Before Yuri stepped off of the carriage, he attempted to burn this image of Raiden into his mind forever, as well as snap a few pictures. I mean, it's not every day that one of your friends ends up dressing as a girl. And this was just something he couldn't forget.
After being shouted at and kicked off of the carriage by Xiao Mei and Raiden, Yuri turned to look at the destination that he was responsible for perusing for information.
A massive dome-like building, with many different pathways that connected themselves to many other different buildings. According to the briefing he had been given inside the carriage, the "Casino" was just the code name for the large plaza-like area in which all of the gambling and betting forms of entertainment took place.
There was a lot more information, but Yuri hadn't really been listening. He was more focused on seeing how much of a girl Raiden had become. If he was being honest, the disguise was pretty solid. Had he not known beforehand, Yuri would have 100% been able to believe that this Rina was actually a girl.
Raising himself up off the floor and dusting his suit off, Yuri scanned from left to right, trying to figure out where he should go first. Their goal was to go around, blending in as regular civilians, while collecting as much information as they possibly could. If he was lucky, or unlucky, depending on how you viewed it, he would end up coming across the culprit himself. The delusional user is responsible for it.
He was about to take a step and just get lost within the massive complex plaza of different buildings when he realized he did have his phone on him. Pulling it out, he opened it and gave Xiao Mei a call. He had never remembered saving her number, but when he woke up in the morning, it was saved on his phone.
"Hello? There's no way you actually found him already, right?"
"I wish. Just. Where do you recommend I go first?"
Silence on the other end.
"My agent gave you an entire briefing on what the most recommended route for you to take was. Are you telling me you didn't listen to a single part of it?"
Yuri could hear the rising coldness in her voice and immediately rushed to cover up. "NO, no no no! It was just. I was so enraptured by the detail of your work with Raiden that all of the information I was taking in...slipped..."
Yuri braced for impact after having given the most pitiful excuse of his life.
However, to his surprise, Xiao Mei did not go off on him.
"Huh. Flattery will get you nowhere in this world. Well, maybe just this once. But not again. Alright, you should start out with the main hub. From there you can find a general area. Ask around to get a lay of the land; from there, head to the specific section where you think could be the source of this."
Yuri nodded. "Alright. If you don't mind me asking, was the reason why you guys couldn't pinpoint this person's location from just mana sense because of this ominous feeling I'm getting?"
As Yuri spoke about it, it felt like the ominous aura that had been lurking in the shadows exploded into full force. It was this feeling of anxiety. Of complete and utter dread. It filled him with a sense of lethargy. And most importantly, it felt like it was everywhere but nowhere at the same time. He could feel it, but he could not sense it.
It was impossible to track the location of what was causing it from Mana sense alone.
"You noticed it. My agents reported that no matter which section of the district you went to, the feeling was all the same. That's why we have to look into it in such a manner."
Yuri nodded, wiping the sweat that was quickly forming on his brow. He was fairly sure he wouldn't be able to escape this ominous aura, but he could at least escape the heat by heading inside.
"Alright then. I'll call back if I've found anything."
"Got it. Also, make sure to not forget the communication device. I know you guys have your phones, but just in case you can't use them, use that. Just tap the ring on your finger, and it will activate."
"Okay then." Yuri ended the call, slipping the phone into his pocket and playing around with the ring Xiao Mei had given him as he walked inside of the massive double doors of the building.
Stepping inside, he was hit with a wall of refreshing cold air, and he took a large breath of it in.
Opening his eyes, the first thing that Yuri thought was the fact that the outside did not at all do justice to what was inside. It was like standing in the center of a football field, but instead of grass there was a marble floor as far as the eye could see.
The walls rose high and curved sharply to form the domed ceiling from which the large crystal chandeliers hung. The light emitted from them was bright, and each one was decorated with large jewels and rhinestones. Combined with the glass and light, it created a rainbow hue around the large chandeliers.
And the most eye-catching of all was the sheer amount of different stores within the place. Yuri didn't know much about this area, despite the fact that he had heard it was pretty large, but seeing the interior of this building really put it into perspective for him. The whole thing was grand. It was like you put a city within a supermall. Jewelry shops, snack bars, actually bars, and even small rooms to stay in were all provided, lined up along the walls.
There were staircases that led up into the second, third, and fourth floors that housed even more different stores and areas. Yuri had a hard time actually imagining how many stores one could fit in such a place.
"Casino my ass. This place is basically just a super mall." Yuri took a step forward, passing by droves of people. Some in groups, some walking alone. He saw a wide variety of facial expressions. Excited, mad, anxious. sad. drunk. Mostly drunk.
It made sense. The sheer number of bars in this place was enough to make Yuri just woozy thinking about how much alcohol this place paid for per month.
Yuri was watching a group of people who were gathered around a game store when suddenly he heard his phone ringing.
Pulling it out of his pocket, he glanced over the caller ID.
And froze.
