Haru stuck her phone in her pocket and left the corner tower of the Mormon fort, thinking about what to do while waiting for further info from Akira.

He mentioned the priority was to get all the Thieves in one spot, and she started wondering how good Freeside would be for that purpose. She decided to go and ask the Ds for their opinions – so far they had proven trustworthy enough. She had found them in one of the marquee tents, with 2D injecting something into his arm while Dee and Eddie watched on.

"Uh, am I interrupting something?" Haru asked, entering the tent.

"Nope, Bandana's just detoxing himself."

"It is not a full detoxification, Eddie," 2D corrected him, then showed an empty syringe to Haru. "This is Fixer – a preparation that temporarily suppresses physical effects of addiction. After Dixon had forced me to inhale a dose of his Jet, I would rather play it safe." He put a syringe back into a small metal box and pocketed it for reusing later. "I will need some water as well to wash my mouth. That thing tasted and smelled atrocious, even by the standards of that accursed drug."

"Hm." Haru wanted her morbid curiosity satisfied. "I did not expect you to have points of reference for the taste of drugs."

"I spend a lot of time around addicts," 2D explained. "Knowledge like that isn't hard to acquire from empty inhalers and second-hand testimonials." He also knew of the crucial ingredient used in Jet production, but decided to keep Haru blissfully ignorant.

"You didn't come here for exposition on drugs though, did you?" Eddie asked.

"Yeah, here's the thing…" Haru hesitated for a moment. "Don't ask how, but I managed to contact my friends."

"Are those friends with us in the tent right now?" Dee asked, without malice.

Haru just shot him a glare. "Anyway, we are now thinking about gathering in one spot. How much of a problem would it be if they'd all come and stayed in Freeside, for a few days at least?"

"None!" Dee proclaimed. "The more the merrier!"

2D tried to not think about the additional strain on resources this would bring. "Well, our aid camp is here to offer assistance to all that require it," he said. "And Freeside is… rough, but it is far from the most dangerous places in the Mojave."

"I am mostly concerned about any backlash they could face as outsiders," Haru said, glancing at Eddie. "None of us are from the NCR, but I don't think the locals will care."

"Look, if they're pulling their weight the way you do, they'll be fine," Eddie remarked.

"Jacob and Bill pulled their weight and that did not help them," 2D countered.

Eddie tried to push that thought out of his head. "Look, if we're thinking quick-and-easy solutions," he thumbed at himself, "the Kings run Freeside, and The King runs the Kings. Get on his good side and that should keep you safe in this town."

"And how would I do that?"

"Just talk to him, ask if he needs a favor of some kind," Eddie explained. "He's in our HQ, you can just walk up to him without problems."

"Can I bring the axe with me?"

2D pinched his nose in frustration. "Do you have to?"

"Let her carry it, Bandana," Eddie remarked. "She's a free woman. The King won't start anything without provocation and neither will she." He also knew The King had a guard dog and there were always a bunch of Kings loitering around their leader, so if she started anything, she would face the final curtain.

Haru thought about it for a moment. Even if that didn't go anywhere, it would let her kill a few hours while waiting for Akira to call her back. "Right." She rested her axe on her shoulder. "Would you mind introducing me to your leader, Eddie?"

After getting tired of playing the pianola and singing alongside it, Lavenza and Morgana decided to play blackjack to pass the time.

Lavenza pulled the card from the top of her deck and put it face-up on the table. It was a 21 of hearts.

Morgana was holding a bunch of cards in his paws. "[Oh, Lady Lavenza…]" He picked up one card from his hand and put it on the table. It was grey, with a magnetic stripe and a symbol of a key on it. "[A Key Card. It locks your 21 in place and makes it stay on the table across games.]"

"[Very well then,]" Lavenza commented. "[I stand.]"

Morgana then put down another card, depicting a silhouette of a man gathering his power. "[And Break Limits doubles the value of any played card I choose.]" He smiled mischievously. "[I choose your 21.]"

…well, the game started as blackjack, at least.

