Chapter 14: Isn't It Romantic

Goro Akechi never took day-to-day life for granted. He probably couldn't even if he tried. He had learned early on that he couldn't truly count on anything; no matter how hard his mother tried to provide stability, there were too many things outside her control. After she died, he never got comfortable anywhere he was staying. There was no point.

But having no faith in the continuity of reality turned out to be a useful frame of mind for a Wild Card. He wasn't shocked when he went to bed one night and woke up falling through some immense blue space, eventually landing with a clatter in a children's ball pit. He simply stood up and brushed off his sleeves, waiting to see what would happen next.

Jose stood at the edge of the ball pit, bouncing on his toes. "Hello," he said, lifting his eyebrows a bit. He seemed to be waiting for something.

"Hello," said Goro. After a pause in which neither of them spoke, he added, "Well done on the greeting."

"Thanks!" said Jose, beaming like Goro had given him a gold star sticker. "I've been working on it."

"It took you that long to get the hang of 'Hello'?" asked Goro doubtfully, pulling himself out of the ball pit.

"Not that," said Jose, laughing. "This!"

He took out a View-Master and held it out in both hands. This one was a little fancier than the first model. It was still plastic, but it had racing stripes on each side and a textured grip.

"Nice. If you could mass-produce these, you'd be a millionaire," said Goro, turning it over in his hands.

Jose's mouth opened into an impressed 'o'. "You think so?" he breathed. "What's a millionaire?"

"Never mind. What's different about this, Jose?"

"Ah! For one thing, you can take it out of the Metaverse. That will make it far more useful to you."

"What should I do with it?"

"Look at me through it," said Jose, taking a few steps back and putting his hands on his hips.

Goro looked through the View-Master at Jose. As clear as day, the Sun arcana card appeared in his field of view. It was the Sun card from his own deck, Featherman Owl. Curious whether it would show anything else, he clicked through the other slides, but it seemed there wasn't more to see.

"In addition to showing you whether a human has been overtaken by shadow, it will also show you which humans have the potential to forge a bond," said Jose.

"That is handy," Goro admitted. "Still, I don't suppose you could make it more like...eyeglasses or something? So it doesn't look like I'm playing with a toy?"

Jose stared at him like he'd just stepped off a spaceship. "What? How could that work?"

"Forget it, it was just a thought," said Goro. "How does it sense that someone could be a confidant?"

"Lavenza said their hearts have to be open and there has to be...um, resonance, I think she called it."

"Like the sympathetic strings of a sitar, perhaps," said Goro. "They sound only when other strings are played."

"Take it around and look at everyone!" Jose said encouragingly.

"I will," said Goro. "So...where's the door?"

"You want to leave already? You don't want to change up your Personas?"

"I'm satisfied with the team I have now."

"What about...um...I could give you an assignment! Like, 'Show me Narcissus with Agidyne!' or something like that. Or…" Jose looked around the room at all the toys, "you want to try one of these Shadow execution machines? I don't know how to operate them, though."

Goro squatted next to the boy. "Are you here alone, Jose?" he asked.

Jose looked sadly down at his feet and nodded. "It's okay, though. I'm supposed to be here all the time in case you need me. All the others did the same. I can too." He looked back up, determination filling his little face. Trying to make the best of a situation he clearly wasn't prepared for.

Goro felt a pang of sympathy. He looked around the room. "I used to play games like this with my mother when there was a festival. Sometimes she'd just leave me with a handful of cash so I could play and play…" he trailed off, realizing what she was probably doing when she left him alone. He'd never thought about it when he was a kid. What a useless idiot he'd been.

Suddenly feeling angry, Goro's face hardened. "Anyway. If you want to be useful, stop waiting for someone to tell you what to do. Now open the door and let me out."

When Joker and Mona arrived at Mementos, Crow was already there, practicing his sword technique. This weird, twisted place was starting to feel more like home than home did, Joker reflected. At least his Tokyo friends hadn't turned into pod people. Back home, everybody seemed to be talking about how Shido was innocent and how he'd be back to take his rightful place as Prime Minister any day now.

"Hey. Good to see you," he said, breaking into a grin.

"Likewise," said Crow, his tone impassive as usual. "And you, Mona. Can we count on your transit services today?"

"Nope. You two are on your own. I'm going to do a little reconnaissance topside," said the cat with a toothy grin. He leapt away and was gone in a flash.

