Keifer's POV
The shot echoed—sharp, final.
I didn't even register who fired it at first. My body moved before my mind did. I turned, and there she was—Jay—still on her knees, the gun slipping from her fingers like it had suddenly become too heavy to exist.
The man went down with a shout, clutching his leg, collapsing sideways. Chaos flared for half a second—
And then all I saw was her.
I crossed the distance in two steps and dropped to the ground with her, pulling her into me without thinking. She was shaking. Not crying. Just… shaking. Like her body was finally realizing what had happened.
She buried her face into my chest, fists clutching my jacket as she tried to breathe.
"I've got you," I said, low and steady, even though my own heart was pounding out of my ribs. "You're safe. I've got you."
Her breath hitched once. Twice. Then slowly—painfully—it started to even out.
Behind us, footsteps.
I looked up just in time to see Elara walk toward us.
She stopped barely a step away.
Then—without warning—she folded.
Straight down.
Like someone had switched her off.
She hit the ground on her knees first, then slumped sideways, completely still.
Everyone panicked.
"Elara!"
"What happened—?"
"Is she hit?!"
Aries and Rory rushed in from one side, Percy from the other. Angelo was already kneeling, checking her pulse. Edrix swore under his breath.
"Elara—hey—open your eyes," someone said urgently.
She didn't.
For a terrifying second, my chest tightened.
Then she sighed.
A long, exaggerated, deeply annoyed sigh.
Her eyes stayed closed as she muttered, voice flat and bored,
"I'm… tired."
We all froze.
She shifted slightly on the floor, one arm flopping over her eyes like this was an inconvenience more than anything else.
"Too tired," she added, lazily. "Someone else be dramatic now."
There was a beat.
Then Percy let out a shaky laugh. "She really chose now to power-save."
Angelo exhaled hard, half-angry, half-relieved. "You almost gave us a heart attack."
Elara didn't move. "Not my problem."
I looked down at Jay again. She was still pressed against me, but her grip loosened just a little.
Jay's POV
Oh god.
I just wanted to get buried inside Keifer.
Like—fully disappear. Melt. Become one with his jacket.
Because what Elara just made me do?
Breathtaking.
Terrifying.
Illegal, probably.
I had held a gun for—what—forty-five minutes.
For two days.
And she really looked at that experience and said, yes, this is enough, go save your people.
My hands were still buzzing when I finally pulled my face away from Keifer's chest.
I looked up at him.
He looked… shaken. Pale. Real.
"Oh god," I blurted out, voice breaking despite myself. "You're safe. I thought I—"
I swallowed. "I thought I lost you."
His expression softened instantly, like everything else in the world had just stopped existing.
He smiled. A small one. Warm.
"How could I," he said quietly, "when my queen is here? She saved me."
My heart did a stupid flip.
And then—
His shout flashed in my head.
From earlier.
The way he yelled at me when I arrived. Like I was some reckless kid who didn't belong there.
My softness vanished.
I pushed him away—not hard, just enough—and crossed my arms, turning my face away with a dramatic pout.
"Nope. I'm not talking to you."
He blinked. "Jay—"
"You shouted at me," I said, offended on a personal level. "In front of everyone."
Before he could defend himself—or apologize—or say something sweet—
Elara sighed.
Loudly.
She sat down on the ground again, bending her knees, resting her elbows on them like a bored referee.
"Can you please continue this husband-wife drama later," she said flatly, "I'm not in the mood to listen right now."
I stared at her.
Keifer stared at her.
There was a beat of silence.
Then I muttered, "We're not married."
Elara didn't even look at me.
"Yet."
Keifer coughed.
Yuri came toward me slowly, like he was afraid one wrong word would make me fall apart again.
"Jay… Elara… are you okay?" he asked.
Elara didn't even bother speaking. She just lifted her thumb in the air—lazy, bored, like she had only tripped on stairs and not just ended a whole gang's confidence.
I nodded too. "I'm fine."
Then my chest tightened.
"No," I corrected, looking around at everyone. "Actually—what exactly happened here?"
Kuya Angelo opened his mouth.
"Jay, it's nothing you need to—"
That was it.
"What is your problem?" I snapped, my voice echoing in the godown. "I literally saved you all, and you're still not ready to tell me what's going on?"
Silence.
I turned sharply and fixed Keifer with a death glare.
He looked guilty instantly—eyes soft, shoulders dropping.
"We don't know," he said honestly. "Yuri called us for help. That's all."
Rory frowned and looked at Yuri. "Yeah. What happened? Why were they doing this to you?"
As Yuri hesitated, something caught my eye near my back.
A paper.
Dirty.
Familiar.
I ignored it at first.
Then my heart skipped.
I glanced again.
My breath hitched.
It was the same.
The same hitlist I had seen with Yuri at Sir Alvin's house.
The same names.
The same format.
Before I could say a single word—
Buzz.
Elara's phone vibrated.
She glanced at the screen, expression unchanged, and answered calmly, "Yes."
We all went quiet.
A pause.
She tilted her head slightly. "Is it okay if I don't come?"
Another pause.
"…Alright. I'm coming."
She ended the call, face as bored as ever.
My brain was still buffering.
Like—loading… please wait… trauma + chaos + guns still processing.
Elara ended the call and slipped her phone back into her pocket.
"Continue whatever you were doing," she said lazily. "I have to go somewhere."
Of course you do.
People usually go somewhere after casually turning a crime scene upside down.
She was standing there like gravity personally offended her existence, when—
A red-haired girl suddenly came running.
Straight past us.
Straight to Yuri.
And hugged him.
HUGGED.
HIM.
