Neon Cogs [Cyberpunk 2077/Warhammer 40k Arasaka SI]

ATP

Well-known member
Becca as psyker? she need to be bind to Hiro to survive.
P.S She still accidentally killed her friend which she tried save,right?
 
Chapter 8

SirBearington

Well-known member
Chapter 8


Rebecca had faced down gangers armed to the teeth, seasoned solos with better equipment, and even cyberpsychos with more chrome than sense; but nothing could have ever prepared her for what she was dealing with right now. There she was, seated inside one Arasaka Tower, with Hiro beside her as they tried to deal with a highly irate and livid Michiko. They squirmed in their seats, afraid to even look up and meet the woman's eyes, as she scolded them.


“What the fuck were you two thinking! You think going out on a mission is a joke!?” the woman shouted as videos of their escape from a burning warehouse played in a loop behind her. “You really had to do it when Adam was busy guarding your other shipment. Of all the hair brained schemes you’ve had over the years, this might be far the most boneheaded and suicidal of them all!” She added as he threw her arms up in the air as she paced in front of them.


“I’m sorry…” Hiro whispered only to flinch back as the older Arasaka gave him a wide eyed glare.

“I thought I raised you better than this! If you really wanted to go out in the streets, you should have waited till Adam was done with his job for our faction and Revere.” Michiko growled out as she pinched the bridge of her nose. “Sorry wouldn’t be enough to bring you back if you had been hurt that night!” The older woman really wasn’t holding back her words.

Rebecca raised her hand to catch the woman's attention. “In his defense, it’s kinda my fault for not warning him enough.” She tried reasoning. She had been far too caught up with the possibility of showing Hiro the fun that she experienced in a firefight and didn’t consider how green he was.

“There’s no need to cover for your input Rebecca when you’re in hot water as well. I just have to drive this lesson into my wayward charge’s head before I move on to you.” The woman calmly replied, making Rebecca glance away from the intense look of disappointment and anger that came down on her. Gone was the easy going woman she met at the party, now standing before them was one of the board members to the prestigious and cutthroat Arasaka company.


“I’ve called your grandfather and he wants to have a talk.” The woman then said, making Hiro jump up his seat with a look of wide eyed horror and hurt from his aunt’s apparent betrayal.


“What! No! You can’t do this-” He shouted only for Michiko to hush him, stopping him right on his tracks.


“I can and I will. As your direct superior, I believe it is in your best interest that you meet with your grandfather. If my subordinate won’t listen to my words of wisdom then maybe his grandfather can get through his thick skull.” She fired back, putting her proverbial foot down, as she leaned in close. Hiro glared at her yet Michiko did not flinch. Instead, it would be Hiro that backed down first as he looked away, a grimace on his lips.


“He heard everything about your little escapade. He has some choice words about your actions and he wants you to come back to Japan as soon as possible. You will have to deal with the old man. You dug this grave, now go lie on it.” Michiko hissed out as Hiro backed away and plopped down on his seat with his forehead resting against his palm.


With Hiro pacified and cowed, Michiko now turned her attention to Rebeccea; who found it even more unpleasant as she broke into cold sweat. It felt like she was in the presence of a tiger who found a foolish human wandering into her territory. She was a dead meat and she knew it and now it was her turn to face the music.


“As for you my little solo, oh I have so much I want to say.” Rebecca jumped slightly and tensed as she felt the older Arasaka’s hands resting on her shoulder like the clawed talons of an eagle clutching its prey. Her hands felt clammy while her throat tightened. Instincts flared as she felt the need to get up and run but it was far too late now.


“Did you know just how much danger you placed my precious nephew in? Do you?” She asked as she leaned in close and whispered into her ears.

Rebecca clenched her fist as she shook her head. She was angry, yes, but not at Michiko but at herself. “No, I didn’t think it through.” She admitted with a heavy heart. She had been god damn stupid in that fight and even if nothing bad happened in the end, something almost did and it all fell squarely upon her shoulders.


“Exactly, you didn’t think and that’s the problem. You’re just as bad as his father. You think with your crotch, damned the consequence!” Rebecca sucked in a breath as she took it all, letting the other woman speak out her mind.


Hiro took offense at that as he spoke up “Auntie-!”


But Michiko was firm with her stance, refusing to even budge a bit. “No Hiro, she needs to hear this.” She rebuked him. He looked conflicted but Rebecca had him back down after she gave him a soft smile and gentle shake of her head. This was her punishment and she was going to take it, even if it hurt.


“I thought I found someone that he could rely on, a close confidant to keep him from doing something stupid, a lover to ground him but instead I have a bitch that only brought out the worst in both of you.” Rebecca nodded, gritting her teeth as she forced herself to listen. She was frustrated, she knew that she fucked up, yet those words hurt a lot.

“Where was the cocky girl that promised that she’d be the best output huh? Was that all just bravado? You forgot that this isn’t all fun and games girl, and you're playing with my boy's heart and life.” Michiko asked pointedly, reminding her of the promise she made and how she had failed her in that regard.

“I thought you were the one but then you brought my boy into a god damn friday night firefight. Rebecca, I’m fucking disappointed.” Of all the words she threw so far, that one stung the most. She couldn't help but look down and clutched the hem of her jacket as an overwhelming sense of shame bubbled up from her chest.


“Lucky for you, however, I’m a merciful woman and I know a girl who learnt her lesson when I see one. Disappoint me once more, I'll be putting a bullet between your eyes.” Michiko replied as she pulled away from Rebecca. She could only nod slowly as she accepted what little mercy she was given. Words would be meaningless right now and all she could do moving forward was to show that she really did learn.


The two sat there silently after their scolding. She wanted nothing more than to leave now and sulk a bit with Hiro but Michiko was far from over with them as she dropped one last bombshell before she left them. The older Arasaka prepared herself a glass of scotch before suddenly saying, “Oh and one more thing, your Grandfather wants to meet your output so good luck you two.~ Now if you’ll excuse me, I have other business to attend to.”


They were left gobsmacked as the woman drank her scotch before leaving them without so much another word. “Fuck,” Hiro ever so eloquently put it, echoing her sentiments to the situation.


“Shit… what the fuck are we going to do?!” She asked in mild panic. She wasn’t prepared for any of this to happen just yet. Meeting the emperor was the last thing she wanted to do now of all things.


“She didn’t give us a date so I can reasonably delay it if work gets involved.” He reasoned out, allowing her to breathe out a sigh of relief.


“For a second there, I thought we have to meet the emperor now.” She replied as she sank into her comfortable seat. The plush bean bag in the modern looking office was a good send for her frayed nerves. She felt like she could just sink in and forget about everything.

Hiro hummed as he got up and paced around, “We can make this work. All you need is to impress him enough; so that would mean learning to be the ideal japanese woman which involves learning the language, simple etiquette, as well as get you a proper dress for the occasion which would be the easiest funnily enough.” He then said as he listed out the things that they needed to work on. She would have been elated with the chance to try on new clothes for Hiro if not for the spectre of what was to come.


“Yup, seems easy enough. I just have to learn a whole nother language as well as a whole new set of societal norms in one month… fuck this is going to be a tough month isn’t it?” Rebecca groaned out as she rolled on to her belly and stared down at the polished floor. It wasn’t impossible per say with all the language chips they could use to have her learn the language, but remembering to use it while acting as immaculately as possible under that kind of pressure was just something else.

“There’s no other way,” Hiro replied with a shake of his head. Scratching the back of his head, he then confessed to her, “I’m going to be honest with you… grandpa is racist but he’s getting better?” The forced smile he had stretching across his face wasn’t a good sign by any measure.

“Why does that not fill me with confidence...” She noted, feeling even more uneasy, “And I’ve seen enough Arasaka adverts to know your grandfather's backstory. He’s fucking ancient and his values are as well. No need to sugar coat it for me,” She then pointed out, gesturing at the large image of his grandfather on one of the rolling adverts beaming up to the very heavens.

“Ok I admit it, he’s still a raging asshole, especially if you offend him which you can easily do with how critical he can be to those who he does not see as one of his people, but he’s not unreasonable. He can be made to see the other way. Just look at me.” He conceded before gesturing at himself. He really wasn’t the most stereotypically japanese of people with how he looked more in place in Night City itself rather than Tokyo. There’s a chance but it was a slim one at best


“At least we know that he can be reasoned with, right? I just have not to fuck this up. No pressure.” She chuckled out with a shake of her head. The odds were stacked against her but it had always been so anyways, so why worry now? Getting up from her seat, she then rolled her shoulders as she looked at the advert ahead, “So, when do we start?” She asked, ready to face the challenge up ahead.


-x-x-x-


“I’m really sorry choom, but I’m going to have to extend my leave for a bit. I’m kinda being forced to meet the Emperor?” Rebecca explained, trying not to squirm as the tailor measured her. It was all so formal in this shop that it’s stifling. She had rattled off her measurements because she damn well knew that was it for her but nope, this had to be perfect so the seamstress had to take her measurement the old fashioned way.

“Holy shit, you’re really going to meet your in-laws this early?” Maine asked on the other end of the line with shock coloring his tone.

“Yeah, that's what I thought and marriage is still not yet on the table.” She corrected him, pouting as his teasing yet blushing at the image his words invoked. She shook her head, earning her a light swat by the stuffy old seamstress. It was far too early for her to think about wearing a bridal gown.


“Well, good fucking luck on that one. The guys fucking ancient and so’s his values. He’d probably be scandalized if he saw your ankle.” Maine jested making her roll her eyes.

“Hardy harr harr,” She replied, unamused by his usual antics, “But yeah, that's why I need to prepare as much as I can. I’m even getting a kimono just so I can get used to moving around in it!” She half-shouted. Was all of this really necessary?


“I’ll need all of this done by the week after this.” Hiro ordered casually as an Arasaka representative talked with the cashier about the payment for her rushed custom order.


“Girl has thick birthing hips. Pay extra.” The seamstress replied in broken yet understandable english. She did not know if she should take that as a compliment or an insult especially with all the looks she had been getting from the other girls getting their own kimono fitted. Did they think she was fat?


“I can speak Japanese?” She replied even as her tongue prosted at the unfamiliar language. She winced at the look of disgust the woman gave her.

“You say things right but you sound wrong. You used language chip. Practice more!” The woman shouted at her, scolding her for butchering the language.


“Done.” And just like that, an extra hundred eddies were exchanged between Hiro’s aide and the shop’s cashier.


Maybe it was her jet lag addled mind talking but taking a direct flight from Night City to Kyoto to get her size for some custom kimono seemed a bit excessive and she hasn’t even talked about how she had to pick 4 patterns for each season or rather 5 since outer space isn’t considered a season but apparently there’s a right color and design choice for going to space. All in all, she was getting a wardrobe’s worth as she’d get 5 formal pairs as well as 5 casual pairs for other occasions.


“Say no more. Besides, the crew does need a break. Might actually put some of the chrome down as well to spend some time with Dorio.” Maine’s voice proved to be a worthwhile distraction as she tried hard not to think too much about her current situation. That way lies the path to madness.

“You taking off your chrome? Damn choomba, what the hell did you eat?” She laughed, wiping away a tear as she smiled softly. “You don’t have to do this for me Maine but… yeah, thanks. I really appreciate this” she then added. It had been quite a year for them already. From just some random solo team off the street to one funded and equipped by a corpo. Yes, they sold out in a sense but hey, they were living the dream. She sucked in her breath as she felt the tailor's tape measure dig into her ribs. Yup, definitely living the dream here.


“Hey, this is long overdue, and it’s not like we’re in the rat race here. We can have our downtime whenever we want and wherever we want.” He reasoned out and she couldn’t find any fault in that. They were as free as someone could get, which was one of the allures of being a solo.


“Hope you two have a good time. Send a postcard will you?” She asked playfully as she let out a breath of relief as the hag finally loosened up the tape measure as she wrote it all down on paper. She knew this was an old shop but did they have to be this old fashioned?


“I should be the one saying that to you!” He barked out in laughter. “Before I forget, our crew finally got another netrunner. You’ll definitely like having her around.” He then said which had her grinning out like a loon.


“Fucking hell, finally and another girl? I can’t wait to come back.” She exclaimed out loud, earning her another swat from the old bitch. Oh sue her, she had reason to celebrate especially with that piece of news. Not having a netrunner on the field with them was a handicap.


“Heh. Anyway, that's all I have for now. Good luck.” With those words, the line finally cut leaving her without distraction. Thankfully, her seamstress was done with her as well.

“Did we have to fly here?” She asked. Yes, feeling real silk against her skin was a different experience altogether but this was something else. “I mean, your grandfather will probably have heard about this.” She pointed out in japanese. Well, the seamstress did say she needed to practice so might as well keep at it.


“Oh he knows, but I’m officially on business here.” He replied with a smug smile on his face. Hiro was more than happy to help her along as he responded in kind. The translation package that was bundled with the language chip was coming in handy.


“We only flew here to buy formal wear…” She deadpanned as she stared at him.

He kept smiling as he nodded at that. “Exactly, purely business there! This is his favorite shop. From what I’ve heard from Aunt Michiko, Grandma used to frequent this place.” He replied and she could see the logic behind his actions now.


“Best model!” The seamstress suddenly shouted from her work station as she started working on the fabrics she had chosen. Both of them laughed at the woman's outburst as they walked out of the hole in a wall shop. Hidden in one of the many streets of the ancient city of Kyoto. Stepping into the street outside felt like she was stepping into a portal to another time.

While Night City was a city that screamed of modernity and progress, Kyoto was a stark contrast to it as its architecture and street layout harkened to an age long forgotten, an age before the corporations and even modern technology. Sure there were street lights and electric poles, but it didn’t take away from the rustic charm the city possessed.

Then there was the air. She didn’t notice it when they landed here, but the more she breathed it in, the more she noticed how her lungs didn’t clog up with phlegm and how easy it was to just… keep breathing. “Well, this is certainly a nice change of pace from the smog and acid rain.” She noted as she watched a pair of hannya mask wearing delivery drones fly by above them. Well, people here certainly doubled down on the mythological aspect of their aesthetic.


“Cleaning up Japan was definitely worth it. We still have to deal with acid rain, especially when the westerlies are blowing, but for the most part we have clean air and clear skies.” He said, making her look up to see the blue sky up above with large fluffy clouds as he led her down the busy streets. People were giving her looks, but she ignored them. It wasn’t like she’s the only one with the wild hair color around; there’s a girl with bubblegum pink hair walking just a few feet from them!


“I have plans to clean up China, which is where most of the pollution is coming from, but any effort I make would be for nothing with the local megacorps fucking things over. At Least Korea is not a lost cause with Arasaka’s partner there.” He explained further as she nodded along. She wasn’t in the know for corpo stuff, but it sounded Arasaka was doing well.


Looking around, she observed just how clean everything was. It wasn’t just a facade that people brought up to hide the shittiness festering underneath but a genuine look. People looked more curious of her than afraid while they walked with their heads up high. They didn’t look like they were on guard most of the time and some were even oblivious to their surroundings as they bumped into each other. There weren’t any pigs around either, which was really weird. Maybe this was just the Arasaka part of town but there were also other megacorps around so why weren’t they warring against each other? It was all so utterly alien but in a good way.


She watched as a group of kids chatted with each other as they carried trash to a designated trash collection point. Well, that’s something you wouldn’t see in Night City, “Will Night City ever have a turn?” She asked jokingly as she looked back at Hiro.

He hummed, frowning in concentration as if he was seriously considering the question before he nonchalantly answered, “Within next year once the cleanup of Pacifica is finished.”

She gaped at him for how he sounded while answering her. It was as if he was talking about fixing a broken door or cleaning the air filters of an apartment, “You’re kinda making it sound like you have plans to take over Night City. Besides, we did rile up the Voodoo boys badly over in Pacifica; I’m not sure they’re going anywhere, anytime soon.” She recalled, remembering that night pretty well and the Voodoo Boys showed why they weren’t something you could mess with casually. They were like rats and cockroaches, evading the Arasaka strike teams and picking their fights. It was a game of cat and mouse between the gang and the megacorp with the city as the Arena. Sooner or later, she swore those guys were going to cause a lot of trouble.


“I wouldn’t be much of an Arasaka Scion if I did not, would I~?” he questioned her teasingly, making her chuckle. He got her there, he was still an Arasaka, after all, and there was something about Night City that drew them in.

“You know, having you at the helm wouldn’t be half bad.” She speculated, wondering what it would be like. He was by far the most relaxed and easy going corpo she knew. She knew Gloria was having a fun time working for him, even if the woman was stressed out from the uncharacteristic kindness Hiro showed, but he did have other subordinates that were definitely unsavory.


Her attention was caught by a nearby news bulletin blasting from an old ham radio inside a food stall, “Tommorows weather will be rainy due to westerly winds so morning commuters are advised to take precaution. Rain will be mild with a slight breeze so commuters are advised to bring their raincoat with them to avoid acid burns. This reminder is brought to you by our partners in the Arasaka Weather Station, Stay Safe! Now back to more news on Nippon Daily…” the reporter declared. It didn’t sound right but she couldn’t put her finger on why. That was until she noticed the word the woman used.


“Wait… did that news reporter say that there would be rain tomorrow? Shouldn’t it be a chance of rain?” She pointed out, wondering why the hell were they confident with the weather of all things.

“Oh she definitely said there will be rain. Oh hey, they’re selling Ikayaki here! Two please!” He confirmed before his attention was caught by what the food stall was selling. He walked up to the borg manning the stall who pulled out two squid skewered on a stick and roasted them over open fire.


Well, she was definitely hungry and not even the tentacles were going to stop her from eating! It was times like this that she wanted to experience the most with Hiro. Yes, she was away from the action but this was a nice change of pace. It was definitely relaxing at the very least.


“So, ready for your tea ceremony lessons once we come back home?” Hiro then asked her, making her let out a disgruntled groan. And just like that, her peace and quiet was gone.


“Damn it, I thought you forgot about that.” She moaned out in despair. Why did they have to make such a simple ceremony be so complicated? Why didn’t they put sugar in such a strong tea? It was almost unpalatable for her and it was a wonder why Hiro enjoyed the ones she made, “You’re a sadist, you know that?” She pouted, making him laugh out loud. The things she did for love.


-x-x-x-


Halfway across the world, back in Night City, a certain David Martinez was facing a whole different problem. The boy sighed as his hangers on kept following him even as he took the train back home. His thought of using the train to shake them off might have been a curse as more of his classmates joined him just to experience it. Were they really this far removed from normal life that he had to guide them step by step?


“Like oh my god Martinez, how long have you been keeping this from us? Who thought traveling home could be fun. Sure I could talk to Suzan through the net but talking with her in person is far better am I right?” one of his groupies prattle on, fraying what little patience he had.

Still, it wasn’t all bad when his old “friend” Tanaka was roped in as well. He grinned at him as the other boy gave him a glare. Of all the new friends he had, who knew that he’d miss having someone honest around. At least he knew that the guy still hated his guts. Turning away, he yawned as he closed his eyes and let time slow down around.

Things came to a crawl as movement felt like he was trying to swim through molasses. People slowed down to a barely coherent drawl while everything went into stand still. He let out a breath, feeling the control his new augment gave him. It wasn’t the flashiest of augments but damn was it powerful. While most chrome enhanced the body, his chrome enhanced the mind and with it came what his mother boss calls “Bullet Time.” He was definitely in bullet time alright.


+Mental Acceleration at 28%. Stable,+ droned out his voice inside his head.


Getting used to the VI, or machine spirit, or whatever you called it, took him some time but it was godsend once he started using it. It felt like he could have two instances of his mind at once but not quite. At least it wouldn’t be quiet while he had a little break from them. The brief time he had in the confines of his mind allowed him to center his mind and relax so he could deal with them once it was done.


+Danger! Danger!+ Shouted his machine spirit in warning as he noticed something on the edge of his vision. He turned towards the direction where his chrome was pointing at him and his eyes widened as the highlighted outline of a gun and a vest full of bombs could be seen strapped to an angry goon.


He cursed as the man raised his gun up in the air and started shooting, “Get down on the ground now!” He shouted as the people inside the train screamed and shouted in terror. “Nobody moves and nobody gets shot!” More gangers pulled out their guns as things quickly devolved into a hostage situation.


Some people tried to fight back only for them to scream out in pain as they were paralyzed by netrunners and then subsequently shot in the head. He pulled down his classmates as he shielded them from the sight of the ganger.


His heart hammered inside the chest as he noticed the unmistakable tattoo of the Voodoo boys on the man's neck. He was now in a hijacking situation and their captors just so happened to be in the gang who was at war with his school's parent corporation. “Fuck…” He breathed out as his mind raced for answers with his augment giving him the details of what he was facing up against. The weapons specs, path of danger along with predictions of a few seconds in the future was overlaid in his vision.

The bloody picture painted by his mind when the Voodoo boys finally noticed them only made him worry even more. “Oho? What do we have here? A bunch of little corpos away from their bodyguards. Seems like our intel was right.”


“Boys, round them up. Don’t rough them up… too much.” The man laughed as he and his classmates were rounded up.

Forced to kneel in front of a camera with their hands behind the back of their head, the gangers made their intentions clear. They were to be the bargaining chips for a deal they were trying to broker with Arasaka. There was a lot of bad blood as Tanaka was beaten to a bloody pulp. He was the first one to be taken in front of the camera.


He knelt there as he kept running simulations, trying to find a way out of this situation. The more data he gathered, the more accurate his simulation became and soon a path became clear for him. The gangers were confident, not even bothering to tie them up after taking their guns. They merely surrounded them with guns, trying to cow them in fear but that would be the last mistake they’d ever commit.

He was at the back of the group but, unfortunately for him, he had a gun against his head. There were three other guards and a lone netrunner with them. All of them of haitian descent and they were drugged up to the gills with their dilated eyes and their lack of fear. They were ready to die today.


“You took from us our comrades, our fellow soldiers, widowed our friends and made orphans of their children. Now, you shall all feel our pain.” The man declared as he leveled his gun at the broken Tanaka. He could just not act, let him fire and just end the boy’s life so he’d only be facing 4 other guns that were ready to fire… but he was not that kind of person. Fuck the low chances that his mind was throwing at him. He just had to make those low chances a reality.


+Mental Acceleration at 200% Overclock initiated. Impulse acceleration initiated. Countdown before permanent damage: 5 seconds,+ Warned his implant as things became blue tinted. Those five seconds were all he needed.


He forced his hands to move as his heartbeat raced to his chest. Every last fiber in his body screamed as he moved faster than he could normally do. In the first second, he moved his head to the line of fire before grabbing the man's hands. He guided the man's hand as he panic-fired, spraying bullets but missing every last one of his classmates before he shot one of his friends.


As he pulled down, he drove his elbows to the man's armpits, deadening the man's grip as allowing him to use the man as cover for the subsequent shot. He felt burning in his thighs as he was shot but there was no damage to any major blood vessels. He powered through the pain as he pushed the man forward so he could make a grab for the pistol that was falling down his slackened grip.


His hands gripped the Budget Arms Slaught-O-Matic and felt the weight it had, 20 rounds from his estimate. More than enough. With the dead man falling over a shrieking classmate of his, he was now open for fire but so were they.


He aimed at their heads before pulling the trigger. One bullet each but the disposable gun had more than enough firepower to kill them before they could even process it all. The last thing they’d see was his gun as he fired at them. He shot them one by one, feeling the recoil of the gun with each pull of the trigger. Each shot warped the barrel further, forcing him to take aim at them and ensure he killed them all. For a brief instance, as he aimed at the last one standing, he hesitated. He almost did not shoot the netrunner until his augment highlighted her fingers going for the pin of a grenade. He had to shoot. He let his chrome guide him, forcing him to relax his stance as he fired off the last shot ending the life of the last hostage taker. It was all over in 5 seconds and time went back to normal.


