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The legendary overlord, always preaching about self love. T.M. Opera O was narcissistic, always prioritizing to show herself off. No one could deny that she was remarkable though.
Everyone knew she had many rivals, those of whom are her friends, and those of whom disregard her and are jealous of her, and she happened to be smitten by one of them. One whose exterior is as rough as nails. The eccentric, rebellious data analyst herself, Air Shakur.
No one would expect the haughty king to be in love with someone who seems so unlovable. And that's what Opera expected from them when she hid this affection from her friends. She wouldn’t dare let this weakness of hers bring her down.
That's when she felt it.
One day as she was lounging in her dorm room alone, her roommate not in sight, a scratching sensation filled her throat. A single blue petal emerged from her mouth. She decided to inspect the petal, looking at the cool blue hue it showed. A signal of distress shot through her head. Surely she must’ve inhaled this petal during a fan meet, right..?
No, no it couldn’t be the case. No one in her crowd threw blue flowers at her that day. No… no… It was something else. They were the same blue used in Shakur’s racewear, albeit being a softer tone. She shrugged it off, continuing on with the rest of the things she had in store for the week.
However, it did interfere with her classes and training, every time she saw Shakur in the hallway, her heart pounded from anticipation. That heartache and lung-compressing feeling returned. She couldn’t focus on her training or classes at all.
It was now Saturday. Opera contemplated to herself as she sat on her bed. Hayahide was nearby, but decided not to interfere with her. That's when she decided to seek help for it. She stood up and exited her dorm to look for someone. It was only the afternoon, after all.
That’s when she spotted Fine Motion in the hallway, exactly the person she was looking for. She knew that Fine was close to Shakur, She practically dragged her everywhere. Opera went behind Fine and tapped her shoulder.
“Fine… May I talk to you for a moment?”
She spoke. Her voice was unnaturally quiet and low.
Fine nodded her head. She listened intently with what Opera had to say, that’s when she pulled the blue petal out, showing it to Fine.
“Pray tell, can thou identify the flower which this petal comes from?”
Fine took the petal in her hand, inspecting it lightly. Recognition flickered in her eyes as she returned her eyes to Opera.
“This is a blue clematis petal!” she exclaimed. “These are actually Shakur’s favorites… Well, these were the ones she was most fascinated about when we looked at flowers together! Why’s that?”
Opera’s eyes shot wide open. Looking at the petal that was returned to her. Her ears drooped down at the realization. “Nothing… Nothing.” She whispered. “I give you my gratitude, Fine.”
With that, Opera left Fine Motion and returned to her dorm room. She thought to herself about it all, what might be causing this. Was this connected to her unrequited love for Shakur? She thought she was being too dramatic, even for herself.
Another blue petal emerged from her throat. There was a slight bit more this time, following up with drops of blood, snaking down her chin.
She just decided to take a nap, try and forget about it. “Maybe it’ll go away…” She thought. “It could be just leftovers from a past performance that I had forgotten...”
She slept longer than she wanted to, She woke up at 3AM the next day, her body covered in a cold sweat. She grasped her lungs, they started to hurt. She couldn’t shake it off, no. She went to the academy’s infirmary to check it out. Unfortunately, no one was in the infirmary at this hour. She sighed, before she started another coughing fit. More came out of her mouth, now having a more reddish tint to them.
Opera’s eyes dilated, she needed someone to talk to, or someone to consult this with. That's when she knew–The academy laboratory. She knew someone would be waiting there.
Opera rushed there, even if she was weak. She banged on the door, fully expecting Agnes Tachyon to be there. And she was. She opened the door, her unhinged smile still present.
“My, my! What brings you to the lab at such a late hour, Opera? Want to help me with one of my experiments?”
“No.. None of that… I do apologize for interrupting at such a late hour but… may you help m–”
She got cut off, more petals emerging from her mouth and onto her palms as she caught them with her hands.
“Help me… with this….”
Tachyon inspected the flowers that she had just regurgitated, her eyes narrowing at their soft, blue hue.
“Hm… Could this be..?”
She turned on her heel towards her desk, grabbing a book about diseases and syndromes, myth or not. Tachyon flipped through the pages, landing on the chapter about love-related syndromes. Pointing at a particular one called “Hanahaki”
“Tell me, are you familiar with this?” She showed the page on the book to Opera.
“No, I do not… enlighten me please.” She demanded.
“Very well then. Hanahaki disease is when someone is experiencing one-sided love. Flower petals emerge from the lungs, usually representing their lover in some way. If not treated by surgically removing them or having the feelings returned, then it leads to death.”
Tachyon closed the book shut and threw it back to her desk.
“So.. who’s the lucky uma? You're not afraid to tell it to me.. Are you?” Tachyon said teasingly.
