Blooming Light
I found my way back home after navigating through the thick and muddy streets of Lower Changye. All I could remember on the way back to my apartment was the dead idiots that still were pinned on the walls and the roads. The Pale Magus had made a show of strength, demonstrating his power in front of every citizen of Changye who had the eyes to follow.
Graded Agents had watched the whole thing like they were helpless bystanders. Made them remember that Changye and the world as a whole had not been kind. At the top of the world, they thought they were top dog until the brutal, ass-kicking reality of it comes in, that they are nothing more than slightly bigger fish in the lake.
My apartment had been somewhat of a mess. Thieves are as common as rats in Changye, and throughout my debt-slave years, I never really thought of keeping anything that can't be placed inside my dimenbags.
Still, from the looks of it, Mai had been able to test her new bioware and blade. I wonder who she killed. Not that it mattered. She waited for me at the door with two of her nakama who were in the process of cleaning their gear and from the looks of it, had taken my place as their safehouse.
"Sorry about that," she said, winking at her friends to fuck off, which, after much thought, decided it wasn't worth arguing about and ducked out of the apartment and went to the roof.
"I don't really mind," I said, placing a hand on my Castor. "I just hope you and your friends didn't turn this into a love motel."
She shrugs her shoulders.
"Of course not. There's a red light district for that."
"And I suppose that they parkoured their way from rooftop to rooftop then?"
"Well, not really, we mostly had to use the place to stay and relax. Flood was high and they barely got the roads from moving. Not to mention that whole Magus thing. Crazy. A few days ago we were clamoring about folks peeling their skin and then a Magus swept in and gutted the one responsible."
"That's Changye for you."
"And that's quite sad."
She had a look that made me wonder if she had other thoughts. But it was best if she kept that thought to herself. And Mai had been working in the subway before rising as a Kurogane member. Granted, that she was also smart enough to imply several connections, which I assumed, had granted this position. She rose fast and that is admirable.
"Anyway, do you need help? I doubt those two bitches are going to help."
"I'd treat you to a meal if you do."
We then started cleaning my humble abode. I had my suspicion, but seeing the lack of any contraceptives thrown haphazardly. I had to accept they weren't using my place for that. I did find calming drugs like modified benzodiazepines and a few marijuana, the mutated kind you can find on some street artist who makes a living of creating the best kind of weed you can find.
Aside from the trash and carton boxes of noodles and canned goods. The rest were easy enough to pack into a trash bag. Mai's friends, despite what Mai thought, later on delivered some Chinese grub, the cheap kind with artificial meat instead of real one.
"Good friends," I told Mai. "Anyone who gives you food, are good people."
"Nah, they are just bitches trying to get on your good side. Anyone who has a good rep with Upper Changye is a target."
"Well, I can't really deny that."
Mai ate her noodles quite… well. Not really minding the grease and the cheap meat. I don't particularly mind it either. It was good enough to taste and the years had taught me that any food that tastes good is good food.
"So how's Boss K?"
"Just the same. A bit depressed and all of that. I think she's still hung up on her ex."
"Oh yeah, that bitch who fucked with her. So did you?"
"Did what?"
I did not like where she was leading this. The grin tells me everything.
"You know what I'm talking about. Akun."
"No we didn't."
"Really?"
"No."
"But why?"
"She's my boss."
"Four of my previous bosses usually fuck their own employees. I don't see why you can't. Okay, maybe I misread how things are?"
"Maybe. I don't know."
She looked at me, then put the tip of her chopstick on her chin. Some of the grease dropped on her cleavage.
"So you have thoughts! That's not a no!"
She was grinning like I had just given her something fun.
"She's a pretty woman. Inspiring in some ways. It's not hard to feel attracted to her and as a man… you can't help it but be drawn. You can tell right? She has that charm that naturally attracts people around her. Makes you want to follow her."
"Nothing sexual?"
"I'd be lying. I saw her butt naked you know? She has the right curves and shapes."
"When!?" Mai asked, clenching her fists, expecting something spicy.
"During a devil's fragment appearance. Got locked in with her butt naked to make sure that we ain't affected by some devilry."
"And you did nothing!?"
"I wasn't really keen on being an amateur pornstar. She was not either."
"So what, you two stared at each other naked?"
"Somewhat."
"Wow. I have to give it to you, Akun. You have discipline… or is that cause you worked on a bordello and you got sick of all that?"
"I'm not that prude. I still get around."
"Sounds like a friend with benefits."
"More or less. I respect her. I really do. Ruining that cause I want to get into her pants? Not a chance."
