The swing creaked softly as Luna's feet dragged through the dirt, pushing herself back and forth in lazy arcs. The small playground was empty except for her and the human boy who'd walked her home through the rain yesterday—Hiro, he'd said his name was.
He sat on the swing beside her, his bruises from the beating he'd taken still visible on his pale skin—a purple bloom across his cheek, split lip scabbed over, scraped knuckles gripping the chain.
But he was smiling. He was always smiling.
"Why did you come to the Human District?" Hiro asked, his young voice curious rather than accusing.
Luna's ears drooped slightly. "I was just... curious about how it looked. Papa and I always visit the Demi-human District together, but..." She kicked at the dirt. "He never agreed to take me here."
Her tail curled around her waist—a self-comforting gesture she'd done since she was small enough to toddle.
"But now I know why," she finished quietly, her golden eyes distant and sad.
Hiro watched her for a moment, saw the weight of yesterday's cruelty still pressing on her small shoulders. The way adults looked at her. The boys who'd poured soda over her head. The fear in her voice when she'd whispered that she was from the Beast District, as if admitting it might make him hate her too.
He didn't like seeing her sad.
"How long are you going to stay here?" he asked suddenly.
Luna blinked, pulled from her thoughts. "Uhh... about an hour? Mama thinks I'm at the library in our district."
"Great!" Hiro jumped off his swing with the boundless energy of a seven-year-old. "Wait here!"
Before Luna could respond, he was running—sprinting across the playground toward the street, his small form disappearing around the corner.
"Wait—Hiro!" Luna called after him, but he was already gone.
She sat alone on the swing, pushing herself gently, her ears swiveling to track every sound. The playground felt bigger suddenly. Emptier.
More dangerous.
*CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP*
Birds sang overhead, oblivious.
Luna wrapped her tail tighter around herself and waited.
---
Footsteps.
Her ears perked up hopefully—but these were heavier. Multiple sets.
Two human boys, maybe nine or ten, walked past the playground. They paused when they saw her, their expressions shifting from curiosity to something uglier.
They changed direction, walking toward her.
Luna's heart hammered against her ribs. She stopped swinging.
"Hey, beast freak," the first kid sneered, his voice already carrying the practiced cruelty of someone who'd learned it from adults. "What are you doing in the Human District?"
"Get lost, you filthy animal," the second one added, stepping closer.
Luna's ears flattened. "I'm not filthy. Papa said I'm beautiful."
The words came out smaller than she'd intended, defensive rather than confident.
Both boys stopped. Stared.
"Huh?" The second kid's face twisted with mock outrage. "Did you just talk back to us?"
"I think," the first one said slowly, a cruel smile spreading across his face, "we should teach her a lesson."
Luna jumped off the swing, her instincts screaming *run run RUN*—
But they were faster.
Hands grabbed her arm. She stumbled, fell hard onto the wood chips, her palms scraping against the rough ground.
"No—wait—please—"
The first boy swung his backpack around, unzipping it. Inside: juice boxes, soda cans, a water bottle.
"Let's see if we can wash the stink off," he laughed.
The second boy grabbed a juice box, tore off the straw, and squeezed.
Cold, sticky liquid splashed across Luna's white fur.
"No! No no no—stop that—please!" Tears streamed down her face as they emptied container after container over her head. Juice. Soda. Water. It soaked into her fur, matted it down, made her shiver.
Their laughter surrounded her—high-pitched, delighted, cruel.
The sound would haunt her nightmares for years.
*SPLAT. SPLAT. SPLAT.*
More liquid. More laughter.
Luna curled into a ball, covering her ears, sobbing—
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!"
The voice cut through everything—young but furious, shaking with barely-controlled rage.
The boys turned.
Luna cracked open her eyes, tears blurring her vision.
Hiro stood at the edge of the playground, a plastic shopping bag dangling from one hand. His grey eyes—usually so gentle—burned with something fierce and protective.
"What?" The first kid scoffed, trying to sound tough. "We're just having a little fun—"
Hiro dropped the bag.
And charged.
What happened next was a blur—Hiro's small fists flying, connecting with faces and stomachs, the boys shouting in surprise and pain, wood chips scattering as they wrestled and fell.
Hiro was smaller. Younger. Already injured from yesterday.
But he fought like something wild and desperate, like someone who'd learned that sometimes violence was the only language bullies understood.
When it was over—thirty seconds that felt like thirty hours—both boys were on the ground, noses bleeding, crying.
Hiro stood over them, breathing hard, his reopened lip bleeding again.
"Apologize," he commanded, his voice cold in a way Luna had never heard before. "NOW."
"We're sorry!" the first boy sobbed. "We're sorry, please forgive us!"
"Get out of here."
They ran, stumbling over each other in their haste to escape.
Silence fell over the playground except for Luna's hitching breaths and Hiro's heavy breathing.
"Sorry I was late," Hiro said softly, turning to her. His expression transformed instantly—from fierce protector back to gentle friend. He extended his hand.
Luna took it, letting him pull her to her feet. She was sticky and wet and shaking, but his hand was warm and steady.
Hiro ran to retrieve the dropped shopping bag, then returned, rummaging through it with the excitement of a child on Christmas morning.
"I bought this for us!" He pulled out colorful packages and containers, spreading them on the nearby bench.
Luna stared, confused and overwhelmed. "What... what are these?"
"Oh!" Hiro picked up a small cup with a plastic lid. "This one is called ice cream—it's really sweet! And this—" He held up a bag. "—is chocolate chips, also sweet! Oh, and this is candy—my favorite!" He beamed at her, his split lip pulling but his smile undimmed.
Despite everything—the fear, the humiliation, the sticky juice matting her fur—Luna felt something warm bloom in her chest.
"You really love these things," she said, almost smiling.
"Of course!" Hiro replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. He opened the ice cream cup and handed her a small wooden spoon. "Here, try it!"
They sat together on the bench, Luna still damp and sticky, Hiro still bleeding and bruised, eating sweets in companionable silence.
Luna took a bite of ice cream. Cold. Sweet. Wonderful.
"This is really good," she whispered, her tail slowly beginning to wag despite everything.
Hiro turned to her, his expression suddenly serious.
"Hey."
"Hmm?"
