The wind on the school rooftop was a gentle, whispering companion to the sunset, painting the world in strokes of orange and dusky purple. Hiro Mizuki stood at the railing, the distant sounds of after-school life a muffled hum below. His thoughts were a quiet river, flowing towards home, towards dinner, towards the simple peace that had become his life after so much chaos.
Footsteps, light but determined, broke his reverie. Not one set, but two.
He turned.
Luna and Lolo stood side by side, an unusual alliance that sent an immediate, quiet alarm through his system. Luna's golden eyes were wide with a fear he hadn't seen in months, her silver ears flattened against her hair, her tail coiled tightly around her leg. Lolo, ever the picture of controlled strength, stood with her shoulders squared, but her knuckles were white where she clenched her fists at her sides. The sunset caught the sharp angles of her face, highlighting a tension that was entirely emotional.
"Hiro?" Luna's voice was small, a squeak almost carried away by the breeze.
"Luna? Lolo?" He offered a tentative smile that didn't reach his eyes. "What's up?"
They exchanged a glance—a silent, weighted conversation that lasted only a second but spoke volumes. A pact. A mutual resolve.
Lolo was the one who spoke, her voice clearer, firmer. "We need to talk to you. Both of us."
The air shifted. The casual, open space of the rooftop suddenly felt like a closed room, the sky pressing down. Hiro's easy posture straightened, his senses, honed from countless battles both physical and emotional, clicking into high alert. "Okay," he said, his voice careful, neutral. "What's wrong?"
Luna took a shuddering breath, her hands fluttering before she stilled them against her chest. "Nothing's wrong," she said, the contradiction evident in her trembling words. "It's just…"
She looked at Lolo again. A tiny, almost imperceptible nod passed between them. They turned back to him, and in a moment of heartbreaking synchronization, their voices braided together in the quiet air.
"We love you."
The words didn't echo. They landed softly, like two feathers, but they hit Hiro with the force of sledgehammers. His breath vanished. The vibrant sunset seemed to bleach of color. The world narrowed to the two girls before him: Luna, the gentle beast-girl he'd sworn to protect, whose happiness had become his compass; and Lolo, the fierce warrior who had fought beside him, whose loyalty was as unbreakable as her spirit.
He stared, his mind blank, then scrambling. Both? The concept wouldn't compute. He replayed their words. He saw the absolute sincerity in Luna's tear-filled eyes, the defiant vulnerability in Lolo's steady gaze.
"You…" he finally managed, the word scraping from his throat. "Both…?"
The silence stretched, filled only by the sighing wind. It was Lolo who moved first, taking a decisive step forward. The setting sun haloed her spiky hair.
"I'll go first," she declared, and though her chin was lifted, Hiro saw the faint tremble in her jaw.
She looked at him, really looked at him, and her dark eyes held none of their usual playful challenge. They were solemn, deep pools of feeling he'd only glimpsed in their rarest, quietest moments.
"Hiro, I've liked you since the first time we fought. Really fought. You were the first person who ever matched my strength. Who didn't back down. Who challenged me." Her hand drifted unconsciously to her abdomen, where a terrible scar lay hidden beneath her uniform—a testament to a battle where he'd carried her to safety. "You saved my life. More than once. You stood by me when I was at my lowest, when I felt like nothing but a weapon."
Her voice, usually so brash, softened into something fragile. "You're strong, but you're kind. Stubborn, but you never gave up on me. Not even when I tried to push you away." She swallowed hard. "I… I love you, Hiro Mizuki."
With a formality that was utterly her yet achingly out of place, she bowed slightly, her pride making the gesture even more profound. "Please. Consider my feelings."
She stepped back, the space she left feeling charged and empty. Her part was done. The mantle of courage passed, trembling, to Luna.
Luna stepped forward as if walking against a gale. Tears were already tracing paths through the soft fur on her cheeks. She looked at him, and in her golden eyes was the entire history of their journey—the fear, the laughter, the silent lunches, the whispered secrets, the fierce protectiveness.
"My turn," she whispered.
She tried to speak, choked, then tried again. "Hiro… you were the first person who ever saw me. Not a beast. Not a monster. Not something to fear or gawk at. Just… Luna." Her tail unwound from her leg, the tip twitching with nervous emotion. "You protected me when no one else would. You held my hand when I was so scared I couldn't breathe. You made me believe I could belong somewhere. That I deserved to belong."
