Part 2 — The Tension That Followed Them Home
At the front of the room, Daigo stood speaking with Renjiro in a low voice. Their expressions were serious, restrained.
The triplets paused, noticing them.
Daigo finished first and stepped away, leaving the classroom without another word.
Renjiro turned toward them, his expression softening.
"Let's go home," he said.
Ayame smiled.
Kaito's mood lightened instantly.
Haruto followed, quiet but present.
They walked out together.
And as they left the academy behind, the tension of the day slowly faded—
the three of them heading home with Renjiro, side by side, laughing softly as if nothing had gone wrong at all.
They reached home just as the sky began to dim.
The gate slid shut behind them, the familiar quiet of the house settling in.
Renjiro didn't stop.
The moment they stepped inside, he turned and walked straight toward the inner room.
"Akari," he called, voice low but urgent. "We need to talk."
Akari looked up at once. One glance at his expression was enough to tell her this wasn't ordinary.
Ayame noticed too.
She didn't linger.
She slipped into her room, changed quickly, and returned almost immediately.
Haruto and Kaito stayed behind—Haruto sitting on the edge of the futon, exhausted, Kaito unusually silent.
Ayame entered the room where Akari and Renjiro stood.
She took a breath.
"Something was wrong today," she said.
Akari's posture stiffened. "With Haruto?"
Ayame nodded.
"He wasn't himself," she continued. "When the fight started… it wasn't just anger. It felt like he didn't want to stop. Like he couldn't."
Renjiro's eyes sharpened.
Ayame hesitated, then went on.
"And his eyes… they turned red. Not for a second. They stayed that way."
Akari's fingers tightened slightly.
"He didn't react to anything around him," Ayame said softly. "Not voices. Not people pulling him back. It was like he was somewhere else."
She lowered her gaze.
"I've never seen him like that before."
Silence filled the room.
Renjiro exhaled slowly, controlled.
Akari didn't speak—but the worry in her eyes was unmistakable.
Whatever had awakened in Haruto today
wasn't just unusual.
It was dangerous.
And it hadn't gone unnoticed.
Ayame swallowed, then added quietly,
"And… he was bleeding."
Akari's head lifted at once. "Bleeding—where?"
"His stomach," Ayame said. "He didn't even react. He just… kept going. After that, he barely stayed awake."
That was enough.
Akari turned and moved down the hall without another word.