Chapter One: After School
The last bell rang, and the classroom burst to life. Chairs scraped, chatter filled the air, and students rushed out like a flood.
Renji stayed behind. He always did. His desk sat by the window, and he kept his gaze fixed on the rain outside.
On his desk lay his notes — messy scrawls of chemical formulas and molecular diagrams no one else in class bothered with.
「また勉強かよ.」 one boy muttered as he passed.
("Still studying, huh?")
Another snickered.
「気持ち悪い天才くん.」
("Creepy genius.")
Their laughter faded as they left. Renji didn't move. He just adjusted his glasses and packed his bag slowly, careful with the vial inside.
In the science lab later, the fluorescent lights buzzed faintly. Beakers steamed. The smell of ethanol and copper filled the air. Renji hunched over his experiment, goggles slipping down his nose. The glowing liquid in the vial pulsed faintly — alive, dangerous.
He wrote notes in the margin of his notebook.
"Stability unknown. Volatile reaction under stress. Must isolate compound."
「すごいね.」
("That's amazing.")
The voice startled him. He turned — Yuna was leaning against the doorway, her umbrella dripping from the rain outside.
Renji blinked.
「...どうしてここに?」
("…Why are you here?")
She smiled, stepping inside.
「みんなカラオケ行ったのに,あなただけ残ってる.気になったから.」
("Everyone went to karaoke, but you stayed. I was curious.")
Renji lowered his gaze, embarrassed. His fingers tightened on the pen.
「俺は…こういうのしかないから.」
("This is all I have…")
Yuna tilted her head, studying him.
「だから好きなんだよ.」
("That's why I like you.")
His heart slammed against his ribs. He froze, unable to answer. She just laughed softly, brushing past him to look at the glowing vial.
「危ないんじゃない?」
("Isn't it dangerous?")
「...少し.」
("…A little.")
Their eyes met, and for a fleeting moment, he felt something he never thought he'd have: connection.
By the time Renji left the lab, the sky had darkened. Neon signs lit the streets, umbrellas crowded the sidewalks, and puddles reflected the endless advertisements overhead.
He clutched his bag tightly. Inside, the vial pulsed faintly like a trapped star.
He thought about her words. That's why I like you.
For the first time in years, he felt something other than despair.
But the alleys of Tokyo were not kind.
The shortcut to his neighborhood wound through rusted fire escapes and broken vending machines. The rain pooled in uneven concrete. His footsteps echoed alone.
Until another set joined them.
Then two more.
Laughter — low, sharp, familiar.
Renji's stomach turned cold.
The boys stepped from the shadows, blocking his path. Their uniforms hung loose, ties undone, cigarettes glowing in the rain. The leader smirked, tapping his umbrella against the ground.
「天才くん,遅い帰りだな.」
("Late walk home, genius.")
Renji tightened his grip on the bag.
「どけ.」
("Move.")
They circled him like wolves. One yanked the bag from his hands, tearing it open. The vial rolled into his palm, glowing faintly.
The leader lifted it, eyes narrowing.
「これが大事なんだろ?」
("This is important, huh?")
Renji's breath caught.
「やめろ!!」
("Don't!!")
The boy's smirk widened.
And then, with deliberate cruelty, he smashed the vial against Renji's chest.
The world became fire.
Chapter Two: The Girl Who Waited
Three weeks had passed since Kurogane Renji's funeral. His desk remained empty, sunlight catching the dust each afternoon. For most, his memory had already faded.
But Arisaka Yuna wouldn't let go.
"Sensei, what about Renji's family?" she asked one morning.
The classroom went quiet. Students exchanged looks, smirks.
"Still with this?" a boy muttered.
Another whispered, "She's obsessed."
Yuna ignored them. She kept her eyes forward, her English sharp, elegant — the voice of someone used to being heard.
But the teasing followed her.
"Yuna-chan, are you dating a ghost now?" a boy called from the back. Laughter broke out.
From the lockers, Takashiro Mei leaned gracefully, her perfect hair catching the light. "Face it, Yuna. Kurogane is gone." Her smile curved cruelly. "Or maybe… you're in love with the dead?"
The class erupted.
Yuna's cheeks burned, but she walked past without breaking stride, her heels tapping against the floor like steel. She would not let them see her cry.
From the rooftop, invisible eyes watched.
