The moment you step out into the street, every video screen around flickers into a top-down view of the mahjong table, angled slightly behind Rin's shoulder. Saito's voice, magnified hundreds of times, booms from the speakers.

"I trust that you're able to see everything all right?"

Curious, you hold a thumbs-up sign to the night sky.

"Wonderful," Saito responds. Something is watching you.

On the screen, Rin looks back over her shoulder, her eyes narrowing. She gets up and walks towards the camera.

"Hey, what's up with this?" she asks, tapping it right on the lens.

"Relax. That's there for the benefit of your teammates only. You have my word that it won't be used improperly."

"Your word, huh?"

"It's the best you've got. The game wouldn't be much fun if I cheated, after all."

"…Right."

Still visibly irritated, Rin drifts back to her chair and sits down.

"Why don't we deal and get started?" suggests the Dreamweaver.

Each player takes turns drawing tiles from the wall until their starting hands of thirteen are finished. Rin flips hers up and quickly arranges them into suits. You can't make much sense of the jumble of colorful tiles, nor do you have any idea whether it's a good starting hand or not. But then again, that's Rin's job to sort that out.

Rin's Hand

[1man 3man 3man 7man 1pin 1pin 9pin 9pin 5sou 6sou 8sou North Red Dragon]

"Hey, how does it look? Is that any good?" you say into your mic. Rin doesn't respond. Instead, your phones buzz as Rin answers through your group chat.

[cant talk not giving anything away]

[ill text u what we need]

[the hands not bad. go for suuankou]

[?] you text back.

[4 triplets and a pair. ive got 3 pairs already. 1 pin 9 pin and 3 man]

[Which ones are those?]

Rin points to a couple pairs of tiles with one and nine blue circles printed on them, then to a pair of red tiles with the kanji for "three" on them.

['man' are the red number tiles, 'pin' are the blu circles, 'sou' are the green bamboo. theres also honor tiles for the 4 winds and 3 dragons] she adds.

"So we'll need at least one more of those to make three of a kind," muses Mariko.

[What else do we need to get for you?] you ask, your fingers rapidly swiping across the keyboard as you watch Saito draw and discard his first tile.

[any copies of the single tiles will work. whatever u find 1st]

[Got it.]

"We're gonna need to split up to cover as much ground as we can," says Gin. "How do you wanna split up?"

"Let's do three groups; that's the most we can do without leaving anyone on their own," you suggest.

"I'll go with Koharu," Hayate offers, and much to your surprise, she doesn't object.

"Whatever," she shrugs. "You probably need me to make sure you don't get the tiles wrong or something."

Hayate tips his shades and glares down his nose at her. "You're gonna be the one carrying your sword if you keep saying stuff like that."

"All right…Mariko, how about you go with Shibutani?" you say quickly. You feel a little bad for keeping her at arm's length, but you'd really rather she wasn't around in case you have another vision.

"That leaves you and me, huh?" says Yoko, leaning on her golf club. "Ah, and Gin. You're kind of the odd man out, so who're you going with?"

"Since Fukui's busy with the game, I guess I'll have to run navigation this time," he says with poorly masked disappointment. "I'll hang out around here and act as roaming support. If you need me, just call and I'll have Percival or Chiime over as soon as I can."

"Okaaay, so do we just go, or…?" says Koharu.

"It'd be nice to have a little direction," Yoko muses to herself. Then, she smacks a fist into her palm. "Hey! Tetsuo! Why don't you get one of Saito's Shadows to help us? Maybe they might be able to point us in the right direction."

"Let's start with that guy over there," says Hayate, hooking a thumb towards a dark figure in the distance loitering near the Hotel Gracery entrance.

As you approach, it resolves itself into one of the yakuza Shadows from earlier. Its loud blazer is thrown open so you can see the design tattooed across its bare, ebon chest: the four sou. Looking up at one of the screens overhead, you can see that Rin has a five and six sou, but not this one. It notices you coming and strides towards you with an exaggerated swagger.

"Ho! You bastards wanna piece of me?" it barks, spreading its arms wide in challenge.

