Chapter Text
A conflict that's been going on for years, a war between the Azayakana kingdom and the Ushinatta empire. Lead by Queen Meiko and princess Shiraishi An the kingdom of Azayakana have been prospering inside the walls, but the Ushinatta empire which is lead by a tyrannical dragon king Aoyagi Touya had hated the kingdoms reluctance to help one's outside of the walls.
Touya had been planning to attack the kingdom with his two trusted allies Kamishiro Rui and Kaito. Both powerful mages of the empire. The 3 of them had equal opinion about the kingdom, that it should be burnt down to the ground.
As the empire attacked so did the kingdom, the mass amounts of bloodshed from both sides had affected the residents of each side. Seeing people you love getting killed and executed right in front of you had been torturing in their minds. The ones who had to do the killing, the White Knights from the kingdom and the assassins from the empire had their own views of this bloody war.
Most were uncertain that this was gonna end peacefully, they thought that whoever loses is going to get wiped out by the other side. Some looked a bit more optimistic that it'll be alright and that some good will happen at the end, though there is the opposite that nothing good will happen after the war is done.
Whatever side they choose they won't know the outcome until the end, let's just hope that they can survive until the end.
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"It's all just bullshit! He just keeps disappearing and fuckin' appearing anywhere! You get me right Akiyama?" A drunken sounding, orange haired knight holding a beer said to a yellow haired and a pink haired knight beside them. Drunkenly complaining about something that happened.
"Alright I know lil' bro, but I think you should lay off the beer for now~!" The pink haired knight swiftly grabbed the beer away from the drunk knight when they weren't looking.
"Hey, give that back..!" The oranged haired knight looked at the other one and struggled to try and grab it from their hands.
"Akito I think you should rest up for a bit okay-? I don't want you to get hurt, you know." The knight beside him carefully grabbed the orange knight's arms before he could reach the beer and smiled at him.
"..Well I..! You know what.. whatever." Akito looked slightly annoyed but calmed down before passing out on the table.
"A-Akito! Akiyama, could you take him to his room? Please?" The knight looked at Mizuki, the pink haired knight with a half smile.
"You got it captain! I'll make sure lil' bro won't drink alcohol in his sleep fufu!" Mizuki put one of Akito's arms on their shoulders and gave a slightly mischievous wink to the captain before running off with the passed out Akito.
"Ahh.. those two. I guess I should clean up for a bit." The yellow haired knight stood up and started to clean up the table before hearing someone call out their name.
"Excuse me, Captain Tenma Tsukasa? Are you busy right now?" A gentle voice called out to Tsukasa near the door.
"Hm? Who is it?" Tsukasa looked over putting the cups down, he saw a light blue haired girl standing near the door with a gentle smile and realized who it was. "Oh! Shizuku! I'm not busy right now, what do you need?" Tsukasa went over to Shizuku and politely asked what she needed.
"You see, Princess Shiraishi and Queen Meiko are asking for your presence, captain." Shizuku's tone changed into a more serious one, her face looked less cheerful than just a few seconds ago.
"Huh-? They want to see me? For what reason exactly, if I may ask.." Tsukasa looked a bit confused and worried by the tone of Shizuku's voice, maybe it had something to do with the recent battle the knights had..
"Well.. they haven't told me. So I'm afraid I am not really sure." Shizuku frowned a bit after saying that she didn't really understand why they didn't tell her since she was An's trusted colleague.
"A-Ah, I see.. well I guess we should go right..?" Tsukasa smiled to cheer up the girl's mood and waited for Shizuku to take him to the throne room.
"Very well then. Let's go captain." Shizuku walked out into a large corridor waiting for Tsukasa to follow behind.
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As the two reached the throne room Tsukasa saw a quite intimidating queen and stern princess. When they were right in front of the queen and princess, Shizuku bowed down and announced their arrival.
"Queen Meiko, Princess Shiraishi. Captain Tenma Tsukasa has been brought here by your order." Shizuku's voice had changed into an even more serious tone than before, but she started to smile a bit at the princess before walking away.
