"Miss Hanako, please wait a moment. The security arrangement this time is absolutely appalling. I can't help but suspect someone is secretly working against the Arasaka family. I've finished inspecting the critical areas—personnel are alarmingly lax. I've set up the necessary defenses and will return immediately."
When Hanako Arasaka received this message from her personal bodyguard, Oda Santayū, she was in the middle of a holo-call with her brother, Saburo Arasaka's son, Saburō's younger son, Senu Arasaka.
The moment she read Oda's message, Hanako's gaze flickered slightly.
She knew Oda well. Though his skills didn't rival those of her childhood bodyguard, Katsuo Iwashima, his loyalty was beyond reproach. He was one of the few people she truly trusted. What's more, Oda, like Katsuo before him, had developed a certain… unspoken sentiment toward her—a fact Hanako was fully aware of.
Oda, through years of serving by her side, had also fallen for her.
It had to be said—women of the Arasaka family seemed to have an uncanny tendency to inspire devotion from their personal guards.
Katsuo Iwashima, once Hanako's top security officer and protector, had been enamored with her. In the past, even Adam Smasher's relationship with Michiko Arasaka had ambiguous undertones. And now, the top graduate of the Hokkaido training camp, Oda Santayū, had fallen into the same pattern. In the grip of such emotions, every knight assigned to a "princess" was driven to extremes of loyalty and zeal.
Hanako was well aware of both Oda's and Katsuo's feelings. They tried to hide it around others, afraid that higher-ups might see it as a threat and have them removed—but as the object of their affection, how could she not notice the occasional glance of longing? She simply chose to make use of it.
After all, someone who loves you is always more trustworthy, isn't that right?
Hanako had inherited one of her father's greatest talents—insight into the hearts of others. She always knew exactly what tools to use to handle people and how to make them feel loyalty and admiration. With that skill, she had mediated the conflict between Saburo and Senu after the death of their elder brother Arasaka Kei, escaping her gilded cage and rising to become one of the three central figures within Arasaka's internal factions. Even now, she used that gift.
She understood Oda's character well. The fact that he hadn't said much in the message meant he hadn't found anything overtly wrong—just lax security. That, to him, was enough of a potential risk to raise alarms. With that knowledge, Hanako felt slightly reassured. At least she wouldn't have to worry about being assassinated in broad daylight.
More pressing now was the conversation with her brother.
"I mourn Father's passing deeply, Hanako. But you know I'm the one who must handle the posthumous affairs. That includes renegotiating the Arvin Accords with that damn new American president. She'll be arriving in Night City soon to meet me face-to-face. I truly cannot be present to grieve with you in person. But I believe that building Arasaka's future is what Father would have wanted more than anything."
"Vengeance, huh? And so you push me to the forefront, to be the one to publicly announce Father's death? Makes me feel like your puppet."
"Everyone plays the role they must, Hanako. Even Michiko doesn't object."
"No objections? That's only because she's struck a deal with you, hasn't she? I never imagined that you, who once tried to fight everything with ruthless abandon, would now be allied with Michiko—trying to consolidate full control over Arasaka. You're starting to resemble Father more and more."
"Becoming like Father, you say…"
There was a clear pause on Senu's end, before he responded in an unusually calm tone, "No. I was never like Father—or Saburo. Recently, I've merely… recalled a bit of who I used to be. I've seen the need for change. After today, I ask that you stop bringing Father up. From now on, I am the CEO of Arasaka."
After a short pause, his tone softened slightly:
"Hanako, do you remember how I used to tell you stories about the outside world when we were still in the compound? Maybe after today, we can talk more often again... if you're still willing to listen."
"…Big Brother."
Hearing her brother finally speak again like the sibling she remembered, stirring old memories, Hanako's heart was briefly touched. But that emotion was quickly buried.
She took a breath.
"I will mourn Father properly, Brother… if that's what you truly wish."
"Thank you, Hanako."
With that, Senu ended the transmission. Hanako took a deep breath as his image faded from the holoscreen.
"Never speak of Father again? As if that were even possible…"
Hanako had once been imprisoned by her father in Arasaka Tower for years. Only after Arasaka Kei's death and her successful mediation between Senu and Saburo had she realized her power—her ability to read people and her unique position within the family. That realization gave her a taste of authority.
Power had let her step out of her cage. It let her live, to some extent, on her own terms. It allowed her to breathe, to experience a semblance of freedom. But she also knew—her power came from others.
Even after becoming the de facto leader of the Arasaka "Pheasant Faction," one of the corporation's Big Three, she remained a puppet of Saburo Arasaka. The pheasant was a beautiful, ornate bird—yet one that couldn't fly far, couldn't escape. It was a creature of the earth, bound by its nature to the ground, no matter how it flapped its wings.
"Unlike Brother Kei, who obeyed Father blindly, or you, who rebelled against him—I owe everything I have to Father."
The pheasant could never escape its cage.
The Relic—a project that could theoretically offer a form of digital immortality—was Hanako's discovery. It was she who brought its potential to her father's attention. She understood the Relic better than even its lead scientists.
Yes, Father may have died physically—but the struggle for Arasaka's future was far from over.
Brother… you may believe I've broken free, that I'm now someone who acts of her own free will, still your cherished little sister. Maybe that's why you still hesitate, why you still hope for me.
But…
Father is still here.
His will is still here.
And how could I ever leave this cage?
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🔥 CYBERPUNK: THE RELENTLESS
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🔥 THE STORY DOESN'T STOP HERE. NEITHER DOES HE.
Night City breaks people every day.
Some crawl away.
Some disappear.
And some simply refuse to stop.
Cyberpunk: The Relentless has 500+ chapters ahead available for readers who want to keep going.
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⚡ NO BRAKES. NO MERCY. NO TURNING BACK.
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💀 Deadly enemies
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⚔️ One relentless road forward
Every victory creates another enemy.
Every enemy leads to something bigger.
And Night City always wants another body.
🔥 500+ CHAPTERS AHEAD.
👉 Why stop now?
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