quiet, letting old Etienne's death blow over until no one would ever think Tony had anything to do with it, or that he had klepped something from the old man.

Then when his eddies were running out, he'd gone out to keep an eye on the stadium lot.

He couldn't klep a ride from locals, or anyone too important. There was a way of things, and pissing off Barghest would end with him dead in a ditch, but some outsiders coming to use the blackmarket? Outsider kids even?

Just a couple girls, corpo and street rat, coming to the black market to feel the thrill probably. Buy something illegal, get into some trouble. Now they'd have a story to tell about their stolen suped up car. Probably daddy's or something.

Tony nodded as he made to move on, only he couldn't. His legs dropped as quickly as his blood pressure, as his throat was opened up.

—--

*250 XP Gained.*

I took a moment to look through the gonks pockets, a stun stick, nasty fucker too, and a Car Cracker. It'd sync up to a vehicles on board computer override the key system, and with just a press of a button most cars would flash a new key and you'd be off.

The only problem was, my Quadra had good security, it probably took a while to crack. When I got out of here, I was going to update the security even more. Fucking hell.

With that cleared up I headed back to the tower that was basically a massive scav den. I looked over the numbers from back on top of the storage containers hidden among the refuse.

There were netrunners around, but not good ones.

These weren't security runners, but thugs. People with Quick Hacks meant to try and disable their targets, and while normally I'd be a lot more wary, with my Stealth Quick Hacking Perk that I'd just picked up, I felt like a Ghost as I uploaded more hacks through the gonks I could see standing around my Quadra.

There were a lot of people just inside this construction area, and it was a surprise just how many more of them lived inside the half finished skyscraper.

This was a nest. Maybe even a distribution center for a massive Scav Gang.

I'd never heard anything about this place, but then again if the data I'd gathered led to DogTown I'd also ignored it and moved on, thinking it was insane to follow it.

Good thing I was feeling particularly insane at the moment. Onryo had spread to everyone. Time to initiate level 1, I sent out the code that would cause her to start getting a bit more aggressive.

I needed to clear out the stragglers first. There was a Sniper along the side, he'd be my first target, just to be safe.

I moved, jumped up and onto the rooftop, only taking a moment to look up, to make sure I'd be out of sight of anyone on the upper levels of the scraper.

Then I moved, sticking to the shadows cast by the setting sun, and moving across the construction site unseen.

I heard it as I approached, one of the guys around my Quadra yelped and started yelling at his buddies.

Onryo was doing her job.

I slipped down from the Containers that surrounded the area, landing without a sound right behind the sniper Scav. He had good gear even walking around with a Grad of all things. Not really beating those Russian connections there pal.

It's fine. He was hidden up above the rest of the construction site, and so when I slipped behind him, and l ran my sword through his heart from behind, grabbing his mouth to quiet his startled gasp he died easily.

*750 XP Gained.*

Nice. Extra XP.

With him dead, I had superiority over the entire area. No one else was really on overwatch.

It was time to wipe out some Scavs.

I heard the first real scream as I was making my way through the shadows, unable to hide my grin as Onryo was working.

Sure, going completely stealth would probably have been better, but… I wanted to see how Onryo did. I still needed to do more updates to it, but a little field test was a good idea.

That and I didn't want them to focus on my car.

I'd already tried to call for it to come to me, but the car cracker that little shit had used, had overwritten the key shard I still had.

I'd have to override whatever bullshit this thing had done. But first I needed to clear out some assholes.

I slipped down among the shadows even as the cries of panic grew louder.

Onryo was working hard. Grabbing at hands, or legs, or running fingers over cheeks from behind. Which the poor bastards agents all made them feel.

The network integration was working too, as I started hearing the gonks scream at each other when the Ghostly form of the Onryo would slip out from behind someones back with her claw-like hands.

Of course there were a few working to fix the issue.

The Netrunners were already trying to hunt down the Daemon in their network, but like I said they were thugs.

I pulled out my knife readying myself as I took over the Daemon and set up a vector.

The Netrunner had a moment to see Onryo slide up from below his sight, climbing out of his shadow and then clambering up onto his chest. Each time she touched him as she climbed he'd feel it and then it was revealed the massive knife in her hands.

"Oh fuck off! Whoever is doing this! I know it's just a fucking trick!" He yelled out, trying to act tough, trying to act like this was nothing so his chooms would calm down.

Which is why when Onryo thrust a knife into his throat. I made my throw.

There was a moment, I could tell a dichotomy where what was happening to him didn't make sense and he tried to deny it.

But the blood flowing out of his mouth as the blade stuck through his throat stopped all of that.

The Onryo laughed, warm and sinister and disappeared.

Which revealed the truth to all of his chooms.

The screams… Well, I had to admit it gave me warm feelings inside as the Scavs went from reacting to some weird shit, to realizing they were in a horror movie.

*750 XP Gained.*

I had one more knife, and then I'd have to start collecting more.

I grinned.

The shock, the fear, it already affected their ability to try and pin me down. Instead of sticking together, or sending out groups, the Scavs were splintering, some were running in fear back into the building, some some together, and some started firing randomly.

One Scav actually shot one of his chooms when the Onryo was sliding along that guy's face.

*500 XP Gained.*

I guess if I got some idiots to kill each other it still counted? That was nice.

There were about sixteen Scavs in the area at the start, two down, fourteen more to go, and then however many were in this building.

Time to get to work.

I started running, rushing through the maze like stacks of containers, and trash that was built up all around the area.

I knew where they were, but they had no idea where I was.

The first Scav I ran into was hiding. Shotgun pointed towards the only area where he'd jammed himself. The Pozhar was shaking and wavering.

Unfortunately I had just leapt above him and was looking down on him now.

I pushed up the Onryo's effects on him. Suddenly, hands were crawling up his face, scratching, and clawing at his eyes. Agents weren't meant to cause pain, but well…

His scream was pretty horrible, and while he was blind and scrabbling at his eyes I leapt down, kicking the pozhar as I landed, knocking it up and out of his hands, until I grabbed it out of the air and pointed it.

The blast echoed in the little cubby between two containers he'd tucked himself, and then I just dropped the Pozhar and leapt back out.

*500 XP Gained.*

Gone like a ghost. I decided to wait and see, laying down on top of the container and just letting the chaos continue.

Three Scavs came to check on the noise, and when they found their choom, or what was left of him. I adjusted their own affect.

The feeling of the Onryo scratching at their eyes, gave me all the time I needed to leap in between all three of them.

My Katana was shifted, and in a single move I drew my blade, three bodies and three heads fell.

*500 XP Gained.*

*500 XP Gained.*

*500 XP Gained.*

I once more disappeared, slow and steady, lure them away. Get them into smaller numbers, and then blind and remove them.

Honestly when I'd originally come up with Onryo, I hadn't thought of its effect of being able to cover some poor gonk's eyes.

Adding in the pain mechanism, and using that like an Optical Reboot? I had to admit, this was much more powerful of a hack than I'd expected.

—-
Daniil Antonov

The screams as the setting sun was coming through the open spaces in the half built skyscraper were not something he wanted to hear.

"Fucking hell. What is going on now?" He grunted as he left his own little room. Being the boss of the place had its benefits and a bit of privacy was one of them.

"What's going on?" He called out, looking around as more than a few others were coming out of rooms to find out what the hell was going on.

He hurried down when no response came.

Shit.

"Grab your weapons!" He roared to everyone grabbing his own Pozhar and hurrying towards the elevator.

When he arrived he slowed down so he could process what he was seeing.

One of his men was shaking and disturbed, scratches ran across his face, and they looked self-inflicted.

Cyberpsycho? He gripped his gun tight, just in case.

"What the hell is going on?"

"We're under attack!" The man checking on him called out. "Some Runner is fucking with our boys! They're seeing ghosts, and more and more are showing up dead!"

Daniil considered this. There were two paths forward for him. Send more men downstairs, maybe even start ordering everyone down to kill this scop sucker.

The other was to wait it out. Netrunners had to see you to hack you out. He didn't have security cameras up here, and his boys had every route up, locked down. Some one dangerous enough to start slaughtering his men was dangerous enough to just let them do what they wanted.

But that would make him look weak.

"Dmitri. Take your squad, clean up this mess." Daniil ordered, and looked up at the man.

Dmitri was his group's heavy hitter. The most borged out fuckers in the group. Ex-SovOil special forces. They were what Daniil used when shit got bad. The guards he used when he had to deal with Barghest, or any of the other players here in Dogtown.

"You heard him!" Dmitri didn't wait, roaring out and holding that massive HMG of his.

His squad of killers clambered into the elevator. There whoever was stupid enough to fuck with him was dead. Now to deal with these idiots getting scared of some piece of trash causing trouble.

 

[Seras]

I dropped down right onto the poor unsuspecting gonk. Knife into the eye socket, slight jerk to scramble everything and other hand grabbed tight onto his throat, squeezing to make sure not a sound could escape.

The death rattle practically squeaked out, and I held the body in the shadows as it twitched its final times.

Only once I was sure it wasn't going to kick hard and hit something or make too much noise did I lower it to the metal grating. Taking just a second as I pulled free my blade to wipe it on his shirt, removing as much of the blood as I could. Kiroshi could track blood stains if I wasn't careful, so it was a good idea to remove as much extra blood to keep it from dripping as I could.

*500 XP Gained.*

I'd been slowly picking off this group one by one. Onryo was pulling her weight, and I had to admit, while I usually like to think complete stealth is better. There is definitely something for causing so much chaos that your enemies are just as unable to deal with you as if they didn't know you were there.

I'd circled the entire area, and was hiding in the darkness of a few pallets when I heard the cry that they found my most recent kill.

The fear that I could hear in their voices was delicious, and I couldn't help but smile as I fucked with the one screaming.

Out of the corner of his eye Onryo would flash past, and the cry that he'd seen her was all I needed.

It gave me all the opportunity I needed to move. I leapt and slid into the open vent that ran above the hallway they'd all been coming in and out of.

I'd heard the elevator inside going up, and I'd now heard it coming back down.

I slid quickly on my belly along the metal venting until I found a spot I could peak down from.

A long hallway, and I could now see the targeting laser of an HMG turret going back and forth…

Heh.

I wormed my way forward, until I could see it, and slipped inside.

One moment to the next I opened my 'eyes' but I was the turret, slowly arcing back and forth, giving me a view of the tunnel from the end, and a few Scavs that were huddling down at the end of the tunnel guns pointed and whispering to each other.

The temptation was there to just turn the HMG turret, but I held off, the elevator was coming down.

I couldn't see as the elevator dinged open, but I heard it, with my real ears.

"Get the fuck up! The fuck are you cowering for!?" Roared a booming voice, and the steps soon followed sounded like the footfalls of an elephant.

The man that walked past the turret was huge, borged out to hell and back. So I slipped through his security, I realized I was literally laying calmly just above this idiot, practically smiling as I felt like humming, but I never would, as I breached into his system.

Hmm. This had been an excellent test of the Onryo, but she still needed some work.

I ended up turning over onto my back relaxing as I used the turret to breach into each of the new Scavs systems, uploading Onryo and making some active adjustments. All I really needed was…

That should work, Agent vocal methods. Yeah that would do it.

Actively altering a hack as I listened too what the Scavs were up to.

"Well Where is this Runner fuck? Why isn't he dead yet!"

"It's like a ghost Dmitri! Nothing we do works!"

"A fucking ghost! Fuck off! Well! Runner come out so I can murder you already!"

I closed my eyes and smirked, overriding one of the Scavs that had been down here the whole time.

Time to make a show.

—---

Dmitri Agapov

"Fuck off! Well! Runner come out so I can murder you already!" He roared, his eyes scanning. Third gen Kiroshi let him find even sneaky fuckers, or so he thought, as he looked around and didn't get anything but the scan pinging the dead bodies.

Who the fuck was this? Barghest? No, those fuckers would have crashed in with an APC and started shooting.

This stunk, and Dmitri hardened his grip on his HMG.

"What do you mean I've been here the whole time." Whispered a sultry voice from behind him, and Dmitri shifted.

One of the fuckers, he hadn't bothered to remember the name of, had just spoke, the look of horror on the gonks face was registered. But his optics flicked to the woman that was wrapped around his throat, sharp claws clutching the man's throat.

"The fuck?"

"It's the ghost!" Cried one of the others, and to his irritation opened fire.

The woman cackled as the gonk fuck shot their own men.

The ghost was untouched. Not a drop of blood, or a bullet pierced her. And then as the gonk slumped having been shot up, she slipped behind him, and as he fell the fucking bitch was gone.

That was not normal.

"Naughty." That sultry voice echoed out and he turned, another of his men, was now clutched by the ghost, the voice coming out of his throat not his own. "But you can't stop me. Not until I get what I want."
The man screamed flailing around despite the grip the… Ghost? Had on his throat and she cackled as she vanished once he broke contact.

Did you have to stand still to be affected?

"Boss!"

"Stay close." He demanded, Dmitri had seen open warfare, Sov Oil and Petrochem had been in a cold war with each other for years. It wasn't Arasaka, and Militech, but the two companies knew who their rival was.

He'd stared down Dragoon FBC's. He'd rode atop a Tank piloted by insane Panzer Boys, and yet…

He'd never fought a ghost.

This was bullshit. He could feel the red rage flooding him, his biomon beeping informing him of another fit.

Yet, he didn't see an enemy. How could he fight with a ghost that disappeared before his eyes?

His HMG shifted the barrel slowly scanning. Trying to find his target.

"What's wrong?" Whispered in his ear, and he shifted, fingers scraping on his cheek, the sharpness so very very real.

He roared, pulling the trigger as he shot at the woman that had definitely just touched him.

The HMG chugged, throwing the rounds through her body until she vanished before his eyes.

He'd just mowed down Ivan.

"Bitch!" He roared out, blood rushing through his ears. "I'll kill you!" He screamed.

"Oh but why? We're becoming such good friends! Kill that one next. His ugly face annoys me." She whispered sweetly into his ear, and pointed at… Some fucker he didn't actually know the name of.

His eyes widened behind the Scav mask and he stepped back.

Dmitri wanted to murder him just because he acted like he was going to kill the gonk.

"Fuck off!" He roared, punching at the stupid ghost woman on his shoulder only for faint laughter to come to his ear.

His Biomon beeped.

What? He felt his heart pick up, adrenaline spike and he roared as rage washed over him.

How? What? Where was the enemy? What was- His Kiroshi shifted, the fuckers around him! All of them had their IFF change to red! Enemies!? HERE!?

"FUCKING DIE!" He screamed as he unloaded, the sound of his biomon beeping in urgency was silenced never to reach through his agent as he killed the traitors. Yes. This was their plan to kill him. A Ghost? Nonsense. These were just traitors!

—--

I was honestly a little surprised at just how effective that had been.

Hacking into the borgs agent, had given me access to some of his cyberware, and well…

His Biomon had actually already been shrieking about panic attacks of all things. Trying to keep him calm, so I'd just… flipped it around. A real big shot of adrenaline and a few other things the man kept his Bloodpump, and he'd flipped out.

I think I'd just sent the guy into a full on Cyberpsycho event…

Cool!

I still felt like humming but kept it to myself as he did all the work in murdering a few scavs. I was a bit disappointed not to get XP from the kills, but that was fine. There had only been a few left, and they did fight back.

The borg was bloody, a few of the scavs had fired on him when he started attacking them, and well…

That was all to my benefit. He continued to pace around like a bear screaming for the traitors to come out. For them to reveal themselves…

I thought about taking him out. Burya would do it without much issue but… I had a nice situation here.

The appearance of Onryo flashed in his optics, the IFF in his optics marking it as an ally. She waved for him, and headed back inside.

This was just… Fucking sinister. I felt myself grinning like some evil villain as he followed in a rush not sure whether he was going to try and kill her or not, but he followed, all the way back inside, past my overwritten HMG turret, and into the elevator as I lured him in again.

Then… The elevator went up.

"Look at them. Traitors, they're going to kill you. Kill them." Onryo whispered in his ear, using his agent to speak to him, as she lured him into a bloodbath.

Unfortunately I opened my eyes and sighed. I couldn't see what was happening through his optics, I'd have to work on something that let me do that, so this game was over.

I slipped back out of the vent and took just a moment to activate the HMG to fire at any of the scavs that came down. Then I looked over the now dead quiet construction site.

I took my fingers and used them to make a little square like I was filming a movie and pointed them right at my Quadra, still sitting there nice and pretty.

"Don't steal my car." I whispered loudly enough my BD recorder would pick it up, and then I hopped down to make sure everyone was actually dead.

Stupid scavs.

I kept a slight bit of attention on the connection I still had to the poor gonk that I'd just sent upstairs, and the alerts on his biomon to new injuries.

Huh. That had actually worked out pretty well.

I looked at the Quadra.

I looked back up at the building behind me that I could hear gunshots hammering…

I should just leave. I had my car. I'd killed Scavs, earned some XP…

Hiromi was probably worried…

This was Dogtown, I had no idea what the politics of this place was like. I should just leave…

On the other hand?

Fuck Scavs. Fuck this place, and fuck people like them.

The Biomon confirmed my poor Cyberpsycho was dead.

That meant there were more scavs. Disrupted confused scavs. Easy to surprise and kill scavs.

I turned and headed for the elevator.

Just a few more murders wouldn't hurt.

I headed back into the little pathway reaching the HMG turret, and the elevator, but I left the HMG where it was, as much fun as it would be to bring that up with me, she'd do a good job making sure no rats ran away.

Besides, I was on a quest.

The elevator closed behind me, and I closed my eyes to focus myself. My hand reached over and grabbed at the hilt of my Katana.

I was close to reaching that final number. Sensei would be very surprised if I manage it before I have to head back to the dojo.

So now was my chance. I'd let Onryo play out down below, but here? Where things would be closer? I was going to be the deadly flash of a blade.

"The perfect cut." I whispered to myself, and the elevator opened revealing the first room. The dead bodies of scavs already lay around, my pet Cyberpscyho had done his job. But I moved forward, calm strides, as I was on a sort of walkway around a lower floor room. It might have been pretty fancy if it wasn't half complete, and covered in scav entrails.

I stepped forward and looked down, instantly seeing a few scavs, and my poor cyberpsycho. He'd been shot to hell laying in a slump in the center of the room.

Ping went out, spreading golden lines across my vision, as I instantly started breaching into the Scavs system.

[Weapon Glitch] Uploaded into their network, and then I readied the next hack. Stepping up onto the railing I stepped over and into the air letting myself drop.

Calm. Cool.

The Perfect Cut.

My foot touched the ground, and I activated my Sandevistan, Instantly I shifted my momentum forward and launched at the Scavs that hadn't even registered I was there yet.

The blade slipped from my sheath, with a whisper, flash of steel and I was through the first Scav.

*500 XP Gained.*

"Wha-" Their eyes went out, and a moment later my blade slipped through an open neck, sliding out, to cut through the second Scav's arm that had been raised up to fire a Omaha, which never fired, limb and gun flipped away as I finished the final cut, and all the Scavs in the room slumped dead.

My neck burned lightly, but…

I breathed in and out.

More. I needed a bit more to find that perfect cut. To push myself just a little bit farther. I turned towards the hallway leading out of this lower room, and followed the golden lights.

The next Scav I found never even realized he was dead as I simply cut through him and moved into the room he had just left. Sandevistan activated, giving me the time I needed as I rushed forward. The two scavs in the room shifted up in shock, crying out rising to their feet, before I made them blind and I reached them. First the arm to remove the gun and then a single strike through the neck, head flying, I considered it for a moment a blissful perfect moment as my Sandevistan kept everything still.

My hand reached up grabbing dirty hair and I spun sending the now decapitated head soaring through the air right into the blind face of his compatriot, I gave it a moment mostly because I wanted to see what would happen.

I watched as he stumbled back sputtering and shrieking blind to the world.

One step. Two step. Three step.

One step too many.

There was a hole in the wall, and nothing but open air. He fell back screaming for a long while.

