The car was quiet again, save for the soft hum of the engine and the tires grinding over the icy pavement. They were somewhere between nowhere and nothing — pine trees bowing under the weight of fresh snow, sky a dull white blur. Rin rolled down the window slightly, hoping the chill would ground him.
Instead, the cold slapped him straight in the face.
"Fucking Siberia," he muttered under his breath, immediately rolling the window back up. His breath fogged against the glass.
Kai didn't flinch. Didn't speak. Just kept one hand lazily on the wheel, the other resting comfortably on his thigh. Driving like he owned the road — like he didn't just leave a trail of unconscious racists and missing agents behind them.
Rin glanced at him again. The same smug face. The same perfect hair. His jacket zipped all the way up, collar pulled high, hiding his neck. As always.
"He never lets his guard down," Rin thought, eyes narrowing.
"Even when he's with me, he's wrapped in armor. Always neat. Always hiding something. I don't trust people who keep everything covered."
He turned away, looking out the windshield for a moment. Then, out of nowhere:
"Quick question, Kai."
Kai raised an eyebrow, not taking his eyes off the road. "Yh, what's up?"
Rin's tone stayed flat, serious — but just slightly edged with something else. Not quite amusement. Not quite interest. More like… calculated curiosity.
"You're always covering yourself up in front of me," Rin said, tapping his finger against the window rhythmically. "So I never got to see."
He paused. Just long enough for Kai's attention to shift.
"Do you even have abs?"
There was a flicker — the corner of Kai's mouth twitching. But his voice was light when he answered, teasing.
"Why do you ask?"
Rin turned his gaze fully toward him, deadpan, unwavering. No smirk. No blush. Just seriousness sharpened into something clinical.
"I'm thinking about smearing something onto you once we're done with this mission."
There was a beat of total silence.
Then Kai burst into laughter.
Loud. Real. The kind of laugh that made him throw his head back slightly and actually lose his grip on the wheel for a second. The car swerved a little before he righted it.
"Holy shit— you've got timing, Rin," Kai said, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. "You deliver it like a death threat, but I swear you're flirting."
"I'm not," Rin said blankly, staring out the window again. "I'm being practical."
Kai smirked, leaning just a bit closer as he shifted gears.
"Well then. I'll make sure I'm shirtless and ready for product testing."
The tracker started beeping, pulsing red on the screen in Kai's hand, and Rin's eyes narrowed on the building up ahead. A stark mansion cloaked in silence, walled off by high iron fences and a ruthless kind of cold. Snow blew sideways across the windshield in sheets. The engine hummed low as they came to a stop in the tree line, just shy of the outer perimeter.
"Is that it?" Rin asked, already eyeing the multiple surveillance cameras pivoting along the edge of the gate, the guards posted at clean intervals.
Kai leaned back in the driver's seat, cool as ever, lips curling. "I think so."
Rin exhaled slowly through his nose, clearly unimpressed. "Looks like we won't be able to just barge in."
"Why not?" Kai asked innocently.
Rin side-eyed him like he was staring at a defective toaster.
'Is he seriously asking me that right now?'
"Look around, you idiot," Rin said flatly, gesturing. "We can't just stroll through the front gate and scream 'Fuck, we're here!' You think they'll send us cookies? There are cameras everywhere. Armed guards. I suppose you have nine lives or something?"
Kai's grin only grew wider, boyish, obnoxious, proud.
'He's grinning like he just got praised. That wasn't a compliment. I was insulting you. How is that hard to grasp?' Rin thought, pressing his thumb into his temple.
"Since we've tracked Takeda down," Rin said, trying to steer the conversation back to sanity, "why don't we keep an eye on him from nearby? Quietly. Like professionals."
"Hmm, suuuure," Kai drawled, spinning the wheel to reverse as the snow began to fall heavier outside. Huge, wet flakes smearing against the windshield, as if nature itself wanted to obscure everything ahead.
'How the hell is he even driving without GPS?' Rin thought, eyeing the dashboard. No map. No navigation. Nothing but Kai's instinct, which was equal parts genius and menace.
As if he'd heard the thought, the tires let out a sudden—
SCREEEEECHHHHH.
