He suddenly jerked his hand away from her, covering the gaping wound with what remained of his sleeve.

"It's just a graze," he said in monotone, standing up and heading for his room. Reya stood in front of him and blocked his way.

"How did this happen?" She continued, trying to recognise the burn symbol underneath the blood.

"None of your business," he tried to move past her, but Reya wouldn't let him go.

"Who did this to you? Hey, you're bleeding all over the floor—"

"— Hey," he interrupted her, stepping closer to her. Reya didn't falter but took the opportunity to catch a glimpse at the symbol on his arm.

A… a star?

"I didn't know you were so nosy. Why don't you go prance off to an all-girls school instead of trying to seduce the boys here?"

She twitched, and clenched her teeth. That was it. Reya had her limits. She was not taking that.

"Oh? Is that what it seems like?" Reya crossed her arms, her voice dangerously soft, "that I'm trying to seduce you?"

The boy flinched a bit as she stepped closer to him, staring him in the eyes. She noticed him back away a bit, but she grabbed his tie and pulled him closer to her.

"What are you—?"

"Do you think I sacrificed everything to come here and seduce you? Do you think that I risked not only my life, but the lives of everyone I loved, to come here and play around? Is that what you think!?"

He seemed surprised at her sudden outburst. He was about to speak, but she shut him up. Her eyes wandered to his name tag, and she smirked.

"Ray Han, hm? You must be Ryou's brother. I see the brattiness is in the genes," she scoffed, then pulled him closer to her, gripping tighter onto his tie, "I can choke you to death right here and now and no one will suspect me, right? Because I'm a girl."

If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

"Reya… you’re Reya?" He said suddenly, his gaze immediately flashing to her unusual eyes. This caused her to flinch, and she let go of him and stepped back.

"This is what I get for showing some empathy? You know what, forget it. Bleed to death for all I care," she threw her arms up in the air in frustration before pushing past him, and storming to retreat in her room.

***

The next day at school, last night's drama had occupied her so deeply that she completely forgot about her basketball match with Ryou. It wasn't until she saw him at the basketball court at lunch, waiting for her, when she realised she hadn't even changed into her gym clothes.

"Sorry I'm late. I was kind of occupied," she ran up to him a few minutes later, wearing track pants and a short-sleeved sweatshirt.

He looked her up and down, as if he couldn't believe what she was wearing, before leaving his spot on the pole and picking up the basketball.

"Ready to get crushed?" He said with a smirk, twirling the basketball on his fingertips, "it's not too late to forfeit, you know."

She noticed that a crowd had gathered, and the stands that were reserved for actual matches were now overflowing with spectators.

"Looks like you told the whole school. Quite petty to make them watch a game against a girl, don't you think?" Reya said, just a tinge of sarcasm noticeable in her tone. Ryou made a face, before rolling his eyes.

"Let's see if you can even play, Reya Aki."

The whistle blew to signal the start of the match, and Reya stole the ball off Ryou in less than five seconds. He looked surprised, but quickly regained his composure, and ran alongside Reya as she dribbled the ball with precision.

Her eyes locked on his every move, she reached the edge of the court and threw the ball with one hand, guiding it with the other. The clink of the metal chains dangling from the hoop signified her point.

Ryou looked shocked. She gave him a slight smirk before the game continued.

"Looks like I know how to play."

The crowd erupted in cheer, and the boys had now split into two sides; one side rooting for Reya, who had scored the second point, and the other encouraging Ryou to crush her, who had finally scored one point.

Two to one, with three minutes on the clock. Every last dribble, bounce, shot… every move mattered. Reya breathed in deeply. This was her chance to prove that she belonged here, in Hikari Academy.

Ryou was beginning to up his game now, it seemed, as he manoeuvred through Reya's defence, dribbling the ball effortlessly as he made his way towards the hoop. With a quick spin move, he evaded Reya's reach and shot the ball, the satisfying sound of the ball hitting the backboard followed by the clink of the chains as it dropped through the net.

Time was running out. Reya and Ryou traded basket for basket, neither of them budging an inch.

Ten seconds. The clock was ticking, and Reya could almost hear the ticking as the seconds passed by. She made a swift move, dodging Ryou's attempt to steal the ball, and drove towards the hoop with lightning speed.

This one's for you, Lin.

With a leap, she launched the ball towards the basket, the sound of the ball swishing through the net echoing across the court.

The buzzer signified the end of the game, and Reya hunched over, huffing as she tried to catch her breath. Ryou leaned on the basketball pole, wiping sweat off his forehead. The cheer of the crowd was deafening. She glanced at the scoreboard and let out a frustrated sigh.

It was a tie.