"Let's make a promise," he said, holding out his pinky finger—she'd seen human children do this before, but never understood it. "I will always protect you. No matter what. Okay?"
Luna stared at his extended pinky, at his earnest grey eyes, at the blood on his lip from fighting for her, at the bruises he'd earned yesterday saving other Beast Folk children.
This boy who smiled through pain.
This boy who ran to buy her treats.
This boy who fought for her when no one else would.
Her heart did something strange—a flutter, a squeeze, a feeling she was too young to name but would carry forever.
*This*, she thought distantly, *is what love feels like.*
She wrapped her smallest finger around his, their promise sealed.
"I promise," Hiro said solemnly.
"I promise too," Luna whispered.
They sat there as the sun began to set, eating sweets and making promises they were too young to understand but too sincere to break.
The afternoon sun blazed through Hiro's bedroom window, turning the cramped space into a sauna. He sat hunched over his desk, pencil tapping an erratic rhythm against the wood as he stared at the math problems sprawled across his summer homework. Numbers blurred together. His hand cramped. The essay prompt for literature class might as well have been written in ancient Greek.
*Summer break*, he thought with a heavy sigh, *supposedly for resting.*
He'd been at this for three hours straight. Three hours of quadratic equations, historical analyses, and reading comprehension questions that seemed designed to extract maximum suffering from students who just wanted to enjoy their vacation.
His phone buzzed against the desk, screen lighting up with a notification. Hiro glanced at it—the group chat. He reached for the device, grateful for any excuse to step away from the homework that seemed to multiply every time he looked at it.
**THE PACK**
The chat name made him smile every time he saw it. Kaede had created it two weeks ago, declaring them an official friend group with the kind of enthusiasm that left no room for argument.
**YUKI :** "OMG YOU GUYS! Luna and I are going bikini shopping!
**KAEDE :** "YESSSS! Beach day tomorrow?!
**LUNA :** "I've never been to the beach before...
Hiro's eyebrows rose. Luna had never seen the ocean? The thought seemed impossible, yet he realized how little freedom beast folk truly had. When your very existence was controversial, when people looked at you with fear or hatred, simple pleasures like beach trips became luxuries.
**KAEDE :** "WHAT?! That's a CRIME! We're fixing this IMMEDIATELY!"
**YUKI :** "Hiro! You're coming, right?! "
Hiro looked back at his homework. The unfinished problems seemed to mock him. He had at least another two hours of work ahead, maybe three if he wanted to do the optional reading that would definitely be on the test when school started again.
But then there was Luna. Luna, who'd never felt ocean waves. Luna, who deserved to experience everything she'd been denied.
His fingers hovered over the keyboard.
**HIRO:** "I have a lot of homework to finish..."
The response was immediate.
**KAEDE :** "HOMEWORK CAN WAIT! BEACH CANNOT! "
**YUKI :** "Pleeeease? Luna really wants you there! "
A pause, then:
**LUNA :** "I-I mean... only if you're free! No pressure! "
Hiro could practically see her nervousness, the way her ears would flatten slightly, how her tail would curl around her legs when she felt self-conscious. The image made his chest warm.
He smiled—a real smile, not the polite ones he usually wore—and typed his response.
**HIRO:** "Alright. I can make time. What time tomorrow?"
**KAEDE :** "10 AM! Meet at the station! DON'T BE LATE! "
**YUKI :** "YAY! This is gonna be SO FUN! "
**LUNA :** "Looking forward to it... "
Hiro set his phone down, still smiling. The homework could wait. Some things were more important than equations and essays.
The shopping mall buzzed with weekend energy—families dragging overtired children, teenagers clustering in loud groups, the persistent hum of air conditioning fighting against the summer heat. Luna walked beside Yuki through the gleaming corridors, her ears swiveling to track the overwhelming assault of sounds and smells.
"Here!" Yuki grabbed her hand, pulling her toward a store that seemed to explode with color. Racks of swimwear in every hue imaginable lined the walls, from conservative one-pieces to bikinis that looked like they consisted of three strategically placed strings.
Luna's tail tucked slightly. "Yuki, I don't know about this..."
"Nonsense!" Yuki was already rifling through a rack with the efficiency of a seasoned shopper. She pulled out a bright pink bikini covered in ruffles that looked like it belonged on a cake. "What about THIS one?!"
"Isn't that a bit... much?" Luna eyed the garment with the same caution she'd give a suspicious street food vendor.
"You'd look ADORABLE!" Yuki insisted, holding it up against Luna's frame.
The sound of approaching footsteps preceded Kaede's arrival. She appeared from another aisle like a conquest-minded general, her arms laden with an impressive tower of swimwear in various styles and colors.
"I'm trying on ALL OF THESE!" She declared, dumping the entire collection onto the counter where a shop clerk stood.
The clerk, a tired-looking human woman in her thirties, stared at the pile. "That's... fourteen bikinis..."
"I know what I'm about!" Kaede said with absolute confidence.
Luna held up a simple navy one-piece she'd found, modest and practical. "Maybe I should just get something like this..."
Yuki gasped with the dramatic flair of someone witnessing a tragedy. "Luna! NO! This is your FIRST beach day! You need something that makes you feel CONFIDENT!"
Kaede abandoned her pile to join the intervention. "She's right! Besides, Hiro's gonna be there, you know~"
Heat flooded Luna's face, her white fur doing nothing to hide the blush coloring her cheeks. "T-that has nothing to do with—!"
"Oh, honey." Yuki's smile was knowing, almost maternal. "It has EVERYTHING to do with it."
Before Luna could protest further, Yuki pulled out a swimsuit from a different rack. She held it up with the reverence of someone presenting a holy relic.
It was a two-piece bikini in light blue with crisp white trim. The top was modest but elegantly cut, flattering without being revealing. The bottoms matched perfectly, decorated with delicate white snowflake patterns that would complement Luna's coloring beautifully. Most importantly, it had been specially designed with a tail accommodation—a feature that was rare enough in mainstream stores.
"This one," Yuki said softly. "THIS is the one."
Luna stared at it. The color reminded her of clear sky reflected in snow, of winter mornings when the world felt clean and new. It was beautiful in a way that made her chest tight.
"It's... actually really pretty..." she whispered.