*500 XP Gained.*

I turned and moved to keep killing. To keep hunting, and more importantly, to find that perfect cut I needed to improve my Blades.

I cut through scav after scav. Blind flailing, weapon failing Scavs, each of them nothing but bodies to cut down as I systematically removed their ability to harm me, and then simply removed them.

Until I was chasing the last golden light, leaping down I found a bridge just settling and a Scav rushing across a sort of draw bridge of all things.

I chased after, easily catching up foot steps utterly silent as instead of simply cutting him down I kicked him square in the back sending him smashing face first into the metal grill floor.

"Going somewhere?" I asked, Sexy Motoko voice, active and sinister.

"Fuck! Bitch!" He cursed me as he spun around and raised a Burya himself, the borg killer pointed and nothing. A noise of failure as he pulled the trigger a few times earning the same thing.

"Mines better." I offered and drew my own Burya and fired, his shriek was music to my ears as I shot the Burya right out of his hand, the shrapnel sending his flinching back and screaming.

So this was it? A pathetic Scav crying as he held his bloodied hand. No grand battle? I mean this would be an awesome place to have a cool sword fight or something. I realized that I was expecting too much. This guy wasn't going to give me anything worthwhile.

So instead of listening to his blabbering anymore, or even giving him the benefit of my own words, I just pulled the trigger.

*1000 XP Gained.*

Wait that meant he was the leader? That guy? Crying on the ground guy? Jeeze, what a waste.

That guy was good enough to take the entire scraper under his control, and craft it into a fortress… Of sorts anyways.

That guy? How embarrassing.

Too bad their little fortress wasn't good enough to even slow me down. I looked out over Dogtown from a few stories up and just watched all the people move around.

Then I blinked as I recognized something.

Huh. I blinked my eyes as I made a call, and then used that to route through a connection.

Ichi picked up the call.

*Motoko! There you are! Hiromi is freaking out, but we got a location. Everything good?*

"It's fine choom." I replied, not through the call, but as the Onryo, sitting right beside him in his van. I smirked as I watched the van jerk a bit as Ichi definitely freaked for half a second before getting control so he didn't smash into the little side street he was heading down.

*Jesus Christ Motoko! What the fuck!?*

"Sorry choom, just trying out a few things. I'm fine. Head straight from where you're going and then hit a right when you can't go anymore, there's a drive down into an old construction lot, I've cleared everything so get looting."

*Loot-Alright well you sound good. You found your car?*

"Yep. Killed the gonk that stole it, and the gonks that he sold it too. Anyone with you?"

*Yeah I got Malcolm and Rebecca in the back. Hiromi is still at the Heavy Hearts, she demanded I come help you before we pick her up.*

"That's sweet of her. I was pretty mad so I rushed off, I'll give her a call now. Just start grabbing stuff. They took over this entire scraper so there might be a lot of stuff up here to grab too."

*No shit?* He asked, obviously sounding very interested.

"No shit. Alright I'm out."

I hung up and instantly called Hiromi, who didn't hesitate before picking up.

*Motoko! Tell me you're okay!?*

*I'm fine Hiromi, everything is cleared up here, and Ichi is pulling up too. Good timing on his part.*

*You sure? It's been a while Motoko! You had me worried!*

*Sorry Hiromi, it just took me a while to clear this place out. Ichi is pulling up in his van right now, so we're going to loot up. You want me to come pick you up first, or just get looting?*

*It's best to just loot things. I'm fine here I guess. I'm glad you're okay.*

*No problem choom, we'll talk soon, bye!*

—--

"Yo." I called out as I stepped out of the entryway path to the elevator to see Rebecca, Malcolm, and Ichi all already looting.

"Motoko! Yo!" Malcolm greeted grinning like a loon. "Looks like you had a hell of a scrap."

"It actually wasn't that bad. I used a new quick hack, and basically made them go crazy. Remember my Onryo hack?" I asked him, and he blinked and just shook his head.

"Nope."

"Remember me now?" Whispered my voice in his ear as my claws ran up along his throat.

"Frgle! Fuck! Motoko!" Malcolm hissed, waving his arms as if trying to dispel the illusion that was already gone.

"Hehehe!" I cackled and Rebecca looked from him to me confused.

So I winked at her, and started hacking, which she noticed and instantly crossed her arms.

"Hey! Don't even think about it Strings, no hacking!"

"Aww." I whined at her while smirking evilly. "It's really funny though."

"Nuh uh! No!" She pointed and I raised my hands in surrender.

"Okay okay. So how's looting coming?"

"Eh. Mostly trash so far, that guy had a Grad." Rebecca pointed at weapon resting against Ichi's truck as Ichi stepped off the truck grabbing a few weapons and then bringing them into the back to store away.

"Preem, there's a ton of stuff upstairs too. We'll need to gather everything we can." I said loud enough for all three.

"One step ahead of you, Motoko." Ichi called out, and came around the back of the truck pushing a loader.

"Alright, I'll show you both where the elevator is." I called out to the boys and guided them back to the tunnel, making sure to disable the HMG turret. Which both boys were already eyeing.

"Go on, get that later if you want it." I told them laughing, and went back to help Rebecca.

"Hey Strings! Come nab these will you?" She called out waving as I approached where Rebecca was squating over one of the corpses. It was one of the more borged out guys that came out with my pet Cyberpsycho.

"Oh Eddie shards?"

"Yep! You can get them right?"

"Yeah." I confirmed, although I didn't usually think about it. I leaned down and after a few seconds the shard port popped the shard out, which I collected, Rebecca grinned seemingly pleased at the minor eddies on shards like these, and immediately started grabbing guns.

I shrugged if it made her happy.

 

[Seras]

We were making good progress and frankly there was a lot of stuff. Ichi was actually considering heading out with his van and coming back with the Behemoth and Hiromi was angling for that, but I kind of wanted to just get the good stuff and get out.

I took a break from grabbing loot to head to my Quadra, my old Shard literally didn't work anymore, and that alone pissed me off all over again. I'd ended up breaking into my own car just to figure out what the hell had happened.

That device the gonk that stole my car had, really was a shard writer, it reset the vehicle to a new shard, basically re-keying the car.

The fact was my old shard really was useless. I had to flash a new shard as I wasn't sure which of the gonks had actually kept my car's new shard and I didn't want to find out.

Re-keying my car took a while and when I finally opened the car I rolled my eyes at the mess inside.

The fucker had obviously been going through some shit, mostly my grenade box was opened, and from the way it looked… I'd put money on him realizing it was a bunch of grenades and doing everything possible to ignore that fact.

People were so squeamish about explosives in the same car as them.

But there was something missing.

"Tachikoma?" I'd set it on guard mode, but… Where was it? I reached out with the control shard and it did instantly connect which had me relaxing, but when I looked through the Tachikoma's eyes I could only see darkness…

I bent down and stuck my head entirely under the seat.

"How did you get back there?" I couldn't help but wonder as it was not just under the seat stuck as it struggled weakly trying to move, but was even upside down.

I reached in and with a bit of untangling got it free and flipped back right side up.

It wiggled a little.

Hmm. It must have reacted to the intrusion on the car but… Got itself stuck under the seat?

"We really need to work on your thought process." I told it, as I settled it on the passenger seat, and double checked my car's computer. The re-keying device was very brute force, and the last thing I needed was my poor car to fry its own computer.

Thankfully whoever had made the thing was talented. It hadn't fried anything, simply disrupted the normal system long enough to switch keys.

"All good choom?" Rebecca called out as she stuck her head in the cab.

"Yeah, I re-keyed my car, and thankfully nothing is fried or broken."

"Damn. You said this was from a piece of tech." She asked, and I pulled the carjacker out from my jacket pocket and handed it to her.

"Wait really? This thing stole your car?"

"Yeah it took a bit, it needs to break the security and then slowly convince the car that a new shard is the key, but that's what it does."

"Huh." Rebecca whispered, folding it over in her hands as she looked at it in interest.

"You want it?" I offered, because that was a greedy look on her face alright.

"Wait really? You sure?"

"I don't need it Becca, if I want to break into a car and steal it I just break into it and steal it. That thing would take like ten twenty minutes minimum on most vehicles, and I doubt it'll work on the real top of the line stuff. Malcolm's Caliburn is safe."

"Heh. I bet he'd shit his pants if I pulled up one day driving his baby." Becca whispered evilly, and I couldn't help but giggle at the thought.

"No stealing Malcolms baby, I really don't want to get a call from him freaking out. Again."

"Alright alright. Thanks Choom. I mean I got my own car now, but…" She grinned a bit evilly. "There's this one car I've had my eyes on, but never really had the eddies for you know?"

"Just don't get caught, or better yet have some backup or something."

"Nah I know the owner. A real asshole. Used to make fun of me for always walking when Pilar took the car."

"Ah. Revenge. Got it."

The moment was ruined as I heard a heavy engine rumbling getting close suddenly. Rebecca instantly reacted, rushing to grab her HMG while I stood up to see what was happening.

BARGHEST was here.

The former Militech soldiers had very specific colors and mods to their rides, and one of their rides just turned the corner onto the ramp down into the construction site. The thing looked like someone took a truck, put a Van on top of the frame, and then stuffed it with armor and weapons.

Dangerous.

Very dangerous.

*Ichi, Malcolm, we have company of the unfriendly variety.* I called out to the both of them on our call channel, and then casually took a position at the back of the Quadra leaning against it as I watched the vehicle slow down, and a few Barghest guards clambered out.

Kids. They were basically kids. Not that much older than I was. Three boys touting Copperheads and body armor to try and look mature. But I doubt any of them could even shave, and one older guy. Definitely an actual soldier. He had the look in his eyes.

"Evening." I called out loud enough for them to hear as I continued to lean against the back of the Quadra.

"You're not Daniil, or a member of his group." The big guy called out, he was carrying a nice Crusher, the Militech Shotgun. Definitely modded out too.

"Nope." I responded just as calmly. "If you're talking about the scav group that used to live here, they came down with an unfortunate case of dying horribly." My words had the intended effect. The old soldier didn't bat an eye, but the three kids were pointing out the dead bodies still lying out where they had fallen.

Joking around and whispering to each other about the bodies.

"Focus up!" The old man snapped, and the kids went rigid, their joking ending, and their guns all settling into grips ready to fire if needed.

Good training, but not that good.

I'd been hacking them from the moment they stepped out of their beast of a rig after all.

The big guy stepped closer, close enough we were no longer shouting at each other, and he looked me up and down.

There was a flicker in his face. No doubt he was trying to square the situation. Teenage girl with a lot of chrome sitting in the middle of a former Scav base that was now a graveyard.

His brain was no doubt fighting against the reality of what was in front of him.

To my surprise, he nodded simply.

"Not gonna ask why you felt the need, not my bizz, not Barghests bizz, but they were affiliates. Taking 'em out? That's gonna cost you." He rumbled out in a gravely voice.

Was this guy trying to get eddies out of me or something?

"Not sure what you want, these gonks stole from me, I came back to collect. Far as I'm concerned, the business is done. If Barghest wants something, then Barghest is going to need to be frank about what, and why. Cause I'm just not seeing where they would get a cut."

"Heh. You just came to clear out all these slime fucks, without a Fixer? That's not very smart."

"They stole from me." I repeated and the man actually had a smirk on his face at my words.

"Hmm I can respect that. Even appreciate it. Not like these scop suckers are worth much. But still. Barghest had a deal with them. We like to keep things peaceful. People that break the peace? Disrupt the way things are? It causes us trouble. We have to explain why something happened when things are supposed to be quiet, peaceful."

"And what does Barghest want? Cause I don't talk eddies or deals. The only thing I deal in is death." I repeated, because I hated this sort of stuff. Just tell me what you were trying to rip me off for and we could go from there.

Oh wait that actually sounded pretty cool. Good job Motoko! You said something preem!

The Barghest kids were chuckling at what I said, but weren't taking me seriously, but the older man? He just nodded.

"The cost for something like this is standardized. I'll pass the deets." He offered somewhat kindly, in the gruff manner the man had, and I got a text which had…

Actually costs for attacks and things on Dogtown grounds.

This was… You had to be fucking kidding me

"This is the weirdest shit I've ever seen. NCPD has never tried to demand bribes so blatantly."

"NCPD are a bunch of morons. Colonel knows what's up."

"Alright give me a minute. I'll send this to my numbers gal. This is fucking hilarious." I sent the message to Hiromi, along with an explanation, and just continued to lean back against the Quadra.

It took a minute but I got a response back, and Hiromi telling me to give her a minute to look everything over.

So I just relaxed, waiting.

The soldier chilled out. Even though I noticed that his eyes flickered to Becca who was staying mostly hidden every once in a while.

"Don't worry. If a fight breaks out you'll be too busy dealing with me, to worry about her." I offered to the man, and there was that flicker in his eyes of surprise, before his face broke into a grin.

"Yeah, I think you're right on that." He gruffed out a laugh, and actually seemed to truly relax. "Never liked these assholes. Always caused problems, liked to grab people they shouldn't and pretend they hadn't done shit. Bizz is bizz, but I appreciate them being gone. Hell of a lot of gonks to flatline in an afternoon."

"Eh. It wasn't too bad actually. I had to rush things a bit at first, cause they had my car. Some gonk stole it from the Stadium parking lot, and I had to rush all the way here to make sure they didn't sell it off, or start taking it apart. After that, it was just systematic." I shrugged and my low key response gave me a respectful nod.

"Hell of a job with just a few. You got what three, four upstairs? And that one with the HMG?"

"Oh they arrived after. I cleared the place before they got here. They're just here to get a return on my time investment." I offered, smiling at the semi-corpo speak.

Hiromi would have been so proud if she heard me just then.

"Just you?"

"Just me." I assured him, and the kids were scoffing none too quietly.

"Don't believe me?" I asked them and one of them spoke to me, only after glancing at the old man.

"Fuck no. You're a kid, no hardware or shit. Those shitty arms of yours aren't impressing." The kid offered showing off his own left arm which was a pretty high end Militech prosthetic.

"I've never had any issues with my Condors. Good Militech hardware. Solid." I responded back, and to my surprise the old man nodded.

"Good replacements. Nothing flashy, but easy to install and handle."

"Exactly, and just for your information. I recorded a brain dance of the whole thing. Give it a few days or so, and it should hit the market. You can see for yourself what this 'kid' can do." I smirked, although I guess I shouldn't be too judgey. I'd been thinking of him as a kid the whole time as well.

"No shit?" He asked, and his buddies looked interested as well. But my eyes flashed as I got a call.

"Mind if I take this?" I asked, and got a shaken head.

*Motoko! I got it handled, jeeze. How dare these idiots think they can try to push-*

*Hiromi. Focus please.*

*Oh Right. Sorry. Everything is paid, and not these extortionist rates. I contacted Barghest's guest services and got it taken care of. Tell them it's sorted.*

"My number girl says everything is sorted with your guest services."

"Tsk. Dammit Sarge!" One of the kids cursed. "Fuck that, I wanted to get paid!"

"Not how it works. I'll check in and if that's the case we're done here." The old man offered and I nodded, and then not a few minutes later he nodded to me, his eyes turning back to normal as he turned and headed to the vehicle they had come in on.

"Man! You're so lucky! We'd have taken you out!" One of the kids offered pointing a finger at me, and making a shooting noise.

So I shrugged, popped open my truck and hefted out my Uragan.

"Not if I took you and your giant target out first." I explained and that caused all three kids to jump, and the 'Sarge' to shift looking ready to fight before I simply put my Rocket Launcher back in the trunk.

They hurried out of there, but not before the Sarge gave me a look with all sorts of meaning.

*Ichi, Malcolm. Hurry up. I don't know how much longer we'll have for things to be quiet.*

—--

After the Barghest thing we decided to pack up what we had and get out of there. Ichi Malcolm and Rebecca split off to leave Dog Town while I went to pick up Hiromi from the Heavy Hearts.

As I pulled up she was already waiting outside, which wasn't great, I'd prefer if she had stayed hidden inside, but she walked over as I popped the door and stepped half out.

"Hey. Sorry for the wait."

Hiromi gave me a once over and nodded and slipped into the Quadra without a word.

Strange.

I got back in, and started off, Hiromi wasn't on a call or anything. I made it to the checkpoint and then through before finally poking her.

"Everything okay?"

"No." She replied back, and that didn't sound good.

"Hiromi? What's wrong?"

"This is my fault. You've been warning me about Dog Town from the start, and I blew it off. It's supposed to be pretty safe, but Barghest didn't do anything! They just watched your car get stolen and then!"
Hiromi fell into a quiet rant as I drove through the city.

"It's not that-"

"Motoko! It's… You're the one that takes care of things when things go bad, but I just ignored you, and so your car got klepped while I was left standing there with nothing I could do."

"Hiromi, someone could have stolen my Quadra anywhere. This… This isn't a Dog Town thing, and that pains me to say it because I have been warning you that Dog Town is dangerous… But it's not that dangerous. Not really. I'm overblowing it. I know that." I grumbled.

"Sorry."

"Don't be sorry. You didn't do anything wrong. You still have my new chrome right?"

"Yeah?"

"Then it was all very worth it. Besides, we made some more eddies, and I had fun."

"You had fun?"

"I had fun." I confirmed smiling at her, and that thankfully earned a small smile in turn. "Now, are we heading home, or do you want to come with me while I bug Vik for a late chip in?"

"I'll come with." She said firmly, and I nodded. It was always good to have backup when going under the ripper's knife, even if I trusted Vik completely.

It was a quiet drive into Watson, finding a parking spot was actually the hardest part. The entire area was busy since the sun was going down and all the bars and clubs were filling up.

This time, making sure my Tachikoma knew to actually alert me in case of any trouble, I set it up and left walking down the street arm in arm with Hiromi as both of us carried the bags of cyberware.

We got plenty of eyes, because not just everyone walks down the street with an arm full of stuff, but none tried anything. I still had a sword on my hip, and luckily the weapon seemed enough to keep everyone off.

Instead of going through Misty's we entered through the alley entrance, as that was just closer to where we had parked the quadra, and entered down the old steps into Vik's clinic.

"Vik!" I called out as I entered, breaking away from Hiromi gently to run up to the older man.

"Hey Kid. I was getting worried, I expected you here hours ago." He rumbled out with that easy smile. "I've even finished watching the evening's matches."

"Sorry! My car got klepped just after we bought the Cyberware, and I had to chase it down, and then well… No point leaving good eddies on the floor." I explained with a happy smile that Vik looked a little discomforted by.

"You alright? Any injuries?"

"Nah, the Scavs my car ended up with never even saw me. Literally! I used a new quick hack. It was fun." I gently started putting some of the cyberware bags on the table besides Vik letting him eye up the chrome.

"Ooh. Now that's a pretty piece." He mumbled, looking at the Camillo. "Gen Four?"

"Yeah." I confirmed as Hiromi walked over and placed the two pieces of chrome she'd carried in next to the others.

"Oh? You really went all out Kid. Ex-Disk, RAM, ICE? Nice choice." He mumbled, shifting a bit in his chair to look up at me. "That one does my heart some good. A good defense is better than more offense a lot of the time."

"Hehe!" I couldn't help but flush a little at the pride in Vik's voice. I got praised!

"She only bought it because it gives her more RAM." Hiromi whispered quietly half behind her upraised hand.

"Rude!"

"Hahaha!" Vik busted into a big chuckle at Hiromi's snitching! "I figured it was something like that. It's good anyways. Alright, kid let me do a full clean and check on these parts. Especially since you bought them from Dog Town."

"Yes please! The guy we bought them from was… A bit sketchy."

"He held an official trade spot in the stadium! He wasn't sketchy!" Hiromi argued instantly, almost offended at how I considered her little trader.

"He sold out of the back of a van. Super sketchy." I whispered, holding up a hand to cover my mouth just like Hiromi had done before.

"Motoko!" She half shrieked and went to slap at me, but I avoided her attack and danced away laughing as she gave chase a little.

