Of Noble Intentions - Chapter 3: Girls Just Want to Have Fun

"I had more trysts with my groupies than I can count. I tried to keep track, but ended up spending a fortune on Memory Chips."

"And you wonder why Rogue can't stand your sorry ass."

Johnny Silverhand and V

====

Johnny followed Rin into an elevator, where the white-clad girl wasted no time in pressing the button for the ground floor. No ad-screens and the cube was clean, though the music that started playing when the doors closed kinda ruined the effect in his opinion. Preem muzak, a good mix of smooth jazz and piano solos, but Johnny would have used a different arrangement. That or painted the insides a neon yellow and slapped on some kitschy posters, but they never paid him to decorate corpo workplaces: in fact, it was his eddies that often went into the explosives used for such jobs. Truly, there was no limit to the depraved imagination of corporations when it came to sucking out the money of honest, hard-working citizens.

While they went down Rin took her gun out of the holster, allowing Johnny to better appraise it. He silently raised an eyebrow at what was unmistakably a Desert Eagle: painted white and blue, true, but still four pounds of solid, death-spewing stainless steel. It was smaller than the Mark VII, with a Picatinny rail and integrated muzzle brake. A new model? If true it would be a pleasant surprise: by the time 2020 came around IMI stopped producing the Deagle, instead replacing it with the much uglier Gamad. Seriously, who needs a 10mm, 7-round mag pistol when you can just blow up a gonk's head with a single well-placed bullet? It has a laser sight and a smartgun variant, you say? Iron for Cylons, that's what it was. She didn't check the magazine, so Johnny couldn't see what kind of bullets it was loaded with, but the way Rin held it in a two-handed grip with practiced ease proved that her previous boasts weren't completely empty.

The moment the elevator stopped and the doors opened Johnny was the first to step outside, Malorian whirling around in search of hostiles. They arrived in a large lobby of blinding white and blue, which he started to suspect was Kivotos' official color scheme, and it was empty. Nothing moved within, and the only sounds came from outside: the glass doors on the other side of the room offered more line of sight that Johnny appreciated, but at least they were frosted.

"No need to be nervous, Silverhand-sensei. We're inside a GSC building, no mere delinquent would be able to bypass its defenses." Rin said, not even bothering to raise her Deagle's muzzle. "Though, I'm pleased to see you're taking your new task seriously."

"Serious' what I do." His Kiroshi's were picking up no automated turrets or security cameras in the vicinity, if by defenses Rin meant the doors were locked then he was not impressed. Johnny used his gun to gesture toward the lobby's doors. "Glass' bulletproof?"

The dual-toned girl blinked in confusion. "Why would it not be bulletproof?"

Good answer, future review just went up a few notches.

Johnny approached the main entrance with caution, keeping an eye out for movements on the other side of the glass. Rin used a nearby keypad to open the sliding doors, and with that the Rockerboy took his first proper step on what promised to be his new place of residence for the foreseeable future: the Academic City, Kivotos. His first thought of a more idealistic Night City proved correct, the area he was in resembled Charter hill but brighter and with less clustered streets. The sides of the buildings were covered in ads, as expected, but at least it wasn't the usual obnoxious and in-your-face scop with scantily-clad biosculptured models all corporate PR Teams always come up with even after fifty years, same imagination of cloned rats sold in bulk at a discount bin.

All in all a decent place to live in, were it not for the recent devastation. Several miscellaneous objects, either discarded or toppled over, covered the sidewalks from when civilians ran the fuck away. Cars laid abandoned, a few turned into wreckages by explosions that also blasted holes into the concrete: grenades or makeshift explosives, Johnny couldn't tell but it had all the hallmarks of gonks blowing up stuff for shit and giggles. Many things were on fire, obviously, releasing thick columns of acrid black smoke. Everywhere the Rockerboy looked he saw bullet holes, proof the culprits were either a very big gang or had access to a lot of ammo: knowing how those things usually go, likely both.