+Overlock Ended. Seek Medical Attention Immediately,+ Reminded his chrome just as color returned to the world around him.

The heads of the remaining goons exploded, showering them all in a rain of gore and brain matter. His grips slackend as the after effects of his acceleration came into effect. He fell down screaming as his muscles had literally torn themselves apart to allow him to move at such speeds. His body felt like one giant bruise while his mind felt like it was on fire but he was ok, he knew he was ok.


“Call Trauma team! Now!” Shouted Tanaka of all people as his world became pain. He wished he was knocked out but his mind kept him lucid, he’d be awake long enough to see the Trauma team burst through the train's windows to take him away. The pain was horrible but it was worth it. Nobody was going to die on him so long as he could have a say.


While his heroic act of bravery would catch the eyes of the city, a particular Borg found something more in him. He had just finished escorting the transfer of manufacturing equipment necessary for the production of his advanced weaponry when a call for him to save some brats was sent out. He was preparing for a slaughter, aching to finally stretch his limbs after weeks of monotonous work, only for his job to be called off by the most unexpected of things.


The large metallic man watched the video over and over again, seeing how utterly ruthless the boy was with his action. This boy’s movement was fluid and seamless as no ounce of force was wasted in useless flourishes. It was cold, calculated and executed with machine-like ability. “Interesting” growled out the borg as he stood up from his desk. Who would have known that his little act of “charity” would bear fruit so soon.

A/N:

As always, from here on out, I'd like to remind you that I have a patreon page! I also have a Ko-Fi page and a Subscribe Star.
 

ATP

Well-known member
I pity Becca,but she must take responsibility now and become perfect japaneese woman. :)
 
Last edited:
Chapter 9

SirBearington

Well-known member
Chapter 9

Rebecca adjusted her obi for what felt like the hundredth time and it didn’t help with how stuffy and heavy it all was. She couldn’t help it as she needed to be absolutely immaculate on this specific day because this was the day she meets Hiro’s grandfather, who was none other than Subaro Arasaka. To say the man was legendary in night city would be an understatement for only a man of supreme will could hold the titanic empire that was Arasaka together.

“Come on Rebecca, just breathe.” Hiro whispered to her ears as he gave her hands a reassuring squeeze. There, they sat inside an Aerodyne as it cruised through the sky. Their destination was just ahead, a massive walled compound sitting atop a small hill. This was the true heart of Arasaka’s operation, they were heading for the Arasaka Family Compound.

“Easy for you to say when you’re not swaddled in what feels like a dozen layers of silk,” She fired back as she leaned back against the luxurious leather seat. Not even the chocolates that were provided nor the small sip of wine she had could help calm her frayed nerves.

“Heh. Still though, you got this. I believe in you. This will just be another practice run.” He reminded her. She smiled before a yawn overtook her. Rubbing her tired eyes, she stared down at the compound down below as their ride started to descend among one of many Aerodynes landing and flying off from the small airport attached to the compound.

“Yes, just another practice run. Nothing more, nothing less.” She whispered to herself, doing her best to psyche herself up now that they were finally there.

The rows of immaculately dressed maids with their black and white uniforms with more oriental sleeves was quite the sight. They stood there in attention as they came to greet them along with a whole entourage of guards. They were not the ones that caught Rebecca’s attention however but it was the man overseeing it all. There, standing ahead of everyone else was an Englishman with graying black hair combed back without nary a stray hair in sight wearing a suit that was pressed to a perfection.

“Good morning, young master.” The man greeted in japanese as her input brightened up at the sight of the man. “And my my, it seems that he has brought a lady friend home,” he then added as his gaze landed on her. Rebecca stared back with a soft smile, waiting for him to say anything else.

“Walter! How’s my favorite butler doing? I hope grandfather didn't give you too much trouble while I was away,” Hiro greeted as he walked up to the man and gave him a hug. The butlers sighed out as he rolled his eyes and gave Hiro a pat on the head.

“On the contrary, the estate had never experienced such peace in almost 15 years. I believe that might be due to the fact that there haven't been any explosions since you left. Strange, but a welcome change of pace,” The taller man snarked out as Hiro pulled away from him. Rebecca had to look away and hide her lips with her sleeves just to avoid laughing. She liked this man.

“You're so funny, Walter,” Hiro snorted out at the man's joking remark as he turned toward her and introduced her to the family's butler, “Anyway, I would like you to meet my girlfriend. Rebecca, meet Walter. Walter, meet Rebecca.”

“Walter Dornez at your service,” The man greeted as he forwent the usual japanese way of greeting for a kiss on her hand. Her brow twitched at the man's attempt to flirt but chose to hide it behind a strained smile of her own.

“Charmed,” She replied as she did her best not to throttle the man.

“Quite a fiery one are you? Well, the master does have a distaste for those of weak will so no wonder he picked you,” The man then said as a rather cheeky smile stretched across his face before gesturing for them as the sea of maids and guards parted before him, “Now, if you’d follow me?”

The gate of the compound was just as impressive as everything else with each of the doors looking like they were made from one massive tree. It wasn’t just them that arrived either, but a whole host of people as well. She watched as a pair of businessmen entered through the compound before she specifically was barred by the guard stationed at the gate. She took in a short breath as she turned to look at the butler who in turn was glaring at the man before them.

“The master's orders,” The man intoned as he refused to budge one bit even as Hiro was waiting on the other side.

“I’m quite sorry but we’ll have to do a quick search before you enter the estate. Normal procedure, I assure you,” The butler gritted out through his strained smile. Rebecca smiled back and shook her head. There was no need to be offended for her when this was to be expected. That was why she and Hiro made sure to give quite the impression.

“There’s no need. Besides, I’ve been meaning to find a place to put all my guns down,” She laughed out softly as she started unloading her arsenal. Her elegant clothing served well to hide everything as she dropped the bolters she had hidden in her sleeves. That made everyone pause as they turned and watched her start pulling out other weapons. Lasguns, grenades, knives, even an LMG version of the Bolter was handed over to the poor man who was now trying his best to carry everything. Finally, she lifted up the side of her kimono and pulled her favorite black gun.

“Please take care of them alright?~” She sang out in a teasing tone as she watched the man stagger off to find a place to drop it all down. She had packed her most expensive weaponry and the man knew damn well not to scratch her belongings. Was it petty having him carry it all when he was merely following orders? Yes. Was it entertaining to watch? Most certainly it was.

“I’ll repeat, isn’t she a fiery one. The master doesn’t half ass things when it comes to choosing his woman, just as much when he attempts to break the laws of physics themselves.” The butler reiterated with an amused tone of his own as they were finally allowed through after a brief search by a female guard.

She smiled as she walked with Hiro confidently. She was ready for the challenges that Hiro’s grandfather posed, the question now would be if his grandfather was ready for her?

-x-x-x-

“Mr. Fujimoto,Tokyo around this time of the year is rather pleasant. Why don’t you and your entourage take a tour of the city? Kyoto has its charms but I assure you that Tokyo has character equal to the old capital.” Saburo Arasaka, the true head of the Arasaka Corporation, said as he waved off another petitioner as he held court.

There the man sat as the door leading to a balcony overlooking the massive enclosed forest with Mount Fuji in the background remained open. The cool fresh air of the morning flowed in but that couldn’t stop the man before them from sweating. Goro Takamura watched it all as he stood there in attention, ready to cut down anyone that tried thinking of anything funny.

“B-but Mr. Arasaka, please, just give me anoth-” The man stuttered, getting on his knees and crawling up to the elderly Arasala, begging his master only for the old man to frown. The fool had just signed his death warrant.

“Good day Mr. Fujimoto. I hope your visit has been pleasant.” The Arasaka head chided the blubbering fool who hastily made a bow and scampered off to whatever hole he came from. His master reached up for his forehead and sighed out in frustration. He sympathized with him for the flood of sycophants and asskissers was never ending.

The frown however quickly gave way as word of the young master's arrival came. There was still a frown on the older man's face at the mention of the girl but that gave way to a bemused look as tales of the arsenal of weapons disgorged at one of the poor guards. Goro made sure to remember to have a table placed nearby.

It didn’t take long for his former ward to arrive with the girl he had taken fancy in tow. Her pale face, her immaculately done hair and her tidy dress spoke of a cultured woman but those striking and fierce red eyes of hers said otherwise. She might look like a pretty flower but this one had thorns.

“When I heard that she’s always armed, I did not expect that she’d bring enough to arm a whole squad of soldiers.” The old master commented with wry amusement tinged his tone. He might have remained impassive but the way he relaxed on his seat was a good sign.

“Good afternoon, grandfather.” The young master respectfully bowed along with his lover. The two bowed together, with the girl bowing a bit lower. He gave the girl an approving nod.

“So, this is the gaijin girl then. I expected someone… taller,” The elderly Arasaka sneered at the girl. Only the girl's soft frown was any sign that she was affected by it. As the master's personal guard, he had studied the girl in front of her. The girl was going to fight an uphill battle with her upbringing and he couldn’t help but root for her, but the girl was doing good so far.

“What can I say, grandfather? The best things often come in small packages,” Hiro replied for her, defending her before his grandfather.

The old man snorted as he slowly stood up from his seat. With Goro assisting him and making sure he didn't fall over, the man got up to his feet and made his way up to inspect the young master's lover. He walked close, getting well within the striking distance of the girl as he stared at her with those cold weathered eyes that remain sharp despite his extremely advanced age. There was a stand off between the two with the girl refusing to budge.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the old man nodded as he introduced himself, “You may know me already but it’s best that I introduce myself. I am Arasaka Saburo, Hiro’s grandfather. With what name shall I call you?” The master said as he looked at the girl appraisingly, trying to find any flaw but she wore her dress with the dignity of a proper japanese woman; a feat all on its own.

“My name is Rebecca Hall. It’s an honor to meet you,” The young woman demurely replied. Her tone was controlled and her speech slower almost imperceptibly.

“Hall. I believe I’m unfamiliar with such a family in all my dealings in the US but no matter. Come, sit. The servants will bring the tea set shortly,” The old man quipped, sending another barb towards the girl's way but all he ever got when he turned away was a soft, yet challenging, smile.

Walter and another maid would soon come to the room bringing with them some of the older pieces of ceramic. They were priceless works of art made during the time of the shoguns. Their worn appearance showed their age well and the girl gulped ever so softly at the sight. Emboldened in the front of the cups was a raging wave like texture, an imperfection on the otherwise perfect piece of ceramic yet it was strangely beautiful in its own way.

“Why don’t you prepare us some tea while I discuss with my grandson on his recent escapade.” The master requested, though anyone that was familiar with him knew it was an order. She was to be the host of the ceremony and she took it in stride as she made a gentle bow from her seiza.

“Please, allow me,” She replied as she slowly sat up and walked over to start.

Using the offered basin, she washed her hands, cleansing them before even making a move to touch the tools. She gave proper reverence to the tools as she cleaned them with the linen provided for her with the whisk being cleaned with the hot water served she had scooped from the hot kettle. Scooping the right amount of matcha, she prepared a suitably thick tea for the master. Everything was done with a deliberate pace, neither slow nor hurried, as she made sure that it was well mixed. With the wave on the teacup facing her, she offered it to the elderly man.

Everything was almost done to the prescribed procedures but Goro couldn’t help but shake his head; the key word was almost. Still, the master took the offered tea and gave a small bow of gratitude before taking a sip. The old man savored the tea as Rebecca made another cup for the young master.

“Hiro, do you know why I’ve called you here?” The man then asked as he looked up from his steaming drink.

“To judge my actions, grandfather, as well as meet the woman that has caught my eye,” The young master answered with a solemn tone.

“Indeed,” The man nodded as he finished his tea. Setting the cup aside, the young woman asked if he wanted another cup to which the elderly Arasaka shook his head. Hiro would soon receive his tea cup with the wave of his cup facing him. He bowed as he received the cup before turning his cup clockwise twice so that the front faced away from him.

“When I sent you to America, I thought you were ready to handle our branch in Night City. Everything was going smoothly, investment was steady, and the confidence the markets had in our stock was at an all time high. Your lab had just been set up and the latest release of your newest weapons system has been a resounding success,” the elderly Arasaka started, praising Hiro’s effort so far before his frown deepened as he leveled a small glare at his grandson.

“Your actions involving your private life, however, leaves me wanting,” The man then scolded, laying before the boy all that he had found him lacking, “Starting a fling with a courtesan and practically screaming it out to the world in a press conference, starting a war with the gaijin’s pawns when you’re still scrambling to get your manufacturing equipment to the country and then, to top it all off, you decided to get involved in a fire fight,” The girl’s hands clenched yet she stayed her hand and remained quiet as she allowed her man to fight his own battle.

“Grandfather, I’d like to apologize for the fire fight. I thought I was ready-” The boy apologized only to be cut off.

“But clearly you aren’t. You didn’t have to get your hands dirty when your executioner could have handled it but you didn’t let him. Has your lover clouded your mind that much? What you have done was foolish.” The almost bicentennial man growled out, questioning the wisdom that the young master showed.

“My choice of timing left much to be desired,” The younger of the two lamely replied making the old man sneer as he turned his attention to the girl who had remained quiet all this time. Her shoulders were squared, her posture tense yet she did her best to remain calm under fire.

“Speaking of your lover… a commoner of all things and a foreigner at that. You are the scion of the house of Arasaka and your future wife should match your station. Almost every prominent family in Japan has offered the hands of their daughters or close relatives to you and far more that I have to reject due to their current situation. You could have anyone and we could have made it work, even a seat beside the chrysanthemum throne is on the table and is still, I would have even contented myself with that Korean whore you had for your sports team as her family is from a more respectable sort but you choose her, why?” The man questioned.

There was a pause as the young woman took deep calming breaths while the two stared off against one another. The young master himself was frowning now as he grounded out, “Because she is my choice and she has yet to make me regret it. I accepted your choice once, grandfather, and she did not live up to my expectations.”

The older man glanced away, turning to the beautiful scenery to the side. For a minute, they remained silent before the older man broke the silence, “And so she did.” He whispered out.

Hiro nodded before he bowed down to his grandfather, pressing his forehead down on the tatami mat, “Grandfather, I take full responsibility for my actions. Whatever you decide today, I shall follow,” the boy intoned, laying his fate before his elder. He had wronged in the older man's eyes and the younger man accepted his faults.

The man closed his eyes as he let out a deep seated sigh before he gestured for Goro to help him, “I’m feeling the need for some fresh air. We’ll decide your punishment after we have a round out in the field.” The man declared as he motioned for them to follow him.

-x-x-x-

“First time on a shooting range, Miss Hall?” Walter asked as he observed the young woman before her. She might try to hide it but the wide eyed stare of awe at the rolling fields of grass and the various sporting equipment was truly a sight to behold. Seeing her origins, she might not have had the luxury to enjoy it.

“No, not at all Mr. Dornez it’s just the first time I’ve been in such a wide and open one,” The girl admitted as she walked up the table where a pair of preloaded pump action shotguns were set aside.They were old things, hailing from a time before the rise of corporations but they were well kept even if their grip had been worn from all the use. The young lady looked over to the young master, giving him questioning looks to which the man shrugged.

“Well, you're in for a treat then,” The butler smiled as the elderly Arasaka grabbed one of the guns and inspected them, loading them with bird shots from a nearby box. Walter gestured for the maids to man the clay pigeon machine.

“So Miss Hall, I heard from my grandson that you’re quite a sharp shooter,” The old master quarried as he gazed towards the young lady.

The woman blinked, surprised by the question, but she remained poised as she answered without missing a beat, “The use of one’s gun is essential for my profession. Nothing beats combat in improving one’s shot knowing that a miss can cause one’s death.”

“Indeed. As much as a soldier is trained for the battlefield, nothing can truly replicate the experience of a real fight,” The elderly Arasaka reminisced as he gazed up in the sky.

“I couldn’t agree more,” The girl nodded in agreement.

“Miss Hall, would you care for a shooting contest? While using a gun out in the field is relaxing, having a friendly competition can spice things up,” The old man then asked as he gave the girl one of his ever so rare smiles.

“I’ll be more than happy too,” The younger girl accepted as she almost grinned from ear to ear until she noticed it and toned down her excitement. The girl was showing cracks from her immaculate appearance but they showed steel of a warrior rather than the softness of a conniving worm; interesting. He made sure to watch her closely as he walked over to the maids manning the machine.

“Walter, prepare the Clay Pigeons,” Their master ordered and Walter was more than happy to set the stage for a match.

There was enough ground in the training field of the Arasaka compound to house a clay pigeon shooting range among various other firearm related courses and Walter made sure that everything was ready at a moment's notice. “Miss Hall, your weapons have been prepared. Best of luck. The old master is quite the proficient shooter,” He warned the young girl.

“Thank you,” The young woman replied as he held comfortably, her hands gripping the stock as she tested the iron sights of the ancient weapon. She nodded appreciatively as she watched the old man start off the competition. There were three machines loaded with the clay targets and one by one they fired. The old man was deft with his hands as he quickly tracked the target and shot them out of them but missed the last as it was far too close to the ground.

“I believe that you’re a Night City native, Miss Hall?” The man asked before turning to Walter to order the machines to fire.

“Yes, born and raised in the streets of Watson. Night City is an unforgiving place especially for those that were orphaned, but we survived,” The girl casually replied even as she shot them from the most awkward of angles; she held the gun around her waist.

“I can see why,” The man replied as the next course started. Two machines now started firing in pairs but in random order, “Any hobbies that you find enjoyable?” The man then asked as he shot down the first pair without any problem.

“I find shooting to be far more relaxing than most forms of mindless entertainment, at least it has practicality,” The woman replied as she fired once more from her awkward shooting angle, hitting her targets head on, “I also find enjoyment by reading through classical fiction. Reading provides a different perspective to one's own and can serve well to sharpen the mind.”

“A balance of mind and body. Many would tend to ignore one and favor the other, yet they do not see how both are one and the same,” The man agreed, praising her for her hobbies. That got his brow rising. Was she of all people getting through the old master?

The next pair were quickly fired at the sky but with varying speed. The older man shot down the low lying and slow moving target first before targeting the other. “You have overcome challenges and now you have achieved lofty heights that many are often not worthy of achieving. What do you intend to do moving forward?” The man pressed on, grilling the girls with ever harder questions.

“I intend to remain by my lover's side, even if it means that I’ll have to face a whole new set of hardships. To give up on him would be a betrayal of the trust that he has placed upon me and I aspire to be worthy of the love he gives,” The girl declared with a look of grim determination as shot the twin targets in quick succession.

“Loyalty, even if it's blind or senseless, is praiseworthy. A bucket of crabs is all I have most of the time, but to find one that would remain by one's side through all the trials and tribulations of life is exceedingly rare and often elusive especially in this day and age,” The older man lamented as the last pair was flung to the air. He waited a bit, letting them fly to the peak of their ark before shooting them down.

“People often get blinded by their own hubris,” The young woman replied, sympathizing as Walter prepared a surprise for her for the next round.

“Do you intend to remain in Night City?” The man questioned as the final clay shots were fired in the air.

“Given the chance and if Hiro were to ask me? I would choose to move out and never look back,” She answered truthfully as she shot the pair down without so much a blink. Her eyes widened however as five more clay targets were sent flying in the air.

“Is it not where you were born? Is it your home?” The old man asked as the girl took aim and squeezed the trigger only to find that her shotgun had run out of shells. She grabbed four more, two shells paired with each other as she performed a pitch perfect speed load. She shot down three of the lower flying ones before raising her gun for the final pair. With her head slightly tilted to the stock of the gun, she aimed carefully before making her shot. The slug ripped through the last two targets in quick succession. Her audience clapped and he too joined in at the display.

Wiping the sweat off her forehead, she gently set her firearm to the table before making her reply, “Yes, it is where I was born but it is merely a place where I live. It is where I live but it is a hostile place, an unforgiving place, a place not suitable for any child to grow up in.”

Turning to the older Arasaka, she continued, “It is cold, it is uncaring, and a blight on this world,” She smiled softly, before adding, “You can say that it is a hive of scum and villainy.”

Walter had to clench his jaw to avoid bursting out laughing. This girl, he now knew exactly why this girl of all things captured the heart of his former ward. Hiro was a lucky man to have a girl like this by his side. It’s a shame that she was not one of the old masters' picks.

“But it would not be for long,” The old man nodded gravely before turning to his grandson. “I’ve finally reached a decision. I will not be asking you to come back to Japan. Our operation in Night City is still a top priority and I need you there to oversee it with Michiko.”

The boy visibly deflated just as his master turned his attention to the young firebrand, “As for you, Miss Hall, the estate is for you to explore. Walter will be your guide. Might I suggest the pond next to the shrine? I have yet to feed the ducks with how busy I have been this morning and they might be hungry,” The man suggested with a soft smile on his face. The girl brightened up noticeably as she gave the man a smile that reached up to her eyes before nodding eagerly.

“Of course. By your leave?” The girl requested to which his master nodded and gestured for her to go. She did not need to be told twice.

“Right this way, Miss Hall.” Walter motioned for her to follow. She earned this small tour inside the compound. He made sure that she wouldn’t be bothered by any of the other staff. After all, it would be rather dangerous if anyone from the staff decided to mess with the young master’s mistress.

-x-x-x-

Saburo Araska had enough excitement for the day and sent off any would-be petitioners for the day home as he led his grandson to his personal office. Any important meeting would have been sent through to his youngest daughter and he trusted her well enough to handle it. Now, he simply wanted to spend time with his grandson.

Reaching his room, his faithful retainer opened the door leading to his study for him. His aching bones reminded him that he needs to check his personal physician once more. Heading inside, he motioned for Goro to stand guard as he locked the door behind him. There, inside the relatively privacy of the study, they could finally talk.

This room had once been the office of his father and he remembered the time he spent playing here. It was a more western styled office than he would have liked, but the memories this room held were far too precious for him to destroy. He stepped across the burnt part of the rug, remembering how he almost burned the whole office down when he knocked down a candle, before sitting down on one of the comfortable Edwardian Couch that his father imported and patting the seat beside him.

They sat together in silence for a while as his grandson stretched his tired legs, “I would like to say that I was rather disappointed when I first learned of her through Michiko. I thought you made a mistake in choosing her, but now that I’ve met her and judged her, I find that I’m the one that’s mistaken,” He admitted, feeling a bit of deja vu as he was forced to admit that he was wrong in judging a book by its cover. He looked over to his grandson, a union of his rebellious son and a princess from a far off land. He was every bit his father's son, even if there was a rift between the two.

“Make no mistake, however, as fine a woman she is, she is not suitable to be your main wife. Yes, she has a good head on her shoulders and she showed that she can learn and adapt to our customs, but her educational attainment is lacking. She is rather emotional as well, despite how well she held herself back,” Just like his father, he had fallen for someone not of his choice. He grimaced as the memories of confronting his son came rushing back. The shouting, the punches thrown, such a foolish boy.

“Simply put, the realities of your situation require you to marry for the sake of the company and the family first and foremost if Arasaka is to survive this century and the ones afterwards. Your wife needs to cover for your weaknesses when it comes to dealing with business,” He explained, laying his objections to any official union they might have.

“And unfortunately in your eyes, Rebecca will not be able to meet the challenge,” The boy deduced, making him frown. Still, his grandson proved himself to be far different when he saw through the wisdom of his words as he heard his resigned sigh.

“Regrettably, yes. Love and Duty often come at odds, but that does not mean you can’t choose both.” He comforted him, making his grandson perk up. Cruel he might be to his enemies, he was not one to his own blood.