"Alright, this'll take a few minutes. Why don't you kids have fun." Vik called out and I took the chance and ducked for the stairs Hiromi followed after me in a sprint.

"You brat!" She shriek-giggling at me, and I laughed just as happily as I easily raced up the stairs even doing a flip at the top of the stairs to turn me around so I could see Hiromi only half way up chasing after me.

"B-Bullshit!" She groaned at me, pointing and I just laughed at her irritation.

"No way slow Hiromi can ever catch me!" I teased, and her face scrunched up in irritation.

"Slow Hiromi? Fuck that Motoko! Get your ass over here!" She snapped and charged and I just broke in laughter as I let her chase after me, never quite managing a catch.

Hiromi's failure made her face get more and more red, and her hands curl into claws as she was definitely going to make me pay for messing with her. I stuck my tongue out at her, because if I was already in trouble I should definitely make it worth it!
"Motoko!" Hiromi screamed and started chasing, but we were both interrupted by a familiar voice.

"What's going on out here?" Misty asked, sticking her head out of the back of her shop, and I realized we were probably making a lot of noise, if Misty had a customer that wouldn't be very zen.

I smiled and made my move, Hiromi charging for me, actually hit me which surprised her, and so I grabbed her thighs as she hit my back, and spun around until she grabbed on and then once I had a Hiromi back pack I stopped and smiled at Misty.

"Hey Misty, sorry for the noise. Just hanging out with my Choom." I offered and made my way over. Hiromi adjusted herself against my back even if her arm around my neck was a bit tight as she grumbled in my ear.

"Motoko, and Hiromi, nice to see you both again… Want to come in?" She offered, and I nodded following her into the shop. It would be a good thing to waste some time with until Vik checked everything over.

—--

"Well it's all clean now. Nothing too bad before. This Ex-Disk would have given you a nasty infection if you'd just stuck it in your head, and the RAM had a bug, but it was old. So probably wasn't your sketchy trader."

"He wasn't sketchy." Hiromi grumbled, and Misty and I shared a look and giggled. I might have been riling up Hiromi explaining the day to Misty and she was all grumpy about it.

"Thanks Vik. I don't know what'd I'd do without you."

"Well, let's not find out. You ready for all of this? It's a lot of chrome, and you were trying to take things slow."

"I am. I've been taking it slow, but I do need to upgrade my rig a bit. I've got a netrunner challenge coming up, and I'll need the upgrade." My words didn't really earn me any points, and Vik looked me over for a long moment, before nodding slowly.

"Alright Kid. I'll trust you, but you know if it causes issues, you show up here, and I can pull it without much trouble. Always better to handle Chrome slow. I'll do my best to handle any conflicts, but this is four different pieces that all need to talk to each other."

"I know. I think I'll be okay, but I'll take it slow."

He nodded and patted the chair and I slid in, as he adjusted me up, to get access to my neural link, and then like usual his calm bedside manner took over, and he spoke soothingly, as he explained that he was pumping me with drugs, that would loosen me up to make sure I didn't move while he was installing.

Then after a quick pinprick as the drugs were injected I felt my whole body go loose, and he adjusted my head and started working.

It was… Sort of soothing actually? I could feel it, almost from a distance, like dental work after you're completely numbed up. I could feel the vibrations and the effects of him moving my neck around, popping the access panels on my neck, but there was no pain, or real feeling of it.

"Almost got the old Ex-Disk out. I'll put it aside and you can decide what to do with that after." He spoke into my ear, and if I could I'd have smiled. He could have it. It wasn't much good to me, and I didn't mind.

I could feel my agent and system alert me to the cyberware removal, and my head felt a little empty for a few moments, before I could feel something else being inserted, and slotted in.

"You okay Motoko?" Hiromi asked from the side, and I really wanted to smile at her or roll my eyes, but everything was pretty loosey, so instead I just sent her a quick text.

*Motoko: *

"I think that's a yes." She whispered, and Vik chuckled lightly, but I noticed it didn't even cause his hands to shake.

"She's fine. The kid's a champ under the knife. A real chrome head if I've ever met one. It's a good thing she knows restraint. I've seen a lot of kids like her lose themselves."

"Motoko will never do that." Hiromi argued instantly but she went quiet when Vik sent her a quick look I could just barely see out of the corner of my eye.

"That's what they all think. Don't worry Motoko's a good one, and I'll do what I can to make sure she's on the straight and narrow. You do the same? And she'll be right as rain. Now let me get this RAM Upgrade in, you'll feel a little pinch."

The RAM slotted and I felt the increase in functionality like someone just made my arm longer, or my hand stronger.

I loved it.

Yeah Vik was right. I was a chrome head.

 

[Seras]

The lines of text as everything ran through checks confirming it was working was only barely grabbing my attention as I slowly sat up and stretched a bit.

"Feel alright?"

"Feels alright." I confirmed, as I looked at my system.

Raven Microcybernetics Ex-Disk *Adaptation Ex-Disk 0/0*
Raven Microcybernetics RAM Upgrade *Adaptation RAM Upgrade 0/0*
Camillo RAM Manager *Adaptation RAM Manager 0/2*
Rostovic Self-ICE *Adaptation Self-ICE 0/0*

Yeah that looked pretty good. Four new pieces of equipment, but only one of them causing any adaptation issues?

"Hmm."

"Kid?"

"The Camillo is causing some feedback I think. Nothing major." I informed Vik like a good patient, and he pulled up his screen looking things over.

"Nothing I can see." He mumbled. "You sure it's the Camillo?" He rumbled, his hands tapping at his screen.

"Yeah, 100%. Could be anything though. I'll let you know." I reached up and ran a hand over the back of my head. The cut off point between hair and chrome felt a little tender, but Vik hadn't passed me a MaxDoc just yet either since Hiromi was still here.

"Something's wrong with it?" Hiromi in fact cut in looking concerned and I shook my head.

"Probably just a compatibility issue… Or it could be something about space. We did just stuff a lot of junk into my head."

"Yeah good thing you had so much space in there to work with." Vik joked and I huffed at him while Hiromi broke into giggles. "Hmm. Mind if I grab a few more scans before you run, kid? If you say there's something up, I'd like to peek."

"Oh! That's a good idea actually!" I just realized I might be able to do more than just come to Vik for help.

Adaptation solved the connection from cyberware to meat, but what did that actually look like? What did it actually do?

Vik had gotten scans of before and after before now, but… I'd never told him about adaptation. Not directly.

"Hiromi can you go grab me a drink? Got a weird taste in my mouth." I asked her as I sort of wobbled trying to show that I wasn't ready to move around yet.

"Yes! I'll get it!" Hiromi raced off, thankfully while Vik had looked confused at first he relaxed once he realized I was looking to speak to him privately.

"Kid?"

"You know about my healing." I told him in a whisper, and he looked towards the door where Hiromi raced out and leaned in.

"Yeah?"

"I get… Alerts I guess you can say when chrome isn't quite right. It heals so to speak over time."

His face scrunched up a bit as he thought, his free hand up rubbing at his five o'clock shadow as he considered what I had just said.

"I've noticed you get used to chrome quick." He trailed off at the look on my face.

"It's more than just getting used to it. It's like… Adapting. Right now we just plugged the Camillo in, and there is something not perfect about it. Take your scans as much as you can, and when… Well when I adapt to it, we can do it again and see if we can find what the issue is? I figure it might be helpful?"

"If it's something I can see on a scanner, or some data alterations… Then yeah that would be very helpful." He rolled away suddenly, and pulled out a harddrive, from his desk.

"It's a fresh drive. I don't want to leave this on the normal server." He explained as he slotted it into his scanners, and motioned for me to rest back. A minute later Hiromi arrived carrying a soda and I had to wait as Vik's scans were very sensitive.

—--

Hiromi came home with me, the two of us camping out on the couch once all was said and done, and I finally had a chance to close my eyes after a few more hours of watching bad TV with Hiromi to get my eight hours.

I woke up in the morning feeling perfect, but with everything healed I could feel it. A hitch so to speak in my neck, only it wasn't there at all. The Camillo definitely caused some issues, and I'd have to be very calm for the next while until I could drop more points in to adapt to it…

I looked at my stat screen.

1 Stat point.

It was supposed to be my Intelligence one… Ugh! I just wanted more levels! If I had more levels this wouldn't be an issue!

Especially since the temptation was now there.

Intelligence 14 (20) Due to Cyberization, Maximum value has increased by 10.
-Breach Protocol 14
-Quick Hacks 10
-Programming 13

I could raise Intelligence to 20.

I was no longer limited at all! Each of the four pieces of Cyberware had given me an additional 2 Adaptation for Intelligence.

I could max out a stat…

Closing my eyes I let myself just process, the temptation for ultimate power, was definitely there. But I still needed to follow the rules.

One point for stats, one for adaptation, and the one I was sitting on was for stats, I was getting closer to another level up, another dive into the net and I might get that, so while the irritation in my neck was annoying, and the temptation to just mash everything into Intelligence was there as well. Slow and steady.

I opened my eyes and pushed the point into Intelligence.

Intelligence 15 (20) Due to Cyberization, Maximum value has increased by 10.

Aaand didn't feel any different.

"Intelligence is such a lame stat." I mumbled Body made me all buff, Reflexes gave me ninja movements, but Intelligence didn't do shit!

Stupid Intelligence!

"Hmm?" Hiromi asked, and I rolled over to see her look up all bleary eyed from her pillow.

"Nothing. Sorry." I whispered and reached over and pulled her blanket up around her shoulders a bit, and her barely visible eyes blinked a few times before she lay back down and Hiromi disappeared beneath her messy bed head and pillows.

Heh. Hiromi was so cute half asleep. I slipped out of bed without disturbing her again and stretched as I checked out the window. Sunlight warmed my skin as it slipped through the metal guard slats.

If I knew Hiromi she'd be asleep for another hour or so, so I should grab some breakfast or something.

I slipped into my clothes and out the room without making a sound. My ninja skill too stronk! Won't even wake up my bestie as she sleeps in!

Laughing silently to myself at using my assassination and infiltration skill for such a silly reason I slipped out of the apartment, and into the elevator.

While there I looked once more at my screen…

I exhaled, I'd be meeting Sasha sometime soon, so I really needed to level up my skills, and I really didn't want to overdo it, so I needed to start.

-Quick Hacks 11

The loss of the skill point was well worth it, as I bridged over the gap from man to cyborg.

I had a lot of versatility thanks to Breach already being over 10, but Quick Hacks was an entirely different beast.

Quick Hacks. Daemons that were design to be uploaded and sent while in the real world, although using them in the net was the norm now as well.

But at their base, it was about using a program.

Scanning, configuring, uploading, activating. The basic steps for hacks, not quite covering everything, but it was an easy understanding.

This was…

To begin the next step, before the previous step was even done. Configuring the Hack as the scan happens, to Upload the hack as it's being configured, to activate before the upload was complete. Reduction in time by a drastic degree.

In the game of hackers milliseconds mattered.

In the world of the net the one to touch the other first usually wins.

I'd taken my first step beyond the human and into the cyborg. Not just using hardware, but using it in a way that was beyond just the human.

Breach made me think closer to that of a digital entity. Quick Hacks made me learn how those digital entities can attack. The first step in understanding what it takes to wipe entire groups of people at a glance. To become the digital Goddess that my cybernetic brain was destined to be.

Okay that was a bit much. I wasn't Alt, but still.

I grinned as the elevator door opened. Let's get some breakfast while I let my brain cool.

—--

Hiromi had to leave for school after our shared breakfast, dropping her off in front of Arasaka Academy. I drove off to find something to do with myself for the day.

Honestly, with how full my brain felt with the Quick Hack level there was only one thing… Okay there were like a dozen skills I was still working on, but only one that was a priority.

I headed to the Dojo.

A glance at my stat page reminded me just how close I was.

A perfect cut.

I know that's what I needed.

Besides, I should avoid netdiving for a bit longer to let the new cyberware settle. Doctors orders.

I headed back to Watson, back to Little China, and parked the Quadra in front of the Dojo reminding myself, I would need to do a new paint job on her just to give me some distance from the BD that I wanted to give to Judy.

Another task to do, but that kind of stuff came after.

I stepped inside, the early morning sunlight filtering in through the skylights giving the dojo a certain ambience as I headed into the actual dojo half of the building. Already there were a few students, and I instantly got some attention.

"Yoo! Yurei!"

"What's that? Ah, the Yurei is back huh? Come to cause some trouble?" One of the students, one I recognized as part of the guys that ate Noodles with me after the last time I was here.

"Yeah. I'm right on the verge of what I'm looking for." I explained and got an interested look from the older man.

"That so? Trying to reach that Kensai state huh?" One of them said, and then got elbowed by a friend as they laughed at the idea.

"Ah… Well I guess you could call it that. That's a bit pretentious though." I couldn't help but add, I might be a weeb, but like… Going around calling myself a Kensai or something was pretty… Out there.

"Heh! Well I know what you need. The only thing you really need. Gotta pull a live blade." He explained and I instantly felt my lips shift into a frown.

"Shh! Don't say that anywhere Sensei might hear." Another of the boys called out quietly, and they all laughed.

"That's not true." I said before I could think about it. "You don't need a sharp blade or a good blade. If you're trying to become good with a blade anything would work. You need the practice and the… The…"

"The eye within the mind." Sensei but in and everyone went quiet. "You are correct, what can a legendary blade do for someone that can not see?"

"Yeah exactly." I snapped my fingers. "Hi Sensei."

"Kusanagi. You have returned. Unfulfilled?"

"Yeah I didn't find it." I said a bit grumpy despite myself. "I'm right on the edge though."

"Then grab your blade." I nodded, the other students hurrying away to avoid the look Sensei had on his face as they all knew they'd fucked up bringing up real blades.

I got the feeling sensei knew what his students were up to obviously, but still wished they used their swords for better purposes…

Or I could just be wrong, and thinking better of him than he was. This was a Tyger Claw Dojo after all.

As I'd come to accept in my time in Night City. You could respect someone but still know they are terrible people.

I grabbed a Shinai and loosened up, feeling that slight tension in my neck, but that was easy to ignore as I turned and blinked in surprise.

"Sensei?"

"Kusanagi, prepare yourself." He offered and raised his shinai up slightly above his head.

Okay. All out from the start then.

I breathed in, exhaled cold and moved forward to being our engagement. The sound of our shinai tapping each other was soft, neither of us were striking fully, instead seeking to find the chip in the other's defenses. That slip up, that ephemeral space that would allow our blade to connect.

It was tough. Even with all my knowledge dumps, Sensei had his own experience, better reach, and a few more advantages. Who knew what cyberware the guy had.

Either way I fought it with tireless motions, my Condor giving me strength, and endurance, to match the knowledge dumped into my brain.

More.

I just had to find one more.

One more step.

Finally in a move I registered just a moment too late. Sensei activated his Sandy and I barely jerked my head out from where his blade would have smacked me. The motion so sudden and extreme that his follow up still tapped my shoulder 'cutting' me down.

"Damn." I cursed then flinched at his look, but…

I stepped back and raised my blade once more.

There was silence between us broken up only by the whispering of the other students. Most of which I could still make out as they weren't that quiet.

"Damn, still can't believe Sensei has to pull 'that' move out."

"Right? She almost dodged too. I didn't even see it."

I let the sound flow through me. Stop focusing on the unimportant.

The blade was raised, and Sensei moved in, a simple strike, but hiding depth, and I responded, pushing it away. Our blades clacking as we fell once more into a rhythm. It was a speed that would have looked performative if it was back in the old world. Sensei had more than a Sandy, his reflexes were obscene even without it, and I was already at the absolute human maximum for what a human could do.

But this wasn't it.
Where was it? That last bit I needed. The XP just refused to come forward.

None of this was new. None of this was the final step.

I shifted, pulling back and bringing the blade to my waist, as if it was sheathed. Something new. I just needed to do things I didn't practice as much. Surely.

The draw of the blade slammed into Sensei's counter, returning once more to the pace, before I shifted, if this style didn't work.

I held the Shinai with one hand and went sideways and started poking. Rapier work was deadly, and faster than swinging. Sensei was pushed back for a moment but he adjusted and simply held his defense, and I realized this wasn't it either.

A few steps back earned me space and Sensei didn't chase me. The two of us looked at each other, well outside of the reach of each other's blades. Shifting, I paced a few steps. Which he mimicked, each of us slowly shifting in stance and aggression and defenses, as we registered the others shifts.

Minute details stood out in stark contrast, a muscle stretching, a bit of weight shifting, a changing grip all of these things meant something and I took them all in with my Kiroshi, my eyes never losing track of it all.

I registered it this time, the slight shift of his ankle, the movement preparing and then he blurred, but my Sandy was activated in turn, and instead of another desperate block our blades clacked and hammered at each other as Sensei shifted from his single kill stroke to a dozen blurred moves.

The man was actually more deadly with his Sandy activated. As if he was more used to fighting with it on than without.

A terrifying concept. I fought him off, my Parry skill and reflexes stretched to the limits.

Parry was the actions of normal swordsmen, human bodies, and human limitations, activating the Sandevistan pushed us beyond that into a realm I was not truly experienced with.

I understood.

The difference between cyborg and man.

Despite my upgrades Sensei was definitely beyond me still. His synergy made it so even if I was on the edge of human experience with a blade, his ability outstripped mine.

But.

But!

The shifting blades, the staccato sound of our shinai snapping and snarling for dominance.

There was a flicker.

An XP Alert.

I'd never fought someone like this. Hayato was good and had her speedware, but she wasn't this good, or this fast.

What's his name? Flash Guy, he'd been fast and skilled but not as fast, not as skilled.

But Sensei going all out pushed me, showed me things, forced me to push forward. I pushed myself back, earning a half second's distance. And let my Sandevistan cycle.

And watched. Speed, blurring blade arcing for me, a flash of color not even able to register to my Kiroshi as an actual full picture.

I raised my Shinai, and the noise of a block echoed out. Then another as I shifted, keeping my blade close, miniscule movements to block the extremely fast blurring blade.

I failed, a strike landed on my shoulder, but another was blocked and pushed away only to be struck on the other shoulder, neither Sensei or I stopped.

Understanding flashed as our blades hit, he was going to push until I succeeded or failed.

But he didn't understand. I was a Gamer. There was no chance of failure. Then it happened. I pushed a strike away, feeling the next strike in the way the blade had pulled away and raised my Shinai blocking the strike to the top of my head, and…

My blade blurred out sliding along that blocked blade as I flashed.

Sensei pulled away suddenly going still, his Sandy obviously cycling as well, and he looked and checked at his hand.

Where my Shinai had smacked him, a red mark already visible on his skin.

*100 Blades XP Gained.*

*Blades skill level up!*

*1 Perk Point Gained.*

I exhaled cold just to keep myself from swaying. My mind already filled from Quick Hacks was flooded.

Blade 10.

I understood. My blade fell from a guarded stance to my side, as I instantly selected the perk I'd always planned for.

There were others I noticed as I scrolled down, new ones, maybe even better ones for pure swordswork, but I wasn't concerned so much about fighting a swordsman better than me, I was more concerned with fighting someone that wasn't a swordsman at all.

The perk was selected.

Bullet Parry: With a Blade in hand, parry bullets.

I see.

I understood why you needed to be Blades 10 in order to achieve this. How could you parry what you couldn't see, if you hadn't reached the point of no longer needing to see?

My shinai was raised as I felt it, a shift in wind, and more, and the sound of a shinai stopped from smacking into me echoed out.

My eyes opened and I saw Sensei standing before me, blade stopped.

The look on his face was shock, but more than that. He stepped back, falling into a high cut stance, and moved.

How could parrying a blade be harder than parrying a bullet?

The tip of my Shinai reached out and touched sensei's descending blade, and simply shifted it to the side.

He adjusted and swung out, but there was nothing to strike. I took a step back before I'd even finished deflecting his first swing, and his second hit nothing.

