Chapter — 31

Rei took a circuitous route on her way back to Miyo and Ichiro, stopping at every vending machine not surrounded by too large crowds and out of view of any obvious cameras.

She also stopped once in an alley where she waited for a quarter-hour to see if anyone was following, but that didn't seem to be the case.

As she waited, Rei called Ichiro and Miyo and told them the bad news, skirting over how close to death or capture she'd come but still impressing on them how dangerous it would be to ever go back.

Miyo's new apartment was practically at the other end of Zone 8, and even though each zone was a humongous hive of human life, merely straying too close to their old haunts may prove disastrous for them. They both promised to be careful.

When Rei told Ichiro that she hadn't been able to secure the old rusty sword — an heirloom of an old friend of his who was consumed by nJoy addiction but had the wherewithal to hand it off to his best friend before he could sell it — Ichiro looked very bitter. Miyo scolded him for it.

"It's not as if I wanted Rei to risk her life over it; I'm just angry that I couldn't keep my promise," he said, lowering Miyo's hackles.

Then Rei took the tram to Miyo's apartment, where she grabbed her carton of spare ammunition and other necessities before hugging them both goodbye. Sally seemed to sense something as she bumped into Rei's shin in passing before streaking away.

Rei spent the credits to secure her new apartment and wouldn't delay any longer.

***

Rei's new single-bedroom flat could only be called spartan. There was nothing but necessities and no decorations like the ones Miyo and the old Rei had collected in their previous home.

The interior was the usual plasteel and plastic walls in a light gray that most low-end apartments had, and the flooring was doing its best to pretend to even be classified as faux wood — failing miserably and looking more like something painted onto plastic.

It even felt like plastic when stepping on it barefoot, the material somewhat chilly against her feet.

The apartment was some distance away from Miyo's, and the tram took about half an hour to get there. That meant going to her gym took even longer on foot and about twenty minutes on another tram, but she wouldn't fuss over it.

The flat wasn't high up in the less-than-opulent apartment complex, but neither was it that close to ground level. It was the cheapest place for an apartment, though, as it wasn't as convenient to get out onto the streets as the lowest levels, and neither had the better view of those on higher floors.

It's not as if I care about that right now, though.

The apartment suited her needs, and it was only 210 credits per month, meaning she could afford it for some time with what she had left.

I also need to get a second gym membership somewhere else, as the amount of time I plan on spending working out would become suspicious if I do it all in one place.

She didn't know how fast she'd improve her [Body] attribute, but she wanted to remain cautious.

Settling herself in, she tried her bed with some dissatisfaction. It was hard and felt a bit uneven. Mr. Nibbles was still injured, and Rei felt terrible leaving him alone on the uncomfortable bed.

I'll fix you up soon, don't worry, buddy.

The couch in the living room had a sticky patch where something seemed to have spilled. The entertainment holo was tiny compared to Miyo's, and Rei didn't think she'd spend any time engaging with it.

She had enough to be getting on with as it was, and luxury such as entertainment could wait.

Checking the floor for dust but finding it spotless, she lay down on her back and stretched, feeling her back pop satisfyingly. She needed to think.

I'm a reasonably competent Magi, I think. Damn near invisible against those who've been one as short a time as I have.

Her time as Agnes didn't count. For one, even though the digital hadn't overtly changed, the mesh was intrinsically different in subtle ways. It was most notable when diving into it, but it wasn't exactly the same, and the minor differences made it new to her.

There was also the fact that nearly all her memories of her time as a digital goddess were gone, and only her instincts remained.

Or not gone, I don't think. The Samurai System is way too complex and miraculous to simply have been a slowly evolving game system produced in the early 21st century.

It gobbled up all that I discarded, meaning that everything I once was may still be there in some form.

It has to be why I receive knowledge from skills as they level, as where else would that data come from?

That hope was the only thing preventing Rei from constantly dwelling on her children, as no matter how unlikely it was, she hoped that she'd be able to reunite with them one day.

