Chapter 10

I didnt go home.

With eddies comes Potential. First step was to finally get an outfit that I could be happy with. It was a little embarrassing to show up to a gig and face Wakako wearing an old ratty T-shirt and scuffed jeans.

First I called Hiromi, but unfortunately she was still out of contact again. It would have been nice to go on a shopping spree with her, but probably for the best that I didnt. So I started hitting clothing stores.

Boots. New pants. And something special that I had been thinking about for a while.

Boots were easy. Combat boots could be found all over the place, although finding a pair that fit my feet werent as easy. They didnt usually make them in fourteen year old girl size.

I found a set eventually way out in 6th St. territory. Turns out the military aesthetic meant there was interest for girls too.

I even grabbed a pair of tight jeans there. Slim and tight, but they were military weave. The sort of clothing that stretched when needed so the tightness was a benefit not a negative.

I even grabbed a few strap on pockets for extra loot potential. Super tight jeans werent great for pockets anyways.

The last piece was more difficult.

I headed to the Kabuki market. It was the only place that I knew for sure there was a Netrunner shop.

Parking Juns bike and finding the store took forever. It was a maze of a circular design and I had to walk around the whole thing twice before I found the shop I was looking for.

The Dewdrop Inn. Hence why I didnt check it out at first. It was a Netrunner shop. It even had two Netrunner stations in the back, but I was here for info.

Nice to meet, you. Im Motoko. I greeted the older woman standing behind the counter.

Yoko. Your names not a familiar one.

No it wouldnt be. I just have a few questions, and maybe make some purchases?

The Japanese woman looked me over a bit before shrugging. Well, go on.

Do you know where I can buy a Netrunner suit?

Hoh. I see. Alright. Yeah kid, I know some sellers. Since they are always looking for business I dont mind handing it over. Her eyes went yellow and I received a text a moment later with a few different locations.

I gave her a smile. I couldn't help it. I had been looking for a netrunner suit for a while.

Preem. Thank you.

Its nothing. You lookin to buy?

Maybe. Im looking for a starter setup. Something to learn off. Im uh. Not much of a Netrunner myself, but I want to pick up some basics. For now. Eventually I would be a Bartmoss. But that was in the future.

You want a netrun suit but arent a Netrunner? Interesting. But alright. Sure kid I can get you setup. You got the eddies?

I have some, but I have no idea what the cost would be. Dont stiff me too hard? I asked, and it earned a genuine laugh from the older woman. She even took down her circular glasses and rubbed at her eyes as she regained control.

Alright. Ill go easy on you. Listen Im obviously not a ripper, so anything I hand over will need to be chipped in. Lucky for you, I actually have an old deck, not the best, but its cheap. Ill hand it over for Four-thousand five. She reached under her desk and pulled out a case, sort of like a shard case but a bit larger, and after wiping it off from a bit of dust she opened it.

Militech Paraline. Its cheap. About all that can be said about it, but if you want to learn how to run the net, its a solid starting point.

Okay. I agreed. It was a lot of money. But I needed to take the next step on my path as a merc. I needed to be able to hack stuff. My eyes went blue as I sent the money over.

Well, alright, well let me get you set up. Ill even throw in some freebies. Funny kid. Netrunner suit and a basic deck. Alright. She said with a chuckle.

Thank you. I said again. Despite spending so much cash at once. I really did need this. If I had been a Netrunner I could have shut down the Camera on the last job without all the fuss. It would have made it easier on me for sure.

Also here is a Program. Its just Ping, the basics of the basics. Should give you somewhere to start. She said, handing me a shard.

Oh! Thank you very much!

Go on then kid. Happy running.

I thanked her again as I headed out. I would have to reach out to the Netrunner suit people. See if they have what I am looking for.

But first? I needed to see a Ripper.

-

As much as I would have liked to stop and see Viktor. I already had a Ripper that I thought was good enough right behind my house.

So an hour later I walked into the Ripper of Japantown, the same one that had helped me fix my optics.

Welcome, how can we help you? The receptionist. A different girl this time I noted asked as she looked up from her desktop computer.

Im here to have a Cyberdeck installed. I already have the deck.

Excellent. I will inform the Doctor. Payment is here. She said handing over an actual data pad for a moment which I noticed had all the little fees and such.

I sighed, but put my hand on the pad and accepted the transfer.

There goes another couple grand.

Alright, the Doctor will see you now.

I shrugged and walked into the Doctor's Ripper room.

Oh you again. Good. Come get settled in. What are we doing today?

Cyberdeck. I inform her holding up the case and she nods takes it from my hands. Her right hand already covered in equipment pulls the deck out and seems to be scanning it over.

Old but in good condition. Alright. Here are the options, let's get everything picked out before we start ripping. She told me pushing a screen over infront of me. I made a few selections and asked her if something else was possible for one but in the end I got what I wanted.

Settle in, and let me put in the anesthesia.

I settled into the chair and rested back as she gave me a quick injection and I started falling asleep.

-

I settled onto the couch. Now with something a bit better than baby's first netdeck, and got to work actually messing around. So there was still one problem that I would have to deal with for now. My optics werent Kiroshi I didnt have a scan mode nearly as powerful, in fact mine was pretty much useless. Cyberdecks worked with a combination of optic scans to find the wireless connection port which opened up the device for the hack.

So since my scan was so weak, it wasnt exactly fast.

But I could at least do it. I did have one more alteration that I had talked to the Ripper about. It cost me a couple hundred extra eddies on my surgery but I didnt have the normal cord that anyone with a cyberdeck had. The one attached to the wrist.

I always thought it was kinda stupid to lose access to a hand in order to breach a system.L1tLagoon witnessed the first publication of this chapter on N??v€l--B1n.