“She might not be a good candidate to be your wife but she is a good retainer as well as a lover, if this is your taste. If your future wife can get through her and your heart, then all the better but it might not be the case. Best to have her around to ease things out for you and your future wife’s sake,” He added, acknowledging that the girl might not be perfect but she still was good enough to stand by his grandson’s side. Maybe not as a wife, but a lover to warm his bed and calm the emotions he had inside his heart. The girl was also good with firearms, terrifyingly so.

“Thank you grandfather,” The boy replied.

“Do not think that you're out of hot water just yet, young man. There are still the consequences of your ill thought out actions,” He reminded him. He had been less than pleased with his actions to say the very least. “As for your punishment, you have long denied my attempts to give you a proper body guard, even going so far as to recruit your butcher. I have held my hand but no longer,” He declared, leaving no room for questioning. This was his ultimatum and all that he asked of him. His grandson might value his freedom but he valued his life even more.

“I’ll… provide accommodations for Jubei,” The boy relented with a bit of reluctance to his voice. He laughed at the boy for his assumption. No, he had learned his lesson when it came to choosing his grandson's retainers as well as potential suitors.

“Who said it would be Jubei? You may come out now,” He replied before signaling his shadows to descend from their hiding spot. A panel on the roof opened up as the grandfather and daughter duo descended down and knelt before them. The Kamori clan might not be as famous as the Hattori but they had been in the Arasaka’s service since time immemorial.

“Finally, you guys should really get someone to clean up there. If I wasn’t wearing a mask, I would have sneezed my nose off,” The young scion of the Kamori clan mouthed off but was instantly cuffed on the back of the head by her grandfather.

“Kiriko! Not the time. Master, please forgive my wayward daughter,” Jubei growled out before forcing his daughter to bow down. The girl tried to fight back but Jubei showed why he was still the head of the clan.

“No need for that my old friend. Besides, she would be Hiro’s retainer from here on out?” he replied as he gestured for them to rise up.

“Wait really? Sweet! I won’t let you down,” The young excitable girl piped up as she gave them both a salute. He and Jubei sucked in a breath before sighing out. Were grandchildren really this much of a handful?

“Well, she’s certainly lively,” Hiro slowly drew out as he looked at the young kunoichi with apprehension and uncertainty.

“Isn’t she not to your tastes?” He questioned with a frown. It was by sheer luck that his shinobi retainer had a granddaughter that was only a few years older than his grandson.

“I did not expect you to drop the subtlety of your actions so soon, father,” He deadpanned, making him chuckle softly.

“When a sword can’t cut it, it’s best to start using a club,” He replied with a shrug. Yes, it was crude but his intentions were clear as day.

“She will do,” The boy sighed, making the girl gush out in excitement. The girl was certainly a handful but she would be Hiro’s problem from now on. He allowed the girl to settle down first and remember who she was standing before sending them off.

“With that out of the way, let’s talk about your other actions as well, shall we?” He asked as he leveled the boy a more serious and questioning look. The boy had been rather hasty these past few months. He had waited an entire year before he acted and the results of his actions had been rather explosive.

The boy merely smiled enigmatically as he clarified, “Everything has been going as planned.”

“Is it really necessary to play the part of a fool? Starting the war so early with the enemy when you're in the middle of preparing your fortress and factories?” He asked, wondering why he was acting as such. There was a method to the boy's madness, there always had been. Even the explosions in the villa had been a showcase of his technology's potency, even if they were earthshaking.

“People do severely underestimate the fool. Besides, I now know my enemies as well as those who I can’t trust,” The boy casually answered with a shrug. A bit wasteful in his opinion but Night City was his grandson’s theater. The boy needed to learn even if it meant a scrape or two on his knees. It did show who his grandson couldn’t trust as well as finding new pieces that were more than willing to play along.

“The cat’s paw has decided to stay its hand when the company is in need of their action. They have grown fat and lazy,” He scoffed in disgust. It only took two generations before the successors of his son's pet ronin decided that they would not act until called upon. Where was the initiative? The loyalty?

“They are disposable assets in the end. They can be replaced, especially when the public can be swayed to our cause instead. Fear is a useful tool, but it can only get us so far. Being loved is far better.” His grandson pointed out.

“And your move to court a shipping company by letting them handle such delicate equipment?” He then questioned. Why had he relied upon the help of outsiders when he had his aunt to call upon for help.

“Equipment I black boxed and would be useless if not assembled properly, grandfather, but to put it simply? Asset denial,” The boy answered. That he could understand. Arasaka had stood alone in the last war and look at what that cost them. They had no friends to back them up and they paid for it in blood when their reputation was tarnished by the very bomb used against them. His blood boiled at the very memory of that day, that day when everything went horribly wrong.

“And so the pieces are now set and all that’s needed is for me to set things in motion. Not even Militech and NUSA’s honeyed words can’t sway the public once I’m done with Pacifica. Night City shall serve as quite the forward base for another Corporate War don’t you agree, grandfather?” His grandson then asked.

“Indeed, but be careful there.” He reminded him. He already lost one heir to the enemies across the ocean, he dared not think what he would do he would lose another.

“Of course grandfather. By the way, about the other project?” His grandson then asked, making his groan out in frustration.

“The answer remains no, Hiro. You have far too many balls in the air to handle that as well. Let your Aunt have it,” He scolded the boy as he shook his head. He needed to learn to rely on his blood and not just on him and his cousin.

“If you say so,” the boy muttered. He swore out inside the privacy of his head, the friction between his descendants would cost him his life if things got out of hand.


A/N:

Finally got this out. Sorry there was a delay, Real life stuff happened. Anywho, Rebecca made her first impression for Grandpa. He's a racist asshole but he can respect someone who knows their way with a gun. Also yes, he does have a soft spot for his grandkids. You might notice that I didn't have a post chapter ender this time around cause I'm throwing it for next chapter which would be interlude. I'm trying to compile a list of perspective that would be fun to write about as things are shifting. Rebecca's arc is sort of done so now, it's her inputs arc time to begin. Hope to see you guys when I write that.

With that out of the way, I'd like to thank @Vyor for keeping me from doing some stupid stuff :V. I'd also want to thank my Patrons once again. You guys are the best! Consider dropping by my Patreon page and became a patron today to support me so I can keep on making these types of fics. It means a lot to me to keep on working on my fics. I also have also have a Ko-Fi page and a Subscribe Star for those who do not like Patreon.

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ATP

Well-known member
So,Kiriko would be his pet ninja,or new waifu? why not both?
And Becca as second waifu could work.
 
Interlude 1

SirBearington

Well-known member
Adversary or Friend?
David stared up at the white washed ceiling while the sound of the news droned on in the background. There, he lay in a comfortable bed while his former bully, Tanaka, sat beside it. There was silence between them as Tanaka just sat there, hunched over and staring down at the floor while his feet tapped upon it while he on the other hand contented himself just listening to the news. It was just him, Tanaka, and the other boys foot tapping

The rhythmic tapping had David frowning as it kept going and even the volume of the news couldn’t mask it. His frown deepened as he slowly got up with Tanaka ignoring. “Hey, Tanaka,” He called out, making the other boy look up.

The rich kid would see David’s fist cocked back before it slammed into his jaw. The boy shouted in surprise and anger as he was knocked off his seat. Tanaka glared daggers while he clutched his mouth at him as David shook his hand before checking for any sunken knuckles, “God damn your jaw’s harder than I imagined it to be,” he muttered as he found that he had not broken anything.

“What the hell was that for?!” The boy shouted in protest, fuming mad with his teeth barred out at David. Surprisingly, not a single tooth was knocked out.

“Just knocking the stupid out of you,” David casually replied, which made Tanaka sputter out before looking at him in disbelief. He glared at the other boy as he did not like the look the other boy was giving him.

“Bwah-! I can’t even.” Tanaka shouted as he threw his hands up in disbelief before he started pacing around. “Just what the actual hell. You’re fucking insane,” The boy accused him which only earned him a flat look.

“Says the one that visits twice a day for the last three days,” David pointed out making the boy stop as he looked at him and met his glare. There was a lot of anger in those eyes, anger and confusion? Shaking his head, he then asked, “Like, what the hell man? Why do you insist on visiting me when we’re not even close?”

Tanaka looked away and David scratched the back of his head. He was honestly confused here and he did not know the boy’s deal was; he just didn’t get it. Back then, he kept on riding him about how he didn’t fit then he suddenly stopped and now, he was the only one that visited him?

“Because I’m looking to see if you're alright! There, happy?” the boy all but exploded as he sucked in his breath before letting out an annoyed huff.

“Fucking finally. I thought you were going to ask me to pay or something. This is on my plan by the way so you don’t have to worry,” David blew him off, not wanting to deal with a potential debt collector as he had enough of that with his old landlord. As for his current situation, this was currently covered by his plan. Being a guinea pig did come with perks, extremely expensive and worthwhile perks.

The other boy stared at him, mouth opening and closing akin to that of a fish before he asked him, “... Do you think of me that lowly that you thought I was going to ask you to pay some form of debt?”

“Yes,” he answered, to which Tanaka winced as if struck once more.

Tanaka scratched the back of his head as he plopped back on his seat before he nodded, “I…Yeah, I deserved that,” his classmate acknowledged his fault as he deflated on his seat.

“That you fucking do, choom,” David huffed out as things returned to the original awkward silence. David would have been content with just letting things stay that way but his trouble with Tanaka was still not over just yet.

“You held back on your punch,” Tanaka remarked as he rubbed the bruise forming on his jaw.

“Yeah, what about it?” David asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Why?” Tanaka asked simply.

David looked at Tanaka, squinting at him as he gave him a confused shake of the head “Why what?” he echoed back which pissed the guy off.
“Don’t fucking play dumb with me! I made your life hell in school. I made sure not a single person talked to you. I kept telling you, you didn’t belong there and I rubbed the fact that I was richer than you every single day so why, why didn’t you hit me harder?” The boy asked as he looked at him with questioning eyes.

“If you have a masochist fetish, please do not get me involved in your weirdness.” David joked with a shit eating grin before adding, “Plus, if you call that hell, best to step up cause the streets of Night City have you beat in that regard,” Night City was an unforgiving mistress who simply did not care for its citizens. It’s a dog eat dog world out there and he was lucky to be sheltered in the corpo school.

“You bastard-!” His former bully shouted as he stood up before David cut his outburst off.

“And to answer your question, because I don’t see the point,” David interrupted as explained in as simple of an answer as he could.

“You don’t see the point? You think you’re better than me?” The boy asked and David couldn’t help but snort out at that. There was the old Tanaka that he knew and he was strangely happy to see it back again. At least now it wasn’t as if he was walking on eggshells.

David shook his head in the negative as he said, “No, seriously. I just don’t see the point of getting revenge. I kick your ass then what? I’d get satisfaction but that’s it. I don’t learn anything from it and don’t get anything worthwhile from it. All it would get me is your family hating me. I’m learning to become a corpo here and besides, we’re sorta even.” He just simply didn’t see the point of going out of his way to put somebody down when he could be clawing his way further up in the world.

His classmate looked at him in disbelief before he started laughing. Now it was David’s turn to stare at him as the chuckle turned into a full blown laughter as he held onto his stomach. David’s fist twitched as the boy looked like he had just been told the funniest joke in the world. He raised his fist and was about to cock it back before he held back and lowered in back as he took in deep calming breath.

David raised both hands up as he growled out through gritted teeth, “Look man, I saved your ass and you were the first one that snapped into action and called an ambulance.”

“That has to be the dumbest fucking thing I’ve ever heard. That’s not even close to even David, not even close. If you do become a corpo, they’ll fucking eat you alive,” Tanaka declared as he wiped the tear off his eyes.
David huffed as a sardonic smile stretched across his face. “I’d like to see them try,” he told him. He might not be the best fit for being a corpo like his mom dreamed him of becoming but he damn would try his best to be the greatest there ever was.

Tanaka shocked his head in disbelief and amusement before looking up at him, “You are insufferable David. Tell you what, since I owe you for saving my life, I’ll be kind enough to show you the ropes on becoming a real corpo. Every little trick in the book, the hierarchy, and who answers to who, sound good?” he offered with a cocky smile on his face.

David chuckled as a smile stretched across his own face. The damn bastard had balls, he had to give him that, “You offered this, not me but who am I to say no. So long as we’re even,” David accepted. He really wasn’t going to get rid of him unless he relented and it was no skin off his back.

Both of them laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation until every last hair in his body stood up. Their laughter was cut off as David noticed a large looming figure behind Tanaka. The boy froze as the roughest and coldest voice he had ever had the pleasure of hearing called out, “It’d be a shame if you become nothing more than a pencil pusher boy.”

There was no anger in that voice, no hate, no nothing. It was just simply a machine talking to them in the guise of a human shaped borg. David slowly looked up and emotionless pits of red stared back at him. He couldn’t help but shiver at the thing before him kept staring.

Tanaka finally turned and it was as if he saw death itself as he jumped off his seat and back away before placing himself between him and the borg. “W-wha-! S-smasher! No, s-stay back! Whatever my father did, we’re not involved in any of it, I swear!” Tanaka squawked out in fear as he stretched his hands out in surrender. Just who the hell was this Smasher?

“Cease your useless meat hole flapping or I will.” The borg commanded and all David heard afterward was the audible click of teeth against one another. He frowned as his hands slowly reached for anything to arm himself. When he overlaid his combat vision over this Borg, all he saw was red. It was as if every last part of the man was jammed chock full of weapons.

“Who the fuck are you supposed to be? Visitation only for close friends and family.” David asked heatedly as his hands balled up into fists. He was already sending out distress signals to the nurses who were hurrying on their way.

“D-David, I know you're brave but please, for once, do not antagonize this man.” Tanaka tried to reason but David did not see any reason for him not to antagonize the man. He simply barged into his room unannounced as if he owned the place. If he knew any better, he might be dealing with a cyberpsycho.

“Ah, but I am. You can say that I know your mother well.” The borg drawled out making David’s hackles rise at that. Tanaka let out a choking sound as his shaking legs finally gave way.

“Is that a fucking threat?” David growled out warningly. People can treat him like dirt, he had worse, they could threaten him, but to threaten his mother? That simply would not stand.

“No. I’m simply stating the facts.” The borg stated. David snorted as his implant was letting him know that he might not be lying or at least believe he was not lying.

“What’s the deal, choom?” David asked, humoring him for a bit to buy him and Tanaka some time.

“Ah yes, cutting to the chase. Refreshing.” The borg droned out before he answered him,“My goals here are simple, I’m here to offer you an apprenticeship.” That got his eyebrow rising. Did he save someone important enough that they have a trained killer as a retainer? The borg was kitted out and every single read out was telling him that there was nothing cheap or low calibre in this person's arsenal.

“Tell your master that if they want to make a deal with me, I’m here to listen.” David waved it off, without outright dismissing him. The offer was mighty tempting but he wanted any deal he was being offered to be done not through proxy. He simply could not trust someone who hid behind a wall.

“David, please-!” Tanaka piped up before he whimpered as the man pulled out an Arasaka Bolter, correction, a double barreled bolter, and cocked its hammer. He then tossed it between his legs which confused the hell out of David. Why did the man give him a gun of all things?

“You misunderstand, boy. I’m the one offering you the apprenticeship.” The borg stated. David cocked his head as the man pulled out a rather thick looking stack of paper before offering it to him. His day had just gotten a whole lot weirder.

-x-x-x-

The Scorned Man

Faraday stared down at the slowly melting ice in his glass of whiskey while he sat in the comfortable chair of his safehouse. He grimaced as he pulled the crystalline cup to his lips and tipped back, downing the burning liquid before slamming it down on the ebony coffee table he had by his side. The decanter barely shook as he fumed in his seat, gritting his teeth as he leaned back to try and gain some comfort. He glanced down and noticed that he had just scratched the thing but snorted as he saw the countless other markings on the table. It had seen better days and so had he.

“You know, you shouldn’t really be destroying your property when you can pawn it off.” A woman’s voice pointed out as he heard from behind him. Before he could even react, the white haired girl grabbed his decanter and poured herself a generous serving in the shot glass she borrowed from his kitchen.

Faraday’s frown deepened but he refused to get up as he was far too tired right now, “Lucyna, Shouldn’t you be out there helping the Voodoo’s like I ordered?” he pointedly questioned as he ran his hands across his hair before looking down on his open palm. He clenched his fist around the strands of hair that stuck to his palm.

“The cell I was contracted to was wiped out. More specifically, they decided to wipe themselves out. Almost got caught myself but I managed to steal something from the team that was sent to capture me.” His contracted edgerunner replied as she tossed the severed head of one of those servitors that Arasaka always brought around with them at his feet.

He let out a frustrated groan as oil seeped down to the tiles below. He hated having to deal with these things. While people would see them as nothing more than advanced drones, those in the know knew them for what they were. His nose wrinkled as he carefully kicked the thing away. As important as they were in accessing parts of Arasaka’s nigh unbreakable Data Fortress, he could barely stomach the sight of them at times.

“I expected them to last longer.” He grumbled out as he held out his empty glass save for the half melted ice inside. Lucyna smiled at him beatifically as she poured him of what remained of his decanter. There was still more than enough for him to enjoy this last glass.

“And didn’t that smug self assured self of yours landed you in hot water with Arasaka.” The petulant girl teased him with a smug smile as she sat down opposite him.

“Why are you here anyways? Can’t you see that I’m busy.” He asked as he took a sip from his glass. He clenched his teeth as the girl opened the news and made it so that it was playing the advertisement of that blasted kid. He glared at the girl who merely shrugged at that. He had lost almost everything the moment that kid met with his crew he had as retainers.

He did not know what he did but everything went down the drain when Maine stopped taking his job. His contact with Arasaka practically ceased and his contact on the streets avoided him like the plague. He wasn’t even allowed back in the Afterlife to find another crew to serve under him. The only saving graces in all of this was how Maine’s pet cat burglar landed directly into his awaiting lap. He earned himself quite the netrunner and he could not afford to have her run off.

“Busy drinking yourself to death I see. Wasn’t I supposed to report to my boss after every job?” The girl purred out as she leaned forward. Sometimes, he wondered if it was even worth keeping her as his contracted Netrunner.

“Fine. You made your report so you can go now.” Faraday waved her off, hoping she’d get bored of tormenting him. This was still his house and she was only there at his convenience. She had her own home, she could live there.

“And leave before I can give you the offer I had from a certain rival of Arasaka?” The girl then asked.

He paused before slowly setting his drink down; he’d had enough whiskey for the day. “...Go on” he coaxed her on as he was intrigued by what she had just stumbled upon. The girl gestured to his side and there, leaning against his seat was a lone briefcase. It wasn’t your cheap mass produced plastic apparel but an exquisitely made full grained leather briefcase sporting chestnut brown color.

“They only gave me that to contact them. Don’t worry, I double checked that it’s not bugged and I can vouch for them not being an Arasaka agent.” The girl confidently declared as his hands ran against the fine grain of the leather case; this was made of horsehide.

“How can you tell?” He asked, wondering how she could consistently pick out Arasaka agents even if they hadn’t spoken at all. It saved him countless times especially after he started dealing with the Voodoo Boys and the Sixth Street.

“A girl has the right to keep her secrets after all,~” The girl smugly replied as she downed her drinks before she got up.

“Fine. Let’s see what they have to offer.” He muttered out but before he opened the case, he motioned for her to stop. The girl looked at him, asking him silently why. He ordered her, “No, you stay here with me.”

“Oh?” The girl asked with a raised brow.

He merely smiled as he answered, “After all, you are my business partner. Best to keep you in the know.” He also did not truly trust her. While their arrangement was mutually beneficial and it was for them to keep each other happy, best to verify if she was still

“Whatever you say, boss.” the girl replied. He did not miss how she rolled her eyes at him but he chose not to comment as the white haired girl crossed her arms and rested them upon the backseat of his chair. Overlooking him, he finally opened the device and found himself face to face with quite the old fashion tech. The pixelated screen that lit up and the almost garbled voice emanating from the speakers spoke of how analogue the device was. This was just a two way communication device, nothing more nothing less.

There in the screen was the image of a plain faced bespectacled man who could meld into a crowd and he would be none the wiser. The man smiled as he greeted him warmly, “Ahh, Mr. Faraday, it’s good to finally see you. I wanted to reach out to you earlier but the situation in Night City had become rather volatile as of late.”

He quirked a brow at that as he replied, “If you call a fight between four gangs and a major corporation merely volatile, then I’d like to see what you call an explosive situation.” Things were getting more tense by the day and now 3 gangs were in the fray. All that was left was for Maelstrom, Tyger Claws, The Animals, and the Mox to join in and things would get really spicy.

The man grinned as he answered back, “Think bigger Mr. Faraday, much bigger.” Well, this was certainly more than he had expected but, of course, they were the most likely to see his talents.

He reached up and fixed his slightly disheveled suit and crooked tie as he gazed back at the man. “So, what can I do for a representative of Militech?” he probed inquisitively.

“Was it really that obvious?” The man chuckled out with an empty laugh.

Faraday snorted as he leaned forward with steepled hands before answering him, “Let’s see the facts here shall we? Why would someone specifically ask for me when there are hundreds of other Fixers around? You specifically called me, someone that has grown to hate Arasaka lately, someone that used to be in touch with Arasaka until a certain brat came into play.” It was childs play for him to figure it all out.

The mans eyeglass glinted as he chortled out, “I see that your reputation precedes you Mr. Faraday. ”

“I’m merely stating the obvious. Now, let’s get down to business. Is there something I could help you with?” He inquired, cutting to the chase. He wasn’t a simpering fool that would fall for false praises. They asked for his time, now he was giving it to them as he pleased. He still held a bit of pride for himself, best not to look too desperate.

“You see, we at Militech find the current state of things in Night City to be untenable… There are undesirable elements currently working against our interest inside the city, elements that we would like to keep Night City from joining the greater union.” The man explained, hinting upon a certain someone, a certain someone that had his blood boiling.

“I’m listening.” he growled out softly as he struggled to keep his emotions in check.

“We are in need of eyes and ears on the ground and who better to look for help than a man that used to work with the very element we desire to see removed… or maybe eliminated.” The man inquired and to that, Faraday couldn’t help but smile.

“I think you just found the right man for the job but, of course, my service comes at a price.” He replied smoothly as he felt elated at the chance he had just been given. He might just have found the rope to drag himself out of the hole that Arasaka dug and tossed him in. They tossed him out with no real explanation, now he could have his revenge.

“Naturally. So shall we get down to the details of the task that we require?” The man confirmed as the haggling for his service began. So engrossed was he that he did not notice his companion slipping off to walk to the balcony and stare up at the moon.

“He’s in way over his head.” Lucyna whispered as she stared down to the gothic tower leaning in the distance, a tower that threatened to eat the moon with its clawed spire.

-x-x-x-

A Promise

Yorunobo Arasaka sat beside his wife with nothing but his thoughts and the constant beeping from the health monitor she was hooked up to. She laid there, motionless, as perfect as the day she was taken from him. Cryogenic technology did wonders to slow down her metabolism to a point that it looked like she never aged. As cold as the room was, he remained there in his vigil.

“I shouldn’t have accepted that job. We had enough money, we could have just ran away and lived in the desert but I had to do one last job to spit at my fathers face and for what?” He whispered in despair. His hands were already hurting but he needed to be with his wife.
“We could have been a happy family. Just you, me and our son but now… I don’t think we’ll ever have that after my grandfather sunk his claws in him.” He lamented, speaking to her even if she was deep in her sleep. He hated his father, he hated the company, and he hated how it twisted his own son into something unrecognizable.

