Chapter Text
Some people aren’t exactly fond of the idea of soulmates. Being soulmates doesn’t mean you’re immediately in love with the person you’re fated with, of course. This isn’t a new thing, and quite honestly, is a very common thing.
Which is why some people would rather take the surgery to cure the disease when they’ve discovered their fated person and aren’t happy about it.
If you’re lucky, your soulmate could be your childhood friend that you know and can learn to love easily. Maybe even a crush you’ve liked for a while now. Or perhaps a friend you’ve known for years and know you’ll be happy with them.
Unfortunately for Kou, that was not the case.
Needless to say, the day he and Hanako found out they were fated, it didn’t start off swell. The catch to the hanahaki disease is that even if you’ve met your fated, if neither of your feelings are reciprocated, then the flowers will not stop. So even as Kou had stopped coughing petals every now and then, he does still cough up a single camellia flower a day.
The case was the same for Hanako, of course.
However, it wasn’t as if the problem could easily be solved by simply trying to fall in love. Not with their situation of one being a ghost and the other being an exorcist. It’s not completely taboo, but in a moral perspective, it’s not exactly acceptable.
It took Kou days of trying to hide the fact that he coughs up flowers now from Teru before his older brother found him out one day and almost rushed him to the hospital. Kou had to come clean to him as to why he was coughing flowers now, and Teru did not take the news too well, of course.
“It’s okay, Kou. We’ll get you checked up and hopefully get the okay for the surgery as soon as possible.” Teru assured him that day and Kou remembers nodding but not exactly being relieved about the suggestion.
Truth be told, looking at his situation logically, Kou knows the best course of action would be to take the surgery. And then he would no longer be tied to Hanako in any way, the flowers will finally stop, and Kou can continue living on without the pain of having to heave those cursed plants out of his system every day.
He should be happy with that idea. But he wasn’t.
When he found out Hanako was his fated, he was a little bit disappointed. And yes, he did consider wanting to take the surgery as soon as possible.
But the more time they spent time together, the longer they hung out, the more he learned about Hanako, he couldn’t help but feel that maybe it wasn’t so bad. The anxiety and disappointment of having the leader of the Seven Mysteries be your soulmate quickly dissipated and was replaced by some kind of fondness.
And maybe Kou was a little happy about the thought of experiencing the love he had long assumed he would never know.
Kou tried to remove these thoughts whenever they came out. Would always tell himself that it was hopeless because Hanako was a ghost and he was an exorcist. The chances of Hanako ever liking him or even consider liking him is small so he shouldn’t get his hopes up about experiencing love with the supernatural.
“Yashiro, is it just me or have you been acting weird?” Hanako asks, staring at Yashiro with a suspicious look. Kou notices Yashiro wince at the question, a clear indication he caught her red-handed.
“I…I’m acting just like I always do, what do you mean?” Yashiro replies, turning away from Hanako as she continues to mop the toilet floor.
Hanako continues to cite the many things that were different about how Yashiro acted before compared to now but Yashiro was just as stubborn. The senior wasn’t the best at hiding her feelings so even Kou was aware Yashiro was acting strange. He can only assume something must have happened during their previous encounter in the bookstacks.
Starting to get annoyed from the attitude Yashiro was showing him, Hanako decides to cup both of the girl’s cheeks to forcibly turn her head towards him “Why won’t you look at me?!” the ghost asks as he pulls her head closer to his, their faces barely inches apart.
Kou silently watches the scene. He had already assumed for a while now after the many encounters they’ve had with previous supernaturals, and he wasn’t one to immediately jump the gun just because two people were being… a little too intimate, one might say.
But at this point, perhaps it was safe to say that Hanako and Yashiro might actually like each other.
While he can’t say for certain just yet, but the thought was there. Frankly, it didn’t make him feel happy or at ease. Kou should be the last person right now to consider being jealous of the fact your soulmate likes someone else considering their circumstances. And yet, here he was.
Not that he can help it nor can he force who Hanako ends up liking in the first place. If Hanako prefers and is happier with Yashiro than his own soulmate, then so be it.
But before anything else, he had to do something to cheer Yashiro up and patch things up between his two friends. After scouring his brain for ideas, he remembers Hanako mentioned about liking donuts and decides perhaps personally made donuts would be perfect.
And so after getting permission to use the Home Economics room after classes and convincing Teru to help get ingredients, all Kou needed to do was invite Yashiro to help bake them.
