Title: Hanakotoba: Unspoken Love
Disclaimer: The original author of Fushigi Yuugi is Watase Yuu sensei. I'm borrowing the characters, so please dont sue me.
Warning: Slight OOCness / Unedited version
Hanakotoba means the language of flowers in Japanese. Each flowers have their own meanings and different colors represents different message.
Enjoy reading
~Fate
Asagao: Hotohori's story
I have never encountered a male as beautiful as I am in my entire life, until I met Nuriko. His violet hair was weaved into a braid and falls down to his back. His crystal clear eyes were captivating. He had a mole under his left eye, and he smiled as beautifully as my Miaka.
Nuriko had a small flower shop across the street of my company building. It was somewhat out of place as it nestled in between the skyscrapers of the city. I thought it was a good thing that amidst the entire human crowd, he and his flowers stood out the most.
In the mornings, I stopped by in front of the flower shop to get flowers for Miaka. She is my secretary, as well as the girl whom I'm in love with. Her face shone as I brought her flowers. She sang happily as she filled the vase with water and arranged the flowers that I got her from the florist across the street.
Regardless of the flowers I got her, nothing makes my Miaka happier than the flowers her fiancé, Tamahome, got her occasionally. It was as if he is telling me that no matter how many times I tried to court her, Miaka will always belong to him.
I would ever give in without a fight.
At the same time, Nuriko and I became friends. He was easy to talk with and his wisdom about flowers impressed me. Once, I picked yellow tulips for Miaka, but he told me those tulips in that color is inappropriate if I wanted to give them to the person I love, so he suggested me something else. Flowers are flowers; that was my thought, but Nuriko's attention to details amused me. I slid a red tulip in his hair to show my gratitude, somehow he looked like he was about to faint. Nuriko always surprises me.
But nothing surprised me more than the news about Miaka and Tamahome getting married. I was enraged and without second thoughts, I challenged Tamahome to a duel. He accepted and we had our duel at kendo in the dojo within this building.
Tamahome defeated me fair and square. My skills in martial arts are top notch, I guarantee. Nevertheless, I had to admit that my rival's skills are flawless. Even though I lost in the duel, I could never let go of my feelings towards Miaka. However, her happiness was what important.
Starting from then, I stopped bringing flowers for Miaka. Looking at those flowers made me think of her and it broke my heart. I learned about the hanakotoba Nuriko spoke of. Asters, pansies, agapanthuses and many more that he told me to get for her conveyed love messages. Nuriko had been the only person who supported me in love.
All this while, I never noticed his feelings.
I must have stayed away from his flower shop for a long time that it made him come to see me in person. He smiled as usual when we met and he joked with Miaka about her honeymoon. I had a meeting coming, so I told him to wait in my office. I wanted to talk about a lot of things and thank him for everything that he did for me.
When I was inside the elevator, I saw Nuriko looking at me from head to toe. He did that frequently whenever we met, I noticed. As the door closed, Nuriko smiled again, but painfully this time. Before the elevator door shut closely, I saw his mouth moved. I was not sure what he said; it seemed like he was bidding me goodbye.
I regretted not stopping the elevator and asked for what he said.
I returned to my office after the meeting half an hour later only to find a flower and a note on my desk. Nuriko had placed them there but he did not wait for me. I never got the chance to ask him about what he said before.
The note Nuriko wrote explains everything I needed to know.
Dearest Hotohori,
Can you guess the hanakotoba of a single red rose?
Yours truly,
Nuriko
~Owari~
A/N: I decided to have two parts for this fic, one being Nuriko's thought and another Hotohori's. Sad to say that it didn't turn out as smoothly as I hoped, but I wanted to share this fic with the readers, thus I continued writing. I think Nuriko will always end up in a tragic love, thus I couldn't bring myself to write a happy ending for him and Hotohori.
Perhaps there are people who want to see Hotohori chase after him? Do tell me if you want me to continue for one more chapter to conclude. Unless you prefer the story just as it is. Thank you for taking your time reading, and I hope you feel that hanakotoba is something interesting to know. And my betas are busy with school, so I decided not to disturb them and publish this with my poor english.
Floriography
Asagao: Morning Glory ~ Love in vain/Willful promises
Aster: Love/Daintiness
Pansy: Thoughtful/ Caring/ Love
Agapanthus: Love letters
Single Red Rose: I love you