Status

The blurry city lights slid across the car’s tinted windows, mirroring Rei’s state of mind. Beneath the rush of Takumi and hers intimacy escalating, something else stirred. A flicker of longing. The desire to be consumed, to let go instead of all the careful scheming. The prospect of abandon frightened her almost as much as it thrilled her. The car came to a stop and she exited, Cillian motioned to walk her to her door, but she waved him off, thanking him and moving out of the underground carpark and down the neon bathed street. The soft ping of her encrypted comm dragged her back to the present. A message from Karasu:

» Status?

Rei’s fingers hovered over the keys. What could she even write? That she’d seen the shark bare its teeth and liked it? That Takumi Senior had pulled her into a game so intricate, she couldn’t tell if she was seducing him or being groomed as his newest possession? She typed slowly:

» He tested me. I survived.

Her thumb hovered after sending it. A moment later, the comm buzzed again:

» Come home after work Friday.

Rei closed her eyes, her pulse finally slowing. Karasu would see the cracks too, but he would hate them. He might ask her to pry them wider, but he wouldn’t want to. As she increased her pace, smoothing her dress absentmindedly, she couldn’t silence the whisper that curled in the back of her mind, Takumi’s voice: No winners. Only survivors.

The walk to her apartment door felt longer than usual, each step measured and heavy. She noticed Cillian a few paces behind her but ignored him. Guessing he was ordered to make sure she got back safely, no exceptions. The neon signs bled their synthetic colors across the wet pavement, but their usual electric buzz felt muted. Takumi’s words gnawed at her, the echo a cold knot in her stomach, but it was entwined with the searing memory of the loosening of his control, a memory that sent a fresh, unwelcome ecstasy through her.

She fumbled with her keys, her hands still unsteady and finally pushed the door open. The quietness of her own space greeted her, a stark contrast to the charged atmosphere of the office. The apartment was hers, but it felt hollow. A cage, just as when Karasu had installed her in his guestroom. At least this one she had for herself. She dropped her clutch on the table and went straight to the shower, turning the water as hot as she could stand it. She scrubbed at her skin, trying to wash away the scent of Takumi’s cologne, the feel of his hands. But it was etched into her.

Wrapped in a towel, she stood before the mirror again. The woman staring back was still there, her eyes a little wider, a little darker. The fear was there, a cold blade. But so was something else, an unnerving fascination. Takumi hadn’t just been a conquest, he had been a revelation, a glimpse into a kind of power so absolute it could afford to momentarily crack, and in that breach, become even more intoxicating.

Karasu’s message was a lifeline thrown back to the world she understood. A world of clear enemies and loyalties, of black and white in a city of neon and grey. He would debrief her, would look for weaknesses to exploit. He would see through her, notice her shaken state and it would fuel his own possessive fury. Karasu would doubtlessly want to use what she had learned to break Takumi, risking breaking them all in the process. Worry mixed with disturbing excitement. Missing Karasu felt like a physical loss, part of her lung missing. She longed for all of him like oxygen, even his furious jealousy. She slipped into bed, but sleep was a distant country. She lay in the gloom, the city’s hum a constant through her window.

The memories of the night returned, not as a taunt, but as a seductive, terrifying question. The thought wasn’t of outmaneuvering Takumi or winning Karasu’s war. It was a thrilling fantasy of stepping off the board entirely. Of not fighting the current, but swimming deeper into it, of seeing just how far the rabbit hole went with a man who knew all its twists and turns. She had set out to seduce a monster to protect the man she loved, but somewhere in the glittering darkness of Kuroda Plaza, the monster had shown her a reflection of herself she couldn’t look away from. And the most dangerous part wasn’t the fear. It was the longing.

