Untouchable flower Plucked

by 5pudin

Incurring the wrath of the Flower Youkai, Kazami Yuuka, a young man tries to make amends.

"I see… then, goodbye."

At the Garden of the Sun, a young man had the misfortune of encountering with the Flower Youkai. She has raised her parasol and struck the man (hard) on his feet, making him fall down on his back. She stands, towered over the man and with another raise of her parasol, she brings down her parasol, not before saying goodbye with her cold tone, and strike the young man, leaving him to see the stars before eventually, he blacked out.

…

Not too soon after, the young man groggily wakes up. Slowly, he opens his eyes, two silhouette (the size of a child) enter his peripheral view. However, he wasn't able to make out who (or what) they are, as soon as he opened his eyes, the two scurries off. He slowly gets up to a sitting position and winced at the left side of his head. He places his left hand on the pained area. He wonders why his head hurts and then, it hits him. He remembers that he had an encountered with the infamous Flower Youkai. He had gone to the sunflower patch to admire the sunflower there when out of nowhere, the Flower Youkai had struck him using her parasol. He had previously heard rumors that the Flower Youkai is a ruthless individual and that she acts violently towards people that comes in her way. But, they were also rumors saying that she is polite to people. She was seen entering in and out of the Human Village and not causing any ruckus. He had never seen her before (until today) so he could not ascertain which one is real and which one is fake. However, now he could see that the former is real. Even his leg and back are hurt after falling from her attack. Looking to the sky, he could see the orange hue, meaning that the sun is setting down. Time for him to go home. So, with (slightly) battered body, he got up and go back to his home area: the Human Village.

It turns dusk when the young man reached the Human Village. Because of the lack of time, he thought it would be best for him to buy dinner. So, he made his way to one of the eateries that is open at night. However, when he was walking there, he couldn't help but feeling that people are staring at him. When he looks at the people (that he thinks) are looking at him, they turned away, but he could hear murmurs. Odd, but his stomach started to rumble, so he ignored it and went straight towards his destination.

Arriving at his usual place to eat, he opens the sliding door and was greeted with the light of the store. There are the usual people that are seated, calmly eating their meals, some are merry and some are quiet. The young man walks over to the counter to order his usual meal to go.

"Welc-uh!" the shopkeeper, a woman in her 30s, greeted the young man, but her voice gets stuck in her throat. However, she quickly stifles her laughter (places her hand in front of her mouth) and asks, "A-ah aha, th-the usual ri-right?" she asks the young man.

"Yeah, thanks," saying that, the woman gives a thumbs up and walks away. He walks to the usual place that he sits down but not before being stops by one of the people eating.

"Sonny, I think it's best you freshen up first," the old man advises the young man. The young man was confused (and startled) at first by the sudden call out, but he follows the old man advice and make his way to the sink at the end of the eatery. During his walk, he could hear the murmurs and feel the eyes around him taking glances at him. Similar to when he was walking here. Is there something wrong with how's he looked right now? When he glanced to the side, he could see (and hear) snickers from the peoples. He tries to ignore it at first, but started to walk faster, so that he could see his reflection from the mirror near the sink.

Reaching the sink, he quickly checks the mirror, his reflection stares back at him: the usual black eyes, brown-blackish short hair. A normal human. However, there is some addition to his usual looks.

"-wh, what the?!" the young man places his hand on the mirror, looking at his normal face, he could clearly see that on his forehead, it clearly reads: Sunflower Thief with a small doodle of a flower (which looks like a sunflower) slightly underneath to the right. While on his right eye, a complete black circle is drawn on it, when he closes his right eye alone, he could see that it is a complete black color. On his left check, another circle, similar to how an elementary school teacher flower circle when a student received an exemplary score. Underneath his chin, black ink to mimic a beard. Removing his hand from the mirror, the young man places his hand (lightly) at his cheek, the ink does not stick to his fingers. The young man scrubs his cheek harder, and the ink still won't come off. Afterwards, he turns the tap on and wash his face, and looking back to the mirror, unfortunately, the ink doesn't come off. Anger surfaces on the man face, "That girl!" the young man says. How dare she had done this to him! Writing the word 'Sunflower Thief' and just, draw all of this scribbles on his face. It's not like he had done anything wrong to that girl. Maybe all those youkais are the same, just like your father had said? Maybe he is right to insist that all youkais are prone in using violence, and that is wise to not even entertain with them?

