Enter, The Roaring Lion of Little Maw

Axel jogged after Byte, his legs moving slow, and exhaustion starting to piss him off.

"Dammit! I'm just 19, why do I feel like I'm pushing 32? Why so old already?"

Byte, on the other hand, was like a speed demon. She sprinted with her claws out, tail flicking behind her. A top-notch tracker, not just 'cause of her keen nose and sharp eyes, but she could sniff out the trail that boy left behind.

After a few minutes of chasing, she abruptly halted in her tracks, letting out a meow.

"He's close."

She meowed in agreement.

"Where's he at?"

The alleyway was too dark for him to see anything, but he trusted her instincts and patiently waited. She must've kicked in her night vision, making it easier for her to navigate.

Her meow caught his attention, and he dashed after her. They darted behind the building, halting abruptly as an expansive sea unfolded before them.

"Woah, where are we?"

He exclaimed, utterly amazed. It was a sight unlike anything he'd ever seen.

'How the heck did they conjure up a sea in the middle of a desert? Holy smoked meat, this city is freaking awesome.'

"Meow!"

Byte bit him, snapping him out of his trance.

"Ouch! Why'd you bite me, you little shit? Ouch, damn, that hurts," he cursed, nursing his leg.

"Meow!"

She raised her paw and pointed to the other side. Axel followed her lead and saw a bunch of boys, about four or five, all rocking golden yukatas with katanas in sheath, standing around like they owned the place.

Then, he spotted the boy.

"There he is."

He stood out like a sore thumb amidst the yukata-clad men. Walking forward, Axel wiped a wad of sweat from his forehead. He was truly tired.

"You little shit-" he paused, recalling Tetsuya's advice "-You young gentleman have taken something very valuable from me. Could you please return it?"

There's no need to get tangled up in trouble when you can smooth things out with words. That's the smart way to live, after all. All you gotta do is wag your tongue and wriggle out of any mess. And no, it doesn't mean kissing everyone's ass; it's about picking the right words for the right soul. Life's all about that slick tongue action.

Axel approached in a friendly manner, not wanting to stir up trouble, especially since the men were watching them with caution.

"Huh? How the heck did you track me, old man?"

The kid was genuinely bewildered, thinking the old man wouldn't be able to keep up.

"I'll have you know," Axel huffed, catching his breath, "that I'm not old. Not yet, at least."

"With that Cyberware, you're an antique piece. What year were you manufactured?"

The boy asked mockingly, his 'friends' joining in laughter.

Axel frowned, the corners of his eyes narrowing.

"Kid, these cyberwares are top class, the best of the best."

They burst into laughter, some clutching their stomachs while a couple even ended up on the ground, pointing at him. It must've been a hilarious for them, but it was far from hilarious for Axel.

Yet, he felt nothing. Axel had already come to terms with the reality that he was an outdated hardware piece.

However, the instant he got some cash, he was determined to undergo a major upgrade to the latest version—laser eyes, advanced neural computing, enhanced senses, sturdier cyberware, maybe even a new brain if he could swing it.

His goal was clear: to transform himself into the absolute best, akin to a Prometheus or whatever it was that Shabby always talked about, even though he didn't quite understand what it meant.

"You're not worth my time. Hand it over, you brat."

Axel declared as he walked forward.

The boy pointed at him and said,

"He's that Takeshi's best friend. I saw them talking leisurely a little while ago."

The yukata-wearing men wiped away their amused smiles, replacing them with hungry ones. Axel felt a chill run down his spine as he watched the men fixate on him with a serious gaze.

"You're that chikushou's (son of a bitch) friend? You should die here, gaijin."

One of the men in yukatas declared.

One moment, they were laughing, and now their focus had shifted to wanting him dead. Something was off. And who the hell was Takeshi? Axel had no idea, never heard of any Takeshi. The last thing he wanted was to get sliced up right here. That would be the biggest shame this world had ever known.

"Wait! Wait!"

The truth was, he'd be toast if these people decided to attack him. No other way around it. They were faster, stronger, tougher, and more skilled than him—basically, the real deal, not some puny little shit like him.

"Wait. Wait."

He raised his hands in a sign of surrender, hoping it might buy him a moment to think of an idea to run away from here.

"Chikushou!"

Cursed one of them as he drew the katana from his sheath, slowly advancing towards Axel.

Beside him, Byte growled and assumed a fighting stance, her limbs sturdy and leaning slightly forward. She glared at them as if she were ready to take them on herself.

It was as though she believed she could growl her way through these highly skilled criminals who strolled through a place like Little Maw, where death lingered in every breath.

'What are you doing, Byte? There's no way you'll win this. We're outnumbered. Get away from here.'

He took a step back as the men advanced. Another step back, and another forward.

"Gentlemen, I've no idea who this Takeshi is. Let's just talk about this like civilized people, okay?"

Axel tried to reason.

"No. We're not going to let you go."

One of the men declared with a menacing tone, shutting down any hope of a peaceful resolution.

"Give me a sec to think, just one damn second, please."

"Die!"

Axel ducked, narrowly avoiding the swing of the sword aimed at his head, or where it would've been at least.

"Holy fuck!"

He cursed, rolling backward and grabbing the overly brave cat who was on the verge of starting a war alongside him.

'This is the absolute worst day ever! What the fuck is going on?'

He felt like screaming out of pure frustration. All he wanted was to track down that guy, not stumble into a death trap. All he cared about was getting his Data Card back.

Byte growled under his arms, like she was yelling, "Let me go, I'm gonna smoke these Chikushous."

He sprinted once more, with the guys hot on his tail, but before he could put some distance between them, there was a massive thud from the air behind him.

He stopped and looked back to see four dudes dressed up in black and red yukatas, striking poses like they're about to drop the hottest samurai mixtape of the year, facing off against the golden yukata crew. They had their katanas drawn and pointed at each other.

"Ah, yes, fools of the Fourteenth!" grinned the leader of the golden yukatas.

"Chikushous?" Axel mumbled as he eyed the new guests. What he really meant was Takeshi, but he wisely confused the words at crucial moment.

"How dare you call our boss like that!"

One of the smaller guests pointed the katana at him.

"Our boss came to help you, and you're calling him a chikushou? How can you say that in public when you can do it in private?"

Bam!

"Ouch!"

The second guest crouched on the ground as the first one delivered a punch to his head.

"That's okay, Haruki. Our guest is new here; he probably doesn't know the word. Blame them for that. If he's Takeshi-san's best friendo, then he's my best friendo too. Don't worry, best friendo, I'm Kenji Kuro, Roaring Lion of Little Maw, and I'll save you."

Axel stared at the Roaring Lion, who was long and big, his belly looking like he'd actually swallowed a roaring lion.

'What the hell did I get myself into?'