Going after Samurai is rare for a reason. The best chance you have to take them out yourself is to spring it on them. Give them a moment to react, and they might just turn the tables on you.

  — FAQ post, Heartpiercers Forum

  Hayden's place turned out to be a small apartment on the 26th story. There wasn't exactly room to park, and the street had picked up, so they soon ended up just hovering next to his lone window with the door open.

  "I swear if you fall I'm not scraping you off the concrete" Quinn huffed, as Hayden prepared to jump.

  He rolled his eyes at her. "I'll be fine, I'm not going to fall, and even if I did." He leapt with a 'Hurk' and was suddenly pressed against his window. "See!"

  He lifted the window with a foot before shimmying inside, then turning back.

  "Hey, thanks for today. I appreciate it. Do this again sometime?"

  Quinn smiled warmly. "Sure. Stay safe?"

  "Will do." Hayden closed the window, and she caught a glimpse of him flopping onto a moderately sized bed before the Iron Swan peeled away and up again.

  It wasn't a long trip back to the university from there, and soon they were circling around looking for a place to park. A brief conversation between Hylios and the university administration later and they were cleared to set down in front of Aisha's dorm.

  She popped off a quick message to the lively fox girl.

  "Hey, we just got back. how are things going?"

  It only took about 30 seconds to get a response back.

  "Good! UW is clear, I'm just chilling in my room. Want to come hang?"

  "Yeah, sure. we're outside."

  "Got it, coming down to let you in now."

  Quinn took the time to look around as she stepped off the Iron Swan. At a glance it looked like a standard city street - towering skyscrapers looming over a concrete road of grime and trash. Windows and balconies dotted the walls up in uneven fashion, outnumbered by the sheer density of neon signs and advisement boards that covered most surfaces. A number of small sky bridges stretched between buildings - it was common to be able to walk half way across the city never leaving a building if one so chose. The bottom few floors were pretty much exclusively businesses of various kinds, while the top were likely primarily housing. Hovercars continued to swoop overhead back and forth. Her suitcase followed behind, clattering down the steps on little spidery robot legs.

  There were signs this was a university district, however. A couple of blocks down, the architectural chaos gave way to a uniform, dare say well designed tower clearly marked with the UW logo - one of the many college towers. The businesses in the area were also slanted - several marketed themselves as study aid services, even a few as blatantly cheating assistance programs. There were bars and clubs aplenty, as well as cheap restaurants. There was even a small section with what looked like significantly more upscale businesses - a fancy looking bar called the Scholar's Taproom, and a few high end clothing shops in a cluster that had far less grime.

  Traffic was still light, whether due to casualties from the recent alien invasion or just people staying home in fear, but there was still a number of people on the street. Most were on the poorer end - the rich tended not to step on the streets much, but a number were clearly students. She was suddenly conscious of a large number staring at her.

  Thankfully it was that moment that Aisha popped out of a grimier looking door a few feet to the left.

  "Hey you! This way."

  With Elliot and Maia following behind they filed into the cramped stairwell which, unusually for one like it, did not smell overwhelmingly of piss.

  Aisha stopped inside as they entered, before closing the door behind them. "Right, I'm on the twenty fourth floor. Vyshnu talked to the uni and there's a few rooms on that floor that are empty you can use."

  She sprouted a mischievous grin, looking at Maia and Elliot. "Now, see you two up there?"

  Before either could ask what was going on Aisha had swept Quinn up in a princess carry. She let out an 'Eeep!' as they were suddenly rocketing upwards before coming to a sudden stop in the middle of the stairwell. With a brief dip forward they were once again on solid ground, and Quinn was gently put down on her feet again.

  "Sorry Cutie, I realized I hadn't given you a ride yet. We can hang around while the other two catch up."

  Quinn took a breath before shooting an annoyed look at the other girl, though she couldn't stay mad for long. That was kind of fun.

  It took another couple of minutes for Elliot and Maia to catch up, the latter pausing and holding a hand up, breathing heavily.

  "Fucking hell, living up this high with no elevator must suck."