However, that's not important right now. The important thing is that the Flower Youkai have wronged him. By beating him up, and defacing, well, himself. The next time that he met her, the young man will say his piece. He doesn't matter whether it is a fruitless endeavor, he just wanted to say his piece, and that's final. But for now… how is he going to clean this all up…?

… maybe she would find this funny? the young man thought to himself. The young man should keep this for now, just to show her. She'll probably find it humorous. Anyway, he'll brainstorm ideas later, but, going back home would be embarrassing.

… let's not come back to this store for a few days.

With that out of the way, the night inside the eatery was filled with murmurs and snickers, and unfortunately, she only looks confused but at the end, she sighed and gave a quiet laugh, so it's not all bad.

Three times the sun had risen, and we are again at the Garden of Sun. The Flower Youkai has come back to see and 'converse' with the sunflowers again. Whenever she had the chance, she would take a walk, with an open parasol, and take in the sunflower's beauty. Today as well, it is a wonderful day for the Flower Youkai, and the sunflower as well. The sunflowers have many interesting things to tell her today, and she is willing to listen. Nothing could come between her and her time, enjoying the flowers today. As she is 'conversing' with the sunflowers, she could feel a presence coming from behind her. Some footsteps as well. She could make out to be a single human. With that knowledge, she intends to ignore the human completely. It's not as if the person would be stupid enough to walk up to her. However, that person is a big idiot.

The footsteps stop, and afterwards, the steps hasten, becoming faster and louder. Until the footsteps stop at its destination (a few meters away from her), and she can hear the ragged breath of the person behind her.

"There you are!" the person (a man, she assumed by the cadence of his voice) in between breathes say, "I've been, -hah- looking everywhere fo- hah- for you!" Hearing that information, the Flower Youkai turn ar- just kidding, of course she ignores him. Why would she entertain the person that she has no knowledge of? Besides, she has something more important than listening to the rambling of an unknown person: the sunflower in front of her. Without looking back, she stares and admired the sunflower today. It's obviously that this child is healthy today as well, and knowing that, the Flower Youkai gives a small smile. The person behind her, however, became slightly agitated,

"Oi, you hear me?" with raised voice, he asks, thinking that the youkai in front of him couldn't hear him. Again, she said nothing, but he could hear her asks to no one, "How is everyone doing today?" because she does not, turn around to face him. This irks the young man, so instead, he stomps his feet and walk quickly to the youkai, not even an ounce of fear in his mind, because he is determined to give her a piece of his mind. Getting closer behind her, the walks to the left slightly and raises his right hand, reaching for her shoulder to tap slightly but then,

*swhip*

the young man stops. Before he could tap her, she had turned her body away from the young man's hand, her back facing the young man's right, her right arm outstretches and to the young man's right head, he glances to the right and he could see a pink parasol rest inches away from his face. The same parasol that was used to hit the young man, twice. Then, he could feel the wind comes hitting his face. Judging by how late the wind came, it is safe to assume that the parasol came at him fast. Very. Fast. He wasn't even able to see her moves at all, and that hit is the kind of hit that will leave a bruise for a few days, or worse, weeks. It seems that she does not intent to hold back. The young man gulps, realizing that this youkai does not intend to play nice. Or talk, even. All the bravado that he had leaves his body. Knees weak, but he still managed to stand upright. A few seconds passed of holding the same pose, before the Flower Youkai speaks,

"My, it seems that we have an unwanted pest coming to this flower garden," her voice, cold without a sense of warmth, like she meant every word she said. Before the young man could speak, she continues, "I wonder. What would be the best method to remove pest like you would be? Maybe a beating? Thrashing? Skewering? Or rather, maybe the pest would like to see what's beneath Gensokyo's dirt? If so, I would gladly bring him there~. I would let you choose; I am kind after all~," she threatens, the last few sentences she hums with glee. All of those options sounds like it will be the death of him. Of course he doesn't want any of that. He needs to think of something to get out of this situation. Something that will get him not beaten to death. Think, think! Use the full maximum of your brain. This is what it's made for!