He was the same bright eyed boy as before but now, he was looking forward to being part of the company that took his mother away. His son gave Arasaka the tools to rule the world and now it would only be a matter of time till it comes to fruition. He could feel it in his bones, even far away from the streets, he knew that trouble was already brewing and it would be only a matter of time before a 5th war came this way and Araska would not be made to bow this time around.

He shook his head of such negative thoughts as he reached out to touch the glass canopy separating him from his wife. He then happily announced, “Hanako is making great progress with the Relic project. They had just tested a new subject and they lasted a whole month longer this time around. Just a few more months and the product would be made but Hanako’s been experiencing problems with our son.” His brief smile turned to that of sadness at that and the taste of bitter bile rose up to his throat.

He chuckled bitterly at the thought of his son whose green eyes haunted him, “Unfortunately, our son's projects have been siphoning every last eddy available for any R&D projects. Oh how I wish our boy grew away from Arasaka. With the wonders he created, he could have made a name of his own without the stain of the Arasaka name but now…I fear that he may become just like his grandfather.” He mourned out with a heavy heart. Without his guiding light, he was now lost.

“Please, please Asuka, just wake up. I don’t know what to do without you.” He begged her but she remained silent and as still as a corpse. He clenched his fist as he rested his forehead against the glass of her pod. He closed his eyes as he held back the tears while he forced himself to calm down.

After a while, his aching heart stilled as he pulled away and sat up. Gazing to his wife, he made her the promise he made to her all those years ago, “Somebody, we’ll be together again and when that day comes, we’ll have a city to burn.” He whispered before he turned and left, leaving her all alone in the confines of a room beneath the towering behemoth that was the Arasaka tower.

-x-x-x-

Office Gossips

A day in the life of an Arasaka employee was not as glamorous as one would imagine, especially those attached to the office held by Hiro Arasaka. Vincent yawned as he chowed down on the instant noodles before him. He had packed some vegetables to go with the noodles and now, he was savoring the meaty taste of the broth while chewing on the spring onions he had tossed in.

“So, did you notice the new Servitor we have in the office, Vanessa?” Asked one Viktor, his buddy from Accounting to Vanessa, a mutual friend of theirs from PR. He on the other hand was from IT and together they made quite the eclectic group.

“Yeah, what about it, Victor?” The woman asked as she placed down her Buritto XXL. For a woman that’s as skinny as a rail and a head shorter than most people, she could eat like no one's business.

“You know, it has the same height and shape of old Vlad…” the man speculated, making Vanessa groan out as she cut him off before he spoke any further.

“Oh come on, you honestly believe that crap how Servitors are just reprocessed workers?” The girl scolded his coworker and Vincent couldn’t help but nod along. It was just some harmful rumor being spread around by people detracting their company.

“I mean, think about it. Whenever a new servitor shows up to replace an old one that’s being reassigned, a coworker of ours dies. There’s also that weird clause in our contracts about how we can offer up our bodies for science.” The man raved on but Vaness was not having any of it

“A clause that would provide the family of those that volunteered a lump sum that adjusts itself to inflation. Like, come on choom, just be happy about the money your wife could have.” The girl pointed out. Yes, it was morbid but it was a reasonable exchange. The lump sum was big, more than enough to help their loved ones if they ever died.

“Say Vincent, what do you think about this?” The man turned, looking for someone to back him up.

“Honestly? I don’t care either way. I have a high paying job, I have a good boss that can randomly give you rewards if you do well enough, and I have coworkers that wouldn’t toss me under the bus.” VIncent threw in his two cents into the matter. Even if he was to become a servitor, at least his body would still be useful.

“Aw shucks, thanks man.” The other man smiled at him. They had been through thick and thin and even if they had disagreements, things were pleasant in this part of the corporation. It was an island of stability.

“You know, nobody’s a blue falcon in our office cause the last time that happened… well… Our boss’s pet cyborgs blended him. Probably drank him as a protein shake afterwards.” The girl reminded their coworkers of the fate of those who tried to climb over others. Those crabs did not stand a chance. The girl shivered as she swore, “Brrr!, fucking hell, I’d rather jump off the building than ever meet that guy again.”

“Amen to that.” Both he and Vic wholeheartedly agreed. How such a sweet boy such as their boss could keep a monster like Adam in check was beyond him and quite frankly, way above his pay check already.

“Ok, let’s talk about other less gruesome news. I’m eating damn it,” Vanessa begged them with a shake of her head. Vincent looked down on his bowl before shrugging as he started wolfing things down so that he didn’t have to hear those things while eating.

“Yeah, yeah. Did you see the boss’s girl?” Viktor then asked with a lecherous grin. He rolled at the dirty old man in the form of a young man in his prime.

“The Mox girl?” Vanessa replied while she took a large bite out of her burrito.

“No, I mean, the Boss is probably seeing her but I meant the Med Tech he has around.” Viktor ever so sneakily pointed towards the women eating by her lonesome. She wasn’t horrible but people were far too afraid to even interact with her as she was headhunted, not promoted to her position.

“Damn it Vic, your wife’s going to skin you alive if she finds out.” Vanessa growled out warningly as she stood up to cuff the man for his gal.

The man simply leaned back and allowed the shorter girl's hand to sail past his face. “If my wife finds out, she’d probably want to join me because god damn she’s fine for a single mother.” he waggled his eyebrow at them.

“You did say she might be the boss’s girl. You do know what might happen if the boss got mad with you.” Vanessa then mentioned as the gears in Victor's head turned.

It took a while but eventually, the poor man paled as he mouthed out, “Oh…”

“Oh fucking yes you dumbass.” Vanessa scolded him once more.

As he finished his ramen bowl, he then tried to change the subject. “Speaking of a single mother, isn’t her son that hero kid? The one that saved a whole train's worth of people.” he asked, bringing up the woman's son. The boy was all over his news and the fact that that boy was a rag to riches story with top grades and a spot in the varsity team was just icing on the cake. He wouldn’t be surprised if he got a show of his own.

“Yeah. Kid was ice cold I tell you. He didn’t move like a normal human when he put a cap on their heads,” Victor went on before he vividly described how the kid just went on to kill several armed and experienced gangers.

Vanessa chuckled as she then said, “That’s because the kid received the boss’s extremely rare implants. All of those are hand made last I checked.”

Both her and Vicktor turned towards the woman as Vic then asked, “How do you know about that?”

“Part of the PR team, durr.” The girl pointed out with an eye roll before she then complained, “We’ve been working overtime to advertise the boss’s product but it's not like we need to cause the results speak for themselves.” Boredom was often the enemy in this part of the corporation, not the competition to the top.

“Right right.” Vicktor nodded before their group returned to a lull as they sat there, enjoying their hour-long paid break with no supervisors screaming behind their backs because said supervisors were having a loud conversation just several tables away.

As there was nothing to do, he then prodded Vicktor for more gossip, “Hey Vic, I know you have ears on the ground. What do you think’s going to happen now that the Voodoo targeted some pretty rich kids.” he asked him, wondering what he was hearing in the streets. Vic was from the rougher part of Watson as his wife refused to move out and just opted to buy more guns. Something about the rent rate being grandfathered from before the corpo wars.

The man looked somber down on his meal before he replied, “Well, that’s easy. Blood’s going to run in the street though, I’m surprised that the Valentino’s are on our side, but that might be because a niece of some higher up got captured by the Sixth Street. Nasty business I tell you.”,

“Whatever the results are, Arasaka’s going to be on top! To Arasaka!” Vanessa then shouted as she cheered for the company. Almost everyone in the lunch room, except those way too engrossed listening to their music, raised their drinks to that.

“To Araska” He chuckled as he lowered his drink.

“The company’s really been shaping up after this Hiro kid came into the scene. All those pictures of Seoul and Kyoto make me want to see the day that Arasaka finally kicks every other Megacorp in the city.” Vanessa dreamily wished.

“That’ll take ages though.” Vicktor complained before the office beauty sauntered in the room with her lunch in hand. The red head beauty was quite the looker as she had heads turning as she passed and of course, Vicktor tried his luck with her. “Heya Valerie, want to join us? The V Club always has another seat.” He called out, offering the seat beside them but the girl ignored them.

Vincent pinched the bridge of his nose. The fact that a sizable chunk of the workforce had V in their first name did not mean anything. Vanessa did not take their group being made into a laughing stock kindly. “Oh fuck off with that weird nickname for our lunch group.” She hissed out as she pelted the man's shoulder with punches.

Vincent snorted at the sight. Truely, nothing really amazing or sinister happened over at Arasaka; It’s just people doing their jobs. He really didn’t get why people hated them so much. Hopefully, things changed when the bossman's secret net project rolled out.

A/N:

Oh boy it's been a while. Sorry for the delay in my posting. Real life thing happens and when it hits you, you just have to deal with in and roll with the punches. Anyways, lets get back to this little interlude. Funny about this one cause when I made chapter 10, yes it's alreayd in my patreon, I realized that this should be the chapter after 10... so yeah, when Chapter 10 drops, this should be the chapter after and I'll be rearranging it when the time comes. I'll try to answer as fast as I can but I do have the Warboss Fic that needs to be finished so see you later.

With that out of the way, I'd like to thank @Vyor for keeping me from doing some stupid stuff . I'd also want to thank my Patrons once again. You guys are the best! Consider dropping by my Patreon page and became a patron today to support me so I can keep on making these types of fics. It means a lot to me to keep on working on my fics. I also have also have a Ko-Fi page and a Subscribe Star for those who do not like Patreon.

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Hmmm...on one hand, I want to make a JLU story where the Atlantean MC pairs up with Diane (and it could be even encouraged between the two people as an alliance between Amazons and Atlanteans would be very beneficial) but on the other hand... I want an Arknights SI story where the MC gives Frostnova the happy ending she deserves. There's now another voice telling me to make another Cyberpunk fic with an SI being mentored by old man Blackhand (with Hugh Jackman as faceclaim :V) that might take alot of inspiration from the Ballad of Buster Scruggs
 

ATP

Well-known member
Normally,i would bet on Militech,but witch Mechanicum tech Arasaka could not be stopped,unless somebody kill Hiro quickly.
 
Chapter 10

SirBearington

Well-known member
Chapter 10

The meeting with the in-laws was finally over and Rebecca couldn’t help but slump over; disheartened with worry creeping her chest. She had been sent away with nary a thought and now she waited here in the gardens after the asshat of a butler dropped her off to get her some coffee. She was left with nothing but her thoughts and a paper bag full of fresh peas. She was tempted to throw the bag away but decided on not wasting perfectly good food.

Now, she sat on one of the large round stones beneath a tree with overhanging branches, a wisteria tree from what she’d studied, as she gazed in the pond before her and reflected on her fuck ups. She idly reached down and munched away at the peas, enjoying the sweet, earthy and slightly savory taste of it to pass her time as her mind drifted to the events that had just taken place.

The way she handled the tea ceremony, how she could barely hold her emotions in check, the clay pigeon shooting, she fucked up in every single one. Not even the lovely grove of trees and flowers around her could lift her mood, “You’re overthinking it. Saburo would have had me killed by that scary samurai if I fucked up that badly!” She slapped her cheeks and shook her head to rid as she reassured herself.

“Quack!”

Her line of thoughts were quickly derailed as a parade of ducks passed by her seat. They waddled on with purpose as they gathered around her, jostling each other for a spot closer to her as they surrounded her from all corners. She quickly found what they were after as one particularly brave duck lunged for her bag of peas.

“No, get your own peas! These are my peas. Shoo!” She shouted as she tried warding off the birds but they were persistent as they quacked and honked at her for food. She nearly jumped off her seat when one of the fowl beasts decided to climb up her lap. Seeing no choice, she reached inside, grabbed a handful before tossing a fistfull of peas at the water.

Immediately, the horde of poultry descended upon the waters edge and dove for peas scattered in the pond's surface. She snorted out in amusement at the frantic pace at which the ducks gobbled up her bait. The ducks dunk their heads down on the water to get just one before rearing up and swallowing everything whole. She giggled as tossed more into the pond just to watch the feeding frenzy unfold before her.

She tossed more and more until she eventually reached inside the bag and found no more. She sighed out with a smile on her face as she watched the birds frolick around now that there was no more food in hand. Her grumbling stomach did not like it one bit, however. Maybe she should have eaten something in the car but she felt like she was going to puke in the back seat. She simply wouldn’t have been able to hold anything down.

Still, the sight before her was well worth it and she’d be lying if she said she didn’t find the plump and fluffy looking water birds before her with wild coloration of browns, greens, oranges, yellow, and even some pure white ones and their rounded beaks to be adorable. She crumbled up the bag and slipped it in her sleeve before she returned to watching the pond but now it had ducks.

“Quack!”

Rebecca turned to her side and stared down at the pure white creature before her as it looked up at her with those small adorable round eyes and with those curved yellow beaks. The duck stared up at her as it sat there, observing her like how she did so to them, “I’m sorry little one but I’m all out of food,” She said as she pulled out the bag and shook it to show that she was out of peas.

“Quack!” The duck cried out once more as it sat there and shook its head. It then puffed out its chest, fluffed itself while wagging its tail and Rebecca’s heart just melted at the sight.

“Awww.~ Come here you!” she cooed as she reached out for the fowl, grabbing it gently by the side and lifted it up close to her. It’s cute little webbed feet, which looked more like boots than the feet of an animal, waddling about as it looked at her with curiosity brimming in those deceptively and adorably dumb looking button eyes.

She squealed out happily, heedless of anyone hearing her out, as she pulled the ducks close to her and hugged it. It was then that the duck protested as it started biting at her hair and ear but she paid it no mind as she was rewarded with the chance to hug the softest and fluffiest creature she had ever had the chance of hugging. The dolls and stuffed toys couldn’t give the real thing justice with how warm and huggable the bird was.

“You're so cute I want to bite you!” she gushed out as she nuzzled the duck even if the pecking was getting close to her eyebrows, “I just want to take you away from this place and take you back to my apartment in Night city. We’ll have so much fun together! I’d feed you, clean you, pamper you and just pet you so much! We’re going to be best friends!” she giggled as clutched the bird close to her chest, making sure to lean back as it tried to peck at her chin. She wasn’t sure about the pet laws as the tax for pets was enormous but she had some plan on how to get the money for her little ducky.

“You’re a feisty little one aren’t you! I know what I should name you then!” She declared as she sat up and spun her new friend around. “I’m going to name you Subaru because you're mean and grumpy when you're angry and I can’t name you Saburo!” She laughed out, snickering to herself at her own joke.

There was a snort of laughter behind her and that had her jumping out in surprise. She almost leapt out of her own skin as she spun around, holding her friend protectively close to her chest, only to find no Arasaka agent waiting for her. There was merely her boyfriend and a rather busty kunoichi who wore a lot of fox motifs on her person.

“I’m not sure if my grandfather would laugh at that joke or would be very angry,” Hiro commented out with a wide smile all the while he tried to reign in his laughter. The red and white clad girl with dark green hair was snickering as well. Rebecca turned red as she slowly sat the duck down. The bird merely pecked at her leg in warning before plopping down beside her like a loyal pet.

“You know, Subaru is still a pretty nice name regardless,” The mysterious girl pointed out even as she wiped a stray tear from her eyes. Rebecca eyed the girl suspiciously before shaking her fist at her.

“If you tell this to anyone else, I swear I’ll ram my fist up your pretty little ass!” Rebecca threatened her even if her face was burning up. She hated the embarrassing and potentially deadly situation she found herself in. She was fine with Hiro knowing about this but this girl was an unknown and she had with her were her own two fists.

“My mouth’s sealed!” The girl raised her hands in promise before zipping up her mouth. She looked over to her input who nodded at her. It was only then that Rebecca’s shoulder sagged down as she sighed out.

Pouting at the two, she walked up to her input and pressed her forehead against the crook of his neck. She pressed against him as she felt his hands wrapping around her. The new girl would only look at them with an amused smile on her face.

“So… how did the meeting go? Also, who’s tall, curvy, and busty over here?” She asked before gesturing to the taller girl before them. She was definitely armed with that kunai she had on her obi along with the tanto poking out of the back of her waist. She looked more like she’s part of the security of the compound but she was out here in the open with Hiro.

“It went better than I had expected. Grandfather likes you and that’s saying something, Becca.” Hiro whispered to her happily, making her hold on to him tightly. For a brief minute there,she thought she was going to lose him because of her mistake. He gave her a pat on the head as he held onto her for a bit more.

Finally, after she loosened up her grip on the boy, Hiro then gestured to the women that he had brought along with him, “Rebecca, meet my new bodyguard slash retainer Kiriko. Kiriko, meet my girlfriend and future wife, Rebecca.” He introduced her as Rebecca further melted into his hold as he rubbed her back.

“So you're the young mistress that caused quite the steer at the gate. You definitely came in prepared, huh?” Kiriko noted as she hovered behind them. Rebecca kept her gaze on her as she pulled away from Hiro and circled around the girl.

“A girl needs her guns,” Rebecca answered back easily as she hummed while she gave her a quick once-over. She stood straight but her stance was relaxed. She was armed but not overly so with the handles of her tools being well worn and her hands being quite calloused. There was also her clothing which, while being pretty, would not hinder her movement in any way.

“Like I said earlier, Kiriko over here is now going to be my personal bodyguard.” Hiro repeated as Kiriko gave her a playful look despite how Rebecca made sure that her glances weren’t so subtle.

“I'm going to be the young master's bodyguard and retainer from here on out. Not only will I be tasked in protecting his body but I shall be with him at all times. I’ll be his shadow, his sword and whatever he might need me to be,” The girl proudly declared. Rebecca blinked but nodded appreciatively at the dedication the girl was showing so far.

“Wait, why do you need a bodyguard, no offense, when you already have Adam on call?” Rebecca then asked as she looked at her input with a raised brow. Adam was by definition, a walking tank. Large, powerful and surprisingly fast and agile when he wanted to be. He was the perfect killing machine.

“My grandfather insisted on it and Adam is technically not my bodyguard. I just have him on speed dial but he does have other duties to the company that would leave him unable to guard me 24/7.” Hiro explained, sighing out in a long suffering manner as he looked at Kiriko with a confused and conflicted glance.

“Hmmm…” Rebecca hummed out as she squinted at Hiro before she made a grab for the girl's chest from behind. She gave them a good squeeze just before she found herself touching nothing but air while the girl she just groped was standing up there in the tree’s covering her breast.

“Eh!?” Kiriko sputtered out as Rebecca squeezed her hands, remembering the softness that she just felt.

She grinned as she leered up at the girl who only turned beet red from the attention, “Oh wow, those are natural! They’re so soft but quite firm, something that most synth breasts can’t quite replicate. Trust me, I know. I have to hand it to your old man, he definitely knows how to pick ‘em.” She barked out laughing as the girl above muttered expletives that were far too far away for her to pick up on.

“I know you might have experience but can you please not touch like that? Are all Night City girls like this?!” The kunoichi stammered out while Rebecca started looking for any long hanging branches she could grab on to.

“Heh, you haven’t seen half of it lady,~” She snickered out as she simply content on gazing up at the girl from below. Her smug smile might have clued the girl out as she sat down, blocking the glorious view she just had.

“So lewd…” The girl whispered as she stayed up there away from Rebecca.

“Hey, if you’re supposed to be my boyfriend's bodyguard, you’re definitely going to be seeing a lot of fun things and I’m more than open to have you join in,~” Rebecca pressed on, winking at the girl to clue her in. The girl made quite the interesting sound as she turned bright red.

“Rebecca… Please stop teasing my bodyguard,” Hiro asked her as he wrapped his arms around her shoulder and leaned on her.

“Who says I’m just teasing here?” Rebecca fired back as she waggled her eyebrow at him. Hiro snorted but Kiriko was already on her feet before she could even blink.

“PleaseExcuseMeForASecond!” The girl excused herself before she disappeared into a burst of blue light. She was in so much of a hurry that she left behind a slipper which clattered down to the base of the tree. Rebecca laughed out as she leaned against her input’s hold.

“Did you really have to scare her off like that?” Hiro poked her side as he questioned her.

“Hey, your grandfather’s playing games here,” Rebecca pointed out as Hiro reluctantly nodded at that, “A sexy bodyguard and not a grizzled veteran like that guy watching over your grandfather like a damn hawk? Yeah, he definitely wants you to bang her but unfortunately for him, she’s just exactly my type! I’m just staking my claim on her already but that’s not stopping you from joining in,~” She then added, Kiriko was quite pleasing to the eyes and added that to her general bubbly disposition, Rebecca had to admit that she was definitely looking forward to getting to know her a bit more.

“Oh god I’m in a harem,” Hiro groaned as he slumped against her.

“Damn right you are!” She giggled out as she reached for him and pulled her closer. With her lips close to his ears, she whispered to him, “And I’m planning on making sure she knows that she’s in it now for the long haul later tonight.~ I did promise to give you a good time after that job didn’t I? A bit belated but it’s going to be so much more fun now that we have an audience.” She enjoyed the way her boyfriend turned just as red as Kiriko from earlier.

Their peace alone together would soon be disturbed as the butler came back holding a tray of coffee and some cookies with him. He quirked an eyebrow at how red Hiro was along with the lonely geta left behind by Kiriko in her haste to get away, “Did I miss something? Also, here’s your double espresso shot and some biscuits, miss.” He asked before offering Rebecca the drink and snacks she had been promised.

Reluctantly, she pried herself off Hiro as she grabbed the small glass and a handful of cookies to munch on before answering, “Oh nothing. Just me having fun with my boyfriend and his new bodyguard.~”

She chewed on the sweet treats, enjoying the crisps crust hiding away the chewy interior. The sweet, smooth taste of the large chocolate chunks only enhanced the cookie. She made sure Hiro had a taste as she pressed one up against his lips. He all too happily chomped on one and chewed away as she finally took a sip of her coffee. It might have been a bad idea as she was immediately assaulted by the strong bitter taste of it. She winced as any tiredness in her eyes quickly melted away as soon as the sip she had hit her stomach. She dared take more sips and each time she found it more and more agreeable. There was the lack of that sour taste she usually tasted in her can of coffee and there was nothing but the smoothness and richness of the black gold that now filled her mouth.

All the while, Walter merely gave them a flat look before a knowing smile stretched across his face. Collecting her cup and giving her the rest of the cookies in a silken pouch, he left them to their own devices but not before leaving a parting comment for them, “... Please don’t forget to stay hydrated, young master,”

“Walter!” Hiro shouted out as he gave the man a scandalized look but that only served to make the smirk that the older man sported all the wider.

“You’re a fucking ass, but I like you!” Rebecca snorted out as slipped the bag of cookies she had in her sleeve.

“I get that a lot, miss. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll arrange your room at a nearby hotel. I’m sure the master would appreciate the peace and quiet later tonight,” The man snarked out as he gestured towards the estate just as he slipped out of view.

“Make sure that’s a room for three if you will, Jeeves.” Rebecca made sure to add as they weren’t going to be alone. Kiriko was going to be Hiro’s shadow after all and she was going to put that to the test with what she had stored for his input tonight.

Rebecca pulled on her input, eager to get away from the place so she could have some privacy with him but not before she picked up her newest companion.

Hiro gave her a surprised look before asking, “Wait, you’re really going to take the duck?”

“Why would I leave Subaru behind?” She asked back as the duck quacked happily as it got itself comfortable in her hands.

Of course, they had to leave Subaru in the care of a pet caretaker as the hotel that Walter reserved for them was not pet friendly but, once they had their newest pet properly taken care of, the couple along with Kiriko would find themselves in a large private suite. There, things got a whole lot steamier and she got to know just how dedicated Kiriko was to shadowing Hiro.

