Chapter 9 – No Way Back
Airi Tanaka's POV
I didn't sleep. Not even a little.
Ren's words from last night were still replaying in my head, over and over like a broken record:
"You're not the only one with walls, Airi. But I'm not afraid to tear mine down for you."
I should have been angry. I should have been confused. Instead, I felt this… pull. This tight, inexplicable knot in my chest that didn't want to unravel. I wanted to ignore it. I wanted to pretend that nothing had changed. But I knew deep down that it had. The walls Ren talked about? I had them too, but with him, everything felt... different.
It wasn't just his words that rattled me. It was the way he said them. So much conviction. So much honesty. Like he wasn't just playing some game—like, for once, he was being real with me.
And that terrified me.
I walked through the school hallways the next day, half-listening to Mei chatter about her latest drama, but all I could think about was the look in Ren's eyes when he said those words. That look… it was soft, almost vulnerable. It was a side of him I hadn't seen before, and it shattered everything I thought I understood about him.
I didn't know if I wanted to run from him… or run toward him.
"Airi!" Mei's voice broke through my thoughts. "You're doing that zoning-out thing again. What's up?"
"Nothing," I replied quickly, brushing it off. "Just tired."
"You're sure it's not because of Ren?" she teased, raising a brow.
I stiffened, my heart doing that annoying skip again. "What about Ren?"
She smirked. "Come on. You've been walking around with 'I'm totally smitten' written all over your face. It's cute. Really."
"I am not smitten," I snapped, but the lie came out too fast. Too loud.
Mei looked me over for a moment, then shrugged. "Okay. Whatever you say, Airi. But I'm just saying, don't let him mess with you too much. Guys like him? They don't care."
I didn't answer her. I couldn't. Because a part of me was starting to believe that Ren did care. But I didn't know how to handle that.
Later, I walked out of school, and there he was again. Waiting. Like he always was now.
Ren leaned against his car, arms crossed, staring at me with those unreadable eyes. It was like he had a permanent, forceful pull on my attention, and I couldn't escape it. Not that I wanted to.
"You keep showing up like this," I muttered, irritation mixing with something else, something softer. Something I didn't want to admit.
"You're welcome," he replied with that infuriating smirk. "You should be thanking me."
I tried to glare at him, but it didn't come out as fierce as I wanted. He was too damn close. Too real. "I'm not a puppy you can just walk up to whenever you feel like it."
"I never said you were," he said, his voice a bit quieter now. "But you still come anyway."
I froze. That hit too close to home. I hated how he knew me so well. And I hated how much I liked it. It was dangerous. It was reckless.
"You need to stop this," I said, voice shaky despite myself. "I can't keep doing this. You're pulling me into something I don't understand."
He didn't answer right away. His gaze darkened, and for a second, I thought I saw… regret? No, that couldn't be right.
"You don't get it, Airi," he said finally, his voice low. "You're already in it. There's no turning back now."
Ren Kurogane's POV
I shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't have let her get close to me. But the truth was, it was too late. Airi had slipped past all my defenses, and I couldn't stop it.
I watched her approach me with that steady determination in her steps. I wanted to tell her to turn around, walk away, forget about everything I had said. But I didn't.
I couldn't.
She was dangerous to me. But I was just as dangerous to her. I hated it. But I couldn't let her see that. She couldn't know how much of a pull she had on me.
She was looking at me now, eyes soft, like she was waiting for me to say something that would make sense. But all I could do was stand there, staring back at her like I didn't know who I was anymore.
I opened my mouth, ready to say something—anything to explain myself. But then I heard it.
A sound in the distance. Low at first, and then building quickly.
Voices.
"Get back, Airi," I said immediately, my body already moving in front of hers. My eyes darted toward the street. Three figures were approaching—dressed in black, moving too smoothly to be just ordinary thugs. This wasn't a random encounter. This wasn't just a bad situation.
This was my world coming for me. Coming for her.
I reached back, grabbed Airi's arm. "Run," I barked. "Now."
Airi
Before I could respond, one of them lunged forward, grabbing my arm with a brutal grip.
I gasped, panic crawling up my throat.
"No!" I shouted, trying to break free.
Ren was already there. He twisted the attacker's arm, flinging him away with a swift, fluid motion that had me staring in disbelief.
But the other two weren't backing down. One raised a crowbar, swinging it at Ren with a menacing growl. I froze.
"Run," Ren ordered again, his voice low, dangerous.
But I couldn't. I wouldn't.
I couldn't just leave him.
I grabbed a piece of rubble on the ground, throwing it at the guy with the crowbar. It wasn't much, but it distracted him for a second. That was enough for Ren to finish him off—moving like a force of nature.
I stood there, shaking, my heart pounding, unsure if I should be horrified or in awe of what was happening right in front of me. Ren fought like a man possessed. Like nothing mattered except for protecting me.
When it was over, the three men were on the ground, groaning and broken. Ren stood over them, chest heaving, his face wild with adrenaline. I wanted to say something. Anything. But I couldn't find the words.
He turned to me then, his eyes full of storm. "This is what I'm trying to protect you from."
And I realized, with that horrible, sinking feeling, that I was already too deep. There was no going back. Ren's world had become my world.
Ren
I couldn't keep her away from this. No matter how many times I told myself it was for her own good. No matter how many times I pushed her, tried to keep her safe in the only way I knew how, she kept coming back.
Airi wasn't scared of me. And that terrified me. It terrified me because I knew I was dragging her into a war she couldn't possibly understand.
She looked at me now, eyes wide with something close to awe—and fear. But mostly fear.
And she should be. This wasn't just some high school romance. This wasn't cute banter and stolen kisses in the hallway. This was real. This was dangerous. This was my life.
I could see it in her eyes. She was already too deep.
And there was no way back.
To be continued...