Digital Higanbana (Lycoris Recoil x Cyberpunk Quest)

You smiled and returned the favor of tying up the obi, giving a good tug to make sure it was secured for sure. Then you stepped back and beheld the final result, a casual blink making sure that your opticware was indeed taking pictures. "There you go. Is it too tight, or does it feel fine?"

"Oh, this just doesn't feel fine," Mitsu whispered, then twirled on one foot to let her new dress splay out, a laugh on her lips. "This feels fantastical! Your employees shall certainly be enamored by this outfit!" Your partner insisted, looking happier than she'd ever been in the time you've known her.

"It does feel incredibly luxurious and comfortable. Much less starchy than I would've thought, and surprisingly practical to move about in," You commented, testing out a few strides and steps. "I would've have expected needing to wear the suit to be more flexible, but it seems both are equally just as good. I think that this could even hold up in a gun fight, if the occasion called. How exciting."

"Let me have a try!" Mitsu grabbed her practice sword, then paused. Her form blurred and she disappeared for a moment, only to then return back with her real Arasaka katana blade in her hands instead of the wooden blade. You gave her some room and watched your partner go through a few basic sword stances and motions, drawing out and slashing her weapon through the air without any sign of hesitation or hindrance. When she was done, she pushed the sheath through the obi to carry it about casually. "It's almost just like our actual Lycoris uniforms, where the look truly misleads the ability," She finally declared.

That gave you an idea. There was an interface cable tucked within the inner sleeve that you plugged into your wrist and a customization panel popped up in your digital vision. All you had to do was mentally fire a few commands, and then your plain black and white outfit suddenly rippled in color. Advancements in technology meant that you could customize what color scheme your attires were at a moment's notice, and you took advantage of that now to have it suddenly resemble your old Lycoris uniform.

Mitsu gaped and admired your choice. "Blue is the only natural fit for you!" She declared with a pump of your fist. "As expected of a Lycoris Second!"

"I do seem to have a preference for it," You mused, casting your mind to your own blade and its matching highlights. That got you thinking and you glanced at your partner. "How about you? Don't you think red would fit quite well?"

She beamed, only to hesitate when doubt beset her. "I'm not sure if I'm worthy to wear the mark of a Lyrocis First," Mitsu admitted with a bow of the head. "I was only a Third after all. Plain colors had been my limit when we were Lycoris."

"But we're not Lycoris anymore, are we?" You pointed out and did a little flourish with your own dress. "We're graduates, and we're hardly in uniform. So act out," You encouraged with a grin.

(Breaking Free: 28 +15 (Empathy) = 43)

Mitsu seemed on the verge of saying something, only to look away at the last moment. You restrained yourself from giving a quiet sigh, and reflected on the sudden reversal of roles. When you two had first met, you were the one still repeating your Lycoris designation while she was the one dragging your personal name out to finally use. Perhaps it was just a rebellious phase or Mitsu did chafe under the organization just a little, but now with that leash gone, so too was that willingness to find her own way...for now.

Eventually, she shook her head and gave a weak smile. "Perhaps one day. As it is, I am already grateful enough to receive this dress. But I would only don it about home for now."

"Little steps, one at a time," You gently suggested and held out your hands. After a moment, Mitsu gently pressed her own hands into you and fingers curled up to intertwine with one another. "Just like learning the blade, it's a never-ending journey to improving yourself. Hopefully though, the dojo I'll be building downstairs helps out in that regard."

At your words, Mitsu's expression turned from somber to excited and her arms lunged forward to pull you into a hug. "Thank you. I shall strive to live up to your dreams set for me!" She promised with a wide grin. "The gift shall not be wasted, rest assured!"

"Good." After all, you certainly didn't want to waste all the money you had just spent. At the same moment of that thought, there was a little notification pop-up in your opticware and you sighed when the quick preview showed it to be bills arriving in your mailbox.

Well, time certainly didn't wait for one to stay in place to discover themselves.

Basement Cost: 2000 eb (Secret Range + Training Dojo)
Utilities: 150 eb
Food: 1000 eb
Transportation: 100 eb
Rent: 800 eb
License: 500 eb
Total Costs: 4550 eb

-4550 eb (19500 -4550 = 14, 950 eb)

Choose up to four (4) actions you'll carry out through the week

Kagoshima Fragrance (Kaori)
-[ ] [Kagoshima Fragrance] Fix the Van: The Scavs had a cheap utility van that's gotten shot up pretty badly, but you think you could maybe fix it back up. It could be handy for either an infusion of cash to your new business or an asset for the business itself. Try your hand at being a mechanic for a bit.

