The empty desk sat like an accusation in the morning light.
Luna stared at it, her wolf ears drooping lower with each passing second. The classroom buzzed with pre-homeroom chatter, but the noise felt distant, muffled, as if she were underwater. Three days. Three days since Hiro had last sat in that chair, three days since she'd seen his awkward smile or heard his quiet laugh.
Three days since she'd told him she hoped he'd die in a pit.
"He's not here again," Yuki whispered, her rabbit ears twitching nervously as she leaned across the aisle. The petite girl's usual cheerfulness had dimmed considerably over the past few days. "Luna, that's three days now. I'm getting really worried."
Kaede turned around in her seat, her fox tail swishing with agitation. "I tried calling him again last night. Still no answer. His phone goes straight to voicemail."
"Maybe he's sick?" Takeshi offered from behind them, his bear-like frame hunched over his desk. But even his normally boisterous voice carried an uncertain edge. "Like, really sick? Should we... I don't know, should someone check on him?"
Luna's tail, usually so expressive, lay completely still against her chair. The other students might have chalked Hiro's absence up to illness or family emergency, but she knew better. She could still see the look on his face when she'd screamed those words at him—the hurt, the confusion, the way something had broken behind his eyes.
*It's because of what I said,* Luna thought, her chest tightening. *I didn't mean it. I was just... hurt. Angry. Confused. But I never wanted this.*
The memory played in her mind like a cruel loop: Hiro frozen in the hallway, Ayaka's lips pressed against his, the shock on his face when Luna had rounded the corner. And then her own voice, sharp and vicious: "I hope you die in a pit."
She'd run away before she could see his reaction, before her own tears could betray her. But now, sitting in this classroom with his desk empty and his phone silent, she wondered if she'd broken something that couldn't be fixed.
"Luna?" Yuki's soft voice pulled her back to the present. "Are you okay? You look..."
"I'm fine," Luna lied, forcing her ears to perk up slightly. "I'm sure Hiro's okay. He probably just needs some space."
But she didn't believe her own words, and judging by the concerned looks from her friends, neither did they.
Ayaka stood outside Hiro's apartment building, clutching a small convenience store bag like a lifeline. The afternoon sun beat down on her shoulders, but she barely noticed the heat. She'd walked past this building twice already, working up the courage to go inside.
*You kissed him without asking,* she reminded herself, her fox ears flat against her skull. *You hurt Luna. You probably hurt him too. You have to make this right.*
The building was modest, nothing like her family's estate, but it suited Hiro—unassuming, practical. She climbed the stairs to the third floor, her footsteps echoing in the stairwell. Apartment 305. She'd gotten the address from the student directory, which probably constituted another invasion of privacy she'd have to apologize for.
She knocked on the door, the sound sharp in the quiet hallway.
"Hiro? It's Ayaka." Her voice came out smaller than she'd intended. "I... I want to talk."
Silence greeted her.
She knocked again, harder this time. "Please, Hiro. I know you're upset, but—"
Still nothing.
Ayaka's hand drifted to the doorknob, and to her surprise, it turned easily. Unlocked. A thrill of concern shot through her. She pushed the door open slowly, calling out again. "Hiro? I'm coming in, okay? Don't... don't be alarmed."
The apartment was dim and quiet. A small kitchen to her left, a bathroom ahead, and a closed door to her right that must be his bedroom. The living space was tidy but lived-in, with textbooks stacked on a low table and a pair of shoes kicked off near the entrance.
Ayaka slipped off her own shoes and padded toward the bedroom door. It was slightly ajar, and through the gap, she could see the outline of someone lying in bed.
"Hiro?" she whispered, pushing the door open.
The room was dark, curtains drawn tight against the afternoon light. Hiro lay on his side, facing away from the door, his form barely visible under a rumpled blanket. For a moment, Ayaka just stood there, taking in the scene—the clothes piled on a chair, the desk covered in unfinished homework, the stillness of his breathing.
He was asleep. Or at least, he appeared to be.
Ayaka approached slowly, her footsteps whisper-soft on the carpet. Guilt crashed over her in waves as she looked down at his sleeping face—peaceful, unmarked by the turmoil she'd caused. His hair was messy, sticking up at odd angles, and there were dark circles under his eyes even in sleep.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "For kissing you. For putting you in that position. For... everything."
She pulled a folded letter from her pocket, the paper slightly crumpled from how tightly she'd been gripping it. She'd spent hours writing it, crossed out dozens of drafts, trying to find the right words to express her regret without making excuses.
Carefully, she placed it on his nightstand, next to a half-empty glass of water and his phone.
"I wrote you an apology," she continued, even though she knew he couldn't hear her. "I hope you can forgive me someday. I know I don't deserve it, but... I hope you will."
She stood there for another moment, memorizing his face, then turned and left as quietly as she'd come. The letter sat on the nightstand, a white rectangle in the darkness, waiting to be read.
Five hours passed.
The sun dipped lower in the sky, painting Hiro's apartment in shades of orange and purple. He hadn't moved from the bed, hadn't acknowledged the letter on his nightstand. The apartment remained silent except for the distant sounds of the city outside.
