I feel like one of those 'clowns' from 200 years ago

Connecting to Device WNHL839798...

The rocky beach through a large clear window comes to sight. An android's arm moves from side to side with a rag on hand, keeping the window clean. The android from the tattoo parlor catering to both skin and cybernetic limbs by the seaside wipes the window right on schedule. Through his eyes, I can see the benches by the beach, and on one of them is Weathers facing the ocean. No storm tonight.

Hm?

While the eyes of the android I'm connected to scans the glass for missed dirt, I spot Gin at the sidewalk. Ina is conversing with him. She's brought the dog again and she's wearing the same clothes as last time, the one difference being the pink peony adorning her long black hair.

Disconnecting from Device WNHL839798...

Connecting to Device MHYN751195...

"Did you tell my dad about this?!"

Gin starts laughing.

"Oh wow, Ina, I think your head is blossoming."

"You're an ass."

"I swear I didn't tell your father anything. I mean I really was planning to get you a flower hair clip as a joke but I guess he beat me to it."

"This is the worst punishment ever. It is cruel and unusual and humiliating."

"C'mon Ina, you're being forced to walk the dog in flowery clothes for a week. It's not that bad."

"You're like the third person today who's laughed at me, no one dresses like this! I feel like one of those 'clowns' from 200 years ago."

"Alright... look, if it makes you feel better..."

Gin pulls out his phone and its camera finally gives me a view. The back camera is pointed to the ground with Ina's legs and strappy sandals in frame. Soon enough, Gin turns it around and his face comes to view. It seems he's showing Ina something.

"Holy shit, what are you wearing. Why are you- Send that to me."

"Hell no!"

"We have to post it on 2itr and see how many likes it gets."

"Don't bother, I already know."

"What? What do you mean??"

"Looks like you're all cheered up so that's enough of that."

Gin pockets his phone and the camera feed turns dark once more.

"Don't you do this to me! What's the story behind that pic??"

Disconnecting from Device MHYN751195...

I send Gin a quick message with my phone: Don't be late.

"It's good that you finally have your own phone but don't use it during work."

"Sorry ma'am."

I hide the phone behind me and give Dahlia a slight bow.

"Relax, your shift hasn't started yet, I was just reminding you."

Though it's a bit early, I've already changed my clothes to match Dahlia's. We're standing behind the counter together when a service model android wearing a blue blouse and frilly apron heads up the second floor. The parts uncovered by her waitress uniform are visibly brand new.

"What a fucked up twist of fate. All this time, Opal's been saving up to upgrade herself to a newer model, and all it took was being dismantled by gangsters."

"So it really was gangsters that did it?"

"Officially, yes."

"...Officially?"

Dahlia crosses her arms and exhales through her nose.

"One of her attackers was a cop. The detective duo suspect the cop to be in cahoots with the gangs. Even tried to cover up his connection with them by messing with the missing person report."

"...Well, on the bright side, she won't have to worry about her model upgrade anymore."

Dahlia raises a brow at me incredulously.

"Noa, Opal's no charity case. She's getting charged in full."

"What?"

"The corpos funding the cops are the ones that provided her new body. They don't produce parts for older models so she had no choice but to get her upgrade with her reassembly. Either she pays up or return the body they lent her."

"That's-"

"Reality. Nothing's free. At least not for the damn corpos running this whole city. She'll most likely be in debt for the next 50 years unless she rakes in more credits somehow."

Dahlia shakes her head with a frown. The last group of four customers head out and Gin nearly bumps into them upon entry. He waves at us then starts pointing at the door.

"Hey, Dahlia, there's someone outside who wants to talk to you."

"Cops?"

"No."

"They blonde?"

"Uhh, what? No, it's Jak."

"Tell 'im to fuck off."

Gin pauses with a look of hesitation, most likely imagining what would happen if he did as she said. Dahlia sighs and murmurs something about "one thing after another".

"Alright, let him in. If he makes trouble, you know what to do Noa."

I nod and put my tasers on standby.