A tear broke free, catching the last of the sunlight. "Every day with you has been… the happiest of my life. You're my best friend. My protector." Her voice dropped to a heartbroken, loving hush. "My… everything."
She wiped clumsily at her face, smearing the tears. "I love you, Hiro. I've loved you since the day you sat with me at that empty lunch table and just… talked to me like I was a person." She bowed deeply, her silver hair falling forward, her entire small frame expressing a vulnerability that cracked something open in Hiro's chest. "Please… let me stay by your side. Always."
Then, silence. A vast, aching silence broken only by the wind and the distant cry of a bird. Hiro stood between them, the fulcrum of their shared, conflicting hope. His hands, which had faced down monstrous foes without shaking, trembled at his sides. His mind raced, a panicked animal in a cage of impossible choices.
"I…" The word was a dry leaf. "I don't know what to say…"
He looked at Lolo—her strength, her unwavering loyalty, the hidden softness she showed to so few. He looked at Luna—her gentle heart, her hard-won courage, the light she brought to his world.
"You're both so important to me," he said, and it was the truest thing he could grasp in that moment.
But it wasn't enough. He saw that in their waiting eyes. He had to continue. He had to choose. He took a deep, ragged breath, as if steeling himself for a physical blow.
The first blow was his to deliver.
He turned his gaze to Lolo. His expression was raw, pained, already apologizing before he spoke. She saw it. Her eyes, which had held onto a sliver of hope, began to shutter.
"Lolo…" he began, her name a sigh. "I'm so sorry."
She gave the tiniest of nods, a warrior accepting a fate she'd already begun to suspect.
"You're amazing," he continued, the words feeling inadequate but necessary. "You're strong, brave, loyal. You have a heart that fights for what's right. Any guy… any person would be lucky to have you."
He took a step closer, wanting to bridge the gap his words were creating. "But… I don't feel the same way. Not romantically." He forced himself to hold her gaze, to not look away from the pain he was causing. "You're my friend. My teammate. Someone I trust with my life, absolutely. But I can't give you what you're asking for. It wouldn't be fair to you."
He bowed deeply then, the gesture full of respect and regret. "I'm sorry. I wish I could feel differently. But I can't lie to you. Not to you."
The silence that followed was hollow. Lolo stood perfectly still, as if turned to stone. Only her eyes moved, blinking rapidly, fighting a losing battle against the moisture gathering there. Her proud face was a masterpiece of controlled fracture.
"I… I see." Her voice was tight, a thin wire about to snap. She swallowed, her throat working. "Thank you." The words were stiff. "For being honest."
She forced her lips into something resembling a smile. It was a heartbreaking sight. "At least now I know."
She turned on her heel, the movement sharp and final.
"Lolo, wait—" Hiro reached out instinctively.
"Don't." The single word was a command, but it wavered. She didn't look back. "I need some time alone. Don't follow me."
And she walked away, her stride steady and proud until she disappeared through the rooftop door, leaving Hiro and Luna alone in the long, orange shadows.
The weight of Lolo's absence was a physical thing between them. Luna was now crying in earnest, silent sobs shaking her shoulders. She was terrified, awaiting her own verdict.
"Luna…"
Hiro's voice drew her gaze. He walked toward her slowly, as one might approach a startled creature. He stopped before her, seeing the fear, the hope, the love all warring in her beautiful, tear-streaked face.
"You know how I feel about you, right?" he asked softly.
The question broke her control. "I don't!" she wailed, the sound bursting from her. "You never said! You always smile and protect me and make me feel safe, but you never TELL me if you—" Her words dissolved into incoherent sobs.
Hiro reached out and took both of her small, trembling hands in his. They were warm, slightly damp with tears, and they fit perfectly.
"Then let me say it now," he said, his voice low and steady, a rock in her emotional storm.
He looked directly into her golden eyes, wanting no shadow of a doubt to remain.
"I love you too, Luna Shirohane."
The world stopped. Her sobs hitched. Her breath caught in her throat with a tiny, gasping sound. Her ears, which had been pinned back, twitched forward.
