Lux City’s Little China.

A long dragon is dancing and fireworks are blooming like flowers. Kato stood with hands inside his jacket’s pocket. Neck wrapped in a scarf and eyes focused on the scenery. Next to him was a woman with black hair and a fur-lined jacket. Arms crossed and eyes on the fireworks as well. A cigarette sticking out of her mouth.

“Usually, events like these should be with folks you like.”

“The cute girls have gone extinct, Rob.”

Among the people that Kato was always with lately. It’s always Julie who's been chatting with him. It also helps that she’s the one serving him drinks and when she’s not doing whatever she does. Kato spends his time talking to this woman with a crude mouth.

“Smoking’s bad for your health.”

“And I sell alcohol too, if you forgot.”

Kato remains standing. Little China’s is quite in a ruckus as everyone celebrates their new year. It’s Lux City so there was no such thing as holidays that allowed them to participate in such an event. Kato’s a freelancer while Julie’s a bartender in a bar that has select patrons and runs purely because of her Boss interest in having a bar. She got off work and joined Kato because she was free and was enjoying the break.

“That reminds me. Dude, you really need to find other friends.”

“Lot of nerve you have for the one that asked me to come here.”

“Cus’ you’re clearly loaded and have the cash.”

“Translation is that you want some idiot to spend some cash for you. Tsk, do you know how much it costs for a rental girlfriend?”

“I don’t see you renting one? Please, you like hanging out with this beauty.”

“Sorry, I’m a loyal man.”

“I can see that. A shame. You ain’t half bad. Just cover your face with a paper bag and then show muscles and cases of cash to the wild gals in the red streets and you’d be drowning.”

“Sounds like SOMETHING that you want, Miss.”

She chews the cigarette with her lips.

“I dunno but you seem like a bit lifted.”

“What does that mean?”

“I mean you look less worried.”

“Got a few things that lifts my stress off.”

“Good for you, cunt.”

“The good company is also keeping me entertained.”

“Ew.”

“You’re dishonest about your feelings.”

She looks away and then clicks her tongue loudly.

“You sure like repeating the same shit.”

“Sure, whatever you say, tsun.”

“Shaddup.”

Kato clears his throat and moves with the long dance. He bought a pork bun and chewed on it while blankly staring at Julie who was watching him eat the pork bun with such blatant dislike.

“And I was the cunt?”

“The question is why you are so damn broke. John told me that you bought some new gizmo again and a bottle of old drink?”

“It’s an old perignon.”

“A sparkling champagne?”

“Yeah.”

“How much?”

She muttered silently and raised five fingers.

“Five figures?”

“Y-yeah.”

“But why.”

“Why not? It was so good though. Worth the cash.”

“I mean it’s your money, but damn you really are into drinks.”

“A bartender likes drinking. Holy shit, Rob. You sure are wise.”

Kato replied by biting a chunk of the meat bun. She glares at the buns and then gestured with her hand.

“The fuck is that supposed to mean.”

“Gimme one.”

Kato threw her one and she caught it deftly.

The two stopped moving and watched the dragon dance in the middle of this intersection. Kato noticed that the dancers were augmented. Each of them were battle-scarred and had cyberlimbs.

“This dragon dance Gig must be quite high-paying.”

“You’d be surprised how much they pay them. Most of them are also bodyguards since they want it to be peaceful while they do their dances. Last time anyone tried to pull anything, they heard every clan gunning for them. Had their skin surgically flayed and were kept alive artificially until  they begged for mercy.”

“You sure know a lot.”

“I am a bartender. People who are drunk talk about a lot of things. And I get to know a lot of things as well.”

“I see. Got any friends with the clan-types?”

“Nope. I try to avoid them. Most of their women are rather sadistic bitches. Like, you cannot even imagine the shit they do. I like beautiful bitches with prime bodies, but I ain’t into BDSM.”

“It’s always sexual with you. You really need to get some.”

“The fuck do you think I’m trying to do?”

“Well, your looks are passable, mate. Thing is that you clearly aim for the same sex. Kinda odd that you ain’t hitting it off.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, but it’s pretty hard to find likely partners.”

“Bullshit. There’s an app for that.”

“And most of them are druggies with diseases. You do realize that half of them are bots and deviants who are more likely to drug you, steal your organs, and leave you in a bathtub.”

“Lux City’s gone to shitters.”

“Well, it’s a safe city as long as you don’t come out at night and look like an easy target. It’s pretty good.”

“Which makes me think that despite being in a city of degenerates. You are having a hard time.”

She stops walking and stares at the horizon.

“I wonder if I should just go on a blind date and get it over with.”

“I’m surprised you haven’t thought about it.”

“Rob, I want to get laid, not commit.”

“Wow…”

“If you don’t have oneitis you’d be banging chicks left and right.”

Kato bit roughly on his pork bun. “I am not a degenerate like you, though? And please don’t look at me like I have interest in your flat self. I do admit that you have some ass, but the rest is kinda sorry.”

