After Luna voiced her intentions to take vengeance on Ira, Kane smiled proudly and petted her head, “Good girl.”

He was proud, because in the last four years since they first met, the young, desperate girl Luna once was, had left behind the shell she was hiding in and revealed herself as a playful and seductive young woman.

She also just so happened to be one of the most ruthless people Kane knew, after Father and himself.

Along with this mental growth came a significant change in her appearance. The scruffy, dirty fourteen-year-old girl was gone, and in her place stood a beautiful, eighteen-year-old woman.

Her clothing was somewhat expensive. Luna could be a little greedy and materialistic, so she squeezed any profit she could from anything, and spend it on things like this.

Her outfit consisted of low-riding, tight-fitting, one-legged synthetic pants that perfectly formed around her firm ass and had enough stretch to not hinder her in a fight.

Moving up, her toned stomach was largely exposed, but two black straps wound their way around her back, accentuating her curves while also holding the dual sheath for her swords in place, resting on her lower back.

Further up, she wore a synthetic crop top jacket with the zipper halfway down, creating a tantalizing cleavage, and tightly hugging her firm, c-cup breasts. Her clothes were colourful, matching her ambiguous morality and playful personality.

Her long white hair was tied up in a ponytail, and two similarly coloured furry cat ears protruded from her head, while a long white cat tail managed to snake out from the lower end of her back, unobstructed by the low-riding pants.

Despite having just been in a fight, Luna looked none the worse for wear, proving Ira had held back significantly. Not because she cared, of course, but because Father had likely ordered her to, knowing he was sending Luna and Kane out today.

Kane himself was still naked. Deciding to fix that, he walked into his room, heading for the access panel hiding his wardrobe. Meanwhile, he continued talking to Luna, “Why were you awake already, anyway? Normally you sleep in as long as you can.”

Luna followed him closely, her eyes drawn to what was swinging between his legs. At the same time, she answered with a shrug, “You know my hearing is sensitive, Master. Their entering simply woke me up.”

She licked her lips suggestively and her tone became far more sensual. “Anyway, do you have to get dressed already, Master? We could have a little fun first~~" She purred as her tail slowly wound its way up Kane's leg like a horny serpent. "You know fighting always gets me all worked up~”

“Down, girl,” Kane chuckled, his voice tinged with mild exasperation even as he shivered a little from her caress. Unfortunately, his cock was quick to betray his building lust, but he supressed it for now. “Save it for later. We both know you like it better when I make you wait, anyway.”

“Fine, Master,” Luna pouted as she retracted her tail and took a step back. “I know you like to tease me, so I suppose I’ll stay frustrated a little while longer. But you’d better make it up to me!”

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Kane had managed to finish dressing while they talked, and now turned to Luna with a smirk. “Oh? Are you making demands of your master now?”

“Yes!” Luna nodded quickly and decisively, causing Kane to roll his eyes. Then she smiled brightly and changed the subject, “You look great, Master! Shall we go then?”

Kane, too, had changed a lot since the events of four years ago. He was fully grown now, standing at a respectable two meters (~6’7”), making him about a head taller than Luna.

He also had the beginnings of stubble on his chin, although he hadn’t yet decided whether he would entertain some facial hair or keep it smooth.

His clothes resembled Father’s style, a mixture of street thug and upstanding citizen. It was one of the few things Kane had actually copied from the man.

He wore combat boots, somewhat loose cargo pants, a plain T-shirt, and a synthetic jacket. Most everything was some shade of black, partly because it matched his hair and eyes, but mostly because it allowed him to blend in more easily when using his cloak of shadows.

If he wore more colourful clothing, he would have to put more effort and energy into the cloak of shadows technique just to hide those colours. But this way, he could simply let his clothing blend in naturally.

Kane nodded toward his loyal partner but first walked to the nightstand next to his bed. He picked up the device on top of it, which essentially served as a mobile phone and powerful handheld computer, before sliding it around his right arm. It looked like an arm guard and was known as a CyberStrap.

He quickly opened the holographic display and checked the location Father had sent him. It appeared the netrunner hideout was located in one of the communal buildings in the Outer Ring, on the east side of the city.

Next, he picked up the sword and sheath on the other side, strapping them onto his back.

With the capabilities of both Cybers and Mystics having quickly outpaced most standard ranged weapons, swords—and the occasional other melee weapon—had become the staple of Earth’s non-dreg fighters.

Many Mystics still had ranged techniques, and Cybers usually had plenty of nasty tricks hidden in their bodies, but most still chose to fight mainly in close-quarters combat.

It could also be said that this was a remnant of the beastling invasion, as their aggressive, close-quarters fighting style had forced Earth’s armies to adapt.

This was not the same straight, double-edged sword he used four years ago, however. It was of far higher quality, and looked like a 16th century German war knife, or kriegsmesser.

Measuring at nearly four feet, Kane's sword was quite long. The broad, single-edged blade curved gracefully yet menacingly.

The hilt was designed for two-handed use, but as a Mystic, he could easily wield it with one hand, if he wanted. A robust crossguard protected his hands, and a thick knuckle guard protruded out a few inches.

Technically, it was not the most useful sword in a city like Riftshade, where you might often end up fighting in narrow spaces, but its quality more than made up for it. The reason it wasn't designed for Riftshade had to do with its origins. This sword was considered an artifact that was once recovered from a rift.

Only Kane, Luna, and two others knew where he got this weapon and, so far, he had been able to hide its quality from the likes of Father.

Or so he hoped.

Finally, he was ready to go and headed for the door. “Alright, Luna. Let’s go. We’ll go by old man Cedric’s for some food on the way.”

“As you wish, Master!” Luna happily exclaimed as she quickly followed after him. “I love the old man’s noodles!”

“You know he makes other things as well, right? Why don’t you try and think of something original to eat for once, huh?” Kane rolled his eyes with amusement as he left his apartment and stepped into the main building, occupied solely by members of the Cyberkins.

“No!” Luna stubbornly shook her head and puffed her cheeks, but gave no other explanation.

Kane was used to this kind of behaviour from her by now. Luna was a very picky eater. So he simply shook his head with a chuckle. “Fine, noodles it is.”

After making their way down and being largely ignored by the other members of the Cyberkins, they stepped onto the busy, neon-filled streets of Riftshade.

It was time to get to work.