Cyberpunk: Arasaka Secret Son

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10:33Am June 13, New Tokio, Japan

"This way Hanako-Sama" said Sandayu Oda, head of my bodyguard team, and also Musashi's second disciple. As he would open the door of the armored car with company markings for me. As we were leaving a laboratory that I own.

Today I came to review their progress in their research that they have done with my sponsorship.

"Thank you for your work Oda-san" I said with a polite tone, for Oda's job well done as my chief bodyguard.

"No, I do not deserve such words of gratitude, I am only doing my duty Hanako-Sama" listening to his serious, polite and somewhat boring answer I did not insist, but it made me think that maybe it would not have been such a good idea to let Musashi-San, raise Sora, I do not want my son to grow up to become, someone like Oda who follows orders, as if he were a robot, with no character or with such a serious personality, always with a frown as if that face you could never imagine making a smile of happiness.

I just hope that Aoi-Obasan, could soften Musashi-San's stiff character a little bit. I still remember Minamoto's serious but full of emotions character very different from Oda. I remember when he was in charge of protecting me and the confident smile he gave me, the last time I saw him, when he blocked the vehicle from the outside to safeguard my life while he faced the attackers alone. Because of Minamoto's actions and character, I chose Musashi-san and Aoi-Obasan to take care and raise my Sora.

That little thought about Sora sent my mind into a tailspin into the void of my mind where there was only one thing that mattered to me, almost like an obsession.

How is Sora? is he happy? does he have any friends? does he like any girl? if he has gone out with his father, he probably have more than one.... Will he look like John or does he look more like me? will he be eating well? Has he also agreed to follow Musashi-san's teachings? How much has he grown? Thinking about all those things, it made me remember the conversations I had with a certain cybertube singer, that made me smile and imagine how my Sora was, almost answering the doubts I had.

He in the messages, seemed like a happy, foul-mouthed and somewhat cheeky boy, who made me laugh many times at his silly jokes or his failed attempts at one. How he left me speechless when he implied that he knew who his father was, in our first text conversation.

When I couldn't hold back anymore. When listening to `Dream on' the song he uploaded, when he was only 12 years old, making me cry with joy and worry when listening to it.

The first time, as the second time I listened to it I noticed that his voice was obviously altered to sound older, the third, fourth and fifth time, I fixed my attention on capturing the emotions with which he sang that song, full of sadness and hate that disturbed me for thinking that my son would have lived is his short 12 years to sing with those emotions in his voice, that's not how it should be, how I planned to grow up, I did everything I did just so my son would not grow up with those emotions inside him. But then in the same song all those negative emotions changed as if they had never been sung, to one of happiness almost making the listener be infected with that feeling of almost Love towards life, that made me cry, knowing that my son had such a light inside him.

Thinking of Sora, as I did most of the time, a smile formed on my face, which Oda noticed, causing him to ask a question that surprised me that this man asked, not because of the question itself, but because of his willingness to ask it, since practically never, Oda started a conversation with me on his own initiative.

"Forgive me if it seems inappropriate, but does it seem that the visit to the laboratory that we have made has pleased you, Hanako-Sama?"

Making me blink several times in surprise at the sudden question asked by Oda-san, who himself came to the conclusion when he saw my smile at the thought of Sora, it is because he thinks I am satisfied with the work they have done. When they showed me his progress on various projects I have invested in.

"Oh forgive me if I've upset you, if you don't want to answer don't worry, first of all, I've been out of place by asking-"

"Oda-san relax, I was just looking at you surprised, because normally you are not the talkative type of person who initiates conversations, it doesn't bother me at all that you ask me, on the contrary I'm glad you ask it and show your opinion in private, like you have done now."

I said as I interrupted the nervous Oda, who I imagined him punishing himself by cutting a finger on his head, at the wrong he thought he had done by asking me a simple question

"As for the visit. Yes, I have been pleased more or less, with the progress they have been making with my money I have provided for them to investigate, as for my smile that is a secret."

