Outrun – Cyberpunk LitRPG

Chapter 397

Sean Sentinel stood on a balcony looking down over the city. His apartment was near the top of Sentinel’s megastructure, and easily one of the tallest buildings in the entire city. He had a beautiful view out over the port, and onto the ocean far to the west. Wards kept the wind from blowing much harder than a stray breeze, and he fully took advantage of that fact to bask in the dying light of the setting sun.“Sean,” Brunhilde, the Valkyrie, called his name. She walked out onto the balcony beside him, standing as the regal spear of Sentinel’s elite forces. Even just being near the elite of elites would cause most people to at the very least be on their guard.

Sean, though, didn’t react much to her presence. To other’s, she was a terrifying predator lurking in the shadow of Sentinel. To him, though, she’d always been his playful—“Auntie… how’d it go?”

”I think it went rather well. She’s quite the catch.” Brunhilde collapsed onto one of the chairs just next to him, and set down two cans of Sentinel Soda. “You should’ve just gone yourself.”

”You know why I can’t do that.” Sean sighed and looked away from the sunset. It was beautiful, yes, but beauty had a way of fading upon constant exposure. “I’d probably scare her socks off, anyway.”

Brunhilde shrugged lightly. ”Probably… She did seem like a skittish streetcat.” 

“Can you blame her?” He lightly rolled his eyes, and joined her at the table. They lived in an entirely different world, so it was easy to forget just how terrifying it’d be for most people to be visited by one of Sentinel’s famed Valkyries.

”No, not really.” Brunhilde stared at him for a moment. Her lips lifted into a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Don’t you feel creepy stalking her, my dear nephew?”

Sean choked on the soda he just opened, and broke into a ragged coughing fit. It was only several moments later that he could breathe enough to respond. “I’m not stalking her.”

”You’re keeping tabs on her, watching from the shadows, and gathering all sorts of information.” His aunt raised a disapproving brow. “You wouldn’t call that stalking?”

“I…” Sean went silent. Honestly, he had the same concerns himself. When his mind settled at night, and he didn’t have to think about corporate politics, he’d wonder if he was going too far for a girl he’d met just once.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go strike up a conversation and try to rekindle their friendship. He just . There were so many reasons why that was. The worst of which was someone finding out. Although he’d been making moves ever since that fateful week, he was still too weak. 

Once his position was more secure, he’d try to approach her. Maybe shoot her a text and invite her to a ball or something? Or he could go for a ‘natural’ approach and set up an ‘accidental’ run-in. No, wait, that might be a terrible idea.  Ugh, he did feel a bit creepy… he should valiantly be approaching from the front, not moving around in the shadows. There were eyes on him, though, and he didn’t want those eyes to turn to her. Not yet. Not before he was strong enough to do something about it.

He still couldn’t quite believe she thought she got away with it back then, though. Maybe at school, when there were more eyes on her, she looked the part. When it was just the two of them, though? She let her guard down just enough for him to see Shiro Tsukuyomi. It was a much better name than Meno Maeni. 

Brunhilde shrugged and checked the bounty progress for Dorrin Gale, the CEO of Tornado Arms. “Still, I’m surprised you sent the bounty to all of Sentinel’s fixers. There’s going to be quite a bit of competition for this one.” 

Sean sighed, and shook his head. “I can’t help her too much. Anything more will draw the eyes of other execs in the city. Or worse, my siblings.”

”They’re not bad.” Brunhilde’s shoulders slumped like even she didn’t believe the words coming out of her mouth. “If she misses this, though, your attempt to give her an out will backfire.”

A surge of irritation went through Sean for a moment. He knew that, ‘course. It was just about right that the one and only person he’d ever shown an actual interest in to also have a 20 million rayn bounty on her head from Sentinel. “Did you hide the traces?”

”Most of them were already gone.” Brunhilde muttered softly, and her eyes narrowed. “It seems your little cat has quite a few allies. The rest were wiped, though. No one but us and Gowndu knows.”

”At least some things can go right.” Sean sighed and slumped over the table. His chrome eyes pulsed with a lonely red light. “What do you think I should do, Auntie?”

Brunhilde turned serious and sat up straighter. For a moment, she didn’t say anything and just thought things through. The answer was clear, though it was one that aggravated her. “Other than move on, I assume?”

”Yeah…” He wanted to give it at least one more chance when they weren’t just lying to each other. Regardless of whether she returned interest or not, though, he’d still want to at least try. She was the first person he felt an actual kindle of friendship with.

”Keep doing what you’re doing.” She sighed. He was well aware of her position on passivity, but it was the best answer at the moment. “Not like you have another option.”