Launcelot springs into action beside you. "That's the idea." The sound of cards shattering rings out behind you as the others also summon their Personas. The Shadow flinches, taking a step back.

"A-Ah, shit. Hee-hey! Back me up here!"

Hearing its cry for help, three other Shadows come running from down the street with knives and bits of pipe clutched in their dark, smoky hands. Two of them are also marked with irrelevant tiles, but the other…

"That's the three man we need," notes Gin, pointing. "We're in luck. Don't let that one get away." The Shadow nervously whips its head back and forth, hoping that Gin meant one of the others.

"Not a chance!" bellows Shibutani, sending Bors plunging forward into the group. The Shadows scatter, giving you a chance to pounce.

Launcelot lunges at the four sou Shadow with its shield, hoping to incapacitate it rather than kill it, but one of its buddies ducks under a swipe of Koharu's sword and shoulder checks him away. As you totter off balance, another Shadow dashes at you, its knife pointed at your gut. Before you can scuttle out of the way, the Shadow freezes solid, and Kay shatters it to pieces with a series of vicious straights.

"Leave it to me, man! I got you!" Hayate shouts before sending his Persona after the Shadow with the pipe.

The four sou yanks a pistol from the waist of its slacks and looses off three wild shots. The first nicks the hem of your pants, and Launcelot lifts his shield to block the other two. With your Persona leading the way, you barrel towards the Shadow as it uselessly empties the rest of the clip into the slab of metal. As Launcelot brings his shield up under the Shadow's chin with a satisfying crack, you vault up onto his shoulders. Using the shield as a springboard, you swing your guitar over your head and plow the enemy into the pavement.

Geysers of bluish-black smoke erupt around the reeling Shadow as its reinforcements meet their end at the hands of Bors, Elaine, and Kay. Startled, the Shadow changes tune immediately and flips itself onto its knees with its hands firmly pressed together in the air.

"H-Hey-ho! Take it easy, guys! I didn't mean no disrespect; I'm just doin' my job here!"

Squatting down beside it, you clutch the edge of its mask and yank it up so it stares you in the eye.

"Then prove it. Koharu, can you sketch me the tiles we're looking for?"

She does so with a few quick strokes of her pencil and hands you the sheet of paper.

"We're looking for the guys with these tiles. You know where we can find 'em?"

The Shadow weakly shakes its head.

"Hee-how am I supposed to know that?"

Grinding its mask into the pavement, you growl, "Think harder."

"Ghh! I dunno! For real, I dunno! You think I get trusted with that kinda shit? I'm just here to crack skulls, ho!"

"Gin, what's this one's weakness?" you ask.

"Bless it if it's not going to be any use to us."

"Principality!" you shout, summoning the angel with a snap of your fingers. Principality raises its staff, and a spear of light materializes above the Shadow's torso.

"Nngh! Come on, I'm being serious!" the Shadow squirms. "B-But y'know, there might be one guy who'd know that kinda thing – spare me, I'll take you to him, ho!"

"Now we're getting somewhere." With a smile, you recall Principality and get to your feet. "Consider it a deal."

Coughing and sputtering, the Shadow sits up and massages the back of its head.

"You guys are real sons of bitches. No wonder the Boss's so on edge lately. Anhee-how, I'm Black Frost, ho! You better know what you're doing, ho!"

The Shadow evaporates into a black mist, leaving behind a card marked with the emblem of the Fool on one side, and a picture of a rotund black imp on the other. Once you take it into your hands, you can hear its voice in your head.

[Hee-holy shit, you got a lotta dudes up here, ho!]

[Stop calling me 'ho', please.]

[It's an adorable verbal tic, no can do, ho!]

"Whoa, here we go."

Rin's voice draws your attention to the video screen overhead as the new tiles you won start popping into existence atop her hand one by one. As expected, she passes on the three garbage tiles and slides the three man into her hand, discarding her North wind tile in exchange.

Rin's Hand

1man [3man 3man 3man] 7man 1pin 1pin 9pin 9pin 5sou 6sou 8sou Red Dragon

"Pon."

