It'd been a day since we went to see Uncle Ezra. He was busy with stuff regarding the military. I thought Mira would want to hang out with her dad more, but weirdly enough she seemed to be avoiding him. There was definitely something going on there.

I wasn't idle either. Yesterday, after leaving the diner, I ran several small Gravitic crystals over to Absolom Clinic as a payment for Doctor Cumen. I didn't get to see her expression since she wasn't there, but Nael sent me a message shortly after affirming that she liked the gift.

And then I spent most of my time at the speakeasy, working on projects. There was far too much I wanted to do, and too little time. I was feeling more and more scatterbrained as the days passed me by. Recently, I'd just been jumping from one thing to another without rhyme or reason. Guess that was just the cost of having a lot to do?

Speaking of jumping around, I put down the autominer drone that I'd been working on. It could now run ten minutes on a charge, including while operating the laser drill. Not quite ideal, though I could set up a charging port down where I decided to start mining so it wouldn't be too much of an issue.

"You wanna come with me?" I rubbed the Packheart Ring on my finger and muttered quietly. "Fang meetup. Should be simple."

"Sure." From the other side of the city, I heard Mira's voice radiating in my head. It came across as slightly breathless? She was still at the apartment while I hung out at the speakeasy working on various things. Said she needed time.

"You okay?" I wiped off my hands and checked the printers to make sure they were still running.

I'd need to buy some more filament- no, I could probably just make my own, right? It wouldn't be that hard. I'd have to set up a machine to turn the raw materials into filament, but actually getting the materials wouldn't be an issue with Transmutation.

Mira replied a minute later. "Yeah, I'm good. Just got off the treadmill."

Ah, the gym… I felt a little jealous. I'd used it a bunch, of course, but I had to stay away from most of the electrical equipment out of fear of shorting it. Nothing built up a charge like a workout. "I'll swing by in ten or twenty."

"Take your time. I'm gonna hop in the shower."

"Chek." I tapped the Packheart Ring and headed for the door to the speakeasy. It really did make communication convenient. Didn't have to worry about runners too, which was the main part.

I headed back to my bike and flew back to the BC Gym. I stopped in the flyer bay to wait for Mira. While waiting, I checked the message from Shinobu. Apparently, the lawyer he got for me was at a rather large residential complex near the edge of the Ryu Container Yard.

Mira popped out of the elevator a few minutes later. Unlike usual, she was fully kitted out this time. I'd given her access to the small armory I was starting to stockpile in my bunker on top of all of her old equipment. Although the poncho covered it up, she had on a heavy ballistic vest and an AR hanging loosely from a sling.

She looked around the flyer bay for a moment and then headed for me. The halo atop her head pulsed vibrantly. "Hey."

"Expecting a fight?" I shifted back, patting the seat in front of me.

"Someone's gotta protect you." She smirked and then eyed the hover bike. "Are you not flying?"

"Figured I'd give you a shot." I'd been teaching how to operate the bike anyway. Now was as good of a time as any. 'Sides, it wasn't that complicated. There were only a couple dozen switches and buttons she needed to memorize. Hmm… this would be the first time for me to ride bitch, wouldn't it?

"I-if you're sure." Mira hesitantly got on my bike. Her shoulders shot up with tension, and she hesitantly began to operate the thing.

"I trust you." I carefully wrapped my arms around her waist. If worse came to pass, we could always just bail and fall back on my Drop Chutes anyway. "Uh- take the flyer lanes though. It's a little different driving with terrestrial traffic."

"Roger." Mira carefully operated the bike. With a bit more guidance from me, we pulled up and into the air. It was a bit choppy, but she seemed to get the hang of it before too long and we smoothly flew out towards the destination.

I reached around her and messed with the heating controls, turning them up to the max when snow started to fall from the moody sky. "What do you think?"

Mira didn't reply immediately, instead getting out of the way as a Medevac blitzed by us with flashing lights. Even with the roaring wind and siren, her reply cut through everything thanks to the Packheart Rings. "Its- its fun? I dunno. There's a certain sense of… freedom?"

I leaned back and stared up at the sky. A snowflake drifted down, catching on my eyelash. "I know what you mean."