The first room of King's School of Impersonation was probably a reception before things had gone to pot. A few Kings in their gang's leather jackets were sitting around a semicircular wooden counter, with their backs facing the entrance. A few more were loitering around the room, now glancing with mild distrust at the newcomer their mate had brought. Two doors were leading out of the room, and near one of them was leaning another King, slightly taller than the others, with a black-and-white striped shirt under a black jacket with a number 6240 on the breast, another reference to fly over Haru's head.

Eddie walked up towards that last guy, and Dee, 2D and Haru followed. "Hey, Pacer," he told the guy. "Let us through."

Pacer shot a glance towards Haru. "What, you wanna show The King your new squatter side piece?"

Haru didn't know the exact meaning of 'side piece' but guessed from the context it wasn't an affectionate description. She wasn't going to embed her axe in his skull just yet, but she was going to remember his face for later. "Wrong," she said. "I am new in town and wanted to pay respect to the closest thing this place has for a ruler."

"Hm." Pacer's expression softened. "Good. At least one squatter knows who runs the place. I like you already." He stuck a key in the door with his left hand and turned it. "Go right ahead."

The group entered a small, dim theater of sorts. A bunch of headlights were aimed at the stage on which a rank-and-file King was awkwardly dancing, his shoes squeaking against the floor. There were a few small round tables in the room. By one of them was sitting a man in his mid-thirties, with slicked-up black hair, wearing a tacky golden blazer. By his side was some kind of dog-robot hybrid, with all but one leg replaced with cybernetic ones, and a top of his skull replaced with a clear dome, with his brain visible inside. The dog saw the newcomers and barked at them.

"Heel, Rexie," said the guy in a golden blazer, turning towards the group. "Eddie and his pack, now with a guest member. What's your name, young lady?"

"Haru Okumura." She bowed deeply. "It's an honor to meet you, sir."

"Now, come on," he replied. "I know I'm The King, but there's no need for prostratin' in front of me." He let Haru straighten up before continuing: "With the axe by your side, you must be the girl that attacked Dixon earlier today."

"Word spreads fast here, I see," Haru remarked.

"I have my eyes and ears on the street," The King said. "I ain't bringing that up to dress you down, by the by. I know what Dixon did, and that he attacked 2D here, and that just won't stand. Though I think killing him for that woulda been excessive."

"Let's agree to disagree, sir."

The King mulled that response over for a moment. "Could we speak mano-a-mano?" He glanced at Eddie. "You can wait in the other room for a moment."

With some hesitation, the Ds left the room, followed by a King from the stage. The King gestured at her to take a seat by his table, and she did so, watching Rex with a bit of hesitation.

"If I can inquire: why such a weapon of choice?" he asked.

"And what does it matter?" Haru replied, slightly uncomfortable.

"Can I be direct?" The King paused for a moment, waiting for Haru to butt in. She didn't, so he went on: "Firearms are cheap. A hundred caps will get you a saturday night special and some ammo in the package. People that prefer melee weapons are either dirt-poor, or really enjoy getting up close and personal. And which one are you, miss?"

Haru paused for a moment, trying to figure out an answer that wouldn't paint her as either a fish out of water or a complete psychopath. "Well… My introduction to the area was a bunch of drugged-up assailants, and I didn't carry a weapon, so I had to make use of one of theirs. And yeah, I have earned some pocket money since then, but I would rather not spend it on a gun because I don't have any experience with those."

"And you have experience with axes?"

"I…" Haru wasn't sure how much she's allowed to disclose. "I was a part of a secret group of sorts, back where I'm from. We helped people, and there were a few fights in the meantime."

"Vigilantism, eh? Can't say I didn't have to throw hands myself every once in a while. A little less conversation, a little more action."

"Some people just don't learn otherwise," Haru nodded, looking at the cyberdog by the side of the table. "Uh… can I pet him? Like, scratch his neck or something?"

"If he lets you."

The King watched Haru carefully get off her chair, get close to Rex, and pet him. He was somewhat reassured. Yes, she was obviously hiding things from him, and her choice of weapons was still concerning, but she seemed to have some sort of moral code, and some restraints stopping her from attacking people at random. "You've been busy since coming to Freeside, and I assume you came to me looking for another job."