"..Queen Meiko.. Princess Shiraishi. You asked for my presence?" Tsukasa politely bowed down to the two, looking friendly as ever.
"Mhm. Yes we did ask you to come here Tenma." The browned haired queen sternly spoke to the boy. "It's about the enemy, we've heard that the knights were unsuccessful in their attack on the empire."
"Y-Yes my lady.. that purple haired mage had already planned a counter-attack against ours." Tsukasa's voice sounded a bit angry and disappointed in himself for not thinking ahead of that mage.
"I see. Tenma, there is something you need to win this war. The alchemists created something powerful that would be a great help to you." The queen snapped her fingers and a pink haired girl with a witch's hat walked out of a nearby room. Tsukasa noticed she had 3 yellow-ish orange vials in her hands.
"Take it, you need it." The pink haired girl handed the vials to Tsukasa before whispering to him, "Only use them when it's life or death." The girl had a ominous tone to her voice but quickly walked off.
"..What is this exactly my lady..?" Tsukasa held the blue vials, carefully trying to not break or spill the substance inside of it.
"You find out yourself captain!" The Black-ish blue princess blurted out before adjusting herself again.
"..Ahem, those vials are powerful potions and weapons only used for extremely dire situations, they're highly flammable as well. Use them wisely, Tenma. For now, you shall leave." The queen politely lowered her head to Tsukasa before smiling a bit but turning back into a serious look.
"Alright my lady, I'll be careful." Tsukasa put the vials in a pouch in his suit before bowing to the two royals. As he started to leave he heard someone run towards him. He reacted immediately and put his guard up, but fortunately it was the princess, Shiraishi An.
"Ah-! Lady Shiraishi you scared me for a second.." Tsukasa calmed down and nervously smiled at the princess.
"Oops! Sorry Tenma! I just wanted to ask where Mizuki is!" The girl had a warm smile on her face. She enjoyed every single moment with the knights as they were the closest thing to family for her.
"Oh? Akiyama? They're probably with Akito in his room. I can accompany you there if you'd like!"
"That would be nice of you Tenma! Let's go then!" The princess cheerfully skipped through the giant hallway.
"..Alright..." Tsukasa's smile soon turned into a frown, the sight of seeing An so cheerful and happy reminded him of someone he cared about for such a long time. That person was the reason why he became a knight in the first place. "Saki.." He whispered out, his voice filled with pain and regret.
"Hm? Did you say something Tenma-?" The girl looked over at the knight with a confused look on her face.
"Ah-! I'm fine, lady Shiraishi. Now then! Let's go to Akiyama and Akito! Ha ha ha!" Tsukasa quickly changed the mood since he didn't want to worry the princess.
"..Okay then..!”
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Mizuki had been sitting in Akito's room for a few hours watching him rest after seeing him drink around 3 beers. They were kind of worried for his health but shook it off remembering that this has been a normal habit of his. As they started to doze off they heard a knock at the door.
"Eh..? Come in.." The pink haired knight yawned while the door started to open and looked over to see a wonderful girl in a red dress smiling right at them. "L-Lady An–?! What are you doing here—?"
"I just wanted to see how my lovely knight was doing!" An ran over to Mizuki and quickly hugged them.
"I–I guess I can't get mad at you for that, my princess fufu~" Mizuki hugged back with a warm smile on their face.
"I uh.. sorry to bother your moment Akiyama but.. is Akito doing okay?" Tsukasa carefully entered the room with a concerned look on his face.
"Hmm well lil' bro is sleeping on his bed right now! You can go look after him if you want~" Mizuki said in a teasing tone, they thought that Tsukasa had some special connection with Akito since both of them had been together from the start of their training.
"Ah.. s-sure. I won't bother you two now." Tsukasa quietly walked over to Akito's bedroom leaving the two girls alone.