Right there, the name read, "Suijin." Besides, her name was a flower emoji. Seeing that name made him freeze with shock. It hadn't been long since he awakened, only being a few weeks, and he still didn't know how to approach the topic of Suijin.
At least in public, and within the walls of Theta, he acted as normal as he could. He treated her like you would someone you respect. However, he could tell that that was wrong. From what everyone had told them, before he lost his memories, he and Suijin were close. Very close. So much so that the first day back from the hospital, Yuri was stunned to find that he literally lived within the Hajimoto household.
Suijin hadn't told him much, and he didn't have the strength to ask, but apparently something tragic had happened to his family. Well, it wasn't like Suijin wasn't telling him. She was actively trying to. It was just that Yuri was actively avoiding her. Three weeks since he awoke and was diagnosed with amnesia, and Yuri still could not bring himself to sit down and listen to his past. to listen to everything people had to say about him before the accident.
And in truth, it was because he was scared to face it. Not only scared to disappoint, but scared to realize who 'Yuri' truly was. At first, he had this self-perception of "Yuri" as someone who was great, someone who was so amazing that many people respected and cared for him. A one-of-a-kind person that he could never replace. Every interaction reminded him of that fact.
So he pushed others away and kept to himself. He didn't want to be the one to disappoint these people that had faith in him. And despite how nice they were, he couldn't help but feel horrible around them. Like they were searching for a person that didn't exist. A person that he had now replaced, and when they realized that, they would be disappointed.
It all jumbled with his mind and the pain of not being able to remember who he was. Not even being able to remember the names of his parents. Friends. Of anybody. It turned his mind into a blender. Just confusion and anxiety being chopped up into a headache smoothie. one he couldn't escape from.
But along with that fear, a new one had arisen. A fear of understanding 'Yuri."
He wasn't Yuri. That was for sure. He may share the same name, the same body, and the same voice, and his body might share the same muscle memory that caused him to constantly grab at his sides, reaching for a weapon that wasn't there. He may have shared the same body that had a constant itch in his left shoulder, where he found scratch marks above a bullet wound. He may have shared the same body that had eyes so dodgy and constantly in fear that he wore glasses to hide his expression.
He may have had all of the same features, experiences, and habits—
But make no mistake. He was not Yuri.
And that was where his fear lay. Who was Yuri? Was he the noble, amazing, strong, prodigious person that everybody around him painted an image of? Someone who was strong and reliable, and someone who held a key into Suijin's mind and heart that no one else had?
Or was he something else? Someone else. A person with a dark past that he let nobody know of. The opposite of noble. A person who did horrible things to survive. A person who needlessly antagonized the other people around him because he was insecure himself?
Was he the Yuri the Genji and Ichijo described? The one who could be hardheaded but always had good intentions in mind?
Or was he the Yuri that surfaced in the fragments of his memory that were returning?
The Yuri that could hold a gun to a crying girl's head and pull the trigger.
The Yuri that, in every single memory fragment, always had a gun at his side. A gun that he clenched tightly.
It was that clash of ideals, that clash of expectations, and the confusion in his mind that left him in this state. Too scared to confront it all and find the truth.
No matter what the answer was, he would end up disappointing people. Disappointing himself.
Before he knew it, the call had gone to voicemail. He stared at the home screen of his phone for a moment longer. It was a picture of him and Suijin. They had gone to a photo shoot. One where Suijin was dressed in royal attire, and Yuri was dressed as a guard. In this picture, Yuri was not wearing his glasses. Suijin had a bright smile on her face, and Yuri was kneeling in front of her, kissing her hand.
Yuri had spent a long time looking at this photo. He spent a long time looking at everything that once belonged to him in the past. Trying to understand it. Failing to understand it. And not bothering to ask for any clarification.
The only thing he could pick up from this image was the same as all the others.
In any picture of Yuri without his glasses on, he always had the same beaten and terrified look in his eyes. It wasn't obvious at first glance, but Yuri could tell.
His eyes were always slightly widened, as if he was shocked or scared by something. Without fail.
His phone screen closed, and he was met with his own reflection. Seeing that, he was snapped back into the present and, more importantly, the task at hand.
Xiao Mei said I should ask around and try to get a lay of the land. Try to figure out which areas are considered to be places of high emotion. Sadness specifically.
As Yuri turned to perform a scan of the area, he was stopped by the person who was standing behind him.
An old man, on the short side. He was dressed in a suit, but the suit was roughed up, clearly having seen better days. The man's black hair was graying, and he had an odd look in his eyes. Yuri could sense something emanating from the man, but he couldn't tell what it was. Maybe it was just the overall look the man presented. A disheveled smoker roaming the halls.
"You seemed to be in deep thought there, young'un. Something on your mind? Love troubles, maybe?"
"Nothing like that. Less to do with other people and more to do with me."
The man chuckled. "Well, if you say so. You look nicely dressed. I'm guessing you're in here looking for something?"
Yuri nodded. "Are you an expert on this place?"
The man took a drag of the cigarette, blowing out smoke while eyeing Yuri. "You could say that."