There was a silent moment. He held his blade like he was going to try again, but instead he shifted it and brought his hands together and bowed.

I returned the move, and then I guess the spar was over.

"Phew." I said finally breaking my silence, wiping my sweat covered forehead a bit. "That was pretty intense."

The man was silent for a while, instead his eyes were locked onto me, like he was trying to figure out a puzzle.

"Motoko Kusanagi."

"Ah, yes?"

"There is someone I believe you must meet." He asked, and to my surprise the expected order at the end of his sentence. I looked around at the quiet staring students that were trying to figure out what just happened, and so I just shrugged. I still had some time, and to be fair I had just completed one of my biggest grinds. So I was in a great mood!

"Sure!"

 

[Seras]

To my surprise Sensei offered me a ride in his little Mahir Supron. The van was not exactly the sort of vehicle I would expect from a man with so many Tyger Claw connections, but it was kinda… Fitting?

In the back there was a ton of junk from the Dojo, extra shinai and stuff.

The only stop we'd made was at my Quadra to pick up my actual Katana.

I had a feeling something odd was happening, but… Well numbers gone up made everything pretty happy in Motoko brain right now.

Blade 10.

It wasn't so much a huge jump in knowledge this time. There were no further sword stances, or ways to swing a blade, it was more… Instinct.

Swinging a blade, was a way to kill, being able to sense such a thing, was… I wasn't sure if it was Ki, magic, or just some strange instincts, but I was willing to bet more towards instincts. I could register the smallest changes to sense when I was about to be attacked. The senses needed to tell when a bullet was being sent my way.

The senses needed to know when a blade was drawn.

Sensei was quiet as we drove out of Watson, and then up into the hills above Westbrook. North Oak was something I knew about well enough, I'd often end up driving up here when Hiromi and I were just driving around.

And then we stopped in front of a landmark I knew well.

"The Shrine?"

"Yes." Sensei responded back with a monosyllable.

Fine be that way. I huffed as I stepped out and followed the man into the shrine. The monks noticed us of course, but not even the fact I was carrying a blade made them approach as Sensei simply walked under the Torii and then into the main shrine. There was a monk there, an older man, probably about the same age as Sensei, who nodded at our approach and then turned, guiding us even further inside.

Weird.

We entered the main shrine which was supposed to be more private I thought. Wasn't this where the Kami of the Shrine was meant to live, and so no one was supposed to really enter?

I mean… I wasn't the most caught up on Shinto beliefs, but I think that's what I remember from too much anime.

Fuck don't tell the monks all my knowledge of their religion comes from anime.

We stepped inside, and to my surprise there were two other monks inside, the two of them sitting seiza facing the door.

The monk that guided us walked across and joined them all three seemingly not even looking at us.

Sensei moved in slowly, seemingly guiding me, and I followed before taking a seiza seat before the three of them.

"Hmm." The middle monk made a noise, an old man, with eyebrows practically flowing off his face, but it was the chrome that stood out to me.

The guy…

He wasn't meat. That was a full borg, an FBC, a gemini, but not really hiding what it was, which was a bit weird.

I took this in instinctively. He was in a Gemini, but there were still traces of chrome appearing, his Neural Link was beefy and he had a Sandy, but…

Yeah. That was a Gemini. I was sure of it.

But then I felt it, a prickling lightning shooting up my spine, a shift in the wind, a smell in the air, the flash of light glittering off a bit of dust flowing through the room.

My action was instinct, blade drawn and raised to guard my right side as suddenly there was a shriek of a blade on blade.

The old man had moved so fast there was no registering it at all.

In his left hand was a small Wakizashi? Tanto? One of those types, and it had swung out. He'd simply leaned forward and swung at me, and I'd blocked it.

I was going to step back, to make another action but…

"Satisfied?" I asked instead. He hadn't returned his blade, hadn't readied a counter.

He had no intention of swinging at me again.

"Do you know the meaning of this shrine Kusanagi Motoko?" The old man asked and I had to blink as I shook my head. "Ah, you see. This Shrine worships a Kami unlike those you will find back in Japan. We are Chram Denya Jinja, the Shrine of Chrome, Night, and Electricity. The Shrine of the modern Kami."

Wait… Was this literally a Shinto Shrine to Cyberpunk?

Fucking Cyberpunk, fucking Pondsmith. That's actually kinda funny.

I don't know how that actually worked with actual Shinto, whether it was just something silly that was decided on or not, but I liked it.

"And you? You have reached enlightenment. One with the Blade, in this electronic world."

How do you respond to something like that? I just shrugged, even as I resheathed my Katana.

The old monk chuckled, smiling. "You know, and yet are unsure. It is fine. Be proud of your accomplishment. It is something that men strive lifetimes for and still fail to achieve."

I scratched at my cheek a little. It was kind of embarrassing to be talked up so much when it was just because I'm a Gamer.

"You are the youngest in our records to ever achieve this. This shrine documents all those that achieve this within the city. We, the Elders of the Chram Denya Jinja, acknowledge a new Kensei has been born." The three all bowed to me, and I felt even more awkward.

This felt like something big or something, and I really had no idea what was going on. Can I just go back to doing my own thing please crazy old guys?

"Okay?" I asked, because I just didn't get it. Didn't really understand, but the old Monk chuckled again.

"Ah, of course, youth. Have no fear Kusanagi, this is simply the tradition of old men. But there is a benefit to you. A Katanakaji will forge for you a blade worthy of a Kensei."

I just nodded slowly… So… I'd get a new sword? Okay that's kinda cool, I gues?.

"Come, we request only one thing, for our traditions." And then from beside the monk on the right a box was laid out, and paper and ink?

"Please." He offered, and the main Monk nodded as well…

"What do I do?" I asked, half whispering to Sensei who sent me a look like I was totally going to be swinging a Shinai for a few hours in punishment.

"Calligraphy. They wish to understand a new Kensei's view of the blade." When I just looked at him blankly for a while there was the tiniest of sighs. "Simply take the brush and write out Sword. The Kanji is there." He pointed to the markings on the top of the box…

I nodded cause I knew what calligraphy was but… I didn't know how to do it!

I sighed and looked at the brush, ink, and paper…

I closed my eyes. I hate when weird stuff like this is asked of me, I always feel like it's embarrassing. It's going to look terrible, and then they'll judge me for something that in their eyes is important, but honestly is just some weird stupid tradition, or thing they care about.

I hate when people judge me for stuff like this. So what if I didn't know how to write well? Or my Calligraphy was bad. I've never done this, and it's not important in my life!

Fuck it. They want it? I'll give it to them. I breathed.

In.

Out.

Cold Blood crushed every inch of thought and feeling. I even stopped my heart for all that it was possible.

I reached out, took the brush and swiped twice.

Less using a brush and more cutting the stupid paper with a sword.

There.

I breathed once more, and my heart beat, and warmth returned to my soul.

"Okay. If that's everything? I kinda want to leave now." I decided and rose up before anyone could say anything. No way I wanted to look at some old men's faces as they critiqued my Kanji. As if I even knew how to fucking write in Japanese.

I only knew English, and worse English.

No one stopped me as I headed out of the interior shrine, and then through the next building and out into the main paths. The sun was warm, there were people around, and that weird oppressive feeling of something happening around me I didn't properly understand washed away.

Whatever.

This wasn't important, I still had a bunch of stuff to do today, and I really wanted to go find Malcolm or something.

I bet he'd shoot at me, if I asked him. I totally wanted to see what deflecting a bullet was like.

Thankfully before I got too antsy and just called my ride Sensei stepped out from the shrine and motioned towards his car.

Great. Glad that's over.

—--

Old Monk

"Teenagers." He remarked amused as the girl fled. And yet.

The eyes of them all were on the paper.

The brush had done more than just mark the paper with ink.

He raised the paper up and grinned as the light leaked through the black ink. A Kensei so sharp she cut even meaning. A brush that cut through paper.

Yes. It was always good to see a new wonder enter the world. "Make the calls."

His fellow elders nodded and bowed, not to him, but to the calligraphy. Enlightenment came in many ways, and from many things.

Grumpy Teenagers were usually not among them, but such was life.

—--

Sensei drove me back to the dojo without saying much, but as we stepped out he finally caught my attention.

"Kusanagi."

"Sensei?"

"Do not foolishly believe yourself invincible because of your skill. Your death would be a tragedy."

I blinked at his words and couldn't help but feel my lips twitching a little.

That was actually kind of sweet in a way.

"Thank you sensei. I don't intend to die until I'm super old. There's too much I still want to see and do."

"Hmm. Good." He bowed and I returned it. Then he simply shifted and walked into the dojo.

What a weird situation.

I had achieved my goal. Blades 10, and yet it felt different from any other ten I've gained. Then again this was the first combat skill that was physical. Quick Hacks wasn't something someone could just see, and Ninjutsu was on its definition about being unseen.

Those old monks… I wonder how they'd have reacted if they saw me sneaking around?

I shook off the thought and looked around. Nothing felt different, the city streets still felt and looked the same, but I couldn't deny that something about me felt different.

Kensei. I wasn't sure I really bought into the mystical stuff, but there had been bits of it in the games.

That one Tyger Cyberpsycho that was all about Ki, and stuff. I guess he'd still be alive. Too bad I didn't remember what his name was, or I'd give a warning to Fujimura.

I looked down at the sword in my hand. It was my Thermal Blade. My favorite. Sheathed as it was, it's dangerous glow was hidden, but…

I looked at it, and knew that part of me was different. I held it differently, and yet the same as I ever had.

There was a part of me that wanted to draw it, and go find someone. Anyone that would let me find out how different I was, but that was stupid.

I'd already dealt with a big Scav den literally yesterday. Well, there were still my chooms cause I really wanted to test out Bullet Parry.

Cause that shit was super cool.

I shook it all off. I had so much left to do. Hiromi would want to sell some of the Scav gear we collected yesterday this afternoon, and I still needed to go see Judy.

So I just slipped the sheath through my belt and relaxed. I could use something to eat, and then I'd go see Judy. I'd see my chooms later this afternoon, and I'd bug Malcolm, or Rebecca if she showed up to shoot me then.

—--

Lizzies bar was quiet, considering it was still mid afternoon that wasn't too much of a surprise. Unfortunately, there was no Rita, she probably worked more the night shift to help when things got rough, but I was waved inside without any issues and headed through and down.

"Judy you here?" I called out, despite being told she was.

"Who's that? Motoko?" Judy called back as I poked over the entrance to her workspace.

"Sup Judy!" I greeted, and she blinked a bit sleepily at me. She must be burning the midnight oil despite it being past noon.

"Huh. I didn't expect to see you again."

"What? Why?" I asked as I slipped in and took a seat across from her, idly spinning around a bit.

"It's been a while. I figured your little BD adventure was over."

"Nope! Just hadn't done anything that I could really sell. Corpo stuff is a bit sketchy to put out, or Gang politics. I had a big thing with 6th Street." I explained and she perked up as I said that.

"No shit?"

"Yep! They were out to flatline me, until I got proof there was some sketchy shit in the gang, ended up talking to their leader and giving him proof. Not exactly something I'd want to spread around you know?"

"Whoa. I don't know, that sounds kinda preem. You sure you don't want to spread it around?"

"Oh yeah, I'm sure. But I got a new virtu if you're still willing? Sorry it's been so long."

She gave me a look for a while trying to act stern, but she cracked with a smile. "It's fine. Nox is happy, and I guess if that's what you've been up to I get it. What's this one? Not some cyberpsycho shit again… Right?"
"Eeeeeeh." I had to sort of trail off, cause the Onryo was not exactly… Not Cyberpsycho shit.

"Okay hold up."

"It's not that bad! I made a new Quick Hack and used it on some Scavs that stole my car."

"They stole your car?"

"Yeah! I think I'll call this BD. 'Don't steal my car.' What do you think?"

"That's certainly a title. You didn't like…" She trailed off making grippy motions with her hands.

"Oh no, I stabbed some gonks quietly, but nothing like The Only Thing They Fear is You." Judy really didn't look like she believed me, but she slipped the Shard I'd given her into her system.

"Alright, I guess. Let's do it."

"Preem!" I cheered cause I was kinda excited it had been a while since I'd made a new BD!

Just as Judy was about to get to work though she hesitated and looked at her screen. I walked over and peered at the monitor and instantly noticed she was working on another BD. About 90% done too.

"Ugh. Sorry Motoko, I need to finish this one first. Susie wants this one done Pronto. Big client."

"Oh no worries choom. I'm not in a rush. Whenever it's convenient!" I waved at her and she relaxed.

"Preem. Alright let me get back to work… But if you want to do me a favor?"

"Sure choom."

"There's a shop down the street half a block that sells a new drink Susie won't let me go buy it myself, but if you bring me a Shock Volt. I'll appreciate it."

I looked at her, and the strew of energy drink cans, and other stuff across her work space and felt a little bad. "Okay but just one. Maybe you should sleep? You look tired."

"Eh. Maybe when I finish this one." She waved me off and I raced away. Bringing back her very high caffeinated energy drink and then fled before anyone suspected I'd brought it to her.

Judy was happy though, so I guess I was happy.

—--

"Sorry I'm late!" I called out, as I pulled out of my Quadra to see my chooms already waiting for me.

"It's cool choom." Malcolm waved me off and I grinned. Rebecca, Hiromi, Ichi, and Malcolm had all beat me to the meetup because I'd gotten a bit distracted.

I'd had to send Sasha a message apologizing, and needing another day before we did another training day.

Everything that happened yesterday had sort of thrown my schedule off.

"Have we got a sale yet?"
"Yup!" Hiromi preened, tilting her chin up a bit as she sat on the back of Ichi's van. The crates of loot we'd secured behind her. "Luckily this is a safe deal. Fujimura-Sama was interested in some of what we found, so we're just waiting on him. I figured he'd be a safe offer even if you weren't here."

I nodded as I walked over. We were at one of the secure lots that we'd taken to renting to hold goods so that was a safe bed looking around…

"Hey Malcolm, want to see something cool?" I asked, and I could feel my inner glee prickle up as he instantly pushed off the van.

"Yeah, duh?"
I reached behind my back, pulled my Lexington, which caused a bit of concern from my friends, but I pulled the mag made sure there was a bullet in the chamber, and walked over to plop the gun in his hand.

Then I walked a bit away, turned and adjusted myself.

"Shoot me."

"No!" Hiromi yelled practically shrieking, but Malcolm was already mid way through taking aim before he stopped. "Motoko!"

"Hold on Crush, I want to see where Strings is going with this one." Rebecca called out from the back of the van as she swung her legs around excitedly.

"No! We aren't shooting each other!"

"It's not like he'll hit." I countered, and that of course earned me a lot of confusion from everyone. Malcolm even checked the pistol to make sure, and then he looked up at me when he was sure the bullet was actually inside.

"Are you an illusion or something? Got your hack working that replaces you or something?"

"Nope! That's an idea I'm working on though. The functionality of it all is a bit wonky, between RAM usage, and trying to keep the Daemon that would be needed capable of actually replacing an entire patch of someone's vision, the co-"

"Hiromi!" Ichi called out, and I stopped to see what he wanted to say. "Just let Malcolm shoot her already. For all of our sakes."

"Rude!" I gasped at the audacity of this bitch, and he just rolled his eyes.

Malcolm shifted from Lexington back to me, and back then he raised an eyebrow, and I nodded. Ready.

He raised his gun even as Hiromi continued to argue with Ichi, now upset at him calling for me to get shot. Rebecca was watching, having seen what was up.

And then Malcolm pulled the trigger… No, that wasn't right. I registered it. The angle of the barrel, the way he was holding the pistol with one hand, the way the bullet would come. I drew my blade and swung, even as the sound echoed out, and then there was silence.

"Did… That just happen?" Rebecca spoke first, no longer just sitting back, but fully forward. "Tell me that didn't just happen!"

"Holy shit!" Malcolm gasped, looking at the gun like it shouldn't exist.

"Fuck yeah!" I cried out arms to the sky. "I AM THE QUEEN OF THE BLADE!"

"Did, what?" Hiromi whispered shocked and I danced around hooting in delight. Before turning to the brick wall and checking it. Yep there it was. A bullet hole.

"You just hit a bullet with a sword." Malcolm said, and I turned to him with my biggest shit eating grin.

"I have mastered the blade." I put on my fakest japanese accent while saying it, and gave a little bow.

"Okay my turn!" Rebecca called out, and I just laughed as Hiromi was even too shocked to protest.

"Sure!" I agreed easily, as Rebeccca pulled out her own Omaha, and I grinned as I set up for another clash.

"No wait! The Oma-" Hiromi called out, but it was too late. Rebecca fired.

No. I activated my Sandy. Again I swung, and then she fired. The cause and effect was off.

The bullet sparked, my awareness shifted.

Omaha didn't just fire one bullet, but a three round burst.

The blade shifted in flight, and the second round pinged off in a flash of grinding metal, and the third I just barely managed to impose the blade and instead of the simple deflection this one spiraled up, but still missed me.

Then all was silent.

"-Ha fires three bullets!" Hiromi shrieked and then stopped looking between Rebecca and I.

"Yeah-"

"-We know." Rebecca, and I spoke at the same time, sending each other a grin.

"It was a good test." Rebecca offered with a shrug. "Also that was nova!"

"Yeah if I can't handle a bit of rapid fire, what's the point of deflecting bullets?"

"I just can't believe what I just saw." Ichi whispered and I sent him a look.

"I've been practicing the blade a lot recently! Finally got to the point where I could do it. Well do it safely anyway."

Hiromi attacked me right after I said that and started trying to throttle me which was a little dangerous, I was holding a live blade Hiromi!

 

[Seras]

Judy Alvarez

"Alright time to do this." She popped the can of Shock Volt, washed down three wake me ups, and sighed as the cool warmth of caffeine washed through her.

Her heart pounding in her chest was the best part.

Then she pulled on the wreath and started up the new BD.

Slipping into a new skin, especially from a raw Virtu was usually a bit rough, new emotions, feelings, thoughts and everything odd random twitches, the way people held themselves, it all felt so different.

But not with Motoko.

Oh it felt different, but there was none of that random irritation.

Cool surety washed through her, her arms would definitely be prickling. Judy-Motoko peaked around the edge of a container.

Scav. The target was already being attacked and he never even knew, she felt a rush when technology simply gave way to her, and a dozen golden lights shot from the man, filling her vision with every threat.

So many. Judy hesitated in shock, Motoko didn't, washing away her surprise with cold sinister confidence.

Absolute surety of action.

Motoko sent a message informing a choom of the numbers, and then ran a chrome hand across her cheeks.

Judy was smiling.

Oh shit.

That wasn't just eagerness but the cold delight of a murderer about to get her fix.

A new hack was sent up going by so fast Judy couldn't even see the text scrawl across her own eyelids, but she knew it was functioning because there was no hesitation.

A moment later Motoko moved, and Judy once more learned what it felt like to not be a lazy bitch.

Leaping up onto the container and then across in a rolling move to keep her out of sight of the scav, leading to her sliding down into the container with an almost eerie lack of noise.

No scraping of chrome hands on the container, no echo when her boots hit the ground.

Silence.

It caused a shiver up Judy's belly. As she realized what was about to happen.

A knife was pulled free from behind her back, her Kiroshi didn't even glance at it, the cold surety that everything was exactly as planned as it plunged into flesh, and Motoko moved, hand over mouth muffling the faint gasp as the scav died.

Dragging him off the chair and hiding him didn't even take a momentary thought, simply instinct confidence.

Then she peaked out, and something shifted.

A car, Quadra Type-66, but a Nomad style, rough and tumble… Motoko's car? That's right she had said someone-

Motoko moved, like some kind of beast down a fall that Judy would have refused to do without even slowing, without making a noise as she slipped into a crouch hiding herself behind the small walkway barrier and moving just as fast as Judy could standing upright.

"I said six kay, that's all I'll do."

