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Chapter Text

Uruha walked into the bar knowing nobody in there would recognize him. It was not like he wanted to be recognized but sometimes some runner or two knew about him and his team. That is why he had searched for a bar away from his usual whereabouts, something that in Seattle tended to be difficult. But he was just looking for a distraction, a night to have a good time and nothing else, then he could come back to being miserable. 

The place was a hellhole, he almost regretted not using his charisma to go to a higher-class bar, surely nobody would know someone like him, but he was there and he did not want to waste more time going someplace else. 

He covered his ears while walking to the bar to ask for a drink and analyze the situation. It was pretty obvious he was metahuman, but he was sick of people staring at him due to his beautiful elf features, as his teammates used to say.

Uruha approached the bartender and asked for a gin and tonic, hoping the taste would be better than in his neighborhood, but it was not. He ignored the taste and drank all at once, searching around the place to find his prey as quickly as possible. He was just looking for sex, that was it, meaningless and hopefully dirty sex. So when his eyes stopped at the raven vision at the right corner of the bar, he knew he had found the lucky one. 

The guy with black hair was gorgeous, he was alone at the table looking through the glass of some drink Uruha did not recognize. The raven looked bored and leaned toward his right hand. Uruha twisted his mouth as soon as he saw the cyber deck attached to his arm, the raven beauty was a digital nerd, a decker. He felt his stomach twitching, he was trying to forget not to remember what he had lost. But the guy was too irresistible to back down, Uruha put his glass on the table in front of the raven who raised his head and smirked. He was human, and not a single trace of magic was found in his aura, at least as far as Uruha could read using his magic to detect danger within the man. 

“I’m off duty tonight,” said the raven. “But if you tell me what you need, I might see what can I do to help you.”

Of course, the man was a shadowrunner, Uruha was one himself, and the bar was a great place to find those kinds of services. 

“I’m not looking for a shadowrunner” replied taking a seat in front of him and smiling slightly. 

The other raised an eyebrow. “Then, may I suggest you get out of my table? I want to spend some time alone.” He kept a friendly tone and 
Uruha was able to catch some accent he could not identify where was from. 

“Funny, I was hoping the exact opposite,” he said using the charisma he refused to acknowledge in any other situation. 

Five minutes later, they were kissing hard in the bathroom. It was not a nice room, on the contrary, Uruha thought it needed an intense cleaning, but that did not matter at the moment, he had come to that bar looking for sex and he was on his way to obtaining it. He did not ask for the name of that raven decker, he did not want it, what he wanted were those lips that were devouring his with the same hunger he felt. 

The other did not ask either, he was busy undoing his pants before Uruha took his legs carrying him against the green door. They did not bother entering into a stall, they both wanted it with some urgency, they were kissing as soon as Uruha had closed the door. 

It was not a romantic encounter, it was more like a fight, both of them trying to gain control over each other, and Uruha was enjoying every single thing about it, it was more than he was expecting, he had found a skilled partner. The fight lasted until the very end when they both finished almost at the same time, Uruha inside of him feeling a strange sensation over his body that he had not felt anywhere else, like magic running through his veins. He was breathing hard and sweating harder. 

They dressed up in silence ignoring the bruises both had left on each other, the raven kissed him one last time and it was over. The decker waved goodbye with a mischievous smile and exited the bathroom, when Uruha came back to the bar, he was gone. 

***

By the second half of the 21st century, the world has become a very different place, derived from the Awakening, humans and meta humans such as dwarfs, elves, trolls, and orks coexist together in countries ruled by megacorps rather than governments.

Since 2011 magic flows freely again around the globe, and all kinds of races have access to it, even if at first chaos was all around, by the year 2060 it was very common. Government agencies no longer exist, not even the police department, now, Lone Star the equivalent is a private agency paid by the megacorp to assure peace around the countries.

There is no such thing as peace in the sixth world, as this new era is called, not while dragons manipulate humanity to achieve their unknown goals and chaos rule everywhere. Indigenous cultures suddenly rose with their magic and fought back their old oppressors. There is no United States anymore, it has fragmented into several countries: a confederacy, a union-Canada hybrid, a native-American reclaimed territory, an elf country, and more. Many of the refugees from the various wars, devastations and climate change migrations end up in Seattle, the largest city in North America.

