I had just stepped out of the shower, the steam still clinging to my hair as I pulled on the soft cotton of my pyjamas. The day's noise had finally given way to silence, and for once my room felt like a safe little cocoon away from the world.
The first day of the Hero Festival had been… something. Fun, yes. Exciting, definitely. Watching all those duels had left me wide-eyed, breath caught between amazement and disbelief. Solenne and Ryujin—those two had shattered the force field as if it were paper. I could still see the light of their final clash if I closed my eyes.
I had expected people to be upset at the abrupt ending. Maybe complaints, or students gossiping about how unfair it was. Instead, the whole academy seemed… satisfied. Maybe because the sheer display of power was enough to leave even the most jaded government officials impressed. Maybe because it was proof—our generation wasn't weak.
I was brushing my teeth when I caught myself smiling at the thought. Tomorrow would be Tactical Trials. Group missions. Simulated emergencies. My chest tightened just thinking about it. Not because I was afraid of fighting—but because working in a team always came with complications. Which group would I join? Who would I be paired with? Would I mess it up?
I shook the thoughts away and rinsed my mouth. I'll deal with it tomorrow. Tonight, I'll just… breathe.
That's when the knock came.
I frowned. It was late. Who would—?
When I opened the door, my toothbrush nearly slipped from my fingers.
Juno, Ari and Rhea. Standing right there in their pyjamas.
Rhea tilted her head, staring like she'd walked into the wrong room. "This is Calla? Are you sure?" she asked the others.
I blinked. My glasses were off, my hair loose and falling across my face. Not exactly the stiff, uniformed version of me they usually saw.
Before I could answer, Ari lunged forward. "Calla!"
"W-Wait—!"
I was too late. She crashed into me, knocking the air from my lungs as we tumbled to the floor.
"Ghh—!" I winced, pain shooting up my shoulder.
Ari only giggled, hugging me tightly. "I knew it! You are wearing the pyjamas I picked out for you!"
Heat rushed to my face. "Get off! It hurts!" I shoved her until she rolled away, pouting.
Behind her, Juno smiled knowingly. "Told you. This is what Calla looks like when she's not hiding under that uniform. A proper girl."
Rhea's eyes widened, as if she'd just seen a stranger. "You look… completely different."
I hugged my knees, embarrassed. "S-So? What are you doing here, anyway? It's late."
Rhea straightened, crossing her arms. "We're staying the night. With you. As teammates."
I repeated her words without processing. "Staying the night… with me?"
"Yes," Rhea said again, perfectly serious.
It was then that I noticed it. All three of them had sleeping bags slung over their shoulders. Pyjamas, pillows, even snacks peeking out of Ari's arms.
"…Y-You're serious?"
Juno nodded. Ari grinned like a cat caught raiding the pantry. And Rhea—stoic as ever—just confirmed it with a simple, "Yes."
My head spun. My quiet evening had just been hijacked, and I knew—deep in my bones—that this was going to be a very long and very exhausting night.
* * *
By the time everyone got comfortable in my room, I finally pieced together how this all happened.
Ari had gotten bored sitting around in her own dorm, decided that dragging Juno into her chaos was the best cure, and on the way they bumped into Rhea. Ari being Ari pestered and prodded until Rhea caved. That chain of events led them straight to me, my bed, and my space.
Now the three of them were exploring my room like it was some kind of exhibit. Ari opened drawers, Juno ran her hand along my shelf of books, and Rhea… wasn't really looking at the room at all. Her sharp eyes were fixed on me.
It was unsettling, being studied so openly. Even though I knew what she was doing, the words slipped out anyway.
"What… are you doing?"
Rhea didn't answer at first. She stepped closer instead, her eyes narrowing slightly. Then her gaze dipped to my hand.
"Why do you have a bandage on your arm?" she asked. "Was it from the mirror you broke?"
Her words cut sharper than expected. My chest tightened as an image flickered in my mind—Nyxshade's fist shattering glass in a burst of fury, shards catching my skin. But that was something I could never say aloud.
I stayed silent.
Juno and Ari exchanged looks.
"We saw that too," Juno admitted. "But you didn't seem bothered, so… we let it go."
"Yeah," Ari nodded quickly, grinning as if to soften the weight of the question. "We figured if you wanted us to know, you'd say something."
The silence that followed pressed heavier than the question itself. My fingers twitched against the bandage. Rhea's eyes softened, though, and instead of cornering me, she shifted course.
"Then why do you hide yourself behind the uniform?"
Before I could answer, Ari jumped in with the enthusiasm of someone who'd been waiting for this opening.
"That's easy," she declared. "Calla just wants me to be the only one who gets to see her beautiful body and cute face." She leaned forward, practically drooling at the thought.
She said it with so much conviction, I nearly choked on air. My face burned instantly.
Juno's hand came down on Ari's head with a sharp smack. "Idiot." She rolled her eyes, then looked back at Rhea. "It's the same reason you do it, isn't it?"
Rhea froze, blinked once, then gave a small nod. "...Yes."
Something settled then. An unspoken understanding between us.