  Aisha shrugged, smile not having left her face. "You get used to it." She winked at Quinn "Gives you killer thighs too."

  Elliot chuckled, while Aisha scanned a card to let them in, leading to a cramped hallway.

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  "Oh, I should probably get you cards to get in yourselves, if you're going to be living here for a bit."

  Maia stopped in her stride for a moment. "Wait, how long do we have these rooms for?"

  Aisha stopped in front of one door. "However long you need them. Do you think they'd say no to the Samurai that saved their damn school?"

  "I'll note that we can just open the doors for you, no card required." Vyshnu replied.

  Aisha nodded. "Sure, though can you keep an eye on Maia to let her in as well?"

  "Of course. It will hardly tax even a fraction of my processing to keep an eye on her and let her in when necessary."

  "Thanks Vyshnu. Oh, this is one of the rooms, its a little further away from the rest."

  Elliot stepped up and put a hand on the door. "Maybe I'll take this one then? Give you girls some privacy."

  This got a glare from Maia. "Not a girl."

  "Ah shit, sorry." he rubbed the back of his head. "What do you want to be called?"

  They softened. "Person, Chaos Gremlin, just nothing gendered."

  Elliot nodded. "Got it. Sorry, I'll be better in future."

  Maia waved it off. "Its not a big deal if its a mistake, don't sweat it."

  He stepped up and opened the door, stopping at the threshold.

  "Take a few hours break, then meet up for dinner?"

  That didn't sound like too bad of a time.

  "Sure, works for me" Quinn replied, giving him a wave as he closed his door.

  Aisha showed Maia and Quinn to rooms of their own, and Quinn took her leave to go lie down. The room was sparse, just a single bed and a plastic desk. But it was the size of the one she'd had back at Amazon and that had been shared between three. It was nice.

  She laid back on the bed, letting out a deep sigh she didn't know she was holding in. The suitcase plopped itself down near the foot of the bed, but she didn't bother unpacking - who knows how long she'd actually be staying here.

  She pulled up her Augs, signing into Chaos Chat and seeing who of her online friends were around. She found her usual Star Union group in voice in their server, so she dropped in.

  "Hi Guys, how goes?"

  "Shit, is that Quinn?" Viktor, one of her oldest friends, replied. "The fuck you been bitch?"

  She'd met Viktor in high school, bonding over video games and shitty AI generated anime. He was crass beyond belief, but he'd always been a good guy at heart. When she'd come out, he'd immediately switched from calling her a bastard to a bitch and never got it wrong since.

  "Give her a minute Viktor." Mandy. They'd met over a previous game, and bonded over shitty parents, though they'd never met in person.

  "Yeah, fine." He acquiesced.

  "I uh. there was an incursion in Madison, I nearly got caught in it, its been a hell of a few days."

  "Oh shit. You okay? They eat any of your limbs?" Courtney, friend of Mandy's. She was newer to the group, but was fitting in well with her dark humor but willingness to listen.

  "Oh, I'd heard about that, apparently they got like… 5 new Samurai too. wonder if its a record." Colm, steady and dependable, but refused to play anything other than DPS.

  "The Mech Chick is cool." Bruno, quiet but insightful.

  She chatted for a while, then jumped on Star Union to run a quick dungeon. She'd lost her daily login streak, and it would be a pain to get it back up if she even cared, but she just enjoyed some time with her friends.

  After a few hours the exhaustion hit, she said goodbye to the group, and after extracting a promise from Irys to wake her up before dinner, she collapsed back onto the mattress and fell asleep.

  She was woken a few hours later by a gentle chiming in her mind.

  "Darling, its about time to get up."

  She groaned, rolling over and refusing to move until the chiming started growing in volume.

  "Fine, you torturer. I'm getting up."

  "I woke you up in time to change clothes and have a shower, but you only have so much time."

  Quinn grumbled but got up, taking directions to the shared showers on the floor. There was a tall, onyx skinned girl in there, but she wasn't feeling like conversation and got on with her business.

