Delta was sweating, heart beating against her ribcage like a jackhammer, and nearly at her end. She also didn't have any pants on.
"Let me go! I don't want any of this!" She pleaded, begging to the looming figure above her. "Please, just leave me be!"
"Now now darling, don't fight it, just give in and relaaax~! I'll be sure to take good care of you!" The mustached man cooed to her as he held Delta by her naked shoulders, his golden designer hands were like vice grips. He didn't cause any pain, but no matter how much the naked homeless girl struggled she couldn't escape this flamboyant man's clutches.
"NOOO!" The girl's terrified shout echoed out onto the street as she was all but dragged back into the clothing store kicking and screaming. Delta at one point had even managed to reach out for the door frame, she held on as if her life depended on it; but alas her weakened strength couldn't hold on for long, she was catapulted backwards when her last finger slipped.
Sent rolling across the shop's carpet the street rat crashed into the front counter in a crumpled mess, her ass sticking up in the air as her world continued to spin inside her head. She had at least managed to keep her ratty old men's shorts on, so she was spared one additional level of embarrassment at least, as she unwillingly presented her posterior to the two males present.
Ryuji was having a riot, eerily chuckling to himself as he watched the whole scene unfold. From her upside down perspective Delta glared back at the prick. The bastard was the reason for all this.
"Now, I did tell you to relax, but this isn't Jig-Jig street! You can't go showing off your goods like that sweet heart! What would my other customers think?" Delta grumbled at the idiot fashion designer. They were the only 'customers' present this late in the evening.
If she had known an hour ago that she'd be degraded like this she would have made a better effort to run away.
At first when the Corpo boy had suggested getting Delta some new threads she had refused outright. The free meal she could accept, as it was at most only a few eddies for the bowl of ramen and can of Realwater. But to give her clothes too? That went too far.
It was obvious he was scheming something, his excuse for asking her to be his street guide was one thing; Corpos with enough smarts sometimes hired extra protection or someone who knew which street to take without having a piece of rusty iron shoved between your ribs. Though, that was more of a Solo's job, and only to those just starting out in their careers as hired muscle. What this creepy devil child expected out of a weak and unaugmented homeless girl Delta couldn't figure out. And that unsettled her.
He didn't like taking no for an answer however, probably too used to everyone bowing their heads and letting him have free reign to fuck them five ways from Sunday like the deviant he was. The look in his eyes turned dark when she had (politely) told him to take his eddies elsewhere.
However, in refusing his offer it became clear she had made a huge mistake. For it was then that Delta relearned first hand that every single Corpo was a sociopath.
His eyes flashed gold for just a moment, illuminated by a scrolling code. The next thing Delta knew a chopstick was embedded into the upholstery of her bench, right next to her ear. It happened so fast that her ganic brain had to take ten before it processed the wooden stake now lodged beside her face.
"Apologies, I thought I saw an insect for a moment there and acted on impulse." Ryuji kept smiling as he sat back down, though it never felt warm. "I have an intense hatred of those things; always crawling about, feasting upon our success, never grateful for what little mercy we extend to them. If it were possible I'd have them all exterminated, much like with other insignificant creatures, they could spread disease after all."
Delta had to grip the table with white knuckles in order to stop herself from sprinting for the exit. If she did so now she knew she'd be dead before she even left the booth. She wanted to vomit.
A clap of his hands drew Delta out of her panic attack. Ryuji leveled a toothy grin, almost as if his threat had never happened. "Now, how about we go get you cleaned up Doll Face! Don't want any more insects trying to cling onto you. They can smell the dirt a mile away."
Wordlessly Delta allowed herself to be led out of the restaurant. Nobody said a word to the odd pair as they left. They knew better than to ask their affluent guest to pay for damaging their furniture.
When the psycho had led her further away from Kabuki market, past the Metro Med Center, over towards Goldsmith street did Delta finally manage to calm her nerves. As traffic rolled by, either driving or walking beside them the young woman forced herself to evaluate what had just happened.
Okay, so obviously he's an egotistical maniac, now I just know he's now got a few genocidal tendencies… Lovely…
Also at this point, she wondered if this brat even needed a 'guide' to begin with. He seemed to be the one leading her around, like a dog on a very short leash. He weaved and ducked around the throng of people still out this late at night, as if he was a Night City natural at crowd surfing. The hand he wrapped around her wrist never let go as he dragged her through the mix of pedestrians.
If it wasn't for the fact he seemed to be able to end her miserable existence faster than lightning she would have wrenched her hand away and bolted into the cover of the crowd already.
