Kaori Ichida sat behind her desk, puffing on a cigarette as she went over the plan with Nobuo.
She went from smoking cheap cigarettes on the sly occasionally to smoking forty expensive cigarettes a day out in the open since she took over the yakuza. The stress of her new job, no doubt.
“While I am glad you are finally embracing your destiny, I worry that you are letting your emotions guide you instead of reason,” Nobuo said carefully.
“Don’t forget I am carrying a gun, Nobuo.”
Nobuo laughed off the threat. “Women are easy to come by, oyabun. Your father had several mistresses. So can you.”
Kaori narrowed her eyes. “I love her, Nobuo. Do you know what that feels like? Have you ever been in love?”
Nobuo lowered his eyes. “Yes.” He looked up. “But she never felt the same way.”
Kaori met his eyes for a moment. “Then help me do this.”
Nobuo nodded. “Hai, oyabun,” he answered in Japanese.

Kaori walked into the office at ten minutes before noon.
Michiko stood there victoriously, smoking a cigarette. Akiko held the automatic weapon at Yukie’s head.
“What is your answer?” Michiko demanded.
“You win,” Kaori said, defeated.
Michiko smiled. “Excellent. Love is always great motivation.”
“Let her go,” Kaori said.
Michiko narrowed her eyes. “I don’t take orders from you, bitch.” She grabbed Yukie by the arm. “I have decided that neither of you will leave this room alive.” She laughed. “You will watch her die first.”
Yukie nodded slightly at Kaori. Michiko didn’t see Yukie palm the letter opener from her desk. But Kaori had noticed.

Michiko turned Yukie to face her. Yukie drove the letter opener into Michiko’s stomach.
Gasping, Michiko looked at the blood streaming out of her stomach in shock as Yukie pulled one of her guns from her holster.
Akiko turned the automatic weapon toward Yukie before six gunshots tore through her chest.
Kaori stopped firing when Akiko crumbled to the floor, her dead eyes staring into space. She turned around at the sound of more gunshots to see Michiko clawing at air, her eyes wide in disbelief. The Desert Eagle .44 dropped from her left hand.
Yukie stood there holding the other Desert Eagle .44 she had taken earlier. It was still smoking.
“I didn’t know you had it in you,” Kaori kidded.
“I could say the same about you,” Yukie replied.

Then her eyes went wide. She slowly fell to the floor.
Kaori’s world reeled when she saw the nasty looking serrated knife sticking out of the middle of Yukie’s back.

Michiko gave her an evil smile.
Kaori emptied the rest of her gun into Michiko’s head. Then she rushed to Yukie’s side, cradling her in her arms, ignoring the blood all over her.
Nobuo rushed in with his men. His heart sank when he saw Kaori and Yukie. He dived at the phone to call an ambulance, even as he knew it would be too late.
Now he shows up, Kaori thought as she cradled her lover’s head.
“It’s always the women,” Yukie said to Kaori with a weak smile. “I’m glad you’re OK now.”
“Damn it, Yukie,” Kaori cried.

“Hey,” Yukie said. “I love you, beautiful. Remember that.”
“Hey,” Kaori replied with a smile. “Don’t you dare leave me.”
“Sorry,” Yukie said softly. “I would never refuse you anything, my love, but I don’t think I can do anything about this.”
“Just hang in there,” Kaori ordered. “I’m the boss. Listen to me.”
“OK, boss…”
“I love you,” Kaori said.
“You finally said it,” Yukie breathed with a smile, and then breathed no more.
“NO!” Kaori cried.
She held Yukie tight to her and cried like a baby as her men watched.

Kaori sat in the dark, drinking another brandy. She had lost count as to how many she had. She didn’t give a fuck.
She looked at the gun lying in the middle of the desk. The moonlight coming through the window reflected on the shiny service. She was glad she used it to kill Michiko…and her lover. But she still couldn’t save the woman she loved.
Kaori set down the empty glass and picked up the gun. She had loaded a full magazine into it. Just one bullet through her head and her karma would be free to join Yukie in death.
Nobuo walked in.
“Am I disturbing you?” he asked.
“Yes,” Kaori snapped, pouring another brandy.
“That won’t help.”

“It won’t hurt,” Kaori said, raising her glass in toast and draining a good deal of the contents.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Nobuo said softly. “I’ve been there.”
Kaori laughed. “You said the woman you loved didn’t feel the same way.”
“True,” Nobuo said. “But I have lost many people I cared about. A lot recently.”
Kaori finished off her brandy. “You have no fucking clue how I feel.”
“Maybe not,” Nobuo said. “But I am not going to watch someone else I carry about destroy herself. We need you.”
Kaori waved the gun at him. “Get out!”
Nobuo looked her in the eye. “No.”
Kaori aimed the gun at his head. “I killed three people tonight, Nobuo. Don’t make me make it four.”

Nobuo walked toward her. “Only two. You didn’t kill Yukie. Michiko did. It’s not your fault.”
“GET THE FUCK OUT!”
Nobuo took the gun from her hand and dropped it on the desk. “No, dammit.”
He held Kaori against him and let her cry.
“Let it out, boss,” Nobuo whispered. “I’ll always be here for you.”
Nobuo loved her. It was crazy. She was a fucking card carrying lesbian. He was 36, she was 19. He had known her since she was a little girl. But he loved her anyway. She was the first thing he thought of protecting when her father was killed. He loved her all right.
God help him.

Nobuo covered Kaori with a blanket. She was drunk and had cried herself to sleep. Nobuo had carried her upstairs to bed.
He looked at her sleeping. She looked so peaceful, but he knew she was far from peace. It would be a while before she would be herself again, so deep was her love for Yukie.
Nobuo had feared she would take her own life. He would keep an eye on her. He would do his best to help her grieve for Yukie and love life again.
He settled down in a chair for the night.
Nobuo knew sleep wouldn’t come.
But it was worth it to protect her. The woman he loved.

Nobuo woke to see Kaori staring at him. She sat on her haunches, watching him.
“Were you here all night?” she asked.
Nobuo cleared his dry throat. “Just watching over you, boss.”
Kaori winced.
“How do you feel?” Nobuo asked, his voice more soft than before.
“Like a mariachi band is playing inside my head,” Kaori replied. “But I’ll survive. I know my duty.”
Nobuo looked at her. “I am so sorry for your loss.”
Kaori blinked. “So am I, my friend,”
Silence hung in the air for a while.
Kaori took his head between her hands, kissed him on the lips. Quickly. Softly. Her lips were warm and sweet on his. Her breath was harsh but he didn’t give a damn. “Thank you for looking after me, big brother.”

Nobuo’s heart sank. He wanted more than that from her. He wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her with all the passion he felt for her. But he would take what he could get.
“I will always look after you, Kaori,” he replied, his voice not reflecting his own pain.
“I’m glad,” Kaori said. “Because we have a lot of work to do.” She stood up. “The Yamamoto clan will wish they never heard of Kaori Ichida by the time I’m finished with them.”
Nobuo nodded. In his mind, he celebrated the fact Kaori had finally decided to embrace her destiny, while another part of him mourned the loss of her naivete and innocence.
It was a certainty now that Kaori would always be a part of his life. As selfish as it may have seemed, that didn’t disturb him in the slightest.

To Be Continued........