The morning bell echoed through Santella Academy, its cold clang resounding down the marble corridors.
Today was different: the other classes were merged for a special lecture, filling the halls with restless chatter and shuffling footsteps.
But one voice was missing.
Shizumi was late.
Clutching her books to her chest, she darted down the long corridor, her bangs falling in messy strands across her eyes. Where was Class 3-B again? She muttered under her breath, turning corner after corner, the sound of her hurried steps lost among the noise of students gathering.
Then—
Crash!
Her books slipped from her arms, scattering across the polished floor as she collided with someone at the corner of the hallway.
Shizumi staggered, wide eyes blinking upward—
only to be cut off by a sharp, commanding voice.
"What the hell are you—"
The words broke off.
Her gaze is locked with blue-eyes, cold and piercing—
Renjiro Kurogane.
For a heartbeat, the hallway seemed to stop breathing.
His arm had caught her instinctively, firm and unyielding, holding her against him while her books lay forgotten on the ground.
Shizumi gasped, bowing quickly.
"I–I'm sorry, I wasn't looking—"
But Renjiro didn't answer.
The Second Heavenly Prince—tall, sharp, his presence regal yet untamed—stood frozen, his blue-eyes widening in disbelief. The crest of House Kurogane gleamed faintly in his uniform, but in that moment, his lineage meant nothing.
His entire attention was fixed on her.
For the first time, her bangs had shifted ever so slightly, revealing the delicate curve of her cheek, the soft line of her jaw… and the clear, unguarded light of her beautiful red jewel eyes.
"…you…"
The single word slipped from his lips, caught between awe and confusion.
Such a face… hidden all this time?
Shizumi blinked, unsettled by his silence. With a hurried motion, she brushed her bangs back into place, veiling her face once more.
"Forgive me," she whispered, her voice quiet, almost fragile.
She bent to collect her books, her thoughts sharp with annoyance.
"Whose face did I have to see first thing in the morning, that I ended up colliding with him?"
Without waiting for a reply, she slipped past him, her footsteps quick and nervous.
Renjiro didn't move. His eyes stayed fixed on the space she had just left. His chest felt tight, his hand unconsciously curling as if to grasp the ghost of her presence.
"…that girl…"
The thought tangled inside him, strange and unfamiliar.
Then his brows drew together. He turned his head slightly, watching the direction she had gone.
"The lecture hall is to the left… so why did she run to the right?"
For the first time in a long while, Renjiro Kurogane's interest was stirred—
not by power, not by prestige, not by rivalry—
but by the mystery of a girl who always hid her face…
and a beauty that was never meant to remain in the shadows.
The corridors were slowly emptying.
Shizumi was still wandering, trying to find her classroom—frustration in her heart and sweat on her forehead.
"Where on earth is 3-B…"
she muttered.
Suddenly—
Thud!
She bumped into someone again.
Her books almost slipped, but she caught them tightly, stumbling backward herself.
"Ouch! I keep bumping into people today…"
she sighed wearily.
The boy in front of her froze.
Pink hair, deep blue eyes—his face carried a mocking smile.
"Well… aren't you…"
His voice had a strange sting to it.
"I mean, the academy's toy. That's what everyone says… the plaything of the Three Heavenly Princes."
His eyes scanned her from head to toe.
"Now that I see you up close… you really are kind of creepy. These long bangs, the weird way you hide your face… you look just like a ghost."
Shizumi stayed silent.
Her eyes didn't waver, her lips pressed tightly together.
she heard this all before…
But deep inside, the words cut her once again.
Two voices called out from behind—
"Ren! What are you doing here?"
"Come on, we're going to be late."
Two more boys walked over.
One tall, with a calm face, stepped forward. His movements carried a quiet gentleness.
"You must be looking for 3-B, right?"
he said kindly.
"We're headed there too. If you've lost your way, you can come along with us."
Shizumi looked at him.
In his gaze, there was neither mockery nor fear—just simple courtesy.
"My name is Kaishiro Mori."
Before she could respond, the third boy—whose face held an eerie stillness, his eyes weighed down by some unspoken burden—didn't speak, but kept watching her.
His gaze was strange—
as though he recognized something, or as if some old memory had suddenly resurfaced.
Sakura Senzai.
Shizumi felt uneasy under his eyes.
Why… why is he looking at me like that…?
