Muneo exhaled sharply through his nose, squaring his shoulders like that alone would make him more intimidating. Then, because he was physically incapable of not doubling down on bad decisions, he shoved Xiao.

  It wasn’t a particularly strong shove—Xiao barely even rocked back on his heels—but it was the principle of it.

  He blinked, slowly, like he hadn’t even registered the aggression at first. Then, ever so deliberately, he tilted his head, eyes flicking down to where Muneo’s hands had been. Then, ever so slightly, Xiao smirked. “Did you just push me?”

  Muneo’s jaw flexed. “What, you scared?”

  Xiao gave him a slow, deliberate once-over. Then he sighed, lifting a hand to rub the bridge of his nose like this was all just very exhausting for him. “Honey,” he said, voice practically dripping with amusement, “you wish I was scared.”

  Muneo bristled immediately, eyes flashing. The sheer lack of respect, in the way Xiao hadn’t even taken him seriously enough to get mad, had him seething. His fingers twitched, and then, with all the impulsive energy of a man who refused to read the room, he growled, “Aight, bet,” and shifted.

  One second, he was just an overconfident ABG fuckboy. The next—

  A tiger.

  And not just any tiger. A massive, jacked, apex-predator-ass tiger, muscles rippling under sleek orange fur, claws that could probably end several lives in one swipe, and eyes that glowed with unmistakable, predatory intent.

  India barely noticed the people around them stepping back. She was too busy trying to process the very inconvenient realization creeping up her spine: that Muneo was perhaps overconfident for a reason.

  Because as much as his personality made her want to strangle him, the sheer physicality of his tiger form was something else entirely. Broad shoulders, powerful stance, the way his muscles flexed every time he moved—

  She wanted to slap herself.

  Muneo prowled forward, slow and deliberate, his tail flicking as he soaked in the shift in the air. He was finally commanding real attention.

  And yet, Xiao still didn’t look impressed.

  Instead, he made a thoughtful noise, lips pursing slightly, then tilted his head just so, as if he were admiring a bold fashion choice. “Oh,” he said, considering. “That’s cute.”

  There was a slight lilt to the word, almost a tease to it, but if it was meant to be an insult, it was devastatingly effective.

  Muneo's growl rumbled through the air, low and guttural, as he prowled forward.

  He lunged, all muscle and instinct, claws slashing through the air.

  India barely had time to process it—one second Muneo was standing there, all muscle and tension, and the next, he was moving, a blur of orange and black, claws unsheathed and ready to tear into—

  A rush of energy swept through the space, like the air itself had been pulled into a vortex.

  Xiao didn’t dodge. He didn’t even flinch. Instead, he moved on reflex.

  His body shifted, a ripple of shimmering blue light cascading over his form. Scales unfurled, his limbs stretching and elongating as his body twisted into something serpentine and vast.

  By the time Muneo’s claws should have connected, Xiao was already above him, his long, sinuous form coiling through the air like a river given life. His tail flicked, scattering droplets of glowing water in its wake.

  Muneo landed hard, whipping around with a growl, his golden eyes flashing.

  Xiao, now fully transformed, hovered in the air above him, breath coming fast, chest rising and falling with the lingering pulse of adrenaline. Unlike before, he wasn’t smirking.

  “Muneo, stop,” he urged, his voice low. “This isn’t worth it.”

  India could feel the tension in the air shift. The heat of Muneo’s anger clashed against the cool aura rolling off of Xiao like mist over a lake.

  For a second, it almost seemed like Muneo might listen.

  And then, predictably, he doubled down on being an idiot.

  With a furious snarl, he sprang forward again, claws aimed straight for Xiao’s throat.

  Xiao had no choice.

  His chest swelled as he inhaled deeply, water swirling around his open jaws. For the first time, India saw it—the raw, untamed power lying just beneath Xiao’s usual easygoing demeanor.

  Then, with a sharp exhale, he unleashed it.

  A torrent of shimmering blue light erupted from his mouth, a powerful blast of water crashing into Muneo’s body with the force of a tidal wave. The tiger was launched backward, flipping mid-air before slamming into the dirt.

  Silence.

  Muneo groaned, his tiger form sprawled out, fur damp and plastered to his body.

  Xiao hovered in the air, coiled like a storm given form, his long dragon body still shimmering with residual energy, ready to strike again.

  India, meanwhile, was having a full-blown internal crisis.

  She had seen Xiao’s power— eyes burning with intensity, moving with a terrifying, effortless grace.

  Her brain was screaming at her to snap out of it.

