140 Trimester

In the end, Ori did accept to continue the gig. Rebecca would stay as his gunner while Sasha would keep an eye in the audience, make sure no one, especially the assassins, attempted to interfere with the race. This was more important than last since they weren't rolling around in a big ass tank anymore, all that was needed was a lucky sniper shot and things could be ruined.

Fortunately for the group, the cancelled qualifier set the finals a couple weeks back, giving them ample time to modify the Mizutani to be 'combat ready'. Whether or not that'd be good enough was anyone's guess however.

Ori refused to let this opportunity pass, so he'd elected to have the Nanites start some upgrades. Specifically, upgrades to his nervous system. This was likely the best choice since driving was first decided by skill and planning, then by reaction time.

The nanites gave him many options to go forward with, but he decided that boosting the signal pathways was good enough. The body's electrical signals were generally around two hundred to three hundred MPH, which was fast compared to most things, but added up quickly when introduced to tasks such as thinking or fighting.

There was Cyberware that enhance this course, but Ori rejects it for the same reason he'd rejected subdermal armour. Should his nerves receive damage, the nanites would be unable to repair them, essentially paralysing him until he managed to uncover the NMN Injector, or had a Ripperdoc manually remove the obstruction.

While the nanites had dulled his pain completely during this operation, it didn't stop it from 'hurting' due to the focus being the nerves themselves. The nanites shredded them at a microscopic level before rebuilding them in a more efficient manner, altering old pathways into new ones.

It only took a single night, along with most of his stored fat energy deposits, but afterwards he was feeling pretty fresh... If somewhat uncoordinated. Fresh nerves meant fresh muscle memory, but this was quickly fixed with the nanite's aid.

Before his reaction time was around a tenth of a second, now, however? Somewhere around a hundredth. That might not seem like much, but it was around ten times faster than the average person. While not quite matching some of the more powerful Cyberware, still a massive advantage.

Of course, this also meant that other related things required upgrades too. The nanites gave his brain a limited upgrade to the centers that translated stimulus, then began to work on his eyes. His optical organs would likely take far longer than the nervous system upgrade...

While the eyes wouldn't take as much energy to alter, the nanites were going through what you might call a 'trial and testing process'. To be more accurate, the machines were attempting to integrate the traits of other animals into them.

Flies, cats, hawks, lizards... It would probably take longer than he had for the finals, given the nanites was working off of outside information and how they 'thought' the organs worked. Ori made sure to keep watch on their progress, he refused to have giant bug eyes, even if they probably were the most effective design.

He and Rebecca now spent most of their time racing around in a rented vehicle while the Mizutani got modified, practising for the upcoming race... This didn't mean time had stopped however, as Ori learned when he went to visit the ramen stall where his sister worked...

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He drops onto the skinny seat and leans against the table, looking around to see if his sister was present... Strangely, despite this being around the time she was supposed to work, the only person present was the elderly Japanese man who owned it

"You gonna buy something or just keep staring...?" the man grouses.

"Just wanna know where Cat is, I was told she'd be working today?"

The guy shrugs, "No idea, hard to think with business so slow..."

"Fine. Two bowls of whatever, now can you tell me?"

"Of course, customer... My recent employee has decided to become a 'recent-not-employee.' I don't blame her, it's a hard job, not one someone should do while pregnant."

...

"Repeat... Repeat what you just said." Ori asks, face frozen with his brows almost reaching his hairline.

"What? I had to let her go, women are bad enough during their monthly, let alone pregnant. I do not wish to have my stand destroyed."

"Pregnant... Pregnant...?" Ori mutters, as if tasting the word on his lips. Finally, it hits him, his face dropping into one of complete rage. "PREGNANT!?" he abruptly shouts before sprinting away in a mad dash.

"Eh, do you not want the bowls!?" the stand owner shouts but shrugs at the non-response. "No refunds!"

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*SCRRRR!*

Ori's truck screeches to a halt outside Bats' apartment, he kicks the door open and looks up at the window, spotting the curtains rapidly closing. "You bastard!"

He rushes up the stairs and stops in front of the apartment door, banging it half a dozen times. "OPEN UP!"

"T-this isn't really the time, Ori!" Bats anxiously states.

"I SAID OPEN UP, OR I'LL BREAK THE GODDAMN DOOR DOWN!"

"Okay! Okay! But you gotta promise not to do anything rash!"

"Fuck you!" Ori angrily retorts, kicking the door open and sending Bats sprawling to the floor. He grabs the Ripperdoc by the collar and hefts him up, "How could you keep this shit from me!?"

"Because of this ya' idiot! I knew you were gonna go crazy! Chill out before you do something you'll regret!"

"I'll regret nothing! You just let her and that piece of shit do whatever they want!? You're the crazy one!"

"I didn't do nothing! Cat-, she's been pregnant for months!" Bats growls, grabbing Ori's arm with a firm scowl, "Get your head outta your ass and figure it out!"

Ori's eyes widen slightly, "Then..." he trails off, voice lowering to a whisper.

"Yeah..."

"FUCK!" Ori angrily screams, punching a hole through the apartment wall.