"Try it on! TRY IT ON!" Kaede bounced on her heels, practically vibrating with excitement.
The changing room was a small cubicle with fluorescent lighting that hummed faintly. Luna stood before the mirror, turning slowly, barely recognizing herself.
The bikini fit perfectly. The light blue made her white fur seem to glow, highlighting the silver undertones. The cut emphasized her athletic build—the lean muscle she'd developed from years of surviving on streets and rooftops. Her tail swayed behind her, the snowflake pattern on the bottoms matching her natural markings.
She looked... good. Maybe even beautiful.
The realization terrified her.
"Luna?" Yuki's voice came from outside. "You okay in there?"
Luna took a breath and pushed aside the curtain.
Yuki and Kaede's eyes went wide simultaneously.
"Oh my god," Yuki whispered.
"Hiro's gonna die," Kaede added in the same hushed tone.
Luna's ears flattened. "Is it... okay?"
"Okay?!" Yuki seemed to snap out of her trance. "You look AMAZING!"
Kaede pulled out her phone with a mischievous grin. "I'm gonna take a picture and send it to Hiro RIGHT NOW—"
"NO! DON'T!" Luna lunged forward, her beast reflexes making her faster than Kaede expected.
They tumbled together in a laughing heap, wrestling for the phone while Yuki tried to separate them, her own laughter making her useless. The shop clerk watched with weary resignation as the three friends created chaos in the swimwear section.
Eventually, Luna won, clutching Kaede's phone triumphantly while sitting on the fox girl's back.
"Fine, fine!" Kaede laughed, tapping out. "I won't send it! But trust me, when he sees you tomorrow, he's gonna lose his mind."
Luna's tail wagged despite her embarrassment. "You really think so?"
Yuki and Kaede exchanged knowing looks.
"Honey," Yuki said gently, "we KNOW so."
The train station at ten in the morning was relatively quiet—the morning rush had passed, and the midday crowds hadn't yet arrived. Hiro stood on the platform, adjusting his backpack on his shoulders. He'd dressed simply: white t-shirt, comfortable shorts, sunglasses pushed up into his hair. The backpack contained towels, sunscreen, snacks, and a water bottle—everything the internet had told him was essential for a beach trip.
He checked his phone: 9:58 AM. Right on time.
"HIROOOO!"
He turned at the familiar shout. Kaede bounded across the platform, her orange bikini top visible beneath a sheer white cover-up that billowed behind her. Denim shorts and sandals completed the look, and she'd woven small artificial flowers through her fox ears. A oversized beach bag bounced against her hip.
"Ready for the BEST DAY EVER?!" She practically vibrated with enthusiasm.
Hiro smiled. "Where are—?"
"Morning, Hiro!" Yuki appeared from the station entrance, wearing a pink bikini under a flowing white sundress. A sun hat sat between her rabbit ears, and she carried a cooler that looked heavy.
"Morning, Yuki." Hiro nodded, then glanced around. "Where's Luna?"
Kaede's grin turned distinctly mischievous. "She's coming. She was nervous about her swimsuit."
"Nervous? Why—?" The question died in his throat.
Luna emerged from the station entrance, and the world seemed to narrow to just her.
She wore the light blue bikini beneath an open white cover-up that fluttered in the breeze. The morning sun caught her white fur, making it seem to glow with an almost ethereal light. Her tail swayed with her walking rhythm, and her hair—usually pulled back—flowed loose around her shoulders. Her wolf ears twitched nervously as she approached, and there was uncertainty in her amber eyes even as she smiled.
She looked breathtaking.
Hiro's brain short-circuited. His face heated, his heart hammered, and he found himself unable to look away even though he knew he should, knew he was staring like an idiot.
"He's BROKEN," Kaede whispered to Yuki, her voice carrying clearly in the quiet station.
"Completely," Yuki giggled.
Luna noticed his staring. Her ears flattened, tail curling slightly. "Is it... is it too much? Should I change—?"
"No." The word came out rougher than Hiro intended. He cleared his throat, finally finding his voice. "You look... beautiful."
Luna's tail immediately started wagging—a rapid back-and-forth motion she couldn't control. Pink colored her cheeks beneath the white fur. "Thank you..." she said quietly, the words barely audible over the station announcements.
"Alright, lovebirds!" Kaede clapped her hands together. "Train's here! LET'S GO!"
She physically pushed both of them toward the arriving train, Yuki following with barely contained laughter.
The train ride took forty minutes, carrying them from the city through gradually thinning suburbs until buildings gave way to coastal vegetation. Hiro sat beside Luna, acutely aware of every point where their shoulders brushed, every time her tail accidentally swept against his leg.
Kaede and Yuki sat across from them, maintaining a steady stream of chatter about beach plans, what games they'd play, whether the water would be cold. Luna listened quietly, occasionally contributing, but Hiro noticed how her gaze kept drifting to the window as the ocean came into view.
When they finally disembarked at the beach station, the salt air hit them immediately—crisp and clean, carrying the promise of water and freedom.
They walked down a sandy path, hearing the waves before seeing them. Then the beach opened up before them: white sand stretching in both directions, blue water extending to the horizon, gentle waves rolling toward shore with hypnotic regularity. Because it was a weekday, the beach was blissfully uncrowded—a few families in the distance, some elderly couples walking the waterline, but plenty of open space.
Luna stopped dead in her tracks.
Her eyes went wide, reflecting the vastness before her. Her ears stood straight up, and her tail began wagging so hard her whole body moved with it.
"It's..." Words seemed to fail her. "It's BEAUTIFUL!"
Then she was running, the beach bag falling from her shoulder as pure excitement overcame everything else. She ran across the sand—her beast agility making her faster than any human—and didn't stop until her feet hit the water's edge.
The first wave washed over her feet and she jumped back, laughing with surprise. "It's cold!"
But she immediately stepped forward again, letting the water rush around her ankles, staring out at the endless blue with wonder written across every line of her body.
Hiro watched from where he'd stopped with Kaede and Yuki, something warm and tight settling in his chest.
"Go on," Yuki said softly, nudging him. "Go be with her."
"I—" Hiro started.
"GO!" Kaede pushed him forward with both hands.
He stumbled a few steps, then walked steadily across the sand toward where Luna stood in the shallow water.
