The silence stretched between them. Akira stood frozen in his own doorway, his bag still hanging from his shoulder, while Rina waited for an answer that could change everything.

"Ai, I need a read on her," Akira thought urgently. "How bad is this?"

"The memory seal is at 23% integrity and dropping, darling. Her subconscious has been chipping away at it for days. That night on the rooftop, the demonic energy exposure... it's all coming back in fragments. She's not going to let this go."

A system notification flashed across his vision.

[CRITICAL SYSTEM ALERT: MEMORY SEAL BREACH]

[RINA KUROGANE IS ATTEMPTING TO RECLAIM "THE TRUTH"]

[CHOICES AVAILABLE - SELECT CAREFULLY]

[A: THE GASLIGHTER - Fabricate a convincing lie about family drama or SPIU harassment. Reward: +50 PP, Memory seal temporarily restored. Risk: EXTREME - Affinity drops to 20, builds "Hidden Resentment" trait, future betrayal potential.]

[B: THE OVERWHELM - Don't explain with words. Use physical intimacy to "reboot" her mental state. Reward: +100 PP, Stalls memory recovery, increases obsession. Risk: HIGH - Replaces confusion with dependency, may not work long-term.]

[C: THE HALF-TRUTH - Admit you've changed and gained abilities, but keep the System secret. Reward: +200 PP, Unlocks Rina as "Confidante/Partner" route. Risk: MODERATE - Makes her a potential SPIU target, requires ongoing trust management.]

Akira looked at Rina's face, taking in the fear and determination, the tears she'd already shed, and the way her hands trembled slightly as she waited for his response.

She deserved better than a lie. But the full truth could get her killed.

So he chose C.

"You're right," Akira said quietly, dropping his bag and closing the distance between them. "The guy you knew… the one who was invisible, who took the hits and said nothing… he died that night at the Halloween party."

Rina's breath hitched. "So something did happen that night on the roof. So, I wasn't crazy."

"No, you weren't crazy. And I'm sorry I made you feel like you were." He stopped just in front of her, close enough that she had to tilt her head back to maintain eye contact. "Something happened to me, Rina. I have... abilities now. Things I can't fully explain."

"What kind of abilities?"

"The kind that make me different… stronger and faster. The kind that draw attention from people you really don't want to know about." He thought of Agent Sato, the SPIU, and the beings from the other world. "Dangerous people."

"Is that why you've been sneaking around? Disappearing in the middle of the night and at school?"

"Yes. There are things in this world that most people don't see, don't know about. And I've been... dealing with them. Trying to keep everyone safe."

Rina processed this, her eyes searching his face for any sign of deception. "Show me. Prove it."

"Rina…"

"If you're telling the truth, show me something. Anything. Because right now, this sounds like a really elaborate excuse for whatever you're actually hiding."

Akira glanced toward the window, making sure the curtains were closed. Then he raised his right hand, palm up, and summoned his ice essence.

The temperature in the room dropped instantly. Frost spread across his palm, crystallising into a perfect sphere of ice that glowed with faint blue light. The sphere floated above his hand, rotating slowly, and casting dancing shadows across the walls.

Rina's eyes went wide. "Oh my god."

"This is real, Rina. All of it. The changes you've seen in me, the things you can't quite remember… it's all real." He closed his hand, and the ice sphere vanished. "I couldn't tell you because I wanted to keep you safe. The less you knew, the less danger you'd be in."

She reached out hesitantly, her fingers brushing his palm where the ice had been. His skin was cold to the touch, frost still clinging to the lines of his hand. "This is insane. This is absolutely insane."

"I know."

"And that night on the rooftop? What happened?"

"You saw something you weren't supposed to see… something dangerous. I had to erase your memory to protect you."

"You... you violated my mind?" Her voice rose slightly, anger flashing in her eyes. "You took my memories without asking?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't know what else to do. If you'd remembered everything, if you'd started asking questions, people would have noticed. People who would have hurt you to get to me."

Rina pulled her hand back, wrapping her arms around herself. "I don't know how to process this. I don't know if I'm angry or relieved or terrified or…" Her voice cracked. "I thought I was losing my mind, Akira. I kept having these dreams, these flashes of things that didn't make sense. I thought there was something wrong with me."

"There's nothing wrong with you. You're one of the strongest people I know." He stepped closer again, his voice dropping. "And I can't keep you at a distance anymore. Not when you're this close to the truth anyway."

She looked up at him, tears streaming down her face now. "What does that mean?"

"It means I'm trusting you with this. With knowing what I am, what I can do. It means you're part of my inner circle now, whether that's safe or not." He reached up, gently wiping away one of her tears with his thumb. "But you have to understand the risks. If certain people find out you know about this…"

"I don't care about the risks," Rina interrupted. "I've been going crazy for weeks, Akira. Feeling like I'm broken, like I can't trust my own mind. This… knowing the truth… it's worth any risk."

"You say that now, but…"

She grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him down to her level. "I mean it. I'd rather be in danger and know the truth than be safe and slowly lose my sanity."

They were very close, just inches apart, and he could feel her warm breath on his lips. The fear in her eyes had transformed into something else… determination, yes, but also something deeper. Trust. Relief.

And underneath it all, that same attraction that had been building between them since he'd talked to her when she'd broken up with Kenji weeks ago.

"Rina," he said softly, his hands moving to her waist. "There's no going back from this. Once you're in, you're in. You'll see things, know things that will change how you view the entire world."

"I'm already in," she whispered. "I was in the moment I started having those dreams, the moment I felt that energy around you. You can't protect me by keeping me in the dark anymore."

She was right. The seal was breaking anyway, and trying to maintain it would only cause more damage. Better to have her as an ally, someone who understood, than to let her spiral further into confusion and fear.

Akira activated his Aura of Dominance, not to dominate her, but to ground her. To let her feel the reality of what he'd become, to anchor her mind to something solid and true.

The effect was immediate. Rina's eyes dilated slightly, and her breathing steadied as the aura washed over her. It wasn't overwhelming or aggressive; it was warm, protective, undeniable.

"You feel that?" he asked.

"Yes," she breathed. "It's like... like standing near a fire. It… it feels comforting but dangerous."

"That's what I am now. Comforting but dangerous." He pulled her closer, eliminating the last inches between them. "And I need you to understand that being close to me means accepting both sides of that."

"I do understand. I want to be close to you anyway."

The words lingered between them for a moment, then Rina closed the distance and gently pressed her lips to his.

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