  But, unfortunately, her brain was also playing a slowed-down, reverb-heavy edit of Xiao, eyes shining, chest rising and falling as he stood there like a goddamn protagonist in the final act of an anime.

  Muneo groaned, rolling onto his side, his tiger form flickering like a glitching hologram. His tail twitched once, then twice—before he let out a sharp exhale and shifted back into his human body in a shimmer of golden light.

  Xiao descended swiftly, his long body coiling down until his claws brushed the earth. He took a deep breath, then shifted back, his human form returning in a shimmer of light.

  For someone who had just gotten absolutely wrecked, Muneo was surprisingly fast about getting up. Without so much as dusting himself off, he straightened, shoved his hands in his pockets, and—without a word—turned on his heel and walked away.

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  Muneo didn’t stop. Didn’t argue. Didn’t even look back.

  He just kept walking, his pace just a little too fast to be casual, his head held just a little too high to hide the fact that he had definitely just taken the most embarrassing L of his life.

  Xiao, still breathing a little heavily from the fight, blinked after him. “...Huh.”

  India stared. “Bro just noped out of his own fight.”

  “I mean,” Xiao exhaled, running a hand through his damp hair, “good for him?”

  For a few stunned moments, there was nothing but silence—the kind of eerie, collective pause that happens when everyone is trying to process whether they really just saw that. Then, like a dam bursting, noise flooded back in all at once, and the spell over this section of the quad seemed to break.

  Muneo, now a safe distance away, lifted a hand over his shoulder and flipped them off without breaking stride.

  Xiao huffed out a laugh. “Okay, yeah. That tracks.”

  The moment Muneo noped out, the students who had backed up to give the two shifters space now started creeping forward again, voices overlapping.

  “Dude, what the hell was that?”

  “Bro turned into a tiger and still lost?”

  “I knew he was strong, but damn.”

  A couple of people were pulling out their phones, no doubt texting in group chats or trying to find someone who had caught it on camera. Others were staring at the aftermath—the damp grass where Xiao’s water blast had hit, the stunned silence left in Muneo’s wake.

  Xiao, meanwhile, exhaled and rubbed the back of his neck, looking vaguely sheepish, like he was only now realizing how big of a spectacle they had just made.

  “Uh,” he muttered, glancing around at the still-gawking crowd. “Oops?”

  “I’m sorry, are we just gonna move on from that?” India gestured wildly at the soaked grass, at the lingering crowd, at the spot where Muneo had just rage-quit. “Like—hello?? You guys just went full anime battle in the middle of campus, and nobody’s losing their minds??”

  Xiao, still catching his breath, wiped a hand down his face. “I mean… yeah? Fights aren’t super common, but shifters fighting is like… the equivalent of men shouting and shoving in the human world. It’s a dominance thing.”

  India narrowed her eyes. “You say that like you’re above it.”

  “I am above it,” Xiao said, looking genuinely offended. “That wasn’t a fight. That was me dodging an idiot and making sure he didn’t maul me in public.”

  “If you want to see a real shifter fight, you should’ve been around when Xiao had a showdown with that demon prince.” a voice said from behind the duo, “the guy’s kicked out now, but boy was he entertaining.”

  Xiao and India turned to see Xiao’s friend from earlier, Soyeon, walking towards them. She was wearing an outfit that looked like it walked right off the mannequin in a Korean streetwear shop, with a racing jacket over a black crop top, denim mini skirt and a tall pair of combat boots. And behind her:

  “Dude!” Riri launched forward, grabbing India by the shoulders. “Did you just survive a magical fight? Are you good?”

  India blinked. “Yes.”

  “I mean, obviously, we saw everything,” Riri continued, their rings clicking together as they gestured wildly. “But like, you were right there!”

  “Yeah, your friends over here were looking for you,” Soyeon grinned, “luckily, this cutie,” she motioned to Riri, “knew me, and I knew where you went.”

  Everest glared daggers at Soyeon for a brief moment, before clearing his throat and turning to India, “So, what exactly happened?”

  James, standing beside him with his arms crossed, nodded in agreement. “Yeah, man. One second we’re doing club sign-ups, the next, Muneo’s out here trying to assert dominance like a LinkedIn alpha male post.”

  India let out a sigh, waving a hand vaguely at Xiao. “Oh, you know. Classic posturing. One dude felt disrespected, the other didn’t back down, and suddenly we had an elemental battle in the middle of the quad.”

  Everest raised an eyebrow. “Sounds excessive.”

  “Eh,” Xiao said, hands in his pockets, “it’s just how some shifters settle things.”

  Everest gave him a look. “You breathed water on him.”

  “I breathed water at him,” Xiao corrected.

