"A normal life... huh."
Aiden Yukishiro leaned back in his chair beside the window, letting the mid-morning sunlight warm the side of his face. His fingers drummed rhythmically against the wooden desk as he stared absently outside, watching petals fall from the cherry trees beyond the school wall.
He hated how peaceful it looked.
In the span of three weeks, he had transferred into Chiba Academy — under a fabricated identity, complete with forged documents, scrubbed digital trails, and a fake medical record. Everything about him was a lie, except for the name he chose for himself: Aiden.
The surname "Yukishiro" was meaningless — just a borrowed shadow.
He glanced at his reflection in the glass. The tinted glasses he wore masked the glow of the Six Eyes beneath. Even now, dulled by will and sunlight, he could still see the flow of energy around everything — heat, tension, weakness. It was both a blessing and a curse. A gift from his mother, molded through pain and twisted science.
He remembered the experiments.
The cold steel room, the needles, the burning sensation as something ancient and cursed was pushed into his body. His mother had called it a gift. Aiden knew better. Infinity was not a blessing — it was a wall between him and the world. One that even now, he could never fully take down.
'I'm not supposed to be here,' he thought.
' Not in a place with desks and uniforms. Not among people who laugh so easily.'
His grip tightened briefly on the edge of the desk. Then he loosened it.
He had promised himself: if he ever escaped her — that woman who had raised him like a weapon, not a son — he would at least try to live.
Not survive.
Live.
And so he enrolled at Chiba Academy. Far from Schicksal's eyes, beyond the reach of World Serpent. Even Otto himself didn't know he existed. A ghost in the system.
The transfer process had been unexpectedly smooth. Too smooth. Perhaps even fate wanted him to rest — or maybe fate was just setting up the next betrayal.
He kept his head down, joined no clubs, spoke to no one unless addressed. But on his second day, she had noticed him.
Raiden Mei.
Elegant. Composed. Lightning bound in human form. She walked the halls with quiet confidence, her posture straight, her gaze unshaken. She reminded Aiden of something he didn't have a name for. Maybe it was calm. Maybe it was grace.
Maybe it was hope.
He hadn't planned to talk to her. Yet here he was, in her class.
"Yukishiro-kun."
The teacher's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Aiden blinked and sat up straight.
"Since you're new, could you read the next paragraph?"
He nodded, his voice steady despite himself. "Of course."
As he read aloud, his tone was clear, practiced. Years of covert missions, cover identities, and impersonations had trained his voice to be adaptable. Measured. But beneath the polished cadence, Mei glanced his way.
She was sitting three rows ahead, her violet hair tucked neatly behind one ear. She said nothing, but her eyes held a flicker of something—recognition, or curiosity. Maybe both.
When class ended, Aiden packed his books slowly. The others filtered out, chatting about lunch or plans for the weekend. He remained behind.
Footsteps approached.
"Yukishiro-kun," came Mei's voice, soft but composed. It had a steadiness that mirrored her fighting spirit in the manga — calm, resolute, kind, but edged with subtle sorrow.
He turned. "Raiden-san."
She gave him a faint smile. "You don't talk much."
"I could say the same about you," he replied gently.
Mei tilted her head, intrigued. "Maybe that's why I noticed. You feel... different."
That made his breath catch slightly. "Different how?"
She paused. "I don't know. Like... you're quiet, but not shy. Like you're always watching something only you can see."
Aiden met her gaze. Her perception was sharper than he'd expected. He could lie — he was good at it — but something in her expression disarmed him. She wasn't interrogating. She was wondering.
"It's just... a habit," he said finally.
Mei gave a small nod. "Well... if you ever feel like not being alone, the garden behind the library is nice, there's also the rooftop. No one goes there after classes."
She turned and walked away, the faint breeze lifting her hair.
Aiden stood in silence.
His heart beat a little faster. Not from fear. From something he couldn't quite name. Not yet.
He went to the rooftop that afternoon.
It was quiet. Birds chirped. The scent of wisteria drifted through the air. And Mei was there, sitting on the stone bench beneath the arbor, reading a small book in her lap.
She looked up as he approached. No surprise in her expression.
"You came."
"I was curious," he admitted.
She gestured to the bench beside her.
They sat in silence for a while.
Finally, Mei spoke. "Do you like it here?"
"I'm getting used to it."
"You don't act like someone who's used to peace."
He smirked slightly. "Neither do you."
That made her glance sideways at him. "Fair enough."
More silence. More comfort.
For the first time in years, Aiden felt... still. He didn't have to listen for footsteps in the dark. Didn't have to plan escape routes. His katana lay sealed inside a case under his bed, untouched. The cursed energy within him, the Six Eyes, Infinity — all asleep, resting beneath skin and soul.
He dared not awaken them here.
But Mei's presence was... grounding. Real.
She finally closed her book and looked at him.
"Do you believe people can start over?"
The question hit deeper than she realized. Or maybe she did realize.
Aiden looked at the sky. "Only if they want it badly enough."
She nodded slowly. "Good answer."
"And you?" he asked. "Why are you here?"
Mei looked thoughtful. "To learn, like everyone else. But also... to wait. For something. Or someone. I don't know yet."
Her answer was cryptic, but honest. Aiden respected that.
A light breeze swept across the garden. Mei reached up to hold her hair in place.
Aiden watched her fingers move — delicate, but strong. He wondered what they looked like wrapped around a blade. He wondered what they'd feel like wrapped around his hand.
He looked away.
They stayed until the sun dipped lower behind the buildings.
"I should go," she said, rising.
Aiden nodded. "Thank you. For the bench."
"You can sit here even if I'm not around," she said, brushing imaginary dust from her skirt. "It's not mine."
"Feels like it is."
Mei gave him a long look. Then smiled, just a little. "Goodbye, Yukishiro-kun."
He watched her leave.
The walk back to his apartment was uneventful. He lived in a small flat above a tea shop, far from the school dorms. The owners left him alone. That was how he liked it.
In his room, he placed his bag down, opened the closet, and pulled out the katana case.
He laid it on the desk. Just looking at it sent a pulse through his hand.
Kuroseigetsu.
His weapon. Forged in secret. Born of flame, cursed energy, and Kaslana steel. A symbol of everything he tried to leave behind.
He didn't open it.
He didn't need it — not yet.
Instead, he took off his glasses. The blue glow in his eyes reflected in the mirror.
Six Eyes. Infinity.
"Not today," he whispered.
He turned off the light.
But the sky in the distance darkened slightly. Thunder rolled faintly, like a warning.
The peace wouldn't last.
But while it did — he would stay by her side.
Even if she never knew who he really was.