"Thief."
Gaius looked at the azure-haired girl with a face of mild confusion.
"I think I—"
Just as he was about to speak, the girl cut him off:
"I found it strange, so I went back and checked the surveillance footage at the corner where we bumped into each other. As you were walking, your movement had a slight pause—then, as if you knew I was coming from the other side, you adjusted your pace just enough to collide with me. Immediately after your hand was obscured by my body for a brief moment, the bulge in my pocket—caused by my car chip—disappeared."
The girl stared at Gaius with her violet cyber-eyes, her gaze sharp and unwavering.
"After that, you made a deliberate movement to flip your hand over—just enough to conceal whatever you were holding in your sleeve. That's when I knew for sure: you were the thief. You stole my chip, then later chose to return it to me."
"I see."
Gaius didn't bother arguing about evidence.
In 2075, evidence was rarely the deciding factor in anything. If she was convinced, then she was convinced—there was no point in debating it.
Instead, he was more curious about why she had tracked him down.
"So what?"
Gaius folded his arms—a classic defensive posture in psychology.
But on his frame, the stance didn't make him look defensive—it made him look intimidating.
The girl didn't flinch.
She met his gaze, the glow in her violet eyes flickering for a moment before she spoke again.
"I've already disabled the security cameras in this area and replaced the footage with a fabricated loop."
...And that matters because?
Wasn't this just a normal conversation between students?
Then she finally got to the point.
"Apologize."
She pointed at his head, then his waist.
"Bow at a ninety-degree angle and apologize sincerely—for deceiving me and making me thank you under false pretenses."
"Hah?"
Apologize?
This girl went out of her way to check the security footage, track him down, block surveillance, and all of that was just to make him apologize for his crime?
By normal standards, shouldn't she be threatening to report him instead?
The request was so simple and understanding that Gaius almost didn't believe it.
After blinking a few times, he asked cautiously:
"You just want me to bow and apologize?"
"I care about my words," she said. "Yesterday, you tricked me into thanking you."
Her violet eyes locked onto him.
"So, I need to make you return that apology to me."
"If that's all, I don't really mind."
Gaius shrugged.
He was in the wrong.
If she realized she had been deceived and wanted a simple apology in return, it was a reasonable request.
But—
"Ninety degrees is a bit much, don't you think? How about thirty instead?"
A full ninety-degree bow was practically the equivalent of a confession or a formal act of repentance.
"You don't understand Arasaka Academy's etiquette?"
"Oh, I understand it just fine."
Gaius sighed.
"But a rule that demands ninety-degree bows all the time? To me, that feels like a shallow formality. People use it to throw away their guilt and move on, but it doesn't mean they actually regret anything."
Then, he looked at her with genuine seriousness.
"If I'm going to apologize, I want it to actually mean something."
The girl hesitated.
She studied him carefully, as if evaluating his sincerity.
Then, after a pause, she adjusted her demand.
"Sixty degrees, then."
Gaius smirked.
"Let's cut it down the middle—forty-five."
"This..."
The azure-haired girl seemed much less insistent about this part than she was about the apology itself.
Or rather—this was probably her first time negotiating the angle of an apology.
Seeing her hesitate, Gaius felt a sense of relief.
It really did seem like she was just a well-protected, privileged girl who had never been touched by the filth of Night City.
From the very start, she had shown her inexperience.
Even after confirming that she had been pickpocketed—and that the thief had deliberately approached her—she still came alone to confront him.
She had even disabled the surveillance cameras herself, as if actively creating the perfect conditions for him to retaliate.
And after all of that, the only thing that bothered her was that she had thanked someone who didn't deserve it?
An Arasaka Academy student—someone practically in training to become an Arasaka employee—had the perfect opportunity to blackmail or extort someone, and she didn't even consider it.
All she wanted...
Was an apology.
Are you even a product of a Japanese corporate education?
As she stood there, clearly debating whether or not to accept his counter-offer of a forty-five-degree bow, her expression showed she had never haggled in her life.
Gaius chuckled.
Then, he bowed deeply.
"I sincerely apologize for deceiving you yesterday."
Ninety degrees.
The standard angle for atonement and remorse.
Why go that far?
Because he had done something wrong.
He had played a trick on a genuinely 'pure' girl.
And that wasn't right.
The girl stared in shock.
Even though she was the one who demanded this, she had never expected him to actually do it.
She gasped softly, took a step back—then quickly realized what she was doing and stepped forward again, reaching out as if to help him up.
But before her hand could touch him—
"What's your name?"
Gaius straightened up on his own, looking her in the eyes.
"I think... meeting people in Arasaka Academy might not be so bad after all."
"You..."
The girl frowned slightly, studying his face.
"Did you only apologize so you could get closer to me?"
"No, the apology was completely sincere. But now that I think about it, I really do want to get to know you.
"Don't worry—I'm not trying to flirt with you.
"And the apology wasn't just for show.
"It's just that... in this rotten city, seeing a rare lotus bloom in the mud is kind of interesting."
He extended his hand.
"Gaius. Arasaka Academy exchange student. Gaius Brutus."
The girl looked at his outstretched hand.
Then at his face.
"I've heard that some boys bully girls just to get their attention."
"A childish tactic—but sometimes, the most effective one.
"I didn't plan it that way... but now, you are interested in me, aren't you?"
"Good kids shouldn't refuse a handshake from a bad one, right?"
"I do mind."
But—
She still reached out.
Her delicate fingers brushed against his palm for the briefest moment.
"But you are... the first 'bad guy' I've met at this academy."
Why do kids act out just to get attention?
Because quiet kids get ignored.
They have to be just a little more—
Obedient.