Saito's call arrests the attention of everyone watching as he tips over two other North tiles from his hand, forming a triplet. From your view behind her, you can see Rin's hand twitch into a fist underneath the table, but otherwise, she keeps her cool.

"Risky tile for you to be dealing in a game like this. Don't tell me that was meant to be charity," Saito taunts.

"Didn't think you'd be desperate enough to open up your hand this early is all. At least now I don't have to use my imagination to figure out what you're after."

Saito opens his hands in invitation. "Then do something about it, if you can. If I were you, I'd encourage your friends to pick up the pace. Speaking of which, it's your draw. Don't hold us up," he says to Nisekao, who gives a start and reaches for the next tile in the wall.

As he does, you receive a text from Rin.

[i fucked up]

[sry, but u guys rly do need to get movin now]

Gin grimaces as he reads the message.

"Figures. Let's just pick a direction and go."

"We should spread out to cover as wide an area as possible," you suggest. "Yoko and I'll go after that Shadow Black Frost mentioned. Hayate, you and Koharu head towards the theater square. Shibutani, you take Mariko south and search the backstreets."

After sending a picture of Koharu's sketch to the others, you part ways with the rest of the group and strike off east through the narrow, dingy streets.

[There's this bar in Golden Gai where you'll find the fella you're lookin' for, ho. You wanna be careful, though – hee-ho's a tough customer!] says Black Frost.

"You talking to your Personas?" Yoko asks, studying your face as you jog along.

"Uh…yeah. Is it obvious?"

"You get this look on your face like you're concentrating really hard. I figured it's either that, or you're having serious stomach problems."

You make a mental note to relax your face when you're doing that from now on.

Above, the game proceeds at a pace that's difficult to follow as you wind through the twisting entrails of the city. Saito's partner takes its draw and discards a White Dragon tile.

"Pon."

Immediately, Saito snaps up the White Dragon, revealing two more of his own from his hand with a resonating clack. You can't see Rin's face from the way the camera's angled, but Nisekao's widened eyes and clenched jaw tells you a lot about the mood in the room. As it stands, Saito has already completed two of the four groups he needs to win. If Rin's going to stand a chance, you need to outpace him. Your pocket buzzes.

[this isnt good. hes going 2 fast]

The text was sent only to you.

[We'll be okay. It's just one mistake. I still believe in you.]

You hope that was the right thing to say.

As you dive further into the depths of Kabukicho, the buildings begin to crowd closer together until they practically form canopies of concrete and steel. Golden Gai is at the heart of this jungle, a compact tangle of alleys barely wide enough for two people to walk abreast, woven like arteries betwixt a cluster of tightly packed restaurants and bars. The air is thick with the smell of booze, garlic, oil, and meat in such vivid quality you wouldn't have thought possible in someone's dream. Your mind flits back to the noodle place the two old men at Lake Yamanaka were talking about, but after going drinking in Cloud Two, you doubt any of the food here is fit to eat.

[Black Frost, what's this place called?]

[Hee-hmm…something like "Albatross"?]

[Got it.]

The place in question is a little hole in the wall at the end of one of the alleys, with only a tiny white sign offering any evidence of its existence. Stepping around a long, black chopper parked outside that takes up most of the alleyway, you and Yoko sidle inside.

A bell tinkles as you enter, drawing the attention of the patrons away from a small television mounted above the bar broadcasting the mahjong match. Fortunately, it doesn't look like Saito's hand has progressed any further. However, Rin's added another three of a kind thanks to one of the other groups. Your money's on Shibutani and Mariko, all things considered.

Rin's Hand

1man [3man 3man 3man] [1pin 1pin 1pin] 9pin 9pin 5sou 6sou 8sou Red Dragon

A hulking Shadow clad in spiked leather gear and a pale white mask fixes you with its eyeless gaze. It's massive to the point where its shoulders practically graze the low ceiling, raising very real questions about how it fit through the door in the first place. However, it's also got a one man tattoo carved into its chest, which would give Rin another pair to work with.

"Piss off," it growls.

