Chapter Text
V couldn’t believe it… after all he’d been through, after all that effort, he was still dying. Just a little slower this time, and what felt like a hole in his soul to go with it. And now to fix their mistake they wanted to freeze dry his consciousness until some undetermined time when they can put him into a body that ain’t fried. But he’s just gotta sign away the rights to his own living soul to do it.
Fucking Arasaka.
There was no point in reading the contract, those snake-like words wouldn’t make sense to him anyhow. He took one last glance at it and tossed it aside, letting it clatter to the metal floor.
“I’ve made my decision.”
Takemura’s head dropped. “V, I beg you to reconsider.”
“Sorry Goro, but there’s no way I can trust them with my whole soul like that. I may only have six months left, but that could be a hell of a lot more than if it’s cut short and I get locked in a freezer forever. What if they never find a match? What if they forget? What if Arasaka says hey, it’s too expensive to bring this merc back, let’s dump him? I don’t wanna… I don’t wanna be forgotten.“
“V, I am…,” Takemura started, then sighed. He stood and paced behind the chair, clearly trying to work out something to say. His perfectly fitted black suit pulled tight over his muscles and cut a sharp contrast to the sterile white walls around him. He leaned against the pristine countertop, arms crossed and head bowed. “I am not asking you to trust them, I am asking you to trust me. I swear I will never forget.” He paused, before adding a strained, “Please.”
Takemura looked up and leveled his gaze with V’s. The old bodyguard looked hopeless and defeated, his eyes pleading with V to stay, to live. V didn’t want to be the cause of that pain, not now, not ever. But he would, inevitably, if he returned home now and let himself whither away in his dying body. And Takemura would probably mourn him, and then move on. V would just be a bit part in the famed bodyguard’s life, and for reasons V didn’t have time to unpack and understand, that thought terrified him.
“I do not wield the power of Saburo Arasaka, but I have considerable sway in my current position. I can have a team focused on researching your condition, a team monitoring morgues for potential matches, I-”
“Goro, enough, I get it. I mean, I don’t get why you’re sticking your neck out for me like this, but, hell, I can’t believe I’m saying this…, “ V took a steadying breath. “If you promise you won’t let my engram stay on ice for the rest of eternity, then I guess… shit, I’m in.”
Takemura’s arms fell to his side and stood at attention.
“You will sign it?”
“Yeah, I’ll sign the damn thing.”
Takemura crossed the room, knelt, and grabbed the contract. He moved back over to V with lethal swiftness, pushing the rolling desk chair back until it collided with the countertop. He stood in front of V, hand outstretched holding the datapad, and, although it could have been his oculus implant acting up, V could have sworn he saw Takemura’s hand tremble ever so slightly.
Taking the contract, V hovered his hand over the biometric signature input, knowing there was no going back after he touched it. It was the last chance to ask questions. “My bike, Jackie’s bike, will it be, uh, stored somewhere?”
“I will see to it that all your possessions are secured and maintained.”
“My boots, too?”
“Yes, I am afraid your questionable choice of footwear will still be functional when you return.”
“And my hat?”
“No, I am afraid Arasaka has a ‘No gold cowboy hat’ policy that not even I can disobey.“
“Well then you better take this back then,” V huffed jokingly, thrusting the contract into Takemura’s chest. The older man smiled and V felt warmth start to fill that ever-present emptiness he’d had since he woke up.
Takemura put a finger to his mouth and furrowed his brow. “If I tuck it inside the bike’s storage, perhaps we can get away with it.”
“As long as you don’t fold it, I finally got the shape just right.”
“If you would just sign the damn contract, then I promise not to fold, crinkle, or otherwise misshape the hat.”
“Well, I can’t say no to that deal,” V said before taking a deep breath in and placing his index finger firmly on the contract screen. A moment of processing, the Arasaka logo flashed, and that was it. He barely noticed Takemura extending a hand, and himself handing over the contract. His soul was now corpo property. It felt like the start of those stories about folks making a bargain with the Devil and getting tossed into hell. Although something told him he was gonna end the same grim way, the relief on Takemura’s face was almost enough to make him feel like he’d done the right thing. “I gotta ask… why all this for me?”