"That is true, Your Highness," Haru joked. "Though I'd prefer a specific favor instead of monetary payment."

"Oh?"

"My friends might end up here in Freeside," Haru explained, standing back up. "They will not start any trouble, that much I can promise, but I'm worried that they may face backlash from the locals. I was told that you are the man to approach in those matters. As in, nobody will harm them if you forbid it."

"That is true," The King nodded, thinking about what assignment to give her. "You know, I like that you came here and politely asked. Had more people did that instead of jumping their guns, there would be peace in the valley. Anyway, I think I have a small task for you, and I wanna see how you handle it."

"I am all ears, sir."

"Freeside ain't as safe as it used to be," The King continued. "A lot of the tourists on the way to the Strip end up hiring bodyguards to escort them from the gate to the Strip entrance. Some of my own men make money on the side like this. But there's this guy, Orris. He works as a bodyguard too, and he gets a lot of repeat customers. I've got a hunch he's not playing by the rules."

"You want me to smack him around?" Haru asked.

"No," The King said, firmly. "I want you to go out through the east gate, come in through the north one, and buy his services with the money I give you. Let him escort you the whole nine yards and watch for any suspicious behavior. Do that, as peacefully as possible, and I'll tell my men to ease up on whoever's with you."

Haru had doubts. "Apparently I've already made an impression on the locals. Won't Orris recognize me?"

"Doubt it," The King replied. "The grapevine is sparse on details – as far as people know, Dixon was chased out by a squatter with an axe. Ditch the axe, maybe get some plain clothes, and nobody will put two and two together."

"Hm…" Haru mulled it over. "Will I have to pay for the disguise?"

"Nope, that's all on my dime. Don't worry about money, honey."

"Then we have a deal." Haru outstretched her hand.

After taking a shower, Ryuji lay down on the bed in the Sink bedroom and stared at the ceiling, trying to push the image of a skull getting blasted to bits with weaponized soundwaves out of his head.

He didn't have much success with that.

"Hey, C," he raised his head and glanced towards the CIU, "do you have something to kill the time while waiting for the teleport doodad?"

"As sir is most likely aware, we are in a research facility," the CIU replied. "The scientists in its employ were dismissive of humanities and soft sciences, which means the best I can offer sir for light reading is a beginner's guide to the maintenance of laser weapons."

Ryuji let out a frustrated grunt. After a moment of consideration, he got up from the bed and walked up to the CIU. "Fine. Give it to me. Might as well get some education on what I'm shooting at whatever attacks me when I'm outside."

A paperback book emerged out of the CIU and landed with a small quiet thud on the floor. Ryuji picked it up and flipped through the pages. There were a lot of pictures. Maybe this wouldn't be that bad.

He sat by the desk and started reading.

After a brief stop at Mick and Ralph's, Haru found herself wearing a lovely pink sundress – old, but surprisingly clean and in good state. She also bought herself a pair of brass knuckles with her own money, just in case. They were easy to conceal in her new clothes.

After that, she did as ordered – left through the east gate of Freeside and walked past some walled-up caravan company outpost to the north gate. A few Kings were loitering there, and gracefully agreed to watch her axe while she's doing a job for their leader. And so, with a creak, she pushed open the gate and re-entered Freeside.

From that angle, right by the gate on the left there was a dirty man, standing by a dirty table, with chunks of nondescript meat on top of it and that's all Haru noticed before looking to the right, where a bunch of bodyguards for hire stood waiting for clients. Further down the road was the Followers' fort on the left and some destroyed buildings on the right, and in the distance there was the bus barricade splitting Freeside in two because the consoles couldn't handle it in one piece.

One of the bodyguards matched the description she was given – a man with messy black hair in heavy-looking metal armor with a large-caliber revolver on his hip. She approached him with the most innocent face she could muster, and went: "Uh, e-excuse me, sir, are you Orris?"

"Yep," he said, with a confident smile. "My reputation precedes me, I assume."

"Yes, yes," she hurriedly nodded, playing the insecure unworldly tourist. "I intend to hire a bodyguard to escort me through this lawless area."

"I can do that for half his price!" one of the competitors offered.

"I-I appreciate it, but Orris was recommended by name, and I am willing to pay extra for quality."

