This chapter contains descriptions of attempted rape and indications of domestic abuse, which may be triggering for some readers. Reader discretion is advised.

Yoru raised his hands in surrender. "We were attacked," he said. "We did everything we could to fight them off."

"Oh?" Ito hissed. "Were they a pack of wild animals you were trying to smoke out, or were they a cats you wanted to scare away with water?"

Why the hell had Ito not asked anyone about the details before now? "It was an Alpha with four other men. No guns. They came in and tried to destroy anything of value, and set fire to the bottom of the stairs to get the high rollers out."

"That doesn't explain why my bar smells like a dead man's ass."

"Skunk."

"...yeah, right. And where are the intruders now?"

"We got their cars towed. The men we stripped and dropped off on various highways." I also put the leader in ill-fitting Snow White themed underwear, but that's a fact I'll reserve for my personal entertainment.

Ito took the gun off Yoru's head, making the omega heave a sigh of relief. "I think I know what bastard came in here last night," he growled. "Well - I'll spare your sorry life, but only because there are repairmen coming."

"Thank you, sir." Yoru turned, bowed and began to walk away as fast as he could. "Hey!" Ito protested, grabbing him by his collar. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Um. Work?"

"I said I'd spare your life, not your dignity." Ito began to drag Yoru towards the stairs. "For a shitty omega like you, there are punishments worse than death."

A bucket of ice seemed to go down Yoru's throat all the way to his stomach. "No," he whispered, eyes widening in terror, before letting loose a frightened scream. "No! Let me go! Please!"

He cast a beseeching look around the room. Masha had dived behind the counter and not reappeared. The servers were cowering under tables and behind walls, deliberately avoiding his eye. It was like nobody could hear him begging for help.

Even though a small part of him understood their inaction, he felt terribly betrayed.

"No! Aargh! I'm sorry!" Yoru yelled, struggling for all he was worth. "I'll not let this happen - ouch! Oh! Oooouch!"

Ito had roughly shoved Yoru down so he could grab his arms. He dragged the omega upstairs on his back, the edges of the steps digging painfully into his bruised back. His head, which had never stopped throbbing, exploded in agony as he was picked up and thrown onto a booth table.

"SOMEBODY HELP ME! HELP!"

But nobody who heard Yoru's desperate cries was willing to risk staring down the barrel of Ito's gun. The sound of ripping fabric was followed by a whistle of surprise. "I see someone's had their fun with you already."

By now Yoru was too disoriented and in too much pain to struggle. He just lay there, crying, as Ito removed all of his clothes. The brute's hands wandered all over his body, stopping to touch his privates. Yoru automatically lashed out with his legs, his foot finding its mark on Ito's nose.

"You little shit!" Ito howled, clutching his bleeding nose. "How dare you - I'll kill you!"

Yoru rolled over, tumbling off the table and hitting the seat before falling to the floor. He tried to crawl away on his elbows, but his head was spinning so much he couldn't see, and he ended up driving himself deeper into the booth. At that very moment, a hand closed around his ankle.

"NOOOOO!" Yoru screamed, hands scraping uselessly against the tiles. "No! GET OFF ME! GET OFF -"

"You! How dare you set foot here again, you bas - urgh!"

Yoru stopped shouting as a dull thud reached his ears. The next second, Ito's body fell right next to him, bringing with it the stench of blood, alcohol and stale smoke.

"You bashard," Ito groaned, his speech slurred as if he was speaking with a full mouth. "Bashard. I'h 'et 'oo, ba-" he coughed, and the wet liquid splashing onto Yoru's face informed the omega that Ito's mouth was filled with blood.

Something satiny and warm landed on Yoru's body, covering his torso. What sounded like two men came and dragged Ito away. Yoru felt hands on him too, and he tried to slap it away with an animalistic growl.

"Relax, it's just me," a familiar voice said, helping Yoru into a sitting position.

"Tsu...Tsunoda," Yoru groaned. "Damn it."

"No need to be so glad," Kei said sarcastically, scooping Yoru into his arms. "Nakamura, contact Umeyoshi-san and spin a yarn about this shithead abusing his workers and lying about his income."

"You shitty Tsunoda," Ito growled from whatever corner he'd been stuffed in. "How dare you, attacking me on my turf-"

"It might be your turf," Kei drawled, "soon to be my turf - but I was perfectly within my right to attack you."

"Wha-"

"After all, you did try to rape my fiancé."

*

Yoru's "Who's your fiancé!" had to wait because he'd lost consciousness a few seconds later. When he woke up, he was in a hospital bed, his headache was gone and he was thankfully clothed (in a hospital gown, but even that was an improvement upon his previous situation). He found his neck to be unbelievably stiff as he looked around, eliciting a moan of discomfort.

"Oh? That's great. I was starting to get worried."

Yoru finally noticed the additional, rather unwelcome presence in the room. "You!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing he-"

"I brought you here." Kei reached out and pressed a button to call for the doctor. "You were out for almost ten hours, I was afraid you'd slipped into a coma."

"Is this a private room?"

Kei smirked at Yoru's consternation. "It's on me, so don't get so aggravated," he said. "Are you always this uptight? I'm surprised you survived this long without busting a vein due to high blood pressure."

"You're the reason I have high blood pressure! Ever since you came along, everything has been going south!"

"Yeah, because things were just dandy before we met," Kei said with a roll of his eyes. "Tell that to the doctor who had to drain blood from that giant bruise you have for a back."

