I opened the door, dodging out of the way immediately thanks to a chill through my body. A kid burst from the clinic in a fit of laughter. He wasted no time racing around the ancient willow tree at the center of the place.

"Mama look! Mama look! I can walk now! I can walk!" He gleefully bounded about the courtyard, swinging what looked like newly fitted chrome legs rapidly

A warm laugh emanated from the shop. "I see that!"

I continued to hold the door for a worn-out-looking woman to walk through. She gave me a nod of thanks. Her shoulders were pressed with tension, though the faint smile on her face made it seem as if everything would be alright.

Smiling faintly, I entered the clinic to see Nael disinfecting down the chair. Of course, his head instantly snapped onto me like he had eyes in the back of his head. "Shiro! What brings you here?"

"I want an upgrade," I said. "And I'm here to pay off some of my debt."

He waved it off as he finished sanitizing the chair. "Don't worry about that debt, kid. You can pay me back when you've struck it rich."

I pulled out the card from Uncle Ezra and passed it over to him. "Fifteen thousand."

"You sure, kid?" Nael eyed me, glancing toward my threadbare clothes. "You could use it more than I could."

"Please, Nael? I can't just stay in your debt forever." I hefted the card toward him once more. "I have some other Rayn anyway."

"You only owed me thirteen thousand, kid." He took the card, setting it aside for now. "What are you looking to have done?"

"An upgraded cybereye. One HUD capable, preferably." I said.

"Anything in particular? A specific corporation perhaps?" He patted the chair.

I took the hint and sat down. "Um… you have anything Sentinel? If not-"

"Sure, kid. They're a bit expensive, but I've got some Sentinel chrome…" He headed off to a side room and returned shortly carrying three chilled boxes. "This stuff ain't the most advanced, but they're definitely better than what you got."

"What are the options?" I nodded my head to the boxes.

"This one," He held up one of the boxes, "Is a Sentinel Vanguard T-43. Real nice piece of tech. HUD capable, has built-in image enhancement, and three levels of zoom. Oh, and this particular one can fit two other augments."

Nael put it down and then moved to the middle one. "This is the Sentinel Heat A-33. A bit cheaper than the other, but it has a feature that the Vanguard doesn't. Built-in infrared scanners. Sadly, that's it, and it can only fit one other augment."

"I know you said Sentinel, but this one is something special." He picked up a worn-out-looking box. "The Advent Phantom A-1. Advent is a tiny new corporation still in its experimental phase. Don't worry though, a buddy of mine is the lead developer there and they take chrome very seriously. Advent stuff isn't even on the market yet, but I got this as a 'test'."

"I don't know if I'm okay being a lab rat." Though if it's someone Nael is vouching for, it can't be that bad. Wow… guess I had a lot of trust in the guy.

He nodded his head. "I wouldn't even mention it if I didn't think it was preem tech, kid. Hear me out?"

"Shoot." It wouldn't hurt to listen at the very least.

"The Phantom has image enhancement, dual-zoom, and HUD. It's even got an auto-cleaning film so you won't have to worry about particles. The kicker, though, is Advent's proprietary tech. They call it Blackout. Basically, for a minute, anything technological will fail to spot you. Think hyper-advanced feature scrubber but for your whole body."

Damn, that was impressive… too impressive. "That sounds too good to be true."

"Partly. Blackout is the reason the company hasn't gone public yet. It's got a few issues; it takes a day to fully reset the battery on Blackout, so it isn't too reliable yet. They're looking for beta testers though, which is how I got my hands on it."

It was tempting… Did I really want experimental tech though? That was the kind of stuff Savants, those bastards, messed with. Would it fry my brain? "What would I have to do as a beta tester?"

"In a month from installation, you'll have to head to their lab and do some tests. Nothing invasive, just making sure the tech worked how it should. My buddy, the lead developer, will probably also ask you some questions about how it felt and its usefulness." He shrugged. "Oh, but you aren't doing this for nothing! You'll have lifetime access to their beta program for all of their cybernetics. Might not seem like much, but if Advent goes big-league like I think it will, beta access won't be buyable for all the money in the world."

"You're really selling this, Nael."

He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry, kid. My buddy has been hyping this up for weeks. I've checked it myself though. It's a good piece of tech."

It did have some good features. And this beta-access thing? Sounded quite nova, not going to lie. Hmm… and I still have that Sentinel Corp research I might be able to pawn off to them… No, I should probably just keep it for a while till things calm down.

