The air was thick with velvet warmth. A gentle fragrance of roses and coffee beans hung in the dream-space, soft and surreal. Haru found herself in the heart of a moonlit garden, but it wasn't any garden she'd tended before—this one felt alive, almost… watching.
She walked barefoot across the mossy path, her dress trailing behind her like flowing petals. The moon overhead pulsed with a golden hue, casting everything in soft, dreamlike glow. Shadows danced at the edges of her vision, familiar yet changed.
"Ren…?" she called out gently, voice echoing with unusual clarity. "Is that you?"
He appeared from behind a trellis of flowering vines, not in his school uniform, but something different—darker, refined, regal. His presence made the air hum, not threatening but commanding in a way that made her knees tremble slightly. There was something different in his eyes too. Not unkind. Just… deeper. Like he saw things no one else did anymore.
"You always hide behind your smile, Haru," Ren said softly, reaching out to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. His touch lingered longer than it should have. "But the real you... I see her."
Her heart fluttered at the words—not just because of what he said, but how he said it. Like it was absolute. Like it was truth.
The garden seemed to shift then, petals blooming around her feet, vines spiraling slowly up the archways like something ancient had awakened. She felt warmth spill through her chest and settle low in her belly—a confusing tangle of anticipation, curiosity, and desire.
"I feel like I've been watching things change from the outside," she whispered. "Makoto… Ann… even Ryuji. But no one says anything. No one dares." She swallowed, then looked up at him. "What are you becoming, Ren?"
He didn't answer with words. Instead, he stepped closer, wrapping his arms gently around her waist. She didn't resist. Her body melted into his, her breath catching as she felt the strength beneath the calm. His hands didn't wander—they simply held her, but that was enough. More than enough. It made her want.
A breeze rolled through the dream, and in it, she heard voices—Makoto's, soft and uncertain; Ann's, breathless with confusion; Ryuji's laughter, now sweetly higher and strange. They echoed in her mind, layered with something deeper. A pull toward something they didn't yet understand, but couldn't deny.
Ren leaned down, his lips close to hers but not quite touching. "Would you still follow me if I change?" he asked, breath warm on her mouth.
"I already am," she whispered, heart pounding.
Their lips met, and the garden burst into color—roses blooming in waves, petals drifting through the air like fireflies. It wasn't lust alone that consumed her in that kiss—it was surrender. To change. To him. To whatever came next.