The dress captured light in ways that shouldn't be possible with ordinary fabric and thread.

It wasn't made from common materials, and anyone with eyes could see that immediately.

Taro noticed it the instant Luna entered the competition hall. He wasn't the only one whose attention was captured. A murmur rippled through the audience, the type of sound people made when witnessing something they knew would change trends for years to come, when seeing innovation that would be copied until it became standard.

The dress was dark blue, almost black in certain lighting, but when Luna moved the runed crystals sewn in strategic patterns caught the hall's light and refracted it in flashes that recalled stars against the night sky. The fabric flowed with each step, neither too rigid nor too loose, perfect in its balance between elegance that impressed judges and mobility that allowed complex choreography.

It was exactly at the regulation limit without crossing into forbidden territory. Larissa had verified every centimeter against academy regulations with obsessive attention to detail, ensuring the crystals didn't exceed permitted number or size, that the fabric met thickness standards, that every technical detail stayed within acceptable parameters that wouldn't result in disqualification.

Liora had designed the form through hours of testing and cutting prototypes that hadn't quite achieved the vision. The lines that followed natural body shape but added subtle drama in correct places. The skirt's fall that would allow fluid movement during complex turns. The crystals positioned to maximize visual impact without interfering with the dance mechanics.

And in the end, Ren had created it with his hands that always had learned entirely new skills in impossibly short time.

He'd sacrificed practically all his sleep hours, something only possible for a tamer with his level of vitality and stamina that came from multiple beasts enhancement. Nights spent practicing with cheaper materials first, burning failed attempts before daring to work with the best fabric he'd collected.

First he'd made two others before attempting Luna's. One for Liora. One for Larissa.

As thanks for their help that had gone beyond what friendship demanded. As an apology for monopolizing so much practice time with Luna when they might have wanted his attention for other things. As... honestly, Ren wasn't completely sure of all his motives for the gesture. He only knew it felt right to acknowledge what they'd done for him.

Liora had worn hers once during late-night practice when Luna would likely already be asleep, when it was just the two of them in an empty hall. She'd tried it on, had danced three complete songs with Ren with a big smile, and then had carefully stored it without intentions of wearing it in the competition.

Larissa didn't compete in the dance, but she'd tried hers on as well. Only with Ren and only once too. A simple waltz in the practice hall before folding it with almost ceremonial reverence and storing it in her room where it would remain.

Both dresses now rested in closets, worn once each but without intentions of being used to dance with anyone except their creator. Sufficient to honor the gift. No more than that because asking for more would be inappropriate given circumstances everyone understood without speaking.

But Luna had reason to wear hers today for a competition that mattered more than just its scores.

Ren walked toward the hall's center where she waited with a composure that looked effortless but probably required significant effort to maintain.

The music hadn't started yet.

Judges were checking their scoring sheets with bureaucratic flare. The audience murmured appreciating the dress that had already become the evening's main topic before dancing even began.

And Luna looked at him with an expression Ren couldn't completely decipher despite days of learning to read her micro-expressions.

There was something different in her eyes now. Something that hadn't been there before the practice days. Before the whispered conversations during dances when she'd opened up incrementally. Before that day when she'd cried silently in his arms and he'd made silent promises about helping her recover what could be recovered.

He extended his hand with that cool steady confidence he didn't entirely feel inside. Luna took it without hesitation.

Her fingers were warm against his palm. Stable. They didn't tremble like they had that first practice day when she'd still been indecisive.

'She's better,' Ren thought while maintaining perfectly calm exterior. 'Not completely healed. But better than she was. That has to be enough for now. So…'

'Don't mess this up. DO NOT mess this up. Luna needs this. Larissa and Liora worked so hard. If you screw this up after everything...'

The music began with opening notes that signaled the start of the evaluation.

'First step is crucial. Sets the entire tone. If you start wrong everything else falls apart. FOCUS.'

Luna instead was…

'He looks so calm. HOW IS HE SO CALM? I'm barely holding it together and he looks like he does this every day.'

'Look at him. Perfect posture. Perfect confidence. Like a dream knight from those romance novels Liora pretends she doesn't read.'

'I'm NOT going to mess this up. I'm not going to trip or freeze or do something embarrassing and ruin everything after all his work...'

Ren's hand tightened slightly on hers, not controlling but reassuring, a silent message that said 'I've got you'... and something in Luna relaxed despite her spiraling thoughts.

The first step was executed with precision that looked effortless to observers who couldn't see the mental effort behind it.

Ren moved with Luna in a synchronization that appeared perfect, their bodies responding to signals that no longer needed verbalization. Days of intensive practice supported by the mantis ability had engraved the movements into muscle memory that bypassed conscious thought.

Every turn. Every weight shift. Every transition from one step to the next.

Straight back. Relaxed shoulders that weren't loose. Positions accurate to the millimeter because anything less would be noticed by perception based judges trained to catch imperfections.

'Guide without forcing. Let her shine. That's what Larissa said. But also maintain frame. Don't let posture slip. Count the beats. One-two-three, one-two-three. Keep breathing steady so she can match it. Eye contact but not staring. Smile subtly. NOT A FULL SMILE. Subtle. WHY IS SUBTLE SO HARD?'

'He makes it look so easy. HOW DOES HE MAKE IT LOOK THIS EASY? He learned this in DAYS and he's guiding me like he's been doing this for years. Look at his face…'

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