The silver moon hung high as Reika exhaled slowly, eyes narrowed, arms outstretched. Sparks of crimson aura licked the air around him like fireflies. Opposite him stood Mira, calm and radiant beneath the trees, her cloak hiding the demon marks that had grown more prominent under the moonlight.
"You're improving," she said, stepping closer. "But you can't fight rage with willpower alone. You need something to anchor you. Someone."
Reika blinked. "Anchor?"
Mira reached for his hand without hesitation, lacing her fingers with his. Her touch was soft, but it steadied the swirling storm inside him.
"Anchor it to me," she whispered.
The ren around him pulsed once—then softened. Wind stirred through the trees as if even nature had exhaled. Mira smiled. So did Reika.
They trained deep into the night, exchanging small laughs between serious strikes. When they finally sat beneath the stars, Mira leaned her head against Reika's shoulder, and the world felt quiet for once.
The next morning, Kaien burst through the door of their shared quarters like a man possessed.
"Wake up, nerds! It's fishing day!"
Zariel rubbed his temples. "Who declared this a thing?"
"I did," Kaien grinned. "Because since we stole, i mean got the jobs at this academy we haven't had fun. And it's tradition."
"You made that up just now."
"Doesn't make it less true."
To everyone's surprise, Vivi had just returned from her camping trip—cloaked in pine scent, a little tanner, and already fuming as her eyes landed on Mira standing near Reika… holding his sleeve.
"You're still here?" Vivi asked with a strained smile. "So close?"
Mira blinked. "You think so?"
"I just said it," Vivi snapped, then turned to Kaien. "Fishing. Let's go. Now."
The lake shimmered beneath the afternoon sun. Everyone was lined up with rods in hand. Kaien made it unnecessarily complicated by introducing rules.
"Biggest fish wins. Loser does dishes for a week."
Zariel, deadpan as usual, added, "Can we just let the lake take me instead?"
Kaien tried casting his rod and immediately got tangled in it. Zariel caught an eel and screamed. Mira calmly coaxed a fish onto her hook like it was a pet.
Then Vivi, trying to not look jealous, roundhouse-kicked a trout out of the water.
"Who's better than fishing?" she announced proudly, holding the trout over her head.
Reika looked up, water dripping from his rod. "You mean... better at fishing?"
She flushed. "Shut up."
But then it happened. Reika's aura slipped just a bit—an invisible pressure spreading over the lake. The water shimmered unnaturally. Schools of fish started circling his boat.
"Hey!" Kaien yelled. "He's aura farming the fish!"
Vivi's mouth dropped. "That's cheating! That's aura-based illegal fishing! Unless you're hot. I mean—not what I meant!"
Kaien cackled. Zariel just stared. Mira chuckled softly. And Reika? He shrugged and caught five fish at once without moving a muscle.
Later that afternoon, Reika wandered off toward a nearby tree, needing a moment. Vivi followed.
"So," she said, casually sitting beside him. "You and Mira, huh?"
Reika blinked. "What do you mean?"
"Come on," she scoffed. "She holds your sleeve. You hold her hand. You train with her under the stars. It's a thing. Right?"
"I... don't know."
Vivi crossed her arms. "Good to know you're still emotionally dense."
He laughed, just a little.
"I mean," she said more softly, "not that I care. I just figured... you'd wait for someone who really knew you. Who could actually keep up. Who could handle your weird training. And your jokes. And your moods. Not that I mean me. Obviously."
He turned to her, amused. "Are you jealous?"
"No!" she blurted, too quickly. "I'm just... observant."
She stormed off a second later. Kaien, who had been eavesdropping behind a tree, sipped from his water bottle and whispered, "She's so jealous it's adorable."
That night, Reika returned to the training clearing. Mira was already there, standing beneath the moonlight, wearing a black large hoodie with a skull on it, short pants, her horns hidden, but glowing faintly.
"How'd your day go?" she asked.
Reika smiled. "I think I found my anchor."
She blinked. "Oh?"
"It's... a bit messy. But I think it's you."
Her smile deepened as she stepped closer, resting her forehead against his, left hand on the side of his face.
The air shimmered softly around them. Reika's ren flickered but remained calm. His heartbeat steadied. And for a brief moment, the silver-haired demon boy felt completely at peace.
Got it! Here's the full merged chapter written in smooth, narrative prose—no columns, just story.
