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T’was a peaceful, sunny day inside the Mekakushi Dan hideout and a petite girl with fluffy, voluminous white hair had comfortably seated herself on the couch with a picture book in hand. That girl was Kozakura Mary, Mekakushi Dan member number four and beholder of the Locking Eyes. Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, a tall boy with short black hair and a green, frog-like jumpsuit was pacing himself around the room with a broom, sweeping the floor and ridding of any dust. That boy was Seto Kousuke, Mekakushi Dan member number two and beholder of the Stealing Eyes.
Mary had just finished making twenty artificial flowers and decided to indulge herself with a good fairytale, and maybe sneak a few glances towards the ever-hardworking Seto which he totally noticed but decided to think nothing of it. Once done with her book, Mary lay herself down on the couch and began to ponder about the ending.
‘They lived happily ever after in the little acorn house with the beautiful garden of lilies all around…I want a life like that as well…’
“Hey, Seto?” Mary began. The boy replied with a light hum to show that he was listening and the girl continued, “You know how I’ve been making and selling artificial flowers this whole time? What if I tried to grow real flowers and create a real garden here like the one I had back in the forest?”
Seto paused his cleaning and made his way towards the ball of white fluff on the couch. Mary also shifted her position so she would be sitting upright and avoid having to look at him from an awkward angle. Once in front of the girl, Seto placed both of his hands on his knees and lightly bent down to properly face her.
“What’s wrong, Mary? Do you miss your cottage back in the forest? We can go visit next week when I’m free from my part-time jobs.” He asked.
“N-no! It’s not that at all! It’s just…” Mary looked away from Seto and down at her fidgeting fingers as if it were the most interesting thing in the world right now, “Actually never mind! It’s a pretty childish thing to ask for anyway. Ahaha…”
Mary rubbed a hand on her nape and sheepishly smiled while a small blush formed underneath her eyes. Seto’s hazel irises softened and he fully lowered his body, huddling his knees to his chest and crossing his arms atop them, he was now the one shorter in their line of sight and he properly looked up towards the seated princess. Seto took one look at Mary’s flustered expression and can’t help but smile at her adorable features.
“What is it, Mary?” He began, making sure his voice was soft and unharming to calm the fragile girl, “It’s alright to talk about childish things when it’s just the two of us. I won’t tease you about it as Kano does, but I will say that he does it because he’s fond of you. I’m not against you wanting to grow flowers, but I do want to hear your reason, and I promise that I won’t laugh.”
Mary still kept her head low, but she did manage to calm down enough for her fingers to stop fidgeting, “Promise…?” She mumbled.
Seto lightly chuckled. It was a warm chuckle that never fails to make her chest feel all fuzzy.
“I promise.”
Mary took in a deep breath and slowly lifted her head to face the boy in front of her. Her breath hitched as she saw his endearing smile that was directed at her and only her. Mary opened her mouth and began to speak, “Well, in the story the main character Lily lived in a small cottage all by herself and had no friends. Then, one day, as she exited her home to pick up some flowers, there was a baby outside her doorstep. It carried no name nor was there anything to indicate its original owner, so Lily took her in. And Lily realised that the moments she spent taking care of and raising that child were filled with warmth and compassion, so…I wanted to try it out as well…”
Seto was shocked by her reasoning but it still felt like that wasn’t the whole story, so he lowered his head to make sure Mary couldn’t see his next actions.
‘Forgive me for this, Mary!’ He internally apologised as he felt his eyes glowing red.
”I want to make sure I’m able to at least protect a life as small as a flower…’
‘Ah, so that’s what it is…’ Seto painfully smiled from the reason and correlation to the girl’s past. He felt the red slowly fade away and raised his head to look at Mary once more. She stared at him quizzically and it seemed like her previous ashamed demeanour had gone away.
“Is something the matter, Seto?” She asked him.
Seto shook his head, “Nope, nothing’s wrong. That’s a wonderful reason, Mary! Say, why don’t the two of us go out to the flower shop I work at and buy a seed right now? The faster we buy a seed, the faster we get to grow it!”
At the sound of his words, Mary’s face brightened up and Seto found the way the ends of her long hair rise in excitement extremely adorable. Seto stood up from his previously hunched position and extended an arm out towards the seated girl.
“Let’s go, Mary!”
Mary stared at the hand that was extended towards her and promptly placed her palm atop his. Seto helped her up from the couch and rubbed off any dust that got on his pants while he was hunched.
“Why don’t you head over to your room to get ready first? I’m gonna get my wallet real quick.” Seto suggested and Mary nodded, immediately running off to her room. Seto also walked into his room to grab his wallet, but he made sure to check its contents before bringing it with him, ‘It’s not much but I’m sure it's enough for one or two seeds.’
It gets tough when you’re the only working member of the Mekakushi Dan, but to protect Mary’s sweet and pure smile, Seto would make sure it was enough.
A knock sounded on his door and Seto saw Mary peeking in through the door frame, “I’m ready.”
Seto tucked his wallet inside one of the multiple pockets in his jumpsuit and walked out to stand beside her. Mary held a hand out and Seto smiled as he took it with his own. Hand in hand, the pair made their way out the door to begin their new dream of growing a garden together.