The sudden statement was like a bomb.

Ayumi lifted a hand to cover her mouth as if she had revealed an unspeakable secret. However, the gesture looked intentional and phoney. She was aware that she was doing something petty and wrong, but her feelings of anger clouded her judgement.

She did not even try to conceal her animosity towards Akira.

And she did not feel that she should.

For more than fifteen years, she had loved Kaito.

She noticed him when he was about thirteen years. Even though he was just a teenager, he honed his craft as a ninja with a focus that rivalled all the other children adopted and raised by the teacher.

He would wake up early to do his drills before anyone else. From running to climbing and lifting weights, he was relentless in his pursuit of perfection.

At the time she noticed him, she was struggling to catch up with the other children. Even though she had the ideal body structure for a warrior, she was not suited for ninja arts that emphasized agility and concealment.

Moreover, her feminine body developed earlier than the other girls in her age group. So, she struggled a lot with keeping up with everyone in the class.

The teacher encouraged her to switch to plain karate because it was more suitable for her, but she refused. Her eyes were glued to Kaito, so how could she give up on the thing he loved?

Furthermore, when she noticed Kaito's hard work despite being one of the best students, she was inspired to overcome her shortcomings. He became like a shining light to her.

Unfortunately, he never noticed her. He was always too busy playing with Hu Lei.

She was the only one who could win against Kaito, and she did it with ease despite joining the classes much later than the rest of them.

No one knew her secret, but she was completely unrivalled.

She seemed to have superhuman strength and could lift more than the boys and double the other girls. When it came to climbing, she was like an unstoppable cat. And since the moment she touched knives, she could throw like she had a target-seeking feature in her arm.

Moreover, her teacher complimented her on her concealment prowess and killer instinct. While they did not have to kill anyone when they were younger, they would be trained by older graduates who had experienced real life in the underworld.

They would always praise Hu Lei because she could outsmart them during drills and exams. Even when she was injured, she did not cry and bow out like the other young girls. She always maintained her calm. She was quiet and lethal. The perfect ninja…

She discovered later that Kaito worked so hard so that he could beat Hu Lei. Before Hu Lei joined the school, he was the star pupil who was always praised by the trainers. And then suddenly, Hu Lei came and proved to be better.

She was a born assassin.

Ayumi thought about confessing to Kaito, but he never looked at her. His eyes were always set on Hu Lei. At first, she hated Hu Lei so much because she had all of Kaito's attention. But after observing Hu Lei for days, weeks and months, she could only accept losing to her.

She could not compete.

Kaito valued assassin skills more than anything because he was raised in the school since he was two years old. It was inevitable that he would be attached to the most successful ninja the school had seen, Hu Lei.

Therefore, she accepted the defeat.

But how could she accept losing to a wild chibi character from nowhere?

She had waited for so long, and Hu Lei was no longer a threat.

How could she lose her chance again without vindication?

She could not accept it.

She would not accept it.

"Who is Hu Lei?" Akira asked curiously.

Kaito knew Ayumi's intentions when she said those words. He could see the dark and malicious thoughts in her mind. He did not dislike people with bad hearts, and he even considered Ayumi his friend. But she was also his subordinate.

He could not allow his subordinates to sabotage him.

"Ayumi, mind your words." He said coldly.

The tone hurt the woman even more.

He had only known the girl beside him for a couple of weeks. But he could not wait to scold her on her behalf. Did their years of friendship mean nothing to him?

Her heart became cold.

"I did not say anything inappropriate." She laughed airily, concealing her bitterness. "It is not like I told her that she is a substitute."

The casual and cruel words were like bullets in Akira's heart. When she heard them, she felt like she had lost her core senses.

It was like her world stopped for a moment.

Was she a substitute?

Akira turned her eyes to look at Kaito.

The only thing she noticed was that he seemed to emit a murderous aura targeted at this Ayumi. His eyes had a dark glow of anger. It seemed like if he had a knife in his hand, he would stab that woman.

Akira felt like her heart shattered.

At that moment, she realised that she did not know him. At least, not as much as this strange woman. She did not have a right to question him. But she could see that there was a story behind Kaito, Ayumi and the unknown Hu Lei.

She did not want to stand around and have a stake driven into her.

In her eyes, that murderous aura was like an admission of guilt.

She could not be sure whether he was using her as a substitute or not. However, he did not even make an effort to say anything to her.

Perhaps she had a flair for the dramatic. But she had sworn never to allow someone to abandon her again. She would never let anyone dispose of her as they did in the past.

Still, her throat choked up with emotion as she made the decision.

Even though she had known Kaito for a short period, she could not deny that he moved her. He was shameless, relentless and rogueish, but she found that she could be the happiest version of herself when she was near him.

She knew that he targeted her from the beginning with some hidden intentions. But she never imagined that he intended to use her as a substitute for someone else.

It was not about her ego.

It was the fact that she had opened up to him. She had never let go of herself before, but his playful seduction had caused her to let her guard down.

And she could not blame him for it.

She knew that he sought her out intentionally on that day they met in Moonpoint. But she was still willing to follow him without a care.

And now, she had fallen.

She tried to stop her trembling lips.

She was not a child.

She would not cry.

She had her dignity.

"It seems you have a lot to catch up on. I will go ahead." She choked out through her clogged throat.

Kaito broke from the murderous stupor directed at Ayumi and discovered that Akira was going towards the car. He panicked as he realised that the situation did not look good for him.

But how could she believe those foolish words?

"Akira, it's not like that." He said as he stretched his hand and caught Akira's arm.

Unfortunately, those words did not bring any comfort to her. In fact, they made things worse because they meant that it was like something.

She turned and looked at him with cold eyes with moisture at the corners. Kaito felt a deep chill, but he did not let go of her.

He was afraid that if he did, he would never see her again.

Unfortunately, he did not expect her to pull her arm free and deliver a roundhouse kick to his chest. He grunted in pain and took a few steps back.

"Truly like her." Ayumi could not help saying, and this time it was not even meant to antagonise Akira.

She had seen Hu Lei use that exact move on Kaito albeit under different circumstances. It was uncanny.

Akira glanced at the woman before getting into the red car and driving off.