Darker Than Love

KILLING YOU SOFTLY

"You can leave now, Miura."

The clipped yet sharp pronounced words Kenji Yanagi utters into the silence, clearly resonate from across the room.

After saying the young boss abruptly turns his body around and confidently walks his way towards a huge wooden wine cellar placed near his kitchen hall. Young Akihito Miura, who is by then has been still guarding the spot near the elevator exit, just obediently bows his head upon hearing the Yakuza boss' request, affirming a straight response before he immediately takes off without another word following the order. The elevator eventually closes in behind him and it signals its departure from the floor, leaving Yanagi and Cherry alone now inside the place.

The clamor of heavy rains still resounds on the roof above them, showering another downpour that it keeps bringing within this chilly day. It gradually brings out a considerable lull over the growing tension that is apparently building up inside the room as the two busied themselves with their own thoughts. Cherry soon decides to leave the spot from where she has been sitting on the bed and nervously saunters her way to the living hall while she waits for Kenji to say anything. She keeps peering in his direction (openly gawking at him) until she stops from her tracks and chooses to sit on the couch patiently.

Minutes tick by afterward, then a clinking sound of glasses suddenly breaks up the heavy silence weighing over the atmosphere around the room.

In the extensive kitchen area, Kenji steadily pours down a generous amount of whiskey into a crystal glass until he fills it midway, submerging the ice inside it. He then takes his time, closing the bottle with its lid before he puts it to rest on the kitchen counter, and he just stays there, standing by the counter for a few more moments. He basks into the stillness of the scene and he languidly takes a casual sip from his strong drink while still keeping his watch on Cherry's presence, keeping her silence from a distance.

After a few minutes, which had almost felt too long, Kenji finally moves and treads towards where Cherry has been waiting and quietly takes the vacant loveseat across from her. Their eyes meet right away, yet neither tries to speak up through the building tension. The gloomy weather instantly becomes even darker as the sounds of the rain outside the place slowly blend into the background, creating a somber feeling in the air hovering between the two.

"Who ordered you that night?"

The unpredictable question is suddenly brought up in a quick demand, intoned with a cold voice that is too deep and hauntingly forbidding as Kenji Yanagi stares straightly into the unreadable eyes of Cherry, who is still gazing back at him.

"Miss Aoi Chiba, who ordered you to kill me?"

He was fast. Cherry is not even surprised anymore if he had already found out her real name and her identity in just a couple of days. She does not really mind at all if he still tries to dig up anything further than he got, since he would not really find anything that helpful anyway. Yet even though that was the case, she still could not help but feel scared at this point. It's kind of hard to explain as well.

There is just something quite truly frightening with that unfamiliar look Kenji is now giving her.

"Do I have to force you to answer me, Miss Chiba?"

The lack of response from her end somehow shatters the remaining patience Kenji has been trying to keep in him. He is all but extremely enraged and blinded with wrath to the point that he has lost all the reason to wait any much longer than he already had... Though he never really had the intention to hurt the woman in front of him, he still wants to squeeze out the whole truth from her. Even if she does not have everything he would want to know, she still has to have something. It's no rocket science. She got something she's hiding right now.

Who does she think she was trying to fool here?

"No one ordered me."

But her insistent denial makes it entirely ridiculous. And before Kenji could even stop himself, the glass of whiskey he has been holding in his hand the whole time shatters in a bloody mess over the coffee table when he just suddenly slams it down. The shards quickly break apart, the liquor spreads on the furniture, leaving a dark glob of stain into the red fabric covering the table.

Kenji just flinches as he gives a look at his hand that has been now wounded by the hard glass splintering within his palm and his blood also slowly leaks out down his fingers. Cherry could only gasp at the sight, her eyes widening as she gapes and instantly feels her body turning cold from where she sits.

"I don't like it when people lie to my face, Cherie Amour."

The pain is still not registering to him yet, but Kenji is already badly swayed by his overwhelming emotions as he stands up and lets go of the broken glass on the table. He strides and stops right in front of the wall beside his huge flatscreen television. The lightning flickers from the windows and is quickly followed by the harsh rolls of thunder roaring from outside. Silence remains for a few seconds right before Kenji ruthlessly wrecks it again when he suddenly punches the wall in front of him with his damaged hand.