-x-x-x

The sun had set in Tokyo City but Rebecca’s day had only begun as she sauntered up to her boyfriend. He fidgeted there on the edge of the bed while he was clad with nothing more than a pair of boxers. She licked her lips as she stalked forward, her gaze firmly upon his lean form. He gulped as she got right in front of him, his eyes locked on to her form as his member pitched a tent on his tight shorts. With her prey having no place to run, she loosened up her obi and let her kimono slide down her shoulder till it was barely held in place.

She smirked as stepped on the edge of the bed, her feet right in between his legs. With her thighs parting the skirt of her Kimino, she allowed him a tentative glimpse down below, “I’ve been waiting for this all month long,~” She whispered before she pushed him down on the soft sheets of their bed.

She clambered atop him, hands pressed atop her chest before she slowly traced down. She breathed out as she grabbed on to the hem of his shorts, her gaze landing on the large shape just hidden beneath the thin fabric. Biting her lip, she pulled down and gasped as she went face to face with a veiny monster.

She grinned as reached up to the shaft and marveled at how she couldn’t fully grasp her boyfriend's member. She gave it a squeeze before gently stroking it, feeling nothing but hot rigid flesh beneath her grasp, “My my~ Why have you been hiding this from me? Must have taken you a while to give it a natural shape.” She giggled out as his precum dribbled down its length.

“The only enhancements I have are within,” He groaned out as the member in her hands bucked like a wild animal. Indeed, there was not a trace of chrome visible outside nor any scars along her toy's length. It was only when she cupped his heavy stones did she feel any.

“A breeder, huh? I’m going to enjoy this.” She whispered back as she ran his tongue across the length of his cock, tracing the veins before kissing the very tip of the swollen head. She licked her lips and enjoyed the sweet taste and allowed the slimy precum to coat her tongue. Generous dollops of the liquid quickly coated her hands as she stroked its length while teasing the tip.

Inch by inch, she pressed forward. Her lips wrapped around the tip of his cock as she took his length in. Her tongue swirled around the tip as she opened wide for his length. Pulling her hands away from his length, she then grabbed onto his thighs. With one smooth motion, she pushed down, swallowing as much of his cock as she could.

Her eyes watered and she almost gagged at how his huge length hit the back of her throat but she soldiered on, purring as she pulled back before pushing down further. With precum coating her mouth and throat, she pressed on. She moaned as she felt her throat stretch out for his length.

Hiro let out a groan of pleasure as she bobbed up and down his length, licking and sucking on every last inch. She gazed up at him, smirking around his length before upping up the ante. The wet sound of slurping and sucking filled the room as Rebecca stroked herself. The heady feeling along with the feminine moans coming from above pushing her and Hiro to the edge. His cock was throbbing like crazy as she drank every last bit of precum flowing out of his cock. She felt his cock bulge and his body tensing as he finally pushed him over the edge.

She pressed down, kissing the base of his cock as a veritable deluge of cum came pouring down her throat. She held on as she audibly gulped down his spunk and enjoyed every last drop of it as it filled her stomach with its warmth. It went on for a solid minute until it finally abated.

Slowly, she pulled away as she made sure to scrape off every last drop of his cum with her tongue. She came off with a pop as she covered her mouth while she licked her lips clean. “Thank you for the meal,~” She complimented her partner as she left him panting and red faced.

Still, his cock remained erect and she had an itch just waiting to be scratched. She climbed atop him, straddling him as she started grinding against his length. Her dripping wet slit pressed against his length and it jumped up in need, “Someone’s certainly excited,” She said as she bit down on her lip.

Getting up, she lined herself up the tip of his length as it stood in full mast. It stood erect as it pressed up the lips of her pussy, jumping and throbbing at every movement she made. Still, she kept on teasing him, stopping herself just short of taking him in. “Beg for it Hiro,~ show me just how much you want it,” She ordered him as she leaned down and grabbed on to his wrist.

“Please! Please let me fill you up,~” He groaned as his eyes gazed up to her in need.

“Good boy,~” She praised him before she suddenly slammed her hips down. She took in a sharp breath as he felt his cock rip through her pussy and batter the entrance of her womb. Her legs felt like jelly at the sudden jolt of pleasure but she quickly found her stride.

She bit back a moan as she pulled up; the large bulbous head dragging along the walls of her pussy and sending thrills of pleasure up her core before it came rushing back in as she pushed back down. She gasped out as his cock pressed up her womb while she sat atop him.

She started out slow, but took his length in hard. His cock rocked her core each time she moved. Each thrust spurred her on, each world shaking bounce that had her seeing double had her upping the pace. She leaned down on his wrists and held on to him for her dear life as her steady pace turned to that of a frantic and hurried one.

She moaned out loudly as he started thrusting up at her, meeting her hips and matching her pace. She panted as her arms shakily held back his hands to no avail. He fought back and now it was her turn to be restrained as he broke free of his grasp and held her hands up above her head. Her protests would quickly be silenced as he pressed his lips against hers, drowning out her thoughts as both of them were pulled into a hot searing kiss.

They held onto each other tightly as they fucked each other other with his cock making her see stars as he stretched her to her very limit. She pulled away from her grip and wrapped her hands around his chest before biting down to muffle out her screams of pleasure.

He thrusted harder, slamming his cock in as deep as he could and Rebecca’s eyes up as he had her gushing out like a leaking faucet. She seized up as blinding white pleasure ripped through her body. Like electricity, it spread out from her core to the very tip of her toe. She orgasmed hard and Hiro came with her.

She clamped down, squeezing his cock for all he was worth as it slammed deeply inside her. She clawed at his back as thick fat ropes of cum came rushing in her womb. Hot sticky cum quickly filled her as the tip of his cock pressed hard against her cervix. She could feel him unloading everything, quickly filling her until there was no more room inside her womb.

They held onto each, panting and gasping for air at their shared orgasm while refusing to pull away from each other. Their own voice was shared by another, more restrained but far needier one behind them, “You know, you can join in,” Rebecca teased the girl behind them as she heard her squeak.

“I know you’ve been hiding there all this time. You are my boyfriend's shadow after all.” Rebecca added, letting their voyeur in on the secret. There was some silence as Hiro looked around until his gaze locked on to someone. She then turned around and found herself face to face with a sweaty and needy Kunoichi.

“I-I’m sorry. I can’t go away,” The girl finally showed up and she was practically soaking in her own sweat. Even in the dark, she could still see how the girl's fingers glistend while a small pool of the girl's own orgasm dripped down on the marvel floor. Kiriko kept stealing glances at them even as she tried to look away.

“Aww, you don’t have to be shy,~” Rebecca cooed out as she turned back to her boyfriend. “Hiro, do you want her to join in? You are her master after all and all you have to say is yes,” she reminded him. Even when the girl could have bolted away, she remained there rooted as her gaze turned towards them. There was confusion in her eyes but, more importantly, she was hot and bothered with her nipples poking her tight outfit.

Hiro bit his lips, looking conflicted at the girl but eventually, he gave in. “Yes. Kiriko, would you like to join us?” He asked her and the girl nodded all too eagerly.

“Why don’t you help me clean my boyfriend up~?” She asked her as she got off Hiro’s cock. Long strings of cum poured out of pussy and right at his cock. Turning around and sitting atop him with her pussy sandwiching her cock, she gazed up at the girl and invited her in for a closer taste.

Kiriko didn’t need to be told twice as she got on top of the bed and crawled up to them. The girl shakily leaned down to Hiro’s cock and started licking him clean. There was uncertainty as she fumbled around but she was eager in lapping up every last bit of their orgasm.

“There you go,~ swallow it all.” She egged her on, encouraging her as the last bit of cum was licked from his length before she moved onto her. She bit back a moan as the girl licked her clit before she started gulping down the cum inside her.

“Easy there,~ now, I want you to lay down.” Rebecca said as she pulled the girl away as the kunoichi looked up to her with glazed eyes. Reluctantly, the girl pulled away and laid down and Rebecca grabbed onto her thighs. “Open up.” She commanded her as the girl spread her legs wide, showing off her dexterity in a perfect split.

She tore the girl’s tights and opened up a hole, exposing her down below. The girl's clean shaven pussy was a sight to behold as it glistened and dripped with need. Rebecca didn’t waste any more time as she dove down and started eating her out. The girl's beautiful moans joined Rebecca’s own as Hiro plowed her from behind.

Rebecca had Kiriko writhing beneath her as she ate her out. Her tongue swirling around and darting deep inside before slipping out to tease her clit. Kiriko was moaning loudly, letting her voice be heard by all. Rebecca enjoyed every last cry she made.

Just as Hiro was about to thrust back in, Rebecca stopped him, earning her some questioning looks. She merely smiled as she pulled off and slid behind Kiriko. Holding the girl upland spreading her legs wide. “She’s ready,~” She replied as she reached down and parted thet girls snatch for him. Kiriko let out a throaty moan as Rebecca’s finger dipped and made sure she was ready for Hiro.

Kiriko cried out loudly as Hiro plowed her. Rebecca pulled her man close, locking lips with him as Kiriko writhe between them, “Come on Hiro,~ harder!” She encouraged him as he plowed the bustier girl. Rebecca pulled the girls top down, showing off the generous chest she had hidden beneath and knead them.

“He’s splitting me apart!” The girl panted out as Rebecca pulled away from Hiro and kissed Kiriko with equal passion. She felt the girl seize up beneath Hiro as her legs failed around but Hiro kept on going.

She made the girl turn around, making her bend over as Hiro grabbed onto the girl's shapely rear, before forcing her mouth inside her cum filled pussy. Rebecca bit her lips as she watched her man fuck the girl between them into a stupor. The girl whimpered as Hiro slammed his cock in deep, pressing hard against the girl's ass. The woman's eyes rolled up their sockets as cum leaked from between their legs.

Rebecca chuckled as she waited for Hiro to finish inside before pulling the girl away. “Come on,~ don’t tell me you're giving up. We still have a long night to go!” Rebecca purred out as she threw herself at her man while she allowed the girl to recover.

They kept going, swapping between each other as they milked Hiro of every last drop of cum. His implants showed their worth as Hiro only needed to top on some drinks and he was back in the game. It wouldn’t be until much later that they stopped and by then Rebecca was more than satisfied.

Rebecca leaned against the headrest of the large king sized bed as she basked in the afterglow of their love making. To her right was Hiro who had passed out earlier and to her left was a very disheveled looking and wide eyed Kiriko as she clutched the blanket to preserve what little dignity she had left. She snorted in amusement at how red the girl's cheeks were despite how she had acted earlier, “Oh come on, it wasn’t that bad was it?” She prodded her, turning to the girl with a smirk on her face.

“W-was I supposed to join in?” The girl asked, bewildered at what had just happened. The girl was still shaking and the smell of cum clearly clung to him but despite that, she still looked confused.

“Honey, I’m not sure what his grandfather told you but just considered it a job well done,~” Rebecca gave the girl a pat before she plopped down. As ravenous was her sexual appetite, Hiro kept up and wore her out. She wanted nothing more than to sleep.

“I was asked to seduce him if possible but I didn’t expect it to end like this!” The girl admitted, exclaiming at the state she had found herself.

Rebecca snorted as she gave her a once over once more. The girl was glistening with sweat with sexual fluids clinging to the girl's toned body. The wet spot on the sheets between where the other girl's legs were and the smell of cum had her core burning once more. She was worn out but a midnight snack wouldn’t hurt.

“Like I said, I’m more than happy to have you in bed. Now, how about I give you something back in return?~” Rebecca whispered as she slipped beneath the covers as grabbed onto the girl.

“There’s no need for that Becca, I assure youuuuuu! Oh my god! Oh fuck~” The woman cried out as Rebecca latched on to her and enjoyed the sweet taste of Hiro’s cum coating her tongue.

It would be late in the night before Rebecca would find some sleep, but not before she had two very tired partners cling to her as they laid together in bed. With a satisfied grin on her face, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. She just had the most stressful of days and most wonderful of nights. She believed that she had the right to a good night's sleep and so she drifted off the land of dreams.

-x-x-x-

It was the day after a night of fun and now Rebecca would find herself sandwiched between two clingy cuddle bugs as the light of day made itself known with a beam of light shining from the nearby window. For a second, she debated on just staying in bed. The feeling of the silken sheets along with the arms of Hiro and Kirko around her bare form almost made her eyelids shut close and lull her back to sleep but her parched throat and grumbling stomach made itself known to her.

Carefully, she slid down from between her two partners and out of the bed. She winced a bit at the feeling of the cold air against her bare feet, but she shouldered on and soon she was free from the grasp of the two. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she looked back and watched as the two shifted closer to each other now that she was away. She smirked as she watched Kiriko pull Hiro close to her and bury him face first between her chest.

“My job here is done,~” She whispered as she jumped off their shared bed to get started for the day. Grabbing the half empty energy drink she left by the night stand, she navigated around the tangle of clothes they left behind on the floor as she made her way to the bathroom. A quick rinse of hot water was all she needed to freshen up and now all she wanted to do was eat.

“Now, where the hells the vending machine?” she muttered out as she tied her bathrobe to keep herself decent. She made a beeline for the nearby kitchenette attached to the small dining area of their large suite in search of something to eat. The fridge only yielded some snacks and a whole lot of fresh, but raw, ingredients for her to use but no pre-prepared and packed meals. “I could use an XXL Burrito right now but I doubt they have that stocked here,” she grumbled out as she continued her search.

She eventually found herself a touch screen panel attached to the kitchen counter. Tapping the device, it lit up showing her a selection of services that the hotel offered. It was a rather intuitive but old school display showing what they had in store. From cleaning, laundry down to valet and even cooking. She quietly debated on whether or not it was worth having people over but the rumbling of her stomach won out in the end.

Pressing the button, she jumped back in surprise at a panel in the roof of the kitchenette. She grabbed a bread knife and pointed it at the turret that popped down but it turned out to be nothing more than a round bot with a pair of mechanical hands. Moving around through the rail guides atop the room, it went about gathering ingredients before chopping them up with an impressive display of dexterity and speed.
She sat down, watching transfixed to the machine as it tossed rice in a large steel wok while it cooked over a jet burner. The sizzling of meats, vegetables and rice filled the air with its savory scent. It was one thing to watch someone cook things and it’s another to see it in person. She jumped a bit in surprise as she felt hands wrap around her stomach.

She turned around and found Hiro hugging her while Kiriko made tea for two while she started grinding up some roasted coffee beans, “I would have whipped something up but the bot beat me to the punch,” he mumbled out sleepily even when his hair was still wet and smelt of flowers.

“How do you like your coffee? Espresso, Americano, Latte?” Kiriko asked as she scooped up the coffee powder and loaded it up to a machine.

“What’s the difference?” Rebecca yawned out. In the end, it was just coffee. It was going to wake her up one way or another.

“Well, it’s just a choice of what you want to add to an Espresso shot. Do you want to water it down, add in milk, add chocolate, add in milk foam and things like that.” Kiriko helpfully explained and Rebecca’s expression twisted to that of disgust at the thought of further watering down coffee with water. She had enough cheap, watery coffee from the vending machines, thank you very much!

“Well, give me the strongest you've got. I think that’s what Walter gave me.” She requested as her mouth watered at the thought of the strong coffee. It was bitter as hell but it grew on her and all she wanted to do was drink more of it.

“Double Shot Espresso it is then!” Kiriko chimed out as she prepared the coffee but not before handing Hiro his cup of black tea mixed in with a generous helping of milk and nothing else. With how dark it was, Rebecca would have mistaken it for some coffee blend if not for the lack of the distinct aromatic scent that all coffee drinks had regardless of quality.

“You really love your boiled tea leaves don’t you?” Rebecca lightly heartedly jabbed at Hiro as he savored his hot drink.

“I can say the same to your roasted bean soup,” Hiro quipped back as Kiriko offered her that espresso she so desperately needed before she sat down with them. There, around the kitchen counter, they enjoyed each other's company as they relished the flavor and scent of their respective drinks while the bot started serving their breakfast.

They made small talk, nothing too serious, while Rebecca chewed on her food, her mind drifting back to yesterday’s meeting, “Did your grandfather really approve of me?” She then asked, wondering just how the old man approved of her. So swept up was she with the relief she felt from yesterday and her meeting with Kiriko that she hadn’t really inquired more about what happened behind closed doors.

Rebecca frowned as Hiro sighed out. Setting down his fork, he then admitted, “No, he approved of you being a mistress but not a wife,” Rebecca’s eyebrow rose up as the weight that had settled on her shoulder was lifted as soon as it came.

“Eh, I’m fine with that,” Rebecca waved off his concern as she gave him a quick peck on the lips.

He kissed back, still frowning and absorbed in his own melancholy as he continued, “But it’s not like I’m going to marry anyone in the-! Wait, what?” He looked at her with shock clearly painted over his face. She rolled her eyes at his bewildered look before she glanced over to Kiriko.

“Kiriko, give our input here a reminder on why I don’t care?” Rebecca commanded and Kiriko happily complied as he gave the boy a kiss on the cheeks. Hiro looked at Kiriko before looking back at Rebecca as she gave Kiriko a pat on the head. There was a hierarchy in this relationship and she had established it pretty clearly.

“Heh, remember who’s harem this is and I doubt your grandfather would let anyone short of drop dead gorgeous near you as little miss kunoichi and I could attest. Like damn, you can bounce a bullet on that ass,” She reminded Hiro before giving Kiriko a slap on the ass. The girl straightened up before lightly glaring at her.

“Even after I slept with you, I still can’t get over how brazen you are,” The girl huffed out as she turned her nose up and away from her while a light dusting of pink colored her cheeks.

“Heh. Get used to it cupcake,~” She cackled, thoroughly enjoying herself now that she was surrounded by those that she loved.

“But-” Her well meaning but rather pig headed input tried to protest but she shut him up before he would spiral down.

“No buts. It’s as if I need a piece of paper telling me that my boyfriend is my other half.” She scoffed out. All she needed was Kiriko and Hiro and she was fine. In the end, the things written on those papers served as a way to formalize things but she could go without it.

He looked over to Kiriko before back to her in bafflement but that quickly gave in to bemusement as he chuckled out and shook his head. She glanced over to Kiriko and the girl looked back and they both laughed out loud. The man they both shared could be quite the worrywart.

“Now that it's pretty much confirmed your old man’s not going to be breathing down on my shoulder anytime soon, I think we can even be more explicit with how we love each other,” She purred out as she nuzzled up against him.

“I doubt that anything’s going to top how you had your way with both of us at the same time if I might add,” He stressed out, making sure that he knew damn well how she had fun with both of them and she just grinned back in response.

“You’ve seen nothing yet,~ besides, aren’t you interested in having a few more bodies warming the bed?” Rebecca offered, giving him a tantalizing view of what he could have. She was quite familiar with the dreams of men given her role models were joytoy’s and she couldn’t fault them as she too dreamed of it.

“When we get back to Night City, please don't drag all the girls that catch your fancy into our bed. Kiriko is one thing but eventually, it’ll be too much of a handful,” The boy relented and Rebecca cheered as it was all but official.

“I’m not making any promises,~ don’t worry though, I’m a bit picky. Now, tell me about this Korean girl you had in your sports team,~” She teased him.

“...Damn it. Why do I have a feeling you’ll eventually drag someone in our bed whom we just had a fire fight with?” He mused out loudly. Rebecca merely giggled as she pressed herself against him. She had the best boyfriend in the world and she promised to herself once more that she was going to be damn sure that he’d feel love. With their eventual return back to Night City, she could think of a few ways like supporting his dream but for now, she just wants to chat and further connect with their new girlfriend.

-x-x-x-

Back in night city, a certain blonde would find herself waking up to the cold and spartan apartment of her current lover. She grimaced as she got from her seat and grabbed a nearby towel. Even while wearing some state of the art suit to vent all the excess heat, she still worked up quite the sweat.

“Here,” Growled out her lover's mechanical voice as she found a bottle of sports drinked offered to her. She gazed up at her monstrous lover who gazed at her with those cold red eyes that never failed to send shivers of fear down her spine.

“You’re oddly sweet when you want to be, you know that?” She commented as she extended the straw and connected it to her mouth piece. Still, despite how cold and distant he was, he could act human. It was all an illusion but a sweet illusion she can lose herself in.

“I aim to please,” The man snarked, making her snort out in amusement.

“In more than one way,” She added as she walked up to him and sat down on his lap.

She leaned up against him, feeling his hard metal body against her own. At first, she felt afraid but now she found comfort in his hold. She felt like she was surrounded by living metal, ready to rip and tear apart at anything that might get near. She had to admit, it also felt akin to having one’s head inside the jaw of a dangerous beast but it only made the thrill of the moment all the sweeter.

“She keeps running away,” She vented, letting Smasher of all people hear her woes.

“And she’s going to keep running away. Your brat’s afraid,” The man listened and he answered. She sighed out as he leaned against his arms, holding on to them and finding comfort in the hard cables of artificial muscle serving as his biceps. Like she said, he can be sweet in his own little way.

“I know, I know but it’s just so frustrating seeing her throw her life away just because she’s afraid,” She complained.

“So long as my ward keeps me away from her, she'll live,” Her man replied coldly, making her scoff as she pulled her hands away and crossed her arms across her chest.

“You're such a horrible monster you know that?” She pointed as she glared up at him.

“Yet you still keep coming back,” He answered back with what she could only assume was with sadistic glee. She growled as she turned around and straddled him with her legs wrapping around his hips.

“Just shut up and fuck me already. I swear, you have some chrome that keeps getting me all hot and bothered. You're lucky that I can’t just stop wanting you.” She growled out as she reached up and pulled him down to her. He grabbed on her ass as he stood up and pressed her against the wall. She bit back a scream as he grabbed her hands and roughly held them above her head. She shivered as he leaned close to her with the points in his jaw running against her neck. Her legs felt like jelly yet her core ached with need.

“So you say.” He whispered to her as she let him have his way. She hated how much she needed him but with the hole in her heart, she clung to anything that kept her busy even if it was the monster that everyone feared.

A/N:

Finally got the chance to write that lewd and it's a threesome at that! The journey here might have been a bit rough but finally got to the part that made me want to write this story. Truly, Becca is best girl as she is the harem protagonist of this story. I'll be updating the looks of characters soon cause I've been lazing about that. Really need to show you guys the cuteness of Kiriko and the updated look of the other characters. With Rebecca's romance arc finished, it's finally time to move to the next phase. Who's ready to see a city burn?

With that out of the way, I'd like to thank @Vyor for keeping me inspired as I really can't do ideas well if I don't have someone to soundboard it. I'd also want to thank my Patrons once again. You guys are the best! Consider dropping by my Patreon page and became a patron today to support me so I can keep on making these types of fics. It means a lot to me to keep on working on my fics. I also have also have a Ko-Fi page and a Subscribe Star for those who do not like Patreon.

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ATP

Well-known member
Lewd is strong in you!
And,like i said on QQ,you need more then 2 womans for harem.
So,which girl would be next ?
 
Act 2 Chapter 1

SirBearington

Well-known member
Act 2 Chapter 1

If somebody told Rebecca 3 months ago that she’d be both the personal executioner and mistress of a big shot in Arasaka, she would have shot them in the head and burned their bodies for good measure for insulting her. It was supposed to be an impossibility, yet life had a funny way of turning people’s expectations upside down. Just a few months ago, she was just another solo from the mean streets of Night City but things took a turn for the better when she met her boyfriend.

She let out a whoop of joy as she sailed through the air. Her hair whipped around her as she passed by some aerodyne before she landed against the side of a building. The gauntlet of her armor clamped down on a ledge before she launched herself to another building. The Gothic structures dominating the city skyline helped her move around as she leapt from one building to another with the grace of a big cat on the prowl without leaving neither mark or crack upon the stone masonry even with the heavy armor she wore.