-[ ] [Kagoshima Fragrance] Grand Opening: All the preparations are finished, and you're ready! Formally open the doors to your newest venture and behold the results of your labors. Then get to work to try and begin making some revenue.

-[ ] [Kagoshima Fragrance] Hire Employees: While you could run the place by yourself for a time, the lack of coverage in areas you're not well-versed in can eventually be telling. Try to fix this by putting out ads for new hires.
--[ ] Cooking

-[ ] [Kagoshima Fragrance] Advertise Word: Go spreading fliers and putting up posters of the soon-to-be-opened Kagoshima Fragrance around the neighborhood to try and drum up interest for the eventual grand opening. The more buzz you create, the more attention could be drawn to the big moment.

-[ ] [Kagoshima Fragrance] Ocha Plantation: A tea plantation that supplies your cafe with seasonal flowers in bulk, one of your shop's main products. Take a visit to see if you can buy some new flower seeds from them.

-[ ] [Kagoshima Fragrance] International Standard: To provide high quality authentic coffee, you've turned to rely on purchasing your beverage ingredients from a well-known corporation that specializes in imports. They surely should have an expert when it comes to picking specific ingredients, so pay them a visit to see if you can perhaps improve your blends.

Flower Cultivation
-[ ] [Flower Cultivation] Ocha Plantation: A tea plantation that supplies your cafe with seasonal flowers in bulk, one of your shop's main products. Take a visit to see if you can buy some new flower seeds from them.

-[ ] [Flower Cultivation] Sow Seeds: You've got your hands on some seeds that you want to begin growing! Take some time to till the soil, plant the gardens, and watch new life being to sprout.

[ ] [Flower Cultivation] Tend to Gardens: Devote a part of your week entirely to making sure you tend to the gardens as diligently as possible, plucking out weeds and making sure each sprout gets just the right amount of water and conditions to grow splendidly.


Shinohara Securities
-[ ] [Shinohara Securities] Visit the Office: You've made a contact in the form of Security Chief Azumi, the leader of an elite corporate police task force. Pay her a visit to chat and see what opportunities she can offer you.

-[ ] [Shinohara Securities] Part-Time Patrol: As Shinohara Securities was perpetually shorthanded, they didn't have enough security patrols going around to keep the neighborhood safe. They've offered to pay you a fair sum to do so in their place. It'd be like a Lycoris patrol, but this time, you get paid!

Secondborn Ronin
-[ ] [Secondborn Ronin] Visit the Pauper: The Pauper is the Fixer of the Secondborn Ronin and is a bridge between the corporate world and streets. Go to the public library to chat with them about what opportunities they can offer you.

The Vendetta
-[ ] [The Vendetta] Schedule a Ripper: La Peste is a mysterious but talented RipperDoc who has offered their expertise if you wish to see them for a health checkup or discrete cyberware surgery. See if they have an opening in their schedule to meet them.

Lycoris Graduate
-[ ] [Lycoris Graduate] Call a Lycoris: There's times where you miss the organization, as unbelievable as that might sound given their grim task. You certainly don't hold it against any of the other Lycoris and want to have a chat with them to see how they're doing.
--[ ] The Commander
--[ ] Misaki Arisu
--[ ] Nakaiji Momiji

Living Life
-[ ] [Living Life] Browse the Library: The public library in your neighborhood has a wide selection of information datashards covering a variety of topics. You can read them to your heart's content in the facility, or you could pay a fee to make a copy and take it home to study.

-[ ] [Living Life] Find a Black Market: As so many things are restricted from sale or possession in Japan, you can only find these prohibited items at a black market somewhere. They're surprisingly common enough if you know where to look, though having some caution about the quality of their myriad of wares is a smart idea.

-[ ] [Living Life] Go Clubbing: Risk the nightlife of the city and visit one of the many neon hangouts around the city to experience something new, maybe even meet some new folks or have magical encounters.

-[ ] [Living Life] The Way: Mitsu's offered to take some time out of her week to help train you in the sword and by extension, other melee weapons. You did have a rather nice katana that you didn't want to go to waste...

Miscellaneous
-[ ] [Miscellaneous] Scrap the Van: It's not worth your time or effort to patch it up. Rip it apart and find a seller for the parts.

- Well, you've officially dipped below half of your starting bank account. I'm actually surprised how quick that money went, but that was actually a figure I did bump up from the original plans. So that turned out to be a good idea.