She was so focused on the ocean she didn't hear him approach until he was beside her.
"First time?" he asked, already knowing the answer.
She nodded, not taking her eyes from the horizon. "I've seen pictures but... this is different. It's so VAST." She spread her arms wide as if trying to encompass it all. "It makes you feel small. But not in a bad way. In a... peaceful way."
"I'm glad you're experiencing this," Hiro said quietly.
Luna turned to look at him, water lapping around her feet, sunlight painting her features. "I'm glad I'm experiencing it with YOU."
Their eyes met and held. The moment stretched between them, warm and heavy with unspoken things.
Then a wave crashed—bigger than the others—splashing them both with cold seawater.
"Cold!" Luna gasped, but immediately burst into laughter—pure, genuine, unrestrained joy that Hiro had never heard from her before.
The sound made his heart race faster than any danger ever had.
They swam for over an hour, the four friends spreading out in the shallow water. Kaede was predictably energetic, diving under waves, splashing anyone who came close, treating the ocean like her personal playground. Yuki stayed in the shallows, but her rabbit instincts gave her impressive jumping ability to clear incoming waves.
Luna was discovering that her beast nature made her a natural swimmer. Her movements were powerful and fluid, instincts guiding her through the water with surprising grace. She tested her limits, going deeper, letting waves lift her, learning the rhythm of the ocean.
Hiro stayed nearby, protective but not overbearing, letting her explore while remaining close enough to help if needed.
"Race you to the buoy!" Kaede suddenly shouted, pointing at a floating marker about fifty yards out.
"That's too far!" Yuki protested from her position in knee-deep water.
"For YOU maybe!" Kaede dove forward, swimming with determined strokes.
Luna's competitive instinct—the same one that had helped her survive street fights and territory disputes—kicked in immediately. "I'll race!"
She dove after Kaede, her powerful legs propelling her forward. Her wolf nature took over: strong, predatory, built for pursuit. She moved through the water like something wild and magnificent.
Hiro watched her pull ahead of Kaede, watched the strength in her movements, the joy on her face, and felt something profound shift in his chest.
"You're staring again," Yuki observed, floating nearby on her back.
"I know," Hiro admitted, not bothering to deny it.
"You've got it bad."
"I know that too."
Yuki smiled. "Good. She deserves someone who looks at her like that."
After swimming, Kaede declared it was time for beach volleyball. She'd packed an inflatable net in her impossibly large beach bag, and with Yuki's help, they set it up in the sand.
"Teams!" Kaede announced. "Me and Hiro versus Luna and Yuki!"
They divided, taking positions on opposite sides of the net. The game started casually enough, everyone still warming up, getting used to playing in sand.
But competitive natures quickly emerged.
Kaede dove for every ball like her life depended on it, sending up huge sprays of sand. Yuki surprised everyone with her jumping ability—those rabbit legs launched her surprisingly high for spikes and blocks. Luna's athletic build and beast strength made her hits powerful enough to sting when someone failed to dodge.
And Hiro... Hiro was distracted.
Every time Luna jumped for a spike, her form perfect and athletic, the bikini showing the graceful lines of her body, he found himself mesmerized. The way she moved, the joy on her face, the competitive fire in her eyes—it all combined into something that made it very hard to focus on the game.
The ball came sailing over the net—an easy return. Luna jumped for another spike, suspended in midair for a moment, sunlight catching her white fur, her expression fierce and focused and beautiful.
Hiro stared.
The ball hit him directly in the face.
*BONK!*
He stumbled backward, landing on his rear in the sand.
"HIRO! FOCUS!" Kaede shouted, though she was laughing too hard to sound genuinely angry.
"Sorry..." Hiro rubbed his nose, feeling heat creep up his neck.
Across the net, Yuki was giggling. "He's SO distracted by you!" she whispered to Luna, though her whisper carried across the court.
"Stop it!" Luna protested, but her tail wagged traitorously, and she couldn't suppress her smile.
The game continued with Hiro making a conscious effort to keep his eyes on the ball instead of on Luna. It mostly worked. Mostly.
By the time they called a truce—the score had become too complicated to track—the sun was high overhead and stomachs were growling. They set up under a large beach umbrella Kaede had also somehow fit in her bag, spreading towels and unpacking the cooler.
Lunch was a feast of convenience store treasures: onigiri with various fillings, cold watermelon slices, sports drinks, chips, and cookies that were slightly melted but still delicious. They ate with the unselfconscious hunger of people who'd been swimming and playing for hours.
"This is PERFECT!" Kaede declared around a mouthful of tuna onigiri.
"Agreed! Best summer day ever!" Yuki raised her can of melon soda in toast.
Luna swallowed her bite of watermelon, looking at each of them in turn. "Thank you all. For bringing me here." Her voice was soft but sincere. "I never thought I'd get to do something like this."
"Of course! You're part of the pack now!" Kaede reached over to ruffle the fur on Luna's head, making her ears flatten.
She raised her drink. "To friendship!"
"To friendship!" they chorused, clinking their various beverages together.
They sat in comfortable silence for a while, watching waves roll in, listening to distant seagulls, feeling the warmth of the sun and the coolness of the shade in equal measure.
Late afternoon bled into evening, the sun beginning its descent toward the horizon. Kaede and Yuki had mysteriously excused themselves—something about needing the bathroom, though their knowing looks suggested they were manufacturing alone time.
Hiro and Luna walked along the shoreline, waves lapping at their feet, leaving temporary footprints that the ocean slowly erased.
"Today was... perfect," Luna said softly, her gaze on the sunset-painted sky.
"It was," Hiro agreed.
"I never thought I'd experience something like this." She stopped walking, turning to face the ocean. "The ocean. Friends. You." She paused, gathering her thoughts. "A few months ago, I was alone. Scared. Hated by almost everyone who saw me."
She turned to look at Hiro, and he saw the emotion swimming in her amber eyes.
"Now I have people who care about me. Who see ME. Not just what I am."
Hiro stepped closer. "You deserve all of that. And more."
Luna's eyes grew suspiciously bright, unshed tears catching the sunset light. "Hiro... I—"
"Get out of here, beast!"
The shout came from down the beach. Both Hiro and Luna turned sharply.
