A couple of days had passed since Yuriko’s bar hopping. After Kansaki, she’d gone to a couple more bounty hunter bars, each one practically a mirror to the other. They were separated by hundreds of longstrides and she had to spend a pretty penny for neo-petrol. Not that she learned anything new, just a few more details to already extant knowledge.
She was lying in bed. The dawn had just come. Not that it was readily apparent considering there were no windows in their apartment. Well, there were, but they didn’t lead to the outside. Instead, they were merely viewscreens that showed a gorgeous view of the skyline, tastefully cutting out the filth and darkness of the undercity. The reflection of the sun’s rays didn’t feel nice, for all that the tech mimicked everything. It was hollow.
Her thoughts dwelt on the daemonfyre whiskey, and its similarities to the energies clinging to her brother’s severed threads. Hope welled up within the depths of her mind, but she tempered it. Should it fade away, she knew her grief would incapacitate. Hope rekindled from the embers…
She shifted slightly as Heron’s fingers gently pinched her nipple as he was wont to do when he cuddled her in his sleep. Chuckling to herself, she nudged his hardness with her bottom, shifting it around so it would stroke against her lower lips. Both of them were still sticky from last night’s exertions, and unlike the usual, Gwendith had given the two of them the bed. Having threesomes all the time led to monotony, and her lovers were keen on keeping things fresh.
Well, they had their designated days, though Gwendith complained bitterly when Yuriko imposed a one-week gap between activities. She had to temper her Will after all, and what better way to do it than to fight her body’s cravings?
“Hmm…” Heron yawned as he stirred and opened his eyes. “Good morning,” he murmured, then shifted as he felt her wetness.
“Good morning,” Yuriko said softly. “Make it better?”
“Alright,” Heron said drowsily as he lined himself up, then shoved himself inside. Most of Yuriko’s streams of consciousness abandoned their trains of thought and focused exclusively on her pleasure.
About an hour later, both of them staggered out of the bedroom and made their way to the showers. Gwendith smirked at them from the kitchenette but brought out breakfast burritos with little fanfare.
“Thanks,” Yuriko said as she mechanically ate, only to stop short when the expected blandness burst out in flavour instead.
“Added spice,” Gwendith said.
“Hmmm, yum.”
Heron sat across from the two women and reached for his plate. He bit off the end, chewed and swallowed, then asked, “Feel better?”
“A bit.” Yuriko sighed. “I’m still not sure if what I sensed is correct or simply a reflection of buried hope.”
Heron held her shoulders and said softly, “Don’t give up. What will you truly lose if you do? Say that your hunch is false and you tried to follow it. Failure would mean nothing changed. Giving up means nothing will change. But if your hunch is right…giving up will be the same, but trying…trying and succeeding means there will be change.” His eyes stared at hers for a long moment, until Yuriko nodded.
“Such wisdom, Heron,” Gwendith murmured, “it is surprising.”
Heron snorted and rolled his eyes. “Is that how you see me?”
Gwendith tilted her head, “I know you only after everything happened. Before, we were merely classmates. You kept your silence then, and bore with your tribulations with clenched fists.”
“I see.”
Yuriko hummed, then leaned over and kissed Heron’s lips. A chaste kiss, but filled with happiness. “Thanks for pointing it out.”
Heron’s cheeks reddened which made her snort in laughter. After everything the three of them did, he got embarrassed by that?
“So what’s the plan?” Gwendith asked. “Look for the source? That bartender said it was smuggled goods, right, so the first step is to find out where it was smuggled from and what route it took.”
“That won’t be easy,” Heron said. “Ask Saki to do it? She’s our only infiltrator.”
“A bit of research too, maybe,” Gwendith said. “And I guess Yuri should continue looking for the delve and climb points. There’s precious little information out in free REI-space. I’m thinking we might need to get the information from the big corpos.”
“Don’t rock the boat yet,” Heron insisted. “We have no idea how high the ceiling is in this place.”
“I agree. There are too many people living here, and with the restrictions to Anima perception, it’s hard to tell.” Gwendith frowned, “And their methods of advancement rely completely on their bodies and what ‘chronian gear they manage to implant.”
“What does a high-level ‘chronian warrior look like?” Yuriko asked. Tiger Lao was barely above Journeyman Imperial in strength, though his martial art was intriguing. She thought about incorporating it into her arsenal, but she didn’t touch any Ennoias related to weight manipulation. The second part of his enlightenment included the concept of vibration, but it was poorly implemented and needed ‘chronian gear to properly utilize. Plus, it didn’t really fit with her ideas of swordsmanship anyway. Not an easy adaptation.
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Instead, she’d focused on cultivating her Metal Sword Phase, which was still incomplete. Even the name was just a temporary designation. The only thing she figured out was how to resonate with metal. The actual substance rather than just the Elemental energy. The sparseness of the ambient energies actually made it easier to sense substances, after all. With every other style, there was an initiating stance that allowed her to resonate with the Elements. Performing the movements enabled the resonance, but with the Metal Phase, she practised it enough times that she was able to engage the sense simply by holding on to her sword’s hilt.
And, unlike her Anima perception, she was able to sense through it to detect anyone with ‘chronian gear! It wasn’t a very detailed detection, however, and it only gave her the presence of metals within a small radius, though that was only if she didn’t use it in conjunction with her Anima perception. Still, that radius, roughly three paces, was an indication of progress.
