CHAPTER 84: CHAPTER 15: BLOOD AND CHERRY BLOSSOMS

[SHŪMEI’S POV]

The door to Jin’s quarters sealed behind me with a soft hiss. I stood perfectly still in the corridor for exactly three seconds—long enough for anyone watching to believe I was composing myself after an emotional encounter. Then I walked away with measured steps, my expression carefully crafted into one of the gentle concerns tinged with longing.

*Pathetic insects,* I thought as I passed two girls who quickly averted their eyes. *They have no idea what just transpired.*

My lips still tingled from Jin’s desperate kisses. The taste of him still lingered on my tongue like the finest wine. I’d waited so much for this. A real kiss. One where he wanted me with the same consuming hunger that had defined my existence since I was five years old.

Each kiss, each touch, each moment of skin against skin had fed the Entity, strengthening its hold on Jin’s psyche. The fools called it corruption, possession, or loss of his humanity.

They understood nothing.

I slipped into my quarters—deliberately placed directly across from Jin’s, though the others believed it was a coincidence. The moment the door was sealed, I dropped the mask entirely. My reflection in the mirror showed my true face: crimson eyes blazing like twin blood moons, lips curved in a smile that would terrify anyone who saw it. The delicate beauty mark under my right eye, and my knee-length black hair cascaded around me. Porcelain skin stretched taut over features that appeared almost doll-like in their perfection, but the expression twisted that beauty into something horrifying—a gorgeous monster staring back from the glass.

*Sera touched him for 2.3 seconds today and received frost burns,* I mused, moving to my hidden shrine. *Clara can barely look at him without trembling. Rosa keeps her distance. But I... I straddled his lap, felt his hands on my body, and tasted his mouth.*

Behind the false panel, my sanctuary awaited. The walls were covered with images of Jin—photographs I’d taken secretly, sketches I’d drawn from memory. Each image was labeled with precise dates and times, my handwriting were neat. At the center sat a small altar with carefully preserved items: a strand of his hair, a bloodstained piece of his uniform, the cup he’d drunk from this morning. Vials of his blood lined up, each one labeled with the date and method of collection.

I knelt before it, pulling out my journal—entry number 4,847.

*Jin’s transformation is beautiful to watch. The Entity—the thing everyone’s so scared of—isn’t some parasite. It’s power. The kind of power the first Tsurugi dreamed of, finally coming back to where it belongs. And I’ll make sure it finishes taking over.*

*Today was huge. Just kissing him, feeling his hands on me... I could feel the Entity getting stronger. He stopped before we went all the way—still holding onto those silly ideas about right and wrong. That’s okay. I’ll break those walls down. If we actually slept together? God, the power that would unleash... I can almost taste it.*

*What’s standing in my way:*

*- Sera: She’s the biggest problem. He still cares about her. Fix: Make it look like she betrayed him.*

*- Clara: She’s smart, might figure out how to separate him from the Entity. Fix: Start messing with her data, make her doubt everything she thinks she knows..*

*- Jin himself: He’s still fighting it. Fix: Need to break him more..*

I set down the pen and retrieved a small vial from my collection—Jin’s blood, collected after the Crawler attack. I held it up to the light, watching it gleam. The crimson glow of my eyes reflected in the glass, creating an unholy light that made my face appear both angelic and demonic.

"Soon," I whispered, my voice sounding like honey laced with poison. "Soon you’ll understand that I’m the only one who truly accepts you. Who loves not just the kind boy you were, but the monster you’re becoming."

A knock at my door interrupted my reverie. I had 1.3 seconds to hide everything and resume my mask. By the time I opened it, I was once again the delicate, helpful cousin, my eyes soft and innocent, my expression one of gentle concern.

Scarlett stood there, her emerald eyes sharp with suspicion. "Shūmei. We need to talk."

"Of course, Scarlett-san," I replied with a gentle smile, though internally I was calculating seventeen different ways to kill her with items within arm’s reach. The hairpin holding my bun in place could be driven through her eye socket in 0.8 seconds. The decorative fan on my desk could slice her carotid artery if thrown correctly. Even the tea set on my table contained enough powdered cyanide to kill three people. "Please, come in."

She entered cautiously, her hand never straying far from her weapons. Smart girl. Useless, but smart.

"I saw you leave Jin’s room," she said without preamble. "What were you doing?"

"Offering comfort," I replied, allowing a blush to color my cheeks. The effect was charming—innocent vulnerability painted across features that hid something much darker. "Jin was so upset. I thought having a family close might help."

"Family." Scarlett’s tone was flat. "You’ve known him for what, days since waking up?"

*I’ve known him since before you were even picked for this program, you arrogant fool. I watched him train when he thought no one was looking. I collected his first lost tooth when he was seven.*

"Family bonds run deep," I said softly, letting a single tear trace a path down my cheek. The tear was perfectly calculated to fall at the exact moment to maximize sympathy. "We’re cousins, connected by blood and tradition."

