Chapter 10 – Burning Lines
Ren Kurogane's POV
I'd always known this day would come. The one where the line I'd drawn in the sand would blur, and I'd realize I'd already crossed it.
But I never thought it would be her.
I never thought I'd care enough to let anyone this close. Not when my world was filled with blood, betrayal, and people who'd kill me for the wrong look.
But Airi… she wasn't like the rest. She wasn't supposed to get under my skin. She wasn't supposed to matter.
Yet, here we were.
I should have left her in the dark. I should have kept her at arm's length, wrapped in her safe little world where nothing could hurt her. But she'd already seen too much. And I couldn't pull her back.
I watched her, the way she trembled next to me, still in shock from what had just happened. I could hear her breathing, quick and shallow, like she was trying to catch up with her thoughts. I could see the fear in her eyes, but there was something else too—something that made my chest ache in a way I couldn't explain.
"Are you hurt?" I asked, my voice gruffer than I intended.
She shook her head, barely looking at me. "No. Just… shaken."
I could barely breathe as I studied her face. She looked so fragile, yet so strong. And that was the problem. She didn't belong in my world, but here she was, standing next to me like she had every right to be here. Like she belonged.
I wanted to tell her to leave. I wanted to tell her to go back to her normal life, far away from this madness.
But I couldn't. Not when I realized that deep down, I didn't want her to go. I needed her here. But I wasn't sure if that made me a monster or just a fool.
Airi Tanaka's POV
I should have been terrified. I should have been screaming, running, panicking. The fight had been brutal. The men who attacked us—they were dangerous. But instead of fear, I felt this rush, this strange mixture of emotions I couldn't fully place.
Ren had protected me. No, more than that—he'd fought for me. I saw him in a way I hadn't before. Cold, brutal, and unstoppable. But also… something else. Something buried beneath all the violence and the blood.
He didn't want me to see that. He never let anyone close enough to see it. But I had.
And now, there was no turning back.
I watched him, my heart hammering in my chest. He was still standing there, his face hard and unreadable. But there was something in his eyes, a flicker of something raw, something I wasn't sure he even recognized in himself.
"You shouldn't have done that," I said, my voice trembling.
He looked at me sharply, eyes narrowing. "Done what?"
"Fought for me," I whispered, taking a step closer. "You didn't have to. You don't have to protect me like this."
He scoffed, a bitter laugh escaping his lips. "You think I wanted to fight for you? You think I wanted to get you mixed up in my mess?"
I shook my head. "No. I'm not saying that. I'm saying I didn't ask for your protection."
"Doesn't matter," he said, stepping closer to me, his expression dark. "I'll protect you whether you ask for it or not."
Ren Kurogane's POV
Her words hit me harder than I expected. She didn't want my protection. She didn't need it. She was strong. She could handle herself.
But what she didn't understand—what I couldn't let her understand—was that it wasn't about whether she needed it. It was about what I needed.
I needed to keep her safe.
That's the only thing that mattered.
And I'd kill anyone who tried to take her from me.
I could feel the tension between us thickening, a dangerous pull that neither of us could escape. It wasn't just about the fight anymore. It wasn't just about my world closing in around us. It was about something else. Something deeper.
She had this power over me. I could see it in her eyes—how she was trying to figure me out, how she was trying to make sense of everything. But nothing about this world made sense. Not anymore.
Airi Tanaka's POV
I could see the war in his eyes. He was fighting something inside of himself—something he didn't want to feel. And I knew what it was. I knew because I felt it too.
I was scared. I was terrified, to be honest. But I wasn't scared of him. I was scared of what would happen if I let myself get too close to him. If I let myself fall too deeply into his world.
Because it wasn't just danger that came with him. It was chaos.
"You don't have to do this," I said softly, stepping forward. "I'm not like them, Ren. I don't want your blood on my hands."
He didn't respond right away. Instead, he looked at me with this intense, searching gaze, like he was trying to decide if he should believe me.
Finally, he spoke, his voice barely above a whisper: "I don't have a choice, Airi. And neither do you."
Ren Kurogane's POV
She wasn't like them. She wasn't. But I couldn't let her believe that the danger around us would just disappear because she wanted it to. I wanted to protect her. Hell, I wanted to keep her wrapped in bubble wrap for the rest of her life.
But I couldn't.
Not when I was this close to losing myself. Not when everything in my life was crumbling around me.
Her eyes softened, but I saw the uncertainty there, the fear that had only grown since the moment she stepped into my world.
And I knew, deep down, that I was the one who had brought her here.
"You should go, Airi," I said, my voice rough. "You should go before this gets worse. I can't—"
Before I could finish, she stepped closer, her hand reaching for mine. "No," she said, shaking her head. "I'm not leaving. I'm not running anymore."
My heart clenched painfully in my chest. "Airi—"
"No, Ren," she said firmly. "I'm staying. No matter what."
And then it hit me.
There was no going back from this.
Airi had crossed the line too. She was in this just as much as I was. And I wasn't sure if that made me feel relieved or scared as hell.
Airi Tanaka's POV
I wasn't afraid of him. I wasn't afraid of the chaos he brought with him. Because deep down, I knew one thing.
Ren Kurogane might be a lot of things—but he wasn't the villain in my story.
I was choosing this. I was choosing him.
And for the first time, I wasn't running from it.
To be continued...