Opera hesitated to speak, her mouth stuttering to open. She isn’t used to being vulnerable like this.
“It… It’s Shakur.” She let out, her words going above a whisper.
“Shakur? Haha! My, my! I didn’t know you were so hopeless for that loner! Why, why is it that you’re smitten for her?” She sat down in the office chair behind her. Tapping her fingers together like some sort of villain. Her legs crossed over one another.
“How should I put this…?”
She paused for a moment, trying to gather all her thoughts. Her hands turning into fists
“Well… Shakur… she’s beautiful. She’s straightforward and precise. No one dares mess with her, and yet… I’m drawn.” She let go of her fists, tapping her fingers against her thigh. “What shall I do about this, Tachyon..?”
“Go confess, silly!” she exclaimed, standing up like some kind of ovation. “You can turn this one side double! Or… unless you want to make it none-sided at all.. I can help with the surger-”
“No thanks, Tachyon. I give my gratitude for your knowledge.” Opera cut off tachyon short, leaving the laboratory that they were in to go back to her dorm.
She collapsed on her bed, letting the night take her.
Sunday morning, 10:23AM. Opera overslept.
Opera stretched herself out, ignoring the pains in her chest. She decided to go to the track today, hopefully taking this all off her mind. She got into her tracksuit, fixed her crown and went there.
As she arrived, she spotted Doto, her closest friend and main rival. She was seated on a bench, adjusting her shoes. Opera went up to Doto, trying to put on that flamboyant mask she’d always wear.
“Good morning, sweet Doto!” she exclaimed. “I do apologize for my… late arrival but the show must go on, anyway!” her loud, infectious laughter expanded throughout the open field.
“Opera! Where have you been? I was just about to go looking for you!” Doto then exclaimed, her shoe falling off her foot as she let go of it.
“There is no need to fret, Doto! For I-”
Opera suddenly felt a presence, a familiar one. Her head turned slowly to confirm who it was. The dark, spiky, messy hair… the piercings that adorned her brow… her cold, intimidating yellow eyes…
It was her.
A pang of pain rushed into Opera’s lungs once more.
“Oi, Doto, here's your water.” That rough voice that came out muttered. “Oh, hey Opera.” She acknowledged her… Blandly. It was true that Shalur was always annoyed by Opera’s antics.
Opera stifled a cough but.. No… It was more than just a measly cough anymore.
“Good.. Morning… Allow me to exc-” She couldn't even finish her sentence before she needed to vomit. She ran as fast as she could to the bathroom.
“W-wait- Opera!” Doto followed suit, she knew something was up too.
Shakur stared at the both of them running off, her eyes filled with confusion. She just shrugged it off anyway, there was no use for her to interfere… Well, that's what she thought.
When Doto found Opera in the bathroom, she was hunched over a toilet, the air smelling like fresh blood and flowers. Doto looked down at the sight–It was very unusual to her, especially since Opera has never acted this way.
“She’ll… She’ll never love someone such as I.” Opera whispered to herself. “I’ll die knowing she never did.”
“Opera… What are you talking about?” Doto whispered to her, kneeling right beside her as she was hunched down.
“Oh… Oh sweet Doto… Air Shakur has put me in this… Oh forget it… I'm in love, Doto… I’m in a love that I'll never get. Just.. Let me be Doto. Leave… Please.”
Opera just breathed heavily into the porcelain bowl. The smell of blood and fragrance filling her lungs.
Doto stood up, and backed away slowly before leaving.
That night, as they were in their dorms once again. Doto sat down on her bed, watching her intently. Shakur noticed and glared at the curious Doto.
“What is it, Doto?” She said blankly. “You’re staring, you want something, don’t you?”
Doto swallowed the air that was in her mouth, getting ready to say whatever she did.
“What.. what do you think about Opera O?”
“Opera? That lunatic you’re always with? Tch, She’s annoying. She may be a good racer but.. I never paid much attention to her. She’s just one of my rivals.”
“Are you.. Sure there isn’t anything more?”
Air Shakur sighed, and closed her laptop. She turned to Doto.
“Look, yes I noticed she was acting weird recently. However, I do not give a singe fuck. If you need me to calculate anything with her, you could just ask me directly, you know.”
“Oh.. Okay. Thanks, Shakur.”
Doto wasn’t sure if Shakur was being serious or not, she did always seem to be in a bad mood after she lost to Opera O in races, but Shakur always continued on even so. Doto just wanted Opera to be okay.
That same night as Doto was sleeping, Shakur contemplated herself also. She inputted some data into her partner program, Parcae–The likeness that Opera has something to do with her and waited for results.
One result showed on the screen: the word “unrequited.”
Shakur was confused at that word. What the hell could “Unrequited” mean? She looked around for a second, seeing the blue clematis flowers on the side table, seeing a petal that looked to have fallen off. Shakur raised an eyebrow because she knew those flowers were perfectly healthy still, and they looked to be in top condition too.
