Perspective: Kaiser

Location: Central Bakery & Restaurant

Time: 6:46 PM

The smell of roasted coffee and fresh bread hung in the warm air of the bakery.

Outside, the winter wind rattled against the large glass windows, casting long, shivering shadows across the stone floor.

I sat across from Kayla Caroline.

She was drinking hot tea. I was guarding a box containing a strawberry shortcake.

"The tea here is surprisingly mild." Kayla traced the rim of her ceramic cup with a pale finger. "You would expect something stronger to combat the winter."

"The academy provides enough bitter things." I leaned back in my wooden chair. "They probably dilute it so the students don’t snap from the stress."

Kayla smiled faintly.

"Or perhaps they are testing our tolerance for blandness. A mind fed on nothing but sugar and mild tea eventually loses its edge. The predators outside the walls wouldn’t be so gentle."

"Predators only hunt when they’re hungry." I crossed my arms. "Most people here just want to eat their cake and go to sleep."

"But some people don’t sleep, do they? They stay awake, setting traps in the dark. Waiting to see who steps on them."

"If you walk in the dark, you should expect to step on something. It’s just the nature of the woods."

"True. But it’s strange how some woods are perfectly silent until a single leaf falls. And the person who caused it is nowhere to be found."

"Leaves fall all the time. Blaming the wind is usually a waste of breath."

"The wind doesn’t tie knots." Her gaze locked onto mine. "And it certainly doesn’t leave decoys."

I stared at her for 2 solid seconds.

"If the tea is mild, you should ask for a refund. Not a philosophy debate."

Kayla gently placed her cup on the saucer. The porcelain clinked with quiet precision.

I sighed, letting my shoulders drop in exaggerated exhaustion.

"Look." I tapped my finger against the cake box. "If we’re just going to sit here and throw vague metaphors at each other to see who blinks first, I’m going to leave. My cake is getting warm, and my patience is getting cold. What do you want?"

Kayla’s stoic expression shifted. A spark of genuine amusement flickered in her eyes.

"Let’s play an introduction game."

"I don’t play games."

"We both get to ask each other 3 questions. With consequences."

"Such as?"

"We are allowed to tell 2 truths and 1 lie." She folded her hands on the table, leaning in slightly. "If the other person guesses the lie correctly, the liar is forced to admit the truth to that question, and they must answer an additional question completely honestly."

I raised an eyebrow.

"And how exactly are we going to verify the truth?"

"Micro-expressions. Body language. Respiratory shifts. Ocular dilations." Kayla listed off, her eyes scanning my face with the intensity of a detective reading a crime scene.

"I’m not smart enough to do that." I kept my voice completely deadpan. "I scored a 30 on the academic exam. If you twitch, I’ll probably just think you have a cramp."

"Liar."

The word hung in the air, sharp and absolute.

Kayla leaned forward, dropping into a low, analytical cadence.

"You purposefully anticipated that my observation about your traps would make me think you wanted to win by holding the flag. It redirected my doubt away from your fake flag plan. You cold-read my intentions before we even met."

I didn’t blink.

"Furthermore." Her blue eyes narrowed. "Your spore trap blended an odd, specific smell into the cavern air. And coincidentally, you were standing by the only gate exit of the gym Floor where the Masked Rogue could exist. Planning to identify the Rogue from the smell exactly where it was hiding. That was your plan."

She was good. Dangerously good.

I nodded slowly, letting a small, cold smile touch my lips.

"Perceptive as ever. I would’ve figured out you were the mastermind from the very beginning. Setting those traps achieved those 2 exact goals."

Kayla clapped her hands together, a sudden, cheerful sound that sharply contrasted her stoic demeanor.

"Then we can play the game! Rock, paper, scissors. Winner gets to ask the 1st question."

I raised my right hand, forming a fist.

"Fine."

"Rock. Paper. Scissors."

I threw paper.

Kayla threw scissors.

