Chapter1: Lights in the Dark
A man in his forties, with rigid features, as if carved from stone. His sharp eyes carry a life story filled with betrayal, blood, and fear. The leader of the Saito-Ryu clan, one of the strongest Yakuza clans, which ruled the neighborhoods of Tokyo with an iron fist. At every corner, his name is whispered with reverence and fear, but inside, he suffers from a deep emptiness, a feeling of loss and alienation from everything human.
On that cold winter night, he sat in his luxurious apartment overlooking the city’s skyline. Despite everything he owned, he was burdened by a question that echoed in his mind: “Is this the life I wanted?” He looked around. The lavish furniture, the shining glass, and the dim lights were just reminders of his inner silence. In that moment, his phone rang suddenly, breaking his thoughts. It was a call from one of his men: “Sir, we have news about Masaru Shin.”
Takeshi’s expression changed immediately. Shin was an old enemy he had challenged years ago, but he lost and was pushed into the shadows. Now, after his return, he posed a real threat that had to be eliminated.
“Where is he?” Takeshi asked. “We have his location, in a hideout south of the city,” his man replied.
Takeshi decided to lead the operation himself. He was not the type to sit behind a desk and give orders. He believed that a true leader stood at the forefront of the battle. Late at night, he led a small group of his loyal men to Masaru’s hideout. The confrontation was brief but extremely violent until it ended with Masaru’s body on the ground, with Takeshi standing over him mercilessly.
Instead of returning to his apartment, he headed to one of the gang’s old hideouts. This place represented his beginnings, before he became the boss. He sat alone in one of the rooms, looking at the decaying walls. Memories flooded in like a torrent. Here, he made his first deal, and here, he witnessed the first betrayal from one of his men.
In the midst of this silence, his quiet was broken by a soft sound. The cry of a baby. He turned to his men, who stood confused.
“What is that sound?” Takeshi asked. “Maybe something, who knows?” one of them replied hesitantly.
He felt a strange sensation and followed the sound to a dark corner where old boxes and piles of trash had gathered. There, he saw something unbelievable. A small child, wrapped in a torn blanket, no older than a few weeks. The child’s eyes were wide, with a diamond-blue color that shone in the dark.
“A child? Here?” Takeshi whispered, his stern features softening for a moment. One of the men stepped forward cautiously: “What should we do with him? He might have been abandoned.” Takeshi stared at the child for a few moments, as if time had stopped. This tiny being represented something he couldn’t describe. He carefully picked up the child, feeling a strange warmth that he hadn’t experienced in years. “We’ll take him with us,” he said in a firm tone. One of the men objected: “But sir, we are a dangerous gang. How do we deal with a child?” The look Takeshi gave was enough to silence the objection.
“From now on, he is my son... Aquamarine Saito.”
They returned to the gang’s headquarters, and Takeshi ordered a special room be prepared for the child. The gang members were astonished. Their leader, who had never shown any emotional side before, had suddenly decided to adopt a child!?
That night, Takeshi sat in his office, holding Aquamarine in his arms. He looked at the small child who was beginning to fall asleep quietly. He felt something different creeping into his heart. He didn’t know what the future held, but he knew that this decision would change his life and the life of his clan forever.
Over the following years, Aquamarine grew up in this dark world. Though he never spoke, his exceptional intelligence and ability to read situations made him stand out. He became Takeshi’s shadow, an eye that watched everything, and a silent force that could not be underestimated.
This child, found in the shadows, had become part of the grand game. A game that would only end when the shadow became the ultimate master.
(I apologize for this chapter, which is my beginning in the world of novels♡... I hope that you will give me your advice to improve my development in writing, and I will try to implement all of your advice...♡ The next chapter will be published after editing it. ♡♡)
