Sunset

## Background

Maiko Takahari (aka Sunset), comes from the Old Japantown Combat Zone. When she was ten years old, her parents, Edgerunners in their own right from the bygone era of the 2020's, were gunned down by boosters, and she was left homeless and orphaned on The Streets. She made her way for a while, though she endured heavy beatings and abuse from her life as a street kid, which culminated in her being kidnapped by Scavs and prepped for trafficking at age fourteen. A group of Edgerunners, called The Wyld Haze, or just The Haze, were hired to rescue a Corpo who was also being held by the scavengers, and they freed her out of the goodness of their hearts.

Having nowhere else to go, Maiko begged for the Haze to take her with them, beseeching the group's Solo, a Japanese merc named Sunrise, who knew her parents before they were killed. As The Haze discussed the matter, and things were looking bleak for Maiko's acceptance into the group, she took desperate measures to show how tough she was. While Sunrise wasn't looking, she swiped his sword, an Arasaka Gen 2 named Nichibotsu (日没, or "Sunset" in Japanese) and cut herself across the face. As she bled onto the floor, she dropped to her knees, and pressed her bleeding wound into the dirty alley floor. As the Haze chastised her for this stupid move, Sunrise understood the gesture, and flexed his influence over the group to sway them into letting her join them.

The next few years would be her ultimate school of hard knocks, learning Kenjutsu from Sunrise, and how to handle a pistol from the group's Nomad, a gunslinging highway goganger named Bobber. Her first jobs were sloppy, always ending with her hurt and recovering because she was too slow to react. Reading old Cyberware catalogues led her to the Kerenzikov, the speedware of her dreams. She knew Sunrise sported a Sandevistan, but was highly attracted to the idea of perceiving her surroundings faster at all times, reacting with instant speed no matter the situation. She saved scratch for a year to save up for the Neural Link, even taking the initiative to solicit her Solo services to her neighborhood, and suffered setback after setback. Being robbed on her walks home, losing or breaking her weapons and replacing them, bailing one of the other members of the Haze out of jail, until she was sat in a Ripper's chair with a shiny new Kerenzikov by Christmas. Not long after, Bobber had a Tactile Boost chip installed for her 16th birthday, a nifty gadget that allowed her to be the best lookout the group had.

The upgrades were appreciated, but she would soon learn the value of skill over chrome. When she was seventeen, a Tyger Claw lieutenant the Haze was hired to kill cut off her fingers as he escaped. This critical injury would distract Sunrise from the killing blow, allowing the lieutenant to get away. As clone fingers sat in a vat, and she awaited recovery, The Haze were discussing Maiko, and how young she was for the life. They wanted her to sit out gigs until she was older, maybe pick up some behind the scene jobs, or learn how to drive. She sat, listened, then lashed out at everyone. The anger came from everywhere in her, the pressure of the constant danger, the fact that her parents were gone, and she was just food for the cannibalistic streets she pulled her money from day after day. As it came out, she would never know these were the last words she would ever say to her friends.

Fire destroyed Maiko's world, an explosive charge set by the Tyger Claws, who were keen on revenge. As she lay crushed under rubble, she watched her friends get cut down one by one. She was the last, and unnoticed by the Claws as they left the bodies behind. Solemn goodbyes were said over their bodies. Taking Nichibotsu, she swore revenge in the name of The Wyld Haze, against all of Night City for her pain and suffering. She vowed that as long as the scum of Night City lived, she would be there to make sure that their sun set on the fated day of their death. She took the handle "Sunset," to honor her Sensei and bring that symbolism with her wherever she went.

Maiko, now twenty years old, prowls Night City like a predatory cat searching for prey in 2045, looking for any excuse to end the life of someone who has inflicted pain upon others. She has grown to be a capable Solo, using Nichibotsu to slice her way through Night City's rotten heart, one payout at a time.

## Gigs

* Writing Block: Photograph
* Geeks of Night City - Elf Love
* G.O.N.C - Zero to Hero
* InfoComp: Revival
* Skin Thief
* Run the Jewels: Nazi Punk, Fuck Off
* Mr Mills' Mental Break
* G.O.N.C - Night City Sky
* MONDAY NIGHT MADNESS
* The Wacky West: Thanksgiving Special
* Fourth Time's a Charm
* Packed to Move
* Wire It Up
* Checkmates Takeback EP 1: Recruit and Rescue
* Lighting It Up 💡 🔦
* Showdown on the Sandy Knoll
* H.I.T.S: Investigation
* Render onto me
* Hot ~~Wheels~~ Decks
* Robo COPolymer
* Brothers America Part 2