"You've made the right choice," Orris told her. "Two hundred caps, paid upfront."

Haru pulled out two satchels a hundred caps each and handed them over to Orris.

"Good," he said, pocketing them without checking. "Now, simple ground rules – you do what I tell you, and you stick with me. I don't do detours – if you wander around, I wander back here for my next customer. Got it?"

Haru smelled a rat. Then a giant rat ran between her and Orris, chased by a bunch of kids with some knives in their hands. "This area, I swear… Yes, I agree to those terms."

"Good. Follow me."

And off he trotted, and Haru followed, keeping up with him – she had spent too much time running around the human cognition to get outpaced by that guy. They went past the Old Mormon Fort, through the bus barricade, and past the side street to the Atomic Wrangler, as Orris briefly described the sights around them and Haru pretended she hadn't known that in the first place.

Down the road towards the Strip Gate, Orris suddenly stopped, and sharply turned left into a side street, with Haru still in town. "What's that about?" she asked.

"I didn't like the look of some of those folks down the road," he said, speeding up slightly. "We're gonna do a little detour."

They turned right, into a road parallel to the main one, and then Orris sped up to a run. "Follow me at a distance," he proclaimed, unholstering his gun. Haru stayed a few meters behind him, as he turned another right and-

"Aha!" Loud gunshot. "Thought you could ambush us, huh?"

Haru heard two more gunshots before she turned the corner herself and saw four people on the ground, with some red paint or whatever splattered about them. Oh, they weren't dead, or even dying, that was sure – Haru had seen enough dead bodies already to tell that at a glance. This was a show, a show Orris must've prearranged to paint himself as a hero, and it was all so cheap that Haru actually found herself offended that the guy thought she's stupid enough to fall for it.

"Shocking, I know," Orris commented, full of himself. "Had you rented out any of those other guys, you'd be neck-deep in lowlifes, miss."

Haru wasn't listening, still staring at the bodies. Four of them, and the jackass fired three shots, are you really that fucking chea-

Fingers snapped in front of her and she recoiled, putting up a clumsy guard.

"I know you're bothered by the dead bodies," Orris said, "but we've gotta keep going."

"Yes, yes, very bothered," Haru lowered her hands, switching back to the 'delicate tourist' persona. "L-lead the way."

The gate to the Strip wasn't that far away, and they reached it right afterwards. "Well, here we are," Orris smiled at her. "I trust you'll know who to hire in the future."

"Oh, of course," Haru replied. She was tempted to pull out the brass knuckles and express her displeasure with his trickery, but decided against it – The King wanted things done peacefully, and she needed his approval, so she would wait for Orris to get out of her sight and then run back to the School of Impersonation to tattle. "Have a nice day, sir."

"You too," he said, and turned around to walk back to the Freeside north gate. Haru turned towards the gate leading to the Strip and the scary robots that were patrolling it. One of them rolled up on its one wheel towards her and spoke to her. "Submit to a credit check, or present a valid passport or other document allowing entrance," it proclaimed, in a commanding metallic voice.

"Credit check?" Haru raised an eyebrow. "I don't really have a credit history. Too young for that, I'm afraid."

"'Credit check' in this context means the minimum balance of bottle caps, Legion denarii, or New California Republic dollars adding up to the amount required to enter the Strip," the robot explained.

"And, uh, what's the amount."

"Two thousand caps or equivalent in other currencies for a group of up to five people."

"That is… a lot." Haru turned around and saw Orris going through the bus barricade. "I don't have such money on me, I gotta go."

"Thank you for visiting New Vegas," the robot proclaimed before rolling back to his default patrol position. Haru marched back to The King.

Strictly speaking it's not said if Fixer's administered via syringe but that's how it's depicted in Hit's animation pack for B42 Inject, so that's what I'm rolling with.

The game Mona's playing is based on Dungeons and Degenerate Gamblers, which is a fun deckbuilding roguelike centered around a blackjack-y game, which seemed appropriate for a fanfic based on New Vegas. The depicted play is something I actually pulled off and found amusing enough that I decided to shoehorn it into my P5/FNV fanfiction.