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By the time the seventh elevator in the Port Mafia building finally dinged open, Higuchi Ichiyō was already imagining herself collapsed on her apartment floor, face-down, preferably unconscious.
Her entire day had been one mission after another—paperwork, interrogations, chasing some idiot informant through three districts because he thought he could outrun her heels, and then a surprise, last-minute meeting with Mori that drained the last drop of patience from her bloodstream.
She needed a break.
No—she deserved one.
And there was only one place in Japan where a woman could truly let the stress melt off her bones.
The Sky Casino.
And if she was going to gamble away her salary, she might as well do it somewhere run by someone who knew how to make losing feel luxurious.
Sigma.
Higuchi grinned as she stepped into the shimmering late-night air.
“Time to fly,” she murmured to herself.
The sleek black helicopter waiting for her on the Port Mafia rooftop was already humming, its blades slicing the air with soft anticipation. Mori didn’t know she used Port Mafia transport for this, but she figured… what the boss didn’t know wouldn’t kill him.
Besides, she was technically going to relax so she could be a more efficient employee.
The ride was short but breathtaking—Yokohama sprawled below like a neon circuit board, lights flickering and pulsing like electric veins. And rising above it all—
The Sky Casino.
A shining palace suspended in the clouds, anchored to nothing but its own arrogance and Sigma’s talent.
Glass, chrome, neon gold, and gravitational magic.
It was excessive.
It was dazzling.
It was exactly what she needed.
The landing pad doors slid open with a soft hiss, and Higuchi stepped out onto plush crimson carpeting that probably cost more than her yearly salary.
Warm golden lights washed over her as she entered the lobby—massive crystalline chandeliers, holographic koi swimming through the air above card tables, ethereal music drifting like mist.
And staff.
Sky Casino staff didn’t just treat you well—they treated you like you were already rich.
“Welcome back, Miss Higuchi,” a silver-haired attendant bowed. “Mr. Sigma has been informed of your arrival.”
Higuchi adjusted her coat, trying not to look as giddy as she felt.
Of course he had.
Sigma ran his casino like an all-seeing deity. He might be the most polite, soft-voiced man in existence, but he missed nothing.
He met her at the top of a floating staircase, descending like some serene angel whose wings had been replaced by diamonds and tailored suits.
Silver hair, violet eyes, gentle posture — but always, always calculating.
“Miss Higuchi,” Sigma greeted with a soft smile, hands clasped behind his back, “It’s unusual to see you midweek. Stressful day?”
“You have no idea,” she sighed.
“Oh, I do,” he said lightly. “The Port Mafia tends to do that to people.”
He offered his arm to guide her into the main hall, as if escorting royalty.
“Shall I prepare your usual? High-stakes roulette? Or perhaps you’d prefer to ease into the evening first—maybe a drink?”
“Sigma,” she said with deadly seriousness, “take me to the nearest game where I can win or lose money faster than I can blink.”
The man actually chuckled.
“A woman after my own heart.”
The table was sleek obsidian, glowing purple under the lights. Higuchi slid into her seat, rolled her neck, and placed her first stack of chips without hesitation.
“All on black.”
The croupier blinked. Sigma raised an eyebrow.
Higuchi grinned.
The wheel spun.
Her heart pounded.
The stress of her entire week compressed into that tiny ball as it hopped, skipped, and—
Black.
She exhaled sharply. Sigma smiled approvingly.
“Lucky today, are we?”
“I’m just getting started.”
Sigma watched from behind her shoulder, occasionally offering calm commentary.
“You know, statistically, the banker has a slight advantage—”
“I don’t want statistics, Sigma,” she cut in, slamming another bet onto the table. “I want vibes.”
“Vibes,” he echoed, lips twitching. “Very well.”
She won again.
This time Sigma blinked in surprise.
“You’re either blessed,” he murmured, “or about to have the worst streak of your life.”
“Oh, I’m definitely cursed,” she said proudly. “But tonight? Tonight is Higuchi’s night.”
After two hours of gambling, laughing, swearing, and somehow not losing everything, Sigma personally escorted her to the VIP lounge.
Holographic waterfalls fell from the ceiling, dissolving into light before hitting the floor.
A bartender approached.
“The usual for Miss Higuchi?” he asked.
Sigma answered, “Make it stronger.”
Higuchi shot him a look.
“What do you think I am, Sigma? A lightweight?”
“I think,” he replied gently, “that you came here to relax.”
She couldn’t argue.
She took a sip.
It tasted like expensive fruit, expensive alcohol, and expensive self-esteem.
Sigma walked her to the balcony where endless clouds drifted below the glass floor.
Higuchi leaned on the railing, staring into the glowing expanse.
“You know,” she whispered, “sometimes I forget places like this exist. Everything in the Mafia is… blood, violence, duty. But here? It’s like the world stops.”
Sigma nodded. “That was my intention when I created the Sky Casino.”
He paused.
“There must be a place where people can escape themselves. Even if only for a night.”
She glanced at him. For a brief moment, she wondered how someone so calm and soft-spoken ran the most dangerous casino in existence.
But then—she remembered the way his eyes missed nothing.
The way he read people like cards.
The way his entire being was crafted for survival.
“I’m glad you made this place,” she said finally. “I needed it.”
“And I’m glad you’re here,” Sigma replied.
Before she left, Higuchi insisted on one more round at the roulette table.
Sigma stood across from her, watching her place her final stack of chips.
“Red this time,” she said confidently.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“Absolutely not,” she grinned.
The wheel spun.
The ball danced.
Her heart thudded.
And—
Red.
She threw her hands up victoriously.
Sigma clapped softly. “A perfect end to the night.”
The helicopter waited. The sky glowed. The casino shimmered like a dream.
Higuchi waved goodbye to Sigma as the doors slid shut.
And as the Sky Casino shrank in the distance, she leaned back in her seat with a satisfied sigh.
Back to the Mafia tomorrow.
Back to chaos.
But tonight?
Tonight she was a woman who won big, drank well, and forgot all her problems high above the world.
And she would absolutely be coming back next week.