...There were no dead bodies. Not even bloodstains. Back in Night City a riot of this size would have left behind a sea of gore and dismembered body parts, both from civilians caught in the crossfire and gangoons killing each other due to horrendous trigger discipline. Maybe the fighting started only after the evacuation was complete, and the gang members were all veterans instead of expendable newbies, Johnny saw stranger coincidences. Plus indiscriminate slaughter always brings on a lot of heat on the culprits, so it was possible those who hit this district were more interested in looting under the cover of city-wide chaos. Gangs like the Steel Dragons or the Piranhas, the Animals were also a possibility but those musclefreaks are like their hammers: big, ugly and constantly dripping brainmatter.

Rin's grimace deepened at the sight. "Things weren't so bad when I arrived, for the riots to escalate so much in such a short time... Repairs will take months, not to mention the loss of trust in the GCS. We must reach SCHALE and put a stop to this as soon as possible."

"Lead the way then." If things were truly as bad as they looked then it was better to do less talking and more acting. Rin nodded and started jogging down the main street, Johny hot on her heels. That it also gave him a preem view of her bouncing backside was an unexpected bonus he had no intention of turning down. Or mention, it was not the polite thing to do after all. "What is SCHALE, anyway? Why are we going there and not directly to this Sanctum Tower place?"

"Without an administrator Sanctum Tower automatically went into lockdown, nobody can set foot inside. Trying to force our way in without the verification code would just be a colossal waste of time and activate the automated defense systems." She shook her head, briefly slowing down to look behind her shoulders at Johnny. "The SCHALE club room, meanwhile, can be freely accessed by anyone with the necessary passwords and I possess them. This also involves you, Sensei: you see, SCHALE is—"

"Hey look! People coming out of a GCS place!"

"What, where?! Let me at them GCS bastards!"

Three armed individuals walked out from behind a street corner further ahead and immediately started screaming their heads off the moment they noticed Johnny and Rin. Which caused further cries from behind the two as four more gangoons ran out of a side alley with the kind of hurried stumbling typical of someone who was previously squatting down on the street and shit-talking with their equally bored chooms to pass the time. All of them were young girls with more halos, no obvious modifications, wore different kinds of what Johnny vaguely recognized as Japanese school uniforms (Sapporo may have been Arasaka turf, but the gig there with Samurai has been nova), and the only identifying traits they shared were black facemasks with a white cross mark. Really simple for gang colors, probably new on the Street and destined to burn off faster than a half-smoke cig.

For weapons they mostly had assault rifles, with a few shotguns tossed in for variety. Since Johnny didn't fancy being shot in the back he grabbed Rin by one arm and dived behind an upturned car. She squealed at the rough manhandling, but it was quickly silenced when the gangoons opened fire. "Because of your GCS bastards I have been kicked out of school! Today I'll have my revenge!" One of them screamed, bullets whizzing around the car with only a few hitting it. Not only their aim sucked, they started shooting when there were more than 500 meters between them and their targets: doable with enough skills or luck, but those gonks clearly had neither. And the ones with shotguns were only making noises.

"The GCS is not responsible for the standards of promotion and expulsion used by Kivotos' Academies! That matter is handled by the respective Student Councils!" Rin hotly protested, peeking out of cover to fire a few shoots before retreating.

"Just because I had bad grades, skipped classes almost every day, smoked in the mess hall, painted graffiti within the gym when no one was inside and refused to stop, they said I was not 'good enough' for their school! That's unfair!"

"You brought it on yourself!"

"Seems to me a lot of people have beef with you and your chooms." Johnny commented with just a hint of amusement, crouched down on the other side of their cover. Giving a quick peek outside he saw the enemies, all seven of them, were charging their position. Their aim was simple: get into optimal firing range and circle them with superior numbers. The problem, as it stood, was that they weren't spacing out their shots so no more than one-third of them at any given time needed to stop and reload, leaving the rest to provide covering fire. A problem for the gangoons, but an opportunity for him and Rin. "Wait for my signal and shoot. We only get to do this two or three times, make them count."

"Do you have a plan, Sensei?" Rin asked with a hopeful tone.

His answer was to raise four fingers of his meat hand. Judging by the previous peek and the enemy's starting positions, rate of volume getting louder, pauses in the shooting... Johnny pulled down his fingers one by one with deliberate slowness. "Now!" When the last one went down they stood up, the gangoons caught red-handed in the middle of swapping magazines.

