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Everything had started weeks ago, with a slight pain in the chest and a pill to alleviate the discomfort. No, he was not a fan of self-medicating, but those weeks had been very stressful and he did not really have time to entertain himself in a waiting room and the doctor in turn told him it was because of that, of simple stress.
But something was funny with that discomfort, it could be perfectly in a concert of IDOLiSH7, but it changed completely when it came to MEZZO", it always started like a sting, gradually increased the intensity to the degree of reaching his throat and even felt nauseous, Why? Maybe MEZZO" caused more stress? It was something he wondered at that moment, being alone in his room, where, again, the pain began, should he visit the doctor? But I did not want to go alone, it would be best to wait for Tamaki... Oh no, not at that moment...
He ran as fast as he could to the bathroom, with terrible nausea. He knelt down as soon as he was close enough to the toilet, and let it all come out. He cut a piece of paper and wiped his mouth. The next thing he saw I left him frozen, unable to give credit, he did not even have the courage to pull the lever and let everything go down the drain.
No, he could not wait any longer, that was completely strange! Should he call the manager? Banri? No, that would be a lot of trouble for them, maybe he just had a little fever and was making him hallucinate ... Yes, it must be that! He put one of his hands on his forehead, hoping to feel a temperature higher than normal, it turned out that it was not a fever, but it was an unreliable method, right? So, returning to his room and searching through his things, he could find an electric thermometer. He lit it and then placed it in his mouth, waiting for the sound that indicated the result.
He did not seem to have a fever, it was in normal standards, it would be best to go for a little medication and wait for Tama... No, not again.
Once again he ran to the bathroom, went to the toilet and before he could kneel let it all come out, this time his throat hurt. He grabbed a new piece of paper and wiped himself. With fear he looked back inside, where he expected to see something "normal", but it was not like that.
Nervously he grabbed his cell phone, looking for a specific number, pressed the call button and waited for the other person to respond.
One tone, two tones, three...
“Sogo-kun?”
“Tsunashi-san!” He could not hide the nervousness he felt at that moment, fear. What has happened with him? What was wrong? In some way he explained to Ryunosuke his situation could have, what happened to him.
“Wait there, right now I'm going!”
And with that he cut the call, what would he do until then? He looked back into the toilet, feeling terrified. He started to cough abruptly, his throat ached, burned, it was a terrible feeling. He looked at the paper, hoping to find some blood, but instead saw what was in the toilet. That could not be a coincidence anymore and he had no fever, it could not be some kind of hallucination, so what was it? He wanted to go to the hospital soon... Maybe he should tell the others? He returned his look to the screen of his cell phone... If he sent a message maybe it would cause some discomfort, but if they did not find him. Would they worry? What would Tamaki do?
After a few moments he heard someone knock on the door. He went to the door and invited the person on the other side to enter.
“There's no time for that, come on!” Ryunosuke pulled him out of the building pulling him by the wrist.
“I must leave a note, Tamaki...” And coughing again, covering with a small handkerchief.
“I'll take care of that, come on, get in the car.”
And without opposing, he climbed into the taxi. Tsunashi gave the directions to where to go and Sougo just kept coughing, covering what came out of his mouth.
In a matter of minutes they arrived at the nearest hospital, waited for them to be taken care of and called by the doctor on duty. Once in the office, Sougo explained what had happened to him, with great detail.
“Can I see?” The doctor said, extending his hand to give him the piece of cloth. He examined it and seconds later he returned it. “Hanahaki Disease...”
The two guys in the office were stunned, Hanahaki disease? Was there such a disease?
“There are not many documented cases and those that have records does not end very well...” The doctor explained. “For what is known, it is due to a unilateral, unrequited love, the causes are not very clear, but once the ‘seed’ is there it will not stop growing and leave the petals.” He waits a few seconds, before continuing. “If we do not do something soon, these will fill your lungs and tear your throat, surgery is necessary.”
Confused by the explanation, they looked at each other, as if they expected the answer to be the opposite. Petals? Unilateral love? Surgery? One word next to the other seemed to make less and less sense, there was no logic.
“There is no other solution?” Ryuunosuke asked, a little worried.
