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Today was a special day for Emu. It was the anniversary of the day her grandfather died. Every year on the day, she visited the cemetery with her family, brought flowers, told him about their lives, and what great things were to come.
Recently, her family had been busy, and Emu had moved into an apartment with the rest of Wonderlands x Showtime as well, so the odds were slim that the whole family would visit this year. Nevertheless, the dreamer knew the importance of the day (and her grandfather) and still desired to visit him because “everyone deserves to smile”.
The problem was that she had no flowers. Her family members usually brought her grandfather’s favorite flowers with them. That was the reason she stood outside of Rui’s room, the other getting ready to leave the apartment.
There were three reasons why she wanted him to come specifically. One, he worked at a flower shop, but she never knew where it was or if they had the flowers she was looking for. Two, death was a touchy subject for the rest of WxS; with Tsukasa’s close experiences with Saki and Nene’s grandmother’s rapidly deteriorating health, she didn’t want to poke at the subject further.
Lastly, he was the pillar holding everyone up, she could rely on him if need be.
“Hey, Rui?” She eventually said. The inventor noticed the nervousness she had.
“Emu-kun? What’s wrong?” He asked her in a concerned tone, turning around to face her.
The girl fiddled with her fingers, trying to find a way to word it. “Well, um.. Today is the day my grandfather died, and I wanted to visit him, but I don’t have any flowers, or anyone to go with to find them so…Rui, can you come with me?”
Shocked by her words (but not in a bad way), he smiled, reassuring her. “Of course.”
“Really?! I mean you don’t have to y’know! I know you were about to go somewhere…”
“I mean it, Emu-kun. Your grandfather’s death takes priority. I want to come along, so don’t think you are forcing me, okay?”
Emu nodded. “Okay.”
~
The two, now outside of the apartment complex, walked towards the flower shop, silent. The flower shop was near the apartment so it wasn’t a long walk.
Rui came to the flower shop often, not only as part of his job. He came for various fertilizers and seeds the gardening club could use, came to buy pots for the plants he grew in his room, and came to buy a watering can so he wouldn’t use a silver bowl to water his plants. Because of this, the shop’s owner, Misaki Hinoshita, knew him well, and the regulars at the flower shop were used to seeing him around, just not with his troupemates.
“Oh, Kamishiro-kun, welcome in!” the shop owner chimed as they entered.
The store had a bright atmosphere, flower bouquets of all colors placed in metal buckets. Also in buckets were flowers separate from the bouquets, a selection of different colors to choose from.
“Ah, Hinoshita-san, it’s nice to see you. We’ll just look around the store,” he replied, Emu waving hello as they walked towards the bouquets. “Emu-kun, is there a specific flower you would like to get?”
“Yeah, sunflowers! I wasn’t sure if they would have them this time of year though.”
Rui smiled. “Those are beautiful flowers. In flower language, they symbolize happiness and loyalty.”
“Really? That’s super wonderhoy! Ehehe, grandpa really is cool.”
“I take it they are his favorite flower?”
Emu nodded. “He’d always put some up by Wonder Stage. That’s why there’s flowers planted on the trail that heads towards it!”
The alchemist was shocked, but smiled once more. “That’s wonderful, I’m sure he appreciated the thought you put into it.”
Even if it wasn’t explicitly mentioned that it was her idea, he was able to figure it out. She looked at him, bright pink meeting soothing yellow as she gave him a smile of her own. “Yeah, I have to make sure he’s remembered! Or else, he’ll disappear!”
R: “Love, that was in a movie.”
E: “A very awesome movie!”
R: “Yeah. While the plot itself was cheesy, the lessons it presented were very admirable and easy to relate to.”
E: “Tsukasa seems like the type of person to like that sort of plot!”
R: “Oh Emu-kun, you should have seen the cultural festival.”
~
The two went up to the counter to pay for the bouquet. As Emu put it on the register, Rui winked at Misaki, the owner nodding in understanding. “Emu-kun, you can wait outside, I have something I need to do,” Rui told her, Emu replying with a simple “Okay!” and walking out.
As the door chimed shut, the owner spoke up. “Kamishiro-kun, you’ve found such a wonderful partner. She seems like quite the young lady.”
It wasn’t like Rui waltzing into the shop with someone new was unexpected, at least to Misaki. The part-time worker often talked about his partners, and how the three have found ways to light up their lives together. She immediately knew from his expression that it was someone dear to him.
“Ah.. you knew?”
“You may not know it, but your expressions tell me a lot about you. There’s a small glimmer in your eyes when you talk about the things you love, and that small glimmer is still here, right now. I’m happy for you, Kamishiro-kun. Take care of her, treasure her, and I believe great rewards will come your way.”
Rui smiled. “Thank you Hinoshita-san, I’m glad you think so.” He looked at Emu from the window, smiling happily as she waved at a passerby. “She has a good heart, and I want to make sure it doesn’t break. I would follow her to the ends of the Earth if I could.”
