Lotus in Chain

The air reeked of sweat, cigarette smoke, and blood.
Riku Sakamoto leaned against the polished wood railing of the underground fight arena, his tailored suit a sharp contrast to the chaos below. Men roared, money changed hands, and the ring in the center throbbed with violence.
Then he walked in.
Arun Chaiyawan, barefoot and shirtless, his body glistening under the harsh lights. Tattoos twined around his lean muscles, each movement carrying the sharp grace of a predator. Riku’s gaze locked onto him, and for the first time in years, his chest tightened with something unfamiliar.
Not lust. Not hunger. Something heavier.
The bell rang, and Arun struck. Elbows like blades, knees like iron. His opponent—a hulking brute twice his size—fell with a sickening thud. The crowd exploded, but Riku barely heard it. He was too busy watching the way Arun refused to bow, his defiance burning brighter than any victory.
Riku smiled. Hard to get. Perfect.
He turned to Keiji, his right-hand man.
“That one,” Riku murmured. “Find out everything about him.”
Down in the ring, Arun wiped the blood from his knuckles, unaware that his life had just become prey to the most dangerous man in Osaka.