Her voice was quiet. Steady.

"Not yet. You're right, Kimiko-san. He doesn't deserve the pain this would cause him right now." She paused. "And we're not strong enough yet to survive what would happen after."

Natalia turned to me. Something passed between us in that look. An understanding that went deeper than words.

"When the time comes, I will be the one to tell him. When we're ready. When we're untouchable." She lifted her chin. "That's my choice."

Kimiko stared at Natalia like she'd never seen her before either.

"You understand what you're committing to," Kimiko said slowly. "Both of you. This isn't some romantic story where love conquers all. The world is cruel to people like you. The VHC. The guilds. The media. They will tear you apart if they sense weakness."

"Let them try." Natalia's hand was steady in mine now. "We'll be ready."

I watched my mother's face cycle through about a dozen emotions. Grief. Anger. Fear. Resignation. And finally, something that looked almost like admiration.

She'd lost. She knew it. We all knew it.

Kimiko reached for a napkin. Dabbed at her eyes. When she looked up again, her expression was composed. Controlled. The mask was back in place.

"Then you'd both better get strong enough," she said quietly. "Fast. Because the world does not forgive what it doesn't understand. And it will not understand this."

She stood. Smoothed down her yukata. Looked at us one last time with eyes that held too much pain and too much love.

"I need to clean up. The car will be here in an hour."

She walked away. Her footsteps on the hardwood were soft and the bathroom door clicked shut somewhere down the hall.

I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding.

"Holy shit."

Natalia turned to me. Her eyes were still wet, but she was smiling. Actually smiling.

"You love me."

"Yeah." I pulled her close. Pressed my forehead to hers. "Turns out I do. Surprise."

"You absolute bastard." She laughed. It sounded watery and real. "That's how you tell me? In front of your mother during an interrogation?"

"My timing has always been terrible."

"Your timing is perfect." She kissed me. Soft and sweet and nothing like the desperate, claiming kisses we'd shared upstairs. This was different. Gentler. "I love you too."

The words hit me harder than I expected. Three simple words that felt like a binding contract written in blood.

Nel's voice whispered in the back of my mind, amused and approving.

[Well played, King. You've turned a potential checkmate into a strategic retreat. The Matriarch's Gaze curse remains, but its teeth have been dulled. She's watching you now not as a criminal, but as a son making terrible choices. That's... workable.]

I ignored her. Focused on the girl in my arms instead.

Natalia pulled back just enough to look at me properly.

"We really need to stop having important conversations right before we leave for major life events," she said. "First the exam. Now the academy. What's next, our wedding vows?"

"Don't even joke about that. We'd probably end up getting married in the middle of a Gate Break with monsters as witnesses."

"Knowing our luck? Absolutely."

We stood there for a moment, just breathing together. The breakfast sat abandoned on the table. The rice was getting cold. The miso would have a skin forming on top soon.

None of it mattered.

"Do you think she'll really keep the secret?" Natalia's voice was small.

"She will." I kissed her temple. "Because she loves you too. And she knows telling Luka right now would destroy you both."

"We're going to hurt him eventually."

"I know."

"He's going to hate us."

"Probably."

She was quiet for a beat. Then, so soft I almost missed it: "Worth it."

"Yeah." I tightened my arms around her. "Yeah, it is."

The sound of running water stopped. Kimiko would be back soon to finish packing, to help us load the car, to see us off with a smile that would hide the heartbreak underneath.

We'd won this battle. Secured the truce we needed.

The war was just beginning.

My phone buzzed. I pulled it out, still holding Natalia with one arm.

Text from Emi: 'OMG SATORI I'M SO NERVOUS I THINK I PACKED TOO MUCH HELP' Followed by approximately seventeen panicked emojis.

Natalia saw the message. Her expression shifted slightly. Not quite jealous, not quite resigned. Something in between.

"You still need to text her back."

"Later." I pocketed the phone. "Right now I'm exactly where I need to be."

"Liar." She poked me in the chest, right over the Liar's Brooch. "You want to check on her. You're worried she's spiraling."

Damn the brooch.

"Fine. Maybe a little."

"It's okay." Natalia stepped back, smoothing down her uniform. "She's one of your people now. You're allowed to care."

"You're handling this better than I expected."

"I'm compartmentalizing." She flashed me a smile that had edges. "Ask me again in a week when we're all living in the same building and I have to watch you be charming at her."

"You're the one who wanted to recruit her."

"I know. Doesn't mean I have to like it."

Fair enough.

Footsteps approached. Kimiko emerged from the hallway, her face freshly washed. She'd reapplied her makeup. You couldn't tell she'd been crying unless you knew what to look for.

I knew what to look for.

"The car will be here soon," she said, not quite meeting our eyes. "Make sure you have everything."

"We will."

An awkward pause. Then Kimiko did something I didn't expect.

She crossed the room and pulled me into a hug.

I froze. My arms hung useless at my sides while she held me tight, her face pressed against my shoulder.

"Be safe," she whispered. "Please. Whatever else you do, whatever choices you make, just... come back to me safe."

My throat tightened. Kaelen Leone had never been hugged like this. Like he mattered. Like someone would miss him if he disappeared.

I wrapped my arms around her. Held her close.

"I will. Promise."

She pulled back. Cupped my face in her hands the way she used to when I was younger. When the old Satori still lived here and made her smile without breaking her heart.

"I see him in you sometimes," she said softly. "Your father." Her eyes searched mine. "Just... try not to make the same mistakes. Whatever he discovered, whatever made them erase him, it wasn't worth losing his family over."

The Liar's Brooch burned.

She was lying. Or at least, she didn't fully believe her own words.

Which meant she suspected the truth about Kenji Nakano was worth every sacrifice he'd made.

"I'll be careful."

"No you won't." She smiled sadly. Released me. "You're your father's son. Careful was never in your vocabulary."

She turned to Natalia. For a long moment, they just looked at each other.

Then Kimiko opened her arms.

Natalia hesitated. Stepped forward. Let herself be pulled into a hug that was equal parts comfort and apology.

"I'm sorry," Kimiko murmured. "For not understanding sooner. For trying to force you apart instead of helping you be smart about this."

Natalia's eyes were shining again when they separated.

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet. This arrangement only works if you both keep your word." Kimiko's expression hardened slightly. "Make yourselves untouchable. Because the moment someone figures out what you are to each other, you'll need to be strong enough to survive the fallout."

"We will be," I said.

"See that you are."

A car horn honked outside.

Time was up.

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