"It's a fucking modded to fuck Quadra! She's worth more than that!"

"She's also klepped. Six Kay."

The Scavs were talking to a gonk. Street rat, the sort that klepped cars and sold them to any dealer that could get them. Judy knew the type.

Motoko apparently killed the type.

There was no hesitation. Motoko moved to follow the kid, and Judy felt a rage, but it wasn't hot or bubbling, simply cold arithmetic.

The kid stole something important. Motoko would take something in return.

The kid died after a very short chase. Another sliced throat-

"Fuck!" Judy pulled off the wreath and slumped back, she was breathing heavily, and coated in sweat. She rose and nearly face planted. Fucking!

Fuck Motoko! Fuck that little teenager that makes Judy's entire body feel like something disgusting and rotting.

The Virtu was intense, and already Judy knew that she'd not even touched a tenth of it. She wrapped her arms around herself and just let the shakes dissipate, even though it annoyed her how her normal flesh and blood hands felt so wrong after the surety of Motoko's chrome arms.

"Jude?"

"Aaaeeee!" She shrieked at the sudden words and felt herself move.

Or try to.

She'd felt the instinct to move like Motoko, to shift herself and ready to attack, but she wasn't Motoko, just Judy.

"Ow."

"You alright?"

"I'm fine Carmen. Just fine." She grumbled, as she pulled herself from the floor. The wreath on the floor made Judy stop and pick it up and put it back on the chair. She'd get back to that.

Later.

—--

"Seriously though, that's crazy." Malcolm said as I once more deflected a bullet.

"It's… I'll be honest, I was hoping I'd be a bit better at it." I had a definite limit to the amount of bullets I could parry even with the Sandy.

"You seem pretty fucking good at it already, choom." Malcolm offered but I shrugged.

Could deflecting a bullet save my life? Definitely! But could someone with a rifle, or an SMG still riddle me with bullets? Yeah that was a problem too.

Also I had some worries about certain kinds of weapons. I was fairly confident I could do it for most tech weapons, but what if they were overcharged? What if it was a sniper?

As awesome as it was, and it was.

Deflecting a bullet with a sword was the most weeb shit of all time, and I loved it, but there was still a worry about how useful it was.

At least that's what was running through my head, before I remembered that having the ability to block a couple bullets, even if not everything was already better than 99% of people. Sure there were edgerunners that could do it, but not many, and not many would have the confidence that I did.

So, it was an additional layer of protection in some circumstances.

It was awesome, and more importantly.

I nodded and Rebecca cackled as she pulled the trigger and once more a shriek and burst of sparks later the bullet hit the wall behind me.

"Fuck yeah!" Rebecca cried out along with the gasps of delight from everyone else.

It was a great party trick.

I flourished my blade before doing a quick check over it, but it was fine. I'd angled the blade correctly to deflect the bullets and not just let them destroy the edge. Then I sheathed my sword.

"Okay I think that's enough for now."

"Duuuude! You have to make a BD of that." Malcolm called out waving at me, and I grinned.

"That'd be cool." I agreed and walked over to plop down on the van. Fujimura's men had come and gone, and cleared out a good chunk of our stock.

We'd grabbed a lot of random stuff from the scavs, medical beds, and surgery equipment, and Fujimura had been interested, unfortunately there hadn't been a lot of completed chrome crates. They must have already transported most of their goods.

It didn't matter. I was just happy to make some eddies, everyone was happy and I had gotten to show off my cool new trick.

"So what's the plan?" I asked, and Hiromi just continued to kick her legs happily. She'd relaxed after I'd proven I wasn't crazy for having my choom shoot at me.

"Well that's most of it. There isn't too much left, we can put it in storage and piecemeal it out, so we don't have to push for big sales right now." Hiromi explained looking behind us into Ichi's truck.

Honestly I wish we could have grabbed everything, there was a lot of useful bits in that skyscraper, but Barghest had been very interested in us even after we had the guys come and check us out.

We'd had Barghest trucks pull into the skyscraper the moment we drove out.

It was rather telling that they acted pretty aggressive. I think they only let us leave because we only had so much stuff we could take. If Ichi had brought the Behemoth, we might not have been allowed to leave.

Stupid Barghest.

Stupid Scavs.

"Alice has been mentioning she wanted to set up another practice session. She's eager to set up a gig."

"Ugh." Right. Alice, and the band. I huffed and kicked my legs. Stupid responsibilities. I just wanted to do what I wanted, whenever I wanted!

Malcolm tapped his fist into my shoulder. "C'mon choom don't pout."

"I'm just busy. I have the netrunner thing with Sasha too."

"Oh yeah, how's the chrome?"
"It's alright." I confirmed running a hand over the back of my neck and smiling at the feeling. The weird hitch in my neck was annoying, but honestly, I was fine. "No issues really. I'm probably ready to give it a real test."

"Heh. That'll be interesting to see. You need me?" He asked and I nodded. "If you have the time?"

"Sure choom."

"Aww." Hiromi whined. "I have class."

"Aww, is Crush disappointed she won-"

"Don't start with me Rebecca." Hiromi hissed, and Rebecca just cackled.

I smiled just happy my chooms were getting along.

"How about we all get out of here, and sort out the loot so we can grab a meal?"

"If it's on you. I'm in." Rebecca offered with a teasing smile.

—--

Nox

There was something freeing about knowing without any doubt that the men trying to kill you were incapable of it. The Ghost. The Onryo was untouchable, and the havoc it was causing was insane.

Nox, had never seen anything like it. And yet, there was a cold confidence that nothing these Scavs did would be able to stop her.

He'd only seen the Onryo a few times, always out of the corner of his eye as he rushed through the shadows hunting another stupid Scav gonk.

And each time he'd wanted to still and watch.

She looked so real. The ghost of Motoko, white hair and red eyes, clinging to Scvas backs, and scratching along their face, or covering their eyes, whispering in their ear or worse.

His attention was dragged along with Motoko, who never lost sight of her goal.

She delighted in the Scavs terror, and that sweet feeling flooded through his mind, but he never let it stop him from doing what he needed.

She heard it. The elevator, and her head jerked, already registering it all. Then she moved, sliding and dashing around this construction yard unseen before leaping up and into a vent above the entrance the Scavs had been coming from, and then slipping forward.

His belly on the cool metal was stark against the sheer silence of his movement. Her movement.

Motoko never made a sound, every movement made, was done in the perfect way to hide the noise. Her chrome fingers spread out and secured her body as she shifted, never even slipped along the metal venting.

Then he could see inside, see an HMG turret, and he rode along as she hacked into it. Letting his eye fill with a new screen and he could see what the turret saw.

Terrified scavs. The cold surety that they were dead men filled him.

The elevator finished but he could only just hear it, the turret facing away before a squad of terrifying scavs stepped into site. Big.

That was his first impression, lots and lots of chrome, and massive guys. The sort that Nox would run in terror from.

Motoko though? His thoughts shifted, Old chrome, big but poor quality. Made the guy strong, but weak.

So very very weak.

He felt her slip onto her back as if this was all not worth even stressing about as her hacks started running through the squad.

"Well Where is this Runner fuck? Why isn't he dead yet!"

"It's like a ghost Dmitri! Nothing we do works!"

"A fucking ghost! Fuck off! Well! Runner come out so I can murder you already!"

Nox heard the cry, but Motoko just felt a sinister elation.

Oh she was coming alright.

"What do you mean I've been here the whole time?" The voice came out as a whisper, not even words, but Motoko lipped the words, and he heard it through her agent.

She'd… She'd hacked the scavs, and made their agents speak for her? That's crazy!

And then all hell broke loose. Screen after screen popped across his vision as Motoko hacked, and hacked and hacked.

Nox could feel the way the system RAM of the Cyberdeck was whining, keeping up with all the uploads.

Nox rode along, shocked at what happened next. At the stream of data, that was slowed down just enough, probably thanks to Judy that he could register that Motoko was actively messing with the big Scavs Biomon. Adrenaline spike?

And the freakout that followed was intense. He ripped his own people apart, seen through Motoko's eyes as she lay back and watched it all happen from a vent.

Then her eyes blinked, and Nox watched as an image of her, as a ghost, a Onryo a monster lured the literal Cyberpsycho away from his group he'd just massacred and then up into the elevator.

It was… Terrible, a horrible thing to do, and yet…

Fuck them. Fucking Scavs. Cathartic, that was the word Nox was thinking as Motoko's emotions bubbled up in his chest, the delight of what had just happened. She slipped out of the large vent and then stood up tall, looking over the massacre. Two dozen at least dead bodies lay around, each of them killed by Motoko in stark relief, or from that Cyberpsycho, and then Motoko drew his attention, everything else seemed to dim as she brought up her hands.

A rectangle was built with her fingers and she looked right at her car, which was a bit blurred out, but Nox recognized it, and then the whisper of his own lips reached his ear. "Don't steal my car." And a sinister promise flowed through him.

She'd kill him. Him and him alone if he ever stole her car. He knew, with absolute surety, that if he was ever stupid enough to try she'd hunt him down.

He wanted to swallow, but Motoko's body gave him no relief, instead she shifted her eyes looking up into the skyscraper, and the golden lights that still showed leading up there. Her ears caught gun fire, and then one of the lights, the Cyberpsycho went out.

Deadly intent filled him, and Nox relaxed into his body. That feeling racing through her, the way her body shifted, the surety of intent, was… Intoxicating.

He rode along as she sauntered down the path and up to the elevator and stepped inside.

His hand slipped down and ran across the hilt of a Katana. The feeling was so different from his own flesh and blood hand, but not discomfort reached him.

It wasn't the first time he'd scrolled someone with a cyberlimb.

But this was different.

She shifted, her body altering the way she stood minutely as she prepared for what was to come.

"The perfect cut." And Nox felt his breath catch as she realized this BD wasn't even over!

Holy shit.

—--

"You're up early." I couldn't help but admit as Alice walked into my apartment.

"Haven't been running off to work late gigs." She offered and then sort of hesitated. "I wouldn't mind a few more jobs. Has the kid talked to you about doing a gig?"

"Yeah, she mentioned that you wanted to do that. Do you think we're ready? We've only really played together a few times." I asked, as I led her back to the couch where I had been camping out this morning.

I'd already put in another skill point into Quick Hacks, and was now up to Quick Hack 12. The flush of new knowledge had left me tinkering with my slotted program order, and Cyberdeck management system.

Lower tier hacks were better if I put them on the side Main RAM, while bigger hacks should be run through side systems, as they would regenerate better than the main Cyberdeck as the RAM usage would cycle.

If I pulled everything from my Ex-Disk, then I'd be pulling from the main Cyberdeck and whatever other system I drew resources from.

Basically everything ran through the Cyberdeck, but not all of my other hardware would be used up at the same rate.

I blinked it all away as Alice took a seat and she laughed a bit at my question.

"We've already done a live gig together, and multiple practice sessions. That's pretty normal for a new group. We don't need to be perfect… Well I guess I should say. It's not unusual to not have everything perfect at the start. But we have new songs."

"That's not everything, playing them well is the most important."

"Then let's do some more practice sessions. We can do it… But we do need eddies. We're not all rolling in cash. Jared has rent."

"Okay. Right. You're right." I pushed my normal mentality to the side. I had a band, and they had needs, and… If I let my own feelings control this I would never end up back on stage again. No, we had some work to do. "Alright let's do another practice session, and set up a gig in the next few days."

"Perfect!" Alice cheered and her voice modulated a bit as she cried out in delight making it sort of staticy.

"Mind if I ask?"

"Hmm?"

"Your voice, the chrome and stuff?"

"Oh that." She muttered looking away. "I can't… I'm not really a singer naturally, so I got the chrome to try and cover for it. It worked okay. Kept Violent Hemorrhage going."

I didn't argue. She was wrong, but that was… Covering a weakness with chrome was pretty much a Night City thing. Fine. We'd figure something out later if we needed additional singers.

I sighed. So much for my evening. I had a meeting planned with Sasha first, and then Rockerboy stuff…

Why was I so busy?

 

[Seras]

"Kawaii-Kitten-Koh-"

"Sasha, stop it." I interrupted her flatly with a glare. "Seriously."

"Ah." She hesitated a bit and slumped pouting at me. "Fine… Motoko."

"Thank you." I offered back feeling a little better already. "You ready?" I asked her, and she grinned at me.

"Yes! Another trip into the No/Brainer server!" She called out and pointed at the server in question.

We both walked in, and as much as I wanted to instantly start crushing Daemons…

That wasn't my job this time.

I started breaching the server, even as Sasha and I rushed along, the both of us breaking through the first rooms very fast, Sasha's tendency to use massive overwhelming hacks finally made some sense.

You enter a new room, and release something large wiping out if not all the defenses, a huge majority of them, and then clear out the weakened defenses, take your time doing whatever you need, and by the time you're done you move onto the next room and repeat.

It worked I guess…

"Ah, can we slow down a little Kitten?"

"Getting old Cat?" I asked back as I had already breached through this room's defenses, opening up the gate to the next network node, but Sasha hadn't had time to relax yet.

"No bullying Sasha!" She demanded and I rolled my eyes, but slowed down. "Hmph! You got new hardware."

"Yeah, a full set of stuff. Ex-Disk upgrade, RAM, Got a Camillo."

"Ooh!"

"And ICE."

"Hmm, you got that sneaky kitten Shadow Deck. So you've what? Doubled your available RAM?" She asked, noticing it instantly, as we slowly 'walked' to the next room.

"Just about. It's… Noticeable."

"Yeah Sasha bets it is! You're crushing the Breach… It's making Sasha annoyed. She took longer to let Kitten kill all the Daemons like she wanted, and now Sasha is looking slow."

"Heh." I couldn't help but chuckle at that. "I think you're a very strong Runner Sasha." I offered, because frankly, those massive hacks she threw around like candy were…

Clean. The Quick Hack themselves weren't anything to write home about, but Sasha wasn't a programmer. She was a Netrunner. Everything she did was… Clean. Practiced, and with all the mistakes removed over years of practice.

She'd tear me apart if we fought. I might be able to escape her, but she was just that much better than me when it came to the essence of being a netrunner.

"Heehee! Sasha is happy!"

"And those feelings are gone. Stop talking about yourself in the third person, it's creepy."

"Bullying again!?" She whined and I knew that whatever it was that made her act this way was going to be a constant thing.

"Ready for the next room?"

"Yes!" She chirped happily and raced ahead, and by the time I entered the room the faux heat wave of her program rippling across the room washed over me. Thankfully it was entirely visual, a distortion of the server as it handled a massive load increase.

"I'll get the bridge." I called out wishing I could just slay Daemons cause XP, but I needed to prove to Sasha I could handle both sides of what was needed.

I rushed to the access node, the glowing bit of data was already clear of Daemons, but its defenses were active.

It instantly tried to lock down on me, but I threw its probes into my new ICE and let it get chewed up there, letting me attack without distraction as I Breached through, instantly an array of security systems rushed over my eyes, but I wasn't bothered.

This was ancient shit.

I didn't even need to actually crack it like Sasha had. This was a twenty year old defense program minimum, and likely older than that.

I could have simply inputted a security key from the manufacturer, and altered the IFF of the server defenses.

But that would be cheating, and wouldn't show off what I could for Sasha. This was a test to see how well we could work together, and how well we each could handle the job.

I was the apprentice here. Even if I refused to let Sasha think of me like that… She totally already did.

But still!

So I was proving my place.

All so I could beat Kiwi in a silly game just because…

I killed the distractions in my head, and simply attacked. The security gate whined as I pinned its grasping defenses one by one before reaching the core, and flipping the switch.

The Moat bridge appeared.

"Way to goooo!" Sasha cheered, even as she continued to wipe out the slowly returning daemons.

I pulled away.

"No sweat." I assured her, and we both raced across, I did manage to get a few Daemon kills on the way.

—--

"Hmm? Kitten isn't done?" Sasha asked, after we left the server, having run through it without any issue.

"I'm going to run it solo, get some practice."

"You sure? Sasha can come with?"

I was going to deny her, but… "If you aren't doing anything you're welcome to follow along." I offered, and she lit up brightly, smile stretching across her face.

"Yes! That sounds fun!" She offered for once not sounding like she was trying to be cute.

"Come on then. Let me handle everything unless I totally mess it all up."

"Heeheehee!" She laughed. "Don't take it bad Kitten, but I almost hope you do, just so I can see it. But your Senpai believes in you!"

"Thanks." I said flatly and slipped back into the server.

I had way more RAM, and better yet, the hardware to keep my Cyberdeck from overuse.

So when I entered the first room, I went all out.

Unlike Sasha, who used massive node clearing hacks, so she didn't have to aim, or set up any sort of use process. I did the opposite. Dozens of low RAM hacks instantly loaded up.

I felt the strain of it for a second and instantly began adjusting the workload processes.

The program would load RAM from each of my pieces of Cyberware Even the Self-ICE had enough RAM it could run a double load of [HEAT Bullet] Which meant instead of overloading my Cyberdeck running so many consecutive programs, It was actually only the initial activation, and then aiming that was loaded on my Cyberdeck.

Then the program list went from a dozen to two, and exploded out of me, racing across the server like fireballs, each of them smashing two or three into Daemons that had been already heading towards me.

Sasha had been right.

Overwhelm the initial defenders and by the time you were ready to move on, you were cooled for the next room. That's the sort of netrunner knowledge that my system didn't really show me as such.

*250 XP Gained.*

*250 XP Gained.*

*250 XP Gained.*

*250 XP Gained.*

*250 XP Gained.*

*Level up achieved!*

*One Stat Point Gained.*

*One Skill Point Gained.*

*250 XP Gained.*

*250 XP Gained.*

I grinned as the information flowed through me.

Yeah. That's the stuff. Sorry Sasha. I won't need your help this time.

—--

"Okay so you got it?" I asked, and Klein nodded, spun his drum sticks around with a flourish and repeated the beat this time… Well it was better. "Alright let's try that again." I asked, and got nods from everyone.

Everlong. I needed the actual studio version, so… As part of practice and to reveal the full version for our next gig, we were doing it.

"Hello! I'm waiting here for you!" I sang my hands dancing over the strings, Klein kept the fast snare run going.

Jared and Alice both kept their guitars going, the beat sounded good, a little flat at parts, but that was what practice was for.

"I promise I'll stop when I say when." I crooned letting the song trail off as Klein finished up the last of the song on the drums.

I turned and everyone was looking a little tired.

"That was a lot better." I confirmed, it felt weird being in charge. Especially since everyone was older than me, but I was treating it like a gig. Well, like a combat gig.

Messups were tolerated in training, but needed to be fixed so I was being more proactive than usual. I was actually calling out issues, and working to fix it, which did feel uncomfortable, but it had to be done.

"Thoughts? Feelings?" I asked as I grabbed a water bottle to hydrate a bit as I looked over everyone.

"I'm getting it, I think." Klein called out and did a quick repeat of Everlongs snare run. "Should be good."

"Glad to hear it."

"It's a bit… Old school. No real flare to it." Alice finally said. "I know you said it's done, but maybe a bit of a sound machine, add a bit more vibe to it?" She asked, and while my first instinct was to tell her hell no, how dare she try to ruin Everlong.

I swallowed it, and instead moved to her.

"We can try a few things, I mean, I have the acoustic version as well, so a different sound isn't bad." I offered and she lit up. Right. This wasn't just me, these were musicians that wanted to stretch their musical talents too.

"Great! Let me mess with a few things." She rushed over to the recording studio, and considering…

"Klein, you mind if I take drums for this?"

"You want to drum? Fair enough." He confirmed, wiping a hand through his hair that glowed and pulsed. The fact he was wearing pretty normal clothes gave him a funny sort of feel. Although that was just because we were practicing and not actually playing a gig. He dressed up in tons of the current fashion when it was time to play.

I replaced him and spun the sticks. I actually kinda liked drumming funnily enough. Something about just bashing away with a pair of sticks called to me.

I didn't hesitate as Alice was still fucking around, to just start laying out Everlongs drums.

