The Briar Rose

The gunshots were starting to die off. Yuri looked at his big sister's face via the faint light of the burning wrecks outside. As the grilles of the window casted her face in a half-shadow, she spoke.

"It's alright Yuri. Even without Mama and Papa, your Oneechan is here.

And she was.

"Happy Birthday Yuri! I got you the book you wanted!"

"Nee-Chan, you're BLEEDING!"

"Oh that isn't my blood!"

"Yuri, Onee-Chan found a job with Biotechnical! So Yuri doesn't need to worry about money any more all right?"

"Nee-Chan... Is it safe? What are you doing there?"

"Oh, Nee-Chan just needs to let them inject stuff into me every week or so. It's pretty easy!"

"Is that safe?"

"Don't worry, don't you know your Nee-Chan has never fallen sick before?"

"Yuri... Onee-Chan got fired.. They said something about throwing off the data? And not working like it should? But..But don't worry! I'll find a new job soon!"

" Nee-Chan... You make sure to stay safe right?"

*BOOM

"Of course! See how strong your Onee-Chan is?"

"Nee-Chan... Can we pay to repair that hole you just put in our wall?"

"Yuri, is there anything you want for your birthday? Onee-Chan been making quite a lot of money running jobs for Rogue San."

"Nee-Chan, you earn so much being a bartender?"

"Ye- Yeah!"

Eventually though, Yuri grew up and found himself in the same situation most of those in Night City found themselves in. A lack of opportunities beyond joining one of the gangs and raising up the ranks.

That however wasn't something he could tell his beloved sister. How could he tell her that he was going to be a Gang Member after all the effort she put into raise him up? Thankfully the Gang had a legitimate front that he could tell her he was working for!

"Nee-Chan, i found a job! I'll be working at Whirlpool Deliveries! Sure, i'm only starting out as a driver, but i'm sure i'll rise up the ranks!"

"Being a delivery driver? That seems very dangerous Yuri! What if your truck gets robbed!"

"Don't worry Nee-Chan! My Boss provided me with a Unity Pistol for Self-Defense!"

"That's not that useful! Wait, one moment. Onee-Chan needs to make run to the Afterlife, i just remember i got something recently that will be perfect for you!"

* 2 Hours Later

"Here it is Yuri! This is a Carnage Shotgun that Rogue San got for me incase the Customers get grabby when i go provide bartending services to their house parties! It's called the Briar Rose! Rogue San had it customized so that it fires flechettes that will cause people to bleed! You just need to flee when they start panicking about all the blood!"

"Erm, thanks for that Nee-Chan, but what about you?"

"Oh don't worry! Onee-Chan's fists and kicks are more then enough. See?"

*BOOM

"Nee-Chan... That's our dining table..."

On his first day of the Job, Yuri found himself assigned to make a "Package Delivery" to a customer who had paid for Maelstrom's aid in acquiring some chrome that had fell off the back of a Miltech Truck.

The journey had been smooth thus far, but Yuri now found himself in Scavenger Territory and he kept catching glimpses of the same people shadowing his bike. His worst fears were realized when he found himself stopped by a trio of Scavengers just before the exit leading to the highway.

"What's this? New Maelstrom member on first gig? Choom, you no know need pay eddies to come in?"

Yuri realized with a frown that the Scavs seemed to be experienced with doing this based on how they walked towards him. As if they knew that most new Maelstrom members only had a pistol to use against their numerical superiority. Slowly snaking his hand towards the Briar Rose stowed in the side-saddle, Yuri marshaled his thoughts and begun his rebuttal, attempting to draw their attention away from what he was doing.

"That's ridiculous! You don't even own any of the buildings here!"

"Why you hurt our feeling Choom? I going to charge you token fee, but now i think i want you all stuff. For my heart hurt."

"Sure, have some bullets to START!"

Putting words to action, Yuri yanked out Briar Rose and fired it with a quick squeeze of the trigger at their general direction, however the sheer recoil of Briar Rose ensured that his daydream of quickly pumping all the rounds in it at the Scavs remained one. Hastily doing his best to bring the muzzle of Briar Rose back on target while simultaneously hoping that the shock of a Carnage firing at them would force them to seek cover and thus prevent him from getting shot as he struggled with his gun.

To his surprise however, Yuri found that the effects of his shot were greater then what he had expected to happen. The Flechette burst had caught the trio by surprise, with the one in the middle catching the majority of the flechettes and thus ending up split in twain while the other two were only caught by the edges of the Flechette burst.

Even then, the two survivors were missing their left and right arms respectively and the amount of blood spurting out of their stumps indicated that they would be joining their friend soon in a manner of seconds.

Shaking his aching wrist, Yuri stowed Briar Rose back into it's side-holster on his bike and rode off without a backwards glance, leaving just three corpses resting in pools of blood to mark his presence.

"Oh Yuri, you made it! Was just about to send the rest of the boys out to hunt you down!"

"Hunt me down?"

"Yeah. Thought you might have made away with the chrome. It happened before. Usually means we'll deliver the chrome a bit later then expected and charged the client less for it becoming Slightly Used instead of Brand New."

"Oh. Er, i got jumped by the Scavs? Only made it out because i used the Carnage my sister gave me."

"Well will you look at that. Pretty surprising though that a scrawny bean like you can fire a Carnage without being yanked around by the recoil. You probably need to get some chrome or a Countermass mod on it if you hope to use it regularly. I'll keep an eye out for decent chrome arms you can use. Call it a gift for doing your job well."

