Cyberpunk: Asuka Vektor

It was the year 2072, march, and Asuka stood by the edge of the ring at the Animal Arena in Santo Domingo, the crowd around her roaring with anticipation. She was the only one in the crowd not just watching but actively hyping up Jackie as he faced off against a massive Animals gang member in the ring. The guy was huge, even bigger than Jackie, covered in rippling muscle and cyber-enhancements that made him look more like a beast than a man.

Jackie, however, stood his ground with a calm confidence. His upgraded Gorilla Arms twitched slightly as he blocked punch after punch from the hulking Animal. Each hit sent shockwaves through the air, but Jackie barely flinched, waiting for the right moment. Asuka leaned over the barrier, cheering him on. "You’ve got this, Jackie! Don’t let this gonk get to you!"

Jackie grinned at her encouragement, his eyes never leaving his opponent. The Animal swung again, aiming for Jackie's head, but Jackie dodged it effortlessly, his reflexes sharp. With a quick sidestep, he landed a brutal punch to the guy’s side, making the huge man stagger. The Animal grunted, stumbling a bit but still standing.

The crowd erupted, expecting more. Jackie, though, was in full control. The Animal tried to attack again, swinging wildly, but Jackie was already on him. With another precise punch to the other side, followed by a devastating uppercut, the Animal’s head snapped back, and he crumpled to the ground, out cold.

Jackie hadn’t even used the full strength of his Gorilla Arms. If he had, the guy would have been nothing but a bloody mess on the floor. Asuka smiled, relieved, knowing that Jackie had held back just enough to avoid killing the guy outright.

The arena was silent for a moment, then burst into applause as Jackie stood victorious. He wiped a bit of sweat from his brow and walked over to grab his winnings. Asuka hopped the barrier and met him as he stepped out of the ring.

"Nice work, Jackie," she said with a grin. "Didn’t even break a sweat."

Jackie chuckled, as stuffed the eddies his pocket. "Yeah, couldn’t go all out or he’d be roadkill by now. Gotta keep things fair, you know?"

They both laughed as they headed out of the arena. The night air in Santo Domingo was cool, and the chaos of the arena was left behind as they made their way through the district. "Drinks at Lizzie’s?" Jackie asked with a smirk.

"You read my mind."

At Lizzie's, Jackie leaned back in his seat, nursing a drink as he glanced over at Asuka. "So, chica, how's cohabitation life with Judes treating you?" he asked, a playful grin on his face.

Asuka grinned back, casually swirling her own drink. "It's preem, honestly. Judy's great, and she got herself a Saibadon—you know, that cyberdong from Arasaka. She really likes using it on me," she said with a wink, laughing as Jackie almost choked on his drink.

"Cálmate, chica!" Jackie sputtered, laughing in disbelief. "You and your wild stories, never changin'."

Asuka chuckled, leaning back in her seat. "Well, it’s been a smooth transition. When the lease ended on my place with Lucy and Sasha, Judy and I moved into a new spot. It’s got more space, and honestly, living together's been perfect." She paused for a moment, then smirked. "Lucy and Sasha got a place too, still in Little China—actually, in another one of Misty’s building."

Jackie raised an eyebrow. "In Misty's building? Damn, you guys are practically neighbors again."

"Yeah, it’s kinda funny. Lucy and Sasha moved in right after we did. Still see them plenty, though." Asuka smiled, taking a sip from her drink before adding, "But speaking of Misty... you also got yourself a rich output, Jackie. Misty’s not just into tarot and all that spiritual stuff, she's a big landlord."

Jackie grinned, leaning forward. "I know, right? Half the city doesn’t even realize how much property she owns. But that’s Misty for ya—keeps it low-key. Ain’t gonna lie, though, it’s kinda nice, especially now that she and Mama Welles are on better terms."

Asuka gave him a sly smile. "You always land on your feet, Jackie."

