I didn’t 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 didn’t. 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 weren’t as easy. They didn’t 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 weren’t 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 Jun’s 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 didn’t 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. I’m Motoko.” I greeted the older woman standing behind the counter.

“Yoko. Your name’s not a familiar one.”

“No it wouldn’t 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 don’t 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.”

“It’s nothing. You lookin’ to buy?”

“Maybe. I’m looking for a starter setup. Something to learn off. I’m 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 aren’t 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. Don’t 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. I’ll go easy on you. Listen I’m 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 it’s cheap. I’ll 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. It’s cheap. About all that can be said about it, but if you want to learn how to run the net, it’s 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. I’ll 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. It’s 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.

“I’m 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 weren’t Kiroshi I didn’t 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 wasn’t 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 didn’t 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.

Especially since I already had a better idea. I reached behind my head and felt the semi hidden cord port on the back of my neck.

It felt super weird whenever I pulled the cord out, but hey. I could now start breaching a system manually without losing access to one of my hands.

Plus it made me feel like the Major.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

Now that I was home though? It was time to do some grinding.

First I looked over to the radio. And after just a minute I was in. That was a lot easier compared to the hour it had taken me with the external netdeck.

*100 Breach Protocol XP Gained.*

*100 Intelligence XP Gained*

I grinned at that. This was so much easier! Easy peasy. I turned from the Radio to the TV doing the same thing. Breaching its firmware in a minute.

*100 Breach Protocol XP Gained.*

Perfect! Despite my worry over Jun. Despite the loneliness that had started creeping in now that he wasn’t coming home. Despite my worry about my unearthed murderous desire. I had fun. It was hacking. Of course it was fun! I giggled as I got the TV to change channels. I even peeked my head out the door and started hacking into the Burrito vendor.

I was gonna make that thing stop giving Jun burritos if he was going to pull this shit.

This time it took some real work. The security on the thing wasn’t… Great? At least I didn’t think it would be, but it was still more secure than my TV or Radio. Sitting up against the door of the apartment when I realized it was gonna take a few minutes as I stared at the vending machine. My eyes only seeing code, was… Fun. Weird but fun.

Finally I managed to get in. Breaching its security.

*100 Breach Protocol XP Gained.*

*Breach Protocol skill level up!*

*100 Intelligence XP Gained*

I was a bit distracted though. I had to shake my head just to get it to calm down. Breach Protocol information was… Dense. Not just instinct on how to do it. But general knowledge of how to Breach systems. The protocols and common tricks, yet more. Knowledge about tons of different electronic systems. Their security. How good it would be. It was the first time as well that I could instantly know what I didn't know. Some things I could think about like vehicles. I had no idea how to Breach. The knowledge wasn’t there, but it would be.

I knew.

“Wow. I am hackerman.” I blinked at my own stupid statement looked around and was really glad no one was here.

“I really need to stop spending so much time alone.” I mutter. Idly standing up and leaving the poor vending machine alone as I head inside, Turning on the tv and setting it to a news channel just to have some noise.

I crashed on the couch and closed down the Cyberdeck connection. In essence turning it off for now.

I sighed and closed my eyes.

Sleep.

—--

My eyes opened in shock when the door opened. I was on my knees in front of the couch Unity drawn and aimed as I was ready to blow some holes in whoever had just tried to break in. The man that entered was…

“Jun?” I asked in surprise. It was Jun. But not.

“Hey Imouto.” He grumbled the same as always as he stopped at the entranceway looking at my reaction for a minute.

“Jun… What happened!?” I gasped in horror, dropping the Unity, because Jun’s arms. Both of them all the way up to his shoulders were no longer natural. Sure they still had patches of his real skin, and those patches were covered in tattoos. But it was obvious he had Cyberarms now.

“Got chipped.” he said simply showing off the arms a bit. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, showing that the tattoos now covered even more of his chest and his back too.

“I see that you gonk! Why?” I said rising up and pulling him into a hug. “Idiot.” I said, whispering it into his chest.

