Kai's breath trembled slightly, caught between fear and something else... something really dark and magnetic pulling at his core.
Hina was inches away from him, her fingers grazing his cheek like a curse and a blessing all at once.
Her words echoed in his mind:
"Do you still want to be with me… or not?" Her voice seemed to hypnotize his whole soul.
And in that moment, something inside Kai cracked.
Not from rage.
Not from clarity.
But from surrender.
The weight of everything... the secrets, the deaths, the pain... had finally pushed him into the abyss.
Kai finally understood something important: he had changed.
Everything about him had changed or...
...he actually realized something.
"Why did I keep fighting and staying with Hina despite everything...? A normal person would've run away..." He asked this question to himself a lot of times, and after hearing Hina's words, he finally managed to have an answer.
Even in that abyss that almost killed him, there was only one thing he saw clearly: her.
In a flash, his hand reached up, but not violently, not with hate, but with a kind of trembling hunger.
His eyes darkened and his teeth clenched.
He gripped her throat, not tight enough to hurt, but firm enough to assert something neither of them had ever dared to say aloud.
Then, in a single, bold movement, Kai spun her around and slammed her against the wall behind them, his body leaning in, face inches from hers.
The echo of her back hitting the cold wall was muffled by her sharp inhale, more surprised than hurt.
It wasn't dominance.
It was desperation masquerading as control.
Hina blinked once, lips parted.
Her eyes were still open wide.
She was trembling in anticipation.
Her hands instinctively rose and rested on his chest, fingers splayed across the fabric of his shirt as if she was grounding herself.
Then... she smiled.
It wasn't innocent.
It was slow.
Dangerous.
The kind of smile that curled like smoke and lingered in the lungs.
"I imagine that this is your choice… right?" she whispered, her voice sultry, playful, and soaked in mischief.
Kai didn't answer.
He couldn't.
He was too far gone.
The tension cracked like thunder as their lips collided, hungry, violent, passionate.
There was nothing delicate about the kiss.
It was two broken people trying to drown in each other.
Like a storm swallowing an entire city.
Kai's hands gripped her waist, her breath hitched as she deepened the kiss.
Her fingers fumbled at his shirt, his hand stayed firm at her neck, thumb brushing her jaw.
There was no more doubt now.
No more fear.
Only the scent of her skin, the taste of her lips, and the sound of his own heartbeat pounding in his ears like war drums.
His soul was collapsing into hers — and he was letting it happen.
In that moment, Kai understood.
He couldn't go back.
Even if he wanted to, there was no more "before."
The pain he had felt when he discovered about what Hina did to his best friend Hiro, disappeared.
He didn't care anymore.
That's what Kai had become.
His humanity was gone.
He was just like her.
The two kept kissing for some minutes.
Just as his hand slipped under the hem of her shirt—
CLICK.
The door creaked open.
"Eh?"
A familiar voice rang out, drenched in amusement.
"Oh… did I interrupt something?"
Both Kai and Hina froze.
Hina didn't flinch.
She turned her head calmly toward the voice, lips still red from the kiss, expression as indifferent as a queen pausing mid-feast.
Kai, on the other hand, snapped out of it like someone waking from a dream.
His hand left her waist instantly, and he stumbled back half a step, face red, breath caught in his throat.
At the door stood Rei, arms crossed, grinning like a man who had just found the best part of his day.
Beside him, Yuna peeked in.
Her expression unreadable, but one brow raised just slightly.
But she couldn't mask the reaction of her body.
She was trembling, like she saw something painful.
Rei tilted his head. "Well, I was going to call you both in, but it looks like you were already having a private meeting."
"Calm... calm..." Yuna muttered under her breath, walking away.
Rei chuckled as he stepped into the room.
"Relax, I'm not here to judge," he said casually, "but I do need you both to be focused. I'm happy that you two made up but... this is no time for… emotional distractions."
Kai, still flustered, tried to regain composure. He stood upright, brushing his hand down his shirt.
"What do you want?" he asked, voice hoarse.
Rei's tone shifted.
Sharp. Strategic.
"I'm here to tell you the plan has been finalized. Tomorrow morning, we move."
Hina's eyes narrowed slightly, her lips now a neutral line.
"What time?" she asked.
"5 A.M. Sharp. You'll both be briefed tonight, but get some rest while you can."
He turned toward the door, then paused.
"And Hina... Just be careful."
She didn't respond, but the muscles in her jaw tightened.
Kai still hadn't said a word.
His heart was racing, not from the mission, but from what just happened.
He glanced at Hina.
She looked… completely unfazed.
As if nothing had happened.
Back to being unreadable.
Rei gave one last glance over his shoulder.
"Gear up. Tomorrow, we take the first step toward ending this war. Be ready."
The door closed behind him with a click.
Silence returned to the room.
Kai finally exhaled.
Hina walked toward the window, gazing out at the artificial lights that painted the underground base in dull hues.
The quiet stretched between them like a thread about to snap.
Then, she spoke without turning.
"You still didn't formally answer my question."
Kai blinked.
"Wasn't my kiss enough?" he asked, voice low, a hint of irony laced in the words.
A soft smile touched her lips... faint, almost invisible.
"No," she said.
Then, turning her head slightly:
"But you're gonna tell me everything later, in my room."
And with that, she walked toward the exit, leaving Kai alone in the room.
His shirt was wrinkled, his mouth dry, his soul shaken.
Tomorrow, they'd go to war.
Tonight, he had to decide who he really was.