Work Text:
Minegishi stares at the newly grown flowers in the old, worn pot. They hum. They're happy with how far they've come. They feel as though they've changed as a person.
Carefully, they move the pot into the sunlight. They had a liking for plants now- but they didn't always hate plants. They feel the petals of the flower, it only growing more vibrant from the touch.
They know what made them hate plants, but they try not to think about it. Even though its hard.
Minegishi liked flowers. The child had a small garden in their backyard. They always talked to the plants, and the plants would talk to them. They were particularly fond of flowers. Their mother would ask what they were doing from time to time.
“Oh, silly! You need to work on that overactive imagination of yours.” The woman laughs, pulling up a few weeds. This always confused them. Could she not hear them? They had always thought it was a normal thing, but apparently they just had a big imagination.
Their mother goes inside, and the child turns to the rose bushes.
“I'm not crazy, right? You're really talking to me, right?” They ask, stroking the petals. It could've been a trick of light, but they swore they saw the petals bloom wider.
The flowers told them that they were special.
They chose to believe them.
They blink, shaking their head lightly. Their head turns to the flowers, and their gaze softens ever so slightly.
“I'm fine… Just thinking about unimportant things.” They explain quietly, their hands moving to another pot full of tulips. They blink slowly, cradling the smallest one of the bunch- a late bloomer.
It made them feel… something.
It was simpler in elementary. The other kids were kinder and more believing than their mother. They couldn't hear the flowers either, but all of their classmates genuinely believed them.
A few children gather around in a small huddle after school ends.
“Do the thing, Mine-chan! Pleaaaaase!” The other children beg, and when they nod in reply, they all cheer.
They get on their knees in the grass, they don't notice the way the grass grows greener around their legs. They simply put their hands on the earth, and… A flower springs out of the earth. A yellow tulip. This isn't what they had planned, but it wasn't bad, either. The children around them gasp and cheer, asking for them to do it again. They simply nod, trying to do it again and… Again it happens.
A small batch of different colored tulips bloom from the earth, more vibrant than any other flowers in the area. Even Minegishi was amazed.
They had rushed home immediately afterwards to show their mother, excitement showing on their face.
“What's up, kiddo? You're happier than usual.” She laughs.
“Look, look!” The child beams brightly, and tulips start blooming around their feet. They laugh, looking up to see their mother's reaction. But they pause, seeing the look of shock and horror on her face.
“Mo-” They're cut off quickly.
“Go to your room. I have to call your father.” She mutters, a look of anger on her face. They stiffen, but nod, rushing to their bedroom after tripping out of their shoes.
Did they do something wrong? They press their ear to the door, hearing an incoherent conversation. She didn't sound happy. She sounded… angry. Really angry. They step back quietly, instead opting to distract their mind with the flowers outside their window.
They let out a humorless laugh, the flower under their hand leaning into their touch almost like a cat would. They stare, thoughts storming in their brain. They don't really like thinking about their past like this.
They sigh, remembering what Shimazaki had said a few days earlier. Such a little thing set them spiraling.
It was supposed to be a nice date between them. They know Shimazaki was only joking around, yet they couldn't help but feel horrible. They still need to apologize.
“What is wrong with you, Toshiki?!” The young child froze up as their mother's scream rang through the air. They curl up more, the plants growing violently, squirming up the walls like snakes. Their mother yells again, pushing the child back. Maybe out of anger, maybe out of self defense. They didn't know. They hit the floor, but an unusually large leaf cushioned their fall.
The door slammed shut, and they realize just how big the greenery around them had grown. They sit up, and the vines shrivel slightly, shrinking back.
They can hear the sound of pacing, their mother shouting into a phone.
“-It doesn't help that my child's a freak of nature! He could have killed me!” The mother screams into the phone. They flinch back at the screams, the words filling their head. Their powers flare, the greenery growing, covering the windows and walls. Thorns protrude outwards, threatening to stab the child, but always avoiding the skin.
They yell out, trying to push them away, yet they remained.
It's not their fault. They’re not a freak. There's nothing wrong with them. They didn't choose to be like this. Again, they try pushing the greenery away, but they always came curling back. They seemed so protective despite the violent acts earlier.
They choke out a sob, desperately fighting against their own creations. They didn't want this.
