Of Noble Intentions - Interlude 1: Ripples

"Rio, you abused your position as the head of Seminar to embezzle funds. Build a very big and fancy place that only you use, kept the whole of Millennium under heavy surveillance… Say, how much do you pay Toki?"

"I don't?"

"Corpo spotted. Beginning flatlining protocols."

Tendou Aris and Tsukatsuki Rio

====

"Boss, we're back. Everything's calm now." Kayoko announced as she entered the office, slightly raising her voice's volume in case Aru was currently in one of the adjacent rooms. Mutsuki cheerfully scampered after the older girl, swinging around her inseparable duffle bag Kayoko was sure wiggled on its own every now and then. Haruka trailed behind them, the First Year muttering some overly formal apology for entering under her breath.

No answer came from their 'esteemed' leader. The black-and-white-haired girl was about to repeat herself when she heard a voice, one that was hard to forget, say a by-now familiar name.

"Who am I? My name is Johnny Silverhand, and I have been many things."

Searching for the source they saw Rikuhachima Aru, Boss of Problem Solver 68, sitting in front of the TV with her legs pressed against her chest. On the screen was a recording of the interview Kronos had conducted the other day, currently showing the moment when a certain adult entered the scene and stole the show. The strawberry blonde-haired girl was hanging on Silverhand's every word with a wonder-filled smile, so absorbed into the footage it was no wonder she didn't hear them returning.

"I am a rebel."

That line made Aru lean back a little, the awestruck gasp escaping her lips completely at odds with the cool and confident criminal she tried very hard to present herself as.

Mutsuki giggled, not even bothering to keep her voice down. "Aru really likes the new Sensei, uh?"

"T-To earn Aru-sama's respect so quickly, Sensei must be an amazing person… unlike my worthless self…" Haruka commented, looking impressed before once again falling into a gloomy fugue.

Someone who rampaged through a whole city during a time of chaos to restore order, and then publicly declared himself both a criminal and a terrorist? Yeah, their outlaw-obsessed leader latching on him like a lamprey was the only reasonable outcome.

Personally, Kayoko was still on the fence about their new teacher. The state of emergency being over was appreciated, since now they could walk around the district while being ambushed only every few hours instead of every minute. A club with the full authority of the GSC President, made by the same girl before disappearing, stank so much of some overly complicated political move Kayoko was glad she didn't need to worry about stuff like that anymore.

The fact the adult in question looked like someone who graduated from Gehenna, of all places? That alone was cause for some concern.

His music, though, was amazing. Kayoko preferred heavy metal as a genre, but she could recognize skill when she heard it. And Johnny Silverhand wasn't just skilled, he was a genius. The fact the music track and video of his exhibition had already become viral on the web was proof of that.

Maybe he and Black Death Poison will do a collab in the future? The sound would be incredible.

When Silverhand started playing the guitar Aru couldn't contain it anymore: she squealed just like… well, just like a fangirl at the concern of her favorite band, arms frantically going up and down. "So cool! So cool! So cooool! The sunglasses that give an air of mystery! The pose that oozes unshaking confidence! The boldness to declare your beliefs in front of the whole world! And playing an instrument is just so classy! That is how a true hard-boiled Outlaw should be! Aaah, I want to be just like him!"

Mutsuki crouched down next to Aru, a mischievous smirk on her lips. "Oh? But aren't you already a hard-boiled outlaw, Aru?"

"There are many degrees in the state of being hard-boiled, from the newbies taking their first steps to those who embody the ideal of a true Outlaw. And today, Mutsuki, I must begrudgingly admit I–"

One moment Aru was sitting. The next she was on her feet and backing away from the silver-haired girl. "M-M-Mutsuki?!? Haruka? Kayoko! S-Since when were you there?!"

"From the very beginning!" Mutsuki cheerfully announced, laughing at the look of total panic plastered over Aru's face.

"You're already a true outlaw to me, Aru-sama! B-But, if there's a way to go beyond perfection… then surely you're the only one capable of it!" Haruka earnestly declared her utmost faith in the older student, blissfully unaware that her expectations just worsened Aru's deer-in-headlights syndrome.

