Digital Higanbana (Lycoris Recoil x Cyberpunk Quest)

"Hold it there, lass. Do you have a license for that blade?"

Your head turned and the officer of the Kagoshima Deputized Militia took a step back at your fierce glare. You didn't quite place your hand on your weapon, but your arm was planted on the hip right above it. "I do possess a weapons license," You gritted out and flashed the Lycoris-provided identification. "Behold. My iron's in my bag."

"I see." A quick scan confirmed that they were satisfied with whatever the ID declared and they hastily bowed their head. "My sincere apologies for the doubt. But you, well, have been here for a while outside arrivals, with a visible weapon."

"I'm am simply awaiting my choom," You grumbled and fired off a private ping through the private Lycoris network. After a moment, there was a weak return signal and you grunted. "Provide me some time, then I will depart. Is that an acceptable arrangement?"

"I'm not quite sure, you're blocking up Arrivals-"

"Five minutes, on my honor," You barked and that finally made them pause and consider you seriously. After a moment of study, they nodded and stepped away to attend other business. You huffed and crossed your arms, subtly checking the time to make sure you fulfilled that oath. Honor and word were testament to you and if your fellow Lycoris wasn't here, you'd leave regardless. It was that important to you.

Thankfully, when the third minute had just passed, your colleague finally arrived and almost immediately, her eyes bulged out. "You got a motorcycle?!" Arisu sputtered, almost dropping her roller travel case. "What the hell, Mitsu? It's nova, but what!"

Despite all that's been recently going on, you felt a smile tugging at your lips and perhaps puffed your chest out just a little at the awe in her voice. "I have been desiring something that lets me move swiftly while feeling the wind rush past, and this was simply the natural conclusion," You warmly explained and patted the empty space behind you. "Hop on, and I'll demonstrate for you."

"Eh? Eh? Wait, wait!" She waved her hands about and shook her head frantically. "I, um, we have to secure my luggage! Is Yuuki in a car nearby-?"

At the very mention of your partner's name, your expression visibly darkened and your hand balled into a fist. "Yuuki's…" You gritted your teeth and pushed on. "Yuuki's in the care of healers. We encountered unexpected trouble, and she wasn't so blessed."

"...does this thing have a storage space?" Your fellow graduate asked in a flat voice, all hesitation and reluctance gone, squashed by pure Lycoris focus. You directed her to pop open the side hatches of your steed and she quickly stowed away her luggage while tugging on a spare helmet from the aforementioned hatches. "Also, don't worry about speeding- I've got a quick hack for cameras. Flash me the deets on the way."

You grinned and noisily revved up the Ashigaru. It may be running off an electric motor, but it could still blaze as bright as those that used the more conventional fuel sources. The moment Arisu climbed on and gripped the passenger handles, you kicked off and throttled up your steed. With a roar, the motorcycle rocketed forwards, screaming past the startled deputy that had been bothering you before.

The roads leading from the airport into Kagoshima proper were mostly empty, with the vast majority of people using the public transit system. Those that did have the money to afford a car were more affluent and easy-going drivers in this area, meaning that there were many surprised honks when you swerved and weaved in-between them, the drivers cursing and shouting at your speeding. You tensed up for a moment when you passed right by an automated traffic camera, but you felt Arisu's head swivel to face it behind you and could imagine her eyes lighting up with a digital glow when she applied her Netrunner skills onto the basic security systems. They probably weren't even a challenge for her and she simply settled back into holding on while reading the brief summary and welcome package prepared for her.

Soon, the roads slowly became slower and denser and you were forced to slow down when the open roads were replaced by lively suburban streets. It wasn't long before you pulled up to your home, the shophouse that you had been renting with Yuuki. You let Arisu hop off before pushing yourself up into the small little driveway, and your eyes wandered over to the renovated shopfront featuring the lettering that you had seen Yuuki proudly stenciling in. Kagoshima Fragrance, the flower cafe she had been hoping to open sometime soon.

And now, that opening was definitely delayed. You grumpily ripped your helmet off your head and led the way inside, practically stomping upstairs to show Arisu to one of the bedrooms. She finally spoke up just as she kicked her suitcase into the room and turned to you with a concerned look. "So, we've got a gonk to zero?" She flatly asked, eyes flashing with a hint of vengeance in her eyes.

You relaxed minutely at the clear resolve to help and nodded. "He nearly flatlined Yuuki," You spat and strode over to the living room, where you had repurposed the chores whiteboard. "I will not settle for anything but the favor returned. My justice demands it."

"I'm all for helping, but that leaves out where to get started." That was when the Lycoris Netrunner noticed your scrawled notes on the whiteboard and let out a low whistle. "Ah. You've actually given this some thought, haven't you?" Arisu commented, examining the dense scribbling.

"I have, if only because he has likely already gone to ground," You muttered and crossed your arms. "Yuuki didn't grab a good enough look for her facial recognition to ping, else she could have realized the danger much quicker. She'll flip through the police records in the meantime with her access, the local authorities will definitely want to know if there are borgs among the populace."

