KyokaSuigetsu
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Chapter 22: A Wake-Up Call
🕑 Added 2025-04-01 03:14:00 +0000 UTCV had seen all kinds of crazy in her years on the streets.
Drugged-up gonks. Net-addled braindances. Every flavor of cyberpsycho.
But this guy?
Leo radiated an aura that screamed "I don't belong here."
And in Night City, weird meant danger.
"Lucky for you, I don't rob Heywood regulars."
She lowered her gun, turning to leave.
Leo panicked. "Aren't you even gonna hear the job?!"
"No bodyguard. No street smarts. 'Fixer' my ass." V snorted. "Go home, kid. Before someone eats you."
Ouch.
Leo wished he could. But reality was a bitch.
Time for the nuclear option.
[Transfer: 3,500 eddies → ???]
[Confirmed.]
V: "…The fuck?"
Was this gonk bribing her?
For a split second, she considered shooting his foot on principle.
Then she saw her account balance.
…Fuck.
"What's your game?!" Her voice cracked.
Leo smirked. "Bodyguard gig. 1,000 eddies a day, weekly pay. Hazard bonuses extra." He tapped his temple. "That's your deposit."
V's grip on the gun wavered.
1k a day. 7k a week. 30k a month.
Corpo wages—for what? Babysitting this lunatic?
"For that much, you could hire Afterlife legends," she sneered. "Why me? Unless—" Her eyes narrowed. "This some 'special services' shit? 'Cause Cloud 69's way cheaper—"
Leo mentally tagged her: Sharp instincts. Hard sell.
But hesitation meant desperation.
"I'm new. Need a local." He shrugged. "Take it or leave it."
[Transfer complete: -3,500 eddies.]
V exhaled through her nose.
Money talked.
"Fine. But any creepy shit, I walk. With the eddies."
She holstered her gun—just as her optics flared.
"Company. Five hostiles. Big one leading." She yanked Leo behind a dumpster. "You sure no one's after you?!"
"Positive—"
"LEO?!"
Jack's voice boomed down the alley.
Leo sagged in relief. "Friendlies."
"Prove it." V's gun stayed half-raised.
"Jack! Over here!"
A silhouette peered in. "The hell, man?! Sprinting off like—" Jack froze, spotting V. "Who's she?"
"My new bodyguard."
Jack's brows climbed. "That why you bolted? To hire help?"
"Long story."
El Coyote Cojo, upstairs.
Jack's "backup"—four Valentino heavies—had dispersed after confirming no threat. Now, the trio huddled in a corner booth.
Pepe delivered drinks with a nod to V. "Didn't know you two ran together."
"We don't," V said, eyeing Leo. "Yet."
Jack mixed tequila, pomegranate, lime. "To new business partners?"
Leo stared at his glass like it held acid.
V knocked hers back without blinking. "Weaklings."
"Injuries," Jack lied.
Leo's optics flickered. [Shironeko: Urgent. Alone now.]
He excused himself, fleeing to the bathroom.
Men's room, stall three.
Leo locked the door. [What's wrong?]
Shironeko's voice was uncharacteristically grave.
[Father. You're losing yourself.]
A chill ran down his spine. [Cyberpsychosis?]
[No. You are the problem.]
A pause. Then—
[You're not a player anymore. There's no fourth wall. No respawns.]
[That V outside? She's not your game character. Not the 'V' who solo'd Arasaka Tower. She's a stranger. A dangerous one.]
[You chased her like a fanboy. Not a fixer. Why?]
The words hit like a hammer.
Did V know him?
No.
The V he "knew"—the one he'd guided through countless deaths and triumphs—didn't exist yet.
[I… I was scared.] His hands shook. [I needed a hero.]
[Understood. But heroes are expensive.] Shironeko softened. [You've been terrified since Gotham. The brain implants amplify it. But listen—]
[You're alive. You adapted. Now focus.]
Leo splashed water on his face. The mirror showed him—not "Leonardo," not a role.
"Welcome to Night City, Leo."
He walked out—lighter.