Inside Sakura's silence, a voice from long ago echoed again—
"The time has come to finally close that door… the one that was opened thirty-seven years ago."
His eyes met Shizumi's.
Shizumi adjusted the books in her arms and gave a faint nod.
"…If you're also going to Class 3-B, then… I'll come with you."
Kaishiro smiled gently. "Good. Then let's go together."
Ren clicked his tongue, smirking as he walked closer.
"Tch. Always hiding behind those long bangs… How do you even see where you're going?"
Before Shizumi could react, he suddenly leaned in and—
flip
With a careless hand, he brushed aside the curtain of hair covering her face.
For a split second, Ren froze.
His mocking grin faded, his breath hitched—
because behind those bangs was a face so delicate, so striking, it left him stunned.
Shizumi, startled, quickly turned her head away, pulling her hair back to cover herself again.
But Ren… he kept staring, unable to look anywhere else.
Kaishiro blinked in confusion. "Eh? What's wrong, Ren? Did you see something?"
Sakura narrowed his eyes. "what happened to you, why did you suddenly become silent?"
The two leaned forward curiously, trying to peek at Shizumi's face—
—but Ren suddenly tangled her long bangs back over her face in a messy knot.
"There!" he declared, smirking mischievously.
"Perfect. Now no one can see."
Kaishiro frowned. "don't behave like this with any lady! are you ok?"
Sakura muttered, " If you are done playing with her then we should go to class."
Meanwhile, Shizumi sighed heavily.
"…What is wrong with these people…"
Her cheeks, though, burned faintly beneath the hair.
The four of them walked slowly down the corridor.
Ren was still cracking jokes, Kaishiro was guiding Shizumi along the way, and Sakura's silence felt heavier with every step.
Then—
"Wait a moment, you four…"
A calm yet resonant voice called from behind.
They all stopped.
Shizumi turned her head—
Standing there was a tall teacher, neatly dressed, his eyes carrying the same warmth and smile they always seemed to hold.
"Oh… you guys must be going to Miss Rose's class, right.
Why rushing so much? The class isn't going anywhere,"
he said lightly, his lips curved in a soft smile.
Ren leaned closer to Kaishiro and whispered with a grin,
"He's always joking like this…"
But Shizumi's heart skipped strangely.
She had never seen those eyes before,
yet there was something in them…
A tenderness that felt as though it had been searching for her all along.
The teacher's gaze shifted from the group—
and then, suddenly, it froze.
Directly on Shizumi.
For a brief moment, the smile faltered.
As if some deep, buried recognition had pulled him from within.
But the very next second, he spoke with ease—
"Your name… is Shizumi, right?"
Shizumi was startled.
"Yes… but how do you know…?"
He brushed it off with a light laugh.
"Oh, I remember things.
Special children always catch my attention."
The four bowed politely to the teacher.
"Bye sir" Kaishiro and Shizumi said respectfully.
Ren, joking as always, added,
"If we'd stayed a bit longer, sir might have invited us for tea."
Everyone chuckled lightly, and then they hurried off toward their class.
But by the time they arrived, the classroom door was already closed.
From inside, they could hear the teacher's voice lecturing.
"What do we do now?" Shizumi whispered.
Kaishiro knocked gently on the door.
It swung open—
and there stood the strict classroom teacher, her face flushed red with anger.
"So late? The class started twenty minutes ago!"
Her voice was sharp, piercing.
Ren, Kaishiro, and Sakura stood silently.
The teacher looked at them, and suddenly her expression shifted—
the anger, the severity, it all faded instantly.
"Oh… you three…
I never expected this from you guys,"
she said, her tone softening at once.
(Because she knew—these three belonged to very powerful, wealthy families.)
Then her gaze landed on Shizumi.
A moment of silence… and then the explosion.
"And you!"
Her finger pointed straight at Shizumi.
"From the very first day you can't even behave properly?
Is this your idea of discipline?"
Shizumi froze.
"I–I… actually, the way—"
"Silence!"
The teacher cut her off.
"No excuses.
If you want to study in this academy, you'd better learn the basic disciplines.
Otherwise… there's no place here for someone like you!"
The classroom buzzed with whispers.
Some students chuckled, some muttered under their breath—
"Look, it's that 'scholarship girl' again…"
Shizumi's eyes dropped to the floor.
Her chest felt heavy.
She realized—
the anger was being unleashed on her only because she had no power, no backing.
~To be Continue~