Yuto didn't sleep that night. After he walked Hina back to her room and watched the door close behind her, he remained in the hallway for a moment, jaw clenched, heart still burning, not with doubt, but with quiet fury.
He had seen Hina cry maybe three times in his life. And tonight, he had to hold her through the fourth.
Because of Reiki Kurosawa.
He descended the stairs in silence, bypassing the kitchen and the garden, and instead made his way out through the side gate. He walked quickly, pulling his phone from his pocket as the steel gates of the Kazama estate closed behind him.
By the time Yuto reached the main road, he made one call to his father, Daiki.
The line connected after two rings.
"You sound like you're holding back," Daiki said.
"I am," Yuto replied, voice low. "But I need your advice."
A pause.
"Talk."
Yuto stopped walking, his eyes scanning the passing cars as he spoke.
"It's Reiki. He approached Hina on campus. Said things he shouldn't have. About her. About me. He crossed a line."
Daiki didn't interrupt.
"I want to respond but not with fists. Not yet. I want him isolated. Watched. Cornered quietly."
More silence. Then Daiki spoke. "You're not asking for permission."
"No," Yuto admitted. "But I'm asking how you would do it."
Daiki considered that.
"First," he said, "you take away the places he feels safe. That means contacts, safe houses, influence circles. Second, you make sure he hears your name in places you never stood. Every whisper becomes a warning. You don't destroy him yet. You haunt him."
Yuto exhaled slowly. "Good."
"But," Daiki added, his voice sharpening, "you stay clean. No arrogance. No recklessness. You do this, it's not for pride but it's to protect her."
"I know."
"Do you want help setting the motion?"
"I'll call one of the Kazama men stationed west. He's clean. Discreet."
Daiki paused. "Then go. And Yuto—"
"Yeah?"
There was a beat of silence.
"I'm proud of the man you're becoming."
Yuto's throat tightened slightly. "Thanks, Dad."
The second call was shorter.
This time, to a seasoned Kazama enforcer who owed Daiki a favor and answered the phone with quiet loyalty.
Yuto didn't have to raise his voice or mention Hina's name. He simply gave a name, a location, and the following instruction:
"No physical contact. Not yet. I want him reminded of where he stands. Where he doesn't belong."
The voice on the other end responded smoothly. "Understood."
And just like that, the shadows began to shift.
*****
The next afternoon, while Hina was in class and Yuto sat alone in the law library, he received a text from a number not saved in his contacts.
[Unknown]: It's done. West alley, Akasaka. Kurosawa left pale.
Yuto didn't smile. He just closed his phone and tucked it back into his coat pocket.
It wasn't retaliation but a warning.
Meanwhile, across town, Reiki Kurosawa stood in the shadows of a narrow alley, his breath sharp, his shirt clinging with cold sweat. Two men in dark jackets had just cornered him after class, not touching him or threatening him. Just standing in front of him and blocking the light.
Then one of them had whispered in his ear:
She's protected. Be careful who you speak to in public.
Nothing more and nothing less. But it was enough.
Because everyone in the underworld knew what kind of silence the Kazama name wielded.
And Daiki's son, though young, had clearly begun to move with his own authority.
Back at the Kazama estate, Yuto returned just before dinner. He found Hina seated beneath the wisteria tree, a book resting in her lap, though she hadn't turned a page in a while. Her eyes lifted the moment she heard his steps.
She smiled. "Hey."
Yuto sank down beside her, his presence immediately grounding. He nudged her gently with his shoulder.
"Hey."
For a moment, they just sat like that with the rustle of leaves above them, the quiet hum of the fountain nearby.
But then Hina studied his face more closely.
"You look tired," she said softly.
"Law readings," he replied smoothly. "They don't get any prettier."
She didn't smile this time.
Instead, her expression turned more serious as she turned her body slightly toward him.
"Yuto…"
He glanced at her, knowing what was coming.
"You didn't… do anything, did you?"
There was no accusation in her voice. It was just a quiet concern.
Yuto met her gaze steadily.
And then, with a calm certainty, he answered, "No one touched him. I didn't have to. But he knows now, he'll think twice before opening his mouth around you again."
Her brows softened, lips parting slightly.
"I didn't want you to carry this."
"I didn't," he said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "I chose to. That's different."
She didn't say more.
She just leaned her head onto his shoulder, eyes fluttering shut as the last rays of sunlight stretched across the garden.
His arm slipped around her waist, holding her close.
"I'll always protect you," he whispered into her hair. "But I'll never become anyone that Reiki hopes I am."
Hina finally breathed out the tension she hadn't realized she was holding. Trusting the man she loved.