Work Text:
I yawned, peering out my window. The sun was just beginning to creep along the horizon. Though my muscles ached, like they were being pushed at in a million different directions. My throat felt as if it was stuffed with leaves. My eyes wanted nothing more than to close and never reopen as I enjoyed an eternal, dreamless sleep. Ah, illness. One of least favorite things (along with stale food and ants). Even though I didn’t want to be exempt from my training, I knew I needed rest.
So I clambered back into bed, pulling the covers back over myself as my kitsen Faiaraito (ファイアライト) plopped himself back onto my bed with a contented sound like a crackling fire, lying across my forearm and hand in just the right spot for me to scratch under his chin.
The rest of my doodles (not as spoiled as Faiaraito) curled around the room; my cryotera Yuki (結晶), blubimp Kesshō (結晶), and corrolizard Itai-Itai-Itai (痛い、痛い、痛い).
“Itai, can you please let Yami know I am ill?” I asked, my doodle perking up at my command. Itai hopped up, already rather awake, and disappeared, her poison-dripping tail slithering past the doorway.
“Arigatō. (ありがとう。).” I murmured, shutting my eyes as I began to slip into a light doze.
Faiaraito began shifting against my chest. “Yamete yo, Faiaraito (やめてよ、ファイアライト).” I told him sternly, his paws shifting along my collarbone uncomfortably before pressing down again. He squeaked, shifting his snout to point at my chest like he’d done often when he thought someone was hurt.
I sat up to support my weight on the wall behind me (and to get Faiaraito to stop stepping on me), though my throat felt worse than before, like there was something blocking it, forcing me to cough (even though it didn’t help). Itai peered up with her shiny midnight-dark eyes like she was very deeply concerned as I coughed again.
“Don’t fret, I’ll be fine.” I reassured by scared doodle, lightly petting her head by running my hand along her crests to avoid the poison. She responded with a sound like bubbling, returning to sitting with her tail over her nose. Adorable, most definitely.
Spending the day asleep was lovely, except for the fact that I was hungry. Of course, as a shinobi, you were taught how to stave off the effects of starvation, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t a nuisance. Though there was one more task I mustn’t ignore for the day, so I slowly set a foot to the ground, crouching down next to Yuki. She perked up her head, snout shifting to take in a better sense of her surroundings. And of course Faiaraito was there too. I quickly collected what I’d need; my mask, boots, and a jacket. I slung the garments over my body, shifting my yukata to sit more comfortably around my neck.
“Yuki?” I urged my doodle towards the window, as I myself unlatched it (with a bit of a struggle). The dusk breeze ruffled my already semi-diskept hair as I steadied myself on the windowsill, shoving myself down, my boots hitting the ground with a soft thud. My doodles, of course, followed, with Faiaraito in Yuki’s mouth, because he was no bigger than the average pet glowcat.
Of course my doodles understood the well-rehearsed routine at this point, walking in almost comfortable silence. My muscles were beginning to ache after merely a few kilometers, as if something was trying to plume within, using my body instead of the shining sun. Yuki extended a wing to me, fingers curling over the specialized bones as I carefully shifted across her back, Faiaraito against her neck.
“To Icyridge, I believe it should be flanked by quite the forest.” I explained. Of course, once a corrolizard got even a taste of your blood, it could track you until you were dead. So I was using it for this more… shall I describe it as a personal mission, one stopped by not disease (or anything, really). Yuki spread her wings, the membrane catching the winds, getting us far within merely an hour or so.
As Yuki softly landed down outside an inn, tall and made of what must’ve been pine wood. Now, the hardest part: scaling it. The cryotera swooped smoothly just outside, spotting me like one of her own as I ascended, until I was parallel with a frost-painted window. The snow seemed to decorate the woman inside with an almost otherworldly light, a yōkai like the Yuki-onna as she read—-something unparalleled by the finest portrait or most beautiful of blossoms. Even after taking my obligatory ‘stare longingly’ minute, I slid the icicle-dusted pane open, catching the woman’s attention.
“Inari!” She called happily, sliding a bookmark in-between the pages of her book.
“Suzie.” As I did share the care she so obviously displayed, I was much more reserved about such. Of course, that was just how she was; cheery, kind, affectionate to everyone the same. I suppose it was just what I did to prevent this to blossoming into something even more forbidden than our friendship, something like—- cough. A choke forced its way up from my throat as I shifted my mask off, noticing something falling from my mouth. Suzie stared at it with a mix of confusion and horror (mostly the latter, though).
