A strong hand.

May 15, 2060 - Vladivostok, Russia. Minamostok Grand Casino - 9pm (UTC+10).


"Final betting round, make your call."

"Raise. Four hundred thousand yen."

"Oh ho ? Are you sure you want to do that Mochizuki ?"

"It would be too late to step back at this point Nikolay."

"I could always do you a favor since we are good friends."

"You say that but then you make me repay the favor two to three times its original value at the very least."

"HAHAHAH so you do get it you sly fox. Planning on using that knowledge to ask something of me later on I bet ?"

"Perhaps."

"Well then I'd better show you what it's like to confront me. All-in."

"Gourinovitch-sama goes all-in. Mochizuki-sama has two options left. To fold or to call."

"Call."

"Hehe Now that's what a man ought to do."

So it has come down to the river...
In order from left to right the cards are : 10♦ - K♦ -10♥- 5♣ - Q♦.
My hand is 10♣ -10♠,  which means I have one the most powerful hands, four of a kind. 
However, both the flop and the turn are very strong and what's more, they pave the way for a royal flush, no less. But he can also form a straight flush which is also stronger than what I have. And since he went all in, the odds that he has one of them are far from unlikely. 
Not to mention the kind of person he is and that he owns this casino, this game might be rigged. 
The problem is that I bet already way too much on this hand.
Moreover he did continue to raise and call all the way until we reached the river, so chances that his hand revolves around the King and/or the tens are high. Let's say he's got two Kings, he can at most go for a full house with the tens. The same applies if he owns two fives or two queens.
Right now the problem is that the two greatest hands are doable.
But there is no way he would wait until the river to have a chance to make a royal flush, I don't want to believe it.

"Now gentlemen, showdown !"

"There it is Mochizuki !"

"..."

Woaaahh !

"On Mochizuki-sama's side we have the rare four of a kind, with the tens. Meanwhile on Gourinovitch-sama's side we have a flush with  K♦ - Q♦ - 10♦ - 8♦ - 2♦. Thus victory goes to Mochizuki-sama !"

"So you were just playing it safe even though you had such a strong hand. You never change do you ?"

"I am not here to gamble for the thrill of it. I need to earn as much money as I can in the sortest amount of time possible. And this place allows me to do so."

"So you studied the most standart rules of Poker and started gambling ? I have to say, your determination and your playstyle certainly are nothing alike."

"It is a question of perspective. Some would say that betting a lot to put pressure on your opponents and taking risks, are the shortest ways to obtain a large amount of money. 
However I do think that playing carefully and being straightforward is more reliable on the long run. I spent the last four years playing regularly in this casino, and thanks to today's victory I climbed up to the first place of the ranking in terms of earnings. You told me you managed to reach this place withing a year by constantly challenging the former top ten of the ranking. 
And that's what I call taking risks. It ended up working for you, but it might not for me. I prefer to slowly climb up the ranks by playing a wider variety of people, and learning from their strengths and weaknesses, than challenging people as strong or stronger than me and let luck be the strongest deciding factor of my results."

"I get what you mean. And in the end it's a question of what purpose pushes you to come here. I for instance come to have fun, so obviously I will want luck to be overwhelming in my matches."

"Which makes sense. Now to cut down to the chase, I would like your help for something."

"That is rather short notice but I can't say I did not see it coming. Talk."


Nikolay Gourinovitch not only owns this casino but also is the very person to have funded the restoration plan for this city with the help of his former ally and friend from Japan during the war, Minamoto Akihiko. 
Ultimately they decided to rebuild what was the "Vladimir K.Arsenlev Museum of Far East History" into a large scale Casino, and to relocate the former museum in a smaller building in order for it to attract less attention which would hopefully prevent it from being targeted again in future conflicts.

To get back to the business at hand, I am currently in a flight heading to Japan with my wife, after I asked Nikolay to find a job for each one of us in Fukuoka through his contacts.
My plan was to crush the current head of Japan's goverment after I discovered their human experiments in the tower, with money as my main weapon. But upon hearing my story and plans, Nikolay insisted on joining our cause, I quote: "I swear on the name of his deceased Father, my old friend, that I will make sure the young Hideyoshi is impeached from his position and that I will go as far as asking for his banishment from the country if he refuses to atone for his actions." Needless to say that a strong asset such as the "Russian Hero" will come in handy in more than one way.


"Reading your diary again honey ? What is there to find in your own memories that you go through it so frequently ?"

"Well, remembering what we have been through and most importantly, what we accomplished in such a short period of time, helps me stay positive towards our end goal."

"It certainly was quite the adventure... Speaking of which, to think that Nikolay-san was your father's classmate and friend from the time he attended school in Germany as part of the exchange program, for such a coincidence to occur and most importantly to matter so much in your life, this could very well be a blessing from the gods."

"I don't know about those gods, but It certainly is good fortune."

That's right. A year ago, me and my wife were on our way back to Japan. We had sent our daughter back two years prior to our return in order for her not to suffer too much from the difference in culture and distance from the people she knew back in the village. And even tho we were fully aware that she would then suffer our absence, as vile as it may sound, we also needed her to remain within Fukuoka's walls to have real time informations about the situation over there. 
Thankfully nothing seems to have happened to her. And it looks like Minamoto Hideyoshi has yet to go on the offensive either. 

"Oh by the way honey, aren't you going to be late to your meeting at this rate ?"

"It should be fine, the person in question provided me with a driver and offered me his service for the day."

"I sure hope our daughter is safe and sound. She did recommend them to us, but we cannot rule out the possibility she has been threatened to do so."

"It will be okay, I have faith in our daughter. If she was able to survive her lonliness and her work here for the last two years all by herself, she must be fine. Let's not forget that in this city promising children are an important ressource for their plans, and I bet they have more than a mean to monitor their actions and thus make sure nothing happens to them."

"You must be right. By the way, I will also have to head out to meet her teacher about changing the student in charge of her."

"Alright then take care on the way there and call me if you need anything."

"Will do, have a safe trip too dear."

Today I am to meet a certain "Ashikaga Hanami".
According to our daughter this person is the second most influencial household in this city, and she would be planning to overthrow the current leader. 
I do not know how our daughter has managed to earn the support of such person, but It definitely is the greatest ally we could have asked for. Which means I need to make sure our alliance stands strong.