Chapter — 25

  "I don't know if I should be asking for more of those details you offered to share," Derek said apprehensively as he looked at Rei's new weapons and magazines strapped to her body.

  "Nah, don't. It won't do any good either way. Miyo and I will start looking for a new apartment today anyway."

  "We are?" Miyo asked, coming out of the bathroom, clearly newly showered.

  "We are. We'll keep calling Ichiro until he answers, but if his neural link is toast or something, he won't find us at our old apartment anyway. Might as well get a move on and get it done."

  Miyo sighed, seating herself on one of the couches' backrests. "Alright. Should I cover it?"

  Rei thought for a second before nodding. She wasn't sure if she would be staying with Miyo for long after all. There was less risk to her family if she kept a distance until she got to the bottom of everything going on.

  "Okay," Miyo said, "I'll start looking today."

  "If you can't find one soon, you may stay for a few more days. I'm not that heartless," Derek interjected, sounding sincere as he met both Rei and Miyo's eyes.

  "Thanks, Derek. And thank you for the meeting you set up with your contact." Miyo said, giving him a radiant smile.

  He grinned back, saying, "Alright, I'll be heading out. The studio wants to do another photo as the retouching gave them some new ideas. See you in the afternoon."

  As Derek moved out, Rei focused back on Miyo. "What contact?"

  "The sweetheart actually came through!" Miyo said happily, removing her towel from her body to continue drying her hair. "I've got an interview with a nightclub manager tomorrow afternoon. Since he knew her pretty well, he only had to send a photo of me and explain that I'd successfully worked as a hostess for many years — didn't mention where I worked, obviously — but that the club shut down, so I was looking for someplace new."

  "That's great!" Rei cheered her sister on, going forward to embrace her before remembering the hard plasteel now strapped to her body.

  "Come here," Miyo said, opening her arms and giving Rei a fierce hug without care.

  They stayed like that for nearly half a minute, both thinking over the negative and now positive things that had happened so rapidly in such a short time.

  "You know," Rei began as she let go of her sister, "You should probably start looking for a new apartment tomorrow evening if you have an interview before that. If you get the job, then you might find something close by to rent."

  "Oh, I'll get the job, don't you worry," Miyo said, grinning as she flexed one arm before standing and walking toward the bedroom to put on some clothes.

  "Sis," Rei said after her, making her stop. "Don't sweat it if the two-room apartments aren't cheap. Just get a single. I-" Rei had to pause, seeing the realization slowly dawning on Miyo's face. "I think it's best if I get my own." She was nearly mumbling the last part, seeing Miyo's crestfallen expression.

  Miyo, though, wasn't stupid. "Imouto, you really think that necessary?"

  Rei nodded. "I do. I don't want to put you or Ichiro in any danger, and living with you, as pleasant as it is, has a high risk of it. Don't worry, though; I'll get to the bottom of whatever lurks out there and stop it. When I do, I might move in with you again... If you still want me to, that is..."

  Miyo ran back and hugged her even more fiercely than before.

  ***

  "This it?" Rei asked, and seeing Miyo's nod of confirmation made her look at the other side of the street where '!Tranquil' — or Tranquilnot, as it was better known — the new nightclub Miyo had gotten a new job as a hostess was.

  "It's really just across the street?"

  It was the day after Miyo had her interview, and it seemed to have been more of a meet-and-greet. Derek appeared to have some sway, or Miyo was just that good a candidate. Perhaps both.

  It was also lucky that when Miyo's location of residence came up in conversation, it just so happened that the club owned two entire floors of the apartment complex just across from the nightclub, where many of its workers lived.

  It also just happened that the nightclub had recently fired someone and kicked them out of their old flat, meaning that Miyo coming by and taking up the post was more than welcome.

  It's almost suspicious how easy it was to find a new job and apartment and have both located near each other.

  Rei squinted at the nightclub's entrance, where patrons were leaving after a really late night out. Their happy, near-always-inebriated faces flashed in the entryway's blue, purple, and cyan pulsing signage.