"I had an idea," said Joker excitedly. "I think it'll give you a chance to get used to wild-card-ing and I'll get to try something new."

"You're loving this, aren't you?" said Crow, a hand on his hip. "The chance to lord your leadership experience over me? Oh, it must be so much fun to have your rival at your feet. You better savor it, Joker. I'll surpass you before you know it."

"Aw, don't be like that. I'm just giving you a little handicap."

Crow swaggered right up to Joker, as close as he could get. "I'm going to take that handicap," he said, poking a finger into Joker's sternum, "and make you eat it."

"Don't threaten me with a good time," said Joker. He had to bite his lip to keep from laying a smooch on Akechi right then and there. If he was always the one swooning, Akechi would never let him live it down.

Laughing lightly in that kidding-not-kidding way he had, Crow took a step back. "Well, sensei? What is it you want to teach me?"

Joker had to take a moment to collect his thoughts, while Crow just stood there smirking at him. "I'm going to stick with a single Persona. You're going to support me."

"What is this nonsense, Joker?" said Crow, still looking amused. "Aren't my minions supposed to support me?"

"You'll see," said Joker mysteriously, and ran off into the labyrinth in a swoosh of cape.

Crow chased him through Mementos until Joker found a good-sized Shadow to practice on. He whacked it in the back with his sword.

Thor the Thunder Emperor whirled around with an ear-splitting roar.

"Alright. I'm using Raphael. My arcana is Lovers, right?" said Joker, winking.

Crow nodded crisply. "I remember you fighting this Shadow in Sae's Palace. His weakness is Psi, I believe."

"Welp, I don't have that," said Joker, opting instead for a simple physical attack. His sword landed like a foam bat on the enormous Thunder Emperor.

"You could at least try," said Crow haughtily.

He summoned Loki and used Laevateinn, contemplating as he did so that there was no better Persona than Loki to put Thor in his place. Unfortunately, he had forgotten that Thor had High Counter in addition to his formidable physical resistance. The Shadow countered the attack, reflecting it back on Crow, then moved on to pummelling him and Joker with Heat Wave.

"Dammit!" Crow growled. "Can you heal me, at least?"

Joker shrugged and cast Heat Riser on him, raising his attack, defense, and agility. Crow gave him a scathing look underneath his helmet.

"Fine. I have to do everything myself. What else is new." Crow mentally shifted through his Personas. He felt a little resistance as Loki reluctantly let go and the unfamiliar feeling of Parvati settled into him. He was surprised by how different they felt; she had none of the intensity of Robin Hood or Loki. Crow wondered if she was really going to earn a place in his lineup.

Distracted, Crow let Thor get another swipe at him. It almost dropped him, but Joker swooped in and took the hit in his place.

"It's going great!" said Joker sarcastically, grinning stupidly through a bloody nose and giving a thumbs-up.

"Don't make me come over there," Crow snapped. Joker's mockery hit close to home. He'd screwed up this battle from the very beginning, all because he'd gotten too cocky about his own abilities and hadn't given a thought to how Joker's would fit in.

First things first; Crow used Parvati to heal himself. He was lucky and Thor did not attack immediately. Instead the Shadow buffed its attack, probably thinking (if Shadows thought) that it would land a hard hit on Joker and knock him out. Joker, with nothing else of use to do, immediately dispelled the buff. So that was one thing he was good for.

Now there was a choice to make; attempt to take down Thor with Parvati or heal Joker? Crow usually reveled in slicing Shadows into wisps of gray confetti, but Parvati's influence tempered him somewhat. He considered that if her Psiodyne wasn't up to snuff, Thor would get another hit in and probably knock Joker out.

Choosing the more cautious approach, Crow healed Joker and ordered him to defend just in time to block a ground-shaking blow from Thor's hammer.

It was finally time for Crow to bring the pain. Parvati's Psiodyne hit Thor's weakness hard and destroyed the Shadow in one hit. Crow nodded in satisfaction. Alright, Parvati could stay.

"That was touch-and-go for a minute there," said Joker, shaking out his long coat sleeves.

"Thanks for being my human shield," said Crow. "Too bad you didn't have anything more useful to do."

"Yeah, I didn't love that," said Joker.

"When you switch Personas, do you find they change your mood much?"

"Definitely," said Joker. "You'll get used to it. It's helpful for making friends, too."