Mexico and Central America are known now as Aztlan where the major megacorp Aztechnology has an important presence all over the world and its magicians are well known for their use of blood magic. There is no such thing as Japan anymore, now imperial Japan rules over several Asian countries and including San Francisco which is known as Tokyo Bay.

Wars are fought between megacorps, but there are more like Dirty Wars where mercenaries, robbers, and deckers, the new generation of hackers, are hired to do jobs under the table to destroy another megacorp, these groups are called Shadowrunners, people who have been forgotten by the system and their only way to make some money is by doing illegal jobs using their best abilities.

Kai was the leader of a Shadowrunner team based in Seattle, quite a good team as a matter of fact, but a very neglected team over the past couple of months since their runs were affected by the lack of one member of the team. Kai tried to convince himself that was not an issue but they were running low in cash and action.

He watched Ruki as his fellow teammate was frowning while reading a new message on his computer terminal, Ruki was biting his nails and moving under the lamp which made his tattoos glow in a blue neon light all over his arms. His enormous wolf was at his feet asleep turned in a ball of fur.

“We received another message from Sugizo,” Ruki said without separating his eyes from the screen. “Another job we can’t take because… well you know why.” Said angrily, not a surprise coming from a dwarf.

Kai sighed. “I know, but it’s been just a couple of months. He needs time.” He tried to sound convincing, but actually, he was getting desperate as well.

Uruha, the team’s mage, refused to hire another decker for the team, and it was costing them several thousand Nuyens. As the leader, Kai was trying to understand his position, but he could not longer afford another loss, even though he was the owner of the only bar on the street, the Babylon’s Taboo did not offer a lot of income in times like those.

“That’s it,” said Ruki standing up, almost stepping on the wolf who only moved aside with an offended look. The animal looked gigantic next to him. “I’m going to talk to him, he needs to hear reasons.”

“No, you’re not. You’re the person less qualified for that job, you can be…” the other raised a brow waiting for him to finish. “…hard.”

“He’s an elf not a fucking princess, I think he can manage.”

Kai rolled his eyes. “His sister died.” He said in a low voice.

“I know, I was there, remember?” Ruki said more bitter than he intended. “She knew the risks, Uruha knew, it’s the price we pay for doing the jobs we do. We have to hire someone new, I don’t want to keep losing money because of his mourning.”

The leader reviewed some options in his mind, he was thinking about them for some time, and he knew it was the right moment to speak to Uruha. “Ok, let me talk to him, maybe we can work out something, we don’t have to hire someone full-time, maybe it can be several deckers depending on the run.”

Ruki crossed his arms and closed his eyes considering the option. “It won’t work, we need to be able to trust any member of the team, we cannot know for sure if all of them are trusted, besides I rather work with someone who knows what I can do.” He said what Kai was thinking he would say. “We have to make Uruha understand, I’m gonna start posting on the BBS.” He turned once more to his terminal.

“Post what?” Uruha entered the room with a soykaf in one hand and his PDA on the other, his hoodie over his head in hopes of hiding his ears.

It was nearly impossible not to tell that Uruha was an elf, he was taller than the average human, he had long limbs, beautiful features, and of course pointy ears, but Kai thought the most scandalous thing about Uruha was his deep blue eyes. What he could not understand was why Uruha tried so hard to cover it, it was not like someone in Seattle could care less about him being a metahuman, but he kept trying to pass unnoticed, something really hard for someone who looked and speak as he did.

Nobody on the team had ever asked even if they have been working together for two years, but Kai was sure the elf and his passed sister came from Tir Tarngire, the elf nation whose capital was Portland. Uruha had a subtle accent that revealed he spoke Sperethiel, but they had never heard him speak it, and nobody asked. In their field knowing too much about another could be dangerous.

“We have a new run,” lied Ruki walking around the room stretching his short legs. Kai did not bother to say it was not true, he just remained focused on the elf waiting for his reaction. “We require a decker for the run, we have to steal some data from some low-rank corp, you know, the usual stuff.”

Uruha blinked. “We don’t have a decker,” said as a matter of fact.

“We are going to hire someone,” said Kai before the dwarf could talk.

“Of course, I certainly hope you do not need magic because if you hire a decker you’re not going to have mine.” Warned Uruha.