First and foremost, though, he had to ask Hanako to lay his senpai off of bathroom cleaning for the day.
“Eh? Give Yashiro the day off?” Hanako echoes the request, Kou nods in response “Why? Don’t tell me… are you going to invite her on a date?” the ghost gasps, sounding scandalized.
That earns a hit in the head from Kou “No, don’t get any ideas, you perverted ghost! Senpai has a lot on her plate right now, so I think she needs some rest.” he decides to say. It wasn’t completely wrong.
Hanako hums, the look on his face aware about what Kou was referring to. It didn’t take two braincells to figure it out, anyway “And you want to cheer her up, I assume?”
“Well, it’s only natural. But first of all, she needs some space, okay? So don’t think about looking for her to drag her here or anything!”
The ghost squints at him, clearly unamused “Well, not that I care about what you two get up to.” He shrugs, turning his back to Kou as he stares out at the window.
“Then, you’ll let her go for today?” Kou beams, sounding glad that Hanako seems like he won’t pester Yashiro to clean for today.
“Do whatever you like.”
Kou’s smile doesn’t leave his face hearing the response. He was about to make his leave when he starts hearing Hanako cough. A sound that he’s all too familiar with, even.
Kou immediately turns around and sure enough, Hanako was coughing hard, forcing something to come out of his throat. The blonde rushes to his side, rubbing him on the back as he remembers Teru always did for him. Not that it helped much, but the warm gesture was reassuring to say the least.
Honestly, it was a new thing for Kou to be in the position where he’s the one comforting another person when their disease triggers.
A red camellia flower falls on the floor and both Hanako and Kou stare at the flower. The very flower that symbolizes their fates. Kou felt guilt at the pit of his stomach seeing this flower coming from someone other than him. If it were him, he wouldn’t mind it much, but because the cause of Hanako coughing the flower up was being fated to him when they obviously don’t have any reason to reciprocate each other’s feelings, he can’t help but feel bad.
Even worse when Hanako can’t even take the surgery like he can to free himself of the suffering.
“Don’t you have to be somewhere else, kid?” Hanako voices out, disrupting the silence between them and that snaps Kou out of his thoughts. He nods, takes one last concerned glance at Hanako before leaving the bathroom.
Suddenly, Kou began to wonder; would it have been better if Hanako and Yashiro were the ones fated?
It’s clear that they could potentially have mutual feelings for one another. Kou wasn’t blind enough to not notice it.
And while Kou can’t pinpoint why Yashiro would ever have feelings for Hanako knowing her interests in men, he can at least understand why Hanako would like Yashiro. He admittedly has crushed on his senior since meeting her, and he admits he still does to this day.
Yashiro was cute, friendly, hardworking. She’s a little clumsy sometimes, but it adds to her charm. She’s very outgoing and cares about her friends a lot. Despite being new to the experience of being involved with supernaturals, she takes them head-on very courageously.
There’s a lot of things to like about Yashiro. And if Hanako, despite being Kou’s soulmate, decides to choose Yashiro over him, he has no reason to complain.
Cough, cough.
Kou was wheezing, hacking even as he forces out the single camellia flower to exit his throat and out of his mouth. As much as he's been coughing up the flower for days now, it was never easy doing so. His throat burned every time and his lungs felt like they were being suffocated. It really was much harder compared to the petals, he'll admit.
Teru was immediately by his side, dropping the trash bag in his hand as he runs to his little brother to rub his back in an attempt to ease the pain. He glares at the blood-red flower that drops on Kou's hand, a clear indication of Kou's situation but also a symbol of mockery.
He hated that he had to accept the fact Kou's soulmate was Hanako of all people. Hated that he couldn't do anything about it because exorcising the ghost would only be futile for Kou's condition. They can only wait on the okay for Kou to take the surgery and then he'll be free from all this suffering.
"Thanks, Teru-nii." Kou smiles at his brother, dropping the flower on a nearby trash bag before he continues with his task of washing the utensils they used for baking donuts earlier.
"You know, Kou," Teru suddenly speaks up after seconds of silence "while coughing up a flower is a symbol of meeting your fated, it won't stop until you've both reciprocated your feelings."
Kou turns to his brother, curious about why he's bringing this up when the blonde was well aware of this fact "I know that. Which is why I'm taking the surgery, remember?"
Because there's no feelings that should be reciprocated. There shouldn't be any... there shouldn't be...