The experimental power armor she wore was bulky, with large ceramite plates hugging her figure. The large pauldrons and the solid chest plate that might have given her a few more inches in the bust made her look more like a knight of old, or maybe a crusader with the halo behind her head, but it suited her just fine as she’d never felt so powerful in her life. She could feel every little tactile detail as she moved with but a thought. This armor was just as much a part of her now, with it being hooked up to her spine, as her limbs were. The rush of flying through the air was intense, enough that she could almost lose herself in the motion; it was almost perfect.

“Oye chiquita, hurry your fat ass over here. We don’t have all night!” But someone had to ruin her good mood as her old crew’s newest Netrunner made herself known through the coms just as she landed on the rooftop of the building beside her target tonight.

The large blocky building across the street stood in stark contrast to the newer buildings around it. The old dilapidated apartment looked like it had seen better days and could use a whole new coat of paint, but thanks to its proximity to the industrial complex of Santo Domingo and the hell hole that was Pacifica it stood there abandoned and left to rot. The building she was on was only half as tall as the old megablock in front of her, but it suited her just fine as she had a great vantage point to observe the floors before her.

“Yeah, yeah, just got here. Don’t get your panties all in a twist.” She grumbled as she hid in the shadows while she snuck towards the side of the building and peered down on the alley below. There she’d find the car of the crew with a certain young latina and her distinct purple highlights sitting atop, twirling her submachine gun. Noticing her, Sombra looked up and blew raspberries at her. Rebecca rolled her eyes as she flipped the bird at the girl; to think that she saved this bitch.

“So unprofessional. To think your input could have chosen a better mistress,~” The girl scathingly sniped at her which had her gritting her teeth. What’s worse was this girl was interested in her man. Who knew that changing the gender of a Valentino didn’t change how they acted.

“Oh fuck off you bitch,” She growled out warningly. She pulled off the heavy bolter on her back and rested it up against her shoulder as she glared daggers at the teen.

“Knock it off you two, we have a job to do. Becca, easy on the newbie. Sombra, show some respect. Becca’s here cause we need the firepower and I don’t want you mouthing off on her when you damn well know what she’s packing,” Maine scolded them as he reminded them why they were there. As tempting as shooting Sombra was, she was still the groups new Netrunner, and their only netrunner tonight with Kiwi being busy with her boytoy. She shuddered at the thought of all the things Kiwi could be doing; all the hand holding and petting did not fit Adam’s image one bit.

“Sheesh, I’m only joking,” The brat replied petulantly. “You know we can do this on our own. Don’t know why you insist on having her tag along,” She complained which made Rebecca’s eyes twitch.

“Just a gut feeling,” Maine answered laconically. Rebecca turned as her eyes caught the sight of the large man hiding in the alley beside the abandoned complex along with Dorio, Pilar and some of the newer kids that they pulled into the gang while she was away. The building in front of them might have appeared harmless at first glance, but there were dozens of guards peering from the windows and balconies of the building.

“Fine, it’s not like I have the time to argue when our targets are already here,” The girl muttered as Rebecca saw three cars roll up to the entrance of the building. She squinted as her chrome focused on the people that got out of the car. With their old fashioned desert camo and tactical gear, the unmistakable goons of the 6th street were out in force, though it wasn’t their presence that caught her eyes but rather the large coffin like boxes with the marks of Arasaka printed on their surface that they were lugging inside.

“Remember, our job here is to retrieve the stolen cargo. The 6th street has just stolen another cargo right from under Arasaka’s noses. We don’t know how they managed to acquire the schedule of those trucks, but we’re here to correct that little issue. Let the in-house investigators do their job,” Maine stated, reminding them of why they were here.

“We need eyes inside, Sombra.” Maine then ordered as Rebecca waited for the girl to do her job. As much as her trigger finger itched and the desire to give in to the urge just start shooting the fuckers they were after rose, it was best not to spook them and have them scatter like rats. “We need to kill every last one of these fuckers,” Maine emphasized.

“Just point me at them and I’ll take care of it,”
Rebecca replied, grinning as she started settling up her gun. She lifted up the large heavy belt into the feed before resting it on an old air conditioning unit. Using the block as both cover and a platform, she waited for their netrunner to give them a readout.

“Sorry chief, the place is as analog as you can get, but I got them all in my Ping,” Sombra reported as the outline of the guards filled her vision. The Valentina whistled at the amount of warm bodies filling the building. There was one on every floor. They were quite spread out as well; hiding in rooms and around the corners of the building.

“Man, they're not kidding around here,” The girl murmured as the whole gang seemed to be there before she added, “All of them are packing heat though, some of them are armed with low tech stuff… like AK-74’s? Like who the hell still uses those?” The girl asked, confused and incredulous about the choice of weapon those inside had.
“Hey, don’t diss the classics. There's a reason why those are still around,” Pillar piped up through the channel as Rebecca watched him pull out something from his bag. Maine motioned for Dorio before she took off deeper in the alley with some of the fresh meat.

The netrunner scoffed but didn’t argue any further as she continued, “We have some runners on each floor supporting these fuckers. Isn’t this a lovely little hornet nest we happened upon? Something doesn’t feel right though, there’s not enough guards around,” Rebecca nodded at that. The way that they were sparsely spaced out felt fishy as well.

She took in a deep breath as she closed her eyes before she dipped into the immaterium. She felt herself slip off her body as she took a short dip in the sea of souls. She stared into the hazy warp as she watched the entire building lit up like a christmas tree; there they were. Pushing herself back in, she said, “There’s twice as many people there than what the scan showed. Probably some netrunners hiding the signatures of people inside.”

“Shit, they know we’re here,”
Sombra cursed out.

“I don’t like the sound of that. This is sounding more like a trap than a weapon’s deal,” Dorio grumbled.

“Should we call it off?” One of the newbies suggested. A failed job is far better than having more holes than they started off but…

“Trap or not, those Bolters I’m seeing here are very real. Besides, I think I can handle it,” Rebecca replied confidently as her enhanced vision saw the outline of the heavy weaponry being pulled out of one of the coffins as the weapon deal was starting in one of the floors above the weapons platform. Thankfully, she could see them inside the room through the window facing her.

She pursed her lips as she watched them inspect the guns from her vantage point. Some weapons were starting to go missing in certain deliveries and it was getting worrying. At least now they know where some of them were heading.

“Rebecca, Pillar, think you two can make a distraction?” Maine asked them, which had Rebecca grinning out like a loon.

“Do you have to ask?” Pilar answered, mirroring her sentiment. Her smile didn’t lessen as she aimed her sights at the weapons platform. There was several feet of cheap concrete and sheet metal between her and her targets. It was plenty enough cover for most guns, but not for her baby right here.

“Just give the signal and I’ll light them up,” She purred out as she caressed the trigger, just waiting for the right time. Her blood sang at the prospect of violence but she stayed her hands for now, not wanting to ruin the trap just yet.

“Pilar, get those krakk grenades ready, we’re going in hot.” Maine ordered. Pilar cackled as he pulled out a bundle of the explosives that was held together with duct tape. It was an ugly thing, yet it was more than enough for what they needed.

“This’ll blow them sky high!” Pilar laughed as he pulled the pin of the bundle he made. With a mighty throw, he had it arc across the air before it landed atop one of the cars. It landed with a loud clang as it dented the top of the car before it rolled off to the side.

“Fuck, take co-” One of the men guarding the entrance shouted before he was drowned out by a resounding boom. The three cars were quickly reduced to burning wrecks as Maine and Pilar rushed out of their cover and headed for the entrance guns blazing. Even Sombra was in on the fun as she rushed out and sent debilitating quick hacks at the disoriented guards on the balconies.

“Go go go!” Maine shouted as he bodied the door open and started firing at the people inside.
Rebecca laughed as she laid down suppressing fire. Her gun barked loudly as the 1.00 caliber rounds came roaring out of the barrel of her gun and punched through the building. Old concrete and cheap steel were shredded as the bullets exploded in a shower of fragments. The red mist that came with each shot had her giggling as she cleared as much of the opposition as she could.

She might have been a bit mean as she focused on the people that Sombra was crippling, “Oy! Quit kill stealing!” The girl shouted as Rebecca rained hell on the enemies ahead of the girl.

“Well sorry, It’s not my fault that you’re way too slow,” She snickered out as she helped Maine and the others the best that she could. Their enemies were starting to wise up as they headed as far away from the windows as they could, but it only delayed the inevitable. Eventually, however, she’d run out of rounds and that’s just when she saw an aerodyne heading towards them. It wasn’t a police vehicle nor Arasaka backup. She cursed as they landed out of her sight. With the crates being hauled up stairs, she had to think quickly.

“They’re going to escape! Heading inside,” Rebecca shouted as she set her weapon down. She stood up and backed away from the ledge as she prepared herself, psyching herself up and checking all her chrome before she pulled out two bolters. Systems were green and ready for action and her guns were locked and loaded.

“You got this Bee, we’ll keep them tied up here!” Shouted Dorio amidst the sound of gun fire.

She could feel the power plant attached to her back whir to life as she knelt down to a runner’s start. The roof beneath her cracked as she started sprinting, dashing across the rooftop as fast as she could. The gap between her vantage point and the building was vast, as far as a 4 lane highway, yet she pressed on, grinning as the edge quickly came into view once more.
She bent her legs low, letting the motors of her armor push her off the roof with an explosion of concrete. Rebecca jumped and sailed through the air. Shielding her eyes, she crashed into the glass window before she rolled to a stop. Surrounded by heavily armed goons with surprise painted across their face, she grinned as she whipped out her Bolters and aimed.

“Surprise~!” She laughed out as she squeezed the trigger and fired indiscriminately, the deep heavy booms of her gun echoing through the room before it was joined by cries of pain and the sound of splattering gore across the walls. With no one left alive she rushed for the door.

She kicked the heavy metal door off its hinges, squishing a goon dead, before a grenade rolled up to her, but her armor was quick enough to kick it away back to the sender. She savored their look of horror as she aimed her gun at the grenade before firing, sending up a dust cloud and obscuring her vision.

“Is that all you got!?” She shouted with a feral grin stretched across her face before she was answered by a staccato of high caliber gunfire. Light flashed in front of her as the Halo she had on her back lit up with a crackle of electric arcs. She walked through the dust cloud as her armor took all the gun fire heading her way. The system shrugged off both gun and cannon fire, allowing her to reload without worry.

“Should have brought something bigger!” Rebecca shouted as she continued her carnage. She dashed along the corridor, firing rounds after round at the people ahead of her. One shot was more than enough even for the toughest of goons. She only paused when Maine cried out in pain.

“Maine! Fucking hell, why the hell are they packing Microwave guns! This isn’t MaxTac!” Pilar shouted while the crack of lasguns filled the background.The pained cries of their lead distracted her long enough that a goon rushed up to her with his rifle butt heading straight for her face.

She grit her teeth as she sidestepped before jamming the barrel of her gun against his face and firing, “Fuck, you need back up!?” She shouted as she glanced over to the stairwell up ahead.

“Finish the job, I have Maine covered!” Dorio shouted over the coms.

With the sound of the aerodyne firing up, she had no time to lose. Bursting into the rooftop, she found herself pelted by heavy machine gun fire. The loud roar of the gun mixed in with the flashes obscured her vision making it hard to aim. She roared out as she headed straight for the car. The panicked cries were drowned out as fire enveloped her form.

Without a second of hesitation, she flung herself at the airborne car. There was a loud explosion before her ride came crashing down. Tearing through the side of the car, she laughed before bracing herself. They landed with a loud bang and screech as the car dragged along the street; aside from her fellow occupants everything inside was all in one piece by the time the vehicle stopped rolling and destroying itself on the pavement, which thankfully included the package. She might have gone a bit overboard, but the job was finished.

“Package secured,” She sighed out in relief as the warning alarms of a Trauma Team came blaring outside.

“Alright, keep the package secure while we load Maine in the ambulance,” Dorio ordered as Rebecca pulled herself out of the wreckage and watched the modified Arasaka Arvus Lighter land on the ground. She shook her head as she watched Maine get carried off to the armed transport ship before he was flown off. She had to talk to Hiro about this.
-x-x-x-

“How the hell did netrunners bypass our system? Isn’t it supposed to be impenetrable?!” Shouted one executive as the room descended into anarchy. Rebecca could only grimace as she stood in the shadows behind Hiro while she observed two warring factions at each other's throat. Kiriko wasn’t taking it well as she grimaced at how much shouting was happening inside the dimly lit room.

There were accusations and name calling as the matter of how some of Araska’s most prized weapons were getting in the hands of the gang they were trying to stamp out. Hiro was silent but the way he tapped on the table had her worried.

Sitting beside him was his close cousin, Michiko, who was trying her best to pacify the two factions, “Is this boardroom a place of reason or some schoolyard play area?” The woman admonished them, making even the more vocal ones back down.
“For clarification, it was just the work of one lone netrunner and be reassured that the fault in the system has been fixed. Hanako-senpie patched the issue herself,” An executive sitting opposite to the first one gritted out with a plastic smile.

Sitting beside him was the brooding figure of Hiro’s aunt, Hanako Arasaka. The woman was your typical japanese beauty, long black hair and a demure look yet hiding beneath that facade was the sharpened steel. The woman might have looked serene, but she was anything but with the way she was glaring at Hiro.
There was another Arasaka in the room but he sat by Hanako’s side. The head of security himself and Hiro’s father, Yorinobu Arasaka, were there as well. Rebecca couldn’t help but glare at the man whenever her gaze landed on him as he just sat there, watching and not saying even a single word.

“Just a lone netrunner? Is this the best the Kiji can offer for the company?” Scoffed another causing those from Hanako’s side to bluster.

“Typical of the Hato to shift attention when they have their own shortcomings. How’s the audit for our budget going? Has more been siphoned over to the young master’s black projects?” One particular executive hissed out as the room returned to anarchy. Michiko could only pinch the bridge of her nose as more shouting ensued.

Further accusations of failing on both sides with Hanako’s side claiming mishandling of funds, sabotages in PR performed by those of the Kiji, to name just a few while Hiro’s side shouted accusations of failure to protect R&D members from attacks, more data breaches and even more failings. It seemed like everything bad that could happen was happening and Arasaka was just boiling beneath the surface.

Thankfully for everyone's sake, the meeting had to be cut short as they were getting nowhere and people were getting louder. Finally; she, Hiro, and Kiriko could rest. She plopped down on Hiro’s thigh as he stroked her hair while listening to her complaints while Kiriko brewed some drinks for all of them, “Hiro, something weird is going on,” She muttered as Hiro paused with his petting. She pouted and Hiro snorted as he went back to petting her.

“Weird is an understatement,” Hiro replied as he frowned. They were currently huddled in the breakroom of the Mechanicus’s workshop. The spacious area had more than enough room for them to have their own little corner while the others gave them space to talk in private. With the large window overlooking the city behind them, it was a place to de-stress and relax.

While he did have his own personal workshops, the company’s R&D division had one for large scale work and upscaling. Currently, some of the engineers were fiddling with her armor. The place was packed with people testing all sorts of designs. From household appliances to strange wonderful things like that large electric bubble in the distance. Hooked up to the glowing green core at the center of it all, the bubble hovered there as people threw stuff at it. Rebecca still couldn’t understand how Hiro made something to transfer stuff from the real world to the sea of souls.

“There’s just way too many problems cropping up this month,” Hiro sighed out in frustration. Rebecca looked up to him in concern. Things had been piling up on his end and he could only do so much.

“Way too convenient I tell you, feels like someone’s trying to stir shit but who? Could it be your evil aunt Hanako?” She ranted, wondering if anything about this could be linked to his aunt. Still, there were a lot of things they didn't know and she’d rather not say that out loud where anyone could hear.

“No, or so I think. This is far too hamfisted for her. As much as she loves usings cat’s paws to do her bidding, she values control a lot. The actors in play don't look like they’re dancing to her tune,” Hiro muttered as Kiriko brought them a cup of tea and coffee respectively. Sitting up, she thanked the other girl as all three of them enjoyed their hot drinks. “Hopefully, things on your end aren’t getting weird?” He then asked.

“I wish. Maine got clipped by a microwave gun. Got him pretty bad,” Rebecca replied, shaking her head at that incident. Those things were no joke.

“Huh, never heard a gang packing them. They’re mostly MaxTech’s weaponry,” Hiro remarked. Microwaves were quite the rare tech weapon to find. She didn’t even own one!

“That’s the thing. It’s as if they were expecting him. No one carries those around unless they’re gunning for someone in particular, someone packing quite a lot of chrome,” Rebecca mused. There is Smasher but the guy’s hardened against such weapons… he’s hardened to almost all weapons come to think of it. The goons were also packing some heavy firepower themselves, but that could just be the 6th Street being cautious with Arasaka personnel. “Far too many coincidences. Think this could be related to your situation in the company?” She added as he looked over to him. It was bugging the hell out of her.

“We’ll have to look at this matter more closely…” Hiro hummed out as he took a sip from his cup.

“I do have to warn you both that correlation does not imply causation,” Kiriko then reminded them and Rebecca nodded at that. It could all just be coincidences in the end but she needed some damn answers.

“Still, something is bugging me here,” She answered before she then asked Hiro, “Hey Hiro, I’m going to do some snooping around the other side. It should get my mind off the weirdness of my last job. I also have a gut feeling that whatever is causing all these problems in Arasaka is connected to the Kiji.”

“You know I don’t have the clearance to do any investigations. My father’s the one handling that and while my faction is getting audited and investigated, I can’t say the same of the other factions with him dragging his feet,” Her boyfriend frowned as he was reminded of having to deal with his father.

Rebecca grinned as she replied, “Oh no, I’m not doing a formal investigation. I’m thinking of going to the street, asking around and seeing what’s up. Plus, I do know of a good place to start asking around.~”

“Oh?” Hiro raised an eyebrow as he looked at her inquisitively.

Rebecca smirked as she let them in on a piece of news she had from one of her friends, “Word from my old friends is that Lizzie’s bar is getting quite popular among Arasaka’s middle management and their wives all thanks to that one red carpet walk,” While she didn’t name dropped her friend, all those journo’s snooping around linked the dress she wore back to Lizzie’s bar.

“Maybe I should drop by to give my gal pal some hugs. It’s been a while since I last visited them,” She stated as she looked over to the city behind her. The advertisements of Lizzie’s bar flashing across one of the holographic displays filled her with a sense of pride. If there were any group of people she can turn to to ask for information then it would be Lizzie’s. After all, who else knew more about the city’s secret aside from its sex workers.
-x-x-x-

The sound of gunfire filled the air as David weaved through the street. His chromed up limbs and spine allowing him to move with almost unnatural grace as his bolter barked. Scores of men, hardened Militech agents, died as he and his mentor cleared out a cell that was just recently found.

He gritted his teeth as he hid behind cover and forced his lung to take in large gulps of air. “Fucking hell man! Can’t we just use the training drones in the lab?!” David shouted as he peeked out of his cover and blasted away.

“No. It's best to develop on the battlefield. Anywhere else would lead to you developing bad habits,” The man coldly replied as he passed by him. The scream of the the poor fuckers ahead mixed in with the roar of the borg's chainsaw... He tried his best to drown out the screams before he made his move.
David jumped out of cover as soon as he could, not wanting to be chewed out by his mentor only to freeze up as the gun of a turret came pointing his way. He screamed inside his head as he forced his body to move before the turrets seized up and went slack. He breathed out a sigh of relief as he rushed to where the sound of the fighting was at its loudest.

“You’re doing fine kid, don’t sweat it but be a little more aware,” Adam’s pet netrunner, Kiwi, scolded him.

A little annoyed with how she babied him and told him how cute he was, much to his chagrin especially when Adam glared at him, “Y-yeah, I’ll keep that in-!” He tried to reply only for him to trip on a wire. He screamed in terror as the bomb flashed brightly before his vision turned white and ringing filled his ears.

He was in a daze as he found himself rolling on the floor. He blinked as he noticed his pulped body just a few feet away before he rolled to a stop by his mentor's head. He gulped as Adam picked him up and growled out, “Just when I was having fun. You and I might be built differently but we are not invincible. Don’t worry boy, they can still put you back together.”

He panicked as his vision slowly faded away, darkness clawing at his vision. He reached out for the light, refusing to go down and he screamed. He jolted up right from the chair he was on and patted his body, feeling his chromed up but still very much intact body beneath his neck.

“Martinez! Martinez!” Screamed out a voice as he found himself back in reality with Tanaka shaking him in worry.

“Mr. Martinez, are you alright? Your heart rate suddenly shot up in the middle of the meditation period before this outburst,” The calming voice of his electronic teacher asked him as his classmates looked at him in confusion and concern.

“I-it’s fine, I just had a dream about my internship,” He waved their concern off as he chuckled nervously. He could still feel his heart against his throat but his chrome helped him ease up, rolling back the dial cranking out the adrenaline. He took deep calming breaths just like the program taught him and his heart soon settled down.

“Good, unfortunately the meditation is going to be cut short as it is lunch time. Please gather your things and head for the cafeteria. I heard that they are serving chamomile tea today,” The program announced as class was dismissed. David sighed as he ran his hands across the scar over his scalp, a habit he found himself doing more and more these days as he headed for the door. Some of his usual hanger-ons tried to get him to sit with them but today he wasn’t really feeling like it. Besides, he had some lessons from Tanaka.

“God damn it Martinez, you knew damn well what that internship of yours would entail,” The boy chastised him, criticizing him for his choice of actually taking in Adam fucking Smasher’s offer.

“It’s ok, really. Besides, my grade’s haven't slipped and I’m still alive,” David replied with a reassuring grin as both of them walked down the hallway.

“And here you said I was a masochist. You’re really going for the complete package, huh?” Tanaka asked with a wry grin as the boy slipped his hands on his pockets.

“Best shot I have to the very top,” David answered with a shrug. He was just being a bit realistic here. The road to the top could be very bloody and he’d rather do the dirty deeds than have someone else do it. As dumb as it sounded, he’d rather have things be personal than cold and detached.

“Only you, Martinez, would choose torture training. Only you.” Tanaka scoffed to which David only replied with a grin. As tortuous as it was, he could take it. Besides, just like what his trainer said, he was built different.

A/N:

Errr.... fuck, I knew I forgot something. I'm really sorry about the delay. This kinda got pushed back with all the things I had to do. This chapter also fought me every step of the way (had to rewrite this 3 times just to get it write) had been a pain. I'm really sorry. I'll be posting the next chapter tommorow once I get some proper sleep.

With that out of the way, I'd like to thank @Vyor for helping me stay positive. I'd also want to thank my Patrons once again. You guys are the best! Please consider dropping by my Patreon page and became a patron today to support me. It means a lot to me if I can keep on working on my fics. I also have also have a Ko-Fi page and a Subscribe Star for those who do not like Patreon.

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ATP

Well-known member
So,when they discover who is behind that?
Since it is some american corpo,they could cover it as saving USA,problem is - probably nobody care about that in this city.
 
Interlude 2

SirBearington

Well-known member
Interlude 2

A Day in Night City

Life in Night City wasn’t like what it used to be. It was different, radically so, but in a good way for most. This was the reality that John woke up within in his clean spacious apartment located right inside Watson. Even after all the times he’d peered out of his apartment window while he prepared for the day, he still couldn't believe the change that had happened in the city.

There before him was the same vibrant city that he grew up with; with its neon colored advertisements beaming up to the sky and the never ending stream of vehicles that clogged its streets, but there was a different air to it. Gone were the brutalist buildings of old as the sharp and angular buildings on the Arasaka’s and other corporations dominated the skyline. Some would say that it was the same old Night City with a newer coat of paint, but he digressed.

For a brief second, he closed his eyes as he tried to hear the bark of gunfire in the distance but all he heard was the soft music in his apartment and the whistling of his water kettle. He jumped from his seat as he grabbed the cord of the half forgotten appliance. He really should stop believing this was all just a dream.

