Chapter 30 The Hierarchy of Gestures
Chapter thirty
The Hierarchy of Gestures
Nyomi
This uncomfortable silence crashed down around us, leaving my nerves frayed and exposed.
My pulse hammered in my throat as I watched Hiro.
Are you completely insane? Bringing up food and party planning now, with Kenji's rage practically crackling in the air?
We’d barely got the Dragon to agree to my being bait in the trap.
Now with the mention of the cocktail party, I could already see the storm building behind Kenji's eyes, a hurricane gathering force, and Hiro was throwing gasoline on the fire.
I gave everyone a nervous smile. “Thank you, Hiro, but we can discuss this later.”
"We can bring up some points now. For example, everyone's invited to the dinner," Hiro continued matter-of-factly. "Roar, Fangs, Claws, the Dragon. Full meal, multiple courses. But before dinner, there's a cocktail hour. Exclusive. Just for the Claws."
The Fangs reacted immediately.
Kaoru, the pink-haired playboy's beautiful face registered shock. "Wait. Just the Claws?!"
Yoichi set down his cup with a sharp click. "An exclusive cocktail party?"
Rin's usual bored composure cracked. "Why only them?"
Satoshi's military bearing couldn't hide his annoyance. "That doesn't seem fair."
Wow. Thanks a fucking lot, Hiro.
I tried to soften the news. “We’re not talking a big cocktail party—”
“It would be big to us. Signature cocktails and special hors d’oeuvres.” Hiro winked at me. “Right, Tiger?”
I frowned. “Yes.”
“Signature drinks?” Kaoru held out his hands. “What the fuck?”
Reo rubbed his forehead.
Hiro shrugged. "It's because of the bento boxes."
The Fangs exploded.
"The bento boxes?" Kaoru pointed at the table. "That was days ago! Are you all still on that?!"
"We were just THERE!" Yoichi's voice rose. "She offered them to us!"
To my shock, Rin—the royal Fang—definitely did not look bored anymore. In fact, he was absolutely animated. "You can't hold that against us forever! It’s bullshit and beneath you all!"
Satoshi looked genuinely upset. "We didn't even ask for the bento boxes. She gave them to us because we were at the club."
The twins spoke in unison, “Bullshit.”
I blinked.
Then, Aki spoke, "She gave them to you, but you ate them."
"With great enjoyment." Yuki shook his head.
Aki scowled. “Very disrespectful.”
Kaoru gestured wildly. "Of course we ate them! They were delicious! What were we supposed to do, refuse food?"
“Yes!” Toma bobbed his head. "Refuse it—”
“This is bullshit.” Kaoru hit the table. “Now I’m getting pissed off.”
“Good. Now you know how we feel.” Toma touched his chest. “But, I like the idea of the cocktail party. I think this is fair. You all got bento boxes, so we get cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. Fair trade."
"That's not equivalent at all!" Yoichi protested and that wolf charm swung against his chest.
Kaede adjusted his leather gloves. "It's perfectly equivalent in the hierarchy of gestures."
Rin blinked. "The hierarchy of gestures?! What the hell does that even mean?"
Daisuke smirked. "It means that hierarchy matters."
The Fangs turned on him.
"Hierarchy?!" Kaoru's handsome face flushed. "We're FANGS! We're in the Dragon's MOUTH! Of course we got food from her first."
"The mouth attacks first!" Yoichi added.
"Fangs come before Claws in the anatomy!" Rin was actually standing now in a deadly stance, and I was now hoping he would go back to being pompous and bored.
Satoshi nodded firmly. "This is organizational discrimination based on arbitrary food distribution! I will not allow this to go on."
Kenji looked at me. "See what Hiro and you started?"
"I was just trying to fix the bento box situation."
Satoshi wagged his finger. “This shows just how spoiled the Claws are! I was pissed that I didn’t get banana bread today, but did I go bitching to Nyomi? No. I sucked it up and asked the chef to make me a sandwich.”
“Your feelings are not my concern.” Hiro crossed his arms over his chest. “My focus is on the Claws and they felt slighted.”
The twins interrupted.
Yuki touched his chest. "That’s why we get drinks."
Aki winked. "And hors d’oeuvres."
Rin turned to me. "Can't we all just get cocktails too? I think that’s fair."
“Okay so. . .” I attempted to mediate. "You're all coming to dinner and that part could have signature drinks too. Everyone gets the full meal, multiple courses, dessert, everything—"
"We want the cocktail hour too!" Kaoru cut in.