Its school. She tells me finally. Quietly like admitting something shameful. I go to Arasaka Academy. My parents cut me completely off from my Comm if I dont go, and they keep it cut until I go at least a little. I end up going for a few days so I can ditch the rest.

Oh. Thats cool. Super hard, but a good education. That's basically all I know about it. I say, Im proud of you Hiromi. Going to a school and stuff.

Stupid. I dont I hate it. Its Corpo bullshit stuff. Not even worth the time. She growled.

Pfft. Nah. See, education is important! Just use them for the education and when all is said and done bail if you want. But its a preem skill to have. I dont go to school.

I know. I wish I didnt have to. She grumbled.

Its okay. It just means we have to do stuff while you arent at school.

Just dont tell anyone. Everyone else thinks I disappear while doing odd jobs or something.

I chuckled a little at her hiding her schooling from the other Street kids. Sure. Your secret is safe with me. I told her chuckling as she nodded and then she hit the gas.

Cmon I want to see Juns new Chrome! She called out as she revved the engine and drove way too fast back to the apartment.

Slow down!

--

With Juns return I was a little distracted for the rest of the day, ending up sleeping the night away not long after he went to bed. He was being very quiet about anything that had happened, was going to happen, or what plans he had.

It was very annoying.

I had a feeling that the Tyger Claws hadnt chipped him just for looks. They probably intended on turning him into an enforcer now.

Which made my stomach turn because I didnt want Jun to end up dead.

So in the morning to get away from the anxiety of worrying about my brother going into dangerous situations, I settled in to do some more netrunning training. There wasnt any point in playing with Breach as I was limited by Intelligence, but Quickhacks were another skill entirely.

And I actually did have a program for one thanks to Yoko. So I loaded it up into the Netdeck, and tried to use Ping on my radio.

It didnt go well. I ended up having to pull my mothers Netrunner guide out and listened to the section about quickhacks before I figured it out and got the program to ping the radio.

*Quick Hacks Experience Gained.*

*Skill not unlocked, no XP gained.*

*Quick Hacks Unlocked.*

I grinned, that was another skill to work with!

I relaxed back onto the couch feeling pretty good. With Jun back at home and not out of touch. I was starting to feel less anxious, more like I had before. So instead of freaking out or spending the day spiraling I continued to try and ping everything around me with a Quick Hack. TV. Vending machine. I could even ping lights since many of them had wireless connections.

Grinning as I kept doing it until I got a little alert.

*100 Quick Hacks XP Gained.*

I even got an Intelligence alert as well!

*100 Intelligence XP Gained*

When Jun came out of his room looking tired he noticed me sitting on the couch and basically just pinging the TV over and over.

I dont want to know. He eventually decided moving past me to the fridge to grab something to drink and then to my surprise he grabbed a paper bag out of the fridge and pulled out an injector. Injecting his leg.

You okay? I asked. Sure I had my own small meds to take, but a Cyberdeck installation was practically normal compared to losing two arms.

Just the stuff I have to take while I adjust to the chrome. He says throwing the injector away as he walks over and settles in on the couch. Im on leave for at least a week while I adjust. Doc's orders. He grumbled and I nodded at least whoever had chipped him had some basic healthcare concerns.

Good. Take it easy and no more chrome for a while. I ordered poking his cheek lightly which he twitched at before waving my hand away.

Was thinking of getting my legs done. Be able to move around a bit faster. He argues.

No way. You just had a big change. Let yourself get used to it, Jun-Nii. Going too fast and not letting yourself adjust is how Cyberpsychos happen. Dont want you to end up like that, drooling and muttering to yourself as you murder everyone around you. Nasty shit. I say staring at him as firmly as I can.

Ill think about it. He sidestepped my argument completely and took a swig of whatever he was drinking.

Whatever then. I grumbled realizing he was going to be stubborn about it. Youre not telling me anything Jun-Nii Im worried. I decided to say instead. He really was being stubborn.

Dont be. Im stronger now than I was. He reached over and patted my head.

Ill worry even if you were Adam Smasher. I told him, causing him to snort lightly.

Youve been using my bike. He said changing the topic much to my irritation.

Yeah. You left and disappeared. Ive been filling up the tank.

You have. Ill need it back. Sorry Imouto.

Its fine. Ill just be back on the train. I guess its for the best. I hate that stupid swoop seat anyway. I tell him as I pop the shard out and hand it back over.

Whats wrong with the seat? He demanded suddenly sounding a little offended.

Its so dumb. The Kusanagi has some really awesome lines, but the Tyger Claws remove the front guard, and put on the stupid swoop seat. Its awful. I answered honestly, almost ranting about how much I hated the Tyger Claw alterations to such a beautiful motorcycle.

I think its preem. He grunted actually pouting a bit at my words.

Yeah but you also have yakuza tattoos now. So your taste is a little Suspect. I teased him, earning a shocked look before scowling at me.

They arent Yakuza Tattoos! And they are cool. They show that I have earned the respect of the Tyger Claws!

That Tiger on your bicep has a goofy face. I think the artist messed up and didnt want to admit it. I said lying, but well Jun still reacted.

What? No it doesnt! He almost shrieked as he checked on his tattoos to see what I was pointing at. Which is when I poked his nose.

Made you look. I told him breaking into giggles, which lasted until his hand wrapped around my ankle.

Thats cheating. I told him dead serious as he suddenly lifted me up making me shriek as he stood and adjusted me until I was dangling from his arm.

Cheating!

There are no rules here. He says just as seriously before his other hand reaches down and starts tickling me!

N-No s-stop! Your bike is still stupid! Your tattoos make you look dumb! I won-t surrender! I screamed as he showed no mercy. Only when I was close to pissing myself did he finally stop and let me run to the bathroom.

His cruelty will not go unpunished.