For a few fleeting seconds, there was only the gentle, persistent howl of the desert wind, the distant, muffled hum of the neon mega-city of Ufrifa, and the profound, desperate warmth of Sora's lips pressed against his.
Then, just as suddenly as it had happened, the moment fractured.
Sora broke the kiss, pulling back with a ragged gasp. Her dark eyes were blown wide open, trembling with a chaotic mixture of panic, overwhelming embarrassment, and disbelief at what she had just done. Her face was flushed so deep a crimson it rivaled the glow of a high-tier fire crystal. She stumbled backward, her boots scraping clumsily.
She stood there for a microsecond, her chest heaving as she panted heavily, looking at Hide's slightly widened, glowing blue eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, to apologize or explain, but no words came out. The weight of her own audacity finally crashed down on her shoulders.
