Well if I knew what team work meant, you think I'd be here?!

It felt like the whole world was his oyster. Sure, it wasn’t much of a world in the state that it had ended up all these years after the legendary Big Destruction that had swallowed any life spitting back only the ugly parts of Earth. Many people were sad about this outcome, he on the other hand couldn’t care less. This was his paradise and the reason was simple, really. The Reconnaissance System had taken many into captivity but for him, it was the reason he was free to do as he pleased.

He was playing with one of his newest gains that obviously shouldn’t be in his possession when one of the CBT’s Androids, Insansi, stopped him in his tracks. He didn’t even try to hide what he was holding even though it was apparent that they were all stolen.

“Is there a problem, officer?” The robotic lifeless eyes looked back to his icy blue ones and soon after that, he felt his body getting scanned. The Insansi’s gaze turned red every time it found something that rightfully belonged to someone else but when it ran his face through the identity recognition system that was installed inside its artificial brain, his posture changed. If it could demonstrate emotions, it would appear to be a little flustered. A comic image considering how bulky and heavy the machinery was. Why they couldn't make them thinner and less obnoxious he didn't know, maybe feeling the ground tremble underneath your feet and hearing it approach you was part of the intimidation technique.

“No, everything is alright. Sorry for the disturbance, Miyahara Shin-san.” The crappy piece of metal stepped away letting him continue his walk without a care in the world. This was one of the reasons why, in contrast with many other commoners, he loved the Council of a Better Tomorrow. (CBT for short). In their attempt to make sure that the past wouldn’t be repeated endangering their already-in-the-brink-of-extinction world, they had come up with things like the Reconnaissance System. If someone demonstrated a little more violent or abnormal behavior than their peers, they would take them to a machine that could determine if they were potential criminals in the future. If they were, they were brought to a secret facility and nobody really knew what happened after that. For some reason, the machine hadn’t recognized him as a potential criminal or as they were called “Early-Bloomer” so whenever he did something wrong, he would only get a pat in the back and be left alone. Man, he loved this new way of doing things.

He continued strolling down the road not paying any mind to the people walking beside him or the noise of machines working constantly which were either part of a factory or of someone’s body. There were many people like that. He hadn’t experienced the Big Destruction himself but the older ones had and it had cost them some of their limbs which were now mechanical putting them in the Cyborg category. The only significant advantage of that way of living was that they were the only ones who could survive inhaling that poisoned air without having some serious side-effects. When different mega power countries decided to start a game of tag to decide who had the most atomic or radioactive weapons at hand, the ecosystem of the planet could change or whatever. Who knew?

He didn’t look up at the sky, there wasn’t anything interesting about that scrap of hastily folded paper. There was no day, no night and no change of seasons. Not that he knew what any of those were, he hadn’t ever seen them with his own eyes. He didn’t feel bad about it though. The elders were nostalgic but he wasn’t one to miss something that was never there. Life wasn’t up there, it was down here and he wasn’t going to get caught up in some daydream about a better world and life. Everything was fine just the way it was.

He pushed the door of the almost rundown bar and made his way inside. Now that was his world. The burning scent of cheap alcohol, the mumbling and shouting of drunk people ready to throw fists at each other just because they felt like it and the sound of coins in the back which was where he was heading in the first place.

He squeezed his way through some really unpleasant people trying not to lose his composure as their dirty bodies brushed against his. He wasn’t that clean himself but it still didn’t feel good. He didn’t want to be lumped with any of them. They were running from the authorities, he could steal something in front of an Android and it could ask him if he wanted it delivered to his home- if he had one. He brought some real money over there, they weren’t the same.

He easily reached the more hidden place of the bar and quickly noticed the presence of the only person he liked in there, Borata, the Cyborg who gave him the jobs and deals he needed to survive. He was currently talking with a possible fool-ehem, customer-whom he was really close to convincing to buy something they didn’t and wouldn’t ever need. Shin wasn’t one to disrupt someone else’s business but he didn’t like to wait either so when his eyes met the one still in place and the other mechanical eye of Borata, he nodded for him to get it over with so they could talk business. He nodded with a spark in his eye, he always liked to see Shin coming into his bar because he always had some good stuff with him.

In a matter of minutes, the poor man gave in to the temptation of buying something he would never use and Shin and Borata were free to speak with no hesitation. Nobody could overhear them back there, that was the reason this was the location in the first place.

