Chapter 52 — "Parade of Fire"
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The aftermath of Japantown's chaos hung in the air like charged static.
Alaric leaned against the balcony of his apartment — shirtless, cybernetics humming faintly under skin slick with sweat from the city's humid night. Evelyn stretched lazily beside him on the couch, draped in nothing but his jacket, while Judy fiddled with a drink at the bar.
They were safe. They were his. And for now… the world could burn outside.
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But the call came anyway.
Takemura: "The parade is set. Hanako will make her move."
Alaric exhaled slow, watching Evelyn glance over with a curious look, Judy's sharp eyes flicking his way too.
Alaric: "Then we'll dance in the flames."
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The parade — a kaleidoscope of color, steel, and blood beneath Arasaka's looming towers.
Alaric prowled the streets, synced with Takemura's intel feed. Snipers hidden in lanterns, security drones masked as floats, Arasaka agents in civilian skins.
He cut through them like a ghost. A blur of blades, silenced shots, and whispered threats.
By the time Hanako's platform hovered into view — an ornate, glowing shrine atop a maglev — Alaric was already on board.
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Hanako met him with that same unreadable gaze.
Hanako: "I see you enjoy walking dangerous lines."
Alaric smirked, leaning closer than any man dared.
*"Lines? Princess… I erase them."
For half a second — just half — her lips almost curved.
But before words could fall, gunfire ripped through the air.
The Wraiths. The gangs. The corpos.
All crashing this parade like a party set for ruin.
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Alaric drew both pistols — chrome flashing in neon light — and launched into the fray.
Bullets rained. Bodies dropped. Johnny's laughter echoed in his mind.
Johnny: "Now that's a parade worth attending!"
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By the end, Alaric stood at Hanako's side on the burning platform.
Her kimono torn by shrapnel, her perfect face smudged with smoke — and yet she didn't flinch.
Hanako: "Perhaps… I underestimated you."
Alaric met her eyes.
*"Get used to it."
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Later that night — back at the Aldecaldos camp — Panam met him by the fire.
She punched his chest softly.
*"You got a death wish, city boy."
Alaric pulled her into his lap with a slow grin.
*"And you love it."
Her smirk… said everything.
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[System Emotional Points Update:]
> Panam +10 (Desire & Hidden Attachment)
Hanako +30 (Impressed)
Judy +20 (Worried Care)
Evelyn +20 (Protective Desire)
Johnny +2 (Chaotic Approval)