“Really John? Still going with that habit?” His roommate chuckled as they grabbed a glass of water and filled it up at the faucet. The big burly man looked more like he’d be at home at an Animal bloodpit with all the scars, but he was far from a roided out junkie, not with how well groomed his beard remained even after a night's sleep. Far too refined, that man is.

“Old habits die hard, Mel, and hey, it helps the environment,” He joked as Arasaka's catchy jingle played in the background. He shook his head as he opened up a cup of instant noodles, added a bit of seaweed along with some freeze dried shrimp. He was still weirded out by the symbol of Arasaka on anything other than weapons.

“Yeah yeah. Arasaka provides free electricity, free water, and free fares at certain times. It’s so weird man. I don’t like it. Why are they giving so much free stuff?” The man waved him off as he grabbed a vendo meal. He scooted a bit away from his roommate and friend as he chomped down on the meaty and saucy Slaughter Jerky.

“I don’t know Mel, I’m just loving all of it,” He replied as he dug in on his own food as well. He had a long day at the office today and he’d rather not go there with an empty fuel tank.

“Aren’t you a bit scared?” Mel then asked as he looked up from his meal. John rolled his eyes at the man, the worrywart. Still, some would say that Arasaka’s just trying to butter people up but this was just too much work for that. Not when it took serious eddies to fund everything.

“Eh, I’ll deal with the consequences once they come. For now, I’ll enjoy what I can get.” He shrugged as he savored the salt taste of the rehydrated seaweed, “Let’s meet up in the soup kitchen like usual? I heard they’re using guinea pig in it today,” he then asked as he opened up the tv to catch the bit of news before he went to work.

He smiled while he ate as images of the slaughtered 6th Street gangers could be seen being wiped off the street. To think that it was Arasaka that’s fixing this city of all things. Arasaka had changed and it all started around 10 years ago? All he knows is ever since the old building got torn down and the new cathedral, he refused to call it anything other than that due to how it looked, was built they became the good guys. He was starting to root for them, especially after that story about who planted the god damn bombed surfaced, fucking Militech.

“I’d love to, but I need to do some overtime. I really want to buy that ticket for the game,” Mel apologized as he wiped juices off his lips. John rolled his eyes as he gazed towards the large poster of Hana Song plastered across a sizable part of the wall of their shared living space.

“You and your Esports,” He shook his head in amusement as he lifted up his ramen cup and downed the flavorful broth. As he cleaned up his side of the table, he glanced up to his room and reminded him, “Don’t burn yourself out, ok? It’d suck if you got injured or something,” Mel was a close friend but he really didn’t want to take care of him if he accidentally broke his leg or had his legs broken.

“Hey, it’s part of the job of being a Combat Cab driver,” The man replied simply. Sometimes, he wished he had the nonchalant attitude Mel had with life and work.

With their breakfast done, They soon parted ways and he headed for work while Mel watched more TV while he waited for his shift. He hurriedly passed by the cleaner bot deployed by Arasaka but not before grabbing some of the acorns dropped by the trees lining the road. Catching the metro was no easy task when he had to fight against the tide of humanity.

Still, he welcomed the struggle as it broke up the monotony that was his life. He absorbed every sight and sound as he headed for the one place that sucked out the joy in his life. As soon as he got to work, he strapped himself to his work station and went into the Net to troubleshoot for the customers.

His mind felt like it was melting as soon as he serviced the first customer, and the fact that he had to troubleshoot Militech made software only made it more annoying. With his boss riding on his shoulder, he had to be thorough and on script. It was mind numbing work as he helped them along, yet the pay was good so he did not complain. He merely endured it as he waited for the clock to tick down to the end of the day.

The shift seemed to stretch out for what felt like an eternity but, eventually, he was released from his prison. He practically ran out of the building as he headed straight for the metro once more so he could get to the soup kitchens near his apartment. There were other soup kitchens in the city, and he passed by one near his work, but he liked the one near his home better.

As he waited in the line to the kitchen, he looked up as he watched the large screen attached to the Arasaka owned building near his apartment. While there were tons of advertisements flashing across the screen, he was rewarded with a glimpse of the news.

“With the push of Arasaka forces inside Pacifica, the war against the Voodoo Boys will soon be over,” The newscaster announced as Arasaka forces rounded up the unarmed along with those that surrendered and shepherded them up buses that transported them to internment camps built out near the border walls.

“Good riddance,” A female voice said, making him nod. Seeing a gang brought low was quite the good news to hear.

“You can say that- Holy fucking hell!” He cursed out as he turned around and went face to face with the heavily armored and heavily armed visage of the Anti-Cyberpsycho Squad of the city. He reached out for his hips out of habit only to find an empty holster. He forgot his gun.

“... What?” The unmasked woman before him asked as she glared at him. He gulped as he raised his hands in surrender. He did not want to pick a fight with her, and not just because he was unarmed.

“N-nothing. Just surprised, that's all. Not everyday you get to see someone from MaxTac,” He explained as he kept his eyes on her. He wasn’t quite sure on what to make of her but given that he wasn’t chunky salsa, he was still doing well. Still, it was weird to see one behind him in the soup kitchen lines.

“Fair enough,” The woman huffed as she turned away and continued watching the news. Arasaka was announcing the grand opening of an aviary with the main feature being a Dodo? What the hell was a Dodo? Couldn’t they have featured a Pidgeon or something?

Slowly the line moved and an uncomfortable silence soon grew. He tapped his feet as he peered out and took a peek on what’s happening in the front of the line. They were also giving out bread. Talk about bread and circuses, cause his situation felt like a comedy. A citizen and a maxtac officer walked up to a soup kitchen…

“Slow day I assume?” He asked as he attempted to make small talk. He could have just opened up a show in his ocular implants or just shut up but he felt like talking right now. Hell, he could have talked to the oddly calm and definitely maelstrom gang member with his arachnid eye implant in front of him but he chose to talk to her.

“Yeah… There's really nothing to do in this part of town,” The woman replied wistfully as she kept her attention at the screen above. Now that he wasn’t afraid, he finally got to appreciate how she looked. Without her visor, he could actually see she was quite beautiful with her sharp symmetrical features and electric blue eyes.

“I get ya. Watson isn’t really a place where much excitement happens. Sure you have Kabuki Town and Lizzie's Bar but that’s about it,” He replied with a shrug. Aside from some muggings and clashes between Tyger Claws and the Moxx, it was a pretty chill part of the city. He then prodded, “Speaking of this place, what brings you to this part of town?”

With how there seemed to be almost no cyberpsychos around Watson, it was rare to see their hunters around here. The incredulous look she gave him made him pause as she answered, “I live here?” He felt heat rise up his cheek as he tried to respond but she cut him off, “But if you're asking why I’m here, I need to eat,”

He scratched the back of his head as he looked up to her sheepishly. “That was dumb of me to ask,” he admitted before he apologized to her, “I’m really sorry about that. It was insensitive of me.”

The woman merely sighed as she waved it off, “It’s fine. I’m used to it,” He winced at the bitterness and sadness that tinged the woman's voice. He really dun goofed on this one. He should really give her more than an apology and he just knows exactly what he could offer.

“Say, why don’t I treat you to a few rounds at Lizzie’s? My treat,” He offered. A couple of cold ones there wouldn’t break the bank. Yeah, the place wasn’t exactly the place you bring people over to, but it was a nice place; it had a nice atmosphere all around.

The woman stared at him in surprise and he started to sweat as he wondered what he just said wrong. He merely offered to buy her some booze, nothing more right? “Are… are you asking me out on a date?” The woman asked, making him blink as the cogs inside his head started to grind against each other. Almost immediately, he regretted ever opening his mouth as he realized what he just did.

He thought he was a dead man walking but then she started laughing, “You got balls, citizen,” She commented as she gave him an appraising look. He gulped as he found himself on the hot seat, so he did the only reasonable thing he could think of in that instant.

“Is that a yes?” He cautioned out as his mind screamed for him to stop.

“I would like that,” The woman replied and he almost whooped out in joy but the celebration of his continued existence was quite short as he was grabbed by the collar and pulled in close. He gulped as he found that he found his feet dangling beneath him while they were practically nose to nose with each other. She grinned at him before she challenged him, “I do have to warn you that you’re playing with fire. Think you can handle the heat?”

All he could now was nod and that was how he found himself on a date with a MaxTac elite. Maybe he should have thought things through instead of waiting for the consequence of his actions… but then this was more interesting than what he had been planning to do, so maybe it wasn’t all bad.

Militech Board Meeting.

While on paper Militech’s headquarters was located in Washington DC, the truth was far more complicated than that. The building that stood proudly and shone as a beacon for the dying city was merely a front, an entrance to the true building; for everything important was deep underground.

Deep beneath the earth, under a kilometer of hard bedrock, was the true headquarters. Once the bunker of the old government, it now served as the data fortress and main office of the prosperous Megacorp. A fitting place given how NUSA was Militech and Militech was NUSA. They were merely two sides of the same coin and in this new age, their purpose was one in the same.

Safe from possible attacks from even the most devastating conventional weapons of mass destruction, the board meeting discussing the direction of the country and the company was held. Not only was Lucas Harford, the current CEO of Militech present, but also Rosalina Myers as well. Everyone was present because, after all, the topic at hand was of great national and corporate interest.

“Which research facility exploded this time?” Harford suddenly asked, catching the head of the R&D off guard. His daughter laughed as she watched from the shadow with her guard. Sometimes, he felt like his hair would go whiter with her around.

“P-pardon?” The bespectacled man blabbered out as he blinked at him like a deer caught on a headlight. Harford’s brow twitched at how clueless the man was.

“You heard me. Which one?” He asked once more as he stood up from his seat. Spreading his arms wide and gesturing to his audience, he then said, “All of us here damn well know that every single time we meet to discuss about Arasaka, the board is informed of one of our black sites going up in smokes after one numbskull opens up a Lasgun battery so cough it up.” Maybe he was being hard on the man, as it was not his fault that the infernal and maybe even magical technology which allowed Arasaka to perform such physics breaking feats with their batteries, but he needed to vent.

“U-um well, we actually cracked open a battery without exploding? One of our interns figured it out,” The man replied as he pushed his glasses up. Everyone in the room turned to the man as he just announced what was once the impossible.

“Wait what?” He said in surprise before a smile stretched across his face. “Finally! Some god damn progress! Who’s the brilliant young mind that cracked it? I want him with a facility of his own. I want him to lead the team in reverse engineering that tech!” he cheerfully commanded. New like this was exactly what he wanted even if he needed to hear all the bad news attached to it.

“Er about that, he’s currently recovering in the country's best psychiatric facility after his nervous breakdown. He did not react well to seeing what was inside,” The man replied apologetically.

Hartford sucked in his breath before sighing out as he reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose. Of course there’s more fuckery inside the demented battery. “Ok, ok, give him some time. Send him some fruit baskets and make sure to give him the good bananas, the Lakatan ones.” He replied as he wished the boy a speedy recovery.

“How’s our mole in this ‘Adeptus Mechanicus’?” He then asked as he desperately changed the subject. He’d have to go back to hearing about the misadventures of the Militech R&D department later.

“They’re dead, sir. Even the Janitors we sent there are… reprocessed,” One of his staff answered him, making him grit his teeth. Sometimes, he wondered what cruelty one must possess to make such machines.

“Keep throwing something, we’ll crack it eventually. Also, make sure our contact in Night City is well funded. Getting to see their defenses is invaluable for our future operations.” He ordered. As painful as it was to send bodies straight into the meat grinder, having an eye inside the R&D department would be far more valuable than the lives of a thousand agents, especially when this lab was where that boy was doing his miracles. The fact that his men failed when a 3rd party contractor managed to slip through the Great Firewall made his blood boil. Then there were their eyes and ears in Night City and even those were getting hazy.

“Now, any other progress in the Fungal Program we have with Biotechnica?” He inquired, wondering if their little program with their allies was convenient.
“You mean the Bioinformatic Neural Simulation Program? There has been some progress but nothing too solid right now,” His R&D Head answered.

“Keep sending them money. While I don’t trust Biotechnica, I do trust them enough that they’re still loyal to the state,” He gritted out. It was expensive but any edge right now was well worth it. They might be practically grasping at straws at this point but they still had a lot to throw around.

As his mind wondered about the various projects they had funded, a board member from the financial end of the company raised his hand to call for his attention. He motioned for him to go on as a secretary passed by and give him some files on Arasaka’s golden child, “If I may be so bold, don’t you think this is an excessive amount of money being poured into countering Arasaka? I know we need the R&D, but this is getting ridiculous and we haven’t even touched our funds in trying to break into Night City?” The man asked before a hush fell upon the room.

Hartfords fist clenched around the edge of the folder he was reading before he gently placed the files down as he sat down. “Excessive? Yes? Reasonable? No, because I’m fucking underfunding our R&D by all accounts.” He replied as reached down from beneath the chair and pulled out an innocuous bolter round he had laying around from the last meeting they had.

“Do you know what this is?” He asked the man as he brought a bucket load of the bullets up, before picking one up and letting the diamond-like substance at the tip glint from the light illuminating their table.

The man looked at him quizzically as he replied, “An Araska Bolter round?”

“This isn’t merely a bolter round, this is an Armor Piercing High Explosive Gyro-stabilized Gyrojet Round. When this comes out of the barrel, it’s going as fast as one of our sniper rifles and it hasn’t even used up its rockets,” He replied as he pressed the disarmed bullet against the steel table before dragging the tip across its surface. Everyone winced as the bullet created a large rent across the surface. Good, he had everyone's attention.

“From Preliminary testing, a clip of this in the hands of a right soldier can effectively mission kill a power armored soldier. While we could produce something like this easily, Arasaka solved something we had yet to actually solve back when we developed something similar back in the 20’s, and you know what it was?” He lectured them before quizzing the man on the history of their company. By all accounts, their old product was a success and could go toe to toe with the base model of the bolters, but it had one drawback that doomed it in the market.

“What?” The man asked, still not getting it.

Hartford tossed the bullet across the table, letting it bounce before it rolled to a stop. It left a series of dents along the way while still as sharp as ever. “Cost. A box of this, which contains 50 bullets, costs around 100 EB,” He answered, letting the fact sink in before he pressed on, “Even with their most ‘primitive’ weapon, they still have us beat. They’re light years ahead of us now.”

It was an unfortunate reality that they woke up too. One moment they were peers, now they were far behind, “Our lasers? We’re using the lenses and jury rigged batteries of Lasgun because it's that much cheaper. The low price of food stuff in the market? Arasaka’s sea farms are starting to outstrip our farms in Alaska. The precision parts of our most advanced manufacturing tools? From Arasaka. The funny thing is, we're actually using the defective parts,” He fired off a list of the places that Arasaka was simply beating them. Their mastery of physics, biology, and material sciences had him on edge and those were the things he had just listed off.

Militech, the goliath of a megacorp, was in trouble. Profits had taken a slow but steady decline ever since Arasaka’s golden child arrived in Night City. Once, they were on top of the world with Arasaka humbled, but now the tables had turned and what’s worse was their rival didn’t even have to lift a single finger. Left behind and made to bite the dust, they now had to catch up to their bitter enemy else they would sink and be torn apart.

“All it took was 15 years and they’ve surpassed us technologically and economically. The point I’m making is, if we keep going down this path, the more Arasaka can sink its tendrils in our country,” He pointed out as he turned around and walked towards a large display showing the map of the New United States of America. One by one the independent states were pulled back but Night City remained a large blemish in the almost perfect map before him.

“There’s no hiding it, we’re fucked if we can’t catch up to Arasaka. The longer this peace lasts, the better equipped Arasaka will become. Eventually, they’ll surpass everyone, but before that we have to pull that trigger.” He warned them as he glared at the icon glowing atop that cursed city.

“As much as I want them to be brought down, a war with them now that they’re still intact and solid would be disastrous. We need to bide our time and wait. Eventually, our efforts will show and cracks will form,” He cautioned as he stared at the super power across the ocean.

“But if that time never comes?” Rosalina then asked, finally speaking out after staying quiet for most of the meeting.

He looked back and grinned as he answered her, “Then we do the unthinkable,.” If an opportunity didn’t come, they’d just have to tough out the odds.

Rogue’s New Reality

Rogue took a deep breath before sighing as she stared at the symbol of Militech spinning across the screen. Another month and another debriefing she had to do to keep her “masters” over in Washington happy. She shook her head as she unplugged a cord hooking her briefcase laptop to the creepy servitor Hiro made.

She grimaced at the face of one of Militech’s agents staring at her. “Go on, go back to your master. Your job here’s done,” She ordered the droid who nodded in a facsimile of human gesture before walking off and disappearing in a flash of light.

She groaned as she reached for her bottle of booze but her hand flinched away from it as an alarm rang off. Her eyes drifted to her calendar as she was reminded of what today was. Today was the day Arasaka opened up a public Aviary of all things inside Night City. The fact that they were showcasing an animal that had just come back from the jaws of extinction through the power of modern science was just pure showboating at this point.

She needed her booze but… her son needed her more on her best behavior. Besides, it wouldn’t do her reputation any good if she were to vomit all over an Arasaka employee at their event. With great struggle, she pulled herself off her comfortable seat as she marched out of her private booth.

“Squama, get the Aerodyne ready,” Rogue ordered her trusty bodyguard as she walked past all her usual patrons before heading straight for her car. If there’s anyone she could trust to do his job without fail, it was Squama as the man had her ride flying in just a few minutes.

She lounged against the luxurious leather seats of her car as she chomped on an apple while staring down at the streets below. To think that all it took was 15 years to change the very face of the city. If Johnny was here, he’d probably think that this was just a fever dream. The city? Greener and a bit classier with all the buildings, public monuments and trees now dotting it all; this was not the same neon colored trash heap she once called home. She could only dream of the day he came back, but for now she watched as the city transformed before her very eyes.

With Arasaka firmly in hold of the city, there was order but at what cost? The city was still the nest of snakes she knew, but slowly Arasaka was strangling their competition in the city. The burning and half demolished wreck of Pacifica was all she needed to see, yet it was all doom and gloom.

There in the harbor were the floating farms for Arasaka, large aquatic farms that not only supplied the city with fresh food but also kept its waters clean. The sparkling blue waters of the bay along with the stretches of the rehabilitated beach front with all the people milling around it was all she needed to know that yes, this part of the ocean was clean, even if said ocean was walled off.

Turning back to the city, she sighed as she observed the extent of Arasaka’s control. It was no longer a hodgepodge of architectural styles as Arasaka’s aesthetics flourished. Even the new factories being built in the remnants of Pacifica followed the style, even if it only added flourishes and nothing of value to the factory. She did have to admit that at least it didn’t look like an eyesore.

As her ride flew closer to her destination, her mind wandered off to where it all went wrong. Should she have allied herself to the child of her old friend and lover? He was just so different, so… weird. It was often hard to see him as their child. He did have the bone headed stubbornness of the two, yet he took far more from his grandfather in her opinion.

That boy was a monster in sheep's clothing, yet the monster she knew had a heart and it cared for those it held dear with as much passion as it hated its enemies and fortunately for this city, Hiro loved it as much as he loved that poor girl. She snorted at the memory of the little firebrand. It wasn’t that surprising that it took a rough girl from the streets to tame that boy given his mother.

Oftentimes, she wondered if it was worth it, was it worth it selling out to Arasaka? Was it worth partnering with the devil to bring the gangs of the city to heel and install a foreign entity in control? Was she really going to help Arasaka take over this city?

Her musing was cut short as they finally arrived at their destination. The large glass dome was much a castle of glass as it was a marvel to behold. With the fully climate controlled aviary open to the public, another site within the city opened up for illicit dealings and meetings as much as it served as a park for the families and children of Night City.

Stepping off her ride, she walked past the crowd that had gathered in the entrance of the building. What she saw inside left her speechless as she paused and looked around in wonder with mouth agape. When she heard that her son wanted to see the aviary, she didn't expect it to have an entire forest inside it.

Colorful birds flew overhead while Parrots milled around and harassed park goers for the seeds sold in tiny bags in many of the automatic kiosks. Her eyes shifted to the moving shapes above the tree and there she found squirrels, real live squirrels milling about as they gorged themselves on the endless bounty before them.

While the park had paved parts, it was certainly brimming with life as the sound of insects mixed in with the songs of birds. She found herself lost in the wonderful sight and for a moment, that voice asking her if it was worth it quite down as a sparrow landed on her shoulder. It looked up at her inquisitively, hoping about before flying off to join its friends in the sky.

Maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t so bad after all. If Arasaka would devote just a fraction of the effort they placed in tending these gardens to the city as a whole, then maybe it would be worth it. “Mom? There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you,” A voice called out as she turned to find her son’s smiling visage gazing upon her. Only that wonderful smile gave her joy these days, and if the only way to keep that smile in her son's face was to sell this city then so be it.

A/N:

After writing the first chapter of Act 2, realized that I need way more interludes to show the effects of Hiro's effort. With Rebecca's view, it had been contained so it was a breath of fresh air to write these. I especially love the first one as it was jam packed with tiny little changes which just looks so sweet if you're quite familiar with the world. I originally wanted to make a 4th POV involving a splinter group of technopiles that realllllyyy appreciates Hiro's work but kinda ran out of time and it got buried. Will try to squeeze it out one of these days.

With that out of the way, I'd like to thank @Vyor for reminding me that I should sleep :V but I really want to finish chapters once I get going... I'd also want to thank my Patrons once again. You guys are the best! Please consider dropping by my Patreon page and became a patron today to support me. It means a lot to me if I can keep on working on my fics. I also have also have a Ko-Fi page and a Subscribe Star for those who do not like Patreon.

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Act 2 Chapter 2

SirBearington

Well-known member
Act 2 Chapter 2

Rebecca grinned as she stared up the glowing blue and pink neon signs before her. With the bright and stylized font of the bar's name along with the strutting outline of a skull-faced whore, she’d found her once more in her old stomping ground. “Lizzie’s bar,” She whispered with a grin on her face as she walked up to the line that had formed at the entrance to the bar.

With all the excitement she experienced in the past few months, she certainly missed quite a lot. There had been some renovations as the bar expanded and took over the adjacent buildings, a necessity with all the customers flooding in to experience one of the best bars in the cities. It wasn’t just your typical punk looking for a fun time with the braindance offered inside but also some posh looking corpos mingling in with the crowd, “Things have certainly changed,” She said out loud as she walked past the line in front and headed for the door.

“Oh come on, there’s a line here lady-!” Shouted one gal stuck in the line only to choke out as she stared at Rebecca. She flipped her the bird as she strutted up to the bouncers guarding the front.

The two bouncers that were alerted to the commotion she caused lightened up and relaxed as they saw her, “Business is certainly booming today. Still got room for an old friend?” She asked as she looked up at the sensual amazonesses before her. Even dressed in such revealing clothes that left barely anything to the imagination they were formidable sights to behold with the heat they were packing.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t little Becca.~ It’s been a while, pipsqueak,” Her friend greeted her as the girl slung the bolter she was armed with over her shoulder.

“Can say the same, tits for brains,” She replied as she hugged the girl and gave her ass an appreciative squeeze. Being a shortie wasn’t all that bad, it had its perks, “I missed you so much Rita,” She whispered as her friend held her. Pulling back, she had to fend off hands that wished to pet her; that was only for Hiro and Kiriko(for now).

“So, what brings you to this part of town? Got kicked out by your input~?” Her other friend asked as the blunetter turned to the crowd and had them back off, a ‘request’ that was easily followed when the girl brandished her weapon.

“You wish Janet, and can’t I say hi to my old friends?” She fired back at the dark skinned beauty.

