Disclaimer: I do not own PoT
I tapped my foot against the ground impatiently. I was many things (violent, sadistic, vindictive) but, patient? That wasn't one of 'em. He was supposed to be here 2 and a half seconds ago. Though I had gotten here ten minutes early, seeing as I had nothing else to do.
I flipped through my plant encyclopedia. I had found quite a few interesting plants that didn't take too long to grow. Most probably I would grow one plant and Shiraishi would grow the other.
"Ahh, Yuki-san," I turned to the speaker. "Shiraishi-san," I said politely. I had made up my mind to be cordial to him. If not this project would fall to ruins. I would try and give him a chance, even if it was only because PPF suggested it.
His eyes rested on the encyclopedia in my hand. "Hey that the poisoned plants encyclopedia. Ahh~Ecstacy." he said smiling as he pointed to the book. "Oh yeah," I said. "You're interested in poisoned plants as well. The garden was your work, right?" His smile turned sheepish. "It wasn't much. I happen to have my own copy of that book."
"Shall we go?" he asked smiling charmingly. "Lead the way." I replied sardonically.
Shiraishi's house was nice. It was nice sized and gave off a nice homey feeling. I hesitated at the doorstep. "Come on in," he said warmly. I walked in.
"Kaa-chan, tadaima," he called. I unconsciously moved behind him and peered at the friendly woman he stepped out to greet her son (and son's . . . partner? bully?I seriously don't know).
"Ahh, you must be Yuki-chan," she said. I felt my cheeks turn the same color as my hair. I (tried to) ignore Shiraishi's body rumbling as he chuckled. "Come on Yuki-san, kaa-chan doesn't bite." Both of them laughed as he gently pushed me forward. "N-nice to meet you Shiraishi-san." Damn, I can't believe that I was stuttering. In front of Mr. Perfect too.
"Oh don't call me Shiraishi-san, dear. Just call me Yuriko." Yuriko said kindly. "Well, why don't you go on up and get started. I'll fix up a small snack for both of you."
Shiraishi smiled at his mother and escorted me up to his room. His room was, well, nice. It was clean and spacious, setting me at ease. In the corner there was a small glass tank, housing a small beetle. All in all, it was homey. Much more so than mine.
He offered me the desk chair, and sat himself down on the bed. I smoothed down my skirt, feeling acutely aware of exactly how short the school uniform skirt was.
"That's Kabriel," Shiraishi said, motioning to the beetle. "She's lovely," I said, and actually meaning it. He laughed, slightly embarressed. It was a nice laugh, the kind that encouraged others to join in. And kind of cute, not that I thought that it was cute.
"So, what kind of plants are you interested in?" Shiraishi asked. I started. "Oh, I have in interest in poisoned plants, I think you noticed." I said. He nodded. "Though I do like the poisonous ones, my favorites are edible plants." I admitted.
"So what were you thinking of doing?" he asked me. "oh, well, what were you thinking of?" I asked. He gave me a sheepish grin. "Well," he began. "I was thinking, we were only supposed to write an encyclopedia of sorts, but I was thinking that we could also grow the plant that we're working on to show more than just the written aspects. After all, you can't exactly capture the beauty of plants on paper, can you?"
I blinked at him in shock. He had taken the words that I had been intending to say right out of my mouth, albeit said in a much better way. "That was exactly what I was thinking of." I said. "But, there is the problem of deciding what plants we ought to do. I was thinking of something a bit out of the box, so as to ... make in impact as well as see the different variety that can grow in different parts of the world."
Shiraishi nodded, looking thoughtful. I opened up my encyclopedia, wincing slightly at the torn pages. Never would I let Kin-chan have full access to my room for more than 2 seconds. "I'm missing a few pages in the book, you said you have a copy . . . ." I trailed off, feeling my cheeks flush with embarrassment.
He smiled and, after a few seconds of rummaging came out with the same copy of the encyclopedia Poisonous Plants and Where to Find Them, though it was in much better condition than mine.
I flipped through, quickly but carefully, until I found the plants that I had shortlisted.
Aconitum:(Several species, commonly called aconite, wolfsbane and monkshood) All parts are poisonous. The poison is an alkaloid called aconite, which disables nerves, lowers blood pressure, and can stop the heart. Even casual skin contact should be avoided; symptoms include numbness, tingling, and cardiac irregularity. It has been used as poison for bullets (by Germany in WWII), as a bait and arrow poison (ancient Greece), and to poison water supplies (reports from ancient Asia). If ingested, it usually causes burning, tingling, and numbness in the mouth, followed by vomiting and nervous excitement. It is usually a quick-acting poison. Used in the past for killing wolves (hence one of the common names).
Atropa Belladonna:(commonly known as deadly nightshade, belladonna, devil's cherry and dwale, an Anglo-Saxon term meaning stupifying drink). One of the most toxic plants found in the Western Hemisphere. All parts of the plant contain tropane alkaloids. The active agents are atropane, hyoscine (scopolamine), and hyoscyamine, which have anticholinergic properties. The symptoms of poisoning include dilated pupils, sensitivity to light, blurred vision, tachycardia, loss of balance, staggering, headache, rash, flushing, dry mouth and throat, slurred speech,urinary retention, constipation, confusion, hallucinations, delirium, and convulsions. The root of the plant is generally the most toxic part, though this can vary from one specimen to another. Ingestion of a single leaf of the plant can be fatal to an adult. Casual contact with the leaves can cause skin pustules. The berries pose the greatest danger to children because they look attractive and have a somewhat sweet taste. The consumption of two to five berries by children and ten to twenty berries by adults can be lethal. In 2009 a case of A. belladonna being mistaken for blueberries, with six berries ingested by an adult woman, was documented to result in severe anticholinergic syndrome. The plant's deadly symptoms are caused by atropine's disruption of the parasympathetic nervous system's ability to regulate involuntary activities such as sweating, breathing, and heart rate. The antidote for atropine poisoning is physostigmine or pilocarpine. A belladonna is also toxic to many domestic animals, causing narcosis and paralysis. However, cattle and rabbits eat the plant seemingly without suffering harmful effects. In humans its anticholinergic properties will cause the disruption of cognitive capacities like memory and learning.
I turned to Shiraishi, "What do you think?" I asked. He nodded. "Yeah, these two are good. Do you know where we can get their seeds?" he asked. I gave him the directions towards a nice flower shop near Shitenhouji.
Throughout we continued to discuss what points we should add, what points we should omit, the kind of pictures we wanted, what all conditions we should grow the plants in, etc. We decided that I would be growing the Aconitum and Shirashi would be growing the Atropa Belladonna. Before we knew the entire day had passed and after a nice dinner prepared by Yumiko-san, meeting both of Shiraishi's angelic sisters, and I was heading home.
"Had a nice day?" Yumi asked me. I blushed, "Yes, we managed to get a lot done."
As I fell asleep that night, my thoughts were filled with beautiful flowers and sweet tempting flowers. It was Ecstacy and the best dream I had in years.
I am so sorry for the late update. I'll try and make the next chapter even longer. I hope you enjoyed. Searching up these flowers was really intresting.
Sayonara~
SilverFox~