POV Kiwi
Honestly, I never expected to meet my future mother-in-law like this—or under these circumstances. It was absolutely shocking, and I'm not going to admit I almost had a panic attack.
Actually, I never expected to meet her at all.
Galina already said Motoko Kusanagi was dead.
She's been dead for over a decade.
Sasha and I had already hacked part of the network to confirm her medical records and everything.
But apparently, fate enjoys mocking death.
The Voodoo Boys, emboldened by what they believed would be my boyfriend's certain demise, threw everything they had at the company's firewalls and defensive programs, trying to strip the servers clean.
I had expected someone to try something like that. I stayed behind because the company needed to look like it was on guard against potential data theft.
Mostly irrelevant data—padding to give the illusion of volume.
But I thought it would be the occasional careful probe—maybe two or three up-and-coming netrunners overestimating their skills, trying to make a name for themselves.
So when the Voodoo Boys kicked the door in—figuratively—and flooded in like a raging tide, I was overwhelmed almost immediately, even though I had the equivalent of a cannon that could fire endlessly without ever overheating.
It didn't matter how much I fired.
The numbers drowned me.
So I switched strategies the moment I realized, prioritizing the defense of a narrow channel to prevent the servers from overloading.
But the Voodoo Boys were relentless. I had to endure multiple daemons trying to overload my chrome—but at least Cynta's lessons were finally showing real progress.
Just as they had infested everything like termites in wood, preparing for the feast, another IP joined the chaos and drew everyone's attention.
At first, I thought some idiot was trying to take advantage of the gang's work to grab a few "leftovers"—a naïve and potentially fatal idea.
The Voodoo Boys didn't take it well, of course. It was no different from slapping their reputation in the face. When they took something, they took everything.
If they tolerated that kind of behavior, others would follow.
So they decided to teach this greedy soul a lesson.
The next thing I knew, the Voodoo Boys were gone—as if some purple titan had snapped his gem-studded gauntlet.
One moment they were there.
The next, they weren't.
Even knowing I didn't have to worry about overheating—that I still had a backup life—I couldn't stop the dread from creeping into me at that display.
The data from this new IP reformed, and I watched in confusion as it revealed its true shape.
A form I recognized, despite my growing disbelief:
Motoko Kusanagi.
Galina had shown us photos. There was no way I could mistake her.
After all… she was family.
"Not bad," Motoko flexed her hand a couple of times while looking at me, speaking without moving her lips—something that, I had to admit, looked incredibly cool. "Quick response, excellent potential, and flexible thinking. Though I suppose I shouldn't expect less from the girl who stole my little boy's heart." Her gaze ran over me. "Not overloaded with chrome, and quite pretty too."
I looked at her, uncertain.
I didn't immediately believe it was really her.
The possibility that she was an AI—or someone using her image to lower my guard—was obvious.
But at the same time… if someone could do this, pretending didn't seem necessary. And judging by what Galina had described about her time in Tasogare, everything matched too well.
"You're still cautious. Good." Motoko's avatar nodded, amusement flickering in her eyes.
Was that… approval?
Okay, now I was definitely starting to panic a little—and I didn't even know why.
"Do you want to find out if I'm really me, despite being 'dead'? Or whether I'm someone—or something—pretending to be your boyfriend's mother?"
I guess my expression answered for me, because she started recounting details—from the moment Fae and I met at the factory to what had just happened.
These weren't things you could just gather.
You'd only know them if you had been watching Faelan constantly.
For years.
Wait—does that mean when they—every time—
No, no. If she really was Fae's mother, she should've given them some privacy.
Right?
…Right?!
"Assuming you really are—"
"Your mother-in-law."
Kiwi choked.
Too soon!
"—Ahem! As I was saying, assuming you really are Motoko, I think there are several questions and explanations I need."
"How come I never revealed myself to my son all these years?"
"How did I really die that day?"
"What did Kawatatsu do back then?"
"Why did I choose to reveal myself to you now?"
"What have I been doing all this time?"
I stared at her.
"Yes. All of that."
"I could explain it now," Motoko tilted her head slightly, "but I think it'd be better to wait until the next chapter. I have to teach an unforgettable lesson to those who mess with my future daughter-in-law."
Kiwi, blushing: !?
[To be continued…]
…
"I'm messing with you," Motoko's laughter echoed, even though her lips had barely moved the entire time. "I have more than enough capacity to deal with them while we talk."
I didn't doubt it after what I had seen.
"The Voodoo Boys…?"
"Maybe I can't create a… what do the people of Night City call it? Ah, a Tree of the Damned like my son," she said, lines of data dancing across her vision. "But achieving a similar end result? That's easy."
I grimaced slightly at her attitude.
Like mother, like son.
"Don't worry. Once I'm done with them, I'll transfer the entire gang's funds to your accounts—untraceably," she added casually. "Consider it a dowry from my side."
"Done with them?" I had to make a real effort to keep my thoughts from spiraling. I needed to stay calm.
So I did the only sensible thing: stop thinking about dowries and in-laws and change the subject.
"Of course," Motoko tilted her head. "Faelan wiped out several gangs on his own in retaliation. If I don't deal with the Voodoo Boys after this, what would my son think of me?" she said. "Not to mention Galina—I'm not giving her the chance to use this as ammunition against me."
…Yeah, I really didn't know how to respond to that.
"So—those questions. What happened?" I asked, unable to hold back my curiosity any longer.
Motoko sighed—something a digital avatar didn't actually need to do, but I suppose she wanted to set the mood.
"All right, let's start from the beginning. The main reasons I didn't contact Faelan or trusted people like Galina are, first, as you can imagine, it's hard to receive a message from someone who's supposedly been dead for years and believe it's really them. Second, after giving birth, I had very little time to upload my consciousness to the Net, and I had to spend years hiding and 'feeding' on data to recover my capabilities."
"What happened during the birth?" I asked.
"Kawatatsu was after a piece of information that only existed in my head—a design created by my husband—and he took advantage of my weakest moment to force his way in and extract it," Motoko said, her anger clear. "It ended up frying my brain. Unfortunately for him, the file was designed to self-destruct in that situation—no matter how unlikely. I had no choice but to pretend to resist while uploading myself to the Net. As a result, I 'died' in the eyes of the world. In truth, I just left my body behind… and my son."
"…I see."
So Kawatatsu hacked Motoko right after she gave birth, trying to steal a file created by Faelan's father. The file was destroyed before he could obtain it, and Motoko was forced into the Net, where she spent years recovering—only able to watch her son from afar.
From that perspective, I could understand why Kawatatsu drained Motoko's accounts and sold Faelan to the factory in retaliation.
Petty. Cruel.
"Why reveal yourself now?" I still didn't understand that part.
"Because after all these years, I've recovered."
"Because, despite the anomalies my son can perform—and I've seen them—I wouldn't bear watching him be torn apart by losing you."
"And because… perhaps now there's a way for me to return."
Return?
But how would she—
Oh.
Oh!
…Actually, yeah.
She really could come back like that.