The neon glow of Campus District 7 bled into the rainy pavement.
He adjusted the strap of his secondhand bag - the one with the frayed edges and the faded Akira decal.
"Check this shit!" Ryo projected the bounty feed from his ocular implant, the hologram glitching as raindrops passed through it.
"Demon Gunslinger and Protohive. New legends in town." The footage showed two two glitching figures.
Yuta cracked his knuckles, "That's the life, man. Get paid to ghost scumbags? Sign me the f*** up."
Kenji smirked, tapping his temple where a targeting scanner gleamed, "You couldn't ghost a f***ing vending machine, Yuta. Remember when you-"
Megumi's mouth opened automatically, but his voice dissolved into the hiss of a passing hoverbus.
Ryo didn't even glance his way, "Yo, Haru's throwing a party at the Docks! You know what that means, hot single mom ready to party!" The group peeled away as Megumi movement speed slowed down.
Rain dripped from Megumi's bangs onto his glasses.
The augmented lenses - cheap, non-implant - flickered with a notification he'd programmed himself:
>> SOCIAL INTERACTION COMPLETE
>> PARTICIPATION LEVEL: 0.2%
>> SUGGESTED ACTION: GO HOME
His reflection in a store window showed what they saw: A slight frame swimming in a hand-me-down university hoodie. Blue-and-blonde hair (dyed in the school bathroom) to look cool in front of his friends.
No visible mods. No presence. Just another ghost in Neon City's machine.
---
The apartment door stuck on its hinges again. From the outside he could smell burning rice and lavender air freshener.
"How's my favourite daughter in whole entire world!" Mom's voice sang from the kitchenette. "Dinner's almost... well, it's edible!"
Megumi's jaw clenched. Daughter.
He toed off his waterlogged sneakers and nearly tripped over the stack of overdue bill by the door.
Zenith emerged wiping her hands on a stained apron. At thirty-eight, she still moved like a ballet dancer, "You're quiet," she said, stirring the questionable miso.
"Those boys giving you trouble again?" She asked
Megumi watched a roach scuttle behind their fridge, "I'm thinking of getting implement." He said as he sat down by the dinner table.
The plastic spoon snapped in her hand, "Like hell you are." Her voice dropped.
She turned to face him, "We talked about this. Those... things change people." Her eyes flicked to the cracked family holo on the wall - the one where his dad's face had been digitally scrubbed out before carrying the pot towards the table.
Megumi pushed his glasses up, "Nothing serious. I mean... just bounty training. There's a-"
The pot slammed down hard enough to make their single fork rattle, "No. No guns. No hunting." Her breathing turned jagged.
"First your father, then you? I won't- I can't-" a tremor ran through her hands.
Megumi knew this dance. Knew the way her breath would hitch before the tears came. Knew how her left knee would give out if she stood too fast these days.
His fingers dug into his thighs, "Never mind. It was... a dumb idea."
Zenith's shoulders collapsed in relief. "My smart girl," she said before rushing over to him and hugging him tightly.
"Now eat before it gets cold." Said breaking the hug and started dishing out for him.
Megumi counted the water stains on the ceiling while Mom chattered about her shift at the synth-linen factory. His hand drifted to his pocket, where a sniper cartridge he bought that he simply cannot use.