As he reached the bedroom he saw a passed out and unharmed Akito on the bed. Tsukasa was glad that Mizuki safely brought Akito to his room, he sat down on the bed and smiled at him. He really did care for him, Tsukasa just didn't want to let his emotions get the better of him during a war. He knew that one day he or Akito will be caught up in a mess that will get one or both of them killed, it's not impossible. Tsukasa just wanted Akito to live on, even if it means to never see him if it's necessary.
Tsukasa cares for Akito, maybe a bit more than a normal friend should. Tsukasa doesn't know what these feelings are, it's complicated to him.
"Akito.. can you hea–" Before he could say a sharp pain grew in his chest, Tsukasa felt like he was gonna vomit right there. So he got up from the bed covering his mouth and hugging his chest and ran to the bathroom.
When he got to the sink he closed his eyes and started coughing and vomiting. As he opened his eyes, he was shocked to see what was in the sink. It was blood, and.. flower petals? Yellow and white flower petals, infact Tsukasa has seen these flower petals before in the royal garden. He just can't remember their names, either way.. why was he coughing out blood and petals..? Should he keep this a secret from the others? Or should he tell them..? Tsukasa doesn't know what to do, he doesn't want to worry his friends and peers but at the same time he needs to be loyal and trustworthy to them.
"God what do I do.. what do I do...? Akito shouldn't find out about this..." Tsukasa quickly washed the blood from the sink and threw the petals in the trash can.
"My head hurts.." Tsukasa felt like he could pass out any second, his head felt light. Before he could actually pass out he heard someone knock on the door.
"Hey..! Captain! Are you in there–?" It was the voice of Mizuki, they sounded quite worried judging by the tone of their voice.
"Ah.. y-yes I'm here Akiyama.. what do you need..?" Tsukasa wiped his mouth from the blood and gently opened the door to see Mizuki with a worried face.
"Oh nothing-! I was just worried that you were gone when we came to find you two!"
"I-I see.. I need to go f-for a bit actually... sorry.." Tsukasa's voice was tired, like all his energy was sucked out.
"Heh? Where are you going then?" Mizuki was quite confused about Tsukasa's sudden departure.
"My room. I'm quite.. tired today haha..." Tsukasa chuckled and smiled to reassure Mizuki that he's fine.
"Really..? Well I guess we all need some rest after today-!"
"Mhm, I'll get going n-now.. bye Akiyama..!" Tsukasa awkwardly walked out of the bathroom door and told the two girls goodbye.
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"What's happening to me..? This.. hasn't happened before." Tsukasa thought to himself while slowly walking towards his room, he tried to think of reasons on why this is happening to him.
"Is it some kind of curse on me? But why.. I haven't done anything bad to even curse me with such things..." He covered his mouth in case he was going to cough out again. He didn't want anyone to get involved with his own issue.
"There's a cure for this right? There has to be one.. maybe a book in the library..? But it'll take a while to find it.." He stopped for a moment, just thinking. And thinking.. until.
"Uhm.. excuse me? Are you okay, Captain Tenma?" A unfamiliar voice of a girl had appeared behind Tsukasa's back, her voice was in a worried tone as he was standing in the middle of a hallway.
"Huh..?" Tsukasa snapped back from his thoughts and looked over to see a blue haired girl with a witch's hat behind him. "Miss Kiritani Haruka right? O-Oh I'm fine..! Just thinking about things.." He assured the girl that it was nothing important.
"And what exactly is it sir? Is it about the war? Or something else?" Haruka was intrigued by this, but didn't want to push it too far.
"A-Ah well.. actually.. do you know about a book about curses? You're an alchemist right? Do you mind if you show me it?" He nicely asked the girl, he held his stomach for a bit but still smiled.
"Curses? I think there is one in the library somewhere. Follow me sir, I'll show you where it is." Haruka smiled brightly at him and started to walk to the castle library.
"Got it.." Tsukasa faintly smiled back and followed the girl to the giant library.
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The two had reached the library and started to go through the walls and walls of shelves filled with different types of books everywhere. It was almost like a maze. Haruka told Tsukasa to follow her carefully since he might get lost in the library.
