The buses lined up outside the academy gates, engines humming and the air buzzing with excitement. Students milled around, slinging backpacks and calling out to friends, the energy crackling like static before a storm.
Inside one of the buses, Shinoa Kurai turned her head and spotted Rukia Delim near the entrance.
"Hey," she said, casually. "Sit with me?"
Rukia hesitated—just a second—but nodded. "Sure."
They took a window seat near the middle. The engine's low rumble filled the silence between them, but it wasn't enough to drown the tension.
Finally, Rukia spoke.
"Why do you like him?"
Shinoa blinked, caught off guard. "Huh?"
"You heard me," Rukia repeated, her tone unreadable. "Kaiser. Why do you like him?"
Shinoa's gaze narrowed just a little. "How do you know I do?"
Rukia gave a small shrug. "Call it intuition. Just answer."
There was a beat of quiet.
Then Shinoa leaned back, arms folded, legs crossed, her tone more serious now.
"I guess… it started the day we met. At the mall. He stood out—cool hair, green eyes, that 'don't talk to me' energy. He looked like someone who didn't give a damn about anyone."
Her voice softened, edges rounding into something more vulnerable.
"But then I saw him at school. We actually talked. And I realized something."
Rukia stayed quiet, listening.
"He wasn't cold. He was… hollow. Like he'd stopped expecting anything from people. Like he was surviving, not living."
Shinoa exhaled, a small, almost sad smile touching her lips.
"I used to feel sorry for him. But then I started watching him—really watching. The way he listened. The way he fought to stay distant but always ended up helping people anyway. Quietly. Stubbornly. Without ever admitting it."
Her eyes turned toward the window, watching the blur of cherry blossoms flying by.
"The more I tried to understand him, the more he confused me. And somehow, that confusion… turned into love."
Rukia didn't respond immediately.
She didn't have to.
Because Shinoa turned her gaze back, and when she spoke again, her voice was steady. Final.
"You asked why I like him?"
Rukia nodded slowly.
"You're wrong," Shinoa said softly, but her words were sharper than a blade.
> "I don't like him, Rukia. I love him."
Rukia's face didn't change.
But her fingers curled slightly into her knee.
The bus rolled forward, the city melting into countryside.
Outside, the real trip had begun.
Inside, the real war was just getting started.