Kaori’s eyes snapped open. Frowning, she peered at the ceiling through the darkness of her room. What was it that woke her? She didn’t hear anything now. And probably she hadn’t heard anything before. So why did she wake up in the middle of the night?

Sitting up in bed, she listened intently. Was Ryo having one of his nightmares? She didn’t hear anything. It was probably nothing, but now she couldn’t just go back to sleep. She never could just close her eyes once she woke up. She hated that trait of hers. Sighing, she threw off the covers, and blindly searched for her slippers with her feet. She never bothered switching the lights on. She knew her room like the palm of her hand. And the same went for the entire apartment. She never bumped into a wall or stumbled over something—except when she sometimes stumbled over a drunk Ryo snoring on the floor where he’d fallen. She hated that, too.

Padding down the hallway, she still kept one ear perked in hopes of hearing something. Yet there was no sound. She didn’t even hear Ryo’s heavy snoring. That would mean that he wasn’t at home at all—and that was a true pisser—or that he’d indeed had a nightmare and has woken up. Either way, she needed to worry about herself and get back to bed as soon as possible. A tough day was looming on the horizon. And she was still slightly worried that Ryo might change his mind and pack her away in the middle of nowhere.

Humming softly, she slipped into the kitchen. Soon, the light of the refrigerator spilled on the white tiles as she pulled a carton of milk out. Rummaging in the cabinet, she found a little pot, and placed it on the stove. As she waited for her usual sleeping aid to heat up, she heard soft footsteps closing in on the kitchen.

Scratching his chest, Ryo slowly padded toward the kitchen. He had to stop waking in the middle of the night. And for reasons he preferred not to think about to boot. He just had to stop—He froze, seeing the dark silhouette in front of the stove, her face, slightly turned toward the door, vaguely illuminated by the bluish light of the burner.

“Hey,” she whispered, smiling.

He had to clear his throat, before attempting at being civil. “Hey.”

A shiver ran up her spine at hearing his sleep-laden voice. He always sounded so damn sexy after waking up, it always made her long to wake up in his arms, in his bed, and hear him wish her good morning.

She turned back to her milk, berating herself for being silly. He couldn’t see her blush in the darkness. “Can’t sleep, either, huh?”

“No.”

Suddenly he sounded irritated. Kaori rolled her eyes. In some aspects he was still a mystery to her. Especially his mood swings. “Nightmare?”

He sighed. “Not at all...You?”

“Me neither. I just woke up.”

“And decided to get some of your medicine to help you go back to sleep.” His voice was laced with a smile.

She nodded slightly. “Do you want some, too?”

“If you can spare a drop.” He came to stand beside her.

“Ha-ha.” She nudged him with her knee, trying not to notice he was was wearing only his boxers. At least he had had the decency of putting them on before coming downstairs. She was not up to dealing with him in Full Monty, when just the Half Monty sent her heart into a gallop. “Grab a cup.”

As he lifted his arms to open the cupboard, his muscles tensed, bulging, and Kaori’s mouth went completely dry.

“You know,” he murmured, completely oblivious to her ogling. “You can still change your mind about going to Umi’s.”

She growled. “Don’t go there.”

“Kaori...”

She hated that patronizing tone. “That’s not the reason I cannot sleep! Something woke me up.”

Was it her or did he freeze for an instant.

“Really?”

She nodded, pouring the warm milk. “I’m not sure though. It might have been a figment of my imagination.” She grabbed her cup, and sat at the table. “It might have been a scream, but I’m not sure.”

“A scream?” He sat opposite her, staring at his cup in the dark.

“Yes, something—”

A quick glimpse of ivory skin, a female body glistening with a film of sweat, flashed briefly in front of her eyes and she tasted bile.

“Something like that,” she finished on a whimper.

He finally looked at her. “Kaori?”

She blinked hard to keep tears from spilling as the vision of the mystery woman seemed to become seared into her brain. “Hmm?”

His head cocked to one side. “Is something wrong?”

“Oh, no, no.” A lone tear trickled down her cheek.

Why do you have to be so stubborn? “Okay, then.” You don’t need to pretend in front of me.

“What?”

He took a sip of milk. “Hmmm?”

“I didn’t catch that.”

“All I said was ‘Okay, then’.” You don’t need to pretend in front of me.

She smiled sadly. At least she’s taken his thoughts off the other woman. “So what happens tomorrow?”

“She gets here; we put her into the guest bedroom, keep her with us for a couple of weeks and hope for the best.”

She blinked. “That’s it?”

He shrugged. “What more do you want?”

“Shouldn’t you have a plan? Some ‘worst case scenario’ option?”

“This is the Yakuza we’re talking about, Kaori. You can never predict their moves. We’ll just go with the flow.” He leaned across the table, touching his cup to hers. “It’s what we do best.”

She smiled. “I thought what we did best was create mayhem.”

“Nah, that’s just me. You’re more of a chaos kind of gal. We’re a double act.”

“I see.” She chuckled. He was always at his funniest in the middle of the night. “What is my role in this non-plan of yours?”

He was serious in a heartbeat. “You don’t have one,” he snapped.

“Pardon?”

“You don’t have a role. You won’t do a thing. I’m the one who’s protecting this girl.”

She gritted her teeth. “And what am I supposed to do? Sit on the sidelines and cheer?”

“Exactly.” He pointed his index finger at her. “You stay out of sight. You don’t get within 50 meters of her in public. For you, she doesn’t exist outside of this apartment. Is that understood?”

“Ryo—”

“We do this my way, Kaori. No highway option. You do as I tell you. Is that clear?”

“Crystal, you overbearing idiot,” she mumbled.

“I might be overbearing, but I won’t let you put your life at risk.”

“Do you have to hear everything?”

His teeth glinted in the darkness. “Deal with it, baby.”

Kaori blushed to the roots of her hair and Ryo cleared his throat. Their gazes locked in the darkness. That endearment hung heavy between them.

“What...” She swallowed. “What if I’m extra careful? Come on, Ryo. What can happen?”

“I don’t care what can happen! You don’t do anything and that’s final.”

“But...”

With a groan, he ran his fingers through his hair. “Look, Kaori. I can’t protect you both!” If anything should happen, you’re my first priority and she’s as good as dead.

A grin spread from ear to ear as Kaori jumped to her feet.

“I promise to be a good girl.” She gave him a light kiss on his cheek. “Good night, Ryo.”



Ten minutes after she went back to bed, Ryo was still sitting in the dark kitchen, slowly brushing his fingers over the spot where she’d kissed him. He could yet feel the warmth and softness of her mouth on his skin. She’s never done something like that before, offered such a blatant sign of affection. Why did she do it?

He slowly smiled. He didn’t really care why.