Then, as evening settled in, there was another knock at the door.
Luna stood in the hallway, her heart hammering so hard she thought it might burst from her chest. Her wolf ears were flat against her head, her tail tucked tight, every inch of her body language screaming anxiety.
*You can do this,* she told herself, staring at the door like it might bite her. *You have to do this. You have to apologize.*
She'd practiced what she wanted to say on the train ride over. She'd rehearsed it in the elevator. But now, standing here, all those carefully prepared words seemed to evaporate.
"Even if he hates me now," she murmured to herself, "I have to try."
She knocked, the sound seeming too loud in the quiet hallway.
No answer.
She knocked again, harder. "Hiro? It's Luna. I... please, I need to talk to you."
Still nothing.
Her hand found the doorknob—unlocked, just as it had been for Ayaka. Luna's concern deepened. Was he really sleeping so soundly that he couldn't hear knocking? Or was he deliberately ignoring her?
*I deserve that,* she thought miserably. *After what I said, I deserve that and worse.*
But she couldn't leave without trying. She pushed the door open, calling out softly. "Hiro? I'm coming in. Please don't be mad."
The apartment was darker now, the evening light barely filtering through the windows. Luna made her way to the bedroom, her enhanced wolf vision adjusting to the dimness. The door was ajar, and she could see Hiro's form in the bed, still lying on his side, apparently still asleep.
Luna entered the room, her footsteps silent on the carpet. She approached the bed slowly, every nerve in her body screaming at her to run, to leave before she made things worse. But she forced herself forward until she stood beside him, looking down at his sleeping face.
He looked exhausted even in sleep, the stress of the past few days evident in the tight set of his jaw and the faint crease between his eyebrows.
Luna sank down onto the edge of the bed, careful not to jostle him. Her hands trembled as she clasped them in her lap.
"Hiro," she began, her voice barely above a whisper. "I know you're upset. I don't blame you. What I said was... it was cruel. Unforgivable."
She took a shaky breath, feeling tears already beginning to prick at the corners of her eyes.
"When I saw you with Ayaka, when I saw her kissing you, I just... I couldn't think straight. I was so hurt and scared and confused, and I took it all out on you. But that's no excuse." A tear slipped down her cheek. "I didn't mean it. I swear I didn't mean it. I don't want you to die. I don't want you to hurt. I want you to be happy. To be safe."
She looked at his sleeping face, at the peaceful expression that seemed so at odds with the turmoil of the past few days.
"Even if it means you hate me now," she continued, her voice breaking. "Even if you never want to see me again. As long as you're okay, that's what matters."
More tears fell, and she didn't bother to wipe them away.
"But I have to tell you something," Luna said, leaning closer until she was near his ear, until she could smell the faint scent of his shampoo and something uniquely *him*. "Even if you can't hear me. Even if it doesn't change anything. I have to say it out loud at least once."
She closed her eyes, gathering her courage.
"I love you, Hiro Mizuki."
The words hung in the air, heavy with meaning, with all the emotion she'd been holding back for months. Saying them felt like jumping off a cliff—terrifying and liberating all at once.
Luna opened her eyes and looked down at him, at the boy who'd somehow become the center of her world without her quite realizing it. Without thinking, acting on pure instinct, she leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead.
His skin was warm beneath her lips, and the intimacy of the gesture made her heart race even faster.
But it wasn't enough. Three simple words and a forehead kiss couldn't possibly convey the depth of what she felt, the way her world had shifted to revolve around him. Before she could second-guess herself, Luna leaned down further and pressed her lips to his.
The kiss was soft, brief, chaste—barely more than a brush of lips. But it sent electricity racing through her entire body, made her wolf instincts howl with a mixture of joy and longing. She could feel the warmth of his breath, the softness of his lips, and for just a moment, everything else faded away.
Reality crashed back almost immediately.
Luna pulled back, her face burning so hot she thought she might spontaneously combust. What had she done? He was asleep, he couldn't consent to this, she'd just assaulted him in his sleep, oh god, she was the worst person in the world—
"I'm sorry," she gasped, stumbling backward off the bed. "I'm so sorry. Goodbye."
She practically ran from the room, fled the apartment like wolves were chasing her (the irony wasn't lost on her even in her panic), and didn't stop until she was three blocks away, bent over with her hands on her knees, trying to remember how to breathe.
Back in the apartment, in the darkness of his bedroom, Hiro's eyes opened.
They'd been closed when Luna first entered, when she'd sat on his bed and poured her heart out. They'd stayed closed when she'd kissed his forehead, when she'd whispered her confession. They'd even stayed closed when she'd kissed his lips, though that had taken every ounce of willpower he possessed.
But now, alone in the darkness, Hiro's eyes were wide open, staring at nothing, his entire body frozen in shock.
His face was burning. His heart was racing. His lips tingled where hers had touched them.
*She loves me.*
The thought echoed in his mind, over and over, like a mantra.
*Luna loves me. She said it. She said she loves me.*
Slowly, trembling slightly, Hiro raised his hand to his mouth, touching his lips as if he could still feel her kiss there.