“Well, you certainly came at the right time cause we have a party going. Come on in,” Janet replied as she gestured at the door. With the muffled sound of the music from behind the closed door, she could certainly feel it all the way there.

As soon as she walked past the entrance and stepped through those beaded curtains, the lights and sounds assaulted her senses. The heavy bass of the music reverberated across the room while the strobing lights of the dance floor shone down on the crowd. She breathed in the scent of sex and alcohol while her eyes beheld a party only a few could compare to. She was finally home.

There were some minor additions to the bar like the expanded dance floor, more booths for the braindance customers, and even some exotic additions like overhanging cages where some of the girls danced; but it more or less stayed the same. This was still the Mox bar she grew up in while Pilar was busy with his studies even if there were a lot more new faces around. Certainly not a place where normal people would leave their siblings, but Rebecca liked to believe that she grew up fine; and it’s not like the place was a sex shop anymore.

Yes, the bar was technically no longer a brothel, but that didn’t stop any of the girls and boys working in the bar from having some fun with the customers. She could see them hiding in the shadows, joy toys having fun with their clients. Of course, it had to be kept at a reasonable level as one rather pushy corpo would find himself mobbed by an angry group of Mox enforcers. Lizzies bar was a haven for any sexual deviant so long as no one got hurt and it was consensual. Break the rules and, well, that corpo was certainly feeling it.

Slipping past the people on the dance floor, squeezing through the grinding and writhing crowd, she headed straight for the bar. Unlike the dance floor and the booths, it was yet to be filled, but that suited her just fine as she plopped down on one of the empty seats and greeted the bartender, “Yo! Mateo, how’s it been?”

“Becca! It’s good to see you’re still in one piece,” The man exclaimed, a teasing smile across his face making her snort in amusement. Turning to a young girl cleaning some glass, he then said, “Hey Courteny, man the bar for a bit. Just need to catch up with an old friend.” The girl looked like she was about to complain only to freeze up as she caught a glimpse of Rebecca.

“Oh my gosh! It’s really you! I’m your biggest fan! Can you sign my chest?” The teenager skipped over to Rebecca before opening her top. While she was surprised by the sudden request, she certainly couldn’t say no; especially with a pair of good reasons in front of her. Mateo could only roll his eyes at them as Rebecca signed the junior bartender's chest.

“Lots of new faces huh?” Rebecca observed as the giddy teen went off to cover for Mateo.

“What can I say, you inspired a lot of people with your exploits. A modern day Joan of Arc tearing through the scum of this city?” The man complimented her as he brought up her exploits, “Of course, the extra publicity from your debut at the Arasaka ball helped a lot, but I do love to believe that you helped bring some friendly attention to our little corner.”

“Oh stop it you,~ you’re making me blush here.” She laughed back as she grinned at the bartender. She’d been rather busy these last few months. With the 6th Street and the Voodoo fighting tooth and nail, she had to make sure that every last one of those fuckers died before the fighting spilled over to the civilian part of the city like the initial wave of fighting.

“Hey, just being honest here. You might want to avoid Sussie for a while though, I’m not sure if she wants to kiss you or throttle you with all the things you’ve done. Still, business is booming so what can you say?” He warned her as he pointed over at Sussie’s little corner at the other end of the dance floor.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Rebecca nodded before she asked, “So, anything I miss?” With all the jobs she was taking from Arasaka and all the time she spent with Hiro to hone her skills, she had little time to go out and socialize. It felt good to finally stretch her legs, even if it was due to a job.

“Aside from the Tyger Claws backing down thanks to all the guns we have? Nothing much,” He answered as he pulled out a pair of cold ones for them to enjoy.

“Ha! Fuck ‘em,” She laughed as she cracked one open and down its content. It was cheap swill but it reminded her of the time that it was the only thing she could afford.

“You didn’t promise anything to your input though, right? You know the Mox isn’t anyone's cat’s paws, that's the Tyger Claw’s shtick,” Mateo reminded her as he gave her a questioning look. It was understandable given how close her ties now were to Arasaka though. She might as well be part of it considering Hiro’s position.

“Hey, a Mox looks out for their own. A few guns isn’t going to break the bank for my input,” She replied. She might not be that active in participating in some of the Mox’s business but she was still a Mox and she’d be damned if she left them hanging and not even given them a taste of what fortune she had.

“A few guns she says, it’s not an armory she says. I ain’t complaining though.” She chuckled as she was reminded of just how many guns were sent her friends' way. When she asked Hiro about sending some guns to the Mox, he didn’t pull his punches and went all in. Now, every last Mox in the bar was armed with Lasguns with some even sporting bolters just like Rita at the entrance, “Still, coming all the way down here from your palace. Trouble in paradise?” He asked, looking all concerned as he opened his own can.

“Oh nah, we’re doing great! Got to see gramps and he approved,” She boasted with a wide smirk.

“No shit,” He replied with wide eyed amazement.

“Yup! Want to see a photo?” She offered as her eyes flashed brightly while she sent him the pic that Hiro took before they slipped away from the Villa. It was Hiro with his arms slung around his grandfather who looked all stoic while she stood beside them. She looked all demure and proper there, even when she tried not to laugh at how the great and powerful Emperor looked so human.

“Well I’ll be damned,” He whistled out as he received the photo.

She sighed as she then slumped against the counter, “While we’re doing great, I have to admit, things ain’t doing so well with the company,” She then said as she swirled her half empty can before taking another sip, “There’s trouble and I need some help… any lounge open?”
After some arm twisting, she managed to rent a lounge for her and Mateo. In the privacy of the room, they could now freely talk without anyone eavesdropping, “So, what seems to be the problem?” Mateo questioned her as he leaned against the wall.

Plopping herself down on the comfortable seat, she leaned back and lifted up her legs on the table as she answered over the light buzzing sound of a privacy screen, “I can’t say much, but trouble’s brewing underneath. People are at each other's throats and I feel like my friends and I are getting dragged into it,” As helpful as it would be if she could brief her friends about what’s happening, this was technically under the purview of company matters. Arasaka needed to look strong, especially with how rough things were getting beneath the surface.

“Well that explains the split in the crowd,” He grunted out to which she nodded. The crowd outside could clearly be divided into two sides. One looked far more stylish with their tailored suits and expensive jewelry while the other were far more wild with their vibrant clothes. The two factions did not like each other and did not want to mingle with one another.

“There’s a rat in the ship and well,” She growled out as she glared at some of the minions of Hanako Arasaka, before she continued, “I’m here to ask if any of the girls heard something. You know how it is when alcohol and sex is involved,” In a place where they could relax, most people would let their guards down. It was what made sex workers the best at gathering information. Disarming people so they can relax is part of the job and hearing something one wasn’t supposed to was often the consequence of that.

“Are you familiar with the factions of Arasaka?” She quizzed him, checking if he was up to speed with how Arasaka was divided.

“Yeah, Kiji and Hato right?” Good, she didn’t have to waste anymore time explaining how things were.

“Yup. Kinda snooping around the Kiji. I have a gut feeling that they’re the ones causing all the trouble, but I can't quite prove it. All the red tape in the Cathedral is frustrating the hell out of me and my input so I decided to head here and see if you got anything. Heard anything or noticed something unusual from those guys?” She prodded, hoping she was on the right track. With all the Arasaka employees out there, there must be something she could find. If there wasn’t any, the Cloud was an option but she’d need to get in touch with people who knew people over there to get anything.

“Your input’s company is surprisingly tight lipped but… there is someone fishy and he’s part of the security team even from what I’ve heard,” Mateo muttered out as he stroked his chin.

“Oh? Is he meeting someone?” She asked further as she inwardly celebrated; she was on the right track.

“Yup, as tight lipped some Corpos can get, they can vent a lot, especially when they have a shoulder to lean on. Word is that he’s complaining about this one guy he’s working with but the thing is… I’m pretty sure that guy’s working for a certain disgraced Fixer. You’ve probably heard about Faraday and his fall from grace?” Mateo told her as she leaned in close. With all her crew's history with the fixer, she was at the front row seat of the man's meltdown. From a well respected man to a recluse in Santo Domingo.

“Yeah, my Input might be involved in that one. He hates him for some reason. Was pretty explicit about making the guys life a living hell,” She recalled, remembering how she found out why Faraday was banned from the Afterlife.

“Remind me to never get on your input’s bad side.” Mateo shivered before he said, “Anyways, I still kinda find it weird that the guy’s complaining about meeting with someone your Input hates. There might be something to that.” She nodded as she thought about it. With the Arasaka corp being part of the security, she could feel vindicated knowing that the Kiji might be part of this little rabbit hole she found.

“So, got anything for me about this guy? Any names?” She inquired.

“Unfortunately, nothing much. He doesn’t touch the girls nor partake in any of the braindance. He just likes to chill out, and drink a lot. A little weird but he probably just likes the vibes.” Mateo shook his head, making her curse out.

“Damn it.” She growled out. Finding someone with their face in the Arasaka database wasn’t impossible but it was very tedious especially with how many she’d have to go through.

Mateo's playful grin quickly clued her in to the good news he had for her, “Luckily for you, he’s a regular here. He frequently drops by and complains about something before going off somewhere. If you wait a bit, you might actually catch him,” He then said which gave her quite the relief.

“At least I have something. Thought I’d have to go look around and ask more before I get a lead,” She sighed out as she avoided a week's worth of headache.

“You’ve always been lucky with your hunches, Becca, and glad to be of help. Now, I should probably go back to the bar before Sussie tans my hide,” He then said as he gestured to the bar where a struggling teen was busy showing off her acquisition to some of her friends. She laughed out as she shooed him away.

Before he left, however, she called out, “Here's something for your trouble by the way. Maybe ask Sussie for a day off tomorrow,” She made sure to give him quite the generous tip. Grinning at the sputtering bartender, she quickly cut him off before he could even protest, “And no take backs! Just take it, and don’t ask questions. Consider it repayment for helping my brother with me.”

Rebecca had to hold herself back as the guy she was looking finally came into the bar. It wasn’t because she wanted to kill him, though she would admit it was partly the reason, but more that she wanted to throttle him right then and there as he kept on moaning and drinking. She was currently hiding beneath the bar counter and was forced to listen through all the crap the man spouted.

“Fucking assholes secretive and cryptic. Makes me go all over the city for meetings when we’re heading to the same place every damn time,” The man complained as he drank his gin straight from the bottle like some animal without even a grimace or wince, “At least I’ll get to eat something today at the guys house. Something about a celebration of sorts.”

“Must be rough buddy. Here’s one in the house, but don’t tell anyone,” Mateo comforted the man while he served some drinks to other customers

“Yeah, sorry for venting a bit. You know how it is with unreasonable clients and bosses,” The man apologized before he lifted up his bottle and downed it, drinking every last drop before setting it down with a self satisfied sigh, “Well, that’s one more before I hit the road. Anymore and I might crash into someone,” With how much he’d consumed, it’d be a miracle if he didn’t crash into anything even now. There was enough alcohol in those drinks to kill an elephant.

“Take it easy buddy. You know liver transplants are costly. Your filter can only take so much before you have to replace them,” Mateo warned as he started cleaning the stack of gin the man went through. What kind of chrome did this man have?

“Ha! That’s what money is for. What’s the point of having it if you don't use it to enjoy yourself?” The man laughed, making her look up and stare at the man through the lit up counter with a look of disbelief.

After what seemed to be an eternity of the man drinking himself to death, he finally got off his seat and waddled off outside. She followed him closely, keeping distance as she trailed him back to the parking lot. She found him boarding your typical Chevillon Thrax, a popular choice with security guys given how it was built like a tank, which only made her task of following him all the easier.

Sneaking up to the back of the car, she reached into her jacket and pulled out one of Hiro’s latest creations. It was a small, nail sized, silver scarab that woke up as she gave it a command. “Burrow into this vehicle and keep track of where it's going,” She ordered as the tiny little thing jumped off her palm and dug into solid metal like it was digging through sand.

With her tracking device in place, she slunk back to her car and waited. She wished she brought her armor but it was way too conspicuous. Thankfully, Hiro let her borrow one of his cars that was perfect for her current task, an Archer Hella EC-D i360. It was your middle of the road sedan that’s not too shabby with its rugged looks, but not too eye-catching with its drab colors and slightly beat up appearance.

She waited in her car and listened to the radio while she watched where her target was going. WIth the help of Arasaka’s extensive satellite system, she could track the car to quite an accurate degree. Exiting Watson, her quarry quickly entered Santo Domingo. After threading through some winding paths and making looping treks to lose any would-be followers, he made his way to a particular complex. Surprisingly, she found no road violations on the man’s record even after all those drinks.

With a location to head to, she made her way to where her target was. While Watson and the City Center was dominated by Arasaka’s architecture, Santo Domingo was not. There were new cathedrals popping up but they were interspersed between the old blocky buildings of a bygone era. Relatively untouched by the last corporate war, there was little need for new construction.

As she got near her target, she parked and headed for a nearby alley. She found the car she was tracking parked in front of a small, yet luxurious, apartment complex. It was as if each floor was its own house and they were merely stacked on top of each other. At the top of the building, she found lights and music as what looked like a party was at full swing up stairs. It was then that she’d run into her first problem.

Blocking the entrance were two roided up Animals. As bored as they looked, they were quite diligent in checking if any of the guests filtering in had invitations. Even those that just went out for a breath of fresh air were checked once more; paranoid much? She bit her lip as she weighed her decision.

It wasn’t all bad. She could just let her scarab get in and do the work for her, but the bug didn’t have the best sensors and she might miss out on details or… she could call someone that might be able to help her in. If anyone could help her make a fake invitation and bring in a few distractions, it’d be her. Sighing, she dialed up her annoying little junior for some backup.

“Hey Chequita, funny you called. I was just thinking about your boyfriend and thinking of dropping by his house,~” Sombra answered with her ever so grating and condescending voice. She swore the girl was doing everything in her power to get her as riled up as possible. What was even her problem?

“Yeah yeah, I need your help,” She growled out as she waited for her gloating.

Right on cue, the girl laughed as she replied, “Oh? What's this? The great Firebird asking for my help?” If it wasn’t for the fact that she didn’t know a lot of Netrunners then she wouldn’t have asked. There was her sister in law’s firm, but she would rather not go to Michiko for help considering how annoyed the woman was with her. She doubted that the woman would even send a low ranking netrunner to help her.

“God damn it, just listen. I need someone to help me get into a party in Santo Domingo. Sneaking in isn’t really my forte,” She hissed back as she tapped her foot impatiently. It was close to midnight and she was in Santo Domingo. The closest person she could contact just so happened to be the Valentina.

“I could help but you know that’s going to cost you~?” Sombra purred out, which had her clenching her jaw.

“I could call Kiwi you know?” She growled out, threatening the girl. Yes, she needed help but she wasn’t so desperate that she’d follow Sombra’s every demand. She still had Kiwi to call on and she had some favors she could collect. Yes, she was going to call her fellow Solo when the woman was probably deep asleep but she was dealing with Sombra so her friend wouldn’t be too pissed about it.

“Busy. Have a look,~” The girl replied before a video was sent to her. She gagged as she saw the camera feed of Adam Smasher’s apartment locked on to Kiwi while she was being pounded by the much bigger borg. Her screams and the way she bent had her quickly closing the video and deleting it on her end. She knew that the two were an item but she didn’t have to see that with her own two eyes damn it! She’d need some time with Hiro to scrub off the mental image now.

Throwing her hands up in frustration, she finally admitted defeat, “Ok fine! You want a payment? Here’s something you can’t say no too. I’ll set up a dinner where you can join me and Kiriko,” She shouted. She didn’t have any more time to argue and she’d rather not waste anymore time. She just wanted to know if this lead she was following would show her what she’s looking for.

“I was just going to ask for some videos but this is way better.~ No take backsies,~” The girl crowed out in victory as Rebecca found herself paying more than she should have.

“Fucking damn it,” She cursed once more but what’s done was done and she’d just have to deal with the consequence later.

“Just tell me where, along with all the details you have, and I’ll come by so I can get you in. I want to see what got you all worked up enough to call me,” The girl then said, Rebecca could only sigh as she got the girl up to speed but omitted some details; like how bad the situation was behind closed doors. As much as she trusted her, she was still an outsider to Arasaka and a damn teen to boot. Some degree of caution was warranted.

It only took half an hour before Sombra arrived at their agreed meeting place. She had relocated a bit further away as she expected the Valentina to arrive with something flashy, but she might have judged her too harshly as the girl arrived in a MaiMai of all things, a violet MaiMai but still.
“Took you long enough,” Rebecca huffed out as she sat on the hood of her ride.

Stepping out of the car, she found herself looking at the younger girl's well toned body that showed off her curves. The girl certainly rocked those daisy dukes and her checkered top. Tipping her cowboy hat up, she fired, “Hey, if you need to sneak in with a forged invitation, you have to prepare for the part. Got any spare clothes in your trunk?”

Rebecca glared at the young girl as she remembered that her usual outfit, while comfortable to wear, was getting quite iconic. She was sneaking in so she would need a disguise. What use was her snooping around when people recognized her and immediately be on guard.

“Does it look like I didn't come prepared?” She asked as she hopped off the hood of her ride and opened the trunk to reveal some extra clothes she had prepared just in case her outfit got covered in blood.

The girl hummed as she stared at her before barging in and rifling through her extra clothes. “Hmmm, yes. Now, let’s see if I can whip something up to disguise you.”

In the end, they had to give up on picking a disguise. Her exotic looks and tattoo’s were just too much, so they went the other way around. They just doubled down on it and made it look like she was some poser trying to emulate her idol but trying to improve the image. Tossing her jacket, she picked up a classic bunny girl outfit; complete with the bunny ears and heels. In the end, she looked like a sexier version of herself if she had to be honest. She still had her jacket wrapped around her waist to hide her guns.

As they walked up to the guards at the entrance, her distinct look earned quite the look. The guards quirked an eyebrow but didn’t comment as they held out their hands and asked, “Invitations?”

“For two,~” Sombra replied as she sent the forged invitation. They had to wait for some other girls to come in but Sombra was nothing if not quick with how fast she whipped those up. It was good enough that the man nodded and opened the door for her.

As they were about to enter, one of them stopped. “Wait, before you go…” She was about to pull out her gun and paint the wall with their brains when the man grinned and complimented, “Props for giving the Firebird look a twist. I thought all you posers liked to get everything down to the last detail but man, you proved me wrong. You nailed the look and improved upon it.”

She blinked as she thanked two, “I’ll take that as a compliment?”

“Is she really a poser though if she’s not trying to look as close as her idol? Then again, the girl's outfit can be quite revealing and you know how some businesses and their outdated old fashioned dress codes are, so it's understandable she goes with something more conservative,” The other mused out, making both her and Sombra stare at the rather eloquent and well spoken Animal.

He was cuffed in the back of his head for trouble as the first one shook his head before he gestured at the door, “Don’t mind us, just a pair of Animals having a bit of banter. Enjoy the party,” He beckoned them inside.

Rebecca could only give a sigh of relief as they got past the weird pair and slipped inside without much trouble. She wasn’t quite sure how to take the fact that she was famous enough to get her own posers, but it was part of the package of being famous she supposed, “Head down low Chequita, don’t want to attract any more attention,” Her companion reminded her as she pulled up her hoodie.

The party was in full swing by the time they got there. For a disgraced Fixer, Faraday was still living the life of luxury as copious amounts of expensive alcohol, drugs and dolls were present at the party. The man himself was laughing uproariously as he was surrounded by his close confidants. Rebecca couldn’t help but feel something odd about this given how he had been barred from doing business in the city with both Rogue and Hiro blocking him off from various illegal and legal sources of income.

“So, found your target?”
Sombra asked through the comms as they searched the building for her target. They blended in quite well with all the other posers around, copying the looks of both the living and dead celebrities alike. She wouldn't be surprised if a member of the Willow Sisterhood was part of the crowd.

“Let me just feel him out,” Rebecca replied as she breathed in deep before dipping her hands into the sea of souls. She was quick, refusing to dwell any longer than was needed in its depths as she got a feel of everyone around her. The flavor of alcohol and greed quickly tipped her off where he was and there he was with Faraday, drinking once more, “Found him.”

“Just like that?”
Sombra asked, surprised at the swiftness of their search.

“Just think of it as magic,”
She replied cryptically. Technically, it was but it also wasn’t as being a psyker was closer to being an esper than a magician.

With her mystery man found, she made a beeline to him to see just what he was up to. He was talking to the fixer, but there were plenty of spots for her to hide in and mingle with the crowd. She only needed to get close enough to hear things. Before she could set her plan into motion, she bumped into the most unlikely of faces.

“Rebecca?” Lucy mouthed as their eyes locked in. What the hell was she doing here? Unfortunately for her, her question had to wait as Faraday’s eyes soon locked on to them. The way the man's visage quickly twisted into a sneer told her that her fragile cover was blown. What’s worse was how Lucy’s own look of confusion hardened as she started backing away.

Her senses screamed as Faraday stood up from his seat. Grabbing on to Sombra, she ducked low as the former Fixer of her gang pulled out a gun and opened fire. Pandemonium soon followed as the guests scattered leaving her and Sombra alone in the room, surrounded by the men of her enemy, “Can’t a girl enjoy a party?” She asked jokingly as various guns were aimed in her direction.

“It seems that an agent of Arasaka found our little operation. To think that the one they sent was Rebecca herself,” Faraday replied as he leveled a glare at them. She could only watch her former friend walk up to the man threatening them. She glared back as she slowly got up and dusted herself off.

“While I’m quite flattered that you know me and I would love to have some drinks, it seems that I’m not welcome. Now if you’d just let us go, I’ll be more than happy to forget all about this,” She offered as she tried to bluff her way out of the situation. She clenched her fists as she started counting the people around her. Discounting Lucy and Faraday, there were only twelve other men, each armed with some of Militech’s heaviest weaponry.

“Oh no, you’re quite welcome to stay. In fact, I insist,” Faraday grinned as he cocked his gun once more and leveled the barrel right at her head, “Don’t take this personally, I just don’t like it when someone gets to know information they ought not have known in the first place,” As much as it unnerved her to have a gun pointed right at her head, she did her best to to calm down as she called upon the Warp once more.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you but, it’s not like you can keep me here. You know why? You shouldn’t choose decor that catches fire easily,” She replied, earning her some looks of confusion.

As the fire in her fist hit a critical, she threw it down and allowed the fire to consume everything surrounding her and Sombra. The warp fire roared into life as it was forced into reality, burning everything it touched, “Shoot her!” Shouted Faraday through the roaring blaze.

Pulling out their own guns, they fired back with only the fire helping them. Away from the luxury and opulence of the Arasaka tower, the city was quickly reminded that It was still the cold unforgiving mistress that it was. Lucy might have been her friend once, but things can change at the drop of a hat and now Rebecca would find herself at the crosshairs of a once close acquaintance. Surrounded by foes with only Sombra as her back up, it was either fight or die and she wasn’t so eager to die right now.

A/N:

It was fun writing Rebecca's little trip back to Lizzie's Bar and things have changed since she last dropped by. Hey, if you advertised your friends dress at such an event like one of Arasaka's party, you bet there's going to be some changes. They're far more heavily armed this time around, enough that their neighbors are keeping their distance Also, hey~ Looks who's back? Oh boy are things going to get messy on her end. How she'll come out of this? Well, let's just see how the story devolves.

With that out of the way, I'd like to thank @Vyor for always being there to cheer me up. I'd also want to thank my Patrons once again. You guys are the best! Please consider dropping by my Patreon page and became a patron today to support me. It means a lot to me if I can keep on working on my fics. I also have also have a Ko-Fi page and a Subscribe Star for those who do not like Patreon.

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