Cyberpunk Edgerunners IF: Going to the Moon with Kiwi, Not Lucy - Episode 7

The smell of oil, blood, and scorched circuitry still clung deep inside his nose. Half the ceiling of the Troy abandoned factory had collapsed. Moonlight streamed through the gap, making the dust particles glitter. Beneath it, David Martinez lay sprawled out. Flat on his back, unable to move. Every bone in his body felt like it had been shattered to pieces. That's what happens when you push a Sandevistan to twelve times its limit. His spine pulsed with a heat that felt like it was burning right through him. But. He was alive. "[whispers]...David." A hoarse voice came from right beside him. He managed, somehow, to turn just his head. Kiwi was lying on her back the same way. Her pink and blue hair was a mess, tangled with black oil and gray dust. A single cut ran across her left cheek. The blood from it had dried into a dark line. But her ice-blue cyber-eyes were fixed clearly on him. No more static running through them. She awkwardly twisted the corner of her mouth. David understood she was trying to smile. "[gentle]...Heh. You're okay. Thank god." His own voice was terrible too. His throat was stuck together, he couldn't breathe properly. His vision flickered like neon lights, on and off. "[sad]We're not okay. You, with those injuries..." "[laughing]Just a scratch. More importantly, what about that bastard?" Kiwi slowly moved her head and looked into the distance. Phantom, slammed against the factory wall, motionless. "[cold]He's alive. Just unconscious. But he's in no shape to fight anymore. You destroyed his Viper Arms too." "[laughing]Well, that's good... Makes it worth taking him down." David stared at the night sky through the massive hole in the ceiling. The toxic neon of the Watson district dyed the clouds red and purple. Not a single star in sight. There are no stars in this city. But right now, he thought, that was fine. The most beautiful thing was right beside him. David desperately moved his trembling fingers. Crawling them across the concrete floor. Ten more centimeters. Just beyond that, her left hand. His fingertips touched cold metal. The monowire launch port on Kiwi's left wrist. Cold. Even though his own hand was sticky with blood and oil. "[gentle]Hey, Kiwi. Listen." "[surprised]...What?" "[serious]I love you." Kiwi let out a small gasp. "[laughing]Well, I guess you already know that. I've said it a bunch of times already. But I wanted to say it right, right now. Even though my whole body's wrecked, my head's not working, and I'm at my absolute lamest. Kiwi. I love you more than anything in the world." Silence. In the distance, the only sound was the crackling of embers from a burned-out server. Five seconds. Ten seconds. Kiwi said nothing. —Oh crap. Did I just get rejected? A cold sweat ran down his back, way too late for that. Wait, had all of it just been in his head? Those smiles, those tears. Just as David was about to die from anxiety— "[crying]...You idiot." It was a tearful voice. "[crying]Me too. I love you too. Before I met you, I didn't know this feeling. I didn't know that trusting someone could be this terrifying, and this warm." Kiwi squeezed his hand back, tightly. Her right hand wrapped around his blood-soaked left. Her hand, which he'd thought was cold, was now unbelievably hot, like molten iron. "[crying]Before I met you, every day was gray. No color at all, just days of surviving. But then you showed up... Every day was loud, and stupid, and my heart ached... But it sparkled. Everything was dazzling, like neon lights." David forced his aching body to move and turned toward her. Kiwi was crying, tears streaming down her face, but she was smiling. A tearful, laughing, messy face. Not the best time to say it, but she was absolutely beautiful. "[laughing]...Sparkled, huh. I was just desperate. That first time in the warehouse, getting yelled at by this cool woman, I thought my heart was gonna stop." "[laughing]Of course I yelled. All you ever think about is charging in headfirst. You're an idiot, really." "[laughing]Heh, no argument there." The two of them laughed out loud. Every time they laughed, his broken ribs creaked and screamed. His wounds opened, blood seeping out. Even so, they couldn't stop laughing. After a while, Kiwi let out a resigned sigh. "[gentle]Hey, David. Can I ask you something?" "[surprised]What?" "[whispers]That parking lot