Even though I'm a terrific Magi for how short a time I've trained, I'm nowhere close to ready to face whoever has hindered me in my recent engagements with The Pistons. It may even be that they are responsible for Master's death, as what I've seen can't have been their full capabilities.

They worked with ruthless efficiency even though it was from a remote, only having the bandwidth of their puppets' cyberware to work with.

She had to do much on the digital front, such as writing new daemons and other scripts to automate digital attacks. Every encounter she'd had in the physical world so far had required her to manually tear her opponents apart instead of simply injecting weapons made for such purposes since she had none.

The only time she'd tried using her old malware made for dismantling ICE inside the mesh had been out of desperation, and it wasn't particularly effective. She'd had to dump dozens of them simultaneously and hope for the best.

The height of inefficiency and inadequacy.

To improve her mesh magic skills, she had to raise the governing attribute first. The only relevant skill not capped was [Programming], but it was still at skill level 10, meaning it wouldn't be long until it was. Getting some mental augmentation cyberware would have been great, but it was out of the question.

Then there is the physical. I must raise [Body] to at least 10, preferably higher. I also need to increase my proficiency with daggers and handguns and level all the other skills relating to my physical capabilities.

[Athleticism] and [Parkour] were too useful to ignore. Their effects — while not overtly impressive — had kept her alive on more occasions than she could count. Rei constantly relied on [Athleticism] to move her body with control and purpose, which had no doubt saved her life numerous times from clumsy mistakes.

[Parkour] had likewise shown its value during the chase, but also before that, when she'd incorporated some of its teachings with [Melee Mastery] to dodge a devastating attack before countering.

I have a lot of work ahead of me…

***

Rei's orange eyes burned as she gritted her teeth and finished the last squat. The bar collided with the rubber-coated resting place with a thunk, and the 100kg weights on each end vibrated from the impact. Rei panted, her legs cramping from torn fibers that uselessly produced lactic acid when the nanites would fix any issues faster than her biological processes ever could.

Rei looked around, catching one guy staring at her ass but otherwise not seeing anyone who looked to be waiting for her to finish with the squatting station. Sitting down — palms supporting her against the floor — she leaned back and stared up at the holo ads in the ceiling.

She was growing hungry but hadn't reached the level where she'd start losing any built-up fat. Still, she now had some to spare, as luck would have it.

The last two weeks hadn't been easy for Rei, far from it.

[Strong Will] helped her push through, but the anxiety born from passivity when it came to tackling The Pistons like she'd planned grew every time she woke up in the morning.

Mr. Nibbles' company helped to alleviate some of it.

She wasn't really passive, though, as every waking moment was spent training her body and mind.

She'd gone to the first gym she'd bought a membership for each morning after eating until she nearly felt sick, worked out, eaten, worked out, eaten, and then returned to her apartment to work on her mind attribute and mesh magic skills.

Every time she went outside, Rei did her best to practice [Parkour] and [Athleticism], growing increasingly familiar with her surroundings — both public spaces and places she suspected weren't explicitly open to non-personnel, such as rooftops.

She did the mental exercises while periodically eating until her mind felt like it had become slurry. Then, she'd stop and go to the second gym and repeat her actions from the morning.

After that, the evening would likewise be spent smacking her brain against math formulas and logic puzzles or otherwise programming new daemons and improving her ICE.

Letting [Self-Repair] work its magic at her battered flesh, she looked at her status sheet.

「Takeda Rei:

Level: 4 [650 / 5000 Experience]

Body: 9

Mind: 13

Ego: 9

Perks:

[Merciless]

[Parallel Thoughts #1]

[Self-Repair]

[Obscure Mind]

Skills:

[Strong Will, Level 9]

[Deception, Level 6]

[Athleticism, Level 7]

[Cybernetic Adaptation, Level 4]

[Breach, Level 11]

[Splice, Level 11]

[Data Analytics, Level 12]

[Programming, Level 13]

[Parkour, Level 7]

[Pain Tolerance, Level 7]

[Melee Mastery, Level 4]

[First Aid, Level 1]

[Stealth, Level 4]

[Ranged Mastery, Level 1]

Implants: [...]

