Chapter 48

"I knew you were would figure it out first, Kaida," Maria continued, a hint of pride in her voice. "I was always impressed by your perceptiveness, even if Ryu over here needed a little more prodding." She threw Ryu a teasing glance, which he answered with a low growl.

"And what are you doing here, Maria?" Kaida asked, her voice sharper than before. "We haven't seen you since the academy fell."

"Oh, you know, just passing through," Maria said, a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

"No, I don't think you were 'just passing through,'" Ryu interjected, his voice a mix of concern and skepticism. "You disappeared during the attack, and we all thought you were dead. We saw you..." His voice trailed off, his face hardening with the memory of that day. "How are you still alive?"

Maria's smirk never faltered as she regarded Ryu. "Oh, come now, Ryu," she said, her voice light and teasing. "Just because you saw me go down doesn't mean I was out for the count.

Ryu's brow furrowed, his distrust of the situation evident in his expression. "How do I know you're not a yomigaeri?" he demanded, taking a step forward. "They can imitate human appearances, you know."

"Oh, Ryu, Ryu, Ryu," Maria replied, her tone laced with amusement. "Don't you know me better than that?" With a flourish, she opened her mouth wide, revealing rows of perfectly white teeth. "Look, do I have the mouth of a yomigaeri?"

Ryu hesitated, studying her teeth with a critical eye.

Ryu's eyes widened as Maria began to reach for the zipper of her leather shirt, as if she was about to strip down in front of them. "Hold on, hold on," he said, his voice tinged with alarm. "There's really no need for that!"

Maria smirked, seeming to enjoy Ryu's discomfort. "Oh, Ryu," she said, her voice lilting with amusement. "I thought you liked boobs. Or did that change when the world went to hell?"

Kaida, who had been silently observing the exchange, couldn't help but cast a sidelong glance at Ryu. Her eyebrows raised in a silent, but pointed, question.

"What?" Ryu snapped, clearly aware of what her gaze was implying. "I never said...I didn't mean..." His cheeks flushed slightly, his gaze darting away from Kaida's knowing look.

Maria let out a laugh, clearly enjoying Ryu's discomfort. "Oh, you two. Never change, will you?"

After a moment, Ryu seemed to accept that Maria was indeed not a yomigaeri. He took a step back, his shoulders relaxing slightly. But still, his skepticism was evident. "Maybe not," he said, "but that doesn't explain why you disappeared and why you're here now. What's going on?"

Maria let out a small chuckle, enjoying the confusion she was causing. "Always so straightforward, Ryu," she said. "You'll get the full story, but first, a bit of quid pro quo. What's been happening since the academy fell?"

"Well, let's just say it's been a wild ride," Ryu replied, shaking his head as memories of the past few months flashed through his mind. "Kaida and I managed to escape the academy, but we lost a lot of friends along the way. And we've been surviving out there as best we can."

Maria nodded, her eyes somber. "I'm sorry to hear about your friends," she said. "It was a tragedy what happened to the academy. But I have to ask— what have you learned about these monsters so far?"

"Aside from the fact that the yomigaeri seem to be evolving, not much has changed," Kaida said, pulling up the sleeve of her shirt to reveal the intricate tattoos that marked her. "These markings give us the power to fight back. But there's something else.….."

Kaida hesitated for a moment, her eyes flickering to Ryu. But before she could continue, Ryu let out a sudden, violent cough, doubling over and choking out an apology.

With Ryu's unexpected outburst, all eyes turned to him as he tried to wave off their concerns.

"I'm fine," he said, his voice slightly strained as he attempted to catch his breath. "Just a little cough. I'm good." But as the others turned back to Kaida, Ryu quickly caught her eye and gave her a stern look, his head shaking in the subtlest of ways.

Kaida, understanding his unspoken warning, nodded and shifted the conversation back to safer territory. "Anyway, like I was saying, not much has changed.

"I don't think that was where you were going with that," Maria said, her gaze not wavering from Kaida's face. "I've always known you to be a terrible liar, Kaida. You're not hiding something from me, are you?"

Kaida held Maria's gaze for a moment, then gave a small, self-deprecating smile. "You're right. You know me too well. But it's not really important, Maria. Trust me, the situation on the outside is pretty dire. There's not much to report beyond what I've already told you."

"Well, if you say so," Maria said, rolling her eyes playfully. She then began tugging at the zipper on her cloak, drawing a gasp of protest from Ryu.

"No! No, no, no. What are you doing?" Ryu stammered, holding up his hands as if to physically stop Maria from revealing anything else.

"Relax, Ryu," Maria teased, smirking at him mischievously. "I'm not going to show you my boobs right now. I'll save that for our private moment."

Ryu's face morphed into an expression of utter embarrassment as he turned to Kaida, his eyes trying to explain the situation.

The weight of Maria's teasing was clearly taking a toll on him, and he appeared to be desperate for a way out of the situation. The corners of his mouth drooped slightly as he silently prayed for rescue from the awkward moment.

As Maria finished unzipping her leather jacket, revealing a dirty white t-shirt that hugged her curves and left little to the imagination, Kaida couldn't help but notice Ryu's reaction. His eyes were fixed on Maria, wide with undisguised shock and perhaps a hint of fascination.

"Ryu," Kaida said, clearing her throat with a pointed cough. When he didn't respond, she nudged him slightly with her elbow, a knowing look on her face.

Ryu snapped out of his trance, his eyes flicking from Maria to Kaida and back again.

As Maria observed the exchanged glances and flushed cheeks, she let out a soft chuckle that held just a hint of amusement. With a smirk, she strolled towards Kaida, her every step oozing confidence.

"Seems like someone's been caught staring," she teased, shooting a mischievous glance at Ryu before pulling up the sleeve of her t-shirt to reveal a similar marking to Kaida's.

Kaida's eyes widened in surprise as she studied the tattoo. "You have the markings too?"