"You… you do?" It was a whisper of pure, disbelieving wonder.
"I've loved you," he said, each word deliberate, "since the day I found you crying in that dark hallway. When you looked up at me with those scared, beautiful eyes and I thought… 'I need to protect her. I need to see her smile.'" He squeezed her hands, anchoring her, anchoring himself. "Every day since then, I've fallen deeper. Your kindness when the world was cruel to you. Your strength that grew from such fragile beginnings. Your courage to keep trusting, to keep loving. Everything about you, Luna. Everything."
A new wave of tears spilled from her eyes, but these were different. They shimmered with a radiant, fragile joy. "Hiro…"
He smiled, a real, tender smile that softened his entire face. "So yes. I love you. And I—"
"Wait."
The word was so soft he almost didn't hear it. Luna pulled her hands back slightly, not breaking contact but creating a space for her impossible request.
Confusion clouded Hiro's features. "Luna?"
She took a shaky, shuddering breath, her tail lashing with anxious energy. "Before you continue… I need to ask you something."
"Anything."
"Will you…" She closed her eyes, gathering a courage that dwarfed any battlefield bravery. "Will you date both of us? Me and Lolo?"
Time froze. The breeze died. The sound of the city below seemed to mute. Hiro could only stare, his mind utterly rejecting the words it had just heard.
"What?"
Luna opened her eyes, and they were pleading, desperate. "I know it's unusual. I know it's asking for the moon. But… Lolo is my friend, too. She saved me. She fought beside me. She defended me when others wouldn't. We've bled together, cried together." Her grip on his hands became almost painful. "I can't… I can't just be happy while she's heartbroken. It would feel like I stole my joy from her pain." Her voice cracked. "Please, Hiro. Can you… can you try? For all of us?"
Hiro stared, completely stunned. The simplicity of his choice had just exploded into a labyrinth of impossible morality.
He let go of her hands and took several steps back, running his own hands through his hair in a gesture of pure frustration. "Luna… you're asking me to date TWO people?"
"I know it sounds crazy—"
"It doesn't just sound crazy, Luna, it is crazy!" He paced a short, agitated path. "I can't do that. It's not fair to you. It's not fair to Lolo. And it's not fair to me!"
"But why not?" she pressed, a hint of her beast-folk heritage coloring her logic. "In my culture, in many old traditions, it's not uncommon for strong bonds to be shared, for packs to—"
"This isn't just about culture!" he interrupted, his own emotions rising. "It's about feelings! Real, personal feelings!" He turned to face her, his expression anguished. "Luna, I love YOU. Not Lolo. Not in that way. I can't just… force myself to feel something I don't. That's a lie. A terrible, hurtful lie."
"I'm not asking you to force anything!" she cried. "I'm asking you to give her a chance. To spend time with her, with that possibility in mind. Feelings can grow, Hiro! They can change!"
He shook his head, a firm, sad denial. "That's not how love works. Not for me. You don't 'try' to fall in love. It happens. It happened. With you."
Luna's composure shattered completely. The weight of the day, the confession, the guilt, came crashing down. "Then what do I do?!" she screamed, the sound raw and guttural. "How do I accept your love when it means crushing my friend?!" Her legs gave way, and she sank to her knees on the cold concrete, her shoulders heaving. "I've waited so long… so long to hear you say you love me. It was all I wanted. But now that you have… I can't hold it. Because Lolo is out there somewhere, hurting."
She looked up at him, her face a mask of tear-streaked fur and utter desperation. "Please, Hiro. I'm not asking for forever. Just… try. Give her time. Let her have a chance. Maybe… maybe you'll see something in her you didn't notice before. Maybe your heart has room for more than you think."
Hiro's anger melted away, replaced by a deep, aching sorrow. He knelt beside her, not touching her yet. "Luna… I understand what you're trying to do. You're the kindest person I know. You want everyone to be happy. But I can't give Lolo false hope. That's crueler than a clean 'no.'"
"It's not false hope!" Luna insisted, grabbing the front of his jacket. "You care about her! I've seen it! The way you watch out for her, the way you trust her, the way you smile when she accomplishes something!"
"I care about her as a FRIEND," he said, emphasizing the word. "That's different. That's a different shape of love."