Kou convinces himself this, but he knows the coughing was usually triggered whenever he thought about Hanako and Yashiro. One flower a day was a reminder that you've met your soulmate. The following flowers that you cough up on the same day is a clear indication that you have feelings that need to be returned towards that person.
This was Kou's third flower coughed up today.
Teru nods in response but doesn't say anything else. Or more refuses to add to the discussion and simply continues assisting his brother with cleaning up the Home Ec room.
***
Hey, have you heard?
The ghost of a girl haunts the bench sitting underneath one of the trees in the school yard. They say the girl was buried underneath the tree by the man she claimed to be her soulmate. But the man didn’t accept her feelings and decided to kill her and bury her under the tree. Sometimes, you can hear her cries if you get close to it, others say you’ll see her figure sitting on the bench every sunset, waiting for the love of her life.
Sure enough, the rumors were true. One sunset after classes, Kou caught sight of the figure of a young woman in a white dress and long black hair sitting on the ‘cursed bench’ underneath the tree.
It was by chance, really. He was on his way home when he saw her. The rumors about her had only started spreading recently so it was no surprise that her ghost has only appeared more clearly now.
As an exorcist, Kou couldn’t ignore her even if she wasn’t exactly doing harm towards the students. But it was better if Kou handled it before things got out of hand.
“Uhm, excuse me.” Kou carefully greets.
The woman turns to her and Kou exhales a breath in awe seeing the beauty of the ghost. Her long raven hair was as black as the evening sky, eyes the color of gold and skin as pale as snow. One might even consider calling her that one fairytale princess.
“Yes?” the woman asks, looking up at whoever called her.
“Ah, hello. I didn’t mean to bother you, but, uh…” Kou trails off, scratching the back of his neck as he’s suddenly unsure how to go about this.
He’s learned that he doesn’t exactly need to use exorcism powers to exorcise apparitions. There’s another method that requires fulfilling their unfinished business so they can pass on to the afterlife. This is the first time Kou plans on attempting this method so he wasn’t sure where to start.
“Are you here to exorcise me?” the woman suddenly brings up to Kou’s surprise “You’re an exorcist, right?”
“Ah, yes I am. Well, I did come to exorcise you but not in a bad way or anything! I just…” Kou fidgets in his place, trying to get words out properly “If—If there’s anything I can help you with, please let me know!”
The woman stares at him, a little confused of his claim “Help me with?”
“Yes, uh… I just think… you’re probably still here because of some unfinished business, right? Something you want to do before passing on?” Kou explains.
He hears the woman hum, looking up at the purple-orange sky. Silence enveloped between them as Kou waited for a response and after seconds, she finally speaks “Would you like to join me here on this bench, then?”
Kou blinks at her “Huh?”
She turns her attention back to him, a soft and welcoming smile on her pale face as she pats the space beside her “It gets a little lonely just sitting here by myself. I wouldn’t mind the company.”
“S-Sure, yes! I would love to.” Kou beams, sitting himself down on the bench beside her.
“Thank you. What’s your name?” she asks.
“Kou.”
“Kou… a very beautiful name. Is it written like the character for ‘light’?” Kou nods “I see. My soulmate had a similar name, actually. Hikaru.”
Kou grows silent, a bad feeling rising in his chest at the mention of her soulmate “I’m sorry about your soulmate, ma’am.” the blonde couldn’t help but say.
The woman giggles beside him, to his surprise “Don’t be! I’ve long accepted it already. We can’t exactly force people to love us or else we’ll end up suffocating the ones we hold dear. It’ll only lead to never-ending sadness and suffering for both parties. And that’s exactly why I’m here right now.”
With the way the woman says it so casually, Kou feels the weight on his shoulders lighten. Seeing how it seems her death and the issue with her soulmate doesn’t exactly bother her anymore, Kou does wonder why she’s still around.
“Don’t you want to pass on, then?” Kou decides to ask.
The woman looks back up at the sky, suddenly her expression turns sad “Yes. I want nothing more than to find peace.” she replies through her sorrowful smile.
Kou opens his mouth to ask the question in his head but stops himself, realizing it might be a little too insensitive if he did. Instead, he decides to say something else “Then, if there’s anything I can help for you to find peace, I’ll do my best.”
The woman looks back at Kou, a little taken back from the exorcist’s claim before her expression transitions to a smile “Thank you.”