"Tell me Oda what did you think of the advances they showed me today at the meeting?"

"I was impressed with the, Investigations, being conducted that lab, Hanako-sama especially the clo-"

When I was listening to Oda's answer out of pure altruism, not that I really cared about his opinion, when he cut his own sentence when he saw the expression I made when I got a notice from my network search system, that I had prepared just in case, with certain keywords, that, if they were typed or said next to a certain city, I would get an automatic notice to my own IDn.

"Oda stop the vehicle, get out of the car, secure the area and wait for me to warn you, did you understand?" I said with a serious tone and cold eyes, which made Oda, just affirm with a scared face and get out of the car

"Connect with international signal, with Channel 54" I said out loud talking to the computer on board the car, less than a second after I said it, a holographic screen appeared in front of my seat, with the channel54 of the American corporation Network 54.

That was broadcasting what looked like a chase of police shooting, at a fire truck? Which was firing back at the police with its water cannon controlled by a young black-haired teenager wearing a mask with lights. The young man could clearly be seen having fun while shooting water at the NCPD cars while bobbing his head to the beat of the song. The song that was playing over the public PA system of the fire truck. Which I had instantly recognized as it was Jackie's song The Pretender.

When I saw this and recognized who the young man in the truck was, I was at a loss to process what I was seeing and could only hear the host and the guest fire chief commenting on the chase

[So Chief Bouden what can you tell us about this fire truck that these young teenagers are using to entertain all of us present with this magnificent street performance along with the collaboration of the proud forces of the NCPD.]

[Well if you look at the truck's ID number at the top, you can see that it is Watson's Firehouse 66 truck 81, which, if my memory serves me correctly, was reported lost about 9 years ago due to minor causes. But the city council refused us the permission to tow it back to the Firehouse].

[So you're saying it's not a stolen Truck, but a 9 year old truck that has been restored by those two teenagers riding it?]

[If I had to guess, I think it is as you say, maybe these teenagers, found the truck abandoned, repaired the causes of the initial breakdown, the neglect of those 9 years of no use and when they got it, rode it to celebrate their success, brought to the attention of the NCPD that they didn't even bother to run the truck's license plate through the database, which shows the truck's status as abandoned or out of service, they came to the quick conclusion that it was stolen without checking anything else as the NCPD normally does, only to find themselves faced with the refusal of these skilled young fellow who managed to repair the abandoned truck with their efforts]

Said the fire chief with a clear grudge against the NCPD

Interrupting what the Fire Chief was saying you could see the young man who was in the position of controlling the water cannon on the fire truck cut off the water for a few seconds before turning it back on, and your could see him grow an almost comical laugh from the luminous maw of the scarf with which he could not be identified. If you're not his mother.

When he fired water again the pressure had increased causing the windshields of cars to not be able to withstand all the pressure, causing them to give way, flooding the police car and its occupants, who in trying to avoid the continuous stream of water swerved crashing into another of the nearby NCPD cars, taking the two cars out of the chase after the crash.

Making the boy laugh, in turn made the animation of his mask change laughing with him, when he turned his gaze to the AV that was recording him... winked cheekily, and his mask followed him throwing an animated kiss directly to the camera that was recording him leaving speechless for a few seconds the host and the Chief of the firefighters, but not me, that wink made me reactivate my brain that was blocked unable to process what was happening, making me unconsciously shout out.

"SOORAAA!!!! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!!!"

Oda's Point of View

When I got out of the car along with the rest of the team as ordered by Hanako-Sama, we got into defensive positions around the car securing it, when shortly after a short while we could hear.....

"SMMMMMMMRAMMMMMMMMM!!!"(Scream muffled by the car).

What sounded like an angry scream from Hanako-sama herself, reminding me of the serious face and cold eyes that had ordered me out of the car, giving me goosebumps in process, making me automatically pity the poor soul who has managed to make Hanako-sama lose her temper for the first time since I've known her.