She smiled, a triumphant little smirk crossing her lips. "I win."

"How did you do that?"

"Micro-expressions and muscle twitches." She tapped her temple. "Your forearm flexors tightened a fraction of a second before the release, indicating a flat palm rather than a curled fist. You are still a baby in observation, Kaiser."

I just didn’t care enough to try.

It was far too much effort to mask my muscle twitches for a game of rock, paper, scissors in a bakery. I was just too lazy.

"Ask your question." I leaned back and crossed my arms.

"Why did you come to the academy?" Kayla asked, her voice dropping its playful edge. "With your talents and gifts, you could have been recruited by the royal guard, the intelligence divisions, or any high-ranking guild. Why play the fool in a school?"

"My best friend, Elfie, wanted to graduate from this academy." I answered calmly, keeping my gaze steady. "She asked me to come with her. And my worry about her safety brought me here. So, my real goal is just to live a peaceful life and ensure she graduates."

Kayla watched me in silence for three seconds. Her eyes tracked the microscopic shifts in my breathing and the absolute stillness of my shoulders.

She smiled. A genuine, almost soft smile.

"You’re telling the truth. How unexpectedly sweet."

"My turn." I said, ignoring her commentary. "Why did you try to sabotage the class?"

Kayla stirred her tea, the spoon clinking softly against the porcelain.

"By losing horribly in a test that had no real rewards or consequences, except some measly points, they are forced to acknowledge their own faults," Kayla answered, her tone analytical and detached. "If I had secured the flag and won for Group 2, the other groups would have simply blamed their failure on bad luck or weak team members. They would never grow. But by plunging them into total despair and absolute failure, I gave them a blank slate. They had to look at themselves. Now, they can work together better instead of pointing fingers."

I scoffed quietly.

"That is an incredibly idealistic and political standpoint." I said, shaking my head.

"Is it?" she countered, raising an eyebrow. "Pain is the greatest teacher. Unity born from shared suffering is stronger than unity born from convenience."

"Perhaps in a textbook." I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the table. "But if you look at the Valerion Uprisings during the Second Era, the initial rebellions didn’t unify after their first horrific loss at the Black Gate. They fractured. Demoralization doesn’t always build character, Kayla. Sometimes, it just breaks people."

Kayla stopped stirring her tea.

She leaned closer across the table, resting her chin on her hand, a slow, fascinated smile spreading across her lips.

"Do you know the Beastkin language, Kaiser?"

"No." I said flatly.

Kayla’s smile widened.

"†∨∨ 𐰉⊙Ⱑ𐰂∋ 𐰗⊙ 𐰁Ⱑ₸∋. 𐰁†𐰄₸ Ⱑ𐰄Ⰴ∋𐰂𐰗₸†𐰄Ⰴ Ⰾ∋ |||ⰎⰎ? | 𐰂∋†ⰔⰔ𐰉 ∨|𐰄Ⰴ ₸|||†₸ |𐰄₸∋ⰔⰔ|Ψ∋𐰄𐰁∋ ⊙∨ 𐰉⊙Ⱑ𐰂𐰗 Ⰴ†𐰄Ψ∋𐰂⊙Ⱑ𐰗 †𐰄Ⰴ †ⰔⰔⰡ𐰂|𐰄Ψ."

(Aww, you’re so cute. Can’t understand me, hmm? I really find that intelligence of yours dangerous and alluring.)

"What did you say?" I asked, my brow furrowing slightly at the sharp, guttural clicks and rolling vowels.

"It’s a secret." she whispered, looking deeply amused.

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"My question." I pointed a finger at her. "Where did you learn your combat and martial arts from? You wiped our entire class single-handedly."

"My mother is a tigress." Kayla stated, taking a sip of her tea. "A former general in the Asura army, currently living in the capital. Since I was young, she taught me these techniques and martial combat. I am simply executing her training."

