Hina remained on the mat, her breath steadying, fingers flexed against the padded floor.
Hiromi's hand was still there, waiting.
But Hina didn't move.
Not yet.
The moment felt too raw. Too... complicated.
For some reason, Hina felt something strange in her chest.
Hiromi's eyes seemed to be sincere, and Hina kept asking herself how something like that was possible.
They had once fought to kill each other.
And now, Hiromi was offering her hand to Hina.
Strange.
"I don't trust this girl." She kept repeating to herself, but her heart thought the opposite.
Deep inside, Hina felt that she could trust Hiromi.
Before she could decide whether to accept the truce or not, the doors to the training hall hissed open.
Footsteps echoed.
Rei stepped inside, his arms behind his back, expression unreadable — but his eyes flicked to the two women on the mat with an amused glint.
"Well," he said, "seems like I interrupted something interesting."
Hiromi stood up straight and stepped back casually, wiping the sweat from her brow with the back of her wrist.
"It was just a little sparring, nothing more. She's really strong." she muttered.
"I know," Rei replied.
His gaze then turned to Hina. "Come with me. We need to talk."
Hina gave Hiromi one last glance, then silently stood up alone.
She followed Rei out of the hall, reluctantly and silent.
She sighed while walking behind him, observing every single detail about him and the place.
Hina seemed to hate Rei, a lot.
She was doing all of that for Kai's safety...
"So, Hina, I guess you already figured out what I'm going to tell you, right?" Rei said, with a serious voice.
"Yeah. You probably wanna talk about your plan, right?" Hina said, with a calm but aggressive voice.
"You're clever. I have to tell you every single detail. And I expect you to be perfect." He said.
Hina remained silent while walking.
----Meanwhile...----
Kai was back in his room.
The lights were dimmed.
He lay flat on his back, eyes tracing the cracks in the ceiling.
His arms rested at his sides, and his breath came out slow, but heavy.
Everything felt like a weight pressing down.
The training. The lies. The wars. Hina.
When was this going to end?
Would it ever?
His mind spiraled with memories. Faces. Voices. Blood.
For a second, he wished he could close his eyes and never open them again.
But then—
Knock knock.
He blinked. Sat up slowly.
Another knock.
Kai rose, cautiously walking to the door, unsure who it could be.
When he opened it, the last person he expected stood on the other side.
Akira.
In her hands — a small box of sweets.
Her expression was as unreadable as ever, but there was a slight tilt to her head, like she was amused by his shock.
"You... brought me something?" Kai asked.
She didn't answer.
Instead, she brushed past him without waiting for permission, entering his room and casually tossing herself onto the bed like it was hers.
Kai stared, stunned.
"What are you—?"
Akira placed the box of sweets gently on the nightstand beside the bed.
Then she patted the mattress beside her, motioning for him to sit.
He hesitated.
"Seriously?"
She didn't say anything.
Just looked at him with those calm, sharp eyes — the kind that made you feel like she knew everything about you already.
Eventually, Kai gave in and sat beside her, the edge of the mattress dipping under his weight.
He looked down at his hands, avoiding her gaze.
"So…" he began, awkward. "What's this about?"
"You already know," she said.
Kai sighed.
"It's about Hina." Akira said, her voice became more soft than before.
He didn't answer.
His gaze dropped lower, his hands tightening slightly in his lap.
"I don't know what to feel," he admitted, voice low. "I'm angry. I'm hurt. I'm... confused."
Akira didn't move. She just listened.
"She kept all that from me," Kai continued. "The lies. The killings. The fire. And I still can't stop thinking about her."
"She loves you, you know," Akira said softly.
Kai blinked.
"Even if she doesn't know how to show it. Even if it's twisted. She does. You probably don't realize that Hina is risking all her life only for you. You're the first person to have made her feel like this." Akira said, while gently patting his head, like a mother does with her child.
"Then why...? Why did she keep all these secrets...? Why does everything hurt so much?" he whispered.
"Because she was scared to be abandoned by you, the only one she loves," Akira said. "When she realized that you had already accepted her, she was being consumed by a sense of guilt. But now, she's changed..."
Kai looked at her now. "How do you know that?"
Akira gave a faint smile. One that didn't reach her eyes.
"Because we've known her for so long… and between sisters, there are no secrets. Hina loves you. She truly carries the weight of guilt for what she did, but it was the only way she had to erase her past. She couldn't let you discover who she really was—she feared you would abandon her. And beyond that… it was the final task Sabushi gave her. In return, he swore he would never trouble her again..." Akira said, trying to reassure the young man.
Kai didn't know what to say.
He felt sorry for how he had yelled at Hina.
But he couldn't erase the feeling of "betrayal".
"I... understand... I just need to talk to her, I guess." Kai said, with a sigh.
Akira smiled warmly at him.
"Good boy~" She said, while gently patting his head again.
Kai didn't know how to react.
He just felt like a puppy.
Then, their eyes met.
They looked in each other's eyes for an instant.
Kai saw how beautiful Akira was.
Akira, on the other hand, felt a strange warmth gripping around her heart as she rapidly moved her gaze away from him.
Before realizing, her heart was beating a little bit faster, and she had a blush on her face.
"What the fuck is this...?" She thought.
Eventually, Akira nudged the box of sweets toward him.
"Y-Y-You should eat. Sugar helps the brain process stress." She said.
Kai gave her a faint chuckle. "Didn't think you were the sweet tooth type."
"I'm not. These are for you." She said, with a teasing tone of voice.
He opened the box.
Inside — a few handmade pastries: simple, fresh, and still slightly warm.
He took one and bit into it slowly.
It wasn't perfect.
But it felt… human.
"Oh wow... These things are... good." Kai said, while eating.
For a moment, he looked like a kid again.
Akira chuckled softly.
She was clearly enjoying the moment.
"I hope you'll think about my words. Just remember that Hina truly loves you." Akira said with a smile, while standing up from the bed.
"Y-Yeah. Thanks, Akira." Kai said, his voice soft with gratitude.
"You're welcome. You owe me 5000 yen by the way." She said.
"...I don't have money right now." Kai replied, joking about it.
"Then you'll pay me tomorrow, or the next day, or the day after that... so don't forget, or I'll be really mad." She said, before waving at him and walking out from his room.
Kai understood the message perfectly.
It was her implicit way of telling him, 'Don't you dare die, or I'll be really sad.'
For some reason, even in the dreadful situation he was in, Kai still felt grateful for having met someone as kind and genuine as Akira.
And for that very reason, he hoped that all the hell he was living would finally come to an end.
After Akira's leaving, Kai sighed and remained on the bed to look at the ceiling, until someone knocked on his door, again.
"Who's there?" Kai asked, with a bored tone of voice.
"Suzuki-Kun, Master Rei would like to speak to you. Please come out and follow me." This time, a male voice came from the outside.
Kai was surprised, but he had also expected a call from him.
He thought that he probably wanted to talk about his plan.
Moreover , he had no choice to decline his order.
So, in a matter of minutes, he changed clothes and walked out of the room.
He found an elegant man dressed like a butler waiting outside.
Black jet hair, tall, beautiful facial features, an elegant black tuxedo... a total prince.
The man then introduced himself.
He gently bowed.
"It's my pleasure to meet you, Kai Suzuki-Kun. My name is Daichi and I'm the main butler of this place. Now please, follow me. I'll lead you to Rei's room." The man said.
"Damn… he looks like he walked straight out of a shoujo visual novel." Kai thought.
"Okay... lead the way, please." Kai replied, with a formal voice.
After that, they started walking towards Rei's office.
For some reason, Kai had a bad feeling lingering inside his heart.