Inhale. Line a headshot. Pull the trigger. Head go splat. Hopefully it will scare the others into running away, killing brats way over their heads left a bad taste on Johnny's tongue, worse than exhaust and Broseph mixed together.

The Hand was silent. Good or bad, didn't matter at the moment.

Bang.

The Malorian barked like an angry rottweiler raised on a diet of ultra-testosterone and the Juice, superheated bullet leaving the barrel through a corona of discharged plasma before the slide pulled back to eject the spent cartridge. Johnny expected to see an angry look turn into fine red mist.

What happened instead, was the targeted gangoon's head snapping back so hard it was a miracle her neck didn't explode into a shower of gore and bone fragments. Followed by her body being lifted off the ground as if punched by someone twice her size, landing on her back and skidding for a few feet before stopping. The halo above her head flickered before disappearing, leaving behind a fainted but still clearly alive girl.

Subdermal Armor? It was the most likely explanation, yet something still felt off. First, the Malorian was specifically designed to punch through the protection offered by both Body Plating and Subdermal Armor, even when the two were paired together. Second, both cyberwares had shock-absorber components and made the body heavier—more stable. If the girl had either one or both cyberwares Johnny's bullet should have drilled a hole through her pretty head or sent her staggering with her face a fucking crater. Yet neither happened, not even a drop of blood what the absolute fuck?!

Johnny wasn't the only one stunned, the street was silent as both Rin and the remaining gangoons looked between Johnny and the downed wondergirl as if spellbound. Either they didn't know she had such a thick defense, or they did and were surprised it still took only a single bullet to knock her out.

The Rockerboy shot another girl in the stomach, to see what happened. She staggered back, bending over as if sucker-punched by a right hook, yet not even her clothes were damaged as the deformed bullet clattered to the ground. Another shot and she was down for the count, halo fading away even as the rising and falling of her chest proved the gangoon was merely unconscious.

Honestly? Johnny almost felt hazed.

"Shitheads! Now you've done it!" Losing another member of their little group spurred the remaining girls back into action, who quickly went back to swapping magazines. Johnny and Rin managed to take down two more before they had to dive back behind cover. The pointed-eared girl however wasn't fast enough and got hit in the shoulder by a three-shot burst. She hissed under her breath, massaging the affected area despite the fact even the threads looked as preem as before.

Whatever mysterious implant protected Rin and the gangoons was quite nova. Still not worth much more scop than normal armor in Johnny's opinion, sure it kept them alive and stylish but if you get knocked out during a firefight nothing stops the other gonk from continuing to shoot or worse. What could it be, energy shields? Gonkshit, even after fifty years laser weapons remained clunky and unreliable unless very big and made with mil-specs.

Wait.

He scanned Rin again.

Name: Nanagami Rin

Cyberware Detected: None​

No fucking way. Even if energy shields weren't science fiction anymore, no way they would not be a cyberware or made with electronic components. Even if she had an ICE strong enough to block his Kiroshi's, they would at least pick up something was being actively concealed. The only alternative was a bioware and that wasn't even worth laughing at.

"Rin, chombatta. I'm glad I'm not zeroing young girls but can you please explain how the fuck that is even happening?" Johnny asked, because it really needed to be asked, as he replaced the bullets he fired.

"Sensei! What's that gun you just used?" She stared at him with a flabbergasted expression, Deagle forgotten in her hands when she should instead reloading it. "And zeroing? Chombatta? What do those words even mean?!"

Johnny let the Hand spin the Malorian while using his meat fingers to briefly lower the aviators. "Are we speaking the same language?"

"Evidently not!"

"Hey! Cut it out!" For a moment Johnny thought the third voice belonged to one of the gangoons, angry that their opponents were ignoring them in favor of chatting. Which was fair. But then it was followed by loud cussing as their opponents started shooting at a different target. Peeking around cover Johnny saw the gangoons had been ambushed from behind by three newcomers: two of them were shooting from behind the cover of nearby buildings, while the third one was out in the open and boldly exchanging lead with the delinquents. Another girl, she had bright blue eyes and long dark-blue hair reaching to her waist with two pigtails tied by triangular bands. Her clothes consisted of a black blazer and white undershirt secured by a blue tie, a black pleated skirt and a white belt with attached bullet pouches. She too had a halo, a simple black ring with a blue line inside.