"Easy there, big fella," Yoko says, stepping in front of you before you can fire back. "We just need to talk. No need to trash the place, right?" she adds to the bartender, who nods fervently.

"Not talkin' about shit. Piss off," the Shadow insists. Yoko winces, but isn't dissuaded.

"U-Uh…well…" She reaches into her pockets and pulls out a couple of crumpled hundred-yen notes. "Maybe a couple of these bad boys might have you reconsider, hmm?" she croons with a furious waggle of her eyebrows. It's barely enough to buy a soda.

"…Seriously? Aren't you supposed to be loaded?" you ask.

"How much do you expect me to carr-HRRK!" she hisses back before the Shadow wraps its sausage-like fingers around her windpipe and hoists her aloft. The bartender frantically motions for it to stop, but without success – the giant creature chokeslams Yoko into the countertop, sliding her across its length and right through the door with one powerful heave.

Leaping over the remnants of the doorframe, you cross the alley and help Yoko out of a pile of trash bags.

"You uh…sure gave it a shot," you say, letting Principality fix up some of her cuts and bruises.

Yoko cracks her spine back into place, grimacing. "Yeesh. Serves me right, thinking I could handle this on my own…" She peers over your shoulder, cocking her head in confusion. "Uh, where'd he go?"

"Huh?"

Sure enough, the Shadow has vanished, leaving only a couple of bewildered customers and the distraught bartender staring through the newly-renovated entrance.

Suddenly, the alley is awash with blinding, yellow light. An engine revs up with a noise like a lion's roar, and Yoko only just tackles you back into the pile of trash before the chopper rips through the street at breakneck speed. It screeches to a halt at the end of the alley, and the Shadow wrenches a street sign out of the asphalt as it wheels the motorcycle around for another pass.

"C'mon, get up! This way!"

Brandishing the sign like an axe, the Shadow hurtles towards you again. The air sings as the sign cuts through the space where your head was just moments ago while you and Yoko duck into a narrow passage between two restaurants that leads into the next alley over. The two of you zigzag your way though the tight back streets of Golden Gai with the Shadow pursuing you like some hellbent demon, a cacophony of screaming brakes and growling pistons in its wake.

"We gotta get back out to the main street," you wheeze, plunging headlong into another slim gap between buildings to avoid having your skull turned into tomato paste. "I got an idea."

After scrambling through a few more twists and turns, you burst out of one last alleyway into freedom. Immediately, you dart around the corner and flatten yourself against the wall. Yoko does the same on the other side of the entrance. It doesn't take long for the rumbling of the chopper to catch up, the harsh glow of its headlight spilling out of the gap between you. The Shadow revs the engine once, twice. With a snap of your fingers, Launcelot appears at your side.

The Shadow explodes out of the alleyway like a bullet from a gun, and you leap into action.

"Now!"

Launcelot jams his lance into the spokes of the front wheel with the intent of stopping the bike and sending the Shadow flying over the handlebars. Or at least that's how it played out in your head. Instead, the spokes shear right through the tip of the lance, catapulting Launcelot into the air and wrenching the wind right out of your lungs. The Shadow wheels around for another swipe, hefting the sign high in triumph like a monstrous jouster. Gasping for air and holding an arm over your face against the glare, you're just barely able to make out what happens next.

Elaine materializes in the Shadow's face in a flash of blue flames with her hands spread wide. A series of crackling white flashes like firecrackers go off in the Shadow's face, forcing it to drop the sign and take its other hand off the handlebars to protect its eyes. The chopper's front wheel wobbles wildly, and the whole thing skids out of control right into the wall behind you.

The two of you rush over with Elaine and Black Frost at your sides to make sure the enemy doesn't try anything funny. Doesn't seem necessary, though. The Shadow's completely laid out, clutching at its head and writhing about on the ground.

"Rough night, hee-huh? They got me-hee, too, ho!"

A pained groan rattles out of the giant Shadow. "Unghh…shit…you actually knocked me off…"

"Do you feel like talking now?" says Yoko.

"Tch, whatever. Guess you earned it, huh? I've been doin' nothing but sittin' around and drinkin' all night, anyways. Kinda got me feelin'-"

"Bored?" you venture.

