Side Story 1 — The Heiress and the King
The suite atop Arasaka Tower was silent but for the hum of the city beyond its walls. Chrome and glass framed Hanako's slender form as she stood by the window, a figure of regal poise draped in a silk kimono, her eyes reflecting the neon blaze of Night City.
Alaric didn't knock. He stepped inside with slow, deliberate strides, the door hissing shut behind him. His voice, low and edged with a smirk, broke the silence. "You summoned me, Princess?"
Hanako turned with a grace that seemed rehearsed but was anything but calm. "I reward loyalty… and strength." Her words hung between them, heavy with meaning. "You've proven both."
Alaric's eyes swept her figure before settling on her face. "I'm not the kneeling type."
A slow smile touched Hanako's lips. "Good. I despise cowards."
He closed the distance in two steps, his fingers brushing the silk at her collarbone. She didn't flinch. Instead, she leaned into his touch — a subtle challenge. His hand slipped lower, claiming the small of her back. "What happens now?" he asked, voice dropping.
Hanako's hands slid up his chest, nails teasing the edges of his shirt. "You take what you want."
Alaric crushed his mouth against hers, swallowing her sharp gasp. The kiss started as a test of wills — but dissolved into raw heat. When he spun her toward the massive glass desk, she exhaled a sharp breath, hands braced against polished chrome. The kimono slipped from her shoulders with a whisper of silk.
He pressed against her from behind, one hand on her throat, the other sliding down her thigh. "I don't break easy," Hanako whispered.
Alaric's smirk burned against her skin. "Neither do I."
Her soft gasp as he entered her echoed in the cavernous room — swallowed by city noise and the creak of leather gloves gripping chrome. Hanako's composure cracked with every deep, commanding thrust. Her moans slipped from her lips despite every effort to hold them back.
By the time he turned her to face him, laying her atop the desk, the heir of Arasaka lay beneath him — panting, her hands tangled in his hair, whispering his name like a secret she couldn't contain.
When it ended, Hanako curled against him on the executive couch, her body marked with faint impressions of his grip. Her voice, soft, broke the quiet. "You're more dangerous than any heir my family ever spawned."
Alaric stroked a thumb across her flushed cheek. "I don't plan on stopping at this tower."