About thirty yards away, a group of five teenage boys—humans, probably sixteen or seventeen—had surrounded someone smaller. A beast folk child, no more than ten years old, with tabby cat features and tear-streaked fur.
"I just wanted to play in the sand..." the child sobbed.
One of the teenagers—tall with a cruel smirk—pushed the child, who stumbled and fell. "This is a HUMAN beach! Go back to your slum!"
Luna's entire body went rigid. Her ears flattened against her skull, lips pulling back from her teeth in a snarl. "Those—!"
She was already running before Hiro could respond, her beast speed carrying her across the sand in seconds. Hiro followed, his own anger building with every step.
Luna reached them first, putting herself between the teenagers and the fallen child. She stood at her full height, shoulders back, every inch of her radiating barely contained fury.
"Leave him alone!" Her voice was hard as iron.
The tall teenager sneered down at her. "Another beast? What, are you his mother?"
"He's a CHILD." Luna didn't back down despite being outnumbered. "He has every right to be here."
Another boy laughed mockingly. "Rights? Beasts don't have RIGHTS."
Hiro arrived, positioning himself beside Luna. His voice came out colder than the ocean. "Yes. They do."
The tall teenager's sneer widened. "Oh, look. A human defending beasts. What are you, a traitor?"
"I'm someone who sees BULLIES." Hiro took a step forward, and something in his movement—in his eyes—changed. "And I don't tolerate them."
For just a moment, his eyes flashed gold. Not the subtle amber shift that sometimes happened, but a vivid, unmistakable gold that seemed to glow with predatory promise.
The teenagers felt it—a primal instinct that transcended reason, the hindbrain recognition of something dangerous. The tall one's sneer faltered.
"W-whatever." He backed up, his friends following quickly. "Let's go. This beach sucks anyway."
They retreated with forced bravado, throwing insults over their shoulders but not slowing down.
Luna immediately knelt beside the beast child, her anger transforming instantly to gentle concern. "Are you okay?"
The boy—a tabby cat beast folk with wide, frightened green eyes—sniffled and nodded. "Y-yes... thank you..."
"Where are your parents?" Luna asked softly.
He pointed down the beach. "Over there..."
"Kenji!" A woman's voice, panicked. A beast folk couple came running—the mother with lynx features, the father with the same tabby pattern as the boy. "Kenji! Are you alright?!"
The mother gathered her son into her arms, checking him for injuries. Then her gaze fell on Luna and Hiro.
"Thank you. So much." She noticed Hiro specifically—noticed that he was human. Her eyes widened slightly. "You... a human... helped my son?"
"Of course," Hiro said simply. "He needed help."
The mother's eyes filled with tears. She opened her mouth, closed it, then tried again. "Thank you. Truly. Not many humans would..." She couldn't finish, overcome with emotion.
They gathered their belongings and their son, thanking Luna and Hiro repeatedly before leaving, the father carrying Kenji while the mother held his hand tightly.
Luna and Hiro stood alone on the darkening beach, watching the family disappear into the distance.
"That happens all the time," Luna said quietly. Her voice held old pain, accumulated experiences. "Everywhere. Every day."
"I know." Hiro looked at her. "But one day... it won't."
"How can you be so sure?" She wanted to believe him, he could see it in her eyes, but doubt warred with hope.
"Because people like US will make sure of it." He reached out, taking her hand. His grip was warm and firm and certain. "We'll be the change. Together."
Luna's fingers curled around his, holding tight. "Together," she echoed, and this time, the hope in her voice outweighed the doubt.
They rejoined Kaede and Yuki as the sun touched the horizon, painting the sky in impossible shades of orange and pink and purple. Kaede had—somehow, impossibly—procured materials for a bonfire. She claimed she'd asked a beach patrol officer and gotten permission, which seemed legitimately possible given her infectious enthusiasm.
The four friends sat around the small fire as stars began appearing in the darkening sky. Kaede roasted marshmallows with the focused intensity of a scientist conducting experiments, creating some perfectly golden and burning others to charcoal.
"Today was AMAZING!" she declared, biting into a s'more that dripped chocolate and marshmallow.
"Best summer day!" Yuki agreed, though more delicately managing her own treat.
Luna sat between Hiro and Yuki, her tail curled around her legs, a small smile playing at her lips. "I'll never forget it."
She glanced across the fire at Hiro. He was looking back, firelight catching his eyes. They held each other's gaze for a moment that stretched warm and comfortable, no words needed.
Both smiled.
The train ride home was quiet, the four friends exhausted from sun and swimming and the simple pleasure of a perfect day. Yuki fell asleep first, her head gradually drooping until it rested on Kaede's shoulder. The fox girl followed soon after, her soft snores barely audible over the train's rhythm.
Luna's head found its way to Hiro's shoulder, her breathing evening out as sleep claimed her too. One of her ears rested against his collarbone, twitching occasionally in dreams. Her hand, still linked with his, remained warm in his grip.
Hiro stayed awake, watching the dark landscape blur past the window. The train car's fluorescent lights buzzed softly. An elderly couple sat a few seats away, the woman dozing against her husband's shoulder in a mirror of Hiro and Luna's position.
Today was perfect, Hiro thought, carefully adjusting his position so Luna could sleep more comfortably without waking. But that incident... it's a reminder. The world isn't kind yet. There's still so much fear, so much hatred.
He looked down at Luna's peaceful face, at the slight smile that lingered even in sleep, at the trust implicit in how she leaned against him.
But as long as she's with me... as long as I can help make days like this possible for her... I have a reason to fight for change. Not just for her, but for that little boy on the beach. For all of them.
His free hand absently stroked the soft fur between her ears, and she made a small, contented sound in her sleep.
I'll protect this, he promised silently. Whatever it takes.
Later—much later—Hiro lay in his bed, the summer homework still incomplete on his desk but somehow less important than it had seemed yesterday. His phone rested in his hands, screen illuminating his face in the dark room.
He scrolled through the photos from the day, a curated collection of perfect moments:
The group photo at the beach, all four of them grinning at the camera, windswept and happy.
Luna laughing in the waves, water droplets caught mid-splash around her, joy radiating from every pixel.
A sunset silhouette of them walking together along the shore, their shadows stretching long behind them.
