Outrun – Cyberpunk LitRPG

“Ishi! There’s been no problems, I trust?” Yuki asked Ishimaru. The old man himself stood off to the side with a sheathed katana hanging from his hip and his arms crossed.

”Nothing, Ojousama.” Ishimaru nodded to me. His eyes tracked across my body, and settled on my hands for a moment before looking away.

“Nova~!” Yuki practically sang. “Elder Yoshi—“

Bang!

”What’s going on in here?!” The heavy doors of the dojo slammed open, and Elder Anzan stepped into the room flanked by two borgs. His metal jaw jutted out in annoyance as he looked around the room.

“I thought I ordered no one in, and no one out.” Yuki glared daggers at the two Kage with the elder. “Did I misremember?”

Anzan’s eyebrow twitched in annoyance, though he quickly covered up the loss of his diligent subordinate facade. ”Lay off them. I ordered them to move—“

”Since when has a mere elder’s orders outweighed the matriarch of the Jade Fang?” Yuki tilted her head to the side like she just couldn’t understand.

”Apologies, but you aren’t the matriarch yet.” Anzan bowed his head lightly. Although he spoke politely, his Cues read with disguised contempt. One of the ungrateful fucks? “I shall take on any punishment in their place.”

”Well…” Her angry expression morphed into that dopey grin and she lightly shrugged her shoulders. It was the expression of a smiling tiger rather than the innocent bunny she was probably going for. “It’s not like I can stay mad at my dear uncle, can I? You two, go guard the door. This time, I don’t care who it is, turn them away.”

The two Kage saluted with relieved expressions, and backed out of the doors. Once they were gone, Anzan approached Elder Yoshi and helped him to his feet. “What’s all of this about?”

“My dear mikata here was gravely injured by this man’s neglect of duty!” She poked her finger out toward the man bound in chains. Her voice lacked the cutest-innocent tone she used with me, and was totally cold. “I consider it a personal affront to our honor. Someone must answer for that.”

“Ojousama, I understand. Really, I do.” Elder Anzan raised his hands placatingly. It was so weird seeing such a big guy act so submissively in front of her, though I couldn’t really blame the guy. There was a political minefield playing out here.

“I don’t think you do.” She glared at the man interfering with what she was trying to do. There’d been a bit of hostility last time I saw the two together, but it wasn’t nearly this open. What happened since then?

“Yoshi has faithfully served the Jade Fang for decades.” Anzan cast his gaze around the room. “Surely that service earns him the courtesy of settling this privately.”

”Decades, huh?” Yuki smiled mirthlessly. “Then he has had decades to understand how to treat a guest under our roof. There is no excuse.”

“A simple slip up.” Anzan shrugged, and his eyes slipped to me. “Yoshi is still a dignified elder of the Jade Fang. It is not right to air out dirty laundry in front of outsiders.”

Yeah, no kidding… wait, I was the outsider here. Yuki! You tell them! How dare that guy gravely injure me! Grave injuries, though, chek? Yeah, they could be seen as grave for someone else. He probably wanted me gone so he could twist the narrative better without the victim being here.

“Oh, Uncle~!” She slipped back into her cutesy voice, though her hand dropped to the handle of the ornate katana hanging from his side. “Are you questioning me?”

“Never, Ojousama.” The man quickly retracted his statement, and bowed his head. “I deeply apologize for any offense.“

“Deeply apologize. Heh, yeah, that’s what you always do.” Yuki rolled her slightly glowing-green eyes. After a moment, like a switch was flipped back and forth, she put on a gentle smile and released her katana. “What are you suggesting I do, Uncle Anzan?”

Elder Ishimaru frowned, and rubbed at his beard. “Ojousama—“

“Ishi.” Her eyes flicked back to him, and she shook her head as if to say she didn’t need help. “Go on Anzan. What’s your suggestion?”

The elder released a breath, and an easy smile filled his face. He shot Ishimaru a gloating look like Yuki was still 1000 years too early to contest him. With the elder relaxing slightly, the tension in the air followed suit. Low whispers came from the Jade Fang all around us.

They didn’t see it like I did, though. Although she was putting on the act of an obedient little girl the elders of the Fang no doubt wanted, her subtle Cues read with barely contained wrath. My mind unwillingly flash backed to her ordering the Kage to rip out his own eyes for merely insulting me. Things wouldn’t blow over so easily this time around.

