Prologue

I love getting to come to visit our granddaughter in Boston. I hated those long years after Saki died that our asshole son-in-law would make every excuse under the sun not to let us visit. I still have days I want to wring his little neck. I may be pushing eighty, but I still know how to kill a man. The only reason I haven’t killed him is my sweet, forgiving granddaughter and her very supportive and handsome boyfriends.

And yes, I said, boyfriends. My granddaughter is putting her mom and me to shame with her game. So fucking proud of the woman she’s become, and I know my Saki would be too. I smiled as we rang the doorbell to their cute place near campus. I noticed the door across the hall slightly ajar and a narrowed eye watching us.

“Ignore it.” Hibiki softly muttered, rubbing my back. He knows me. And he knows well enough that I won’t. I rounded on the door and yanked it open before their neighbor could shut it. The woman looked in her forties, based on the shabby dress, dirty hair, a bad complexion, dark circles under her eyes, and the wedding ring tan that she’s a divorcee may be in the last two years. 

I’m good at these types of things. I can read people. It was once my job to read people and anticipate what they’d do and what they’d say. And then use that to make them comply by any means necessary. “Do you have a fucking problem bitch? Or are you standing here hoping to catch a glimpse of my granddaughter’s handsome boyfriends? Either way, knock it the fuck off. Mind your own damn business. Nobody likes a busybody. Worry about your own shit.” I snorted as she stared at me gobsmacked.

“Granny? You done putting the fear of God or rather you into Ms. Ives?” Forrest called out, laughing. I knew it was him because the other two wouldn’t be laughing. Elijah would be apologizing to this bitch for any offense I caused. While Darius would have just glared at Ms. Ives and took my elbow to lead me to their place. I let a slow, easy smile spread across my face. 

“Yes, I think I’m done here, Forrest dear.” I nodded. I paused and looked at the woman. “Stay out of my granddaughter’s life, and don’t be ogling her men. They’re all spoken for.” I snorted, turning on my heel to enter the apartment. “Gotta love it when the in-laws visit, right, Ms. Ives.” Forrest shrugs, shutting the door, not letting the woman get a word in.

“Grandmother, did you need to be so rude?” Riko sighed as she stepped away from Hibiki to hug me. “Of course I did. She was eyeing your apartment door. Desperate.” I huffed. “She’s in a bad place right now. She caught her husband sleeping with the twenty-something that just moved in.” Elijah shrugged, putting out a tray of tea and wagashi that I know are handmade. 

My granddaughter hit the jackpot with these boys. “Well, if he saw how she was staring at your door hoping to glimpse your handsome faces, it’s no wonder he went elsewhere.” I scoffed. “Grandmother.” Riko sighed. “Not everyone looks at the boys with lust.” she rolled her eyes sitting down on their sofa, curling up into Darius. “Just most of them.” Darius shrugs, completely indifferent to the attention he knows they receive.

“So long as you boys never look back or let your gaze wander.” Hibiki shrugged, taking one of the recliners. “There are other women in the world?” Forrest goes wide-eyed. We all laugh as we settle into our spots. “Forrest, you are something else.” Riko sighed. “Yep, and you love me.” he winked, popping a daifuku, moaning and wiggling a little happy with the flavor.

“Mmm, you need to try this, Ichigo daifuku. Riko and Elijah got the strawberries at the farmer’s market yesterday, so super fresh.” he says, holding on the tray to me. “Ahhh, you know my weakness.” I grinned, taking two, popping one into my mouth. “Strawberry sweets and good-looking men.” Forrest winked. “Don’t you know it.” I winked back, offering the second to Hibiki.

“Open up, handsome.” I ordered. My husband indulges me by opening his mouth letting me feed him. “Aw, you two are so sweet. I hope when we are your age, we are still that full of love.” Riko sighed, reaching her free hand to hold Elijah’s hand. The sweet boy taking and kissing it. “We will.” he promised. “Oh, we totally will be, baby.” Forrest smiled, scooping her up off the sofa to sit between his brothers and put her in his lap.

She’s been dating them for three years now and still gets all bashful when they do things like this. It’s just adorable. “Now then, why are we here? I mean, yes, we are always happy to visit. But we hadn’t planned to come for a few months. You asked for us, Forrest.” Hibiki asked as he poured the tea, full business mode. 

Forrest straightened, and suddenly I could tell how these three men would trick people into thinking they were the other. Forrest’s entire demeanor changed from the happy-go-lucky man we’ve come to know. Instead, he was serious and a reflection of his serious eldest triplet, Darius. “Yes, of course.” he bowed his head, shifting Riko to sit in Elijah’s lap. 

“So you know I’ve always found your stories intriguing, Yūri. And they have really inspired me. I’ve even drawn a few scenes based on what you have already told me.” he started, leaning forward. And there was that spark in those icy eyes of his. He was the creative one of their trio, and I could see the fire in his eyes. 

“Oh, and they are amazing, even if I’m biased cause my love drew it, and my grandmother was the inspiration.” Riko grinned. “Darius, get his portfolio.” she said, leaning across Forrest to nudge him. Darius sighed but complied, getting up and heading to the dining room, pulling out a bright orange folder. Of course, it’s bright orange. “Take a look. My little brother does amazing work.” he nodded, offering me the folder.