Not that she could even think about slipping away with how often those yellow eyes seemed to peek at her from over his shoulder. One time she had caught the little devil looking back at her; as their eyes met she saw his Kiroshi eye implant had it's iris drawn into a fine line, like a tiger's. It immediately reasserted itself into a more human looking eye as more light from over head street lamps illuminated into it. The image of his reflective eyes, glaring at her from the shadows of the alley, resurfaced with a spine chilling shudder. Ryuji took the glare boring into the back of his skull in stride, merely winking back flirtatiously. Delta silently cursed him, keeping her eyes away from the creep.
As they marched down the street an NCPD cop car sped along, flashing it's red and blue lights. Delta let out a pained yelp as the hand gripping her thin wrist tightened uncomfortably. A steely look crossed Ryuji's face, who lasered the police interceptor with his gaze. Only as it continued on into the distance the grip lessoned.
Huh, guess even Corpos hate pigs…
Her captor didn't comment on the little incident, and the street rat didn't feel like testing him if she asked. Their walk continued on in silence.
Eventually the hand leading her through the streets stopped, Delta wearily looked up seeing the brightly lit sign above. It wasn't anything special, but the bright blue and simple block lettering shown against the dull concrete that surrounded the store. "Stylishly?"
"I know, it's no Jinguji, but it'll have to do for now." Ryuji opened the door to the little boutique, all but pushing his victim in ahead.
The interior was what you would expect of a low level Corpo clothing store; bright lights to give off a cleaner atmosphere, which only served to illustrate the dirt that clung to all the surfaces. The residue of the near constant smog from Watson's industrial areas were nearly impossible to remove. There were many different digital posters, showing off runway models sporting gold and ivory products. Delta thought they seemed to all be in a competition amongst themselves to see who could wear the least amount of fabric and not get phenomena.
"Welcome! Welcome!" A man in his late thirties greeted the two from across the counter, it too was Watson proofed with steel bars separating the public from the clerk. "How may I assist you this fine evening!" He drawled in a too happy tone.
Ryuji gave one glance at the filth covered girl next to him. Delta didn't like the glint in that look he made.
"Thank goodness you're still open, we're in need of some fresh clothing immediately! My poor fellow classmate here has had the most horrendous evening!" Ryuji began, urgency and fake concern oozing from his lips. "She was taken by Scavs and held for random! They disabled her TT coverage chip and kept her locked away in a warehouse full of butchery! Eventually she managed to slip away during some infighting. Forced to crawl her way out by the sewers! It was awful! She had to ditch her uniform to avoid being caught, using what she could find in a trash heap for a disguise. I nearly didn't recognise her when she called out to me for help!"
Delta lost her lower jaw as it fell through the floor.
The shop owner gasped, buying into the bullshit theatrics hook line and sinker. That, or he was probably just so mind shatteringly bored staying open this late any tall tale he heard he'd believe. "Oh my goodness gracious! You poor poor thing!" The man gave Delta a sympathetic look. "Those rotten Scavs, they're a blight on society! Preying on the weak like they do! You're lucky they didn't rip out your cyberware first!"
Ryuji nodded along, shaking his head when he needed to, "Disgraceful. Truly, they have no honor."
The shop clerk paused a moment, weighing up something in his head. "I know I really shouldn't do this, but I'll allow you two back here. We've got a bathroom equipped with a shower, I had it installed since I couldn't stand working while covered in this dreadful dust Watson so famously produces." The man looked the street rat turned lost student over, grimacing at the sight of her attire. "You poor thing, you seem to need it more than I do right now though!"
"Thank you, you're much too kind!" The liar grinned friendlily back.
As the clerk moved away from the counter to unlock the side door Delta took the brief moment to hiss her displeasure at being wrapped up in the young Corpos web of lies. "What. The. Shit!"
Ryuji chuckled, "Now now, that's not anyway an Arasaka Academy student should talk." Delta wanted to smack the smug look off of his face, he was clearly enjoying every second of this.
"Fuck your Corpo bullshit! I'm amazed he actually bought that, but don't drag me into your conniving schemes! If you were just embarrassed by my clothes you could have said so, gotten a t-shirt and pants from the bargain bin, and fucked off!"
How quick she was to forget the fact that she was dealing with a monster here. One that didn't like it when he was denied something.
The grin vanished for just a moment, revealing a cold and calculating stare. A shiver went down Delta's spine, she knew she had overstepped a boundary. "Well Doll Face, if you'd much rather want to have truth instead of lies I could always make what I said a reality. Sell you off to the Scavs for parts or to star in one of their XBDs. Only I doubt you'd actually make it out of their hands, unlike my version of the story." A hand reached up to brush away a strand of greasy hair, Delta flinched away from the touch. The psycho laughed. "It's not just clothing you need, but a bath too. Figured with my plan I could convince him to allow us to get both sorted out."
