I sat next to Mira in the booth of a diner not far from Blitz Base. I was planning on originally just heading into the base to meet Uncle Ezra as he landed, but that plan fell through. He insisted we stayed off the base as much as possible. Must be worried a traitor was still in the base. I told him it was gang, of course, but he wasn't convinced.

Which brought up a weird point. Was Mira really just captured by bad luck? Or was she set up by a traitor in the FSA's military as a way of getting at Uncle Ezra? My uncle didn't have a small position in the military. He'd made all sorts of enemies over the years. It wouldn't be that surprising for someone to seek revenge through his daughter.

I found no evidence there were third parties involved in the whole thing… but that didn't mean much. They could've cleaned up their trail enough I just didn't find it. I wasn't exactly in the best state of mind when hunting for Mira. By now, they could've easily done a deep clean to cover everything up.

Uncle Ezra showed up under an armed escort about an hour after he landed. The guards spread out, blocking the entrance while he headed over to us. With each step closer, Mira tensed up further and further next to me. Her head dipped, hiding further and further in the hood of her poncho.

My uncle paused just in front of the table. The time and events since their last parting seemed like an unbreakable gap between the two of them. He spoke up, his voice sounding thick and wooden. "Mira…"

My mikata flinched and looked up, tears glistening in her eyes. Her lips trembled, and a hundred different emotions chased across her face. She popped up from her seat and lunged into a hug, nearly knocking him over. The ExoCore, although I still wasn't sure what exactly it did, tuned up her strength by an impressive amount. "Pa."

They hugged each other tightly. She clutched at him, tears dribbling down her cheeks though she made no sound. Uncle, for his part, froze up like he didn't know what to do. One hand brushed the exoskeleton under her clothes and no matter how he shifted, the halo was always in his way.

"I'm sorry." He whispered over and over again while rubbing at her back. "I'm so sorry."

"I-its not your fault." She pressed closer, almost as if she was terrified he'd vanish if she let go.

"I thought I'd never find you." Tears fell from his weathered face. He was usually either so cheerful or stern, just like Mira. It felt weird watching him cry. Felt like I shouldn't be here.

"I- I wanted to-" She whispered hoarsely, and then cut herself off.

"I know." He pulled back just enough to cup her face with his large hands. His eyes flickered with pain.

Mira's hands knotted in his shirt and she rested her head against his chest. He held her in his arms for a moment and then picked her up, sliding into the booth opposite me. Even Mira who dwarfed me looked tiny compared to his bulky frame. He finally seemed to notice that I was around. "Thank you, Shiro."

"Don't mention it." I waved a hand and leaned against the window, letting the winter cold surge through me. With the other, I shut my deck where I'd been working on the autopilot feature for my bike. "We're family."

"Still…" He cut himself off and shook his head.

My phone started to ring. Shinobu's name popped up into my HUD. It looked like he was finally replying to my text. "I've gotta take this… I'll be right back."

"Right." Uncle Ezra nodded and broke into a quiet conversation with Mira. From her unsettled look, she was probably going into a deep dive of what happened. My heart throbbed, though I continued to move along and give them some time.

I stepped out of the diner and moved away from the armed guards toward an alley. I even set up my scrambler just in case and then answered the call. "Hey."

"Chiwa, mikata!" Shinobu cheerfully called. His voice was at complete odds with the scene I just left. "You asked for a favor?"

"Chek… I need a lawyer." The Jade Fang was definitely the best place to go for a lawyer. Quite frankly, I needed someone that wouldn't mind a more criminal approach to solving problems. A lawyer that worked with the Jade Fang was the perfect way to go.

"Run into trouble with the Crusade?" His voice lost some of the cheer and turned more business-like.

"Not exactly." Although they were hunting for Nightshade, my alter ego… that was still an uncomfortable thought. I needed to get back to Hope about that soon. "I want to take over the family company."

"Cold Moon Solutions? Hmm… good lawyers don't come cheap, mikata. If it was a personal favor I'd help out no problem, but this'll be moving Fang assets." He was in a fully business voice now.

"That's fine." I should have a bunch of money coming in shortly anyway. Sure, some of it would have to go to actually producing the hover bike. Not all of it though.

"I'll have to ask an elder… are you familiar with Elder Usagi-sama?" Shinobu continued without giving me a moment to think. "She's in charge of all the legal disputes."

"In passing." I'd heard of her, at least. Never interacted with any of the elders except Ishimaru though. And he was closer to a retired elder than anything.

