An inspired plot bunny that I ended up writing a quite a lot for. Its incredibly niche so I dont expect many will read, but if you do I hope you enjoy.
"Gooooood Mooooorning Niiiiiight Ciiiiiityyyy! This is your man Stan bringing you all the hot gossip in our Ciiityyyy of Dreeeeaaams! If you've been living under a rock or still nursing that hangover a few nights ago, you might not have heard the recent hot topic: trillionaire mogul and verified Emperor of Asia Saburo Arisaka has bit the dust! According to his formerly wayward boy and now Head of the Family Yorinobu Arisaka, dear old dad had been poisoned by his so far unnamed enemies!
There's footage making its rounds showing Arasaka AV's pumping lead around Konpeki Plaza and news is only now filterin' out that some choomba's with cajones the size of melons had infiled the building and shot up security.
Well, whoever you are, if you're even still kicking, I raise my glass to you but damn please don't come knockin' on my door anytime soon I don't want no 'Saka ninja's asking me questions.
In other news, murder in Heywood is doooown from the peak it reached a week ago to just twenty five bods-"
"Should we really be listening to pirate radio?" Kai'sa said switching radio stations to the far more legal and sponsor-acceptable NN54 who were, it turned out, covering the same topic in much more formal tones.
"'It's the only news you can trust in NC" Akali replied with a sigh, reclining on the sofa and crossing her arms behind her head, turning to look out the air vehicles' window at the metropolis they were approaching "Or anywhere, for that matter"
"Well, as the native of Night City you are our current expert" Eve chimed in without breaking her gaze out the window opposite the youngest KD/A member "Besides, no sponsors on this AV" She took a sip out of her can of 'fruit' juice "Regardless, we've only just arrived and there's already world changing news. The venerable Saburo dead? My, that will trump anything being spoken about for a week at least..."
"Are you...annoyed" Ahri said with some incredulity "That the tragic death of what is basically a world leader is going to make our arrival less newsworthy? Eve!" She said with only the lightest of admonitions.
Evelyn chuckled "Annoyed? A little, I wanted to make a splash. But, thinking about it, it may be a good thing"
"That the old man bit the dust?" Akali interrupted
Kai'sa swatted her with an eye roll.
"That we may have some time to get acquainted with a place so...legendary" Evelyn continued "Birthplace of so many stars…" She turned her head to Akali and spoke with a smirk and a twinkle in her eye "One right here with us"
Said woman laughed but everyone in the cabin noticed the red flush on her cheeks and her attempts to hide it by fixing her gaze out the window. Ahri simply rolled her eyes at the light teasing, smiling inside at the sight of the youngest and oldest members getting along so well.
"Anyway" Akali puffed after a while "Eve's got a point, it aint worth doing press stuff while all this is still buzzin, so I could show you guys around, introduce you to my old homecity…"
"And reconnect with old friends?" Kaisa said with a smile that Akali returned.
"Yeah" she pulled out her phone and checked the messages, smile turning into an annoyed frown "If only they would answer their damn holo…"
"Huuuurrrghhhhlll"
The contents of V's stomach, what little of it there was left, freely vacated themselves down the flushing toilet.
V had half a mind to just join them her body was in so much agony.
"Fuuuckk" She moaned as she stumbled into the shower, hand loosely pressing the button to turn it on before she collapsed on the floor, leaning against the wall. Soon the blessed relief of warm and then hot water sprayed onto her and she breathed a small sigh, not even noticing the near scalding temperature the shower had been set on by her blind groping.
For a long, long while the merc sat there, water running and spilling onto the bathroom tiles, cybernetic eyes staring out into space.
"Fuuuuck" was the only coherent thought in her head.
Eventually she regained some feeling and enough mental capacity to function on a barely normal basis, enough at least to sit up and turn off the shower, though only just.
Stumbling on lead feet to the mirror V looked at herself properly for the first time since walking into Konpeki Plaza.
What she was looking at she barely recognized as herself.
Normally sun-tanned skin was an unhealthy shade, pale and slightly grey. Dark, heavy circles under her eyes which would probably be bloodshot if they weren't implants. Her nose, normally pointed and narrow suiting her narrow face, was crooked and bruised and she took a painful second to adjust it.
This, at least, was a new wound, evidence of her bout with...herself (?) last night.
