The sun was setting outside Valewood Academy, casting the campus in a warm, orange glow. Inside their new dorm room, Yukio, Asiha, Alya, and Kai were lounging around after a long day of classes. The tension of the past few days hung in the air, but they were trying to ignore it. After all, what could they do besides wait for the next bit of drama to find them?
Kai, as usual, was sprawled on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. "Man, today was brutal. I'm pretty sure that history professor hates me."
Yukio, sitting on the floor with his back against the bed, smirked. "You didn't exactly win her over when you called the lesson on magical wars 'boring.'"
"I mean, come on!" Kai threw his hands up. "We've been hearing about those battles since we were kids. At this point, they should just hand out the answers to the test. We all know it by heart!"
Alya, who was perched on the edge of her bed, shot him a sideways glance. "That might be because most of us actually pay attention in class."
Kai grinned. "Oh, I pay attention. Just not to the boring stuff."
"Like what?" Asiha asked, barely looking up from the book she was reading. She'd settled comfortably on the chair near the window, clearly trying to block out the ridiculousness of her friends.
Kai's grin widened. "Like... certain aesthetic views."
Yukio snorted. "Aesthetic views? Like the cafeteria?" Kai says further adding "No, genius. Like the girls in class," Kai shot back, winking.
Alya rolled her eyes so hard it looked like they might pop out of her head. "You're such a perv."
Kai sat up, leaning over with a dramatic sigh. "What? Just appreciating beauty in its natural form. It's a gift, really."
Before Alya could retort, Yukio burst out laughing. "Yeah, right. The only beauty you're appreciating is the bottom of your lunch tray."
"Hey!" Kai protested, pretending to be offended. "That's low, man. My charm is totally top-tier."
Alya snorted. "Sure, if by charm you mean being obnoxious."
Kai's eyes gleamed mischievously as he leaned closer to Alya, waggling his eyebrows. "Admit it, Alya. Deep down, you know you love it."
Alya shot him a glare but couldn't hide the smirk creeping onto her lips. "Love it? I can barely tolerate it."
Kai pretended to clutch his chest, falling back onto the bed. "Ouch! You wound me, Alya. Right in the heart."
Yukio couldn't hold back his laughter. Asiha, still reading, shook her head with a small smile playing on her lips. "You two should just get married already."
Alya looked horrified, while Kai's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. "You know, that's not a bad idea. What do you say, Alya?"
Alya scoffed. "In your dreams, Kai."
"You're always in my dreams, babe," Kai replied with a wink.
Yukio rolled his eyes at the exchange. "Alright, that's enough from you, Romeo. Focus before Alya throws something at your head."
"Please, she loves me too much to do that," Kai said, turning to grin at Alya.
In that exact moment, Kai shifted slightly on the bed to get more comfortable, but as he did, his arm caught the edge of Alya's blanket, which was precariously perched on the edge of her bed. Before anyone could react, the blanket slipped off, catching Alya off guard. She reached to grab it, but in doing so, she lost her balance and, with a surprised yelp, fell forward—right into Kai's lap.
For a second, there was dead silence as everyone processed what had just happened. Alya, now sitting awkwardly on Kai's lap, blinked in confusion, her face quickly turning bright red.
"Uh... Alya," Kai said, trying to suppress a grin, "I didn't know you felt this way about me."
Alya's face went from red to crimson in a heartbeat. "WHAT?! I—NO—THIS ISN'T—" She quickly scrambled to get off, but in her panic, her foot slipped, and she fell right back into him again.
This time, Yukio couldn't hold it in. He burst into uncontrollable laughter, clutching his stomach as he doubled over. "Oh my god, this is gold!"
Asiha's eyes widened in amusement, though she remained composed. "Looks like you two are getting really close," she said with a smirk.
Alya, now completely flustered, finally managed to untangle herself and stand up, her face burning. "SHUT UP! IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!"
Kai, ever the opportunist, leaned back with a grin. "Accident or destiny? You decide."
"I'll DESTINY your face with my fist!" Alya threatened, fists clenched.
Kai just grinned wider. "I think you're blushing, Alya."
She grabbed a pillow and threw it at him with all her might. "SHUT UP!"
The pillow smacked Kai square in the face, but instead of being mad, he just laughed harder. "Feisty, I like it."
Yukio, still laughing, wiped away a tear. "You two are ridiculous."
Asiha leaned back in her chair, shaking her head but smiling. "Well, at least this dorm isn't boring."
Alya, still red, pointed a finger at Kai. "Next time, keep your blanket-stealing arms to yourself!"
Kai raised his hands in surrender, though the grin never left his face. "Hey, you're the one who keeps falling for me."
Yukio couldn't breathe from laughing so hard. "Kai, you've got some serious luck, man. I don't know how you manage to survive around Alya."
Alya glared at Yukio. "You're next if you keep laughing."
"I'm sorry," Yukio wheezed, "but that was too good."
As the laughter died down, the tension from earlier finally started to fade. It felt good to laugh, to joke around like nothing was wrong. For a brief moment, they were just four friends hanging out, not worrying about the chaos that loomed over them.
But it didn't last.
Just as the room settled into a comfortable silence, Yukio's phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket, expecting a text from one of his classmates. Instead, it was an alert from the academy's internal messaging system.
Yukio frowned, opening the message. His eyes quickly scanned the words, and his expression darkened.
"What is it?" Asiha asked, noticing the shift in his mood.
Yukio didn't answer at first, his jaw clenching as he stared at the message.
"Yukio?" Kai asked, sitting up now, his playful demeanor fading. "What's going on?"
Yukio finally looked up, his voice tense. "It's Dorian. He's spreading rumors."
Alya's eyes narrowed. "What kind of rumors?"
Yukio handed her the phone, and she quickly read the message aloud. "Apparently, Dorian's telling everyone that you've been... 'enchanted' by Asiha. That she's using some kind of magic to control you."
Asiha's face paled. "What?!"
Kai slammed his fist into the mattress. "That bastard! He's trying to turn everyone against you guys."
Yukio ran a hand through his hair, frustration bubbling to the surface. "He's trying to make me look weak. Like I'm not in control of myself. And if enough people believe it... they might start thinking Asiha is dangerous."
Alya shook her head, anger flashing in her eyes. "He's planting the idea that you've been enslaved or something. That's a dangerous rumor."
Asiha stood up, her hands trembling slightly. "I knew Dorian was up to something, but this... he's trying to ruin us."
Kai gritted his teeth. "Well, I'm not going to sit back and let that happen. We need to confront him. Call him out for the liar he is."
Yukio frowned, shaking his head. "No. That's what he wants. If we confront him head-on, we'll look defensive. Like we've got something to hide."
Alya crossed her arms, thinking carefully. "So, what do we do? Just let him keep spreading lies?"
"No," Yukio said firmly. "We need to get ahead of this. If we act like the rumors don't bother us, people will eventually stop believing him. But we can't let him push us around either. We have to be smart about it."
Asiha nodded, regaining her composure. "We have to stick together. If we look united, no one will believe Dorian's lies."
Kai, though still frustrated, nodded. "Alright. But if he steps out of line again, I'm not going to hold back."
Alya sighed, rubbing her temples. "This just keeps getting more complicated."
Yukio nodded grimly. "Yeah. But we've dealt with worse. We'll figure this out."
As the tension settled back over the room, Yukio couldn't shake the feeling that this was just the beginning. Dorian wasn't going to stop until he got what he wanted. And that meant more trouble was coming their way.
But as he looked around at his friends—Kai, Alya, and Asiha—he knew one thing for sure.
They weren't going down without a fight.