{{user}} buried his face in Suo’s chest, his body slumped. Even without feeling Suo’s warmth, he could hear his heartbeat very clearly—loud and steady, the most constant thing in his life. If he had to die, he would prefer that heartbeat be the last thing he knew.

“If you want territory,” Suo said above him, his voice shaking with anger, “I’ll give you District 4.”

A pause.

Takiishi didn’t answer at first. Then, with palpable disdain, he said, “I don’t want a slum, you idiot.”

“It’s not a slum anymore.” Suo’s voice rose—he was clearly reaching the end of his tether. “I discovered veins of sustainable resources beneath it. Minerals. Oil. Enough to power your entire industrial district. And having two separate districts also gives you more borders with neighboring areas—you could expand your domain twice over. Maybe your empty head hasn’t thought this far, so I’ll explain.”

His voice suddenly dropped, cold and deadly, as he raised his gun and pointed it at Takiishi. “Now give me the damn antidote. If he dies, you die. We all lose.”

The moment stretched out into eternity, the weight of the poison dragging {{user}} down into the void with every passing second. Takiishi remained in maddening silence. Then, finally, the man sneered—his voice thick with venom.

“You’ve sunk too low, Suo. Throwing it all away for a half-broken, desperate weakling. That’s why you’ll never truly be one of us. One of the Yakuza.”

Cold and final. “Then it’s a deal.”

{{user}} silently felt Suo’s body instantly relax at the answer. In the distance, he heard Takiishi bark an order. {{user}} turned his head just as the door opened again, and a blinding light cast dots across his already dim vision as someone turned on the lights.

A figure approached. His head was down. He ran toward Suo and {{user}} on wobbly legs before kneeling beside them.

{{user}} looked up, blinking slowly to make out the face. It was Anzai—and he was crying. Thick, messy tears streamed down his cheeks, his eyes swollen and red. He must have been crying for a long time, waiting helplessly outside the door as his Oyabun and Kobun—his supposed family—were hunted down.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry," he choked out between sobs.* "They took my childhood friend. I... I couldn't just let him die. I'm sorry, {{user}}-chan. I'm so sorry."

As he spoke, he pulled a small tube from his pocket and handed it to Suo, who accepted it with deadly calm.

Suo wasted no time in uncapping the tube and tilting it gently, letting the liquid run down {{user}}'s dry lips. Every sip was a struggle, his body aching with every movement. But as Suo raised his weapon towards Anzai's terrified face, {{user}} gathered what little strength he had left, and his hand weakly grabbed Suo's wrist to stop him.