"Hey, you too, chica," Jackie shot back with a wink. "Guess we’re both doing pretty good, huh? Livin’ the dream—hot and rich outputs."

Returning to the apartment, Asuka immediately spotted Judy hard at work in her BD/techie room, her fingers dancing over the keyboard as she focused on her screen. Asuka, never one to miss an opportunity, snuck up behind her, wrapping her arms around Judy’s shoulders. She leaned down, pressing her massive breasts against Judy's head in an affectionate, teasing hug.

“What’re you working on, Judes? And how’s work going?” Asuka asked, her voice playful as she leaned in closer.

Judy, smiling but not taking her eyes off the screen, said, “Work’s good. Actually, I’m starting to work on my own BD line now.” Her fingers paused for a moment as she turned slightly to Asuka, a mischievous grin spreading across her lips. “The only weird part? One of the dolls at Clouds tried to seduce me to get some help with improving her performance. Poor girl, honestly, it made me feel more pity than anything. So, I helped her improve the chip and gave her a performance boost.”

Asuka chuckled. "Always fixing something, huh?" she teased.

Without warning, Judy turned, pulling Asuka onto her lap. Their bodies pressed together, their breasts touching as Judy shifted back to her screen with one hand still typing and the other wandering down to caress Asuka’s back, eventually finding its way to her ass. Asuka let out a soft sigh, melting into Judy’s lap, completely relaxed.

"I'm also working on a little project for us—something special," Judy continued, her voice low and playful. "But I'm not saying what it is. It’s a secret."

Before Asuka could respond, Judy leaned in and captured her lips in a slow, sloppy french kiss. Asuka practically melted, her body sinking deeper into Judy’s lap, her heart racing as the kiss lingered.

"You're such a tease, Judes," Asuka whispered, completely lost in the moment, her usual confident bravado dissolving in Judy's arms.

Judy grinned, her fingers lightly tracing along Asuka's pink spine, whispering back, "Only for you, babe."

As they relaxed together, Judy, her fingers still lightly tracing along Asuka’s back, gave her a playful look and asked, “So, were you one of the four gonks who went and destroyed more villas in Charter Hill? Not just one, but two?”

Asuka sighed dramatically, giving Judy an innocent look. “Hey, it’s not my fault, alright? Yorinobu brought Smasher along this time, and you know how that goes. Destruction is practically that tin can’s natural element. Plus, those bastards deserved it for screwing over Kerry.”

Judy raised an eyebrow, suppressing a laugh. “You, Yori, Kerry, and your tin can of a friend are turning Charter Hill into the next Santo Domingo. The city council is losing their minds over it, you know. They’re already talking about increasing security or putting sanctions on the area. Lucky for you, Kerry’s still a big star, and you three—well, Yori and Smasher have Arasaka backing them, and you... you’re practically the unofficial golden child of the Arasaka clan now.”

Asuka chuckled, shaking her head. “Yup, Arasaka's got our backs. Not like anyone's gonna mess with Yorinobu Arasaka, the rockstar son of the most powerful corpo in the world, and his bodyguard and living legend Adam Smasher. And then there’s me, you know—just your average merc who happens to roll with the heaviest hitters in the city.”

Judy laughed, the sound soft and teasing as she rested her head against Asuka’s shoulder. “Yeah, you’re so average, alright. Just a regular girl who keeps wrecking Charter Hill because her new best friends are a rebellious Arasaka heir, a legendary rockerboy, and a walking war machine. And has two outputs and one of them is Hanako Arasaka.”

"Hey, in our defense," Asuka said with a grin, "those villas were asking for it. They messed with Kerry, and you don’t mess with Kerry unless you want Yori, Smasher, and me to show up at your front door with a lot of explosives. Besides," she added, winking at Judy, "the destruction was all for a good cause. We were avenging a legend.”

