Flowers.
They're colorful and beautiful. They're really pretty too. Those are a few things that Tomoe admired about flowers. She also loved their scent and the beauty in them.
…or did she.
Tomoe felt something painful in her chest, that she clutched on it and started to have a coughing fit. She then collapsed on the floor, and couldn't stop coughing. As soon as the coughing fit end, she noticed a flower petal on the ground. She then picked it up slowly to see where it came from. It was a normal flower petal, until she saw something at the tip of the petal.
Blood. She saw blood on it. When she saw the blood, she started to panic and rushed inside her home and into her room.
"A white flower petal…with blood at the tip…" she thought to herself. Tomoe felt very anxious just thinking about it. Someone then entered her room.
"Lady Tomoe?" Hanzou came in to her room, noticing a frown on her face.
"Are you alright?" he asked her.
"Oh yeah, um…I'm alright." Tomoe answered, hiding the bloody flower petal in her coat.
"Umm…I get to go back to Resurgam tomorrow, right?" she asked.
"Yes, that's correct." Hanzou answered, and then he suddenly left the room.
"Okay then…" Tomoe said. Everything is quiet right now, as she is the only in her room now. That was until she had another coughing fit and her chest is in pain again.
She's in pain. She couldn't handle it.
Another flower petal dropped out of her mouth. What is this? Thoughts wondered in her head over what's happening. Why is she coughing up flower petals? What sort of disease is this? How did this happen to her? Tomoe took a closer look onto the flower petal, and it turns out that this is a petal from epiphyllum, a flower symbolizing patience. Who's patient with her? That is one thing Tomoe wondered. So, she took a deep breath to calm herself down, even though it's a bit difficult for her to breathe.
The next day, Tomoe's riding the private jet she has. She was feeling fine in her seat, but being in high altitude air doesn't really help, since she's still having breathing difficulties. She still wondered, why were there flower petals on her throat? Maybe in her lungs? She wants to know what sort of disease is this.
"Lady Tomoe, are you alright?" Hanzou asked, with a concerned look on his face.
"Huh? I'm fine, really." Tomoe answered.
"I'm just…going to sleep." Tomoe then went to sleep and drifted off. Hanzou just slowly walks away.
It's been hours and Tomoe's still asleep on the private jet. It was very quiet…until another coughing fit happened. Tomoe couldn't take the pain anymore and she really wants it to end already.
"Lady Tomoe!" Are you alright?" Hanzou rushed towards her, and picked her up.
"D-Don't worry Hanzou, I'm okay…" she answered, with a hint of tiredness in her voice.
"Do you want to rest?" he asked. Tomoe thought about that for a few seconds.
"Hanzou, to not do my work is against the Way of Honor." Tomoe answered.
"I'm going to do my duty for today." As she said that, the jet finally landed on the ground. The two of them exited the jet and walked towards Resurgam, but Tomoe stopped.
Another coughing fit. It was becoming more difficult to breathe. And then another flower petal dropped from her mouth. She feels like her condition was getting worse and just rushed inside of Resurgam. "Hey, Lady Tomoe, wait!"
Tomoe finally made it inside of Resurgam, gasping for air. She was welcomed by a man with messy hair and a cigarette in his mouth.
"Oh, hello there, Tomoe." Gabriel greeted her.
"Hi there, Dr. Cunningham." Tomoe greeted the diagnostician back. The two of them walked towards the elevator to go to the floor of the operating room. They waited for a few minutes.
"Uhh…you okay Tomoe?" Gabriel asked.
"It looked like you were in a rush earlier." Tomoe was a bit nervous to answer Gabriel's question.
"Oh, yeah! I was…just in a rush!" Gabriel was a bit concerned upon hearing that. He can see her breathing rapidly, as if she's having a hard time doing it.
The elevator has finally arrived at the floor of the operating room. The two of them walked into the OR to see the patient Tomoe will operate on.
"Dr. Tachibana! You're finally here!" Darnell said.
"So, are you ready to do this operation?" he asked.
"Yes. Let's begin the operation!" Tomoe answered.
"Alright, this has to be the last tumor." Tomoe said.
"Now, to get the snare." Tomoe gets the snare to remove the tumor, then gets the forceps to excise it.
"Okay, there's hemorrhaging happening, so time to get the hemostatic forceps." Tomoe then gets the hemostatic forceps to stop the hemorrhaging.
"There we go. Another operation complete!" Another operation has been completed for the day, and Tomoe and Gabriel finally exited the operating room. The two of them walked in the hallways of Resurgam, and the two of them stopped for a while. Gabriel had a concerned look on his face.
"You okay, Tomoe?" Gabriel asked.
"Hm? Yeah, I'm alright. Really." Tomoe answered his question, with a hint of tiredness in her voice.