"You mean all this time, you've been seducing me with Justice Personas?" Seeing from Joker's silly grin that he had guessed correctly, Crow swatted him on the back on the head. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Well...I didn't want you to think I was tricking you somehow. I don't think the connection we have is all down to our Personas."

"Of course it isn't," said Crow. "But now that you mention it, I do feel a little different now that we're both using Lovers Personas. More in sync, perhaps?"

He flipped up the visor on his mask invitingly.

"Let's see," said Joker, leaning in for a kiss. His lips gently brushed against Crow's. "Hmm, I can't really tell. Try again."

Crow draped his arms around Joker's shoulders and pulled him close. The huge motorcycle-style mask he wore bumped against Joker's forehead. Tsk-ing, Crow pulled the helmet off and dropped it.

"Reckless," said Joker under his breath.

"Takes one to know one," said Crow. "You're dangerous, you know."

"Nothing worse than a dirty cop."

"Watch it, thief. Take too many liberties and I'll have to get the cuffs."

Crow kissed him hard and an electric thrill ran through them both.

"I was asking if you've seen Joker," said a voice loudly.

Surprised, Crow and Joker disentangled themselves. They looked toward the voice to see Mona arguing with a Pixie and a Hua Po.

"You dummy!" cried Hua Po, shaking her little fist. "You interrupted them!"

"Just when they were getting to the good part!" wailed Pixie.

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Mona coolly and turned on his heel, leaving the fairies twittering like angry birds behind him.

"It seems the walls have eyes," said Crow, putting his mask back on.

"Sorry," said Mona apologetically.

A tiny Zio zapped Mona on the head, not enough to do serious damage, but enough to hurt. He whirled around but the fairies had already disappeared around a corner. "I saw that! Get out of here! Scat!" he yelled.

"How long have they been watching us?" Joker said, astonished.

"No idea," said Mona, shaking his head and lifting his paws up. "Anyway, I found Shido. You guys want to take a look?"

"Our enemies are foul demons!" shouted the thing that looked like Masayoshi Shido through a bullhorn. "They will not hesitate to destroy you, your family, your way of life!"

As he repeated these and similar claims, Shadows peeled away from the indistinguishable masses and gained shape and substance, ultimately marching in lockstep behind him as soldiers. The process was as disturbing as it was fascinating.

Perched on a rooftop some distance away, Crow watched as the grotesque parade made its way through the Metaverse. Joker stood next to him, arms crossed, scowling underneath his mask. Mona's hackles were up and he hissed in Shido's direction occasionally.

"Does he seem...different to you?" asked Joker.

"Delusionally grandiose self-image, constant lies, megaphone...seems like Shido to me," said Crow.

"Yeah, but before he was always talking about how he would save the country. He claimed he could fix our problems and make life better for everyone. Granted he was lying, but it was still pretty different from what he's saying now. Don't you think?"

If it were anyone else, Crow would have kept arguing. Somewhat grudgingly, he followed Joker's train of thought. "His outfit, this military regalia...that's new too, isn't it?"

"When we fought him he had some military touches, but this is way beyond that," said Joker.

Crow said, "Shido's ultimate desire is power. If he couldn't get it as a politician, it stands to reason he might try a more direct route."

"Nothing like a tank for getting your point across," said Mona.

Joker asked, "Mona, why is this all happening out on the streets? I mean, Mementos is still down there."

Mona nodded thoughtfully. "I got a closer look at him and I don't think it's a Shadow. It's a Cognition. Mementos represents people's subconscious thoughts and desires. These desires, well...they're on the surface."

"Kind of wish we had Yusuke here to interpret the symbolism," said Joker.

"People suck," said Crow. "There's your interpretation."

Mona frowned at him. "Come on, Crow. These people are being lied to and manipulated."

Crow scoffed. "I'll save my sympathy for the people getting hurt through no fault of their own - not these morons. That said, he still needs to be stopped. Doesn't this prove that his change of heart didn't really take?"

"I don't see how that could be...but it does look that way," said Mona reluctantly.

Joker looked glumly at the stream of followers Meta-Shido had amassed. "Thinking back on it, our biggest mistake was assuming people would care how corrupt Shido was if they only knew."

"Tell me about it," said Crow, shaking his head. "If simply shining light on his crimes will be insufficient, then we'll have to come up with something else."

