An empty shell.

Days had passed. Or perhaps weeks. Ren had lost count.

Time had dissolved into a series of public relations events, suit fittings, and business dinners. On the outside, to the photographers and the whole world, he looked like the same Ice Prince as always: cold, perfect, impeccable.

But inside, Ren had become an empty shell. An emotionless automaton.

The memory of why it had broken was clear and painful for Ren.

It happened last week. Her father, Ryōma, had entered her room without knocking. He wasn't there to discuss the wedding. He was holding something in his hand, as if it were trash: the costume Ren wore on stage. His ECLIPSE Leader costume. “ What is this ridiculousness? ” Ryōma hissed, his voice full of disdain. “ Father... ”

“ Is this how you plan to run an empire?!, Like a bum, a stage clown? You're mocking me! Our family name! " Ren remained silent, his face a mask of ice. Ryōma threw the costume on the floor. Then, with terrifying calm, he grabbed the staff that Ren kept in a decorative holder. Ryōma raised it. “ You will learn what respect is. ” Ryōma destroyed the costume, tearing it with the stick. And then he hit Ren. He hit his shoulders, his back, his legs. Hard, methodical blows to parts of his body that wouldn't be visible at first glance with a costume on. Ren didn't move. He didn't scream. He just... shut down.

All this caused Ren to lose what little freedom he had left. His phone vibrated constantly on the nightstand. They were messages from Satoru, Kazemaru, Andrey. Dozens of them. “ Leader, where are you? ”, “ Dude, your dad is a horrible person! ”,  “ Ren-Ren, answer! ” Ren ignored them. ECLIPSE was the little freedom he had left, and his father had taken it away from him.

From time to time, a small memory would come back to him in his emptiest moments: a blurred image of how he tried to escape from this golden cage. And always, the color pink. The color pink caught his attention, for some reason.

The only person who noticed that something was wrong was Akira. They were at another costume fitting for the announcement gala. Ren was standing on the pedestal, staring into space while the tailors measured him. “ Are you okay? ” Akira asked, her voice low. Under normal circumstances, Ren would have been uncomfortable, defensive. But he was already out of control of his life, so close to the wedding. He just looked at her, emotionless, and didn't respond. The silence was more meaningful than any words could have been. Akira understood in that moment. The Ice Prince was broken.

The day of the wedding announcement arrived. The main hall of the Shinomiya mansion was filled with executives. Both families, the Shinomiyas and the Takashimas, were ready to hold a small private celebration just before announcing the date to the media. Ryōma cleared his throat, ready to speak.

But minutes before doing so, something happened. The phones of the younger attendees in the room began to vibrate frantically. And then, those of the executives. One after another. Social media began to saturate. Ryōma frowned. “ What's going on? ” A pale assistant approached and showed him his phone.

The family didn't understand what was going on until they saw the posts. A new girl had appeared. A girl with pink hair had appeared out of nowhere. It was a debut video, sponsored by Minamoto Tech. An unknown girl, with a face that was both innocent and dangerous. Her beauty was dazzling, and in a matter of minutes, she overshadowed many girls in Shibuya. Social media said that perhaps she outshone all of Japan. The Pink Bunny, the nickname they had given her on social media, was the number one trend.

The Shinomiya and Takashima families were thrown into chaos. “ Minamoto did what?! ” shouted Akira's father. “ There's no point in announcing our wedding date now! ” roared Ryōma. “ No one will pay any attention to it! That woman... Kaguya... she's deliberately trying to upstage us! ”

This action against the family was taken as a declaration of war. Both families, even though they were not yet united, came together at that moment. They had a common enemy. They would fight back against the Minamoto family.