"She taught you well." I said, analyzing her posture. "Your technique for holding the axes... you use the Khar’zha grip, don’t you? The Vigilant Fang. Keeping the index finger extended along the shaft to manipulate the center of gravity, allowing you to instantly transition from a heavy swing to a parry without resetting your wrists."

Kayla’s eyes widened a fraction of a millimeter. The sheer shock on her face was almost imperceptible, but it was there.

"You noticed that?" she breathed, genuinely impressed.

"𐰉⊙Ⱑ 𐰂∋†ⰔⰔ𐰉 †𐰂∋ 𐰗⊙Ⰾ∋₸||||𐰄Ψ ∋Ⱄ𐰗∋."

(You really are something else.)

She sent me a wink, resting her chin back on her hand.

"My last question." Kayla’s voice dropped back into its serious, interrogative cadence.

"Why do you hold back? Why hide your true capabilities?"

"I don’t like the attention." I answered simply. "Or the spotlight. I want Elfie to have it. It makes it much easier for her to climb the hierarchy and achieve my goal of keeping her safe and respected."

"A flawed premise." Kayla countered immediately. "If you went all out, you would become an untouchable apex predator. That would also achieve your goal of protecting her. No one would dare look at her the wrong way."

"If I do that, she becomes a pet." I said, my voice hardening just a fraction. "I want Elfie to stand on her own two feet. I refuse to let her rely completely on me for survival. She is going to grow into her position. I am just giving her the space to do it."

Kayla tilted her head, her blue eyes piercing into mine.

"And if the whole academy were to turn against you?" she asked teasingly. "Can you defend Elfie against everyone?"

"No." I said quietly. "I can’t. That would be too much."

I deliberately slowed my respiratory rate, dropping my heart rate to a steady, calm rhythm. I let my ocular muscles relax, giving off the exact biological markers of absolute, unshakeable truth.

Kayla stared at me. Her eyes scanned my face, searching for a single micro-expression of a lie, a twitch of arrogance, or a shift in breathing.

She found nothing.

"You spoke all the truth." Kayla said softly, leaning back in her chair. "So I won’t waste my breath calling you a liar. Ask what you want to know."

I leaned close across the table, my face inches from hers.

"Are you a lab experiment?"

"No." Her blue eyes softened into something that looked like genuine sorrow. "I was an orphan. I never knew my real parents, and I spent the first 8 years of my life alone in the slums of the capital. It was cold, and I was always starving. But then my Beastkin parents found me. They took me in."

She looked down at her ceramic cup, a wistful smile touching her lips.

"They gave me a home. And the Beastkin... they revere strength, but more importantly, they revere the pack. They accepted a weak, human child without hesitation. I wanted to do something good for them. I wanted to make them proud. That is why I worked so incredibly hard to become academically flawless and physically strong. Every swing of my axe, every book I read, it’s all for them. To honor the family that saved my life."

"To make my parents proud and happy."

It was a beautiful story. Heartmelting, even.

"Liar."

Kayla’s head snapped up. Her eyes sharpened into cold, piercing daggers.

"How?" She dropped all pretense of warmth.

"Cold reading." I reached for the small glass of water I had ordered earlier. "That’s all."

"You can’t just call me a liar because you feel like it, Kaiser. Provide your reason."

"I have several." I took a sip of water, placing the glass back on the wooden table.

"Let’s start with the first time we met. In the library. You were reading The Crimson Alibi. You were dead set on finding the killer yourself using meticulous logic trees and branches."

I leaned back, analyzing her.

"Normal people read mysteries for entertainment. You read it like a survival manual. You prioritize being right over time execution. For you, survival depends on being factually and logically correct. That isn’t a natural trauma response from starving in a slum. That is an engineered behavioral trait from a controlled environment where failure to be ’right’ meant severe punishment."

Kayla didn’t say a word. Her jaw was locked.