"It won't cause me to Glitch, right?" No amount of benefits in the world was worth glitching.

"No no. It's based on Medtech stuff, so it's perfectly safe."

Medtech stuff… fine. Their stuff was all high quality. "I'll try it."

— — —

I blinked my new eye a dozen times and tried to adjust to the light levels in Bukicho. I was still getting used to the thing, especially with this new Image Enhancer. The image quality was startling, to say the least. So much better than ASCorp's Genov-4.

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Oh, and I paid off my debt to Nael so I was broke again. Yay! Down to a bit of a thousand Rayn, especially after buying some stuff to take care of my new eye.

At least I could afford Silage. Maybe I could go skim some pockets after this? The pay was shit, but at least it was pay. Really, grabbing valuables wasn't the issue. It was the fences. They charged way too much.

The HUD was temporarily disabled, at least for now. Once I got used to the new eye, I'd get it up with my new phone. Speaking of which, that was why I was headed for the Dragoon Saloon.

I entered Ichiban Street, pushing my way through till I arrived at the gate into the courtyard. Unfortunately, Shinobu wasn't on duty, but I was still let in without much of a hassle.

The courtyard beyond the gate looked… different. Maybe because I was tormented for so long in a similar place? It didn't feel as warm as it used to. Or maybe that was thanks to the lack of Fangs enjoying life. The entire place was packed with Fangs, but they all had grim expressions.

Don't let it bother you, Shiro. Not your problem… hopefully. I walked past the throngs of Fangs and entered the bar. Damn, they were ready for war. The drinks were gone, replaced with cold iron. Everywhere was littered with weapons of some kind. Katanas, SMGs, ARs, and even a few rocket launchers were set up across the bar. Taru must've been busy.

Ishimaru's table was still empty of everything but himself and far too many bottles. I walked over and sat down across from him. "What's going on around here?"

He looked up, startled at my approach as he reached for his blade. He redirected and snatched a bottle. "Oh, itsh you! Gang-war. The uh- the inveshtigation pointed ush to the Moss Shtreet Mob. The boysh- hic- and Neo-Jokersh are preparing to wipe 'em out."

Moss Street Mob. Hmm… nope, didn't ring a bell. Must be a group of nobodies then. Sad that it had to come to this, but they really shouldn't have attacked one of the most dominant gangs in Aythryn City. What were they expecting?

"Why all the weapons?" Surely they didn't need missile launchers to take out a gang. Or maybe they did? Send a message or something? That was a gang thing to do, right?

"You haven't heard? Shomeone kicked the nesht. Shentinel Corp is moving a carrier into town while they look for shomethin' or another. Might be the shtart of another cold war." He rifled through his clothing before passing over the phone. "Here."

Uh- what were the chances that had to do with me? No no. Stay calm, Shiro. It's got nothing to do with you! Purely coincidence… fuck. I need to lay low for a while. No! That would be an admission of guilt if I was already under suspicion…

I need to do something. Take a job or something. Just act casual as if I didn't have the very thing Sentinel was willing to move a bloody carrier in to get. "You uh- you got a job for me?"

He sloppily shook his head. "Fangsh are bushy with preparationsh. You need a job?"

"I'd like one." Food wasn't going to pay for itself.

"Maybe Carone hash shomething." The old drunkard swatted his pockets for his phone.

I stared at the elder. "Ishimaru? I uh, I don't know a Carone."

"Really? He'sh the fixer down by Shakura Shtreet. Not ash good ash me, but decent." He chuckled to himself. A second later a message came to my phone with Carone's info. "I'll tell him you're coming."

"Thank you." I stood up from the booth and checked my phone. Sakura Street then?

— — —

I parked and got my HUD all set up with the new phone. Nothing too complicated. The phone had never been used, still in its setup phase. I just breezed through all the settings and got it set up just how I wanted. Probably the most expensive thing I owned, according to what Ishimaru told me about it.

With that setup, I stepped out of the parking garage. Sakura Street was by far one of the nicer places in Little Yukoto. Low-level corporate execs and higher up drones living up and down the street, and it showed. Sakura trees, of the holographic kind, settled all up and down the road, giving this place its name.

