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CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT:
The gloves are coming off.
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                "Allow me." The velvety voice said from behind her as her wine glass was refilled, the persons fingers wrapped around hers. Aki should have felt at least an ounce of fear—since the man behind her, filling her glass had been the same man that had ordered to shoot at her only an hour before. But she wasn't. She was incredibly relaxed.

                    "Such a gentleman." Aki purred as the hand left hers. She straightened out her back. "So, how did you find me?" She asked as the man walked around her, stepping into view.

                   Chuuya looked down at her as he settled the bottle of wine onto the table. There was a sour look on his pretty face, "Simple. I just followed the smell of betrayal and there you were." He stated, sass and venom pouring from his mouth.

                      Aki scoffed, "You can be such a drama queen," She scolded, picking up the wine glass to take a long sip. She looked up at him through her lashes. "It's your own fault, really. You should have kept on hating me—it would have been the smarter decision." She told him, her amber eyes locked on his blue ones.

                     "You're right," Chuuya agreed, nodding his head. "But that moment of weakness is over now." He clarified.

                   Aki could see it in his eyes. He was no longer looking at her the way he had the night before or that morning—there was pure rage in his eyes, an anger that burned deeply inside of him. He hated her. He hated that she had betrayed him and he hadn't seen it coming. Aki felt a deep stabbing feeling in her gut. He hadn't even attempted to talk to her—he hadn't come to her alone and asked her why she had done what she had. If he had, she would have confessed everything to him. Instead, he had came at her with full force. It pissed her off.

                     "So, what's your plan, Executive? You going to kill me in front of all these people?" She asked him, tipping her back head to look at him, black cascades of hair slipping over her shoulder.

                       "I'm taking you back to Headquarters," He said with determination, giving a nod of his head. He extended his gloved hand to her. "First, I want to dance with you." Aki stared at his hand, feeling puzzled.

                      "And why would you want to do that?" She inquired, arching a brow.

                      "We never got to at the Gala. It just makes sense for us to wrap up loose ends right here and now," He told her, his voice holding little to no emotion. He extended his hand further, "Dance with me, Kitagawa." He ordered, intense blue gaze staring her down, clearly having an ulterior motive.

                     Aki sighed, settling down her wine glass, "If you insist." She said, reaching out to take his hand. Neither of them could deny the friction between them the moment their fingers intertwined. It was still there. That raw feeling—the feelings they were trying to push to the very bottom of their hearts, tucking it away between spite and hatred.

                    Chuuya led her onto the dance floor, his grip so tight on her fingers they might have snapped. He stopped dead in the centre before yanking her into him, making her slam into his chest, "It was quite the little ploy you had—seducing me, making me lower my guard," He began saying, taking a step forward, making her step back. They began moving across the dance floor, their bodies moving at their own will. "Did you have it planned out from the start? He questioned, his eyes trained on her face, never once looking away.

                Aki looked at him, blinking slowly, "Who said it was a ploy?" She asked him, her voice coming out as soft. It momentarily took him by surprise. Moments before he slammed her back into a pillar, making the back of her skull crack against it along with her spine.

              She hissed out in pain, sliding down a little, but Chuuya kept her on her feet, using the hand on her waist to keep her standing as not to alert the others in the restaurant, "Don't bullshit me, Kitagawa," He warned, leading her back onto the dance floor. Her head was spinning a little from the hit she had taken against the pillar. "You had this planned from the start, didn't you? It doesn't make sense otherwise." He said, his eyes darting back and forth between hers.

               Aki sighed, her hands lowering from his back and down to his waist, "What does it matter if it was?" She fired back at him, hands reaching into the back of his pants. She pulled out his concealed firearm, taking a step backwards and dropping it into a plant-pot behind her back. A wicked grin crossed her lips as Chuuya's teeth gritted together. She knew his plan was to unarm her—so she was doing exactly the same thing, "You're not going to hear me out regardless. You proved that when you had me shot at." There was venom in her voice, her eyes beginning to narrow.