"Say, why are you looking into curses sir? Nobody here in the castle is interested in things like this." Haruka said to Tsukasa while walking through the endless hallways. She was curious as to why a knight like him wanted to know these things.
"Well u-uhm.. I just thought about it and ma-maybe it can help us.. you know..??" He nervously said to the girl, he didn't think of a good reason why he's doing this without causing any suspicion.
"Help with the war? Like using curses against their magic? ..Hm.. I guess some curses could work. I only know some useful ones but.." Haruka stopped walking and faced the boy, and spoke with a serious and stern voice. "If you want to know more about deadly curses, there's a legend about 3 witches of the Kuroi Hana (Black Flower) forest."
"3 witches? Aren't they some fairytale told to kids to stray away from the forest..?" Tsukasa was a bit confused on why Haruka mentioned that story.
"It's not really a fairytale, I know one of the witches. She's.. quite fun to be around with honestly." Haruka had a slight red tint on her face. But shook it off for a bit and told Tsukasa more about the witches. "The witches live at the end of the forest, just be careful on entering there okay? It's filled with poisonous plants and animals."
"..Got it Kiritani. I'll be careful." Tsukasa would be lying if he wasn't worried about this. He was already weak from this unknown curse, who knows what would happen to him in that forest?
"Before you go, take this. The witches won't harm you if you have this with you." Haruka took out a necklace with a shiny lime green gem shaped as a clover in the middle from her pocket and handed it over to the knight.
"Th-Thanks.. I'll keep it safe, Kiritani." Tsukasa assured the girl and put the necklace in his pocket.
"Good. I wish for the best Tenma." The blue haired girl smiled at him, still a bit worried.
"Thank you for your help Kiritani!" The boy weakly smiled back at her before running out of the maze-like library.
"Huh.. Tenma seems a bit off today. I hope he's doing fine.."
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Tsukasa dashed out of the library holding his hands to his mouth, during the entire conversation with Haruka he felt like he was gonna cough out an organ. His heart was beating so fast he couldn't feel it anymore, the feeling of being stabbed in the chest didn't leave. The only thing he could do is run for the castle exit.
"Come on Tsukasa.. you can make it.. just.. a bit more." He was almost at the exit, it was right in front of him. Before he could fully walk out of the empty castle he suddenly collapsed onto the floor coughing out a lot of blood and petals. Until he saw something new, a full flower.
It seemed like a yellow and white chrysanthemum, a popular flower in some kingdoms. Thanks to princess An and Akiyama, he knew a lot of flowers. He didn't have enough time to dwell on it too much, so he grabbed his handkerchief and wiped off the blood and petals on the floor. As soon as he was done he picked up the flower and bolted out of the castle heading towards the Kuroi Hana forest.
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The forest was giant, vines everywhere while different flowers were growing on the trees. The shade from the leaves made the entire forest pitch black. But that didn't bother Tsukasa in the slightest, he's a knight, he's supposed to appear fearless and strong. But why is his expression just filled with dread, fear and weakness?
"I can't.. reach.. the end. I feel so dizzy.." Tsukasa was stumbling around the forest, almost to the point of passing out. But he can't end his story here yet, he needs to find those witches to cure.. or at least tell him about this curse that is growing in his chest.
He felt like he's been walking for an eternity, his legs feel so weak. As he continued walking he tripped on a plant or rock causing him to fall on his face. "Agh... my face.. it hurts." Tsukasa slowly put his hand to his face and realized that he's been seriously injured by some dull and sharp rocks causing some blood to spill out.
Tsukasa felt helpless like this, what is he supposed to do now? Wait for a monster to kill him? Or the curse? He didn't want to know the answer. Maybe a miracle will happen, but.. he could only dream of it. As the knight slowly closes his eyes in defeat.
It was all hopeless.
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"-- --- ----- --- ----?"
"--- --- ------ ---- --- ---- ------"
"...What...?" Tsukasa, luckily, is still alive. He could hear something, or someone near him. It all felt fuzzy to him, he could barely move. It feels like he's been tied down..
"...?? ..... .... ......"