Rin jolted, nearly headbutting the dashboard. "WHAT THE FU—"
"Get out," Kai said casually, already opening his door, fur coat catching the wind like a royal cape. No explanation. No pause.
'Get out? Now? In this cold? In the middle of nowhere? Is he seriously suggesting we… camp outside?' Rin's thoughts were an avalanche of disbelief.
Still, he followed. Adjusting his shirt collar, slamming the door behind him. "You better not be dragging me out here for another one of your 'tests,'" Rin muttered.
"Relax," Kai called over his shoulder, smirking. "I won't eat you alive. Just follow me."
'He's always teasing me like this. As if he gets to enjoy the game while I freeze my ass off,' Rin thought, trudging through ankle-deep snow behind him.
They walked for almost half an hour. No lights. No signs of life. Just trees and wind and ice slicing through their clothes like razors. Rin was freezing, coat clutched tight, jaw clenched.
'Where the hell are we going?'
Just as his patience started to snap, something caught his eye.
Smoke.
Thin tendrils drifting up through the trees, curling like a beacon.
"Smoke…" Rin muttered. Then louder—"SMOKE!! FIRE!!"
Rin broke into a sprint, crashing through the frostbitten path like a deer fleeing a predator.
Ahead, nestled behind tall evergreens and half-buried in snow, was a small rustic hotel. Warm light pooled from the windows, and a chimney puffed smoke into the night sky.
He practically slammed the door open, stumbling inside. Heat wrapped around him like a blanket. He was shivering violently, breath fogging.
"I-I'd like a room, please," Rin said, pressing both hands on the reception desk, snow melting in puddles around his boots.
The receptionist blinked, startled. "Did you make a reservation, sir?"
"No, I didn't," Rin gritted out. "Do you have any rooms available?"
The woman hesitated, eyeing the screen. "Yes, but… would one room be alright?"
Rin's soul nearly left his body.
"No. Two. Two separate rooms," he snapped, holding up two frozen fingers like he was about to jab them directly into her eye sockets if she didn't comply.
Then the door behind him creaked open with a small gust of wind.
In walked Kai, brushing snow off his fur coat like royalty entering a ballroom. Casual. Unbothered. He shook his head like a dog, spraying water everywhere.
"Oh," the receptionist said with a polite smile, "I'm sorry, sir—but we only have one room left."
Rin's whole face dropped. He slowly turned to Kai, jaw tightening.
'Of course. Of course this happens. Of all the goddamn days, it had to be now. He's going to act like he planned this all along. He probably did.'
Kai looked like he'd just won a prize he didn't even enter for. His smirk curled up like the devil's autograph. "Well," he said, glancing at Rin, "guess we'll have to share again."
"Shut. The hell. Up," Rin muttered through gritted teeth, wondering if they'd kick him out if he punched this man square in the jaw.
The silence between them was thick—dense enough to suffocate. Not the kind of quiet born from peace, but the heavy, unspoken tension that crackled like static in the air. You could've heard a pin drop. Even the ticking of the antique wall clock seemed obnoxiously loud in the stillness of the manor room.
They sat opposite each other at a long oak table, its surface polished to a cold sheen, untouched by time but not by tension.
Rin had his arms crossed, fingers twitching subtly—his body, rigid. His dark curls cast a shadow over his eyes as he tilted his head, stealing occasional glances at Kai, who was lounging like a king in exile, legs spread slightly, his usual smirk painted lazily across his lips.
"I thought once we got off that cursed train, I'd no longer have to be caged in with this bastard," Rin thought bitterly, suppressing the urge to groan aloud. "Yet here we are—still shackled to the same mission, still in the same space. I can't sleep without one eye open. He's unpredictable. A phantom one second, a nightmare the next."
His jaw clenched as he studied Kai, who looked like he was made for rooms like this—aristocratic architecture, old money walls, shadows cast by secrets. The kind of room where betrayals were spoken in low voices and deals were sealed with lies.
"He says he's chasing the advantages of owning Persephone—power, leverage, influence. But... I've watched him. He doesn't crave control or wealth the way most people do. He's just... playing. Like a child dressing up as a spy, completely enamored by the drama. No fear of casualties. No regard for consequences. It's all a damn game to him." Rin's brows furrowed deeper. "If he gets bored, he won't hesitate to put a bullet in me just to spice things up."
