Maki grabbed the trunk of a nearby tree, her knees suddenly feeling a little weak.
"What the hell...?" she whispered, her breathing coming just a little bit faster.
It wasn't just a physical feeling. A rush of intense emotions flooded her mind—a sharp spike of panic, total embarrassment, and then a deep, overwhelming sense of affection. It felt like she had just been kissed.
Hard. The sensation was so real and so strong that she reached up and touched her own lips, completely confused.
For a split second, she felt a powerful pull in her chest, and an image of Ren's face flashed in her mind. He was smiling that annoying, confident smile of his.
Maki shook her head quickly, squeezing her eyes shut to clear her head.
"Focus, idiot," she muttered to herself, lightly slapping her own cheeks with both hands.
"You're just tired. The cold is messing with your head."
She gritted her teeth, forcing her heavy boots forward through the thick snow. This was no time to act stupid. She was freezing her ass off in a dead forest, hunting for a sword.
But no matter how hard she glared at the trees ahead, that stubborn heat under her ribs refused to freeze over. Frowning, she pressed a gloved hand flat against her jacket. Beneath the thick fabric, she could swear she felt a second, frantic pulse thumping right alongside her own.
Wanting a distraction, Maki reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out her phone. Maybe Ren had texted her. Just seeing a dumb message from him would ground her and make her feel normal again.
She pressed the power button. The screen lit up weakly, the brightness automatically dimming in the cold.
At the top left corner, the words "No Service" stared back at her. Right next to it, the battery icon was blinking an angry red. Four percent left.
"Great." Maki groaned, dropping her head back to look up at the snowy trees.
She shoved the dying phone back into her pocket. She had no map, zero signal, and absolutely no way to call Ren. Taking a deep breath of the freezing air, she forced herself to stand up straight.
Ignoring the weird, warm flutter still resting in her chest, she gripped the handle of her heavy weapon case tighter and kept moving.
...
Back in Tokyo, the morning sun was already warming the busy Shibuya streets. Ren and Mai walked side by side down the crowded sidewalk, carrying hot coffee and a bag of warm pastries Ren had grabbed for breakfast.
The panic from the hotel room had mostly faded into a comfortable, quiet rhythm between them. But as they walked, Ren couldn't help but notice the stares.
High school girls and older women kept turning their heads as they passed. They whispered behind their hands, giggling as they eyed Ren. But the second their gaze shifted to Mai, their expressions soured. They shot her annoyed, jealous glares, clearly wondering how a girl with a permanent scowl had landed a guy like him.
Mai noticed it, too. At first, she just clicked her tongue, annoyed by the crowd. But as the dirty looks kept coming, her stubborn side kicked in. Instead of shrinking away, she closed the gap between them. She bumped her shoulder against his and confidently linked her arm through his, holding on tight.
She shot a deadly glare at a nearby group of whispering girls, her dark eyes practically daring them to say a word. The girls quickly looked down and scurried away.
Ren chuckled, looking down at her. "Careful. Keep glaring like that, and you won't even need your gun."
"They need to learn some manners and stop staring," Mai huffed, keeping her chin high. But despite her tough act, a faint pink was already dusting her cheeks. "It's annoying. You're annoying."
"I'm literally just walking," Ren pointed out innocently, taking a sip of his coffee.
"You're existing too loudly," she shot back, gripping his arm a little tighter.
Right then, a young boy ran past them, dragging his mother by the hand. He stopped dead in his tracks, pointing a little finger straight at Ren and Mai with wide, amazed eyes.
"Look, Mom!" the boy announced, his cheerful voice cutting right through the street noise. "That big sister is holding hands with her handsome boyfriend! They look like a couple from a movie!"
The mother gasped, turning pale as she quickly snatched the boy's hand. "Hush, don't point at strangers! I'm so sorry," she apologized, bowing frantically before dragging her confused kid down the street.
Mai froze dead in her tracks.
Her tough, proud facade shattered in an instant. The faint pink on her cheeks exploded into a bright, burning crimson that reached all the way to the tips of her ears.
She quickly unlinked her arm from his and took a large step away, suddenly finding a random crack in the sidewalk incredibly interesting.
"I... I wasn't... we're not..." she stammered, completely losing her sharp edge. She yanked the collar of her black turtleneck up to hide her burning face, looking everywhere except at Ren.
Ren couldn't help it. He threw his head back and laughed—a loud, genuine sound that made a few more people turn to look.
"Shut up!" Mai hissed, weakly smacking his arm. She tried to pull her defensive attitude back together, but she was way too flustered for it to work. "Stop laughing! It's not funny, idiot!"
"I didn't even say anything," Ren teased, stepping closer. He looked down at her flushed face, his smirk firmly in place. "But the kid wasn't wrong, you know. We do look pretty good together."
"You're an idiot," Mai mumbled into her turtleneck.
She didn't pull away, though. Letting out a soft sigh, she kept her head turned so he wouldn't see her smiling. Reaching out, she quickly slipped her hand back into his.
"Come on," she muttered, giving his arm a light tug. "Let's just go eat."