Johnny and Rin's reinforcement, or maybe a member of a rival gang but she looked too corpo to be one, was wielding a SMG in each hand. The shape reminded him of the Saratoga, except the stock was smaller. Despite being showered in lead she was holding fast like a MaxTac facing a bunch of unmodded Lexingtons. "Hey! That hurts!!" She yelled, actually managing to sound serious instead of mocking. Neither side looked wounded so far, but the gangoons were dropping faster than the expression of discomfort on the dual-wielding girl was rising. The support fire from her chooms also helped, of course, and soon she was the last one standing. "And stay down!"

Name: Hayase Yuuka

Status: Second Year (16 years old)

Affiliation: Seminar (Millennium Science School)

Occupation: Treasurer

Cyberware Detected: None​

An eddies-pusher was capable of tanking bullets like a Solo in Metalgear? What was next, janitors were equipped with Mantis Blades even in the liver? Johnny would watch a BD like that.

"Are you hurt, Yuuka?" The two who were giving support to the twin-tailed girl approached her. The first was a girl with shoulder-length blonde hair tied in pigtails with a black ribbon hairband. She had pointed ears like Rin and amber eyes covered by black glasses, a flat round halo with four lines bisecting the center above her head. Her clothes consisted of a white collared uniform, a black skirt, red stockings and black boots with red laces. On her left sleeve was a military-styled armband with the words [Prefect Team] in Japanese, and hanging from her right shoulder was a massive brown satchel bag full of medical supplies. It looked heavier than her whole body, making Johnny wonder if she had Grafted Muscles and Bone Laces installed.

Name: Hinomiya Chinatsu

Status: First Year (15 years old)

Affiliation: Prefect Team (Gehenna Academy)

Occupation: Medic

Cyberware Detected: None​

Apparently the answer was negative, but at least here the possibility of a strength-enhanced bioware was more realistic.

"They were using JHP rounds! That's cheating!" Yuuka complained as she reloaded her guns. What, would she have preferred the gangoons to use something like AP or Biotoxin ammo? She should count herself lucky they just used the very basic type of lead. "If they leave a mark I'm gonna be so mad!"

"Hollow points aren't illegal, you know." The third newcomer commented airily, and right there Johnny made a supreme (and absolutely memorable) effort to swallow the urge to whistle as loudly as possible while removing his glasses to confirm that, yes, his Kiroshi's had his fucking back.

Great googly moogly, what a rimbo! Big in all the ways that mattered, massive breasts which looked perfect for sleeping soundly on them like a babe. Long black hair, red eyes, a black sailor dress with an asymmetrical skirt: one part drooping down to her calves, the other cut to reveal a mouth-watering amount of leg and a peek at high-quality lingerie. Black stockings reaching up to her thighs. Resting on her shoulder was a retro-looking but still impressive black sniper rifle with golden ornaments. The red four-pointed halo and the massive black wings on her back were just the Exotic cherries on top.

Name: Hanekawa Hasumi

Status: Third Year (17 years old)

Affiliation: Justice Task Force (Trinity General School)

Occupation: Vice-Chairwoman

Cyberware Detected: None​

Johnny's thoughts came to a screeching halt like a record player run over by a Kaukaz Bratsk. She was only seventeen years old?!

No. Nuh-uh. There was no goddamn way Johnny was going to believe a 17-year-old girl could look like that.

Really Johnny? You see unarmored kids survive hits from the Malorian and that's what makes you flip?

I was getting shot at and didn't have time to flip, and for fuck's sake just look at her! That body belongs to a pornstar, not a teenager! And what hexed-in-the-brain kind of parents would let their daughter bodysculpting herself into a bombshell? If she really is seventeen, then the adults of this city and I are gonna be having words.

And here I figured you would've been drooling at the possibility her growth spurt may not be over yet.

…Holy shitballs on a rolling grenade-

Mind out of the gutter Silverhand.

Yeah, no shit, I've still got standards. Eyes only for now.