The four of them around the bonfire, faces lit by warm orange light, marshmallow-sticky smiles all around.
He stopped on one photo: Luna smiling directly at the camera, the ocean vast and blue behind her, sunlight making her white fur glow, her amber eyes bright with happiness. Kaede had taken it when Luna wasn't paying attention, capturing something unrehearsed and genuine.
Hiro stared at it for a long moment, then saved it as his phone's wallpaper.
"Beautiful," he whispered to the empty room.
His phone buzzed—a new message.
LUNA: "Thank you for today. It was the best day of my life. Goodnight, Hiro. 💙"
The blue heart made his own heart do something complicated and warm in his chest. He typed his response carefully:
HIRO: "Mine too. Sweet dreams, Luna."
He set his phone on the nightstand, screen down, and closed his eyes. The sound of waves seemed to echo in his memory, mixed with Luna's laughter.
For the first time in longer than he could remember, Hiro Tanaka fell asleep genuinely smiling.
The Shirohane apartment was modest but warm, decorated with careful touches that spoke of a family making the most of what they had. A small artificial Christmas tree sat in the corner of the living room, its lights blinking in patient rhythm. Paper snowflakes hung from the ceiling—clearly handmade, probably by Luna's younger siblings. The scent of dinner lingered in the air, something with soy sauce and ginger.
Luna sat in her room with the door closed, staring at nothing.
She'd been doing a lot of that lately. Staring at walls, at textbooks she couldn't focus on, at her phone that never rang with the call she wanted. Her mother had tried talking to her, her father had attempted gruff comfort, even her little brother had asked why she seemed so sad.
She had no answers for them. Or rather, she had one answer that explained everything and nothing: Hiro.
A soft knock interrupted her thoughts.
"Luna?" Her mother's voice was gentle, careful. "Dinner's ready, sweetheart."
Luna didn't move from where she sat on her bed, knees drawn up to her chest, tail wrapped around herself like a blanket. "I'm not hungry, Mom."
The door opened anyway. Yuki Shirohane entered with the quiet determination of a mother who'd watched her daughter waste away for weeks and had finally reached her limit. She sat on the edge of the bed, her rabbit ears tilted with concern.
"Sweetheart, you haven't been yourself for weeks. You barely eat, you don't talk to your friends, you just come home and hide in here." She reached out, placing a warm hand on Luna's knee. "Is it that boy? Hiro?"
Luna's ears flattened against her skull. Just hearing his name hurt, a fresh wound every time. She nodded, unable to trust her voice.
"What happened between you two?"
"I don't know." The words came out barely above a whisper. "He just... stopped. One day everything was fine, and the next he wouldn't even look at me. He won't talk to me, won't answer my messages, walks away every time I try to approach him. I thought..."
Her voice cracked, and she had to stop, had to swallow against the tears that threatened. She'd cried so much already. Surely she should be out of tears by now.
"I thought we were friends. I thought he cared about me. I finally felt like I belonged somewhere, with someone who saw me as more than just a beast folk girl who didn't fit in. And now it's like I never existed to him."
The dam broke. Luna buried her face in her mother's shoulder and sobbed—deep, wrenching sounds that shook her entire body. All the pain she'd been holding in, all the confusion and hurt and desperate loneliness, poured out in an ugly torrent.
Yuki held her daughter, stroking her white fur, making soft soothing sounds that had comforted Luna since childhood. "Oh, my dear girl. My sweet, strong girl."
"I don't understand, Mom. What did I do wrong? Why won't he tell me?"
"I don't know, baby. I don't know."
They stayed like that for several minutes, Luna crying out weeks of accumulated grief while her mother simply held her. Finally, when the worst of the storm had passed, when Luna's sobs had reduced to hiccups and sniffles, Yuki pulled back enough to look at her daughter's face.
"Whatever his reason, he should have talked to you. Should have—"
A knock at the front door interrupted her. Sharp, urgent, insistent.
Yuki frowned. "Who could that be on Christmas Eve?" She stood, smoothing her dress. "Stay here, sweetheart. I'll see who it is."
Luna remained on her bed, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand, trying to compose herself. Probably a neighbor, or maybe her father's coworker dropping off a gift. Nothing that concerned her.
Then she heard her father's voice from the living room, cold and hard in a way she rarely heard it.
"You've got some nerve showing up here."
Luna's ears perked up, swiveling toward the sound. That tone, that anger—who was at the door?
"Mr. Shirohane. I need to speak with Luna. Please."
Luna's heart stopped.
That voice. She knew that voice, would know it anywhere, had heard it in her dreams and her nightmares for weeks now.
Hiro.
She was on her feet before conscious thought could catch up, moving to her bedroom door, pressing her ear against it to hear better.
"You've hurt my daughter," her father was saying, each word clipped and controlled. "You've made her cry, made her question herself, made her miserable. Why should I let you anywhere near her?"
"Because I need to explain. And apologize. And tell her the truth." Hiro's voice was hoarse, desperate. "Please, sir. I know I don't deserve your kindness or your time, but Luna deserves an explanation. She deserves to know why."
Silence stretched for several heartbeats. Luna held her breath, her hand on the doorknob, frozen between the urge to throw it open and the fear of what she might find on the other side.
"You better make this right, boy." Her father's voice was still cold, but Luna heard him step aside. "Because if you hurt her again, I don't care what you are or what you can do. I will make you regret it."
"I understand, sir."
Footsteps in the hallway. Her mother's voice, gentle but worried: "Luna? There's someone here to see you."
Luna's hand tightened on the doorknob. Her heart was racing, pounding so hard she could hear it in her ears. Part of her wanted to stay hidden, to refuse to see him, to protect herself from more hurt. But a larger part—the part that had missed him with an ache that never faded—needed to know why.
She opened the door.
The living room was small, made smaller by the presence of her entire family—father standing near the kitchen with arms crossed, mother hovering protectively nearby, her younger brother peeking out from behind the Christmas tree. And there, just inside the front door, stood Hiro.
He looked terrible.
His clothes were rumpled, as if he'd thrown them on without care. His hair was disheveled, sticking up at odd angles. Dark circles shadowed his eyes, speaking of sleepless nights. But it was his expression that struck her—raw, desperate, vulnerable in a way she'd never seen before. He looked like someone who'd been through hell and was barely holding himself together.