Misaki sighed softly. “Ah, young love. So, your usual?” The alchemist nodded.
~
Rui paid for the bouquet and the two continued their walk to the cemetery hand in hand, talking along the way. They finally entered the gates, armed with a few wooden buckets and brushes.
“Time to get the stone nice and sparkly!~” Emu exclaimed happily as she waddled her way over to her grandfather’s grave.
The other laughed. ‘She looks like a little penguin.’ “Don’t trip, okay?”
~
Emu is glad she brought Rui of all people because there were certain places her fingers couldn’t reach. With his help, and some scrubbing, the gravestone was clean. She set her sunflowers on the gravestone, bringing a pop of color to the gray of the stone. “Grandpa, I brought someone with me today! This is Rui, he’s one of my partners!”
“I know we never formally met, but I will make sure to take care of Emu in your place. She looks up to you greatly, and I’m sure she’ll protect the park to the best of her abilities.”
“Rui! He knows all of that!” The dreamer giggled. “He never doubted me, we’re good!”
“I’m just assuring him that you’re okay and that he doesn’t need to worry.”
Emu blushed. “Ugh, Rui!~” The other chuckled, the girl joining in as well. Once the chuckling had stopped, she turned to face the gravestone. “You see, grandpa? I’ll be fine here, don’t worry!”
“Please continue to watch over us.” Rui bowed, paying his respects.
Emu looked at him confusedly, the boy still holding the plastic bag that held the sunflowers earlier. It still has something in it..
“Hey Rui.. is there still something in the bag?”
Avoiding her question, the alchemist responded. “Emu-kun, I’d like to show you something. Would you like to come with me?”
The dreamer nodded hesitantly, holding Rui’s hand once again as she was led further into the cemetery. What could he possibly be leading her to?
And then, the two stopped in front of a different grave. The gravestone read “Asuka Kamishiro”.
Kamishiro?
“Emu-kun, I’d like you to meet my late grandmother.”
If Emu had known this, she wouldn’t have brought him here. She can’t keep hurting others because of her own selfish wishes. It wasn’t right.
The girl just stood in shock, unsure of how to comprehend it all. Seconds pass, and Rui frowns. “Emu-kun?”
“I’m sorry..” she whispered.
“Love, you have nothing to be sorry for.”
“But…I thought you would be okay with this.. I didn’t want to remind you of what you didn’t have or be mean about it..”
The boy frowned in pity rather than concern, and brought the second bouquet he had bought out, littered with dark pink roses. “I am okay with this. It’s not selfishness in any way, shape, or form, Emu. It’s just what life chose for us.
I never formally knew my grandmother, as she died before I was born. My grandfather moved away when I was in middle school, and I promised him that I would leave flowers on her gravestone when I could, and I’ve been leaving these roses ever since.”
From what I have heard of her, my grandmother had done a lot for the community. She set up environmental volunteering campaigns to clean the parks and water, and raised money through a sports event that the park still does today. In flower language, dark pink roses symbolize gratitude and appreciation. I think these flowers support the message my grandfather wanted her to receive.”
The dreamer smiled softly. “That’s amazing, Rui! I just thought you would be upset about me bringing you to visit grandpa.. Nene and Tsukasa are already stressed enough about death as it is, I didn’t want to put anymore stress on them. But, I guess it was okay?”
“It’s always okay. I’m glad you thought about them and their situations as well. I guess, because you managed to show me a person who made such an impact in your life, I wanted to do so too, even if it wasn’t exactly the same. I am sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, I just didn’t think it was that important.”
“That’s okay, at least you told me!”
Rui nodded. “Ah, we may have forgotten what we came here for, dear.”
Emu squealed when she realized. “So sorry, Ma’am! My name is Emu Ootori, I’m dating your grandson! It’s nice to… meet you?”
“I think she would have loved to meet you, Emu.” The boy placed the dark pink roses in a vase, one that had been emptied of flowers and filled with water.
“Please continue to watch over us, grandma.”
“Yeah! Please take care!”
~
The two soon arrived home, the warm lighting of their apartment greeting them. Tsukasa and Nene, who were both working on assignments on the couch, waved and greeted them as well. They both smiled, walking towards them and hugging them.
Today, Emu learned a few valuable lessons about love.
One, love could be expressed in many ways, even through things like flowers, actions, and words.
Two, love doesn’t have to be physical, love could be sending a prayer to a family member who you may not have met before.
But lastly, love is different for everyone. There’s Emu, who shows her love through her actions and words, and there’s Rui, who shows his love through objects and thought. It’s another reason why everyone is different from each other.
Take a good look at Wonderlands x Showtime and you’ll find four completely different people who had found love together, despite their differences.
And Emu would find no better reason to show her love to them as well.