"Then there is the dungeon." My voice remained steady and flat. "And your martial arts. I noticed your Khar’zha grip, which is a Beastkin fundamental. A Tigress mother would certainly know that Beastkin martial arts are inherently superior for human bodies because they utilize raw torque and momentum."

I pointed a finger at her.

"Yet, when you fought me, I recognized your core fundamentals. Aris-Style Dual Wielding. Valerion Striking. Echelian Footwork. You perfectly executed at least six different human martial arts of dual weapon combat and physical conditioning."

I watched her eyes widen just a fraction.

"Your stance and style are influenced by Beastkin, yes." I met her gaze. "But your core fundamentals are entirely human-driven. You couldn’t have learned all of those highly restricted, military-grade human techniques after being adopted by a Tigress in the slums. You were trained in them long before you were 8 years old."

Silence suffocated the table. The only sound was the howling winter wind outside the bakery.

"And finally." I leaned forward. "Your teasing. Your little performance in the Beastkin language just now."

I rested my elbows on the table, locking my gaze with hers.

"The Varkha believe children are the heartbeats of the pack. They are taught to roar their joy to the moon and wear their hearts on their fangs so the emotions can flourish. Beastkin culture is wildly expressive. Yet, when your ’mother’ supposedly found you, you were emotionally inexpressive. But you weren’t inexpressive because you were abandoned. You weren’t numb because of slum trauma."

I delivered the final blow without a shred of mercy.

"You were inexpressive because you were literally engineered without those emotions. You were designed in a lab to be an artificially combat-ready super child. A weapon built to fight and outsmart enemies. So, you tease me in Beastkin now. You artificially express those hidden emotions exactly like your mother taught you, just so you can mimic being normal. Just so you can fit in."

I gave her a dead, uncompromising stare.

"Your backstory of being a simple orphan is biologically, culturally, and martially impossible."

Kayla sat completely frozen. Her hands were still resting on the table. For three agonizing minutes, she was entirely speechless. Her brilliant, analytical mind was frantically searching for a counter-argument, a flaw in my logic, a way to spin the narrative back in her favor.

She found nothing.

I took another sip of my water, breaking the suffocating silence.

"I didn’t want to get that deep." I set the glass down. "But you asked for the reason. You should speak the truth now."

For a moment, Kayla just stared at me.

And then, she threw her head back and laughed.

It wasn’t a cute, manufactured giggle. It was a genuine, ringing laugh that drew a few strange looks from the other bakery patrons. She wiped a tear from her eye, shaking her head.

"Fine." Kayla smiled, her stoic facade completely shattered into something far more dangerous. "You got me."

"And since I caught your lie, I get to ask you one more question." I tapped the table. "You have to answer completely honestly."

Kayla nodded, leaning forward, resting her chin on her hands with undivided attention.

"What are your true goals?" My voice dropped to a whisper that only she could hear. "Who sent you as an assassin to this academy? And for whom?"

"Yes, I am from a facility." Kayla admitted, her voice losing its sharp edge. "But I wasn’t a success story. I was a failure. I didn’t survive their metric tests, and I was kicked out before my 8th birthday. My mother found me after that."

She traced the rim of her teacup.

"Looking back now with an older mind, it was a facility designed to create absolute weapons for society. Total control over the world. Academics, combat, magic, espionage, strategy—you name it. They were trying to manufacture perfect humans that could tackle every problem that could possibly exist."

Hmm. It seems there are similar facilities to the Decaying Foundation out there. Places where winning was the only concept taught to children.

"As for your question," Kayla continued, meeting my eyes. "That same facility reached out to me recently. They invited not only me but a few more assassins that I do not know of. Our goal is to enroll in this academy and expel two specific students."

"Two students?"

"One of them is the crowned princess. Rose Valentine."

"Expel the royal heir?" I leaned back, raising an eyebrow. "That sounds like a direct act of treason. Why would a shadowy facility want to pick a fight with the Asura Empire?"

