Kael Residence – Night
The house was quiet, but tension hung in the air like a storm waiting to break.
Aeron sat by the large window in his room, city lights flickering in his dark eyes. He had been silent all evening. Not tired. Not upset. Just... silent.
Lately, everyone around him had been changing.
But he remained the same.
Detached. Observing. Drowning in quiet.
He leaned his head back.
> "They're getting louder," he muttered. "And closer."
---
🖤 Sera Nakamura's Studio – Late Evening
Sera leaned over her drawing table, her maroon hair a tangled halo, fingers smudged with charcoal and ink. Her walls were covered in portraits — all of Aeron.
Each one showed a different emotion. Or rather, the lack of one.
But tonight's sketch was different.
In it, Aeron's eyes weren't calm. They were panicked. Fractured.
"I saw it today," she whispered. "The way you looked at Ayaka after class."
She ran her fingers down the page.
"You're cracking. I just have to push a little more."
Her lips curled.
> "And I'll be the first one inside when you break."
---
👒 Ayaka's Room – Kael Residence
Ayaka sat alone, hair damp from a long shower, dressed in her oversized hoodie — Aeron's hoodie.
She stared at her reflection, at the pale girl with white eyes who once just admired her stepbrother from the shadows.
But now there were others.
Mirei. Yume. Hiyori. Even Sera.
And Aeron… he was growing more distant by the day.
She clenched her fists.
> "If I want him… I need more than love." "I need power."
She stood and walked straight into her mother's office.
---
👑 Himari Kael's Office – Moments Later
Himari, dressed in a velvet black robe, glanced up from a digital contract. The soft glow of business holograms surrounded her like starlight.
"Ayaka?"
"I need your help."
Himari tilted her head. "With school?"
"With Aeron."
That name brought silence.
Ayaka didn't flinch. "He's being surrounded. Everyone wants him. And I've tried… but it's not enough."
"I'm not sure what you're asking."
"I want you to teach me," Ayaka said. "About business. Strategy. How to protect what's mine."
Himari leaned back in her chair, appraising her daughter carefully.
"You want to become someone like me?"
Ayaka nodded once. "No... I want to become someone he can't ignore."
---
💌 Side Story – Yume's Quiet Jealousy
Yume sat at her favorite cake shop booth, staring at the empty seat in front of her. The one Aeron always used to fill.
Now he barely replied to messages. Barely smiled. He was slipping into something even colder.
And that scared her.
Not because she feared he would disappear.
But because she feared someone else would reach him before she did.
> "Don't leave me behind, Aeron," she whispered. "Don't let them take you."
---
🎭 Closing Scene – Tenkaichi Elite Academy Courtyard
The next morning, Aeron passed through the school gates.
He didn't stop walking.
Didn't look at anyone.
But the whispers followed.
Girls with eyes that lingered too long.
Boys who stepped out of the way.
And up above, hidden behind the art wing's window, Sera watched — smiling, sketching.
Below her, Ayaka stared from a bench, her white eyes narrowed.
And somewhere else on campus, Mirei reviewed security footage from the past 48 hours — tracking where Aeron had gone, who he had met, and how close the others were getting.
They all wanted him.
> But no one wanted to break him more than they wanted to keep him whole.