"But friendship can turn into love!" she argued, her voice rising with a frantic logic. "It happened with us, didn't it? We were friends first! Best friends!"
Hiro paused. She had him there. The foundation of what they had was a deep, unwavering friendship. He had no immediate retort.
"That's… that's different," he finally said, weakly.
"How?" Luna demanded, her golden eyes piercing through his evasion. "How is it different, Hiro? Tell me!"
He opened his mouth. He closed it. He had no answer. Because in the mechanics of the heart, she was right. There was no rule, no definitive line. Only the quiet, undeniable truth of what was.
He stood up, the movement slow and heavy. He reached down, took Luna's hands, and gently pulled her to her feet. She was limp, her energy spent.
"Luna," he said, his voice finally calm, resolute. "I can't do what you're asking."
Her face, already fallen, seemed to crumble further.
"Not because I don't care about Lolo," he continued, cupping her wet cheeks. His thumbs brushed away the tears. "But because what you're suggesting wouldn't be genuine. It would be an act. A performance. And Lolo deserves someone who loves her completely, without reservation. Not someone who's 'trying' to love her out of pity or obligation."
He leaned his forehead against hers, a gesture of intimate finality. "And you," he whispered, "you deserve someone who chooses you without conditions. Without hesitation. Someone who looks at you and sees the only answer."
Fresh tears, hot and silent, streamed from her closed eyes.
"I choose you, Luna. Only you." The words were a vow, clear and solid in the twilight. "I'm sorry if that hurts Lolo. I hate that it does. But I can't lie to her. And I won't lie to you."
Luna let out a wounded sound and collapsed against his chest, her sobs muffled by his shirt. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly, feeling the frantic beat of her heart against his.
"But… but Lolo…" she wept.
"Will heal," he said into her hair, his voice firm with a hope he had to believe in. "With time. And we'll be there for her. As friends. That's the truest, most honest thing we can offer her. That's all we can do."
He held her as the last of the sunset bled away, leaving them in the soft, blue-grey light of early evening. "I love you, Luna. Only you." He pulled back slightly to look at her. "Is that… is that enough?"
Luna cried harder, a complex torrent of grief for her friend and a soaring, guilty joy for herself. She buried her face back in his chest and nodded, her voice a broken, muffled promise against his heart. "I love you too… so much… it's more than enough… it's everything…"
They found Lolo under the large sakura tree behind the school, its branches bare and skeletal in the deepening dusk. She was sitting with her knees drawn up, her face hidden in her arms. The tough, unbreakable Lolo looked small.
Luna approached first, her steps silent on the grass. "Lolo…"
Lolo's head jerked up. Her eyes were red and puffy, her face blotchy. Seeing Luna, a fresh wave of shame and pain crossed her features. "Luna… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have… I knew how you felt. I just… I had to know for sure. I'm so—"
"Don't," Luna said softly, sinking down beside her. "Don't you dare apologize for your heart." She tentatively put an arm around Lolo's stiff shoulders. "You have every right to your feelings. Just like I do."
Hiro hung back, a respectful distance away, giving them this space.
Luna took a breath. "Lolo… Hiro chose me."
Lolo nodded, a sharp, jerky motion. She looked down at her hands. "I figured. Saw it coming a mile off, really." She attempted a scoff, but it came out as a wet hiccup.
"But that doesn't change how much we care about you," Luna said, her voice fierce with conviction. "You're my friend. My sister in everything but blood. And I don't want to lose you. I won't lose you."
Lolo wiped her nose on her sleeve, a defiant, childish gesture. "You won't lose me," she muttered. "I'm… I'm tougher than this." She forced a smile that was more of a grimace. "I'll be okay. Eventually. Just might need to break a few training dummies first."
There was a pause. Luna fiddled with the hem of her skirt. "I asked Hiro to date both of us."
Lolo's head snapped around so fast it was a wonder it didn't crack. She stared at Luna, her eyes wide with pure, unadulterated shock. "You WHAT?!"
"I thought…" Luna's voice was tiny again. "Maybe if we shared him… in a respectful way… we could both be happy. No one would be left out."
Lolo stared for another long second. Then, to Luna's surprise, a laugh burst from her—a short, sharp, bitter sound that held a thread of genuine amusement. "You absolute idiot." She shook her head, a real, if weary, smile touching her lips. "That's the most Luna thing I've ever heard in my life."