And, after all that thinking, he just asks, "Wh-why did you beat me up before?" stuttering in the process. Maybe it's because he is slightly sh- of course he is shaken! That youkai is saying that she'll kill him, who wouldn't be afraid?! And it looks like she had the means to do so! And, also, this is the best that he could come up with?! Anyway, after giving his question, the Flower Youkai replies,

"My, it looks like that our bug here knows how to speak~. Good job~," she mockingly praise. Continuing on, "But, do you think you're in a position to be asking a question right now? Shouldn't you be wishing and begging that I don't end your life, right here, right now?" she says, coyly, as if she's playing with someone beneath her, like they're not even equal at all. Maybe the young man should say his last wishes before the youkai pummels him to the ground, despite that, he paraphrases his previous question to the Flower Youkai,

"Well, I-I just want to know, what's your reason is, for last time," shaken voice, he asks and then he adds, "And, yeah, I don't want to be beaten up, but I just wanttoknowwhyyouhadbeatenmelasttime?" he speeds up the last few words. For some reason, he could've seen that he had both of his hand raised this time. Had he done so unconsciously? Maybe the position that he was in was uncomfortable, and he just, shifted to a more comfortable pose. Weird how the youkai doesn't oppose to him moving his body around.

… maybe she doesn't even feel threaten about the consequences of him moving around? Glancing to the right, the parasol had changed position, now its top is pointing to him, and she have moved her body, facing right towards him. Maybe the both of you had felt tired by the awkward pose that you both had previously. However, it is surprising that she is giving him the leeway of talking and asking her questions. Maybe… she could be reason with? Silence again, sweats start to form on the young man's forehead, as it slowly drips down his face. If a needle were to drop, it will definitely be audible. Then, the Flower Youkai tilts her head to the side and asks,

"… who are you?" genuine, the tone of her voice. But, that can't be. There's no way she had already forgotten, it happens only three days ago! She must be joking, so the young man asks her if she was kidding, she smiles while saying, "Do you think I'm the type of person to joke around~?" and hums, "Besides, you human are a dime a dozen, there's no point in me remembering every single one that I came across~," she finishes.

"But this happens three days ago! There's no way you don't remember!" the young man raises his voice for the first time during the one-sided conversation. However, she responded by lightly stabbing the top of her parasol onto the young man's cheek.

"Raise your voice again and I'll shove this right in all of your 13 holes~," she threatens playfully.13 holes? I've only known four. Where did she even find the rest to begin with… le-let's not ask her…the young man thought to himself.

"My bad… but, there's no way you didn't remember, after the humiliation you had done to me…" the young man softens his voice a bit, not wanting the parasol's tip to enter all 13 - or any for that matter - of his holes.

"And it seems to me that you have thought of me as a liar~. My, if there is one thing that I can praise you about, is how horrible of a person you are, quickly judging others like that~," the Flower Youkai mocks. She continues, "But, I've never recalled ever to have done anything to humiliate you. If I did, I would be the first one to remember," she stresses. It looks like she really forgot. Which, in turn, made the situation much worse.

"Yeah, you scribbled all over my face after you hit me twice with, that," the young man explains. Silence again, but then, realization hits her face, and she laughs.

"My, is that it?" she begins, "Just a bit of truth and you cry here, demanding justice and answers? You are truly the bona-fide definition of a human," again, she mocks. Truth? Writing 'sunflower thief' on his forehead is, the truth? What is this per- uh, youkai talking about? He had no recollection of trying to steal the sunflower around here. And besides, it's not like anyone here owns the sunflower here. So, let's press her a bit more,

"Stealing? I wasn't even thinking of that. I was just admiring the sunflower around here, l-like you," he adds the last part so that the Flower Youkai could relate and empathize with him.

