"He said they were happy to die for Japan."

That is not telling her what happened!!!!

"Sal knows what I'm talking about." He looks intently, almost accusatorily, at Sal.

"I know exactly as much as Inaaya does about Ichiro Sano."

"I--" Deep breath. It is not Oscar's fault that she came into this already emotionally wrung out from failing to save a lion. "I'm sorry. Whether Sal knows what you mean or not, I don't. Can you explain it to me?"

"I mean about-- about what Der Wanderer does."

"I know that the book isn't good for you," she says. "But I still don't see what this has to do with you and Sano. Or anyone dying, for Japan or otherwise, or anyone getting hurt."

Oscar looks exasperated. "Lots of people are getting hurt. I'm just trying to warn you but you don't have to listen to me."

"I understand that you're trying to warn me but I can't tell what you're trying to warn me of."

"...Maybe he can explain it to you. I'm leaving."

Sano is probably going to tell them that Oscar tried to hit him and then explain politely why it's good to be a Japanese nationalist. But he needs to get the hell out of here, so he leaves.

Okay. Awesome. Great. That went so well.

She's so, so tired of having feelings.

"...Oscar got me to agree that he wasn't crazy earlier," Sal says out loud, as Oscar heads out of sight. "He's very worried about the impact of rumors on his career."

He does not sound like he's sure he should have agreed.

That sounds like something Inaaya is not qualified to deal with. "...I still don't even know what happened," she says, in Sano's general direction.

"I should probably ask my secretary to give me medical care," Sano says.

Why did Sano stand here watching this whole conversation. If he's so dangerous why did Oscar leave them here with him. "We were about to go ask her to schedule an appointment with you."

"I suppose the appointment can happen now, if you don't mind seeing me in an undignified fashion."

"That seems fine." She's so tired. Might as well get it all done at once.

Sano's shirt is bloody and sticks to his skin.

"Inside? Unless you don't mind bleeding out in the cold while we talk, I suppose."

"Indeed." He takes the stairs to his office; he occasionally has to pause, breathless.

Inaaya follows, quietly at Sano's shoulder in case it occurs to him to ask for help.

Once they're inside: "....what was Mr. Latz talking about?"

Sano says, "clean my wounds, please" to his secretary. She raises her eyebrows at Inaaya and Sal, then takes off Sano's shirt.

Sano's body is covered with layers and layers of scars.

(It's hot. This is not appropriate to say on any level.) "In more order than he gave, please."

"His shop was shut down by the police for selling obscene material. He asked me for help and I refused and he grew quite angry."

His secretary begins to clean Sano's wounds. They look like they were made by a knife, but his shirt isn't ripped.

He doesn't flinch.

Can we please just stop mutually pretending the other doesn't know anything. "Okay. What does that have to do with cursed books and you making people read them."