”It was an honest mistake, Ojousama. Shiro, yes?” Elder Anzan shifted to me instead of the Jade Fang princess. “It was a mistake. Elder Yoshi really meant no disrespect.”

”He’s right. My deepest apologies, young lady. I should’ve never tested your willpower in such a way upon our first meeting.” Elder Yoshi seemed to wisen up, and twisted his words to suggest it was a mere test and not a flippant neglect of duty. That wishy-washy tone of voice he usually had was entirely gone.

“A test, chek?” I asked back in a stunned voice. I thought so to begin with, but was he seriously still trying to pull that off?

“Are you suggesting it was all a mere test?” Ishimaru asked softly. Although his voice was quiet, it rippled across the men and women gathered in the dojo. “You embarrassing the Fang was all over a little misunderstanding?”

“Of course! Of course! It was a personal request from you, Ishimaru. How could I not treat it properly?” He smiled placatingly. “I just had to test her to see what her level was at!”

”Yes, you see, don’t you, Shiro?” Elder Anzan once more shifted all the pressure onto me to give an answer.

I felt a little nauseated by what they were trying to do. Shift the blame onto me for taking the little ‘test’ too seriously. If I agreed it was my fault, Yuki would have to drop the blame from Elder Yoshi. Honestly, if they would’ve done this as soon as I woke up and was still out of it, I might’ve fallen for the trap.

”Shiro?” Yuki asked softly. She eyed me with deep concern in her eyes. Her posture screamed that she would be on the back foot depending on my answer.

Whispers built up all around us, and I felt judgmental eyes drop onto me. The duo was trying to leverage their positions to make the whole thing blow over, and make me look bad in front of the Fang while they were at it.

I didn’t care much about that looking bad, but the pure manipulation was starting to piss me off. For a moment, Yuki’s wrath infected me. I could feel Panther’s Fang whispering at the back of my mind seductively, almost begging me to use it to avenge myself. I pushed the thoughts back like I did with the rest of my problems.

I could say yes. Hah! Yeah right. Like I’d do that. They don’t call me Shiro ‘Stubborn’ Tsukuyomi for no fucking reason. ‘Sides, this’d help Yuki out a bit, wouldn’t it? Probably best I remained on her good side. “A test you say… and it was my fault?”

In a sense, they weren’t totally wrong. This was my fault. I let my guard down around the Fang thinking they’d treat me well considering our long history. I should’ve known that even among people I trusted, that was a stupid thing to do. No, that wasn’t right. My counselor would probably throw a fit if that was the lesson I took from this.

Instead, a gang was a gang. No matter how much they claimed honor, following tradition, and respect, the Jade Fang was still just a gang at the end of the day. That respect and honor were the first thing to go when it came to interests.

”Of course, it was just a misunderstanding.” Elder Yoshi bowed his head deeply. “I will surrender three months of my wages, and formally apologize before your whole family if you wish.”

”What family?” I said it absent-mindedly. It had a larger effect than I realized it would, and ripples went through the crowd watching the spectacle.

“I can’t believe you, Yoshi. The Tsukuyomi’s died in service of the fang, and you’d bring that up to mock my dear mikata?” Yuki spat venomously. Her hand dropped to her katana like she’d draw it to cut off his head at any moment.

Elder Yoshi’s expression stiffened. He could do nothing to defend himself bound as he was. “I-I apologize deeply once more. Still, I will surrender—“

”Yuki was right.” I cut the man’s attempted bribe off and let out a drop of Fear the Reaper. People all around me shifted uncomfortably, but I didn’t care. I was tired of being looked at like a fool just because I did something foolish. “You old guys do like to profusely apologize.”

“It’s all bark too.” Yuki sighed in disappointment, and angrily stroked the hilt of her katana. She looked kinda badass standing there in her kimono with her katana held at her side. That’s it, I’m definitely grabbing a kimono to go over my Nightshade armor. “I really thought the old guard would understand debts and honor better. Such a disappointment.”

“Ojousama, you go too far.” Elder Anzan frowned.

“Oh, right.” She shook her head. Anzan’s frown relaxed for a split second, before it dipped even lower once she spoke again. “Sorry, Ishi. I didn’t mean you.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine.” My old fixer waved it off.