Their eyes met.
For a moment, Luna felt everything come rushing back—the happiness of summer, the comfortable companionship, the way he'd made her feel seen and valued. Then the memory of his cold dismissal crashed over her, and something hardened in her chest.
"What are you doing here?" Her voice came out flat, emotionless. She was proud of that, proud that she didn't sound as broken as she felt.
"Luna, I—" Hiro took a step forward, then stopped when he saw her tense. "I need to talk to you. To explain."
"Explain?" Luna's ears flattened against her skull. "You've ignored me for weeks. You wouldn't look at me, wouldn't speak to me, walked away every time I tried to approach you. And now you show up at my home on Christmas Eve and want to talk?"
"I know. I know how it looks. I know what I did to you." His hands were shaking. Luna could see them trembling at his sides. "But please, just let me explain—"
"Explain what?!" The words exploded out of her, all the pain and anger and confusion she'd been holding in finally finding a target. "Explain that I'm not good enough to be seen with? That being friends with a beast folk is too embarrassing for you? That I was just some charity case you got tired of?"
"No! Luna, it's not—"
"Then what?!" Tears were streaming down her face now, but she didn't care, couldn't stop them anymore. "Because I don't understand! One day we're fine, we're happy, and the next you won't even acknowledge my existence! Do you have any idea how much that hurt? How many nights I stayed up trying to figure out what I did wrong? How many times I replayed every conversation, every interaction, looking for the moment I ruined everything?"
Her voice broke on the last word, but she forced herself to continue, forced herself to say everything she'd been holding back.
"I thought you were different, Hiro. I thought you saw me, really saw me, not just the beast folk girl or the scholarship student or all the other labels people stick on me. I thought we had something real. I thought—"
She couldn't finish. The sob that had been building in her chest finally broke free, and she pressed a hand to her mouth, trying to hold back the flood.
"I thought you were my friend."
"I am!" Hiro's voice cracked. "Luna, I am your friend. I—"
"Then why?!" She was almost screaming now, past caring about her family watching, past caring about anything except getting answers. "Why did you throw me away like I meant nothing?! Just tell me why, and then get out!"
Silence fell like a hammer.
Luna stood there shaking, tears pouring down her face, her chest heaving with emotion. Hiro stared at her, his own eyes bright with unshed tears, his hands clenched into fists so tight his knuckles were white.
"Not until you hear me," he said quietly.
"I don't want to—"
"I'm being blackmailed."
The words dropped into the silence like stones into still water, sending ripples of shock through the room. Luna's voice died in her throat. Her father straightened from where he leaned against the kitchen doorway. Her mother's ears shot straight up in surprise.
"What?" Luna whispered.
Hiro took a shaky breath, and suddenly he looked like he might collapse. "Someone has video of me. Transforming. From the warehouse, when I saved you. Security camera footage that should have been deleted but wasn't. They have it, and they threatened to release it if I didn't stay away from you."
Luna felt the world tilt sideways. "Video of you...?"
"Transforming into my wolf form. Full transformation, completely clear footage. They have proof of what I can do, proof that I'm not just a hybrid but something else entirely." His voice was hollow, drained. "They said if I continued associating with you, they'd release it to the media, to the government. They said scientists would want to study me, dissect me, figure out how I can transform. They said I'd become a lab rat."
He looked at Luna's parents, his expression pleading.
"But that's not why I stayed away. They said Luna would be investigated too. That she'd be branded as an accomplice, someone who hid a dangerous creature. They said her scholarship would be revoked, that she'd be sent back to District 7, that her entire future would be destroyed because of me."
Tears were streaming down his face now, and he made no attempt to wipe them away.
"I thought if I pushed you away, if I made you think I didn't care, I could protect you. Keep you safe from the consequences of knowing me. But I was wrong. I was a coward and a fool, and all I did was hurt you in a different way."
His legs seemed to give out, and he dropped to his knees on the living room floor.
"I'm so sorry, Luna. I'm so, so sorry. I hurt you trying to save you, and I hate myself for it. I should have told you the truth from the beginning. Should have trusted you to make your own choices. But I was scared—terrified—of losing you, and in trying to protect you I lost you anyway."
He bent forward, his forehead nearly touching the floor.
"I understand if you can't forgive me. I don't deserve your forgiveness. But I needed you to know the truth. Needed you to know that it was never because you weren't good enough. You were always too good for me. I just wasn't strong enough to deserve you."
The apartment was silent except for the soft sound of Hiro's tears hitting the floor.
Luna stood frozen, her mind struggling to process everything he'd just said. Blackmail. Video footage. Threats against her future. He'd pushed her away to protect her, thinking he was saving her from some terrible fate, never considering that losing him was its own kind of destruction.
The idiot. The complete and utter idiot.
She moved before she realized she was moving, crossing the small living room in three quick steps. She dropped to her knees in front of him, and when he looked up with red-rimmed eyes, she did the only thing that made sense.
She pulled him into her arms and held him as tightly as she could.
"You idiot," she whispered into his shoulder. "You stupid, self-sacrificing idiot."
Hiro made a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob, his arms coming up to wrap around her, clutching her like she might disappear if he let go.
"Don't you understand?" Luna's voice was muffled against his shirt, thick with tears. "I don't care about the scholarship or the investigation or any of it. I'd rather face everything with you than be safe without you!"
"But your future—"
"Means nothing if you're not in it!" She pulled back enough to look at him, her hands gripping his shoulders. "Did you really think I'd choose safety over you? That I'd want a future where you weren't there?"
"I just wanted to keep you safe."
"Then you should have trusted me to be strong enough to face danger. Should have given me the choice instead of making it for me." Her claws dug slightly into his shoulders, not enough to hurt but enough to emphasize her point. "We're supposed to face things together, remember? That's what you told me when I wanted to run away from everything. Together."
"Together," Hiro repeated, the word breaking in the middle.
"Always together." Luna pulled him close again, and they knelt there on her family's living room floor, holding each other while tears of relief and exhaustion and overwhelming emotion fell freely.
After a long moment, Luna's father cleared his throat. "I suppose we should give them some privacy."