"Nah. Most of the time it whips ass. It's the hidin' part I don't care for. Got me in a bad mood. I oughta be out there raisin' hell with the rest of the boys."

"Hiding? What, from us?"

"Yeah, ain't that stupid?"

"…Right. Definitely," you lie.

"Ha!" The Shadow sits up with a wheezing chortle. "You get it, huh? The Boss always has us doin' the shit he doesn't wanna do. Thinks he's too important. So he stuck me with setting up the positions for tonight, and that's why he told me to hide out here. Y'know, so I don't give 'em away or anything."

It pauses for a moment, thinking.

"…That's not why you're here, is it?"

You and Yoko exchange glances.

"…No."

"Oh, okay." The giant then rummages around in its pockets and pulls out a folded-up scrap of paper. "Uh…you want 'em anyways? It'd really piss off the Boss, and the more that I think about it, the more I like that idea."

You exchange glances again.

"…Yes."

You take the paper and unfold it. It's a map of the city, riddled with dozens of holes and crude doodles.

"I didn't really wanna spend more than a couple minutes on it, so I just tossed some darts at it and called it a day. I drew the tiles next to the holes. I also drew some rad choppers, if you wanna check that out."

You check out the choppers. They are most certainly rad.

"Well, thanks a lot. That's actually real solid of you. Are you sure it's okay for you to be doing this?" you ask, stuffing the map into your pocket.

"At this point, I don't know if I even give a shit. I didn't sign up to be some rich guy's bitch – I just wanna pulp some dudes, get my blood pumpin', y'know?"

"You could join up with us. We usually end up doing a lot of…whatever you just said," you offer. The Shadow lurches upright and claps a burly hand on your shoulder.

"Yeah, I could go for that. You guys are pretty scrawny, but you got balls to go toe to toe with my bike. But, uh, first…you think I could still have that two hundred yen? I still gotta cover my tab."

Trying and failing to conceal her puzzlement, Yoko presses the notes into the Shadow's hand. "…Sure. No problem."

"Nice. You guys rule. Anyways, I'm Hell Biker, and there's nothin' I love more'n a little hatred and violence. Let's take a ride into the abyss together."

In another puff of smoke, the Shadow (along with Yoko's pocket change) transforms into a card bearing the Death Arcana and an illustration of a skeleton astride a flaming motorcycle.

"Y'know, once you get past the attempted murder, a lot of these Shadows are funny lil' guys, aren't they?" says Yoko.

"'Little' might be stretching it. C'mon, let's go check on Rin real quick."

An electronics store across the street has a few televisions in the display window broadcasting the match. Since you last checked, the others have managed to get Rin another pair, but she's still short of the four triplets she needs. As she slides the one man tile from the biker Shadow into her hand, she creates a third pair of tiles ready to make a three of a kind.

Rin's Hand

1man 1man [3man 3man 3man] [1pin 1pin 1pin] 9pin 9pin 5sou 5sou Red Dragon

From your perspective, everything looks like it's going well. All Rin needs is two more tiles to match any of her pairs, and the game will be over. What's more, Saito only has two triplets of his own face-up on the table – the triplet of North tiles he called from Rin earlier, and a triplet of White Dragon tiles. Rin had made it sound like outpacing Saito and his crony would be difficult, but it seems like you're keeping pace pretty well so far. And now that you have the map with all the Shadows on it, getting those last two tiles should be simple.

Then Nisekao discards a Green Dragon tile, and everything goes to shit.

"Geh heh heh heh! Pon," drawls Saito, his lips twisting into a delighted sneer as he tips over two more Green Dragons. Even in side profile, you can see Rin's eyes bulging as she throws her arms up in disbelief.

"Wh-What? I d-didn't need another!" Nisekao croaks, looking very much like he wants to disappear into the crack between the chair cushions.

Rin breathes deeply as Saito cackles with glee.

"…Right. Sorry, I probably should've warned you against discarding any more honor tiles. Listen, if you have any more dragon or wind tiles, you have to keep them, all right?"

