Playing with Fire (Book One of The Kazuya Series) (✔️)

九 (Nine)

(Arielle's POV)

"Thank you for picking me up."

"Sure thing. What did you tell your family?"

"That I'm working again. My grandmas offered to come with me to yell at my boss and demand that I'm given more time off. Especially the holidays."

It's my week off so the work excuse made my family a bit upset.

"Could just tell them the truth."

"Yeah, I see that going well."

"They wouldn't approve of you going to the Yakuza Boss's house for Thanksgiving?"

"Not hardly."

Today is Thanksgiving and Doc and I are headed for Koan's house.

I haven't seen Koan for a few days as he has been busy and I had to help my mom get the house ready. Every Thanksgiving, I spend a few nights at my parents house to help with cooking, cleaning, and....my grandparents. They can be...difficult and my mother doesn't do well when trapped in a house with her mother and mother-in-law. Drives her crazy. That's where I come in.

I haven't seen Koan, but he does text me his vitals three times a day and I called him once. I'm not sure why I called him, I....just did. He couldn't talk long because some of his family had arrived.

"Is there usually a lot of people?" I asked Doc as we got closer.

"There's usually quite a bit. Probably more this year because of the attack. I know Kintaro's brother is going to be staying with them for a while, along with some other people."

"Staying with them for a while?"

He nodded.

"But Koan...."

"Yeah." He sighed. "That being said, it would probably be wise for me to warn you."

"Warn me?"

"About Koan." He said, parking in the driveway behind a very fancy car.

"What are you talking about?"

"I told you before about pain and how it impacts our emotional development in regards to empathy and making connections with people. I told you and you've seen that Koan.....isn't the best with people, not even his family. You seem to be the only....exception."

"I'm not seeing the warning part of this."

"Koan....he isn't that great to be around during the holidays. People he hardly knows and sees show up and spend hours upon hours at his house. Kintaro and Izumi hate that it makes him uncomfortable, but they're not going to cancel the holidays just to appease him. They did it once or twice when he was little since his condition took some time getting used to. Now, up to a hundred or two hundred people can be in the house for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Yes, he has his own area to escape to, but it... it still makes him uneasy and....unpleasant to be around.

I also told you that his lack of empathy makes him a brutally honest person. He doesn't home anything back and he doesn't have a filter. You fill this house with politicians, crooked law enforcement, Yakuza men, women, children, and family that he hardly knows....Koan is a completely different person. His one to three worded responses often pisses people off, but they know they can't touch him or else the Kazuya's wrath would rain down on them."

"So everyone knows about his CIP?"

"Actually, no they don't. Very few people know. They assume they can't touch him without facing repercussions because he is the baby of the family and youngest son of the Boss."