Midnight Pretenders (BL)

Chapter 19

There is a blur forming right between them at this point, but Ito still could not clearly notice it. He is too blinded by greed to even read between the lines. And so, for a moment, the older man just hesitates as he tries to match the young boss' stare before he eventually speaks back with the only thing he could come up in his mind at the time.

Aoi Chiba could only look out of the window beside her from where she is sitting on the backseat of the car that is taking her to the new residence that Kenji Yanagi has purposely opened exclusively for her and a few other chosen members of the family. This has been the first precautionary move that Kenji has taken into consideration after the incident of the shootout and the discovery of Kira Issei.

Aoi Chiba no longer even wants to further check what had happened to the young man. Kira Issei. The last time she had seen him was when they met during the Oyabun's birthday party. And since then, someone else has been assigned now to take shifts over guarding her with Jin Sasai.

The streets slowly change from being overcrowded to finally more at ease and filled with growing fields from the passing view that is showing through the windows and Aoi can now fairly recognize the expanse of a simple neighborhood just in the south of Tokyo. They are almost halfway opposite of the previous residence she had been staying at for the past months.

She can feel Jin Sasai's gaze at her from behind and tries to resist the urge to turn and look at him.

"Am I going to stay here from now on?" She asks this out of the blue even when she already knows the answer. She never really wants to confirm anything yet. For now, she has been really glad to finally get a glimpse of a newer environment. However, the longer the stillness and the heavy quietness fill in the atmosphere inside the car, the higher Aoi's anxiety grew.

"It's better this way, Miss Aoi."

She cannot really complain nor even give her side of preference in these kinds of stuff. And for Kenji, the only thing that matters is that she is kept safe and away from any sabotage or such same incidents as the last time. After all, her purpose has not yet fulfilled anything and the reassurance of the Oyabun's favor is still in the works.

"Is Kenji going to stay there with me? Will he come home there every night?"

It does not feel like he would, though. Aoi has been thinking over this inside her head the further they get away from the city's central district. It is such a chore to even take an almost one hour drive to and fro the city just to get home. At least, for Kenji Yanagi, whose own businesses have been going rampant and much more critical as the nearing promotions are coming, would find a struggle to keep up.

"This is for your own good, Miss Aoi."

Jin's Sasai unrelated response sounds too bland and repetitive now. He must have felt the slight bitterness from Aoi's question. For a second, Aoi feels quite embarrassed. At the very least, she still does not want to act like a sulking woman begging for some man's attention. She knows that these decisions have been long formed for her own good too. And if that means she can get through all the risks and troubles of getting in any danger then she can absolutely just go with the flow.

There really is no reason for her to whine now.

So why does her heart still feel kind of low and sullen suddenly?

Is it because she knows she would be all alone there now?

Is it because it feels like there is really no escape from here now?

Or is it just because... she would see less of him after this?

Does that really have to make her worried like this?

Is that it?

If so, then Aoi must think over her own plans again. She has to remind herself more that this is not about herself anymore. This is about revenge. That has been the very first priority ever since, so she has to figure her own plan and stop dwelling over such preemptive emotions. It is not really healthy with how things are starting to look like.

"The security will be tighter but the new residence is much more expansive than the previous one," After a moment, Aoi hears Jin speaks to her again, retelling some stuff about the new place, "You can walk around the front yard. It is actually big enough to be a ranch."

A ranch?

Such residence of Yanagi exists?

What would he even do on a ranch?

For a second, the idea of being in a place that she could picture inside her head amuses her. Aoi feels a bit better to know she does not have to keep herself lock inside a room anymore. As the image of a ranch pops into her mind, she tries to recall the feeling of the wind breezing past her face...

It all slowly leads her back to her childhood memories. The bittersweet feeling of nostalgia eventually hits her like a straight punch to the gut.

It is painful yet a little bit of warming... For some reason, all of her thoughts dwindle towards the thought of living on a ranch.

At least, for a short moment, she can sway her attention towards that beautiful idea.

"I can't wait then," she utters back after a long pause, her excitement very apparent in the tone of her voice. Her eyes sparkle at the same and she quickly turns around to face Jin.

"I can't wait to start anew."

Her words, for a second, slowly unmove him. And Jin watches as the small smile forms over her lips. It almosts make him do the same because it has been the very first time he has seen such a genuine pleasant expression from someone so pretty.

For a short second, he also starts wondering how it will feel like. To smile like that, and think anew...

It never really makes any sense, but for some reason, the very idea of starting again just suddenly feels like it is truly promising.