Perk Points: 0

Skill Points: 4」

I've made frankly insane progress in such a short time, but it isn't that strange when one considers the intensity and the novelty of what I've been doing.

My previous training with mesh magic has always been for situations when fully submerged inside the mesh while still being somewhat applicable outside of it. Master presumably had a plan to expand that scope, but there was probably no time for it.

The newness of programming daemons specifically meant to kill or incapacitate cyborgs in meatspace has most likely given me a boost to leveling speed and attribute increases.

Her body had also been pushed well beyond its limits again and again, only able to last even a day at that pace due to her constant mending at the expense of stolen foodstuffs.

The increase in [Body] from 7 to 8 took four days of continuous effort, a much shorter period than she'd expected.

Going from 8 to 9, though, had taken seven days, and Rei suspected she was at least a week of continuous training off from reaching 10 in the attribute. She couldn't wait as that would give her the second [Body] perk point.

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

Rei had already figured out what she would pick with it from the various perks she remembered. Even if new attractive perks became available, she doubted they would be better than what she'd planned to pick.

It has almost become humorous how much I can eat in one day when exercising. I may be eating more than I need to and building up my reserves, yet it's still insane, Rei thought as she sipped a sugary drink that was more like raw calories with a hint of protein than actual liquid.

Even though she was burning calories and nutrients constantly, she was still adding to her curves day by day. It would be gone when she recalibrated at [Body]: 10, like it had happened on 8 and 9, but she'd found that each level in the attribute made regaining the weight easier.

After all, the more nanites her body contained, the better and faster its slowly superseded biological processes became.

Rei wasn't entirely sure, but she thought that upon reaching [Body]: 10, she'd be able to regain her bust's ideal size and add the necessary fat to the rest of her body so that it would not look like corded wire in under three days as long as she ate continuously and didn't exercise much.

Still, as she'd gone for three days since her last body recalibration while continuing her exercises, her body wasn't flawless yet, and she'd have liked it to be for the following day.

The next day was the 6th of May, Year 2285 — also known as Rei's twentieth birthday.

Standing and shaking out her legs, Rei went back to her squats for another thirty minutes before calling it quits a bit early and going to the showers. While there, she thought she saw two women and one man cast glances her way, but by breaching their agents and checking if they were recording — only to find out they weren't — she only felt pleased with the recognition.

Then it was time to eat and train her [Parkour] on the way home, which she did with glee.

***

"Damn, sis. I knew you'd been working out from our frequent video calls, but wow," Miyo said, fanning her face in jest as Rei spun in the clothes Miyo had gotten her. "You look truly stunning."

The clothes Miyo had gotten her were form-fitting synth leather pants in a dark gray color approaching black that showed off her hard work at the gym.

On her feet were laced mid-calf boots with heels as high as Miyo's own boots. They were likewise a mix of dark grays and black soles, but the laces glowed a brilliant orange and had automatically tightened around Rei's lower legs when she put them on — something she found super cool and convenient.

Her upper body was covered in a light-gray crop top, which showed off her visible abdominal muscles. The top's motif was a series of ones and zeros that read 'Lust daemon' in binary.

It made Rei give her sister a very pointed eye roll, but she couldn't hide her smile.

Over the crop top was a puffy black crop jacket with silver embellishments and an open zipper. The jacket's arms went down to Rei's wrists, and its ends were likewise glowing orange neon, making each limb stand out with its glow in the dimmed light Miyo had set for the living room to show off the effect.

Miyo had also helped Rei put on some makeup. There wasn't much of it, merely some dark-violet eye shadow with silvery glitter in it to make her eyes pop. Her elder sister had commented on how smooth and clear her skin was and how thick her eyelashes had seemingly become with pouting jealousy, but it was all in good humor.