'Same old, same old.' With a fond smile Kayoko sat on the couch, taking out her phone and planning to idly pass the time until Aru decided their next move. While checking about MomoTalk's hottest topics, however, her eyes fell on something interesting. "Uh. A Schale MomoTalk page with an official first post?"

She made a mental note to give it a read later when she felt a body pressing against her own. Turning her head slightly to the side Kayoko saw Aru staring intensely at her phone.

"Kayoko, do you know the four qualities of a successful criminal?" She had no idea, but Aru continued before Kayoko could answer. From the shuffling of feet behind her, the Third Year guessed Mutsuki and Haruka were looking down at them over the back of the couch. "The first, of course, is reputation. Followed by money, connections, and the ability to stay ahead of future events by ensuring your information network runs smoothly. Department Head Kayoko: given recent events and the likely huge impact this organization will have on Kivotos, it is absolutely imperative we keep ourselves updated on Schale's every move!"

"...Alright, we can read the post together." She wasn't against it, just… Aru had her own phone, right? There was no need to rely on Kayoko's assistance. Then again, 'Rikuhachima Aru' and 'straightforward' were rarely used in the same sentence.

Opening the Schale page and finding an overwhelming number of messages, Kayoko scrolled to the one at the top and tapped it. A download bar appeared, quickly filled up, and was then replaced by a video.

The screen flickered to life with a burst of glitchy, neon-colored static. A high-energy guitar riff began playing, slowly fading as the static was replaced by the view of a white wall out in the street. The camera moved to the side, revealing a mural of strange-looking buildings rising from a sea of red flames and a figure currently adding more of them.

"What's crackin', my chooms?" Kivotos' new Sensei turned towards the camera with a grin, one hand flashing the Sign of the Horns and the other shaking a spray can. "Plug in and tune up, 'cause we're here to make some noise! You know the name: I'm Johnny Silverhand, best Rockerboy on both sides of the equator, and I welcome you to Schale's first video production!"

He slipped the can back into his belt and drew another. The camera cut to a tight shot of his hand tagging bold, jagged strokes in metallic grey. "Sadly, today I just wanted to say 'hi' so I don't have much to offer to you console cowboys. Gotta wait for the next hit before we burn this gig to the ground. As an apology, I'm going to share with you some preem data."

Silverhand-sensei reached for his sunglasses and lowered them, revealing brown pupils that winked at the camera.

"What it means to be a Cyberpunk."

He put them back, his voice taking on a reminiscing, almost nostalgic tone as the can swiped grey over black. The frame followed his every movement, lingering on the paint's texture but never pulling back enough to see more than just glimpses and details.

"Cyberpunk is made of two words: cyber for tech, and punk for rebellion. Where I come from the term was popularized by a group of writers who specialized in writing science fiction with this kind of techno-mélange. It was all about stickin' it to the suits, rippin' through the system with chrome and code. A whole wave of dreamers and runners picked it up, took it off the pages and onto the streets."

Tusks. Cables. A mechanical-looking eye, far more unsettling than anything found on a robotic citizen outside of those working at the Black Market. "And boom. A movement was born."

"Cyberpunk is, more than anything, an attitude. You wear the most 'in' clothes, know the right people, and follow the right crowds. You plan your crimes in the most select clubs and bars; your enemies are corpo armies, cyborg biker gangs, power-armored assassins, and computer-wired Netrunners. Your weapons are nerve, street smarts, bravado, and the iron on your hip. Street legends, mercs, rockers, 'runners—anyone who cut the leash and chase the edge of life, making creds and sowing chaos. Soon enough a new term popped up, one we gave ourselves: Edgerunners. Those who run at the Edge."

The smirk he wore as he switched back to the red can made Kayoko want to check under their couch for hidden explosives. She could see more of the mural now, some kind of face standing above the buildings as flames flowed from below to above.

"We keep the flame of rebellion alive. We are Cyberpunks. We are Edgerunners. And if you're rollin' with me, then you're livin' on the edge too."

With a flourish Silverhand-Sensei added a few more lines in black and stepped back, the camera finally zooming out to show the full mural.

A monstrous Oni mask made of red flames, with the right side partially peeling away to reveal mechanical components, identical to the one on Sensei's shirt. Above it was a cross encircled by a circular crosshair, piercing through a plain halo. And below, the buildings turned out to be giant letters that spelled a word: SCHALE.

