Work Text:
“Hello, everyone. I’m Nanno. It’s nice to meet you all.”
“Have a seat over there, Nanno.”
“Yes, Miss.”
The boy exudes arrogance and looks her way as if she’s nothing but a piece of meat on his plate. Nanno shoots him a sidelong glance, the corner of her mouth knowingly curving upward. She crosses her legs as soon as she plops down in the chair beside him, her bookbag resting against the side of her desk, and ignores him for the rest of the class. His name goes over her head, as do all his other attempts at gaining her attention.
Nanno spends her first class of the day with her eyes unable to stray far from a ribbon, silken and red, tied into the hair of a girl sitting far up in the front.
She never catches a real glimpse at her face, even as history and math fly by. Soon, the bell’s already ringing to signal their break. Nanno doesn’t go chasing after the girl with the red ribbon. She simply watches her go, quicker than the rest, until she’s just a little dot in the crowd of other little dots.
Everyone wants Nanno at their table. The boys, some sporty and others simply popular for their looks, holler at her. The popular girls have ‘mean’ written all over their faces; it’s in the tightness of their fake smiles and the stiff way in which they wave her over. Some seem decent, if only because they aren’t so desperate to have Nanno sit with them. Nanno just smiles and declines them all. She buys an iced tea and slips away from the clusters of people before anyone can succeed at catching her. She decides then and there that she won’t be spending much time in the cafeteria if she can avoid it.
There are many quiet places to sit in this school. It’s a big, clearly well funded place. Nanno passes numerous students in the bright hallways and courtyards and gardens in search of where she will spend her precious time. Flowers of all colours bloom around benches and small water features. There aren’t any as red as the ribbon Nanno had spent class staring at.
But that’s okay, because Nanno doesn’t like flowers anyway.
And it’s okay, because she catches sight of the red ribbon again just as she turns a corner.
Oh.
She’s a pretty girl- the girl with the red ribbon in her hair, that is. Her eyes are a deep brown, so dark they’re just bordering on black. So expressive, so filled with fear.
So filled with fear.
Right.
Nanno wonders if there’s ever been a time in which a circumstance like this could ever be a good one. Four boys have this girl cornered against a wall, filling up the air with repulsive laughter and words.
She looks terrified, if Nanno has ever seen a terrified girl. Her bottom lip trembles through the frown having taken her features by storm. Despite her being visibly afraid, Nanno’s knowing eyes can tell that there’s a streak of defiance still left in her. This girl won’t go down without a fight, even if she’ll be the one to lose.
Nanno doesn’t want her to lose this one, though. (She doesn’t even want there to be a fight).
“What are you guys doing?” she asks, feigning innocence with a tilt of her head.
The boys don’t seem too pleased by the intrusion. Two of them step back with overconfident strides, turning their attention to Nanno. One still has his hand tangled messily in the girl’s hair; it’s clear to see that he had just been pulling it. They share glances between each other, annoyed and confused and so full of that teenage-boy-testosterone that Nanno kind of hates, if she’s being honest.
“Who is she?” one of them asks harshly.
The other doesn't hide his annoyance, “I don’t fucking know, what-”
“I’m Nanno,” she informs, approaching them with enough confidence to surpass all four of theirs combined.
“Stay out of our business then, Nanno,” one boy huffs, but his pupils are shifting around like he isn’t so sure of what he’s saying anymore.
Nanno bites back a smile. She locks her hands behind her back, bounding right up without fear. All the boys are taller than her. The girl with the red ribbon looks impossibly small, trapped between all of them. Nanno shoots her a look that doesn't last more than a second.
"I can stay out of your business, but I'm afraid the teachers can't," Nanno quips with a pout, "I called two of them on my way here."
Their expletives go over Nanno's head. In all honesty, she doesn't care. As expected, the boys and their idiotic little brains fall for her lie, scattering faster than Nanno can celebrate her instant victory. She shrugs, instead turning to the object of her immediate fascination. She'll deal with that one who just had to shove the girl with the red ribbon into the hard concrete one last time before leaving.
The girl with the red ribbon adorns tears on her cheeks, shining in the sun as they streak across her skin. The fear in her eyes is no longer; though filled with tears, Nanno can read her relief. She moves closer with small, quiet steps, cautious not to startle her.
"Are you okay?" Nanno asks, soft and sweet.
The girl shakes her head, sniffling but not speaking. Nanno sighs to herself. She reaches into the pocket of her skirt and produces from it a pristine, white handkerchief. With it, Nanno reaches out to dab gently at the tears on the girl's cheeks. They flush pink at the action. Her breath hitches. Nanno smiles.
"Don't be afraid," she murmurs, watching soft fabric absorb the liquid salt on her skin, "I won't hurt you."
The girl remains perfectly still, allowing Nanno to wipe away the signs of pain on her face. They're silent, save for her slightly strained breathing, but at least she's stopped crying. Nanno pockets her handkerchief and steps back to admire her work. Though her hair is tousled and her hands are fidgeting, the girl with the red ribbon looks presentable again.
"What's your name?"
Nanno is patient, but she is eager to know. After all, she cannot go long without having a name to put to this face she's been so close to already.
"...Yuri," whispers the latter, ever so softly.