  Two out of three colors are well chosen; at least they've got some sense of style. Still, I might look into them just to be on the safe side.

  "Yes, it's that nightclub over there," Miyo rolled her eyes, "Come on, let's go see the apartment!"

  Sally — held in what could only be called a plastic box with holes cut out for vision and air — hissed in either agreement or annoyance. Perhaps both.

  Not wanting to drag her sister's mood down by being suspicious, Rei acquiesced. Miyo seemed to be getting happier and happier since last night, clearly looking forward to a new workplace and apartment.

  It was ruined every time she thought of Ichiro, but Rei tried her best to distract her sister from it. There was simply nothing they could do but wait and hope.

  ***

  "Damn, Miyo! This is great!" Rei said, flopping onto the humongous couch that bent at a ninety-degree angle in one corner of the square divot in the living room floor where a table and holo sat. The holo was enormous, and Rei could see how much Miyo would enjoy watching stuff on it.

  Even Rei could admit that not viewing everything through one's cyberware was sometimes nice, especially if one wasn't alone.

  "It is, isn't it?" Miyo said half asked, looking around.

  Although it wasn't nearly as large as their old apartment and had only one bedroom, the quality was on another level.

  Rei thought it would still be classified as low-to-middle-class, but the difference in that grade could be momentous. For one thing, the apartment's window was extensive and covered nearly half the wall, giving an excellent view of the Tranquilnot nightclub many floors below.

  A skyway was also passing no more than a level below them, preventing any vehicles from looking in but giving the flat's occupant a neat view of sleek cars and bikes zipping past. With the window closed, it didn't add any more noise from the outside than anything else.

  "It's a shame there's only one bedroom..." Miyo said, sounding a bit dejected.

  Rei smacked the couch's synthetic leather beside her, hinting to Miyo that she should join her. She did.

  "Listen, Miyo. You like the nightclub so far, don't you?"

  Miyo nodded.

  "And this apartment is great, and you said it was even included in your job with only a minimal deduction from the salary, meaning that you still make nearly as much. Hence, there's no need to ask if you like this place." Rei argued.

  Miyo nodded again, smiling down at her younger sister sprawled on the couch beside her.

  Sally let out a hiss somewhere in the bedroom.

  "See? Even Sally likes it, which must mean it's ten out of ten. So, don't sweat the small stuff! I bet these are only singles because they don't want whole families living cheaply with only one member working at the club. I'll find my own place soon, but I'll still come visit; don't you dare doubt that!"

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  Miyo laughed and was just about to ruffle Rei's hair when she stopped.

  Both their eyes had suddenly gone silver.

  ***

  Ichiro felt like one of MTI's tactical response AVs had crash-landed on top of him. Everything hurt, but he was dimly aware that something was blocking most of the pain. He tried moving but felt himself stuck. This caused a spike of panic in his disoriented and pain-riddled mind.

  He desperately tried to escape, only his center mass starting to thrash while still not getting loose from whatever confines he was trapped beneath.

  "Hey, hey. Easy Ichiro-san."

  The horrible butchering of Japanese honorifics was all too familiar, even if Ichiro felt like the voice came from a considerable distance away, his ears picking up the words as if underwater.

  Not even aware of his eyes having been closed in his delirium, he slowly opened them as he stopped squirming, taking in the two people standing above him.

  "The squeak's alive! Thank fuck, Ichiro. We weren't sure if you'd flatline on us." A deeper voice said, belonging to the other man standing next to the first.

  Ichiro tried addressing the first speaker, but only a garbled noise escaped. He tried again but didn't produce any better results. It only caused agony to course through his throat.

  What's wrong with my throat? Why can't I speak? Why can't I move?

  His eyes felt wrong, too, their clarity too poor compared to what he was used to. There was also the issue with his hearing, but he'd never had the best auditory implants, so it was harder to determine the cause.

  There was an irritation in the back of his mind that he half-recognized.

  Trying to look down by tilting his head didn't work as he felt it held fast to the chair he was lying down on. Moving his eyes gave some clues to the state of his body, though.

  He was an absolute mess.