“Sorry… I got a promotion in the claws. We hit Maelstrom. I did a good job, so the bosses got me chipped. Some of it is from the Maelstrom I killed.” He said, sounding…

Well vengeful.

“I’m glad you're safe. You… You should have told me what you were doing! I could have come. I could have helped, watched your back!”

“I wouldn’t want you anywhere near Maelstrom Imouto.” He denied instantly patting me on the head.

It felt different. The hand on my head. I sighed. Jun you idiot.

“I’m glad you’re home.” I said instead. Tugging him towards the couch. “You aren’t disappearing again are you?”

“No. Our… response against Maelstrom is over.” He said but I could tell instantly he wasn’t happy about it. That whatever burning hatred had grown in his chest over the loss of his choom. It wasn’t satiated yet.

“There will be more. There always is, and I am sure when Maelstrom does something stupid again, the Tyger Claws will respond, or maybe they will attack first next time. Just… Don’t go off on your own. Maelstrom are scary despite everything.”

Jun just gave me a shrug as he sat up patted me on the head, and then headed towards the bathroom.

A shower started not long after.

“I’m gonna have to do something.”

—--

“So Jun is back?”

“Yeah. All chromed up too. He… I think he wants to go after more Maelstrom though. I’m worried he will try to head off alone.” I told Hiromi the next day. She finally appeared again that morning riding up onto the curb while I was doing my morning jog as if she hadn’t disappeared for days.

I had slipped onto the back of her Kusanagi and given her a tight hug as I explained everything that was happening.

“Well you just have to keep an eye on him, yeah? Jun is reliable.”

“I don’t know. He is really angry. I can tell. Something about the way he is acting makes me think he is not doing well.” I tell her as she just sort of drives around the block. Even driving slowly and gently for Hiromi.

“Damn.” She muttered, eventually sighing. “What are you gonna do?”

“Dunno… Become reliable myself maybe? Maybe if I get good enough Jun will actually rely on me. I just don’t want him to bite off more than he can chew and die in some Strom hangout without ever knowing.”

“Yeah.” She muttered. “Sorry.” She eventually said.

“For what?”

“You were dealin’ with some issues, but I… I vanished like a gonk. Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” I tell her hugging her tight for a second. “It’s just your thing.”

“My thing?”

“Yeah you get out of touch for a while every week. It’s something I’m used to.”

“It’s 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 don’t 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. That’s cool. Super hard, but a good education. That's basically all I know about it.” I say, “I’m proud of you Hiromi. Going to a school and stuff.”

“Stupid. I don’t… I hate it. It’s 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 it’s a preem skill to have. I don’t go to school.”

“I know. I wish I didn’t have to.” She grumbled.

“It’s okay. It just means we have to do stuff while you aren’t at school.”

“Just don’t 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.

“C’mon I want to see Jun’s new Chrome!” She called out as she revved the engine and drove way too fast back to the apartment.

“Slow down!”

—--

With Jun’s 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 hadn’t chipped him just for looks. They probably intended on turning him into an enforcer now.

Which made my stomach turn because I didn’t 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 wasn’t 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 didn’t 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 don’t 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. “I’m 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. Don’t 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.

“I’ll 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. “You’re not telling me anything Jun-Nii I’m worried.” I decided to say instead. He really was being stubborn.

“Don’t be. I’m stronger now than I was.” He reached over and patted my head.

“I’ll worry even if you were Adam Smasher.” I told him, causing him to snort lightly.

“You’ve been using my bike.” He said changing the topic much to my irritation.

“Yeah. You left and disappeared. I’ve been filling up the tank.”

“You have. I’ll need it back. Sorry Imouto.”

“It’s fine. I’ll just be back on the train. I guess it’s for the best. I hate that stupid swoop seat anyway.” I tell him as I pop the shard out and hand it back over.

“What’s wrong with the seat?” He demanded suddenly sounding a little offended.

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

“I think it’s 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 aren’t 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 didn’t want to admit it.” I said lying, but well… Jun still reacted.

“What? No it doesn’t!” 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.

“That’s 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.