"She... she loves me?" he whispered to the empty room, his voice cracking slightly.
He sat up abruptly, his hand moving from his lips to press against his chest, where his heart was hammering like it was trying to escape his ribcage. The world felt different somehow, like everything had shifted slightly off-axis. Colors seemed brighter, even in the dim room. Sounds were sharper. And his wolf senses, always acute, felt like they'd been dialed up to eleven.
A smile began to spread across his face, slow at first, then widening until he was grinning like an idiot in the darkness.
"Luna loves me," he said again, louder this time, testing the words. They sounded good. They sounded *right*.
But then another sensation caught his attention, pulling him from his euphoria. He stood up, moving to where Luna had stood just moments before. Her scent still lingered in the air—wolf senses could track such things even after someone had left—but something about it made him pause.
His smile faded as his enhanced olfactory sense analyzed what he was detecting.
It was different.
*Hiro remembered, almost unconsciously, the sweet scent that usually surrounded Luna—like fresh snow on pine trees, like winter flowers blooming in the cold. Clean and crisp and unmistakably her. It was a scent that had always made his wolf side feel calm, centered.*
*But now...*
The scent that remained was bitter, tinged with something acrid that made his wolf instincts whine with distress. It wasn't unpleasant, exactly, but it was *wrong*. Where Luna's scent usually smelled like happiness and energy, this carried notes of sadness, regret, pain.
"Her smell," Hiro murmured, his expression troubled. "It changed."
His wolf heritage meant he experienced scent differently than most people. It wasn't just about identifying who had been in a room—it was about understanding emotional states, health, even intent. Scents told stories that words couldn't, painted pictures that eyes couldn't see.
And Luna's scent was telling him a story he didn't want to hear.
*I did this,* Hiro thought, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. *I hurt her. Whatever happened with Ayaka, whatever she saw, whatever she thinks happened—I hurt her badly enough that her scent changed.*
The realization hit him like a physical blow. For three days, he'd been hiding in this apartment, nursing his own hurt feelings about what Luna had said to him. But she'd been hurting too. Maybe even more than him.
And he'd been too wrapped up in his own pain to see it.
"I'm an idiot," he muttered, running his hands through his already messy hair. "A complete and total idiot."
But beneath the guilt and regret, that earlier joy still bubbled. Luna loved him. Despite everything, despite the pain and the misunderstanding and the cruel words, she loved him. She'd said it. She'd kissed him.
And he'd been awake for all of it.
Hiro touched his lips again, a small smile returning despite everything.
"Okay," he said to the empty room. "Okay. Tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll go back to school. Tomorrow I'll fix this."
He looked at the nightstand and noticed, for the first time, the letter Ayaka had left. But right now, that could wait. Right now, all he could think about was Luna's voice saying *I love you*, and the feel of her lips on his.
Tomorrow would be soon enough to face everything else.
The gates of Seika Academy loomed before Hiro like the entrance to another world. Four days ago, he'd fled through these same gates, his mind reeling from Luna's words and his heart shredded by what he'd perceived as her hatred. Now, he stood on the threshold once more, his stomach doing nervous flips but his resolve firm.
*I can do this,* he told himself, adjusting his bag on his shoulder. *I have to do this.*
The morning was bright and clear, with a crisp autumn breeze that carried the scent of falling leaves and distant rain. Students streamed past him, some casting curious glances his way but most too absorbed in their own concerns to notice him.
Hiro took a deep breath and stepped through the gates.
He made it approximately fifteen feet before someone shouted his name.
"HIRO!"
He turned to see a cluster of students pointing at him, their faces registering shock and delight in equal measure. Within seconds, the word spread through the crowd like wildfire.
"Hiro's back!"
"No way, seriously?"
"Where's he been?"
"Someone tell Takeshi!"
By the time Hiro reached the main building, he had accumulated a small crowd of followers, all asking questions at once. His enhanced hearing, usually a blessing, became overwhelming as dozens of voices competed for his attention.
"Are you okay?"
"Were you sick?"
"Dude, you missed the pop quiz in math!"
"Sensei was so worried!"
Hiro tried to answer them all, managing weak smiles and nods, but his mind was focused on one thing: getting to his classroom and seeing Luna. He needed to talk to her, needed to clear the air, needed to tell her that everything was going to be okay.
The hallway outside Class 2-B was packed when he arrived. Somehow, news of his return had reached his classmates before he had, and they were all waiting. As soon as Hiro appeared in the doorway, the room erupted.
"HIRO!"
The shout was collective, a chorus of relief and excitement that made Hiro's ears ring (literally—wolf hearing had its drawbacks). Takeshi was the first to reach him, the bear beastkin's massive form barreling through the crowd to clap Hiro on the back hard enough to make him stumble.
"Dude! Where have you been?!" Takeshi's voice boomed with genuine concern. His usually jovial face was creased with worry. "We were about to organize a search party! I was this close to breaking down your door!"
