Mid-July. The rainy season in Tokyo had finally ended after the last round of thunderstorms.
The sky was clear now — a deep blue canvas with huge, slow-moving clouds drifting east.
Bunkyo Ward, Saionji Main Family Residence.
Cicadas filled the courtyard with their rising and falling drone, a solid wall of summer white noise. The ancient maples had leafed out into thick green, and harsh sunlight cut through the branches, scattering countless flecks of gold across the wooden floor of the engawa.
Satsuki was lounging in an oversized, pure white cotton T-shirt. The fabric was so loose it bunched casually around her waist.
She'd finally been moved out of the sterile, filtered-air ICU underground. Now she was half-reclining on a thick cushion on the engawa with a popsicle in her mouth. Her bare feet were crossed, toes occasionally curling against the warm, smooth wood.
In her hand was a grayish-white plastic handheld.
About the size of a thick paperback, the top half of the device was an LCD screen glowing yellow-green, and the bottom half had a black D-pad with two purplish-red buttons.
Beep, beep, beep. The crisp 8-bit sound effects cut through the quiet.
Satsuki's eyes were down, locked on the low-res monochrome screen. Her left thumb flew across the D-pad, steering the falling four-block pieces. Her right thumb tapped the 'A' button at the last second, rotating a long piece to slot perfectly into the gap at the bottom.
Ding! Four rows flashed and vanished with that satisfying clear sound. The score ticked up in the corner.
It was a Nintendo Game Boy, released just last year, running Tetris — the game that was taking over the world. The Game Boy launched in Japan in April 1989, and Tetris was one of its killer launch titles.
She hadn't bought it. S.A. Investment held a huge chunk of Nintendo's public shares. As a heavyweight shadow shareholder, Satsuki's household got a boxed prototype of every new console or major cartridge shipped straight from Nintendo HQ in Kyoto.
For years, those boxes had just piled up unopened in the main family's storage. Her eyes had always been on the Nikkei, forex swings, and M&A reports.
Today was different. On a whim, she'd told the butler to dig one out and tear off the plastic.
She tossed the popsicle stick into the trash. The blocks were falling faster now, and her thumbs kept pace.
The independent terminal of the Saionji Information System, SIS, had received high-precision satellite images from the Soviet side a few days ago. Heavy armored clusters of the Iraqi Republican Guard were massing on the border of Kuwait.
Judging by the situation, the outbreak of war would line up roughly with her previous life. The flames were about to be lit. The global energy landscape and geopolitical structure were about to be violently torn apart.
But none of that had anything to do with Satsuki right now. At the moment, she was just an innocent, harmless shut-in heiress.
The overseas crude oil option agreements had already been signed. The equity nesting of the offshore SPV matrix had been locked. The stripping of non-performing loans for domestic semiconductor hardware was also proceeding steadily under Endo's push.
Satsuki suddenly realized something. What is this? They can do just fine without me, can't they? Pressuring herself wasn't as effective as pressuring her employees. Otherwise, why pay them such high wages? The Saionji Group's salary standard was 50% to 100% higher than the industry average. Endo-san, keep working hard~
She leaned back on the cushion, feeling the breeze brush the hem of her oversized T-shirt. She poured all her attention into the monochrome screen of less than three inches. In this era, even a plastic machine like this could bring pure joy.
Whoosh— The wooden shoji door behind her slid open hard on its track. Saionji Shuichi walked into the room first.
Before his steps had even settled, a figure flashed out from behind his broad back.
Emi was wearing an oversized T-shirt printed with English letters and denim shorts. Her nose and forehead were covered in a fine layer of sweat, and a few strands of hair were plastered messily to her cheeks.
"Satsuki-chan!" As soon as Emi stepped into the room, her gaze landed on the figure leaning on the engawa, and she let out a cry, her voice thick with tears.
She kicked off her shoes, stepped onto the wooden floor, bypassed Shuichi, and threw herself straight at Satsuki.
