"You 'n me, Chica. Major Leagues."

The night air was crisp and almost clean. Something that was exceptionally rare in the concrete jungle of Night City.

Perched atop some old scaffold and loose tarp, V wistfully gazed down at the streets below. Whenever she was in a bad mood, sad or just pissed off at the world, she climbed.

Drainage pipes, fire escapes, chain link fences, even rocky cliffs out in the Badlands if she was feeling particularly bad. Tonight was such a night where she found herself climbing atop an apartment building that had been "undergoing renovations" for almost a decade now. It wasn't any Megabuilding, that was for sure, but the effort was good enough to blow off steam.

"You always say that, Jackie, but I still have no clue what you mean." V glanced away from the view and back to her companion.

Jackie Wells.

He flashed his winning smile and pointed to the sky. "You climb. You get it. Only way is up, V."

The young teen had a strange way with words. He probably got it from his mother. It definitely wasn't the father. Jackie's brand new shiner proved as much.

No doubt a result of a drunk rant and ensuing argument.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" V asked with a bit more irritation in her tone than she intended. The boy meant well and V loved him for it, but tonight was not a good one. Especially when it came to insistent enthusiasm. Despite that, Jackie let out a boisterous laugh. He clapped a hand on her shoulder and kept on smiling.

"Think I forgot?" The boy's smile grew wider.

No, she didn't think he forgot. He never forgot. She wished he had.

"Happy Birthday, Chica!"

V growled, not responding.

Undeterred, he gestured to the view in front of them. "Crisp air, good company, no responsibilities. La vida es perfecta!" The last part was enough to tip V over the edge. She shot up from her seat, stormed onto the roof proper and kicked a nearby trash bag. Its contents got sent scattered over the rooftop.

"Jackie, seriously. I'm not in the fucking mood."

The boy's shoulders sagged for a moment. He pinched the bridge of his nose, wincing a little. For once, the teen seemed at a loss. Immediately, a pang of guilt pinched at V's chest.

Sadly, her current state of mind prevented any sort of reconcilement.

"You know me. I ain't good with this heavy shit." He paused and gave V a long studious look. She was breathing heavily and the red around her eyes was a dead giveaway that she had been crying. Today wasn't just her birthday, after all.

It was also the anniversary of her brother's death.

A death V had caused.

"Vince wouldn't want you all depressed 'n shit. Dude was just as much a party dog as me." Jackie calmly moved an old storage crate closer and took a seat. He gestured to V to do the same. She paced for a minute before taking a deep breath.

She sat down, but she certainly hadn't calmed down.

Awkwardly, Jackie tried to look for the right words. Every year he tried to pull V out of her misery and self blame. Every year she pushed him away. But he never gave up.

Again, V loved him for it and she wanted nothing more than to let him know that.

But every year, the memories and guilt came crawling back, clouding her ability to articulate her appreciation. All she could do was hope he knew.

Of course he knew.

In an attempt to not say or do anything she'd regret, the two let an understanding silence set in. She listened to the distant hustle and bustle. Cars. Sirens. The occasional gun shot. Night City never changed.

The boy chuckled to himself, breaking the silence. "Funny you should pick this buildin'. Remember? The three of us were… fuck… six? Seven?"

At first, V didn't have a clue what Jackie was talking about. Then, a moment of thought later, a sudden memory sprang to the forefront of her mind. As if it had happened only yesterday, she recalled the three of them playing baseball - or at least something that could be called baseball if someone squinted real hard - down on the street.

A very faint smile crept over V's lips. "Mama Wells nearly killed us."

Jackie laughed. "You're tellin' me! Lloré como una perra por horas!" The two shared a laugh. "Y'know, you're good at a lot'a shit… but for some fuckin' reason, hitting a ball with a bat is-"

"Fuck you. Baseball sucks, anyway!" V snarled in mock offence. "Besides, Vince shouldn't have pitched so hard!"

She spent a few seconds laughing before slowly trailing off. The good memory faded back into her subconscious. A treasure she would keep for the rest of her life. Though it was also another reminder of what she had lost.

Jackie really was a good friend.

