Ayu's eyes fluttered open to the sunlight pouring through the large windows in her apartment.
She stretched her tall body and rolled over into a sitting position.
As she blinked a few times and tastes the remains of wine in her mouth, she made a sour face. Her head began to throb.
The previous night had been yet another drunk night. The night before that, she had run into Mei. She had been so embarrassed by their run in, she tried to numb with more alcohol.
Shen hadn't been coming to the office much so she had a lot more to handle at work and finishing late had made her more tired and haggard and got her drunker much faster.
'I'm going to crash and burn at this rate, I have to deal with my situation or I'm going to start making mistakes'
Ayu was no alcoholic. She just didn't have a life. And the only life she had was Shen's work and her thoughts of Lina.
'Maybe I should just confess and get it off my chest once and for all' she thought to herself.
But then she shut that thought down immediately.
'Right, confess, get fired and never be able to see Lina again'
That was a risk she could never take. She would just have to find another outlet.
'Maybe I should just get over her' Ayu thought to herself. But the problem was, she didn't want to.
***************
~at the Lim Clan branch Basecamp~
Kira Lim stood at the front of a training ground as she watched her soldiers train. A group of them were jogging in unison around the ground, another groups were weight training, and a few were practicing combat.
In the distance there was a shooting range where a couple of younger boys were learning how to shoot with an instructor giving them directions. The boys were slightly clumsy, but were still trying hard.
As they saw Kira approach, they stood stiff, showing her respect by waving a salute.
They were nervous and yet excited. Kira Lim was a legend and revered as a goddess and queen at the camp. They had been rescued by her, they had become stronger and learned not only to defend themselves, but also to command some respect that they had never been shown before.
Kira looked at them sternly and nodded, acknowledging their salutes. She signalled to the instructor to move aside and then picked up a rifle.
"If you want to learn how to aim" she started to speak, still looking at the boys, away from the target sheet that was almost 30 feet away.
Suddenly she emptied the entire magazine into the target, her face still turned away from it and her eyes still trained on the young boys.
"Then memorise your target with one glance, so you don't need to look again"
As the boys made their way towards the target that Kira had shot at, there was a big hole in the centre, hot and steaming.
Every bullet had hit the exact centre, so much so that there was just one big hole.
They gasped in astonishment as they watched their goddess walked away. She had taken just one look from 30 feet away.
Her wrist was strong enough to resist the recoil from then rifle, and her precision was too accurate to be real.
Could there be anyone stronger than their leader? The boys resumed their training with a fire in their eyes and their hearts and Kira continued to make her rounds.
As she circled back to her private tent, she felt the strong arms of her husband circle her waist.
"Has my wife been blowing things up? You smell of gunpowder" Shao Moshi laughed.
"You know I can't help myself when there's an AK rifle in my arms. Beautiful things…" Kira murmured.
"How is the training coming along?" he asked, still reluctant to let go of his wife. It was still unreal to him that he could finally hold her close again after five long years.
"We're almost there. We will have redemption soon. Our numbers are enough to fight the Lims and Moshis, but their resources are far greater. Still, with the loyalty my soldiers show me and their coordination, we can pull it off"
"Good. Kira…we have one chance. If we blow it, we might never be able to come back" Shao said quietly.
Right now, they were hiding in the shadows. Kira's branch of the Lim family was deeply undercover. She had revealed no signs of deception to the main branch.
Even though Shen knew exactly how vicious and disloyal Shao was since their struggle for power, he did not know where Shao had disappeared to.
Nor did he know anything about Kira. She was his best kept secret and ally.
'Little brother, I guess I kept my life better under wraps than yours. We know about that wife of yours…your weakness' Shao thought to himself.
"What about Shigeo, your second brother? He's so lazy, he's never been much help." Kira enquired.
"He kept me good company for five years in imprisonment" Shao laughed.
But Kira's glare set him straight.
"No, my lovely wife, he will not get in the way. That crazy yoke may not be much help, but he won't help Shen. He won't really help anyone."
Kira smiled, finally relieved that all her pieces were in place. Soon they would control two empires again. They would rule the world together.
"However," Shao said, suddenly, "there is still a piece that Shen has that could be very dangerous. We need to acquire it"
"What is it?" Kira asked.
"James."
***********************************
That night, as Lina slept soundly next to her loving husband, the beach cottage appeared to her in her dreams.
The little girl Lili, she was in her body again. She was following her mommy and daddy back to the cottage on the cliff.
"Come Lili, mommy and daddy have something special to show you!" the beautiful lady said, the one who looked a lot like Lina.
As they walked up to the cottage and entered the front door, Lina felt a sense of comfort and safety overcome her.
The cottage was bright, and the orange sunset flooded in through the big windows and the wind chimes jingled in the breeze. The seagulls squawked as her mother turned and smiled.
Little glass jars full of shells lay around the cottage.
The man, whose face Lina still could not see in the dream, her daddy, he opened one of the jars filled with sand and shells.
He pulled out a little bag full of more shells and emptied it into the glass jar.
"Little angel, you picked some very pretty shells today, daddy is very pleased with you!" he said in his warm voice, that felt like the soft heat of the sunset that was pouring in through the window.
He patted her head gently with his big hand.
He then pulled out a small silver key from his pocket and and dropped it in the jar.
"Angel, this little key is daddy and mommy's present to you. Don't forget about it, sweet angel. You will need it one day" he said, softly.
The little girl nodded and hugged her daddy's leg with her short, chubby arms. She could hear her mommy's silvery laugh as the cottage faded away.
Lina awoke slowly.
The sun was pouring in through the window. But this was a sunrise. But the warmth of her gentle hubby next to her, made her feel safe. Like she had felt in her dream.
She looked at his handsome face and felt her heart melt into a puddle.
Could she be any luckier?