C90 The Debt of Blood

The meeting was held in the back room of an abandoned restaurant—one both Riku and Daisuke had used before when business had to stay off the books.

Cigarette smoke hung in the air, heavy and unmoving.

Daisuke stood by the window, arms crossed, jaw tight. Riku sat at the table, perfectly calm, his phone facedown beside a half-finished cup of coffee.

The silence stretched.

“You heard, I assume