Despite his own issues and family troubles, he still found time for her. Even if he risked another beating, he always came running if she was in trouble. It sometimes annoyed her with how insistent he was. Both him and Vince were always dragging her out of trouble, and it was usually her own fault.

Gung-ho little Valorie.

One would think a broken nose or several would teach her not to be so hot-headed.

"C'mon V. Mama's cooked up a batch of her chilli. You don't have a place to crash tonight, right? We got a nice warm couch. Better than some back alley roach infested mattress."

V sighed in defeat. She wasn't going to turn down a hot meal. Even she had her limits. "Alright. But I'm goi-"

"No you're fuckin' not. Mama ain't gonna take what little scratch you have. Neither am I."

Though she wanted to protest, there was little point. Instead, she shrugged and silently vowed to leave a few Eddies strategically hidden under a cushion in the morning. The two got up from their seats and started to make way for the fire escape. It was going to be a bit of a climb, but it was a straight shot down to street level.

It was at that point an alarm began to blare. It thudded through her head as though someone was constantly slamming a wrench against the inside of her skull.

For a moment, reality warped and blurred.

"You 'n me, Chica. Major Leagues."

Jackie's voice resonated once more through her mind before everything finally went completely black.

Wednesday May 11th

The constant, rhythmic beeping of V's internal alarm clock roused her from the dream. With a grumble, she began to sit up. Until her forehead smacked against the low ceiling of the capsule. "Motherfucker!" She yelped and slammed back into the pillow.

Judy stirred from her own slumber and gave a sleepy chuckle. "That's the third time." She mused before lazily patting V's forehead.

"We need to figure something else out. I'm going crazy waking up every day in a fucking coffin."

The two shared a morning kiss. In the four days since their journey into a new world, the three Night City dwellers had taken to renting a local capsule hotel. For the time being, their rent was being covered by some of the Phantom Thieves as a way of thanks. But V knew they couldn't continue on like this.

Plus she absolutely hated relying on charity.

"All the Eddies in our account and we can't use a single Ennie." Judy huffed. It was clear that she was getting fed up too. "Oh right, Lynn asked us to sell that paint brush. Somethin' about the dude from that toy shop."

V nodded.

A comfortable silence set in for a moment.

A silence that Judy eventually broke with a sudden gasp. "Wait, what date is it?"

V sighed. At the very least, she let a smile tug at her lips. "You damn well know what the date is." She replied, eliciting a giggle from her partner.

"Happy birthday, babe." She paused and for a short time they stared into each other's eyes. Judy's expression then sank into one of sad contemplation. "We might not be able to visit his niche, but we should still do somethin'."

The merc hadn't even considered that. Things had been so crazy recently, her brain hadn't had time to catch up.

"Find a bar and knock one back is my vote."

Over the years, she had come to accept things as they were.

The past was the past. Oddly, Johnny of all people had finally nailed that fact into her thick skull. Maybe not intentionally, but the birthday she spent with him swimming in her grey matter had been quite a wake up call.

Or maybe it was just the booze up he practically forced her on. At least it was V doing the boozing, unlike the time she let Johnny try to talk to Rogue.

The two women spent a few more moments in a calm, relaxing position. The capsule they currently called a hotel room might have been cramped and designed for a single occupant, but it was cosy and warm.

Begrudgingly, their peace was disturbed by River's voice. The curtain that served as a door to the capsule opened. Quickly, V dragged the blanket up and over her and Judy's bodies. She scowled and glared down at the ex-cop. At first, he didn't seem all that flustered. Then, he seemed to realise what had gone on.

"Shit. Sorry."

"Ever heard of knocking, asshole?" V growled through gritted teeth. Judy only giggled, apparently not all that bothered by getting caught in nothing but her unmentionables. Still, River drew the curtain back closed and allowed the two to get dressed for the day.

Minutes later, they emerged from the capsule and greeted the new day with a stretch. Stiff joints cracked and popped with satisfying results.

"Alright, the kiddos apparently have Midterms until the end of the week." Judy tapped a finger against her chin. So far, they still had yet to hear anything more from Felix, so all the three of them could do was wait and watch.

That didn't particularly sit well with V. She needed to constantly have something to aim for. So having nothing was beginning to send her a little stir crazy.