Just like he said, any attention he brought to her wouldn’t be good. It’d just take one of his siblings wanting to bring him down a peg to go after her to get to him. The biggest issue was she didn’t have a solid backing to make them think twice. At least, not unless Sentinel signed way more contracts with Cold Moon Solutions. Hopefully, she’d sign that collaboration deal and everything could work out. 

Really, it was a stroke of luck that she happened to suddenly acquire the CEO position of a corporation. If he could just find a way to boost Cold Moon’s power and scale to a point even his siblings would be wary, then that’d be perfect. That had a much lower chance of working out than he wanted, though. As long as she stayed independent and not a subsidiary, she’d be a bit safer from internal maneuvering at least.

“You paid for their dinner?” He asked lightly. He’d managed to talk his aunt out of approaching her for so long. It was a bit of shame that he finally had to let her loose.

”Yeah.” Brunhilde winced, and rubbed at her head. “Damn it…”

”What’s wrong?”

”Nothing, nothing…” Brunhilde checked her bank account. She’d been trying not to look at it much. “They just ordered one of everything on the menu.”

“Oh… that’s not so bad.” 

“Then they put every patron for the night on their tab.” Brunhilde sighed. She got paid a lot as a Valkyrie, but not much. “Those girls—are they trying to bankrupt me? Which one of them is petty?”

Sean wisely kept his mouth shut, though he had some suspicions he knew exactly who his aunt referred to. Silence settled across the balcony, and Sean north toward Little Yukoto.

Brunhilde stood up abruptly, and knocked on the table. “Someone’s here, by the way.”

”I hope it’s not another honey trap. Seriously, what do they think I am?” Sean groaned and dragged a hand down his face. His metal palm felt soothingly cool.

”A young, idiotic kid they can push around.” His aunt didn’t pull any punches. She never did, really. “In that regard, at least you’re succeeding.”

”Yeah…” After the school basically imploded, he’d actually started to make some moves in the great game of Sentinel’s succession. His father wasn’t as young as he used to be, and it was only a matter of time.

Sean, though, was late to the game. There were over a dozen other children ahead of him, and he was one of the youngest of the bunch. Not to mention he hadn’t paid much attention to things when he was younger. The seats were full at the table, so he slipped into it the only way he knew how—play the fool. 

“It’s a man.” She smirked, and slowly drew out her next words. “He’s from Pyrus.” 

“Oh… .” Sean frowned, and felt his head start to throb uncomfortably. As if he didn’t have enough on his plate. “Tell him to come in on your way out.”

”Aye, aye.” She saluted him briefly, and then turned back into the apartment. 

Sean glanced out toward the ocean far to the west, but the sun had already set. The dark body of water lurked like a menacing predator waiting to snatch up its prey. He sighed, and made himself comfortable. Even this late at night, the political game never died. He’d have to choose his words carefully.

— Shiro —

I grabbed Mira’s hand and carefully led her into the speakeasy. I shut down the gym and laundry room shortly after taking over the building, as well as moved the cleaner’s supplies up to the first floor. It was so much easier to get in and out of the speakeasy now.

“I got it.” Luna moved ahead of me and revealed the hidden code-lock to get into the door. After a moment, the door slid open to reveal my place.

“Agh!” Mira tripped over one of the racks, and stumbled into me. I barely managed to keep her upright, though she weighed what felt like an absolute ton. “Shiro! Maybe this blindfold wasn’t a good idea!”

“Keep it down.” I elbowed her in the side and rubbed gently at my ears. “Just because you’re blind doesn’t mean deaf.”

”Oh, right.” She stretched out an arm in front of her, and grabbed my cheek. “Hmm… marshmallows? Did you get me marshmallows—?”

I slapped her hand away, and barely cut off a growl. “You can be a real bitch sometimes, you know?”

”Tee-hee!” She stuck out her tongue, and adjusted the blindfold over her eyes. “Can I take this off now?” 

“Um…” I glanced around to make sure everything was still in place. The holographic banner was up and running. “Wait a sec.”

“Here,” Saint whispered and handed over a bright pink party hat he’d found somewhere. I pulled the paper cone on, and held back a snicker. All four of us looked absolutely ridiculous.

Uncle Ezra smirked and nodded to me. I was worried he wouldn’t be able to make it, but that fear was for nothing. ‘Course he wouldn’t miss his daughter’s birthday party. He likewise had a party hat on, and looked the goofiest out of all of us. Such a big, strong guy with a lopsided polkadot hat one was deeply amusing for some reason.

“Cake’s in the kitchen,” I moved around the group, and headed to the mostly abandoned kitchen of my speakeasy. It was fully furnished, ‘course, I just never really had food I wanted to store. I grabbed the cake, and shuffled back out to the other three.

