“One of the Dragons fucking fingers!?!” Alex hisses at Aki “you didn’t think that detail might have been important?”
Aki raises his hands in surrender “Hey, she told me not to tell, not my fault you couldn’t put two and two together. Besides, you’d still work with her even if you knew.”
“And Sasha?” She asks “How does she feel about being connected to one of the most dangerous people in Arthas?”
Akihiro has the decency to let shame color his features.
“I don’t know” he says “she’s been avoiding me ever since Korin told her”
Alex deflates at that “yeah” she says “she hasn’t visited me once either. Think we’re still friends?”
“Of course we are” he whispers “she just needs some time”
Then he gets a bit awkward at what he has to say next.
“That and Ellie sees us as a package, I’m not sure Sasha could get rid of us even if she wanted to”
That gets him a sharp look.
“What does she even see in us anyway?”
He shrugs “no idea, but she’s known to take an interest in young talent.”
“So, just casual whimsy?”
“Something like that”
She grumbles and mutters a few curses directed at Aki, and just the world in general.
“Look at it this way, at least now the road to Scar is actually feasible”
She sighs “true.”
-
Birthdays are overrated.
She’s seen them in movies and shows, and they always seem like something monumental. Like the survival of another year is worthy of its own holiday. Maybe a corpos kid gets parties and cake, but for just about everyone else? It’s just another day.
Fifteen years
The sum total of her life all collected in fifteen measly years. She was part of a nursery, before Lost Hope, she’s told that’s where she got her name. Her situation is actually quite unique compared to most of the other orphans, she never knew her parents. The others either lost them or were sold off.
Once you pass the doors to the orphanage, you lose your family name. The Dragon is your family at that point, everyone else is just the vestiges of a dead life.
Fifteen years.
Three more and she’ll be a full blooded ganger. There’ll be expectations to fulfill and dues to pay. She’s already ahead of the game by working for one of the Fingers.
She feels…pride?
Yes, she’s proud.
She has three years to prove herself above the chaff. Three years.
The door to her room groans open.
She looks over to find Sasha standing there.
She does not look well. Hair split, clothes ruffled, her eyes droop, she’s paler than is normal for the caramel of her skin, and she smells.
She looks angry.
She looks ashamed.
She looks like she’s about to leave.
She’s staring at the cast covering Alex’s leg.
“Hey” Alex says gently “why don’t you come take a seat?”
She points to one of the chairs next to her bed, and Sasha just nods before walking over.
“You look like shit”
She laughs at that.
“I feel like shit. In more ways than one” she says bitterly
“Wanna talk about it?”
She sighs “about what? You almost dying or the fact we’re working for one of the Fingers?”
“Either works”
She hums slightly, glancing at her leg.
“Can they fix it?”
“Yeah, implants and bionics”
“And you can afford that?”
“Merc I saved’s footing the bill”
She snorts, then giggles, then outright laughs. Alex lets out a few awkward chuckles, not really knowing where the humor was in what she said.
Eventually she stops laughing, and stares at the wall with an intensity that kind of scares Alex.
“So once again, luck saves the day” she spits out “how convenient”
“Is that…a bad thing?”
“Only when you run out, which you will, eventually. Then you’ll just die”
“I feel like we’re not talking about my leg anymore”
“We’re talking about how you thought poking an exo was a good idea!” She raises her voice
“If I didn't, a lot of dragons would’ve died.”
“That’s so not what was going through your head while you were planning the stupidest decision of your life”
“It’s a good excuse” she mumbles
“Alex” she looks her dead in the eye “be serious”
“Ok, can I be honest?”
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
“I’d hope so”
“Running away didn’t really cross my mind in the moment”
Sasha looks at her as though she’s grown a second head and started a duet.
“Holy fuck” she says breathlessly “I’m not the dumb one. You are.”
-
The exo-suit she stabbed was an older version, before the manufacturer started putting armor to cover the hydraulics, and when size was what drove stock prices rather than utility.
SadMine has a weird history.
Anyway, its foot, from heel to tip, crushed her leg from three quarters up her femur all the way down to her foot, making replacing the bone and muscle an arduous endeavour.
Oddly enough, it’s the foot that took the most time. Apparently hands and feet have a shit ton of bones, go figure.
The replacements are better than the originals. Tougher, stronger, and apparently capable of producing more blood.
The first two are so that she can handle the new muscles, the third one is just weird.
She got discharged as soon as they were finished, no physio for her, no sir.
Sasha came to pick her up, and to her absolute mortification she brought Hiroshi.
“Sasha, what the fuck?” she hissed into her ear.
“He wanted to see his new sparring partner, who am I to deny him?” She whispered back with a cheeky grin.
New sparring partner? Oh no.
Korin you absolute bitch!
“Is something the matter?” He calls back to them
“Nothing!” She says a little too quickly.
Sasha stifles a chuckle.
He raises an eyebrow at her.
“Ok? Let’s be off then.”
They head off into the Autumn chill, closing in on October. Alex is partial to the fall, not too hot, not too cold. The perfect blend, in her opinion.
Every step is a challenge, she’s been bedridden for a month. So one leg is slightly atrophied, while the other is stronger than exercise could possibly manage. It’s a weird balance, but she can’t help but be excited for the new addition.
Bionics are known to grow like normal muscle, it’s their greatest selling point. Unless you ask the Kingdom, they’d tell you some nonsense about keeping the body ‘pure’.
