Chapter 45: A Cage Without Walls
The river whispered quietly under the night sky.
Cold wind swept over the banks, rattling the dying reeds, but Naoto didn't feel it.
He just stared at the water, the glowing city lights reflecting like broken stars across the surface.
The weight of the truth settled deeper into his bones.
A pawn.
A cage dressed up like a blessing.
He had never been free.
Not when he took the job. Not when he laughed with his friends.
Not even when Rika looked at him with those soft, scared eyes.
Everything had been chosen for him.
A cruel destiny passed down like a disease.
---
The buzz of his phone echoed again.
A second message.
"Meet me."
An address followed — deep inside Hoshikawa's upper district, near the Hayato estate.
No signature.
But Naoto already knew who it was.
He wiped his face with his sleeve, forcing himself to stand.
The anger inside him was no longer a fire.
It was ice—sharp, steady, ready to cut.
If this was a game, he would play.
But on his terms.
---
The ride back into the city felt like a dream.
By the time he reached the address, the streets were empty, the lamps flickering.
It was a private club—one owned, no doubt, by the Hayato family.
No one stopped him as he pushed open the heavy door.
Inside, it was warm, luxurious, suffocating.
And at the far end of the lounge, sitting by a low table, was a man Naoto knew all too well.
Shinji Hayato.
Rika's father.
The man who held his family's life in the palm of his hand.
Shinji looked up, his dark eyes unreadable.
"You came," he said, as if they were old friends meeting for coffee.
Naoto didn't sit.
He just stood there, fists clenched at his sides, heart thundering in his ears.
"Why?" Naoto finally rasped. "Why my family?"
Shinji's smile was thin.
"Because your father made a choice. One he thought would save you all."
"He didn't," Naoto said. His voice shook, but he didn't care. "He tried to protect us—and you destroyed him for it."
Shinji leaned back, crossing one leg over the other.
"You're angry. I understand. But anger won't change the facts. Your father knew the rules. He broke them."
He sipped his drink lazily, as if they were discussing the weather.
"And you, Naoto, you have a choice now too."
Naoto laughed—a harsh, broken sound.
"Choice? You took that from me before I was even born."
Shinji shrugged.
"Life isn't fair. You can either accept your role—and live comfortably—or fight it, and lose everything. Your mother's treatment. Your friends. Your future."
Naoto froze.
His mother.
The hospital bills. The doctors.
All paid quietly, efficiently—by Shinji Hayato.
Tying him tighter to the leash.
Shinji's voice lowered, almost gentle now.
"You're talented, Naoto. Smart. Loyal. I could make sure you have a good life. Wealth. Power. Even… a future with Rika."
Naoto flinched.
"Rika doesn't know," he whispered.
A flash of something crossed Shinji's face. Regret? Pity?
It was gone too fast to tell.
"No," Shinji said. "She doesn't."
"And you would use her too," Naoto said bitterly. "Just like me."
Shinji's eyes hardened.
"This world is built on sacrifices. Yours are small compared to what others have lost."
Naoto's mind flashed with images.
His mother, smiling weakly in her hospital bed.
Rika, standing under falling cherry blossoms, laughing.
Himari, her voice breaking over the phone, whispering she missed him.
He couldn't protect them all.
Not by playing this man's game.
But if he walked away...
His mother would die.
Rika would be left alone.
Himari would wait forever for a promise he couldn't keep.
---
Naoto closed his eyes.
For one brief, aching second, he wished he could go back.
Back to being a boy who believed in hope.
But he wasn't a boy anymore.
He was a pawn who had learned how the game was played.
And he wasn't going to lose.
---
When he opened his eyes, they were clear.
Steady.
"I'll work for you," Naoto said quietly.
Shinji smiled, triumphant.
"But only on one condition," Naoto added, cutting him off. "I choose how I serve. No orders behind my back. No more secrets."
Shinji raised an eyebrow. "You're not in a position to make demands."
"Maybe not," Naoto said. "But you need me. You need someone Rika trusts. Someone who won't break."
He leaned forward, meeting Shinji's gaze without fear.
"You don't want a puppet. You want a shield."
Shinji was silent for a long moment.
Then, slowly, he set his glass down.
"Very well," he said. "You'll have your autonomy. For now."
Naoto turned to leave.
He could feel Shinji's eyes on his back the whole way out.
---
Outside, the night air hit him like a slap.
He staggered into the street, gulping down huge breaths of cold air.
He had made his choice.
Not because he wanted to.
Because he had to.
For his mother.
For Rika.
For Himari.
But deep down, Naoto knew something had shattered inside him tonight.
A piece of his heart he would never get back.
---
He walked for a long time, not caring where he was going, until he found himself standing in front of the familiar gates of the Hayato mansion.
Lights glowed warmly inside.
Somewhere beyond those windows, Rika was probably studying, laughing, living her life without knowing the weight that now rested on his shoulders.
Naoto leaned against the cold iron gate, head bowed.
"I'll protect you," he whispered. "Even if you hate me for it."
And he meant it.
Even if it broke him.
Even if it destroyed the last fragments of himself.
He would protect them all.
Because that was the only thing he had left to give.
---