"Midterms, huh? Y'know… I wonder if I'm too old to get a highschool diploma." V scratched her head somewhat bashfully. "Doubt that school the kids go to would take me."

"The day you sit still and listen to someone for eight hours straight is the day I become a monk." Judy grinned. The merc couldn't help but feel a little offended. V saw herself as a good listener. At least when the job called for it.

Admittedly, that wasn't all that often.

Either way, the three chuckled to themselves. A lull in the conversation took over and for a moment, V began to contemplate their next move. Something Lynn had off-handedly mentioned came to her mind. "Apparently Ann might have a stalker. Could be nothing, but it might be something worth looking into."

Judy nodded and immediately let a worried frown overtake her previous smile. "Ann mentioned feelin' like she was bein' watched, yesterday, too. River, would you mind askin' around? We have a few places to swing by, so it couldn't hurt."

Shrugging, River sighed. Being the only one of the three to actually vocally speak Japanese, he had been put on the forefront of every encounter with a local. V brushed his complaints off most of the time. He was used to dealing with people and loved talking to locals. He only found it hard in this situation because auto-translators weren't a factor.

The next half an hour was spent packing up their things, taking their used bed sheets to the hotel's laundry and finally checking out for the day.

By now, River was on friendly terms with some of the staff. Or at least friendly in the sense of not being met with outright suspicion everytime the three of them turned up at the front desk.

Eventually, the trio found their way out into Shibuya.

"It's still a little weird that a model gun shop also acts as a pawn shop… but whatever." V mused as they walked through the early morning crowd. Busy salary workers whizzed by talking into phones. College age boys and girls hung around cafes and stores. Housewives flitted between different convenience stores. Life was going on as normal, unheaded by any sort of potential threat.

The culture shock was quite jarring at first.

Rounding the corner, the day time regulars of Untouchable were all hanging around the alley waiting for the shop to finally open its doors. It wasn't a large gathering, but it was still notable enough for a passing police officer to give a leering glare. One that a couple of the younger customers returned in kind.

A fond chuckle creeped from V's throat. It reminded her of her childhood in a small sense.

Finally, the door clicked unlocked and Iwai could be seen grumbling within the dingey confines of the store. A whopping ten minutes late. Which - compared to most other aspects of Tokyo's schedule - might as well have been ten hours.

With the knowledge of how things worked in the Metaverse, V viewed Untouchable's stock in a new light.

Instead of disappointment, she oftentimes found herself almost drooling over the vast selection of would-be lead spitters.

Iwai looked up over the magazine of the day and grunted at the slow moving crowd. "Probably not gonna sell a single thing…" V caught him mumbling to himself. He reminded her a lot of Wilson in some regards. Though in others he was completely the opposite. On one hand, Iwai seemed completely irritated that people dared enter his domain. On the other, he was equally annoyed at not making many sales.

"You have the brush?" River caught V's attention and dragged her back to reality. With a moment of fumbling, eventually, she pulled a leather case from one of the many pockets on the bag Ann had bought for the group.

River almost seemed to snatch the object from her grip and wandered over to Iwai.

He put on his best smile and greeted the shop owner. "Hey. We're friends of Lynn."

"Yeah, I know who you are. What do you want?" For a moment, the short and blunt nature River was met with put a halt to his brain. Most of the people the trio had talked to recently were nothing if not accommodating and patient. Still, River pushed on.

"She mentioned you buy as well as sell?"

At that, Iwai growled and shifted his weight. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "That girl needs to keep her trap shut, sometimes." For a moment, the shop owner stared down at the counter with irritation and what looked to be exhaustion. "Yeah. I buy. Depends on what you're offering, though."

River slid the leather case onto the counter. Iwai raised an eyebrow and gingerly took the case. He clicked it open, took one glance and immediately slammed the case shut. "You have a screw loose. What are you bringing this here for?" The man almost hissed in a hushed voice. Quickly, he pushed the case back into River's hands. "That's ivory. Meaning it's illegal merch without a licence."

The revelation seemed to hit River quite hard. He quickly stowed the case deep in his jacket pocket and looked around at the other customers. Thankfully, no one was paying them any particular attention.

