Isamu 'Jugo' Okada
"Hiyah!" A high pitched voice rang out through the dojo as Isamu took a light step back, evading the blow effortlessly and deflecting the training sword away with minimal movement before stepping into his opponent's guard and lightly pushing him back.
The kid let out a confused yelp as he lost his footing, his arms flailing abut in a panic for a moment before he finally lost his battle with gravity and fell on his ass.
Isamu had to hold back a laugh as the child looked up at him with a pout "You do that every time!"
This time he did chuckle "Because you let me." He said and helped the kid up "You know I won't stop until you correct your posture."
"But you always win anyway." The kid crossed his arms and huffed "Swords suck."
Isamu placed a hand over his heart as if wounded "Ah, betrayed by my own son!"
"Hmph!" The kid stuck his nose up, but he could see the joy in his eyes.
"Don't worry Jin." Isamu assured as he ruffled his son's hair "One day you will put my ass in the dirt too."
Before the kid could respond, a familiar voice came from nearby "Having fun, boys?" His wife asked teasingly.
"Dad is bullying me!" Jin immediately threw him under the buss.
Mischief dancing in her eyes, Akari looked at him "Really Isamu? Your own son?" She shook her head in faux disappointment "I didn't know I married a brute."
"Don't gang up on me now." Isamu laughed as he flicked his son's forehead and gave his wife a quick hug, dutifully ignoring her glare as he nearly made her drop the tray she was carrying.
Naturally, that earned him a swift swat on the head as he was given his righteous scolding and soon enough him and his son were enjoying some of the best homecooked onigiri in the whole world.
But such familial idyl could not last forever "Okada-sama. Your guest is here." The voice of his bodyguard rang out through his agent, only a moment before the doors opened on their own.
His young ally's near featureless face made it as difficult to read him as ever, but Isamu immediately noticed a few subtle changes, changes that only grew more noticeable as they stacked upon each other.
The black and red leather coat he wore was as eye catching as ever, but now looked more bulky, most likely from all the sewn in armor his quartermaster reported the kid getting done.
There was a very thin, near imperceptible bulge he could see on the tall cyborg's back that left him briefly confused, but he quickly handwaved it away in his mind.
The kid made no secret he didn't truly care about how inhuman he looked so it was most likely some kind of cyberware experiment he was in the middle of that Isamu had no intention of broaching.
He liked intensity, and doubly so when it came to cutting people up, but the way those golden eyes lit up when the kid spoke about cyberware made even him pause.
At least he wore actual boots for once!
Isamu knew there wasn't any real difference there but it was the principle of the matter.
All of these minor changes almost made him miss the most obvious of them all, as he noticed that his guest was not as heavily armed as usual, having only brought his sword and sidearm with him.
His excitement surged at the many implications that carried, but he kept a lid on it for now.
He did so enjoy the little game he and the cyborg shared.
"Whoa!" A gasp of childlike wonder drew him from his thoughts, and he was treated with the delightful sight of his son looking up at the cyborg with wide eyes "Are you are robot, mister?"
Mike's entire body twitched but he still answered "Afraid not, kid."
Jin tilted his head innocently "That's weird." And looked up to Isamu "Didn't you say too much chrome made you go stupid?"
"Guess I just got that many extra braincells to burn, kid." Michael shrugged without skipping a beat.
Jin turned back to the cyborg, eyes narrowed in childish suspicion.
But before he could say something, Akari placed a hand on his head, completely ignoring his immediate pout "Don't be rude to your father's guest, Jin."
She quickly looked back up and slightly bowed her head "Welcome, Magos-san. Isamu has told me a lot about you."
The borg's posture shifted to a slightly more awkward one "Most of it exaggerated no doubt, miss?"
"Ah, how forgetful of me." Isamu chose this moment to cut back in "These are my wife Akari, and my son Jin."
Michael completely stilled for a brief instant, but it passed so quickly most would not have noticed.
Isamu naturally did.
"I see." He said before slowly bowing back "A pleasure to meet you as well, Ms. Akari. And you, Jin."
Little Jin raised his nose in 'acknowledgement' and huffed, to which Akari let out a slight laugh before turning serious and once more bowing to the cyborg "Thank you for your help. My husband's health has been a great source of worry for all of us."
Once more, Isamu was treated to the sight of the cyborg growing incredibly awkward as he was left completely flatfooted by the sheer sincerity of his wife "I... uhh... I just did what I was paid for?"
Akari's eyes instantly narrowed, the underlying threat clear.
He needlessly cleared his throat and looked away "I am vey happy to have helped." He quickly corrected "Is what I meant to say."
"Good." Akari chirped, her previously calm demeanor returning in a flash "Well, I am sure you boys have a lot to discuss, we will leave you to it."
"But moom." Jin whined "I want to look at the cool cyborg."
