Page 31 of The Dragon 1 (Tokyo Empire #1)

Chapter twenty-three

What Could Have Been

Kenji

The silence inside the Rolls-Royce was a tomb.

Only the soft, rhythmic hum of the engine dared to fill the space between us—smooth, unobtrusive, and a mockery of the chaos we’d just escaped.

Outside, Tokyo passed in soft, glittering streaks of gold and blue.

Inside, the air was suffocating with grief.

Right next to Reo, Hiro sat across from me, cradling Nura’s lifeless body in his arms. Blood still smeared her cheek. Her eyes—closed now by his hand—looked almost at peace.

But the bruise blooming under her jaw, the welt on her shoulder, the dried trails of tears down her face; they told the real story.

He hadn’t let go of her since we left.

Not once.

Reo watched me, speaking with his silent words.

Still, I could hear the message clearly.

Hiro isn’t going to be okay.

I nodded.

The skin around Reo’s temple was bruised dark where someone had landed a blow.

Sighing, Reo looked at Hiro. “We will bury her—”

“No.” Hiro’s voice cracked through the stillness. “ I will bury her.”

Hiro didn’t raise his voice yet, the depth in those words could have shattered glass.

Reo swallowed. “You don’t have to do this alone—”

“I didn’t even know what we were going to be!” Hiro’s voice broke the space. Even the tinted windows seemed to flinch. Hiro looked down and dropped his voice to a raw whisper. “I didn’t even know. . .”

I watched him.

I didn’t blink.

I couldn’t.

My Tiger’s gift—still wrapped in black ribbon and gold paper—lay untouched on the seat beside me. I glanced at it for a moment. A bright surprise I’d been given tonight. And even that. . .felt too heavy to hold. Not even Nyomi’s laughter wrapped in a box could lift me from this.

Hiro wept silently.

Never had I seen him cry.

Reo widened his eyes and turned away.

Goddamn it, Father. I am going to torture you before I kill you.

Tears slid down Hiro’s cheeks as he pressed his forehead gently against Nura’s.

“I didn’t know if we would be friends or more.

She made me laugh. That’s what I knew. And she was beautiful.

I knew that too. Standing next to her made me feel like the king of the world but I didn’t understand why. . .”

His voice cracked. “I made her laugh too.”

Tension built in my chest.

Hiro closed his eyes and held her tighter. “We could have just been friends forever. . .That’s it. . .”

Then, he opened his eyes and looked at me. Not with rage. Not with blame. Just sorrow. Wide and endless. “Or we could have been love.”

That broke me.

My throat tightened.

I clenched my fists. My nails bit into my palms. “I’m sorry, Hiro. This is my fault.”

He shook his head. “No. It’s not, but understand this. . .”

I tilted my head to the side.

“I’m going to kill our father. Do you understand?”

I didn’t blink. “No, Hiro. I’m going to kill him.”

For a moment, we stared at each other. Something unspoken passed between us—brotherhood, pain, ruin. He studied me like he was searching for truth in my bones.

He nodded once. “This is war?”

“It is. I will fight right next to you and I will kill for you. I will tear Tokyo apart to heal your heart.”

His bottom lip quivered. “Why?”

“Because I love you and because he took Nura from you.”

Another tear slid down Hiro’s cheek. “I didn’t even know what we were going to be. . .”

“I know.”

“We could’ve just been friends. . .”

“Yes.”

“She had a tough life. I wanted to touch her but I knew after all she had been through. . .it would take years before she would be comfortable.”

Hiro looked down at her again, slipping his fingers across her cheek. His fingers shook. “I was willing to wait decades just to kiss her. . .”

I looked away, swallowing the hot coil of pain in my chest.

“She didn’t deserve to die this way.” Hiro murmured.

“No,” I whispered. “She didn’t.”

“All that she went through. Being sold at a young age. All the rape. The abuse. The shit she survived just to land in this city and die by some old man that shits in the bed and needs an oxygen mask to breathe.”

Reo turned away, pressing both palms against his face, clearly unable to deal with all of the emotion rising in the car.

“Kenji. . .” Hiro exhaled shakily. “I made her laugh today.”

“You did?”

“Yes. Really laugh. And she blinked like she didn’t know where the sound came from. Like it surprised her. Like she didn’t recognize the feeling.” He touched her cheek some more. “That was the most beautiful thing I’d seen in years.”

The car rolled through the quiet Tokyo night; neon lights reflected in his tear-filled eyes and bloodstained fingers.

Hiro’s voice broke the silence once more. “I didn’t even know what we would be.”

“I know, brother.” I couldn’t give him answers. Couldn’t give him comfort. All I could give him was blood.

And vengeance.

And fire.

And the kind of loyalty that would destroy dynasties.

So, I sat there in the shadows and stared at my brother as he wept some more.

When we finally pulled up to Hiro’s condo, the Rolls-Royce didn’t dare make a sound. Even the engine seemed to understand that silence was sacred now.

The other Claws waited outside. Their postures straight. Faces tense.

Daisuke was the first to spot us.

The moment Hiro stepped out, carrying Nura’s lifeless body in his arms, Daisuke’s hand went straight for his gun. His mouth parted in disbelief, in pain. His finger curled around the trigger like vengeance was just one exhale away.

Hiro whispered. “No.”

Daisuke lowered the gun with shaking hands, his gaze locked on Nura’s bloodstained foot dangling beside Hiro’s hip.

The chauffeur closed the door softly behind me.

I stayed inside, watching.

One by one, the Claws moved in, faces breaking. No words, no sobs. Just reverence. Just grief. Just rage written in the shadows of their eyes.

They gathered around Hiro, close but not touching. As if afraid they might steal the last warmth she had left.

Then, slowly, they guided him up the stairs of the building.

Hiro never let go of her. His arms never trembled. He carried her like a fallen queen.

When the doors finally swallowed him, the car pulled away.