With a heavy thud, Emi dropped to her knees on the engawa and grabbed Satsuki's shoulders.
The sudden momentum made Satsuki's slender body sway back. The handheld she was playing almost slipped from her hand. She let go of the D-pad and set the grayish-white machine aside on the cushion.
"Satsuki-chan! Are you alright?" Emi sniffled. She let go of the hug and cupped Satsuki's cheeks with both hands. Her slightly warm fingertips eagerly checked Satsuki's forehead and cheeks, then moved down her shoulders to her arms and wrists.
Emi's palms were still damp with sweat from running all the way here.
Satsuki didn't dodge. She didn't even care that her clean white T-shirt had been grabbed into deep wrinkles. She let Emi check her over. Looking at her classmate, drenched in sweat with red-rimmed eyes, Satsuki tilted her head slightly and gave a helpless, faint smile.
Come to think of it, among her peers, the only person she could call a "friend" was Emi.
She raised her left hand and patted the back of Emi's trembling hand twice.
"I'm already fine, Emi," Satsuki said lightly, a hint of laziness in her voice. "Dr. Takeda already approved for me to come out and sunbathe."
Shuichi stood quietly by the low table a few steps away. He looked at Emi kneeling on the floor, anxious, then at his daughter letting her fuss. Watching this clumsy reunion, he nodded with satisfaction.
Bringing Emi over today to keep Satsuki company was definitely the right choice. A few days ago, Shuichi had realized something. Satsuki didn't seem to have any friends.
His daughter, who controlled trillions in assets, didn't have a single ordinary friend in the world to go shopping or share snacks with. Only Suzuki Emi treated Satsuki as a real person who could get sick and be vulnerable. She was Satsuki's only friend her own age.
Relaxing times are better spent with friends, aren't they? Shuichi withdrew his gaze.
He set a square wooden box he was carrying onto the rosewood low table in front of him. The box was made from the heartwood of a hundred-year-old Akita cedar. The surface had no lacquer, just the natural, delicate grain of the wood. It was tied with a deep purple silk kumihimo cord. This was a get-well gift from Toraya, the traditional Japanese confectionery shop with a four-hundred-year history in Kyoto.
Shuichi untied the knot and pushed the box forward half an inch. "Rest easy. Leave the company and those outside matters to me."
Satsuki glanced at her father beside the low table and tilted her head. "Is it really alright?" Shuichi met her eyes and nodded gently. "It will be alright. Just play and don't worry."
Shuichi turned, slid the door shut, and left, leaving the room entirely to the two girls. Only the chirping of cicadas and the breeze remained.
The tense silence lasted a few seconds. Emi felt the real touch of the palm on the back of her hand. She looked at Satsuki's face, pale but smiling with real life in it. After confirming the person in front of her was out of danger, the tension in her finally snapped.
"It's... it's good that you're alright." She sniffled hard and wiped the moisture from the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand. To hide her loss of composure, she slowly let go of Satsuki and her gaze fell on the wooden box on the low table.
"By the way, Satsuki-chan. Let's eat this. I had someone go buy it specially. It's Toraya's water manju. It's super delicious." The store is at the corner of Karasuma-dori Ichijo, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto City, 415 Hirohashidono-cho. Take the Kyoto Municipal Subway Karasuma Line, get off at Imadegawa Station, and it's about a five or six minute walk.
Emi shifted on her knees toward the rosewood low table. She lifted the lid of the Akita cedar box with both hands.
A faint scent of matcha and sweet red bean drifted into the air.
Inside, six crystal-clear water cakes were neatly arranged. Beneath the translucent kudzu starch skin was a filling of delicate red bean paste.
Emi picked up the small bamboo fork included in the box. She carefully cut off a piece of the water cake. Lifting it, she turned and held it to Satsuki's lips.
"Here... Satsuki-chan." Emi sniffled.
Satsuki leaned forward slightly, opened her mouth, and took the bite.
The cold kudzu skin touched her tongue and melted instantly. The delicate sweetness of the red bean paste spread through her mouth.