My soul left my body and stood in the corner like, I did not sign up for this episode.
Everyone froze.
Like statues.
Even the air stopped moving.
The girl clutched Yuri tightly. "Are you okay?" she asked breathlessly. "I'm sorry—I'm sorry I'm late."
Yuri didn't hug her back immediately. He looked… tense. Then—
He looked at me.
That look.
The please-don't-kill-me-I'll-explain look.
I couldn't speak. My mouth opened but no sound came out.
And then my brain screamed—
WAIT.
WAIT A SECOND.
Red hair.
That face.
Oh no.
NO.
This was the same girl.
The one I fought at Yuri's house.
The one who almost turned me into decorative wall art.
My arm moved before my brain caught up.
I pointed at her. "She?"
One word.
Maximum accusation.
She finally let go of Yuri and turned to face us.
Yuri took a long, deep sigh. Like he was about to jump off a cliff.
"She's my girlfriend."
…
What.
"WHATTTTT?" my voice cracked so badly it should've paid rent.
He nodded. "Yeah."
My brain combusted.
"But—HOW?"
He rubbed the back of his neck. "She was my best friend. And now… my girlfriend."
I stared at him.
Then at her.
Then back at him.
"Oh my God," I whispered. "You HID this."
Elara, standing beside me, muttered lazily, "Explains the violence."
I felt betrayed. Confused. Emotionally whiplashed.
This night really said: Jay, how about one more plot twist?
Before my brain could recover from Yuri has a girlfriend and it's the girl I fought,
Elara's phone buzzed again.
She looked at the screen.
Paused.
Then sighed like the universe personally texted her.
"Alright," she said. "I have to go now."
My head snapped toward her. "Go where?"
Even Keifer spoke up, confused. "Where are you going?"
She slid her phone into her pocket and looked at us—calm, unreadable, already halfway gone.
"Friend's need," she said simply.
Then, correcting herself with that annoying wisdom tone,
"Friend in need is a friend indeed."
I blinked. "That doesn't answer anything."
She didn't wait for more questions.
Didn't explain.
Didn't dramatize.
She just turned around and walked away.
One second she was there—
The next, she was gone.
The paper was still in my hand.
I don't know when I picked it up again,
but suddenly it felt heavier than a gun.
The hitlist.
My fingers trembled as realization finally crashed into me like a wave I couldn't outrun anymore.
I know this paper.
My chest tightened.
No more jokes.
No more clumsy thoughts.
No more running.
I couldn't resist anymore.
I turned toward Yuri.
"Yuri," my voice shook, sharp and breaking at the same time, "now I want answers."
I held the paper up between us.
My hand was shaking so badly I had to hold it with the other.
"Yuriiiiii," my voice cracked, almost begging, "I can't wait anymore. Please. Tell us what is happening."
Everyone started speaking at once.
"What is that?"
"Why do you have this?"
"Why are our names—"
Yuri raised his hand.
"Stop."
The room fell silent.
He walked slowly and sat down on the floor, legs crossed, like the weight of everything was too much to carry standing.
He didn't look at anyone.
He stared at the ground.
For a moment, I thought he wouldn't speak.
Then he inhaled deeply.
"…Alright," he said quietly. "I'll tell you everything."
My heart started pounding.
He lifted his eyes to us.
"This," he said, nodding toward the paper, "is a hitlist."
Everyone spoke in unison—
"Hitlist?"
"Yes."
My throat went dry.
"I was supposed to be the heir of the Hinamichi clan."
"Was?" Kuya Angelo asked sharply.
Yuri flinched but nodded.
"Yes. But please… listen to me first."
Everyone went silent again.
He clenched his fists.
"The people in my clan… they were always looking for a chance to remove me. From the moment I became the heir."
My stomach twisted.
"And when I fixed my engagement with Jay," he paused, guilt flashing in his eyes, "using a trick… and then broke it—"
"By trick?!" Kuya Angelo snapped, taking a step forward.
"Kuya," I whispered urgently, grabbing his arm. "Please. Let him finish."
Angelo stopped, jaw tight.
Yuri swallowed hard.
"They saw an opening," he continued. "They kidnapped my mother."
My breath hitched.
"They took her to a hidden village owned by the Hinamichi clan. When I protested… I realized I had no power at all."
His voice trembled now.
"They gave me this hitlist," he said softly, gesturing to the paper, "and ordered me to kill the people whose names are written on it."
The room felt like it was shrinking.
My lips parted.
"And Keifer's name," I said, barely breathing, "is also on it."
Keifer stiffened beside me.
I squeezed his hand hard—grounding him, grounding myself.
Yuri nodded, eyes glassy.
"Yes."
Keifer's shock hurt to see.
I tightened my grip, silently telling him you're here, you're alive.
"And that day," Yuri continued, voice breaking, "when Keifer returned from London… I deliberately killed Sato."
Everything inside me screamed.
"I wasn't proud," he said, tears finally spilling. "I was terrified. I tried to delay it for so long. I was searching for another way. A way to stop all this. A way to save Keifer. To save everyone."
His shoulders shook.
"But today," he whispered, almost collapsing under the words, "they told me it was the last day. If I didn't finish it… they would kill my mother."
I couldn't breathe.
Yuri covered his face for a second, then looked at me with red, broken eyes.
"I was coming to Keifer today," he said, voice barely audible. "To tell him everything. To ask for help."
He laughed bitterly through tears.
"But before I could… Jason found me."
Silence.
Heavy.
Crushing.
My chest hurt like it was splitting open.
I reached out and held Yuri's hand tightly.
He looked at me, tears falling freely now.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I didn't want any of this."