"..!!! ..... ... ...!"
".... ... ...... .... ...."
These sounds, there's more than one person is there? As Tsukasa slowly regains his consciousness the more clear those voices get.. though none of them felt familiar to him in any way.
"Ughh.. why do humans have to be so dumb sometimes."
"H-Hey you don't have to be mean so soon! We don't even know why they're here..."
"Hm.."
3 different voices, Tsukasa hasn't heard these people before. Were these the legendary witches...?
"Ah.. they're starting to wake up." One of the witches poked Tsukasa's cheek trying to make his eyes fully open.
"..O-Oh! Kohane-chan! Can you get the medicine-!" Another one turned to a nearby witch who was sitting in a house
"Huh? Oh, sure. Wait there." The other witch from the house quietly stepped out holding a small wooden bowl.
As Tsukasa's head gets clearer he could see the 3 people in front of him. A brown haired girl with gray eyes wearing a sheep type of outfit, horns and ears. Another one with their arms crossed had a more wolf-like appearance, messy gray hair and bright green eyes. The last one who was holding a bowl filled with.. who knows what, they have more of a red riding hood appearance, a white and red hood covering their blonde hair and eerie brown eyes.
"Where... where am I.." Tsukasa muttered out as he slowly moved his head to see his surroundings.
"Shh.. stay still please-! You're hurt!" The brown haired girl tried to keep Tsukasa's head still.
"H-Huh..?? Wha.. what...?" Tsukasa was really confused, as well as scared. He didn't know where he was and he was faced by 3 people that he assumes are those dangerous witches of the forest.
"Listen to her human, your head is injured. Stay still." The silver haired wolf girl hissed at Tsukasa. She most likely didn't enjoy his presence.
"...Mind if you tell us your name, knight?" The blonde haired girl quietly asked in an innocent voice.
"E-Err.. My name is.. Tenma Tsukasa.. who.. who even are you..?" Tsukasa kept himself calm and polite. His voice was a bit shaken up by this situation but he tried to hide it.
"Tenma—? W-Wait you're a Tenma..?" The brown haired girl was surprised by this, it seemed like she had heard of that name before.
"Shiho, keep him in the house for now.. he needs to rest up." The blonde haired girl seemed to be talking to the silver haired one. Her voice was a bit more stern by this.. revelation.
"Got it Kohane.." The girl, Shiho, carefully picked up the injured Tsukasa. Unsurprisingly making him a bit panicked.
"U-Uh what— What are you doing haha–?? Can you uhh.. p-put me down...?" Tsukasa was confused by all of this, but eventually gave in and let the girl take him to that eerie house.
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As the two went inside, the wolf had placed him on top of a creaky old bed. Every place Tsukasa looked it was covered in vines and leaves, a quiet room with only the sound of wind going through the vines can be heard. Tsukasa tried to get himself comfortable as the girl had left him alone. He placed his hand to his head and felt like another sting in his chest, he quickly sat up as he felt it again. It was happening again.
Tsukasa put his hand to his mouth and waited for it to start. And as it happened every part of his body felt like he was being stabbed everywhere. The stinging pain was even more painful than last time, Tsukasa wanted to scream, he wanted to scream so bad. But he kept his mouth shut, putting another hand to his face, his cries were only muffled sounds of pain.
He moved his head to the window beside him and saw the 3 girls talking, though they were quite far away so he couldn't hear them. Tsukasa desperately called for help as this curse was getting more painful to bare. His coughing and wheezing noises caught one of the witches' attention, the brown haired sheep looking girl. She looked over to Tsukasa and saw him covering his mouth with a distressed expression. The girl quickly told the two to get him some medicine as she ran up the stairs to the abandoned shack.
"Hey-! Are you okay?! What's wrong—?!" The girls tone is one of worry for the knight, she called to the other two who were making some medicine for Tsukasa to drink.
Tsukasa tried to answer the girl's question but it failed as his voice was creaky since his throat was ever so slightly filled with petals. He kept on coughing into his hands as the brown haired girl panicked even more.