She shook her head, clearing her thoughts and reached for a towel to dry herself. First was her hair, bright neon pink combed over revealing a shaved side which showed off her implants. Then her arms, aching still as if she had a heavy hangover and the rest of her body which sported numerous new scars all over, both wounds and Vik's handy job fixing said wounds.
She locked eyes with herself once more, iris spinning through a myriad of colours before settling on a crystal blue. The same eyes as Jackie.
She took a steadying breath, releasing it shakily, along with a few tears.
"'Fucking dammit…" she muttered, sniffling and wiping her face.
It took a long while to get dressed, perhaps a reluctance to really leave her apartment and face the real world alone for the first time in a while, without Vik or Misty or even Goro watching her.
It was with these thoughts that she put a hand to her door, then backed away, walking instead to her computer.
"Might as well see if anyone left me anything…"
No one did, just an email notification of overdue rent and the standard spam-mail that made it through any kind of filter.
She stared at the screen, then looked at her door, then decided to pull out her holo to really check if anyone had not left her messages.
The first one unread was from Delamain, notifying her that Jackie had arrived at El Coyote Cojo and Mama Welles had taken him.
V slammed her fist onto her desk and let out a muffled, frustrated, angry "FUCK!"
The tears she had thought suppressed returned with a flurry and she spent the next few minutes sat at her desk, holo in hand, hand over mouth and body and mind shaking in tumultuous emotion.
"Fuck Jackie, im so sorry choom...Fuck im so sorry...Goddamit…"
It took her a minute to notice her device buzzing, ringtone pinging that familiar chime. With a final sniffle she halted her tears and answered.
"Yeah, what you want?"
"Takemura here"
V sat up straight.
"We must meet. Come to Tom's Diner"
The silence afterwards was long enough that Takemura asked "V, did you hear me?"
"Y-yeah, heard you. Loud and clear….Why would I do that though?"
"Because I am the one who saved your life" was the stern, accented reply.
He's got a point but… "Look, haven't even managed to get my head straight right now, not after everything that's happened"
"That will not happen anytime soon. And so what? If you intend to live you must re enter the ring. The bell has already tolled. Tom's Diner. I am waiting"
The line went dead.
"I hate how much sense you make…" V muttered.
With a heavy sigh she finished her procrastinating, finally fixing her guns and ammo and readying herself for her entry back into the ring. Her trusty Chaos pistol did not survive the ordeal of the last few days but she had a few backups, namely the ever handy DR-5 Nova revolver and 9mm Unity pistol, both as common in Night City as the people that wielded them. Ammo-wise, you couldn't walk down a block without finding a stray pistol bullet.
Prepped and ready to go, V once again placed a hand at her door, the precipice, the entrance to the arena…and checked her holo one last time.
To her complete and utter surprise, there was one other unread contact.
"...Kali? The fuck?"
Heyyyy V! 'Kali in ya mail! Left you a voicemail but you aint answered so I thought i'd send you a text as well. Guess what? I'm coming back to NC!
Me and the girls are planning an "urban tour", basically stay for a while in the big cities and play in all the big-name clubs, really get our names rooted in the ground. This means i'll be in NC for at least a few weeks, sooo excited to hang with you again!
Missed you! Please call when you get this text!
Love you lots! XOXOXO
V was dumbfounded, blinking stupidly at the text. "...the fuck?"
That had been the original message in a chain. She checked the date, racked her memory and determined it was sent… "When I got to Vik's clinic…"
Scrolling through, there were other messages.
Hey V!
C'mon, gotta check your phone sometime choom.
Sent a day after the last message.
V! This is your phone right? Even checked our old convos, definitely sent from this number and I know you would have told me if you got a new number. Better have a good excuse for the holdup!
Sent...yesterday.
"...Holy shit" She muttered, still overcome with the sheer unexpectedness of it all.
Checking the logs there were several missed calls from the same number over the course of the last few days.
Looking at her door for a moment V shook the utter surprise from her head and walked over to her window to look out into Night City, currently bathed in the warm morning light.
With the press of a few buttons, she rang Akali's number.
"...Hello? V?" Her long, long-time friend answered.
"...Kali" she said in a voice so weak Akali didn't even hear "...Kali…" she tried again, stronger.
"V? It is you! Fucking hell, did you lose your phone behind the couch or something? Been trying to get to you the last few days!"
