Chapter 100

I slept a full eight hours after that. Woke up to a warm sunrise over Night City that I could only just see outside the apartment window. Did the normal morning things. Had breakfast, watched TV, realized NC TV still sucked and in the end just didn’t do anything serious.

 

And in the end I was rewarded! Hiromi called asking if I wanted to meet up for lunch. Giving me something to do other than be lazy around the apartment.

 

Turns out she meant for us to meet up on her lunch break from the academy, but I wasn’t going to complain. Because Hiromi had a surprise when I picked her up!

 

I pulled in across from Arasaka Academy into a waiting area, and idled while waiting for HIromi to show up, that I was actually surprised when someone walked up to the car and only when I noticed her did she strike a pose.

 

Hiromi had chipped in some chrome!

 

She had new optics. It was the thing that caught my eye, as they were glowing in a hypnotic swirl of colors although mostly her eyes remained a neon green. Her favorite color. I was staring as she slipped into the Quadra. My scan was blocked as I was so interested in what she had chipped in. High end Arasaka Optics for sure, stuff that competes with Kiroshi definitely.

 

She also had some changes to her EMP threading as well, and her Neon makeup.

 

The threading was darker now. My previous assumption that I would end up with Goth Hiromi had been fairly accurate, as the lines were now a more matte black to match her other new chrome. She definitely had some sort of hand chrome now, with all the black plastic and metal that wrapped around her fingers and a bit over her knuckles.

 

“Preem chrome Hiromi.” I finally said after checking out all the changes for a moment and I could tell she was preening under the attention.

 

“Oh these little things? Nothing big. Just some minor changes!” She faux played down her changes and I couldn’t help but giggle at her attempts.

 

“How’s it all feel? Any issues?”

“No, it’s no big.” She denied instantly, but I wasn’t going to let it go with just that. I reached over and grabbed her hand with mine partially to catch her attention and also to examine the new chrome.

 

“If you ever have trouble. It’s not something to be ashamed of. My arms gave me trouble and I’m glad I talked to people about it.” I told her, eyes meeting her own and I could see the swirl of colors in them shift suddenly even faster.

 

“Bwuh! It’s fine! Minor alterations for the most part! Most of it is just some upgrades you know, new eyes with better scans, and some hand chrome that will help as an Arasaka goon… Executive. I should probably stop saying that.” She muttered and I laughed at her as she blushed a little.

 

I reached out then, tracing a finger down the dark EMP threading going along her cheek. “No more kitty whiskers huh?”

 

She was flushing a lot at me pointing out her old aesthetic. “It just felt childish! So I changed a little!… It looks okay?”

“Yeah, it’s preem! I like Goth Hiromi. She’s cute.”

“G-goth? What the hell is that?” Hiromi asked, and I had a moment of complete brain shut down.

 

Goth wasn’t a thing!?

 

“It’s… A thing. With stuff? Anyway! You look cute! I always did like the Arasaka aesthetic to be honest.” I told her, and while she didn’t look like she was going to let it go, she did preen again under my words.

 

“Well good! C’mon let’s get some food. I only have so long for a lunch break… So thanks for coming to pick me up. I wanted to see yo- to show off my new chrome!”

 

I nodded quickly, pulling out of the little park and really just heading a bit down the street to an area with some food shops. “The chrome is absolutely preem.” I continued to assure her as we pulled in and took a few minutes to order.

 

I ended up eating some weird fancy wrap thing. It had.. Lettuce? No I’m pretty sure that wasn’t actually lettuce but I was pretending. Really hard.

 

Thankfully Hiromi wasn’t just wanting to show off her chrome, and was distracting me.

 

“It’s so boring Motoko!” She whined as she stuffed her own wrap in her face as she sat with me in the Quadra.

“School is important.”

 

“I know! It doesn’t make it any less boring though.” She grumbled. “I saw your newest BD.” She said suddenly and I jerked as I realized the last BD I had dropped had been ‘that’ one.

 

“O-oh. You okay? It didn’t make you sick or anything right?”

“What? C’mon Motoko. I don’t entirely get why you hang out with the Mox, but Judy is definitely a Maestro when it comes to tuning BD’s no way I would get sick. It was fucking preem though. That first drop? I felt like my stomach was going out of my throat, but you just hit the ground in a roll and were off.” Hiromi made a few punching motions with her fists.

 

I didn’t really know what to say as I was a little embarrassed at how brutal that particular engagement had been. “It didn’t bother you? The whole…” I rolled my wrist as I couldn’t find the word.

 

“No way! It was exciting, and knowing it was you behind it all only made it way more preem.” She assured me. “I see why you wrote that song though. It really did fit way better with the action.”

 

“Ah… Yeah. It’s meant to be a song that plays during a brutal fight.” I muttered a little embarrassed that Hiromi had actually seen it!

