Chapter Text
It’s said that when your fated one dies, you’ll be cursed with the disease called Hanahaki—one’s intended to cough up enormous amount of petals and flowers until they die, or take a special surgery that removes all feelings they have for their fated. However, a side effect of this surgery will forbid them to find any other significant other for they will lose any feeling of romantic love towards anyone.
In a lone town, there was a kid who was born with the Hanahaki disease.
Therefore, it was known that his fated had already died and his family can only feel sorry for his loss. The horrified looks from his parents and brother was an unworthy sight the moment he coughed up a petal at such a young age.
Apparently, due to the dangers of the surgery, they’d have to wait for him to reach a certain age before it could be done. They were thankful the amount of flowers he kept coughing up weren’t as much to be considered deadly but they were bothersome and painful to say the least.
The child grew to get used to the coughing, though, however he wasn’t safe from the insults and comments of those around him.
“Isn’t that the second son of the Minamotos? The one who was diagnosed with the disease as an infant?”
“Poor child, to lose a lover before he even got to meet them. It must feel lonely.”
“coughs coughs—oh no, I’ve got the disease! I’m going to die! Haha!”
“Must suck to be coughing up petals every single day, huh? Can’t be me, though!”
It hurt to be ridiculed, assumed to never find his true love but he didn’t care about all that. He had stopped caring, after all. There was no use crying over spilt milk, and not like his tears can bring back the life of someone he was destined to be with forever.
Despite the rumors and hear-says, he wasn’t lonely. Why would he be? He has his loving brother and caring sister around to provide him enough love he could ever need.
Fated? Soulmates? Destined love?
Kou had grown to find all this something he can only read in the books and see on TV—and he learned to accept that, too. It was hard to accept the fact he may never find the romantic love people yearn for, but he had no choice but to do so.
Maybe he and his destined can meet again in the next life. They were just unlucky in this one.
The exorcist would heed those words; use them to ease his mind of the building loneliness and to erase out the rumors that spun about him. Even in times of a despairing love, Kou remains positive.
Cough, cough.
“Kou, are you okay?” Teru rushes to his brother’s side after hearing the younger cough, watching the petals fall onto the dishes in the sink. One hand rubs Kou’s back comfortingly as the blonde continues to cough up numerous amounts of petals.
“Thank you, Teru-nii. I’m fine, it’s just the usual.” Kou presents a weak smile, a usual expression he makes afterwards.
“I’m worried.” The older Minamoto ends up saying as he leans against the dining table, watching his brother finish up the dishes. He had offered to takeover but of course, Kou doesn’t trust him in the kitchen enough to lend him even the task of washing dishes.
“You’re always worried.” The other scoffs.
“I’m serious, Kou. Tomorrow’s the first day of school, and you’ve been coughing up more petals compared to before. Your disease has been pretty mild since you were young but now that you’re growing up, it’s gotten worse. We don’t know when you’ll end up coughing actual flowers soon.” Teru blatantly reminds him.
Kou heaves a breath, an action he sometimes even grew scared of doing due to worry about triggering his disease. Luckily, he seems fine this time “I know, but… I think I’ll be fine.”
“You think?”
“It’s a little weak, yeah, and even I’m scared but nothing’s going to come from being scared all the time. It’ll only be a few more years and then I can take the surgery. You can’t exactly expect me to not try to enjoy my youth, right?” Kou points out, flashing a reassuring smile at his brother from over his shoulder.
Teru sighs; Kou was right. He wouldn’t want to keep Kou from enjoying his life due to the disease. He didn’t want him to feel left out from all the other kids. It was just a few more years, however, he can’t shake off the worry for his brother’s life. He was practically by death’s door at this point. The moment he coughs up flowers, it may all be over.
“Alright. But maybe you should hold off on the Seven Wonders—“
“No!” Kou cuts off, turning in his spot to look at his brother “Teru-nii, you can’t strip me off of my duty to exorcise supernaturals just because of the disease! I already told you, I’ll be fine. Besides, how am I supposed to train to become a great exorcist if I’m going to play safe?”
“But—“
“No buts! I’ll let you know if something comes up, okay? Just… let me do this, please?” Kou pleads, and there it was, the wide, hopeful eyes that make Teru grow weak without resistance. It was futile.
“Alright, then. But if something goes wrong, you’re off Seven Wonders duty, you got it?”
Kou beams with delight “Yes!”
Of course, handling the seven most powerful supernaturals of Kamome was not an easy task—which Kou prefers, actually; it was great to have a good challenge. He’d decided to go for the strongest of the supernaturals as a plan, like attacking their mastermind to weaken the subjects.