"So there's nothing we can do? I'd prefer not to throw it away, after all." River did his best to seem inconspicuous, but the forced hushed tone was a dead give away.

Iwai took a moment to think. His gaze was unbreaking to the point that it even gave V the chills. "I know someone who might help. Her business has a SISBO registration, so any deal you make will be strictly on record. If you're good with that… then I'll point you to her." Although the group had no clue what an SISBO registration was, it seemed there wasn't much choice.

Conferring with each other, all they could do was shrug and agree.

After all, it was highly unlikely any records made would point back to a trio of people who technically didn't exist.

"Alright. Just don't mention my name. Got it?"

With the name, address and instructions in hand, the group left Untouchable.

Mercifully, the store they were looking for wasn't all that far away. However, as they left the back alley, something - or rather someone - caught V's attention. A kid, no less.

About the same age as Lynn and the others. A mess of brown hair framed a boyish face with a pleasant and polite smile. He was wearing a school uniform but it wasn't the same as Lynn's. However, the most notable thing about the boy was the briefcase he carried in gloved hands. As they passed each other by, the boy gave a polite nod.

It gave her a moment's pause.

What was a highschool student doing walking around during school hours?

The boy entered Untouchable and for a moment, V stood still in her tracks. Judy's call out snapped her out of her thoughts and a second later, she shrugged it off. Whatever the reason, it was none of her business.

The merc chalked it up to just another oddity in this already odd situation.

An old fashioned bell chimed as V opened an equally vintage door.

The shop in question was a small establishment, but it was definitely pleasant to take in. It was largely an art supply shop. However there was a small gallery set off to one side with various pieces for sale. Mainly paintings with a few small sculptures sprinkled in.

Quaint was the word that came to mind.

Unassuming was another.

This place was almost definitely a front for something more illicit. At least, that was the first conclusion V jumped to. She had to sigh and mentally kick herself. It seemed her brain was still working on Night City logic.

Not everything had to be related to some atrocity to human rights.

A mature woman about the same age as Iwai turned to face the group. She was in the middle of sorting shelves behind the store's counter. Her warm features curled into a welcoming smile as she beckoned the group deeper into the store.

"Welcome, welcome!"

River stepped forward and returned with his winning smile. "You must be Kimiko - uh, Ishida-san I mean. My apologies!" He fumbled over his words and immediately ruined the facade of the suave foreigner he was no doubt going for.

The woman giggled and gave a polite bow. "No need to apologise. Can I help you?"

As River began to spin a story, V and Judy gave the shop a brief study. Some of the art pieces on offer were fairly standard and nothing special. One in particular stood out, however. A simple piece, to be sure, but striking. From a first impression, V could assume it was traditional Japanese art of a woman wearing red. Her wistful and contemplative gaze was almost mesmerising.

The label denoted the piece as "Sayuri" but stated it was merely a replica. Still, the price tag was nothing to sneeze at.

"Huh… there's that name again. Madarame. Ichiryusai Madarame." V muttered. Judy's eyebrow perked up. "At least, that's the artist who did the original painting."

"Funny coincidence, eh?"

"Funny indeed." V shrugged. It might have been worth doing a little digging while they were here, at least. After all, the name had come up far too often to be ignored.

"So, think you could take a look?" River's voice brought the two women back to their current goal. He had finished whatever story he had cooked up and from the looks of it, the store owner seemed to have swallowed it up.

She nodded as River placed the case on the counter.

Immediately, Kimiko's eyes widened at the sight of its contents. "My word. That's quite the ornate piece. Almost a work of art in and of itself!" With all the care of someone handling a newborn child, the woman picked up and inspected the brush. "Ivory handle. Gold inlay. Silver mountings. Your friend is quite the fool for wishing this gone."

The woman hummed to herself as she inspected the item.

"I can perhaps offer 50,000 yen. Honestly, I'd love to offer more for such a beautiful item, but regulations and such. I'll have to put this on record if that's alright?" River tried not to let the high number phase him, but V caught the slight twitch of his brow and the tugging of his lips.

He straightened himself up and gave a nod. "That's fine. The name's John Doe."

