---
A Glimpse of Normal
The day began… with chaos.
"Raiden-kun! Can you help carry this?" Ino called, waving a box of stage props over her head.
Raiden blinked.
"We have a school festival," Hinata explained softly, standing nearby in a bunny-eared apron. "Um… you forgot again, didn't you?"
Raiden looked at the glitter-covered gym.
Yes. He absolutely forgot.
Shiro grinned, arm slung around Raiden's neck. "Come on, you genius! Even you can't escape this one. You're our play's male lead."
"…What play?" Raiden asked.
Shiro held up a sign.
"Sleeping Beauty: Konoha Academy Edition!"
Raiden stared at it.
"You're the prince," Ino added smugly. "Hinata's the princess."
"I—I'm the what?!" Hinata gasped, blushing so hard her Byakugan nearly activated.
Raiden sighed. "Kill me."
---
Whispers in the Hall
But even as he endured costume fittings and script readings, Raiden's mind remained sharp.
The system had given him a location ping—a new student had enrolled that week. Unregistered chakra signature. Hidden identity.
> Subject One Possible Match: AYAKA
Status: Unknown
Location: Class 2-A
He made his move at lunch.
There, beneath a tree near the river, sat a girl with golden-amber eyes and silver hair tied in twin braids. She fed crumbs to birds, smiling faintly, but her aura… was eerily familiar.
He sat beside her without a word.
She didn't flinch.
"I know what you are," she whispered without looking.
Raiden raised a brow. "Then you're not hiding very well."
Ayaka turned her head.
Her smile never reached her eyes. "Did they tell you we were experiments? Or did you find out the hard way like me?"
Raiden didn't answer.
She leaned closer. "I see the same fracture in you that I see in the mirror."
---
Performance and Pressure
That night, the festival began. Stalls lined the courtyard. Fireworks soared. Music played.
The play went on… barely.
Raiden stood onstage in a frilly cape, reading lines with perfect deadpan.
"I have crossed mountains to awaken you, dear princess," he said flatly.
Hinata lay on a fake bed, her blush visible from space.
Someone in the crowd whispered, "Why is this so hot and awkward at the same time?!"
Even Ayaka watched from the shadows, lips twitching in amusement.
Ino pouted backstage. "She's watching him already? Tch."
---
Backstage Confrontation
After the curtain fell, Raiden approached Ayaka behind the school building.
She waited, arms folded. "So what now? Going to report me?"
"No," he said simply. "I want to know if you're still dangerous."
Ayaka's amber eyes flashed. "I don't know. Maybe I am."
Raiden stepped forward. "Then fight me. If you lose, you answer my questions."
"…And if I win?"
"You get a free shot at the truth. About me."
She grinned. "Deal."
---
To Be Continued…
In the next chapter, Raiden and Ayaka battle—silently, secretly—beneath the school's training fields, where they unleash suppressed bloodline abilities. But watching from above… someone else has taken notice.