The room softened after that. The tension dissolved, replaced by laughter and chatter. We ended up sitting in a loose circle on the floor, blankets and pillows dragged down from my bed. My space didn't feel like mine anymore, but in a strange way, that wasn't entirely bad.
Conversation drifted from one topic to the next. Ari did most of the talking, bouncing between stories and complaints about the academy. Juno interrupted her with sharp remarks every so often, playing the role of the exasperated older sister whether she wanted to or not. Rhea spoke less, but when she did, it was usually blunt, the kind of truth that left us either speechless or laughing harder.
I found myself keeping up with them, actually laughing, actually speaking without overthinking every word. It was new… but it felt good.
They teased each other about training drills. Ari bragged about how she could "totally take down" certain upperclassmen, which made Juno threaten to tie her to a chair just to stop her from doing anything reckless. Rhea muttered something about Ari having a death wish, and Ari only leaned back smugly as if she'd just been complimented.
At some point, Juno picked up one of my books and raised a brow. "You actually read this stuff?" she asked, showing me the cover.
Heat crept into my cheeks. "It's… interesting," I mumbled, tugging the book back.
Ari leaned forward, eyes gleaming. "Ohhh, what's it about? Don't tell me it's one of those tragic, brooding romance things."
"It's not," I said quickly—too quickly.
That just made them laugh. Even Rhea smiled faintly.
The hours slipped by like that, in easy conversation and harmless teasing. My room, once a place of solitude, was filled with warmth I didn't know I needed. For the first time in a long time, I felt like I wasn't just existing beside others—I was part of something, even if I didn't fully understand it yet.
Eventually, the chatter slowed, and we all grew quieter, the night settling in around us. But then, as if summoned by fate itself, Ari grinned and dropped a question that shifted everything.
"So…" she said, dragging out the word like she was setting a trap. "What about romance?"
And just like that, the air changed.
This was going to be exhausting.
I could already tell.
Rhea had burrowed herself under my covers, Ari was bouncing with too much energy for midnight, and Juno looked like she was trying to calculate her escape route. If I was lucky, maybe I could feign sleep and end this madness early.
I cleared my throat. "Maybe we should just… call it a night? You know, rest for tomorrow—"
Rhea's muffled voice chimed from beneath my blanket. "Seconded."
But Ari spun on her heel and cut us off like a judge banging a gavel. "Denied."
We both froze.
Ari's grin stretched as she planted herself in front of us. "We're not going to bed yet. Not until we answer the most important question in life: what do you all know about love?"
I blinked. "...Eh?"
One by one, she forced answers out of us. Juno mumbled something about "partnership and mutual respect." Rhea muttered about "an ineffable bond built over time." I stuttered something that wasn't even coherent when pressed.
Ari stared at us, then burst into loud, helpless laughter.
"You're all so hopeless! Pure-hearted, maybe, but hopeless!"
Her laughter echoed in my small dorm room. I hugged my pillow, cheeks burning, wondering why I agreed to this.
Then she leaned close—too close. Her breath brushed my ear as she whispered something I couldn't possibly repeat. My eyes widened, the words sinking into my brain like hot coals.
"…Y-you can't be serious," I stammered.
"Dead serious," she said, pulling back just far enough to smirk at me.
I swallowed hard. "Confirm it again?"
She nodded without hesitation.
Juno and Rhea both leaned forward suspiciously. "What did she say?"
I pressed my lips together. No way was I repeating that out loud. "…You'll just have to see."
So, with a deep breath, I raised my hand and let mana flow. The walls shifted, bending, folding, reshaping under my illusion. My room dissolved into the neat, chalk-scented interior of a classroom. Desks lined in rows. A whiteboard at the front. Uniforms draped over everyone—except Ari.
She now stood in front of us wearing a teacher's outfit that was… well… let's just say "bold" was putting it lightly. I tried not to look too closely.
Juno blinked, then actually let out a low whistle. "Not bad. The detail's sharp—feels almost real."
My cheeks heated, pride sparking despite myself. "Thanks… but it's because of Rhea's training."
Rhea peeked down at her borrowed uniform, nodding once. "Your control's improved."
Before I could feel too pleased, Ari snapped her telescopic pointer against the whiteboard. Crack!
The sound made me jump.
"No unruly students in my class!" she barked.
The three of us instantly scrambled into the nearest desks.
"From now on, you will address me as Sensei. The Love Teacher." She pointed the rod at us like a weapon.
"…You can't be serious," Juno muttered.
"This is ridiculous," Rhea added flatly.
Ari's smirk grew. "Oh? Disrespect already? That calls for punishment."
Before I could blink, she whipped out a sleek pistol and bang bang! fired at both of them.
"ARI?!" I shot up from my chair. "What did you just do!?"
She twirled the gun in her hand casually. "Relax. Its Anti-mana bullets. Non-lethal but painful, though."
I turned toward Juno and Rhea, who were wincing hard, clutching their sides as their mana fizzled out like candles in the rain. Their faces twisted in discomfort, and I winced in sympathy.
Ari crouched down in front of them, eyes gleaming. "So? What do you think of my little gift?"
"Where the hell did you even get these?" Juno gritted out, glaring through the pain.