"So strap in preem crowd, 'cause we're just gettin' started. Welcome to the revolution."

The screen glitched out with another bust of static.

Wow.

Mutsuki whistled. "You think he painted his own walls, or someone else's?"

"I mean, both would be considered punkish…" Kayoko trailed off when she noticed Aru had taken out a notebook and was furiously writing something. "Boss?"

"One moment please." The strawberry blonde immediately replied without looking away. Her tone was so serious that even Mutsuki waited patiently for Aru to finish. Once done she looked back at the other PS68 members with a beaming smile. "I had a most awe-inspiring idea!"

"That's good?" Kayoko felt a rising sense of dread, but fought to keep a grimace off her face. "What is it?"

"Do you know what sounds even better than 'Outlaws' on a business card?" Rikuhachima Aru said with all the gravitas of a noir fiction protagonist. "The answer, my loyal chow-mooses, is 'Edgerunner Outlaws'!"

…What the heck was a 'chow-moose'?

-0-​

"Welcome back Hasumi-senpai. Good job protecting justice."

"Thank you Mashiro." The Third Year student sat down with a sigh of relief; the chairs at the Justice Task Force's headquarters were far softer and of higher quality than the seats on the train she took to return home from Utnapishtim. That was the real reason, it definitely was not because her wings kept getting in the way, and she would say so to anyone who asked! "How have things been in my absence?"

"The number of extraneous holes in the shape of Tsurugi-senpai within many of Trinity's buildings has seen a sharp increase." The First Year replied succinctly. It was nothing Hasumi didn't already expect, but she still fought back a groan. "The delinquents causing trouble were too many for even our fearless leader to suppress on her own, so for once the rest of us had to get up and do something."

The sniper faltered slightly at the glare from the taller girl. "Ah… that was a joke. Sorry."

"Apology accepted." Sometimes Mashiro looked far too serious for her own good. "Ichika?"

"She directed the rest of our forces with great efficiency. She said the new recruits got a lot of valuable experience." The Third Year continued. "Then she added that the experience was exhausting, so after the emergency was declared over she went home to take a nap."

"I suppose she deserves it." Hasumi trusted Ichika to not take more time off than was acceptable. She wished to do the same, but being the JTF's vice-president meant having many, non-delegable duties. She could really use a parfait now. Just one or four… No! Focus Hasumi! Resist the temptation of sugary goodness!

"Senpai, you fought together with Silverhand-sensei." Mashiro's words proved to be a welcome distraction. "What do you think of him?"

"Ah, I assume he's been the main topic of recent discussions?" At the sniper's nod Hasumi began to choose her words carefully. "Silverhand-sensei proved himself both competent and worthy of trust, I can say this with absolute certainty. Some of his decisions may appear rash, especially for someone without a Halo, but he never asked us to do something he was not willingly to do himself."

The buxom Third Year thought back to Sensei's mechanical limb, and the brief but universally worrying mentions about his birthplace. Wherever this 'Night City' was, it sounded even worse than Gehenna. At least those scoundrels limited themselves to property destruction and disruption of private affairs.

"I heard some girls saying the stuff he spoke about during the interview isn't too dissimilar from Gehenna's propaganda." Mashiro revealed, coincidentally mirroring Hasumi's thoughts. "To be honest the part about corporations and capitalism flew over my head, and Schale sounds like a righteous organization on paper, but what I really found interesting was the song."

"The song?" Hasumi had no idea Mashiro liked rock, she never saw the younger girl with earplugs or listening to the radio. Mh, maybe she listened to it to pass the time while waiting for her targets to appear? The buxom Third Year couldn't really fault the younger student, spending hours with nothing to do would feel boring to anyone.

"There's this line that really resonates with me: 'Add justice to the peoples' math'. I read an interesting book recently, which tells people seeking justice how to behave in different situations." Now that was a more believable hobby for Hasumi's justice-obsessed junior. "It was everything I hoped it would be. But there were a few things I couldn't understand, maybe because I'm still inexperienced. The one I was less sure about is this example."

Mashiro took out a book titled 'Justice: It's The Right Thing To Do', far too much on the nose in Hasumi's opinion, and flipped through the pages until she reached one marked with a dog ear. "You are a train engineer. One day, you see five people tied to the track you're about to enter. If you switch to another track, you can save the five people, but as a result, you will hit one other person. What, in this case, would be the right thing to do?"