"We were so worried!" Kaede added, pushing past Takeshi to grip Hiro's arm. Her fox ears were plastered flat against her head, and her tail swished anxiously. "You weren't answering your phone, nobody knew where you were—"
"Are you okay?" Yuki appeared at his other side, her rabbit ears standing straight up with agitation. "You look tired. Are you sleeping? Have you been eating properly? You look thinner—"
"Guys, guys, please," Hiro managed, raising his hands in a placating gesture. The concern in their faces made guilt twist in his gut. He hadn't meant to worry them so badly. "I'm sorry. I just... needed some time. To think. About stuff."
"'Think about stuff'?" Takeshi repeated incredulously. "For four days? Without telling anyone?"
"I know, I know. It was stupid." Hiro ran a hand through his hair, offering them his most apologetic smile. "I'm really sorry for worrying you all. I'm okay, though. Really."
He wasn't sure that was entirely true, but it was true enough for now.
As his friends continued to fuss over him, asking questions and expressing relief, Hiro's eyes drifted across the classroom. He was looking for one person in particular, one pair of silver wolf ears that he'd recognize anywhere.
And then he found her.
Luna stood by the window, frozen like a statue. Her ears were pressed flat against her skull, her tail completely still—the equivalent of a human's stunned silence. She was staring at him with wide, disbelieving eyes, her expression a mixture of shock, relief, and something that looked almost like fear.
Their gazes met across the crowded classroom.
Time seemed to slow. The chatter of their classmates faded to a dull buzz. Hiro could see the rapid rise and fall of Luna's chest, could practically hear her heartbeat from here (another perk and curse of wolf senses). Her cheeks were flushed, her hands clenched at her sides.
*She's remembering last night,* Hiro realized. *She's remembering what she said. What she did.*
For a moment, they just stared at each other, the weight of unspoken words hanging heavy between them. Hiro wanted to go to her, wanted to tell her that everything was okay, that he understood, that they needed to talk. But before he could move, before he could say anything, Luna broke eye contact.
She looked away quickly, her blush deepening, and turned to face the window as if the view of the school courtyard was suddenly the most fascinating thing in the world.
Hiro's heart sank slightly, but he understood. This wasn't the time or place. Not with their entire class watching. They needed to talk, really talk, but it would have to wait.
Soon, he promised silently, still looking at her even though she wouldn't meet his eyes. We'll talk soon.
"Hiro? Earth to Hiro?"
Takeshi's voice pulled him back to the present. His friend was waving a hand in front of his face, looking concerned.
"You okay, man? You kind of spaced out there."
"Yeah," Hiro said, forcing himself to focus on his friends. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just... thinking."
"Well, stop thinking and start explaining," Kaede demanded, though her tone was fond. "What happened? Where were you?"
Before Hiro could formulate an answer, the classroom door slid open and their homeroom teacher walked in, ending the conversation. But as Hiro made his way to his desk—his empty desk that he'd apparently been staring at for three days through Luna's eyes—he couldn't help but glance at Luna one more time. She was still facing the window, but he could see her reflection in the glass. She was biting her lip, her ears twitching nervously, and even from here, Hiro could detect that bitter note in her scent—the scent of sadness and regret.
After school, he decided. I'll find her after school, and we'll sort this out.
The rooftop was Luna's sanctuary.
When the chaos of the school became too much, when her sensitive wolf hearing picked up too many overlapping conversations or when the crowded hallways made her feel claustrophobic, she retreated here. The rooftop offered space, fresh air, and most importantly, solitude.
Or at least, it usually did.
Luna was sitting on the low wall that bordered the rooftop, her legs dangling over the edge as she ate her lunch without really tasting it. Her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, all centered on one person: Hiro. He was back. He was okay. But what did that mean? What happened now? Should she apologize again, this time when he was awake? Should she pretend last night never happened? Could she pretend last night never happened?
I kissed him, she thought, her face heating up at the memory. I kissed him while he was sleeping. What's wrong with me? That's... that's assault, isn't it? Oh god, I'm a criminal. I'm going to jail. They're going to put me in human jail for kissing—
"Luna."
The voice made Luna jump so badly she nearly dropped her lunch. She spun around to find Ayaka standing a few feet away, her expression serious and determined. The fox beastkin's usual haughty demeanor was absent, replaced by something that looked almost like nervousness.
"Ayaka," Luna managed, her heart still racing from the surprise. "What are you doing here?"
This was her spot. Everyone knew that. The rooftop was Luna's domain during lunch, and people generally respected that unspoken rule. So what was Ayaka doing here?
Ayaka approached slowly, her tail swishing behind her in what Luna recognized as an anxious gesture. When she was a few feet away, she stopped and took a deep breath.
"I owe you an apology."
Luna blinked, certain she'd misheard. "You... what?"
"An apology," Ayaka repeated, her voice stronger now. "For what I did. For kissing Hiro."
The world seemed to tilt slightly. Luna gripped the edge of the wall she was sitting on, trying to process what she was hearing. Ayaka, proud and confident Ayaka, was apologizing? To her?
"I knew you cared about him," Ayaka continued, her ears drooping slightly. "I saw the way you looked at him, the way you acted around him. And I kissed him anyway. That was wrong of me."