From the window of the third-floor girls’ bathroom, another ghost witnesses the friendly exchange between the exorcist and the apparition. He simply stares at the pair, unamused as they talk and laugh on the bench.
Hanako knew Kou was doing this as part of his duty being an exorcist, and he knows the apparition isn’t dangerous at the very least so there was nothing to be alarmed about. But still, Hanako kept his eyes on them.
The only reason the mystery had to look away was when he felt his disease trigger, wheezing and hacking as he coughs out a flower. Hanako glares at the red plant sitting on the window sill, remembering that it was the second flower he had coughed up that day.
***
The days pass by and Kou continues his duty of keeping the woman by the tree company every after class. They would usually chat and share stories with each other. Kou had learned so much about the ghost that sometimes he wonders how her soulmate could kill and abandon her so easily.
She was very kind and gentle. Sometimes funny even. Kou didn’t find himself bored spending time with her. There were times he would bring her snacks he cooked himself, feeling giddy when she complimented his skill.
“Have you met your soulmate yet, Kou-kun?” the woman suddenly brings up.
Kou tenses at the question, feeling his cheeks grow warm all of a sudden and he didn’t know exactly why “I, uhm… well… yes, I have actually.” he sheepishly admits, scratching his cheek.
“My! What are they like?” she beams, curious golden eyes staring at Kou as she eagerly waited for his response.
“Well… they’re okay, I guess. Not exactly the… ideal person to be bonded we, honestly.” Kou admits, looking at his feet.
The woman’s smile fades as a curious expression dons her face “Really?” she wonders “Do you not like them, then?”
Kou doesn’t reply immediately. Which he finds strange himself. Normally, he should say he doesn’t, but somehow, something in him refuses to accept that. Then again, his several coughed-up flowers a day was a clear indication that there are feelings present that he just doesn’t want to accept out loud.
“I’m not exactly sure but… it doesn’t really matter.” Kou decides to reply instead, offering a weak smile along with it “I doubt they would like me back, anyways.”
The woman’s brows knit together hearing Kou’s words. She understood exactly how the blonde felt. To have your soulmate but not exactly having your feelings reciprocated the same way, it hurts.
“I guess we’re in the same boat, then.” she says, offering a smile nonetheless.
Kou returns the smile “Yeah. It’s fine. At least once I’ve taken the surgery, I won’t have to deal with these troublesome feelings.” he adds.
After some time, the sun had already set and the stars were starting to peek over the evening sky. Kou stands from his place, saying he had to head home to prepare dinner but before he leaves, the woman calls out to him once more.
“Tomorrow.” she says.
“Tomorrow?” Kou asks, raising a brow.
“I think… it will all be over tomorrow.” she clarifies, a gentle smile on her face.
Kou’s eyes widen, surprised of her claim. It was vague, but even Kou knew what exactly she meant. His chest feels lighter at the news. While he wasn’t sure what had happened to help her pass on, Kou was just glad that she’ll finally find peace.
It could be the joy and eagerness in his system that time felt like it flew fast for Kou the following day and just like that, classes were over. Yokoo and Satou invited him to hang out but he unfortunately had to reschedule. Thankfully, the two understood.
He passed by Yashiro who was on her way to the school garden from the third-floor bathroom. It seems Hanako let her take the day off from cleaning so she decides to make use of her free time to help out with club. Kou was a little surprised about this but he wishes her luck, still, and the two went their separate ways.
Kou arrives at the usual bench underneath the tree in the school yard, where she saw the woman sitting on her place as normal.
“Hello!” Kou greeted rather cheerfully and he’s returned with a cheerful response from the woman.
“You’re quite early today, Kou-kun.” she muses as Kou sits himself down the bench.
“Am I? Ah, I guess I was a little excited.” Kou admits, scratching the back of his head.
“I see. I’m glad to know you’re just as excited as I am.” she smiles, gentle and reassuring.
“Of course.” Kou says, staring up at the branches of the tree that swayed from the breeze “I wanted to be able to spend time with you for a little bit longer before you pass on. I did enjoy our time together.” he adds, offering his own bright smile.
The woman nods, following his gaze and the two stare up at the sky in silence for a moment. A silence that they’ve both grown rather familiar with from the time they’ve spent together. It was comforting, reassuring even.
“Kou-kun.” the woman then speaks up after a few seconds. Kou looks to her as he’s called “Do you remember how you said you’ll help me fulfill my unfinished business so I can find peace?” she then brings up.