"Later, Jin." Akari patiently shooed him on.
Michael 'Magos' Sobronov
My eyes trailed after the mother and son pair as they left the dojo-like room, doing my best to ignore the sheer contentedness and satisfaction the Tyger Claw boss was radiating as he too watched them leave.
I had been confused when he invited me to the third uppermost floor about an hour earlier, having gotten used to our meetings happening in the same high class night club as always.
Was this another hidden message? Or was the man just that uncaring about subtlety?
Honestly I probably should have re-assembled my weapons just in case, but I didn't want to be late by that much.
"Took your time getting here, hm?" As if reading my mind, Jugo spoke up.
"I was busy." I shrugged "And you weren't supposed to be back yet."
"Nagakawa-sama decided otherwise." He shrugged the implied question off and quirked an eyebrow while looking just under my eyes "Experimenting with whatever thing is stuck to your back?"
My own eye twitched "Who knows?"
Naturally, the man just smirked at that.
But something had been bothering me ever since he introduced his family, and I couldn't help myself any longer "This is not an implied threat of any kind." I preempted "But is it really that smart of you to bring your family here?"
I was acutely aware of the four bodyguards currently trying to glare holes into me.
"To show them to you, you mean?" Jugo furrowed his brows, voice perfectly neutral.
Briefly considering, I shrugged "No and yes." H11 wasn't in the heart of Tyger Claw territory after all.
He failed to contain a light huff of amusement at that "You are way too paranoid, kid."
Almost automatically, I responded with "Is it really paranoia-"
"-if they are really out to get you? Right?" He finished, only the slightest tint of mockery to his tone "No, it isn't." He shook his head and approached a nearby wall, specifically a stand holding a number of practice katanas.
"But." He went on "What is the point of living your life if you are too afraid to actually live it?"
His retort was delivered in such a bland tone it almost went over my head for a brief instant, but then the question actually landed, and it left me feeling... I was honestly unsure.
What was the point of being a Captain in the Tyger Claws if he couldn't enjoy rising his family?
Why fight at all if all you did after was fear the next battle...
Only the high auto-reflex response I programmed into my operating system saved me from getting smacked in the face as the smug Jugo tossed me a practice sword, my hand clutching the metal handle so hard it creaked.
"Get your head out of the clouds, kid." Jugo chuckled "Time to make sure you aren't an embarrassment to that sword."
"You are the one who forced it on me, gonk." I muttered, even as I took my stance.
Jugo's eye twitched in disgust at what he saw but he still kept talking "So you are going to be returning it then?"
"Fuck off."
He grinned "Upper guard." And lunged.
---
"To think my own protege would be such a disappointment!" Jugo bemoaned far too dramatically as the two of us were sat on a grand garden balcony facing the center of Night City "For shame!"
"Oh fuck right off you damn weeb." I groaned "I can punch your head off and you know it."
He just shook his head in false sadness "Excuses will not save you from your lack of dedication to the blade."
I just grumbled into my beer, unwilling to give him any more satisfaction.
"Jokes aside." Jugo spoke up after a bit "You made good progress for an amateur, but it is clear you are simply copying what you saw elsewhere."
"Is that really so much of a problem?" I asked.
"Not really." He shrugged, though there was a slight bit of reluctance in his tone "We all start that way, more or less, and with your hardware it is perfectly serviceable."
"But I am pretty much a complete noob using a scalpel as a hammer?" I finished for him.
"Ha!" He barked out a laugh "Couldn't have put it better myself."
"Correct." I drawled sarcastically before considering the issue "So what? I should just keep at it?"
"You could." Jugo hummed "But that will take time. My recommendation is just visit the dojo when some of my boys are training. I'll tell the old man responsible for them to train you as he would one of our own."
My eyes narrowed, the conversation trailing off as I stared into the man's side "Why?"
Instead of answering, Jugo fiddled with one of his pockets for a bit and soon lit up a cigarette, taking a long drag and letting out a long exhale of smoke "You are too much of a valuable ally to pussyfoot around, Mike." He said.
"So what?" I asked "You are looking to bribe me with lessons?"
The question caught him just as he was taking another drag and his eye twitched, a bit of smoke exiting through his nose before he calmed himself "There is a reason Nagakawa-sama made me get back, and it isn't just getting annoyed at me being lazy."
Many questions immediately came to mind, but I held them back.
"You hear about the recent clashes with Maelstrom?" He asked after a moment.
"I did." I said with a slow nod "But I was under the impression that is just something that happens all the time when gangs are involved?"
"Yes and no." He shook his head "We are enemies and both sides know it, but keeping the status quo is more profitable than butchering each other in droves. Unfortunately, something has recently made the Maelstrom prefer the latter."
"So things are going to be heating up soon?" I asked.
