Chapter Text
Kazuichi Soda has always been a lonely boy. In elementary school, it was his razor sharp teeth that drove the other kids away; by middle school, it was his smell; and now, in high school, the rumors alone are enough to keep anyone from breaking the ice with him. His closest friend, only friend, is Teruteru Hanamura, and unfortunately they don’t share any classes.
While Kazuichi has been fairly friendless his whole life, up until recently, he was also quite the optimist. He had ambitious dreams of becoming an astronaut or doctor or lawyer. When he settled on his true passion, mechanic work, he looked forward to a high salary that could support a wife and three kids. His gasoline tank was never half empty and his smile never not wide.
Everything changed when Sonia accepted Gundham Tanaka’s confession.
Even if in his heart of hearts he knew she would never love him with the same burning desire he had for her, for a while, he still held on to the foolish hope that soon enough she would whisper the words, “I love you,” in his ear. Not anymore. He watches them now in the front of the classroom, holding hands and chatting like teenagers infatuated with each other, no, enthralled by one another. They are the perfect match and Kazuichi knows it. No matter how hard he tries, he can’t deny the reality laid out before him.
“All right, class, settle down. We’re continuing our lecture on gametes today.”
As the other students rush to finish their conversations and sit down, Kazuichi barely moves, not even to get out a pencil for note-taking. He’s lost all motivation for school. What are grades good for if not to impress Miss Sonia? He hardly listens when the teacher talks, instead choosing to space out and sulk, sinking deeper and deeper into his own insecurities like quicksand, the thoughts pulling him down faster each time he tries to escape…
He turns his head to look at the clock for a moment; it’s still 10 minutes until the end of class. However, when his gaze shifts down just a bit to a table pressed against the wall, he notices something that he’s never paid much attention to—a cactus. There it is, sitting in its pot like usual, but today it really is outshining the other plants. There’s something about the way the sunlight from the window hits its green spine that awakens something within Kazuichi. He can’t help but stare, enamored by its natural beauty.
Once the bell rings, he is the first to stand up, eyeing the cactus on the other side of the room. I gotta go talk to her, he thinks, but self-doubt forces him to stay in place. It’s no use. Surely a plant like her is out of his league, just like Miss Sonia. He leaves the classroom with shoulders slumped and face red.
No matter what lie he tells himself, though, he just can’t get her out of his head. Neither his social status nor his biological kingdom can rewrite his feelings. Without a doubt, it’s love at first sight.
❤️🌵❤️
“It’s time to pick partners! Since there’s an odd number of you, there will be one group of three.”
Today’s activity in biology class is a hands-on assignment focused on visualizing the way haploid germ cells form zygotes. As Chiaki Nanami passes out the papers, students already begin sectioning out desks for their pairs. It doesn’t take long for Kazuichi to be left alone.
“Really?” the teacher asks the class. “Does nobody want him to be a part of their group?”
The room goes eerily quiet for a moment before resuming activity. Not a single hand is raised.
Kazuichi opts to work by himself since he doesn’t want to feel like a burden on any of his peers. At least, that’s what he tells the teacher. In reality, what he wants is the opportunity to sit alone at a table near the cactus, where perhaps he could strike up a conversation with her. It wouldn’t seem nearly as forced as if he were to greet her after school. With this plan, he could simply chat with her out of “necessity.” She wouldn’t find it strange or desperate that way.
The first few minutes are quite awkward. He sits leaned back in his chair, skimming through the instructions, all the while making sure his eyes don’t wander too much to his right. He fixes his posture multiple times and even crosses his legs to look more mature. It’s a rather comfortable position for him.
“Augh, I just don’t understand this part,” Kazuichi mutters to the partner he doesn’t have. He wasn’t paying attention to any of the lessons on meiosis, so fertilization is throwing him for a loop. “How does this even go to that?” He scans the room, but all the pairs he can see are busy and the teacher is out for a smoke break. It’s hopeless. He can’t look intelligent even to a plant.
Before he gives in to despair, however, something catches his attention. Did she just wink at him? He blinks, stunned. It’s unthinkable for such a beautiful cactus like herself and such a seemingly unlovable mechanic like Kazuichi. Perhaps it was a trick of the light or intended for somebody else. Yes, it must be that. It simply has to be that.
He sighs and angles his head down once more to reread the instructions, beginning to feel that this might not be the right class for him, when it happens again—only this time, there’s no denying it. That cactus was definitely winking at him and him alone. He turns to his left, as his face has gotten a lovely shade of pink, one that he isn’t ready for her to see yet. He tries to rub the blush off himself before standing up and approaching the cactus.
“H-Hi,” he starts while rubbing the back of his neck. “Did you wanna talk to me?”
She doesn’t say a word, instead sitting their coyly, mockingly, alluringly.
He clears his throat, saying, “My name is Kazuichi Soda. I just came over because I thought I saw you looking at me. I understand if it was a mistake, though. I could always go—”
Kazuichi stops mid-sentence. “What was that?” he asks. “You’re…Cactricia?” His eyes light up as the syllables roll off his tongue. It’s such an endearing name, one he could never tarnish with a nickname. Cactricia. Oh, and it fits her personality so well, too!
“Well, Cactricia, I’ve been having some problems with this assignment, so I was thinking, since you’re a cactus and all, maybe you could help me a little?” He gives a tight laugh and smiles nervously.
She goes quiet.
After a minute of silence, Kazuichi realizes, to his horror, that he may have overstepped. They did just meet, after all. It makes sense for her to be uncomfortable with this kind of commitment. Furthermore, what if their shoulders meet on accident when she’s trying to show him how sperm fertilizes the egg? That would be an embarrassment strong enough to obliterate a small nation. As damage control, he insists, “I get it if you don’t want to.”
The two stare at one another for some time, practically the only silent ones in class. Kazuichi doesn’t understand what she’s trying to tell him. “Please,” he begs, “spell it out for me.”
Then it hits him: Cactricia does want to help. That’s what she’s wanted him to know all along, beginning with those mysterious winks. She saw through his thin mask of maturity to the real Kazuichi: a man who isn’t yet familiar with the biological processes that form a diploid cell known as the zygote. She can’t stand idly by as he struggles with a concept so foreign to him.
“You’ll really do that for me?” he asks the cactus. It’s obvious what her answer is. Kazuichi bounces over and picks her up by the pot, walking over to his desk and gently placing her down on it. With her help, he’s able to finish the assignment in no time, receiving a C+. That’s enough to bring up his grade!
At the end of class, Kazuichi gives Cactricia a warm goodbye and thanks her for her help. As he leaves all he can think about is how humble she is. She didn’t brag even once. Once he got to talking to her, he never felt stupid or worthless. She listened. She cared. Maybe, just maybe, a plant like her could love the unlovable. Kazuichi sure hopes so.