They fall back against their bed, curling up into a ball as the flowers and vines and leaves cover their room, and all of the lights are blocked and suddenly they're in the dark.
The next day they throw out all of their house plants, crushing the flowers and ferns under their feet as they tried their best not to listen to the agony only they could hear from the plants.
They snap out of their thoughts again when a few vines curl up their fingers, and the sound of their phone rings. He blink, shaking their head and slowly pulling their hand back, the vines going back to their respective flowers.
They step away, quickly answering the phone.
“H-Hello?” They answer. Why is their voice shaky? This isn't right. They clear their throat. “Hello?” They try again, their voice back to its usual, unemotional pitch.
“Ah, Toshiki~! I was afraid you weren't going to answer.” The voice from the other line laughs, but even though the static, Minegishi could hear the undertone of worry. “Ryou…”
They pause, biting at their lip.
“Sorry. About the other day.” They sigh, their eyes closing.
“Huh? I’m the one that's supposed to apologize here.” Shimazaki laughs, before continuing. “But, uh… Yeah. Sorry. I'm not… really sure what happened, but I probably fucked up as usual, uhhhh…”
Silence. Minegishi sighs again, opening their mouth to speak, but Shimazaki beats them to it.
“Y'know it's okay right? I don't really know what's happening but… I'm here for you, y'know? Don't forget that.”
Minegishi’s breath hitches in their throat.
Middle school was worse. Elementary was so easy for them cause they were all kids, but… Everyone was so rude. For things that didn't even make sense. It was even more bothersome that they were a victim to this stupid ‘bullying’ stuff.
Minegishi sits at the back of the school with their bento, the plants around them instinctively reaching out to them. They hated that they did that. Why couldn't they just be left alone? Both people and plants bothered them. Truly, the world just wanted them to suffer.
Speaking of bothersome, they hear a group of voices nearby. They grimace, trying to push down their discomfort. They learned the hard way that showing emotion is what drove them to continue. If they bottle up their emotions long enough, then surely they would all get bored and leave them be, right?
The small group rounds the corner, and Minegishi keeps their eyes to their unfinished lunch. They feel eyes burning into their skin. They shift slightly.
“Hey flower boy~!” A boy calls- Keito, if they remember correctly. “Sitting with the garbage again? Hah, not surprising, it suits you well.”
They simply avert their gaze one of the girls huffs, stomping forward.
“What, too scared to talk? You gonna just sit back and ignore us?” She pushes them with her foot- Ayano, they vaguely remember. They respond by not saying anything again. Their aura flares slightly in anger, the grass around them grows involuntarily.
Ayano shifts back, a look of disgust on her face. “Ew! He's doing weird power stuff!”
“What, you gonna try and fight us with a bunch of grass, flower boy?” Their fist clenches. They remain silent. “Hey, are you even listening, ugly boy?”
Their eyes flicker over, before going back to the grass.
“Answer, dammit!” Suddenly, they're on the ground, and it takes them a moment to realize they'd been kicked. They wince, grabbing their side from where they'd been hit. “Haha! He can't even stand up!”
They listens to their laughter, gathered around them in a circle. They vaguely recognizes that they're being hit again, but all they can focus on is their voices.
And suddenly there's a scream. And a slam. And shouting. Their eyes open, and they see Keito unconscious on the ground and Ayano in the air, a vine wrapped tightly around her neck as she sobs.
“S-Shit. Stop-!” They grunt, trying to sit up and they raise their hand up, the vine retracting and the girl falls to the ground, sobbing violently. They grimace at the already growing bruise around her pale neck. She stumbles to her feet, staring at Minegishi.
“What the FUCK is wrong with you?! You're a freak! Stay away from me!” She screams, her voice hoarse as she runs away.
Minegishi can only watch.
Their mother seemed so worried when they had gotten home. For a minute, they thought that maybe she did actually care about them. Hell, they hadn't even realized that they'd been hit in the face.
“Hey, Toshiki, it's okay, honey. I'm here, I'm here.” She pet the young kid's back, in a soothing manner. Things felt okay for a while.
Though, it doesn't last long when she learns what they did. They'd find later that the door to their room was locked.
“Toshiki? Toshiki? Are you there?” Shimazaki practically yells into the phone. They snap out of their thoughts. Before they can even think about what to say, they speak anyway.
