Scarlet Bloom – Chapter 14: Training with Thorns
Riku hit the ground hard—again.
"Get up," Rei said calmly, standing over him. "That's the fifteenth time."
Riku groaned, clutching his side. "Is this training… or murder?"
"It's survival," Rei replied. "You want to protect your friends? Then earn that strength."
The greenhouse had transformed. The shattered glass gave way to wild, unnatural growth—trees with petals instead of leaves, vines pulsing with energy. Rei called it The Petalforge—a hidden sanctuary only accessible to those with Bloom affinity.
Riku wiped sweat from his brow. "Then teach me how to control this Bloom."
Rei knelt and tapped the cracked pendant. "This is your Royal Core. It doesn't respond to commands—it responds to emotions. You can't control it with your mind. You control it with your heart."
"Sounds cheesy."
"Cheesy keeps people alive."
They laughed, but it was short-lived.
"Again," Rei ordered, stepping back.
Riku closed his eyes. The ring on his finger pulsed, the cracked pendant warmed. He focused—not on the power, but on why he needed it. Kaito's goofy laugh. Airi's quiet gaze. Nagi's endless teasing. Yuu's chaotic joy.
And just like that—the Bloom surged.
Crimson light burst from his chest, forming a single wing behind his right shoulder, feathered with glowing petals.
Rei's eyes widened. "That's it."
Riku opened his eyes—focused, calm, alive.
"…I'm ready."
—
Back at school, Airi sat in the library, flipping through forbidden Bloom Hunter files. Her hands trembled slightly.
> "One of them is leaking information. Someone from the academy…"
She couldn't tell Riku yet. He had enough to handle. But the name she'd seen—it couldn't be real.
Footsteps approached. She quickly closed the file.
Yuu peeked over her shoulder. "Whatcha reading? Looks sus."
"Just some old records," Airi lied.
Yuu smiled. "Cool. By the way, Kaito's been acting weirder than usual. He forgot his own birthday this morning."
Airi blinked. "That's… odd."
Later that day, Airi caught Kaito alone in the hallway, holding his hand and staring at it like it didn't belong to him.
"Kaito?"
He flinched, hiding it behind his back. "Oh, hey! Just… new hand cream. Smells like mystery."
"Kaito," she said gently. "Has anything been happening to you? Anything strange?"
He hesitated, then gave a shaky grin. "You ever dream you're someone else? And then wake up still feeling like them?"
She said nothing. Just watched him walk away, slower than usual.
Something wasn't right.
—
That night, in the Petalforge, Riku stood before a withered tree.
"This is your final test," Rei said. "Face your fear."
The tree's bark split.
From the hollow, a dark version of Riku stepped out—cold eyes, broken smile, Bloom tainted black.
> "You'll never be strong enough," it said.
Riku clenched his fists. "Maybe not. But I'm not fighting alone."
And with that, he charged—heart first.
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