Chapter 23 – Ripples in Glass
Homeroom was unusually quiet.
No teasing. No jokes. Even Mr. Fujimoto's usual sleepy entrance felt heavier somehow, like the air was thicker. Students glanced around nervously, as if everyone had read the same eerie script the night before.
"Class…" the teacher started, but paused. "You all okay?"
No one answered.
Riku sat near the window, watching the breeze stir the trees like they were whispering secrets. Airi sat one row ahead. She hadn't looked back once.
He barely heard the lecture. His mind was buzzing.
Bloom… Chosen… My brother…
He clenched his hand. The symbol had vanished from his skin. But he could still feel it, pulsing like a silent warning just under the surface.
During lunch, Sora practically slammed his tray down beside him. "Okay. Seriously. What the hell is going on?"
Yuki popped up beside them. "I had another dream. This time I was underwater, but the water was red and there were voices saying my name!"
"Guys," Riku said quietly, "I don't think it's just dreams."
Sora gave him a look. "Don't tell me you're going full anime protagonist on us."
"I'm serious," Riku said. "Things are happening. Things that… shouldn't be possible."
Ren slid into the seat across from them, looking unusually pale. "I saw my reflection blink when I didn't. I wasn't even looking at it."
Yuki looked between them. "Okay, okay—stop. You guys are freaking me out."
Just then, Airi walked by.
Riku grabbed her wrist.
"Tell them."
Her eyes met his, cold and calculating. "They're not ready."
"They deserve to know."
She pulled away. "Not yet."
And just like that, she left the cafeteria.
"…What was that about?" Sora muttered.
"She knows something," Riku said. "And I'm gonna find out what."
That evening, after classes, he followed her.
She didn't go home.
She went to the old greenhouse behind the school—the one abandoned after the storm years ago. No one ever went near it. The glass was cracked, the air thick with ivy and silence.
She stood in the center of it, eyes closed, her hand glowing softly—scarlet and beautiful.
"Thought you'd come," she said without turning.
Riku stepped inside. "What is this place?"
She opened her eyes slowly. "It's where your brother awakened."
Riku froze.
"…You were there?"
"I helped him Bloom."
The glass trembled slightly with those words.
He stepped closer. "You're going to tell me everything. No more riddles."
She looked at him—no smiles now, no teasing—just a deep sadness that seemed too heavy for someone their age.
"I will," she said. "But once I do… nothing will ever go back to normal."
---