Kai leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on his knees, and tilted his head with a slow grin.
"Damn, Rin. I can hear your thoughts from here," he said smoothly, voice a low drawl like the purr of a dangerous animal.
Rin didn't flinch. "Oh please. I'm just gathering my thoughts. Nothing worth your ego."
Kai's grin widened, but he didn't press. He enjoyed letting his presence take up space, like he knew he was already under Rin's skin.
Rin changed the subject—sharp, fast. "Who lives in that manor? The one Takeda was taken to."
Kai sat back lazily, eyes drifting toward the ceiling. "I recognized the crest on the gates. Anyone in Russia would. It's the Romanov family's insignia."
Rin's mind immediately clicked into gear.
"If he's telling the truth, we're finally on the right track. I thought we might've lost Scythe-9 before even confirming if it's actually Persephone."
He exhaled slowly through his nose. "The stakes are climbing. We don't get a second shot at this."
"Alright," Rin said. "Let's stake it out. Find a way to sneak in without being noticed."
Kai stood up with a stretch that felt too theatrical. He paused at the door, casting a glance over his shoulder. "By the way, I heard there's a sauna here," he said, already smirking. "Wanna join me?"
Rin blinked. "...A sauna?"
The word sat oddly on his tongue, especially coming from him. Rin's mind flashed back—sharp and unwanted. Images of the train. Of Kai walking around half-naked with women. Of Kai's laugh echoing from behind a wall. The way he'd brought women into the cabin just to flaunt them, all while making a game of eye contact with Rin from across the room.
"A sauna does sound good right now… My muscles ache, my head is foggy, I haven't had a real moment to breathe since the ambush. But must it be with him?" Rin grimaced internally. "This guy… he's dangerous in a way that has nothing to do with violence. He gets under your skin and you don't notice until it's too late."
Still, Rin couldn't shake something else—something far more unnerving than lust or annoyance.
"He's never shown his full body. Even when he had sex with those women, he kept some part of himself covered. No shirt off. No vulnerability. Nothing. Like he's hiding something. Something under the surface... something he doesn't want seen."
Rin's curiosity coiled tight in his chest.
"What the hell is he keeping under wraps?"
Rin slowly stood up. "Alright. Let's go."
Rin sat on the lower wooden bench of the sauna, a towel wrapped tightly around his waist like it was armor. Beads of sweat slid slowly down his chest and arms, catching on old scars and fresh tension. His dark hair clung to his forehead, damp from the rising heat, as he reached for the wooden ladle resting beside the bucket. With a deliberate motion, he poured water over the red-hot coals. A fresh wave of steam hissed into the room, wrapping around him like a ghost—thick, hot, and intimate.
"So this guy's seriously looking for vodka here..." Rin thought, exhaling slowly through his nose. The ridiculousness of it all made his temples throb. He ran a hand through his hair and leaned back slightly, letting the heat sink into his sore muscles.
"He'll be here soon. Kai, you won't be able to avoid taking your clothes off this time."
That thought should've made him smug. Triumphant, even. But instead, it felt…complicated. Rin swallowed, throat dry despite the humidity.
"Haa... Why am I this desperate to see another man's body? No, no—it's not about that. He's been acting suspicious. That's all. He's manipulative, evasive, always playing his stupid little games. Watching his body language might tell me more than his damn words ever will. Not like showing some skin would hurt him. It's just heat. A strategic observation."
He groaned quietly and pinched the bridge of his nose, more annoyed with himself than anything. "God, I sound like a pervert trying to write a mission report."
And then—the door creaked open.
Rin's head snapped up instantly.
There he was.
Kai stepped inside, steam curling around his frame like it welcomed him—like it had been waiting. He was carrying a bottle of clear vodka in one hand, two glasses in the other… and not a single thread of clothing on his body.
Rin's eyes went wide.
He saw everything.
Everything.
The bottle of vodka was the second thing Rin noticed. The first was… well.
"That's his size… without an erection?" Rin thought, brain buffering like a crashed hard drive. "Shit. Maybe that's where 'Persephone' has been all along…"
His throat went dry—like, sandpaper dry—and he blinked rapidly, trying not to stare, trying to play it cool. But Kai walked forward, completely unbothered by his own nakedness, and sat down directly across from Rin, legs wide and posture infuriatingly relaxed. The heat in the room somehow spiked.
