Scarlet Bloom – Chapter 7: Petals Beneath the Skin
The day passed in a blur.
Teachers talked. Pens moved. Pages turned.
But Riku heard none of it.
His thoughts stayed tangled around Airi's words—about the Seal of Bloom, the warning from his brother, and the strange feeling creeping inside him ever since the pendant had glowed.
He gripped the side of his desk. For a second, he thought he felt it again. A faint warmth running down his arm, like something pulsing beneath his skin.
He looked down.
His veins… were glowing.
Just faintly. Like tiny threads of red light, dancing under his skin.
He blinked—and it was gone.
"Okay," he whispered. "Now I'm seeing things."
"Talking to yourself already?" Kaito whispered beside him. "That's step one to a classic anime breakdown."
"I'm fine."
"You look like you just saw a ghost."
Riku forced a smile. "Maybe I did."
—
After school, they decided to hang out at a small arcade downtown—something normal to push away the weird.
Kaito immediately dove into a claw machine battle, screaming with dramatic flair every time he barely missed a plushie. "It's rigged! This machine is a villain!"
Airi was silent. She stood beside Riku, arms folded, eyes distant.
"You okay?" he asked.
She shrugged. "Just thinking."
"About me?"
Her cheeks flushed. "N-No!"
Riku smirked. "So… yes."
"You're impossible."
"True. But charming."
She rolled her eyes. "That's debatable."
Despite everything, it felt nice. Laughing. Teasing. Like the weirdness hadn't caught up to them yet.
But then—Riku felt it again.
That pulse. That warmth.
He turned toward the back of the arcade. A mirror on the wall showed his reflection—but something was wrong.
His eyes… they were glowing red.
He blinked—and it was gone.
Again.
"Riku?" Airi's voice snapped him back.
He didn't respond.
He was breathing hard. Chest tight.
And then—CRASH!
A glass cabinet exploded behind them, shards flying. People screamed.
The lights flickered.
Airi grabbed his arm. "We need to go!"
They ran outside into the evening air. The sky was turning orange, clouds swirling overhead like a storm was building.
Riku stumbled forward, gripping his chest. The pendant against his skin burned now—not painfully, but like fire calling him awake.
"What's happening to me?" he gasped.
"I think," Airi said, her voice shaking, "your Bloom is starting to open."
They stopped in a quiet alley. No one around.
Kaito caught up, panting. "Okay, that was officially freaky. Did you blow up the arcade, Riku?!"
"I didn't mean to."
"You could do that?!"
Riku looked down at his hands. They shimmered faintly.
Not with light.
With petals. Scarlet red. Floating just beneath the surface of his skin.
"I don't know what's happening," he whispered, "but I think… something inside me is waking up."
And from the shadows of the alley…
someone was watching.
A tall figure with a black coat and golden eyes.
Smiling.
As if everything was going exactly as planned.
Awesome—let's go deeper!