𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐁𝐓𝐄𝐃 | 𝘺𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴

VI - tunnel vision

"Well, this was fun! I'll be coming by again soon," Kosuke hummed, winking at you as he walked out the door.

Ekaterina was by your side almost immediately. "Sorry about that," she sighed. "I realize he can be a bit of a handful. Did everything go okay?"

"It was fine. He didn't say anything to offend me. I guess... I just hoped that policemen like him would take their jobs more seriously. It makes me sad to see how much he sings the yakuza's praises."

"Money makes the world go round, as they say."

You turned towards her with a weary smile. "Unfortunately, that is the case. Otherwise I wouldn't be stuck in this mess to begin with. Sorry if my words irked you. I know you've been working for the group for a long time as well, but I just feel like I can be more open around you."

"No need to apologize," Ekaterina smiled, gently smoothing your hair down. "I can only imagine how afraid you must be. If nothing else, I promise to my best so that this situation is a bit more bearable for you. If you work hard here, Ryu will forget about you after a while, and you'll be able to pay off your debt without having to worry about him."

"Even though we live together?"

She blanched. "Y-You what?"

Well, that didn't sound promising.

"He took me to his home on the very first night," you explained. "It's a big, traditional-style place. I thought some of the other members lived there with him, but it seems like they don't always stay the night. They're usually there by the time I wake up, though."

"I... I see," Ekaterina frowned. The expression on her face was far from pleasant. She looked scared, almost as if she was the one stuck in that house with Ryu.

"I guess it's pretty bad, after all," you sighed.

"No!" she quickly denied. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you nervous all over again! It just frustrates me that he's keeping you at arm's length. I would have figured that by now, he'd have gotten you a place of your own, with other men to keep tabs on you and make sure you didn't try to escape. It just strikes me as odd that he hasn't done that yet. It almost seems... beneath him. To micromanage to this extent, I mean."

You didn't know what to say to that. Was she implying that Ryu had taken a special interest in you for some reason? If so, you really doubted that was the case. Every time you interacted with him, all he did was spit threats in your face and snap at you. If anything, he was keeping you close because this was personal. Your father had stolen from him. Maybe he just couldn't help but take his anger out on you.

Maybe he even enjoyed doing it.

Ekaterina nibbled on her bottom lip. "Oh, sweet girl, please don't get worked up now. This is all just pure speculation on my part anyways. There's no way to know what's going on in that man's head. All you need to focus on is proving how hardworking you are, okay? The worst of it is almost over. I promise."

She looked so distraught, so obviously guilty for having given you more to worry about. You didn't blame her, though. You couldn't. This store was the closest thing you had to a safe space now. No matter what, you were determined to keep it.

Still, you didn't believe that the worst was almost over. Far from it.

...

Ryu had come to pick you up in the evening once your training session with Ekaterina was finished. You inhaled sharply, opened the car door, and grabbed a seat in the back right next to the dark-haired yakuza boss.