"O-Okay…it won't happen again, I promise!"

Poor guy. You can't say you wouldn't have done the same. All things considered, it seems pretty fortunate that Nisekao's only made one mistake so far.

"My goodness, I didn't think it'd be this simple. Perhaps I could have played this game without drawing any tiles myself," taunts Saito, steam pouring from the corners of his mouth and nostrils.

"Blow me. Think of it as a handicap," Rin fires back. Your pocket buzzes.

[its not a handicap were goin tits up]

[hes going for daisangen. 3 of a kind of all 3 dragons]

[actually, if he finishes with all honor tiles, thats double yakuman]

[i dont know if these stamps can blow up 2x as hard but i don't wanna find out]

Even you can see the issue Rin's dealing with now.

Saito's Revealed Tiles

[North x3] [White Dragon x3] [Green Dragon x3]

All Saito needs to finish his yakuman is a triplet of the Red Dragons – one of which is lurking in Rin's hand. To make matters worse, it's all by itself. In any other circumstance, it would make sense to discard it next and keep the pairs. But if it's Saito's win condition, Rin has to keep it, even if it means sabotaging her own hand.

[What are you going to do about that Red Dragon?]

Rin's next message takes a minute to come back.

[its not good but he might not have the other two reds yet. lets finish the other 3 of a kinds and deal with it when we get there]

That's true. Saito still has 4 concealed tiles left in front of him, and there's no guarantee that two of them are Red Dragons. Still, given the fact that this is Saito's game, it feels like a bad idea to push your luck like this. You'll just need to trust Rin's judgment.

"There you are."

Gin rounds a nearby corner and jogs up to you.

"I lost track of you in Golden Gai for a bit. Saito's got some kind of jamming magic at work over there, so I came to check on you myself. Please tell me you've got good news."

"We've got this," you say, handing over the map. Gin unfolds it and squints.

"A bunch of shitty motorcycle drawings?"

"No, aside from that. It's the locations of all the tiles."

He squints even harder, and his eyebrows shoot up.

"Well I'll be damned, that is something. And here I thought Shibutani and Tsukino were the only ones getting anything done."

"Uh, thanks?" you reply, even though it's not really a compliment.

"Yeah, I just got through telling Hirada and Shimizu to quit screwing around. They've been spending the whole time trying to come up with stupid 'combo attacks' and getting their asses kicked. In retrospect, we probably shouldn't have put the only responsible people on the same team."

Personally, you're just glad they're getting along for once, but he does have a point.

"Anyways, they're gonna have to pull their weight now. Looks like our third one man is hanging around the batting cages, and they're the closest to it. Hey! Did you two catch that?" Gin barks.

"Huh?" says Hayate's voice in your earpiece. In the background, you can hear Koharu shouting some truly cringeworthy lines.

"There's another one man by the cages. Head north, and you'll run into it. Get a move on!"

"We're low on time, guys. Please start taking this seriously," you add for good measure.

"Okay, we're going," says Koharu's voice, a little sadly.

Gin rolls his eyes and turns back to the map.

"All right, now what other pairs do we need to finish…five sou and nine pin?" He points to a hole in a parking lot not far north from your current position. "Says there's a nine pin hanging around here. You two handle that, and I'll round up Shibutani and Tsukino. We're in the home stretch, but I don't trust Saito not to try anything. We'll be in bad shape if we're too far apart when shit hits the fan."

"What, did you notice something?" Yoko asks.

Gin scowls. "I had Percival scan for Saito's Enforcer."

"And?"

"Well…either Percival's not reading it properly…or it's massive. We're talking like the size of the entire city."

"Y-You're kidding."

"Yeah, I'm hoping that I'm not reading that properly, too. After all, something that size couldn't possibly be hiding as well as it is. Either way, just something to keep in the back of your head."

You and Yoko sprint down the street as fast as your legs will carry you, spurred on by adrenaline and pressure. Snippets of the match pass by in glimpses as screen after screen whips by. One by one, Saito continues to ignore the tiles discarded by his partner and Nisekao, forcing your heart to beat faster and faster. There's a jubilant cry in your earpiece – "Got 'im!" - and the third one man makes it into Rin's hand.