               Chuuya grabbed her tighter, his hand moving to her thigh. He dipped her down, pulling her knee up to his waist. His face hovered over hers, his gloved hand trailing down her leg. He reached into her sock, pulling out the tiny knife before throwing it with pin-point accuracy, making it lodge between the wood of an old grandfather clock. His hand trailed up her thigh, hooking her skirt further up before unclipping the larger knife from her thigh as she smirked. His fingers danced across the knife before dropping it to the floor and kicking it, making it slide underneath a table, completely out of sight.

               "Why would I bother to hear you out?" He asked, as if she were stupid for saying such a thing. He pulled her upwards, his hand tightening around her waist. "You're a compulsive liar, aren't you not? No matter what I ask, you're just going to lie to me." He hissed, eyes angrily glaring into hers.

                Aki laughed, "You're right. But have you even considered why I lied?" She asked him as they began moving back and forth on the dance floor, gliding with ease. "That's right. You won't, because you don't want to imagine a version of this scenario where I'm not the villain—"

                 "That's because you are," Chuuya snapped over her before spinning her under his arm. He didn't spin her the full way around though, instead, stopping halfway and pulling her back to his chest. His hand that was on her waist trailed downwards and up her skirt, plucking the handgun strapped to her other thigh. He tucked it behind her back, concealing it from the unaware people in the room, clicking the safety off. "The Boss might be a bastard—but you're even worse. You had people that cared about you and you threw it away and for what?" He said in her ear, the nose of the gun pressed against her back.

                Aki turned around, more than confident he wouldn't pull the trigger right then and there. She tipped her head back, looking at him as the gun pushed into her stomach, "I've spent over a decade with the Double A. Do you really think I'd be swayed to the side of the Port Mafia after a couple of weeks? Come on, Nakahara, get your head out of the gutter." The gun pushed further into her stomach as the man gritted his teeth together.

I want to shoot her.

I don't want to shoot her.

He was conflicted—completely and utterly conflicted.

              "Why wouldn't you? You despise Katsu. You despise the Double A," He reminded her, making her smile a little with a nod. "You have plenty of reasons to deflect from them. And yet, you still do their bidding—"

            "You think I have a choice?" Aki interrupted, her eyes boring into his as they began to narrow. "Need I remind you, Nakahara. I could drop dead at any instant if I don't do as I'm told. I'm a fucking slave to that man. If I don't do as he wishes, I'm dead, alright? And believe it or not, I actually value my life." A rare glimmer of emotion. Her eyes were burning as a wave of emotions washed over her. She was so sick of this shit—so very sick of it.

              Chuuya blinked, his features softening, "I... I was going to help you," He began saying, his voice coming out as small, fingers turning white around the gun. "I was going to help you get the chip out." He clarified, speaking more clearly. He had been trying. Her tortured Nobu every single day since the first time he entered the torture chamber and he had been doing it all for her. He'd got his hands bloody for her.

               A bitter laugh escaped Aki's lips, "No one can help me," Her eyes briefly darted over his shoulder, recognising a man that had just entered. She reached up, her hand closing over the nose of the gun, pushing it downwards. Chuuya didn't fight it. "This was real fun. But I have places to be." She tried getting away from him, to head in the direction of the Double A assassin that had entered the room to pick her up.

                    Chuuya's hand snapped around her wrist, latching on tightly. His eyes were wide, glossed over as she looked over her shoulder at him, "If you leave right now, then I'm not going to stop coming for you and when I do, the gloves will be off," His voice was desperate. He was begging her—begging her not to walk away, not to walk away from everything, from everyone—from him. He clutched her tighter. "The next time I come for you, it'll be to kill you." He promised as she held his gaze, eyes darting back and forth between his.

               A soft smile crossed her lips, "I'll look forward to it."

              His hand fell from her wrist.