Rei chalked it up to the Samurai System's doing and didn't ponder it further.

It's very similar to Miyo's clothing style, but I must admit that it looks good. It's nothing I would wear daily, but for an occasion such as this? Certainly.

She also seems to have taken inspiration from the color of my eyes and hair when picking it out, which I'm all for. The orange glow from the clothing also makes the otherwise muted colors pleasing instead of becoming boring.

Rei was overjoyed with the gifts — the box of eyeshadow included — as she didn't have the credits to splurge on something this extravagant herself. She didn't even have 600 credits left after the apartment, gym, and other necessities such as replacement running shoes and bland everyday wear she'd bought during the previous two weeks.

"I love it! Thank you!" Rei said happily, bouncing forward to embrace her elder sister.

Miyo laughed, kissing Rei on the forehead. "No worries. It's your twentieth birthday. Of course, we'll have to make it special. I also pondered on giving you some jewelry, but you've never been one to wear earrings or necklaces before, so I didn't."

Rei shook her head. "I may want to try it and see if my preferences have changed, but I don't even have the piercings for earrings, and what you've given me is already more than enough," Rei smiled happily. "And spending the night relaxing with you and Ichiro at the club you're working at would have made me happy on its own."

Miyo flicked her nose, making Rei flinch back in surprise. "No, no. Don't say that. I'm happy you're happy with merely spending time with us, but let your Onee-san spoil you some! Alright?" She said with a giggle, going in for another hug.

"Mhm. As you say, big sis."

Miyo snorted before stepping away, looking Rei over critically again. She clicked her tongue, saying, "Maybe I should start working out too."

Rei rolled her eyes. "You've got other things working in your favor. Mine are still diminished, and as lovely as this top is, it will look even better when they've grown again," Rei said, motioning with her hands to her chest and the plunging neck, highlighting what she saw as a deficiency.

It was Miyo's turn to roll her eyes. "You're even more narcissistic than me, Rei. Honestly." She laughed.

"Hey!"

"What? It's true," Miyo teased.

Rei humphed but couldn't really argue.

So what? Everyone wants to look good! It's not weird that I want to look better than everybody else, is it?

She didn't voice the thought for fear of adding more fuel for Miyo's teasing, instead checking the time in her agent.

Nearly nine o'clock.

"Weren't we going to meet Ichiro down at the club at nine?"

Miyo's eyes likewise went silver before she cursed. "Fuck, we're going to be late. Ichiro always teases me about how long I take to get ready. Well, it was you who took your time today, so I guess I'm off the hook."

"Miyo..." Rei said with a pout.

Miyo laughed and grabbed her sister by the arm. "Alright, Imouto. Let's go party!"

***

Rei and Miyo met Ichiro at the entrance to Tranquilnot. Her elder brother smiled broadly at seeing her all dressed up and ready to celebrate her birthday.

"Happy birthday, Imouto!" He said, giving her a big hug with his clunky arms before pulling away, holding each of her shoulders. "Now, Miyo and I talked about it, and since she got you some new clothes, I'll pay for everything tonight at the club. Get whatever you want, and don't be shy. Got it?" He grinned again, showing off his sharp jawline and straight white teeth and making a few women nearby look over at him before glaring in Rei's direction.

Rei couldn't blame them for jealousy, even if they had the wrong idea. Her elder brother had likewise dressed up — his short black hair styled and upper chest bare with a silver chain hung around his neck, highlighting his pectorals like they were his proudest achievement.

He'd also changed his eyes for new cyberware since they last saw each other in person, their color a patterned blend between Rei's orange and Miyo's emerald green. In the sisters' opinion, it was very sweet of him, but it also looked really good — no doubt a factor as to why he'd stuck with it.

Rei grinned and nodded, and they entered.

The club was loud and noisy, as its name advertised. Heavy bass reverberated in Rei's chest as they moved through the entrance, past the bouncers, and into a large open space. A dancefloor flashed beneath strobe lights, and balconies hung above where people who weren't dancing mingled.