"They're expensive and off-limits," Rhea hissed, her tone sharper than usual.
Ari just chuckled, cocking her head. "You forget who I am. If I want something, I get it. Simple as that. But I didn't use them in my duel earlier because i didn't have to."
The smugness rolling off her was unbearable.
Juno groaned, Rhea muttered under her breath, and I… I sat there regretting every decision that led to me activating this illusion.
I slumped over my desk, burying my face in my arms.
Why did I think this was a good idea again?
I sighed, half in regret, half in resignation, as I watched Juno and Rhea still recovering from Ari's little stunt with the bullets. My illusion had turned my dorm room into a pristine classroom, complete with desks, a chalk-whiteboard, and uncomfortable chairs.
"I… I'm sorry," I mumbled, looking between them. "I didn't mean to drag you two into this mess."
Juno gave me a tired wave of her hand. "It's fine, Calla. I've been through worse. A couple of bullets won't kill me."
Rhea adjusted herself in her seat, as calm as ever. "Nothing we can't handle."
Ari, of course, looked pleased with herself, sitting at the teacher's desk in her scandalously bold "sensei" attire. She leaned forward, pointer in hand, her grin wide and wolfish. "Bringing the strong to their knees," she purred, "is bliss."
Juno frowned. "Don't enjoy it too much, Ari. Consequences will come back to bite you, and I'm not covering for you."
Ari twirled her pointer like it was a sword, dismissing Juno's warning as though it was nothing. Then she slammed it against the whiteboard, making all three of us jump.
On the board, in bold letters, was written:
FORBIDDEN LOVE
We all just stared at it. Silent. Confused.
Ari let the silence hang, almost theatrically, before speaking. "Class… tonight's lesson is one the academy would never approve of." Her eyes glinted. "But I will teach you what no curriculum dares to touch."
She began pacing in front of us, pointer in hand like she'd been preparing for this lecture her whole life.
"Forbidden love," she declared, "is the most delicious kind of love. Because it's not allowed, because the world tries to crush it, it grows even stronger." She tapped the board. "It thrives in shadows, in secrecy. Teacher and student. Hero and villain. Noble and commoner. Even rival houses sworn to destroy each other. Forbidden love is the storm where desire and consequence collide!"
I found myself leaning forward despite myself. Juno raised an eyebrow but didn't interrupt. Even Rhea, quiet as ever, was watching Ari intently.
Ari's voice softened for a moment. "It's bittersweet. You know you shouldn't, but you still do. And the cost only makes it feel more alive."
I swallowed. I didn't want to admit it, but… it was a strangely compelling way to look at it.
"Now," Ari snapped, clapping her hands. "Onto our second subject—BL."
She wrote it on the board in quick, sharp strokes.
"Boys' Love," Ari announced proudly, like she was revealing a sacred treasure. "This is about beauty. It's about bonds between men—brotherhood that turns into something more, loyalty that burns hotter than fire, friendship that crosses every boundary."
She slapped down a stack of comics onto her desk. "Visual aids, of course."
Juno, the one who'd looked the most uninterested, leaned forward. "…You actually brought proof?"
"I'm always prepared." Ari grinned. She tossed one to Juno, one to me, and one to Rhea.
I hesitated. I wanted to look aloof, responsible. But then Juno, of all people, flipped hers open and actually started reading. If Juno was doing it, how could I not? I cautiously opened the comic, and before I realized it, I was engrossed in the lines, the artistry, the story of two rivals bound by fate.
"Not bad," Juno muttered. "I'll forgive you for earlier. Just this once."
Ari's smug grin only grew. I didn't know if this outcome had been part of her plan all along, but she was winning.
"And now," she said, slamming her pointer against the board again, "my personal favorite. The peak of purity. The essence of passion. Yuri."
Her eyes practically sparkled as she spoke. "Girl with girl, heart to heart, soul to soul! It is the culmination of innocence and temptation, softness and steel. The world will never understand its true glory, but I—your benevolent teacher—will!"
She launched into detail, her voice rising with every sentence. She spoke of fleeting glances between classmates, of love blooming in the dormitories, of friendships transforming into something deeper. She spoke as though it were divine revelation.
I sat frozen, somewhere between bewildered and… intrigued.
But Rhea—Rhea, of all people—was leaning forward now, her eyes sharp, studying every word Ari said.
Ari noticed instantly. "Ahh… I've found my star pupil!"
What followed was chaos. Ari rapid-fired questions about preferences, tropes, symbolism, and Rhea answered them all without hesitation, matching Ari's enthusiasm with calm precision. They were in perfect sync, and it terrified me.
By the time an hour had passed, my head was spinning. I finally let my illusion drop, my room snapping back into reality, whiteboard and desks dissolving into air.
"It's late," Juno yawned. "We should sleep."
"Your mana should return in about two hours," Ari said casually, stretching like she hadn't just staged the strangest lecture of my life. "No worries."
Rhea nodded, Juno rolled out her sleeping bag and Ari flopped onto mine without asking, and I sighed, too tired to argue.
For once, the room felt warm. The noise died down, and one by one, they all drifted to sleep.
And me? I lay awake a little longer, wondering if this was friendship… or madness.