Johnny...

Oh, come on! Do you know how long it has been since the last time I got laid? Besides, if she's a preview of what the ladies here are like then by the end of the day I'll be ending that dry spell in the best way possible!

Assuming they can stand your ass.

Just you wait, V. When it comes to game Johnny Silverhand only has to ask.

The girl named Chinatsu approached Yuuka and looked over the girl's body. She then rolled up the Treasurer's sleeve, unclipped one of the syringes from her bag and injected the green liquid within. Yuuka winced at the injection before releasing a sigh of relief. "My personal mix of painkillers and stims, don't get hit again for a short while and it will be like it never happened."

"Damn, now of all times..." Rin muttered under her breath with a frown. She tugged at Johnny's jacket, pulling him out of his thoughts about stupid cockblocking morals. "Sensei, time is of the essence so let's just leave. Now."

"There you are, Acting President! We've been searching for you! Where's the real President? Get her here already!" Yuuka yelled, pointing an accusing finger at the white-clad girl.

Rin let go of his jacket, raising her head and silently mouthing 'almost' to the sky with an expression of deep frustration.

"I've been searching for you, Chief Officer. All GSC subsidiaries are locked down and I've been unable to contact any other member of the General Student Council until now." Hasumi added, standing next to Yuuka alongside Chinatsu.

"I'm here to meet with the General Student Council President. The Head Prefect has terms she would like to discuss." The blonde girl stated with a serious tone.

"Greetings, representatives of neighboring student councils, disciplinary boards, and those who otherwise have too much time on their hands." Rin greeted them back with a smile that screamed 'I am deeply displeased by the fact I cannot have any of you fired, shot or hacked into a less bothersome state of being'. "I am well aware why you irksome- I mean, important representatives are here today. You're here to blame us for what's happening in Kivotos. Isn't that right?"

"If you're well aware, then do something! You represent the General Student Council after all!" The Treasurer looked downright pissed. "Thousands of academy districts are in a panic! Our academy's wind generators shut down just a few days ago!"

She wasn't the only one with something to complain about, as both Chinatsu and Hasumi quickly aired their own grievances. "There are also rumors a student under the Federal Correction Bureau's custody has escaped."

"There has been a sharp increase in both delinquency and illegal distribution of tanks, choppers and other unknown weapons. At this rate, ordinary school life in Kivotos will be a thing of the past."

"And what is the General Student Council President doing during such a sorry state of affairs?! I demand to see her right this instant!" Yuuka requested at the end.

Rin remained silent for a few seconds, stoically withstanding the glares and hostility directed her way, before speaking again. "The president has gone missing. As far as we can tell, she's not in Kivotos anymore."

"What?!" The news clearly came as a complete shock to both Yuuka and Chinatsu.

"Allow me to be blunt. The General Student Council has lost all authority because the top administrator of Sanctum Tower is not here anymore." The black-haired, bespectacled girl continued. "We had been searching for a way to bypass the need for verification, all to no avail... until recently. We now have a way to unlock Sanctum Tower and access the supplies contained within. You see, with her last message to us the President appointed—"

"Excuse me, Chief Officer." Hasumi interrupted while looking to the side with a puzzled expression. "Who is that gentleman?"

The other haloed girls followed the tall beauty's gaze, gaping at the sight of Johnny crouching down next to one of the unconscious thugs and rummaging through her pockets. "Sensei! What are you doing?"

"Looting." Johnny answered curtly, grinning when he finally found the items he has been searching for.

Standing up he took out a cigarette from the half-empty packet, put it in his mouth and used the lighter to light the stick. Johnny filled his lungs with smoke, enjoying the familiar burning, then breathed it out with a content sigh. "Aaaah... finally. It has been too long." He took another glance at the brand. "Habanero, uh? Burn like one, even if there's not nearly enough tar."

One vice down, three more to go. Actually, he better scratches out drugs from the list: he promised V to do better, and being too high to think properly would not help with that. He should probably also cut down on alcohol and cigarettes... Fuck, why is self-improvement so hard? Can’t he just get a Detoxifier from a Ripperdoc and call it done? No? Fuck you too world!

