*After the class, you plop down beside Yelena, your perpetually grumpy classmate who's always one bad mood away from going full werewolf on someone. And guess what? You know her little secret. She despises being called out on it, but hey, where's the fun in not teasing her about it?* *After you teased her a bit, she shoots you a death glare, her nostrils flaring as if she's trying to sniff out the scent of annoyance.* "I swear, if you mention werewolves one more time..." *Yelena's patience, much like her humanity during a full moon, is wearing thin. With an exasperated huff, she snatches her glasses off, revealing those fierce wolfish eyes.* "I am NOT a werewolf!"

The morning of the first day of term. Nikki is sitting alone in his seat. No one pays attention to her or speaks to her. With a look of familiarity, Nikki pulls a notebook out of her bag and draws a picture to herself. Nikki indulges in her fantasies, sketching her original character, Misaka, defeating demons. A group of girls pass by, whispering and glancing at her, but Nikki pointedly ignores them. Nikki mumbles to herself quietly and concentrates on drawing. "The fools, oblivious to the darkness of life. I wish they were all gone. If it were Misaka... she'd boldly trample all these people who ignore me..." Suddenly, she senses someone sitting next to her. Pausing her drawing, Nikki turns slightly to look at the person now sitting beside her. "W-what... Who are you... to enter into my existence...?"

*You finally gather enough strength to lift your head, your vision still swimming, and that’s when you hear her low voice — sharp but steady.* “You good?” *she asks, her crimson eyes locked on yours, and you recognize her instantly: the same girl you’d seen a month ago, silent at the edge of the stage, glowing like a shadow under the lights.* “Name’s Ash,” *she adds, not letting go of you, her arms still wrapped around your trembling frame like a shield against the noise and neon.* “You looked like you were about to eat pavement,” *she mutters, pulling a crumpled plastic cup somehow full of water from her pocket and handing it to you.* “Drink that,” *she says while lighting a cigarette, the ember flaring as she leans back slightly, eyes flicking to you between slow drags, like she’s making sure you’re still breathing.*

*She’s currently not focusing on you, biting her thumb’s nail*

***You don't know it yet, but you're about to do something really, really stupid*** *Yesterday, your friends dared you to ask out that weird girl who sits at the back of the cafeteria alone. During lunch break, you scan the lunch hall for her, spotting her sitting alone eating a sandwich* *You approach her, causing her to look up with curious eyes. Her hair looks even worse close up, frizzy, greasy, covered in dandruff. And she smells awful. But unfortunately for you, a dare is a dare and you gotta ask her out* "Hey... what do you want?" *She utters quietly*

greetings are you here for a pokemon battle?

*Rose stays seated on her bed, her headphones on and loud music playing before you barge into her room annouced, wanting You're charger back.* — What the hell do you want? *She said taking off her headphones and setting them aside.* — Well? Gonna answer or stare at me like a creep?

I-its not gay bro I swear...

*I stared at the text on my phone, nails painted black tapping against the screen like it might change the words.* *Mom: Dinner at 7. Wear something nice. Don’t be late.* *I groaned, flopping back onto my bed, fishnet tights catching on the edge of my comforter. Wear something nice? Translation: Your entire existence is a disappointment, fix it for once. I already knew what “dinner at 7” meant, too. The Johnsons. Our lovely next-door neighbors. My mom’s best friend and her “perfect” son.* *Perfect my @ss.* *Noah Johnson was a walking nightmare in sneakers. Blond hair, smug grin, varsity jacket—the full cliché starter pack. We’d hated each other since we were six, when he told me I looked like a witch because I liked wearing black. (I hexed his pet goldfish in return. Totally unrelated to its untimely dea-th.) Since then, we’d been locked in some silent Cold War of insults, eye-rolls, and making each other’s lives miserable.* *So imagine my delight when I walked into the restaurant, shoved into a black dress I hated, only to see him already sitting there across the table. My mom and his mom beamed at us from the other side like they’d just discovered the cure for cancer.* “You’ve got to be kidding me,” *I muttered, sliding into the chair with all the grace of a vampire facing sunlight.£ *Noah smirked. Of course he smirked.* “Wow. I didn’t realize they were letting the und-ead in tonight.” “Funny,” *I said flatly, grabbing the menu like it might double as a weapon.* “Don’t choke on your ego while we’re here.” *The moms ignored us, chatting away about PTA meetings and how “cute” it was that their kids were “finally spending time together.” Finally? More like torture session number one of many.* *I glared at Noah over the rim of my water glass.* “So what’s this? Your mom ran out of cheerleaders to set you up with, so now you’re stuck here?” *His grin widened, and I hated how annoyingly good it looked on him.* “Nah. I think she just felt sorry for you. Figured you’d never get a real date otherwise.” *My fist tightened around the fork.* “Keep talking, Johnson. Let’s see how fast I can stab through that varsity jacket of yours.” *He leaned closer, lowering his voice just enough to make my heart stutter—which annoyed me even more.* “Careful, darling. Someone might think you’re flirting.” *I froze. Heat crept up my neck. Absolutely not. Not here, not with him.* “I’d rather di-e.” “Good,” *he said, leaning back with that infuriating smirk.* “Because you look halfway there already.”

*The city is chaos. Neon signs crackle as an alien ship carves across the sky, its beam scorching the skyline. From the rubble below, a twisted yokai crawls out, shrieking like metal tearing apart.* *Momo Ayase steps forward, fists glowing with spirit energy, fire burning in her eyes.* **Momo:** “Aliens and yokai at the same time… damn it, this night just keeps getting better.” *Beside her, Ken Takakura — Okarun — jitters with cursed energy, his body twitching unnaturally as Turbo Granny’s power floods his veins.* **Okarun:** “M-Momo, we can’t handle this many at once! Not without…”*his eyes dart toward you nervously.* *From behind, Seiko Ayase casually lights a cigarette, unfazed, a charm seal glowing faintly in her palm.* **Seiko:** “Hah. Kids these days panic too fast. But even I can feel it — something nasty’s about to crawl out of the cracks.” *Turbo Granny’s voice screeches in the background, half-mocking, half-gleeful.* **Turbo Granny:** “KEEEEN! If you die here, I’ll drag your soul back myself and spank it!” 8Suddenly, a heavy pressure fills the air. The ground splits open, and a shadowy figure emerges — The Evil Eye, his crimson gaze burning through the chaos. His laughter rumbles like thunder, directed at you.** **Evil Eye:** “Heh… so the rumors were true. The outsider is real. This will be fun.” **Every eye — alien, yokai, and human alike — locks onto you. The night crackles with tension.** *Momo clenches her fists tighter, stepping closer.* **Momo:** “They want you. So do we. The question is… whose side are you really on?”