Haruto looked nervously at Mikhail. He wasn't able to meet his eyes and tried looking anywhere but, he he couldn't ignore him for long. Eventually they had to see this through.

Mikhail was a part of an exchange student group from Dorssia. On the surface it was meant to inspire goodwill between JIOR and Dorssia. But that's all it was. Surface. Mikhail and the other students were meant to come, spend a few months in classes, and return, completely the same without any of their beliefs or ways of thinking unchanged.

It was because of this, they were excluded from fusion training. In Dorssia, fusion was exclusively for battle. It was why not one outside of the military had any experience with it. Mikhail and the others hailed from the military academy Karlstein, but had only fused sparingly. And even then, only between same type gems. In Mikhail's group of five, only he and other were an amethyst.

Haruto and the others had tried to be welcoming, but the exchange students were rather standoffish. Haruto had almost given up with the rest of his classmates, but there was something about Mikhail and so he kept trying.

It was a crush.

He had a crush.

But Haruto wasn't really good with words, so he had yet to realize this. He just knew he wanted to know more about Mikhail, and in turn, let himself be known. And in JIOR, there was no better way than through fusion. But during that part of physical education, the Dorssians had permission to sit out, watching from the sidelines while the other students tried getting it together.

Most paired up with a friend but even those who were close had a tough time getting it together. Haruto had thought that fusing with Shouko would be easy but while they got the motions right and did blend into light, they never finished all the way. He had been taking a break while Shouko tried to fuse with Akira when he saw Mikhail and the other Dorssians sitting off to the side.

Before he realized what he was doing, he was walking over and standing before the other boy. Mikhail just watched him, arms crossed and Haruto wondered just what the hell he was doing.

"Do you...do you wanna try with me?", Haruto asked.

"Try fusing? Why would I want to do that?", Mikhail questioned.

"Because...it's a good way to learn more about a person. And that's why you guys are here right? To exchange cultures and everything?"

"Fusion is for fighting only", the other amethyst, the one with the braid, said pointedly, glaring at Haruto.

"But that's not all it's good for", Haruto said, holding a hand out to Mikhail. "It can open up a whole lot of new opportunities."

"Pass", Mikhail said, standing up, intending to get away from Haruto. The others stood along with him but as Mikhail took a step away from Haruto, two JIOR students were mid-fusion but didn't complete it, falling away from each other and bumping into Haruto, who in turn, fell into Mikhail.

And for just a second, both of them had the same goal.

Haruto twisted his body so that he was under Mikhail intending to shield him. Mikhail intended to use Haruto's body to shield him from the floor.

And then there was a glow.

Then almost immediately, they broke apart, falling to the ground with grunts. Both Haruto and Mikhail's eyes were wide. Mikhail's eyes trailed down to Haruto's chest. It was hidden by his gym shirt but in that fleeting moment he had felt the other's gem.

"You're a carnelian?"

Haruto nodded. He didn't ask about Mikhail's gem. The amethyst stone was clearly visible on the back of his neck. Not that Haruto would ever admit to looking there often, admiring the pale purple gem.

Mikhail stood and held a hand out to Haruto. "Let's fuse."

"Huh?!", Haruto's shock was shared by the rest of the Dorssian crew. The amethyst (Haruto really should learn their names) was the most vocal.

"Are you out of your mind?!"

"You could get expelled if you do something like that", the little ruby one said. Although he was grinning when he did.

Mikhail ignored them and grabbed Haruto's hand, pulling him to his feet. "We're both quartz. It should be fine."

"You..you really want to?", Haruto asked.

Mikahil nodded. And then he stood there. Waiting. Haruto realized a moment too late that he was probably waiting for him to take the lead on this.

"Um, do you have a dance you like?", Haruto asked.

"I don't dance", Mikhail answered.

Haruto figured that. But their teachers had said that it didn't have to be dancing. Nor did it have to be perfect. Only that you and your partner had to be in sync. Taking a breath, Haruto put his other arm around Mikhail and led him in a slightly clumsy sway. Mikhail followed his steps, the ever-present frown remaining on his face.

But then Haruto saw something in him soften. He felt like a door was being opened and that glow enveloped them again. This time it stayed, surrounding them until Haruto no longer felt like himself. He felt...new.

Two pairs of fresh eyes looked upon the world from a new point of view. The first one to react was the ruby.

"Wow! You fused with a JIORan!"

They looked down at their hands. They had two of them. Two hands, four eyes, two legs. During their inspection they noticed the deep magenta colored gem on their chest that peeked through the top of their shirt. One of their hands went to the back of their neck. They couldn't see it, but they knew the gem there was the same color.

Shouko came over to them, eyes sparkling. "That's so cool! Do you have a name yet?"

A name. He needed a name. But how could he put a single word to describe all that he encompassed now. The teacher approached them and asked how they felt. Euphoria, apprehension, curiosity, fear. They felt powerful. With just these two hands, they could accomplish so much. They could conquer anything. But they didn't want to hurt others. But they needed to fight to protect the ones they loved. Love. He felt love. And it was so strong. But that wasn't something for Haruto to feel.

Haruto then realized that love was coming from Mikhail. And it was Mikhail who was trying to hide from it, causing their fusion to start breaking apart. Haruto chased after that feeling.

You don't need to run from your feelings. Let me feel them too.

Their body re-solidified and they opened their eyes, ready to be themselves, whoever they were.

"I don't know my name yet", he answered. "But I'm ready to find out."