Time stood still as those words echoed in my ears. My father, the bastard, the biggest piece of shit on this planet, and the next person I’m going to kill has ‘decided’ not only that I’m getting married but to whom!? I should have brought my weapon. But killing him with my bare hands will be all the sweeter.“You will marry Rokurō in two weeks.” my father… no, he has lost that title… Takashi decreed. My eyes widened, my nostrils flared, and before I knew it, I had lunged across his desk, knocking him and his chair to the ground as I started punching blindly at his face. “YOU MOTHER FUCKING SON OF A BITCH!! I’LL KILL YOU! I AM NOT MARRYING THAT LECHEROUS WRINKLED-UP PIECE OF TRASH YOU CALL A FRIEND!!” I shouted. I was still throwing punches as three of my

***1972***She’s Kitsune! I’ve had sex multiple times with a yakuza assassin. I’ve brought an assassin into my apartment, and now I’m bringing her into my parents’ home. What the hell is wrong with me?! I should be arresting her. I should have arrested her at her house. Should have cuffed her and loaded her up into the vans with the rest of the yakuza. But I couldn’t. And I didn’t. So here I am, escorting Yūri from my jeep into my parents’ house. Officially, I’ve completely lost my mind. I am aiding and abetting a wanted criminal. At least her mask is in my glove box. I don’t want my parents to see that. They aren’t stupid, and they’d recognize a Kitsune mask. “Hibiki? Is that you? What are you doing stopping in so la…” my dad

I sat in my Jeep for over an hour outside my parents’ house. I was torn between the urge to head straight to the precinct and turn myself in for aiding a known killer and to go back inside and hold that same killer in my arms. I’m nuts. That’s all there is to it. I have to be. I know she’s a cold-blooded killer, and I want to be with her. I don’t know what time it was when I finally returned to my apartment. I just know I had a restless sleep. Plagued by dreams, or rather nightmares. In one, I arrived too late and found Yūri being arrested or, worse, shot. I shuddered as I stepped out of the shower, remembering that nightmare vividly.  The glass of her window smashed open from the inside. I pulled my jacket up to project myself from the falling shards as I stepped back. And then I saw her falling backward from the window. I screamed her name, rushing for

I won’t say it aloud because she’d probably kick my ass. But I could easily get used to coming home from work to her. To her smile. To her teasing manner. And most certainly to her incredible body. Sex after a long day at work is one hell of a fun way to unwind. Too bad it couldn’t last. I’d have happily laid here with Yūri in my arms. But reality was going to come crashing in whether we wanted it to or not. And I know we can’t talk about her father and that stuff if my parents are here. So it was on me to burst our bubble. I frowned as she told me Rokurō, her father’s second in command and her friend’s father, is who her father wants her to marry. I remember seeing the man in the cell. The thought of him ever touching Yūri churned my stomach. “That shriveled nut sack?” I asked. Yūri fell back on

Damn it, Hachiro. He just had to show up and ruin the moment. Now I’ll never get to tell her how I’ve been feeling. She's going to be fleeing the state, and I’m fucked. Then again, damned if I do and damned if I don’t. If I told her that I was developing feelings for her. That I might even be in love with her, I could have lost her anyway. Maybe it’s for the best that this ended without my confession.I went home to my apartment and slumped onto my futon. I don’t even have the energy to get up and grab a beer. I just feel hollow. And I’ve been feeling that way since I dropped her off. I miss her smile. I miss that mischievous look in her eyes. I wish she was here with me. I was basically a zombie for the next three days. Things were hectic still at work. The lower-level guys from the raid were getting stuck with e