"Admiring? When you reached out your hands and touch the sunflower?"

"I wanted to feel the texture."

"With the strength that you put out, it's clear that you were trying to uproot it. That child was crying by the strangulation that you did," the Flower Youkai explains. Well, he did touch it. But, he never intended to uproot i- "Hey, why did you turned silent? You were trying to uproot my child, weren't you?" she interrupts, the parasol tips on his cheeks pressure becomes even stronger.

"Alright, alright, I wa- I was trying to take it!" the young man confessed. Finally, the cat is out of the bag and the Flower Youkai smiles. The same smile that she gave him earlier when she openly mocks him.

"Oh my, now you're honest~. Good boy~," she praises the young man. Maybe because the young man's face, she adds, "Hm? Why do you look so surprised? Praise is given where it's due, and a lot of people would keep mum about their own fault~, but you managed to break the tradition~. So, a praise for you~" she raises the parasol away from his cheeks and lightly tap on top of his head. One tap. Two taps. She continues tapping, replicating the act of head patting. The top of the young man started to hurt by the constant tapping of the umbrella, and does it feel like she is putting more force into it? Nevertheless, it's much better than being put six feet under. The Flower Youkai kept on tapping the young man's head, not slowing down nor stopping her barrage. Sensing that there's less threat than before, the young man slowly lowers his guard, his muscles that were tense from the situation, could finally relax. But then, just as his lower his guard, the parasol from before drops down with a mighty force, directly on top of the young man's head. Getting hit by the impact, the young man winces (almost he would curse) and quickly raise both his hands to the pained area. The Flower Youkai have stop with the head attack, instead, she had done what had done on their first encounter: a parasol sweep right to the legs. In doing so, the young man tumbles down on his back, he screams in pain,

"OW?!" the young man screams, hurt by falling down and from the bump on his head he felt before falling, "W-what was that for?!" he demands an answer from the Flower Youkai, who is towering above him.

"Hm?" she smiles. Her cold smile pierces the young man's core. It's the kind of smile you give when you are already tired of someone's antics, and wanted to be done with it. He could see it sometimes from her as well. The Flower Youkai continues, "You have given me the answer, and it seems that you have found your truth. That means, there is no reason for us to continue this conversation, and with that…" she raises her parasol high, similar to how she had done it last time. This is bad. She is serious! The young man raises his hand, and plead to the Flower Youkai, but, it falls on deaf ears and she slams down right at his head and with a final,

"Goodbye ~"

the young man blacked out.

Two days passed, and again, we are back at the Garden of the Sun. The Flower Youkai is currently walking on the same path again. But, this doesn't mean that she frequents this place. She has many places that she traverses as well, it mainly depends on the Season. After all, she is the Flower Master of The Four Seasons. If it was Spring, she would move to places where the spring flower blooms, if it's Autumn, then she will move to where the autumn flower blooms the most (while enjoying the bounty of autumn), and even in Winter, she will be (less frequent) move to a place where the tiniest flower bloom as well. She loves all flowers. However, that doesn't mean she doesn't have a favorite. Her main place for her to take a lovely stroll, is the Garden of the Sun. The warmth of summer, the subtle sweet smell of the flowers, and the abundant amount of Sunflower, her favorite to see, chatter, and walk with. The Garden of the Sun is her home ground. And anyone who messes with her home, will be dealt with immediately. Well, luckily, no one is here today. Only her, her parasol and the sunflowers. She starts walking her usual path, slowly taking a lovely stroll, smiling at the flowers and greeting them in the process.