Any retort Yoru had was delayed by the entry of a doctor and two nurses. For the next five or so minutes, Yoru was examined and interrogated, the questions sometimes becoming too intrusive for his comfort. The doctor could tell he'd been abused and almost raped, and looked particularly irked by Yoru's refusal to reveal the perpetrators. The staff couldn't treat his mental trauma without those details, said the doctor; names were not necessary - just what relationship the abuser had with him.

"What trauma?" Yoru asked.

"You can't be diagnosed without any information," the doctor replied with thinly concealed frustration. "Abuse victims frequently have PTSD, but there could be other issues too. Or more issues."

Yoru silently contemplated those words once the doctor had left. He did have issues - he'd sleep only when he'd been beaten unconscious or he'd blacked out due to sheer exhaustion. He always felt like Ito was watching him, his father appeared to beat him even in his dreams and any kind of violence triggered a panic attack sooner or later.

"I have a question," Kei said, interrupting Yoru's dark thoughts. "I could hear you all the way out on the street. Then why didn't any of your colleagues, who were just downstairs, not come to your aid?"

"Who would?" Yoru responded. "Resisting Ito would just get them killed. He already murdered the bouncer who was on shift when you came the first time."

"Yet you get in Ito's way all the time for their sake."

"H-how do you -"

"I want that bar, so I've done my research, thank you very much." Kei leaned forward and fixed Yoru with a penetrating stare. "Though the one factor I never took into account is you. Nobody has ever done anything like what you did to me in twenty-five years."

Yoru went pink, rather pleased with himself. "Um, thank you," he responded. "And thank you for everything you did toda - ah! Wait, fiancé! Who's your fiancé!"

"Oh, that." Kei grinned. "I like your spunk, kid. We're getting married."

"Don't put 'kid' and 'marriage' in the same sentence, you creep!"

"Okay, redo. Yoru Kojima, I like your spunk. Will you marry me?"

"Yes, but why do I get to know of my own engagement when I'm stark naked and about to be assaulted by that rabid bear?!"

"Now, now," said Kei, folding his hands across his chest and leaning back in his chair, "do reconsider, Kojima. I'm a fairly decent fellow, and you wouldn't be treated the way you - wait." His eyes went wide, and a faint blush crept up his cheeks. "You...what did you..."

"Will you hit me?" Yoru asked.

Kei gave him a long look. "Nobody shall ever lay a finger on you."

"Will you make me have sex with you against my will?"

"No, but please don't leave me hanging till my next life."

"Will you protect me from Ito and fa - whoever tries to hurt me?"

"With my life, as a husband should."

"Will you wear those Snow White boxers for me?"

"I'll burn them! I'll burn them all!"

Unbearably amused at the embarrassed outrage on Kei's face, Yoru burst out laughing. "Then yes, I'll marry you!" he crowed. "Where's my ring?"

*

"What the hell was I thinking?"

Yoru buried his face in one hand and knocked himself on his temple with the other. "Stupid, stupid, stupid," he muttered.

He had only dug himself a deeper hole. He'd agreed to marry a Yakuza boss after two meetings, both of which had consisted of one of them manhandling the other. And all he had as reassurance that he wasn't jumping from the frying pan into the fire was Kei's verbal promises.

But he was desperate. He couldn't take his father's beatings anymore. His mother refused to leave his father despite his begging her for years. Ito was now set on violating him, and his friends had made it clear that they would not come to his rescue. He was alone.

At least if he had a household to take care of, he'd have an excuse to remain alive.

It wasn't until Kei returned the next morning that Yoru realized he'd been away from home for almost twenty-four hours. "I have to go," he mumbled, throwing the sheet off and standing up. "I've been-"

"Hey, hey, watch it!" Kei grabbed Yoru as the latter wobbled and fell. "You want to crack your head like an egg?"

"I need to go home, I've been out too long."

"I'll take you home, you just stay off your feet!"

"I have work -"

"Are you kidding me?!"

Kei lectured Yoru all the way to the latter's home, but his words went in one ear and out the other. The omega, for some reason, refused to let Kei support him insisted upon walking ahead with Kei in tow. Kei grudgingly complied, muttering about reckless vagaries and unhinged fiances.

The Kojimas' front door flew open and Yoru's father stomped out. "Where the hell have you been!" he roared, grabbing Yoru painfully by the arms.

"Ow! Something happened at work, I was in the hospi -"

"You think we have money to pay for your carelessness!" Kojima senior grabbed Yoru's chin and squeezed - hard. "Get inside," he growled. "I'm going to give you such a hiding, you'll -"

"I suggest you stop right there, Mr. Kojima."

Yoru had heard Kei take that tone before - that icy, venomous, musical croon that he assumed when he was in thug mode. The tone he had used when they had first met.

"Ts-Tsunoda!" Kojima gulped. "Er, Mr. Tsunoda. Kei? What a surprise, please come in -"

"Why, so I can see the hiding you plan to give to Yoru too?"

"Oh no, no, I was just saying that, of course I wouldn't -"

Kei pushed Yoru behind him and bore down on his father-in-law-to-be, his eyes spitting fire. His upper lip curled inwards to create a malignant, hate-filled scowl. "If you harm a single hair on his head," he snarled, "I will rip out all of yours one-by-one and stuff them down your throat. Understand?"