CHAPTER 294: CHAPTER 295 - UNSEEN BY ALL

Hana held Yuki tightly in her arms, gently rocking the child as the walls around them trembled with each distant explosion. The floor beneath them vibrated in uneven pulses, and the acrid scent of burning metal and scorched flesh leaked in faintly through the cracks in the boarded windows.

Yuki clung to the small, worn monkey doll with white-knuckled fingers, her cheek pressed hard against Hana’s chest. Her expression was unreadable, unnervingly calm as her sharp eyes stared straight out toward the smoke-hazed skyline.

"Is it... brother Yunfeng?" Yuki’s voice was barely above a whisper, her breath warm and steady.

Hana looked down at her and nodded, stroking the child’s soft black hair gently, soothingly. "Yes. Yunfeng got his powers back," she said, her voice soft but firm, as though saying it with enough certainty would make the chaos outside bend to her will. "He’s very strong. He’ll protect us."

Yuki blinked slowly, her face still devoid of emotion, but she gave a short nod. The monkey doll was pressed even tighter against her chest, making it let out a small, pitiful squeak from the pressure.

"You’re holding him too tight, Yuki," Hana said gently, her fingers brushing over the child’s small hands. "He won’t be able to breathe."

Yuki loosened her grip ever so slightly, eyes still glued to the window, though the glass had long fogged from the heat waves pulsing off the destruction beyond. "There’s nothing to be afraid of," Hana continued softly. "We’re completely safe here."

"...Really?" Yuki murmured, her voice low and oddly flat, almost skeptical.

Before Hana could respond, the door creaked open with a groan, and Qiu Yue stumbled inside, blinking against the dim lighting, his hair a tousled mess and his glasses hanging crooked over the bridge of his nose. He rubbed his temple as he stepped in. "You two okay?" he asked, squinting at them. "Those bastards—why didn’t they run their plan by me? I just woke up to all this damn noise."

He scratched the back of his neck and shuffled toward the window, adjusting his lenses and blinking as he took in the sight. "Is that Yunfeng out there? Did he regain his powers?"

Hana smiled as she held Yuki a little tighter. "Yes," she said, pride swelling in her voice. "My brother’s the strongest."

Qiu Yue let out a low whistle, his eyes wide with amazement as he watched the streaks of blue fire light up the sky, each flash another signal of Yunfeng’s reawakening. "It’s good he did. I was really worried about him," he admitted. "If I had a proper lab setup, I might’ve been able to help figure something out to speed up his recovery, but... well, we didn’t have anything. Thankfully, he pulled through on his own. That guy’s a damn tank."

He grinned back at them with genuine warmth, his admiration clear. "Resilient as hell."

Hana laughed softly, the sound short but full of pride. "He always was."

Yuki didn’t speak again, only watched the smoke curling above the rooftops. Her fingers grazed the monkey’s worn ears once. Her eyes, hidden from the adults by the tilt of her head, remained sharp. Cold. Calculating.

Unseen by them all.

Muchen sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing slow circles over his tense belly as another distant blast rumbled through the house. The floor trembled beneath his feet, dust shook from the ceiling, but his attention was fixed entirely on the boy writhing beside him.

Jai groaned and curled into himself, sheets tangled around his limbs, sweat glistening on his forehead. He looked more humiliated than in actual pain, his face buried into the pillow, trying to will himself invisible.

"I’m dying," he mumbled, his voice hoarse. "I’m actually dying."

"You’re not," Muchen said calmly, reaching for the cup of water beside the bed and offering it to him. "It’s just heat. You’ll live."

"That doesn’t make it better!" Jai shot back without looking up. "You being in the room while I’m like this is already embarrassing enough!"

Muchen sighed and tucked his legs under himself. "Come on. It’s not like I haven’t seen worse," he said dryly. "If you want me gone now, I can leave."

"No!" Jai sat up too fast, then immediately fell back with a whimper as his body ached. His cheeks were a burning pink. "It’s not that... I just... ugh." He dragged the pillow over his head again. "It doesn’t make it any less mortifying..."

His muffled voice came through the fabric, desperate. "You’re also an omega, right? How did you deal with this? This is torture!"

Muchen tilted his head, thoughtful. "I didn’t have a heat," he said plainly.

Jai yanked the pillow off his face and glared at him. "That is so unfair! Why do I have to suffer like this while you just skipped the whole damn experience?!"

Muchen rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, I got pregnant the first time I slept with my boyfriend," he said. "You think that’s better?"

Jai blinked, then frowned deeply. "Yeah... okay. That is worse." He flopped back against the bed and let out a long, dramatic groan. "Fine. You win. You’re suffering more."

The two fell into a strange silence, the sound of chaos outside muffled by walls but ever-present. Muchen placed his hand over his stomach again, his thumb drawing small shapes, and gazed out the window.

His voice, when it came again, was quieter. "Still... it’s worrying. Having a child right now... in this situation... it’s not ideal. Every time a blast goes off, I can’t help but wonder if something will happen to them. I’m constantly... anxious. About their safety."

Jai’s body twisted again, discomfort still present but his expression softened. "Don’t worry," he said, voice gentler. "Yunfeng will take care of everything. That guy might seem childish sometimes... but when it really matters, he does everything he can."

Muchen nodded slowly, his gaze drifting to the red-tinged sky. "Yeah... he does." He closed his eyes for a moment, letting the image of Yunfeng’s flames lighting up the enemy wash over his mind.