Takemura gave him a curious look, and countered, “Why did you accept Arasaka’s offer?”
“Well, I trust you, I guess. You’re my friend… I think.”
“And you are mine. That is enough.”
Takemura’s smile was warm and gentle and beautiful. V couldn’t believe it was for him. He looked away to hide the blush creeping onto his cheeks. V felt his bed dip as Takemura sat beside him. A firm hand, heavy but gentle, came to rest on V’s shoulder “I could not have fulfilled my duty without you, V. I owe you a debt I can never truly repay. That I should have a future in this world and you have only six months is a cruelty I refuse to accept. You will live. I promise that.”
This was all too much, too genuine, too intimate. V hopped up, trying to not take too much notice of the way Takemura’s hand slid from his shoulder down his back as he did so. “Alright, when do we do this?”
Takemura rose gracefully. “The engram station is ready for you. We should not wait for your condition to worsen.”
“Shit, that fast, huh?”
“It will be easier this way.”
“Alright, uh…,” V’s hand worried at the back of his neck, eyes darting to the door, feeling like he was about to be led to the gallows. “You’ll walk me there, right?”
Takemura smiled warmly, “Of course, V.”
Together they left the room and headed down the hall, Takemura in the lead and V trailing behind. The walk was largely silent, punctuated only by V’s singular attempt at humor involving a joke about the moon and Uranus, to which Takemura responded by stopping and glowering at V until he returned to silence. All too soon, they reached a door and Takemura stopped.
“Alright, we are here.”
“Okay, okay…,” V muttered, trying to suppress the panic rising in him.
“It will be alright, V,” Takemura reassured, placing a hand on V’s shoulder, near the junction with his neck. “And when you return, you must visit me in Kagawa. I will show you what is real food.”
V let out a huff of laughter, but there was little joy behind it. He stared down at his feet, “I just… I don’t want to die, Goro.”
V felt the hand leave his shoulder and lift his chin gently, forcing him to look up and into Takemura’s eyes. “You will not die. I will not allow it.”
“Well, guess that settles it.” Although he was dismissive, Takemura’s promise filled him with hope. As long as getting him a new, working body didn’t involve navigating a basic phone UI, he knew Takemura could not be stopped.
Takemura lowered his hand, but the feeling of smooth, steel-lined fingers gently caressing his chin lingered. He smiled down at him, “See you soon, V.”
Not sure what to say to the man who promised to save his life, V stepped into the older man’s space and threw his arms around him. After a moment, a hand curled up below his shoulder blades and Takemura softened into the hug. “Thanks for everything, Goro.”
V had never been this close to him before, and could finally feel the finely crafted muscles and steel that ran underneath those well tailored suits. The man was built to be one of the most lethal forces in the world, and here he was comforting a scared, clanless Nomad jackass. They parted, slowly, V feeling as close to ready as he was gonna get. He stepped over to the door, and it opened with a woosh, revealing the table and technicians preparing the procedure.
“See ya on the other side,” V called, looking back one last time at his friend. Then he stepped through the door, it slid closed, and Takemura was gone.
The hope that had filled him with as they said their goodbyes diminished as V settled into the sterile operating chair. The bitter taste of panic rising in his mouth. This was it. This could be it. Questions he wished he asked came flooding into his mind: will he dream, will he notice the time passing, what happens if they never find the body, what happens if his friends come looking for him.
His friends…. They’d never understand trusting Arasaka with his soul. Hell, V didn’t really understand why he was trusting them. If it was anyone other than Takemura, he would have tossed that contract in their face and laughed the entire journey back to Earth. But Takemura looked at him with more desperation and sorrow than V thought those keen, silvery eyes could convey and said “Please,” and V knew there was no other choice.
He breathed in.
His thoughts melted to the background, knowing those hard conversations with his friends would come later. He accepted his choice.
He breathed out.
The sound of the machine rose to a crescendo. The light became blinding. He shut his eyes.
He breathed in.