The garden behind the academy dorms was quiet—a rare thing these days. The wind played gently with the leaves, and the soft trickle of the koi pond was the only sound filling the early evening air.
Kael sat on a flat stone near the water's edge, staring at his reflection. The events of the last few weeks still clung to him like shadows—Tetsu's recovery, his own awakening, the growing tension across the campus. The others didn't know. Not yet. And he was fine with that. The fewer eyes on him, the better.
But the pressure was building.
Behind him, a twig snapped.
Kael turned sharply, shadows instinctively curling at the edge of his vision—but he caught them in time, forcing calm into his breath.
A girl stood at the entrance to the garden.
She was maybe his age, maybe younger. Long brown hair, tied with a crimson ribbon that fluttered in the breeze. She wore the academy uniform, but somehow it looked sharper on her—more graceful. Her eyes, deep hazel, scanned the space before they landed on him.
"…Sorry," she said, blinking. "Didn't mean to interrupt."
Kael stood awkwardly. "You didn't. I was just… thinking."
The girl tilted her head slightly. "You're Kael Renji, right?"
His shoulders stiffened. "Yeah. That obvious?"
She gave a soft laugh. "Only if you've been listening. Some people say you took down a Fracture Beast with a rock and a prayer. Others say Tetsu did most of the work."
Kael looked away. "Probably the second one."
"I don't buy either," she said casually, stepping closer, looking out at the pond. "Beasts don't fall to luck. And Tetsu, strong as he is, doesn't walk away from something like that without help."
He stayed silent.
She didn't press. After a pause, she glanced sideways at him. "I'm Hana. Hana Yume. Transfer from Zone 5."
"Zone 5?" Kael blinked. "That's… not close."
She gave a slight shrug. "Let's just say I had good reasons to transfer. People I didn't want to disappoint."
There was something heavy in her voice, and Kael recognized it—guilt, or something like it. He saw it every morning in his own mirror.
The two of them stood there for a while in comfortable silence.
Then Hana smiled, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "You know, this place is beautiful. But something about it feels… off."
"Off how?"
"Like the calm before a storm."
Kael chuckled under his breath. "That's a pretty good way to describe this whole place."
She looked at him again—really looked this time—and something softened in her expression. "You don't talk much, do you?"
"I do," Kael said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Just not when I'm afraid I might say the wrong thing."
"Good," she said. "Means you're thinking before you speak."
Her gaze lingered a second longer than necessary before she turned to leave. As she walked away, the crimson ribbon in her hair caught the wind again, trailing behind like a comet.
Kael watched her go, a strange warmth blooming in his chest.
He didn't know why yet.
But something had changed tonight.
And he had a feeling Hana Yume was going to be at the center of it.