It was not often that Adam received any sort of message from his contract holder. Most of the time the Emperor relied on proxies to deliver his commandments, and most of the time he didn't even command Adam at all. Adam did the jobs that Arasaka provided to him, of course, but it was on behalf of Saburo, not Arasaka.
If Saburo wanted to, he could command Adam to murder everyone in Arasaka corporation and Adam would have to comply. It was written into his Long-Term Contract. A series of codes and priorities written into the interface that connects his frame to his brain. Adam didn't have a kill switch, but this was a far more binding thing regardless.
Three orders in descending priority, four sub-clauses to clarify those orders. That was the Long-Term Contract that Adam operated under for the majority of his life.
Obey the orders of the Contract Holder to the best of your abilities.
-Verify the orders come from the Contract Holder to the best of your abilities before following them.
-Resolve potentially conflicting orders to the best of your abilities.
Protect the Contract Holder to the best of your abilities.
-Protection is defined as prevention of physical harm.
Inform the Contract Holder of potential threats to the best of your abilities.
-Potential threats are defined as sources of physical harm.
This was the iron leash that Adam was shackled with in exchange for living after being reduced to a pile of weak, gibbering, meat in a backpack. It was well worth it, in his mind, because it was very rare that Saburo Arasaka ever actually called on him to do anything. It was rarer still for the Emperor to call upon him for something he hated doing.
The last time Adam received an order from the Contract Holder (a new order that is, he has several prior orders that he has to obey, one example of which being 'protect employees while on duty') was years (decades?) ago, when he was first deployed and stationed in Night City. He has occasionally spoken with the Emperor, and occasionally received a job from him, but hasn't gotten a new order since.
This was not an Order, but it was an order. He was to bring his three recruits along with him to visit the Emperor in his Tokyo home for afternoon tea tomorrow. He was told to 'make them presentable'. So that's what he did, getting them fitted for proper kimonos at the in-house Arasaka traditional Japanese outfitter, purchasing three new lang-chips for Japanese and making them insert them, then going over every step of a proper Tea Ceremony while on the flight over and the etiquette for speaking with Saburo Arasaka.
They did this literally every moment of the plane ride over, Adam was not about to have his investments wasted because they accidentally called Saburo Arasaka 'choom'. That would be fucking embarrasing.
Adam didn't need to do this. He already knew japanese and tea ceremonies specifically because Saburo ordered him to learn them, and had a kimono that fit his 8 foot bulk already in storage. He had Uriel put it on via his Gemini body, then put the Gemini body into a steel coffin with a handle installed at the bottom-middle, so he could carry it over his shoulder like an oversized backpack. The coffin he had gotten ordered when he got the Gemini, specifically so he could more conveniently carry it around like this.
This would allow him his full combat effectiveness and the ability to drink the tea, which one was more important in this circumstance was debatable. Adam put his eddies on the second, himself.
They drew stares as they exited the Arasaka private plane in the nearest airport to Saburo's estate. Three clear gaijin in custom kimonos and an 8 foot tall mass-murderer made of chrome and fusion power carrying a steel coffin on his back. The locals of Tokyo were likely to be terrified.
Tokyo was the shining jewel of Arasaka influence. 57 million inhabitants on average each day, most of those come from the wider metropolis and travel into the city for work, on trains that had an average capacity fill rate of 250%. All levels of government in Tokyo were controlled by Saburo Arasaka at this point, directly or indirectly. The police are some of the most well-equipped and well-trained in the world, illegal activity is brutally suppressed whenever it is found, and the most minor crimes have uncoorespondingly harsh sentences.
Even the crime that did still exist operated at the behest of Saburo Arasaka, each and every yakuza gang in this side of Japan directly or indirectly following his orders, and most of them on the other side doing so as well. Often this crime was used as yet another lever to force Tokyo as a whole to operate more efficiently, striking at targets that are disorganized, dirty, or otherwise a blemish on Saburo's vision of Japan.
Then, when these targets are destroyed sufficiently, corporate influence moves into the area and transforms it into a slightly more efficient cog in the engine that is modern Tokyo. Almost every citizen in the metropolis is an employee of Arasaka, directly or indirectly. Almost every business or industry or public facility, owed by or paid for by Arasaka.
And yet, for all of this corporate influence, Saburo's overwhelming love for his country shone through. The streets were clean of any and all pollutants, the air was fresh and unimaginably clean, the waters around the entirety of Japan, but especially around Tokyo itself, are clean and full of all manner of aquatic life. The citizens can live their lives practically free of crime and filth, most of them could afford all their basic necessities and couples are given stipends to raise children with.