We fell silent once more, only speaking up when the residential complex came into view. Mira pulled us out of the flyer lanes and into a hover. "Where are we landing? You'll have to help with this part. I don't quite remember how?"

"Hmm." I looked around the area, eventually catching sight of about a dozen or so Fang piled up around a burning trashcan. They'd probably knew where our guy was. "Down there."

"Help?"

"Chek." I reached around her on either side, guiding her through the landing process one more time. It was a bit complex, but once she got it there was no issue.

'Sides, I'd been working on my autopilot program quite a bit recently between working on stuff. Although it wasn't quite to the point of auto flying around, assisted landing was one of the things I focused on first. It was the most difficult part, after all.

I wanted to get some more advanced ICE and programs before moving much further. Auto-pilot was already a thing, so copy pasting wouldn't be an issue. Especially not with Badger's Code Scan to help me out.

Stolen novel; please report.

The hover bike slowly drifted down, coming to a park right next to the Fang members on guard. The Fang, naturally, didn't just sit around while we approached. They spread out, several holding onto their waists in an obvious sign.

I wasn't too worried though. They looked like the dregs of the Fang. Instead of doing whatever it was that the Fang wanted from this place, they were out on perimeter duty. Not doing a very good job of it either. Most of them looked like kids, with only one man having any good chrome.

While Mira drifted down and fixed all of that, I jumped off the back of the bike. Mira made a surprised noise behind me that was almost immediately lost in the snow. I did a flip and then lightly landed on the ground with the Drop Chutes completely neutralizing the momentum.

"Who are you?" A gruff voice called from the group. The leader, a rather large man with half his head chrome and the other done in rainbow Light Tattoos, stepped forward and waved a hand to his crew. His eyes were slightly dilated. Was he high? On the job? How unprofessional. The Fang, while they were a gang, usually had certain standards for their leadership.

"Shinobu sent me." I looked around the group. Name dropping Shinobu usually let me out of trouble with the Fang, but these guys didn't seem to care.

"You a badge?" The man stepped forward and stopped just before me. His nostrils flared and the Light Tattoos on his head slowly shifted to red. He had an arrogant saunter and look to him that was just so punchable. "You smell like a badge."

Did the Blue Crusade even have a smell? What would it be? Silver and sweat? I must've been hanging around them too much if even some random Joe could finger me. "'Course I'm not. Don't go throwing my rep in the dirt."

"Don't look like a Fang. Get out of here if you know what's good for you." At his words, the tension spiked. Several of the Fang around shifted. The younger ones especially didn't seem used to this kind of thing—more accurately, they weren't used to being on that side of an intimidation racket.

"Don't want no trouble. Just here to speak to…" I checked my HUD to make sure I could get the name right. "Mr. Bengoshi. Should be expecting me."

"He doesn't talk to nobodies." The guy's muscles flexed in a not-so-subtle intimidation. His two metal arms shifted and the servos inside churned loudly. They looked new though, so he must've modified it to make more noise. What a waste.

Mira finally landed behind me. She shifted, eyeing the crowd around me. One hand dropped to her AR while the other clicked the button to reveal the fifty cal. Without even moving her lips, she spoke just quiet enough for the ring to transmit to me. "Thought these were your people. I don't like this, Shiro."

"I don't own them." I muttered just as quietly. I flashed my hand behind my back in a placating motion toward Mira. It didn't look like it worked. "Crazy. It's like you didn't hear me say Shinobu sent me."

"Who sent you don't matter, aho. I don't know a Shinobu. You ain't getting past us regardless." At his words, several of the people around directly drew their guns. Safeties were still on. Still just an intimidation tactic.

"Still. How we doing this? If a fight breaks out." Her voice whispered into my head.

"If a fight breaks out… Do what you see fit. I'll handle the aftermath." I shifted back onto my hips, giving the guy a once over. Looked like the classic ganger that got a bit of power and it immediately went straight to his head. "Are you seriously trying to have a dick measuring contrast with a tiny girl like me? How… pathetic. You still lose."

"You!" He lunged at me, completely disregarding the entire situation. Guess I hit a sore spot? Or should I say a micro spot? Hmm… have I always been this aggressive?

