Lotus Room

The Lotus Room came alive at night - music pulsing through the walls, lights shifting in hypnotic patterns, and a crowd that lured you in. Every surface glimmered - glass, sequins, sweat. It was loud enough to swallow secrets whole.

Jun and Akari slipped through the crowd, unrecognizable in their disguises. She wore confidence like a perfume, her laughter light and practiced, her smile competing with the glimmering lights. He moved with quiet purpose, eyes scanning the room, memorizing exits, faces, and patterns. 

"Stay close." Jun told her when they entered the club, his tone sharp even beneath the music.

But now, he was nowhere in sight.

Akari hadn't realized until it was too late that they had gotten separated. The crowd pulsed and shifted like a living thing, bodies pressed shoulder to shoulder, lights flashing in dizzy burst of color. She didn't think she would be able to find Jun in the chaos. She took a steady breath and made her way to the bar, thinking that staying in one place gave the best chance of finding each other again.

I told her to stay close... I should've kept a better eye on her. Jun's eyes scanned the nightclub through the flashing and dancing - dance floor, lounge, bathroom hallway. Then finally, he saw her. At the bar laughing lightly, playing her part perfectly. For a moment, Jun almost didn't recognize her beneath the disguise - the brown wig, the sharper makeup, the style of clothes that didn't quite suit her. 

From across the room, Jun began to make his way through the crowd to the bar.

Akari forced another bright smile as she mingled at the bar, chatting about nothing - designer brands, vacations, meaningless gossip. Nothing useful. Her fake bubbly persona came easy to her; she had done it for so long that it was almost natural. She wasn't sure what she was looking for, just that there had to be something to find. But whenever someone brushed too close or looked too long, her heart pounded faster.

Then, he appeared. A man with a smile too smooth, too easy. Tailored outfit, expensive watch, hair slicked back, and a dangerous sort of charm that was hypnotizing.

"Having fun?" He asked, leaning close enough for her to catch the faint scent of cologne and whiskey.

Akari tilted her head, her new emerald green eyes feigning amusement. "Trying to."

The man chuckled, eyes glinting. "Maybe you're in the wrong part of the club. You'd have more fun upstairs. The VIP lounge, where the real entertainment is." He smiled, innocently, but his eyes betrayed him. "I could show you, if you'd like."

Her pulse quickened. There it was - the bait. She didn't think it would happen so quickly or easily, but now that it was here, she didn't know what to do.

She glanced around, but Jun was nowhere to be found - swallowed somewhere by the crowd.

Akari smiled, she kept her mask firmly in place, altering it just enough to not give herself away. "Lead the way." Her voice was steady even though her instincts were screaming that it was a trap.

Jun finally managed to push past the crowd, but by the time he arrived at the bar, Akari was gone.

-

The man led Akari through a velvet door and up a narrow staircase lit by amber sconces. The heavy thrum of the club faded behind them, replace by a smother, almost hypnotic rhythm. 

At the top of the stairs, a massive hallway stretched ahead, numerous doors leading to private rooms, lights on the outside indicating vacancy. The man stopped before a door, typing in an eight-digit code, before gesturing Akari to enter. "After you." His smile still easy, but his eyes sharper.

Akari entered, hovering near the entrance, scanning the room. The muted hum of conversations leaked from the other rooms, the occasional laugh or clink of glasses. Plush couches, low tables, shadows dancing from hidden lights. It was luxurious, but there was an edge to it. Nothing like the chaos of the dance floor below. 

"More to your liking?" The man smirked as the door closed behind him.

She smiled, keeping her composure. "Exclusive. I like it."

The man chuckled as he poured some drinks. "I knew you seemed like the type."

"The type?"

"The type to appreciate opportunities." He returned with two glasses, setting one in front of her and raising his own.

"And what opportunities would that be?" She played along, clinking her drink lightly against his. She let the glass touch her lips but didn't drink.

The man leaned back, studying her over the rim of his glass. "The next best thing." He said, reaching into his jacket pocket. He pulled out a small silver lighter with a barely noticeable lotus flower engraving. When he flipped the lid back and sparked the back to ignite, what came out wasn't a flame, but what appeared to be a neatly wrapped stick of gum. 