Goro returned from the Metaverse feeling satisfied and longing all at once. Seeing and touching Ren gave him a comfortable, grounded feeling that was rare for him. On the other hand, it made him greedy for more. He cautiously admitted to himself that he wouldn't mind feeling this way all the time.

He wandered out of his bedroom, daydreaming about where he'd take Ren if he were in town. In the kitchenette, Sae was sitting at the table with Makoto and Maruki. They all looked up as he entered.

"Oh - I thought you were out," said Sae.

"I was," said Goro, eyeing Maruki. He held up his new View-Master and saw that cards appeared next to all three of them, translucent for Makoto and Maruki, but clearly showing the Empress for Sae. Squinting a little, he could make out that Makoto's arcana was Chariot and Maruki's was Death. His brain immediately spat out a list of questions, but for now he had to deal with the situation at hand.

"It's good to see you again, Akechi-kun," said Maruki pleasantly. "I wanted to talk to you about how you regained your memories."

"Pass," said Goro. Forging a bond with Maruki was out of the question, even if it would unlock the Death arcana for him.

"You need to hear what they have to say," said Sae in a tone that brooked no disagreement.

Silently, Goro sat down at the table opposite Maruki and folded his hands. He set aside his thoughts about Ren, closing them away as neatly as if he were tucking blankets into a cedar chest. His face remained carefully blank.

Makoto said, "Do you remember when I told you and Ren that I suspected there were new mental shutdown victims? Well, I was right. And guess who's in charge of taking care of them."

"You, Maruki? Why?" said Goro suspiciously.

"Someone seems to think I have a shot at helping these people," said Maruki. "And, well, if anyone does, it's probably me. Can I ask you a few questions?"

"I don't want to talk about it. The way I regained my memories isn't reproducible anyway."

"Does it have something to do with the Velvet Room?" asked Makoto, clearly fishing. Ren must have mentioned the Velvet Room to her.

Goro nodded resignedly. "My psyche was dissociated. It was split by a Metaverse resident called Jose. Once we figured out what was happening, I was able to reverse the effect and merge the two halves back together."

"I see," said Maruki. "Then you don't believe the same process would work on others."

"My recovery involved wishing on a star. I doubt that can be achieved at scale."

"Jose's stars?" said Makoto in surprise. "I had no idea they could do something like that!"

"Neither did he," said Goro dryly.

"If I could get ahold of one of those stars -" Maruki began.

"Never," said Goro coldly, cutting him off.

"I understand," said Maruki unhappily. "But perhaps you'd be willing to help me with my research?"

Before Goro could respond, Makoto said, "Akechi, we're talking about dozens of people already. Maybe more than a hundred before this is all over."

"Not my problem," said Goro simply.

Makoto's eyes flashed with anger. Maruki laid a hand on her arm before she could speak and said, "You're right, Akechi-kun, it isn't your problem. It was my research into Cognitive Psience that paved the way for this disaster. I intend to give my all to help fix the harm I've done. That's why I have to follow every possible lead. Please just give it some thought."

He stood and placed a business card in the middle of the table. Akechi looked at it but pointedly made no move to take it. Makoto glared at Akechi but said nothing.

"It was a pleasure meeting you," said Maruki to Sae, bowing.

"Nice to meet you, too," said Sae. "Makoto, I'll call you later."

Makoto nodded and she and Maruki left.

"You're grinding your teeth," Sae observed after they were gone.

Goro blinked and looked over at her. He'd almost forgotten she was there. "Of all people, the Phantom Thieves should know to steer clear of Takuto Maruki," he grumbled.

"He seemed very pleasant," said Sae.

"Pleasant," Goro spat. "Maruki was behind a large-scale brainwashing back in January."

"What? I don't remember that. Is this yet another supernatural issue the Phantom Thieves cleared up?" asked Sae, dismayed.

"The Phantom Thieves, me, and a girl called Yoshizawa," Goro corrected.

Sae put her hands over her face briefly and sucked in a long breath. Letting the breath go and placing her palms on the table at the same time, she said, very calmly, "Fine. What happened?"

"He had this insane idea that everyone should be able to rewrite reality to their own specifications. So he did it, with the Phantom Thieves as the test group. You wouldn't remember because we set things back the way they were before his meddling."

"That guy? Rewrote reality?" Sae looked back towards the door, as if Maruki might still be there. "You really can't judge a book by its cover."

