Embers.
Two Arasaka executives had crossed paths in the restroom.
A few customers who had been about to enter took one look at Tanaka, recognized his Arasaka status, sensed that something was off, and immediately turned around and left.
Everyone in Night City understood one thing clearly.
Never provoke a corporation unless you wanted trouble.
And Arasaka least of all.
If you accidentally learned one of their senior executives' secrets, that was exactly the kind of trouble you might never walk away from.
Tanaka had no intention of bringing up what had happened to his son in the restroom.
He had already seen clearly enough that Katsuo had been slapped by Kai, but it was not a serious injury.
What Tanaka cared about was his data.
The runtime data from that implant.
This matter involved an extremely important prototype system that was still in the classified research stage, so he continued by asking,
"Aren't you worried that Susan will target you and sabotage your operation from the shadows?"
"As far as I know, Arthur has already handed you the task of recovering the runtime data from that military-grade Sandevistan."
"And I have no interest in seeing the conflict between your two departments interfere with the implant operation."
Kai had not dealt with Tanaka much in the past, but he could tell very clearly the man was not someone to take lightly.
R&D was one of Arasaka's absolute core divisions. There was no chance Saburo would ever let an outsider run it.
Kai flicked the water from his hands, pulled a paper towel free, dried them, and replied,
"Then I think that's something you should be saying to Susan, that bitch."
"I'm only a deputy director in Counterintel. I don't have that kind of reach in Night City."
"I work my ass off for the company, only to get targeted by the Director of Special Ops, who even tries using assassination and ambushes."
"No wonder people outside keep calling Arasaka a kennel."
After saying that, he tossed the paper towel into the recessed wall bin and walked out of the restroom without the slightest hurry.
Kai had no reason to give a damn about Tanaka.
He was already being watched by a Special Ops director. One more enemy from R&D did not make much difference.
Besides, the one who had promoted him was Arthur, not Tanaka and his crowd. In Arasaka, what mattered most was getting things done.
The more meek and obedient you acted, the more likely you were to be treated like a cigarette butt under someone's shoe, crushed twice just for good measure.
A tight frown formed on Tanaka's face, and displeasure leaked through the cracks of his usual composure.
He was a man who prided himself on being deep and controlled, but for some reason, the young man in front of him stirred an unusually foul irritation inside him.
Even the hand in his pocket had tightened into a fist.
After a long silence, Tanaka finally chose to leave the restroom as well, taking Katsuo with him.
Back at their table in Embers, the hot dishes were still steaming.
Katsuo held his face with one hand as he followed his father into the elevator downstairs. Seeing the stern look on Tanaka's face, he had not wanted to say anything more, but the humiliation stuck in his chest so badly that he could not help opening his mouth.
"Father... are we really just going to leave it at this?"
Tanaka said only one thing.
"Quiet."
He knew that now was not the time to clash with Kai.
Most of R&D's actual work was done in secret, and whenever field operations were involved, they still had to rely on Counterintel.
That was especially true when it came to human test data. If anything leaked and was obtained by a rival corporation or exposed publicly, it would leave a very ugly mark on the board's assessment of him.
And the matter of the implant was even more sensitive.
Once Militech realized Arasaka intended to recover it, they could trace the line back through James the cyberpsycho and make the whole situation far more troublesome.
Downstairs, Maxim had barely finished his first cigarette before he received orders to get ready to leave and promptly brought the sedan around to the front of Embers.
Once the Tanaka father and son were back in the car, Tanaka gave a brief explanation.
"He's Deputy Director of Counterintel."
Katsuo froze.
He had never imagined that the person who slapped him in the restroom would turn out to be an Arasaka executive.
Only now did he understand why his father had forced him to leave first.
There was no way he was getting revenge on Kai.
Katsuo stayed silent after that, his face dark and swollen under his hand.
Since he had no way to retaliate against a company executive like Kai, all the humiliation and hatred inside him shifted completely onto David instead.
Inside his head, he whispered,
"David... you're dead this time."
"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have offended a senior executive, and I wouldn't have gotten slapped."
"You're seriously cursed."
"Heh. Making you drop out was letting you off easy."
"You shouldn't have been expelled. You should've been crushed under my heel at the academy like an ant."
Inside the stall, David realized that it had suddenly gone very quiet outside.
He had vaguely overheard the exchange between Kai and Tanaka, bits about human experiments and implants and other things that only made him feel even more disgusted and alienated by Arasaka.
What shocked him most was learning that Kai had already offended someone even higher up in the company, and that he had even been targeted for assassination by his own coworkers.
And yet Kai always carried himself like someone who held power.
He never looked like a man burdened by having angered top company leadership.
Even when talking about being ambushed, he made it sound effortless.
The realization hit David hard.
"So the real people behind that crash... were from Arasaka?"
"It had to be a hit ordered by company executives targeting him."
"But even though Mr. Kai was the target, he still chose to save us."
"And just now he stepped in and dealt with Katsuo too. Was that for my sake?"
"What kind of person is he, exactly...?"
David could not figure it out.
All he knew was that the name Arasaka felt darker than ever now, like a black hole dragging everything around it inward.
His right foot bounced harder and harder.
Only after the restroom had completely fallen silent did David finally push open the stall and step out. He made his way back into the main dining area of Embers, first stopping at the corner to check the room carefully.
Once he confirmed Tanaka and Katsuo were gone, he slowly headed back toward his table.
Before he even got close, he saw Kai chatting and laughing easily with his mother in the red dress, acting as if what had just happened in the restroom had never mattered at all.
Kai felt even more impossible to predict now.
David was certain Kai knew exactly what Katsuo had done in the restroom.
And judging by Gloria's expression, she clearly had no idea that Kai had just crossed swords with the Tanaka father and son to pull him out of trouble.
David slapped his own cheeks lightly, trying to force his thoughts to settle down, and only then returned to his seat.
When Gloria saw that he had finally come back from the restroom, she felt a trace of irritation.
As far as she knew, David had stuffed himself with all kinds of expensive dishes in the dining section, then vanished into the restroom for who knew what, leaving Kai to wait far too long. In her eyes, his behavior tonight had been plainly rude.
She had just been about to start lecturing him on basic manners when Kai interrupted first.
Picking up the gift box, he rose to his feet and said,
"The food here really wasn't all that good. Something about it still feels off even after eating."
"Next time, if there's a chance, I'll invite both of you over to my place instead. It'll be a lot cleaner and more comfortable."
Gloria immediately felt a little embarrassed and rose in a hurry as well.
"Mr. Kai, you really spent too much again today. Next time I..."
She had been about to say next time he should come to their place, but the thought of that shabby apartment and her poor cooking stopped her.
So she changed course.
"Mr. Kai, next time it absolutely has to be my treat."
(End of Chapter)
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