The villa felt… different the moment Akshat stepped inside.
Not in structure. Not in silence.
But in presence.
It wasn't the same air he had left behind months ago. The space carried something unfamiliar now—something lived in, something changed. His footsteps slowed slightly against the polished floor as his eyes scanned the room, instinctively searching for one person.
Aavya.
But instead—
His gaze stopped.
A woman stood near the center of the living area, sunlight spilling across her skin through the wide glass panels. Her hair—green, striking, almost unreal—fell loosely around her shoulders. Her physique had changed completely. Lean. Defined. Athletic in a way that carried both strength and softness.
And the way she stood… relaxed, confident, completely at ease in her own body.
Akshat's eyes narrowed slightly as he observed her face.
The bone structure, the eyes the expression, her seductive dark skin, her brest size, her slim but muscular waist, her thick legs and then he realizes something.
Recognition clicked.
"Aavya," he said slowly, voice carrying quiet certainty, "you look… different."
The girl blinked once, then smiled.
Not shy.
Not hesitant.
Just… real.
"Miss me?" she asked.
Before Akshat could answer, another voice cut in from the side.
"You're staring too much."
Ryuki stepped forward, arms crossed, her expression half-annoyed, half-amused. Her presence hadn't changed much—but something in her eyes had. It was sharper now. More grounded. More… protective.
Akshat shifted his gaze between the two.
Confusion flickered for just a second.
Then he exhaled softly. "I was gone for a few months," he muttered, "not a few years."
Aavya laughed quietly at that, the sound light but layered with something deeper. "Sit," she said, gesturing toward the sofa.
They moved together.
The three of them settled into the living room, but the dynamic had clearly shifted.
Aavya sat… closer than before.
Too close.
Her posture wasn't accidental either. One leg folded slightly, body angled in a way that subtly emphasized her figure without trying too hard. It wasn't forced confidence—it was something she had grown into.
And Akshat noticed.
Of course he did.
His eyes lingered for a fraction too long.
Aavya caught it.
And instead of getting embarrassed…
She didn't look away.
That was new.
That alone was enough to make Akshat blink.
Across from them, Ryuki watched the interaction carefully. Not jealous. Not insecure. Just aware.
There was something unspoken between the two girls.
A shared understanding.
A tension that wasn't hostile… but wasn't simple either.
Akshat leaned back slightly, folding his arms. "Alright," he said calmly. "Explain."
Aavya's expression softened.
And then—
She began.
---
FLASHBACK
The day Akshat disappeared… everything broke.
At first, no one understood what had happened.
There were no signs of struggle. No message. No warning.
Just absence.
Aavya had waited that entire night.
Then another, then another.
Hope didn't fade quickly—but it twisted.
Into fear.
Into panic.
Into something heavier.
Weeks passed, and with each day, the reality settled deeper into her chest.
He wasn't coming back.
Not yet.
Not soon.
Maybe not at all. She stopped leaving her room and stopped eating properly.
Stopped sleeping.
Every sound in the hallway made her heart jump. Every silence crushed it again.
Alexander searched.
Relentlessly.
Ryuki joined him. So did Thomas. Tae Jin. Shintae.
Even Kuroda Haruki, despite everything, moved through the shadows of the city searching for any trace of Kurogami.
But it was useless.
Because no one knew where to look.
A junkyard hidden beneath layers of nothingness wasn't a place you found.
It was a place you survived.
And Akshat was surviving it alone.
---
Inside the villa, Aavya didn't cry while telling the story.
But her voice changed.
It became quieter.
Heavier.
"I thought you were dead," she admitted softly.
Akshat didn't interrupt or Didn't joke.
For once… he just listened.
Beside her, Ryuki leaned back slightly, her gaze drifting for a moment before returning to him.
"She was a mess," Ryuki said bluntly. "Didn't eat. Didn't sleep. Didn't talk."
Aavya nudged her lightly, but didn't deny it.
"So what changed?" Akshat asked.
There was a pause.
A glance.
Between the two girls.
Then Ryuki answered. "I stayed."
Simple words.
But they carried weight.
---
At first, it had been practical.
Ryuki checked on her and made sure she ate.
Sat beside her when the nights got too quiet. Talked when Aavya didn't want to think and listened when she couldn't stop thinking.
It wasn't dramatic.
It wasn't sudden.
It was slow.
Consistent.
Real.
And somewhere in those nights—when fear turned into vulnerability, and vulnerability turned into closeness—something shifted.
Aavya started sleeping again.
But not alone.
At first, it was just comfort.
Just presence.
Just someone breathing beside her in the dark so the silence didn't swallow her whole.
But comfort has a way of evolving.
The distance between them… disappeared.
Hands found hands.
Lips found lips.
Eyes lingered longer.
Moments stretched.
And one night—
They stopped pretending it was just about survival and starts becoming intimate.
---
Back in the present, Aavya looked down slightly, a faint smile forming on her lips.
"She helped me," she said softly. "More than anyone else could."
Ryuki didn't say anything.
But her hand rested quietly beside Aavya's.
Close and touching.
But close enough to mean something.
Akshat stared at them for a long second.
Processing.
Connecting.
Understanding.
Then—
His mouth opened.
And stayed open.
For a solid five seconds.
Until—
A mosquito flew straight in.
He choked slightly, coughing as he snapped back to reality.
"…You two are lesbians??" he blurted out loudly.
The room went silent.
Then Ryuki rolled her eyes. "Wow. Took you long enough."
Akshat ran a hand through his hair, still trying to catch up. "What else happened while I was gone? Did the campus catch fire? Did Alexander start cooking?"
"Don't push it," Ryuki muttered.
Aavya laughed softly again.
And this time—
It didn't sound broken.
---
A few seconds later, Ryuki stood up and walked toward Akshat.
She leaned slightly closer.
Close enough that her voice dropped to a whisper near his ear.
"The date is near," she said quietly.
Akshat's expression shifted instantly.
Focused.
Sharp.
"Fallen Star Auction."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Be ready to destroy it," she continued. "Alexander and Kuroda already made a plan."
For a moment—
Something dangerous flickered behind his calm expression.
Excitement.
Tension.
Anticipation.
"Finally," he murmured.
---
The room settled again.
Silence returned.
But it wasn't the same silence as before.
This one felt… aligned.
Akshat stood up slowly.
Fatigue hit him all at once.
Months of training.
Pain.
Endurance.
Even monsters needed rest.
He walked toward Aavya.
Stopped.
And without overthinking it—
He leaned down and pressed a light kiss against her forehead.
"Good work," he said quietly. "You lost the weight."
Aavya blinked, surprised.
Before she could respond—
"HEY."
Ryuki's voice snapped sharply.
"She's mine, not yours."
Akshat glanced at her.
Then smirked.
A slow, knowing smirk.
He didn't argue.
Didn't explain.
Didn't need to.
Instead, he turned and walked toward his room, stretching slightly as exhaustion finally caught up to him.
"Get some sleep," he muttered lazily.
Behind him, Aavya and Ryuki exchanged a look.
Half-annoyed.
Half-amused.
And something else.
Something complicated.
---
Inside his room, Akshat dropped onto the bed without hesitation.
The ceiling felt unfamiliar.
But the feeling?
That quiet, dangerous calm before something big—
That felt exactly the same.
His eyes closed slowly.
A faint smile still lingering on his lips.
Because no matter how much things had changed…
Some things hadn't.
And deep down—
He already knew.
The next war…
Was going to be bigger than all of them.