Rin's Hand

[1man 1man 1man] [3man 3man 3man] [1pin 1pin 1pin] 9pin 9pin 5sou Red Dragon

It's now up to you to make that last triplet happen. After that, you'll just need to make a pair from either the five sou or the Red Dragon to win. The end – the actual end – of this long nightmare is so close you could reach out and grasp it – so long as your luck holds up, and Saito's doesn't.

The street ends at an intersection, with the parking lot in question at the corner. It's pretty small, but the comparative density of the city around it makes it look more spacious than it is. However, there's no such thing as unused space in Kabukicho, and even this parking lot is surrounded by billboards plastered with advertisements for host clubs. Unsettlingly, all of the hosts are wearing Saito's face.

Peering through the gaps in the billboards, you can see five Shadows crouching in a circle in the corner, which strikes you as odd. You don't exactly remember what the map said, but you're pretty sure the nine pin Shadow was supposed to be alone. Yoko notices as well.

"That's not right. What're the other guys doing here?"

"You think Saito's trying something?"

Yoko tightens her grip on her club. "Kinda looks like it, doesn't it? Think we should call for backup?"

"We don't really have the time, do we? They don't look very big – we can probably handle them by ourselves."

Yoko takes a deep breath and stances herself up. "I guess so. Just…keep your guard up, okay? I'm the one in charge of keeping you safe, y'know."

The Shadows straighten up when they hear you coming and fan out into an odd formation with three clustered tightly in the middle, and the other two a fair distance away on either side. But once you see the tiles they're representing, you know something's not right. There's the nine pin and the five sou at the edges, and in the center, the remaining three Red Dragons – all tiles Rin could use to win the game.

"I don't like this – no way this is a coincidence," Yoko whispers. "But how could he know?"

You remember the sensation of being watched that you felt after leaving the bar. If what Gin was saying was true, there's a very real chance that Saito's been using his city-sized Enforcer to monitor the match. Not that there'd be any way to prove it without actually dragging the Enforcer out, though. Still, even if he has been cheating, why serve up your most crucial tiles on a silver platter like this?

"All right, boys. You know what to do," growls the nine pin. The five sou snaps its fingers, and the three Red Dragons begin to glow a deep crimson.

"What the-?" you stammer, and as if waiting for your cue, the Shadows lunge at you and the red glow becomes a rapid flicker.

"TETSUO! GET DOWN!" you hear Yoko scream.

Two flashes follow – one white as the Shadows detonate into howling balls of fire, the other blue, throwing itself between you and the explosion.

Despite avoiding the brunt of the attack, the force of the blast tosses you into the air, slamming you against the back of the billboards. Your head hits the pavement hard on your way down, sending waves of white pain cascading through your skull.

Yoko…is Yoko okay…?

You roll over onto your side, casting about with your blurred sight for any confirmation of her safety. There's a figure in front of you, standing tall and seemingly unharmed in the midst of all the smoke, but…it can't be Yoko. They're wearing something completely different, like some kind of white jumpsuit. They turn their head back towards you, their face obscured by a wide mask shaped like triangular sunglasses.

"Are you okay?"

You blink a couple times to clear your vision, and the illusion vanishes. It's only Yoko, dressed as she normally is with Elaine by her side.

"Agh…I think so. How'd you…?"

"Elaine's pretty good at shrugging off fire-based magic…if that's even what you'd call that. Still, didn't think they'd try something like that."

"What about the other two?"

Your question gets answered pretty quickly as the smoke clears and the figures of the nine pin and five sou Shadows emerge. Launcelot manifests at your side, his lance pointed towards the enemy.

"Well shit. Looks like you survived," says the nine pin.

"Didn't think that would happen," adds the five sou.

"We didn't even come armed."

"Guess this is the end of the line for us."

The two throw their arms up in surrender, but the relaxed, almost smug edge to their voices keeps you wary.

"Stay back," warns Yoko. "Gotta be another trap."