in Pacifica. During the first test, you fell about a hundred times, right? Why were you so desperate? Was it because I was navigating for you?" David thought for a moment, then answered honestly. "[gentle]No. It was because I knew you were watching me." "[surprised]...Huh?" "[laughing]I mean, this insanely cool woman was watching me. I couldn't let her see me looking lame, right? So I got back up. Even if I fell a hundred times, I figured I'd run on the hundred-and-first." Kiwi stared blankly for a moment, then burst out laughing. "[laughing]You really are... the biggest idiot." "[laughing]I get that a lot." Just then, they heard the sound of multiple engines approaching from outside the factory. The deep bass of medical drones and armored vehicles. MaxTac, deploying. A little too late, but well, whatever. David tightened his grip on Kiwi's hand, just slightly. "[gentle]Hey, Kiwi. Let's go home. Tell Rogue we're okay at the Afterlife... Then first, get patched up at Viktor's clinic. I'm starving. Wanna grab some noodles from that stall?" "[laughing]Yeah. But before that. Let's stop by my safehouse." "[surprised]Why?" Kiwi showed him her left hand. Next to the launch port, a small locker number was digitally engraved. "[gentle]This has trace data from when Phantom hacked me. I need to run a specialized cleaner on it, so it'll take some time. I have to be completely isolated from cyberspace for at least a night." "[serious]Got it. I'll stick with you. All night if I have to." "[laughing]You can't do anything. Not with those injuries." "[excited]Heh. I'm great at lookout duty. If all I gotta do is sit there, leave it to me!" Suddenly, Kiwi's expression turned serious. "[gentle]...David." "[surprised]Hm?" "[serious]My memories all came back. Just like you said they would. Thank you." "[gentle]Yeah. Of course." "[gentle]And I remembered something. Back at Electric Paradise, you started to say something to me and then stopped, didn't you?" David's heart jumped, this time for a different reason. Ah, right. That time. Scared by Phantom's shadow, there was something he couldn't say. On the second floor of that arcade, the first time he tried to tell her he loved her. "[laughing]Ahh... Well, that's, uh." "[laughing]What? You're getting embarrassed now?" David made up his mind. He moved his painfully wrecked body one more time. Brought his face close to Kiwi's ear. From her hair, he caught the scent of sweat, machine oil, and just a hint of that awful coffee. "[whispers]...You're more beautiful than the moon." Kiwi gasped for a second, then turned bright red all the way to her ears. "[crying]...You're even more of an idiot. A hopeless, gigantic idiot. I'm way older than you, you know." Even as she said it, she pressed her face firmly against David's chest. Her head bumped against his painful wounds, but that kind of pain didn't matter at all. The factory entrance was pried open with a heavy sound. Helmet lights sliced through the darkness. "MaxTac! Confirm survivors!" Shouts and the sound of boots echoed all around. Still unable to get up, the two of them just held hands and watched the flood of light. Everything was over. That day, when one idiot fell into a trap in a warehouse. When an ice-cold hacker let out a sigh. The impossible days that started from there had now, without a doubt, taken shape. David looked at Kiwi beside him. She was looking at him too. Without a word, they both smiled at the same time. "[gentle]Hey, Kiwi. When we get back, make me that awful coffee again, okay?" "[laughing]Fine. But this time, I'll put sugar in it. You've got a sweet tooth, right?" It was the same conversation, repeating. But this time was different. This was a promise for the future. Medical drones surrounded the fallen pair and began scanning. The sky visible through the hole in the ceiling had, before they knew it, started to lighten just a little. Morning was coming to Night City. The sea of neon was slowly beginning to melt its glow into the dawn. It was the light of a beginning.

日本語

What is Novelia? →

Episode 7

Name: Cyberpunk Edgerunners IF: Going to the Moon with Kiwi, Not Lucy
Author: Novelia

What is Novelia?

Novelia is an AI-powered platform to read original light novels and fan fiction, create your own in just a few taps, and chat with the characters. New, illustrated episodes arrive daily — free to start.

Learn more about Novelia →New sign-ups get 5,000pt