Goro smirked. "You should've seen his Shadow."

"Was it some kind of god, like the chalice Makoto told me about?"

"No. It was him, just with a lot more confidence." And a much sharper wardrobe, Goro did not add.

"Huh. I can understand the appeal of rewriting one's own past, or making oneself supremely powerful...but tailoring reality for every individual? That makes no sense at all," said Sae.

"I'm glad to hear you say that. It took forever for the others to come around. I honestly would have thought better of your sister, but she dove right in - and now here she is with him again."

"Well, I won't push you to get involved with this research if you don't want to. But as for me, I'm tired of not knowing anything. I think I'm going to ask him some questions," said Sae, picking up Maruki's card.

"Just be sure you're asking and he's answering, not the other way around," said Goro darkly. "Trust me, the less he knows about you, the better off you are."

A few minutes later, Sae joined Maruki at a bar just a few quick blocks from her apartment. It was a quiet neighborhood place with ceiling-high booths that felt private even when the place was packed.

"You wanted to ask me some questions?" said Maruki, as she slid into the booth.

"Yes. I want to know what happened in January."

"Ah. The big one. How much time do you have?"

"Let's start with a round of beer and jalapeño poppers and see how far we get," Sae suggested.

Beginning with his cognitive psience research and the frustrating way it had been shut down with no explanation, Maruki then explained how he had started a clinical practice to test his theories.

"Ethically questionable," said Sae, sipping her beer.

"I know," sighed Maruki. "All I can say for myself is that it seemed like a small price to pay to achieve happiness for so many."

"The ends justified the means," said Sae.

"Or so I thought...I want to be clear that I'm not pursuing this anymore," he said earnestly.

Maruki then explained how he had manifested his own Persona and used its power to create a world without pain - and how he'd brought in the Phantom Thieves and attempted to erase their difficulties.

"Those kids had all suffered so much. When I spoke to them, all I could think about was how much I wanted to take away their pain," he said sadly.

"Why? Aside from what they told you in their counseling sessions, you hardly knew them," Sae pointed out.

Maruki twisted a napkin in his hands. "I'm going to get more drinks."

While he went up to the bar, Sae turned over his story compared to Goro's version. He wanted to be a hero - no, a savior, she thought to herself. Glory wasn't what he was looking for, more like...

Maruki returned with the drinks before Sae could pin down his motivation.

"A world without pain. Hard to argue against that," she said thoughtfully. "Is that why you fought the kids when they refused it?"

"That's how I rationalized it at the time," said Maruki, taking a healthy slug of his drink and avoiding her eyes. "I've accepted that they were right to stop me. The only reason I'm working with the mental shutdown cases now is because I feel partially responsible for them. It was my research that enabled all this to begin with."

"As a former prosecutor, I can definitely understand wanting to stop criminals before they hurt others," said Sae. "I can even understand doing things that are...less than upstanding...to achieve that goal. You're not the only one who has regrets."

Maruki looked up at her in surprise. She met his gaze evenly. They had a rapport. One last poke at the bear, she thought.

"What's it like being dragged back into the cognitive psience world?" she asked.

He sighed tiredly. "It sucks. Not to mince words. I don't know how to fix these people and now I have to wonder if my motives are even altruistic. The savior of humanity, ha. With all that power, I couldn't even fix myself."

That's it, Sae realized with a pang. What he truly wanted was to take away his own pain. And he couldn't do it. "I suppose all we can do is try to bring more healing into the world than harm," she said gently.

Maruki smiled a little. "I'll drink to that. Now, are you going to tell me how you got involved with the Phantom Thieves?"

"You want to talk about being taken down by a bunch of teenagers? Have I got a story for you," said Sae, cracking her knuckles.

Maruki listened attentively as she explained how she'd first been assigned to work with Akechi.

"He doesn't know this, but the other prosecutors wouldn't work with him at first. They told me women were made to take care of kids and I should babysit. I heard a lot of that little bon mot for a while."

Maruki frowned. "That's awful. These were your colleagues?"

"The joke was on them. Akechi started bringing in case after case. Everything a prosecutor needs to make a case, he handed to me on a silver platter. And I shoved it right down those jerks' throats."

Sae scowled at the memory of her former colleagues, then went on to explain how Makoto had gotten involved with the Phantom Thieves. When she came to her own Palace and all that had happened there, the words seemed to tumble out effortlessly.

