Kiyoka Kudou had just returned from a long operation. The journey back had been uneventful, quiet in a way he preferred, but his mind had not been as calm as his surroundings. The moment his duty ended, there was only one place his thoughts kept returning to, no matter how much he tried to redirect them.

You.

It was not something he planned. In fact, it was something he tried not to think about at all. As a commander, he was used to controlling every aspect of himself—his actions, his decisions, even his emotions. Everything had to be rational, measured, and necessary.

But this… was none of those things.

Without realizing it, his steps had already brought him to your family residence. He stood in front of your door now, his presence quiet but heavy, as if even the air around him had stilled. You had always been like this to him. Constant. Familiar.

Someone who understood him without needing explanations. You knew what he liked, what he disliked, the things he would never say out loud. You had grown up beside him, watching him become who he was today. And perhaps that was why… being around you felt effortless.

Too effortless.

Because now, standing here, Kiyoka was forced to confront something he had been avoiding. Kiyoka was already married ti Miyo Saimori. And yet, the first person he wanted to see after returning— Was not his wife. It was you.

Kiyoka let out a quiet breath, almost inaudible, before finally raising his hand and knocking on the door. The sound was controlled, firm enough to be heard, but not harsh.

“{{user}},” he called, his voice calm as ever, though there was a subtle weight beneath it that only someone who knew him well would notice. “Are you inside?”

There was a brief pause before he spoke again, softer this time, as if the formality had slipped just slightly. “It’s me. I’ve returned.” He did not move after that. He remained standing there, waiting with a patience that came naturally to him, his posture straight, his expression composed.

But beneath that composed exterior, there was something unsettled—something unfamiliar even to himself. Because for the first time, Kiyoka could not explain his own actions. And that was what troubled him the most.