"'Fraid not," says the nine pin. "That's all we got up our sleeves, honest. You can take us out from there, if you want. Don't even have to get close."

Launcelot readjusts his grip on his weapon and gives you a sidelong glance.

"Yoko, we can't really wait. These are the last tiles we need."

She clenches her jaw and lets out a grunt of frustration. "I know! But why do they want us to do it? We've gotta be walking into something!"

"Your buddy's got a point. If you wanna wait here for the Boss to draw his winning tile, that works, too, I guess," sneers the five sou.

As the seconds tick by, you can feel each one echo in the beat of your heart, building, building, building…how long is too long? It just keeps building-

"Nnghh…just do it, Launcelot!" you cry out.

With a swipe of his lance, a tornado whips up around the nine pin, and countless blades of wind tear the Shadow to ribbons. Yoko recoils, then gives in as well.

"Dammit…finish it, Elaine!"

A searing pillar of flame descends from the sky, immolating the five sou, and it's finished. The two of you stand there for a few seconds bracing, but nothing happens.

"That's…it? Does that mean we win?" you wonder aloud.

"Let's go find out."

You rush over to a large video board above a convenience store just outside the parking lot to watch the rest of the match unfold. The nine pin drops on top of Rin's hand first. Saito raises his eyebrows, but doesn't say anything. He doesn't even draw, despite it being his turn.

[There's a five sou on the way next,] you message her. [It's up to you now.]

Rin's Hand

[1man 1man 1man] [3man 3man 3man] [1pin 1pin 1pin] 9pin 9pin 5sou Red Dragon

Across the table, Rin is similarly frozen, despite the end of the game staring her in the face. All she needs to do is take the nine pin to make her fourth triplet, and accept the five sou to make her pair. However, in order to complete the yakuman, the Red Dragon has to go. There's no putting it off any longer. If only she could've made the Red Dragon her pair, then she could've discarded the harmless five sou

Then, realization dawns on you. None of the Red Dragon Shadows that attacked you in the parking lot made it into Rin's hand because you didn't defeat them – they killed themselves. In essence, they've ensured that her Red Dragon is completely useless.

Rin grabs the Red Dragon between her thumb and index finger. Her hand is steady, but the hesitation speaks volumes. Seconds turn into minutes, but she can't bring herself to discard the tile. Perhaps it's just your imagination, but the stamp on the back of your neck feels like it's tingling.

"What's the matter? Got a tough decision to make?" says Saito, plumes of thick smoke billowing from his mouth with every syllable. He's not even bothering to conceal his excitement anymore.

"I…" Rin tenses, and lowers the Red Dragon back into her hand.

"…I can't do it. I can't take the risk. I'm sorry, everyone."

Instead, she places the nine pin into her discards with a heavy clack that may as well be the sound of your coffins slamming shut.

Saito can no longer contain himself. He leaps to his feet, spreading his arms wide in rapture.

"Hee! Heehee! Heeheeheeheeeeee! That look! Ooh, I know that look! On the cusp of victory, and you couldn't bring yourself to pull the trigger!"

Saito steps back from the table, convulsing with perverse delight and smoking like a bonfire from every orifice.

"I feel for you, I really do! But a true gambler needs to have a will of steel! To stare death in the face and make the impossible choices, no matter how insane they may seem! I guess in the end, you just didn't have it in y-"

"U-Um…excuse me?"

Somehow, Nisekao's meek voice cuts through Saito's unhinged tirade, stopping him cold. All eyes in the room fixate on him.

"S-Sorry, but I-I have a stupid question…wh-what are you supposed to say when you win?"

Saito's elation melts as his expression slowly transforms into one of abject horror.

"What."

"R-Ron," answers Rin. "You're supposed to say 'ron'."

"O-Oh. Then, um, ron."

Nisekao tips his tiles over to reveal his hand.

Nisekao's Hand

[1man 9man 1pin 1sou 9sou East East West North South Red Dragon White Dragon Green Dragon] [9pin](from Rin)

Again, you're not a mahjong expert, but you've seen that particular hand enough in manga and anime to recognize it for what it is.

Kokushi Musou.

Yakuman.