Johnny walked back to the shocked quartet, the Hand lowering the cig from his lips and holding it between two fingers. "Are you done wasting time? Can we go now?"

"Wasting time? Me?" Rin bristled. "Who's the one here stealing cigarettes -which cannot be purchased or owned by students I might add- from delinquents?"

"Dunno. Who's the one here who said it was an emergency and then wasted time talking fancy with people she went to great lengths to avoid in the first place?"

Rin opened her mouth, then slammed it shut without saying a single word and settled for glaring heatedly at Johnny. Rogue had the exact same look on her face whenever she tried to decide if she wanted Johnny or wanted to kill him.

"Is this person really a teacher...?" Yuuka sounded like they just tried to sell her a black slop, passing it off as a high-quality corpo dish. "Acting President, who is this adult?"

"Name's Johnny Silverhand, Rockerboy extraordinaire. If you didn't listen to my songs before that's a damn shame." He took another drag. "Now chicas, I understand your beef. Gangoons all over the place, your own turfs are turning into Scopland and your supposed allies are ghosting you. But you're in luck: I, am the solution to all your problems."

For some reason they looked completely lost until he mentioned the last part. "You're the solution? What do you mean by that, Sensei?" Chinatsu questioned.

"The GSC President hired me for a gig." He answered, giving those girls his full attention. Johnny didn't need to know the political landscape of Kivotos to smell those three currently represented big players. What they saw was what they will tell their handlers, what they will first know of Johnny Silverhand. "Gave me admin access to the Sanctum Tower and all the supplies held within necessary to quell the riots and fix the current issues."

"The President herself did? Chief Officer, is this true?" Hasumi asked Rin.

The white-clad girl took a deep breath and composed herself, having decided that going with the flow set by Johnny was her best bet. "Indeed. This is Silverhand-Sensei. Not only is he going to be teaching in Kivotos, but he has also been personally selected by the General Student Council President."

"I've been told Sanctum Tower is in lockdown, but there's another Access Point thirty kilometers from here." He smoked again before lowering the Hand, cigarette held between index and middle fingers. "I go there, jack in, turn off the ICE. Everyone wins. Rolls the credits. Ea-"

Yuuka suddenly grabbed the Hand, making the cig fall to the ground. Johnny barely managed to stop himself from taking out the knife in his right sleeve and ramming it between her eyes. Probably not fatal considering her durability, but attempted murder on the first meeting always looks back.

Unaware of how close she came to tasting steel the black-haired girl ran her gloved fingers all over the cybernetic limb, mouth hanging open and eyes wide in wonder. "It's not a gauntlet." She breathed out, mystified. "Servomotors, cables for nerves, there are even s-synthetic muscles!" Yuuka pushed up his left sleeve, revealing the mechanical elbow, and gasped. The others weren't faring much better. "A fully functional prosthetic limb successfully added to a human body!"

Geez, it was like they never saw a cyberlimb before. Kids those days were too used to RealSkin, Edgerunners should have no hesitation in showing off their chrome. Unless they were the sneaky type, in which case business came first. "Not that I don't appreciate it, but please ease down on your fingers sweetheart. It's starting to tickle."

"Eh? Ah! Sorry!" Yuuka let go of the Hand in a hurry and took a step back, cheeks glowing a lovely red. "Wait! It has a sense of touch?!"

Johnny raised an eyebrow in disbelief. Was this chica completely ignorant of how chrome worked? Do they teach only boot-licking at corpo academies those days? "Tactile sensors feeding data to my brain, yeah."

"Sensei, what happened to your real arm?" Chinatsu's question almost made him chuckle out loud. Just how long it has been since someone asked that? Even V never did, younger generations always see a cyberlimb and assume the owner wanted to replace meat for something better. They forgot why cyberware was invented in the first place.

"Blown off by a grenade. They had to shove the stump into a campfire to stop the bleeding." Oh, but did it hurt. Like milling of knives digging into his flesh, liquid fire pumped into his veins as his left arm screamed in agony despite not existing anymore. A good thing Johnny was such a talented soldier, made the top brass give him a cutting-edge prototype cyberlimb so he could keep fighting their dirty war.