Delta didn't know how to respond to that, so she withdrew into herself. She was powerless to go against this twisted teenager's whims. One moment he was threatening to brutally murder her, and then the next he was acting as if he was looking out for her. It didn't make any sense, and she hated him for it.
A door on the far end of the shop opened up with the mustached man walking out carrying a bundle of clothes. "I wasn't quite sure on her size, but hopefully these might suit our little lady here! She'll need something once she's all cleaned up after all."
"Thank you, I'm sure she'll have something she'll like in there. I'll let you know which ones we'll be taking."
The smiling clerk turned to Delta who hadn't said a word to him since she came inside, he quirked his head in slight puzzlement. "You'll be letting me know, not her? Not a very talkative one is she?"
"Sadly I think she might still be in a state of shock… She had to see such horrible things back there."
The man bought the lie yet again. He hummed in understanding as he placed the pile of clothes down on a counter. "Well I'll be in the back getting things ready, just shout if you need anything." Unfortunately Delta wasn't able to shout her lungs out that she didn't need any of this, not with the demon hovering over her shoulder…
The dressing room nearby was fairly small, only big enough for one person to stand in with a little shelf to place an item or two. One wall was taken up by a cracked mirror, for potential customers to twirl around in their knock off dresses. Unlike those dreamy eyed girls, hoping to impress their peers with the latest trends Delta eyed the clothing provided to her as if it were a live grenade.
They were all brand new, or at least smelled of new plastic, fresh from the factory. The store clerk must have taken them straight out of their packaging mere moments ago. Says a lot if he didn't bother taking anything off the rack, only the most pristine clothing for a student of Arasaka Academy… Which Delta was definitely not.
How had that Corpo cunt managed to pull that story out of his ass she would never know, and for that she was thankful, the less she knew about him the better.
In the mirror a long haired banshee stared back at her, light blue eyes sunken and ringed with dark purple bags. There was still the mark on her cheek, from when that cook had knocked her out for attempting to steal some raw vegetables. It had seemed like a lifetime ago, but in reality it was probably only a few hours in the past. Delta reached up and the filth ridden girl in the mirror did the same, she touched the bruise. Pain was there, and that meant this was real. This was her new Hell. To be the plaything to some rich cyberpsycho brat.
A few tears ran down the face of the girl in the mirror, dragging down the grime with it. The dark streaks made it look like she had worn mascara, even though she had never touched makeup in her short life.
A knock on the door startled the street rat, she nearly jumped into the mirror. "Are you nearly done checking out the clothes? Do they fit?" It was the clerk.
It took a moment to steady her breathing, but Delta managed to croak out a reply. "I… I'm fine. Just fine… Thank you."
"Okay then, when you're done I've set up the shower for you. Just give a knock when you're ready." Foot steps slowly disappeared, along with a bit of Delta's anxiety. She didn't deserve his kindness, but it felt nice to have someone act like they cared, even if it was all just a lie.
The clothes were pulled out one at a time, they all seemed too fancy, sparkly and worth more eddies than Delta was worth, even if she sold her body parts on the black market she'd not be able to afford any of this. When she had pulled out a lacy piece of fabric a crimson blush crossed her face; the black and gold bra and panties were obviously not chosen by the clerk, they were much too risqué for him to suggest to someone nearly half his age, nor did she believe he was interested in anyone of her gender. No, the culprit had chosen the underwear to match his own colours, as if to mark his claim on her by making her wear them.
A bit of bile rose up in her throat.
The panties were dropped to the ground, discarded amongst the dust.
Someone had been watching the open bottom half of the stall, that someone didn't like his 'gifts' being tossed away like trash.
A metallic click echoed throughout the changing stall, shattering Delta's world. She had forgotten to lock the door.
She stood frozen stiff as in the mirror she could see the new occupant enter and close the door behind himself. The changing stall was barely big enough for herself and now it felt like she being pressed in from all sides. She could feel his body heat as he stood right behind her. Another click, this time the stall door was locked.
"Tell me, did you not like these?" He reached down to the discarded items, they were no longer factory fresh having touched the floor. He held them up in the mirror, locking his golden eyes with teal blue. "What about them do you hate?"
Delta trembled, she felt sick being next to this pervert. But, she was powerless in comparison to him; his height wasn't that much greater than her own, but the few extra inches he had made him loom over her like a shadow. The black curls in his hair seeming more like tendrils of some dark beast of nightmares.
"I'm giving you a gift here, say the word and I'll pick something else." His hands snaked their way over the old leather jacket, Delta couldn't help but flinch at the contact. Ryuji didn't seem to take offence, instead he redoubled his petting, caressing the shoulders with just enough pressure so that she could feel his fingers trace the pattern of the ancient Samurai band logo. "You just need to ask, tell me what it is you wish and I'll do so." His words dripped like syrup, sweet and slow.
