Chapter 384: Made For One Another

Cassius could feel the odd contrast more keenly now, the warmth of her breasts pressed flush to his chest, hot and soft and alive, while her tail curled over his legs with a cool, almost icy smoothness.

It was strange, surreal even, that the same body could hold such different temperatures. He was still caught in the thought when Nala suddenly pulled back, blinking at him with wide, puzzled eyes.

"But...how?" She asked, voice trembling with genuine confusion. "Even though I’m happy you’re alive, I don’t understand. I saw your back, burnt to a crisp, your organs spilling out...you were dead. So how in the world are you standing here right now?"

"Wait, don’t tell me—"

She then gasped in a loud and dramatic manner, as she suddenly clapped her hands together.

"...you’re actually part cat! A cat in human skin with nine lives?!"

Her eyes narrowed dangerously, tail tightening on his legs like a spring.

"Because if that’s true, I’ll have to fight you. Cats and snakes don’t get along at all, after all!"

Cassius chuckled, shaking his head.

"Nothing like that. Trust me. Though I do have a friend who’s basically a cat herself. But me? I’m just human. A weird one, maybe, but still human. I just...heal a lot faster than most people."

Nala gave him the driest look imaginable, her lip curling.

"A little faster? Don’t make me laugh. Half your body was burned away. I saw it! In minutes, it’s like nothing even happened. Not a scratch. And you expect me to just believe that’s normal?"

She poked his chest with one accusing finger, her tone equal parts horrified and impressed.

"You’re a freak. A monster. Scarier than the demons grandma used to tell stories about so that I would obey. You even scared the Leviathan away. You—"

Her gaze flicked up and down him in disbelief

"...you’re the biggest monster of them all."

Cassius smirked at that, leaning in close, his voice dropping low. "So, what? Scared, are you? Scared of what I can do? Scared I might just eat you up?"

He fully expected her to recoil, to flinch or hiss or do anything a sane person would do in the face of someone who could survive being half-destroyed.

But instead, Nala just scoffed, flicking her hair back with exaggerated flair.

"Oh please. Don’t kid yourself." She crossed her arms under her breasts, lifting them even higher as she rolled her eyes. "Sure, you’re scary. Sure, you can do things I’ve never even heard of before. And yes, if I’d seen all that before tonight, I’d probably be terrified of you...But now?"

Her lips twisted into a smirk.

"Now I’ve seen you beg for my breasts like a starving pup. I’ve seen you smile like an idiot getting slapped by them. I don’t care how strong you are, you look like a joke to me. A funny one."

"...Just looking at your face makes me want to laugh."

Cassius stared at her, absolutely dumbfounded.

"You...You can’t be serious. Come on, I really am scary. That’s the reason the Leviathan was scared of me! You should be scared too, not sitting there mocking me!"

He leaned closer, frustration creeping in.

"I could do so many things to you, you know. You wouldn’t be able to resist me at all."

But once again, her expression softened into something almost tender as she shook her head.

"And that’s exactly the point..." Her voice was quieter now, steadier. "You could have done so many things to me. With the power you have, with the way the Leviathan reacted to you, you could’ve forced me, taken me however you wanted."

Her eyes dropped to his chest, then lower, before flicking back up.

"But instead you begged. You pleaded like a fool. You made yourself ridiculous just for a chance to press against me."

Her lips curved into a smile, not mocking now but oddly gentle.

"And someone like that? Someone that powerful who still chooses to act like a fool rather than hurt me? That’s not someone I need to be scared of...That’s someone I can trust."

"My eyes are also particularly good, I know when a monster is dangerous and when it isn’t. And you..." She touched his chest, her fingers light but firm. "...you may be a monster. But you’re a monster who won’t hurt me."

Cassius’s heart gave a single heavy thud in his chest. For all her teasing, for all her wild antics, she understood him more in this moment than most people had in his entire life.

The trust in her eyes was warm, disarming.

But then, of course, Nala tilted her head, frowning thoughtfully.

"But wait..." Her tone shifted again, sharp and accusing. "If you heal that fast...then you must’ve known all along you wouldn’t die from the Leviathan. Which means..."

She jabbed his chest again, narrowing her eyes.

"...that whole heroic sacrifice thing? Burning half your body to save me? That was a scam! A big, fat scam!"

Cassius froze, guilt flashing across his face as she hit the truth dead on. He opened his mouth to stammer out an apology—but before he could, she suddenly softened again, her tail loosening around his legs.

"But still..." She murmured, gaze tender now. "Even if you knew you wouldn’t die, you did know you’d be in horrible pain."

"You knew your body would be burnt away. You knew you’d suffer. And you still did it anyway, for me." Her eyes shone, her smile wistful. "That doesn’t make you less brave. It makes you more. Because it wasn’t impulse, it was a choice."