Jared nodded, and started playing the Bass right along, and Klein picked up my Guitar after a nod, and we all started jamming out.

No vocals, just the three of us playing.

Alice rolled her eyes but not long after, some additional noise started echoing through the booth.

I don't think I really liked it, not really. But Alice was jamming out doing it live, and frankly that was okay.

This whole band thing was… Well it was a bit stressful, but playing music was fun.

We did that for a good twenty minutes just playing the song over and over as Alice fucked with an electronic back track, but eventually everyone stopped, and I finished off the song alongside them.

"Need a longer break?"

"An actual one would be good." Jared called out laughing as he rubbed his shoulders.

"No problem Choom, take a break." I called out waving the sticks and Klein followed him out. They'd probably hit the bar, and come back playing not quite as good as they had before.

Drunk musicians weren't my favorite, but that was just how it was.

Alice though was obviously still playing with her back track for Everlong, and instead I just sat at the drums.

My sticks started tapping, just nonsense, no real song, but my brain found a rhythm, and I let it start playing out.

I tapped at the cymbals, before the song came to me.

I could hear it. The shriek of an electronic guitar, and the iconic vocals of Mike Shinoda, and Chester. Which I of course sang along with.

"I am, a little bit of loneliness, a little bit of disregard."

Fully into it, I started hammering away, keeping the beat just on drums without a touch of any other instrument, but all of them were playing in my head.

"I'll be here, 'cause you're all that I've got!"

And the transition led to it all out.

"I can't feel the way I did before! Don't turn your back on me! I WON'T BE IGNORED!" Chester's iconic scream ripped out of me, even as I hammered the drums. Smashing everything out.

Linkin Park had been my jam, and I now had the actual ability to play it.

Repressed teenage emotions doubly so since I was a teenager again raced through me.

"I WON'T BE IGNORED!" I spun the sticks as I slammed the final notes and sat back, letting myself go a bit limp as I stared up at the ceiling before closing my eyes.

Ah, Linkin Park fucked hard.

"Okay seriously? Another song?" I blinked, opening my eyes and looking to see Alice had walked back into the booth. "What the hell was that?"

"Faint… That's the name of the song." I offered, in a weak explanation, but she was just looking at me like I was some monster.

"Let me guess, you got the guitar and bass track planned out too."

"And the electronic track." I offered because I wasn't really in the mood to be "Are you complaining I have more songs I want to play?" I asked a little aggressively, considering the circumstances.

I was literally paying her for this after all.

"No! I'm just like… Frustrated! It's fucking annoying okay!" She hissed pointing at me and then pulling the hand back and running it through her hair. "That song… It sounded nova. Are we going to play it?"

"... Yeah. It's… We're going to play it. Maybe not at our next gig."

"Why not? It could be a thing if you want to keep pulling songs out of yo-Out every day. Make it so every gig has a new song played at the end. It'd be the sort of gimmick that draws a lot of attention."

I blinked at the idea. It sounded cool in theory but… "Can we get everyone to learn a new song every time before we have to play?"

She winced a bit. "That's… You know what? Fuck it. Yes, we can. We'll fucking do it if we have to." She said obviously Alice found her spine and wasn't quite glaring at me, but I got the feeling she was feeling slighted.

I'd insulted her in a way, not directly I think, but because I was pulling out songs and she had probably struggled…

Yeah I felt bad. She was a shit singer, but still a musician. Still someone who wanted to live making music.

"Okay then. That's the plan from now on." I agreed and she blinked.

"Really?"

"Alice. I have no fucking idea how to run a band, what the band is capable of, or what's the wrong or right way to handle this. I've been trying to be more exacting tonight, to get everyone to where they should be, but I don't know if I fucked up, or insulted someone or what… I just want to play music, and your band was the first to really make me deal with other people."
I wiped my head, I was sweating pretty heavily and stepped off the drums, setting everything down and then facing her. "So yeah. If that's what you think. Then let's try it."

I could see her brain was processing, pieces of something were slotting into place, but whatever she had figured out or decided she didn't share with me.

"Alright. C'mon. Let's take a break and talk to the others." She waved for me to follow and so I did. Heading up through the elevator into the nice bar area. The two boys were already drinking over the bar and they both looked up as Alice and I arrived.

"So we've come up with an idea for our gigs. It's gonna be a lot of work, but we can do it." Alice said before any other words were spared and then flagged down the bartender for a drink. "Violent hemorrhage might be dead, but we're still Rockerboys! Let's remind Night City we won't be ignored." She offered and threw me a wink at the words.

Heh. Linkin Park reference.

I nodded and got my own drink, and decided to actually sit and talk with my new band.

If I was going to be working with these guys, I think we needed to know each other a bit better.

—--

David Martinez

"Martinez." The tone wasn't too bad so he hadn't pissed off the girl. Good. He turned to see Hiromi looking at him, and then nudging her head to follow.

So he followed. She might be a shitty boss, but she paid.

They rounded a corner to have a bit of privacy and Hiromi opened her bag and revealed an entire package of BD's. "Take these and start passing them around."

"Whoa. A new Ghost BD?" He asked, smirking as he took the plastic wrapped package and noticed the name on the wrapper. "Don't Steal My Car?"

"Motoko and I had an issue in Dogtown. She reacted to it strongly. Just add them to the sale list."

"Alright, I'll need to check them out first… So I know how to sell it." He added as the girl's glare sharpened, but she sighed and nodded.

"Agreed." Then like usual doing the same corpo shit they were taught in class she turned and walked off without a word, a power play.

Whatever Hiromi. He'd taken the same classes last year, and passed them with an A. Despite what Hiromi liked to think, he'd seen her grades, she wasn't a straight A student like he was…

Then again, she also ran multiple businesses and made tons of eddies.

David slumped, yeah fair.

The rest of the day ran by quickly as he kept feeling that buzz to watch a fresh BD until finally he was let out, and he raced to the Tram line. There was a moment he thought he saw her. That girl, the one who always grabbed his attention but in the end it was just a flash.

Once he was home he pulled on his new Wreath, bought because Hiromi had been annoyed that he was using an old shitty one that didn't have the resolution and tactile sensitivities high enough to handle the BD's correct.

And slipped into the Ghost.

Murder followed. Cold blooded, almost cruel murder, and it was the best shit. David's heart was beating in a rush as he cut down scavs, as he became the terror.

Then after causing a scary borged up scav to literally go Cyberpsycho and murder his own chooms!

Fucking nova! He didn't even know that was possible!

He felt himself prepare as he took the elevator up.

"The Perfect Cut." The words whispered out of his mouth, as the elevator doors opened, and his hands gripped the Katana preparing to draw.

Holy shit! Some real Samurai shit! Hell yeah Ghost!

A bit of netrunning spread across their network and David recognized it as the hacks that caused guns to stop working.

Holy shit. He was going to buzzsaw through these scavs! Was this a return to 'The Only Thing They Fear?'

He hoped so.

Then she went over the edge. Cool. A sense of utter calmness enveloped him. His heart skipped a beat.

Sandevistan!? Fuck yeah! She moved a blur to his senses even slowed down for the BD, and the first Scav was cut down that felt like a damn perfect cut to him!

Then another and the last cut down in a blur of motion that David already felt like he wanted to practice.

It was all Zoom, and Shlink!

But the feelings of the BD filled David and there was a sense of hunger.

This… This was a feeling David knew. A need for more. Something he lived with all his life.

It centered him and he felt like jerking as Ghost moved, almost dancing, every motion so controlled there was no sound. Nothing slowing her.

Cut, even grabbing a decapitated head and using it to knock a Scav right off the skyscraper.

Nova. So fucking NOVA!

Then more, and more. Scav came out of every hole and they were cut down no hesitation, no discussion, she was a monster and they were her prey.

Then finally they ended up on a bridge, a final scav, their leader? Running away in terror. He wasn't the first, but David was into it. That's right! Run! Flee! That feeling of power of being the terrifying thing to people that normally caused terror?

It was a high unlike any other.

"Going somewhere?" The first words spoken during the entire slaughter of the skyscraper, just loud enough the running Scav heard it, and turned.

"Fuck! Bitch!" He called out and raised a holy shit! That's like the Ghosts! A fucking Hand cannon!

But there was no fear in the Ghost. The gun refused to fire and David felt a sinister delight as his gun was raised.

"Mines Better."

The first round blew the gun into shattering falling pieces, and then…

She felt nothing but disgust. There was no sense of joy at the idea of this Scav.

She didn't bother to cut him down. A second bullet rang out and he splattered across the bridge.

David jolted as he came out of the BD. His heart was beating like crazy as he looked around at his room. His ordinary normal room.

Fuck.

That was so nova. Hiromi actually knew the Ghost. Motoko, just another kid like him, even younger even yet… She could do all that?

His hands shook as he ran a hand through his hair.

He could do that too right? Be some crazy edgerunner. K-kill people and stuff? If she could why couldn't he? Right?

He looked around at his normal room, in his normal apartment, and that hunger that had burned in Motoko burned in him. That need for more.

Yet…

He flopped back on his bed.

"I better play it again… So I can tell everyone about it." He muttered, pulling the wreath back over his eyes.

One more time to feel dangerous. One more time to leave his normal life behind.

 

[Seras]

I woke up with a big stretch, a late night doing Rockerboy stuff meant a late morning, but I felt great after eight hours.

Sliding out of my bed I headed for the shower as I considered what exactly my day was going to be.

Hiromi and I were going to meet up during her lunch.

Before that I should probably get some things done. I had leveled again, which was just the best!

But I needed to spend my points, and it was adaptation time. As much as I really really wanted to put it into my Sandy, to get more effect out of it, I was also wanting to help Vik, so the answer was obvious.

Camillo RAM Manager *Adaptation RAM Manager 1/2*

Instantly I felt a bit of a shift in my neck, my range of motion… I could still feel the sort of hitch in the way my neck was moving, but…

It wasn't real.

I blinked, sort of realizing it, it wasn't an actual hitch where something was pulling or keeping me from moving my neck, but something more psychosomatic. Maybe a nerve pinched as I shifted, or something like that.

It was still there, but it… Wasn't as annoying.

I stretched under the water and hummed. As much as I wanted to just stuff all my level ups into stats and become super powerful, it really was such an amazing relief to feel… Normal. After adapting to some of my chrome.

Well with that done I still had skill points to use.

Considering what I would be doing today?

One of my seven stored skill points disappeared, dropping me to six, as I leveled programming.

Programming 14

The flow of knowledge was… A lot. Once again, it wasn't direct knowledge, but quirks, tricks, and processes, for programming things in a more… Virtual way.

On the fly adjustments, and ways to make programs that would better adapt to that sort of use.

Yeah, I'd have to do a go over on all my hacks soon, but I really wanted to try leveling Programming to 15, my current max before doing it, otherwise I'd just be wasting time.

So instead of spending the morning programming, I should do something else, maybe level programming again mid day and spend the rest of the day working.

Ugh. Was Alice going to ask for another practice session too?

Maybe I'd have to do some programming while playing.

My days sure were busy!

I finished my shower and headed out to get some food.

—--

I was slurping up some noodles, and eating a stick of roast something or other when I could practically feel the hostility on the back of my head.

Turning around I blinked as I had been about to reach for my sword when…

"Hayato?"

"There you are! Motoko!" She demanded all done up in her pretty Kimono, the girl stomped towards me stepping out of an expensive Villefort Alvarado.

And she was carrying a katana.

"Hey Hayato. What's?"

"I refuse! IRefuseToAcceptThatYou!You!AreAKensei!" She babbled very fast, and her face was doing the cute flushed thing she does when she was mad about something.

"It's sort of a thing. Want some lunch?" I offered, and she looked at me, to the vendor who looked like he was about to have a heart attack.

I was just on the side of the road at one of the little pop up food stands, getting some breakfast-lunch while figuring out what I wanted to do with my morning.

Her cheeks bulged out like a puffer fish for half a second, in a blink and you'd miss it moment, but she calmed herself and appeared as dignified as she tried to convey after a moment.

"Very well! But after, you must spar with me! I refuse to accept that you've become a Kensei! I fought you!"

"It's a recent thing." I admitted to her as she took her seat, with all the dignity a princess could while sitting at a street vendor.

The poor guy was looking half way to losing his shit, especially since there were a good few Tyger Claws, in suits all spreading out around her to keep an eye on things.

I shrugged, I'd protect Hayato if anything happened.

"Ah one Tonkotsu." She requested and the chef instantly bowed quickly and got to cooking… Man that was waaay more than what he put into mine! Ah well, I wasn't a princess. "I refuse to accept it!" She argued with me the moment after, turning to me and glaring.

"It wasn't like I asked for it, Hayato."

"I refuse!"

"Okay." I laughed, unable to hold it back. "That's fine honestly. It was super awkward. I was escorted to the shrine by Sensei, and these old guys-"

"The shrine elders! Motoko! Please have respect!" She said a bit high pitched, so I flashed her a smile.

"Never! But they were… Full borgs, and skilled. Very skilled."

"Yes of course! They are the elders of the Chram Denya Jinja! Ugh! You met them! And they named you a Kensei! You!?"

"What's wrong with me?" I mumbled, although it came out more, 'whaz 'ong 'ith ma?' since I had stopped to eat some ramen, noodles half sticking out of my mouth.

The look Hayato gave me was kinda hurtful, and then she looked up and down, and back up.

"Wude!"

"Eat your food!" She demanded at me, and I huffed, slurping up my noodles.

"Rude!"

"You are not the type I would ever think could achieve the art! You!? I refuse to believe it!"

"Last time I checked I didn't need your permission, Princess."

"P-Princess!? Now who is being rude!?" She demanded hotly, and I grinned.

"Still you."

"Grrrr." She growled, before glancing up and realizing she had the Chef right there, and instantly shifted back to polite princess mode. "After this I will test your so-called skill!"
"Heh! Anytime! We should do some hand to hand as well! I've been trying to get more practice with that. I don't do enough."

"Hmph!" She said in response, but it only took a single glance to see how pleased she looked to know she wanted that as well.

"So what have you been up to? Any more issues with what's his face? Wakako is still paying me not to kill him, but I could totally do it."

She chuckled a bit at my question and then shook it off. "Everything has been very good. Father has been bringing me into more meetings, and involving me. Your assistance… Was very important. Thank you."

"Pfft. We're friends, it's not a big deal." I waved her off, and right then a bowl of Ramen was passed over and a deeeeeep bow was offered.

She nodded and snapped her chopsticks and dug in.

—--

Gomorrah. Hadn't been here in a while. This was the gym where I'd first met Hayato, that John had set up so we could have our first spar.

"Now then! No more waiting." Hayato demanded grabbing a Shinai that I'm pretty sure wasn't part of the gyms normal equipment. I grabbed the other one, and shrugged, adjusting myself and raising my shinai in front of me.

Before I could even think Hayato moved, her reactions, as always, much faster than a normal person. Yet she couldn't break through my guard. I could read her like a book, not only because we'd sparred in the past.

Despite her incredible reaction times, there was just…

Clack clack clack. Our Shinai slapped into each other over and over and yet Hayato made no progress, she tried to push me, but instead ended up stalling out and narrowly avoiding my return swipe before trying again.

"Grr!" She growled which earned a smile only egging her on more.

Then we went at it, a constant assault as we danced around the padded floor, until finally she stopped huffing a little, and glaring.

"It's not fair! How?"

"I swung my blade ten thousand times and became enlightened." I told her. Then smiled brightly as I laughed. "I just sparred a whole lot, and felt like I was on the edge of it, then I fought Sensei at the Dojo all out, and it clicked."

"That's such… Hayato actually cursed quietly in japanese, I knew she was cursing, but not exactly what she said.

"I'll assume you were saying how wonderful it is for your friend." I teased and she glared before doing her rapid fire emotions as she sort of jolted, and then flushed.

"I am happy that you achieved such a thing. Motoko."

"Eh. Hayato… I was joking." I told her instantly because she actually sounded really sad for a second and even bowed. "Don't be like that. We're friends. I'd prefer the angry ranting."

"IWasn'tRanting!" She argued back in a blur and I just giggled at her response.

"Sure choom. So want to beat my face in a bit? Put these away?" I offered, and she perked up with a happy smile at the idea.

"Yes. That sounds perfect." I grinned, but also felt a little hesitant. Hayato… That grin was a little merciless you know?

—--

"Feel better?" I asked, as Hayato and I caught our breath.

"I do." She said after a moment, a triumphant little smirk on her face.

I'd totally let her have a win. I mean sure I hadn't planned on letting her punch me so hard, but it was still totally me letting her win, and not her crazy close in technique powered by Kerenzikov.

"Well I'm glad I could help." I offered a bit flatly, and she just grinned smugly.

"Thank you for sparring with me… Also next time tell me if you become a Kensei! Otou-sama mentioned it off hand like I should know about it already! If you are going to work for me, you need to tell me these things! I was so embarrassed! He wanted to know why I hadn't brought you in to celebrate your success!"

"What? Why? It's just a… Thing." I offered. "I mean-"

"Motoko!" Hayato interrupted, putting her face right up to mine. "To be called a Kensei! Is a big deal! How can you be so blase about it! You! You've become one of the greatest swordsmen in the entire city! No, the entire world!"

"Nah. I'm not that good yet." I countered. Looking at my hand. I wasn't even half way there. My own knowledge of just how high the peak was, meant I wasn't all that proud of being called a Kensei.

This wasn't the old world anymore, being the best swordsman didn't cut it, when there were Cyborgs that were far above.

I could feel my lips tugging a bit as I once more daydreamed about joining them one day. Achieving the absolute pinnacle! A full Cyborg.

"You… Fine! I guess you'd know better. But still! Otou-sama wanted to hold a party! Especially since you're an affiliate, and my… My Mercenary." She offered, tilting her head up like the Princess she was.

"Ugh… If I have to, Ojou-sama." I teased, and giggled at the way her face flushed.

"Don't!You!Ugh!" She scoffed and looked away. "W-We'll set up a party so you'll have to attend, and make sure you dress up, and make me look good, cause everyone will know you are with me!"

"Alright alright… Just let me know when. I'll have to talk to Hiromi, and make sure we don't have anything scheduled for the day."

"Good! I look forward to seeing you then!" She rose up with all the dignity she could muster and walked off.

"By Hayato!" I called after her laughing as I rose up. Better get cleaned up a bit. I had a meeting with Hiromi in… Now-ish.

—--

"Well if it was the Princess, I guess I can accept you being late." Hiromi offered, biting into her lunch that she'd had to grab alone while I was rushing back across the city.

"Yeah it was kind of a surprise meeting… She was kinda annoyed about the whole Kensei thing."

"I still can't believe you're so… It's a big deal Motoko!"

"It's really not." I argued back, sliding a finger towards her fries only to get slapped away.

Hehe! I didn't even want the fries but Hiromi looked proud at her noticing my attack and fending me off.

"Stop it." She warned then waved a fry at me. "But a party? With the higher ups in the TC, to celebrate you becoming a Kensei? That smells like opportunity to me! You should definitely do it."

"I already said I would."

"Yes, but I know you, and you'll be complaining about it soon."

"I… Okay that's a little true, but you don't have to point that out."

"Yes I do. Now, I heard from Alice, you got a new studio version of that song right? Everlong. The love song?" She whispered, sounding…

Don't tell me Hiromi liked love songs? Ugh. I shouldn't be surprised, but nooooo! They were usually terrible!

I mean Everlong was actually a break up song, but I wasn't going to tell her that.

"I do." I pulled out the shard. It was the best version of Everlong we'd made last night.

She snatched it up with a deeply disturbing grin. "Yeees! I'll reach out with my radio contacts."

"Which you actually have."

"Which I have!" She agreed, smiling like a loon. "I'll definitely be able to get Ash to play it on Growl, but I'll try to reach out to Body Heat."

"Ugh."

