Chapter 16

The hours passed, the evening twilight began, the cold winter wind was coming through the window of the bedroom Naomi was using, Tatsuo was sitting on the bed, staring into the void, when suddenly his mind made him remember the past. But precisely how it all began.

The Seijinshiki ceremony, in which Tatsuo celebrated his 20th birthday, was also a date chosen to commemorate the agreement reached between the Mori family and the Zhao family to form a partnership to buy, sell and export drugs and weapons for military use that would be smuggled to South Asia, Southeast Asia and also to Canada and Europe as new investments.

A large celebration party was being held at the mansion attended by some members of the Yamaguchi-gumi clan led by the Mori family and other guests, and shortly after returning from a visit to Onden Shrine in Shibuya with a group of friends, Tatsuo was greeted with a large party, and at the mansion his father Hayato Mori and mother Keiko greeted him with a strong arm as he crossed the foyer door.

Tatsuo had never seen the mansion so full, the servants rushing to serve the guests. And before Tatsuo could get away from his parents, he felt something grab him by the waist and looking over his shoulder, he could see the beautiful sweet smile of his beloved bride Mina who let go of him, but quickly Tatsuo hugged her and kissed her tightly and with their faces close to each other, he could hear Mina's whisper saying:

"Happy birthday, my love."

"Thank you." Tatsuo said with a goofy grin. "You have no idea how much I miss your smile, your eyes, your voice. "

"hmmm... So next time I'll spend more time outside." said Mina jokingly.

"Don't you dare do this to me." Tatsuo replied.

Mina was Satoru's younger sister, a friend of Tatsuo's from childhood and school, a girl who stood out for her beauty, despite having dark hair and eyes that were common among Japanese, but her gentle and courageous personality caught the eye at first sight. The two had known each other since they were children and had grown up together.

As the two remained in each other's arms, the patriarch of the Hayato family interrupted them, saying:

"AHEW! My son, I know you haven't seen each other for a long time since Mina was away. But the others are waiting."

Almost at the same instant, Tatsuo and Mina shyly walked away, Mina's cheeks were completely blushing. Tatsuo tried to disguise his shyness with a slight cough and soon bowed, saying:

"I thank you all for your presence."

Everyone's eyes remained fixed on the future heir of the Mori family, who had come of age and, although still young, was already proving himself capable of taking over the family business. Tatsuo held out his hand to Mina, who was beside him, and with a smile said:

"Shall we enjoy the party?"

"Yes." replied Mina, happily, grabbing Tatsuo's hand, and they left together.

At the far end of the center of the room were the Zhao family members enjoying the party. When Hayato accompanied by Tatsuo and Mina approached.

"Good evening, are you enjoying the party?" said Hayato.

"Hayato my friend, the party is great." said the patriarch of the Zhao family. "And this one next to you and your son?"

"Haha! Yes, this is my son, Tatsuo." Hayato replied proudly introducing Tatsuo and went on to say. "This beautiful young lady by his side and his girlfriend Mina. But if it were up to me, they would already be engaged."

Mina remained timidly silent at Hayato's exclamation about the engagement. Out of the corner of his eye, Tatsuo noticed his beloved's reaction and said:

"My father, you are going too far with your statements. I was just waiting for the right moment." Tatsuo replied and continued. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Zhao."

Tatsuo and Mina bowed.

"It is a pleasure to meet young Tatsuo and Miss Mina. You look a lot like your father, but you have your mother's eyes. Well, let me introduce you to my son." said the Zhao family patriarch.

And coming out from behind the pair of gentlemen, a tall boy with long black hair and amber eyes, wearing a black Qipao with a golden dragon embroidered on the left side.

"This is Yin, soon to be twenty years old like you, Tatsuo." Continues the patriarch of the Zhao family configured his son.