“Yes, why?” Kou replies, curious of the sudden question.
The woman turns her gaze to him, the smile never leaving her face “Then,” and she leans closer to the blonde, a cold hand cupping the other’s cheek as she whispers in his ear “please stay with me forever.”
Kou isn’t able to react immediately as a hand is pressed against his chest, passing through his clothes, his skin, until it caught something from inside the blonde. And in a quick few seconds, the last thing Kou sees is the apologetic look on the woman’s pale face before his vision goes dark.
***
Kou’s body topples over and falls on the ground with a thud as soon as his soul was taken out of his body. A wide smile adorns the woman’s face as her eyes are glued to the glowing, tiny light in the palm of her hand; the soul of the person she wishes to stay with forever.
The moment she laid her eyes on him, she knew she wanted him. If her soulmate would not love her back, then she’ll accept someone else’s feelings instead. And sure enough, Kou’s kindness was all the proof she needed that the blonde had feelings for her the same way. It was the first in the longest time since she’d died that she’s felt such comfort and kindness from another person.
Thanks to Kou, she finally felt love. And now that love was in her hands and she didn’t want to let it go.
“Even your soul is as beautiful as you, my love.” she couldn’t help the remark, unable to keep her eyes away from the light in her hand “Now, let’s be together forever.”
Before the woman could open her mouth to consume Kou’s soul, her hand was sliced right off by a sharp object. The cut-off limb dissipates into dust and smoke and the light in her hand had been taken away from her in that instant.
“Who—?” she screeches, her gentle expression contorting into anger as she turns to her attacker.
In front of her stood Hanako, the leader of the seven mysteries of the school, holding Kou’s soul in his hand.
“You’re… the school mystery…?” she trails off.
“That’s right. I am the seventh mystery of the school, Hanako of the Toilet.” Hanako introduces himself with a bow.
“Honorable No.7.” she mumbles, remembering what she’d been told by the numerous apparitions in the school about the school mysteries. She’d been warned to not cross their paths or anger them lest she wanted to meet a more horrific end “Why are you here? I have done you no wrong!” she asks and Hanako could sense the fear in her tone.
“No wrong?” Hanako scoffs “I wouldn’t exactly say that. Not when you’re going against me by consuming this human’s soul.”
“What do you mean?”
Hanako doesn’t respond, and instead is interrupted when his attention is caught by the light in his hand flickering “There’s not much time.” he mumbles, expression worried.
He approaches Kou’s unconscious form and gently cradles his body in his arms. One of his tsueshiro seem to whisper something to him and he smiles in response “He’s still alive, thank goodness.”
The woman simply watches as Hanako moves the soul in his hand closer to Kou’s mouth. Slowly, the light starts being absorbed by the blonde’s body through his lips until it disappears from Hanako’s palm.
“He should be fine now.” Hanako says, unable to hide the relief in his expression as a finger gently caresses Kou’s cheek.
“No… why would you do that?! He was mine, honorable no.7!” the woman screeches, clearly angry at what Hanako had done.
“Yours? Don’t joke with me.” there was venom in Hanako’s response, his eyes glared at the woman with murderous intent and the other ghost tenses from his gaze “In what universe would you believe that this human is yours?”
“Because I love him, Honorable no.7!”
Hanako simply sighs “Stealing someone’s soul in order to satisfy your selfish desires, and you wonder how you’ve displeased me?”
“What? But… he’s just a human! And an exorcist no less! How does my actions of taking his soul for myself possibly provoke you?! Wouldn’t it help you more if I took him away?!” the woman exclaims.
“This human you’re referring to so lightly is my soulmate.” Hanako immediately cuts in, annoyed of the way the woman refers to Kou as if his existence was anything less “If he ever dies by your hands, I will not let you off so easily.”
The woman’s expression shifts between distress and anger hearing Hanako’s response “No… he was mine… I was the one who loved him…” she cries, gripping her hair and that was the last thing Hanako saw of her before she vanishes into a puff of smoke and particles.
Once things finally settled down, Hanako turns his attention to the young exorcist still unconscious in his arms. Or at least, he was supposed to be unconscious.
The moment he looks down, he’s met with the flustered look of Kou avoiding his gaze and even Hanako wasn’t able to hold back the blush “I… see you’re awake now, kid.”