"You should at least take some rest, too, you know." Tomoe was a bit shocked to hear that. She didn't want to take a rest, despite the condition she's in. Suddenly, she started to breathe rapidly again.
"Huh? What's wrong? Why are you suddenly walking away?"
Tomoe ignored what Gabriel said, as she just walked away from him. It was becoming more difficult for her to breathe, and she feels as if her condition is worsening. She really needed to find out what's going on with her, and why she kept coughing up flower petals.
And then, the chest pains have started. Another coughing fit has started, too. Gabriel tried to search where the coughing noises came from, and it took him quite a while to find it, as he found Tomoe when the fit ended, with her body on the ground.
"Tomoe! Are you okay?" Gabriel asked her, and picked her body up from the ground.
"Y-Yes…I'm alright." Tomoe answered. She was breathing rapidly, and Gabriel noticed something on her hand.
Two flower petals with blood in them.
"Wh-What the? Are those flower petals? Where did they come from?" Gabriel was really concerned upon seeing those flower petals. Tomoe just slightly smiled upon hearing that.
"Hehe…don't worry…I'll be fine…" Tomoe finally stands up and walks away from the diagnostician.
Tomoe just kept walking on the hallway. She didn't know what to do, and she still didn't know what's happening to her. She felt as if her condition is worsening and that she could faint at any time. Suddenly, someone appeared right in front of her, and it was a man with black hair, wearing a white jumpsuit and a white coat.
It was Erhard Muller, the surgeon in Resurgam.
"Oh hey, Tomoe." Erhard greeted her.
"Oh, h-hi…I'm glad you're here…" Tomoe greeted him back, and then she hugged him. Erhard returned the hug to her.
"I hope you're okay." Erhard asked her.
"Don't worry, I'm alright." Tomoe answered his question. The two of them then continued to walk down the hallways without saying a word. It was quiet, until Tomoe spoke up.
"So, how's everything, doctor?" she asked. He didn't speak for a couple of minutes, as they were just walking down the hallway without any noise heard. Everything was silent for tonight. They just kept walking, and walking, and walking…until Erhard spoke up.
"I…I didn't really do anything worth it…" the surgeon answered.
Tomoe was a bit shocked at that. She knows that Erhard is a great and skilled surgeon, after all. She already watched him perform surgery multiple times, and she's impressed by it, to the point that she thinks that it tops her endoscopy skills.
"But, you're a great surgeon. A skilled one, too." the endoscopic surgeon said to him. The two of them continued to walk again, until…
Tomoe felt something paining her chest, and here comes another coughing fit. Erhard rushed over her so he could pick up her body, and the coughing fit finally ended.
"Tomoe! Are you alright?" Erhard asked her.
"D-Doctor, please…help me…" Tomoe was in pain when she said that, and then she opened her hand to show Erhard three flower petals in her hand. Erhard was shocked and at the same time, he was confused on why there are flower petals in Tomoe's hand.
"Wait, where did those flower petals come from?" Erhard asked himself and Tomoe at the same time. He then stood up and rushed away from her.
"Just stay here, Tomoe. I'll go and ask Gabe about this." Erhard told her.
"O-Okay…" Tomoe answered back, sounding really tired.
"Come on, I need to ask Gabe about this…" he muttered to himself as he ran in the hallways of Resurgam. Tomoe just sat on the floor, as she suddenly starts crying.
"Why…why is this happening to me…?" she thought to herself.
"Gabe, do you know about what's happening to Tomoe?" Erhard asked him.
"Hm? She said she's fine. What are you talking about?" Gabriel said, followed by a small chuckle.
"No, she's not fine. She seems to be coughing up flower petals." Erhard told the diagnostician. Gabriel's smile that he was wearing quickly wore out as he heard what the surgeon said.
"Coughing up flower petals…? Don't tell me…" Gabriel immediately remembered what was happening to Tomoe earlier and her reason for acting a bit strange.
"Wh-What the? Are those flower petals? Where did they come from?"
"Wait, I remember now! She was coughing up flower petals!" Gabriel suddenly remembered.
"I'll go and search up what this symptom is and what sort of disease is it." he said.
"Okay. Thank you very much." Erhard thanked him and then he exited Gabriel's office.
Erhard finally got back to Tomoe, and he noticed that she's in a lot of pain.
"Tomoe! What's the matter?" he asked.
"I-It h-hurts…" she answered.
"Look Tomoe, I already asked Gabe about it so it's going to be okay." Erhard reassured her.
"A-Are you sure about th-that?" she asked him.
"Yes. I'm sure of it." Erhard answered. The surgeon then pulled Tomoe in for a hug and he whispered comforting things to her ear.