Yuri nodded. Despite the man's disheveled appearance, he was inclined to believe him. Another vibes thing. "Well, I'm looking for a place where I could find a lot of people gathered together. A place where it would be easy to gather information.
The man raised an eyebrow. "This place ain't no kiddy pool, boy. It's massive. Interconnected as well. Trying to find any info here is like trying to find gold sifting through shit. You'll get a handful of shit, and the gold won't be anywhere in sight. Just a whole lot of slop and misinformation circulating around that place."
"Anything's better than nothing. Do you know a place?"
The man eyed Yuri for a moment longer. "You're willing to take that risk?"
"Isn't life a big game for risk?" Yuri was just talking out of his ass, trying to get the man to speed things along. If he knew a place where information could be found, he wanted to get there as soon as possible.
The old man smiled. "I like your mindset, boy. Alright. Follow me. I have a special deal for you."
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
Yuri was led from the main lobby of the massive supermall, through a glass skywalk that led to one of the many different buildings that were connected to the main one.
This one in particular led to the true 'Casino' part of the place. When he stepped in, the first thing that hit him was the smell of booze. He also noted how it was much hotter in here than anywhere else.
The place was a mix between a bar and a casino. On one side, there was a bar, with multiple barkeepers and baristas, and people gathered around sharing drinks of alcohol. Hearty laughter and heated words were exchanged within the space. On the other side, there were the tables. Poker, pool, blackjack, bullshit.
A wide variety of different games were being played. The whole place was massive, and the tables seemed to stretch out for miles. It was clustered two. Drunkard men shouted at each other and leaped over tables, scattering cards and chips all over the place.
All the while, women dressed in risqué outfits walked around, avoiding stares and passing out drinks.
The whole place had the kind of atmosphere you would expect from a supermassive hall dedicated to gambling and booze. A chaotic, claustrophobic, and all-in-all unpleasant environment to be in.
But with so many people and so much alcohol, mouths were sure to be flapping. Which is exactly what Yuri was looking for.
Yuri was just about to take a step forward and get to eavesdropping when the old man stopped him with a hand.
The poker table in front of them had just had their showdown. The table erupted into cries of distress and one cry of victory. The winning hand pushed through with pocket aces that secured their victory. Outclassing all of the other hands by a mile. The victorious man jumped up and down in excitement, while all the other men began desperately counting their remaining chips.
One man was so angry that he slammed his fist into the table, causing all of the chips to be sent flying and a brawl to break out.
One of the chips rolled in front of the two, and the old man picked it up. "Follow me. I have a perfect place where you could find information."
The old man led Yuri through the crowded and clustered halls, passing by raging tables and explosive brawls, to a small table on the far right side, near a wall.
The man gestured for Yuri to sit, and he complied. The old man sat across from him. He snapped his fingers, and the wall next to them literally moved, revealing that it was actually the cover for a large window, which gave a nice view of the red light district. The sun was beginning to rise.
"So, what is this de—"
Just as Yuri spoke, chains shot out from the table and wrapped themselves around his legs and arms. Yuri instantly pulled, trying to use mana to break free, but the chains were mana-sealing ones.
Yuri struggled against the chains for a moment, but they did not budge.
"Wha—"
"I have information for you. A wealth of it, actually. Of course, information isn't free." The old man was also wrapped in chains of his own.
Yuri glared at the man through his glasses. "And you can't accept cash? Was there a reason to trap both of us here?"
The man laughed. "That's no fun. And you said it yourself, didn't you? Life is a big game for risk. So to get this information, you'll have to take a risk...."
At that same time, multiple waitresses appeared, carrying a deck of cards, chips, and alcohol. They set everything down and had the table set in seconds. The chips were evenly divided.
"Hey! Hey! I didn't agree to any of this! Can't you call security or something?"
But they just ignored his cries, smiling at him and bowing. "Enjoy your stay, master!"
Yuri turned back to glare at the old man. "So what do you want? How can I 'pay' for this information?"
The old man gestured to the table with a smile on his face. "Simple. We play a few rounds. Poker, blackjack, whatever." By the end of it, whoever has the most chips wins. If you win, you get the info from me."
"How can I be sure your information isn't a scam?"
The man just laughed. "That was the risk, the gamble you took when you decided to follow me."
Yuri sneered at his own stupidity. Had his own mind really been so clouded that he had fallen for this?
"All I have to do is beat you and win, right?" He knew the general rules of poker and blackjack, so he could at least try his hand. "Even if I lose, I'm just missing out on information I could get myself anywhere."
The old man laughed once again. Yuri turned his gaze to the table.
"It isn't that simple."
SHIING!
Yuri's eyes widened as he looked up.
Blood trickled down his left cheek from a clean slice that had been opened there.
"Huh..."
A card. The old man had thrown a card past his face, and it scratched him.
The old man gave Yuri a sinister smile. "Should you lose...your life is in my hands."
Yuri's eyes widened at the same time the man's smile did.
"Tell me, boy. Have you ever gambled with your life on the line?"