“They rely on their weapons,” Gwendith said. “Machines, advanced guns, among other things. Most of them are ineffective if the users are mortal. Chronian gear allows them to wield their weapons more effectively, and to have enough strength to actually use them.” She pulled up her Autotab and entered something on her search bar. A picture and a video appeared in the results and Gwendith tapped on it. The picture was of a humanoid man, clothed just enough to maintain some modesty. His arms, legs, and part of his torso were ‘chronian.
Gwendith swiped her finger across the screen and the same man was shown with huge metal weapons, cannons that would be more at home in a battleship than carried by infantry. The cannon was attached to the man’s ‘chronian gear, and from what she could read from the specs, targeting assistance was provided using the man’s mechanical eyes. She wondered how far the range of the weapon was.
“And how many such warriors exist?” Yuriko asked, then frowned, “That amount of weaponry could not be cheap.”
“Yes, these are corporation forces,” Gwendith agreed. “But I think the strongest members of this branch of development are the Lawbringers. I think they’re almost completely ‘chronian.”
“The Blessed?” Yuriko mused.
“Likely.” Gwendith sighed. “Their progression is strange. As long as one has ACs, one can convert most of their flesh to ‘chronian gear, but there’s a line they cannot cross so easily. If they do and fail whatever internal trial they face, they become insane.”
That was why Elsie was so desperate to learn Mysticism. It was a shortcut. Yuriko shook her head. Awakening Anima was anything but easy, or rather, awakening it to its true potential faced its own trials. She’d been lucky because of the knowledge she gained through her Facet, which in turn had been influenced by Damien, she had an easier path. Gwendith and Heron had to consume Ambrosia, of which every drop cost a fortune. She was regretful that she lost so much in the Pure Lands, especially since she hadn’t known how precious it had been.
Regardless of everything they talked about, Yuriko needed to search. She didn’t know the city’s limits, though it was more than likely the perimeter mountains. Why would it be so symmetrically round otherwise? The entrances could be at any point, but the most annoying thing was that the entrances might only be open at certain times. From Tiger Lao’s information, that was likely.
Still, if only one corporation had access, then that one should have dominated the city already. Instead, the big three corpos were balanced against each other, coupled with the Gate Consortium’s neutrality, Dragon Fall City was balanced precariously upon such legs. What did they fight for, however? Autochreds were bound to gold and other precious metals. No citizen or visitor could hold any such metal. Firearms and ‘chronian gear needed licenses to purchase and use, even if most people inJunktown didn’t follow those rules.
She supposed they were vying for control of the entry points, weren’t they? Did they use whatever they found to trade? To increase their own powers? Both were likely. But the corporations weren’t monolithic, Yuriko knew, but nevertheless, she was unaware of their goals. Unless it was simply control of the economy?
Well, thinking and not doing wasn’t going to get her anywhere. Not with this. “I’m going to head out. I might not be back for a while.” Yuriko said.
“Alright. Take care, beloved.” Gwendith said as she embraced Yuriko and gave her a deep kiss. Heron waited for his turn and did the same thing. But before she could leave, Fluffington wandered into the living room and sat on his haunches, eyes sparkling and tongue lolling.
“You want to come with me?” Yuriko asked.
Fluffers nodded.
“We’ll cross a lot of distance. Are you sure you’re up to it? I can’t carry you this time.”
The wolf pup tilted his head and barked, as if saying, “Yes you will.”
“No, I can’t. I won’t,” Yuriko said. “You’re too big to carry inconspicuously.”
The wolf pup nodded, then his Anima flared. Yuriko’s eyes widened as the wolf pup’s reach exceeded two paces. Then, all of the light converged back into his body and he…started to shrink.
“Eh?”
Gwendith snickered and Yuriko rolled her eyes at her. So, they already knew.
At the end of the transition, Fluffington was barely longer than Yuriko’s forearm and looked absolutely adorable.
“Eeeeeee!” She squealed, picked him up and squeezed him to her bosom. “So cute!”
By the time Yuriko finished squeeing, Fluffington had passed out from strangulation. He started breathing almost immediately once Yuriko realised her folly, but he remained unconscious.
“Well, are you bringing him along?” Gwendith asked.
“I guess,” Yuriko chuckled.
“Well, good hunting!”
Yuriko packed her backpack with a couple of clothing sets, opting to use her traveller’s outfit for now. Then, she placed Fluffers in a sling carrier and made her way towards the lift lobby. She sent a message to Elsie that she wouldn’t be available for martial arts training for a while, and once she reached the 101st level, she headed straight to the exit.
Her Kanegawa Bladedancer was stored in a parking garage that she accessed near the exit. She didn’t have it moved through a private lift since she got a slot near the exit. She mounted it, turned it on, then sped away. Most of her ventures were confined to the first, second, and twelfth districts, but she hadn’t explored the outskirts yet. She took a highway route that led directly to the city limits, but even so, it still took a couple of hours while driving within the speed limits.
Once she was near the ground level, Yuriko stopped at a neo-petrol station and filled up her bike’s tank. Then, she brought a couple of petrol cans that could fill up her tank then shoved them inside her backpack. Hopefully, there would be some petrol stations in the badlands otherwise she might have to carry everything on her way back.