"It's going to be alright…" he whispered. The two of them just hugged each other until they pulled apart.
"Feeling better now?" he asked.
"Yes. I'm feeling much better now. Thank you." Tomoe answered him, though however, Erhard can sense the sadness still in her voice.
"Are you sure about that?" Erhard asked Tomoe again.
"Yes. I'm very sure." Tomoe answered him.
"Want me…to take you to the rooftop?" Erhard asked her once again.
"Oh yeah, sure!" Tomoe answered.
The two of them are on the rooftop of Resurgam, looking at the night sky and the stars scattering around it. It was very quiet there, and the air was very fresh. Tomoe closed her eyes and took a nice, deep breath. It felt really good.
"It's so beautiful here." Erhard said.
"It sure is." Tomoe answered back. After that, the two of them didn't speak at all. It was an awkward silence between the two of them. They're alone, after all, meaning no one can distract them, and no one can tease them. Tomoe then moved a bit to lean on Erhard's shoulder, and he hugged her back. The two of them were quiet for a couple of minutes, until…another coughing fit from Tomoe.
"Tomoe! Are you okay?" Erhard asked. Tomoe couldn't speak, because she couldn't stop coughing. So, Erhard approached her and picked up her body. He noticed three bloody flower petals on Tomoe's hand.
"Yes…I'm okay…" Tomoe said. She felt as if she could faint at any minute, and she was breathing rapidly.
"Hey, can I go to sleep now?" she asked him.
"Sure. Let's get you to sleep." Erhard said. The two of them exited the rooftop and went to one of the rooms so Tomoe could sleep.
It's finally the next day, and everyone at Resurgam are busy with their duties and just doing their everyday work. Tomoe was one of them, and she was just doing her responsibilities as an endoscopic surgeon.
"And that's the end of the operation!" she said, as another successful operation has been finished today. She then left the operating room with Gabriel, and the two of them then walked into the hallway. Tomoe then slightly hung her head with a frown appearing on her face.
"You okay?" Gabriel asked her.
"You did pretty good on the operation, you know." She didn't answer him for a while, and the two of them stopped walking.
"Th-Thanks, I'm fine." Tomoe answered the diagnostician, and the two of them finally continued walking down the hallway. Tomoe suddenly started to breathe rapidly again.
"It's just, I have to go now…" She quickly walked away from him.
"H-Hey, Tomoe, wait!" Gabriel shouted, but she just ignored him. She just walked away farther, and farther, and farther…and then someone approached Gabriel, who was Erhard.
"Hey kid." Gabriel greeted him.
"How'd the operation go?" the diagnostician asked him.
"…it went well." Erhard answered, and then the two of them walked down the hallway.
"I gotta say, you're pretty skilled." Gabriel said.
"Well, to be honest, I'm not really the best." Erhard answered back to what Gabriel just said. Gabriel felt a bit annoyed by what the surgeon just said.
"Ahh, come on, why are you so pessimistic?" he asked. Erhard didn't answer that question. It was finally quiet for just a couple of seconds, until they heard a loud thud across the hallway.
"Huh? What was that?" Gabriel asked.
"Wait, I think someone collapsed!" Erhard said. He then suddenly started to run quickly in the hallway to find where that sound came from, leaving Gabriel behind.
"H-Hey, wait!"
It took him a few moments to find where that sound came from, as he felt tired already and was gasping for air. He then turned to the left of the hallway, and he found someone there, lying on the ground.
Tomoe.
Erhard was shocked. He rushed over to Tomoe and picked up her unconscious body. She was still breathing, but she doesn't seem to be in good condition.
"Tomoe!" Erhard screamed her name out loud, but she still wasn't waking up.
"Tomoe! Speak to me!" He shook her body in order to wake her up, but still nothing happened. He tried to think of another way to wake her up, but he noticed something around him. They were flowers. Whole flowers with blood on them. Erhard was extremely shocked, and he's trying his best to do something about this.
"P-Please, please wake up!" He just wished that she could wake up sooner, and he knows that she'll be alright and that she's still alive. Erhard then held her hand up to his face, wishing that she'll be okay, and then…
"H-Huh…?" A faint voice was heard near him, and that was the voice of none other than Tomoe.
"Tomoe! Are you alright? STAY STRONG!" Erhard yelled, as if he's being pressured by people.
"I-I don't know what's happening to me…" Tomoe answered him, with a tired tone in her voice.
"I was just walking here, and then I collapsed, and then…all these flowers…I coughed them up…" Erhard was extremely shocked to hear that. He has never heard of this condition in which a person coughs up flowers, until last night when he asked Gabriel about it.
"Please…stay strong…please live!" Erhard loudly said again. He just wants Tomoe to live.