"More than I imagined. You like Boss Kei, but you don't want to mess it up by trying to get into her pants. Complicated. But I kinda get it. If you piss her off, then she'll kick you out and if you try now, you'll just be her rebound."
I raised a brow. "Don't misunderstand. I am attracted to her, but that's all. And this is Changye, asking for a relationship in a city like this is asking for a heartbreak."
"Sounds like a bullshit excuse to me."
"Maybe it is."
Mai curved her back and then turned her attention to the bottom of her noodles. She wiped her mouth, placed it on the table, and then grabbed the paper tissues.
"Well, I understand the logic, but because this is Changye, wouldn't it make sense to just go for it? We don't know if we can live or die tomorrow. Some anomaly might just appear in the air and wipe out this city."
Her voice trembled at the thought of that. Changye was the kind of city that protects, it has stood the longest, has the greatest population among the fortified cities because of the promise of protection. There are many cities in this broken world, but it is only Changye that has stood against the worst and has come out alive.
Live now, worry later – many stood by that.
Some die for it.
Mai leaned back after finishing her noodles, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She looked at me with that familiar curious grin.
"So what's your next gig? You and Boss Kei got something lined up already?"
I shook my head while gathering the empty containers.
"There's still cleanup. Changye has to re-apply their rituals and magics and defense systems after the Pale Magus broke the balance. The whole city's wards got rattled pretty badly. Kei's office is mostly logging the aftereffects and selling the data for now. Nothing too crazy."
We cleaned up the food in silence for a bit, tossing the trash into a bag. Once everything was cleared, Mai stretched her arms above her head and gave me a look.
"Hey, do me a favor?"
She didn't wait for an answer. She straight up pulled her top off in one smooth motion, tossing it onto the couch. Standing there in just her bare tits, she turned slightly and pointed at her side, where the inked bioware lines were.
"Check me up real quick. I got slashed pretty good the other day."
I sighed. "Cheapskate. Give me your mod-kit."
She handed it over with a smirk. I opened the kit and started running a professional assessment on her bioware. The readings weren't terrible, but they weren't great either.
"The slash you took must have overworked your biowares. Everything's running a little hot. Have you been maintaining your meds?"
Mai scratched the back of her neck, looking away.
"Kinda forgot…"
I clicked my tongue. "Not taking the initial drugs will cause mutation, Mai. You know that. Do you want to grow a third boob?"
I moved closer and casually cupped her bare right breast, feeling around the tissue underneath. There was a small lump under the realskin.
"Lump has formed. Not malignant yet, but it will be if you continue to be negligent."
Mai looked down at my hand, then back up at me.
"…I'll take care of it."
She dressed up quickly, pulling her top back on without much fuss. I handed her the mod-kit and closed it.
"Don't be stupid next time. Get those meds in you."
"Yeah, yeah. Thanks, Akun."
She gave me a light punch on the shoulder, the usual Mai grin back on her face, but I could tell she actually heard me this time.
We then got out.
I asked her what's next for her and she says it's the usual roaming and doing the Kurogane's tasks.
It was then that light bloomed. Dots of concentrated light blew through the dark clouds and Changye was filled with sunlight... which then caused a panic because there was no way that Changye could be this sunny.
People stopped dead in the streets. Some shielded their eyes like they had never seen real sunlight before. Others started shouting, pointing up at the sky like it had personally betrayed them. A few dropped to their knees, thinking it was another sign from the plague or some new disaster coming to finish the job.
Mai froze beside me, staring upward with her mouth slightly open.
"What the fuck is this?" she muttered.
The artificial clouds that had hung over Changye for as long as I could remember were breaking apart. Beams of actual sunlight punched through like spears, lighting up the wet concrete and turning the filthy floodwater into something almost beautiful for a second. It didn't feel right. Nothing this bright belonged in this city.
Sirens started going off in the distance. Somewhere above us, I heard the low rumble of aerocraft engines scrambling. People were already running for cover, like the sun itself was going to burn them alive.
Mai looked at me, half-grinning, half-worried.
"You think the Pale Magus did this too?"
I didn't answer right away. I just kept staring at the sky, feeling the unfamiliar warmth on my face.
"Something's changing," I said quietly. "Whether we like it or not."
She adjusted the strap of her submachine gun and gave a small laugh that didn't sound amused at all. She was afraid and anxious that something has come up again. Who can blame her?
"Great. Just what we needed. More weird shit on top of the flaying plague."
The light kept blooming, brighter and wider, cutting through decades of smog and artificial gloom.
For the first time in who knows how long, Lower Changye was bathed in real daylight.
And the whole city looked like it didn't know what the hell to do with it.