"I-I want you to stop," Delta sobbed, too afraid to look back into the mirror. "I want you to leave me alone. Please…"
Surprisingly the touch along her back halted, as if he would keep to his promise. His hand didn't leave her back however.
Taking what little courage she had she looked back into the mirror, glaring at the two yellow eyes staring back at her. "Why are you doing this? What made you choose me over some joytoy from literally anywhere else?"
"You really don't know, do you?" He almost sounded sad.
"…What?"
The hand at her back violently shoved her forwards, pushing her body against the mirror, cracking it further. The girl let out a startled squeak as her face was roughly pressed into the cool reflective surface. "Maybe with a change of clothes you'll see what I mean." The leather coat was ripped off of her, his skinny body belayed his true strength. Delta mewled in terror as he proceeded to disrobe her, one article of clothing at a time. A hand roughly clamped across her mouth, stopping her from getting too loud. Silent screams were muffled by his slender hands.
Soon she was topless, all except for her trashed bra. It wasn't nearly as well made as the one from the store, nor was it even her size, causing chaffing and soreness often, but it did the job though of holding her together. A low whistle came from behind her, "Looks like I was wrong, you are bigger than I expected! We're going to need to pick another set out for you later."
Delta quietly sobbed as she was abused. Tears running over the hands covering her face.
Next went the pants, his thumb tucked into the seam of her sweaty jeans, pulling them down in a quick and smooth motion. The girl shivered as his hand went down her thigh. The jeans ended up stuck around her ankles, she still had her shoes on after all.
When her tormenter stopped holding her face in order to bend down to finish stripping her Delta took her chance. With her legs freed of the pants she used the mirror to push off and kick the bastard square in the face. With a startled grunt Ryuji was knocked backwards, through the stall door. The lock must have not been installed correctly or rusted out, but either way the path to freedom had opened up.
Delta took no prompting to make a dash for the exit. She burst through the double doors, the smell of Watson never tasted so sweet.
A set of golden metal hands halted the escape attempt before it really began. Delta screamed, she was so close!
"Now hold on, where do you think you're going dressed like that!" The clerk admonished, clearly not seeing what was just happening. "You'll be picked off the streets by some lowlife if you walk around nude! What are you thinking honey?!"
"Pardon her, she's having a bit of a relapse." The bastard had gotten up by now, wiping away the bloody nose she had given him. "I was helping her when she panicked. It's my fault, so I'll pay you for the door too."
The fool bought it yet again, Delta wished he'd just buy some common sense instead.
He looked down at her with sorrow. "Oh you poor thing! I know, maybe getting you cleaned up of all that yucky grime will help clear your head up! After you're done cleaning up I can even help fix those cracked nails and split ends! You'll feel right as non-acidic rain!" He must have really wanted someone to play dress up with, that combined with his sub-par common sense led him to rationalize this as a reasonable thing to do. Delta decided he was insane, as no sane man would gush about doing a makeover with a complete stranger like they were at a slumber party.
Delta screamed out, in both frustration and defeat.
A chopstick was pulled out from the old vinyl bench, little sparks springing forth from where it had skewered the tiny drone. The woman swore, it wasn't cheap to replace these things, nor easy to get your hands on. The price for bagging this Cyberpsycho just went up.
The staff looked on nervously as the lanky merc prowled around their little scop shop. She had already paid them for the tip off, but still she needed to gather more intel on just what she was dealing with.
She had just finished interrogating the owner and waitress. It had been wise of them to keep it together, acting natural, and oblivious to the danger right beside them. When dealing with a Cyberpsycho any little thing could set them off; say the wrong word, make any sudden moves, and you'd push them over the edge and you along with them.
What little snippets of conversation the staff had overheard, plus her own brief recording she'd gathered through the drone seemed to point at some weirdo Corpo kid toying with a girl he picked up off the street. It made the merc sick imagining what he probably had in store for the girl, but then again she wasn't being paid to care.
A still of the drone's final moments were replayed. The woman analyzed the image, mulling over a clue she might have missed. The merc saw the dark haired boy sitting across from her, the look of anger seared in his eyes was momentarily directed at the drone, right before the Saka student destroyed the spy robot… Reviewing the image she couldn't help but recall someone else who had similar eyes.
The look of someone who believed themselves above all others, and how they had believed they had the power to use it how they see fit. Right until it all came crashing down around him.
A cigarette was pulled out and lit, the 'no smoking' sign by the entrance going ignored. She stuffed it into a port on her mask, taking a long drag of the faux tobacco. She didn't like it when she was being played with, she was meant to be the only one who toyed with her prey.
Bringing up her holo the merc fired away a quick text. She'd need a set of wheels if she'd catch up to these two kids.