“Please come over.” Their voice is barely even a whisper. They wonder if they were too quiet, before there's a muffled confirmation and the sound of shuffling before the call ends. They sigh, setting their phone down and sinking to their knees, head cradled in their hands.
Not even a few seconds later, there's a knock at the door. They found it a little funny that he didn't just teleport in, but they suppose he wanted to respect their privacy.
“The door's unlocked.” They say, just loud enough for the other esper to hear, and they can hear the door open, and suddenly there's arms around them. They vaguely wonder if he even closed the door behind him, but they can't find it in them to care all that much.
They let out a shaky sigh, turning around and returning the hug. A part of them screamed to pull back and bottle everything up- like how they've always done, but they're trying so hard to be open. And as much as they'd hate to admit it, it felt really good to let everything out. They think back to how they used to act.
Joining Claw wasn't really how they thought they'd be spending their life, but they shouldn't really be surprised. They were one of the first, along with another esper that had joined shortly after them. A blind esper, or something.
They'd mastered hiding their emotions by that point, but they hated the way the other people looked at them. None of them believed they were that powerful. After all, they just controlled plants, right? How useful can that even be?
They sigh, their eyes scanning over the words in the book, but not at all absorbing the text. Stupid fucking plants. They still wanted nothing to do with them. They're just tools. They don't mean anything.
They hear the door open, and their eyes flicker upwards, noticing the taller man with a mischievous smile on his face.
Ah great, Shimazaki. Just the annoyance they needed. They practically snarl, their aura flaring, and the man laughs, standing there casually.
“What do you want?” They sigh, glaring at him although he couldn't see it.
They knew Shimazaki wasn't all bad. He was an asshole, yeah, but he was one of the first to actually get used to Minegishi’s pronouns. They'd hate to admit it, but it made them happy that he called them by what they want to go by.
“Aw, always so venomous, tree-tree! Is it not okay for us to talk? Co-worker to co-worker?” He asks, a shit eating smirk on his face. Minegishi stares, closing their book slowly.
“Just get to the point, what the hell do you want?”
Shimazaki waltzes over, humming and sitting down next to them, despite their discomfort. They scoot away.
“Nothing really.” He smiles, his head tilted up to the ceiling. His aura was calm, Minegishi noted internally. They shift a bit, an almost anxious feeling blooming from their aura. Why were they anxious? Maybe because they haven't had an actual conversation with another person in forever.
“Okay, well… If you're looking for entertainment, go somewhere else. I don't care for you.” They huff, eyes narrowing.
“Aww, what's wrong with you? Always so mean, Minegishi-chan!” He laughs, hopping to his feet. “Just thought it'd be good to talk to you.”
“Well, the only reason I even talk to you is because we work together.” They growl, their aura flaring up, a few nearby plants growing in size. “All we are is co-workers. Outside of work, I want nothing to do with you, Shimazaki.”
Even they don't know why they had gotten so aggressive. They're both silent, before Shimazaki laughs, almost awkwardly.
“Well, if that's what you want! Be an introvert if you want, but I'll break you out of that shell one day or another~!” He smiles, waving, before teleporting away.
They’re silent, the plants retracting back. They feel weird. They're not sure they like talking to others… They grimace, realizing he'll probably be back to ‘break them out of their shell’. They sigh. Like they'll ever let that happen.
Minegishi buries their head into his neck, sighing. They're glad he actually managed to break down their walls. Even if it was a little messy. Very messy actually.
They frown a little, tightening their grip a bit. They're glad they've changed.
“Do you need to talk about it?” Shimazaki asks- quietly, they note. They shake their head slowly.
“... Not right now, maybe later, though.” They mutter, voice a little muffled from their position. He laughs lightly.
“That's fine… Just don't bottle things up, okay? You know I'm here for you, right?” He hums, tilting his head down, slowly resting it on top of theirs. They smile ever so slightly, a few nearby plants reaching out to the two of them.
“I know…” They're silent for a while after that, simply sitting in silence.
The sun sets, the orange glow shining through the window, bathing them in warm light. The sky is filled with oranges and pinks, and Minegishi can’t help but stare at their boyfriend. They sigh, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek.
“I love you.” They mutter.
“I love you too.”
They smile a little, their eyes slowly closing again.
Things are good. Things are okay.
They're good.