Ruki nodded. “I’m sorry but that is a risk I’m willing to take, if you keep refusing to use a new decker, we are gonna hire another mage as well.” He was dead serious. “Really, I don’t want you out of the team, but we need this.”

Kai intervened before it ended in a discussion. “I’ll tell you what, we hire a decker for this run, you don’t have to go,” he said to Uruha. “If we like it, you will conduct the last interview, if we don’t, we keep looking and you don’t have to go to any run ’til we find someone suitable and you have the last word in this.”

The elf remained silent for several minutes, he was thinking about it which made Kai think it was the best course of action.

“Ok,” said at last. “But, put some effort into this. Filling Mayumi’s shoes is gonna be damned hard.”

“Tell me about it.” Said Ruki in a low voice, Uruha did not hear him, he was already walking to his room.

***

Babylon’s Taboo was a big bar, a hellhole, but a bar nonetheless. It was one of the favorite places for fixers to find Shadowrunners who could perform a job, it was also a good place to find whatever was needed if someone knew how to search. Uruha had grown to like the place, not only because the apartment where he lived was just upstairs, but also because it was the first place he knew when he and his sister Mayumi first arrived in Seattle, long before turning into Shadowrunners.

Long before everything went to hell.

He was mad at himself, he had promised his sister they would be safe there, he would keep her safe, instead, he got her killed by some unknown user in the matrix. They were in Seattle because it was going to be safer than home, and he messed it up too, he should not have let Mayumi become a decker in the first place, but he could not say no to his little sister. And now he was alive and her sister was not, he was stuck in that city without having a clue of where to begin finding her murderer. Uruha was a mage, he had never needed to enter the matrix, he only needed his PDA to keep himself updated and that was it, technology was not alien to him but certainly decking was.

Kai swore the new decker was something close to a genius, the team accepted two more jobs using him before finally asking Uruha if he could perform the final interview, apparently, they were all pretty convinced this guy was perfect to replace Mayumi, if there was such a thing. Even Reita had agreed, which made Uruha angrier, if his best friend there agreed with Ruki and Kai, there was not a lot he could do.

At that time of the day, Babylon’s Taboo had a few clients, just the regulars and people without a job. Uruha made his way to the table he was supposed to meet this decking wonder when he had to stop. He raised his head towards the bar, where Kai was smiling approvingly while doing some cleaning, the best cover-up ever, no one would believe that a bartender with a sweet smile was one of the most proliferous cyber surgeons in the neighborhood and some hell of assassin. Kai made a sign to encourage him to talk to the decker.

Uruha wanted to laugh, life had a weird way to say some things to him. There, on the table, the decker was waiting, the same beautiful decker he had fucked months ago. He did not know his name, but he remembered his face, his piercing on the lip, his raven short hair, the lines in his body, and the strength of his movements. With these thoughts he could get hard so fast, indeed, Uruha still touched himself sometimes with the memory of the raven, and now he was sitting waiting for him.

He sighed knowing he could not avoid the meeting, he approached making sure his hoodie was hiding his ears.

The raven looked at him at last, he showed surprise for a second, and then he smiled.

“Hi, you must be Uruha,” said amused.

The elf nodded taking a seat in front of him.

“My name is Aoi, I think we are going to work together?” He showed his mischievous smile.

“I think we are.”

Chapter Text

Aoi was looking at the screen of his terminal, insecure to enter into the matrix, he had some time before going with the team to a new run, the whole team. Although he was not ready to admit that he was nervous, he was, it was not his first job with the team, but it was the first with Uruha involved. Aoi was not going to lie, the elf was freaking gorgeous, sexy and mysterious, and distant, and all those kinds of things that he promised himself will not make him pay attention anymore, but it was almost inevitable, the elf was magnetic. Also dangerous. He knew Uruha was the kind of guy who could break his heart faster than a thunderbolt, so the moment the elf sat in front of him at the Babylon’s Taboo bar he promised he would keep his distance. He was very happy thinking it was only a one-night stand, and it should remain like that, Aoi was in no place to let people into his life, more than they needed to. 

But Uruha refused to leave his mind. 

