THIS IS A GAME

"One hundred million yen."

Gingo Miura finally names his price—though not until he finds himself completely entrapped with threats and Yanagi's words. And while still wearing a disconcerted look on his face, he sighs in surrender.

Yanagi, however, just grins triumphantly to this as he leans back and moves off from where he has been sitting over the table and kills his cigarette on the ashtray near him. He gives the old pathetic manager a smug expression filled with satisfaction as he quickly fishes for his phone inside the pocket of his suit to dial a number.

"One hundred and fifty million yen. Club Pandora. Gingo Miura." Kenji only utters these words the second someone answers from the other end and cuts the call abruptly without even acknowledging any response to what he just said. Then, he stares back to the manager.

"One hundred... fifty?" Gingo gives him a frown, his brows meeting together as he looks slightly anxious after hearing the fifty million excess.

"It's a consolation," Kenji just tells him with a shrug, turning before he slowly walks towards the front door. For a moment, Gingo thought Yanagi is finally going to leave him. But unfortunately, the man only locks the door from the inside and turns back to face him again.

"Now, for the 'other' thing I'm going to ask from you, Gingo Miura..."

So, he isn't still done yet.

"I need you to answer me with all the details you know about it... Off the record."

Perhaps, the fifty million was never really just a 'consolation'. It's actually just all a set-up for a much more dangerous pact.

_____________________________

----------FLASHBACK----------

NINE MONTHS AGO...

Two cups of coffee rest on the table without having been touched yet and the smoke from its hot contents slowly rises into the empty space between the two people sitting across each other. Aoi Chiba settles into silence as she tries not to tear up again. It has only been two weeks since Kenichi had been found dead with a misleading case that the officials had closed and concluded as simply another robbery mishap.

But Aoi knew it had been a lie.

She knows what Kenichi has been keeping tabs on, in the past few months he was working before he got killed that night. She knows someone had already planned and tried to kill him so they could shut him up because Kenichi had probably discovered something really important. He had been investigating many crimes done by high-profiled people and had garnered a lot of enemies because of that. And Aoi believes his death had been the result of his job yet no one seemed to think that it was more than just a robbery incident.

But she knows. Someone is still out there. Someone is still on the loose, walking away from what they did wrong to Kenichi. And that's unforgivable. For Aoi, the only thing she wants now is true justice.

Kenichi should have what he completely deserved. If the officials can't do that to him, then Aoi will find it all out for herself. She has to give Kenichi's death a reasonable justice, not that despicable lie that had been fabricated so frivolously to conceal the real murderer who had killed him.

She wants the truth... For Kenichi. She wants to fight for what she knows right because if she can't then no one will. This will never get Kenichi back to her arms but this is the only thing she could think of that can give herself consolation from the pain. She has to do everything on her own... From now on. But before that, Aoi needs to get some lead first.

"You have to help me here. His death must be given a fair investigation. He wasn't supposed to die. He only did what was good for everyone. He had never hurt any innocent person and now... I don't know what to do anymore. We just got engaged and without him, I don't... I do-" she blurts out then pauses as she tries not to cry again.

In the midst of the awkward silence between her and the man in front of her, Aoi finally looks up to meet Kenichi's former colleague and crime journalist, Akio Tsubasa's face. If there is anyone who could possibly know everything that Kenichi had worked on before he died, it should be him. Akio Tsubasa is the man who could surely keep secrets and bury them in his grave. And he's the one who could give her a clue that would certainly help her know where she should begin.

"You've known him for years, and you should understand how this is so hard for me, Mr. Tsubasa. I can't just keep a blind eye anymore," Aoi still goes on as she also feels her heart crumbling upon remembering the memories with her beloved. "He did not die just because someone had accidentally stabbed him, did he? DID HE?!"

The apartment that has been once a very warm place for Aoi suddenly becomes cold and chilly as she raises her question louder than she intended into the humid air hovering all over the living room. Yet the man sitting across the table just remains quiet as he gazes deeply into her sorrowful face.

"You've got to say something to me, Mr. Tsubasa!" Aoi pleads desperately with her voice becoming even more hoarse and shaky with misery, "Anything! Something! It could just be someplace around Tokyo, or an object, anything about a case he's involved before... Even just a NAME!"

"Kenji..."

The word has only been softly murmured in a faint whisper but Aoi quickly perceives it as her eyes widen upon hearing Akio responding back with a hesitant look.

"Yanagi of the Dojima Clan... That's the only thing I could tell you, for now, Miss Chiba."

Kenji Yanagi... That very familiar name. A very scary name... A Yakuza.

"Is it him?"