"Yuri," Nanno breathes, delighted to taste the name on her tongue. After a pause, she smiles, "I'm Nanno."
They stand in close proximity and silence for a while longer until Nanno decides Yuri has had enough time to really collect herself. Then, she holds out a hand to the shorter girl, and waits until Yuri meets her gaze. There is so much curiosity, so much of something akin to innocence in her eyes, that it shocks Nanno. For a girl who seems to be tormented in high school, there remains a sliver of light in Yuri.
"Can I take you somewhere?" Nanno asks, tilting her head as if to entice Yuri.
It works, Nanno figures, when she soon feels a soft, small hand sliding against her palm. She gives it a gentle squeeze before tugging Yuri along with her, lips curved up into a pleased smile.
They arrive at one of the quiet flower gardens Nanno had passed by earlier. She wonders why no one seems to want to spend time here; silence and sunlight are things she personally enjoys. Yuri's hand is warm in hers. Their palms grow clammy the longer they're pressed together. Nanno doesn't mind, because Yuri isn't letting go.
They walk past a little fountain and a number of benches before arriving at their destination: a perfectly groomed bed of flowers. Nanno scuffs her shoe against the lining of bricks that frame the delicate little things into a long, neat rectangle. The petals are obviously fragile, most of them in white or shades of pastel. With their connected hands, Nanno urges Yuri closer to the flower bed.
"Up," she mumbles, nodding at the hesitance on Yuri's pretty face.
It doesn't take much to make Yuri listen. Nanno smiles as the shorter latter steps onto the flowers with caution at first, unsure of what she's doing. She squeezes their hands.
"Walking on flowers is therapeutic," Nanno says, though Yuri is the only one on them.
Yuri frowns lightly, "Why?"
Shrugging, Nanno begins walking again, tugging Yuri along by the hand. Yuri's shoes sink into the softness of the petals, crushing them into the soil under her feet as she follows Nanno.
The flowers make no sound as they are crushed; they cannot cry out and they cannot fight back. They've done nothing wrong. A small part of Yuri's heart sympathises with them. The bigger, more tormented part of her, indulges in this new found power. She savours every second of being the harm, as opposed to the harmed, for the first time in her life.
"They're helpless. Crushing them is a crime you can commit without consequence."
Nanno feels Yuri's stare on the side of her face as they walk, her on the brick path, and Yuri on the flowers. She relishes in this new kind of silence- the kind to be enjoyed with someone else. Glancing at the girl from over her shoulder, Nanno offers her a smile.
"Is that cruel of me to say?" she muses, only half playfully.
Yuri shakes her head no. She's silent as she glances down at her shoes and how they ruin more of the lovely flowers with each step she takes. After a long while, she seems to find her words.
"I do feel better. I feel… less like a flower. I feel a little evil," Yuri mutters shyly, "but I think I deserve to be. You were right."
Hearing that pleases Nanno. A soft breath of laughter tinkles through the air like soothing wind chimes. Yuri's fingers grip Nanno's palm just a little tighter at the sound.
"I would say I always am," Nanno winks.
Their steps slow as they reach the end of the length of the flower bed. Nanno looks down at Yuri's shoes. Once completely black and polished, they're now smudged with mud and soil in some places, and dewy from the freshness of the plants. Her socks are still perfectly white, pulled up high against her calves. Nanno realises she's still staring when they've already stopped moving. She looks up instead to meet Yuri's eyes, the latter taller from where she stands on the elevated ground.
"Had enough?" asks Nanno, voice hushed to a volume fitting for the delicate atmosphere they've unknowingly created.
"Of committing mass genocide on innocent lives?" Yuri dares to tease, now considerably more comfortable around Nanno. "For now, yes."
Nanno laughs, swinging their hands back and forth. "What have I created?"
Yuri goes silent for an achingly long moment. Nanno itches to smoothen out the crease in her brow, itches to ask her what's on her mind. She looks troubled. But then she smiles, albeit a very small one, and Nanno thinks she might just be okay. For now, at least.
"Nothing," Yuri mumbles, head down as she studies their hands, "You just gave me a chance to be something I'm not. Just for a little while."
Nanno, in a moment of rarity, finds herself at a loss for words. She stares intently at Yuri in an attempt to read her. The latter just smiles.
"Thank you, Nanno," Yuri whispers breathily as she leans in close, planting a chase kiss on the latter's cheek.
Nanno, frozen in place, can only watch as Yuri bounds away with a spring in her step that hadn't been there before. She ghosts her fingers over her cheek where Yuri's lips had been for only a fraction of a second. A smile creeps up onto her face, cheeks warm.
Nanno wastes away in the quiet of the garden until the faint sound of the bell startles her out of a dazed daydream filled with soft kisses and trampled flowers. On her way out, something bright catches her eye. Tied onto a fence post in a neat bow is Yuri's ribbon in all it's vibrant, red glory. Nanno tugs it undone, smiling as the silk glides between her fingers.
She hadn't exactly needed another reason to see Yuri again, but it's a pleasure to know that the latter has given her one for good measure. With a smile and red silk in her pocket, Nanno makes it back to class- and this time, she catches Yuri's eyes on the way back to her seat.
Surely, there are more than enough gardens and beautiful, blooming flowers that await them.