"Sorry...I was…" Shot. Murdered. Dead "...Real, real busy. Had a big job that really took a lot outa me"
"Man V you sound it" Akali was sympathetic "You know what, I'll save the chewing out for later. How 'bout you and me just meet up for some food, really missed having you around V"
The smile that formed at V's lips at the mere suggestion was so wide, so surprising, it felt painful "I..Y-yeah, yeah sure. Heh. Would love to...You know, Yong's House is still going, could me-"
"Hell yeah!" Akali yelled down the line and V caught a different voice in the background that sounded admonishing "Oh yes!" Akali said, quieter but no less excited for it "Was hoping they were still going. Man I missed them, best Ramyun anywhere"
V laughed, the first in a long while since Konpeki "Think Yong may even remember your order, we talked about you last I was there. He said and I quote: "Now 'Kali big name pop star, no visit anymore, ayaa…"
Akali giggled from the other end and the sound was warming to V's heart. "Ah man, missed that old crank. Well, me and the girls are gonna finish up here for the morning so I'll meet you there in an hour?"
Errr...Eh fuck it, Goro wont take that long "Yeah sure, see you then. Love ya"
"Love you too V, missed you so much"
With a smile V replied with a parting "Me too" and put the device in her jean pocket.
Turning, she walked to her door then opened it, walking into the arena without hesitation.
The conversation with Goro was indeed short, to the point and even a little bit enlightening. If he weren't such a corporate goon V would have admitted to admiring the man's style.
She just hadn't reckoned on Johnny, or NC traffic.
The latter was probably more to blame for her being late, but anything that could be blamed at Silverhand was fair game at this point.
"Aint no 'us' motherfucker…" she repeated quietly as she entered Cherry Blossom Market, taking a moment to admire the scenery. Stands of all types from used tech, second-hand clothing, varied kinds of food and the ever present sketchy BD seller. The smell was better than most of NC V thought, at least here the smell of uncollected garbage and clogged drains was occasionally drowned out by the far more appealing smell of boiling noodles, fried veg and grilled tofu. The hanging red lanterns and the virtual cherry trees that gave the place its name added to the distinctive look, which attracted both tourists and native alike.
What wasn't appealing was the sight of Tyger Claws dotted around, but since this was securely their turf (as much as anything in NC could be secure) she only kept half her eye on them.
"Ah V! Come, come" someone called to her side and she turned.
"Hey Tamako-san, nice to see you" V said with a smile, approaching the stall owner "How ya been?"
"Oh you know, bizness as usual" the shorter, older woman replied "Stall's doing good, we have new stock, Zetatech, only one gen behind current. But I call you here not for biz, I wanna ask how you been? The first time I see you in weeks, maybe month. Don't tell me you skip town again"
"Hah, im...im alright Tamako-san. Just been busy is all, no town skippin'"
"Ahhh, but you free now yea? Come, sit, chat like old times" Tamako patted a stool next to her behind the counter displaying used hardware.
V laughed and gave the woman a hug "Ah, 'fraid not right now Tamako-san. Got a meeting with a friend"
"A boyfriend?" was the immediate response
V rolled her eyes, expecting it "Nooo"
"Girlfriend?"
"Ha, I wish!"
Tamako laughed "Oh V, you not getting any younger, go get a partner, enjoy life. "
"Ha! Ah, Tamako-san, always looking out for me….But, you know what. I may bring this friend around if things go well, may be in for a surprise" V said with a sly smile.
"Ho ho, well don't keep suspense, go, make it go well" the older woman playfully swatted V away with a smile and the merc complied with a laugh.
Only a few turns down she arrived at her destination, a small building squeezed into the space between an office block and an insurance dealer. Off-white walls contrasted with the grey/brown of the buildings either side, with small red banners each with hangul characters hanging across the front giving the place its name.
Yong's House.
A veritable institution to V's mind and as the smell hit her when she entered the building so too did the memories.
She spent a moment there, standing at the entrance, just reliving them.
"Yer lanky ass is blocking the way choomba" A voice broke her out of her reverie and she prepared a retort, only to stop short once she saw who spoke.
Shorter than her, much shorter. Brunette with blonde highlights like tiger stripes through her hair, iconic hairstyle not present but instead hanging loose, a purple KD/A cap on her head which tied in well with the puffy purple jacket and purple sneakers.
Akali was smirking up ather, bowl of noodles in one hand and chopsticks on the other, a smirk that formed into a wide, genuine smile as V came closer.