However, her lovely stroll is interrupted, when she could hear rapid footsteps. Again. And again, she ignored it. Maybe it's just some random passerby, trying to admire the sunflowers like her. If so, she will let it be. What, did you think that she will harass any random person that were to cross her path? Of course not. She is not a barbarian like most of you would think. She is just your average, friendly neighborhood youkai that loves to admire the flower. Remove your negative perception of her. And, if the person is the same as her, all the more reason to make it more comfortable. Besides, the garden here isn't hers to begin with. She's here merely as a…caretaker, you could say. Not to mention, she had never harassed anyone, my goodness, who had told you that rumor? She merely… teases, the annoyance, and making sure that they learned their lessons ~. It's not her fault that they require a bit of roughing up for them to properly learn them. And besides, what's the harm of having a little bit of fun?

During this whole, ignoring thing, the footsteps come to a halt. Again, she could hear someone's (loud) breathing from behind (a couple of meters away). The person starts speaking,

"H-hey, I've foun-hah-found you, phew," the young man (she believes by the tone of their voice) says, in between breathes. The Flower Youkai pay him no mind and continues on with her day, albeit a bit ruin now. Hopefully, that person gets the memo that she wants no business with him, however, he is rather dumb as he continues, "Man, it's hard to walk around here huh? Luckily, I've found you on the same place!" The same place? she thought. Who is this person again? Doesn't matter. They all look the same to her (sans the strong ones that had fought her), and she doesn't want to turn around to take a glimpse of the person. Just another disturbance of her lovely stroll. Pay it no mind, eventually, they'll get bored, leave, and she could resume her wonderful days again. But alas, the young man continues, not realizing she was ignoring him, "Anyway, I wanted to give you something as my way of apologizing. Here," he pauses for a moment before continuing, "I hear-, well, seen it for myself that you like flowers, so I've brought you some," he finishes. Oh, how thoughtful of him, the Flower Youkai favorability of, whoever this person is, roses a bit. Hearing that, she turns around and-

"…" silent. The Flower Youkai looks at right hand of the young man's hand, a couple of flowers are present, ranging from red poppies, hollyhocks, chicories and others. But one thing is for certain. All of them, are uprooted. Without any care in the world. Evident, where you can still see the roots on the plant. The Flower Youkai walks up to the young man. The man did not put his guard up. He thought that the Flower Youkai would accept the flowers that are in his hands. The flower that he searched for yesterday around the pathway to the Garden of Sun. Who knew that there were this many different flowers on the field? Definitely not the young man. Soon, the Flower Youkai are right in front of him. However, instead of picking the flowers, she quickly stabs the top of her parasol right at the young man's solar plexus. The air (and breakfast) from his stomach trying to come out from the upper hole, but he managed to keep the beauty of the place intact. Using his left hand, he clutches his stomach, shielding it in case another attack is incoming. Another attack came, but now it's right at the back of his body, making the young man tumbling down front first to the dirt, but before she does so, she snatched the flowers from his hand. And tumbling down the young man does. With a 'guh' he lays there for a bit, before turning around and laying on his back. He looks up at the towering youkai, and her face does not indicate happiness. It's the complete opposite: it was disdain. He wanted to ask her why she had done that, but the words is stuck to his throat. Thankfully (or not, for him), the Flower Youkai speaks,

"I've heard that humans are the evolution of apes, and it seems that it's true: the prime example of it is right in front of me," the Flower Youkai says coldly. Towering over him, she walks slow and closer to him, then, with precision and strength, she places the tip of the parasol right near his collarbone, directly under the neck. After she had found the spot, she presses lightly, in turn, pain and the feeling of choking came to the young man. He tried to pry the parasol away with his hands, but this just makes the Flower Youkai presses harder, making it harder for the young man to breathe. Seeing how futile it is, he rescinds his plan, and instead, focusing on his breathing (which is getting harder by the seconds). The Flower Youkai (who is standing to his left), crouch down, her eyes cold and she looks at him like walking garbage. Or something even lower than that. On her left hand, rests the flower that he had taken from the road, thinking that it will please her. The Flower Youkai then speaks,