She smiled lightly at him. The smile quickly faded when she locked eyes with Yoshi once more. “So? Why’d you do it? Trying to run our dear mikata off?

The bound elder’s smile froze, and he rapidly shook his head. He looked to Anzan for help like a true sycophantic brown-noser. Can’t believe I was ever going to learn the blade from this bastard. “Of course not! Why would I ever do such a thing over someone I just met?”

“I wonder about that too.” Yuki waved her hand, and a heavily tatted Fang with a deck built into his arm approached. “You said you didn’t try to run Shiro off?”

“I…” Yoshi eyed the Fang blankly. For a moment, it looked like he might retract his statement. Instead, the man simply doubled down. “No, I didn’t. I would never try to do something so disgraceful!”

“Interesting, interesting,” she softly mumbled, and then waved her hand. “Go ahead. Play it.”

The Fang tapped on his built-in deck, and Elder Yoshi’s voice came through its speakers. “Your mikata is a class-A dumbass for not even considering I was trying to run her off. No—class SSR!”

”Head Enforcer Shinobu, this clip came from a phone call to you, did it not?” Yuki asked.

”Yosh. It was just after he told me Shiro collapsed due to profuse bleeding.” Shinobu shamelessly made my injuries seem worse than they were. I collapsed due to exhaustion, not blood loss. Totally different things.

“Shiro entered our house with Ishimaru’s word that she’d be taught. She left the training room bleeding and unconscious thanks to gross neglect of duty.” They weren’t the only ones that could sway a crowd. Yuki directly appealed to the Fang all around us. “Tell me? Whose shame is that?”

“Ours.” Someone shouted in the back. Nods filled the room. Although it was just one man’s actions, the Fang had a serious code of honor for this kind of thing it seemed. Maybe I was wrong earlier when I said a gang was just a gang?

“Whose honor was tarnished? Whose elder directly ignored a harmless request, and outright harmed a dear guest?” Yuki drew her katana. She pointed it squarely at Elder Yoshi. The voices all around instantly dropped into silence. “A street runner dishonoring a guest would already be bleeding. And yet because Yoshi is an Elder, I’m asked to be lenient.”

”Surely he’s earned that with his distinguished service to the Fang.” Anzan coughed lightly, and once more tried to bring up sentimentality.

Although it looked like a simple cut and dry matter, it wasn’t. This wasn’t a battle of wills between the two of them as much as it was a battle to sway the Fang’s opinion. If Yuki went and offed the guy without swaying the surrounding Fang to our side, Anzan would probably use it as leverage for the future.

“How strange.” She frowned in feigned confusion. “I was taught greater power comes with greater responsibility? Is that incorrect?”

Whispers broke out, and I couldn't help but nod in approval. She was shifting this to a class-divide type conflict to appeal to the lower ranked members of the Fang. It was smart, and made her look like a noble avenger come to set the record straight instead of a crazy friend taking revenge.

“There is another side of this, though. Why would an elder like you directly ignore a request from someone like Elder Ishimaru over someone you didn’t know?” Yuki flicked her sword to the side, and the metal hummed softly through the air. “You don’t seem smart enough to do this kind of backhanded thing on your own. Of course, if you tell me who gave such orders, I’ll lighten your punishment.”

“It was purely my own negligence, Ojousama.” The elder bowed his head. His eyebrows twitched at being called an idiot by her, though he didn’t otherwise react to the thinly veiled insult.

“Your own, huh?” Yuki pointed her katana toward Elder Yoshi once more, and moved forward. “In that case, should I take your head or your heart as an offering?“

“Since I was the one injured, mind if I give the punishment?” I asked. Executing an elder wouldn’t look good for Yuki. The faction against her would sell it as a purge to strike fear into the gang.

Yuki went stone-faced for a few seconds, and lightly stroked the grip of her ornate katana. She seemed to come to a decision, and smoothly slid it back into its sheath. “Sure… it better be a good one, though.”

“Well… the punishment should match the crime, chek?” 10,000 slashes shouldn’t be any issue for a trained swordsman such as himself. This way he wouldn’t end up in pieces. “10,000 slashes.”

Yuki clapped her hands together gleefully, and she laughed like an innocent kid who’d just received a new toy. The pressure radiating off of her from before dropped entirely. “I like it! Let’s go with Shiro’s suggestion. Oh! And if you fail to do it all in one go, the rest of the slashes will be taken out on you! Uncle Anzan, do you have any issues with this punishment?”