She bowed deeply, a formal gesture that looked almost painful for someone as prideful as Ayaka.
"I'm sorry, Luna. Truly."
For a long moment, Luna could only stare. Apologies between beastkin were serious things—they involved acknowledging harm done and accepting responsibility. The formal bow made it even more significant. This wasn't a casual "oops, my bad." This was a genuine, heartfelt apology.
"I..." Luna's throat felt tight. "Thank you. I... I appreciate that."
Ayaka straightened, and for a moment, there was something almost vulnerable in her expression. Then it hardened, her competitive fire returning to her eyes.
"But don't think this means I'm giving up."
"What?" Luna wasn't sure she'd heard correctly.
"On Hiro," Ayaka clarified, crossing her arms over her chest. Her tail was swishing more actively now, a sign of determination rather than anxiety. "I'm not giving up on him."
Luna felt like she'd been hit by whiplash. "But you just apologized—"
"I apologized for how I went about it," Ayaka interrupted. "For kissing him without consideration for your feelings or his. That was wrong, and I acknowledge that. But my feelings for him? Those haven't changed."
She stepped closer, and Luna found herself looking up at the taller girl, feeling suddenly very small.
"I still love him," Ayaka declared, her voice ringing with conviction. "And now that I've apologized, now that I've cleared the air between us, we're on equal ground. We're both starting from the same place."
Luna's ears twitched forward, her wolf instincts picking up on the challenge in Ayaka's tone. "Equal ground?"
A smile spread across Ayaka's face—not cruel or mocking, but genuinely excited. It was the expression of someone who'd found a worthy opponent.
"Consider this a declaration," Ayaka said, extending her hand toward Luna. "We're rivals now. Competitors for Hiro's affections. May the best woman win his heart."
Luna stared at the offered hand, her mind racing. Rivals? They were... rivals? For Hiro's affection? This wasn't something she'd ever prepared for. In all her adolescent daydreams about love and romance, she'd never imagined it would involve formal declarations of rivalry.
But looking at Ayaka's hand, at her determined expression and competitive fire, Luna felt something stir in her chest. Not anger or resentment, but something else. Something that felt almost like... respect?
Ayaka was being honest. She was laying all her cards on the table, making her intentions clear. There was something admirable about that, even if Luna's wolf instincts bristled at the idea of competition.
Slowly, Luna reached out and clasped Ayaka's hand.
"Rivals," she agreed, her voice steadier than she felt. "May the best woman win."
Ayaka's smile widened, and she shook Luna's hand firmly before releasing it and stepping back. "Excellent. I look forward to our competition."
She turned to leave, pausing at the rooftop door to look back over her shoulder.
"Oh, and Luna? You might want to work on your confession technique. Professing your love to someone while they're asleep isn't particularly effective."
Luna's face went nuclear. "How did you—"
But Ayaka was already gone, the rooftop door swinging shut behind her, leaving Luna alone with her mortification.
"She knows," Luna whispered to the empty air, her hands covering her burning face. "Oh god, she knows. Does everyone know? Does Hiro know? Of course Hiro knows, he was there, he might have been awake, oh no—"
She collapsed backward on the wall, staring up at the sky, wondering if it was possible to die of embarrassment.
Rivals, she thought, the word still echoing in her mind. I have a rival for Hiro's affection. This is my life now. This is actually happening.
Despite her embarrassment, despite the confusion and anxiety, Luna felt a small smile tug at her lips.
Maybe having a rival wasn't the worst thing in the world. At least it meant she wasn't giving up. Neither of them was giving up.
And that meant Hiro Mizuki was worth fighting for. "This is bullshit."
Takeshi's voice echoed across the empty school pool, his complaint punctuated by the sound of his scrub brush hitting tile. "Complete and utter bullshit. Why do we have to clean the entire pool? It's not even that dirty!"
"Because we lost the rock-paper-scissors tournament," Hiro reminded him, though he couldn't help but smile at his friend's continued outrage. "Fair and square."
"It was rigged! Kenji's got psychic paper powers or something, I swear—"
"You just have terrible luck," Jun called from the other side of the pool, where he was working on the filter system. The quiet wolf beastkin rarely spoke up, which made his comment all the more amusing. Several of the other boys laughed.
The pool was drained for seasonal maintenance, leaving a vast expanse of blue tile that needed scrubbing. About a dozen boys from their grade had drawn pool-cleaning duty—the losers of the tournament that had determined who got the easier cleanup tasks around the school.
Hiro had to admit, it was hard work. The sun beat down on them through the pool's retractable roof, which had been opened to help with ventilation. Most of them had stripped down to their undershirts or gone shirtless entirely, the autumn heat making the physical labor even more taxing.
But Hiro didn't mind. The work gave him something to focus on besides the swirling thoughts about Luna, and the company of his friends helped ground him after four days of isolation.
"So," Takeshi said, sliding closer to Hiro with a meaningful look on his face. His voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper, though with several beastkin in the group, "whispering" was a relative term. "You gonna tell me what really happened? Why you disappeared?"
