Shirai Hinako - Blue Reflection

A Forbidden Embrace: Hinako's Secret Lesson Under the Setting Sun

The late afternoon sun, a painterly smear of molten gold and bruised lavender, bled across the sky, casting long, dramatic shadows across the Hoshinomiya Girls' Academy campus. Hinako Shirai, her short, ink-black hair catching stray rays and glinting like obsidian, found herself lingering in the deserted art studio long after the last bell. The scent of turpentine and drying oils hung heavy in the air, a familiar comfort, but today, an unfamiliar warmth pulsed beneath her skin, a nervous anticipation that had been building for weeks.