After his exhausting training session with Hiromi, Kai decided that it was time to rest, so he made his way towards his room.
The corridor was silent, but Kai's breath was loud in his ears.
Sweat clung to his collar as he walked back from the training hall, muscles sore, shirt sticking to his back.
Every step echoed faintly through the metal and concrete walls of the underground facility.
The walk was "quiet" in someways, until his eyes caught something he didn't want to see.
He saw her.
Hina.
Walking toward him, side by side with Akira.
Her eyes locked onto his the second she noticed him.
He froze for a moment. Just a second.
But it was enough.
Hina slowed her pace, hopeful — lips parting slightly, as if she was about to speak.
She was about to say something. Anything.
Probably a simple "Good morning".
But Kai didn't stop.
He clenched his jaw and walked past them without a word.
Not a glance.
Not a single motion to acknowledge her presence.
As if she were a stranger.
For some reason, he was still mad at her.
That hit harder than a bullet.
Akira gave Hina a side glance but said nothing.
And Hina?
Her shoulders sank ever so slightly.
She forced her legs to keep walking, even though something inside her felt like it was collapsing.
She bit the inside of her cheek and held her breath.
Why did it hurt this much?
Why did ignoring her feel worse than if he had screamed in her face?
Even Akira was surprised to see the power that Kai had on her.
A cold blooded killer with years and years of experience acting like a little girl when her boyfriend was around.
Kai, meanwhile, reached his door and stepped back into his room.
He let it close behind him and immediately leaned his head against it.
His fists were still clenched.
His chest still heavy.
But he couldn't face her.
Not yet.
Not with everything he'd learned.
He lay down, fully dressed, on the bed — eyes on the ceiling — and tried not to think.
But silence had a way of reminding you what you didn't want to feel.
---
Meanwhile…
The cafeteria had a strange energy that morning.
Too calm.
Too clean.
Too quiet.
As if everyone knew something was about to explode — but no one dared speak it out loud.
Rei was already seated at the long steel table, hands folded, a cup of black coffee steaming in front of him.
On his right sat Yuna, expression unreadable, sipping something sweet from a ceramic mug.
On his left… Sakura.
Hina's aunt.
She looked just like her — same sharp jawline, same sleek black hair, but her eyes were piercingly violet.
There was something colder about her.
Elegant, regal, but with a permanent air of command, as if the world owed her silence and obedience.
And she sat too comfortably across from Hina when the girl entered the room, still beside Akira.
Hina said nothing.
Neither did Sakura.
But the tension snapped into the air like a wire pulled too tight.
Rei gestured for them to sit. "Eat. Enjoy this moment of peace."
Everyone looked at him.
He smiled — but there was no warmth.
"Because once this breakfast is over, the countdown begins."
Yuna's eyes flicked to him, alert.
Akira sat down without a word, choosing the spot furthest from Sakura.
Hina didn't sit immediately.
She stood for a few seconds, glaring at her aunt, eyes cold as steel.
She couldn't say it out loud — not here.
But everything about her posture screamed one thing:
"You did this. It's your fault. Everything was your fault."
Sakura smiled faintly, like she could read her niece's thoughts, and didn't care in the slightest.
"Is there a problem, Hina?" she asked softly.
That voice.
That voice that had once told her bedtime stories.
Now it sounded like poison.
Hina took a deep breath and sat down slowly, her hands under the table, gripping her own wrists to keep them from shaking.
"None," she lied.
Rei leaned forward, enjoying the storm brewing between them.
"I've spoken with Sarah. The Syndicate's movements are becoming erratic. We need to act soon — or lose the window entirely."
He sipped his coffee.
"I suggest you all enjoy this breakfast while you can. Because tomorrow… we're going to do the first part of the plan I created."
A chill settled over the table.
Sakura simply nodded, like it was nothing more than a business meeting.
Akira narrowed her eyes.
Yuna remained quiet, stirring her drink.
But Hina?
She stared into her bowl of untouched rice, hands trembling just slightly.
"You did this. Your thirst for power. Your war with the Dragons.
Your obsession with finishing what my mother started.
You dragged me into this.
You ruined everything."
And now… the boy she loved hated her.
Sakura finally spoke again, her voice measured.
"You seem distracted, Hina. I hope your emotions won't compromise our strategy."
That did it.
The chopsticks in Hina's hand snapped — the crack loud in the quiet room.
Everyone looked up.
Hina didn't say a word.
But her eyes spoke clearly.
She was completely furious.
"One more word. Just one more... and I'll slit your throat." She thought, while putting the broken chopsticks away.
Sakura met her gaze and smiled again.
Almost daring her to explode, while Akira gently placed a hand on her shoulder , like she was silently saying "Don't do anything that could put us at risk."
Rei raised a hand, interrupting the fire.
"Let her be. Everyone handles grief in their own way."
He looked at Hina now.
"Use that anger in your heart to eliminate the people who are now trying to kill you." He said.
Hina pretended not to hear anything.
Instead, her expression had completely shifted into a "normal" one.
She smiled to Rei and , with a gentle and polite tone she asked:
"Can I have another pair of chopsticks, please?"
Rei, surprised by her immediate change of demeanor, nodded his head and called one of his soldiers.
"Kawara, bring another pair of chopsticks to our special guest, please." He demanded.
Then, in an instant, a soldier arrived and gave Hina a new pair of chopsticks.
She then smiled and thanked the soldier, before ignoring everyone and starting to eat.
Akira had completely understood the message.
"Okay... It seems like she has an idea... I better play along." And so, also Akira started to eat.
"I wonder what's gonna happen now..." She thought.