In the moment he was trying to leave, Rei silently threw a glance to one of his soldiers on his right.
His subordinate immediately nodded and made a sign with his hands to his men.
He silently said "Follow him."
So, the men started to follow Kai.
Hina was still looking at the ground, while Akira was thinking about something.
The men quickly reached him and he looked back to them.
He knew that if he would've done something, they would've probably hurt him.
So, Kai didn't speak as the guards escorted him down the narrow corridor.
His breath was sharp, shallow, chest rising and falling with restrained fury.
He didn't fight back — not because he had calmed down, but because he understood something now:
He wasn't going to leave this place anytime soon.
He was trapped.
And everyone around him had known it long before he figured it out.
The door at the end of the hall opened with a mechanical hiss.
One of the guards motioned him inside.
No words. No explanation. Just cold, professional detachment.
Kai stepped in, still fuming.
The door sealed shut behind him with a heavy thunk.
He was alone.
The room was simple — almost deceptively so.
Clean floors. Plain walls. A standard-sized bed. A small desk with a tablet sitting idle. A bathroom tucked in the corner.
Sixty square meters of sterile comfort. Nothing extravagant. Nothing warm.
Kai's boots echoed as he paced in circles, every step faster, sharper. His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. Then finally, with a sharp grunt, he dropped onto the edge of the bed.
He pressed his palms against his face.
It was all too much.
That image of Hikari.
The knife wounds.
The smoke.
The body.
And then Hina — trembling, silent… but not denying it. Not even once.
He had always trusted her. Loved her.
And now, he wasn't sure what he was supposed to feel.
Grief?
Betrayal?
Anger?
All of it churned inside him like poison. And it wouldn't settle.
He lowered his hands and stared at the floor, his shoulders hunched like something was physically crushing him.
He was still sitting quietly on the bed with his eyes focused on a point only he could see.
The sound of his breath was steady now, but his heart was not.
That question kept echoing in his mind.
"Why?"
Why didn't she tell him?
Why did she let him fall so hard for someone capable of…
He didn't even want to finish the thought.
A soft chime echoed from the door — then a click.
Someone was coming in.
Kai didn't turn to look.
Not yet.
But he could already feel it — this wasn't over.
Not by a long shot.