“Is that—-?” Suzie carefully scooped it up to examine it. Her expression was something like terror.
“Is something wrong, Ai (愛)?” I asked, tilting my head to look at what was cupped in her shaking palms. I was expecting to see some part of my esophagus or other throat muscles, but what I did could be debatably worse…
A whole flower petal, perfectly intact in a gradient of yellow to pink, not marred with scars of digestion or saliva, untouched.
“What the fuck…?” Suzie muttered, staring at the little bit of flora like it’d personally insulted her bloodline by calling them a “dehydrated capybara”. “Did you try eating flowers or somethin’?”
“No.” I answered flatly, adjusting my mask to hide my face before coughing again (though without the strange flowers this time). My muscles still ached and protested, my vision still blurred a little at the edges.
“You sound stuffy and you aren’t wearing your usual kimono. Are you feeling okay?” Suzie carefully set the petal down, before returning her gaze to me. Something in her eyes, the concern, the shade like a particularly like an ancient oak, made my heart flutter, and something rise in my throat.
“I am not much worse than usual, I assure you.” I extended a hand, which Suzie took.
“Are you sure you don’t want to at least stay for the night? I can get you some food.” She offered. Such care was a rarity, it made me feel honored that she’d done so much as ask.
“Yes, that’d be lovely, Ai.”
Suzie soon returned with a bowl of something steaming, setting it down on the floor. “C’mon out and eat with the rest of us!” Suzie invited. “They won’t mind that you’re here.” I carefully got up to follow her, tentatively sitting at a round table.
3 others sat there; TJ, who was busily eating his soup (and sharing some with his monolugg), Quincy, who was more picking at it, his horbeast stealing the vegetables he wasn’t eating, and Vol, who was busy transcending space and time. Like you do.
Quincy raised his head as I sat beside Suzie, just looking mildly quizzical before returning to his food. Which was rather good—though borbo soup was a fairly common meal, the tomatoes added some extra flavor. Suzie was joking about how Quincy DEFINITELY had a crush on SOMEONE and was therefore prying over who the unlucky guy was. From the way TJ was putting much too much effort into ignoring this conversation, he definitely shared the other’s feelings. It was unclear whether Vol was oblivious or perfectly aware of everything with their emoticat-like face.
Ah, it was probably a good time to go to bed. Though there was something soothing about existing with Suzie, all good things must come to an end. And plus, I was beginning to develop an awful headache and Suzie had therefore forbid me from going back home.
The sheets were soft and thick like a doodle’s fur, and Faiarito was of course cuddled up to me. Hopefully I’d feel better tomorrow…?
❀ flowers spill out as far as I can see ｡ ₊°༺❤︎༻°₊ ｡ they’re blooming from my body ❀
I wake up, coughing profusely. 4 or 5 petals lazily drift into my hands. I hack and hack until there’s a whole flower in my hands. So I stand up, flicking the bathroom’s light switch to get a good look at the thing. The same tan to pink shade, almost like Suzie’s hair. Oh, that reminds me. I have to find some kind of cure, not for the flowers, but for something deeper.
“I love Suzie.” I say it aloud to actualize it to myself, to tell myself it isn’t just a dream.
“Oh hey, me too.” Suzie suddenly materializes. “I heard coughing and wanted to check if you were doing okay.”
“You WHAT?” I unintentionally raise my voice, surprise mixed with delight. I shook my head, trying to tell if this was a dream. This just resulted in flower petals scattering across the floor from my hair.
“I love you!” Suzie repeated much more enthusiastically. My brain was struggling to keep up, like the world was a blur beneath a flying doodle. It was the best feeling in the world once that wore off.
Suzie pulled me into a hug, carefully avoiding to put too much pressure against the area around where my lungs were, covering my face in kisses. And she looked so happy, it was just everything I could’ve wanted.
“Hey, can you keep it down? I’m trying to get my beauty sleep and not overhear you both nearly make out.” Quincy complained.
“Some of us aren’t as much of a hopeless romantic as you.” Suzie playfully jabbed at him. Of course they were curled up together on the floor. I was draped over Suzie’s back like a (rather yurious) blanket while Quincy stormed off, muttering how he “definitely wasn’t”.
“So, would we be dating?” I asked after a long moment.
“Yeah.” Suzie answered. “If you’re okay with that at least.”
“It’d be an honor.” I smiled.