"'Kali, man, it's been-"
"Two years V" Akali interrupted, reaching for V's hand as the merc sat opposite "Two years, too long"
V gave a soft, tentative squeeze when their fingers interlaced which grew firmer as it was reciprocated. "Yeah, too long"
The two sat there for a long, long moment, a world unto themselves. Each could see the other had a million and one things to say but neither made the first move, unwilling to break the gentle, happy peace.
Eventually V did make the first move, or rather her stomach did, letting out an audible growl. Akali giggled at that, a giggle that turned into a laugh when V swatted at her.
"Didn't wanna order for you in case it got cold, sorry" Akali said, stifling the last of her giggles "But Yong's got your fav ready to go on the fry, if you still like Spicy Tofu Japchae"
"Fuck yeah" V replied, getting up and walking over to the counter. She spoke with Yong who seemed incredibly upbeat, normally grumpy face breaking out into a wide grin as he served his old regulars. After a moment he shooed V away, urging her to catch up with old friends and promising her meal ready in a moment.
"So, KD/A's very own Akali coming back to NC" V started with a smirk.
"Coming back home" Akali replied, tone quiet and soft, blue eyes looking at V's then out the window onto Cherry Blossom Market.
"'Kali, I…" V stumbled, caught off guard and unsure of what to say yet wanting to know so much "How've you been?" She eventually settled on.
Akali smiled, finishing the last of her noodles with a healthy slurp. "'Been...real good. Great, actually. Team's tight, eddie's are flowin and Yasu-er, management is surprisingly chill so we have a lot of creative freedom to make what we want"
"And yet…?" V prompted.
The smaller woman sighed with a small laugh "And yet...still doesnt feel like im doin enuff, ya know? Dealin with Corpo sponsors, sittin in meetings with dead-eyed suits who only see green...Just, wish I could do more for folks like us"
"You've done a lotta good already, didn't you tell me the Shen's Dojo survived 'cus of your sponsorship? Went by a while back, man's back to teaching street kids on the cheap and he lets them stay in when they need to. And True Damage, they still goin' strong, hear them everywhere in Heywood...But" She cut off Akali before the other woman could reply "I can guess you feel like with a name as big as yours, you should be able to get so much more shit done"
"Yeah...Yeah..." Akali shook her head "Dammit V, not even an hour in and you got me all opened up. Man, I really have missed you, eonni "
Hearing the term nearly brought a tear to V's eye, a sudden and unexpected surge of emotion, though not at all unwelcome. "Yeah, same. Hearing your voice over the holo just isn't the same"
Akali nodded and the pair paused as Yong came over, dumping a heap load of stir-fried, enticing smelling goodies in front of V, telling her to "eat up, you too skinny"
V thanked the man with a laugh and dug in, realising at the first bite this was the first time she had eaten today.
"And you" Akali said after a moment of watching V wolf down her plate "How you doing? Getting back to NC yourself after being gone for a while, what was that like?"
Well, my first gig back I met my now dead best friend who put an iron to my temple as a hello . "It was...felt like coming home, for all the things that changed, lotta things just stayed the same"
"Mhh Hmm" Akali agreed, fingers tapping on the table "And?"
"Aaand...Well, NC has a way of getting back at ya. I..." V paused, looking at her plate, then continued "I lost a good choomba recently"
"Oh V" Akali reached over the table to intertwine their hands again "Im here for you man. Noticed you don't look too hot"
V chuckled without any mirth "Yeah, been a real rough few days. Real rough"
Akali nodded, then her eyes caught something. She flipped V's right hand over, examining her palm "Ballistic Coprocessor...Some heavy chrome there V" Her eyes locked onto V's again and the merc saw the tell-tale blue glow of Akali's iris' "Kiroshi optics as well and...wait, what's that on your head?"
V brushed her fingers along her shaved side, stopping at the spot of chrome that Akali was pointing at.
DeShawns last 'gift' to her.
"A…" V Began
"...Gunshot wound" Akali finished, eyes losing the glow only to be replaced with worry "V...what happened? That's...new"
For a moment V remained silent, processing her answer.
"V…"
"...It's been a real rough few days"
Akali pushed their plates and bowls away, leaning forward "Tell me about it, please?"
V sighed.
The afternoon sun wasn't any less bright than the morning, this being Calli, but the change of position meant the rays hit the city differently, the megabuildings casting their enormous shadows eastwards over Japantown bathing the area in a dark shade. Tallest of them all was Arasaka Tower though even that gigantic monolith had to contend with other titans of steel and glass.