The place was clean. Far too clean to be out of the Corporate Quarter. Although there was still that heavy air that every city had, the people seemed cheerful. Even the vendors looked to be selling good food and not the garbage elsewhere in Little Yukoto. It was a bit surreal.

And yet I could tell this wasn't the corpo zone purely by the stench. Of course, there were the tell-tale scents of Tosta and pollution found all over the city, but I could also smell something a little more high-class: Dark Ether. The nauseating scents would've been filtered through an Autoduct if this was the Corporate Quarter.

My stop was a building a bit off to the side. A small antique store full of ancient-looking tech. Something was wrong though. It was easy enough to figure that out. Two heavy guards stood outside, obviously packing. They glowered at me during the entire approach. "Stop. No weapons."

"Relax chum, I'm not armed," I said and activated Lethargic Presence. Hidden Weapon was always active as per my decision earlier. I shifted slightly, tucking the ASCorp Sidewinder into a better spot. No way was I going to meet a mystery man without a gun.

"I ain't your chum, pal." The grunt he patted me down. He yawned right as he passed by my small ASCorp Sidewinder, completely missing it. Must be more muscle than brain. "Alright, go on in."

Yes! Thank you weird interface thingy! Your Perks really do miracles. Should- should I try to liberate this guy's pockets too? No. Best stop while I'm ahead. Sides, I doubt I could get away with it.

Behind the counter stood a rather young-looking guy in a crimson suit. It seemed to shimmer in the dozens of candles scattered around the store. Some rather high end threads too. Definitely not just a normal shopkeeper.

He glanced up at me, fire literally sparking off of his fingers. The sparks shifted, flying through the air to light a candle. A Kinetic… pyrokinesis? Please don't be Caro-

"You must be Shiro… Ishimaru said you would be dropping by." His voice was slow and smooth, drawing out each word as if teasingly. It was annoying. The fire idly trailed across the air in a feat that should be impossible.

There wasn't anyone else, so this was him? "Carone?"

He smirked, the fire twisting around him. It turned into a ball and gently floated toward his open palm. He clenched his hand into a fist, snuffing it out. "Indeed… Ishimaru said you were quite skilled at investigation, yes?"

That bastard! Not only did he send me to a Kinetic, he even lied about my skill set! "I prefer more gigs with a more subtle touch."

A frown broke out on his face. "Is that so?"

"B-but yes, I am quite good at investigation." Fuck! Now I lied about my skill set! Dammit Shiro! But money…. I really needed some Rayn. What else was I going to say?

It took all I had to remain stone faced under his burning eyes. The temptation to just flinch even a bit was nearly overwhelming. Really though, by comparison to the fox, his training was nothing.

It took all of my training and stone-facing pain during the Fox's Paw 'learning experience' to resist flinching under his burning eyes. Really, by comparison to the fox, his gaze was nothing.

"Interesting… I do have a gig then. A… client of mine was found dead this morning. Go find the killer, and report back. I expect this to be… discrete." Carone leaned forward onto the counter, resting his chin on his hand.

"'Course! Discrete is my middle name!" You're trying too hard, Shiro! Just calm down. He's already offered the job.

He leaned back, brushing off his shoulder. "The Crusade hasn't sent an Inquisitor yet. I need this done before someone reports the smell."

He twirled a flame around his hand. What a show-off… though I couldn't blame him. Honestly speaking, if I could control something like fire? I'd show it off too. Make people less willing to get on my bad side.

He grabbed a pen, writing down a location on a shop flyer. I took the offered flyer and looked it over. Its address was in… let's see here… I pulled up the Mapp. Tipton Tower. Damn. That wasn't far from the Corporate Quarter. "Your client was an exec?"

"Shouldn't be a problem, no? Just approach with a… subtle touch." Did he really just mock me?

"'Course not…" It wasn't just a problem. It was a major one. Would this even be worth the time and effort?

He leaned back and sat down on a rather comfy-looking chair, then tossed me a key. "For the door. Dismissed."

Bastard. I stuffed the key and flyer into my pocket and turned back to the door. I flicked through my phone. Timpton Tower, huh… it was an apartment complex that catered specifically to corpo executives. Would be hard to get into. Close to East End though, so maybe it wouldn't be too

I walked out of the store and headed back to my bike. Next stop, Timpton Tower. At least it wasn't a corporate tower. Still, it was an apartment building that catered specifically to corpo executives, so it would be annoying to get into. It was close to East End though, so it couldn't be too protected, right?

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