“What do you have for me today, boy?” Shin didn’t like how condescending the last word was but he had gotten used to it and considering Borata’s age, it was mostly justifiable that to him he was only a boy. Shin cocked an eyebrow and lifted a heavy bag with valuables before setting it on the table. He wasn’t going to repeat the mistakes of the past. This time, unlike his first one, he didn’t create noise that could draw everyone’s attention from afar while at the same time, he didn’t empty the bag in front of the Cyborg either. He had gotten some of the things stolen right underneath his nose once while another time, the whole bar had stormed to their direction grabbing anything they could find. This wasn’t a fair world and this part of the city was the worst there was. If something was taken from you, there was no way you could prove that it was initially yours. He had learned his lesson. Before Borata could open the bag and look into the things inside of it, Shin caught his fleshy arm and stopped him. He almost heard a growl escape the Cyborg’s throat but he didn’t flinch. Borata’s whole appearance made him intimidating with that one mechanical foot making him look like the pirates of old times and the sound it made when he walked, warning everyone that he was near. But Shin was used to all that by now.

“Here” Was the only thing he said when he gave the cyborg a piece of paper. Paper was a luxury and hard to find so what he had written on was more of a synthetic that was wrapped around his lunch. The Cyborg seemed a bit irritated but at the same time impressed and a smile couldn’t help but break its way to his lips.

“You clever bastard” He muttered as he read the list of everything that was inside the bag and reluctantly signed the end of it. Now, Shin could be a little more sure about the safety of his cargo. Borata was free to do as he pleased with it, to a certain extent of course. “You never stop to impress me” He muttered as he brought everything closer to his mechanical eye which grew out of its artificial socket and made a weird sound as it zoomed into the valuables and estimated their price. Shin smiled arrogantly at that.

“So? Do you have anything new for me? Something bigger for a change?” He tried to chit chat since it was boring to simply observe Borata as his expression changed from one thing to the other. Sometimes, he got so lost in his work that he wouldn’t make a single sound and his eye would appear to have stopped blinking. Shin thought that was the case again since the old man didn’t reply at first so he opened his mouth to ask again only to be pierced by Borata’s eyes. His look was more serious than usual.

“Look, kid. I know I’ve humored you until now and we make good deals together but aren’t your strings like, brand new? What do you need all this money for? And even if you needed them for strings, you are the only person in this part of the city who can actually make money legally by accepting a Mission from the CBT. Why are you still here?” He wasn’t wrong, although it did make Shin feel weird like he was losing the only place where he felt like he belonged. It was true, he didn’t need the money and since he wasn’t an Early-Bloomer, aka a potential criminal according to the Reconnaissance System, he could accept Missions just like every other normal person to make more if that’s what he wanted. But that was the problem, it wasn’t.

“I don’t feel like bowing my head to anyone and you know it more than anyone. Besides, I want something more risky! Something that will make me feel alive!”

Borata didn’t reply but his thoughts were so apparent that Shin would practically listen to them spoken with his rough voice inside his head. He believed that there were many people who would kill to be in Shin’s position and that the boy was an ungrateful brat for not seeing that. In addition, he sure had a lot to say about Shin’s twisted sense of what it meant to be alive. He looked like an idiot who didn’t take matters seriously among people who were fighting to survive. And Borata was right to see him that way but that didn’t mean Shin was going to change his way of seeing and doing things. This was who he was and he wouldn’t change for anyone. He didn’t care about the law nor about becoming a decent human being. He liked himself. He had already said all that to the Cyborg in a previous conversation so instead of talking, they kept on staring each other down until one of them grew tired of it. They were both really stubborn about it.

“I can’t give you a job that someone else could do and needs it more than you.” Was the only thing Borata said and his tone made it apparent that his decision was final. Shin couldn’t blame him or go against him but he still exhaled noisily from his nose. The Cyborg didn’t even blink and hurried to give him his money so that he would get out of there and stop this stupid argument the earlier he could. Shin took the heavy bag but still lingered. It wasn’t only that he didn’t want to back down but he had nothing to do with his life and that would only drive him to some dangerous choices and decisions. His strings were indeed brand new and there weren’t many things he could do with the extra money without getting bored after a little while. After all, spending all these coins would drive attention to himself that he both didn’t want and didn’t need.

“Isn’t there like a job that nobody wants to do?”

The Cyborg looked him up and down before his lips slightly parted only to close again. He looked away moving his head as though he was trying to drive off a thought. So there was something. That was all Shin needed to do. “I’ll do anything” He continued determined.

“You’re not gonna like it.” Borata tried to reason with him.

“Try me”

“Okay, there is one thing.” He made a dramatic pause and a teasing smile adorned his full and dry lips before he added “But you need to have a team. You can’t do it alone” The man’s grin grew wider when he saw the way Shin’s expression scrunched up. It was what he expected.