“So, Hiroshi, what happened to Danny?” Alex asks nervously.
“She has been given the responsibility of training your friend” he replies
Ah, that makes sense.
“And you're okay with being paired with an apprentice?”
He looks at her, amused, which causes her to blush in what she hopes he thinks is embarrassment.
“You are an apprentice no longer Alex” he says, “though to answer the implied question, teaching can often be as beneficial as sparring”
Alex nods “right, that makes sense” it doesn’t, but she’s not willing to look dumb at the moment.
Sasha, thank the lord and all his angels, seems content with watching Alex fumble through the conversation.
“I’m curious though, it’s rare for Korin-Sensei to bring new additions so close to the years end, what did you do to impress him? If you don’t mind me asking”
Alex doesn’t notice the implied challenge in his words. Sasha does, but she keeps quiet.
“We’re working for one of the Fingers, and I stabbed an exo”
He looks at her stunned, for which detail she’s not sure. Then he breaks out into a laugh.
“Yeah” he says “that’ll do it”
-
The fallout to burning down a high-level corpo’s home was, unsurprisingly, non-existent. The gangs own Arthas, which was proven in the last Arthien war a century ago. Taiyō inc., Salamander ballistics, and SadMine all banded together to clean the streets.
It was a disaster.
Now there’s an understanding between the gangs and the corporations.
You stay out of our business, and we’ll stay out of yours. Considering the gangs are the biggest consumers for the more militant companies, the deal worked wonders for both parties.
The corporations keep their cash flow while the gangs could get back to killing each other.
Coincidentally, the fallout of the war was the perfect opportunity for the Crimson Dragon’s rise to power, becoming one of the major gangs of the city.
Before they were just wannabe yakuza.
But all's well that ends well.
She couldn’t imagine being a member of any other gang.
She reminds herself of this as Hiroshi’s bokken jabs into her ribs.
“Reckless” he says “you need to be more offensive, but that doesn’t mean you can discard your mind from your strikes”
She grumbles, annoyed more at the ungodly hour she has to wake up at now than Hiroshi’s criticism.
How could she be mad when such scrumptious muscles are on display?
Anyway,
She resets her stance and goes for a swipe.
He blocks easily and goes for a jab that she dodges followed by an overhead that she blocks.
He takes a step back and waits.
He’s been on the defensive the whole session, refusing to attack unless she does.
At first it led to an awkward staring match before she realized what he was doing.
She sighs, then goes for a flurry of jabs that are all blocked and countered with his own.
She keeps her attacks small, swift, until she sees the opportunity for a haymaker.
He dodges then strikes the back of her knee.
“Better” he says “keep your focus on my chest, it makes following my attacks easier”
She blushes at the amateur mistake, hopefully he hasn’t realized she’d been gawking.
-
Exercise is weird with a bionic leg, hell, just about everything is, but exercise especially. Mostly it’s an issue of balance, she can’t use barbells for squats anymore because one leg is underworked while the other is overworked. So she uses the machines instead.
“Damn girl” Sasha says “You’ve got thighs for days”
Alex sighs “thigh, singular, the other ones still ‘ganic”
Sasha waves her off “you’ll get there, how much did those cost anyway?”
“For just the muscle? About forty thousand.”
“Jesus fucking Christ, who the fuck did you save?”
“An old merc”
“A rich merc too”
“Very”
During their whole conversation, Alex has been pumping out reps with her bionics. Three hundred pounds worth per rep. Alex scowls at how easy it is.
“What’s with the face?”
“Nothing”
“C’mooon, you can tell little old me.”
“It’s stupid”
“Well you’re stupid, so that tracks”
“Fuck off, now I’m definitely not telling you”
“What! No, I take it back, Aleeex, tell meeeee”
Alex ignores her.
-
For once in Alex’s life she has money!(orphanage stipend doesn’t count)
And with that money, she will go shopping!
The joy of all teenage girls everywhere. At least that’s what her shows say. But that’s for clothes and shit (blegh) she’s looking for some premium firepower alongside Sasha and Aki, though they’re just here to give their opinions.
Right now she’s stuck between a Tengu and a Tetra-domin.
“You’re looking for something to shoot one-handed right?” Aki asks
“Mhm” she replies
“Then go for the revolver, it’s kickback is a bitch but it’s better than an SMG”
“But why?” Sasha whines “the Tetra-domin’s so cool!”
“If she’s aiming for style then sure” he says “but if she wants to actually hit anything, the tengu’s the way to go”
“Ammo’s expensive though” Alex mumbles
“That’s the price for quality” the shopkeeper says from the other side of the store.
“Damn. You got cybernetics for those ears?” Sasha asks.
“Yep”
“How much did that cost?”
“More than you’ve got squirt”
-
Unfortunately, once she’s tallied the price of the Tengu and the ammunition, she doesn’t have enough for a phone.
Later, she thinks, I’ll get one later
“Hey Aki” she says “anything news from our mutual acquaintance?”
He groans “you can just call her Ellie, no need to be all weird about it.”
“She’s a Finger” Sasha points out.
“Exactly” Alex nods.
“You two are doing this to piss me off aren’t you?”
“What?nooo” “yep”
The two girls look at each other, then break out into a fit of giggles.
He groans again “No, she didn’t want us to do anything until you’ve recovered. Should get something soon though”
His phone pings.
“Speak of the devil” Sasha says.
“I have other people on my phone” he says while bringing it up to his face.
He groans a third time.