  What happened to my legs? And my arms?

  His legs and arms were cyberware he'd never seen before. They looked bulkier, and the joints didn't look as finely articulated. They were also shiny chrome instead of the matte black with glowing crimson highlights he'd sported previously. He couldn't feel any of them.

  His skin over his exposed chest was also wrong. It wasn't the correct shade to match the rest of his body, and the familiar sturdiness of subdermal armor keeping his vitals secure was absent.

  "Had to remove it to save your life, son," said a new voice on the other side of the room compared to his best friends hovering at his left. Ichiro recognized it.

  Ichiro tried to croak out the name of his ripper doc but failed miserably. His continued inability to speak would have him freak out even more than he currently was if it wasn't for what he suspected to be a cocktail of drugs currently in his system.

  "Don't try to speak. Your larynx was destroyed during your near decapitation. Without your subdermal covering that part as well, your head would have been sent flying." The ripper's voice was grave.

  On hearing he was nearly decapitated, it was as if a jammed recording had ground into motion from its stuck position in the timeline, recollections flowing back into him:

  He hacked his katana into opponent after opponent; the Pistons members stood no chance against him as he intermittently pummeled or scattered bullets into their brains. He was reveling in the violence.

  Sudden pain assaulted him; he collapsed, twitching on the ground as his cyberware malfunctioned. His vision blinked in and out, but he hardly noticed, only feeling the agony elicited by the virus coursing through his digital veins.

  Then, the pain suddenly stopped, but his cyberware didn't go back to working correctly, and as lucidity returned, he saw frame by frame between the flickering of his vision as a piston-augmented fist approached his face.

  His assailant suddenly stumbled, tackled by someone from the side. It didn't divert the otherwise instantaneously lethal blow enough. It had been too close.

  Ichiro felt his throat collapse and his spine break.

  There was only a brief spasm of pain, then, nothing.

  As the near-instant flashback ran through his mind, he let out a wheezing gasp, evoking a new bout of pain in his throat.

  "Calm the fuck down," The ripper said, already at Ichiro's side as he slapped him across the face.

  Ichiro stopped straining at the clasps holding him by sheer surprise from the strike as it smacked his faculties back to the present. He hadn't even felt himself start writhing again.

  "What happened, doc?" One of his friends asked worriedly.

  "He remembered what happened, that's what. Nothing surprising," the ripper said, turning his fully metallic head toward Ichiro — the white horizontal bar representing his pupils expanding and retracting as his too-large ice-blue rectangular eyes took him in.

  "We only stopped administering the sedative to see if you would wake up on your own," The ripper said. "It's good that you did, but now we'll have to put you under again. After letting the nanites heal your neck a bit more, I'll install a new neural link so you can talk to us or your family."

  "You've only been unconscious for a day," One of his friends said, trying to sound soothing.

  Wait... a day? What about the Fangs? What about Rei? REI! I NEED TO TALK TO-

  His thoughts cut off as he slumped, unconscious.

  ***

  The ripper had barely activated his new neural link before Ichiro connected to the public mesh and retrieved his agent profile, regaining access to his contacts.

  He ignored the only two remaining people next to him. One of his friends had left at some point during his second bout of unconsciousness.

  Who to call first? Miyo-chan should be fine. Rei-chan it is. Or wait, is she still shielded in whatever place WolfMosh kept her? I don't know if I'm still allowed to use that secure connection he set up between Rei and my old neural link... I'll just call both.

  That turned out to be a good decision. He'd barely given the mental command before both of his sister's worried faces appeared in a three-way video call.

  ***

  "Ichiro!" Rei shouted at the same time Miyo cried, "Onii-chan!"

  Neither of them had even bothered to subvocalize in their relieved excitement.

  "Imouto! Miyo-chan! You're okay. That's such a relief."

  He isn't, though, Rei thought.

  Something's wrong with his optics. They're the wrong color, and the video quality is shit.

  Rei studied his face as her second thread of consciousness slipped through her newly reworked script to block Ichiro from blasting his data all over the public mesh and giving them away.

