The morning sun cast a gentle glow over Hoshizora High School. The students walked together in cheerful clusters, filling the courtyard with life.
Ren Kurogane entered through the tall gates alone.
New school.
New country.
New beginning he never asked for.
His father's transfer from the distant nation of Lumeria had uprooted everything. Ren's familiar streets, old friends, and every memory he trusted were now nothing but echoes.
He walked with quiet steps, his expression unreadable, his presence thin like air.
Whispers followed him as he crossed the hallway.
"Is he the transfer student?"
"Why does he look so pale?"
"He doesn't seem like he belongs here."
Ren kept his head low.
Inside Class 1-B, the teacher introduced him.
Ren bowed.
"My name is Ren Kurogane. I came from Lumeria. Please treat me well."
Some students smiled kindly.
Some smirked.
Some whispered.
As Ren walked to his seat, someone tripped him. His books scattered.
The class burst into laughter.
Ren looked up at the culprit.
Kaito Shinjo.
A second-year student infamous through all of Hoshizora High.
Strong, feared, sharp-eyed, and known for trouble.
Kaito stared at Ren with an expression that mixed boredom and cruelty.
During lunch, Ren escaped to the quiet garden behind the gym. A place without voices, without eyes, without judgment.
But Kaito found him again.
"So the little foreigner hides here," one of his friends jeered.
Kaito grabbed Ren by the shirt and slammed him against the wall.
Punch after punch followed.
A merciless storm.
Ren curled slightly, trying to breathe, but he never begged.
Never cried.
Never made a sound.
That silence irritated Kaito more than anything.
They left him bruised on the ground, dirt sticking to his skin.
Ren's fingers trembled as he pressed them against the soil. His vision swayed. Blood dripped slowly from his lip.
He should have passed out.
But he didn't.
Something burned quietly inside him.
Something old.
Something he thought he had left behind in Lumeria.
His hand twitched.
A faint shimmer flickered under his skin for a split second.
A shape.
A mark.
Then it vanished.
Ren exhaled shakily.
This wasn't normal.
This shouldn't have happened.
This wasn't the first time either.
He lifted his head, eyes darker than before.
"Not again," he whispered.
Behind him, unnoticed, the security camera blinked strangely. The red recording light flickered twice, then froze.
The screen inside the staff room glitched for a moment.
Ren's figure on the monitor blurred…
then completely disappeared for a second.
A teacher stared at the static screen, confused.
"What… was that?"
Ren stood alone in the garden, the wind moving softly around him.
He looked at his hands, breathing hard.
Something inside him had awakened.
Something he didn't understand.
Something he feared.
And for the first time since arriving,
Ren felt that Hoshizora High was not just another school.
It was the beginning of something he wasn't ready to face.
Everything was about to change.
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