---
[Rooftop Garden – Evening After Day 2]
The day's battles had ended, but tension still rippled through Mishima High like static in the air before lightning.
Golden sunlight bled into dusk. Up on the rooftop, where cherry blossoms drifted over cracked tile, Xao Min Feng stood quietly, arms crossed, eyes locked on the horizon.
A breeze rustled her loose tiger-print sweats. Bandages lined her arms, but her expression held more weight than pain.
She didn't turn when she felt Genji approach.
> "You're walking around like you didn't just knee a seven-foot-tall juggernaut into the underworld," he said, setting down two drinks.
> "You saw that, huh?" Her lips twitched. "Wasn't trying to impress."
> "Good," Genji replied. "Because you failed. I'm still not scared of you."
Xao Min smirked faintly. Then, softly—
> "...I was scared."
Genji turned, eyebrows raised.
> "Not of losing. Of what happens when I stop."
Her voice dropped.
> "If I stop moving, if I slow down… I remember my sister. I remember everything I couldn't protect."
He didn't answer immediately.
Then he said—
> "You don't have to outrun your past. Just… walk with someone who can keep up."
Her eyes widened.
> "You volunteering?"
> "Maybe," he said. "But I'm still faster."
A rare blush touched her cheeks.
She looked away—but didn't step back when their shoulders brushed.
Then—
> "You're in the way."
The rooftop air cooled. Sharpened.
Juliet Carls stood a few feet away, white coat billowing, clipboard in one hand, her silver eyes unreadable.
> "I was sent to deliver this," she said, voice flat. She held out a sealed black envelope to Genji.
> "Thanks," Genji muttered, wary.
> "You're requested by Shin Mishima. Now."
She turned—but paused, icy gaze flicking to Xao Min.
> "Your technique was aggressive. But poorly refined. Relying on emotion will kill you."
Xao Min bristled.
> "You got a problem?"
> "No. Just a prediction."
And with that, Juliet walked off like a ghost into fog.
Xao Min clenched her jaw, whispering, "That arrogant witch…"
> "She's weird," Genji said. "And she called me something—Dragon Prince."
Xao Min blinked.
> "...What the hell does that mean?"
---
[Training Deck – Below the Rooftop]
Soft neon lights glowed under a semi-transparent canopy as Asumi Maoshinara stretched by the railing. Her jacket hung loose over her tank top, eyes glowing faintly green under the soft light.
Blaze Kuronuma leaned on the rail next to her, flipping a coin absently.
> "You know," he said, "when we first met, I thought you hated me."
> "I did."
Blaze grinned. "Well. That clears that up."
She looked at him. Smirked.
> "Still kind of do."
> "But now you blush when I wink at you."
She rolled her eyes—but her ears turned pink.
> "Don't flatter yourself."
A moment of silence.
Then Blaze asked, softer, "...Why'd you save me during the prelims? That Phantom Claw user nearly took my neck."
Asumi stared at him.
> "Because I saw you scared. And I don't like seeing people I care about scared."
Blaze blinked. For once, he didn't have a comeback.
Then—
> "...Say that again?"
> "I'll break your jaw."
He laughed.
Then reached out—very gently brushing her hand.
> "You're a storm in slow motion, Asumi. And I think I wanna be caught in it."
She didn't pull away.
Instead, she whispered, "Then hold on. Because I don't know how to stop."
---
[Observation Room – Mishima HQ]
The cloaked woman stood by the glass, watching the students below.
> "Love blooms like weeds after battle," she muttered.
Behind her, a tall man in gold robes—Shin Mishima—stepped forward.
> "Let them blossom. It will make his fall all the more beautiful."
The woman turned, voice whispering like silk and ash.
> "The Dragon Prince doesn't know what sleeps inside him."
Shin smiled.
> "He will. Tomorrow. In my office."
---
To Be Continued…