Kaito took out two bags from the trunk of the car, and the two of them walked to the cottage. The white brick house was not impressive, but it had a simple country-style design that spoke of wonderful summer vacations.

"Are we breaking and entering?" Akira asked as they stepped through the wooden door.

Kaito scoffed. "I just used the keys. How could we be breaking and entering?"

When he first met Akira, he thought she was a quiet and composed girl. She did not talk much, based on his keen observation. However, he realised that she just did not like talking with people she did not know.

Once she got comfortable, she was a relentless chatterbox. It was like she saved all her words until she got used to someone. After that, she couldn't go for a minute without talking.

"You know, you are quite a talker. I thought you were the mysterious expert type." He said.

Akira was walking around the house poking her nose here and there like she owned the place. She turned to him with an angry face.

"If you want, I can make you deaf." She glared.

Kaito chuckled a little at the scary face.

"How could that be ok? I am yet to hear your sweet voice saying a few naughty things to me." He responded.

She scoffed before continuing her exploration. The house was dusty and musty as if it had not been aired out in years. After a few minutes, she returned to the living room.

"So, whose house is it?" She asked.

"Probably mine." Kaito shrugged.

Akira rolled her eyes. "Then, you should probably clean it."

Akira did not know that Kaito had found out about the house from his grandmother. It used to belong to his parents. Unlike their other prominent properties, this one had not been grabbed by the wolves from the Takahashi family.

His grandmother had a key, so she told him to come and take a look in his free time. He had driven a couple of days earlier to see the place, but he could not force himself to enter the house alone. He just looked around the property and checked out the cliffside before leaving.

He did not know what possessed him to bring Akira along for a trip to the cottage. But he was glad he had.

"Here, change into this," Kaito said as he proffered one of the shopping bags.

Akira accepted the bag and looked inside. It was a swimming costume. She looked at him suspiciously.

"This is not one of those costumes with holes in inappropriate places, right?" She asked.

Kaito laughed. "We can cut some holes if that is your preference. Change quickly."

Five minutes later, the two of them emerged from the cottage in matching swimming costumes. Kaito wore long shorts while Akira was in a surprisingly decent two-piece. She noticed that their costumes were meant for a couple, but she did not mention it.

The two walked to the rocky cliff with a deep pool of water underneath. Akira looked at the descent and felt a little afraid. However, she did not dare show it. She was a seasoned agent after all. She had faced challenges more daunting than a little cliff.

"Scared?" Kaito teased.

"No. It's just a few rocks and some water." She responded.

Kaito laughed. "There goes my plan of benefitting from the suspension bridge effect."

"So, how exactly does psicobloc work?"

"Depends on how adventurous you feel. We can jump down directly and climb up. Or we can climb down and climb up again." He said.

Akira peered down the cliff again.

"Let's climb down and then climb up." She said.

"Scared of a little water?" Kaito asked.

"Of course not. I have never experienced downward rock climbing." She directed a side glance at him. "But I can push you off the cliff if you are that anxious for a dive."

In the end, Kaito agreed to climb down. The two of them held the sides of the cliff after lowering their bodies. Even though the cliff was a little high, the surfaces had good holds for supporting both feet and hands.

Akira took a deep breath and stepped on a lower hold with one foot. Then, she carefully found another jutting spot for one of her hands. She repeated the process with her other hand and foot. After a few more sets, she was lower on the cliff and had gotten the drift of the process.

She looked down and found Kaito a little lower than her, looking at her with superiority. He smiled, causing her to grit her teeth.

"Don't push yourself. Not everyone can be just as talented as me." He said while giving her a thumbs up.

Akira growled in her throat.

"What's there to be proud about? You already told me you grew up in the mountains. You probably learned to rock climb before you could walk." She retorted.

"Where did you grow up?" Kaito asked.

"Don't compare me to your wild self. I lived in the city when I was a child." She said as she descended a little lower.

"And after that?"

"In a valley." She responded automatically but unintentionally.

She shut her mouth like a child who had revealed a secret. If she was not holding on to the cliffside, she might have covered her mouth with her hands. Perhaps, it was the distraction of the heavy exercise that made her less vigilant.

Kaito laughed from below, but he did not comment about her sudden awkwardness.

"How is growing up in the mountains different from growing in a valley?" He asked.

Akira realised she was acting guilty for nothing. There is no way he would discover anything about her life just because she said she grew up in a valley. It was not like she had said the Immortal Sword Valley. She relaxed.

"How is it the same? Life in a valley is about being shielded from the elements while on a mountain, you are exposed to wind, rain and the sun." She replied.

As she tried to move her foot lower, her hand slipped, and she was cut loose from the cliff. As she fell, she turned in the air and executed a dive with beautiful form. Still, when she broke from the water, she could not help gasping for air.

Kaito also released his hold and jumped into the water.

"Are you alright?" He asked with worry in his eyes.

Akira chuckled. "Yeah. I just lost my footing a bit. Good thing there was water below."

Kaito did not laugh. "How are your hands?"

He had thought about getting gloves, but free-climbing on a natural rock surface with gloves was more dangerous. Unlike an artificial wall, there were no designed holds, so one had to depend on touch to feel for good holds.

"They are fine. That was nothing. My hands are quite tough."

"Still up for the upward climb?"

"Yeah. But let's stay here for a while longer. It's so nice and peaceful."

Kaito smiled as he watched Akira swim around him in a circle. After a few minutes, he caught her by the waist and pulled her to his chest.

Akira's face reddened because Kaito's chest was bare, and her swimming costume was wet and stuck on her body.

Moreover, the water was a little cold…

"Why don't we bond a little more while we are down here?" He said like a rogue with a lascivious smile.