  She luxuriated in the hot water for a few minutes before heading back to her borrowed room, drying off and acquiring a set of her off day clothes to wear out. A loose camisole, leather jacket and baggy pants with lots of pockets, combat boots on her feet.

  Aisha had sent a message to meet at an upper floor bridge, so she moved into the stairway and climbed up to the 30th floor. The corridor over was the same as the 24th, bland beige walls broken by occasional identical doors until they branched at the intersection at the end. She turned the corner to find Elliot and Aisha waiting for her, chatting conspiratorially. They quickly ceased their conversation as they spotted her, turning to give her smiles.

  Aisha was out of her magical girl style armor slash outfit, instead in a comfy looking light sweater, jeans and ankle boots. Elliot was in a t-shirt and jeans, though she had to admit it fit him well.

  "Uh, where's Maia?" She asked, noticing a distinct absence of her erstwhile roommate.

  "Oh, she said she was feeling off, was going to get some dinner on her own." Elliot replied, looking slightly uncomfortable. Quinn internally frowned, something odd was going on.

  "So, where are we going?" She asked, trying to distract herself from the uneasy feeling that was building.

  "Oh, I figured since we survived our first incursion we'd treat ourselves, there's a solid hotpot plate a few buildings over. They even have fake meat!"

  "Uh, sure. sounds good to me." Quinn replied.

  They walked over a few sets of bridges before taking an elevator down. Aisha shared stories of her day, apparently she'd run into a large amount of Model-9s, stealthy models that could disguise themselves as all manner of everyday objects, before erupting in a flurry of blades when prey drew close. She'd had to upgrade her ears after one had nearly took her arm off. Quinn was a little horrified to hear that, but Elliot was just excited to see the scar, which Aisha happily showed off.

  They soon reached the restaurant, and settled in for a meal. After selecting a broth and ordering various items to get thrown into the pot, they briefly discussed Quinn, Elliot and Hayden's day. After food was delivered, they ate for a little before Elliot and Aisha shared a look between them before both turning to Quinn.

  Elliot started. "So, we've been talking, both to each other and to Maia. You've never dated before, right?"

  Quinn nodded. "Maia and I have uh, done it, a few times. But they're aromantic, so it was just that. Other than that, not really?"

  She caught Aisha giving her a devious grin. "Why, what were you talking about?"

  Aisha just winked back. "Well, we know you're quite into both of us. So we were trying to figure out how to best let you decide when the idea came, why make you decide at all?"

  "Uuuuh." Quinn's cheeks started heating up. "I don't think I understand. Are you both rejecting me."

  Aisha glanced at Elliot incredulously, putting her forkful of cooked bok-choy down as she did. "Is she really this useless?"

  He sighed dramatically. "She is, apparently." He put his own forkful of noodles back down and looked at her directly in the eyes. "We're suggesting, if you want it, that we both date you. At the same time."

  Quinn paused. "That's… the polyamory, right? That's what its called?"

  "Yup!" Aisha replied, before putting the broccoli she had saved into her mouth, savoring it and swallowing before continuing. "Both Elliot and I are chill with it, so if you are, no reason not to. Right, cutie?"

  Quinn felt her face go beet red. She'd be lying if she said she hadn't thought about the idea, maybe just a little. She turned to Elliot.

  "Are… you sure you'd be okay with something like that?" She asked timidly.

  He cracked a grin. "I was dating three people in my squad for several years, I'll be fine, promise."

  Aisha shot him a mock horrified look. "THREE girls at once? My Elliot, what a scoundrel."

  He replied, tone deliberate. "Three people."

  It took Aisha a few seconds, but she quickly raised both eyebrows and uttered an "Oooh" as she got it.

  With that little reveal out of the way, the two turned back to Quinn again. Aisha took the lead.

  "So, you don't need to answer us right away of course, but the option is only the table. You can also just do it the normal way if you want. I won't be too offended if you don't pick me." Her words were serious, but there was a teasing look in her eyes that gave away her lack of actual concern.

  Quinn took a deep breath, looked each in the eye, and replied.

  "Sure, we can give it a shot, so what happens now?"