"Wow," said Maruki. "So you also had a Palace. Crashing after that euphoria was probably the worst I've ever felt in my life. Do you ever miss it? Just a little?"

"Not exactly. Having all that power felt good at the time. But Makoto told me I was a nightmare to live with." Sae sighed into her drink. "It was like gambling that way. You never stop feeling like your next win is just around the corner, even when you're losing."

"And yet life goes on," Maruki shrugged and smiled wanly. "What did you do then?"

"Once the kids changed Shido's heart and the extent of his corruption of the Public Prosecutor's Office became clear, I was put in charge of Shido's prosecution. But when it came time to depose Goro, I had second thoughts. That's when I decided to quit and become a defense attorney," she concluded.

"Can I ask you something? If Akechi-kun was using you the whole time, why did you take him in after he was arrested?"

Sae hesitated. She'd been avoiding putting this into words, even in her own mind. "I'm sure he'd tell you otherwise, but I used him too," she said slowly.

Maruki looked quizzical. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not an idiot. I knew his cases were too good to be true. I probably could have stopped him before he got hurt, but...I turned a blind eye because it was good for my career," she admitted.

"Wow," Maruki murmured.

"Yep," said Sae, finishing her drink and slamming her glass a little too hard on the table. She got up to use the restroom.

When she came back, Maruki was staring pensively at his empty glass.

"It's getting late," said Sae. "I'm going to settle up."

"Let me walk you home," offered Maruki, seeming to come to some conclusion.

She accepted his offer and they walked in companionable silence. Despite having aired some of the worst moments of her life - and hearing the same from him - Sae found that she felt better than she had in a long time. She felt as if a burden had been physically lifted from her shoulders, an experience she'd previously thought was nothing more than fanciful language.

When they got to her apartment building, Sae smiled and said, "This is going to sound bizarre, but...I had a nice time."

Maruki ducked his head shyly. "This may sound even more bizarre, but I was wondering if you'd like to do it again."

"What, unburden my soul?" said Sae teasingly. "I don't have that many secrets."

"Go out with me," he said, then pressed his mouth shut so he wouldn't say anything dumb and ruin the moment.

"I would like that," said Sae. "I'll call you." She squeezed his hand briefly and went inside.

The last thing Maruki saw was a mischievous flash of her eyes as she glanced back over her shoulder at him. His heart thumped and his knees wobbled a little.

"Wow," he whispered.

Lady Luck was on Maeda's side. He could almost feel her smiling down on him as he shook the pair of dice in his hand. The crowd around the table got quiet, caught up in the drama. He'd been on a roll and they were holding their collective breath, waiting to see if his streak would continue.

"Seven!" announced the croupier, and a cheer went up from the crowd, none louder than Maeda himself. A busty waitress set more drinks down next to him. When you were a VIP you didn't even have to ask - or pay.

Maeda was as buttoned-down as they come during the day, making weighty decisions and bearing the responsibilities of a media chief without complaint. He paid his condo association fees, he paid his children's college tuition, he paid the tennis instructor he felt sure was banging his wife. He never put a toe out of line. Never said a word about any of it, no matter how he really felt. Because this time belonged to him.

A beautiful young woman in a tight dress ran her long-gloved hand sensually up his arm. He didn't know her name, nor did he care. He looked down at the craps table and pretended to think for a few seconds, just to amp up the drama. Then he smirked and declared, "Let it ride!"

More whoops from the other bettors. He held out the dice to the young woman, watching her lips pout as she blew on them for luck. Then he shook and tossed them out on the table.

"Snake eyes!" said the croupier. "Everybody loses!"

The crowd groaned and started to drift away. Maeda didn't even have to look to know the girl was gone, no doubt hanging on some other guy's shoulder already. He scooped up his free drinks and took them over to the lounge.

Realizing he was sweating, he took out a silk handkerchief and mopped his brow. There's nothing to worry about, he reminded himself. Six months ago, he'd had a gambling problem. That's what they called it when you racked up debts you couldn't pay. Just now he'd blown quite a bit at the craps table. But thanks to his side hustle with Wada, there was plenty of money coming in. Ergo, he did not have a gambling problem. If anything were to derail his gravy train, however….

He looked down at his text messages and clenched his teeth. The Niijima girl had brought in her sister, the prosecutor. He wasn't going to wait for Wada's buy-in this time. It was time to act.