He had been living in the apartment the team had above the bar for two weeks now, and he had to admit it was very comfortable, it was not a great apartment but it was better than those rooms for rent in the area no larger than 120 square feet. He had his own bedroom and a shared bathroom with Reita, another member of the team who barely spoke and showed his face. The food was provided by Kai for a small fee that was very affordable taking into account the runs they had. And above all, although they were a five-member team, they all gave their space to the other members, which was very valuable for Aoi who was used to being alone. 

He was thinking about his luck in finding such a good place and a great team when he heard a knock at the door. 

“Come in,” he said placing his deck on the table, abandoning the idea of getting into the matrix. 

Kai entered closing the door behind him. “I’m sorry, am I interrupting? I don’t know your schedules and didn’t want to pull you out of the matrix in case you were doing something important.” He said showing his smile. 

Aoi shook his head. “Not at all, if I was online, I wouldn’t have answered. Need anything?” 

Kai smiled again, the decker was convinced the leader was more than he showed, the guy was the connection between the team and the fixers, in other words, Kai was the one who arranged the runs and collected the payment. He was also the owner of the building they were currently in, including the Babylon’s Taboo, it was weird for someone to be the owner of a property, more for a shadowrunner. And of course, Kai was a surgeon, at least that was the way he had presented himself, but Aoi had never seen cyberware or biomedical instruments anywhere in the apartment. 

All of that for a human male who barely passed the age of twenty-five, Aoi was convinced that if he did not know Kai probably would have thought he was a slavewage, an employee of a great corporation. Although he looked athletic, he was not particularly strong, at least in appearance, his brown hair was always in a perfect state and he always had an expression that reflected kindness mixed with seriousness, a kind of expression any manager would have or a shadowrunnner leader. 

“Are you ready for today?” Kai asked in a friendly manner, playing with the miniatures placed on a shelf. 

“To be honest, the only thing that worries me is if I can trust Uruha, I know it’s supposed to be a non-violence run, but I don’t want to feel unsafe in case something happens.” Aoi found out that it was better, to be honest, lives could be lost in their job due to a lack of communication or trust. 

The other nodded looking at him. “That’s why I thought it was better to talk to you before this run. Uruha is a pain in the ass, but he is a great mage, and most important, he doesn’t leave anyone behind, he gets the job done. You don’t have to worry about him, even if he doesn’t like you, he will keep you alive.”

“That’s comforting.” He said with sarcasm. 

Kai laughed. “He can be difficult, but once you gain his trust, he’s a good friend. The past few months have been…well, he thinks Mayumi’s death is his fault, so he keeps reminding us how miserable he is.” 

Aoi heard the story of the late sister, Kai had explained why Uruha was not eager of having another decker on the team, but the details were unknown to him. 

“How she died? If I may ask.” 

The leader raised his shoulders. “We found her dead in her room, her brain was still connected to her deck, she got fried in the matrix.” Aoi could tell it was painful for Kai to say those words. 

The matrix was a network created after the old internet crashed in 2029, and virtual reality became the only mean by which data could be handled. It could be accessed by a cyber deck attached to the body of any person, a microcomputer the size of a tablet, and the wires were connected to the central nervous system. 

Due to its nature, the matrix was another whole world, where deckers using their avatars could interact with each other and access to unlimited programs, but the risk of a cyber attack was always present, especially for shadow runners. Virus or addressed attacks could be performed against a decker and caused the nervous system to fail, the electricity would increase in the nerves causing them to burn and produce death. But also this kind of death could be merely accidental due to the lack of knowledge of the decker or the abuse of the matrix. 

“Ruki and Uruha think she was murdered,” Kai said when Aoi remained silent. “But every time I try to ask around about it, no one seems to know anything, a murder like that doesn’t go unnoticed. Although none of us are deckers, and Uruha refuses to hire one to investigate, no matter how many times Ruki suggests it. So we are stuck.”

Aoi bit his lip. “Do you know her matrix username?” He asked for curiosity, like Kai had said if it were a murder, would not go unnoticed, especially in the matrix. 

“Mayhem something,” Kai answered. 


Mayhem_81_44. Aoi knew exactly the user Kai was talking about, he did not know it was a woman, he did not talk to her often, maybe just a couple of times. That decker was a very well-known decker in the matrix, was a social activist, and did a couple of hits against racist groups, it was huge news when her death was announced, but he did not remember any place where the cause of death was mentioned. 