It was the top of said tower that the pair of friends were looking at as they stood on the roof of an apartment block above Cherry Blossom Market, the Arasaka logo fully prominent over Night City's skyline.
"You're a crazy mutherfucker V" Akali said, shaking "Like, tuned up to eleven crazy. Absolute, up there, fucked up bonkers brigade-"
"I know 'Kali, I know-"
"Fuck you don't know shit V!" The smaller woman lashed out with a harsh backhand towards V's arm "You could have died! You did die! You're going to die! Fucking 'Saka ninja's, corpo goonsquads, fucking Silverhand engram bullshit?! V your way up shit creek and the paddle's shoved up your shitter! What the absolute fuck?!"
The merc felt the stinging words more than the sharp backhand, choosing not to make a reply and instead lean against the roof to look down at the market "Yeah...yeah" she eventually muttered.
Akali ran her hands down her face and let out a groan, then wiped her eyes and suppressed a sniffle "Fucking... eonni , I...im sorry. Just, the thought of you dead...just, no, I can't…"
"I...Yeah...Was gonna be the last big job, last score, set myself up and...I dunno. Be an NC Legend"
The words rang hollow, empty. Ironic, considering how she was before Konpeki.
"V...Oh V...What are we gonna do now?" Akali saddled up next V, gently putting her arm under the older woman's arm and leaning against her.
The merc took a slow breath, recalling the instruction of a stern dojo master who both of them knew "I...I was gonna get in contact with Evelyn, the one who set this up. She knew about the Relic, maybe not what was inside, but she needed it for something. So far the only lead I got, aside from Goro"
"And you're not about to go trusting a corpo goon" It was both statement and instruction.
V shook her head "No. But she's not picking up calls, tried on the way here. There's Judy though, her amigo in the Mox. Then, depending on how that call pans out, I need to visit Mama Welles and...and.."
"Your choomba" Akali finished "Aight, well, we got a plan. Take it step by step"
V chuckled "We? 'Kali you-"
"You thinkin of shutting me outta this your more fucked in the head than I thought" Akali interrupted sharply, gripping V's arm "Just got my eonni back, I ain't losing her, not if I can do something 'bout it"
"And KD/A? Your team? Doubt they'd be cool with this"
Now it was Akali's turn to chuckle "You may not have met them in person V but they know you, they know how tight we are. 'Sides, they're good girls, honestly they'd probably back us up"
V shook her head in disbelief "Ah, right. Kpop stars famously make great mercs"
Akali looked up at her with a flat, unimpressed expression.
"Present company excluded?"
"Fuck you V"
Both took a moment, then let out their giggles.
"For real V" Akali said after their giggle bout "the rest of KD/A are more than just artists. Ahri and Eve between them have eddies enough to fund a decent merc outfit, hell I got some spare cred swimming about myself. Kai'Sa knows her way around a gun and aint bad with martial arts"
"I…'Kali, I trust you, just...kinda hard to believe…"
"Hah, yeah, seems a bit out there I know...just. I wanna help you V. You looked out for me for so long, got me where I am now, always backing me up...I just...Here's my chance to pay you back"
"All the eddies you fronted me not enough?" V said cheekily.
Akali rolled her eyes "If you actually used them instead of passing them to charity cases. Or bail..."
The merc chuckled, scratching the back of her head "Yeah…"
"Don't stress V, I know your pride means a lot. But this time? I aint taking a no, or letting you scurry away to sort this out yourself, thinking you don't need to put anyone else at risk or some other dumb shit like that. Remember what Master Shen said about us, when we last left the Dojo?"
"'Why are you both so lazy?'"
A sharp elbow into V's side stopped the giggles
"Stay close and stay together. You can push more doors open with four hands than just two"
"Yeah" V recalled the memory, far into the distant past when she was barely an adult and Akali was only a teen "Yeah"
Another amiable silence fell between the two and after a moment V opened her mouth, only to duck as a loud and very close gunshot rang out, taking Akali into cover with her.
"There she is! Down the alley!" someone yelled and V and Akali looked over their shoulders then ran towards the other side of the roof where they peeked from behind low cover, looking at the alley below. They saw three Tygers were chasing and shooting at a Joytoy taking cover behind a dumpster, who was shooting back occasionally with a revolver without much effect though it forced her pursuers to take cover.