  “Shifter fights happen. This was just the magical equivalent of two dudes arguing over whose dad could beat up the other’s dad,” Soyeon explained, seeing the confusion on the humans’ faces.

  Everest sighed. “This is why magic is dangerous.”

  “Everest,” Riri spoke like they were explaining something to a toddler, “you’re at a magical university. You are literally a dirt magician.”

  “Never call my power that again,” Everest muttered.

  James looked at Xiao, curious. “So… is Muneo gonna come back and challenge you again, or is this over?”

  “Nah, he took his L. He’s not stupid enough to run it back,” Xiao responded, glancing around the quad.

  Soyeon let out a low whistle. “I mean, you did blow him across the quad with a water blast.”

  Riri looked at Xiao. “Damn. Remind me never to piss you off.”

  He just chuckled, shifting his weight slightly. “Don’t worry, I only fight when I have to.”

  They all started walked together as they talked, weaving through the crowds and stalls. Soyeon glanced over her shoulder at the group with a knowing smile, adjusting the strap of her sleek crossbody bag. “Since you first year humans are officially part of this circus now, we figured we’d show you a place where you can breathe a little.” Her dark bob caught the light as she turned fully to face them, walking backward effortlessly. “Trust me, you’re gonna need it.”

  Xiao chuckled beside her, his hands tucked into his pockets. “Consider it a first-year survival tip.”

  India raised an eyebrow. “Are we about to get hazed?”

  Soyeon snorted.

  “Not unless you consider sitting somewhere nice a form of torture,” Xiao assured them. “We’re taking you to a courtyard behind one of the library buildings. It’s quiet, shaded, good seating, no professors breathing down your neck. Basically, the perfect hideout.”

  The group then made their way between two old brick buildings, down into the said courtyard, which was just as Xiao described.

  “Now, this is a hangout spot!” Riri said, “I can’t wait to skip class here.”

  Everest gave Riri a sidelong look. “This is the first time I’ve agreed with you today.”

  “Look at that. Friendships are forming,” Soyeon chuckled.

  Everest sighed, but there was no real exasperation in it. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

  Riri grinned. “Don’t fight it, rich boy. You love us.”

  He muttered something under his breath but didn’t deny it.

  As they rounded a corner, the noise of the main campus faded behind them, replaced by something softer. The air carried the scent of old stone and greenery, and past a break in the trees, the courtyard came into view.

  It was tucked away like a secret, framed by ivy-covered walls, sunlight filtering through the leaves in lazy patterns. A few worn stone benches and tables sat under the shade, the quiet murmur of a fountain filling the space.

  Riri let out a low whistle. “Okay, yeah. This is nice.”

  India spun in a slow circle, arms out, taking it all in. “I feel like I should be journaling about life’s mysteries or something.”

  James smiled, looking around the space. “It does have a cinematic quality.”

  “Well, I’m glad you all like it,” Xiao said, turning to the rest of the humans now, “So, if you don’t mind me asking, what are all your powers?”

  “I can see into the future,” Riri said, “James here has rapid regeneration, and Everest has dirt ma—”

  “—Geokinesis.” Everest said gruffly, as if daring Riri to continue. They all turned to India, waiting to hear what she had to say.

  “I don’t know mine yet. I didn’t even know I was magical until recently, actually,” India stated, feeling a little left out.

  “That’s alright,” Soyeon said, patting India’s shoulder.

  “Oooh, seeing into the future’s cool, not that the other two aren’t either,” Xiao laughed, “Can you tell me what my love life is going to be like?”

  “Mine too!” India said, probably a little too excited.

  “Hm… my power can’t exactly work at will, but I’ll keep an eye out!” Riri said, then, turning to Xiao, added “though I vaguely remember seeing you with that blond.”

  “Oh, that was months ago.”

  “Oh yeah, thought so. The dream where I saw you was like last year.”

  “Irina?” India asked, a sense of dread building in her stomach.

  “Yeah, Irina,” Xiao shrugged, while Soyeon stifled a snort somwhere behind him.

  India just stood there, shellshocked. But as time went by, and the concerned gazes on her grew in number, she realised that this might not be too bad of a revelation after all. Irina now being with Muneo seemed like a major downgrade, no offence. And maybe that explained why Irina seemed to hate her so much.

  “I am so sorry for your loss,” she finally said, attempting to joke.

  AN:

  OMG OMH GUYS, I HOPE YOU LIKE THE FIGHT SCENE KYAAAA IT WAS OUR FAVOURITE PART TO WRITE. ANYWAYSSS, ARE YOU GUYS TEAM INDAO OR INDEO RN?? COMMENT TO TELL US ^^