“Luna?” I asked quietly like Mira couldn’t hear every word we were saying perfectly clearly. The birthday-girl played along, though, and didn’t call us out.

She flashed a thumbs up at me, and hit a button on her deck. The lighting all over the room started to go crazy. I watched the lights for a moment before lifting the cake up a bit higher. “Go ahead.”

Mira pulled the bandana off her face. The instant it was off, the four of us shouted, “Happy Birthday!”

”Oh! You guys!” Mira clutched at her chest and looked around the arrangement. A big holographic banner hung in the air saying Happy Birthday. “A cake too!”

I couldn’t keep the smile off my face as I put the cake down. “Are we doing presents first?” 

I flicked on Cold-blooded for the briefest of moments to calm down. Although I didn’t want to show it, I was just about as excited as she was. A curtain was set up just in front of the bar, completely hiding the gear I’d made her. After spending way too long updating it and adding features, it was finally ready.

”Save the best for last?” Saint asked.

”They’re all the best!” Mira shuffled over to a chair and sat down. “Seriously, I’ll love whatever your guys get me.”

“However you want to do it,” I whispered to Saint.

“I should probably go first then.” Uncle Ezra slid a box off the table and passed it to the girl. “Be careful with this.”

“Thanks, Pa.” She carefully unwrapped the present, revealing an absolutely massive hand cannon. The thing looked like it shot .50 cals. She held it up, and mimed fired shots into the roof. “Pew! Pew! This is the newest model, isn’t it? I was just thinking about getting one of these!”

Saint shuffled over to one of the tables to pull out a big, rectangular present. It was wrapped in festive paper that lit up with bright strips of neon. “This one’s from me.”

Uncle Ezra watched the reporter like a hawk. His eyes narrowed into a heavy glare, and he crossed his arms heavily. I barely held in my laughter, and nudged Uncle Ezra’s arm. His glare was strong enough it could curdle milk. 

”Is it… an assault rifle?” She lifted the wrapped box and shook it lightly. “No, the weight’s off…”

She pulled off the paper, revealing an electric guitar. She froze for a moment, and then hugged the guitar to her chest. “Thank you!”

”No problem. It was one of my old ones.” Saint chuckled lightly and rubbed at the back of his neck. He had a charming smile that only made his handsome face stand out all the more prominently. As if feeling my uncle’s downright murderous glare, he backed a step away. “Haven’t gotten much use from it since… well, you know.”

“I’ve almost worn the wire off my current one.” She ran a hand down the box and set it down on the table. She looked like she might give him a hug in excitement, but abruptly changed her mind and went for a fist bump instead. 

“Good,” Uncle Ezra muttered under his breath, and relaxed a bit.

Mira glanced at him and smirked. “So? Who’s next?”

“Ah, here.” I pulled out a box and handed it to her. “I got you two.”

”Oh! I knew you loved me.” She grinned from ear to ear, and easily popped open the box. A set of keys jingled lightly. “I-is this… is this what I think it is?”

”Yeah. Top floors yours.” I’d struggled with the decision long and hard, but I finally made it. “If you want it.”

She carefully pushed the keys into her pocket, and a solemn expression replaced her excitement. “I won’t let your trust down.”

“Eh, it’s’ whatever.” I moved around to the drape on the back side of the room, and paused just before pulling it down. ”This one’s from me and Luna.”

”I-I barely did anything,” Luna called quietly from the side. After I finished the armor, she’d spent a long time setting up the ICE and other countermeasures, though. I would consider that something.

“Well? Don’t keep me in suspense!” Mira shot to her feet and bounded over like an over-excited golden retriever. The previous seriousness was entirely gone.

Just as she got close, I ripped off the fabric. She froze midstep, and just stared at the bulky set of power armor I’d made her. There were other pieces of equipment too, but the power armor was front and center. A spear, based off the Valkyries tech, hung just behind the armor. She never used one in actual combat, but she seemed to really like them back in that fighting arena.

My heart itched uncomfortably while she just stared at it. “I-if you don’t like—“

”I love it!” Mira threw her arms around me, and pulled me close. For a moment, the air left my lungs as she hugged me too tight. She released me just as quickly and ran a hand over the metal armor. “Best birthday ever!”

“I wasn’t sure about the color scheme.” It was made of a pure silver-white metal that glowed in the light of the room. Golden lights highlighted the contours of the armor. All of it could be redone pretty easily, ‘course.”

“It’s perfect.” She ran a hand down the metal arm of the power armor and excitedly looked back to me. “So? Are we taking it for a spin?!”

I jacked my thumb to the table. “And abandon the cake?”

”Good point!” She pulled herself away, and practically skipped to one of the chairs. I watched her for a moment, and then checked the power armor. I had a feeling as soon as we were done here, though, tonight would turn quite chaotic.