The buses lined up outside the academy gates, engines humming, the campus buzzing with excitement for the upcoming trip. Students chatted and took their seats, backpacks slung and hearts racing.
Inside one of the buses, Shinoa Kurai turned to Rukia Delim, who stood near the entrance.
"Hey," Shinoa said casually. "Sit with me?"
Rukia paused for a moment, then nodded. "Sure."
They sat by the window. Silence lingered between them, the rumble of the engine masking the tension in the air.
Rukia broke it first.
"Why do you like him?"
Shinoa blinked. "Huh?"
"You heard me," Rukia said, her tone flat. "Kaiser. Why do you like him?"
Shinoa narrowed her eyes slightly. "How do you know I do?"
Rukia shrugged. "Does it matter? Just answer the question."
A pause.
Then Shinoa leaned back, crossing her legs. "I guess… it started the day we met. That day in the mall. I saw this guy—cool blue hair, green eyes, and the kind of aura you can't ignore. Cold, distant. Like he didn't care about anyone."
Her voice softened slightly.
"But when we met again at school, and I really talked to him... I realized something."
Rukia glanced at her sideways, silent.
"He wasn't just cold. He was empty. Detached. Like he didn't think anything mattered anymore."
Shinoa smiled faintly, her tone turning bittersweet.
"I used to pity him, honestly. But then I saw the way he tried. Quietly. Stubbornly. Like he didn't want to admit he cared, but he did. And the more I tried to understand him… the more I fell for him."
A long silence followed.
Then Shinoa turned to Rukia, eyes glowing with quiet conviction.
"You asked why I like him?"
Rukia nodded.
"You're wrong about that," Shinoa said. Her voice was calm, but her words hit like thunder.
> "I don't like him, Rukia. I love him."
Rukia's expression didn't change—but her hand, resting on her knee, tightened just slightly.
The bus rolled forward.
Outside, the world raced by.
Inside, the real journey had already begun.