Goro Takemura x Reader

Eight

You didn't know how long the escape lasted, but no one came. Maybe your gut feeling had been right and the device had failed to call for help.

Either way, it was already too late.

You awoke after a while of unconsciousness, hands tied to a metal pillar, your lashes stuck together by dried tears. Your lips were cracked, all you could do was take short breaths through them.

And then there was the pain. That fucking pain that almost drove you insane.

It was everywhere, all the way up and down your bones, stuck inside your spine and it's individual parts, up to your chest where it made breathing feel like a sin. Your feet were still numb and your knees were so stiff you would have compared them to rusty plates of metal.

Everything was awful, even your head was still spinning. A hint of nausea pinched your nose.

All that kept you awake in this moment was the cold. This very clear, almost icy cold. You could feel it in your cheek and the entire side of your body that you lay on.

It was a hard, stone floor. Yet something small made you want to scratch your skin.

You blinked twice to get rid of the tiredness that pushed down your eyelids.

"Sand..?", you mumbled to yourself.

You didn't know how long you had been knocked out cold, but it must have been a good few hours. The day had turned into a full fleshed night, you could see the moon and the stars through huge holes that could be seen all over the roof.

Your eyes widened.

Moon and stars?

It wasn't possible to see the moon or stars ever. The lights of Night City were so bright that they chased away any kind of natural phenomenon. And even if the lights had all gone dark for a brief moment it would still be impossible because the huge skyscrapers blocked out the sky.

A cold shiver crawled down your spine.

That could only mean that you weren't in Night City no more. And if there was sand there could only be one possible explanation.

No man's land. The area that was right outside the city borders.

How had they made it past the checkpoints with you?

You were a listed member of the Arasaka family. The only person that had a higher security level than your family was the goddamn mayor of Night City himself.

As soon as border patrol would have found your unconscious body they would have let hell rain down on these merchants.

But everyone was still alive.

So how had they managed to smuggle you out of the city?

LFuck...", your voice was all raspy and hoarse from the lack of air that kept your body going. "How... did I end up... like this..?"

You tried to move your hands but ropes kept them so tight together that it only caused irritation on your skin. After a while of moving and twisting you gave up. It already felt like blisters started to form on your wrists.

In the dark a few shadow crawled across the floor.

It smelled of dust and old oil. Car oil. And gasoline. Strange, since most cars these days used fuel that humans weren't able to smell.

Only quite old models still ran on gasoline that had this stench to it. The only people who were in possession of such junk vehicles were nomads.

Frightened, your eyes tore open. But before anything could give away that you were conscious again you managed to swallow a scream of surprise.

The nomad clans were infamous for their smuggling skills. If someone needed something to get out of the city unnoticed, nomads were the people to get the job done.

You had heard a few rumours about how more clans started to settle in the Badlands around Night City. But you had always thought nothing of it.

Hadn't Yorinobu warned you about an article he had read a few weeks ago?

You had huffed in his face. Like an idiot. If that wasn't karma to come back to bite you in the ass. Oh, your brother would have a good laugh as soon as you were rescued from this situation.

If.

Your eyes lowered as the shadows grew longer. Steps sounded and muffled voices filled this strangely idyllic silence.

It was warm yet not warm enough to sweat. But at the same time you did not feel like freezing. A gush of air crawled through the holes in the roof, down over the floor and gently chased dust and sand towards your face.

The touch was oddly soothing yet uncomfortable. Your nose curled and you almost had to sneeze. If only there would have been this fear that if you did your ribs would snap.

"I did my job.", a scratchy voice reached your ears from around a pile of boxes and ammunition cases. "Now it's time to pay up."

It was weird just how much gun force was around. Your body was hidden away behind a pile of boxes that hosted not only guns but also suitable ammo, extras and mods to make a simple weapon into a NCPD nightmare.

From the corners of your eyes you managed to spot the vague outline of an automatic machine gun robot that had been placed.

So your kidnappers really did expect resistance. A simple set up trap like that wouldn't keep Arasaka way but perhaps it would be able to buy them enough time to get away.

Death was a tango and the fixers and merchants of Night City knew damn well how to dance it.

"Chill.", a low voice answered, followed by the click of a metal lighter that was opened. "I told you, pay after the job is done."

"My job IS done.", the man insisted.

You could see how his shadow came closer. Black cowboy boots appeared, together with motorcycle pants and a stained, white wife-beater. Curly black hair fell over broad shoulders.

The strangers gaze wandered over his shoulder to check if you were still where he had left you. Blue eyes examined you.