              She turned her back, walking away from him, not looking back once as he stood there, unable to move—unable to stop her. I need to stop her. No. I need to let her go. No. I should stop her. No. I don't want to. But I need to. His mind was spinning as if he had entered a carousel on an endless loop. He watched her go, his eyes trained on her back as she approached the Double A assassin that offered her his arm. When she took it, she glanced over her shoulder, her eyes connecting with his. She smiled at him.

                 His heart sank to his stomach.

                 The gloves are coming off.

           "Akira! My dear girl!" Katsu exclaimed upon the sight of her. She had just stepped into his dimly lit office, the assassin that had collected her by her side, holding her arm as if she were some kind of prisoner. The Boss of the Double A was beaming at her—at his Demon Angel. His long blonde hair was tied into a low ponytail, resting over his shoulder, emerald green eyes grinning at her. His lips were in a wide smile, showing all of his teeth, his canines propped over the bottom row. He was wearing a beautifully tailored black suit, a dark-green bow tie hanging from his top button. There was a pocket watch between his fingers that was open, time ticking away into the air.

             "How I've missed your beautiful face," He gushed, quickly getting from his black-leather seat, encrusted in gold. He strode across his office, gliding towards her. The moment he reached her, he rose his hand. The slap came hard across her cheek. And she took it. She had bit the inside of her mouth during the impact, making blood pour into her mouth. He lowered his large height to hers. "What a foolish girl you've been." He tutted before wrapping his arms around her, pulling her into a tight embrace. But it was cold.

               Aki's eyes remained open as her cheek rested against his chest, unblinking, swallowing down the pool of blood in her mouth, "But it's quite alright. You're home now," He assured her, his hands tangling through her hair, ripping strands when they connected with knots. Aki didn't do so much as flinch. He pulled back, holding onto her shoulders with a sigh. "I must admit, though. I am quite disappointed in you. I put so much faith in you—and you've let me down." There was a frown on his face as he spoke, his long nails digging into her shoulders.

              "I'm sorry, Boss." She apologised, her gaze trained on the pocket stitched into the chest of his suit. She had learned over the years not to make eye contact with Katsu when he was mad—he took it as an insult, or as a form of defiance.

                Katsu sighed again, "Yes, my girl, you sure will be," He assured her. He reached out, taking her chin between his fingers, forcing her to look at him. "I won't punish you too greatly, though—only because of how much I've missed you. I think three days in the cellar should be enough, yes?" He suggested, an evil twinkle to his eyes.

                    Aki swallowed, "Yes, sir."

                    Katsu smiled, "Such an obedient girl you are," He praised, his fingers cutting into her chin, drawing some blood. "Which is why I'm so shocked you failed at your mission. Tell me, sweetheart, why exactly did you fail?" Aki blinked, turning her face upwards to land on his face. Why did she fail? She wasn't sure. For once, she didn't have an answer. But she couldn't stay silent. Katsu wouldn't stand for it.

                   "We underestimated them, sir—the Port Mafia," She told him, her voice coming out as small. "They were able to see straight through our facade." She concluded.

                   Katsu's eyes flickered, "So, you think Ogai Mori is a smarter man than I?" Aki's mouth flew open, ready to elaborate, to tell him that wasn't what she had meant. But before she could, Katsu'a fist connected with her jaw with such brute force that it knocked her onto the ground. Her back hit the ground, making her shoulder blades ache, her head spinning.

                  Katsu walked towards her before stopping directly above her. His foot came down on her ribs, pushing into her skin, making her squirm in pain, "I think, perhaps, four days in the cellar is a far more fitting punishment." He said, the toes of his boot slipping into her rib cage, making it harder for her to breathe.

                   Aki gritted her teeth together, "Yes, sir."

AUTHORS NOTE.

             anyone catch the mr&mrs smith references this chapter? there will be a lot more coming up in the next few chapters because it massively inspired a lot of these scenes!

               katsu hate nation rise up🫡

                — taylor xx