"I remember that one. It's a thought experiment about ethical dilemmas and how it's important to come up with your own answer." The JTF's vice-president nodded.

"Yes, the lack of a clear answer baffled me. What's more important? Saving lives or not willfully harming another? Justice should always have a clear, singular answer." Mashiro smiled, reading pure confidence and righteousness. "Then I heard 'Add justice to the peoples' math' and it all clicked. It's not a game of whose lives are worth more, either five or one. All of them are equally important, because the purpose of justice is to protect innocents. If this example is an equation, then there's only one answer: I will save them all. Even if I have to blow it up myself, I'll never allow the train to hurt a single innocent. If the book is telling me I cannot do it, then the book is wrong."

"Oh my." Hasumi gasped softly before smiling back. "I'm very proud of you and your answer, Mashiro. The Justice Task Force will be in good hands once I graduate."

She rubbed the back of her head. "You're making me blush, Hasumi-senpai."

"Though maybe blowing up the train should be a last resort, since you may have passengers that would be caught in the blast."

"Ah! You're right!" Mashiro slapped a hand over her forehead. "It seems the path to understand justice is a long and hazardous one."

-0-​

Within the lands of Hyakkiyako, just like the rest of Kivotos, news of the events that marked the end of total disorder spread like wildfire. Carried by Kronos' broadcasts, messages on social media and word of mouth, there were few people that didn't feel the need to comment on them and make their opinions known.

What happened to the missing General Student Council President? Why was Schale, a club with such great power, created? Who was this mysterious 'Johnny Silverhand' Sensei? Why did he introduce himself by saying his name backward?

And most importantly, many students whispered among themselves with excited giggles, what kind of girl did he like?

This whirlpool of interest, ideas and beliefs was currently being observed by a solitary figure sitting atop one of Hyakkiyako's many traditional gates. Despite doing nothing to hide herself, nobody paid attention to the slender girl with hair like pale cherry blossoms as she brought a kiseru pipe to her lips, a wisp of fragrant smoke curling upward in lazy spirals. Purplish-gray eyes peered down at the river of humanity, gleaming with amusement and the characteristic fondness of elders who watch young people behave the same way they once did in their youth.

"Kukuku." Pale tails waved like a mirage as their owner quietly chuckled to herself. "Truly, in this day and age Hyakkiyako students get excited so easily."

With a flick of her wrist a pink cellphone covered in cherry blossom stickers slid out of her detached sleeve and into her palm. "Mhh, mhh. Festival this, festival that… Oh? Little Shizuko is announcing the reopening of Momoyodou?"

With a grin that promised mischief the Great Prophet of Hyakkiyako went to the teahouse's MomoTalk chatroom, confirmed Shizuko was chatting with her fans and typed a message.

[FoxCubMuchKawaii♥️♥️: Shizuko is so cute! Luv you so much 😙 I want to take you home so you can make me breakfast!]

She waited for the outraged replies by the fans to pile up and for Shizuko to start playing as peacemaker before adding another message.

[FoxCubMuchKawaii♥️♥️: You're saying you don't want to eat Shizuko's miso soup every morning?]

Kuzunoha howled with laughter as the chat exploded. Yet, despite how loud she was, not a single person on the street below raised their head.

"Forsooth! This shall be another fine day!" Still laughing in a very unladylike way, not that there was anyone calling her out of it, Kuzunoha picked up her case and leaped to the closest rooftop. Her geta-like soles never touched the same building more than once before she was soaring again, lithe body seemingly riding the spring breeze like an ephemeral petal.

The pale-haired girl's journey ended at the doorway of a small, cozy house nestled under the shade of the Tree of Deities. It was surrounded by much bigger and dignified buildings, to the point it was easy to overlook and even easier to forget for those who merely observed without understanding. With movements practiced until they became as natural as breathing Kuzunoha removed her shoes at the entrance, bare feet soaking in the warmth from the wooden floor, and entered the living room.

Then she stopped, gaze sweeping around in the instinctive understanding something was amiss.

Someone she didn't remember inviting was sitting at her tea table.

Also, all the walls and even the ceiling were covered in bricks of plastic explosive.

That was probably it.