I smiled. Of course, Darius boasts about his brother. I truly love that about these boys. They are always supportive of each other and our granddaughter. The four of them are a great balance to each other. I opened the folder and nod with a smile as I looked at the manga-style drawings. It was apparently me, in my youth, wearing my black jumpsuit with red trim and my face hidden behind the white and red kitsune mask in some panels.  It was beautiful even though it showed a story of blood and darkness. 

I passed the folder to Hibiki for him. “Nice work, son. I would say you need to adjust your proportions. I know you’ve not seen pictures of Yūri when she was young, so I’m guessing you went off Riko’s proportions for the drawings.” he commented, handing the folder back. “Um, well yeah. Riko didn’t have any pictures of Yūri when she was young. Just a few here and there when Saki was still alive. I also looked at the pictures in the album of Saki when she was young, and her figure was similar to Riko.” Forrest nodded.

“I’ll find some pictures of her for you. I know it’s hard to tell now, but my Yūri was fit and well to be blunt stacked.” Hibiki shrugged. The boys chuckled while Riko looked embarrassed. I laughed. “I know it's hard to tell. Even with a good bra, they are saggy with age.” I joked, tugging at my bra straps through my shirt. “Grandmother…” Riko covered her face with both hands while the boys laughed.

“Alright, back to the subject at hand. So what are you asking, Forrest?” Hibiki guided the conversation away from embarrassing our granddaughter. “I want to do a real manga about your life. Darius can help with writing out the dialogue while I do the art. But to do it, I need both your permission and consent to use not only your likeness but your story.” Forrest explained, opening the folder to the very back to show a contract.

“A contract?” Hibiki eyed the paper. “Leave it to the sons of a lawyer.” I chuckled while picking it up to read it over. It looked fairly standard. It was to consent to have our likenesses, names, and life story used in the published work. It even outlined a payout percentage should the manga ever make money. “So?” Forrest looked at me with big hopeful eyes. “Got a pen?” I smirked.

“You are the best, granny!” Forrest shouted, jumping up from the sofa. I suddenly found myself pulled from my chair and at least a half-foot off the ground as he hugged me. “Okay. Okay. I see I’ve made you very happy. Can I be put down?” I laughed. “Oh right, sorry.” he smiled bashfully as he set me back on my own two feet. 

“Now then, take a seat, and while we enjoy this lovely tea and the delicious wagashi Elijah made, we shall tell you our story. Just… Riko, my darling girl. Please don’t think less of me when you hear it. I know you have heard some of it, but I also know you don’t believe most of it. But I swear on Saki’s grave I will only give you the truth.” I sighed. 

“Of course, grandmother. Nothing you say will ever change how I view you.” Riko assured me with a warm smile. She had my Saki’s smile. It hurt so much to look at but in a good way. Because it wasn’t just Saki’s smile, it was the same smile as my mother, Miku. Both of who I miss dearly. I sighed, taking Hibiki’s hand ready to begin.

Forrest got his phone out and turned on a recording app. “So that we have it to reference when working.” he explained. I nodded. “Well, I shall start at the beginning. I was born on April 2nd, 1948, in Tokyo. My mother was Miku, and my father was Takashi Hatake. They named me Yūri Aiko Hatake. I was their only child, and my mother called me her great gift given it was post world war two, and I was born at the tail end of the American occupation of Japan.” I began taking a sip of my tea.

Across from me on the sofa, all four were listening to me, enraptured, waiting for me to continue. “As the only child, I was intended to take over for my father. This may not sound like an issue to most. But it’s not like Shaw wanting you boys to become lawyers. My father, the Hatake family legacy, was bathed in blood. A legacy that goes back centuries, making us one of the prominent and feared Yakuza clans. My father was the boss, having taken control when my grandfather died during the war.” I explained.

“I was trained from a young age in combat. By the time I was ten, I was assassinating my father's enemies. I always wore my kitsune mask. I became known as Kitsune over the years. Few beyond the highest ranked members of the clan knew my true face and name. My mother wasn’t happy that I was being raised this way. She’d wanted a sweet daughter to dote on and raise to be a proper lady. I was a disappointment in that regard.” I sighed. 

“She died when I was eighteen, and her death was an assassination. They killed her to get to my father. I wasn’t there to protect her, and it is my greatest shame. It was that same year that father uprooted us from Tokyo and moved us to San Francisco. He wanted to expand to America and also escape those who wanted him dead. I changed after her death. I started to question. I became a problem to my father. I acted out and got into the women’s liberation movement.” I smirked.

“I also managed to make a name for myself in the states.” I glanced at Hibiki, who reached over to hold my hand. “Kitsune was a wanted criminal, and all reports said she was to be considered armed and very dangerous. They had passed around her case file, and no one was able to catch her. Those of us that knew what a kitsune is would joke we were dealing with the real deal, and that’s why no one could catch her. Cause who can catch a spirit?” Hibiki chuckled. 

“Which leads us to how Hibiki and I met.” I smiled softly, gazing at my loving husband. I could still remember the day like it was yesterday.