It took a moment to identify but both also saw that there was another figure behind the dumpster, a younger woman, probably a teenager, hiding behind the joytoy.
"I'll keep 'er down, close in!" One of the Tygers yelled and he did just that, unleashing a suppressing barrage of shots from his weapon that forced the joytoy to take cover. Taking advantage the other two Tygers closed in, one wielding a bat and the other a pistol that she kept trained on the dumpster.
"V" Akali pulled the merc's attention and V was slightly surprised to find the younger woman holding a Unity, a look which Akali caught "Why the look? Grew up here with you, I know the rules"
V let out a small chuckle at that "'Fair 'nuff. Well, if we wanna do this we do it now, they're closing in on 'er"
Akali nodded, a look of determination on her face "I got the guy in the back, you nail the girl and we close in on bat boy"
Targets sorted both got into a good position, easily sighting their guns. On a nod from V Akali let loose, three shots in steady succession. The first plugged into the Tyger's shoulder, the second missed, the third pierced his cheek just above the oni mask he wore and brought him down. Almost in sync V let loose a faster hail of bullets at the other Tyger gunner and took her down with most of a clip. A quick reload and the rest of Akali's shots later, the other Tyger went down without issue.
A perfect ambush.
V saw Akali breathing heavily as the latter reloaded and patted her shoulder, giving her a nod which Akali reciprocated.
"Hey! Hey!" The joytoy called out below, looking up at the pair.
A shared look between the two, a shared nod and both leaned over the roof "We'll head down, don't shoot" V called.
Thankfully the fire escape was serviceable enough, though rickety, and the two clambered down onto the alley. Up close they saw the bat wielding Tyger was fully dead, completely unmoving with a pool of blood quickly flowing out from him. The other two however were still alive though in great pain and V was quick to kick their weapons away from them. Akali meanwhile approached the joytoy who emerged from behind her cover, along with the teenager, both looking much alike.
"Oh shit" the woman said with shaky breath "I-Thank you, holy fuck, thank you so much. I thought we were done for"
"Hey, easy now, take a deep breath" Akali coached, taking a breath herself to show them "Yeah just like, deep and slow. You guys okay? Anyone hurt?"
The joytoy shook her head, then looked at her sister who did the same "We good, I-thanks"
Akali nodded "It's 'aight, no worries. Erm, you guys got somewhere to go? To stay safe?"
The woman nodded "Yeah, I was-I was heading there. But they found me and I couldn't get out of Japantown"
" Its 'aight, don't worry" she looked over her shoulder "V, got a ride?"
The merc nodded "It's near, we'll take the alleys, avoid any Tygers"
There was only a moment of hesitation before the joytoy looked at her sister, took her hand and nodded to V.
"'Aight, follow me" V took them around the corner, hanging back to wait for Akali.
The rapper waited for the pair to round the corner, then popped two shots, one in each of the wounded Tyger's heads.
V's eyes widened in surprise.
"I know the rules V" Akali said simply as she walking past her.
"Wanna be myself, Wanna leave this hell, but I know I wont..."
The car ride was only slightly awkward but all passengers were too focused on other things to really care. Akali and V had learned the joytoy's name, Helen and why the Tygers were after her: they wanted her sister as payment for unpaid debts. Helen didn't take too well to that and popped the initial Tyger goons but very soon had to make a quick run for it though not before klepping said goons for all they were worth.
"Damn, Jig Jig's still a shit show" Akali commented.
Helen snorted "As if it were anything else. You guys know the city?"
Akali nodded "We grew up here, though i've been gone for a while, only came back recently"
"For real? Sis why even come back?"
Akali smirked "Got biz in the city"
Helen shook her head "Hope its worth it sis. Oh V, make a left here, then it should be juuuust...Here. Yeah, perfect" she fished around her handbag as V pulled to a stop, eventually pulling out a wad of eddies and offering it to Akali "Here, its all I got"
The merc and kpop star shared a look, then Akali pushed the offered hand away "Keep it, use it to take care of your sister. Be careful now eh?"
Helen was taken aback by the gesture, and it seemed her sister was as well as both paused for a moment "I...thanks. You guys...take care of yourselves" Helen eventually said as she left the car, sister in tow, both departing with a final wave as they entered an apartment block.
V breathed deep as she leaned back on her seat "Well...Welcome back to Night City I guess"
Akali chuckled "Yeah...Good to be home"