Chapter 101

I left Jun to brood over his playboy ways. I headed out of the apartment entirely to give him some space. He was totally freaking out on the inside at flirting with Rita, and I would normally stick around to calm him down, but he honestly needed some private time to come to terms with the fact he might actually still be alive and interested in girls.

 

I headed out onto the street with no real plans.

 

Did I want to go hang out with my chooms? Go netrunning? Shoot something?

 

That last one was pretty tempting, but I didn’t exactly have a lot of targets at the moment. I guess I could go find some scavs?

 

I shook my head, just because I was bored was no reason to get into a gunfight…

 

Even if it was really tempting.

 

So instead I should… I pulled up my agent on my eyes. I had a lot of money.

 

I should probably spend some of it? I mean that was what people did when they had disposable income right? Spend it on stupid stuff?

 

What did I want?

 

More Chrome? Probably not a good idea. At least until I get a few more points into Adaptation.

 

I already had a preem ride… I could go find a Kusanagi. I always wanted a motorcycle… I looked at my account.

 

I certainly had the eddies. Between the big scav raid, and all the smaller ones, Hiromi had been raking in the eddies with all the chrome sales.

 

I checked the time, Hiromi would be out of school soon, maybe enough time for everything to work out.

 

So I pulled up a number and made a call.

*Motoko, what do you want?* Wakako asked as soon as she picked up the phone.

 

*Do you have any info on a Kusanagi for sale?*

 

*I don’t deal in people. If your brother ended up on the market, I have no interest in it.* It took me a moment to catch what had just been said. Wakako spoke completely straight. No hint of the joke she had just made in her tone.

 

*Hahaha, I’m laughing so hard Wakako, Wow you should go work at a comedy club. So you got any info?*

 

*I do happen to have a few sellers for Kusanagi. You teenagers and your motorcycles.*

 

*They are cool Wakako! Don’t tell me none of your husbands ever gave you a ride on their bikes.* I teased right back and I knew I had got her as I got a scoffing noise through the line, but not an actual refusal. *But do you have any that aren’t the Mizuchi mod? I’m looking for something more standard.*

 

*That does lower the amount of sellers. I’ll send you the information.*

 

*Thanks Wakako!* I chirped in a rush, before she could hang up, and it was a moment after the line went dead.

 

Gotcha!

 

A few moments later I got a text.

 

Pictures of a pretty red Kusanagi, and a price that made me wince.

 

I sent the confirmation, and eddies, and a few moments later I got a location to pick it up, as well as a digital key.

 

I rushed across the street to get into my Quadra.

 

I had promised Hiromi a ride if I ever got a Bike afterall!

 

—–

 

The Kusanagi was everything I had ever wanted. It was also a smoother ride than Jun’s stupid over tuned Mizuchi. It was exactly what I wanted, if not for a few issues.

 

“Pretty sure whoever owned this thing last, fucked with the brakes.” I grumbled as I once again felt the brakes slipping as I came to a stop.

 

Good thing I drove so safely otherwise I would have crashed right into the back of the car stopped at the light.

 

Also one of the front head lights was out. Have to fix that before nighttime. I had already looked up a few shops where I could buy them.

 

Unfortunately discovering the brakes were bad meant I couldn’t race across the city to pick up Hiromi for the ride I promised her.

 

Had to do some work on my new baby first.

 

I pulled into the parking lot of a part store. It was sketchy to the eyes of my old life, but in this one, it was actually a pretty safe spot.

 

I pulled into an open spot in a corner far enough away I could do some work without anyone getting in the way and slid off my new ride.

 

I resisted the urge to squeal like a kid as I did a cool saunter into the store past a few of the gonks that hung around shops like this checking out the rides that came in.

 

This sort of place was popular with racing types. It’s why I had picked this particular shop while searching the city-net. Kusanagi weren’t cheap bikes, and they used high end parts for a lot of things.

 

One of the teens that were hanging around the entrance gave my ride a whistle as I passed him by. “Nice wheels kid.”

“She’s preem right?” I asked as I walked past, stepping into the shop and taking it all in.

 

Inside the smell of oil, grease, and steel filled my nose a nostalgic smell. I remember being dragged into shops like this all the time in my past life. I shook off the smell and began searching.

 

The head light was easy enough to find, and I went ahead and grabbed a replacement for all the lights as well.

 

Brakes though weren’t just out in the store front.

 

“What can I help you with Hermanita?” The Tino behind the counter asked as he looked me over wondering what I was doing here.

 

Not every day you see a fourteen year old in a shop like this.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

 

“I need some brakes for my Kusanagi Yaiba. They’re dying bad.”

 

“Alright. Let me see what we got.” He stepped away from the counter and into the back that was covered in parts and boxes of parts.

 

After a short wait he came back with a set of square boxes that were definitely not factory standard, and he pulled out two brake pads for my bike.

 

Thankfully I had enough Tech Attribute that I was able to tell that while used, the brakes were still in good condition.

 

I did a few checks on both though just to be sure, chrome fingers sliding into spots to check that they weren’t just trash made to look normal. I could see the seller nod along as I seemed to actually know what I was doing.

 

“They’ll do.” I passed the eddies over for them and the head lights and carried it all out of the shop.

 

Once again I was glad my Body was so high, because the Kusanagi had big fucking brakes. They were heavy.

 

I walked out and set them on the concrete in front of my Kusanagi as I waited for my tool box to arrive.

 

I could drive it home and work on it there. But I didn’t really want to drive my bike with the brakes all fucked up.

 

Seriously, it was dangerous!

 

Unfortunately It wasn’t like I kept my toolbox in my Quadra. It was beside the couch where I had left it while working on the Music box, so that meant I had to call Jun.

 

To my surprise Jun showed up not on his own Kusanagi, but in my Quadra!

 

The black with purple Quadra was also getting some attention from the teens all hanging around. I guess it wasn’t every day they saw a Nomad custom Quadra Type-66. I could see the kids all perk up as Jun pulled in and into the space next to my Kusanagi. Of course all the attention they had vanished in an instant when Jun stepped out.

 

I could practically hear the whispers of “Oni” echoed between all the kids.

 

Okay seriously what was Jun doing that was spreading his rep around so much? I was fairly confident I had killed more people than him! I shook off the outrage as I waved to Jun.

 

“Hey Jun. You brought my Quadra?”

 

“It’s not exactly comfortable riding a bike with a toolbox in my arms. I didn’t figure you would mind.” He said and I just nodded. I had given Jun a key for my Quadra, but he had stuck to his bike even when it would be more convenient.

 

“Sorry for pulling you out of your brooding.” I told him and that earned me a glare as he offered me the tool box pushing me back with it a bit.

“I wasn’t brooding.”

“Sure. Sure.” I agreed without doing anything of the sort as I took my tools and went to work.

 

“Pass me the-” Jun said as he crouched down and looked like he was going to help.

 

So I immediately threatened him with a wrench. “Don’t even think about it! This is my baby.”

 

“Do you even know how to… replace the brakes?” Jun asked, noticing the parts I had bought. He ignored me for a moment as he walked over to the boxes of brakes to check them.