"Minori-! Try this!" The blonde haired girl carefully ran over to the sheep girl and handed her a bowl filled with some kind of green liquid.
"Thank you Kohane..! H-Here take it quick-!" She held the bowl out to Tsukasa and waited for him to drink it.
The knight hesitated for a couple of seconds before caving in and grabbing the bowl and drinking some of it. "..A-Aah.. th-thank you..! Uhm.. so s-sorry about that haha.." Tsukasa's hands were shaking and were covered in his blood as well as some bloodied petals.
"Thank goodness..." The blonde haired girl stared at him with a calmer expression. "Shiho he's fine, you can come here now." She called out to the silvered hair girl who was standing at the back holding some type of medicine and plants.
"So uh.. w-who are you three exactly..??" Tsukasa looked at the 3 girls and examined them closely.
"More importantly, what happened to you?" The silver haired girl stared Tsukasa down with a serious tone.
"Ehem, excuse Shiho, Mr. Tenma was it? I am Kohane, this girl beside me is Minori and the one behind me is Shiho." The girl, now calling herself Kohane, introduced the three girls to Tsukasa.
"..Shiho..? I feel like I've heard you before.." Tsukasa looked at Shiho with a curious face before coughing again.
"Ah-! Are you alright?!" Minori tapped Tsukasa's back to check if he's alright.
"Yeah I'm fine.. this medicine thing is making this.. curse thing less painful." Tsukasa quietly laughed at his own misfortune as he drank more of the green liquid.
"Curse?" Minori looked at him with a scared expression. "A curse.. wait here.." She quietly walked away from him and the other two girls heading down to another place in this shack.
"..Before Minori gets back, could you answer some questions, Mr. Tenma?" Kohane looked at Tsukasa with an expressionless face, an unnerving demeanor to Tsukasa but he nodded slowly.
"Good, firstly, how did you or do you know about this place? The hideout of the witches aren't recorded in any book as old as time."
"Well.. an acquaintance of yours told me.. her name is Kiritani Haruka." Tsukasa reached into his pocket and pulled out the necklace with a clover shaped jewel and gave it to Kohane.
"Haruka? Kiritani Haruka you say? But.. why..?" Kohane looked at the necklace with a look of confusion.
"Mhm.. I-I told- Well.. I didn't tell her I had this curse, disease.. whatever thing. I just didn't want to worry her you know-?” Tsukasa's change of tone made the other two girls worry. He's more nervous and his hands were shaking more.
"Tell me.. one last question Tenma."
"...What is it Azusawa..?"
"Are you, perhaps Tenma Saki's brother?"
"...Saki..?"
Tsukasa looked at the girl with a dead look in his eyes. Yet another change in his demeanor, just a single question had made him remember something he wished he could forget.
"Uhm.. Kohane.." Minori, who was behind Shiho, tapped the back of Kohane and gave her an old looking book.
"Ah, thank you Minori." Kohane took the book from Minori's hands and looked over at Tsukasa. "Tenma, you still haven't answered my question yet. Are you Saki's brother?"
"..Yes.. yes, I am her brother. Is that all you need to know?" Tsukasa looked at the girls with a more dead like expression. Like he's a real corpse talking.
"Mhm.. I won't push you any further. It seems like Saki is someone you care about deeply. Now give me a moment to find this 'curse' of yours here." Kohane opened the book and turned page after page after page. Shiho and Minori occasionally tried to talk to Tsukasa but he was dead silent.
It took a bit for Kohane to find the right page but eventually, right at the end of the book there was a disease similar to what Tsukasa has been suffering from. And it seemed to be worsening every second.
"Tenma," Kohane tapped the shoulder of Tsukasa to grab his attention. Her voice was one of uncertainty, she didn't know how to help him after knowing his misfortune.
"What..?"
"Do you perhaps.. love someone? In a romantic way,"
"..Eh? W-Why do you want to know?" Tsukasa was clearly confused by this.. what does this have to do with his condition? It's not like he loves someone right..?