"There is a case," he said thoughtfully, trying to remember the details of that file. “The patient could eradicate the disease, but for this you must know who your unrequited love is about and confess. How long ago did you start with the discomforts?”
“Three weeks, more or less...” He wasn't sure of his answer, but he knew it had been after going to his father's house.
“The last case lasted a month, then died of suffocation...” He started typing something on that computer. “I will schedule your surgery as soon as possible, we cannot waste time.”
Again the boys looked at each other, even more surprised So soon? Without asking them? Without approval? Any other test?
“Please wait!” Again it was Ryunosuke who spoke. “You just said that if my friend confesses to the person who causes him such a thing, he can be cured, right? Cannot you give us a few days? There is no other solution?”
"I'd give he a few days, if only there was time." The quiet in his voice had disappeared. “Guys, my duty is to save lives. Surgery or confession, are the only solutions so far, if you know who it is, I will give you time.”
“Is surgery effective?”
“Sougo-kun”
“I would dare to say that too effective.” He sighed heavily. “The seed is born of feeling, it is for that reason that it absorbs and becomes his. If you opt for surgery as a possible side effect would be that you will no longer have the ability to love.”
Astonished was left speechless. Losing all the feeling? Could not he love anymore?
“But before you make a final decision I need to make an x-ray of your lungs, to see the progress of the petals.”
The doctor rose from his seat, showing them the way to go. Sougo did not care whether he went to that radiography or not, he had more important things to think about.
That visit to the hospital turned out to be more exhausted than he imagined, in a single day he had discovered that he had an unrequited love, a strange disease and that if he did not do something soon, he would die in a few weeks.
“Sogo-kun, do you know who it is? You can tell me; maybe I can help you...” Ryunosuke tried to cheer he up; all this could not be easy to assimilate.
“Thank you for everything today, Tsunashi-san” He tried to make his tone of voice go to the usual, but it failed miserably “I would like to be a moment alone, if it is not too much trouble, of course.”
“Okay, all this must be difficult for what you're going through.” Very much in spite of himself he should leave him alone, he did not want to be a nuisance to him, but he could not help but feel worried. “I'm ahead, if you need something else, do not hesitate to call me, please.”
The boy with the violet iris gave a small nod along with a bow, thanking all the help that Tsunashi had given him that day. Right away he started walking without a fixed direction apparently. He did not have the remotest idea of who his ‘unrequited love’ could be, much less because the flower that was inside was different from the cherry tree, was his case so strange? Inevitably he was curious to know more about that flower, he started looking for a flower shop, he had to walk several meters and streets to find one.
“Good afternoon...” At the time of entering the store he found a woman a little older who welcomed he. “I would like to know what flower this is and I thought you could show me...”
The woman asked for one of the petals that she wore in that handkerchief. He examined it carefully and looked around, hoping to find one like it. “What do you need it for, boy? Right now I do not have in the store; it's a very beautiful flower...”
“Ah, no, I just wanted you to explain more about this flower...” Maybe he had not made himself understood or was too nervous to be able to formulate his sentences well. “If you could tell me everything you know about her, I would be very grateful...”
“His name is saffron, but it is very strange that it flourishes in this time, how is it that you have these petals so beautiful?” As an answer he laughed nervously, waiting for her to continue. “Flowers between March and April, as a birthday flower are for April 1st; in the language of flowers, it is not encouraging that it means loving repentance, at least in the color you have, boy.”
“April 1st...” The date was known to him from somewhere, he knew it was something important for him, but what? “Thank you so much for everything.”
And left the store a little quieter. A few steps later he reviewed the calendar of his cell phone.
Tamaki's birthday.
“Huh?” And once again he started coughing.
No, it could not be true. Did he feel something for Tamaki? He was fond of him, like everyone else, or did he want to believe that? He was really grateful to the boy for what happened with his father and in general for everything he has done for him, no doubt, he had become someone important, but I could not say that he was totally love.
Maybe maybe ima kitsuitanda
daijini shitai mono tte
And as if it were the worst of coincidences, at that moment one of those cars in charge of publicity with Dear Butterfly was passing by ... He could not believe in that kind of coincidences, but he would not deny that his heart beat rapidly when he heard the voice of Tamaki.