"Do you know what you have done?" she asks, her voice low, trying to instill fear to the young man. The young man couldn't even answer her if he wanted to, as his windpipe is being stab by the assailant. And besides, it's not like she wanted to hear anything from him anyway. She continues, "Oh, I forgot. You have the brain of a chimpanzee, of course you wouldn't know. Not to mention, you can't even form a coherent sentence with that pea-size brain of yours," she mocks, but there is no ounce of playfulness that she shows before. Not stopping and continuing on, "Let me just dumb it down for the idiot here. You. Are. A. Killer." she stresses the words. One by one, she makes sure that he could hear every word that she said, "You, bringing me all of this child here, thinking that I'll be happy? Hah. Are you joking? Or are you just cruel? What you brought me here is akin to bringing me a mangled. human. corpse. And you think that I'll be happy? Is that it?" she pauses for a moment, letting the young man soak in the information, he's looking in even more pain, and continues, "You have just ripped out the life of the child that tries their hardest to live and compete with the others. You, ripping their whole life, just for the sake of impressing others? Do you even think with that small brain of yours, what this child thinks? Would it be alright if I were to rip up your innards, right here, right now, and bring it over to the Human Village, just like what you did to this child? Is that what you want? You want that, don't you?" she presses the parasol harder at the last sentence, hoping it elicit a response from the murderer in front of her, and luckily, he tries to shake his head. Looks like he still has some life to him (but slowly she could see that his face had turned slightly purple). How resilient. "Well, I understand that a human as slow as you, needs a bit more to understand, so let me say this slow. Never. Show. Your. Face. To. Me. Ever. Again. Or. I'll. Be. Glad. To. Plant. You. To. The. Ground. Do. You. Under. Stand?" she asks, the last few words, she takes a second longer to say, just so that he could be in pain far longer than needed. The young man can only give a gurgle and an effort of a nod, which is acceptable for the Flower Youkai. Seeing this, she removes the parasol from his windpipes, and says, "Good," and left the young man there, not even showing an ounce of care or concern to him. The young man gasps audibly, trying to suck in as much air as he can, but he could feel lightheaded from the ordeal. Like, he could have almost seen the infamous Sanzu River from here. His eyelids started to get heavier, and the last thing that he could see, is the many sunflowers staring down at him and the light blue sky, before darkness engulfs. And again, he blacked out.

A week fly by, again, Garden of The Sun. The Flower Youkai is taking another lovely stroll of hers: greeting, admiring, and taking in the surrounding sunflowers. She loves seeing that the sunflowers here are prospering. For the past few days, she had been coming here, as the heart of Summer Flowers, all resides in this power spot. And, they were minor fairies and youkais as well, but they all cower and turn their tails whenever they had spotted her. Which is what she wants, anyway. With this, the sunflowers around here are safe from any rowdy interlopers.

… well, the fairies shouldn't really be afraid of her, as they are cut from the same cloth. It just that one time where she teases them a little bit too much that the fairies became afraid of her, and the fairies here have some impressive network, so only a few brave (or idiots) came to this place to play. It's not her fault that they are just fun to tease with ~.

Anyway, back to the sunflower. She only have all day to admire them after all, and she does not want any outsider to barge in and interrupt her.

… which is why, the universe loves to play pranks on her, as she could hear footsteps again. And she knows that this will be annoying again. Her intuition is telling her, and her intuition is always right. And if she was wrong, she'll just make them right. By force, if she wills it. Behind her, the footsteps come closer, but its vigor feels a bit lesser than before, and it reaches the same distance (between her and the person). The Flower Youkai doesn't have to turn around to know who it is this time. She could remember vividly on the killer that had given her a 'present'. And, she recalls perfectly, on how she doesn't want anything to do with him anymore. Are all human this brazen, or do they not know their own language that they had created? Either way, this time, she'll make sure that he can't come here ever. again. But, before she could do anything, the young man,

"I'm sorry!" apologizes. The Flower Youkai stops her action and waited a bit, because she, herself, is confused by his actions. He… apologized? Not a lot of people would dare step foot after getting threaten like that, she thought to herself. Only somebody foolish would do something so stupid. It's akin to putting yourself into a youkai's mouth after being dragged out from it. Anyway, he continues,