And not just because of the coals.
Kai started pouring the vodka like this was some casual afternoon picnic. As if he wasn't just... completely nude and oozing confidence in every arrogant muscle of his body.
Rin scowled, trying to tear his gaze upward. Eyes. Focus on his eyes, damn it.
"Why are you even naked?" Rin asked, voice hoarse and clipped.
Kai smirked—of course he did—and passed one of the glasses across the short distance between them.
"Aren't we supposed to do it naked?" he replied, as if that was the most logical answer in the universe. "Besides... I'm Russian, baby."
Rin's eye twitched. "Baby?" He ignored the glass for a second, pinching the bridge of his nose again like he was trying to physically stop his soul from leaving his body.
Rin couldn't stop staring.
He knew he should. He told himself to. Over and over again. But somehow, his eyes kept dragging themselves back to it.
"It looks like it has a mind of its own…" Rin thought, jaw tight, mind scrambling to find any excuse—any—to justify why he was still looking.
And worse—it was pink. Almost delicate-looking, like the rest of Kai's absurdly pale body. Smooth. Buff. Deceptively untouched by the world they both lived in.
No scars. No callouses. No bullet burns. No jagged stitch lines. Nothing.
That body is too clean for someone like him.
So what the hell is he hiding?
And still, Rin's gaze dipped lower again. A glutton for punishment.
"You should stop staring," Kai said casually, extending the bottle with one hand, the other resting far too comfortably on his thigh. "I'll have to put it in somewhere if you get it up."
Rin almost choked.
"Ugh. Look at him. Saying bullshit like that with a straight face…" Rin thought, trying to scowl as he extended his glass. The vodka burned less than his own pride.
Still, his eyes moved. Damn them, they moved.
Back across Kai's chest.
"Anyway...from the looks of it, he doesn't have a single scar. Nothing. Smooth. Like a damn mannequin. Then what the hell was he always hiding under those layers? And his nipples…pink. Why the hell are they pink? Do men even come in that shade? What is he, 2% milk?"
Rin didn't realize he was speaking out loud until the words came tumbling out:
"Wow… Since you always refused to take your clothes off, I thought you were hiding a big secret under there."
Kai grinned like he'd been waiting for that bait to be swallowed.
"Did you want to see my body that bad?" he purred. "You perv."
"Tsk..." Rin clicked his tongue in irritation, looking away.
Kai moved lazily, pouring more water onto the coals with a careless flick of the wrist. The room hissed, steamed up instantly, curling around them like a snake. Kai shut his eyes as the heat wrapped around his frame, his head leaning back just slightly.
"Haa…" he exhaled, the sound oddly sensual—like he'd just bitten into something sweet.
And Rin... kept looking. He couldn't stop.
Kai's skin glistened now, slick with sweat, and every line of muscle glowed in the dim light. His neck was long, collarbones sharp, chest rising and falling in slow, deliberate rhythm. His legs were spread—of course they were—and every inch of him was stretched out like he belonged there.
And then—
Kai opened his eyes.
Rin's gaze was still locked on him.
Their eyes met.
Rin flinched like he'd been caught with his hand in something shameful, yanked his gaze away like it burned. "Shit. Why the hell am I looking at him?"
Kai didn't say anything. Just reached for the bottle again.
"Want some more vodka?" he asked casually.
Rin, grateful for the distraction, extended his glass again.
He drank, fast.
Too fast.
The heat and alcohol were clouding his brain like fog on glass. But he needed the distance it gave him. He couldn't think clearly in this room. Not with him in it.
And Kai—
Was watching.
The entire time.
His eyes darkened, and then—he licked his bottom lip, slow and deliberate.
"I think I kinda get it now…" Kai murmured, voice soft, deadly, and close.
Rin froze.
Kai leaned forward, the space between them closing like a trap.
"With a pretty face like yours…" he whispered, lips barely parted, "I can just imagine. If I ever get my hands on you, Rin… I'll ruin you."
He smiled—but not kindly. It wasn't flirtation.
It was promise.
