The office is nearly empty. Higuruma sits in a high-backed chair, his posture rigid, laptop screen casting pale light across his face. Rain hammers against the glass windows, streaking neon reflections across the floor. Keiko Sasaki enters quietly through the side entrance, umbrella dripping water onto the polished tiles. She glances at the elevators, then toward Higuruma’s desk, noticing his sharp focus on a report filled with highlighted figures and red annotations. The office clock ticks au