Back in the cave, Kairo's thoughts were storming. He clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white.
But then Yuki spoke again.
"Kairo... can I ask you something?"
He blinked, pulling himself from his thoughts. "What is it?"
Her voice was soft, but there was a smile in it. "Is there... someone in your life?"
Kairo's eyebrows shot up. "What?"
Yuki tilted her head, still smiling. "A girl you love?"
He scoffed, his cheeks heating up slightly. "No," he muttered. "Of course not."
Yuki's smile widened. "Why not?"
Kairo crossed his arms, avoiding her face even though she couldn't see him. "Because I have ambitions," he said matter-of-factly. "I don't have time for... that."
Yuki chuckled softly. "You really think no girl would ever fall for you?"
Kairo's face burned even more. "No way," he said quickly. "No one would understand me."
Her smile didn't fade. "Whoever ends up with you... they'll be lucky," she said gently.
Kairo's heart skipped a beat.
He turned away, running a hand through his blue hair—something he often did when flustered. "Tch... you don't know what you're talking about."
But Yuki only rested her hand on his arm, calm and confident.
Silence fell again, though this time it wasn't tense—it was something else. Something neither of them could explain.
After a while, Kairo's voice broke the stillness. "I don't care about my life... but I'll shield you if Dune comes for you."
Yuki's hand tensed slightly, but she didn't let go of his arm.
"I won't let you die like this," Kairo said, his voice firm. "Not for some old rules. Not by his hands."
Yuki didn't answer. She just held onto his arm a little tighter.
And in that quiet cave—hidden from the world—the Aqua Prince and the blind girl from the Sand tribe sat side by side, both unsure of what the future would bring... but certain of one thing:
Kairo would never let Yuki face death alone.
The desert sun hung low as Kairo and Yuki remained hidden in the cave, their breathing the only sound in the dim, cool space. Kairo's grip on Yuki's hand hadn't loosened, and though she couldn't see his expression, she could feel the tension in his touch — the slight tremor in his fingers, the way his thumb absentmindedly brushed against her skin.
Yuki softly broke the silence. "You're still holding my hand."
Kairo blinked, realizing how tightly he was clutching her. "It's not like I have a choice," he muttered. "If I let go, you might wander off again and get yourself killed."
Yuki smiled, a faint, tender curve of her lips. "You don't have to hold it so tight... I trust you."
Before Kairo could respond, a sudden shift in the air made him stiffen. The sound of heavy footsteps — more than one set — echoed from outside the cave. His jaw clenched. Dune.
The entrance to the cave darkened as the Sand tribe leader appeared, his powerful frame outlined against the blazing desert behind him. Behind Dune, his troops gathered — their faces stern, their sand-crafted weapons shimmering in the heat. The sight was suffocating, but Kairo kept his head high, refusing to show any fear.
Dune's voice broke the silence, deep and unforgiving. "So, this is where you're hiding, Aqua Prince. I should've known you'd crawl into a hole."
Kairo, his hand still gripping Yuki's, stepped forward, emerging from the shadows. "And I should've known you'd be too much of a coward to come alone."
Dune's dark eyes flicked to Yuki, narrowing with disgust. "And you," he growled. "An undesirable not only defies her place but dares to run off with the enemy. You've disgraced your people more than ever."
Yuki flinched, his words cutting deeper than any physical wound. "I didn't—"
"Silence," Dune snapped, his voice like a whip. "You're a stain on the Sand tribe — too old, too useless. You were meant to rot away in the shadows, yet here you are, clinging to a foreign prince like some desperate wretch."
Kairo's expression darkened, his heart pounding at the cruel words. Without thinking, he turned to Yuki, lifted her chin with his hand — and in a single, fierce moment, pressed his lips to hers.
The world seemed to stop.
Yuki's heart raced, her mind blank. She couldn't see the way Kairo's eyes softened, but she could feel the warmth of his kiss — the first time anyone had touched her with such genuine care. Her fingers trembled against his chest, but she didn't pull away.