Judy sighed, shaking her head. “I get it, babe, I do. But you’re practically turning Charter Hill into a war zone, and honestly, if it wasn’t for the fact that you guys are all untouchable, the NCPD and City Council would be on your asses by now. You’re lucky you’ve got that corporate shield around you.”

Asuka smirked, kissing Judy on the forehead. “Perks of the gig, Judes. And, well, at least Smasher got to have some fun. You know how he gets when things are too quiet.”

Judy rolled her eyes, smiling despite herself. “Just promise me next time you get into some chaos with Yorinobu, Kerry, or that damn walking tank, you at least give me a heads-up before the news starts showing more wreckage on Charter Hill. I swear, the city council’s about to have a meltdown.”

Asuka chuckled softly. "I’ll keep that in mind. But hey, we’ll always have Arasaka in our corner. And, besides, they’re just villas. Night City’s got plenty more of ‘em.”

Judy sighed, half-amused, half-exasperated. "You're gonna be the death of me."

Asuka grinned, giving Judy a quick kiss. "Nah, I'll be your adventure."

Judy tilted her head curiously as she asked, “How did Smasher and Kerry even get along? I mean... Smasher killed Johnny.”

Asuka chuckled, leaning back. “Yeah, I wondered the same thing at first. But Kerry? He’s surprisingly over it. After all, it was fifty years ago, and time changes things. Besides, Yori told Kerry that Arasaka has Johnny’s consciousness locked away on a relic chip. Some kind of fancy tech mumbo jumbo. It’s in Japan, and Yori’s been talking about getting it out.”

Judy raised an eyebrow. “Wait, Yorinobu wants to bring back the guy who nuked Arasaka Tower? That’s... ambitious. Also didn't Johnny plant the bomb in the Arasaka tower?”

Asuka shook her head, smiling. “Nah, that’s a common mistake. Johnny didn’t nuke the tower. That was Morgan Blackhand’s job. Militech hired Johnny’s crew as a distraction, and Johnny was just the face of it all. Blackhand was the one who actually planted the bomb. Johnny was out there causing chaos, but then he got obliterated by Smasher in seconds when he was drawing attention. Spider Murphy, one of the top netrunners back then, managed to save Johnny by using a relic chip and Soulkiller. Yori found all this info in Arasaka’s records, and Smasher told us the story too, though he wasn’t exactly thrilled about that part.”

Judy blinked, taking it all in. “So... Johnny was basically the fall guy?”

“Pretty much,” Asuka replied with a nod. “A distraction for the real operation. But Smasher doesn’t exactly light up when talking about how he vaporized Johnny. It’s not his favorite part of the story.”

Judy chuckled, a little disbelieving. “I find it hard to believe Smasher cares enough to have a favorite part of any story.”

Asuka smirked. “Oh, he does. The moment he started talking about his fight with Morgan Blackhand, he lit up like a kid with candy. He was practically buzzing when he described their battle. Apparently, it was legendary—two titans going at it. Blackhand survived, though, disappeared after the tower went down. Smasher’s still salty about not getting to finish him off.”

Judy shook her head, her expression a mix of surprise and amusement. “It’s wild. Smasher geeking out over a fight like that.”

“Right? Seeing him that excited about something was... weird. But, hey, even he’s got his hobbies, I guess,” Asuka said with a grin.

Judy laughed softly. “I can’t imagine Smasher with hobbies other than tearing things apart.”

“Yeah, that’s pretty much it,” Asuka agreed, shrugging. “But that’s just Night City for you—everyone’s got their weird quirks, even chrome monsters like Smasher.”

Judy shook her head again, still processing the wild story. “And Yorinobu really wants to bring Johnny back?”

“Seems like it,” Asuka said, leaning back. “The thing is, Johnny wasn’t the mastermind behind the bombing, but everyone remembers him that way. Yorinobu thinks bringing Johnny back would stir up some chaos for his, Hanako and Michiko plan. Who knows what’ll come of it?”