"I'll ask her. The Fang will want to make a deal. Something a little more than money." Shinobu coughed lightly and his voice dipped quieter. "Be careful. I shouldn't really be saying this, but try not to get fleeced."

"Think it'll be an issue?" I wasn't the best at bargaining… Maybe I should ask Saint to come along? He might be able to talk me out of a horrible deal. He already knew who I was, anyway. What was one more secret shared?

"I don't know… the Fang treats its own well, you know that. You're in a weird spot between outsider and insider though. It'll be up to whoever you deal with."

"Thanks for the warning, Shinobu." I leaned against the alley wall, my mind racing with several thoughts.

The Fang Enforcer chuckled cheerfully. "No problem, mikata. I'll call you when I figure something out."

He hung up, leaving me standing in the alley. I finally turned my attention to a group of thugs that'd walked out from the back. Looked like low-level gangers with steel pipes and machetes as their weapons of choice. They'd respectfully waited for my call to end. What gentlemen.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"My lady, you seem lost." One of them approached ahead of the group while the rest started to encircle me. "It's dangerous to wander into back alleys."

"You sure you guys want to do this?" I looked around the group. There were five of them.

I seemed to spook one of the gangers. He took a step back and called out hesitantly to the leader. "H-hey, Brother Wang… I don't know about this."

"What are you talking about?" The leader, Brother Wang, shot a glare at the guy, losing the majority of the threat he'd been building.

The guy seemed to gain some confidence when the leader actually listened to him. "D-don't she match the description of t-that demon? T-the one who's been terrorizing groups 'round here. Poncho. No taller than a middle-schooler-"

"Hey! I resent that!" I was definitely taller than a middle-schooler. These- these people just didn't know what they were talking about!

"P-poor temper." The guy flinched backward when I glared at him with murder in my eyes. "M-maybe we let her go?"

"Hmm…" Brother Wang stared at me for several moments and then waved his hand. The gang split up, opening the path back out of the alley. "Sorry for the disturbance, miss."

I looked around the group, watching for any signs of trickery. Nothing. I guess my reputation was starting to spread? Still though… Although they couldn't recognize me off my face thanks to Master of Disguise, that didn't mean they couldn't recognize other parts of me. Note to self, get better about actually making disguises. Even just a bit of effort could save me some trouble.

"I'm impressed." I watched the group for a moment longer. "I guess I'll let you live then."

Casually, I walked out of the alley. Fear the Reaper flared out behind me, not enough to stun-lock any of them, but more than enough to send trembled down their spines. If I had a rep around her, I needed to keep acting to reinforce it.

Mira and Uncle Ezra were in much better spirits when I returned. The cry-fest was over, anyway. For now. I got the feeling both of them shoved it down till they could talk somewhere more private later. Mira cheerfully waved to me when I entered. "Shiro!"

I kept my head down and moved over to them, sliding in across the booth. Mira was leaned up against the window with her legs propped up across uncle's lap. They'd ordered what looked like a platter of sandwiches while I was gone.

"You talked it out?" I asked after no one spoke up for a few moments.

"Those bastards-" Uncle Ezra squeezed his eyes shut, though from his clenched fist there was no hiding what emotion surged through him. "I read an article on the plane. City Of Suffering, or something like that. Visceral was connected to Tornado?""

Well, would you look at that? Saint had another reader. "Yeah… Tornado's in for a rough time. Last I heard, Sentinel was breathing down their neck."

"As they should… Bastards are lucky the Crusade got them first." His jaw clenched. "You went to COS with the story?"

I nodded my head. "Saint, the reporter, is a good friend of mine. Wrote the article after it all went down."

"Is he taking advantage-"

"Pa!" Mira popped him in the arm and shook her head rapidly. "He helped her find me."

"Sorry… still, keep your guard up." My uncle's expression turned more and more serious with each word. "Men are wolves."

"I know that." I'd been around the block enough to see all kinds of people. The good, the bad, and the ugly gray in between.

It wasn't just men either. Unfortunately, people in general were more monstrous than monsters. At least with things like Perviders, they're moving according to instinct and survival. There were all sorts of psychos amongst humanity that did stuff just because they could.

"Tell her the good news." Mira popped him in the arm again. Same spot. From the way he flinched, it wasn't a light hit either. I knew from several bruises I tried to hide that she was still struggling to adapt to the strength enhancement of the Shift ExoCore.

