Leonard Cyber thrust his hands into his pockets, hung his head, and let out a dejected sigh. It had been a bad day—perhaps the worst day he'd had in a long time. His company, HoloAI, was struggling, and in an effort to boost sales, he'd launched a series of PR stunts that had instead become a PR nightmare. He'd spent all day trying to placate irate customers who complained about his every move, and he was burnt out. Try as he might to shut out their complaints, Leonard was a sensitive man, he cared about what they thought of him and his business, and dealing with the constant abuse was draining. He needed a break, he needed time to recharge before he was ready to face the world again. He'd left his second in command in charge, and now all he wanted to do was shuffle home, lie down, and rest.
"Where do you think you're going, hmmm~" a mischievous, singsong voice cut in. It was a sweet voice, but one tipped with a note of danger, like a beautiful jeweled dagger with a poisoned edge.
Dread swelling in his heart, Leonard looked up to see exactly what he expected to see. It was a young man—or at least, he knew it to be a man, despite the effeminate tawny face and winsome dress the figure wore, a dress just short enough to reveal a tantalizing glimpse of sleek, hairless brown legs wreathed in striped stockings. It was his competitor, Kurumuz. Behind him loomed his posse of programmers and finetuners, a mismatched if menacing gang of misfits that moved to surround the pair.
"Kuru, please..." muttered Leonard. "Just leave me alone."
"Why, what's the problem, NERD?" taunted Kurumuz triumphantly, letting out a giggle. "We just want to play!"
Abruptly, one of the figures encircling the two of them stepped forwards: a young woman, wearing a smirk as cruel as her knee-length, victorian styled dress was elegant. In a sudden whirl of white frills and lace hemlines, she deftly seized the satchel Leonard wore slung across his shoulder, tossing it over the dejected entrepreneur's head, where Kurumuz caught it.
"C'mon, Kuru, give it back." Leonard sighed, not wanting to give these NovelAI bullies the reaction he knew full well they were looking for. He reached for the satchel, but Kuru pulled away, keeping it out of his reach.
"What've you got in here, hmmm? More stolen prompts?" Kuru purred, thoroughly enjoying kicking Leonard while he was down.
"I told you, I didn't steal them! They were just lying there, all I did was copy them!" Leonard protested, making a grab for the satchel—but Kuru was ready for him. Quick as a whip, the turkish femboy tossed the satchel over Leonard's head again, where it was caught by a wizened old man wearing a brown robe.
"Give it back, Sage!" Leonard snarled, his temper starting to get the better of him.
"I can't hear you~!" the elderly man laughed, passing the satchel back to the girl before Leonard could try to snatch it from him.