Kimiko was already taking down notes in a thick leather bound book. From her current angle, V couldn't see what she was writing so the auto-translator didn't pick anything up. The woman then went about various tasks such as weighing the brush, measuring its length and so on. Each task warranted another note. Standard book keeping it seemed.

Using the Holo, V sent River a quick message. He flinched for a moment before shooting a quizzical look back at V.

Nevertheless, he shrugged. "Say, does the name Ichiryusai Madarame mean anything?" That elicited a split second's pause. Kimiko's brow furrowed for a second before she collected herself. Notably, her note taking increased in speed.

Her polite smile returned, though it seemed somewhat off. "Of course. He's a world famous artist! Master of many styles, and such a humble man. In fact, I have a replica of his magnum opus for sale if you're interested?"

That caught V's attention. Immediate deflection to attempted sale.

"Oh, really? The Sayuri?"

"You know about it? Yes! Such a wonderful piece. I always find myself staring into her eyes wondering what she's so transfixed with." Kimiko gave a whimsical sigh as her glance moved over to the painting in question. "I can offer you a good price. The artist who replicated it is quite a special talent, themselves!"

"Who's the replicating artist?"

"Ah! Quite an unknown name. Koryu Yamamoto. Quite the eye for painting replicas on that one." Something didn't feel right. V glanced at Judy who, in turn, was studying the woman with an intense gaze. The blue glow of her irises told the merc Judy was doing more than just staring.

As the two conversed, the bell above the door chimed once more. A rather tall and slender boy walked in wearing a simple uniform. A large satchel was slung over his shoulder with leather cylinder containers sticking out from within.

The blueish-black hair stuck out in V's mind. Lynn had mentioned that descriptor yesterday.

The boy stopped in his tracks as he noticed the three foreigners. It seemed he was at a loss of what to do. His gaze quickly flitted between the three of them before resting on Kimiko. With a flourish, the woman finished off her records and smiled. "Ah, Yusuke, darling. You're quite early!"

Though she had the outward appearance of complete politeness, something bothered V.

"Yes. Sensei requested I deliver another shipment as soon as I was able. He also requested that I pick up a recent order." The boy's mannerisms were far more mature than his age. He spoke as though he were from some historical drama. "I can return later if now is inconvenient." He shot a strangely accusing eye at River who had since shut up and was now watching with interest.

He gave a disarming chuckle. "No, no. It's fine. We were just concluding our business here. Does your sensei have you running errands during school hours often?" Acting the part of a friendly customer, River took the envelope of money and tried striking up a conversation.

It seemed the boy wasn't all that receptive.

He frowned and moved past both Judy and V without saying a word.

He had completely stonewalled the trio for some strange reason. As if he already had some level of suspicion surrounding them. V and River shared a knowing glance before shrugging. There wasn't much point trying to question someone like this without raising even more alarms.

At least the kid seemed somewhat harmless.

That said, at least now they had a forename name.

With the contraband sold and a fresh wad of cash in hand, the trio stepped out into Shibuya once more. "So, what's next? Don't know about you two, but I could use some food." River innocently began to ask.

V smirked and immediately began the routine of playful ribbing. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you've fallen for Boss! You take any opportunity you can to go see him." She jested. Judy chuckled and couldn't help but nod in agreement. The two girls were met with a tired looking glare.

"Oh shut up. You love his food just as much as I do."

He had her on that one, but at least V tried showing some restraint. In a world where the food wasn't synthetically mass produced, everything tasted like it was made in heaven.

Again, her mind briefly brought up Takemura. The two disagreed on quite a lot, but at least she could agree on his food opinions.

"I guess we don't have much else to do until the kids finish school." V gave a defeated sigh. Granted, she too had cravings for a good meal. She glanced at Judy and grinned. "Still no sushi. Sorry babe."

She scoffed. "I'm startin' to feel cheated!"

"Hm? Oh. You three." Sojiro's gaze briefly looked over his newspaper before returning. As usual, the man - without a single care in the world - lounged behind the counter mumbling over a crossword. Also as usual, there were only two current customers. An old couple from the neighbourhood.

Said couple immediately vacated the shop almost as soon as the three foreigners entered.