And then, he recall something but did not say anything, it was not his place to say something, at least not to Kai. 

“Never heard of it.” He lied without flinching, Aoi had learned to lie to survive and was dammed good doing it. 

“It is a delicate subject, so appreciate it if you don’t mention it” Kai sighed. “I just wanted to let you know, you can trust Uruha, you don’t have to worry. Besides this run is a piece of cake.” The smile returned. 


-x-


A piece of cake, Aoi thought about those words as the team approached the building. It was an apartment building, a very expensive and luxurious building, home of important executives for a minor corporation in Seattle. The job was very simple: to install surveillance cameras without being detected, the rival company wanted evidence to convict the executives and take the lead in the snack market. 

Aoi would install and connect the cameras and Uruha would make them go unnoticed using his magic. A piece of cake.

“I’m going to be parked in that corner, if you have any trouble you call me and I will pick you up at the entrance; if not, I’ll see you guys in there,” Kai explained. He was driving a white SUV covered with ice cream advertising, he was not going inside the building, he would only be the driver. Aoi had never seen anyone of them fight, all of the runs were non-violent ones which he preferred but it was not very remunerative and maybe a waste considering Reita, but he was in no position to argue. 

Ruki got out of the SUV first, he was with Aoi and Uruha at the back, while Reita was in the passenger seat. As soon as the dwarf stepped out of the vehicle an enormous wolf appeared behind him, Aoi loved everything about Ruki, not only his incredible presence but his totem as well, he had never seen a dwarf before arriving in Seattle and Ruki was actually the first dwarf he had met and talked to, he always thought dwarfs were sullen and had no talent but engineering type. 

Ruki was a shaman, a bit of a cleric and druid folded into one, his magic came from a great totem spirit that guided his life path and allowed him to summon spirits and do conjuring spells which were not the same as the magic a mage could do. His totem was the wolf and although it was not common to see the spirit in its physical form, Ruki was always accompanied by it. Another thing, Aoi had learned was that dwarfs were not like those portrayed in his school books, they did not have short legs and thick bodies, instead, they looked exactly like regular humans but shorter, a lot shorter. This did not seem to bother Ruki though, he walked with pride and grace everywhere he went and Aoi admired him not just for that, but also because of his shamanic powers. 

“Ok, I’ll cover Reita, you cover Aoi.” Said Ruki to Uruha once the elf got out of the SUV.

“It’s not necessary” Aoi tried to say, the least he wanted was to feel like a burden to the apathetic elf. 

“It is,” Reita was the one who answered. “In case we are under attack and you’re inside the matrix, Uruha can cover you. Ruki helps me because I’m on the front line of attack, he has more resources to heal me but not as much in attack. Uruha can cast attacking and healing spells, which makes him better with you.” Explained raising his right arm and winking an eye.

Aoi smiled trying not to show how nervous Reita made him feel, and not in the same way Uruha did. Reita was a human, but he was not a normal human, he was covered in cyberware, his right arm, both of his legs, part of his chest, and his two eyes, without mentioning the mask he wore to cover his face from the nose to his forehead. It was not only his appearance, it was the way the blond was always carrying several guns in his belt, the way he talked and moved like he was at war; Aoi was almost certain Reita was in the army but did not dare to ask. 

“Let’s do this quickly so I don’t have to cover you” Uruha’s voice interrupted his thoughts, that deep voice that had growled against his ears a couple of months earlier, and now it was showing no emotion. The elf put on his hoodie and started walking towards the alley next to the luxurious building. 

Getting in the apartment was easy, Aoi only had to deck the digital lock and disabled the security system with quick access to the matrix. He did not want to spend a lot of time connected in case of an attack, he felt uneasy leaving his life in hands of the elf, no matter what Kai had said. 

“There’s no one home,” Ruki announced after sending Wolf to do research. 

“Good, let’s get this over with” Uruha entered the living room. 

The apartment was huge, it had stylish furniture made of granite and steel, and the floor was made of wood which Aoi knew was not cheap, everything about the apartment said: money. It was obvious it was a bachelor’s apartment, there was not any trace of partnership in there. Aoi hated the place immediately, reminded him of the life he was running away from. 

“Can I have this?” Asked Ruki raising a pottery vase. 