Yuri found himself quickly rising up the ranks thanks to Briar Rose, making it to Enforcer and then Lieutenant status in record speed. In keeping with Maelstrom traditions, said rise came with the corresponding amounts of Chrome, first his arms, then his legs before moving on to the rest of his body.

Yet Yuri knew he could not have risen so quickly and so smoothly without the aid of Briar Rose and it's lethal effects, as such he made special effort to seek out ways to enhance it's lethal nature.

"Yuri! Back from the Gunsmith?"

"Yeah! He managed to get a limited Miltech mod that increases the Kinetic Energy of the bullets by 6 Times. Would allow me to put almost anyone on their ass if they survive being cut into shreds."

"Geez, you're turning that gun your Sister gave you into a monstrosity"

"Not really, it actually starting to resemble what my sister can do with her bare-hands. I have memories of her punching holes into the wall and cutting food into fine shreds."

"Dude. Your sister is starting to scare me..."

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK! My Sister is the sweetest thing ever who worked crazy hours to raise me! I won't let you say anything bad about her!"

"Okok, chill dude. i'll take it back."

Of course, that was things start exploding starting with the Tyger Claws making a move on one of the warehouses Maelstrom had acquired in North Kabuki. The gang couldn't let that stand and begun a retaliatory raid aiming at Tyger Claw businesses before culminating into a attack on one of their hidden casinos as a warning to stay out of Maelstrom business if they didn't want a repeat.

However, that seemed to be the spark that lit the simmering tensions between both gangs as Yuri soon found himself buried in fending off the frenzied raids the Claws were launching on Maelstrom properties. He fired Briar Rose more times in just the first month of the war then he did since he joined Maelstrom, the gradually escalating gang war causing him to put a halt to his already infrequent visits to his Sister.

As such, it came as a utter shock when he received a letter from his sister containing a gift, and a family photo of her with a tall man and a pink haired brat.

Dear Yuri,

I know you've been very busy with work this past few months as a result of your promotion to Director of Whirlpool Deliveries, but i feel that i need to inform you that i'm now married to Loid Forger, a very nice widower who has a young daughter of his own.

I tried calling you before accepting his proposal but wasn't able to get through, so i decided to just go ahead with it! I'm now sending you the news via a letter directed to your Office Delivery Box, i hope this manages to reach you.

I just want to let you know that you don't need to worry about me anymore, i'm a mom now and about to build my own family life. I know that as a Director nowadays, you probably won't be using Briar Rose much, but here is a shotgun shell bandolier that i made with Miss Anna as a Mother Daughter present to her new Uncle!

I'm now living at the H9 Megabuilding in Corpo Center, so feel free to drop by anytime! Just make sure to give me a call so i can buzz you in.

Your Loving Sister,

Yor Briar Forger.

"Hey Yuri, you doing alright man?"

"Ye- Yeah... Just my sister got married."

"Whoa, congrats man. Guess you're going to be an uncle soon huh?"

"I'm already an uncle. SOME SCHMOOZY SCHELUP WIDOWER SEDUCED HER! I NEED TO GO FIX THIS!"

"Whoooa chill there dude. Brick said we all gotta be leading the charge remember? Afraid i can't spare you Yuri."

"You don't understand, this is my sister! She raised me after our parents were killed, i need to at least make sure he isn't a scumbag!"

"Sigh...All right Yuri, i'll tell you what, i'll put you in charge of the terror raid that is going to hit Japantown. Should be a easy job since we'll probably outgun whoever they have guarding the place. Finish the job fast and i guess you can swing by your sister's new place before returning to HQ."

"Thanks Royce! I own you one."

It wasn't unusual to have gunfire going through the city but for it to be close enough that I actually woke up? I was glad I wasn't injured, so when I startled awake in the middle of the night, I was able to move instantly. Grabbing my Unity from my belt hanging on the desk chair in my room. I snagged an extra magazine as I hurried to the window to peak out from the armored shutters.

There was a war going on outside my apartment.

I could recognize Tyger Claw Kusanagi's and a Maelstrom truck as the two forces went at each other.

At first I wasn't sure what to do. Did I even want to get involved in this? I didn't see Jun, but he could be down there fighting.

Then one of the Strom Borgs fired a damn rocket out of his arm, and it slammed into my apartment building. The building shook and I had a moment looking around wondering if my apartment was about to collapse.

Yuri smiled with satisfaction as the rocket hit exactly where he was aiming for. He was pretty sure the Claw peaking out of the window of the apartment was now dead before they could bring whatever guns they had there to bear on him and his crew.

The rest of the crew were doing pretty well as well, the Claws were still trying to recover from the explosive entrance the Crew had made and were thus sitting ducks for the heavy loadout being brought to bear.

Now to wipe this group out and call it done. Then to Nee-Chan place I g-

The impact to his back caught him off-guard and stop him mid-thought. The sudden impact knocking him forward causing him to involuntary drop Briar Rose as he made a valiant attempt to halt his fall with his hands.

My Gun!

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of what had hit him. Something that despite the sudden appearance was clearly a young girl clad in onsie pajamas.

Is that a onsie of a creature from that Arasaka sho- NO!

Once again, Yuri's train of thought was cut off as he saw the girl catch Briar Rose in a smooth motion that told him everything done thus far was planned to bring the gun Neesan's Present into her waiting arms.

Ignoring her weight on his back, Yuri forced himself to his knees so he could force the girl off him and GET BRIAR ROSE BACK when he felt the cold muzzle of Briar Rose touch the back of his head.

Ah. Neesan. I don't think i'll be able to see your new home and meet your new family after all... Live well Yor Neesa-

*BOOM