Our Goodbyes
The heat was unbearable.
Flames licked the walls, consuming everything in their path, the air thick with smoke and the scent of burning flesh.
Kairi stormed toward the exit—only to halt in her tracks.
Blocked.
The hallway had collapsed into a heap of rubble, fire raging over the debris like a beast protecting its territory.
She cursed under her breath, her mind racing.
Then—
Her eyes snapped to the side.
A window.
And beyond it—a building. Close enough to jump to.
Her breath steadied.
Her heartbeat slowed.
Kairi backed up, her boots scraping against the burning floor.
One chance.
No mistakes.
She dashed forward.
CRASH!
Glass shattered around her as she leapt through the window, shards cutting into her skin, but she didn't stop.
The wind howled past her ears, her body suspended mid-air—between life and death.
Then—
THUD!
She landed on the adjacent rooftop, rolling to absorb the impact. Pain jolted through her body, but she was alive.
Slowly, she pushed herself up, glancing back at the inferno she had left behind.
The building that had once stood tall, a fortress of corruption and bloodshed… was collapsing.
And with it, Kayd Arakawa's name.
Her lips curled into a smirk, despite the sting in her eye.
Kairi: "Burn in hell, bastard."
She turned away, not looking back.
There was still work to be done.
Behind her—the building groaned, its steel skeleton giving way to the merciless flames.
A final, deafening collapse.
BOOM.
Dust and embers shot into the sky, swallowing the night in a storm of fire and ruin.
Kairi watched in silence.
Kayd was gone. The twisted halls of that hellhole—gone.
Yet, there was no satisfaction. No relief.
Only the weight of the bodies left behind.
She exhaled slowly, turning her gaze forward—where they stood.
Celeste. Kasumi. Aiko. Rin.
Beaten. Bruised. But alive.
Celeste's eyes widened first, taking a sharp step forward.
Celeste: "Kairi—"
But Kairi didn't move.
She simply smiled.
Soft. Subtle. For the first time, not out of malice, nor cruelty. But something close to peace.
They were safe. That was enough.
She stepped back.
Kasumi's brows furrowed, realization creeping in.
Kasumi: "Wait—where the hell do you think you're going?!"
Aiko tensed, her voice strained.
Aiko: "Kairi—come with us."
Even Rin, battered and breathless, reached a trembling hand forward.
Rin: "Don't—don't do this. Please."
Kairi held their gazes.
For a moment, she considered it.
Staying.
But that wasn't who she was.
It was never who she was.
So, she simply turned her back to them.
Kairi: "We both know I don't belong there."
Celeste gritted her teeth.
Celeste: "Damn it, Kairi! Jin died for you too!"
Kairi paused.
A shadow crossed her face—but she didn't look back.
Her voice came out, quiet. Almost… remorseful.
Kairi: "Then let that mean something."
And with that—she walked away.
Disappearing into the night.
Into the only world she had ever known.