Page 48 of Emperor of Havoc

The scary part is, I’m not sure I hate itquiteas much as I should.

There are two prongs to Takeshi’s attack on me. The first is going after my power within this family. On that, I’m not fucking budging. This ismyempire, and no one—no man, not even a husband—will take that from me or try to control itthroughme.

But there’s a second part to Takeshi’s assault: the attack onmeand my control over…well, myself. And on that front, I’m losing badly.

Maybethe aim of that is to control the organization better, but it feels more personal than that. More targeted.

More intimate.

“He’s getting to you,” Nina says, her tone light but knowing.

I flush for a second, trying to shake my thoughts away, as if merely thinking them has displayed them on my face.

“That’s what he does, Kat,” she continues. “Men like him love to burrow under your skin, make you question yourself.”

“I’m not questioning myself,” I sign sharply. “I’m questioning his motives. He wants control. Over me, over the Ishida-kai. I won’t let him have it.”

She frowns. “You think the marriage is a Trojan horse to gain control of our family?”

I lift a shoulder. “You don’t?”

Nina's gaze meets mine in the mirror in front of us. “It’s crossed my mind. But I'm sure it’s crossed your dad’s mind too. He wouldn’t let this marriage happen if he thought Takeshi’s whole goal was to turn you into a puppet and rule through you.”

There’s a knock at the door before it opens and Papa steps inside.

“Nina, would you give us a moment?”

Nina nods, bowing slightly and giving me a small, reassuring smile before leaving the room. My father closes the door and turns to me, his sharp eyes taking me in as though memorizing every detail.

“You look beautiful,” he says, his voice like gravel.

“Thank you,”I sign, my throat constricting slightly.

He steps closer. He’s still pale from his hospital stint, but the strength in his presence hasn’t waned. His shoulders are still broad and proud, and he looks every inch the powerful, fearedOyabunthat he is in his dark, three-piece fitted suit with the traditional kimono draped over it. Furrcules makes a throaty meowling sound as he pads over to rub his face against Papa’s knee, purring contentedly as my father reaches down to rub behind the tiger’s ears.

My father glances up at me with a smirk. “Has Takeshi had the pleasure of meeting our Furrcules yet?”

“Yes, and he almost pissed himself.”

Papa chuckles, scratching at the top of Furrcules’ head before he rights himself and walks over to where I’m sitting. He places a hand on my shoulder, squeezing gently.

“Thank you,Koshka,” he says. “I’ve asked a lot of you these last few weeks, and you’ve taken it all in stride. I’m proud of you.”

The words hit me hard. My chest tightens and I blink quickly, refusing to let any tears fall. Instead, I just lift my hands and sign slowly. “I learned from the best.”

Papa’s lips twitch with a rare smile, and he nods. “Flattery will get you everywhere.” Then he sighs.

“What’s wrong?”

He smiles wryly. “I… I was thinking of your uncle this morning.”

My lips lift a little at the corners. It’s been alongtime since I saw Papa’s brother, my uncle Jin. It’s been a long time sinceanyonehas.

Uncle Jin is what in Japan we callhikikomori—essentially a shut-in or hermit. Usually men, they’re people who one day just decide that the world is too much for them, and decide never to go out again.

In my uncle’s case, there’s also some mental health issues going on. Before he shut himself away in the apartment that Papa bought him, Jin was in and out of a couple of different hospitals, trying to manage his psychosis and paranoia. But eventually, what seemed to bring him the most peace was just tuning out the rest of the world.

Papa takes care of him, of course. He gets meals, supplies, and anything else he needs delivered daily. Every so often, he sends out notes out from the apartment: sometimes to Papa,sometimes to me. They're not always so lucid. But once in a while I'll get a random one that says something kind and simple like “Thinking of you. Love you.” It’s always a good feeling.

---