Westbrook

April 2nd

2069

In the early hours of the morning, Sophie finally rode her Kusanagi down the hidden service road to her hideout. She’d spent as much time as she could riding in circles, avoiding cameras to ensure the netrunner working with the Tygers couldn’t find her. She ultimately returned home once she started to feel woozy from blood loss.

She pulled out her medkit and sat in front of the mirror, methodically patching herself up. She could have gone to Vik; he’d likely be more than willing to patch her up. However, Sophie suspected if she did, the older man would try and care for her. That was just his nature. She didn’t want to outright reject his kindness, but she didn’t want to risk developing a relationship with him either.

Thus, while she bandaged herself up, Sophie found herself looking through a deluge of system notifications. There were far more than she had expected, considering the generally slow speed at which her skills tended to grow.

Parkour Proficiency +2

Parkour [17/100]

Stealth Proficiency +1

Stealth [9/100]

Basic Gun Combat Proficiency +2

Basic Gun Combat [15/100]

Basic Bladed Combat Proficiency +1

Basic Bladed Combat [10/100]

Along with the completion of the basic grunt hunting mission and the first bit of progress towards her 100 undamaged hunts, a second mission had been completed, one that she had completely missed.

Mission Complete

Survive the Tyger Claw ambush.

Bonus Objective: Eliminate your assailants.

Difficulty: Hard

Rewards: 750 L-Coins

Bonus Rewards: 1x Free Proficiency Point

As she tightened the bandage on her shoulder, she asked the system about the bonus reward.

“What’s with the free proficiency point? I’ve never seen one of them before.”

A Free Proficiency Point allows you to improve a basic skill’s proficiency by 1 point.

“Huh. What should I put it into? Actually, before I do that, I need to figure out why my skills have improved so much.” Sophie ran her eyes over every skill description, trying to figure out what had changed. Then she examined the knowledge provided by each skill.

She figured that Stealth had probably been on the verge of a level and she utilised Parkour quite a bit during her attempted escape, so it was reasonable they both increased. However, the development of her two combat skills were baffling. Every last bit of brain power went into analysing why there had been such a large improvement.

Ultimately, as she read the names of the skills, the reason clicked. “Combat! Both of the skills are about using guns and blades in combat. I was already doing that, but it must’ve been the increased intensity from fighting two people at once!”

Sophie knew she’d have to test whether or not more intense, riskier hunts would provide greater benefits for her skills. But to do that, she needed to make some investments. After thinking for a while, she turned her attention to the final notification. The one she had been waiting to receive for weeks.

Passive Skill: Ambidextrous has been unlocked!

Ambidextrous [1/100]

Immediately after reading it, a burning sensation, similar to the one that occurred with Parkour, appeared in her skull. Her brain was on fire as dozens of neural pathways were burnt into it. Once it ended, Sophie lifted her left hand, marvelling at how it felt the same as her right hand.

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Unlocking the passive skill had provided her the ability to truly utilise her left hand, however it was akin to a toddler. It was only the natural ability to use it effectively, not the skilled usage of it like fine motor skills.

With her head still aching from the new skill, Sophie decided to take a nap and begin her preparations to test her theory once she woke up.

-----------------------

Sophie’s Kusanagi roared as she sped towards Watson. The air rushed past her, a nice breeze in stark contrast to the general humidity of the city. The Tygers that ambushed her had mentioned a ‘Suko-sama’. The name was unfamiliar and she hadn’t given it much thought to begin with. But replaying the previous nights’ events, it appeared they wanted her dead. Hence, she was on her way to see Rita and gather information. She needed to know everything she could about the person targeting her.

Lizzie’s Bar came into view, its neon lights dimmed in the daylight but still iconic. Sophie parked her bike and dismounted, pulling her jacket tighter against the morning chill. The bar might have been closed to the public at this hour, but Rita was stationed outside as always, leaning casually against the wall with her arms crossed.

Rita raised an eyebrow as Sophie approached, her gaze sweeping over the younger woman’s slightly battered appearance. "Kid, you look like you went five rounds with a chrome gorilla. You alright?"

Sophie brushed past the comment with a blunt reply. "Mhm. I’m fine. Want to talk to you. Privately."

Rita studied her for a moment, then shrugged. "Alright. I haven’t seen you in person since we last met. Must be something interesting. Come on in."

The two entered the bar. Sophie distinctly noted the eeriness of the place, caused by the lack of a crowd and music. She followed Rita through the main floor and into a private room in the back. The room was modest, with a semi-circular lounge and a low table. Rita gestured for Sophie to take a seat as she did so herself.

As the younger girl sat, Rita’s sharp eyes didn’t miss the way she favored her right side. "Seriously, you look like shit. What the hell happened to you?"

Sophie dropped onto the lounge, her expression as serious as she could look with her features. "Doesn’t matter. I’m fine."

Rita sighed, leaning against the wall. "You’ve got a funny definition of 'fine,' but whatever. You know the Mox, and me? We’re here to help, if you need it.” She received a nod, which felt like a small victory. She’s still guarded. I wonder what happened to her…Rita’s thoughts trailed off as she spoke again. “So, what’s this about?"

