As instructed, Kyanite arrived at the address texted to her. It looked like a ran down alley with the backdoor leading to some sort of cheap bar; one that the android recognized. This already felt shady, but fortunately for Kyanite, she knew exactly how to defend herself. After all, this was a fifty-fifty chance of this either being some sort of trap or ambush, or a golden opportunity to see who the hell was on the other line and find out what this mysterious figure really wanted from Kyanite. She highly doubted it was someone powerful enough to have goons waiting on every corner on the street ready to try and put Kyanite down; the voice was too soft for that. On the contrary, anything can happen.

Kyanite's outfit was simple; a black neck crop top with slightly baggy pants of the same color with a few belts attached, followed by black sneakers. Over the crop top was an open gray jacket with a small bag attached near her left hip. To top it all off, she wore black gloves; her left glove being fingerless and the other one having sleeves for her fingers. This was meant to signal that she had no intentions of battling if she were in a casual outfit, but it gave her enough breathing room to engage otherwise if things went south.

The android took a few more steps closer in front of graffiti that spelled "neon". She checked her phone for the time, noticing that it's almost been ten minutes since she arrived. Kyanite clicked her tongue in slight annoyance; was the caller running late? Was she deciding to be fashionably late? She was told to arrive in two hours, yet the caller herself didn't keep her end of the bargain. Hell, at this point she could only hope she wasn't being played.

"Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long."

The same feminine voice Kyanite heard from the phone called for her from behind. The android's head perked up and turned around to see who was before her; a woman who seemed to be an inch shorter than Kyanite. She couldn't make out the facial features completely due to the darkness that surrounded them admist the dull neon lights, but it appeared that she had snow white hair and bright amber eyes. She wore a black and gold jacket with a large hoodie with horns on the top. Under it appeared to be some sort of black dress within a thin figure.

"No, not at all. Though, it did feel like you stood me up for a second." Kyanite's expression was neutral as she faced the stranger before her, but she sarcastically replied. If she had to assume, this was the same woman the android spoke to on the phone. Kyanite didn't have any presumptions of what or who the stranger was in what she could do and the talents she had.

The stranger gave a slight smirk at Kyanite's little quip. "Then apologies. Had to take care of a few things before we met. I wanted to make sure I look presentable, since clearly you already passed that mark." She gave Kyanite a quick lookover before her head nodded in approval. "You have some good taste in fashion, I'll give you that." She complimented. "That, and I wanted to make sure you didn't bring any backup. It would've been a terrible first impression, after all." The stranger pointed out.

Kyanite shoved both hands in her pockets and rose a brow at the stranger. "Funny how you say that. Here I was, expecting the complete opposite from you; bringing back up of your own and try to bully little ol' me." As flippant Kyanite's claim was, it was something she was serious about. Though, it seemed as though the stranger took the concern in a light hearted fashion when her smirk grew wider.

"Heh." The stranger took a step closer towards Kyanite, then walked towards the door. "And what? Ruin what could be a blossoming friendship? Never." "Friendship". It made the android ponder for a moment, but her train of thought was interrupted when the stranger spoke up again. "Anyway, let's get going. Follow me, private matters don't have all day." She said.

Kyanite's head followed the stranger as she approached the door. "You think the owner would allow a couple of strays to loiter around?" She questioned. Kyanite was a frequent customer and she knew the owner could be a little uptight when it came to people lounging around without buying a drink.

"The bar closed early for the night. I'm fine friends with the owner, so she wouldn't mind if we stuck around after closing hours for maybe a couple of minutes." The stranger opened the door and held it open for Kyanite to follow suit. "You comin'?"

---

As Kyanite followed the stranger in, the duo arrived inside of the bar. Messy, filled with tags and other graffiti. She always saw its signature sign whenever she passed, but she never went inside up until this moment. As the stranger was right, no one was in but the duo. "Homey." Kyanite always managed to get herself into high-end bars and drink away, especially since she had a much higher tolerance with alcohol since her android conversion. She could never turn down expensive booze. On the contrary, there was something about this bar that gave her a sense of humble beginnings despite her parents being moderately well off.

"Very. This place is practically my home now. My only one." The stranger commented. She led the android into a small booth where there were two bottles of what appeared to be different brands of shochu. Kyanite cocked an eyebrow out of interest as she took a seat. These brands had a hefty amount of money to their name, so it was somewhat of a shock that something that had a reputation of some sort end up in a low bar like this. "Alright," The stranger opened a bottle and reached for a glass. She filled the alcohol into the cup and slid it across towards the android. "Before we start, are there any questions you want to ask me?"