Emi held the empty bamboo fork, eyes fixed on Satsuki as she chewed.
Satsuki swallowed.
She looked at Emi's face, a bit disheveled, mixed with sweat and tear stains. She raised her left hand, and her warm fingertips gently wiped a streak of moisture from Emi's cheek.
"I told you, I'm already fine." Satsuki gave her a gentle, faint smile.
"You must have been bored to death in the basement these days, right? Shimomura and the others didn't bully you, did they?"
"I've been so busy lately that I haven't had time to visit you. I'm sorry."
Feeling the real warmth on her cheek, Emi took a deep breath of the summer-scented air from the courtyard.
Her eyes stung, but she rubbed them hard with the back of her hand, holding back the remaining tears.
"No... they wouldn't dare."
Emi broke into a smile through her tears.
She lowered her head, cut a large piece of water cake for herself, and stuffed it into her mouth, cheeks bulging.
The two sat side by side, leaning against the cushions on the engawa, watching the dappled shadows in the courtyard.
"And... Satsuki-chan, you have no idea how ridiculous things have been in the laboratory lately."
Emi started her story, eyes shining as she chewed vigorously.
"That guy Shimomura found some weird eye exercise routine from somewhere. To keep his finger flexibility and visual reaction speed while typing, he rolls his eyes at set times every day in the server room. His eyeballs spin like a broken stepper motor."
Emi picked up the bamboo fork and cut another piece of water cake.
"And Dr. Klaus Weber."
Emi handed over the bamboo fork, and Satsuki took it naturally.
"Dr. Klaus Weber could never get used to the Japanese bento boxes from the cafeteria. A few days ago, he had someone get him a batch of Munich sausages from West Germany."
Emi pursed her lips.
"The cafeteria clearly has a microwave, but he refuses to use it. He insists that microwave agitation will destroy the cell wall structure of the meat, cause uneven heating, and completely ruin the texture."
"And then?"
"He used his lunch break to grab a discarded piece of high-purity thermal conductive aluminum from the scrap area. Went to the logistics machine shop, machined it himself, and hooked it up to an abandoned voltage stabilizer. Basically welded himself a constant-temperature heating plate with a temperature error under 0.1 degrees Celsius, just to grill his sausages."
Emi took a bite of water cake, cheeks slightly bulging.
"Yesterday afternoon, the entire outer lounge was filled with the smell of grilled meat, precisely controlled by him at the Maillard reaction temperature."
Satsuki listened quietly. A faint smile appeared in her eyes.
"That's certainly reckless."
Emi finished the last bite. She put the bamboo fork back in the box, turned her head, and her gaze fell on Satsuki's still somewhat pale cheeks.
The excitement from sharing the funny stories subsided the moment she saw Satsuki's sickly look.
"Hey, Satsuki-chan," Emi swallowed, her tone carrying lingering fear and confusion, "Dr. Takeda said that when you fainted, all your vitals were a mess. Even though our overseas investment channels were running smoothly... why did you have to push yourself so hard?"
Satsuki raised her left hand and gently massaged her brow with her fingertips.
"Because my workload suddenly doubled."
She tilted her head slightly, looking at the old maple in the courtyard.
"In the end, this sudden fainting spell is all Gutfreund's fault at Salomon Brothers."
Satsuki lowered her hand from her brow and said jokingly, "Oh my... why can't that old guy just go die obediently~"
"If he hadn't been so greedy and illegally manipulated US Treasury bonds, I wouldn't have had to forcibly overturn the original plan at the last minute."
"I wouldn't have fainted."
Emi, who was holding a tissue to hand to Satsuki, paused mid-air for a split second when she heard that.
Only half a second.
Her eyes, which had widened slightly in confusion, instantly drooped. A strange glint flashed deep in her pupils.
Her emotions were reined in the next second.
When Emi looked up, that obedient smile was back on her face.
"Exactly, it's just too much."