The elder’s metallic jaw tensed, and his glowing chrome eyes locked onto me for the briefest of moments. ”No.”

“You three, go get the stuff.” She pointed off to the side. A group of chromed out Fang separated off to the side to go grab the wooden dummy and practice sword. It seemed Benny 2.0 was about to get another serious workout. Sorry, my friend.

Elder Yoshi stared at Yuki blankly. “In one go, Ojousama?”

”In one go, just as my dear mikata did~.” With a happy nod, she sealed his fate. A moment later, the three returned. One of them handed her the practice blade, which she promptly threw down at Yoshi’s feet. “Starting… now?”

“I understand.” Elder Yoshi hesitated a moment longer before bending over to pick up the sword. One of the guards unlocked his shackles, and the man immediately started to hack at the dummy.

The man moved with far more finesse than I did, and truly lived up to his title as a swordmaster. Each strike was agile and strong against the wooden dummy. Although the circumstances weren’t great, I still carefully watched him. Free training was free training.

”As for you, Shiro.” Yuki drew my attention back. She bowed at the waist deeply toward me. “You have my deepest apologies for your mistreatment from the Fang. You came to us for help, and were instead inflicted with grievous wounds. It is a grave matter I take most seriously.”

Elder Ishimaru bowed too, and most of the Fang followed willingly. Those that hesitated for even a moment drew Yuki’s baleful eye until the entire group was bowing to me in apology. I quickly waved it off. “It’s fine, it’s fine. I’m all healed up now, anyway.”

“It’s definitely not fine.” Yuki stood up straight, and looked me over with a serious look in her eyes. “I appreciate your willingness not to hold it against us. You came to learn how to properly use a katana, right?”

“Chek.” Though I was beginning to think that was a bad idea.

“I won’t be satisfied unless you are properly taken care of. Especially after Yoshi’s treatment of you.” Her serious expression slowly morphed into a dopey smile. “As such, I’ll personally take over your training! I happen to be very skilled. You’re okay with that, aren’t you~?”

The way she asked that… I had my own considerations too, though. Yuki might be easier to learn off, and we had similar enough builds. “‘Course.”

“Yay!” She cheerfully swayed, which caused her kimono to flutter cutely around her like a butterfly taking flight. “Does that make me… Master Yuki?”

”Do I have to call you that, too?” I asked.

“Not if you don’t want to.” Her happy smile faded once more, and she glared angrily at Elder Yoshi. He was already starting to work up a sweat as he attacked the wooden dummy again and again.

”Um… Yuki…. Would you mind if we postpone the lesson until another time?” I had a lot of stuff I needed to think about. ‘Sides, I’d already been here much longer than planned on.

”’Course!” She cheerfully waved her hand, and sat down in a chair on the side of the room. “Elder Anzan.”

”Yosh, Ojousama?” The elder stood up straighter.

”You’ll count.” Yuki directly stopped him from leaving, and partially passed the punishment onto him as well. “Since you old guys like to stick together so much, it should be no problem.”

Anzan’s jaw tightened, and his eyes flared a brighter light for a moment. “Of course.”

“Yoshi!” Yuki shouted at the man.

Elder Yoshi straightened up, and brushed his hair back. “Yes, Ojousama?”

“Why’d you stop? I said all in one go.” She grinned like she hadn’t just intentionally sabotaged him. She clapped her hands. “Restart!”

“I… Yosh, Ojousama.” He hid his anger, and restarted. It wasn’t like he could just ignore her, though, or she’d used that as ground to punish him too. The man was truly caught between a rock and a hard place.

“Full force slashes, Yoshi! Anything sloppy doesn’t count~!” She waved a hand, and sat back to watch Yoshi slash away at the dummy with renewed vigor. I had a feeling he was going to be here way past 10,000, if she was even going to be let the man go in the first place. ”The rest of you are dismissed.”

”Um…” I shifted from foot to foot nervously. Honestly, I just wanted some lessons, not all of this. “I need to go get the rest of my stuff.”

“I’ll escort you.” Shinobu broke off from the group, and led me back the way we came. It was a long elevator ride back to the top. Especially since the elevator stopped a quarter of the way and we had to take the freaking stairs.