"I don’t know the exact corporate reason." Kayla shrugged gracefully. "But my personal theory? The Emperor and Empress authorized it. They want to test Rose. They want to see whether she can survive and defeat artificial geniuses before she inherits the throne."

"You think her parents ordered a hit on her academic career?"

"Rose herself is a trained genius." Kayla stated matter-of-factly. "She has been groomed since birth by the greatest minds in the world. She is an equally strong, or perhaps even stronger threat than me. It makes logical sense."

I nodded slowly.

Her theory was completely sound. The political structure of this continent thrived on trials by fire.

"What was your facility called?"

"The Evigheden Foundation."

"And who is the second target?"

"I don’t know." Kayla frowned, a flicker of genuine annoyance crossing her face.

"When I was briefly brought back to that hellhole for the briefing, the instructors wouldn’t stop praising the second target. They were obsessed with it. That’s where we met a strange, terrifying man called Director Vance."

Oh, he’s still alive?

Oh shit.

"Director Vance declared that target as the greatest devil of a rival facility known as the Decaying Foundation," Kayla said. "He called that individual the Aporetic False Genius."

Kayla suddenly burst into a short fit of laughter, shaking her head.

"Aporetic False Genius?" she mocked, covering her mouth to suppress her giggles. "Who comes up with these names? It sounds like an edgy teenager trying to sound profound. It’s completely ridiculous."

I smiled quietly. "It is a bit dramatic."

"He also called that individual the Nightmare of Asura." Kayla continued, her laughter fading. "But... I noticed the fear in his eyes when he said it. He wasn’t kidding, Kaiser. He said this student was enrolling in the academy, and we were tasked to show Evigheden’s superiority by getting it expelled or killed. Both were acceptable outcomes."

She took a slow sip of her tea, her blue eyes darkening.

"At first, I thought of it as a joke. But the foundation clearly stated that we should not underestimate that individual. They said it alone could get every single one of us expelled without leaving a trace. They warned us that if we ever looked into its eyes, we were already a step behind. They said it possessed no ego, no pride, and no mercy—just pure, calculated execution."

Kayla set her cup down. Her gaze locked onto mine, sharp and heavy.

"But the more I stay with you, Kaiser... it makes me think that nightmare is you."

I let out a flat, unamused breath.

"It can’t be me." I replied, my voice perfectly neutral. "I spent most of my life in a normal orphanage with Elfie. If I was truly that kind of artificial masterpiece, they would’ve already dragged me back to a facility, just like they reached out to you."

Kayla watched me for a long moment. Then, she sighed, the tension slowly bleeding out of her shoulders. She looked exhausted.

"You’re right. That doesn’t fit the timeline." She rubbed her temples. "It’s getting late. We can discuss this more soon. But let’s get some things cleared right now. Are you fine working with me? We have mutual goals."

"Your goal is to beat Class A and expel Rose Valentine during the finals." I summarized.

"Yeah, I understand. I don’t mind. We can work together."

I extended my hand across the table.

Kayla looked at it, then smiled, shaking my hand with a firm, confident grip.

"|’Ⰾ 𐰓Ⱑ𐰗₸ †𐰄 |𐰄𐰄⊙𐰁∋𐰄₸ 𐰁Ⱑ₸∋ Ψ|𐰂Ⱄ. ∨⊙𐰄’₸ 𐰉⊙Ⱑ Ⰴ𐰂⊙𐰅 Ⰾ∋ ₸⊙ Ⰾ𐰉 𐰂⊙⊙Ⰾ~"

(I’m just an innocent, cute little girl. Won’t you drop me to my room~)

I pulled my hand back, grabbing the cake box.

"I have no idea what you’re saying, but I gotta go."

I stood up from the table. Kayla just smirked, waving a hand lazily.

"Goodbye, Kaiser."