"But the fact she's found nothing means that we might not even be looking at a borg," Arisu considered with a rub of her chin. "Or that they're perhaps seriously off the grind. EGO Security can be like that, bringing in international operatives as the need suits them."

"Bah." You growled at the mention of the corporation and shook your head. "They're worst than ronin, sellswords that hide behind a mask the moment blades start coming out. Even Arasaka cannot upset them so!"

"Right, because Arasaka executives might one day need deniable assets such as EGO Security. Bad on a personal level, but hey, that's what 'sacrificing for the corporation' means," Arisu dryly quoted before tossing her hair back with a sneer. "Sorry, but I'm a Lycoris first, so I'll do my own damn dirty work before needing them. I don't mind burning my bridge with them, so long as I avoid letting them pin me to Arasaka, if only for the sake of my education."

"A simple resolution then- we just have to cut down those who can make said connection," You blankly declared and placed a hand on your sword hilt. "That will suffice."

"A bit violent, but we'd be the biggest hypocrites if we of all people start taking that moral high ground." Arisu clapped her hands and laced them together to stretch. "Right. So, let's see, we first have to find the bastard, and that's going to be easier said than down if he's off the grid for the police. But he still has to be able to keep in touch with his employer, right? Which means that EGO Security could have a way to locate him, and that's my specialty if you can find an access port-"

"Behold." You sent the details over with a blink and her eyes widened in surprise. "My hands have been hardly idle in waiting for your arrival. I've already discovered and staked out their corporate offices, it's in Hayato Strip."

"Cheap little dinghy office above a shop," Arisu commented and her opticware flicked through the digital report. "Very light security. Hm, if I can get into that office and jack in to their database, that'll do."

You nodded, pleased. But you've since learned the value of a backup plan now and voiced your worries. "Suppose that we can't get in for whatever reason, or if he's actually off their books. Then I suppose we could return to the scene of the crime and try to trace it."

"That's not a bad idea. If there are enough cameras pointing whatever way, I can peak through their records and see if they caught his escape," Arisu approved, then had her own suggestion. "I'm also willing to bet that if we put out an image of him, there's more than a few locals who've had some unpleasant encounters with the fellow. A little dive into the net could yield some good results."

You frowned and tilted your head. "Wouldn't you need to establish a rapport with the locals first?" You pointed out and Arisu acknowledged the point.

(Advertise Word: 19 +10 (Arisu) +15 (Yuuki) = 44)

"I think I have at least put my name out, but I'm relatively new to the Kagoshima space," She admitted with a sigh. "They didn't even really go for bat about my attempt to help spread word of Kaori's opening. I could try again though and hope that they haven't gotten miffed enough to set a demon on my ass out there."

Your face puckered at the colorful language, but her idea did stir inspiration within you. Contacting local allies, that was an idea. You considered that you definitely did have some contacts, two of them to be specific. It'd normally be three, but Azumi was unfortunately too deep with Arasaka to get involved. But the remaining two were potential sources of aid indeed.

Pauper the information Fixer of the Secondborn Ronin could perhaps have clues or leads. Perhaps they'd ask for a service or favor in return, but their information was definitely solid if they sold it, barring maybe one or two errors you could hardly fault them for not knowing. Intelligence was only good as the moment it was acquired, and it could spoil very quickly. Yet perhaps in that briefest of moments it was good, you could find your target.

The other was the one who had stayed in the shadows of everything so far, yet you almost wanted to slap yourself for not even considering. It was admittedly only a peripheral relation, but this sort of revenge was absolutely the fancy of the Vendetta. You did have La Peste's number- could you perhaps call them and ask if they'd be interested in joining the hunt for vengeance? It was a bit of a long shot, but if they agreed, it'd be more out of eagerness for duty than the promise of eddies, which you were admittedly short on now.

Hopefully Azumi could pull through on that little welcoming gift you had ask for.

For now, you shook your head and decided on what angles of approach you wanted to approach for this. You estimated you could probably get in two ways before the trail went too cold. So you didn't have time to waste, and chose.

[ ] [Hunt] EGO Security Offices. Sneak in with Arisu, hack the database, and see if you can figure out where he might have a safehouse along with any other critical information.

[ ] [Hunt] Netrunner Gossip. Let Arisu roam around the Kagoshima datascape and try to ask around fellow Netrunners who may have grudges of their own to settle with your target.

[ ] [Hunt] Scene Tracing. Reluctantly return to the battle site and try to see if there's a way to figure out at least the general direction he fled in, if nothing else.

[ ] [Hunt] Fixer Pauper. When a Fixer's good client is injured, said Fixer would likely want to help maintain a strong relationship by helping them in a time of need. Now's that time, and even if there was a price, you'd want to hear them out.

[ ] [Hunt] The Vendetta. A story of revenge is the perfect sort of appeal to the gang, and they might be willing to help out, if only to have a target to entertain themselves with.

- Surprise Mitsu POV! She's out for blood, and you'll play through her eyes for a little bit while Yuuki is stuck in bed. Again, let's make the best of the temporary hospitalization.
- It'll just be a regular vote, and the top two options will be picked.