Second Debrief

The knock on Karasu’s office door was lighter than usual. Rei’s hand lingered on the frame before she pushed it open. The room smelled of smoke and whiskey, familiar, grounding. Karasu sat behind his desk, jacket off, shirt sleeves rolled to the elbow, the ink of his dragons shifting as he lit one of his electric-blue cigarettes. His eyes flicked up, glinting as soon as they met hers.

“You’re arriving later than you promised,” he said flatly. Rei forced a smirk, “Nice to see you too.” She slipped inside, shutting the door behind her. The latch clicked loudly in the quiet room. Karasu gestured at the chair across from him with the cigarette, “Sit.” She sat, folding her hands tightly in her lap. For a moment, the only movement was the slow curl of smoke.

“Well?” he asked finally. His tone wasn’t impatient, but sharp. Rei drew in a breath, “He tested me this week. I held my own.” Karasu’s jaw flexed, waiting, but he said nothing. Just watched her. “I think he wanted me to prove I wasn’t just a pawn”, her voice was steady, but her stomach twisted as she recalled the heat of Takumi Senior above her, “I gave him enough to keep him interested. Enough to keep me alive.”

Karasu leaned forward, his elbows braced on the desk, hands steepled, “Details.” Rei’s mouth went dry. This was the moment. She could keep it clinical, attempt to play it safe. But part of her wanted to see it; to see him slip, just as Takumi Senior had. “He… told me he wanted me to be real, that he wanted all of me. I told him I had imagined being with him…”, she said carefully, watching Karasu’s eyes narrow, “I told him that I imagined him undone. On the edge,” she leaned back in the chair, mimicking cool nonchalance, though her pulse battered brutally, “That got under his skin.”

The silence stretched. Karasu’s eyes had darkened and a muscle in his jaw ticked untamed. Rei let her lips curve, the faintest taunt, “He didn’t completely crack, but you should’ve seen him Karasu. The way his hands lingered. The great Takumi Kuroda, fighting himself just to keep from—”, she cut herself off, letting the implication hang. Karasu crushed the cigarette into the tray with uncanny calm. His voice, when it came, was low, “Careful, fox.”

Her smile quivered in fear, but motivated to defend her honesty, she leaned forward across the desk, close enough to feel the residual heat of his cigarette smoke, “You promised to check your jealousy at the door.” Her voice dropped to a cautious whisper, “I’m acting under orders. Him wanting me is good news, right? A weakness in him?”

Karasu didn’t move. Didn’t blink. But she saw it; the flash. The same crack she had seen in Takumi Senior. The tightening of control, the faint spark in his darkening expression. Rei’s heart pounded, noting him keeping in control, knowing his fury, “That’s all I got… shall I go get a late night snack started?” That broke his stillness. Karasu stood suddenly, coming around the desk in two long strides. Rei’s breath caught as he braced one hand on the arm of her chair, leaning down until his face was inches from hers.

“You think you’re calling the shots here?” he asked dangerously tense, “Do you think my soft spot for you, gives you permission to push as far as you please – no consequences?” Rei tilted her chin up, refusing to back down, “No. I don’t. I’m caught between two masters, loving one, appeasing the other for the first. Sorry for testing your patience”. His glare became biting. She twitched, her fear and weakness showing, “I… I admit I could have phrased it differently… I just wanted to feel your affection, that you cared. I wasn’t playing nice, I’m sorry Karasu, please don’t be cruel?”, she apologized delicately, looking up at him with careful obedience.

For a heartbeat, she thought he might either hit her or kiss her. The weight of his stare burned through her, his proximity dizzying. Then, with maddening restraint, he straightened, exhaling smoke she hadn’t seen him inhale. “You’re infuriating,” he said, voice like venom wrapped in silk, “Go get my dinner ready. Wear nothing. There will be penalties for your insolence.” He stepped back to his desk, picking up where he left off with his work.

The air in the office was still thick with the unspoken tasks, the phantom heat of his nearness lingering on her skin. Rei didn’t run, but her steps were quick and light as she retreated to the sanctuary of the apartment.