Location: Academy Commercial District

I walked out of the bakery. The freezing winter wind immediately bit through my jacket, but I ignored it, pulling my collar up as I walked down the dark, stone-paved streets.

Kayla Caroline is dangerous, smart, and highly competent. But working with her for now won’t hurt.

I let out a long breath. The fog plumed in the cold air.

I’m glad she didn’t figure out that I understood her language.

I shoved my free hand into my pocket.

I am fluent in all 17 languages this wonderful world has to offer. I learned the dialects, histories, and syntax of every race by myself, reading through the dusty culture books back at the orphanage.

But that’s something I should definitely keep to myself.

I adjusted my grip on the small cardboard box.

Plus, I gotta meet up with Elfie with her cake.

Location: Academy Dormitories, My Room

I pushed the heavy oak door open, the warm air of my room washing over me.

Before I could even take my shoes off, a small, pink-haired blur collided with my chest.

"Kai!" Elfie wailed, burying her face into my jacket.

She was crying. Real, actual tears were soaking through my shirt.

"What happened again?" I asked, my voice immediately dropping its casual tone.

"The weirdos!" she cried, looking up at me with puffy, red eyes.

She aggressively shoved her Dwarvian Phone into my face. "They keep making new accounts and messaging me! It won’t stop!"

I looked at the glowing screen. There were four freshly blocked accounts, and right as I watched, a new notification popped up.

It was Axel again.

The username was xX_Shadow_Romeo_Alpha_Xx. His bio read: ’A lone wolf howling for his eternal mate. Blood type: Ice cold.’ His profile picture was an incredibly low-resolution image of a wolf staring at a broken, bleeding heart.

I scrolled through the fresh batch of messages. They were a horrifying blend of edgy romance quotes and the worst wingman rizz lines I had ever seen in my life.

[xX_Shadow_Romeo_Alpha_Xx]: ’The moon is beautiful tonight, but your feet are probably prettier. Can I have feet pics?’

[xX_Shadow_Romeo_Alpha_Xx]: ’I can take you to lunch tomorrow. I’ll pay in pure gold and protect you from the betas.’

[xX_Shadow_Romeo_Alpha_Xx]: ’Are you lost, baby girl? Because heaven is missing an angel.’

[xX_Shadow_Romeo_Alpha_Xx]: ’Don’t let that Kaiser guy hold you back. With me, you’re free to run with the pack. With him, you’re just a caged bird. Let me be your wings.’

I stared at the screen. I was genuinely weirded out.

"Kai, you have to fight him! Go beat him up! Break his legs!" Elfie clung to my arm, burying her face against my shoulder.

"I am not fighting Milo’s entire gang over a terrible poem about feet. I’m not that crazy." I said, setting the bakery box down on the small wooden table.

I sat down on the edge of the bed with a heavy sigh.

"But I’m getting weirded out!" Elfie whined, sitting next to me. "He’s going to keep making accounts! What do we do?"

"I have a solution." I looked at her. "But are you prepared for it?"

Elfie blinked, sniffing quietly. She nodded vigorously.

I reached over to the nightstand, grabbing a tissue and handing it to her. "Wipe your tears. Prepare yourself."

Elfie took the tissue, dabbing her eyes until they were dry.

We sat next to each other on the edge of the mattress.

Time to execute my plan and secure my position.

Perspective: Elfina Lunaris

I threw the crumpled tissue into the trash bin, my heart beating a little faster.

What is Kai going to do?

Is he going to hack into the Dwarvian network? Is he going to track the IP address and send a threatening letter? He is so smart, he could probably do anything!

Suddenly, Kai shifted.

Before I could even process the movement, his hand shot out.

He grabbed both of my wrists and pushed me back.

"Eh?"

My back hit the soft mattress. Kai swung his leg over me, straddling my hips. He used his left hand to pin both of my wrists securely above my head, pressing them into the pillows.

He leaned down, his face hovering just inches above mine.

W-What?!