While the patriarch of the Zhao family was speaking, Tatsuo looked away from Yin and realized that he was staring at Mina, who was distracted with the other guests. That attitude made Tatsuo filled with fury, but he controlled himself and in order not to show how he felt, he said:

"Ahew... And a pleasure to meet you." Said Tatsuo with a stern tone of voice extends his hand to Yin who lost her concentration at the sight of the outstretched hand..

"Ahn ... Likewise." Yin replied with a brief smile and shook Tatsuo's hand.

That was the first date of many more to follow. That very night, Yin got so enamored with Mina that he watched her throughout the party, even after Tatsuo proposed to Mina in front of everyone. Later, Yin tried to get close to Mina, ignoring the fact that she was engaged to Tatsuo, until it became an obsession when Mina rejected his advances.

The situation became unbearable when Yin went to Mina's house and waited for her to leave, then took her to his apartment, where he forced her to have dinner and spend the night. After a long search for Mina in places where she might be, Satoru found himself in a desperate situation as he could not find her anywhere, he decided to ask for help from Tatsuo who still did not know about his fiancée's disappearance. Shortly after finding out, he gathered some of his subordinates and Satoru and went to rescue Mina from Yin's apartment in Japan, as he knew the crazy obsession he had for Mina.

But at the same time, Hayato discovered a big scheme of diverting money from sales, and that some of the merchandise that was destined for customers in Canada and Europe was getting lost and causing great discontent among them, Hayato investigated who was behind the money detour scheme and the evidence pointed to the Zhao family who from the beginning had approached the Mori family with the intention of stealing part of the profits.

After this, the contract was broken and a series of confrontations between the two families began, until one day the Mori family suffered an attack during a walk near the Onden Shrine temple, where Tatsuo and Mina's parents were killed after a group of men appeared and fired several shots at the car the family was using.

Tatsuo witnessed the shot that hit Mina's chest and shortly afterwards was shot twice, causing him to lose consciousness. He spent three long months in a coma in the family hospital. When he awoke from the coma, Tatsuo remembered what happened and, driven by hatred, ordered Satoru to kill the Zhao family leaders, but to leave Yin alive so that he could feel the same pain as he did.

And as if awakening from the hypnotic trance, Tatsuo woke up as soon as he heard the knocks on the door and Satoru's voice saying:

"Mr. Tatsuo, may I come in?"

"Whew..." sighed Tatsuo before answering. "You may enter Satoru."

The moment the door opened, there was a brief creaking sound, and immediately Satoru came in, carrying a yellow paper envelope, and said:

"Sir, this just arrived, it was in front of the mansion and one of our subordinates picked it up because he saw that it was addressed to you."

Tatsuo looked at it in confusion, took the envelope and confirmed that the addressee had his name on it. He considered that the contents of the envelope were just papers, so there was no danger in opening it. He tore off the top of the sealed envelope and, to his surprise, the contents of the letter disgusted him.

"Yin you despicable worm. That has gone far enough." said Tatsuo.

"What's inside the envelope, Mr. Tatsuo?" asked Satoru worriedly.

"Those are pictures." said Tatsuo looking at Satoru and then sighing unconformed. "Whew! Pictures of Naomi here at the mansion and in captivity. Yin is getting crazier every year."

"What will we do, sir? Will we rescue Naomi?" asked Satoru worriedly.

Tatsuo was silent for a moment, and then he noticed that inside the envelope there was still something, and taking it out he saw that it was a note, he quickly read the contents of the note and that made him smile, Satoru did not understand, until Tatsuo showed the note and said:

"Don't worry, we have a more important appointment now."

"A dinner at 8pm, restaurant in Shibuya City, Ebisu, 4 Chome−4−5... isn't that the bar restaurant where you praise the decor?"

"I believe it is." replied Tatsuo.

"Why had Yin asked to have dinner with you at a time like this?"

Tatsuo gave a brief smile and said:

"Because crazy people don't follow a specific logic. But maybe Yin is too brave, or he's too stupid. Sooner or later we'll find out. Now I have to go to a dinner party."