The public broadcasting was by and large part family-friendly, with a few channels dedicated to more raunchy material. The schools were efficient and some of the highest rated in the world. Almost all crime outside of activity controlled by Arasaka themselves was eliminated, and public trust in government officials was some of the highest in the world.
The historical and cultural sections did not fade either, Saburo being the staunch traditionalist he was. Each and every countryside farm or facility or factory was carefully considered and placed by city planners decades ago to maximize both aesthetics and efficacy. Each and every component of the city interior was given similar treatment, and regularly renovated to ensure that everything was both up to date and as beautiful as they could make it.
There were active theaters in every district containing many actors for all manner of traditional Japanese play or artform. There were large tournaments of martial prowess held on a year-round basis, such as kendo, kyudo, sumo, and more. There were massive sprawling libraries containing actual paper scrolls detailing the entirety of Japan's history and as many curated selections of historical papers and books as could fit. Japan was one of the few countries that still knew its entire history after the Netcrash, and it was due to these physical backups that Saburo had commissioned and then copied in vast quantities.
Everything about Tokyo was clean and refined and beautiful, all it took was absolute submission to Saburo Arasaka and his will. Let it not be said that the Emperor does not love his country, for there is little he loves more. His love was so great that he was willing to trample and destroy everything that stood in his way to complete domination of it. Small business no longer exists in Tokyo, Saburo did not allow it to.
There was only one blemish that was allowed to exist in Tokyo. Tokyo Bay Crossway. A 5 kilometer bridge and 10 kilometers of underwater tunnels that government officials lost control over back in 2018. The reason why it was allowed to exist was that the central AI that operated it's automated defense systems went rogue, targeting all military personnel as well as anyone who steps within 200 meters of the control room as enemy targets and firing upon them with the bristling host of heavy automatic turrets that line every wall in the area. The auto-factories under the AI's control continued to fabricate materials and ammunition to ensure its dominance of the area.
Adam might be able to take the Bridge and clear it out, had he had a Dai-Oni on, a platoon of Dragoons to lead, and an entire Arasaka military division at his back. The firepower of the central AI within being that ridiculous.
Ultimately it was decided that the area was both too expensive to clear out, and too convenient to keep around to contain all the undesirables of Tokyo in one place, leaving it alone to be filled with homeless, criminals, independent yakuza, and similar. Much to the utter and seething fury of Saburo, who has on more than one occasion sworn to eliminate each and every thing in the area the moment he could afford to. The one black mark on his shining jewel of a city, and his rival corporations keep him busy enough to prevent its polishing.
Indeed a city of Saburo's lifetime of work, Adam Smasher was expecting to be looked at with fear and timid scurrying on the thirty-minute walk to Arasaka estate. He was the chief murderer of Arasaka, the borg sent to a place to murder everything in the area before moving on. A walking natural disaster that has stacked enough corpses to fill a second catacomb in France.
He did not expect for the Public Relations and Marketing departments to have been so efficient or efficacious at their jobs. The moment he and the kids stepped out of the plane, Uriel burst out into laughter and didn't stop for the last five minutes of walking. It was starting to get annoying, you bastard. Uriel gave an insincere apology and started laughing again.
All around him, on many of the projectors built into the sides of the megabuildings of Tokyo, were advertisements.
— KABUTO ONI : ADAM SMASHER —
Clips of him from the past month and two days on repeat, each and every one of them either an edited shot from the kid's camera or a CGI recreation that used his own camera to put together. The most popular clips they seemed to use were the clips of him using panzerfaust to scrap the few cyberpsychos that showed up during the kid's training, the times he used a knife over the handgun…
And of course, the fucking clips of him cutting railgun rounds in half with that fucking custom Kendachi-MonoThree. Almost all of these set to one of the fucking songs Uriel had synthesized, something licensed from another corporation or some studio, or a remix of any of the above. Every time he took a step forwards, what should have been an intimidated civvie was instead a civvie that gawked and took pictures as he walked by.
The kids were not ignored in all of this, but they were certainly not as recognized as him as he walked by. They couldn't restrain their own laughter at his expense, giggling every time he growled at a passerby or picture being taken. Tokyo was home to 57 million people, and the streets were incredibly densely packed.
Needless to say, he started growling when they got off the plane and hasn't stopped since.