 

She wasn’t supposed to see it!

 

“It was very preem, it’s getting super popular. All the rich kids are buying it. This one had so much brutality even the normal XBD watchers wanted it.” She informed me as she took another bite of her wrap. “The Only Thing They Fear is You. Preem title. That’s the name of your song?”

 

“Yeah… Yeah that’s the name of the song. It’s not too weird?” Ah! I was right! It was so awkward having my bestie see that BD! I shouldn’t have made it! Stupid past Motoko!

 

“Not at all! A lot of XBD’s have weird names! Seriously, I’ve handled so many weird BD’s over the last couple weeks. I only agreed to help Nox sell to the academy kids so I could make sure everyone could see your preem BD’s. But I’ve had to deal with a lot of trash. I even had to do a hostile takeover of this street kid that goes to the academy. He was selling stuff, but he was selling the BD’s like some weird corner hawker.”

 

“Wait. Some kid was selling BD’s in the academy?” And why did that sound familiar? I asked myself already knowing the answer.

“Yeah. Some street kid that got in on grades. Which is totally weird by the way. Anyway, you’d think some smart kid would know how to sell BD’s but he was hawking them like a back alley dealer. Barely anyone bought from him. I took his little attempt and turned it into an actual business.” She said flipping her hair with one hand.

 

“That’s really impressive Hiromi!” I chirped and I could see her face go red at my compliment even if she side eyed me a bit to make sure I was actually being sincere. Which I was.

 

I couldn’t set up a business like that.

 

“Ugh! I can’t look at you with your dopey smile! I have to get back to class anyways. Thanks. Motoko. For coming to spend time with me.” She said as she slipped out of the Quadra with a wave and then a little jog to run back to the academy.

 

I just laughed at her fleeing form as I started the car and pulled out of the little parking the food shops had.

 

It was too bad. I was pretty sure the kid Hiromi had taken over the BD business from was David. I still wanted to meet the gonk.

 

Eh, someday, I decided.

 

—–

 

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“Heeey Rita.” I called, drawling out the greeting a bit at the look the older woman gave me.

 

“Give me one reason I should ever let you inside again?” She asked, arms crossing over her chest.

 

“Cause. I’m super duper sorry about causing trouble! It won’t happen again… I uh. Don’t drink for a reason you know?”

Rita kept the unamused look on her face for quite a while before finally it cracked and she laughed at me.

“Well at least a little trash dive hasn’t hurt your ego too badly.”

“Nah I’m okay… I only kinda remember that night. So I guess V and I singing on the table was causing some problems?”

“Oh please, that’s barely a problem. The issue is you hacked our music system to play Samurai music on repeat. Judy had to come up and reset the whole thing to stop the ten thousand repeats of Never Fade Away.”

“Ooh. I don’t remember that… Sorry.”

Rita huffed a laugh and rolled her eyes. “You’re lucky we owe you one. Just don’t do it again.”

“Deal.” I agreed and Rita nodded, making a motion that I could enter, but I just blinked at her. “Oh I’m not here to party or something. I just knew I should apologize for causing trouble.” I said and Rita looked at me.

 

I looked at her.

 

She blinked.

 

I blinked.

 

“You came here to apologize… To me?”

“Well yeah! I caused you trouble! You even had to throw me out of the club… Drunk Motoko can’t have been easy to deal with.”

 

“You were actually docile once I got you off the table. I just had to tell you you were in trouble and you were kinda blubbering and going along with it.”

 

“I definitely didn’t blubber!”

 

“Can you say that for sure?” She asked and I had no real response to that one.

 

I huffed in outrage and Rita once again broke out into laughter. “So what are you doing just coming by?”

“Mostly! I just stopped to see Hiromi on her lunch break, and I don’t have any gigs or anything for the day.”

“In that case why don’t you come hang with me. I’m getting off soon. You can show me how far you’ve come with your hobby.”

 

“Oh that’s right! I do owe you for that… Why don’t you come to my place then! I can show you my music box! I just finished a few songs!”

 

Rita blinked and then seemed utterly amused at my offer bursting into a full body laugh. “Sure Motoko I’ll come over to your house and play.” She said cracking up.

 

I just pouted at her, because that’s not what I said!

 

—–

 

“Welcome to my home!” I introduced with a wave at the apartment for Rita.

 

“Huh.” She commented looking over all my junk still left out on the living room table.

 

“D-don’t just huh! Sorry about the mess though.” I muttered a little embarrassed. Dangit Rita was a cool older woman! It wasn’t fair that my place was a little messy! Dangit Jun! Aren’t you the responsible one!?

 

No wait. He almost went full Cyberpsycho.

 

I was the responsible one.

 

Fuck no wonder our apartment was a damn mess. No one should trust me with responsibility!

 

I shook off that horror filled realization as I gestured for Rita to take the couch.