To the right and left of the open space were long bar counters where hosts and hostesses served drinks to people as they sat and chatted over the loud music, boisterous laughter intermixed, or to people merely going for a refill before rejoining their partners at the slightly elevated dance floor taking center stage.

In each corner, what Rei could only categorize as strippers swerved around poles lit from within with the club's signature colors of blue, purple, and cyan, the crowds beneath hollering and cheering as they watched.

Their clothes aren't that much more revealing than most of the clubgoers, though, so calling them 'strippers' might be inaccurate. 'Dancers' are probably what most would refer to them as. It's not as if they're entirely nude.

Miyo dragged her sister and elder brother through the raucous crowds, introducing them to people she'd met since she'd started working there. She seemed really happy and in her element, which made Rei smile all the more.

Ichiro also seemed to be having a good time even if the drinking hadn't started yet, as his eyes flicked to the dancers occasionally.

Rei suppressed the eye roll she wanted to send in his direction.

Still apprehensive of her unknown enemy, Rei made some effort to spot partying people with guns and melee weapons. There weren't many of them, but some — like Rei — had at least a knife or dagger strapped to their body where clothes were present.

Any violence was punishable with anything from a ban that could be permanent to execution on the spot if the assailant murdered someone or wouldn't let up. This was enforced by sentries keeping watch from unobtrusive corners and the balconies above — heads on a swivel in their combat armor.

A few drones also zipped around in the air, projecting holograms of neat effects that added even more visual spectacle to the place or otherwise sweeping down to sanitize spillage and the occasional vomit from someone going overboard.

They were very efficient at their tasks, from what Rei saw as she approached the bar, an enforcer escorting the shit-faced young woman out of the locale while the drone swept low over a puddle — ionizing the spillage to gas and dust that it sucked up before flying away.

This is wild.

"Sally!" Miyo shouted joyfully.

Rei's head whipped away from the drone that had disappeared into the darkness many levels up. She was momentarily bewildered before realizing that no cat had joined the party.

Rei couldn't help but let out a tiny snort before meeting the woman's — Sally's — eyes. She'd tried to suppress it — she really had — but it hadn't worked, judging by the woman's raised eyebrow.

"Sorry!" Rei said sincerely, not at all surprised that [Deception] came in handy. "My brain just short-circuited as our cat is also called Sally and..." She looked away, not actually having to pretend to be somewhat embarrassed.

The woman's eyebrow sank as she grinned, apparently only having pulled her leg as she laughed, "No worries! Miyo here already told me about the furball in the interview."

Interview?

"You're the manager! Or Miyo's boss, I suppose?" Rei said before asking, a bit unsure if she'd gotten it correctly.

"Yep," Miyo said, grinning from Rei to Sally. "I just knew something like this would happen when Imouto met you."

They both broke into giggles, and Rei pouted. Ichiro joined in the light-hearted ribbing as he laughed boisterously, clapping Rei on the back.

"Ichiro! You need to get some new hands, or you'll tear my new jacket with that trashware you're sporting."

"Oh, yeah. Forgot about that. Sorry, Rei-chan," Ichiro said as he stopped laughing and inspected the jacket. "All good. What? There isn't even a scratch?" He added, seeing Miyo's unimpressed half-glare.

"Aren't you three a riot?" Manager Sally said, smiling. "Well, congratulations are in order. Happy birthday, Rei!"

Rei felt a tiny bit awkward being congratulated by Miyo's boss, but she nodded, smiled, and thanked her anyway.

"Now, Ichiro and Miyo have booked a table on the lowest balcony above with a great view. You can spend some time together there to drink and eat or do it at a bar on the ground floor or at the one on every balcony level. Just have fun, and don't neglect the dancefloor," she said, winking at Rei before sending a frankly sultry smile at Ichiro.

Is she interested, even with the bulky shit he's got chipped? I'm honestly somewhat impressed. It could get awkward with her being Miyo's boss, though.