"It's about your curse, or well a disease. to be specific."
"Disease..? Wh-What's it called-?"
"It's the Hanahaki disease, it's extremely rare but when it happens to infect someone.. it's very lethal." Kohane read through the page about the Hanahaki disease, she didn't believe that it existed. Neither did Minori and Shiho.
"Hanahaki is.. a confusing disease. It says here that, if the infected has a crush or loves someone that they can't love for complicated reasons they will get the disease. So tell me Tenma, do you love someone?"
"..I-I don't know.." Tsukasa put his hand to his heart and tugged on his shirt, he didn't know if.. Akito has something to do with this or not.
"Listen to me Tenma, whoever they are, you need to admit your feelings to them. Or else this disease will take over you."
"How exactly is this disease deadly...?"
"Uhm.. flowers will grow in your lungs, then petals will grow out your throat leading to suffocation."
"..I-Is there any other cure..?" Tsukasa was really nervous, if Akito is the reason why he's like this then.. Tsukasa needed to confess to him. But he didn't want to do that, Akito might call him weird.. or even reject him.
"Unfortunately there isn't, it's either die or confess your feelings to that special someone."
"I see.. but why are those flowers chrysanthemums specifically.. this makes no sense..."
"Eh? Chrysanthemums? What color are they..?" Shiho chimed in as she heard the name of those flowers Tsukasa has been suffering with.
"Yellow and white? Why are the colors
important..?"
"Yellow and white huh.. if I remember correctly, a yellow chrysanthemum is more towards sorrow and neglected feelings on the other hand a white chrysanthemum is about loyalty and devotion. What an odd combination." Shiho looked puzzled by this, two colors of the same flower that don't make any sense with their meanings..
"Are you saying that Mr Tenma is neglecting his feelings for someone yet staying loyal to them at the same time...?" Minori quietly asked Shiho.
"Could be. Say Tenma, if your feelings are not romantic in a sense, then who do you feel the closest too?"
"Well uhm.. there's this one person that.. that I care for a lot. They're quite an interesting person a-and they're caring for me and their friends.." Tsukasa turned his head to the window and sighed, "I-I just hope.. he's okay now.."
"A 'he' huh? You seem to be fond of him." Shiho was a bit skeptical that Tsukasa didn't have any romantic feelings towards that special guy.
"U-Uh ah... mhm.." Tsukasa realized what he said to the girls, "I'm very.. fond of him. I've been partners with him since we started training. He's really lovely when you get to know him more you know..?" Tsukasa felt his heart beat faster and his cheeks felt hotter the more he explained Akito to the girls.
"Uh huh, I see." Shiho had an even more skeptical expression the more Tsukasa talked about these feelings. Was he really that oblivious? "You remind me of Minori when she was fangirling over Miss Kiritani." Shiho whispered to herself..
"What was that?"
"Nothing."
"One more thing Tenma, have this." Kohane got out a bottle from her coat and handed it to Tsukasa. "It might not cure Hanahaki but it can reduce the effects of having it, meaning the pain will not be too harsh." The bottle Kohane had given to him had a light blue liquid in it.
"Thank you Azusawa, you too Hanasato and.. Hinomori. I greatly appreciate your help.."
"You're welcome Tenma, take care of yourself when you get back."
"I-I will.. but firstly how do I get back to the kingdom..?"
"Oh don't worry, you'll find out in.. three.. two.. one."
A sudden wave of sleepiness overtook Tsukasa, he slowly was put into a daze and laid down on the bed. The three witches looked at each other with their own questions that they wanted answers for.
Why did Tsukasa react like that when Saki was mentioned?
Will he be really alright if he's that oblivious?
Did we help him or made his situation worse?
These questions might remain unanswered for a while, but Tsukasa isn't really an honest person. But he tries to not hurt anyone because of it. Kohane held out the necklace that Tsukasa had brought and put it in his hands. The three stayed silent and just stared at each other, Shiho broke the silence by asking a simple question but a complicated answer.
"Do you think he'll make it in time?"