She handed the tissue to Satsuki and muttered indignantly, playing along.
"Those greedy old men are the worst. Satsuki-chan had already arranged everything so perfectly, and they just had to mess things up outside..."
The room went quiet again, with only the lingering sound of the wind chimes.
The summer sunlight moved slowly across the wooden floor, the edges of the light spots stretching.
"Hey, Satsuki-chan."
Emi extended her index finger and gently hooked the hem of Satsuki's oversized T-shirt.
"Since Dr. Takeda said you can go out and be active now..."
She looked into Satsuki's eyes, her gaze full of anticipation.
"Let's go out and play together tomorrow. Just the two of us!"
Satsuki looked at Emi's sparkling eyes.
She reached out her right hand, picked up the Game Boy from the cushion, and set it on the rosewood low table.
"Okay."
A light curve tugged at the corners of Satsuki's mouth.
"Let's go play together tomorrow."
The cicadas in the courtyard chirped tirelessly.
The two girls looked at each other and smiled.
Their crisp laughter intertwined with the sharp sound of the shishi-odoshi hitting the bluestone, rippling slowly through the warm summer air.
...
Saionji Information System, SIS, underground living area.
Suzuki Emi's private suite.
Beep— The access card reader gave a short buzz.
The door pushed inward.
The cool-toned sensor lights on the ceiling turned on with a slight electrical hum.
Light poured down.
On the wall directly across from the entrance, most of the space was covered in dense, colorful photo prints.
The glossy surfaces reflected continuously under the cool light.
There were telephoto shots from the back row of the Seika Academy classroom, edges still blurred from a hasty shutter.
The silhouette from the rainy night when "The Club" opened, the edge of the black umbrella stained by roadside neon.
Under the glaring sun in Silicon Valley, California, a fair profile frozen perfectly in the center of the frame.
Hundreds and thousands of Saionji Satsukis at different times were spread across that wall. The edges of each photo were cut neatly. They were arranged and pieced together tightly.
Emi kicked off her shoes.
Barefoot, she stepped onto the thick carpet and lunged straight for the large, soft bed in the center of the room.
Thump.
She grabbed the custom-made body pillow on the bed, printed with a life-sized image of Satsuki.
She buried her cheek deep into the soft fabric, tightened her grip, and rubbed against it hard.
"Satsuki-chan... Satsuki-chan..."
She rolled on the bed, murmuring the name over and over.
The body pillow she held let her clearly smell the scent of Satsuki that lingered on her from earlier.
Her body twisted on the soft mattress, greedily savoring the warmth she'd felt that afternoon when her hands touched Satsuki's cheeks and shoulders.
Actually, hugging Satsuki had been out of concern.
But, more than that... she just wanted to hold Satsuki herself.
Normally, Satsuki definitely wouldn't let her hold on for so long. Only in that situation could she hold Satsuki more and tighter.
The rolling stopped suddenly.
Emi sat up from the bed, still holding the body pillow.
Her movements went stiff.
Satsuki's complaint from the afternoon surfaced in her mind, infinitely magnified.
"Why can't that person just go die obediently."
Emi tilted her head.
Her gaze slowly swept over the dense photos on the wall, her eyes gradually losing focus.
"Why?" Emi asked the air in a low voice.
"Why would anyone not follow Satsuki-chan's will?"
She let go of the body pillow.
Barefoot, she walked straight to the corner of the room.
There sat a row of computer desks made up of multiple high-end workstations.
"That kind of person... doesn't need to exist, right."
She pressed the power button on the host panel.
Multiple monitors lit up at once.
The eerie blue fluorescent light illuminated her expressionless face.
She opened her personal schedule planning system, created a new directory with the highest security level, and pinned it to the top.
The typing stopped.
On the screen, the name of the new folder appeared.
Literature Index: Neurophysiology and Electroencephalogram (EEG) Analysis
Sub-directory: Motor Cortex Microelectrode Array (MEA) Implantation and Electrical Stimulation Pre-research