Ren stood at the front of the academy he hadn't seen for weeks.
The massive buildings gleamed under the sun, the emblem of Aether High Academy engraved at the top. For a moment, he just stared at it — the place where everything had begun, and where too many things had gone wrong.
Then a familiar voice shouted from across the courtyard.
"REN!"
He barely turned before two figures sprinted toward him — Kaito and Greg. Both of them were panting, their uniforms slightly wrinkled, eyes wide as if they'd seen a ghost.
Kaito reached him first, grabbing Ren by the shoulders. "You idiot! You're really here!"
Greg didn't even say anything before wrapping his arms around Ren. His voice trembled. "We thought you weren't coming back… not after what happened."
Ren chuckled softly, the same calm smile on his face as always. "It's nice to see you two after a while."
Kaito wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, trying to act cool. "Yeah, well… so are we, Ren. So are we."