The destructive sound echoes into the whole room. The vibration crawls from the wall. Kenji keeps his hand connected to the dented wall and lets out a frustrating groan. He still feels no pain but he is completely going deranged from holding back himself with his rage.

"DON'T LIE!"

His shout wakes up a sudden far-out fear that Cherry did not expect would even come out of her in an instant, as she freezes on her own spot and gulps the big lump that has formed in her throat. Her whole body and skin tingle with the reeling coldness and the uncontrollable chill that has suddenly shaken her after witnessing an outrage display.

She could now fully understand how Kenji Yanagi had gotten that scary reputation of his. From the looks of it, he can surely kill anyone at this point and his threatening eyes alone would shrink all the confidence out of her that she has even built up to guard herself until now.

She is totally scared out of her wits at this moment, and she already admits it all to herself. Yet she still can not answer him with an honest soul. She has already decided to keep everything in her grave. And no matter what it would cost her, she will never say a word of what she already knows.

But if she tries to lie to this man... She might really die tonight. Perhaps, this is really where it all ends now for her. She just has to accept it.

"Kill me..."

The hopeless tone infused in her shaky voice remains apparent with the faint sound that she has let out when she spoke. Cherry closes her eyes, and she could feel the chills getting even more intense. Even without having to look at him, she could literally feel the searing frustration emanating from Kenji's direction as he goes silently livid upon hearing her unthinkable reply.

"Just kill me." she still dumbly repeats, after a long beat.

"You're not scared to die?"

His question hangs over the heavy atmosphere. She knows what to say but she still could not bring herself to speak anymore. She just keeps her eyes closed while she hears the noises of Kenji's movement from a distance. His footsteps get closer at every second playing on, and her heartbeat speeds up as she continues to listen.

"You're still willing to die just to leave me hanging?"

His tone suddenly changes when he has said those words and even his voice shifts into a cynical higher tone. Cherry unintentionally winces and she instantly feels her body shaking up through an intense panic when she feels him stopping just right in front of her. His body heat moves above her, and Cherry feels entrapped just when a light touch of his warm breath blows over the top of her nose.

"Baby, I'm not gonna kill you. Just tell me the truth," he softly mutters, his voice hitching down to a vague plea.

Cherry unconsciously bites her lip, almost tempted to speak up. But she could only find the last few words leaving her mouth while she stubbornly focuses on the sensations of Kenji's breath touching her face.

"Just kill me."

Kenji lets out a weary sigh, the hot air coming out of his mouth fans over Cherry's face. She flinches but gets surprised when he suddenly pulls away. Coldness seeps back to her skin but she could still detect him standing from a near distance.

"You say that, but I don't believe you really mean it, Cherie Amour."

The apparent dismay and pity blend with his words as he tells her that.

"If you really want someone to kill you," He still goes on, his voice gradually growing more distant, "Don't say those words with a tear. It makes the request just more unbearably stupid."

As soon as he finishes that sentiment, he has already been gone after stepping into the bathroom. Cherry opens her eyes just as the door clicks shut behind Kenji. She breathes out loudly, almost as if she has been holding her breath this whole time. She is really scared and she could still feel the trail of tears that had actually fallen down her cheek.

She failed.

She never really expected this sudden turn of events. And even more so, she also freaked out. She had miscalculated everything. It's an undeniable truth. Kenji Yanagi was entirely more than what she had thought she knew. And now, she no longer knows where to go from here.

She is slowly losing the ability to fulfill her real purpose here.

She is already trapped.

And it's getting even more hopeless.

--------------------------------------

Jin Sasai is completely beyond just frustrated.

He can't even concentrate on driving straight ahead with his car as he frequently gets distracted by his own furious thoughts playing inside his head. It must really be a terrible joke. He could still feel that bad aftertaste after discovering a huge part of a bigger truth from what he just heard from Horiuchi. This entire time, he had thought that the woman the boss had brought home with them has been the whole huge threat here... But the truth was, she had only been a pawn and a little sacrifice for something even much terribly bigger. And what a total waste of time, to be honest. To keep someone useless like her, why the hell is the Boss so adamant about that?