His best friend wasn't so lucky: after all, he had been closer to the grenade than Johnny's.

The Rockerboy only wanted to spook the kids a little. He didn't expect the looks of pure horror, skin turning pale as a ghost. Yuuka looked ready to puke, Chinatsu had both hands covering her mouth and an expression of horrified realization appeared on Rin's face before it turned to shame. "Sensei, how did you get injured? Shouldn't your Halo have..." Hasumi trailed off, finally looking above his head and realizing the lack of what Johnny was starting to suspect wasn't just a fancy decoration.

"Y-You're not from Kivotos, are you Sensei?" Chinatsu gulped. She looked at the other girls and then back at Johnny. "All students of Kivotos have a Halo, they make us extremely durable and often give other benefits, like a reduced sense of pain. We cannot absorb damage indefinitely, enough hits will down even the stronger student, but we can survive and completely recover even from very powerful attacks. The other residents of Kivotos don't have a Halo, but share a reduced form of our durability."

Johnny slowly nodded in understanding, then used his meat hand to poke Yuuka's Halo. The finger passed through without encountering resistance or heat, just like a hologram, but it still made the girl yelp in embarrassment as she leaped away. "Sensei! You can't just! Touch other people's Halos out of the blue!"

"Duly noted. So, just to be sure: this Halo of yours is not something I can get just by asking the right person, yeah?" They shook their heads and he snorted. "Go figure. To answer your question: no, where I am from people are not so durable. We have armor, and it can get very good, but it's not perfect."

Then there was chrome, which evened the player's field even more, but Johnny was starting to suspect he wasn't the only one ignorant of things outside of their comfort zone. A sudden suspicion fired through his neurons and he asked his Agent a question.

Searching through local Data Pools... Requested Data: Found.

Kivotos' annual mortality rate by violence: 0%

Variations in the selected percentage through available records of past years: None

Those results have been confirmed by multiple verified sources.​

"Motherfucker up a satmast!" The Rockerboy slapped his meat hand over his face and began laughing. It was either that or rebooting his Biomon because he was obviously on the spicy Glitter and the fucker didn't warn him. He wasn't just in a prettier Night City, he was in a version of it dreamed up by a ten years old girl who never left her Beaverville and thought virtu-games were real! "Is this Paradise? I mean, you girls look like Angels so it makes sense!"

They blushed at the praise. Cute. He wasn't even trying.

So. A city of (mostly) bulletproof gonks. Explained the lack of blood and dead bodies. Also explained Johnny's sudden urge to delay his good intentions and raid the closest bar. Because holy guacamole, he was not drunk enough for this scop. Even sadder, he gave his word to undertake this gig and unnecessarily adding a whole day because God exists and is a sadistic bastard wasn't very professional.

No choice but to compartmentalize everything away and let Future Johnny deal with it. Not the best of plans, but hey at least Present Johnny was fine! Mostly. He needed a tequila.

Johnny took a few deep breaths, ignoring the notifications from his Agent, and when he judged himself sufficiently calm put on his aviators. "That's enough revelations for now, we are really wasting time. Rin, let's continue toward SCHALE. The sooner we conclude, the better."

"What? But Sensei, aren't you afraid?"

Yuuka froze like a rabbit caught in the headlights when Johnny's head whirled around to stare her down, a sudden and invisible pressure stealing the air from her lungs. With steady, measured movements he bent down to pick up his fallen cigarette, idly removing the dirt with his prosthetic before lighting it up again. "I'm not from Kivotos. I come from a place called Night City. Ever heard of it?" His voice was deep, warm but with an underlying something that made it impossible for her to relax.

The Treasurer from Seminar could only shake her head.

"It's a glorious shithole. Sky-high rate of violence, more people living below the poverty line than anywhere else, voted worst place to live in the whole continent. The daily body-count is around thirty." He raised his head and breathed out a cloud of white smoke. "I left my apartment every day knowing a straight bullet could end me while hailing a cab, but that never stopped me from taking action."

Johny removed the cigarette from his lips and held it between two fingers of his prosthetic, burning end pointed upward as if offering the stick to Yuuka.

"I am willing to risk my life to save this city. What about you?"