Goddamn it, he was never going to forgive the Japanese.
—
The Arasaka compound (that was the word, he was calling an estate this whole time) was just as incredibly functional and beautiful as the rest of Tokyo.
Adam didn't feel like paying attention to fucking any of it, so he ignored it all and growled at Uriel when he started thinking about it. He just wanted to get inside and talk to the bossman already, and get away from all these fuckers who kept trying to send him messages outside.
Although he did save the contacts of the girls that looked up-to-par, that might be useful if he gets free time later. That and he appreciated the attached files they sent to him as he walked by. That experience wasn't a total waste afterall.
The guards stepped in front of him and the kids as they approached, their eyes giving him a questioning look and a glance at the coffin on his back. Adam grunted "Gemini." and they nodded and let them pass.
This level of trust would be unprecedented for anyone else, but he was Adam Smasher. He was one of the very few things in the world that couldn't willingly harm their lord. His Long-Term Contract prevented it.
A woman greeted them, looking to be a perfect match for the ideal Japanese beauty. A veritable Yamato Nadeshiko, long black hair, black eyes and the slightest smile on her face. Her face was beautiful enough that the addition of make-up would probably ruin it unless applied by a master of their craft. She was dressed as a shrine maiden, white and red robes and all, and stood about as tall as the gremlin did.
She looked at him without fear or hesitation, and smiled just a little bit wider. She spoke in a voice that was probably as close to ideal as people could get. "Arasaka-sama is expecting you, please follow me, I will guide you to him."
Adam and Uriel were suspicious of this one already. He had seen many meatbags in his time, and none of them were this perfect without extreme modification. Hell, considering the trends in fashion in the modern age, they usually weren't perfect even then. But she had no outwardly visible signs of chrome, and it didn't matter regardless. Adam wasn't here to investigate anyways.
He followed, and the kids followed behind him. Good, they were following the proper decorum protocols for being in Saburo's house. They were led to a room that he recognized as one of the many chambers that were utterly impervious to the outside, no cameras, utterly sound and vibration proofed, fully visually obscured. Bossman wanted to talk to him privately then.
In front of the door, in his own traditional attire, was Goro Takemura, the personal bodyguard of Saburo. Goro was chosen for his absolute loyalty to Saburo, and given some of the best chrome and training in the world. He was not even close to Adam's equal in a fight, but he was far closer than the vast majority of meatbags in the world, far closer. At his waist was a Mono-Katana.
"Smasher Adam." Goro properly bowed in greeting which Adam returned with a "Takemura Goro."
Goro opened the massive door, and stepped aside for them to enter, which Adam did and the kids followed nervously. Goro did not acknowledge them, he didn't need to.
Inside was a table and two mats. Ah, Saburo was planning on letting the kids go after he gets a look at them it seemed. This conversation was not for their ears.
Sitting on the far mat was a man who looked to be more corpse than alive. He looked to them with a stoic expression, and then looked to the kids who each tensed nervously even as they tried to stay completely still. Slowly, the Emperor stood from his mat, grabbing a cane and using it to raise himself.
The Emperor stood to his full height, and Adam bowed low which the kids immediately followed with a bow of their own. They held that pose for several long seconds before the Emperor spoke.
"Welcome to my home, Yojimbo."
"Thank you for having me, Arasaka-sama."
It had been decades since Adam had heard his own name come from the Emperor's mouth, all that he ever called him was that and he used to not know why. Uriel knew why though. The old fucker was making a reference the whole fucking time. Old bastard, you could at least let him in on the joke too.
"These are your new wards?"
"Yes, Arasaka-sama."
The Emperor slowly walked from his side of the table and in front of his kids. He looked at them without making a word, even as they sweated under his gaze.
He looked to the kid, and spoke
"Introduce yourself."
The kid startled a bit, and replied. "Martinez David, Arasaka-sama."
The Emperor gazed at him, and slowly blinked. He examined the kid fully before talking once more. "I have read your file, it is a sad day for a child to bury their parents."
The fucking kid was an absolute dumbass meatbag, and corrected the fucking Emperor. Adam was certain he was going to have to get a new apprentice because of this. "Cremated actually, I, uh, couldn't afford a burial."
The Emperor stared at the kid, and fortunately didn't order Adam to execute him right there. He merely turned his gaze to the girl and spoke again.
"Introduce yourself."
The girl swallowed, and replied. "Kushinada Lucyna, Arasaka-sama."