When Kairo finally broke the kiss, his voice was low but defiant. "She's not alone. She's not desperate. She's with me."
The soldiers behind Dune shifted uneasily, whispering among themselves. Even Dune's ever-stoic face twisted into something between shock and fury.
Kairo wasn't done. "I'm 30 — past whatever foolish age you lot think a man should settle down. She's 25 — an 'undesirable' to you, but not to me. If breaking your rules means protecting her, then I'll break every last one." His voice turned cold. "If I have to, I'll make her my wife."
Yuki's breath caught in her throat. "K-Kairo..."
The mention of marriage, the boldness of Kairo's words — it left Dune's soldiers stunned. And for the first time in years, Yuki didn't feel like a burden. She felt... wanted.
Dune's voice shook with fury. "You dare defy the traditions of the Sand tribe? You would wed this disgrace — this blind, useless creature — just to spite us?"
Kairo's eyes flashed with a dangerous calm. "Not to spite you, Dune. To protect her."
The tension in the air was suffocating, the clash of water and sand inevitable. Dune's patience had snapped — and now, more than ever, Kairo knew the battle wasn't just for land or power. It was for Yuki.
Kairo's hand lingered for a moment against Yuki's cheek before he stepped back, his expression shifting from tenderness to icy resolve. The soldiers behind Dune tensed, their sand-crafted weapons at the ready, while Dune himself stood like a stone pillar, unmoving — but seething.
Kairo gently grasped Yuki's shoulders, leaning down so his words were for her ears alone. "Stay here," he said softly. "I won't kill them, but I need to beat some sense into them."
Yuki's hands trembled against his chest. "Please... don't hurt them too much."
Kairo's lips curved into a faint, almost bitter smile. "I'll hold back... for you."
She reluctantly retreated into the cave, her heart pounding, her mind a swirl of fear and hope. As Kairo turned to face Dune and his soldiers, a shift occurred — not just in the air around him, but in his very presence. The fierce, untamed prince of Aqua now stood like a tidal wave on the verge of breaking, silent but overwhelming.
"You call her disgraceful," Kairo's voice echoed, steady and strong. "You call her an undesirable because she's blind, because she's 25 and unmarried, because she dared to defy your cruel traditions."
Dune's jaw tightened. "She broke the laws of the Sand tribe—"
"She's the first girl to ever win my heart," Kairo interrupted, his voice rising like the surge of an ocean storm. "The first person to see the part of me I didn't even know existed. Not because she knew I was a prince or because she sought status — but because she trusted me when she didn't even know who I was."
The soldiers whispered among themselves, the weight of Kairo's words unexpected. Dune's frown deepened, but Kairo wasn't finished.
"In the Aqua tribe, I was never disrespected for being a bachelor at 30. No one mocked me for not marrying — not because they were kind, but because they were too busy chasing after me for power. The girls who showed interest only wanted to become a princess. None of them cared about who I really was."
His eyes darkened, a storm brewing behind his gaze. "So I ignored them. All of them. I avoided relationships because I thought I didn't need anyone. I believed my ambition — expanding Aqua's territory — was something I had to accomplish alone. My soldiers stood by me, but I carried the burden myself."
Kairo's voice softened, though the intensity never faded. "But then I met Yuki."
Dune's soldiers flinched at the name. Yuki, the undesirable. Yuki, the blind girl. Yuki, the outcast.
Kairo's tone deepened, his words deliberate. "She made me realize there's more than just ambition. She, a blind girl abandoned by her own tribe, still believes in your people's goodness. She sees hope where there's only cruelty. And somehow, despite all of that... she trusts me."
His voice cracked slightly at the end, but he quickly masked it, his grip on control unwavering.
"I've never had someone trust me the way she does, not even my own tribe, not even my sister. And for what? You mock her for being 25 and unmarried. You shun her for something as meaningless as blindness. You think she's undesirable... but to me—"
Kairo's words struck like a tidal wave, fierce and unrelenting.
"To me, she's the only one I would ever consider marrying."
There was Silence. Heavy, suffocating silence.