"Don't ugh!" She argued back instantly. "Well I guess I have to listen to it first… To best figure out what stations to reach out to." Hiromi said to herself holding the Shard close to her chest.

I rolled my eyes and just looked over at the radio on the food stand we were at.

Instantly it went quiet as I switched it to play from a shard, and then just uploaded the data.

A moment later the sound of my guitar playing came through and Hiromi perked up like I'd electrocuted her.

"Ah!" She smiled wide and I just rolled my eyes as she listened. Nodding along to the full rock version, instead of the acoustic one I'd sang on the gig.

And now if I wanted to chat with her, she'd just pout at me, so I had to listen to my own voice on the radio.

It still left me feeling all prickly, but at least it sounded okay.

—--

"Hey! Hiromi! And Motoko!" I looked up, Hiromi had finished her meal and was wasting a bit of time before she had to get back to class, but we both looked up.

I smiled a bit at the boy running up. "David. Hello."

"Hey! You remembered!"

"What do you want, Martinez? I'm in the middle of an important meeting." Hiromi said and I looked at her and couldn't hide my laugh.

"Hiromi, we're just hanging out, you were complaining about your morning classes."

"Motoko! Don't tell the help what our important meeting was about!" Hiromi hissed at me. David had a look on his face telling me he wasn't buying it Hiromi but I just shrugged.

She was his boss technically. Not my place to get involved.

"Need something David?" I asked, getting the topic back to what he'd walked up to say.

"Yes! Well sort of. Sales are going well. Hiromi, 'Don't Steal my Car' is selling like crazy. Nova BD by the way Motoko. The Ghost is just the best!" David offered practically vibrating and I just smiled and waved it off.

"It's fine."

"And this couldn't wait Martinez?" Hiromi asked grumpily, and he looked at Hiromi for a second before shaking his head, and looking at me.

"Nope. Motoko, Ghost… Let me work for your crew." The words caught me by surprise.

"Absolutely not!" Hiromi jumped up looking outraged, and I winced a bit too.

"We aren't really looking for a new hire. Merc work is dangerous, you know?"

"I know! I've seen your BD's! But… I want to do more than just sell BD's. I'm good for it!"

"Motoko! You can't listen to this! Martinez you gonk!"

"Hey!" He growled back at Hiromi, so I rose up and put myself between both of them.

"Calm down, cool off both of you. David… This is coming out of left field for us. But I can respect someone making a decision, and I'd rather if you want to try something so dangerous you do it with us rather than joining some street gang or something."

"I want to be a merc, not some gang gonk." He stated firmly, and I just waved my hand.

"Alright, alright." Wow. I really wasn't expecting this. David was supposed to stay on his path towards the top of Arasaka Tower, not this. "Listen then. Here's my rules for anything. First. School comes first." I demanded and he blinked at that.

"What? But! You're a merc!"

"Yep, and I make Hiromi go to class too. Don't I?" I said looking at my choom. Hiromi puffed out her cheeks a bit but nodded.

"Heh." David bit off a chuckle, but Hiromi caught it.

Sorry dude she was going to make you miserable for that.

"Second. You go at my pace, my rules. No fucking around solo, or anything. You have an issue with the pace, or amount of work, or anything you come to me, you don't just rush off doing something stupid. You fuck that up, and you're out, full stop. I won't have your dead body on my conscience."
"I won't! You know what you're doing!"

"Good… In that case, you have a weapon?"

His blink face would have told me the truth if I didn't already know.

"Yep, figured. You do any jogging, any exercise?"

Another blank look.

"Mhmm." I trailed off sounding pretty judgemental.

"I-I can start?"

"Yes you can." I agreed, and then because I wasn't going to just leave him to flounder on his own, that wasn't fair I considered… I was tempted to send him to Sensei, but he lived out in Arroyo. "I'll talk to Hiromi about setting up some group exercise time. I've been slacking about getting Ichi and Malcolm training." I mentioned looking at Hiromi who nodded slowly.

"Should we join a gym?" She asked, and I shrugged.

"Gym could be useful, but just a place to shoot and run around a bit would work. Maybe not on the badlands this time… Unless taking care of some Raffen would be considered training?"

"It's not." Hiromi said flatly, but I broke into a smile, because it had been a joke and she knew that.

"Then… You'll let me join the Ghost crew?"

"Section 9." I said back instantly. "And we'll let you join our training for a bit, to see what happens. No promises. Not everyone is cut out for merc work… Some don't put in enough effort, and some? Some put in too much, so instead of a strong flame, they burst into an explosion, and then snuff out."

He didn't quite seem to process what I said.

Great. Now I had to somehow get David, I'm going to go full out without stopping, Martinez to chill.

"Oh and no chrome."

"Huh?"

"If you join, you're going to start making eddies, no chroming up like a gonk." I demanded and he blinked as if the thought hadn't even reached him, but then he looked me up and down.

"Don't you chrome up?"

"Yeah but I'm built different." I said fighting off the smile at using his own stupid words against him. "And even then I do it slowly and carefully. That's my rules." I ended firmly.

"Right, sure! Whatever you say!"

"Ugh. Motoko!"

"Relax Hiromi. We'll give him some exercise, and see how he does. I'll probably give him to Malcolm, it'll be good for him to help train someone for his own sake as well."

"You want Malcolm to train him? Malcolm?"

"Yeah, it's a great idea!" I offered, smiling and Hiromi just scoffed.

"Do what you want." She grumbled, but she was glaring at David.

It's fine Hiromi, you'll see!

Not long after as both Academy students headed back to class, Hiromi obviously grumbling at David as she walked away I pulled up my character sheet and dropped the next skill point into Programming.

Programming 15.

Time to get to work.

 

[Seras]

Back home I flopped on the couch to get some programming done. First step was to go over the obvious.

Programming 15 had come with a perk choice.

Considering the power of some of the programming perks I'd already taken I was going to need to go through the list.

What was my Programming toolbox really missing? It certainly wasn't versatility. Between Debug, and Inspired Programmer, I was able to do pretty much anything I could think up, but I still hoped for something more.

Programming was so powerful, forging weapons for the net. What sort of weapon did I want?

I could find a perk to improve Daemons. I could find a perk to improve Quick Hacks.

What was I looking for? I blinked. It didn't sound good at first, but then the more I thought about it…

Stress Testing: The more you use your code, the more its weakness stands out to you.

It was an interesting Perk. How useful would it actually be? I'm not really sure, but hell, even if it only gives me a few ideas for how to improve code that I've already maxed out as far as I know, then it's kinda neat.

Plus there wasn't a lot else that was standing out to me.

I selected it, and the rush of knowledge made me wince, a hiss escaped my mouth as I curled up a little.

I'd just done two programming levels back to back. I should know better than to overwhelm myself.

Idiot.

Leaning back I covered my eyes and let myself just decompress for a minute. Should I sleep? Ugh.

No, Five minutes, then ten, twenty. I finally felt a good bit better, as the Perk knowledge dump stopped frying my brain.

Huh.

That's what it meant. All of my programs had run into issues over time. Bandwidth, or upload problems.

I pulled up Ping first. The program was unloaded, and I started digging through my code, even with my previous programming skills, and my Debug perk. A bunch more levels of Programming had opened up new options, and Stress Test showed me even more.

There was a balance between function and efficiency.

What if I overloaded part of the program, making it do too much, when other parts were less balanced, suddenly I had times where while uploading it slowed down, or caused system traffic that it was never designed to do.

If the upload rate was faster than the installation speed, then… That was just wasted power.

And I knew all of that, because Stress test. It flashed in my head, every time I used ping. And while it wasn't perfect knowledge, or memory. I had logs to back that up.

I could pull those apart, see every time there was a halt, and figure out why.

Stress Test…

It was a good choice. Maybe not the absolute most optimal one, but it was good.

I was okay with good.

Ping had some issues with its spread speed, it would sometimes Ping the next node in the system before the connection was complete.

So instead of pinging once, connecting and uploading the Daemon, which would upload to me. It would bounce to someone multiple times, sometimes even dozens of times if there were multiple people in the network that it could bounce too.

Causing disruption.

No one had noticed yet, but… It was honestly a minor issue. The disruption would be so small, there were only a few people that could notice it in the act, maybe afterwards if they were checking logs they'd be able to track the Daemons spread…

But I bet I could make it even more stealthy.

A few lines of code rewritten, a bit stronger limiter.

Ping would take maybe a half second more per jump, a million years for a computer, but for me? I doubt I'd even notice.

Yet it was even more stealthy now.

With that done, I installed the Program back into my Cyberdeck, and worked through the upload schedule partitioning RAM from my other cyberware to run the program when needed.

I'd set up a method while in combat, but this was all about streamlining it.

To give an analogy, if my programs were throwing knives. Originally they'd just been a bunch of knives in my off hand, I'd thrown one at a time.

Then I'd realized I should slide a few into my pocket, or through a belt.

But what I was doing now was memorizing the position of every knife, and giving them their own holsters…

I pointedly didn't think about the extra knives I carried around that were just stolen and only the first one that Jun had given me actually had a sheath.

Whistle away the fact Motoko! You have programming to do!

Next was my Optic Reboot.

Ah I still loved this Program. It was just so evil. Looking through the code I wanted to wince, when had I programmed this again? Five levels ago? I'd tinkered with it a bit as I leveled, but not really a full check up.

No, an update. Again Stress Test showed me, or at least brought it to my mind, the points where Optics Reboot had floundered.

Adjusting upload rate I went through the code humming a bit quite pleased with how little I really had to change.

This time I focused less on stealth, since if I was hitting someone with Optics Reboot they were going to know about it.

I felt a smile spread across my face as I gently tapped my foot to a silent beat.

Updates were awesome!

I went through all my hacks in the same way. Cleaning up and adjusting. Until I was completely done. Then I had a choice.

I opened up a file I hadn't messed with much. A few times I'd looked at it, but had never quite managed to get it to work.

It was an Ultimate Quick Hack. At least that's what they'd been called in the game. This one?

Cyberpsychosis.

Considering I'd already accidentally done something similar to a person. I think it was time to break this one out, and get it functional. The hack was a kludged together, incredibly RAM and size heavy program.

First step was to once more go through it. This time, its structure didn't give me any real trouble.

This part affected Bio-cyberware, adrenaline, and worse would be pumped into the target. This one affected IFF through optics. This one caused a pseudo white noise, that cut out most noises from reaching their ear, and instead would help them think they were under attack.

It was multiple programs all integrated into one, but it wasn't clean or even all that functional. I dreaded the idea of trying to upload this hack, it would probably take more than twenty seconds just to upload, and even longer to install.

There was more of course. A control software that would try to force the user to shoot whenever the IFF lined up.

Accidently barrel sweep an ally? Well they're going to end up getting shot at, which would only make it more likely they fire back.

So many different ideas to try and cause issues. There was even a Daemon that would try to make everyone look the same to the user. Cutting out chances for the victim to recognize friend from foe.

That part was neat, even if my Onryo was better.

But I could integrate that into my own version of Cyberpsychosis.

That made me smile as I considered.

I could give everyone a little shoulder devil urging them on, if I went that way.

I shrugged the idea off for now, and basically started rewriting the code right from the start. It needed a cleaner cycle or else this hack was never going to be fast enough for my tastes.

—--

I was still tinkering with my programs when I got a text.

*Alice: Got some news. Reached out to a contact at a club. You in for a gig this weekend?*

I looked over the text, and part of me instantly wanted to refuse, but I pushed that down. A gig… Was probably a good idea.

*Motoko: Contact Hiromi, but sounds fine.*

*Alice: Preem, already done. Practice sesh this week? I want to rock.*

*Motoko: Yeah sounds preem. I have something tomorrow, but otherwise, sounds good.*

I sighed and rolled up onto my feet.

Cyberpsychosis wasn't going to be needed for my Netrunner contest with Sasha. What I needed was more skills.

I moved my head around a bit, and still felt a bit too full to want to grab another skill, so instead I got up.

I'd done a good once over on all my programs, and cleared and settled them into my system. I felt like wiggling in delight at how wonderful having so much more RAM for my netrunning felt.

It made me feel like…

I got up and grabbed my guitar. As much as I'd been playing with Alice and the band, I hadn't really felt like I had any time for some rocking out myself.

Adjusting my guitar I considered what I should play. I'd had a few ideas for things. Some songs I'd been wanting to make had fallen to the back burners because of the amount of time it would take to make them.

So… Something simple? I didn't need to make something new, just something…

I looked up and flicked on the radio, and a moment later smiled, as I played along with the sound of Black Dog.

There we go. I didn't need to play something new every time. I could just… Play. Enjoy the music.

I played until Jun got home late, and I glanced at him as I continued to play along with the radio. Thankful for my chrome hands that didn't get tired.

Jun took his time, throwing his jacket on the jacket table, slipping out of his shoes, and coming to walk over to me. He took a moment to listen as I played along, and he smiled at me, just enjoying it for a few moments, before reaching out and dropping a heavy hand on my head.

"Go to sleep Motoko. It's late."

I stopped playing and stuck my tongue out at him, but I did put my guitar away and turn off the radio with a glance.

"You sleep too Jun."

"I will."

—--

"Yaaaay!" I was nearly tackled by an over enthusiastic cat as Sasha leaped at me, even as I fended her off a little.

"Personal space Sasha!"

"I will right after I give my cute Kohai-Chan a Hug!" She cheered and I continued to bat away her grabbing hands.

"Well isn't this…Enthusiastic." The voice had a light synthetic lilt, but still mature. I looked around Sasha who seemed a little irritated that I was still fending off her grasping hands, with my Martial arts talents, to see the pair I'd sort of been looking forward to meeting.

Kiwi, and Lucy.

The two of them were sitting on a couch in Maine's little safehouse. There had been a moment of confusion as to why they were still using the safe house if it was meant to be a safehouse, but a little line from the Solo's Manual had flashed into my head.

A safehouse wasn't safe if you'd used it before. After the first time it was either a burned hole in the ground, or a house. Pick one.

Maine probably had a new safehouse somewhere in the city, just in case something went hot and they needed to hide, but this was still a nice enough place to have meetings, or live out of for a while.

Blackhand would have preferred a cardboard box in an alleyway. But that guy was insane, so I disregarded that 'advice.'

I took the chance, taking a step back as Sasha took her own to fortify her assault for another hug, and just leapt.

Easily flipping over her head until I landed behind her almost gently and just walked over to the couches that were set up.

"I'm Motoko. Nice to meet you… Kiwi right? And hey it's Moongazer. Enjoy the beer?" I offered with a teasing smile as I looked over the two women.

Jesus Kiwi was fucking tall! I had either not remembered, or something but she sat on the couch and then half again off it.

Lucy on the other hand looked more awkward. A cigarette hung from both womens mouths, although Kiwi's was just stuck through her jaw mask.

"Wait… You!?" Lucy called out pointing. "The crazy woman that jumped off the side of the building!"

"It wasn't that high. Easy." I offered, sliding my hand flatly to show how smooth it was. "Nice to meet you for real."

"Right… I'm Lucy." She offered, and I nodded.

"Shame you didn't come down. We were partying, you'd have been welcome. Anyways. I hear the Cat is bothering you, and you're trying to see who is better?" I asked, having been pointedly ignoring how Sasha was standing directly behind me making faces at me.

"Yep." Kiwi offered with a cool humor. "You really the Mangy fleabags apprentice?"

"I think of it more as a-"

"Nooo!" Sasha whined in my ear beating on my back, so I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah. She's super annoying-"

"Noooo!"

"But, she knows her shit. I go by Ghost in the Shell on the net. I don't really do much though, so I doubt you've heard of me."

"Hmm. I have actually." Kiwi spoke up as Lucy gave me an apologetic smile, before shifting to Kiwi.

"Wait, really?"

"The kids got The Foxes' attention. Rumor is she's a programmer wunderkind. You need a circ clipped, or data mess cleaned up. The kid can do it clean."

"I've done some gigs for Yoko, yeah. She's… Well, I think I'm cursed since I have Sasha and Yoko both breathing down my neck." I offered with a bit of a stilted smile.

There was a breathy note from Kiwi after a second, and Lucy was just looking a bit confused.

"You probably got that right kid." Kiwi agreed, holding back her laughter.

"Nyyyaaaaaaa." Sasha whined at me, and I just flashed her a smile.

"But Sasha is Sasha, just her quirks. How about you two? I hear you're trying to work with Maines crew? Something about the client wanting you as the netrunner?"

"Fixer. I do some work with him, and he thinks I'm reliable. Knows I can get the gig done."

"So can Sasha." I pointed out. "Bit weird for him to try and disrupt a crew like that."

"He just wants what he wants. He's like that."

"Sounds like an asshole. Why does Maine want this guys work again? Why not go to Wakako, or Padre?"

"Faraday is a difficult fixer, but he offers bonuses for jobs completed to his satisfaction." Sasha offered, and I could see Kiwi's eyebrows clench up a bit in irritation.

"We're supposed to keep deets under wraps." She offered, and Sasha just laughed.

"Kitten-Chan would have found out eventually. Better to just tell her."

"Whatever." I commented interrupting. "Anyways. So… We're going to be competing for some data?"

Kiwi looked over at Sasha. "The kid know anything?"

"She's special! Kitten-Chan is all wide eyed and bright about the world, but her claws are super sharp nyan!"

"Lovely. Can we be more clear now?" I interrupted again.

"Standard rules. We both jump in, goal is the data, so no rezzing each other. We don't work together, unless something goes crazy. It's just a game, the data is the gig."

"Ah I see. So while we're personally competing, the goal is more important." I asked, looking at Sasha who nodded smugly.

"Yep! And when we get the data first, this evil spider will have to call me the greatest!"

"The greatest pain, maybe." Kiwi added, and I had to nod along at that.

"Hey!"

"Are you even able to do this?" Lucy asked, interrupting. She was looking at me. "No offense, but, if you don't know about Runner Competitions, or anything, and I've never heard of you. This is tight ICE. High security. This isn't just programming."

I noticed Kiwi glance from Lucy to me, and then to Sasha, and Sasha was halfway to starting to rant when I interrupted.
"My speciality is combat hacks more than actually diving, but I can keep up."

"Mou! Leave Kitten-Chan alone! She's skilled! My little Kohai-student." Sasha argued huffily.

"Neither of those things." I added instantly to Sasha's pouting.

"If the Stray says she's good, then I'll trust her judgement. It's just all of our lives at stake." Kiwi, said flatly, and I couldn't help but snort a bit at the sarcasm.

"Kitten can do it!"

"Is there any point in this?" I asked cutting Sasha off from embarrassing me anymore. "Either I can, or I can't, and nothing I say is going to change that."

"True." Kiwi agreed, and Lucy looked hesitant like she wanted to argue more but let it go.

"Then shall we all get started?" I asked, and the four of us all looked each other over.

"Yes. Let's get ready to dive. We have everything set up here."

"Here?" I asked suddenly when I realized what was going on.

"Yes! C'mon Kitten!" Sasha cried out happily and dragged me out of the living room down into the basement.

The moment we set foot down stairs I realized the situation. But stopped for a moment to raise a hand.

"Hey Becca."

"Strings." She greeted back with a smirk. "Welcome to the Ice Cave." She cackled as she waved her hand over the four 'bathtubs' full of ice all with open ports for netrunning.

"Beeeecccccca!" Sasha cried out and charged forward, wrapping Becca in a massive hug. "Thank you!"

"Yeah yeah, You're good Cat." She grumped a bit but was smiling.

"Who's the kid?"

"I'm not a kid bitch." Becca responded to Kiwi's question with a hiss and an upraised finger.

"Sure, shorty."

"I-"

"Rebecca is actually older than I am." I cut in, and Lucy and Kiwi both had a moment to process that. "She's Pilar's sister, and a member of Maine's crew… And mine." I held out a fist and Becca didn't hesitate to tap her own fist against mine.

"Okay great."

"I'm your eyes while you're in the net. Dorio would have been here, but she's got stuff going on, and none of you wanted Pilar covering your bodies."