However, it was hard to find a right timing for when the 3rd floor girls’ bathroom was unoccupied. It took him a few days to convince himself that he needs to enter said place despite it’s meant to be a lavatory for ladies. And Kou being the gentleman that he is would be washed over with guilt at the idea of barging into a place he was not allowed to enter in the first place.
But, for the sake of the students’ safety, he must!
Several days later and he finally manages to find the ghost he’d been looking for; Hanako-san of the Toilet! He was lounging in the rooftop of the old school building with one of the students and Kou had to think fast, she could be in grave danger!
“That’s far enough! I’ve finally found you, evil spirit!” Kou demands as he stands by the roof of said building, staff in one hand pointing towards the pair.
The two turn to him as he makes his entrance with a memorable introduction of his name and family profession; he was sure to make an impression on the ghost this way.
***
“Hey, Kou.” Teru speaks up in the silence of the kitchen as he sits on the dining table to finish his homework. Tiara sits on his lap, doodling on an extra paper he had given her with a pencil whilst Kou finishes up washing the dishes.
The blonde hums in response, looking over his shoulder at his brother “What is it?”
“You,” he pauses, a little unsure if he should say but maybe it was best if he does “haven’t coughed up any petals today.” the older exorcist remarks.
“Eh?”
“What happened, Kou?” Teru asks, both intrigued and worried for the sudden change in his brother’s condition.
“Nothing, really. I encountered School Wonder no. 7 earlier after school and—“
“What did he do?” suddenly there was venom in Teru’s tone, unhappy at the mention of the known strongest evil spirit in the school.
“H—He didn’t do much. Sure, we fought and all but nothing fatal. If you ask me, he actually… seems different from what I assumed, to be honest.” Kou sheepishly admits as he dries his hands with a cloth.
Teru’s gaze narrows, suspicious of Kou’s words because it felt unlikely for an exorcist to say such things about an apparition—especially one they’d known to be super evil.
However, that wasn’t the only thing that happened after he had woken up. But he can’t really tell Teru both for the reason that he will panic about Kou’s condition if he so much as mentions a specific word, and because that incident can only mean one thing…
***
“Ah, you’re awake! How are you feeling?” Yashiro asks, relief washes over her when Kou finally opens his eyes.
“Senpai? Ah!” Kou jolts upright on the bed, looking around for the apparition he fought with earlier “Where is he? Where is he?”
“If you mean Hanako-kun, he already went off and left me to watch over you. Are you okay now?”the girl asks, worry in her tone.
“Eh, ah, yeah. I’m fine, senpai, thank you—“ Kou gets cut off by a harsh cough, much painful compared to his previous ones. Yashiro rushes to his side and instinctively pats his back in an attempt to help.
And he feels it, something much bigger than petals stuck on his throat. It was suffocating. He felt like choking, he couldn’t breathe properly. All he could do was force it out of his mouth despite it felt as if his throat was bleeding.
Finally, after a few seconds, the flower falls onto his hand.
It was different from the usual white chrysanthemum petals he coughs up, and is now a whole red camellia flower. Not only was it a flower instead of petals, it was also a different kind, and both Kou and Yashiro were aware of the meaning of coughing out a single flower.
“Minamoto-kun, you’ve met your fated!” Yashiro beams, joy and excitement visible in her tone and expression. Her eyes gleamed ever so bright at the news as if she was happier than the supposed person.
Despite the news, Kou was more surprised than happy.
How was it even possible? His fated had died when he was young, maybe even before being born. But what else could be the sign of him coughing up a single flower? If it were several chrysanthemum flowers, it would make sense—as frightening as the thought was. But this was a single camellia flower; symbolizing love of all things.
Just what was going on?
How can his fated be alive when all this time he believed they were dead—
Don’t tell me…
“Minamoto-kun? Are you okay? Does it hurt anywhere? You don’t look really happy?” Yashiro asks as she noticed the blonde’s expression wasn’t particularly elated but more stunned.
“Senpai!” Kou turns to her and the girl flinches at the rush in his tone “T—Tell me! Hanako, where is he?”
“Hanako-kun? Ah, I can’t exactly tell you. Could it be you’re still planning to exorcise him—“
“Is he in the bathroom? I need to see him!”
Before Yashiro could answer, Kou jumps off of the bed, grabbing his staff from the bedside and rushing off to the girls’ bathroom located on the 3rd floor of the old school building. He hears Yashiro call out to him and probably follows after the exorcist but Kou’s thoughts were too muddled up to pay her mind. There was something he needed to find out first before anything.
“Hanako!” Kou yells as he bursts into the bathroom and what greeted him was the ghost standing by the window, stunned as he stares at a single camellia flower in his hand.
Hanako’s gaze slowly turn to his intruder and the camellia flower in the other’s hand catches the ghost’s attention. From the similar flowers that they had both coughed up, it can only specify one thing.