Before anyone could push further, Asami pressed the control, a soft chime answered.
On the screen, Sugimoto didn't react at all, though there was something faintly knowing in the set of his expression, as if he had expected exactly this outcome. The doors behind him began to slide shut.
Sho stepped forward slightly.
'You're letting him in?'
Asami didn't even glance at him.
'Ryuu will handle it.'
The elevator sealed, and a second later, the mechanism engaged, the lift beginning its ascent toward them. When the doors finally opened, Sugimoto stepped out like he belonged there.
There was no hesitation in his movement, no caution, just a steady, almost casual stride as he entered the sanctuary proper, his eyes adjusting briefly to the warmer light. He followed the corridor naturally, as if he already knew where it led, and stopped when it opened into the main living space.
Kanesaki was already waiting, Sho stood beside him and Yasuko sat at the table between them. None of them had relaxed, not even slightly. Their posture gave it away, the tension held just beneath the surface, their attention locked onto him the second he appeared. No weapons were drawn, but the restraint felt deliberate rather than comfortable.
Sugimoto noticed immediately, a faint smile touching the corner of his mouth beneath the mask.
'…You guys are really nervous,' he said, almost lightly, voice muffled.
His gaze drifted around the room instead of fixing on them, taking in the details, the clutter, the lived-in feel of the space. There was a quiet approval in the way he looked at it.
'Not bad, though,' he added, 'bit of character. I've seen worse safehouses.'
Sho's grip tightened against the table. Yasuko didn't bother easing into it.
'What do you want?' she said, leaning forward slightly, her tone sharp and direct, 'and don't pretend this is a social call.'
Sugimoto looked at her properly then, his expression sharpening just for a second, assessing, measuring, before settling back into something looser.
'Direct,' he murmured, 'I like that.'
Kanesaki didn't break eye contact.
'Answer her.'
The air shifted, tension tightening across the room, something unspoken settling into place.
Sugimoto opened his mouth to respond.
Then stopped.
Footsteps approached from the hallway.
Ryuu entered without pause, his presence cutting through the tension more cleanly than anything else so far. He didn't look at Sugimoto first. Instead, his gaze moved to the others at the table.
'Garage,' he said flatly.
Sho frowned immediately. 'What?'
Ryuu's eyes flicked toward him briefly.
'Upstairs. Mitsuko and Katsumi are there.'
Yasuko didn't move. 'We're not leaving you alone with him.'
Asami stepped in behind Ryuu, arms still folded, her tone calm but firm.
'It's fine.'
Sho glanced between them. 'That's not exactly reassuring.'
Ryuu didn't react.
'This isn't your conversation,' he said, and after a brief pause, added colder, 'go.'
Kanesaki held his gaze for a second longer, searching for something, anything that resembled explanation, but found none. Just that same controlled stillness.
Eventually, he stood.
'…Let's go.'
Sho hesitated, clearly unhappy, but pushed back from the table anyway. Yasuko rose last, her eyes still locked onto Sugimoto, unwilling to let go of the tension even as she moved.
Sugimoto gave a small, lazy wave as they passed.
'Don't worry,' he said mildly, 'I'm not here to make trouble.'
Sho muttered under his breath as he walked by, 'That's what all of them say.'
Yasuko held Sugimoto's gaze until the last possible second, then turned and followed the others out.
The door slid shut behind them. Silence followed, and Ryuu didn't move. Asami stepped slightly aside, giving space but not disengaging, her attention fixed between the two of them. Sugimoto tilted his head faintly, his eyes settling on Ryuu at last.
'Well,' he said softly, 'it's been a while since we properly spoke.'
The room stayed quiet for a moment after the others had left, not empty – never empty with people like this inside it – but quieter in a way that felt intentional, as though even the air had settled into listening.
Ryuu stood near the centre of the living space, posture unchanged, mask angled slightly toward Sugimoto, still and unreadable. Asami remained just behind him, arms folded, her gaze fixed on the assassin with a focus that didn't waver.
Sugimoto, by contrast, seemed entirely at ease. He shifted his weight slightly, glancing up toward the ceiling as if considering something distant, something far less urgent than the tension in the room suggested. When he finally spoke, his tone was casual, almost conversational.
