Moonlit Confessions
Eri traced the jagged horn curving from Nero's temple. "You spared Ayumi...? hehe I thought worse.... Anyways you did good cuz killing won't resolve Anything ."
Nero caught her hand, pressing it against the scar over his heart. "I spare ghosts. The girl I knew died with this dagger." His thumb brushed her knuckles. "Only one woman holds my heart now."
Eri's breath hitched as Nero's soul-voice whispered through their bond:
"I love you, Eri. More than starlight loves the void."
She flushed crimson. "Cheater! Reading my thoughts before I speak!"
"Says the thief who stole my soul," he grinned, pinning her playfully.
Scene: The Wanderer's Debut
Nero's disguise was flawless – silver hair dyed obsidian, horns concealed by illusion, but his eyes... those cosmic-blue depths remained. He offered Eri his arm. "Ready, partner?"
Whispers trailed them through academy halls:
"Who's that with Eri-sama?"
"Like moonlight and shadow..."
"He's looking at her like she hung the stars!"
Ayumi dropped her tome with a crash the moment they entered. "NERO!"
Twenty heads swiveled. Nero tilted his head, voice smooth as polished ice: "My name is Wanderer. Though I'm flattered to be confused with a... martyr."
The professor's rebuke was sharp: "Princess Ayumi! Control your hysterics!"
Scene: Ghosts at the Desk
Nero slid into the seat beside Saki – the girl whose notebooks brimmed with his old equations.
"Saki-san," he murmured, placing a crystallized blue flame on her desk – his signature gift to study partners. "Let's grow together."
Her breath caught. No one but Nero ever... She shook the memory away. "How do you know my name?"
"Rumors of a brilliant mind travel fast," he smiled, ignoring Ayumi's burning stare from across the room.
Afterclass Interlude
Saki cornered him by the sakura trees. "You and Eri... you move like two halves of one soul."
Nero plucked a falling petal. "We've walked through hellfire together. Bonds like that leave marks."
"And what marks do you carry, Wanderer?" Her gaze dropped to his wrists – where chain scars should have been.
Nero's illusion shimmered faintly. "The kind that teach you to treasure light." He vanished into shadows before she could probe deeper.