"Hello Kuzunoha-senpai." A voice the Great Prophet had not heard in some time cheerfully greeted her. Sitting primly on a cushion, back so straight it put steel to shame, Kosaka Wakamo raised a delicate hand and the detonator it held. "We're currently surrounded by enough C-4 to level this and the surrounding buildings."

'And you will not hesitate to trigger the charge even if you'll be caught in the blast too, uh?' Kuzunoha mentally completed the unspoken threat. Most students, even with a halo's protection, would have balked and hesitated at the thought of inflicting to themselves what could only result in a week-long hospital stay.

Wakamo was not most students.

"Warm greetings to you as well, my wayward junior." Sighing softly in exasperation at her plans for the afternoon being ruined, the twin-tailed girl walked to the tea table and sat down on another cushion. Her pipe rapped gently on the polished surface. "Tea."

"Uh?! Y-Yes, right away." Standing up Wakamo moved towards the kitchen, absentmindedly storing the detonator within the folds of her clothes. Drawers were opened, cups and bowls and other necessities taken out as if the wanted criminal worked there every day of her life.

Tea powder and cold water were mixed, then whisked with refined elegance while more water heated up in a separate container. Once everything was ready two bowls rested on the table, releasing the unmistakable fragrance of green tea.

The Great Prophet of Hyakkiyako picked up her bowl and delicately drinked from it, eyes closed in contemplation. Wakamo took more furtive but not less frequent sips of the hot beverage, raising her mask just enough to gain access to her mouth.

Several minutes passed in complete silence before Kuzunoha put the bowl back down. "I see you didn't let your skills rust. Well done."

"Thank you senpai." Wakamo bowed at the praise.

"Now, tell me: what brings you to my humble abode, so long after our last meeting?"

Like a switch being flipped, Wakamo went from the perfect ideal of a lady to a swooning and blushing teenager. Hands on her cheeks, her body swayed left and right while her tail slapped against the floor with rhythmic persistence.

"How charming! How wondrous! A passion that burned like fire, an yearning that swallowed me whole! It was a meeting ordained by fate! Kuzunoha-senpai, I am in love!"

'My condolences to the poor bastard.'

"Congratulations, my wayward junior." Kuzunoha replied, very carefully not vocalizing her thoughts.

Then the masked girl was laying down on the table, weeping and screaming like a damned soul. "And I shamed myself in front of him! He-He must surely think I'm just a skank, a shameless hussy unworthy of his attention! He will never want anything to do with me ever again!"

The pale-haired girl calmly refilled her pipe, letting Wakamo get it out of her system until she was just sobbing instead of wailing. Helping her wayward and exceedingly dangerous junior with her love problems ranked low on Kuzunoha's list of priorities.

Yet, doing nothing at all while Wakamo was clearly suffering ranked at the very bottom. "It sounds serious. Yet, perhaps you should start from the very beginning and give me a clearer picture?"

And so Wakamo told Kuzunoha how she and the other six Prisoners were freed from their cells at the Correction Bureau by a 'midget'. How she immediately ditched them to go blow up some random stuff, and how she learned through the grapevine of a building deemed very important by the GSC. As expected, Wakamo decided to blow it up too with stolen explosives and a tank (also stolen).

Before she could do so, however, Johnny Silverhand of Schale appeared and apparently proceeded to do several outlashing things. Including dodging massed gunfire without moving, blowing up the tank with a handgun and holding his own against Wakamo in close-range combat.

"Those rakish looks, those eyes smouldering with raw passion!" Wakamo was hugging herself, shuddering as if she had a fever. "And then, he c-c-called me Wacko-moe! It was our first date and yet he already gave me a pet nameee!!!"

Kuzunoha contemplated informing Wakamo of her suspicions that name was not said endearingly before deciding she liked her house not being ash. "Daring indeed. And then what happened?"

However, instead of answering the masked girl fell oddly silent. She just fidgeted in an uncharacteristic awkward manner, as if unwilling to share some earth-shattering secret.

"Wakamo. I can't help you if you don't confide in me." The twin-tailed girl spoke gently. "Have I ever broken your trust?"

"No. Not you Kuzunoha-senpai, never you." Shyly she beckoned for the other girl to come closer. The Great Prophet leaned forward until one of her ears was almost touching the mask's fake lips.