If she had a gun she would have struck the barrel of the gun on Kato’s forehead. Still, she only snorted and watched the dragon dance. The two carried on and went to the center of the event

 

The restaurant that they were in had an open deck. The deck closes up when there’s a salty rain and when the water thaws. Kato remained on the table while watching the main event. Little China has this large circle where most of the events are held.

Kato had been able to take this time to rest. For once he didn’t have to worry about chasing after some demon or assaulting a group armed to the teeth with automatic rifles and guns that could cleave him into two.

“Man, are you being underpaid?”

“Free shit is good. You can’t deny that singular truth.”

“So what’s stopping you from getting a dick.”

She looks up and cringes.

“Can you not?”

“I am honestly curious.”

“Then stop being curious. It’s rude to say it like that,” she stops and then places her gaze on him. “You are rather chill about it. You have plans to become a woman?”

“Not really.”

“Oh, a shame. But having a feminine look doesn’t suit you. It just doesn’t fit.”

Kato rests his elbows on the table and browses the dashboard of his smart glasses. He was getting updates and news everywhere. It was a logger that filtered out certain words and sent the relevant ones to the program he had installed.

“Going about work?”

“Yup.”

“Merch stuff?”

“Kinda.”

“Am curious about it. So do you murder people or something?”

“What kind of animal do you think I am?”

“I don’t judge.”

“Please, you do.”

“Okay. You’re kinda right about that. As long as you don’t tell me about how you scalped someone’s head or go into gory details about a kill.”

“I’m not that much of a psychopath to indulge you in that kind of shit. And do you really want to ruin the meal?”

She stops chewing on her food.

“Fuck, is this a date?”

“Not really.”

She turns her phone around. “Look, they have demos regarding mechs.”

On her phone were bipedal walkers that were being prepped for work. Kato was interested and went to the demo site. Julie, who ate her food, followed after, entering the demo site while wiping her mouth with a napkin. She was about to pull a cigarette when a worker glares at her and pointed at a sign.

“Chain smoking is going to give you a bad breath.”

“Meh, it’s fine.”

“You folk here for the demo?”

“So can we ride a mech?”

“Not really. But we can explain how they are maintained. We will be starting soon.”

The interest in her face died a little. Kato taps her shoulder twice before approaching the mechanic that was prepping the machine in the scanner station.

“Are you here for the show?”

“Odd that you have a demo like this in Chinese New Year.”

“It’s not that odd. There are a lot of investors walking around. Lots of people means that there is lots of business to do.”

“I didn’t even know there was a shop in this place.”

“Most don’t. We are open during holidays and offer internship in maintenance and repair.”

Kato looks at the screen. “So you are scanning the thing?”

“Yup,” the mechanic said, “currently matching the amplitude and phase.”

The mechanic matches the signals with the touch screen. The machine was placed inside this round space where this ring went up and down to scan the internals of the machine.

“Nice scanner.”

“No time to manually troubleshoot them. Most of the time the maintenance is about replacing the parts instead of fixing them.”

The mechanic glances at Julie who was taking a picture of the mech.

“Is she your girl?”

“Nope. Just a friend.”

“Can you tell her to step away from the scanner ring? She might get electrocuted.”

“You heard him.”

Julie snorts and takes a step back. “I was hoping to ride a mecha, not watch someone clean one.”

The mecha was transferred to the assembly. The right arm was removed and was followed by the control case where the pilot was. The bolt was removed and then the plating that was protecting the back.

The parts were moved to this bay that was keeping the parts magnetically tethered. The removal of the parts were done meticulously. Each part had to be removed in order to closely examine the parts integrity. Even Julie, who was rather passive about the show, grew curious at the precise way that the parts were cut.

A mecha was full of cables, chassis, and platings. Limb parts and hydraulics that keeps the machine standing. The way it was done looked easy, but Kato was sure that there was other information that they had to know in order to get the machine working. In his case, he was not familiar with these types of machinery, but had a little knowledge. The world itself was tiresome. The mechanic himself was using this power exoskeleton to manipulate the limbs.

After the inspection the mechanic finished the repairs. He gave them a look before sighing.

“Okay, you can move the limbs and take a walk, but please try not to stress the newly repaired and installed parts.”

Julie grinned and clambered into the cockpit. Wearing the helmet, she was given the basic tasks of walking the mech back and forth. It was a simple yet fascinating job. After the task, Julie, who was initially bored, had a better look.

“Maybe I should stop being a bartender and just become a pilot.”

“You probably wouldn’t become one.”

Julie snorts and browses her phone. After bidding the mechanic goodbye, and getting a card from them. Kato accompanied Julie around the event. Past midnight, Julie went home while Kato remained in a restaurant, drinking a cold beverage, and stirring the spicy noodles that he had ordered with his chopsticks. Kato’s eyes dulled. For some reason, he found himself lost, wondering if this was a life that he wanted. Because in the end, Kato could remember why he died in the first place.

One last job.

It is always a one last job that never ends.

“I’m tired,” Kato said to no one.

Another job needed his assistance.