But until that moment some things made sense, that would explain why at the MEZZO” concerts, and when he had to work with the blue-haired boy he felt that way. No, surely he was suggesting emotions without meaning... He would help Tamaki with some school work, then practice and go to sleep, yes, he should not change anything because of that, later he would think what to do with his problem.
“I'm back...” It was announced at the door, hoping to find someone, but it seemed only the place. He went to the kitchen, maybe they were all there?
“Sou-chan!” He almost ran to see him, unless Mitsuki stopped Tamaki.
“Oh, you're back.” He said in a soft voice, it seemed as if a weight from above had disappeared from him. “Tamaki was worried about you; you didn't leave a note or something...”
“Excuse me, Tamaki-kun, Mitsuki-san; I had to go to the hospital unexpectedly...”
“Huh? Are you okay?”
“Yes, it was nothing to worry about; I'll go to rest a bit.” He left that place, leaving those two people a little surprised by what they had heard.
“I'll go see.”
“Hey, Tamaki...” Little did he call him. “These guys...”
“Wait, Sou-chan!” He reached Sougo before he entered his room.
“Tamaki-kun, do you need something?” Would it be his imagination or did his heart begin to throb quickly?
“You're fine? What did you go to the hospital? Are you once again struggling?”
“I'm fine, it was just...” And he could not help it, he had the terrible feeling of vomiting from a few hours ago, he ran to the bathroom, closing the door behind him so he would not enter the boy.
“Sou-chan! You're fine?! Sou-chan!” He was banging on the door.
It could not be true; he never thought that he would feel anything for any of his companions, much less for that boy. What should he do? Definitely confessing would be a problem, but neither did he want to lose that feeling, what would happen to him if he lost it? Could he still be like before? But if he did not choose one of those things...
“Tamaki-kun...” He left the bathroom; the aforementioned took a step back, watching Sougo. “I need to talk to you... Come.”
Without giving him time to answer he took the boy back to his room, he would put an end to all that situation.
“Sit down...” The boy did what he was ordered, a little confused. “Apparently I have a strange disease called Hanahaki, makes me vomit or cough flowers, all that because of this feeling of love that I have for you...” Well, it was not the typical romantic movie confession, but it was acceptable. “Tamaki-kun, I love you, I'm in love with you.”
It's as if he suddenly remembered everything they had been through together, from the moment they met, when they debuted, when they started to be part of MEZZO”and they started calling them best friends ... His heart kept beating.
“Huh?” The boy was silent for a few seconds, assimilating everything he had said his partner. “Hanahaki? What is that? Sou-chan, you must have a fever, I'll let you sleep.”
"Wait, Tamaki-kun, what I say is true, even Tsunashi-san..." But before he could finish the sentence he began to cough again and the petals piled up in his fist now.
"Come in to the blankets, I'll bring some water, okay?" She took him to the bed making him sit on it, arranged the pillows and sheltered him.
“Look, Tamaki-kun, is the petals...”
“Yes, yes, for now I'll go for water and I'll tell Mikki to prepare something for you, I'll be back.”
Without further ado, the boy left the room, leaving Sogo with those petals in his hand, what did he imagine would happen? What Tamaki believed him? That his feelings were reciprocated? He must have been some kind of fool to think such things, could not against him, was innocent, but not an idiot; if he had been told something similar, of course, that he would take him for a madman, for a delirious man with fever. He dropped the petals. Loving repentance, uh... Could not have a better meaning than that.
A few days later he was leaving the hospital, accompanied by Tsunashi that had been with him long enough to invent an excuse so that no one else would find out about his surgery and his strange disease.
“Do you feel better?” He asked, more than anything to lighten the atmosphere he felt.
“Much better, thanks for being there...”
His voice was not the same, it was muffled, he would dare to say that without feeling, maybe with the passage of days he would recover that, maybe not... Would he feel love again? Would all his ideals remain the same? Would he still love his job like before? He didn’t know he didn’t even know what love was like; it felt empty, as if something was missing. He looked at the plant he was carrying, now in a pot. Good thing he did not let her get discarded, it was really beautiful.
It was strange, just looking at her again felt complete, he would take care of her for the rest of his days, no matter what. Now that was the only thing of value that he had, because his most sincere love was there, in that plant as blue as the sky itself. He would not let it wither, ever.