"...And you still chose to suffer for me."

Her voice dipped almost to a whisper, reverent and heartfelt.

"That only makes you look even cooler, when you already were."

Cassius, stunned, could only stare at her, his chest tightening as if she was a female playgirl who knew just all the lines to make a man swoon.

Nala’s smile had barely finished softening when suddenly it sharpened into a suspicious squint. Her eyes narrowed at him, the corners of her mouth tugging down as her tail coiled tighter around his legs.

"But wait..." She murmured, eyes glinting as though she were unraveling a riddle. "Did you really save me just because you wanted to save me?"

Her lips curved into a pout, but the look in her gaze was sharp as a dagger.

"Or was it all a scam? Did you only do it so you could look at my breasts, get your face smothered in them, and make me think it was all so tragic and noble?"

"...Did you plan everything, the dying act, the regrets, all of it, from the very start?"

Cassius froze, caught dead in her stare, his expression caught between guilt and exasperation.

The way she laid it out, with such straight-faced seriousness, was almost too much. He gave her a crooked, awkward smile and finally let out a long sigh, his shoulders slumping.

"To be honest..." He admitted, voice a little sheepish. "I was just riding down the road when I heard a scream. I came running, no big plan, no big scam. I just...I wanted to save whoever it was. You. And yeah, I wanted to be a hero in that moment. Nothing else."

His gaze flicked to the side, lips twitching faintly as he added,

"It was only later I realized there might be...opportunities. You know, a little treat for myself."

He then chuckled weakly, scratching at the back of his head.

"So what is it? Do you hate me now? For tricking you? For scamming you into getting naked, when technically there was no need at all?" His eyes softened, his smirk gentler than usual. "Well, it’s only natural you’d hate it."

He braced for the anger, for the hatred. But what he got instead knocked him flat.

"Hate you?...No..." Nala’s lips curved into a wry little smile. "I means, I’m a little irritated, yes, irritated that you managed to trick me. I’m usually the one tricking others. So, for you to turn it around on me so easily..."

She huffed, cheeks puffing slightly, but then her smile softened into something brighter.

"...But I don’t mind. Not at all, actually. At the end of the day, you still saved me. You still suffered for me. And as far as compensation goes, I gave something up too."

She tapped her chest meaningfully, her breasts bouncing faintly with the gesture.

"So it’s balanced. That way I don’t owe you anything. And honestly? I prefer it this way. If you’d gone through all that just for me and nothing else...I wouldn’t know how to feel. I don’t like owing people. This feels fair."

Cassius blinked at her, then gave a low chuckle, shaking his head.

"You’re really something else, you know that? So blunt. So...honest. It’s refreshing. Makes you surprisingly easy to deal with."

But before he could enjoy the moment, Nala pouted suddenly, puffing her cheeks again like an indignant child.

"Although, if I’m being completely honest..." Her eyes narrowed slyly now. "I’d actually prefer it if you did save me just for the chance to rub your face into my breasts...That would’ve made me feel even more confident in them."

"To know a man was willing to go through so much, burning half his body, suffering all that pain, just for the sake of my breasts?...Oh, that would make me proud."

She crossed her arms under them with a dramatic shake, lifting them high as though to emphasize her point.

"Spiteful and proud."

Cassius blinked, then barked out a laugh, smirking as he leaned down close to her. His gaze flicked down at her breasts, still pressed warm against his chest.

"Don’t worry about that. I’d do the same thing again. All of it. Just for another chance at that experience." His eyes gleamed mischievously. "And for the record...your breasts really are divine."

"And you know what, you should show off more cleavage in the future. Who knows how many men would throw themselves into danger just to protect you if they thought they’d get a reward like that. It could be a safety precaution."

He said this as a joke but her eyes widened in surprise, then lit up with a sparkle, and to his shock she nodded with genuine seriousness.

"Actually...that makes sense. That’s a really good idea!" She clapped her hands together, her smile brightening with almost childlike excitement. "Next time I head off to do something dangerous, I’ll wear a skimpier dress, just like you said."

"I won’t even need mercenaries to guard me, men will protect me automatically, as long as they see what’s at stake."

Cassius smirked at her in disbelief, shaking his head. "You really are shameless."

Nala smirked right back, eyes glittering with mischief. "Not as shameless as you. You begged, even while suffering and half-dead, just for the chance to nuzzle against me. Don’t pretend you didn’t."

He barked a short laugh. "So what you’re saying is..."

She leaned in, her lips curving, her eyes half-lidded.

"...We’re both shameless."

"Almost like we were made for each other."

"Almost like we were made for each other."

They said at the same time and their gazes held, locked in something unspoken but powerful, a knowing look that said more than words ever could.

And for the first time that night, it felt less like a clash of tricks and more like two people recognizing the same glimmer of wildness, the same streak of madness, in each other...