At first, it was curiosity.
Despite knowing so much, Hime realized she knew nothing about Kagezan or the enigmatic man who led it. Kazuki was a mystery—one she couldn't ignore. For months, she watched him from a distance, studying his movements, his habits, the way people moved around him as if caught in his gravity. She told herself it was just another game, another puzzle to solve. But deep down, she knew the truth.
It wasn't a game at all.
She had a crush on him.
The realization had been unsettling. She had spent years perfecting the art of detachment, ensuring that no one ever got close enough to touch her, to break past the walls she had so carefully constructed. But Kazuki? He unsettled her. She wanted him to notice her. To want her as much as she—against all logic—wanted him.
But there was a problem.
Lysander Vorn I had changed her.
She had never admitted it, not even to herself, but after that night at Takeda Manor, she had become afraid of men. She never flinched, never let it show—but the fear lingered, buried beneath layers of arrogance and control. It dictated her every move in ways she refused to acknowledge.
Doc was the only exception. He had always been a father to her, a guardian who made her feel safe. Berkeley, though she loved him like a brother, was kept at arm's length. She masked her wariness behind professionalism, behind teasing remarks and a sharp tongue. She never told him how fragile she had felt in the aftermath of that night. Her pride wouldn't allow it.
And so, she changed.
She stopped doing reconnaissance, unwilling to risk another encounter like the one with Lysander. Venus became a ghost, dealing only through intermediaries, ensuring that no man could ever get close enough again.
Then she met Kazuki.
The first time he pinned her to the wall, something inside her snapped.
Her instincts screamed at her to flee. Fear coursed through her veins, cold and sharp, threatening to unearth everything she had buried. For a moment, she thought her mask might crack, that the carefully constructed persona of Venus would shatter under his gaze.
But years of conditioning held her steady. She lifted her chin, stared him down, and let her arrogance shield her. She refused to let him see the war raging beneath her skin.
The first time she slept in his bed, she hadn't slept at all.
It wasn't out of desire, or some romantic notion of trust. It was survival. Her body had shut down from the weight of suppressed panic. And when she woke—disoriented, vulnerable—her breath caught in her throat.
Kazuki had been there. Close.
Her heart pounded. Her fingers twitched with the urge to push him away.
But she forced herself to breathe.
She gritted her teeth, forced herself to stay composed, to play the role she had perfected. When she finally left his office that morning, she barely made it to an empty corridor before her legs gave out beneath her.
She had been terrified.
But beneath the fear, something else had taken root.
Fascination.
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During her month of silent observation at Kazuki's mansion, Hime began piecing together a side of him few would believe existed.
The ruthless, domineering king of Kyouten, feared by all, had his quiet moments.
He tended to a stray cat that wandered into his garden, leaving out a bowl of milk and sitting quietly as it ate. He cooked his own meals, the rhythmic chopping of vegetables strangely methodical. At night, the soft strains of jazz spilled from his office windows, a surprising contrast to the silence that often surrounded him.
And when he worked out, it was with the discipline of a man who had built himself from the ground up.
She hated that she noticed.
She hated even more that she kept noticing.
And yet, she couldn't stop.
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Then came the day they finally met.
The moment Kazuki stood in front of her, every carefully constructed piece of her composure wavered.
His presence was suffocating, his proximity overwhelming. Her instincts screamed for her to put distance between them.
Run, they whispered. Before he gets too close.
But she didn't.
Because she didn't want to.
The fear and the fascination warred within her, twisting into something she couldn't untangle.
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During their two weeks apart, she tried to push him from her mind.
She failed.
The sound of jazz, the sight of someone cooking—everything reminded her of him. It was maddening.
But it was also strangely… comforting.
She refused to analyze it.
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Then came Mars.
Kazuki had protected her. Deliberately. Instinctively. Possessively.
And yet, he had never overstepped.
He didn't crowd her. He didn't push her. He simply stood beside her. A silent shield against the world.
And for the first time in years, the fear that had gripped her loosened its hold.
She didn't feel safe because she was in control.
She felt safe because—for once—she wasn't.
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Hime had spent her entire life ensuring that no man could ever have power over her.
And yet, here she was.
Standing beside the most dangerous man in Kyouten.
And willingly letting him in.