"Do you know the name ‘Suko-sama’," Sophie said. "I need information."

Rita’s casual demeanor shifted slightly as she sat up, her gaze narrowing. "Suko-sama? Where’d you hear that name?"

"From the pair of Tygers I killed last night. They ambushed me, mentioned the name to try and intimidate me." Sophie replied. Her tone was cold.

Rita let out a small huff, resting her head on her hand. "Ah, that explains things. Normally you only kill one person when you go out. Three in a single was definitely odd. So, what exactly did the Claws say?"

"Said they’d be paid well for my head. Is there a bounty on my head or something?"

“Hmm, not that I know of. If there is, it might be Tyger Claw exclusive. I reckon someone’s finally decided to put an end to your attacks.” Rita replied after a moment.

“And? What does that have to do with this Suko person?”

“Well, it depends on which Suko we’re talking about. However, I think it’s Suko Rei that’s after you. He himself is, realistically, a nobody. However, his father, Suko Takeshi, is a different story.”

“That doesn’t tell me anything, Rita.” Sophie gave the Mox bouncer a small glare.

“Sorry, sorry,” the older woman put her hands up as she spoke. “So, Suko Rei is a low-level Tyger Claw Enforcer. How much do you know about the Tyger Claw hierarchy?”

“Not much.”

“Mhm, thought so. All the guys you’ve been taking out?They sit at the bottom. They’re grunts, expendable foot soldiers. Above them are the low-level enforcers, like Rei. They normally manage small groups of grunts or are part of a hit-squad. Above those guys are the middle and higher ranked enforcers, which follow the same general pattern, with some exceptions. Following so far?”

“Yeah. Although, how many Tygers are there? You’re making it sound like there’s thousands.”

“Cause there are. A rough estimate suggests there are over 5,000 Tygers in Night City. Most of them are grunts but there are still plenty of enforcers, of all different levels. Above the high-level enforcers though, are the really dangerous members. There’s only a handful of Captains, most of which either control a subdistrict or different industries the Tygers are involved with. Above them is the second in command and the actual leaders, but you don’t need to worry about them for now.”

“Right, I understand all that. But what does it have to do with my question?

“Well, Suko Rei is a low-level enforcer. Nobody important. However, his father, Suko Takeshi, is the Captain in charge of Japantown. See why I’m explaining now?”

Sophie didn’t reply for a while, too busy having her mind blown. The game didn’t go into much depth with the gangs, so it was totally new information. However, she was still confused.

“So why am I being hunted?”

“Well, Rei is…a failure. To put it simply. His father had very high hopes, providing Rei with good chrome and equipment. However, he’s failed to accomplish anything. In fact, it’s well known he struggles to effectively use his cyberware, because he didn’t build up to what he has. He also desperately wants to make his father proud of him. He’s probably hunting you because your death might make his father happy. Killing dozens of Tygers in a couple of months was bound to draw attention.”

Sophie let out a deep breath and took some time to gather her thoughts. Eventually, she spoke.

“Alright, what can you tell me about this guy, Rei. I need to know who to look out for.”

“He’s tried to follow in his father’s steps, becoming a street samurai. He’s got a smartlink and uses a Yukimura pistol. I can see you’ve gotten yourself some subdermal. It’ll hurt a bit but with some decent wearable armour, you shouldn’t need to worry about the gun. What you do need to look out for is the katana.” She paused before sending over a photo.

In it, a man wielded a blade that looked almost identical to Errata, an iconic thermal katana found by V in 2077. “So it’s got a thermal edge?” Sophie asked.

“That’s right. Given to him by his dad. He pairs it with a lower-end sandy; because he can’t handle anything better, and some other chrome. He’s got decent subdermal too, better than yours at least. If you see him, I highly advise you to run. Or at least get yourself some better chrome first. And killing him would be a very, very dangerous choice. He may be a failure but Takeshi still loves him.”

“Mmm. I wasn’t planning to go looking for him. But it sounds like he’s pretty keen to find me, so I reckon we’ll cross paths sooner rather than later.”

Rita stood up as she replied. “Just be careful. You’re a good kid and your work, even if it’s small, has been helping us.”

“Thanks for the info, Rita. See you around.” As Sophie walked out of the room, Rita called out behind her.

“See ya Sophie. Stop by some time, we can have a chat.” The younger girl didn’t verbally reply but waved goodbye over her shoulder.

“Was that her? The girl you keep talking about?” Down the hall, a voice drifted over. Rita turned and saw Susie Q, leader of the Mox and one of her best friends.

“That’s right.”

“She doesn’t seem too friendly,” Susie commented.

“I think she’s scared. Some kind of trauma, doesn’t want to connect with anyone. But her skills are developing fast and she’s doing good work. I can only hope she’ll eventually open up. I’d love to be her friend, help her get past whatever she’s experienced.”

“You’ve always been like that, Rita. For what it’s worth, good luck.” With that, Susie clapped a hand on the bouncer’s shoulder before walking off, leaving Rita to think about the young girl she’d just spoken with.