Renji stood half-faded against the antenna, the Tokyo skyline blazing behind him. His body shimmered, bleeding in and out of sight.
「ユナ...」 he whispered in Japanese, the word carried away by the wind.
("Yuna…")
He could hear their laughter inside the classroom. He could feel her pain. Every instinct screamed at him to descend, to rip apart the ones who mocked her.
His claws scraped the railing, sparks hissing in the rain.
But all he could do was watch.
For now.
That night, the hunger returned.
Shinjuku's alleys bled with neon and cigarette smoke. A group of men cornered a shopkeeper, shoving him against his own shutters, knives flashing.
Renji stepped from the shadows, eyes glowing faintly.
The men froze. "Who the hell—"
Renji's voice cut them off, low and guttural, in Japanese:
「悪い奴らしか食わねえ.」
("Only the bad ones get eaten.")
Then he vanished.
The screams tore through the alley.
Chapter Three: Queen and Rivalries
The cafeteria buzzed with life. Tables filled with students laughing, phones flashing, trays clattering.
At the center, Arisaka Yuna sat with her friends. Her presence pulled the room like gravity — the most beautiful girl in school, elegant and untouchable.
And yet, she was distracted. Her eyes drifted toward the window, toward the rain streaking down the glass. Toward the empty desk that should never have been empty.
Mei noticed.
"Still daydreaming about the dead boy?" Mei asked smoothly, her English perfect, her smile sharper than the edge of her fork.
Her friends giggled.
"Mei," Yuna said evenly, her voice cool. "It's not your concern."
A boy leaned forward from another table, smirking. "Forget him, Yuna. Why waste yourself on some loser? You could be with someone real. Like me."
His friends roared with laughter.
Yuna's lips curved into a polite smile, but her eyes cut through him like glass. "You couldn't compare to him even if you tried."
The cafeteria went silent for a moment. Mei's smile twitched. The boy flushed.
Whispers spread instantly.
"She's serious…"
"She's protecting him…"
"Crazy or loyal… maybe both?"
Yuna ignored them all. She lifted her tray and left gracefully, every step deliberate, every eye on her.
But inside, her heart trembled. Renji… where are you?
Chapter Four: The Hunger
Night. Shinjuku shimmered with neon, rain hissing against the concrete.
In a narrow alley, Renji crouched above a flickering sign. His skin shimmered in and out of sight, his breath steaming in the cold.
Below, a gang cornered a girl, knives flashing. Their laughter echoed cruelly.
Renji's hunger roared. His vision narrowed.
He leapt.
「悪い奴らしか食わねえ…」 he growled, his voice carrying like thunder in Japanese.
("Only the bad ones get eaten…")
The men barely had time to scream. His claws ripped through steel. Teeth tore into flesh. Blood spattered the neon signs, then vanished as his body dissolved into invisibility again.
When silence fell, only the girl remained, trembling against the wall.
She saw nothing — only felt the rush of cold air as the ghost passed her by.
High above, Renji licked his lips, his eyes glowing faintly. The hunger subsided, for now. But the beast inside whispered for more.
And through it all, one thought anchored him.
「ユナ…」
("Yuna…")
Chapter Five: Rumors and Rivals
By Thursday, the whispers about Yuna had reached every corner of the school.
"She's obsessed with him."
"She talks about a ghost."
"Mei's right — she's lost it."
At lunch, Mei made her move.
Standing in the middle of the cafeteria, her voice rang out clear:
"Yuna! Tell everyone — are you in love with Kurogane Renji?"
The room went still. All eyes turned.
Yuna froze, her tray trembling in her hands. The boy from earlier smirked, waiting for her to break. Mei's friends leaned forward eagerly, hungry for the fall of the school's queen.
Yuna straightened. Her voice, calm and cutting, sliced through the silence:
"Yes. I am."
Gasps erupted. Students shouted, laughed, cursed. The cafeteria buzzed with shock.
Mei's smile faltered. The boy's face turned red.
But Yuna didn't flinch. She walked past them with her head high, her every step echoing like defiance.
Chapter Six: The Beast of Ueno
That night, far from Shinjuku's neon, the moon hung low over Ueno Park. The museum loomed — massive, silent, its ancient halls sealed for the night.
But something inside had awakened.
Glass shattered. A shadow slithered across the floor — a monster out of myth. Scales like wet stone, jaws dripping with fire.
It tore through the streets, people screaming as they fled. Sirens blared.
