(Ryuji's Perspective)
Ryuji stood before the mirror in her cramped bedroom, gripping the hem of her tank top like it might answer the storm swirling in her chest.
This body…It was hers now.
The curves that refused to be ignored. The way her voice dipped softer at the ends of sentences. The damn flutter in her chest every time Ren looked at her for just a second too long.
It wasn't just the physical changes—it was the way she felt. Like every nerve in her body had woken up at once.
She'd always been the loudmouth bruiser, the dependable dumbass with a heart. But now? She felt everything sharper, deeper. A brush of fabric. The catch of breath. The weight of a stare. And all of it—all of it—seemed to come back to him.
Ren.
He hadn't said much about what was going on. No one had. But something in him had changed too—like the center of him had become this magnetic force none of them could look away from.
She hated how it made her stomach twist.She hated how it made her want.
Not just the wild, messy wanting she couldn't name—but the closeness. The heat of his hand on hers during a mission. The gentle way he'd checked her injuries after their last Metaverse run. How his voice dropped when he said her name—"Ryuji."God, it sounded different now.
More… intimate.
And that scared her more than any Shadow.
She turned from the mirror, flopping down onto her bed with a huff. Her heart beat too fast. Her skin felt too warm. Everything about this new self felt out of her control.
She closed her eyes, and in the quiet of her room, memories bubbled up—of Ren's smile, quiet and knowing. The way his gaze lingered when he thought she wasn't looking. That strange, pulsing energy that seemed to fill the space between them like static right before a lightning strike.
Was it really him changing?Or was it her, finally seeing what had been there all along?
She didn't know.
All she knew was that her heartbeat answered his name like it was a drumbeat echoing in her chest.
And maybe… just maybe… she wanted him to hear it.