If it was really him, then Aoi will surely be treading on very dangerous grounds. But there's no turning back now. There's nothing to feel scared anymore, she needs to know who killed Kenichi and WHY. And maybe... She would kill that person too.

"I'm not sure," Akio says with a worried face, "But it'll be best if we don't dig deeper than this anymore, Miss Chiba. Kenichi would never want you to get involved anymore."

Right... He will stop her here. But Kenichi is dead... And so is any hope for her after this. If she's just going to live on without Kenichi then might as well die for him.

"That's fine."

Her pretentious face quickly masks her intent as she looks back to Akio. He does not have to know anything about what she's planning now. After all, what he had already provided is more than enough for her to move away and begin on a new chapter.

"That's all I need from you."

"Miss Chiba?" The confusion in his eyes shows as he blinks back at her.

"Thank you, Mr. Tsubasa." Aoi just tells him, her words merely registering but she tries her best not to give the man anything to worry about. She's going to move on alone and she must forget everything about what she used to be like in the past.

This is now the beginning of her new story.

"I'm going to move one now," she says this in a way that she's almost saying goodbye. And that is also true... Aoi is moving on. But with a new life... A new identity... And a new purpose.

This is now a new book about a new genre. And this is no longer just a melodrama.

This is now a REAL darker story with no guarantee of a good ending.

_____________________________

----------BACK TO PRESENT---------

The soft ringing of the phone brings Cherry back to her present.

That's right... Ayako died. And now she's waiting for what's coming for her after this. She quickly notices the huge figure of Jin as he raises a hand and answers a call on his phone.

She only watches as he stays silent while listening to whoever has been talking from the other end. Then after a few seconds, Jin finally replies.

"Understood, Boss."

That has only been his words before he finally ends the phone call and smoothly turns his head to meet her stare. Cherry's first reaction has been to avert her eyes and look away.

It is strange and she feels a little dumb for acting that way. But before she could speak from her side, Jin suddenly appears in front of her. Aoi looks up and sees his poker face just staring down at her.

"You need to come with me, Miss Cherry."

"To where?"

But Cherry already knows what he meant about coming with him.

"Boss Yanagi is waiting for us inside his car in front of the building right now."

"What about Ayako?"

As soon as she mentions it, the two of them instinctively give the corpse—that has been lying on the floor near them—a sidelong glance and they quickly notice how it looks even more different and ghastly now compared to how it had been a while ago.

"Someone will clean up the place after we leave. And it's no longer important. She's dead." Jin just briefly answers as he returns his eyes towards Cherry.

'No longer important', he says. And for some reason, that hurts Cherry even when she isn't really too familiar with Ayako. She might not have been acquainted with her for that long enough, but the young woman had been one of the nicest girls Cherry met in this club.

Poor girl, Cherry thought to herself. But it was inevitable and now, she just has to live on in the present.

"Am I going to get killed tonight?"

She asks this question again, but she does not really feel anxious nor scared at all. She already expects it, what could be worse? But Jin just refuses to answer it as he motions her to move instead.

"We really need to leave, Miss Cherry."

Cherry already knows he isn't one to give her too many clues about Yanagi's plans. So she eventually stands up from the couch with no other choice. But before she even obliges, she still pauses and stares at Jin for a moment, deciding to test him out for a little bit.

"What if I don't want to go with you."

Her statement immediately brings a complete change to Jin's aura. His eyes slowly squint at her as he freezes from where he has been standing, waiting for her to leave, before he finally responds.

"Then I have no choice but to take you by force," he tells her without even blinking, "It's up to you, though. Do you want me to carry you out of here in the most ungentlemanly way or are you going to walk and leave peacefully with your pride still intact, Miss Cherry?"

For some reason, Cherry suddenly laughs at the way he just said those words at her. It somehow just sounded so funny to her ears. She then gives him a long stare as she raises a brow at him.

"You're quite meaner than you look, Jin."

Jin's eyes widen a little as he takes note of how Cherry had just addressed him by his first name without even asking. But he quickly lets it go for now as the reminder of his boss Yanagi's order, plays over in his head again.

"Good for you to know, then," he only replies, "So, can we leave now? Or do I have to carry you out?"

"I'll walk..." Cherry quickly tells him as she starts walking her way towards the door, "I can leave this place on my own feet."

"As you say so, Miss Cherry," Jin just courteously responds back and even when Cherry does not see him since he is now behind her, she knows he's bowing at her. She smirks again as she opens the door to step out of the room.

Things seem to get even more interesting now, huh? Everything just somehow falls into place like it's been fated.

This is it then... The counterattack has already been made.

NOW LET THE DEVIL'S GAME REALLY BEGIN.

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