Sojiro gave an irritated sigh. "I don't appreciate you scaring off my customers." Even still, the old man put his newspaper aside and began the process of brewing coffee. "Not like they spend much, anyway."

"My apologies. My chooms can be pretty scary." River immediately caught a jab to the ribs from V. He shot back a grin. The exchange seemed to confuse Sojiro, but he shrugged it off. "Oh, uh, three house curries."

Sojiro went about preparing the order as the trio sat at the bar.

"So, I saw you casing that art store, V. Something up?" River immediately got to business. It caught her off guard somewhat. Here she thought the ex-cop only wanted curry. She took a second to collect her thoughts, shot a look at Sojiro and began to weigh things up in her head.

"Pretty sure you caught on, too. That woman clearly has some sort of tie with our guy. Question is, what kind?" Honestly, the merc didn't have any proof to make that claim. But things were certainly pointing in that direction. "That painting she tried shilling… Sayuri, I think. If it's a magnum opus piece, they go for quite the pretty Ennie. Even replicas. Especially the good quality ones."

Back in Night City, the art market wasn't all that big. Most original works were either lost or floating around in private space stations. As such, the market that did exist usually only handled replicas or forgeries.

V only had a single experience with a real original and that was only due to Johnny somehow knowing baseline art history.

"Could just be some big coincidence, but the woman clammed up for a split second when you mentioned our guy's name. Flinching, seemed like."

"I caught that too."

"Think she's scared?" Judy brought another perspective to the table that the other two didn't have. "Dunno if you noticed, but she got real awkward after you asked. I also picked up a spike in heart rate."

"Weird. Definitely sounds sketchy." V rubbed her chin. "That Nakanohara guy mentioned he was some scumbag thief who used people. But then the woman sang his praises while trying to shill some replica work. Makes you think she might be under his thumb."

The merc growled in frustration.

Meanwhile, Sojiro had finished up plating the group's meals and lazily wandered over to serve. "Having trouble with something? Your friend's looking quite put out." He asked towards River.

The ex-cop nodded with a sullen look. "She's just cranky when she's hungry." For a second, V's death glare bore into River's very soul. Unflinching, he simply smirked and relished in the fact that V couldn't outwardly respond. Lynn had made them promise not to rouse any sort of suspicion. And that meant that Judy and V had to pretend that they didn't understand Japanese.

A fact River took full advantage of. Revenge for all the snarky jokes at his expense.

Sojiro chuckled and shook his head. "You got your work cut out for you, friend. Keeping two women happy must be pretty exhausting." The man smirked and wiggled his eyebrows, hinting something V really didn't like the sound of.

She gripped her fork a little too tightly and it began to bend.

"Exhausting. Soul draining. Insanity inducing."

The two men shared a laugh. V's fork was now solidly at a fourty degree angle. She let out an exhale as Judy pressed herself against V's shoulder. A silent form of solidarity.

With a quick motion of her eyes, V sent a message over the Holo.

The colour in River's face drained as he no doubt read the incredibly vivid and graphic description of how V planned on retaliating. The mention of needing several buckets was the kicker that really got him to shut his trap.

They then shared their meal in awkward silence. Sojiro - unknowing of the horrors V had written - watched with a mix of fascination and confusion.

A solid two hours later, the trio finally ate their fill and now sat in one of Le Blanc's booths, sipping coffee and chatting as though they were back in the El Coyote.

It was nice. It was relaxing and quite the welcome change of pace from recent events. For a while, it didn't matter that they were trapped in an alternate reality. For a while, it was like they were just normal people enjoying a normal moment in a normal life.

The peace was then interrupted as a particular grumble in V's stomach called to her. "Duty calls." V muttered and stood from the booth. She held a content smile and began to make her way towards the restroom.

Though with each step forward, things seemed to fall increasingly out of focus. Her head began to pound and her destination seemed to grow farther and farther away. Eventually, she felt like she was at least several bottles of tequila deep and she began to wobble on her feet.

What was in that coffee?

The last thing that flew through her mind was Jackie's voice. Much like the dream she had the night prior.

"You 'n me, Chica. Major Leagues."

Then, everything went black and V no longer felt anything. Not even the pounding in her head.