Chapter 4

What's my next move?

Ryuu being in the picture was never accounted for, a mistake on my part. I should have known he would do this.

"There is no we."

Movement from the shadows catches my periphery and suddenly I feel claustrophobic. Five shadow Demons surround me as Ryuu straightens and smirks in my direction.

"The agreement was never going to be a you . How else can I make sure you follow through with your end of the bargain?"

"That doesn't make any sense," I growl as I take a step back and count how many Demons I need to take down in order to slip away.

"Kira. Is my company really that insufferable? You are the only one to express so, and I begin to wonder if it's because you have more you're hiding from me and this is simply your way of diverting my attention." He takes a step forward, the claws on his feet scraping the cold, tiled floor.

I need a new tactic, new piece of logic. My mind whirs with different lines as my cybernetic arm twitches in anticipation. "Wouldn't Techwire miss its master?"

The Demons around me meld in and out of the shadows, their glowing eyes the only thing visible from time to time creating an eerie scene.

The ceiling opens suddenly and a full desk, chair and being drops to the right of me with a loud crash. The new arrival stumbles into their desk as they stand up, readjusting the broken glasses on their face. "Wh-what happened? Where—Why am I in the computer room?"

"Nova, I'm leaving Techwire for the foreseeable future. Make sure you keep things in line and move players where they need to be to keep things running smoothly until my return," Ryuu commands easily without taking his eyes off me.

My ears flatten. Is it wrong of me to feel a pang of jealousy that this Nova he's addressing is another female?

"Didn't know you work your side pieces," I spit out. I don't know what comes over me but it's too late now, the sentence already slipped out.

Ryuu's eyes sparkle but he doesn't answer right away. No, instead he chooses to stare at me for a few moments before flicking his head to his shadow demons in silent communication.

"Nova is my infobroker. I know you appreciate her intel skills from the way you were absorbed into my systems earlier."

A wild Hobgoblin infobroker, working for one of the biggest names in the Nexus. With a scoff, I knock Ryuu's arm with my shoulder as I force my way out of his computer room. The music pumps into my veins as lights flash in sporadic patterns attune to the beat.

Anger simmers inside of me and I don't like it there. Sliding onto the dance floor, I'm pulled by the energies around me and find my body swaying with them as I toss my hair and close my eyes, expelling the emotion through my dance. Synthetic instruments lace themselves around a robotic voice that seduces and agitates at the same time. Once the music overtakes me, my tails swish and command extra room around me.

Kitsunes are a novelty, many of them trafficked as concubines in the underground to major players in Fortune City—kept as trophies. Being a cyborg reduced my novelty by a large percentage. I'm fully aware of the presence I command where I go as well as the likelihood of problems following in my wake. But here, on this dance floor, everything faded away to the synthetic beat.

The light pulses behind my lids as I lift my arms and breathe through my mouth, only to have something solid touch me from behind. I know his smell anywhere. It's a light smoke that follows his wake though I've never once seen him put anything of the sort next to his delectable mouth.

When Ryuu's hands touch my hips, I shiver, turn and dance away, losing myself in the crowd purposefully. Ignoring the men vying for my attention, I run a hand through my hair and skirt past Birdy, right out the front door before he can wave a goodbye.

The cool night air in my face refreshes me as I make my way back out of the Nexus. All the shops along the open bays call for me to check out their wares or services but I ignore them as the cogwheels of my mind spin. If Stitch is out for vengeance, I need to know what his next move is. Capturing an heiress comes with its own consequences, but if his call for ransom goes through, he may have enough intel and credits to make himself disappear and possibly lay low long enough outside of Fortune City before making a comeback.

My first stop is a humble metal shop outside of the Nexus. Filled to the brim with knick knacks and entertainment pieces, I peruse the merchandise as if I'm a patron. The sound of a blow torch and illumination of sparks catch my attention as I ease myself further into Ghost's bay.

The welder's mask shifts up when my tails knock a piece onto the floor. "I'll be right there. Give me a few minutes to finish this up."

I nod and look along the walls. Beside his little trinkets, there are few cybernetic arm pieces.

Ghost comes toward me with his leather apron and welder's mask up over his face. There's smudges of soot on his cheek but it doesn't deter his friendly smile around his cigar. Ghost is a retired Noble Oni Professor. Equipped with a single decaled cybernetic arm. From rumors, there are hidden hand razors beneath the smooth metal—something he revealed once when The Tyger Lilies tried to force him to pay their monthly tithes to the streets.

I wish I could have been there to see it.

"Can I help you with anything, young lady?"

Straightening and giving him my full attention, I clear my throat and smile. "I was just looking for a little toy for a friend. Young, female. What do you think would make the best gift? She doesn't go out much and her father works all day."

Ghost nods and begins to ramble about all the different options he has as well as demonstrating how they work. I watch his body move, wondering why he would choose to retire into a profession that will take a toll on his body faster than his last.

But if the intel I collected is correct, Ghost has connections to the institution and research facility that played a big role in the creation of Milicron's AI suits, especially their symbiotic AI system that integrates with the wearer's frontal lobe and prefrontal cortex. The plan is to make small talk to see if I can get him to open up to me about his time in his previous job.

"Oh, what is that one?" I point to a closed box with an intricate puzzle locking mechanism in the front.

His eyes brighten as he animatedly shows me how to open up the fascinating tabletop game board. "Oh! Burning Shadows is a great game, one that requires deep thinking and strategy. You can't play by yourself, you would need an opponent."

"Oh? Can you teach me?" I ask innocently.

He smiles so widely, crinkles appear beside his eyes as he pushes some of his wares aside to make room for me to sit. The game pieces are all made of scrap metal with fascinating detail. Some of them appear to be shadow Demons and I stifle an ironic laugh as I try my best to listen to his explanation of the game.

Against my better judgment, I find myself entranced by the complexities of the game rules and possibilities that we find ourselves talking and playing for the next few hours.