Wakamo whispered the truth.

Kuzunoha's tails twitched once.

'Holy crap. There's being hormonal, and then there's this.'

"Mh, I understand." The smoking girl pulled back as the wanted criminal seemed to melt in renewed shame. "I wouldn't worry too much about it: guys love the ego boost."

"Uh?"

"You will get it one day." Kuzunoha waved Wakamo off with a chuckle. "What happened next?"

"I… Realizing the depths of my humiliating display I fled, unable to endure the thought of Darling staring at me with a scornful look. Seeking counsel I came here, rigged the place and then waited for your return senpai." The black-haired girl confessed bashfully. Then, for some reason, the exposed skin around her neck turned a bright shade of red. "On a whim I turned on the TV to pass the time-How fortuitous! Darling was there, enlightening the insipid masses with his boundless wisdom! The sound of his wonderful voice reignited the fire in my veins, to the point I had to use your bed to quench the heat."

Kuzunoha was just nodding along before stopping abruptly. "Wait. You used my bed to do what?"

"Tee-hee~"

"Don't tee-hee me young lady!" The pale-haired girl angrily knocked her pipe on the table several times. "We shall talk about this later. Why, exactly, have you come here Wakamo?"

"Please Kuzunoha-senpai!" The wanted criminal clapped her hands together. "I don't know what to dooo! Tell me how I can redeem myself to Darling! Anything! I will do anything!"

Considering what she deduced of Silverhand's character from his speech, Kuzunoha had a good guess he was more bothered by the unrestrained destruction caused by her wayward student than her feelings towards him. But that required little Wakamo to understand basic empathy and take a chill pill the size of Red Winter, so any advice about that was going to fall on deaf ears.

The pale-haired girl didn't answer immediately, rolling the pipe between her lips as she thought how to phrase her next words in a way that even this cute and destructive moron would get.

Mmh… if Wakamo didn't embellish Silverhand's words before their confrontation too much, like she clearly did the rest, and going by the content of his TV speech… Kuzunoha was not so arrogant as to think she already had a clear picture of the man's personality before even meeting him, but she was still a good judge of character with plenty of experience. "What is anarchy to you? That's what Silverhand-sensei asked, right Wakamo?"

The black-haired girl jolted before nodding. "Yes. I could see it in his eyes, feel it in my marrow… like me, Darling saw the true and ugly nature people hide behind their deceitful masks. Like me, he feels nothing but rage towards this cruel world. Yet, he still chose to support the insipid masses. Why?"

"He called you a faker. Because what you call anarchy and what he calls anarchy are different things. My wayward junior, takes this lesson to heart: even if their paths run parallel, it is not impossible for people to arrive at different destinations. Such is life." Kuzunoha smiled warmly. "However. With determination and some effort, it is also not impossible for those paths to intersect again. If you want to redeem yourself to Silverhand-sensei, you must first understand the destination he reached. And to understand it, you must first find the answer to this question: what is anarchy to Johnny Silverhand?"

Wakamo didn't react for several seconds. Then she was on her feet, hugging the other girl tightly against her chest and spinning in circles. "Kuzunoha-senpai! Thank you thank you thank you! You're so noble and wise! Yes! Before I can become Darling's perfect wife I must first know how to satisfy all of his desires! How arrogant of me to think otherwise!"

Said noble and wise senpai had her air flow cut off by Wakamo's breasts and was repeatedly bonking the other fox-eared girl on the head with her pipe, but the wanted criminal didn't appear to notice or care.

Before Kuzunoha could switch to more drastic methods she was put back on the cushion, her hair and clothes were smoothed over and the detonator was placed next to the empty tea bowl.

"Wait for me Darling! Your lovely Wakamo will not rest until she learns how to service you perfectly!" The wanted criminal hollered in delight as she dashed away.

"Still going at it in the most roundabout way possible, uh Wakamo? You never change." With a sigh Kuzunoha put down her pipe and began to dismantle the detonator. Once done she picked up her pipe again, stood up and walked to the door that led to her bedroom.

When she opened it, the first thing that hit her was the smell.

The second was the sight of her torn-up bed, looking as if it had been ravaged by a wild animal.

"…Next time I'm setting her on fire. Let's see how she likes that."