"With the special drinks!" Yoichi added.
"And the fancy appetizers!" Rin wasn't letting this go.
"Exactly! Whatever they're getting, we want it too!" Satoshi finished. “We’re the fucking Fangs and I’m tired of everyone always bending to the Claws.”
Toma laughed. "You don't even know what we're getting and you're already jealous!"
"That's not the point!" Kaoru shot back.
"Then what IS the point?" Kaede's voice was smooth and dangerous as he put that glass eye on the Fangs. “Be careful.”
Yoichi declared, "The point is equity!"
Daisuke countered, "The point is hierarchy!"
"The hierarchy is FANGS first!" Rin insisted. “We all know that.”
Toma spread his arms wide. "But the Claws do the dirty work!"
"We ALL do dirty work!" Satoshi looked ready to fight.
The twins tilted their heads.
"This is entertaining," Aki said.
"Very entertaining," Yuki agreed.
Meanwhile, Hiro had the nerve to look entirely too pleased with himself. "The Claws are satisfied with this arrangement."
"Of course you are!" Yoichi threw his hands up. "Maybe we could—"
BOOM!
Kenji's fist slammed down on the table.
The sound echoed through the room like a gunshot.
Everyone froze.
Complete.
Utter.
Silence.
"This. Is. RIDICULOUS!" Kenji’s voice thundered across the room, but it was the shadow behind him that froze the breath in my chest.
Oh shit.
That dark dragon-shadow rose up the wall like something alive—long, serpentine, winged, stretching over the ceiling as if climbing out of his spine. Darkness pooled at his feet, swallowing the light.
I blinked hard, once, twice, waiting for someone else to react. . .but as usual no one even flinched.
The Claws smirked.
The Fangs looked pissed.
Reo’s expression said that he wanted to be anywhere but here.
Only I saw the dragon-shadow.
And when the dragon-shaped shadow tilted its head toward me, a cold chill swept down my spine.
Why do I see this?
I moved my view so I wouldn’t continue to freak out.
Meanwhile, no one else in the room moved.
Kenji pointed at the Fangs. "You want fair treatment?"
They nodded eagerly despite the danger radiating off him.
Kenji violently sneered. “So my Tiger’s four-course dinner isn’t enough for you all?”
A few looked away, full of embarrassment.
Kenji turned to the Claws. "You want exclusive cocktails and hors d’oeuvres? Meanwhile, I haven’t heard a single statement of gratitude directed her way. In fact, you fucking speak like you deserve this from. . .My. Tiger."
Together, they put their gazes on the table, and all the smug expressions disappeared.
He landed a scowl on Hiro. “We talked about this.”
Hiro didn't appear to be backing down. “We did.”
“She made you breakfast.”
“But, the Claws didn’t get it so—”
“You’re lucky I didn’t come down there into that kitchen and shove that fucking Eggs Benedict down your throat after you put a knife at her neck. Sleep in your fucking bedroom before you kill someone!”
For the first time in this meeting, I saw Hiro drown in absolute embarrassment. “I’m sorry.”
Kenji’s gaze swung to me. "And you want to cook for ALL of them?"
I offered weakly. “I like cooking for your men.”
Sighing, he turned to Reo. "And you're just allowing this to happen?"
Reo was clearly fighting a smile. "The food offers a boost in emotions. Morale is important for—"
“You planned on sneaking in the cocktail party. Didn’t you? That’s why you chose not to argue from any side.”
Reo scratched his head. “Surely, the Roar was invited to the cocktail party also. I never heard that I wasn’t invited.”
Kenji watched him.
Reo's mouth snapped shut immediately.
Kenji's eyes swept across every person at the table. When he spoke again, his voice had dropped to something even more dangerous than shouting. "Let's focus. On getting. The spies."
Pause.
Then, a menacing growl left him.
I sat up straight like I was in trouble too.
"Fuck cocktails. Fuck dinner parties. Fuck bento boxes, banana bread, and hierarchy and definitely, fuck who got what, when, and why.
" His hands flattened on the table. "We have spies on this island. Snakes. A nest of them. They moved through our house freely, and photographed my Tiger going about her day thinking she was safe. They’re waiting to hear from the Fox on whether they should kill her. "
The temperature dropped even further.
I shivered.
"Tomorrow, we set the trap. Movie theater.
My Tiger sits for ten hours getting her hair done while her friends keep her company.