“Why do you want to take something everywhere you go?” Reita rolled his colored eyes, they did not have a natural color the only way to tell they were cyberware, otherwise, they look like normal eyes. 

Ruki chuckled. “I can sell it and earn more money” he replied. 

Aoi was looking for a good place to install the first camera, it needed to be near a terminal connection. 

“Well, you can’t take anything. Remember no one has to know we were here.” Reita said waiting for Aoi to start, he leaned on the closed door with his arms crossed. 

The decker finally found the right spot, he kneeled on the floor and started unpacking the first camera. “I’m going in,” said after installing the device on the wall. He pulled a cable out of his deck placed on his left arm and plug it into the terminal placed on the wall, next he pulled another cable and plug it into his temple. 

Two minutes later got out, Uruha was in front of him, he was so tall. Aoi stood up smiling at him, he did not want to show him how much he affected him. Uruha was not the first elf he got involved with but was the first that he liked, except for the fact that the guy was unbearable. If only his siblings knew he had a crush on an elf, they probably would lock him in a basement. 

He walked as far as possible to the bathroom, where he installed the second camera, then to the kitchen, and finally, in the bedroom, every time he went out of the matrix Uruha was there, waiting for him. It was not that he was paying special attention to Aoi, the elf had to use his magic to make the cameras disappear and no one could know they were there. 

The whole run took about forty-five minutes to be completed, luckily they did not encounter anyone in the halls. Ruki and Reita got out of the building first, Aoi was almost out when someone called out for him. 

“Hey sorry,” said a man in a security uniform, Aoi turned around trying to look innocent. “I’ve never seen you before, did you register your entrance?” He asked smiling. 

“Yeah, I did, I guess it wasn’t your shift when I arrived. Anyways, see ya.” Aoi said quickly waving his hand. 

“You have to register your exit,” the guard said. “Just put your SIN on the scanner.”

Aoi did not have a SIN, he had it removed as soon as he left his homeland, his System Identification Number made him traceable, he did not want to be traced. No shadowrunner had a SIN, if he put his wrist on the scanner he would be discovered. 

“I’m so sorry, he’s with me” Uruha’s arms went around his waist, he had his hoodie down and was smiling so widely Aoi almost did not recognize him. “He doesn’t have to register the exit, we’re just grabbing some dinner, we got hungry and I don’t want to keep him in the apartment, I suggested a walk.” He laughed. With the sound of it, Aoi felt a warm wave of air that went through him, filling him with a sense of wellness he could not quite describe, nor did know where it was coming from. 

The guard looked and smiled widely. “Of course sir, silly me. Enjoy your meal, let me open the door for you” he bowed as the two of them went out. 

Uruha did not let go Aoi at any moment, his hold was firm and made the decker feel uneasy with a strange feeling in his stomach, he felt the red all over his cheeks and thanked outside it was dark. 

“What was that?” Aoi asked as soon as Uruha let him go. 

“Me saving your ass” answered the elf with his hoodie on once again. 

“He didn’t even question your words, was that magic?” Aoi did not want to sound naive but his contact with metahumans had been so vague. 

Uruha raised his brow while walking to the SUV. “Charisma” answered looking at him directly. 

“Ah yes, of course.” Aoi lied if the other noticed he did not say. “Thank you” he smiled. 

The elf opened his mouth but say nothing for a couple of seconds. “Yeah, whatever.” 

“Listen” Aoi bit his lip, he stopped before entering the SUV. “I know you don’t like me and all that. Even though we fucked hard and surely was great.” He said satisfied with the other’s expression, surely he was not expecting Aoi would say something like that. “And I’m not trying to repeat it, don’t worry it was meaningless sex for me as well. But, I really want to make this work, I’ve never been in a team before, and I’m not trying to replace anyone, I want us to be teammates, not even friends if you don’t feel like it, teammates, it's all I ask.”

Uruha remained silent at his words. 

“And I think I know how to achieve that.” Aoi insisted. 

“I seriously doubt it.” Uruha started walking again to finish the conversation. 

“I can help you find your sister’s murderer,” Aoi said. 

The elf stopped suddenly and turned around giving him his attention. “How?” That was all he said. 

“I might know someone who knows.”

Aoi was not lying and Uruha knew.