A Hundred Steps
Kenji
Myfatherhadchosento make his last stand in a hotel connected to my title. The arrogance of it was so perfectly him that it almost circled back around to respect.
Almost.
The joke is on you, father. You’ll die there and I'll whisper,"I. Am. The Dragon King,"in your fucking ear as you bleed to death.
I took in the miniaturehotel in front of us. Even at this scale, it was striking—the ornate detailing on the facade, the layered rooflines, the faint outline of gardens pressed behind the structure.
The realHotelGajoen Tokyo was built in 1928 as a luxuryryotei—a traditional dining estate where elite guests were entertained privately with food, art, and performances.
It had been rebuilt after the war and expanded into one of the most visually stunninghotelsin Japan. Gold detailing on every surface. Lacquered ceilings. Hand-painted panels depicting mythology and nature.
The kind of excessive, overwhelming beauty that made anyone feel like they had just stepped outside of time and into a painting.
The animation company, Studio Ghibli had drawn inspiration from thishotelfor its iconic bathhouse in the spirit world scene inSpirited Away— the towering, labyrinthine bathhouse, full of hidden rooms and impossible staircases.
And we were going to paint this epic location in blood.
I looked at Reo. “Do we know where my father is in the hotel?”
Reo got right in front of the building. "The hotel houses theHyakudan Kaidan—the Hundred-Step Staircase. Built in 1935. This staircase connects to seven decorated rooms.”
Hiro shook his head. "And our father is at the top. Isn’t he?”
"Yes. In the seventh room." Reo reached for the hoteland pressed his fingers along the edge of the structure.
A beep sounded.
A panel swung open and revealed the interior.
The Claws got up from their chairs.
The Fangs came in closer.
Reo got a latch to hold the panel opening. “I had this building redone as soon as we knew the location.”
Hiro smirked. “You know there are no additional promotions after Roar. You can calm down with trying to show up everyone.”
Some of the Claws snickered.
Reo was all business as he pointed to the display within. “Take note of everything. You need to memorize this by tomorrow night.”
In front of us was a detailed cross-section that his men had built to replace the original miniature. I could seefloors, hallways, staircases, rooms within rooms. Tiny figures positioned throughout representing the Fox's men.
Reo stared at it too. "The hackers are inside thehotel's system now. We have camera access, phone signals, movement patterns. We can see their men and have counted them. This is a decent representation of the guards’ placements right now."
Hiro nodded. “And will it change as they change?”
“Yes.”
Hiro looked at him. “Then, you’ve got my recommendation for a promotion.”
Reo smirked and pointed at the room at the top of the huge staircase. "The Fox has nurses attending to him around the clock. There’s the hospital bed and medical equipment."
I leaned in and studied the layout some more. The service corridors. The kitchen. A garden area with what looked like a waterfall feature. And then I went back to that damned staircase—rising through the center of the structure, with rooms branching off at intervals like chambers in a heart.