You all watch movies and pretend everything is normal.
And when the spies show themselves—" He paused, letting the silence build.
"—because they WILL show themselves—we take them. "
He looked at each person individually. Making sure they understood. "And then we make sure they're dead. By tomorrow night. Lots of screams. Lots of blood."
Another pause.
"Are we clear?"
Everyone nodded.
Kenji sat back down, and I felt his hand find mine under the table again.
His grip was tight, possessive, and protective.
"After they're dead, my Tiger will cook in any way she likes, providing whatever to whomever and you will all shut the fuck up and be grateful or I will put you in my Bamboo Room, where you will spend time thinking about your disrespect to my Tiger. Painfully. Screaming. And drowning in blood.”
I widened my eyes.
What the hell is the Bamboo Room?
Kenji sneered. “Does everyone understand?”
Everyone, even I, nodded.
“Good.”
Just then, a knock sounded at the door.
I jumped.
Everyone turned that way.
Sako slipped inside carrying an empty tray.
My nerves calmed.
Quickly, he gathered empty tea cups. Once he was done, he bowed and slipped out.
The door shut.
Reo closed his tablet with a soft snap. "We're done. Everyone knows their assignment tonight? Everyone knows what will happen tomorrow?"
Heads nodded all around the table.
Reo pursed his lips. "Then, let's begin."
The words hung in the air for a moment.
Then, they all moved at once.
Chairs scraped against marble. Bodies rose. The Fangs' postures shifted—no more playful bickering, just deadly focus. The Claws went silent, their casual smirks replaced with cold violence.
This was it.
No more planning.
No more arguing about cocktails and hierarchy.
We were hunting spies tonight and setting a trap tomorrow.
And by tomorrow night, people would be dead.
My stomach dropped as the reality crashed over me.
Tonight, I'd be searching the rooms of women who might have ordered my death.
Tomorrow, I'd sit for ten hours waiting to see if someone tried to kill me.
The air in the room had changed completely. The temperature felt even colder. Every movement more deliberate. These weren't men going to work—these were predators preparing for a hunt.
Voices dropped into low, focused murmurs.
Hiro glanced my way, eyes steady. “Looks like we’re teamed up tonight.”
“Yeah,” I breathed. “We are.”
“I’ll see you outside.”
“Alright.” I rose.
The room emptied.
Kenji stood too, but his gaze stayed glued to me—nervous, conflicted, pulled taut like a violin string.
For a moment, he just stood there. The Dragon who'd just dominated an entire room of deadly men now looked almost. . .lost.
His hands flexed at his sides.
Once.
Twice.
Then his expression cracked.
Just for a heartbeat, I saw past the fury and authority to the man underneath. The one who was terrified of losing me. The one who had to send me into danger tomorrow while he watched from three minutes away.
"Tora. . ." My name came out rough, almost broken.
Before I could say anything, he reached for my hands, tugging me to him. His arms locked around me next, and he kissed me hard enough that the entire space faded away.
One of those kisses meant to brand memory into my skin.
When we pulled away. . .I saw it again. . .behind him. . .the dragon shadow curling over his shoulder, watching me.
“Are you okay?” Kenji whispered, even as that shadow loomed behind him like a warning.
“I’m fine.”
“This could be dangerous.”
“I’m going with Hiro and the twins. I’ll be fine. You’re the one stuck in a theater with Hina and the other two. They’re women, but that doesn’t mean they’re not dangerous.”
“I’m more than prepared to deal with them if they try anything.” His hands cupped my face. “You keep your phone on you. Call me the second something feels off. Hiro will protect you with every breath in his body—but I still need to hear from you.”
His eyes searched mine, terrified despite the hardness in his jaw. “Promise me.”
“I promise.”
We kissed again slowly this time, desperate, aching, as if both of us knew we were walking into separate storms.
Then he guided us away.
Together we headed off.
Fuck. I’m really doing this.
At the threshold, he let go of my hand. “I’ll see you later, Tora.”
“Okay, baby.”
He split off to the right with Reo and the Fangs. Their footsteps echoed down the marble hall.
Sighing, I turned left, finding Hiro and the twins waiting for me.
The rest of the Claws had already disappeared.
A shiver climbed my spine.
Alright. Time to go snooping.
Hiro watched me. “Are you ready?”
I looked down the dimly lit corridor ahead of us. “I’m ready. Let’s go hunt.”
The twins stepped beside us in perfect sync.
And together, we walked into the darkness.