"But I want to know what happens!" Luna's brother protested.
"Kitchen. Now." Taro's voice brooked no argument, and the family quietly withdrew, leaving Hiro and Luna alone in the living room with its blinking Christmas lights and paper snowflakes.
Finally, Luna pulled back, wiping at her eyes. "Tell me everything. The man who blackmailed you, what he said, all of it. No more secrets."
Hiro nodded, and with halting words, he told her everything. The man in the expensive suit, the video footage, the specific threats against her and her family. He told her about the weeks of agony, of seeing her hurt and being unable to comfort her, of hating himself more with every day that passed.
"And tonight," he finished, "I broke. Completely. Transformed in my room and put a hole through my wall. My grandfather called, and he talked some sense into me. He said hiding never saved anyone, and he was right. So I came here, not knowing if you'd even let me in the door, but knowing I had to try."
Luna listened to all of it, her expression growing more serious with each detail. When he finished, she was quiet for a long moment.
"This man," she finally said. "Did you recognize him?"
"No, but I figured out who sent him." Hiro's expression darkened. "General Kyouro. She's been trying to capture me since she learned what I can do. This is just another method—break me down, isolate me, make me desperate enough to maybe come to her willingly."
"Then we need to be ready." Luna's voice was firm, steady. "The video will probably come out. She'll use it as leverage eventually. So we need to plan for that, prepare for what happens when the world finds out."
"You're not afraid?"
"I'm terrified," Luna admitted. "But I'm more afraid of losing you. So we'll face the fear together and deal with whatever comes."
She stood, offering him her hand. Hiro took it, letting her pull him to his feet.
"Come on," she said. "It's Christmas Eve, and my mother made too much food as usual. You look like you haven't eaten in days."
"Luna, I—"
"Can't protect me from everything, and you need to stop trying." She squeezed his hand. "You can protect me with me, standing beside me as we face things together. But never again try to protect me by leaving me behind. Deal?"
Hiro looked at her—this fierce, beautiful, impossibly strong girl who'd somehow chosen to forgive him despite everything—and felt something settle in his chest. Not peace, exactly, but something close to it. Purpose, maybe. Direction.
"Deal," he agreed.
They stood there for a moment longer, hands clasped, the Christmas lights casting multicolored shadows across their faces. Outside, through the window, the first snowflakes of winter began to fall, dusting the city in white.
"Together," Luna said softly.
"Always," Hiro replied.
And for the first time in weeks, surrounded by the warmth of family and the promise of shared challenges ahead, they both felt something they'd almost forgotten: hope The apartment balcony was small, barely large enough for two people to stand comfortably, but it offered a view of the neighborhood stretching out below. Luna and Hiro stood there after dinner, wrapped in borrowed coats, watching the snow fall in earnest now.
Inside, Luna's family had graciously given them space after a somewhat awkward meal where Taro had grilled Hiro with the intensity of an overprotective father, and Luna's brother had asked about fifty questions about transforming into a wolf. But now, in the quiet darkness broken only by streetlights and falling snow, it was just the two of them.
"The video will probably surface soon," Hiro said quietly. "Kyouro won't wait forever. She'll want to force my hand before we can prepare too much."
"Then we start preparing tomorrow." Luna leaned against the railing, her white fur dusted with snowflakes. "We tell your family first, then mine properly. We figure out what legal protections exist, if any. We research what happens when beast folk genetics become public interest." She looked at him. "We build a support system so that when it happens, we're not facing it alone."
"You make it sound simple."
"It won't be simple. It'll probably be horrible." She reached out, taking his hand again. "But horrible things are easier to face when you have someone beside you."
Hiro squeezed her hand, marveling at how she could be so brave, so pragmatic, when her entire world was about to potentially collapse. "I'm still sorry. For all of it. For putting you through weeks of pain that you didn't deserve."
"I won't say it's okay, because it wasn't." Luna's voice was gentle but firm. "What you did hurt me, deeply. It'll take time to fully trust again that you won't make decisions about us without including me."
"I understand."
"But I forgive you, Hiro. Because I understand why you did it, even if I don't agree with how you handled it." She turned to face him fully. "Just promise me—no more secrets. No more trying to protect me by shutting me out. If something threatens us, we face it together. We decide together. We fight together."
"I promise." The words were a vow, solemn and binding. "No more secrets. No more running. Whatever comes, we face it side by side."
Luna smiled—the first real smile he'd seen from her in weeks. It lit up her face, made her eyes shine, and Hiro felt his chest tighten with an emotion he couldn't quite name. Relief, certainly. Gratitude. But something else, something deeper and more profound.
"Good," she said. "Because I have a feeling the next few months are going to test that promise."
"Probably the next few years, honestly."
"Then it's a good thing I'm stubborn."
"And I'm persistent."
They stood there grinning at each other like idiots, snow gathering on their shoulders and hair, the cold biting at exposed skin. It should have been miserable. Instead, it felt like the first warm day after a long winter.
"Luna?" Hiro said after a moment.
"Mm?"
"Thank you. For forgiving me. For being willing to face this with me. For being... you."
Luna's ears twitched, and a faint blush colored her cheeks beneath her white fur. "Someone has to keep you from making dramatically stupid decisions."
"I think I'm going to be making a lot of those."
"Then it's a good thing you have me.
"Yes," Hiro agreed softly. "It is."
The snow continued to fall, blanketing the city in white, muffling sounds and softening edges. Christmas lights blinked on in windows across the neighborhood. Somewhere, a church bell chimed the hour. And on a small balcony in District 7, two teenagers stood together facing an uncertain future with something that felt dangerously close to hope.
Tomorrow, they would begin preparing. They would tell families, seek advice, shore up defenses against the storm they knew was coming. Tomorrow, the real work would begin.
But tonight was Christmas Eve, and for the first time in weeks, they were together. That was enough. That was everything.
"We should go inside," Luna eventually said. "Before we freeze to death."
"Probably wise."
Neither of them moved.
"In a minute," Luna added.
"Yeah. In a minute."
They stood there a while longer, hands clasped, watching the snow transform the world into something clean and new, and allowing themselves to believe—if only for tonight—that everything might somehow turn out okay.
Together, they faced the winter. Together, they would face whatever came next.
Always together.