Not thinking of consequences as usual, Ichiro grinned back, his eyes suddenly gaining a predatory gleam that Sally seemed to reciprocate.

"Enough, you!" Rei said with a laugh, punching Ichiro on the shoulder.

Miyo, obviously also spotting the potential distraction from their purpose that night, grabbed Ichiro by the arm after saying her thanks to Sally and dragging the elder brother away, Rei trotting behind.

Miyo guided them to a plexiglass elevator going up and down between the ground floor and the balconies, the flashing visuals making the whole construction sparkle with light refractions.

That must be trippy as hell when inebriated.

As they waited for the elevator to descend with three other people standing close by — two who were nearly on the verge of ripping each other's clothes off — Ichiro said, "Sorry, Imouto. I know tonight's your night-"

"Don't sweat it!" Rei interrupted, not at all bothered. "Just spend some time with me and Miyo to get drunk and celebrate first. I'm sure both of you will find yourselves in other company before the night is over."

Rei smiled up at him, and he grinned back, seemingly relieved she understood and didn't feel neglected.

How could I? They're doing all this for me.

After they took the elevator up through the lights and noise, they walked out onto the lowest balcony — thirty meters wide and going all around the large room — before Miyo led them to one of the tables with stools around them.

Some tables were already occupied by patrons, but theirs had a tiny hologram projected out of a holo emitter set into its center reading 'Reserved. ' It winked out as they all sat, and Miyo's eyes flashed silver for a second.

Their table was one of those closest to the balcony edge, giving them a great view.

Rei looked around and saw that many doors also sat along each balcony, leading to unknown places. She even spotted the pair making out while waiting for the elevator — not that they'd stopped while riding it — walking through one such door.

"Where are they going?" Rei asked, curious.

"Well, some intimacy is allowed out here, but those wishing to go further without leaving the club's premises must go to a more private room. Not that all the rooms are made for only two people, mind you."

Ah, that makes so much sense.

With the charged atmosphere and hormones practically floating like pink mist in the air, she'd been surprised she hadn't seen more overt engagement between people. It wouldn't have made sense to allow such public displays at that particular club since there were dollhouses that catered to that sort of thing, but people were also stupid and made stupid decisions.

Give them a convenient way to satisfy their cravings and harsh punishment for not taking the easy way. Carrot and stick — burrito and gun? — or whatever.

"So? What are you going to get?" Ichiro asked Rei, his eyes swirling silver as Miyo's started doing the same.

Rei was confused for a moment before realizing what was going on. Scanning the area with her eyes for nodes, she spotted one next to the holo emitter.

Breaching it, she easily accessed the public interface displaying drinks, snacks, and other items for sale — party drugs among them.

No drugs for me. Well, that isn't what I meant; Only alcohol for me tonight.

"You know I haven't had alcohol since before the coma, right? So my first drink in nearly three years has to be something special," Rei said with a smile, browsing the selection.

"Fuck! You're right," Miyo said agast. "I usually drink some while working, and Ichiro goes out partying with his friends. For some reason, we never brought any home when you stayed at our apartment."

"We're poor excuses for siblings," Ichiro said with feigned melancholy.

"Oh, hush," Rei said, laughing. "But seriously, what should I get?"

"Does Tranquilnot have something like the drink you used to mix up for me?" Ichiro asked Miyo.

"Like hell I'd recommend something like that to Rei on her birthday. That would just be mean!"

"What?" Ichiro looked baffled.

Miyo leaned over to half-whisper in Rei's ear, but even though the music was deafening, all their auditory implants could easily filter it out, making the action nothing but theatrics. "Our elder brother here likes drinking what we hostesses call a 'G-Tail' or 'Gutter Cocktail.' It's 50/50 sewer water from the club's complex and hand sanitizer."

Ichiro gagged.

Yeah, no. Even if that was a joke, it sounds fucking awful.

They ordered their drinks and started what was looking to be an enjoyable night out.