Chapter 12

It had been a week since Naomi had been brought to the mansion, her routine boiled down to:

Every morning at 6 o'clock, Satoru would go to her room and take her to breakfast with Tatsuo. At noon, Naomi would eat with the other employees and then walk around the mansion, sometimes talking with Seiji, who was making his rounds in the garden. At 8 o'clock, Tatsuo would return home and have dinner with him.

And so the days repeated.

There were also places within the mansion that were restricted, such as four and Tatsuo's office, a library, and a room that was always locked and no one but Satoru or Tatsuo could enter.

But on the other hand, Naomi wanted to avoid any damage to her mental and emotional health. It was enough for her to be under the same roof as a Yakusa leader and his subordinates.

In her room, Naomi, lying in bed with her head down, looked out the window and saw the sky.

"Whew!" Giving a long sigh. "What a bore, I have nothing to do, and they didn't bring my beloved computer, manga and books. Yaawn!" she yawned. "Hmmm hum… Everything stayed in my apartment, would Tatsuo let me take some mangoes?" she wondered. "Well, I'll ask him tonight, now I'm going to take a nap."

☸☸☸〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰☯⚛☯〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰☸☸☸

During dinner, Naomi had determined to win Tatsuo's approval. But first she would have to start a conversation and this would be the biggest challenge for her, because Tatsuo always remained silent and at every meal they had together, and the few words that were exchanged were only with his assistant Satoru.

"Ahem!" Naomi coughed to try to get Tatsuo attention.

Tatsuo remained silent as Naomi tried to get his attention.

"AHEM!" Again, Naomi coughed in an attempt to get Tatsuo's attention, loudly, which made her throat feel sore and made her cough."cof! cof!"

"Whew!" sighed. "Just say what you want, Naomi," Tatsuo said without giving too much importance.

"Er… Ahn... Well, and that I'd like to know if I can go to my old apartment," Naomi said apprehensively.

"Naomi. You are not my prisoner here," Tatsuo said. "But in your situation, it wouldn't be good for you to leave the mansion."

" hmmm I understand," Naomi said sadly after listening to Tatsuo.

"Whew" Tatsuo sighed. "But that doesn't mean you can't go. I already told you that in case you need to leave the mansion, Satoru would send someone with you."

At that moment, Naomi's eyes sparkled with emotion, and she said:

"Then I can go?"

With a simple nod of his head, Tatsuo answered him.

☸☸☸〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰☯⚛☯〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰☸☸☸

After dinner, Tatsuo went up to his office and waited for Satoru to arrive to discuss important matters, when, sitting in his chair, he caught himself thinking about Naomi and how it felt to kiss her, when a knock at the door interrupted him.

"Whew!" Tatsuo sighed in frustration. "Come in."

The door opened and Satoru entered.

"Oh! Satoru, let's go in quickly."

"Excuse me Mr. Tatsuo," said Satoru entering. "I am here to give you the report on the sale and distribution of the new products."

"Great! Have the shipments of those new weapons arrived yet?" asked Tatsuo leaning his arms on the table.

"The new shipment will arrive in two weeks," Satoru said.

"hmm huh! Ask Miss Elsa to distribute this shipment to the buyers. In the end, it was she who closed this sales contract," Tatsuo said sternly.

"Yes, sir. I will do as you have commanded me," Satoru said diligently. "Also to another matter, my lord."

"Do you think Elsa won't be able to handle the division?" asked Tatsuo.

"No my lord, this matter has no relation to the shipments," Satoru said a bit fearfully.

"Yes, and what is it about? " Tatsuo asked in confusion.

"One of our men, reported that yesterday, while returning from a debt collection, he saw some of Yin Zhao's subordinates around one of our nightclubs in Kabukicho," Satoru reported earnestly.

"So Yin is in Japan… and on top of that in my territory," Tatsuo said thoughtfully.

"Master Tatsuo, if Yin knows that we are about to receive a new shipment, he will try to interfere," Satoru said, advising. "It would not be good to leave everything to Miss Elsa."

"Don't worry, Elsa is capable of handling this on her own. But this isn't what I'm worried about," Tatsuo said thoughtfully, getting up and walking over to the window. "Yin and her family are always trying to bring down the Mori family."

"I understand, sir. I always remember the last time there was a confrontation," Satoru said despondently. "Forgive me for reminding you…"

"It's all right, Satoru, you don't need to apologize. You know better than anyone what that day meant to me, and I can't blame you for that," Tatsuo said sadly. "But it is a fact that Yin tries something new every chance he gets. And I wouldn't be surprised if he was the contact that Naomi's partner said had been hired.

"Do you think it's possible?" asked Satoru in amazement.

"That's probably so, Yin is crazy, but he's not stupid. He knows when and what cards to use to win." Tatsuo said, turning to Satoru. "However, I am the one with the best cards in the game. Ask some of our men to keep an eye on Yin, I want to know what he is planning. You may stand down."

"Yes, sir." Satoru said, bowing and preparing to leave.

"Ah! Satoru. Ask Seiji and Takashi to join Naomi tomorrow." Tatsuo said.

"Yes, sir." Satoru said and quickly left.

☸☸☸〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰☯⚛☯〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰☸☸☸

With his eyes directed to the ceiling, Tatsuo couldn't sleep as he wondered why he had accepted Naomi's proposal. Perhaps her motivation was sympathy or compassion, but neither seemed to be a real motive.

The truth was deeper, everything about her brought back memories of someone from her past, but although they were similar, they were different in many ways.

"Whew" Tatsuo sighed. "I can't sleep.

And rising from the bed, he took the black robe that was on a chair, on its back the imposing dragon surrounding a skull, since he was only wearing pajama pants, and put it on, but left it open. And leaving the room destined to take a sip of water.

As he passed in front of Naomi's room, he noticed that the door stood half open. Stopping, suspicious, he decided to approach, and touching the doorknob, he pushed the door, which creaked briefly. Stepping in slowly, he looks around, but sees nothing suspicious like he thought he would. Seeing the open window, he closed it, as the night is cold.

"Whew!There is nothing here. I think I'm thinking too much about unnecessary things." said Tatsuo.

Then her eyes went to Naomi, who was sleeping serenely, her breathing echoing softly like the spring breeze. Without realizing it, her hand moved, and she was already stroking Naomi's face, and adjusting the strands of hair that fell over her simple face.

"So vulnerable." Tatsuo said looking at her intently. "If I wanted to I could take her life right now. But unbelievably, just watching her sleep peacefully, I already feel like I'm getting my sleep back. Yaawn!" yawned.

☸☸☸〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰☯⚛☯〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰☸☸☸