"Yes." Jugo confirmed "And I can't plan ahead without knowing if I can trust one of my most powerful assets."
The air around us tensed, and I was once more caught a bit flat by the admission. And feeling I couldn't come up with a proper response immediately I retreated behind sarcasm again "Trust?" I asked, voice flat "In Night City?"
He gave me a long look at that, ultimately settling for a simple "Yes."
For a moment I felt confused as he said nothing else, but then almost subconsciously I began analyzing everything that was said or done since I arrived, and almost immediately my mind had painted a picture that I wasn't quite sure I wanted to believe was the truth.
The man had quite literally bulldozed over any and all subtlety, shown me where his family lives, even let them meet me face to face...
Which if one were to pay even the slightest amount of attention to what I could do meant he gave me access to their internal systems to which I could do whatever the fuck I wanted!
My throat went dry despite the impossibility of it as I realized the utter madman had literally offered his family as collateral just so he could show me he could be trusted not to fuck me over if I ever decided to help him in full...
I found myself staring at the Tyger Claw Captain for a good minute before finally looking away from those far too intense eyes "You are fucking insane, I hope you know that."
But he just kept staring at me with that same determined intensity.
I wasn't sure how long passed in silence, but ultimately it was I who broke first "Fine." I bit out, the sheer absurdity of the situation still making me want to knock myself the hell out "You can trust me not to stab you in the back."
For now.
"Good." Jugo nodded.
And then promptly downed half a bottle of sake, smacking the thing on the table so hard it nearly shattered.
"So." I began as the madman's breathing finally calmed, pointedly not commenting on it whatsoever "What is going on?"
Jugo's answer was as immediate as it was blunt "Mine and Shobo's constant squabbling has drawn Maelstrom's attention. The fact the Tygers of Little China and Kabuki aren't united has weakened our position enough that the fucking death cult thinks they have a chance against us."
"And do they?" I couldn't help but ask.
"Maybe." Jugo grunted "We don't have all the information but they did a big recruitment drive recently and that spooked Nagakawa-sama into telling Shobo and I to stop our shit and prepare for battle."
"And by recruitment drive you mean-"
"They grabbed a bunch of kids off the streets and shoved cyberware in them, yes." He confirmed as if discussing the weather "I was planning on dealing with Shobo permanently, but the bastard gets to live for now. That going to be a problem?"
"I can be patient." I shrugged.
Sure, the other Tyger boss was a disgusting excuse for a human being but I only really wanted him for his connection with Werner. A temporary 'alliance' would actually give me a chance to tap into his secrets that much easier.
"Good." Jugo didn't sound particularly relieved "I'll plan for the Strommer's advance with my lieutenants but that shouldn't concern you unless they really fuck us up." Seeing me not interrupting him, he went on "What I need from you is your other service."
It didn't take me more than a few seconds to catch on to what he was getting at "You need a ripper?"
"That would be the worst case scenario. Our rank and file should be enough." He shook his head "No, what I need from you is to accept a number of cyberware commissions I will be offering as favors to buy myself even more allies." He raised a hand before I could speak up "Paid in full and without my finder's fee, of course."
"Acceptable." I nodded, making sure to keep the giddiness from my voice.
Free advertisement? Sign me the fuck up!
"And make sure they don't hack our asses of course." He added almost offhandedly.
My eye twitched but I still nodded "Goes without saying."
"Right." He muttered to himself "Hopefully that will be all, but make sure to be ready for a fight, just in case."
"So long as you can wait a few days." I said after a moment "There is some biz I need to deal with."
He didn't seem even slightly surprised by that admission "The big bad Afterlife merc has a gig, I see."
"Yes, yes, big bad Tyger Claw is observant." I drawled "You do realize it stopped being shocking after the last three times, right?"
"Ah don't be like that." He chuckled and got up as I did "An old man like me needs to get his fun somewhere."
"You are like... thirty five tops." I couldn't help but point out.
"Practically ancient for the profession!" He laughed "Now go get them tiger!" And smacked my back.
Part of me was tempted to smack him back for the horrible pun, but the wince he had to hide as he hit one of my mechadendrite pincers was more than enough to soothe my soul.
"Keep the dad jokes to your son, Jugo." I said as I left for the exit.
"You know what?" He chuckled "I think I will."
Thank you for your sacrifice, kid.
---
One day later I found myself back in my workshop, my reassembled Crusher laid out before me freshly polished with a slight red tint now tastefully added to enhance its intimidation factor.
I lifted the weapon and without even looking, inserted an enlarged magazine with my Mechadendrite, pulling the receiver back at the same moment with a satisfying shing.
Content with the fluidity of the move, I stood up and brought the gun to the rest of my armory, mentally checking all the other weapons as I did before allowing a slight smile to spread on my face.
I was ready.
-------
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