Kyanite immediately took the glass in her hand after it was passed to her and took a quick sip. Her lips cracked into a satisfied smile as she took one more sip. She needed that sip more than she realized. Finally, her eyes wandered off to the walls in contemplation before they were right back on the stranger. There were a lot of questions she needed answered; some that were important, and others were just out of mere curiosity. "A lot, if you want me to keep it real, but I'll try not to turn it into an interview." Now what could be the first question to ask...

"Okay... how did you know I got rejected from the Red Ribbon Army?"

The stranger poured herself a cup and took a small gulp, swirling the drink around as she gave a relaxed shrug. "They may be one of the biggest and toughest, but let's just say their cybersecurity could definitely need a touch up." Just from that answer alone, a major assumption was made. The girl before her was a hacking expert and probably decided to mess around with the corporation for the shits and giggles. Though, why she did it was what was needed to be known next.

"Right, and how the hell did you figure out my name? My real name, at that. Kyanite and Espere, as far as the corp knows, are two separate people. What gave away that I was Espere just from whatever files you looked at?" Kyanite questioned.

All the stranger did was shrug while she took a thoughtful sip of her drink. "I know what it's like to get rejected. I don't know much about you yet, obviously, but I once tried to apply for the RRA too, once upon a time." The stranger admitted. "And just like you, I got rejected her personal reasons I won't get into. I looked through your file, specifically your 'Kyanite' file and noticed that you converted yourself into an android, I'm assuming that was impressive enough for the RRA to take you in." She paused for a moment for another sip.

"Alright... and out of all of the rejected applicants, how did you manage to pin it all on me?" It felt like the stranger dodged the most important part of Kyanite's question, and it looked like even the stranger was a bit lost from how she lowered her eyebrows in deep contemplation before she gave yet another half shrug followed by another sip of her drink.

"Call it a hunch, or say Lady Luck was on my side." The stranger admitted. "I just looked through all of the applicants and thought to myself, 'Hmm... who's more likely to give themselves a whole new look and try to reapply?' Then, boom, you were my very first guess." She followed up.

Kyanite laid back from her seat to get a good look at the other woman. "Feels like you're messing with me, but at the same time... I believe it. Technology and luck are a very interesting pair. Can't really argue with it." She said. Then, came the final question. There were no punches pulled. "Then, why me? Why call me up here? There's thousands of RRA employees to snatch up and threaten blackmail with." She asked.

The stranger went silent for a second. She reached over the table to put her drink down and stare directly into Kyanite's eyes. "I'll answer with a question of my own." She announced. For the first time, the casual manner in her body language and tone disappeared and was replaced with something more dire, serious. "Why did you reapply? Why did you go through all the trouble of turning yourself into an android? Running away from Espere and taking on Kyanite? What is it that Kyanite could do that Espere can't?" She asked.

Kyanite stared at her cup for a while before she downed the rest of the alcohol in one gulp. She had to admit, the other woman through the android completely off with a series of deep questions that sent her into spiraling contemplation, and whether or not she could trust the stranger. The stranger on the other hand, gave an impressed smile as she watched the android quickly finish her drink. "I didn't catch your name. Well, I never gave you the chance to tell me it now that I look back on it." Kyanite reached for the first bottle. She twisted the cap off and poured herself another drink, this time filling it up to the brim.

"Nothing special. I usually go by the initial of my first name, X. As for what's my actual first name? Take me on a date first if you really want to get to know me better and my shithole you call life." A bitter chuckle escaped her lips as she shook her head and took a small sip from her cup, already noted that the android initially avoided her questions.

Kyanite gave a hearty laugh at the remark and nodded her head. "Don't worry. I'll be sure to give you the best treatment you ever had. All on me, you don't have to pay for anything." She reassured. Whether it was a joke or not, X's smile at the response looked genuine. "So... you want the story behind the woman that wants the Red Ribbon Army all to herself." She dramatically announced, another sip of shochu taken from her cup.

"All to herself, eh? I thought you were going to burn those guys down to the ground or something." X cackled.

"Not exactly. Far from it, actually." Kyanite said. She paused for a moment to consider what should be said and what should be left out. Then, it all poured out.

---

WC: 1,996
TWC: 3,640