And from above, Renji watched. His invisible body clung to the museum's roof, eyes burning with hunger.
「怪物か...」 he whispered in Japanese, his voice shaking with something between fear and excitement.
("A monster, huh…")
The beast roared, flames lighting the night.
Renji's lips pulled back into a grin.
「面白い.」
("Interesting.")
He leapt.
The clash shook the city.
Chapter Seven: Queen of Scandal
The next day, the school buzzed like a hive. Yuna's words had spread everywhere.
"She said it! She admitted it!"
"She's crazy…"
"No, she's loyal! That's romantic!"
Every hallway was a battlefield of whispers.
In class, Yuna sat perfectly straight, her face calm, but her hands gripped her pen tightly. She could feel the stares drilling into her back.
At break, Mei struck again. Surrounded by admirers, she smirked and said loud enough for all to hear:
"Arisaka Yuna, the most beautiful girl in school… in love with a dead boy. How tragic."
Her followers laughed.
Yuna turned, her English sharp, cold:
"Better a dead boy than a shallow one."
The laughter froze. Mei's smile cracked.
But the boys saw opportunity. One leaned in, handsome and smug.
"Yuna, you don't have to waste yourself on a ghost. I can give you everything. Money, power, anything you want."
Another added, "Yeah — what can Kurogane do for you? He's gone."
For a moment, Yuna's mask slipped. Pain flickered in her eyes. She gathered her books, left the room, and the whispers followed her like a storm.
Above, unseen, Renji lingered in the shadows of the ceiling. His chest tightened at her humiliation. His claws dug into the beam, wood cracking silently.
「俺が守る…」 he whispered in Japanese.
("I'll protect her…")
But he couldn't step forward. Not yet.
Chapter Eight: Beast of Ueno
That night, Ueno Park burned.
The escaped monster lumbered through the streets — a massive chimera from forgotten myths. Its lion head roared fire, wings shredded air, serpent tail snapping through cars.
Police sirens blared uselessly. Civilians screamed, fleeing into the subway tunnels.
On the rooftop of a department store, Renji crouched, invisible in the rain. His heart pounded. His body shook between fear and thrill.
「これが…怪物か.」
("So this is… a monster.")
The beast crushed a patrol car beneath its claws. Flames erupted.
Renji's lips curled into a grin.
「食えるかもしれないな…」
("Maybe I can eat this one…")
He leapt.
His body flickered into sight midair — claws extended, eyes glowing like fireflies in the storm. He slammed onto the beast's back, ripping into its scaled flesh. Black ichor sprayed across the streets.
The chimera roared, bucking wildly, smashing into buildings. Glass shattered. Neon signs exploded.
Renji clung like a demon, tearing deeper, his laughter guttural, echoing in Japanese:
「もっと暴れろ!」
("Struggle more!")
The battle turned the district into chaos — fire, blood, and shadows colliding under the Tokyo sky.
And from far away, in her high-rise window, Yuna saw a flicker of the impossible: a glowing figure wrestling a monster in the rain.
Her breath caught.
"…Renji?"
Chapter Nine: The Trap
By Monday, the whispers had turned into a storm. Yuna had become both a legend and a joke.
"She's the ghost's girlfriend."
"Beautiful but crazy."
"She's ruined herself."
In the gym, during lunch, Mei decided it was time to finish her.
She stood before a crowd of students, her perfect smile gleaming. "Everyone, let's hear it from Yuna herself!" Mei called in English. "If she really loves that dead boy — prove it!"
Laughter rippled through the crowd. A few boys whistled.
Yuna froze in the doorway, her tray in her hands. The gym echoed with taunts:
"Kiss the desk where he sat!"
"Write him a love letter!"
"Say you'd sleep with a ghost!"
Her cheeks burned. Her chest tightened. She wanted to scream — but instead, she stood tall, defiance burning in her eyes.
"I don't need to prove anything to you," Yuna said coldly. "My feelings are mine. Not yours."
The crowd gasped. Mei's smile faltered. The boys booed.
But Yuna turned and walked away, her back straight, her heart trembling.
And above the gym's rafters, invisible eyes followed her.
Renji crouched in the shadows, his claws digging into the steel beams. His body shimmered in and out of view, rage boiling inside him.
「くだらねぇ奴らだ…」 he muttered in Japanese, his voice low, dangerous.
("Pathetic trash…")