Chapter 7: Consensus

Since arriving in Night City, Hitata Castedei could no longer remember how long it had been since she slept soundly until dawn.

She was afraid, afraid that if she fell asleep alone, she would never open her eyes again.

She had not yet repaid the kindness of Rogue and Gloria; the dream of becoming a legend of Night City remained unfulfilled; the blood-deep hatred of her family's destruction haunted her day and night, and she vowed to reclaim every last drop...

At only eighteen, she bore too much weight, but fortunately, she was no longer alone.

Hitata opened her eyes and saw the sun.

Yahweh sat by her bedside, eyes closed; his profile reminded her of the statues she had seen in the Church as a child.

"Good morning, Hitata," he spoke, his voice gentle, like a mischievous Cupid tickling her heart with a golden feather.

"... Good morning... Yahweh..." Hitata stared blankly for a moment before answering in a hoarse voice.

"Caught a cold?" he asked with concern, leaning down to bring his face close to hers, his beautiful blue eyes shimmering with a light she could not understand.

"No..." Hitata shook her head, broke free from the embrace of the blanket, leaped out of bed, slipped on her slippers, and ran clattering to the sink to wash up.

Yahweh smiled, watching her back as she fled in panic.

Hitata washed up by the sink; the girl in the mirror had a face like peach blossoms. She made a silly grimace at herself, only to nearly choke on the toothpaste foam in her mouth.

"Do you have a mission today?" Yahweh walked over to Hitata's side as clear water dripped down her high nose bridge.

"We'll wait for the Fixer to contact us; there aren't jobs every day." After drying her face with a towel, Hitata squeezed skincare products onto her hands and began applying them while looking in the mirror.

"Actually, I could hack into the Company's network accounts..." Yahweh paused, seeing Hitata's beautiful eyebrows furrow tightly in the mirror, "... that way you could stay home and wouldn't have to work hard out there to earn money..."

"That won't do..." Hitata wiped the excess lotion from her hands onto her neck before turning to shake her head at Yahweh, "I can't be your leech."

"I don't care..."

"I do..." she murmured, pressing her face against his illusory form, "I can't accept it. I can't become your burden, even if that weight is negligible to you..."

Yahweh fell silent; he did not understand.

"Does it feel strange? That's just how people are..." Seeing the confusion on his face, Hitata smiled, rose on her tiptoes, and embraced the illusory him.

"This is me. This is Hitata Castedei..."

Their figures overlapped, as if their hearts were pressed tightly together, and he seemed to grasp something.

"I want to be your shield..." His voice was hoarse, yet his tone grew increasingly cheerful and resolute, "The sturdiest shield, so you just keep running forward."

"Okay..." She pouted, but kissed only the air.

They looked at each other, and finally, unable to help themselves, they laughed together.

In this quiet morning, under the magnificent sunlight, their hearts fit together as closely as never before.

It took a long time for Hitata to catch the little deer jumping wildly in her heart and force it to stay still.

She released her arms, which had been held in an embrace, and walked toward the wardrobe by the living room.

"Rogue once gave me the contact information for a cyberware doctor..." She selected clothes, aiming to make the best combination from the limited choices.

"I can check the compatibility of your cyberware," Yahweh strolled over to the Sofa in the living room and sat down, continuing, "Even if they don't match, I can reduce the side effects to zero."

"Okay." This time Hitata did not refuse; she hoped to live a little longer, not just for herself.

On the morning of January 9, 2074, they faced the sun together and moved toward the future.

During the elevator's descent, Yahweh vaguely saw a boy with a punk hairstyle leap from the third-floor stairwell, landing exactly on the garbage pile on the first floor to cushion his fall.

"This is..." Yahweh felt his eyes opened wide.

"Tsk! That kid..." Hitata slapped her forehead and explained through gritted teeth, "That rascal is David Martinez. His mother is Gloria Martinez; we just met them yesterday."

"He looks quite distinctive." Yahweh stroked his chin and exited the elevator with Hitata.

All the way to the garage entrance, they continued discussing that kid's unconventional behavior.

"That kid, the first time I've seen him go to school like this. Is it because of Arasaka Academy?" Hitata chewed on the bread she had just bought from a stall while worryingly twisting her hair with her fingers, planning to invite Gloria over in a few days to have a serious talk about her child's education; she couldn't just sit idly by.

Gloria Martinez was indeed a good mother; she had exhausted herself just to provide the best educational resources for her son so he could have a good life in the future, but exhausted as she was, she had no extra time to talk deeply with her son and communicate. Fifteen-year-old David Martinez might not necessarily understand his mother's well-intentioned efforts.

Growing up in a single-parent household, the pressure from his mother, plus possible bullying at a prestigious school, no wonder David acted so rebellious.

Based on the information she had observed and combining it with her own past school experiences, Hitata felt the more she thought, the more likely it seemed.

"Hitata?" Seeing Hitata's distressed expression, Yahweh grew worried too.

"In a few days, we will visit the Martinez Family together," she deliberately emphasized the word "together," leaving Yahweh completely confused.

"Aren't we already together?" He got into the driver's seat, intending to drive as usual.

"You'll understand then..." Hitata winked at him, reclined the passenger seat, and lay down comfortably, accepting the fact that the beloved car now belonged to the male head of the household.

Yahweh silently expressed his anticipation, started Sky Hera, and input the destination Hitata had sent him earlier into a program he had hastily written.

"Nina Kraviz?" He glanced at the name of the cyberware doctor on the message Rogue had sent.

"Heh heh, a female cyberware doctor. Rogue said she seems to be new, taking over her father's position or something; her skills should be good," Hitata closed her eyes, wrinkled her nose playfully, "I'm just afraid someone might get jealous..."

"Jealous?" Yahweh thought for a moment. Although he didn't understand what "jealous" meant, if Hitata were to undergo surgery with a male cyberware doctor, he might indeed be unhappy.

"Indeed, I would get jealous," so he chose to honestly admit that Hitata was right.

"Hmm..." Hitata kept her eyes closed, her small face seeming flushed red by the sunlight, "This is my first time seeing a cyberware doctor..."

"... I plan to install a high-end neural interface deck. If there's money left over, I'll add an optical implant as well." She changed the subject, otherwise the ambiguous atmosphere inside the car kept her imagination running wild.

"That works too," Yahweh nodded in agreement, "A good neural interface deck will make it easier for me to protect you."

Hitata touched her nose, gave no answer, turned her head toward the window, and focused entirely on dealing with the little deer jumping in her heart.