The man took the piece out, unwrapping it to reveal a strip of what looked like a crystalized candy. "It's new, clean, and addictive in all the right ways. People would kill for a taste of this stuff."

Akari kept her expression neutral, but her stomach twisted. I thought this was a gambling ring...

The man placed the strip on his tongue with a grin. "See how easy it is? And the feel is just perfect."

Akari smirked, leaning in closer to play his game. "Aren't you going to offer me any?"

His grin widened. "I knew you'd be curious."

-

In Jun's desperate attempt to find Akari, he managed to enter a side corridor behind the bar, following a narrow passage lit by red safety lights. The end of the corridor presented a locked door with a number pad for a code. He had no way of knowing the password.

Suddenly, Jun heard footsteps approaching. He swiftly moved out of the way unseen. Carefully watching as the figure punched in the code to the door.

Once the door closed, Jun waited quietly, listening to the footsteps recede until it was safe for him to make a move.

He punched in the code from his memory and entered through the door, revealing a staircase leading down to the basement. As Jun descended, the bass from the dance floor above faded into a dull rhythmic thud. 

He entered a room just as large as the dance floor above. At first glance, it looked like a high-end casino - poker tables, roulette wheels, men in tailored suits hunched over cards. But upon careful inspection it was an orchestrated scheme to drain the clueless and wealthy dry. The dealers moved with practiced precision, every shuffle and deal designed to keep players hooked and unaware, while the syndicate quietly filled its pockets. 

Jun inconspicuously wandered the room, noticing something that appeared too frequently - silver lighters with a faint lotus engraving. Too many lighters, not enough smoke or smell in the air. 

Out of the corner of his eye he noticed a card dealer take a piece out of the lighter and slip it onto his tongue. That was enough for Jun to understand. This wasn't just a gambling ring anymore; the syndicate had grown much more since Jun had last heard of them.

As Jun made his way to the exit, he passed two casino workers in idle chatter:

"Did you hear about Shoji?"

"Yeah, can't believe he went down like that. Got to be careful who you trust."

Shoji... Jun couldn't shake the feeling that he had heard that name before.

-

The man handed a piece of the suspicious candy to Akari. "Go on. Just let it melt in your mouth."

Akari picked up the candy delicately, her lips curved into a playful smirk. "Then I also want something to go with it. This drink is too sharp; do you have anything sweeter?"

The man laughed, pleased by her interest, and turned toward the bar. "Trust me, I'll get you the best they've got."

The moment his attention shifted, Akari's expression hardened. She swiftly grabbed the lighter that he left on the table, sliding both the candy and the lighter into her pocket. 

The man turned back around, handing her a new drink with a pleased look. "I'm sure this'll be more to your liking."

Akari smiled, letting her fingers brush the glass without drinking. "You're probably right." She said softly. "But if I'm going to try something new, I should probably make sure I look presentable first."

He raised a brow. "Worried about making an impression?"

She leaned forward just enough to hold his gaze. "Always." She said with a smile that left little room for doubt. "Where can I go to freshen up?"

"It's just down the hall."

Before he could say anything else, she rose gracefully. "Don't go anywhere. I'll be right back."

The man chuckled, watching her go, completely oblivious to the fact that both his lighter and Akari were not coming back.

Akari retraced her steps down the route she had taken to the VIP rooms, finding her way back to the bar. She desperately tried to search for Jun among the crowd without looking too suspicious. Come on, Jun, where are you?

When Jun had made his way back up from the gambling ring, his eyes swept the room automatically, falling immediately on a familiar figure at the bar. 

Akari.

Relief washed over him, then quickly sharp with concern. He started toward her, weaving through the crowd, hoping this time she wouldn't disappear again. 

Before Akari knew it, a hand was gently placed on her shoulder. At first panic surged until she slowly turned her head to see the familiar figure. 

Jun.

She released the breath she didn't know she was holding.

"Are you okay?" His voice cut through the pulse of the music - steady, low, grounding.

Akari met his eyes and simply nodded.

"Then let's go." He said as he gently grabbed her hand, leading her towards the exit.