My mind completely short-circuited. My face erupted into a violently hot flush. My entire body froze, my heart hammering against my ribs so hard I thought it was going to break through my chest.

Kai is on top of me! He’s pinning me down! Why is he so close?! Why is he looking at me like that?!

With his free right hand, Kai picked up my phone. He smoothly flipped the camera to selfie mode, adjusting the angle so it captured the two of us. He was sitting on top of me, my hands locked helplessly above my head, my face flushed bright red.

And then, he leaned down.

I squeezed my eyes shut, my breath catching in my throat.

I felt the soft, warm press of his lips against my cheek.

Click.

The camera shutter sound echoed in the quiet room.

HE KISSED ME! HE KISSED MY CHEEK! HE KISSED ME HE KISSED ME HE KISSED ME!

My brain completely melted into a puddle of absolute, overwhelming panic and ecstasy. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. All I could feel was the lingering warmth of his lips on my skin and the heavy weight of him pinning me to the bed.

Kai effortlessly typed on the screen with his thumb.

[elfie_lunaris]: ’She is busy right now, lil bro.’

He attached the picture and hit send.

Almost instantly, my phone started vibrating like a magnitude eight earthquake.

[xX_Shadow_Romeo_Alpha_Xx]: WHAT THE FUCK

[xX_Shadow_Romeo_Alpha_Xx]: LET HER GO U BASTARD 🤬🤬🤬🤬

[xX_Shadow_Romeo_Alpha_Xx]: THATS ASSAULT I WILL KILL YOU KAISER I SWEAR TO THE GODS

[xX_Shadow_Romeo_Alpha_Xx]: IM THE ALPHA WOLF IM COMING TO ROOM 404 RIGHT NOW OPEN THE DOOR

[xX_Shadow_Romeo_Alpha_Xx]: ELFIENA SEND 💖 TWICE IF YOU NEED HELP 😭😭😭

Kai’s expression didn’t change. He simply typed back one final message.

[elfie_lunaris]: ’My bird is caged in my arms, and I’m going to kiss her all night. Bye bye, loser.’

He immediately blocked the account and powered the phone off entirely, tossing it onto the nightstand. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

He let go of my wrists and rolled off me, sitting back up on the edge of the bed.

"Don’t add random people anymore, Elfie." Kai said casually, dusting his hands off. "Especially guys with weird wolf usernames. It’s just asking for trouble. If they approach you in person, I’ll deal with it, but you have to manage your digital footprint better."

He kept talking, giving me a lecture about network security, but I couldn’t hear a single word he was saying.

He kissed me. He actually kissed me. He pinned me down and claimed me as his caged bird right to another boy’s face.

I grabbed my pillow and buried my violently red face into it. My mind was spinning out of control. I wanted to scream.

I wanted to cry again, but this time from sheer, overwhelming happiness.

He’s mine. He’s really mine. No one else can have him. I’ll freeze anyone who tries to take him away. I’m his caged bird. He kissed me.

A dark, intensely happy giggle vibrated in my chest.

"Elfie?" Kai’s voice finally pierced through my frantic thoughts.

I peeked out from behind the pillow.

Kai was smiling at me, holding the bakery box.

"Finish your cake." he said softly. "We have classes starting tomorrow."

I slowly lowered the pillow, my cheeks still burning like a furnace. I couldn’t stop the massive, goofy smile from spreading across my face.

"Okie~!" I chimed happily, crawling out from under the blankets.

I sat next to him on the edge of the bed. Kai opened the box, revealing the perfect slice of strawberry shortcake. He picked up the small plastic spoon, scooped up a piece of the fluffy whipped cream and a heart-cut strawberry, and held it up to my mouth.

I happily leaned forward and took the bite, the sweet vanilla glaze melting on my tongue.

"Is it good?" he asked, watching me chew.

"It’s the best cake in the whole world, Kai." I mumbled, my heart feeling like it was going to burst with pure joy.