“Y…Yeah…” Kou stutters, sitting up as he latches himself off of Hanako’s hold. He turns his attention to the empty bench where the woman had once sat and his flustered look turns solemn “Did you banish her?” he ends up asking.
“No. She just disappeared for the meantime, unable to handle the heartbreak. Who knows if she’ll come back.” Hanako simply replies, standing up on his feet.
“I’m glad.”
The response he receives makes Hanako turn to Kou, his expression held disbelief “You’re glad? Kid, she tried to kill you.”
“I know she did, but…” Kou trails off, once again avoiding Hanako’s stare “she didn’t mean any harm, I’m sure. She just… fell in love.”
Hanako exhales a breath “Unfortunately, she ended up falling for the wrong person.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kou snaps, finally looking at Hanako.
“You know exactly what I mean, kid. She tried to take the soul of a person who already belonged to someone else.” Hanako shrugs, his tone sounding so nonchalantly that it annoyed Kou a little.
“It’s not like I belong to anyone.”
“Yes, you do. You belong to me. You’re my soulmate!” Hanako’s response surprises Kou a little. He had heard him claim this earlier, and while it made him feel happy to be acknowledged by Hanako as his soulmate for the first time, it still confuses him how Hanako could easily say this.
“Just because we’re soulmates, doesn’t mean I’m yours. You don’t even like me, right?” Kou ends up arguing, the annoyance in his system making him voice out his inner thoughts without him thinking about it.
“Would it be surprising if I said I do?”
That makes Kou pause, clearly not expecting the response from Hanako “You… what?”
Hanako sighs, “I never hated you in the first place, kid, but I can’t say I like you like that just yet, either. And I can tell that’s what’s concerning you.” the ghost starts explaining to clear things up between them “But just because I don’t right now doesn’t mean I can’t learn how to, right?”
Kou stares at Hanako, unsure about how to react to the ghost’s words. His chest felt a whole lot lighter, however, but even then, he was still conflicted about his own feelings. Was it safe to say that he actually likes Hanako that way, too? What if he doesn’t and he just ends up leading him on only to realize he’s just caught up by the fact they’re soulmates? What if Hanako, too, realizes he can’t learn to love Kou? What if they can’t commit to reciprocating their feelings?
He feels cold hands cupping both his cheeks and that gets Kou out of his thoughts as his blue eyes meet gold ones “Hanako, I…”
“I can tell you’re unsure about this, kid. I am, too. It’ll be okay. We’ll take it slow, one step at a time.” Hanako assures him.
And somehow, that assurance was all Kou needed as he’s hugging Hanako in a tight embrace. The action surprises Hanako for a moment but he returns the hug, rubbing Kou’s back soothingly.
“I assume this means we’re good now?” Hanako speaks up.
“Yeah.” Kou replies, leaning away from the hug and Hanako almost wishes he didn’t lean away so soon “But what about senpai?” the blonde suddenly brings up.
“Yashiro?” Hanako asks, raising a confused brow.
“Yeah. Don’t you like senpai?”
The question makes Hanako scoff, holding back a laugh at the assumption Kou had “What made you think I like Yashiro that way? We’re just friends.” he says.
“But you always cling to her a lot. And you two seemed really close.” there was a visible blush on Kou’s cheeks as he explains this.
Hanako shrugs, unable to refute to that “Do you want me to stop clinging to Yashiro, then?”
“Not exactly… wait, you’re making it sound like I’m jealous or something!” Kou exclaims.
“Are you not? You kind of sound like it.”
“I’m not! Why would I be jealous of senpai? As if.” even as Kou denies it, Hanako could tell the blonde’s true feelings.
In response, he wraps his arms around the blonde as he usually does around Yashiro “I don’t really mind you getting jealous, kid. If you want, I can cling to you more instead.”
“I don’t need you to, I’m not jealous, okay?” the blonde insists, shrugging the ghost off of him. He then attempts to get up on his feet but as soon as he does, his vision starts swaying and he almost falls if Hanako hadn’t caught him.
“Careful now. You just got your soul back so you might feel a little disoriented for a while.” Hanako explains.
“Is that so?” Kou replies, clinging to Hanako’s sleeves as he tries to straighten himself “Then… could you help me to the infirmary? I think I need to lie down.”
“With pleasure.” Hanako smiles, pressing a quick kiss on Kou’s cheek before he orders the hakujoudai to transport them both to the infirmary.
The following day, the flowers finally stopped.