Doto must've gotten a piece from Opera.
Shakur stood up, going to find the person that might know about this.
She banged her hands against the laboratory door, her fists going hard at it.
“Oi, Tachyon.”
Tachyon opened the door, looking at Shakur with the same smile she used with Opera.
“Shakur, Shakur! I wasn’t expecting you to be here this late! What brings you here?”
She asked, that unhinged smile stuck on her face.
“Look, Tachyon.” She showed her the result on her laptop. “I’ve got no Idea what’s going on with Opera but she seems to have something against me. Doto’s been prodding me all night about it. I also found an extra piece of the flowers me and Fine got, you know anything about it?”
Tachyon’s smile didn't fade. “So you’ve found out about Opera’s little crush on you, hm?”
Air Shakur looked dumbfounded.
“Crush…?”
“Yes, Crush. As in when someone has feelings for you.”
“This is bullshit, you know that?”
“It's true. Ask Opera yourself.”
“You’re getting me nowhere.”
Air Shakur let no more words ping ponged across each other as she slammed the door shut. Going back to her room for the night.
“This is stupid.”
“She’s stupid for falling in love.”
She muttered, making sure no one could hear her.
Meanwhile…
Opera stared at the ceiling of her room. Her bed filled with those blue flower petals that haunted her every step. Hayahide was already fast asleep, the only sounds in the room being both of their breaths and the wind. Opera held her chest, not knowing if this is how she’ll die or not. She didn't want it this way yet.. She didn't want to forget Shakur.
“Shakur…”
She whispered into the cold night. She reached out a hand to the ceiling, as if she was trying to catch something. She let her arm collapse back into her chest after that.
She closed her eyes. Maybe… Just maybe Shakur would reciprocate her feelings. Time was ticking though.
One hour passed. Opera couldn’t sleep.
The pain grew more intense each passing day. And she was just ignoring it. She remembered Tachyon's words from the other day. Weakly picking up her phone, she went to her text messaging app for Doto’s contact. She knew she was asleep already, but she typed anyway.
“Doto.”
“I’ll tell her about how I feel. Tomorrow.”
She let her phone down. Closing her eyes and clutching her chest, as if that would stop the flowers from growing.
She drifted into slumber, where she had a dream.
She was in a field, nothing but grass. Opera stood up and looked around, only to see the second version of her she would always see in her dreams.
“Oh Opera! Fallen in love, haven't we? And to think that it’s one sided too. How could this be? Everyone must love you!” The double exclaimed and laughed. Opera used to be like this, she was.
“It’s.. nothing but hopeless now.” Opera murmured from under her breath.
“Impossible! There’s nothing the great Opera cannot do! Unless, your spark is running out.” the double smirked, her hands on her hips as she looked at Opera.
“Running out..? Impossi-”
As if it followed her into her dreams, Opera coughed up seven fully grown blue clematis flowers. Her eyes widened in shock.
“Haha! Those are Shakur’s favorite flowers, aren't they? And seven of them too!”
“Face it, Opera.”
“You’re not going to survive this.”
Those words echoed through her mind dozens of times, before it eventually shocked her out of her sleep at 5am in the morning.
Opera looked terrified. And looked at her phone. A message from Doto on the screen.
“I’ve told her to meet you after training today and she agreed!”
“You’ve got this!” followed by a heart emoji.
Opera felt relieved. Like a weight was removed from her entirely. She got dressed for the day, putting on her uniform and exiting the dorms.
It was now after classes. Shakur was waiting patiently for Opera to arrive around the back of the school. Opera arrived there, her posture holding unnatural nervousness.
“Shakur.”
“Theres something I have to confess.”
Shakur listened intently. Her ears perked up. She never knew it was serious. No way in hell.
“I won’t say this with grandeur, I’ll say this plainly.”
“I love you.”
The words left Opera’s tongue, the feeling leaving a weird taste on it. She was nervous, not knowing what Shakur was gonna say.
There was dreading silence.
“Opera.”
Shakur spoke up.
“I’m sorry.”
“I just don’t like you like that.”
Shakur remained still as a rock before turning on her heel.
“Maybe another time.”
Those were her final words before leaving Opera be.
Opera stood there. Her heart was in her stomach, she could feel the flowers in her lungs bloom fully. It was never meant to be.
Opera turned away, walking towards her dorm.
She abruptly stopped in her tracks. She fell to her knees as the flowers consumed her.
They filled her lungs.
Her throat.
Those flowers blossomed.
Blue clematis flowers filled her mouth.
She laid there on the path, ready to accept her death, ready to leave and never forget.
The next day, blue clematis flowers filled her desk, notes of other students piled onto it. That light that filled Tracen, was no more.