"I didn't realize that what I had done is something you hated. I thought that… that, you like flowers, and I saw these beautiful flowers, so, I thought th-that you'll like them, and so, I just, take them, and-and I… I'm sorry!" he apologizes again, stuttering all the way. Maybe it's because he is nervous, or maybe, he is scared that the Flower Youkai would hit him again, or maybe, it's something else, who knows. Anyway, during all this, the man was bowing his head so low, that he could only see the ground under him, his black shadow stares back at him. He waited for the Flower Youkai to respond, or to do anything, but silence is what greeted him back. He waits for a few seconds before continuing, "S-so, if there's anything that I can do to repay you back, to, uh, atone, then, I'll be glad to do s-…" he raises his head, trying to gauge the reaction of the Flower Youkai, but he was unable to, and that is because: no one is there, "H-huh?" he looks around the area, trying to find even a trace of her, but no dice. The Flower Youkai is long gone. She had already left after hearing him apologizes. Anything else after that is pointless drivel. Well, at least he had learnt his lessons. And maybe this time, he'll leave her alone to enjoy the time with the Sunflowers again. And so, the Flower Youkai resumes her activity that was stopped for the moment due to an interference. Tomorrow, she hoped that she won't have to deal with any human at all this time.

…

"…" the Flower Youkai gazes at one spot of on the Garden of The Sun. The usual spots that she had usually walk on, this time, had an unwanted guest came into view. The same young man from yesterday that had apologized to her. He came back here again. Is he… stupid? Why would he come back here? He had already said his piece and she won't kill him(maybe), so what gives? The Flower Youkai stares at him, occasionally, he would turn his head left, right, behind, and return to the front. Looks like he's trying to find someone. She could already guess that this will be annoying. Maybe she'll take a different route this time? Right, let's surprise the sunflower today. It's not like she wanted to flee from the young man, I mean, she could just blow his live away (literally) but she sees no benefits from doing so, except her peaceful days coming back.

…

anyway, let's turn around for today. A different scenery isn't so bad at all. Ignore the person and go on your day. However, it seems the universe just want to see her suffer, because then, an audible, "Ah" came from behind her. And again, footsteps. The Flower Youkai silently groans. Just walk. He'll go away eventually. He starts talking about something, but she ignores it. Let his chatter be another noise of Summer. Like a cicada cries, dying to find a mate before dying. And boy, he sure likes to chatter. It could even rival the length of a cicada cries. Maybe he is a cicada on his past life? Anyway, he walks (follows) and talk (alone) until the sunset, in which (finally) he says his goodbye and walks home. The Flower Youkai have no idea what he had said. He had been talking to the wind, as the Flower Youkai had mentally muted her mind of off him. I mean, what's the point of remembering pointless babbles. Anyway, today was a mess. She doesn't want to incur the wrath of that shrine maiden. Well, it would be fun to fight her, but she just wanted to enjoy the sunflower and fighting that girl would reduce her time admiring the scenery that lays in front of her. The Flower Youkai sighs. Hopefully, tomorrow will be even better.

… he came again, and again, he babbles about nothing until dawn, and then, he goes home.

… he came again, another voice to the wind, maybe she'll just beat him up tomorrow if he came? Yeah, lets.

… oh, how rare. Silence. Peace. Let's greet the sunflower and hope that this can last longer than a day.

… spoke to soon, tomorrow comes and he's back.

The Flower Youkai and the young man is walking together (more accurate, he trails behind) and enjoying the Sunflower. Sometimes, he would open his mouth and say something and other times, he would stay silent and just look around the place. At least he stopped talking at the length of a bored housewives. But still, the Flower Youkai is feeling irritated by all this. This is because her time is now spent with him. She had enough. She gripped the parasol tightly before stopping completely. Noticing this, the young man also stops and asks her what's wrong. Silent from the Flower Youkai and after a few seconds, she begins.

"Hey, why are you still here?" she turn around, faces him and asks, not mincing words. The young man mouth opens agape, shocked by what he hears,

"W-what, did you not hear anything that I said?" he asks, but he should've known to begin with on how non-responsive the Flower Youkai had been.

