A tense male voice carries from the corridor. An unfamiliar visitor, a lean middle-aged man in a charcoal coat with silver at his temples, stands outside Yuki’s room holding a sealed envelope.
Gideon Vale
I need to speak with Yuki Takamora. This concerns her missing father and the synthesizer.
Yuki’s eyes sharpen toward the open doorway. Keiji, Eric, Mu-shi, Brent, and Santana remain gathered nearby, turning the hospital room suddenly small around her recovery.
Gideon Vale
The envelope stays with me until the band leaves. Too many witnesses make private matters impossible to control.
Yuki Takamora
I can hear you. If this is about my father or my synthesizer, you do not get to decide who hears it.
The visitor’s grip tightens around the envelope without breaking its seal. Keiji shifts toward the doorway, while Brent glances between Yuki and the corridor, waiting for direction.
Gideon Vale
Then send them away, Yuki. After that, I will tell you what your father left inside the instrument.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure the envelope for Yuki
“I ask Yuki if she feels safe being alone with this stranger.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +0)
Sazabi's Santana
Yuki, do you feel safe being alone with this stranger?
Yuki looks from Santana to the man in the corridor. The question gives her room to answer without surrendering control of the room or the decision.
Yuki Takamora
No. I do not know him, and I do not want to be alone with him. Stay.
Keiji plants himself beside the doorway. Eric moves closer to Yuki’s bed, while Brent quietly closes the gap behind them. Mu-shi remains seated, watchful beneath his hat.
Keiji Shinoda
You heard her. The conversation happens here, with witnesses, or it does not happen.
Gideon Vale
That is unnecessary. But I will speak here, if Yuki agrees to hear me.
Yuki Takamora
I agree to hear you. The envelope stays visible, and nobody leaves while you explain my father’s message.
“I ask him to explain the message here”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled -2)
Sazabi's Santana
Explain your father’s message here, with everyone present. Yuki has agreed, and nobody is leaving while you do.
Gideon Vale
Very well. My name is Gideon Vale. Masato left instructions that Yuki should receive the synthesizer’s service records and his private notes, not the instrument itself.
Gideon steps just inside the doorway and holds the sealed envelope where everyone can see it. His guarded posture loosens, but his attention stays fixed on Yuki.
Gideon Vale
He believed the synthesizer contained nothing unusual, only years of modifications and recordings that documented his work. He wanted you to know what he had changed and why.
Yuki’s expression tightens at the mention of recordings. Keiji remains between Gideon and the bed, while Eric and Brent listen without interrupting.
Gideon Vale
The cost of doing this publicly is mine to accept, but I will need your cooperation afterward, Santana. I am putting my professional standing behind this disclosure.
Yuki Takamora
Then open it here. If my father left an explanation, I want the whole band to hear it, and I want to decide what happens next.
“Subtly use magic to convince the man to give Yuki the envelope.”
FAILURE (Superb Arcana, rolled -2)
Santana lets the room’s quiet carry his subtle spell toward Gideon, shaping the request without a gesture. Gideon’s guarded attention flickers, then hardens instead of yielding.
The envelope shifts in Gideon’s hand. He notices the pressure behind the moment, draws it against his chest, and takes one deliberate step back from Yuki’s bed.
Gideon Vale
No. I will not hand this over because someone has tilted the room against my judgment.
Keiji’s shoulders tighten, but Yuki raises one hand before he can answer. The failed influence leaves the envelope farther from her, though Gideon has not left.
Yuki Takamora
Then say exactly what you sensed, Gideon. If you want trust, do not demand it after catching us off guard.
Gideon Vale
Fair. I will keep the seal intact, but I will place the envelope on the table while I explain the conditions. No one touches it until Yuki agrees.
Gideon sets the envelope on the bedside table, still within reach but no longer hidden against his coat. Yuki watches it, then looks back to him, retaining control of the choice.
Learn Gideon's conditions for releasing the envelope
“I ask Gideon to open the envelope now”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +0)
Sazabi's Santana
Open the envelope now, Gideon. Yuki asked for the explanation here, and everyone present can hear it together.
Gideon Vale
All right. Yuki has made her choice, and you have made the terms clear. I will open it.
Gideon breaks the seal and unfolds several typed pages, a handwritten note, and a narrow service log. He places each item on the table where the room can see it.
Yuki Takamora
That handwriting is my father’s. I recognize the way he crosses his sevens.
Gideon Vale
The service log records every modification to the synthesizer. Masato also left instructions that you should hear the final recording before deciding what to do with his research.
Keiji reads over the first page without touching it. Eric leans forward beside the bed, while Brent watches Yuki’s face instead of the documents.
Yuki Takamora
Read the note aloud, Gideon. Then we will decide together whether anyone listens to that recording.
“I ask Gideon to give Yuki the envelope”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled -3)
Sazabi's Santana
Give Yuki the envelope, Gideon. She is the person your message concerns, and she should hold it while we read it together.
Gideon Vale
You make a persuasive case. Very well, Yuki. I am giving this to you directly, with everyone here as witness.
Gideon lifts the envelope from the table and crosses to the bedside. He places it carefully in Yuki’s hands, keeping the opened pages aligned inside.
Yuki Takamora
Thank you. I will read my father’s note, and then I will decide what happens to the service records and recording.
Yuki settles the envelope across her lap. Keiji stays near the doorway, while Eric and Brent angle closer without touching the papers. Mu-shi watches in silence.
Gideon Vale
Then I will be direct about the cost of my cooperation. Santana, you are now accountable for this disclosure. If these records are misused, I will come to you first.
Yuki Takamora
Understood. Gideon, read the note aloud while I keep the envelope. No one edits my father’s words before we hear them.
Quest Complete
Secure the envelope for Yuki
Skill Upgrade: Streetwise Superb→Legendary