That woman obviously knew that she could die at any moment, and yet she still plans to kill the boss. And Kenji is actually letting her get closer to fulfilling her own stupid plan.

Jin really has to get back to the main headquarters now.

The family is still in danger and they would certainly head into much bigger trouble anytime soon. Jin already has a bad feeling about all of it. And it might even put the alliances in total disarray, which will certainly put a severe hitch between the families of the Dojima clan. And Jin knows the Yanagi's could not really risk any loss from here. Now that the promotion date is also coming in just a few more days, the threats and attempts would surely get more brutal and unexpected.

He also needs to talk to that woman. Kenji and he have to extract everything she knows about that fucker who has been chasing out the young Boss and why she had agreed to work with him.

Kenji and Jin need to stop the next move of the enemy before this thing actually gets worse. And with this conclusive reflection, Jin plans out to deliberate everything about it with the Boss as soon as possible. He has to tell him all the precautions.

The woman will have to go, and Jin really hates to admit this. But Kenji has always been a sucker for despicable women and their temperamental tendencies. And knowing this much about the Boss does not really help Jin with anything to fix the rest of their problems.

Women are really a nuisance. Though not that he's speaking in general. He just does not like affiliating himself with one. He can't afford the emotional trouble and he knew it might even be used against him in any way, that is why Jin has long gone sworn them off.

And it's not really the point here though.

The thing is, he is convinced that the woman will bring them difficulties. There are still a whole lot of questions filling his mind about her. And Jin could already see several holes in the story he had been told about Cherry. And he needs more time to search for more angles. Perhaps, keeping her in the meantime could still be safe. And when he finally gets closer and more familiar with that woman, he will squeeze the truth out of her.

Miss Cherry.

Not the type of name he would even associate with that crazy lady.

She's certainly no Cherry in his eyes, which he also finds quite interesting about her.

Though one thing's for sure, she's still an enemy.

_____________________________________

Aoi Chiba no longer knows what to do this time.

She remains still from where she has been sitting on the couch for hours now. From the time Kenji Yanagi had entered the bathroom, to the second he went out and then called for some medical assistance through the telephone over the bedside table... Down to the minute someone arrived at their floor from the elevators and quietly tended to the severe wounds Kenji had done on his hand.

Aoi Chiba, or the woman called Cherry, has never moved.

In fact, she was too scared to do anything else. How can just a few simple words shouted into the air towards her could change her entire demeanor?

She has been so brave and confident of herself in the previous days. Yet now, all she can do is only shake in fear. This is so stupid. What is she trying to make out of this? She has to get some sense back into her. She needs to remind herself of her true purpose here!

Wake up, Cherry!

Come back to who you are! You can't just succumb to this foolish terror that this awful man had incited upon you. You've got to do something or anything! Recall everything you've told yourself!

Why aren't you moving!

The hollow silence of the room slowly brings Cherry back to the present as she notices Kenji's figure languidly moving towards the location of the huge bed. He then stops on his tracks just when he has reached the side of the furniture and starts to unbutton his shirt. He struggles by himself since he could only use one hand to do the thing due to his injury. And as he begins to look frustrated, he keeps hissing and clicking his tongue out of annoyance when he still could not disentangle the first button.

Watching him in the same irritation, Cherry just suddenly stands up from the couch, unable to take the scene before her anymore, and she crosses the distance between them without ever really thinking about it. Before she knew it, she has already begun doing the unbuttoning for him. She feels him staring down at her with intense curiosity but she just ignores it and tries to focus on what she is actually doing instead.

She does not even understand herself, it just felt like she has been pushed in his direction. And now she could no longer back away from him. For the next few moments, they just settle into a silent continuous battle without saying any word. Cherry only frowns harder until she finally scruffles down to the last button. And soon after she finishes, she lets out an unintentional sigh.

