The week passed, but the tension didn't fade—it only deepened.
Whispers were getting louder.
Not just about him.
About her.
---
Aika's Circle Breaks
"You've been quiet lately," one of Aika's friends, Kaori, said, nudging her with a smile.
Aika looked up from her bento, snapping back to the moment. "Just thinking."
"About him?" Kaori's voice dropped, teasing but cautious.
Aika didn't answer, but her fingers paused mid-bite.
Kaori leaned in closer. "You know, the guy's creepy. No past, no smile, no clue. Everyone's talking."
Aika shrugged. "And yet he hasn't done anything wrong."
Kaori narrowed her eyes. "That's what makes him dangerous."
But Aika didn't believe in surface judgments. Not anymore. Not after everything she'd grown up around.
---
A Glimpse Beneath
That evening, Aika lingered near the back courtyard after club hours. The sun was dipping low, casting long golden shadows. She hadn't expected to see anyone there—especially not him.
Ryuji stood alone by the side of the gym, stripped down to a sleeveless undershirt soaked in sweat.
That's when she saw it.
A dragon.
The head curled along his shoulder blade, eyes sharp, ink so dark it looked like it could move. Its body coiled down his back beneath the fabric—scales detailed, fierce, almost alive. Blood-red waves flowed around it, violent and beautiful. Beneath the ink, deep scars crisscrossed his skin, as if the dragon had risen from pain itself.
A lotus bloomed behind the dragon's skull—symbol of death and rebirth.
Power. Discipline. Suffering. Control.
Not a simple tattoo.
A mark of the Yakuza.
Her breath caught in her throat.
He turned slightly, as if sensing her gaze, and their eyes locked. His face was unreadable—but there was no panic, no attempt to hide.
He let her see it.
Then he rolled his shirt back up slowly, covering the ink, and walked away without a word.
But the image burned into her mind like fire.
That dragon wasn't just for show.
It meant something.
---
The Quiet Before Betrayal
Later that night, Aika sat alone in her room, staring at the ceiling.
She couldn't get the image out of her head—the ink, the scars, the silence.
Who the hell are you, Ryuji Tatsugami?
She didn't know if she was drawn to him because of danger… or because she saw something familiar.
But something inside her said: this was just the beginning.
---
Elsewhere – The Blood Chain Stirring
In a dimly lit room, a man knelt before someone who is sitting in dark.
"He's in place," a voice said from kneeling man.
The man didn't rise. "And Aika?"
"She's watching him closely."
The man in dark smiled. "Let them dance a little longer. The real game hasn't even started."