The Emperor gazed for another long moment. He hummed, which was never a good sign in front of other people. He spoke. "The project manager has since been dismissed. Their project was ill-intentioned and unacceptable."
The girl blinked slowly at that, mouth opening the slightest bit in shock. The Emperor turned to the gremlin, and proceeded to do the same thing as the last two times.
"Introduce yourself."
The gremlin had a nervous smile on as she replied. "Rebecca, Arasaka-sama."
The Emperor considered her for a small while, no doubt noticing her lack of last name, before speaking "I have been told your testing performance is up to par, that is good."
The gremlin blinked, and her smile widened a bit more. "Thank you, Arasaka-sama."
The Emperor called out towards the door. "Takemura."
The door slid open and Goro was there, waiting to receive the order to come. "Yes, Arasaka-sama?"
"Escort these three on a tour, show them the public areas of the compound. I must speak to Yojimbo privately."
Takemura bowed and responded with a "Yes Arasaka-sama." He then stood back from the door and waited for the kids to follow, which they did after a glance in his direction. Adam was then alone with the Emperor and the same shrine-girl from earlier.
The Emperor walked over to his mat, sat down, and raised a brow at Adam. Adam lowered the coffin to the floor, opened it up, and took a kneeling stance. The gemini body within stood as Adam swapped mental places with Uriel. Uriel manually dimmed the eyes of the main body to make it seem like it was in a resting state as Adam stood before the Emperor, performed the proper bow, and then sat down at the gesture.
A long few minutes of silence proceeded as the Emperor and Adam waited for the shrine girl to finish pouring them the steaming hot tea, and move to the side a bit more.
The Emperor raised his cup, took a slow sip, and then spoke with his eyes closed. "You may drop the outward formalities, Yojimbo."
Adam looked at the shrine maiden, and the Emperor nodded at his inquisitive glance even though his eyes were closed. Adam nodded himself before speaking.
"When were you going to tell me that nickname was a reference, old man?"
Saburo chuckled like a fox who just pulled off a particularly good trick.
"Until you figured it out. Come, enjoy your tea before we begin."
Adam Smasher was bound by the Long-Term Contract to stay loyal to Saburo Arasaka. Therefore, he was one of the few people in the entire world that Saburo could completely drop his guard around. Adam sat down and took a long slow sip of the offered tea. Adam Smasher hadn't tasted anything in decades now, and wasn't much of a tea person anyways.
The tea was delicious, as to be expected of the perfectionist drinking with him.
"It's good."
"I know."
A long moment passed as two old men enjoyed tea together. Saburo spoke up. "Your forging is complete."
Adam didn't know what the hell he was talking about. He grunted in confusion. Saburo continued.
"Years ago, I stole a child from the Giant, an Oni. I forged him in iron, I tempered him in blood, I left him to cool in duty. Now I have a Samurai without compare. Then, once his forging was complete, he sought a tribe of his own like all Oni do, a tribe of Oni to forge into more Samurai."
Saburo opened his eyes, revealing pure triumph. "No, Not merely Samurai. Oni-Samurai, all the strength of the Oni, all the discipline of the Samurai, loyal warriors without equal."
"You were a grand experiment of mine, to see if I can make an Oni into a Samurai. I have seen the footage of your training the boy. You are disciplined now, you are focused, just as much rage and violence sharped to a razor edge by your iron will."
"You were a grand investment, even despite all the troubles I had in your forging."
"A microcosm of what I shall do to the other children of the Giant. I shall forge the Oni as Samurai, and be left with an army without peer.
"Your forging is complete, Yojimbo. It is time for your training."
Adam stared at the grinning man, and took a long, slow, and loud sip of the tea. Saburo grunted in reply, smiling dropping from his face.
"Impudent brat, this is the part where you ask what your training will be."
"The tea is good."
"V3, please smack Yojimbo on the arm, slightly reproachfully."
Adam felt a light hit on his upper arm, and looked to his right to see the shrine girl with furrowed eyebrows and pouting lips. It was a dangerous look, so he looked back to see Saburo nodding approvingly.
"So it works on you still, good."
Adam grunted questioningly, taking another sip of tea. Saburo continued.
"Oni are creatures of lust and rage, it would defeat the purpose of forging one as a Samurai if they lost their violent passions."
"...You were testing to see if I got distracted."
"Yes, granted it was unfair to begin with here." Adam grunted again.
"Jorogumo-V3, bare yourself for Yojimbo." His eyes widened a bit at that, looking over to see the shrine girl disrobing.