Hiro paused in his scrubbing, considering his answer. He'd known this question was coming—Takeshi was too perceptive and too good a friend to let it go forever. But how much should he share?
"Relationship troubles," he finally said, which was true enough without being specific.
Takeshi's eyebrows shot up. "Relationship troubles? Dude, you have to be in a relationship to have relationship troubles. Unless..." His eyes widened. "Unless you ARE in a relationship and you've been holding out on me! Who is it? Is it Luna? Please tell me it's Luna, I've got money riding on—"
"It's not Luna," Hiro interrupted, though his face heated at the mention of her name. "And we're not in a relationship. It's complicated."
"It's always complicated," Jun chimed in from across the pool, proving that "whisper" really was a meaningless term with this group. "That's what makes it interesting."
Several other boys murmured agreement, and Hiro realized with horror that he'd somehow become the center of attention.
"Come on, man," Takeshi prodded, grinning now. "Give us something. We were worried about you. The least you can do is provide some entertainment."
Hiro sighed, returning to his scrubbing with renewed vigor. "Fine. I saw something that upset me. I said some things, she said some things, and we're not really talking right now. Happy?"
"Who's 'she'?" someone called out.
"Not telling."
"Is she hot?"
"Irrelevant."
"Is it Ayaka? I heard she's been acting weird lately—"
"Can we please just focus on cleaning the pool?" Hiro pleaded, though he was smiling despite himself. This was what he'd missed during his self-imposed isolation—the camaraderie, the banter, the sense of belonging to something larger than himself.
Takeshi studied him for a moment, then seemed to reach some conclusion. "You seem better though," he observed, his tone more serious. "Than when you left, I mean. You look... I don't know. More relaxed? Did something change?"
Hiro's hand moved unconsciously to his lips, remembering the feel of Luna's kiss. "Yeah," he said softly. "Yeah, something changed. I got some good news."
"Good news like 'we're getting back together' good news?"
"Good news like 'things might work out after all' good news."
"Cryptic, but I'll take it." Takeshi clapped him on the shoulder, his grip firm and reassuring. "Just don't disappear on us again, okay? You scared the crap out of everyone. Luna especially—she's been walking around looking like someone kicked her puppy."
Guilt twisted in Hiro's gut. "I know. I'm going to talk to her. After school."
"Good. About time you two stopped dancing around each other."
"We're not—"
"Please. Everyone knows you two are crazy about each other. Even the teachers have a betting pool."
"They WHAT?"
Takeshi's grin was shit-eating. "Yep. Even Ms. Tanaka's in on it. She's got money on a confession by Christmas."
Hiro groaned, scrubbing the pool tile with perhaps more force than necessary. "I hate all of you."
"You love us," Takeshi countered cheerfully
"Don't," Hiro warned, but he was fighting a smile.
"I'm just saying, if you need any advice on how to sweep a lady off her feet, I'm your guy."
This provoked a chorus of laughter from the other boys.
"You?" Jun called out. "Didn't you get rejected by three girls last month?"
"That was reconnaissance! I was testing the waters!"
"Testing the waters or testing their patience?"
As the banter continued, Hiro found himself genuinely laughing for the first time in days. The tension that had been coiled tight in his shoulders began to ease. The weight of Luna's confession, of everything that had happened, was still there—but it felt more manageable now, less overwhelming.
He looked around at his friends—Takeshi with his boisterous energy, Jun with his quiet wisdom, the others with their various personalities and quirks. This was his pack, in a way. Not in the traditional beastkin sense, but in the way that mattered. They had his back, and he had theirs.
"Thanks, guys," Hiro said suddenly, interrupting a debate about the most romantic confession spots around school.
"For what?" Takeshi asked.
"For not giving up on me. For worrying. For... being there."
The atmosphere shifted, becoming more serious. Several of the boys looked uncomfortable with the sudden sincerity—teenage boys rarely did well with genuine emotion—but Takeshi just smiled and shook his head.
"That's what friends do, man. We look out for each other." He paused, then added more quietly, "Just promise me you'll do the same if one of us needs it."
"Always," Hiro said, and he meant it.
The moment was broken by someone's scrub brush slipping and clattering loudly across the pool floor, and just like that, they were back to work and banter. But the understanding remained, unspoken but solid.
As they continued cleaning, Hiro's thoughts drifted back to Luna. To the conversation they needed to have. To the words he needed to say.
I love you too, he thought, testing the words in his mind. I love you too, Luna.
Could he really say that? Out loud? To her face?
His wolf instincts said yes, urged him to claim his mate, to make his intentions clear. But his human side was terrified—what if she'd only said it because she thought he was asleep? What if she regretted it now? What if—
"Hiro. Dude. You're scrubbing the same spot over and over. The tile's gonna dissolve."
Takeshi's voice pulled him back. Hiro looked down to find he'd been mechanically scrubbing the same square foot of tile for who knows how long.
"Right. Sorry."
"Thinking about her?"
"Yeah."
"Just talk to her, man. Whatever it is, talking is better than this weird limbo you're both in."