Scarlett’s eyes narrowed. "That’s what concerns me. Your attachment to him seems... extreme."

I let tears well up in my eyes—a skill I’d perfected by age seven. The effect was devastating, making me appear heartbreakingly beautiful and fragile. "Is it wrong to care about the only family I have left? Everyone else is gone, Scarlett. Jin is all I have."

Her expression softened slightly. Predictable. "I understand that, but Jin is going through something dangerous. Getting too close might—"

"Might what?" I interrupted, letting a hint of steel enter my voice before quickly softening it again. For a split second, I allowed my mask to slip, just enough to show the predator beneath the prey. Scarlett’s eyes widened almost imperceptibly, a flicker of fear crossing her features before she could suppress it.

"Might feed whatever’s consuming him," Scarlett countered, her voice slightly less confident than before.

*If only you knew how right you are,* I thought with dark amusement. *Every moment I spend with him makes the Entity stronger. Every touch, every whispered promise, every carefully planned moment pushes him further from the light. And soon, there will be no light left—only the beautiful darkness we’ll share.*

"I would never hurt Jin," I said aloud, and it was the complete truth. I wouldn’t hurt him. I would simply help him become what he was meant to be—a god of death and destruction with me as his only disciple.

Scarlett studied me for a long moment, then sighed. "Just... be careful. Something’s happening to him, and I don’t think any of us fully understand it."

"I understand perfectly," I murmured as she left, allowing my true smile to return once her back was turned. The expression was captivating—my full lips curved into a smile that was both radiant and terrifying, my crimson eyes glowing with unholy light. Anyone seeing it would have been struck by the terrible beauty of it.

Once alone again, I pulled out a second journal—this one written in a cipher of my own design.

*Backup plans:*

*- If the Entity doesn’t take over completely: Create some horrible trauma to push him over the edge. Maybe arrange for him to witness someone he cares about being tortured? Or better yet, make him believe he’s the one who hurt them.*

*- If Jin fights back: Get rid of everyone he cares about except me. Sera first—her death would break him. Then Clara, Rosa, the others. One by one, until only I remain.*

*- If they try to save him: Release Crawler attractants in the medical bay. Watch as the monsters tear apart everyone trying to "help" him. The irony would be delicious.*

*- If Jin dies: I’ll follow 4.7 seconds later. Already have the poison ready. Quick and painless. We’ll be together in the next life if not this one.*

I closed the journal and moved to my weapon collection—47 different blades, each one chosen for a specific rival’s anatomy. My fingers traced along to them lovingly, imagining the beautiful patterns they would paint.

"Sera’s neck is weird—her artery’s 2.3 millimeters to the left of where it should be," I recited from memory. "A single precise cut would end her in seconds. Clara’s lungs are weak—suffocation would be easiest. Rosa’s old shoulder injury makes her vulnerable. Scarlett’s reaction time slows down by 0.03 seconds when she’s protecting someone else."

But these were last resorts. The true art was in making them eliminate themselves—through doubt, fear, or the slow realization that they could never compete with what Jin and I shared.

I retrieved one final item from my collection: a photograph from our childhood, before the cryo-sleep. Jin, age thirteen, practicing sword forms while I watched from the shadows. He never knew I was there, just as he never knew I’d been there for a thousand other moments. I traced the outline of his face with a perfectly manicured finger, my crimson eyes glowing with possessive love.

The blood oath we’d made as children still bound us. I could feel it in my veins, a constant pull toward him. The others thought it was just a childhood game, but the Tsurugi clan’s ancient blood oaths were real and unbreakable.

"My blood is your blood," I whispered to the photograph, my voice soft and deadly. "Your life is my life. And soon, my beloved Jin, your darkness will be my darkness. We’ll rule this dead world together, painted in the blood of anyone who stands between us."

As I prepared to leave, I caught my reflection again. For just a moment, I let myself imagine the future: Jin, fully merged with the Entity, sitting on a throne made from the bones of our enemies. And me beside him, the only one he trusted, the only one he needed, the only one left alive to worship him. The image was intoxicating—his crimson eyes matching mine, our powers combined, ruling over a world remade in our image.

"Soon," I promised my reflection, my true face revealed in all its horrifying beauty. "Very soon."

The blood oath pulsed in my veins, and somewhere in the vault, I knew Jin felt it too. We were bound by something deeper and stronger than love.

We were bound by blood and cherry blossoms, by childhood promises and adult desires, by the darkness that lived in both our hearts.

And I would feed that darkness until it consumed everything else.

*For Jin,* I thought as I slipped into the corridors, a blade hidden in my sleeve. *Everything for Jin.*