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## **Chapter One — The Condition**
The private jet touched down in Kyoto just as the sun dipped below the mountains, bathing the city in gold. Lena Takahashi didn’t flinch. Her reflection in the window was calm—almost regal—but inside, her heart raced like a storm on the edge of breaking.
She hadn’t been back in Japan since she was five. Not since her father sent her overseas to be protected. Not since her mother died two years ago—leaving behind a silence too deep for words.
Her father had begged her to come home. And she had—on one condition.
**“Bring them all back. Every one of my brothers.”**
They weren’t her blood. But they had all once been part of the same family, drawn together under the roof of the Takahashi empire.
Each one had left for his own reasons. Each one had secrets.
And now… each one was back.
But Lena didn’t go to the estate.
She turned to the chauffeur with her usual, icy grace. “Drop me off in Gion.”
“Miss Lena—your father—”
“I said Gion.” Her voice left no room for argument.
### **✦✦✦**
The club shimmered with danger. A kaleidoscope of sin—neon lights, pounding music, and people who didn’t know her name.
Lena moved like smoke through the crowd. Her black silk dress clung to her slender frame, her long hair curled loosely down her back. She looked too young to be there—and too powerful to be questioned.
But she wasn’t there for fun.
She wanted space. Air. Something to feel real.
That’s when it happened.
A wrong hallway. A flickering light. Two bodies slumped on the floor, blood seeping into tile.
And a man standing over them, wiping a blade with disturbing calm.
Her breath caught.
He was beautiful. Unreal.
Tall and broad-shouldered, dressed in black, his face sharp enough to wound. His jaw was carved like stone, his lashes thick and low over eyes so dark they seemed almost hollow.
A demon in an angel’s skin.
She panicked—but didn’t run.
She grabbed a discarded cane from the wall—part of a costume, maybe—and staggered forward, widening her eyes in false confusion.
“…Hello?” she whispered. “Is someone there? I—I can’t see—”
The man didn’t move.
Then… slowly… he stepped closer.
His voice was low. Lethal. “Blind?”
She nodded, lip trembling.
A pause. Then a laugh, soft and almost sad.
“Lucky girl.”
He let her go.
### **✦✦✦**
The Takahashi estate stood like a palace on the hill. By the time Lena arrived, the sun had vanished, leaving the sky painted in velvet.
Her father, tall and greying, rushed to the car and pulled her into a warm embrace.
“Lena.” His voice broke. “My baby girl…”
For a second, the steel in her heart cracked. She buried her face in his chest, taking in the scent of home and the strength of a man who had tried, in every way, to protect her from a cruel world.
He cupped her cheek. “I kept my promise.”
“All of them?” she asked softly.
He nodded. “Your brothers are here. All five.”
She forced a smile. “I can’t wait to see them.”
But she already had.
### **✦✦✦**
Inside the grand hall, they were waiting. All five. And each one was **ridiculously, painfully handsome**—like five statues carved by different gods.
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**Ren**, the eldest, stood near the fireplace, sleek in a navy suit. His hair was pushed back, revealing a smirk that didn’t quite reach his clever eyes. He was the kind of man who could charm your secrets out of you and make you thank him for it.
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**Toma** leaned against the stair banister, broad and intense. His eyes were sharp, dark like storm clouds, and his presence screamed police detective. He didn’t smile—but he watched. Closely.
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**Sora** sat by the window, sketchpad in hand, his soft brown hair falling into his quiet, thoughtful eyes. He was beauty wrapped in melancholy, the kind of man who felt too much and spoke too little.
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**Riku**, the youngest of the brothers, lounged on the couch like he belonged on a magazine cover. His earrings glittered under the chandelier, his jawline sharp, his eyes playful. Flirtation clung to him like cologne.
But none of them came close to **him**.
The last brother sat near the center of the room… in a sleek, black wheelchair.
He didn’t smile. Didn’t even pretend to.
His face was pale and angular, eyes dark as onyx, lips perfectly shaped yet utterly unreadable. He looked at her like he already knew her.
And Lena knew that face.
She had seen it drenched in shadow and blood.
**Kaito.**
The killer.
And now… her brother.
She blinked slowly, forcing her voice to stay calm. “Hello… I—I can’t see any of you. But… it’s nice to meet you.”
She watched him carefully… pretending to be blind.
And he watched her… knowing she wasn’t.
- Writer