I pulled my gun, causing the word to slow around me. I ducked under the lunge, running my hands along his chrome arms and used my training from Swipe. In mere moments, I disabled one of them and jammed the other with a shot from my coil-pistol.

As I moved around him, I struck out at the back of his knee with my foot. Viper's Strike ensured it would connect, and a touch of electricity made his entire leg buckle regardless of our size difference. Another quick blow sent him to his knees. Before the sand could even settle, I pressed the coil-gun against the side of his head and flared Fear the Reaper at everyone around me except Mira.

For the most part, people's reactions were slow. That might've been thanks to the dilated effect of Dexterity, or they just weren't ready for a fight. Regardless, Mira had her AR up and ready by the time I finished while the Fang around me were just starting to pull theirs out. Good ole' Mira. Even without proper communication or setup, she was up and ready to go.

Fear the Reaper instantly slowed the movement around me once more. Several froze outright. I dropped my voice, trying to make it sound as cold and ruthless as I could. "Make a move and your boss loses his head."

I hadn't planned on things going like this. If I would've known it was an idiot on patrol, I would've just landed on the roof and worked my way down. So much for keeping up good relations with the Fang… though this would probably all blow over as long as nothing excessive happened.

"Shit! She's got speed-ware!" One of the goons called out, making the entire group even more sluggish.

The encirclement of Fang immediately paused and no one drew their weapon. No one wanted to make a move. No one except for the boss, that is. "Someone get them!"

As soon as he roared, he tried to get up and punch at me. I slammed the grip of my pistol into the back of his head, sending a much higher charge of electricity into him while I was at it. He twitched rapidly and then dropped to the side. I immediately stepped on him, pinning the unresisting guy below me. Did I fry his brain?

"Look- one of you go up to fetch Mr. Bengoshi." I waved a hand up to the building they were supposed to be protecting. "I don't want to deal with you bottom feeders any more than I have to."

"No need, no need. You have my attention." A voice called from a balcony up above me. A man in a sharp, gold-inlaid suit leaned over it, nodding his head to me. The Fang encirclement instantly froze for a third time and snapped to attention. "Let the kids go? They're young and dumb. I'll have someone beat some sense into them when we're done here."

"Bengoshi?" I dropped my pistol, though still kept it trained in the group leader's general direction.

"That's me." He waved a hand to the Fang. They scattered at his motion. "Shiro, right? Shinobu said you'd be dropping by. I didn't think he'd mean that literally."

"You know how it goes." I waved a hand and counted the windows. "Fifth floor?"

The man nodded his head and brushed off his sleeve. "Five-one-thirteen."

I stepped off the man and headed for the door. "C'mon, mikata. Oh- one of you, guard my bike."

One of the younger looking Fang was pushed out by his buddies and voluntold to be on guard duty. "M-m-ma'am!"

"Seriously badass, Shiro. I remember when you used to cry and cower at even the slightest resistance." Mira chuckled, still keeping her voice low enough so only I could hear her. "They grow up so- Look out!"

Thunk!

A sharp impact came from behind me. I turned just in time to see Mira deck the gang leader that stood up and tried to rush me once more. Her hit, reinforced by her own muscle and the Shift ExoCore, packed a punch. His jaw was immediately dislocated and he spun, skidding across the ground. Guess I didn't fry his brain after all.

Mira looked like she was about to slam his head into the ground again with her foot, though thought better of it when the guy went entirely boneless. Her eyes flared with unrestrained battlelust. "Uh—thought he'd put up more of a fight."

I stared at my mikata for a moment. She blinked and carefully restrained that hunger once more. It looked like she was dying to get in a fight. She was a battle fanatic even before the Savant Lab, but now? She hadn't gotten in any major fights since then. She'd barely even shot at the firing range. It must be eating her inside…

Maybe we should go into the Underground? All sorts of buggers down there. Or… hmm… I should think about this a bit more before deciding. I should go talk to the Blue Crusade psychiatrist and check how this would affect her mental state before anything else, at least.

Mira flashed a brilliant smile at me and nudged me with her shoulder, drawing me from my thoughts. "C'mon."

"Chek." I followed her into the residential complex.

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