"I know. I will."
And he meant it. As soon as school ended, as soon as he could find her alone, he would talk to Luna. Really talk. No more hiding, no more running.
It was time to face this head-on.Miles away from Seika Academy, deep beneath the city in a facility that appeared on no maps and in no records, three figures knelt in darkness.
The underground lab was a study in contrasts—cutting-edge technology housed in ancient stone chambers, fluorescent lights illuminating walls that had stood for centuries. Computer monitors cast blue-white glows across workbenches covered in scientific equipment, genetic sequencers, and medical instruments that would make most hospital administrators weep with envy.
And in the center of it all, seated in a chair that might have been a throne, was a figure shrouded in shadow.
Io knelt with her head bowed, her normally confident posture subdued. Her hand trembled slightly as she held out a small vial, the liquid inside catching the light—blood. Hiro's blood, obtained through methods she tried not to think too hard about.
To her left knelt Scar, his scarred face expressionless as always. To her right was Blade, his one visible eye focused on the floor.
"Sir," Io's voice was strained, each word costing her. "I obtained his blood as requested."
The Unknown leaned forward slightly, and though their face remained hidden in shadow, Io could feel their attention focused on the vial like a physical weight. A hand emerged from the darkness—gender ambiguous, neither particularly masculine nor feminine—and took the vial from her trembling fingers.
I'm sorry, Hiro, Io thought, the words echoing in her mind like a funeral dirge. I'm so, so sorry.
She'd liked him. That was the worst part. In the months she'd spent undercover as a teacher at Seika Academy, she'd genuinely come to like Hiro Mizuki. He was kind, thoughtful, tried his best even when things were difficult. He'd stayed after class once to help her carry supplies to the staff room. He'd smiled at her in the hallways. He'd been a good student, a good kid.
And she'd betrayed him utterly.
"I also acquired hair samples," Blade spoke up, his voice flat and professional as he presented a sealed bag. Strands of dark hair were visible through the clear plastic—more of Hiro, more pieces of him stolen for purposes he couldn't imagine.
The Unknown took this offering as well, studying both samples in the dim light. The silence stretched, broken only by the hum of electronic equipment and the distant drip of water somewhere in the stone chambers.
Then, a sound that made all three assassins tense: laughter.
It was quiet at first, barely more than a chuckle, but it grew in volume and intensity until it echoed off the stone walls. The Unknown's shoulders shook with mirth, and when they finally spoke, their voice was filled with dark satisfaction.
"Good. Very good."
The shadowed figure set the samples on a nearby table with reverent care, like they were the most precious things in the world.
"After seeing these results, analyzing what makes him so... unique..." The Unknown's voice was distorted, impossible to identify as male or female, young or old. "I can let your previous failures be water under the bridge."
The three assassins relaxed incrementally. Previous failures—bungled missions, targets that had escaped, objectives left incomplete. In this line of work, failure often meant death. But their master was in a forgiving mood, it seemed.
"Io," The Unknown continued, their attention fixing on the woman. "You will no longer need to teach at that school. Your work there is done. You've served your purpose admirably."
Relief and sadness warred in Io's chest. Relief that she could leave, that she wouldn't have to face Hiro again, wouldn't have to see the trust in his eyes that she'd betrayed. But sadness too—she'd miss the school, miss the students, miss the simple pleasure of teaching. It had been a nice lie to live, even if only temporary.
"Understood, Master," she said, her voice carefully neutral.
"All of you have performed well. You may go. Rest. Prepare. Soon, we'll move to the next phase."
The three stood, bowed in unison, and turned to leave. They moved silently through the lab, past the equipment and monitors, toward the elevator that would take them back to the surface, back to the world of light and normalcy.
Behind them, hidden in shadow, The Unknown's face split into a wide smile.
They lifted Hiro's blood vial to what little light existed, watching the dark liquid swirl inside. So much potential in such a small sample. So many possibilities. Years of planning, years of searching, and finally, FINALLY, they had what they needed.
"Just wait for me, my sweet little Hiro," The Unknown murmured, their distorted voice taking on an almost tender quality. "Wait for me, my perfect hybrid specimen."
They held the vial close, almost lovingly.
"Soon... very soon... you'll be mine. And together, we'll change everything."
The laughter started again, softer this time but no less triumphant. It echoed through the empty lab, through stone chambers that had witnessed countless dark dealings, mixing with the hum of machines and the whisper of ventilation systems.
Above ground, in the light, Hiro Mizuki went about his day, unaware that someone was counting the hours until they could claim him. The final bell rang, releasing a flood of students into the hallways. Hiro gathered his things slowly, his enhanced hearing picking out Luna's voice among the dozens of conversations happening around him. She was talking with Yuki and Kaede, something about homework and the weekend.
He needed to catch her before she left. They needed to talk, really talk, without the audience of their entire class or the pressure of school around them. But how did he even start that conversation?
Hey Luna, I know you think I was asleep, but I heard everything you said and felt your kiss, and by the way, I love you too?
Yeah, that would go over well.