Soon she was completely nude (just as beautiful underneath as on the surface, and curvy in just the right ways) and standing still. A moment passed, but right before Adam could ask what the fuck Saburo was pulling here she began to unfold.
Sharp, glittering blades began to sprout from everywhere in her body, revealing absolutely invisible seams that expanded to demonstrate a fully mechanical body chocked full of razor sharp curved blades. Her face even had a set of blades sprout from it. Her face was turned to the side, and slightly blushing as he observed her. He scanned her quickly and her face flushed deeper red.
Ninety-four percent.
"A full conversion?"
"No, a full gynoid with a wetware nervous system."
"Utterly indistinguishable from a borg then."
"A perfect assassin for lustful types, wouldn't you agree? Jorogumo-V3, you may cover yourself once more."
Soon enough she was dressed and indistinguishable from a normal human once more, not even his microscopic view could make out the seams on her flesh. Adam narrowed her eyes, she was blushing and refused to meet his gaze. That would be dangerous for meatbags in the future then.
"What happened to the earlier models?"
"V1 was scrapped, V2 was stolen. Why?"
"I think I saw V2 in NC."
"Good, retrieve it for me when you get the chance." Adam nodded. He took a sip of tea. V3 refilled it for him, still doing her best to not look at him. He leaned back.
"You said something about training, old man?"
"Impudent brat. You have already begun this process, guided by instinct after your forging was complete. A Samurai must be a poet as well as a warrior. You have begun to produce music, even influenced as it is by your Oni-nature. You are to continue with this."
Adam fucking Smasher growled even as he knew he couldn't refuse. Saburo looked unrepentant. "Yes, you are embarrassed of it now. Still you must be cultured to be a proper Samurai. That reminds me, your sword, why did you cease to use it?"
"Not good enough against metal."
"Can you not compensate with Panzerfaust?" The old man pronounced the foreign word perfectly.
"Can, would break any blade after six hits or less."
The old man frowned and hummed at this. He tapped a holographic button that appeared in the air next to him.
"Sakura, send a message to Masamune Shirow. He is to develop an unbreakable Wakizashi, Katana, and Odachi. His budget for this research is five-hundred million." The old man dedicated an amount of wealth that would cripple many businesses solely to a project so that Adam Smasher would have a sword. Saburo looked at him with a glint in his eye and a small smile on his face.
"I will not let little things like current technology keep my Samurai from his sword."
Adam grunted and sipped his tea. He admitted that he was rather excited to see if that was possible. He wanted to use a sword again. The two old men went back to enjoying their tea in comfortable silence, before Saburo spoke up.
"I will be transferring your Long-Term Contract to Yorinobu, soon."
Adam grunted. "The boy hates you." Going unsaid was the implication that he might order Adam to kill Saburo.
"All boys are quarrelsome, I was with my father. He'll come to see wisdom soon enough just as I did."
"If he does not?"
Saburo gave a long sigh, looking like every one of his hundred and fifty years at that moment.
"I was given a prophecy the day I inherited my father's company. That I would never have a successor. If he kills me, then my engram will activate and know what has happened. It will know that my fate cannot be overturned, and that I must lead this company for eternity."
His shoulders slumped, and he looked at his tea with a miserable expression. "I will know that I was always destined to fail as a father. My engram will know that it must kill my own boy to prevent him from destroying everything I have worked for."
"I desperately wish that he does not."
Adam was quiet for a long moment, before he lightened the mood with a crude joke.
"There will also go your hopes of retirement."
Saburo chuckled and took another sip of the very nice tea.
"Yes, those will be gone too."
They sat in silence for a while, drinking tea and contemplating. Adam found himself slightly hoping that Yorinobu didn't decide to kill his father. Eventually, once the tea had run dry, Saburo spoke up again.
"The boy said his mother was cremated in Night City."
"I'm sorry about the brat, he needs to learn to shut up sometimes."
"Worry not, it'll come to him with age. Besides, it is fortunate he told me."
Adam grunted inquisitively.
"Fresh corpses are invaluable research material, they are bought from crematoriums and cryonically preserved by Arasaka. It is possible that the researchers have not gotten to his mother's body by now."
Saburo looked Adam dead in the eye, voice low and serious.
"We have thinned the glass between life and death to a very narrow plane. If her body is in good enough condition, it should be possible to revive her. A single corpse for the undying loyalty of a second Oni-Samurai is a good trade, wouldn't you say?"