𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐍' 𝐈𝐂𝐄, kai hiwatari

──twelve;

I settled back into my seat, munching on my burger, and observed the lively scene around me. Tyson and Max were chatting and laughing together, Kenny was engrossed in his laptop, Ray was enjoying his meal peacefully, and, as usual, Kai sat quietly, savoring his pudding. My mind drifted to the earlier incident involving Kai and Ray, and I couldn't help but giggle.

My sudden giggle caught Ray's attention, and he shot me a curious look. I quickly shook my head, attempting to convey that it was nothing important. However, when I locked eyes with Kai, I could tell from the look on his face that he understood why I had giggled. He narrowed his eyes at me, and that expression only made me want to giggle more.

Judy excused herself, gesturing for Emily to follow her, and the two of them left the cafeteria.

Suddenly, Tyson burst out with excitement, "Hey, guys! Let's sneak in!" Max nodded eagerly, and Kenny seemed intrigued. I joined in, saying, "Sneaking in? Alright! Let's do this!"

We all turned to Ray, waiting for his response. He looked at us, nodded, and we cheered in unison.

"Let's go!" Tyson declared, rising from his seat and heading for the exit, with the rest of us following him. However, I realized I had forgotten my ID, so I quickly dashed back to our table. Kai was still sitting there, focused on his food.

I approached him and asked awkwardly, "You really sure you want to... um... miss out?" He looked up at me, maintaining his composure. "I'm not that bored that I would sneak into the building," he replied, shaking his head. "Alright then," I said, turning to leave.

But before I could go, Kai's voice stopped me. "Just don't get caught," he warned. I raised an eyebrow at his unexpected concern. "Don't worry, I'm the Master of Sneaking In," I retorted with a wink, then dashed away with a smug smile. I heard a gasp from Kai as I left him behind, amused by his reaction.

As we faced the electronic door with the black screen, I realized that it required a password to proceed. I turned to address the others, but before I could speak, I noticed them frozen in awkward positions due to the laser grid.

"Guys, this needs a password," I informed them as I began to type on the black screen. "Are you guys listening--" I started to ask, but then I turned around and found them struggling with the lasers.

Ray attempted to speak but just grinned awkwardly. I was about to make another comment when Tyson decided to take action. He stepped onto the laser grid, causing it to trigger an alarm, and a glass wall came down, separating him, Ray, Max, and Kenny from Kai and me.

The tension in the room dissipated as Kai swiftly moved to pick up Kenny and carried him to our side of the glass wall.

"Thanks, Kai," Kenny said gratefully as Kai turned his attention towards the glass door.

Another glass wall suddenly descended from above, splitting the group into two. Kai and I were on one side, while Ray, Max, Tyson, and Kenny were on the other.

"WHAT?!" Tyson protested loudly, his frustration evident. The situation quickly descended into chaos once again.

Kai remained calm and collected, issuing instructions to the group. "Find a way from that side; I will go from this side," he ordered, his tone as icy as ever.

Ray nodded, and the four of them began their search, determined to reunite with us.

Kai couldn't resist taunting me as we faced the challenge of the divided room. "Someone's here, the Master of Sneaking In," he quipped with a smirk, clearly trying to get a rise out of me.

His teasing was getting on my nerves, and I couldn't hold back my frustration any longer. "AgH!!!" I yelled out, my patience wearing thin as I followed him, determined to prove him wrong.

He was truly exasperating at times, and I couldn't help but wonder if he did it on purpose to rile me up.

Author's note - Heyyy! Sorry for late upload, I had some personal issues. And guess what? My school is on its way from tomorrow, and it will be hard for me to publish constantly, every day. I will be uploading parts once in a week, or maybe twice. I've to manage other stories too.  And with that, my studies. So please cooperate. THANK YOU!