"I'm sorry…I'm sorry for being a really weak person…" Tomoe said, her voice cracking, and tears started to flow out of her eyes.
"But…let me just say...thank you for helping me…" Tomoe then showed a slight smile as she said that.
"And…I just want to say that…I…"
She couldn't say it. She wants to, but she couldn't.
"What? Come on, speak! Don't fall unconscious again!" Erhard shouted.
"…I…love…" she was cut off at the end as she fell unconscious again.
"You love who? Or what?" As soon as Erhard heard what she said, many questions came across his head.
Erhard finally stood up from where he was kneeling, all while carrying the unconscious body of Tomoe.
"Everyone, prepare the OR!" he shouted across the hallways. At the same time, Gabriel and Maria arrived at the scene of the incident.
"Wait, what happened to Tomoe?" Maria asked.
"Well, she was coughing up these…what seem to be epiphyllum flowers, and they have blood on them." Erhard answered her question.
"Quick, we need to get the OR ready!" Gabriel said, and then the three of them finally ran into the operating room to get everything ready.
Everything's now ready, and so is Erhard.
"Let's begin the operation!" he aggressively said. Erhard made the incision on Tomoe body, on the area where her lungs are.
"So this must be where the flowers came from." Erhard said, and then he made an incision on the lungs, and…
So many flowers. There were so many epiphyllum flowers inside Tomoe's lungs.
"This can't be…" Erhard thought. How did this all happen in the first place?
"Gabe, how do I extract this?" he asked Gabe. Gabe thought about it for a second…
Darkness. Everything was dark. Tomoe felt something soft right beneath her. She then slowly opened her eyes and something bright pierced her eyes, which caused tears to flow out.
It was the sun. She was outside somewhere. Tomoe then sat up, and then she noticed that she's in a sea of epiphyllum flowers.
"Huh, where am I?" she asked to herself. She didn't really know where she was, and she doesn't know why she's here and what's happening. Tomoe wished she did though.
"Why is there so many…epiphyllum flowers?" she asked herself again. Tomoe finally stood up from her place and turned herself around. It was really empty. There was no one but her, until she saw someone with black hair and a white coat.
"Wait, is that…him?" Tomoe was quite shocked to see Erhard. She then tried to call him, but he didn't seem to answer back.
"Hey! Can you hear me? I'm right here!" she called for him again, and still no answer. She feels as if she's already losing hope.
"P-Please, answer me! I have something to say to you…!" This felt like the hundredth time Tomoe called for Erhard, and yet he still wasn't answering her back. A silence happened for a few minutes, and then all of a sudden, Erhard started walking.
"H-Hey! Wait for me!" Tomoe chased after him, and a few minutes later, she was getting shortness of breath, and stopped going after Erhard. She was gasping for air, because she felt tired from following Erhard.
"W-Wait…!" Tomoe screamed, but Erhard was already far away from her.
"No…I can't believe it…" Tomoe fell into her knees and tears started to flow out of her eyes.
"I'm a really awful person…I'm so powerless…" she told herself, and she couldn't stop crying. She was crying uncontrollably, and the tears wouldn't stop at all. Suddenly, her chest started to ache, and she was having a coughing fit. Epiphyllum flowers came out of her mouth, all full of blood, and she couldn't stop coughing. She just kept on coughing, and coughing, and coughing…until she couldn't breathe anymore and she finally closed her eyes…
…and her eyes snapped open in the real world. The brightness of the hospital room's lights blinded her for a second, and then she finally realized…that she's alive.
"…huh? What happened?" Tomoe asked. She's wondering if there's anyone right beside her, and if someone could also answer her.
"Don't worry. You're now okay." Someone has spoken. She wondered who it is, especially because the voice sounded really familiar. It was of course, the voice of none other than Erhard, the surgeon. Tomoe gasped and turned her head around to look at him.
"O-Oh! Please tell me what happened!" Tomoe asked him again.
"You had this…well disease I've never heard of, called the…Hanahaki disease" Erhard stumbled upon his words when he said that. He sounded a bit nervous, especially because it's a condition that he has never heard of or even encountered, not even in his past operations.
"It's a disease caused by…unrequited love…" Erhard sounded a bit sad as he said that. Maybe there's something happening between the two of them?
Tomoe gasped as she heard that, and tears started to flow out of her eyes.
"What's wrong?" Erhard asked her.
"I'm…very sorry…" Tomoe said. She then finally burst into tears, and threw herself into Erhard's body. The surgeon returned the hug to her.
"Look, it's alright, it's alright…" Erhard quietly said to her, all while comforting her.
"It's not your fault…" he whispered into her ears. The two of them just hugged each other for several minutes, not saying a word at all. It was silent, until Tomoe quietly said something to him.
"I-I love you…"