Chapter 13
Night had swallowed the city.
Tokyo glittered beneath the towering windows of the Takeda Syndicate headquarters, neon lights reflecting against the glass like scattered stars.
Inside the office, Ryuji Takeda stood alone.
The room was dark except for the faint glow of the city outside.
His suit jacket hung over the chair behind his desk, his tie loosened slightly — a rare sign of fatigue.
But the exhaustion wasn't from the war brewing with the Kuroda Clan.
It was something far more irritating.
Far more dangerous.
His thoughts.
And every one of them kept returning to Yumi Sato.
Ryuji exhaled slowly.
Annoyed with himself.
This was ridiculous.
He had commanded men twice his age when he was twenty.
Built an empire from blood and discipline.
Destroyed rivals without hesitation.
Yet somehow…
A woman who had been in his organization for only a few months had managed to crawl into his mind like a parasite.
He poured himself a drink.
The whiskey burned down his throat.
But it did nothing to silence the memory that surfaced.
The port.
The gunshots.
The moment he saw Yumi surrounded by enemies.
For the first time in years…
He had felt something unfamiliar.
Fear.
Not for himself.
For her.
His jaw tightened.
That realization alone irritated him.
Because fear made people reckless.
Weak.
And Ryuji Takeda was neither.
He placed the glass down harder than necessary.
Still…
Another memory followed.
The first night they met.
The hotel room.
The way she looked at him afterward.
Defiant.
Unapologetic.
Even after discovering who he was.
Most people trembled when they realized they were standing in front of the head of a Yakuza syndicate.
But Yumi?
She had looked at him like he was just another man.
And somehow…
That had fascinated him.
His fingers tapped slowly against the desk.
Then another thought surfaced.
Something darker.
If anyone else in the syndicate had disobeyed orders the way Yumi sometimes did…
They would already be dead.
But every time she challenged him…
Every time she pushed his patience…
Instead of anger…
He felt something else.
Interest.
A slow, dangerous smile tugged slightly at his lips.
"That woman…"
He muttered under his breath.
Then he realized something that made the smile disappear.
He had exiled Keiko Nakamura.
A soldier who had served him faithfully for ten years.
A decision that had shocked the entire syndicate.
And the reason?
Yumi.
Ryuji leaned back in his chair.
Thinking carefully.
Logically.
Coldly.
He replayed the decision in his mind.
Analyzing it the way he would analyze a battlefield.
And every path led to the same conclusion.
He had chosen Yumi.
Without hesitation.
Without negotiation.
Without even considering the consequences.
Silence filled the office.
Then Ryuji laughed quietly.
A low, almost disbelieving sound.
"Well."
He rubbed his jaw slowly.
"That's… unfortunate."
Because there was only one explanation for behavior like that.
One truth he had been deliberately ignoring.
One truth he finally forced himself to say out loud.
"I'm obsessed with her."
The words hung in the air.
Heavy.
Final.
Ryuji didn't look disturbed by the realization.
If anything…
He looked thoughtful.
Then something darker appeared in his eyes.
Because obsession wasn't new to him.
Ryuji Takeda was a man who understood obsession very well.
It was the reason he ruled the underworld.
Once he decided something belonged to him…
He didn't let it go.
Ever.
And the moment that thought settled in his mind…
The door to his office suddenly opened.
One of his men rushed in.
"Boss!"
Ryuji looked up slowly.
"What is it?"
The man looked tense.
"Intelligence just confirmed something."
Ryuji's eyes sharpened slightly.
"The Kuroda Clan has placed a bounty on Yumi Sato."
Silence.
Then something terrifying happened.
Ryuji smiled.
But it wasn't a pleasant smile.
It was the kind of smile that usually appeared right before someone died.
"Good."
The guard froze.
Because that was not the reaction he expected.
Ryuji stood.
Slow.
Calm.
Deadly.
"Now anyone stupid enough to go after her…"
His voice dropped dangerously low.
"…will reveal themselves to me."
He grabbed his jacket.
Already heading for the door.
"Call the security team."
The guard hurried to follow him.
"Yes, boss!"
Ryuji's eyes darkened slightly as one final thought crossed his mind.
You want her?
Try.
Because there was one thing the entire underworld was about to learn.
Yumi Sato had just become the most protected woman in Tokyo.
Not because she was innocent.
Not because she was important.
But because the most dangerous man in the city had just admitted something to himself.
And Ryuji Takeda protected what belonged to him.
At any cost.