The tension broke, just a little. Lolo sighed, the fight leaving her body, leaving only exhaustion and a sad acceptance. "I don't want pity love, Luna. I want someone who looks at me and sees the one. Not someone who's dating me because his unbelievably kind-hearted girlfriend asked him to as a favor." She looked over at Hiro, who met her gaze steadily, with apology and respect. "He was right to turn me down. And you…" She looked back at Luna, her eyes softening. "You were right to love him. He's a good guy. The best. He'll treat you right."
She pushed herself to her feet, brushing grass from her pants. "I'll be fine. Just… don't be all lovey-dovey in front of me for a while, okay? And give me some space to get my head straight."
Luna stood and, without warning, threw her arms around Lolo in a tight, fierce hug. Lolo stiffened for a moment, then, with a ragged sigh, she hugged her back, just as tightly.
""Take all the time you need," Luna whispered into her shoulder. "We'll be here."
The walk home was quiet, the streetlights flickering to life one by one, casting long, intertwined shadows behind Hiro and Luna. Their hands found each other naturally, fingers lacing together.
"I'm sorry," Luna murmured, her head leaning against his shoulder as they walked. "For asking you to do something impossible. For making it harder."
Hiro squeezed her hand. "You were just trying to fix a broken heart. That's who you are. You see pain and you want to heal it, even if it means tearing yourself apart in the process."
"But I hurt her more by doing it," Luna said, the guilt still a living thing in her voice.
"No," Hiro said firmly. "You showed her how much you care. And we gave her honesty. That's a clean wound. It'll heal straight. False hope… that's a poison. It festers. What we did today was hard, but it was right."
They walked in comfortable silence for another block, the events of the evening settling around them like falling snow. Then Hiro stopped, tugging her gently to a halt under the glow of a large, old streetlamp.
"Luna?"
She looked up at him, her golden eyes reflecting the warm light. "Hm?"
He turned to fully face her, his expression serious, tender. "Will you be my girlfriend?"
She blinked, her ears perking straight up. "What?"
A soft, genuine smile played on his lips. "I should have asked properly. No more confusion. No more 'maybes' or unspoken understandings." He brought her other hand up, holding both of hers between them. His touch was warm, his grip sure. "Luna Shirohane. Will you officially, unequivocally, be my girlfriend?"
The effect was instantaneous. Luna's eyes grew impossibly wide. Her breath hitched. And her tail—her expressive, silver-furred tail—broke into an uncontrollable, joyous wag, swishing through the air behind her with such force it was a wonder she didn't lift off the ground.
A new wave of tears sprang to her eyes, but these were pure, undiluted happiness. They sparkled like diamonds in the lamplight as they traced paths down her furry cheeks.
"Yes," she breathed. Then, louder, her voice breaking with emotion, "YES! A thousand times yes!"
She didn't just hug him this time. She launched herself at him, a silver-and-white missile of joy, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. Hiro stumbled back a step with a soft "oof," then laughed, a real, free sound of happiness, as he caught her and held her close, spinning her once in the pool of light.
When he set her down, she was beaming, her tear-streaked face radiant. He cupped her face again, his thumbs brushing away the happy tears. He leaned in slowly, giving her every chance to pull away.
She didn't. She rose onto her tiptoes, her eyes fluttering closed.
Their first kiss was not a collision, but a meeting. Soft, gentle, a silent promise sealed. It tasted of salt from their tears and the sweet, indefinable flavor of a long-awaited beginning. Luna's hands came up to rest on his chest, feeling the steady, strong beat of his heart beneath her palms. Her tail continued its happy, rhythmic sway, a metronome keeping time with her own soaring heartbeat.
When they finally parted, foreheads resting together, the world felt new. The night was no longer cold, the shadows no longer lonely.
"This," Luna whispered, her voice full of wonder, "is our story now. Hiro Mizuki and Luna Shirohane."
Hiro smiled, kissing her forehead. "Our story," he agreed. "And it's just the beginning."
Hand in hand, their shadows blending into one under the streetlights, they walked home together, not toward an ending, but toward the first page of everything that came next.
THE END