Mei slowly opened her eyes. Looking around, she realized she was inside a carriage. From the rattling and swaying, she could tell it was moving.

She was disoriented, but she noticed that neither Kai nor Lily were there.

She looked to both sides. "Bro?" she called, but no answer came. She decided to stand up and check if maybe they were sitting with the driver.

She reached for the carriage door and tried to open it, but it didn't budge. She blinked a few times, then tried again — still nothing.

"Brother?" she called, knocking on the door.

"Finally awake, are you?" a voice came from the driver's seat.

"Who are you?" Mei asked, not recognizing the voice.

"Huh? How come you don't remember me?" said the person controlling the reins on the other side of the wooden frame.

"I don't bother remembering voices of people who don't matter to me!" Mei shouted from inside.

"Don't matter? I'm offended! I even gave you a talisman to cheer you up!" the person yelled back.

"Miyuki?" Mei asked, confused — and a little scared.

"I gave you that talisman, and you and your brother sent me on a suicide mission! It's a miracle I even survived!" Miyuki shouted, jerking the reins.

"Impossible!" Mei cried out, calculating something in her head. "Someone helped you…? Someone powerful!" she gasped, unable to figure out who it could be.

"Yes… I almost died, but then he appeared…" Miyuki said, drooling slightly as she thought about Vex.

"Who could that be…?" Mei wondered. The only person that came to mind was Yuki, but even that didn't make sense.

As she tried to guess who it might be, another thought hit her. She clenched her fist and with a loud "SMACK!" slammed it into the door — nothing. "Tsk!" she growled.

"Hit it all you want, the doors are reinforced with magic!" Miyuki yelled, pushing the horses to go faster.

⬛ ⬛ ⬛

Kai and Lily had been walking for hours, trying to reach the White House. They walked in silence, one behind the other.

Lily still held her stomach — the pain hadn't subsided. She began to fear she might never be able to bear a child after that blow. But she had to stay strong. She forced herself to stop thinking about it and focus on her duty.

As she walked, she spotted someone in the distance. "M-Master… there! It's Kitty!" she cried.

Kai looked over and saw Lilith running, with a man beside her. He blinked a few times, trying to figure out who it was, but they were too far away.

Lily and Kai paused, waiting for them.

When Kitty and the mysterious man were only a few meters away, Kai raised his hand. "Stop!" he commanded. "Who are you?"

The man knelt down and bowed his head slightly. "Are you the one who killed my master?" he asked.

"Probably… depends who we're talking about," Kai replied.

"Cataclyst…" the man said.

"Giant Axolotl...? Yeah... I did it, but you look familiar…" Kai muttered, scratching his chin. "Ah — you're the guy who sold us that potion!" he said, remembering the scene in the library.

"Yes… yes, that's me…" the man said, nodding quickly.

"Aizen, right?" Kai asked.

The man kept nodding. "Yes, yes — wait, what?" he paused, staring at Kai in confusion. "No, my name's Aki…"

"Bruh… that sounds weird. What do you want?" Kai asked, stepping toward Kitty and bending down to pet her.

Aki cleared his throat. "Since you killed my master, my life now belongs to you. Please — let me serve you."

"You need a new master, huh?" Kai mused, then smiled slightly. "Of course. We'll need all the help we can get. Welcome to the team."

"Oh… thank you, my Master!" Aki exclaimed, lowering his head to the ground in gratitude and respect.

"We'll rest here," Kai said, sitting down and petting Lilith's stomach.

"Alright…" Lily whispered, standing behind Kai and keeping her eyes on Aki — just in case.

Kitty started rolling on the ground as Kai scratched and petted her, pretending to enjoy every second of that degradation. "Prrrrrrrrr…" she purred softly.

"You're such a cute kitty…" Kai said, bringing his face close until their noses touched. Then he stroked her head. "Who's a good girl?" he asked softly.

Lily watched as Kai gently caressed Lilith, her chest tightening with every movement of his hand. A dull, hollow ache spread through her heart — not the sharp sting of jealousy, but something far deeper, emptier.

Her face was still smeared with dirt and dried blood; faint trails of tears had carved pale lines down her cheeks.

Yet beneath that mask of exhaustion was a quiet, aching sadness — the kind that sits in the soul and refuses to fade. She wasn't angry… only painfully aware of the distance between what she wanted and what reality allowed her to have.

Though a faint pain still lingered in her stomach, the one in her heart was far stronger — a quiet, unbearable throb that pulsed with every breath she took. It wasn't just loneliness; it was the weight of years slipping by, the reminder that she was already in her early thirties… and still a virgin.

Her body yearned for touch, yet her duty to protect the Presidents kept her chained, away from any form of intimacy.

No matter how fiercely she tried to suppress it — that raw, burning lust — her body always betrayed her, slipping past her reason. Even now, as her eyes followed Kai's gentle touch on Lilith, her chest tightened and her pulse raced.

And yet, alongside that fierce, aching desire, there was a hollow emptiness that gnawed at her from within. She longed for warmth, for someone to hold her,

FOR A LOVE

—but she couldn't. Not while the invisible chains of duty coiled tightly around her, demanding loyalty, silence, and sacrifice above all else.

Her hands twitched, craving contact they weren't allowed to seek. Her lips parted slightly, a soft, trembling whisper escaped "Just a little longer…" The words were fragile, almost a plea — a fragile promise to herself that one day, maybe, the weight pressing on her chest would lift, and she could finally be more than just a guardian.

"Lily…" Kai said suddenly, his eyes never leaving Kitty.

Lily whipped her head toward him, her heart skipping a beat. "Yes!?" she exclaimed, louder than she meant to, her voice carrying a nervous edge.

Without glancing at her, Kai raised a hand, pointing subtly to the left. "There's a stream over there. Wash your face," he said.

Lily didn't hesitate. She turned in that direction and began walking shakily, then quickened her pace when she heard the gentle sound of running water.

The clear stream flowed swiftly, cascading down small stone ledges like miniature waterfalls. Lily knelt beside it.

She cupped her hands, letting the cool water pool and flow through her fingers, then lifted it to her face. The liquid washed away the grime, the blood — yet no matter how much she cleansed, she couldn't wash away the weight in her chest.

Slowly, her features reemerged: soft, delicate, undeniably pretty… but beneath the surface lingered a deep, invisible scar carved by years of longing and sorrow.

Her gaze locked onto her reflection, and for a moment, the quiet girl staring back at her seemed fragile, almost lost. "Will I ever be loved?" she whispered, her voice breaking.

Her fingers clawed at her hair, twisting and clutching it as if to anchor herself, to keep from falling apart. And then, a single tear slipped free, tracing a warm path down her cheek and splashing into the water below, sending her reflection shivering into trembling ripples, fractured and imperfect — just like her heart.

She couldn't help but wonder if loyalty had cost her something far greater than her freedom — her humanity.

⬛ ⬛ ⬛

Meanwhile, Mei sat bound in cold chains, a blindfold pressed tightly over her eyes, leaving her in near-complete darkness. The harsh metal dug into her wrists and ankles. She was held captive in the Organization's main base.

"Brother… it's cold…" she murmured, her voice barely more than a whisper, fragile and quivering with fear. Each word trembled on her lips, carrying the weight of desperation and longing.

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