The night sky draped itself over Hoshizora Academy like a velvet cloak, moonlight silvering the cherry blossoms outside the boys' dorm. Inside Room 10X, silence hummed — until someone yawned loudly.
"Brooo, the girl in 5A with the white sweater… so pretty," murmured Kaen, sprawled upside down on his bed, kicking at the air.
"You mean Shane?" asked Shiro, twirling a pen between his fingers. "She gave off this... weird energy."
"Mm," came a low hum from the corner.
Rio sat by the window, unmoving, his dark eyes fixed on the garden outside where petals still floated from the tree. His senses were sharper than any of the others — a gift of the dragon blood that pulsed in his veins.
But it wasn't just petals he saw.
It was her.
Shane.
When their eyes met earlier, something deep inside him stirred — a heat he hadn't felt in years. Not anger. Not fear. Something older.
Recognition.
"Rio?" Haru, the fox-boy, peeked in. "You're unusually quiet. Don't tell me you felt it too."
Rio didn't respond.
Because yes — he felt it.
From the moment Shane stepped onto campus, the spiritual air changed. Faint, but undeniable. Her aura shimmered like moonlight veiled by clouds. Incomplete, hidden — but familiar.
And that sound earlier… the roar. No human could've heard it. Not unless…
Could she be… one of us?
No. That would be impossible. The girls didn't know the truth. They only knew their abilities, not the beasts sleeping inside.
"She's different," Rio said finally, voice like gravel and thunder.
Shiro raised a brow. "You think she's—"
"I don't think," Rio cut in. "I know."
Far below, in the girls' dorm, Shane stood at her window, hand pressed to the glass. Her breath fogged the pane. She didn't know why, but she couldn't stop thinking of him.
That gaze. That strange feeling in her chest.
A dream flickered in her memory — of scales, fire, and a voice calling her name.
From a distance, two glowing eyes watched her silhouette.
Rio.
To be continued…