Hiro stepped into the hallway, scanning the crowd for silver wolf ears. There—by the shoe lockers, talking with her friends. Luna was laughing at something Yuki said, and the sound made Hiro's heart do a complicated flip.
He started toward them, weaving through the crowd of departing students. But before he'd made it halfway, someone called his name.
"Hiro! Wait up!"
He turned to find Takeshi jogging toward him, followed by Jun and a couple of other guys from their pool-cleaning duty.
"We're gonna grab food at that ramen place near the station. You coming?"
Hiro glanced back toward Luna. She was shouldering her bag, heading toward the exit. If he went with his friends, he'd lose his chance to talk to her today.
"I actually need to—"
"Come on, man. Just for a bit. We barely got to hang out today."
Hiro hesitated, torn. He didn't want to ditch his friends again, especially after they'd been so worried about him. But Luna—
The decision was made for him when he looked back and saw that Luna had already disappeared into the crowd heading toward the exit.
"Yeah," he sighed. "Yeah, okay. Ramen sounds good."
As they headed toward the school gates, Hiro caught sight of Luna in the distance, walking with Yuki toward the train station. She was laughing at something, her ears perked up, and she seemed... happy.
Maybe that was okay. Maybe they both needed a little more time to figure out what they were going to say to each other. Maybe rushing into a conversation right after school wasn't the best idea anyway.
But then Luna turned, as if sensing his gaze, and their eyes met across the crowded street.
Time seemed to slow. Even from this distance, Hiro could see her blush, could see the way her ears flattened slightly against her head. She looked like she wanted to say something, wanted to cross the street and talk to him.
But Yuki was tugging on her arm, pointing at the approaching train, and the moment passed.
Luna gave him a small, uncertain wave.
Hiro waved back, trying to convey everything he was feeling in that simple gesture: It's okay. We'll talk. Soon.
Then she was gone, disappearing into the train station with Yuki, and Hiro was left standing on the street with his friends, feeling like he'd just missed something important.
"You okay?" Takeshi asked, noticing his distraction.
"Yeah," Hiro said, though he wasn't entirely sure that was true. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go get that ramen."
As they walked toward the restaurant, Hiro's mind was already planning. Tomorrow. He'd talk to Luna tomorrow. He'd find her before class, or during lunch, or after school. He'd tell her that he'd been awake, that he'd heard everything, that he—
"Dude, you're doing it again."
"Doing what?"
"That thing where you zone out and get all dopey-looking. It's weird."
"I don't look dopey."
"You really do," Jun confirmed.
"Shut up."
But Hiro was smiling as he said it, and when they reached the ramen shop and ordered their food, he found himself able to relax, to enjoy his friends' company, to exist in the moment without the weight of everything else crushing down on him.
Tomorrow would come soon enough. And when it did, he'd be ready.
The sun was setting when Io returned to Seika Academy one last time.
She stood outside the gates, dressed in civilian clothes rather than her usual professional teacher attire. Jeans, a simple jacket, a bag slung over her shoulder containing the few personal items she'd kept in her desk. To anyone passing by, she was just another person, forgettable and ordinary.
Which was exactly how she needed to be.
The school looked different in the golden evening light. Less imposing, more... peaceful. Students had long since gone home, and the building sat quiet, waiting for tomorrow's chaos. Io had spent months walking these halls, teaching in these classrooms, pretending to be someone she wasn't.
And now it was over.
"Goodbye, Seika Academy," she murmured, her voice barely audible even to herself.
Her gaze drifted up to the second-floor windows, to what she knew was Class 2-B. Hiro's classroom. Where he sat every day, diligently taking notes, occasionally spacing out when he thought no one was watching, always trying his best even when the material was difficult.
Hiro Mizuki, she thought, her chest tightening with an emotion she couldn't quite name. I hope you can forgive me someday. For what I've done. For what's coming.
She'd tried to convince herself that she was just following orders, that she was a professional doing her job. But standing here now, looking at the school where she'd taught him, where she'd smiled at him in the hallways and graded his tests and pretended to be someone trustworthy, she couldn't hide from the truth:
She'd betrayed someone who'd done nothing wrong. Someone who deserved better than what was coming for him.
"I'm sorry," she whispered to the empty air, to the school, to the boy who would never hear her apology. "I'm so, so sorry."
For a moment longer, Io stood there, memorizing the sight of Seika Academy. Then she turned and walked away, disappearing into the evening crowd, becoming just another face in the city.
Behind her, the school sat silent, unaware that one of its teachers had been a spy, that one of its students had been marked as prey, that everything was about to change in ways no one could predict.
In his apartment across town, Hiro was eating ramen with his friends, laughing at Takeshi's terrible jokes, unaware that someone was counting down the days until they could claim him.
In her own home, Luna was staring at her ceiling, touching her lips, remembering the feel of kissing Hiro, terrified and hopeful about what tomorrow might bring.
And deep underground, in a facility that existed in shadow and secrecy, The Unknown was making preparations, studying blood samples under microscopes, planning their next move with meticulous care.
The pieces were all moving into place.
The game was accelerating.
And none of the players knew just how high the stakes truly were.