A/N: Hello people of the internet!!! I'm back for a small update (finally) with a Short Story and chapter 16 rewrite!
Oh! By the way did you guys saw the new PV of Fable of Stars part 2?
Damn!!! that 'war' thing they hinted is also something I plan to do!!
I even already have that draft and the ending written! ahahaha
I got excited on that specially when Genshin flash The Klee (Alice) in Nod Krai.
anyways, I just want to share that. So thanks for stopping by!
J is out!
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The school courtyard buzzed with life.
Students were scattered around eating lunch under cherry trees, chatting in small groups, or just doing their own thing. But Noah Alden, unusually, sat alone at the far end of the garden wall, near the koi pond.
A book opened in his hands, not a textbook, but an old volume of classical philosophy he'd found at a secondhand stall. The sunlight warmed his face, and the breeze played gently with his hair.
A rare peaceful moment.
Then came a Tap. Step. Flutter.
Hanabi Marionette.
Top of the class. Always elegant. And now, casually sitting beside him like this was part of her routine.
"Good afternoon, Star Prince," she greeted with that familiar dramatic lilt and pulled out a small container of tea. "The koi told me you're in deep thought again."
Noah didn't look up.
"They're surprisingly chatty," he said, flipping the page without missing a beat.
Hanabi chuckled under her breath. "A little cold aren't we? Relax I didn't come to stir anything up. Just bringing peace, jasmine tea, and maybe... a bit of company."
A pause.
Then Noah said, "Then stay as long as you'd like."
She arched her brow. "That's generous of you."
He glanced her way. "And you're being surprisingly straightforward."
Hanabi leaned back, eyes half-lidded. "Perhaps I am. After all, it's a rare moment when you're not surrounded by your usual group. I figured I'd take the chance to talk with you one-on-one."
"Hmph. So testing me with a power suit wasn't enough, Miss Fool?" Noah replied, still focused on the book in his hands.
"My~ Whatever gave you the idea I was behind that?" she asked, tilting her head.
"I didn't. But your answer just confirmed it," Noah said.
"…Hmm?" Hanabi blinked, brows furrowing. "Pretty sure I didn't say anything that would give away my involvement."
Noah smirks as he flips the page. "You just did it."
Hanabi's eyes widened, then she burst into laughter.
"Ahaha! That was sloppy of me! I didn't think you'd actually trick me into admiting it." As her laughter settled, she looked at Noah with a gleam of interest. "You've just made me more and more interested in you, Sir Jedi."
"…As long as you stop setting up those bizarre situations around me, we'll get along fine, Miss Fool." Noah's voice was flat, his expression tired. "They are already calling me 'Magnet' for all the trouble happening around me."
"We'll see about that, Star Prince~." She flashed a teasing smile.
Noah sighed, already expecting more chaos. Hanabi hummed a tune as she took a slow sip of her tea.
"…You don't seem bothered hiding your true nature around me."
"What's the point? You'd see through it anyway," Hanabi replied. "You catch every fallacy the moment I speak. You figured me out just by walking past each other~."
He didn't answer.
Not right away.
Instead, he closed his book and let it rest on his lap.
"And yet you still went out of your way to cross paths and sit next to me."
Hanabi turned toward him with a soft, playful smile.
"Because I've been curious about you for a long time. And I wanted you to finally notice me~."
Noah glanced at her, eyes narrowing just a bit.
"It might be love at first sight?" Her tone was light, teasing. "Or maybe it's just me being drawn to someone who's actually touched the stars~."
A pause.
"That's… definitely one of the weirdest confessions I've ever heard," he said with a straight face, a twitch of disbelief in his cheek.
"Really? Great then! I aim to impress~" she replied proudly.
The bell rang in the distance.
Hanabi stood first, brushing off her skirt with an exaggerated flair. "Shall we, Star Prince?" she asked, offering her hand with a grin.
Noah sighed but took it without complaint.
Men and their weakness for dangerous flowers, Noah thought.
She twirled once with a playful skip. "This was the best day of my life~."
Noah gave her a wry look. "Good for you, then."
"Yes~ and hopefully not the last," she said brightly.
Together, they walked back toward the school building, neither said much, but it wasn't awkward, just felt... easy. Like maybe this was the start of something strange, chaotic but not unwelcome.