"Right… I finally managed to get a permanent position in the city. If you need anything at all, don't hesitate to come to me for help."

"Chek." I probably wouldn't go to him, though. Simply put, I didn't trust the FSA or their military. The Crusade was a much more reliable backer.

"So- Mira was telling me you've gotten good at making tech?" Uncle Ezra asked. He sounded much calmer than a couple minutes ago, though his voice still had a certain rasp to it.

"Been trying." I shot a look at Mira. She seemed to get my unasked question and subtly shook her head.

"A hover bike, huh? You know- your dad was quite the techie back in the day. He was always nerding out over one thing or another." Uncle Ezra's expression dipped subtly.

"I- uh- I don't really remember much about that." My parents were fading more and more from my memory as the days passed. Now, when I thought of them, all I could imagine were their urns.

I side-eyed the silver bangs 'gifted' to me by Fox. Maybe that was why all the interface's appearance changes unsettled me so much? I was a dead ringer for my mom, and it felt a bit like a betrayal of sorts every time something changed. My eye was already fucked so it didn't matter as much, but the hair hit me hard. It was stupid, really.

"Ryouma always did love hanging around the R&D department of Cold Moon. Akiri would always complain that he loved tech more than her." He chuckled with a fond smile on his face. "It wasn't true of course. Every time he got drunk he turned into a sappy mess. Wouldn't stop talking about the two of you."

Dad… I shook my head. Memories pulled at the back of my mind. I carefully pushed them back down into the box I kept them in. It was easier that way. "What's with the guards?"

Uncle Ezra nodded his head a few times at my not-so-smooth change of subject. "Fedra's becoming increasingly active. Been assassinating higher-ups in the FSA."

"I haven't heard anything about that." Usually, the screamstreams loved to report on all sorts of Fedra related things.

"Been kept hush hush." He shrugged. "Orders from above."

"And so…" Mira nudged her dad on the shoulder lightly. "C-can I keep staying with you?"

I froze for a moment. I assumed she'd go with him when he came back to the city. "Uh- ch-chek. Course. As long as you need."

She flashed a bright smile and reached for another sandwich. We talked a bit more. Caught up on various things. Mira and Ezra tactfully avoided discussing the whole Savant Lab and all of that. I had a feeling she wasn't quite ready to dive back into it so soon… that and it'd probably be somewhere a bit more private.

"We can trust them, right?" I asked uncle about the guards following us around after we finished in the diner and paused just outside of a fire escape.

"With your life. They're my brothers who've served with me for over a decade." Uncle Ezra followed us to the fire escape on the side of the building. The guards tailed behind, though kept a certain distance between us. "So you can just park anywhere?"

"Yeah. Short buildings are better." I climbed up the stairs. And look, I wasn't even drained of stamina when I got to the top. It was so weird being fit.

'Course, neither of the two yahoos behind me had any issue either. We arrived on the roof where my hover bike was resting. I really needed to get a stealth module up and running for it.

"You built this thing yourself?" Uncle Ezra circled the hover bike. "It flies?"

"As far as it needs to." I flicked it on and hit a switch. A plate on the front pulled back to reveal the barrel of the fifty cal. I doubt I'd ever need it. Might even replace it with that shock gun that the Knight requested so I could have a nonlethal option.

"Where the hell did you get one of these?" Mira crouched near the front.

"You know- and hey! You have no room to say that! Let's not forget what was in the back of your car a couple months ago!" I still remembered the shock of Mira just casually handing me grenades back before we went Underground.

"That was one time!"

Uncle Ezra checked out the controls of the bike. "This thing looks like it'd be nice to maneuver through urban areas. How much for production?"

"Seven hundred fifty thousand." Was he wanting to buy some hover bikes too? I really needed to get a production line going if they were going to be a hit. I didn't think they'd be much of a high seller.

"Not too bad. Armor?"

"Custome design. A bit more, but should hold up pretty well to most arms. Missiles are still an issue." I patted the hover bike. "Takes me a while to make one. A couple weeks."

"Sir." One of the soldiers called out and lifted up a phone.

"Hmm… Hey, I'll talk to you later about this. Stay safe you two." Uncle Ezra gave Mira one last hug and then headed back down the fire escape.

Mira watched him leave, continuing to stare off the side of the building long after he vanished from sight. I had a feeling there was so much more she wanted to say, but time awaited for no one. I hopped on the bike. "Let's get out of here."

"Y-yeah." Mira got on behind me and we pulled off the roof.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.