"I'd have you sobbing for hours," he continued. "Begging. Shaking. You'd fall apart in my hands like you were made to. I bet you'd sound so pretty too…"
Rin's heart stuttered.
The line between fear and fury shattered.
His body moved before his brain could stop it.
He grabbed a handful of peppermint leaves from the bucket—a sharp, cold burst in his palm—and with one fluid motion—
SLAPPED Kai across the face.
The crack echoed through the room like gunfire.
Kai's head snapped to the side, his damp hair whipping over his cheek, sticking to the sweat on his skin. His cheek turned red instantly. It should've hurt.
But—
Kai didn't move.
Didn't flinch.
Didn't speak.
He just sat there.
Still.
Breathing slow.
Expression blank.
Eyes… empty.
Not angry. Not amused. Not human.
Just cold.
Like something had shut off behind his gaze.
Rin's stomach dropped.
"Shit. Shit. What did I just do?"
And then—
The room exploded.
A blur of motion.
Fast.
Brutal.
Unforgiving.
Rin didn't even see the hit coming—he just felt it.
A hard impact to his chest, and suddenly his entire body was slammed into the wooden sauna wall. His shoulder hit first, then his ribs, then his face scraped the paneling.
"Ugh—!" Rin choked out, stars bursting behind his eyes.
He tried to push away, to move, but—
Kai was already over him.
Towering.
Trapping.
His breath was harsh now. His hair hung in wet strands around his face, his body still glistening—but now, that serene confidence was gone.
And something feral had replaced it.
Kai wasn't smiling anymore.
His eyes were flat. Hollow. Like staring into a frozen lake, dark and bottomless.
His voice was gone.
Even his smirk had vanished.
He looked down at Rin like he didn't recognize him. Like Rin was just an object—a problem that had moved out of place.
Rin couldn't breathe.
The tension wasn't lust anymore.
It was danger.
"I pushed him too far," Rin realized. "This—this is the real Kai. Not the smirking flirt. This is the version of him that kills people and doesn't blink."
His pulse thudded in his ears.
Kai's eyes dropped.
Down.
Lower.
Fixated.
His gaze locked on Rin's ass—towel barely hanging on, clinging more to pride than fabric. And then, with a slow, deliberate motion that made Rin's skin crawl, Kai raised a hand—
Hovering.
Fingertips barely inches away.
As if he was about to touch.
Rin felt every cell in his body ignite.
"Oh hell nah—" Rin's brain screamed, pure reflex kicking in.
Adrenaline slammed through his system like a shot of lightning. Without thinking, he twisted his body, grabbing Kai's wrist mid-air. There was a tense snap of skin-on-skin, a struggle of muscle against muscle, heat clashing in the tiny space.
And then—
With everything he had, Rin shoved him.
Hard.
Kai lost balance, arms flailing—and in one powerful movement, Rin threw him like a sack of wet laundry. A dull thud echoed as Kai's back hit the wooden bench, knocking over the bottle of vodka and sending the glasses clattering to the floor.
For a moment—
Total silence.
The steam hung thick.
The only sound was Rin's ragged breathing, chest heaving, towel barely staying in place. His heart was hammering so violently, it felt like it was going to claw its way out of his ribcage.
Kai was sprawled on the floor, legs tangled, blonde hair disheveled, body glistening with sweat, looking like the end result of a brawl in a bathhouse.
Then—
Laughter.
Unhinged. Loud. Almost manic.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA—" Kai erupted into laughter, face flushed red not from anger but sheer amusement. He slapped his thigh, howling like Rin had just done the funniest thing in the world.
Rin stood there, expression stone-cold, adjusting his towel with all the dignity of a prince who had just been dunked in a sewer.
"Tsk, tsk," he hissed, his lip twitching, trying not to murder this man with his bare hands.
Kai was still laughing.
Rin glared.
"What now? You gonna tell mommy?"
Kai barely paused, grinning up at him. "Yes," Rin snapped, voice sharp like broken glass. "I'm gonna tell her that some blonde Russian tried harassing me, so she can beat your psycho ass into next week."
And with both hands, Rin flipped him off—middle fingers raised in defiance like twin swords of justice—before storming toward the door, his footsteps echoing on the wood, towel swaying behind him like a damn cape.