Chapter Title: "Training… or Something Like It"
The sky was just beginning to glow with the soft orange of dusk when Reika arrived at the field. He blinked in confusion. Torches—no, romantically placed flame pillars—lined the edges. A mat had been laid out in the center, and there stood Vivi, arms crossed, face turned slightly to the side with an almost invisible blush.
"You're late," she said.
Reika scratched his head. "Late for what? Combat training? At sunset?"
"They're not candles. They're flame pillars. Aura enhancement purposes." Her voice was sharp, but her foot tapped nervously.
He stepped forward, raising an eyebrow. "You set this up?"
"I don't see anyone else here," she muttered. "Now get into stance. You need to work on close-contact defense."
And so began the strangest sparring session of Reika's life. Vivi kept slipping, falling against him. She circled him in ways that were… not in any known martial form. Every time he gave her a questioning look, she huffed.
"You're not focusing, Reika. Focus."
But the truth was—he couldn't. Because his mind wandered. Every time he blocked her jabs or caught her wrists, flashes of the past flickered through his thoughts.
He remembered how she used to sneak him extra food during tough days. How she once punched a noble in the gut for insulting his bloodline. How, when the others had feared his growing power, Vivi had sat beside him without saying a word, just so he wouldn't feel alone.
"You always looked out for me," he murmured mid-spar, just loud enough for her to hear.
Vivi froze. Her punch missed. "Wh-what?"
He smiled softly. "Nothing. Just aura tricks."
She turned red from her ears to her collar. "I didn't do anything. I just didn't want a squadmate slacking off. That's all."
He didn't press it. But his chest tightened.
Later that night, Reika sat near the firepit, a mug of tea in his hand. He stared into the flames. Kaien plopped down beside him with his usual flair, cloak flaring unnecessarily as he sat.
"You look like you've been hit by a truck of feelings," Kaien said.
"I'm… confused," Reika admitted. "About someone. About two someones. I'm not sure what I feel."
Kaien grinned like he'd been waiting for this his whole life.
"Ahhh. The classic Double Flame Dilemma. Once, I liked two girls. One was a warlock who cursed birds. The other was a spirit bird."
Reika choked on his tea. "What?"
"They both wanted me. Argued over me every morning. So, I introduced a third girl. Third girl's the charm, I always say."
"Let me guess," Zariel said, walking up with a smirk, "The third girl turned out to be married to your father?"
Kaien looked offended. "She was separated. Technically."
"First girl set your tent on fire. Second girl pecked your face till your eyebrow fell off. Third girl pressed charges."
Kaien sniffed. "Love's a battlefield."
Zariel sat down beside Reika. "Ignore him. Whatever you're feeling… it's valid. Just don't do what he did."
"Hey!"
Elsewhere, in the quiet of her tent, Vivi was scribbling furiously in her training journal—which was absolutely not a diary.
"Reika's form today was… acceptable. Eyes were distracting. Hands were soft and amazing, i mean not that i just wanted to feel his hands," she said as her cheeks were turning red.
"Tactical observation.
Smells… decent. Maybe distracting. Possibly due to sweat chemistry.
I am not jealous. Just observant. Mira probably uses illegal shampoo anyway."
She threw her pen down, hugged her pillow, and screamed into it.
Later that night, Reika found himself near the riverbank, alone. Rain had begun to fall, soft at first, then heavier. It soaked through his grey shirt, six packs shimmered under the moonlight, the rain matted his silver hair to his forehead. He closed his eyes, letting the water wash over him.
His ren began to glow.
Silver light pulsed from him like steam off hot steel, then shifted—red, burning, volatile. Memories of Mira, of her bleeding in his arms, of Vivi's laughter, of guilt, fear, longing—all of it surged into his chest.
He opened his eyes, now glowing with crimson fury.
His power exploded.
Thunder cracked above him as the ground beneath his feet split in a clean line. His aura whipped the trees. Leaves trembled. Water rippled across the river.
Unseen, Zariel and Kaien watched from the woods.
"…That boy's cultivating more than power," Kaien muttered. "He's cultivating romance trauma."
"I give him two days before he breaks something," Zariel added. "Or someone."
And just beyond the trees, Vivi watched, heart thudding.
She didn't know why it made her chest ache to see him like that.
She didn't know why it mattered that she hadn't been the one to bring him peace.
She crossed her arms, glared at the ground, and muttered:
"It's just stress. He needs more training."