Rei felt his body spinning through the rift weightless, breathless, helpless.
Then the world slammed into him.
Hard.
He hit the concrete floor with a sharp gasp, air punched from his lungs. His vision spun. The scent of chalk, dust, and disinfectant filled his nose.
He was back.
Back in a classroom.
Back in his world.
Back in Shirakami High.
Except…
Someone was holding him.
Warm hands. Soft breath against his cheek. A delicate, trembling voice.
"Rei-kun…?"
His eyes fluttered open.
And the first thing he saw
Aira Kagetsu's face. Too close. Far too close.
Her long hair brushed against his jaw. Her lips were inches from his own. Her eyes normally unreadable like moonlit water were wide with a mix of shock and something else.
Something he'd never seen in her before.
Fear.
Relief.
And… longing?
Rei blinked rapidly, trying to sit up, but Aira's grip only tightened.
"You disappeared," she whispered.
"You were gone Rei-kun, you vanished in front of everyone. The whole school is in chaos. And I" She stopped, biting her lip. "I thought I… lost you."
Rei's heart stuttered.
Lost me?
Why would she say it like that?
He opened his mouth to respond, but his voice cracked.
"A-Aira… how did… you…?"
She looked straight into his eyes too deeply, as if searching for an answer he didn't know.
"I ran to you," she said breathlessly.
"I don't know why… but when you fell through that light, my body moved on its own."
Her fingers brushed his cheek without realizing.
Her thumb grazed the corner of his lips.
Rei felt his ears burn.
This closeness Her touch Her whisper-soft breath warming his skin
His heart pounded uncontrollably.
Aira suddenly froze as if realizing how intimate the moment had become.
Her cheeks flushed a soft, rosy red.
"S-Sorry," she murmured, yanking her hand back. "I… didn't mean to be that close."
But Rei could feel her pulse racing even from inches away.
And he noticed something else.
His back still burned.
The sigil.
But this time, when he looked into her eyes…
She wasn't confused by it.
She recognized it.
Her breath hitched.
"That mark…" she whispered, voice trembling.
"You Rei you shouldn't have awakened it. Not yet."
Rei's eyes widened.
"You know about it!?"
Aira looked away, her hair falling like a curtain to hide her expression.
"I… wasn't supposed to say that."
Rei grabbed her wrist gently.
"Aira. What do you know?"
She looked back, startled by the sudden closeness. Rei's fingers around her wrist… the warmth… the intensity in his eyes
Her face flushed deeper.
"I… know enough," she whispered.
"Enough to say this:"
She leaned closer again.
So close her breath brushed his lips.
"Don't let Ryouma touch you. And don't trust anyone… not even the teachers. They're all watching you now."
Rei swallowed hard.
"Why are you telling me this?"
Aira's eyes softened, something breaking through her calm mask. Something tender.
"Because…" She hesitated.
"I don't want you to die."
Rei's breath hitched.
She lifted her hand slowly, hesitantly and rested it over his chest. Right where his heart beat wildly beneath his uniform.
Her touch sent a nervous shiver through him.
"I've… seen someone like you before," she whispered.
"And I couldn't save him."
Her voice cracked just slightly a pain she rarely showed.
Rei's pulse thundered.
"Aira…"
But before she could say anything more
BAM.
The classroom door slammed open.
The lights flickered.
An overwhelming pressure filled the room like a sudden change in gravity.
Rei and Aira snapped their heads toward the doorway.
Ryouma Kurobane stood there.
Expression stone cold. Eyes sharp like blades. His chest rising with slow, lethal breaths.
But this time…
There was something new in his eyes.
A darkness.
A hunger.
A rage he could barely contain.
And something else
Jealousy.
Rei was still half-leaning into Aira.
Aira's hand was still on his chest.
Their faces were still too close.
Ryouma's jaw clenched so hard his teeth might've cracked.
He stepped inside.
A storm in human form.
"Get. Away. From. Him."
His voice was low a threat wrapped in barely contained violence.
Aira didn't move.
She stood in front of Rei, shoulders tense, eyes fierce and protective.
"No," she said quietly.
"You can't have him."
Ryouma's eyes widened a fraction.
Something in the room snapped.
The air twisted.
Rei felt heat rising behind him as the sigil flared again.
Aira's aura shivered like moonlight fighting darkness.
Ryouma's presence pressed down like a thunderstorm ready to break.
Three forces.
Three fates.
Three secrets.
All colliding.
Ryouma took a step forward.
Aira tightened her stance.
Rei tried to stand
And suddenly
A violent surge of energy exploded from the sigil.
The windows shattered.
The desks rattled.
Light pulsed beneath Rei's skin.
Aira gasped, shielding her eyes.
Ryouma staggered back, expression shaken for the first time.
Then
A voice echoed inside Rei's head.
"Awaken."
Rei's vision blurred.
He felt himself collapsing
The last thing he heard was Aira's desperate voice calling his name.
---