The morning sun spilled golden light over the towering gates of Hoshizora Academy, painting the stone path with warmth. Blossoms swayed in the breeze, petals falling like soft whispers from the trees. Students passed by in groups, laughter echoing under the blue sky, but Shane stood alone at the entrance of the girls' hostel.
Her luggage rested by her side, but her heart felt heavier than anything she carried. It wasn't nerves, not exactly. It was something… deeper.
Like something was calling to her.
She took a breath. New school, new people, a new life. This time, I'll figure it out. This feeling. This secret inside me.
As she stepped forward, she paused.
Across the small courtyard, near the boys' hostel, a boy leaned against the old cherry blossom tree that bloomed too early every year. His black jacket shifted in the breeze, and his sharp gaze pierced the air like he was staring straight through the world.
Or maybe—straight at her.
Rio.
Tall. Silent. A presence like thunder in still skies.
Their eyes met for a split second. Shane's heart skipped.
Then he looked away, as if it meant nothing. But the air between them had changed. A tension. A recognition neither could name.
Inside the dorm, chaos bloomed like wildflowers.
"Room 5A is mine, Siro! Get your ears checked!" Mira shouted as she wrestled with her suitcase.
"You're the one who can't read signs!" Siro laughed, tossing her hair. "I saw it first!"
Shane walked in slowly, taking it all in — girls arguing, laughing, unpacking.
A tall girl with silver-blue eyes sat quietly by the window. Reas, her name tag read. Her gaze met Shane's briefly, unreadable.
"You're Shane, right?" Reas asked.
Shane nodded. "Yeah."
"You feel it too, don't you?" she said softly. "This place... it's different."
Before Shane could respond, Mira burst in, her voice full of cheer. "Hey hey! We're going to explore the campus before dinner. Coming?"
Shane hesitated.
But something inside her whispered—go.
The girls wandered down the garden path outside, the sky now painted in soft evening hues. The boys were nearby too, watching from a distance — Kaen cracking his knuckles, Shiro smirking at nothing, and Haru waving brightly.
But Rio stood apart. Quiet. Unmoving. Watching.
Then, as if the earth itself exhaled, a deep, low roar echoed faintly through the breeze.
Shane froze.
"…Did you hear that?" she whispered.
The others looked around. "What?" Mira asked.
Shane clutched her chest. That sound—it was inside her bones.
Far away, under the ancient tree, Rio's eyes narrowed.
"They're awakening," he murmured.
And for the first time in years, his dragon heart stirred.
To be continued...