"Yeah." Sasha agreed with a nod, the most direct and not crazy thing I think I'd ever heard her say.

"Fine. C'mon Luce." Kiwi offered,and before my eyes the older woman instantly pulled open her coat!

Oh my!

Spiderwebs everywhere!?

Lucy!?

Shit. The sexyness of this room was crazy!

I turned away, only to see Sasha already half undressed too!

W-why were all netrunners so hot!?

"No." Rebecca suddenly said and I turned away from everyone to her, for a moment's peace, but her eyes were locked on me. "I refuse to believe what I'm seeing."

"W-what?"

"You?"

"What?"

"You. Strings. The girl that… You're shy!?"

"W-What? No! I'm confident and badass! Not shy!" I denied while struggling not to look at all the flesh.

"You're a fucking tomato! You fucking… Oh my god. I thought it was just Crush, but… Oh my god."

"I-I'm not shy!"

"You fucking are!" Rebecca said pointing, and I noticed all the other women in the room were looking at me, Lucy and Kiwi were just about to slip into the ice baths, which was just unfair!

Too much!

"I'm not shy!" I demanded glaring at Rebecca, and before she could say shit. I started undressing. Pulling free of my boots while I grumbled, I tossed my jacket onto a chair, and then pulled down my pants.

Stupid pants! They were getting tighter and tighter. I really needed to go clothes shopping some more.

With that I grabbed the zipper in my leotard and pulled it down, the hidden zipper letting me breathe and it was actually a pretty nice relief. Stupid slightly tight leotard. I'd been really needing to get them all adjusted after my Body 10 achievement, but I'd been so busy!

Grumbled, I peeled the leotard off and then glared at Rebecca who wasn't making fun of me anymore thankfully!
I'm not shy! I'm a badass super kickass killer assassin woman!

Then I hesitated for a second at the icebath... Ugh! I hated the idea of these! I sighed and slipped inside, instantly feeling shivery as I grabbed the cords and accessed in.

"That's just bullshi-" I heard Rebecca say cut off as I dropped into the net.

 

[Seras]

It took a minute before the others joined me, and the whole time I was looking around in disgust.

When Sasha's avatar popped in I instantly turned to her. "How do you live like this?" I had to ask as the entire lobby was covered in pink and glittery cat stuff. The kitty pictures were cute, but the rest of it was just too much.

"Hehehe!" She replied back and that was the only answer I got!?

Thankfully Kiwi looked disturbed even though she still wore her mask mouth plate on the net, and Lucy shared my slightly disturbed look.

"Luce, let's go. Game is already on." Kiwi called out not hesitating at all before the two of them jumped off the lobby onto the net.

"Shit!" Sasha cursed and I quickly raced after her, as we were all thankfully heading for the same place.

It was a data fortress owned by some no name corp. I wasn't bothering to even learn the name of. It hardly mattered. Four elite (I was one too!) netrunners was enough to smash just about any data fortress not controlled by the big corps.

Sasha and I reached our own entry point and slipped inside, there was no discussion. Just like when we hit the No/Brainer server we already had our roles.

She rushed ahead straight for the access node, while I prepared for the defenses. The moment she started breaching in, the Daemons noticed the intrusion, but I was already on them a flurry of Flame Bullets roared out and crushed the Daemons into pixels.

*250 XP Gained.*

*250 XP Gained.*

*250 XP Gained.*

*250 XP Gained.*

"Through!" Sasha called out as she broke through a path and we both rushed forward.

This fortress was well put together, the neon pulsing lights of the interior created a pseudo 3D rendering of the hallways and rooms. It was clearer than some servers I'd been on which meant new. Which meant high security.

Again though I wasn't that concerned.

One Elite Netrunner was dangerous. Two was usually overkill. Three? Four? This was an expensive gig. At least it should be but Faraday had managed to get four netrunners on a single gig for the price of one.

We burst into the next room, as I started tearing through defenses, almost mindlessly as Sasha broke through a firewall that rushed up.

It made me realize that Faraday could have planned this whole thing. Had Kiwi tried to set it up like this?

He couldn't have known about me really, but three netrunners were more than enough to break through even a well secured data fort like this. It made me wonder if that wasn't the plan?

Another set of Daemons destroyed as I protected Sasha, and burned defenses until the Firewall dropped.

We rushed forward, hitting the next defense, something similar to the Cyber Moat that was on the No/Brainer server. Sasha started breaking through when almost instantly it connected.

I blinked. Sasha blinked.

Kiwi and Lucy blinked.

"Huh good timing." I muttered as the four of us all came together.

"You're actually here?" Lucy asked in surprise.
"Yeah?"

"No time to waste Kitten-Chan!"
"Don't call me. Whoa!" I called out. As suddenly that same data moat slammed back down. Lucy had started rushing forward at the same time as Sasha, and they both disappeared.

"Huh. I wasn't expecting that." I muttered as we got split off.

"Netrunner is on the server activating defenses." Kiwi commented. Already looking like she was going to rush off, so I shrugged and followed her.

We made it through a new hallway before she stopped and turned to look at me.

"What?"

"What are you doing?"

"Backing you up?"

She sort of just stared at me for a bit before I rolled my eyes. "I don't give a shit about this competition, I'm just here because I like Sasha a bit, despite her catty attitude."

"Really?"

"Don't start. I can make puns too." I said before smiling. "Besides, what, are you going to run this solo, or are you really going to complain about some backup?"

She looked me over for a while, and shrugged. "Don't slow me down."

"Sure." I said flatly, rolling my eyes. Then I pulled myself into position. "Any role preference?" I asked, and Kiwi made a snorting noise.

"Are you a kid or a netrunner? Do what you can."

I wanted to say something but Kiwi could actually be right… Had Sasha been babying me in a way? That's irritating. Fine.

I stayed with her as we hit the next access node, and we both went to work, where before it was a shared experience with Sasha Kiwi simply cleared her own path, guarded her own back. There was no real working together. We each burned Daemons down, we each started breaching.

Kiwi used an interesting quick hack. Instead of destroying the Daemons it caused them to lock up a CC hack. Nice. I might have to ask about that, or make my own.

I finished off a few of her dazed daemons as well, just for the extra XP.

Kiwi was fast. There was no doubt about that. She was better at breaching than I was, but I had tricks she didn't.

We were already past stealth so it was time to go loud.

I switched from defending against the Daemons for a second and slammed into the security system like a freight train.

Strong Breach was one of my lesser used perks, but that was only because I preferred stealth. The security glitched as I overwhelmed it and even Kiwi looked away from her breach to me, for a moment as there was an obvious shift along the security walls data, an alert going out no doubt as I hit the defense so hard, and it spasmed once before falling opening the path.

I turned and finished a few more Daemons that had restored themselves in the moments it had taken.

"Let's go." I told her and Kiwi for the first time didn't look at me like some kid, but a peer of some sort.

"That was a bit much."

"What, you unhappy I broke through?" I asked her as we raced down the newly opened data path.

"No." Was all she said and that was enough. We hit the next room, and this time it didn't feel like I was fighting alone, just with Kiwi in the room. She covered my back, as I covered hers. Unlike with Sasha, Kiwi would point out parts of a firewall for me to attack while she continued to slip through on her attack. I disrupted, while she slipped through.

It was teamwork of a sort, and soon I was even getting call outs from her, when she needed.

I think working with Kiwi was actually… Better than Sasha. Sasha I only now realized treated me sort of like a kid, or in other thoughts, how I treated Malcolm while on the gig. He could handle certain things, but anything more dangerous, and I'd take over, or not entirely trust him to perform.

Kiwi didn't care, she expected me to keep up. And I did.

We broke through into another space, and I grinned as we ran into Lucy. She was throwing out a hand, and entire groups of Daemons were simply wiped out.

Now that was an interesting Daemon. Forget Kiwi's CC hack. I wanted that.

She looked up to see us and blinked as Kiwi and I both arrived.

"Where's Sasha?" I asked, looking around and Lucy just shrugged.

"It's not like I stuck around her." She replied instantly and I looked up as she glanced at Kiwi. "I don't trust her, so I went solo."

"Stupid."

"Smart." We both said at the same time. Kiwi and I looked at each other for a moment. "If you don't trust someone at your back, leave them behind."

"We're all here for the same gig. Not trusting Sasha isn't being cautious, it's being paranoid."

"Paranoia is a good trait." Kiwi said back and I just made a face at her.

"The kid came with you?"

"She surprised me." Kiwi replied with a shrug. "Let's keep going."

I just sighed there was no way to know if Sasha was ahead or behind. So I would stick with the group for now.

This felt odd again. Lucy and Kiwi didn't so much work together, like I had with Sasha, but they both were just so overwhelming that any teamwork was mostly circumstantial than anything.

I did my best to assist, settling into a different role. I'd wipe out Daemons to ensure they could focus, I'd smash into some defenses to redirect focus, and let them slip through. That sort of thing. It was teamwork, but it did leave me feeling a little bit like a third wheel, and worse, Lucy wasn't really impressed.

I could tell she was trying to pull ahead, sort of break free of me following.

Cold.

But I was more than capable of keeping up and so Lucy, if that was what she was doing, was still solidly in front of me.

Finally we reached the actual core we were trying to break into. This time we weren't alone in a different way. A netrunner was here, his body was twice the size of normal, and he was surrounded by Daemons.

"Not a step further. You lot have caused enough trouble already, turn around."

I kinda expected Kiwi, or Lucy to say anything, but instead they just went straight on the attack. Both of them slamming hacks forward in at the same time, causing the Runner to activate defenses. Firewalls, Massed Daemons, even his own hacks launched back, and the added server power gave him a hefty punch. I was continually throwing up my defense hacks to give Lucy and Kiwi extra cover, as I dodged or blocked attacks coming my way as well.

"We don't need your help." Lucy argued back, as I put up a solid wall between her and some Daemon barrages.

"Well you've got it anyways Moongazer." I told her, and went all out on my own.

I might not be a childhood supersoldier netrunner like Lucy, or just a pure time and effort, and spite runner like Kiwi, but I was fucking Motoko Kusanagi, and on the net, I was not to be fucked with.

My sandy burned, my cyberdeck whirred up, and I started launching attacks like a woman possessed, not quite to the extent of burning myself out of course this wasn't like that time in the netrunner arena.

This was just me wanting to show off a bit.

I cut out an entire wave of the Daemons from Lucy opening her up to entirely go on the offensive for the security runner.

This pushed him off focusing on Kiwi, letting her clear up her Daemons and suddenly it was two on one, and then as I kept the Daemons off them, it stayed like that.

This guy might be powered up by an entire data fortress, but Lucy and Kiwi weren't street gonks.

They plowed through his defenses, until he crumpled.

"Shit! Fucking hell! Easy! Damn you win." He cried out as his defenses crumbled as his ICE barriers wavered. "Jesus who the fuck did we piss off, you Arasaka or something?"

I calmed as he really did stop the assault realizing he was done, but..

I raised a hand and threw up my strongest ICE. Then double and tripled it, as Lucy lashed out with that weird hack of hers, that caused the data to simply self destruct.

Was that something she learned on the other side of the blackwall?

No, that wasn't important. "Moongazer! What the fuck, chill! He already surrendered!" I called out as my defense hadn't been to protect us. But to save the runners life.

Lucy had just tried to flatline him.

"Luce. Ease up." Kiwi demanded, and that thankfully did it, causing Lucy to stop attacking although her face was still glaring.

The poor netrunner looked like he'd just filled his colostomy bag if he had one hooked in.

Looked like his life just flashed before his eyes.

I rushed over which startled him, but I held up my hands.

"Hey easy choom. Sorry about her, she's a bit on a hair trigger. You unplug, and we will stop it here, yeah? I doubt this is a job you're willing to get flatlined for."
"Yeah fuck this." He muttered and was already disconnecting but he sent me a look. "Thanks." Then he disappeared.

Heh. I did a good deed for the day.

"You should have let me kill him. Now he's going to start locking down the data physically." Lucy muttered a bit harshly, and I shrugged.

"He's just a gonk doing his job, and we're all on the net together. Flatlining him for some data when no one's life is on the line is scop."

"Let's move-"

"Sasha is here!" Called out a new voice and I did feel some relief.

"Great." Kiwi muttered, and I couldn't help but chuckle a bit at that.

"W-wha! KITTEN-CHAN! NOoooo! Don't give in to that spiders wiles! Let Neko-mama guide you-"

"Okay I'm going ahead." I instantly said and turned to avoid whatever the fuck Sasha was on about.

"Yeah." Kiwi agreed and we all rushed out, Sasha chasing us from behind.

Thankfully there wasn't anything else. The next room was the archives, and while Sasha was trying to compete with grabbing it first. I just rolled my eyes and joined in on finding the data without turning it into a competition.

We found our data, and after a short download, we all disappeared.

—--

"F-ff-f-f-fuck!" I cried out the moment I came back to my body. I was probably yowling a bit as I climbed out and rolled onto the freezing floor as I tried to disconnect.

"Hey, you're back." Rebecca called out as she was tossing back a few-Disgusting things I was blocking out from my vision. Schwab Schwab wasn't food!

"Y-y-yeah." I chattered as I disconnected and stood up. My everything felt achey, and I was freezing, and this sucked. I was never using a stupid ice bath again. Whoever came up with this was stupid! Stupid and dumb!

I was just in the middle of looking for something when Rebecca chucked a towel at me.

"Damn strings, put those away before you kill us all. Fuckin' ab gremlin."

"What?" Look who's talking about being a Gremlin!

"Yeah." Lucy offered as she slipped out of her own bath and was already trying to light a cigarette. "I don't need to see that."

"I'm jealous, honestly." Kiwi muttered as she rose up joining Lucy in her smoking.

Oh. Every was naked! I felt myself flush a little and started drying off a bit. This was bullying!

"I don't accept!" Sasha suddenly called out as she rose up, and wow. She was very- Looking away.

"Hmm?"

"Sasha and Motoko team should be the winner! Spider hag cheated!"

"Cheated?"

"You stole my Kitten!"

"She offered to help… She was useful." Kiwi added and I sent her a smile in thanks for her words.

"Nooo! Don't let the old evil spider suck you into her weeeeeb!" I was going to just ignore Sasha when she crashed into me. And I yelped.

"Sasha! Put s-some clothes on!" I demanded pushing my towel into her face so she wasn't pressing up against me!

"I can't believe she's shy." Rebecca whispered half giggling, and I turned on her.

"I'll show you shy!" I hissed and it only took half a second to flip the towel a few times and snap.

"You little shit!" Rebecca shrieked as the towel got her and she roared as she rose up and charged.

"Rebecca! I'm naked!" I shrieked just as loud as she talked me.

"That's your problem! You and your stupid perfect abs!"

"Kya!"

—--

"What's go-"

"I ain't asking, and I ain't going down there." Maine rumbled, refusing to look away from the TV. Pilar was, but he was also an idiot, but Rebecca had threatened him with a shotgun for trying to peek earlier.

—--

"Hi-yah!" I called as I flipped Rebecca around after she tackled me and now I was holding her by her stupid tiny little legs.

"Wha-Hey! You bitch, Motoko, put me down!"
"Oh you want to be put down do you?" I whispered sinisterly as I held Rebecca up night and high which let her see where I was aiming.

Her arms flailed out and grabbed the side of the ice bath that I was threatening her with. "Don't you dare you bitch!"

"Mwahahaha!" was my only response for a minute until I heard some giggles and looked over.

Oh right, I'd lost my towel, and was holding up Rebecca…

I could feel the blood rushing up to my face. So I carefully got Rebecca back on normal ground and then ran after to go grab my towel and cover myself!

"Don't worry Kitten! Your abs are nothing to be ashamed of." Sasha offered with a big wink and a thumbs up.
I was definitely not crouching in the corner under the far too small towel and wanting to cry.

Why was everyone still naked! Exhibitionists! All of them! Were all Netrunners like this!? Was I the only sane one?

Then again I was basing my looks off the Major, and she had a bit of a thing about- Nope!

I wasn't thinking about that right now!

"Put some clothes on!" I demanded as I crawled behind what I could and looked for my clothes.

"Pfft!"

This was awful. All these women were laughing at me!

—--

"So who won?" Maine rumbled as we all came sauntering up the stairs. It had taken a while but eventually all these far too comfortable in just their skin netrunners had gotten dressed.

"The real winner was the friends we made along the way!" I called out.

"We did." Kiwi answered, back at the same time as Sasha.

"Us of course!"

Then the two older Netrunners started glaring.

Maine took one look at everyone and just popped the cap on a new beer and apparently decided he didn't care.

Surprisingly smart for that guy.

"We got the data though." I confirmed as I sat down. "Kiwi and Lucy are a solid duo."

"Course they are. Faraday doesn't hire small time." Maine grumbled.

I hummed as I took in the reaction but in the end, not my gig, not my chickens.

"Well I'm heading out. This was… Interesting."

"Wait Kitten! Tell the old spider that we won! It was totally us! She even cheated and stole you away from meeee!"

Yep. Time to go home.

Rebecca was cackling as I walked out ignoring Sasha trying to pull me back inside. But I would not be tricked. I stopped just before I climbed into my Quadra and turned to Sasha.

"Thanks, for inviting me. This was definitely an interesting experience."

"Oh." She stopped and looked a little embarrassed. "It's… You don't have to thank me Kitten. I'm the one that dragged you into my biz. You did great though. Totally proved those two wrong."

I smiled warmly at her, not crazy Sasha was much easier to deal with. "It was useful for me too. If you ever need some back up again you can call me… I guess I'll unblock your number in my agent."

"Eh!? You blocked my number!" She whined and I laughed, I hadn't really, just didn't pick up.

"No." I said teasing and she smiled back.

"Same goes for you too, Kitten. Sasha-Senpai owes her Kohai one yeah?" She baby-talked and I just sent her a flat look, this time she smirked at me in turn. "But if you ever need some help, you can call on me."

"I appreciate that… Senpai." I said, sighing as I did. Already knowing she'd overreact.

So I just slipped into my Quadra as she started gushing. Yep. Not bothering with that.

I drove off as I considered everything. That had been a breeze of a gig really, but if I had to solo that data fort? I'd have to either go full stealth, or maybe not be able to do it. Fact was, there were just too many defenses, for the netrunner Motoko Kusanagi was right now to be able to do it.

Shit now Sasha's got me talking in the third person. I needed to escape that cat's evil clutches.

 

[Seras]

Aaaand we're done. All updated. GitC will update with normal schedule from here. And I'll be trying to start crossposting things over. I've been bugged a bunch about NSFW Omake, and I'll set up something for that in the coming days. But for now? My hands hurt. I'm tired.

 

[Vanbers]

Hot damn, is this coming to QQ now? Nice.

Anyways, at least now I have a good excuse to reread PEAK.

I've been bugged a bunch about NSFW Omake

Click to shrink...

While I admittedly complain about it sometimes, you CAN have this moved to NSFW by the mods if you want, which would allow for fully NSFW discussion/omakes/art/etc. to be posted, even if you don't intend to have it in the primary story.

Loads of people do it even without the chance of lewd omakes, whereas I'm all but certain GitC will have some.

 

[M.Hatter]

Loads of people do it even without the chance of lewd omakes, whereas I'm all but certain GitC will have some

Click to shrink...

A big part of that is a lot of people don't check the non-nsfw section so they label it nsfw for visibility.

In fact the only reason I saw this was the fact that it was on the front page as the most recent post for the non-nsfw section while I was scrolling down to nsfw.

 

[ChainsawNagitana]

What the bamboozle? I was just reading the latest update then switched to QQ...and saw more Ghost in the City under new. I was very confused. Happy, but confused!

 

[Older-Than-Time]

Seras, you crazy SoB.

All in one day?!

Glad to see it here so now the perverts can stop flooding SB

 

[BoML]

Not gonna lie, Seras, I fully expected you to end up posting this here after Motoko's Strip Club gig.

Anyway, glad to have you here.