She looks up and regrets it right away when she suddenly meets his eyes. He has been gazing down at her the whole time and she feels nervous under his stare. She looks down to stare forward and gets a view of his upper body. Then out of the blue, she subconsciously places both of her palms over his bare chest, gaping through the opened section of his shirt.

She freezes upon realizing what she just did. But she still does not make any move to pull away. Rather, she just gazes towards the view of his tanned glowing skin in contrast to her pale hands and tries to focus more on the warmth she is feeling beneath her fingers. The sensation eventually hypnotizes her, and she instantly forgets where she really is or what she is actually doing now. Her eyes then slowly feel heavier as if she is getting drunk without really being drunk that her mouth gradually dries up. She could not move anymore.

"Cherie Amour."

She hears him softly calling out for her at that moment, but it all just sounds quite too endearing for her to really be woken up from the deep trance. She just closes her eyes, and then breathes in his masculine smell. It makes her dizzy. Then she slowly sways forward until she finds herself leaning onto him.

Next thing she realizes, her cheek is already resting over the skin where her palms have just been, and she could now hear the faint sound of his heart beating beneath his ribs. It was unsteady, and she could feel him tensing up against her touch. Her hands are even crawling their way down the sides of his hips. She breathes him in again.

"What are you doing?" Kenji suddenly asks this in a deep low voice, unable to move from his own spot. He is completely confused and a little bit uncomfortable after being victimized by her actions. It feels like she is trying to seduce him in a foolish way but she just terribly fails. If anything else, Kenji only feels even more alarmed now than pretty much being fazed.

He finds this all so weird. He could not even predict what she is thinking right now.

"Miss Chiba..." he tries to call out to her again, but this time, he tries to sound much firmer and louder, "What the hell are YOU doing?"

She does not really know. Aoi Chiba has no idea why she is even acting like this. Is this some kind of desperate attempt to keep him from killing her? Because she already knew the upcoming end after this? She will never say anything about who has been helping her with the plan to murder him, but she does not want to end up not doing anything for herself. If she is really going to die...

Might as well...

Might as well...

Her inner thoughts finally bring her back to reality and Aoi Chiba quickly pulls away in disgust. Completely shock with the moment, she pushes Kenji away from her. The man just frowns back and almost curses at her but he immediately pauses when he sees her expression.

"I have always wanted to kill you!"

Her tearing confession cuts through the momentary calmness and it reverberates into echoes around them. Aoi Chiba suddenly feels all her emotions building up and combusting out of her chest: denial, anger, fear, sadness, desperation, hate... Loss. Vengeance.

"I want to kill you!"

With that heavy aggravated statement, she suddenly charges forward and slams a small fist onto his chest. Kenji could only watch as he gets struck with complete anxiety and confusion. He staggers back as he just lets her hit him with those weak clumsy punches she is trying to throw at him. And as she keeps charging, she continuously shouts those same words back to his face all over again.

"I want to kill you!"

Thump.

"I want to really kill you!"

Thump.

"I have to kill you!"

Thump.

"YOU BASTARD."

Thump.

"I have..."

Thump.

"To... kill..."

Thump.

"You..."

Finally growing tired after the rage and her physical release, Aoi eventually lands her last punch on him and fails to harm him in any way. Seeing her pathetic attempt to inflict harm, she surrenders in distress as she slumps down, panting through her sobs and tears. Kenji quickly reaches out to hold her still with his arms. He tries to pick her up as he witnesses her slowly breaking apart right in front of his face. She looks so helpless and scared that she does not even try to push him away. Kenji instantly feels weakened. And without ever really realizing it, he suddenly wraps her into his arms and kneels on the floor beside her.

"Why would you say that Cherie Amour?" He then softly asks her out of pity, while running his fingers through her disheveled hair. He tries to calm her down with a few hushes and then asks again.

"Why would you want to kill me?"

"Because-"

Her breath suddenly hitches that it abruptly cuts her off for a second, but Aoi still tries to get her voice back and forcefully continues her next few words that somehow just confuses everything more.

"...you deserve to die, Yanagi..."

Pause.

"...I just want you to die."

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