  Seeing his shiny chrome shoulders just within the call window's range, Rei began infiltrating his systems further. She sought out his medical chip and nearly gasped when the data came back to her.

  It hadn't even taken a second, and Rei listened as Miyo spoke worriedly, "Why haven't you been answering? Are you alright?"

  "Yes, I'm fine-" Ichiro began while trying for a winsome smile; Rei cut him off.

  "No, he isn't. All his cyberware has either been removed or replaced with civilian-grade trashware."

  Ichiro looked surprised. "Yeah, that's true. My old cyberware was fried so I had to get new temporary ones. How did you know? Did Esmond or Al' tell you?"

  Rei could also see the tell-tale signs of his mouth not moving precisely in accordance with his words. This was a common limitation in the algorithms that caused subvocalization to come across as physical speech in civilian-grade cyber eyes. That Ichiro was subvocalizing wasn't strange if other people were present on his end, but Miyo was unaware that he couldn't even speak normally if he wanted to.

  Rei didn't let her elder brother downplay the extent of the damage.

  "You've got lots of internal damage from what I suspect is cyberware malfunctions, but the data in the med-chip is too limited to tell. There is also severe trauma to your throat and neck that has luckily healed somewhat by now. Speech is out of the question, though," Rei continued as Miyo's expression became steadily more horrified, "Your spine was broken, along with your clavicle and three ribs. There have also been some minor lacerations across your torso, but those seem to have mostly healed."

  There was a pause as Ichiro and Miyo stared at her.

  "I have no idea how you got all that from my system," Ichiro eventually said, "but I suppose it's all true."

  "What happened, Ichiro?!" Miyo asked again, growing even more agitated as the conversation seemed to inadvertently skirt around the topic.

  So Ichiro told them everything he could remember. He only got a few sentences out at the start before his sisters started yelling at him, telling him he was a 'squeaky rustskull with broken circuits for brains', among other things, for taking such risks.

  After their venting, he was allowed to continue.

  His recollection of pain and his cyberware malfunctioning could only mean one thing, and they were all in agreement that a Magi had caused it.

  The mystery was why they'd abruptly stopped.

  Ichiro explained that the last couple of battles with The Pistons had resulted in many of the Fangs suffering deaths, with causes pointed at similar things to what Ichiro experienced. Why he'd been spared was unclear.

  This idiot brother of mine really just went into a battlefield where people just kept dropping dead without any of the Magi able to stop it from happening? I think he needs some mental augments before getting better physical cyberware.

  After concluding his story, Miyo sighed. "Where are you now, stupid Onii-san?"

  "He's somewhere called 'The River Ripper'? It isn't the official name of the place, though. I don't even think there is an official name now that I'm looking closer..." Rei said, one part of her mind searching the public mesh for answers.

  "You're at River's?" Miyo asked Ichiro.

  "Yeah, from what I understand it, Esmond saved my ass after the cyberware malfunctioned and dragged me out of the fight before calling Al' and getting me here. River's been patching me up as best he can."

  "Who's River?"

  Ichiro looked at Rei, "My ripper. I have no idea what his real name is, but it's certainly not 'River.' He was also your ripper for a time before WolfMosh took you in. Al' knows I trust him, so he brought me here."

  "Saved your stupid ass from the sounds and looks of it too. It seems I'll have to thank all three of them."

  Miyo nodded at Rei's statement before leaning down to hug her, tears of relief starting to leak from her eyes as she did.

  At the close proximity of her faces, their two separate windows snapped together into one whole in the three-way call, making Ichiro's eyes widen. "Wait? Rei's with you?!"

  Miyo sniffed and nodded. "Yeah, I guess Esmond hasn't told you what happened to the Fangs then?"

  Ichiro's eyes flicked to the side as he shook his head minutely. "No? What do you mean?"

  "The Fangs are over," Rei said, "the HQ was bombed or something. The Pistons have won, and all the previous members of the Cyber Fangs are scattering while being hunted down."

  Ichiro simply stared at his two sisters, who stared right back at him for a few long, silent seconds.

  "WHAT?!"