'That barge… it was part of a protected supply route.'
Asami's eyes narrowed a fraction, though her voice stayed level.
'We know. It wasn't meant to be destroyed, it was an accident.'
Sugimoto's gaze moved back to her, steady but unbothered.
'I'm aware,' he said, a slight pause following, 'doesn't really matter in the end.'
The words landed without force, not aggressive, just immovable.
He slipped his hands into his pockets, shoulders loosening slightly as if settling into the conversation.
'You'll have to go down to the Palace,' he continued, 'meet the Prince, explain yourselves.'
Ryuu's head tilted just slightly, a minimal shift that still carried weight.
'He'll want answers,' Sugimoto added, 'and unfortunately for you, "accident" doesn't usually rank very high on his list of acceptable explanations.'
Asami exhaled slowly through her nose, holding her ground.
'The barge was already compromised when we got there,' she said, her tone firmer now, 'it had been taken over, whatever happened after that wasn't under our control.'
Sugimoto gave a small, almost courteous nod.
'I don't doubt that,' he replied, then after a beat, added with a faint shrug, 'but it's not my decision.'
Silence settled again, heavier this time, stretching just long enough to sharpen the edges of it.
Ryuu spoke next, his voice low and precise.
'If it's about compensation… would the Prince accept a tribute instead of a confrontation?'
Sugimoto looked at him properly then, interest flickering for the first time as he considered it.
'That depends,' he said after a moment.
Asami straightened slightly.
'We can offer something,' she said, already moving ahead of the hesitation, 'Mitsuko's been developing prototype mining vessels, built for deep caverns, higher stability, better extraction yield in unstable terrain.'
Sugimoto's brow lifted slightly.
'Replacements?'
'Better than replacements,' Asami corrected, her tone controlled but confident, 'they're not finished yet, but once they are, we can supply multiple units, they'd outperform standard barges within weeks.'
Ryuu's gaze flicked toward her briefly, though he didn't interrupt. Sugimoto hummed softly, the sound thoughtful rather than dismissive now.
'That might soften things,' he admitted.
Then his eyes sharpened again, just slightly.
'But it won't replace the meeting.'
Asami's expression tightened almost imperceptibly.
'So we go anyway.'
'Yeah.'
Sugimoto shifted his stance again, glancing toward the hallway the others had taken, as if measuring something beyond the room itself.
'The Prince will want to see you,' he said simply.
Ryuu nodded once.
'I'll take Kanesaki.'
Asami cut in immediately.
'I'm coming too.'
Ryuu turned slightly toward her, his tone unchanged but firmer.
'That's not necessary.'
'It is,' she replied without hesitation.
A brief pause followed, tension tightening again, quieter this time but no less present.
Ryuu looked like he might push back, something unspoken building behind the stillness.
Then Asami moved her hand. Two fingers adjusted the edge of her sleeve, a small, precise motion, subtle enough to go unnoticed by most, but deliberate in a way that carried meaning. Ryuu saw it instantly.
He stopped, the resistance faded just as quickly as it had formed. After a moment, he gave a single, reluctant nod.
'…Fine.'
Sugimoto watched the exchange with mild curiosity, though he didn't comment on it, whatever passed between them clearly not his concern. Instead, he turned toward the elevator, already done with the conversation.
'You've got until tomorrow,' he said as he walked, voice still calm, still even, 'after that, it stops being a request.'
He stepped into the lift without looking back, the doors began to slide shut. His voice carried through the narrowing gap, unchanged.
'And next time I come here…'
A slight pause, barely long enough to register.
'It won't be for a chat.'
The doors sealed.
A moment later, the mechanism engaged, and the elevator began its descent, carrying him back down into the desert.
Ryuu turned to Asami with a harsh stare, arms folded.
'How are we getting there?'
Asami smiled nervously, waving a hand as she spoke.
'Ah, it's fine! I'm sure Katsumi won't a ship the other week, he's been wanting one of us to try it out, so why not?'
Reluctantly, Ryuu, sighed and nodded, taking a second in his stride as he made his way back down the hallway for his room.
'Tell Kanesaki to be ready in ten,' he shouted back down.
Chapter 81 – end