"Why should I listen to the drivel of a water flea?" she insults, "Didn't I tell you to never show your miserable face again?" she reminds.

"Well, you did, but I-"

"But what? Is there more you like to add? Are you frustrated? Angry? Seeking revenge? If so, I'll be glad to quell your emotion," she interrupts while clutching the parasol tighter.

"No, I don't! I've never wanted that," he fans his right hand, a gesture as to say 'that's not it', "I wanted to… to make it up to you."

"…?" the Flower Youkai raises her eyebrows. Confused by the sudden gesture, they both stay silent. This prompt the young man to speak,

"I've told you before, but… I guess you weren't listening, haha…" he awkwardly laughs. No memory of this is present on the Flower Youkai. Either he is lying, or he is telling the truth. But, he's quite adamant about it, maybe the latter is right. Anyway, there's nothing that the Flower Youkai want of him, so she,

"I see. Unfortunately, there's nothing that I wanted, and if I do have one, is for you to leave," refuses the gesture.

"But, I wanted to apologize. Because you said that you'll k-kill me if I came back."

"Right. Well, I've accepted your apology. I won't kill you. I just want you to leave me alone."

"But, I feel like I did something wrong, and I want to make it right, so please."

"You don't have to do anything, leaving me alone is an option to take."

"But, then I-"

"My~ how selfish you are~" the Flower Youkai starts mocking in a sing song manner, "I, I, I and I. It seems that you weren't even thinking about me~. You just wanted to do this because you feel bad. Not because you did something wrong~. I'm just an outlet for you to remove the guilt~," she smiles, seeing the nature of human is always delightful for her.

"N-no, that's not what I…" he stutters, oh how adorable his face looks now. The despair that he shows her after being told it right to his face how horrible his actions is has been a delight.

"My~ is that so~? You weren't thinking of using me, the one who you wronged, as a way to …atone? Is that what you said before~?" every pauses, she takes a step forward, coming in closer to him.

"…" he stays silent. My, is that all? I guess he isn't as strong as she had thought. The Flower Youkai is directly in front of him, his face had turned to face the ground. Is there something interesting there~? Of course not, you coward~. Having her fun, she awaits his next action so that she could crush it even more. However, the opposites happen,

"Even so…" he mumbles, quiet, but still audible in close vicinity (which the Flower Youkai is currently), "Even so, I wanted to do what's right, even if it's selfish," he looks up, directly to the eyes of the Flower Youkai. The Flower Youkai red eyes stare back at his. There are times where he wanted to move away, but he kept strong, gauging the reaction of the Flower Youkai. She stares back at him, not moving, not doing anything except the occasional blinking. But then, she sighs. And by command, he takes a breath. It seems he had been holding it for a while.

"Hey," the Flower Youkai says, startling the young man a bit, but he quickly regains his composure and he could see that she is outstretching her left hand, and he mirrors her action (except he uses his right hand). And then, she places something into his right hand, some kind of clear bag, and inside the bag, he could see,

"Seeds?" he mouths out. Inside the clear bag, there is a brown-like colour seeds. It looks similar to a simple pebble, but it's not a pebble. He had never seen a brown pebble before, and touching the 'seeds' from outside the bag, it feels hard, but not as hard as a stone.

"If you are trying to apologize, then plant this, and take care of it. By then, I will see you in a better light," smoothly, she says and turns around, getting ready to walk. The young man gives a big grin, a determined look and says,

"I will! Next time, you'll see the most vibrant plant, whatever this plant is uh, and make you proud!" he loudly exclaimed, making the Flower Youkai sighs. With that, she started to walk away with light steps. Then, she tries to understand her actions. She doesn't understand why she would even give him a chance. Giving him that seeds and so that he could, make amends, with her. But, when she looks at him, it reminds her of that one youkai. That bug youkai. Speaking of it has been a while since she has last seen her. Walking forward, she takes a glance behind her only to find out that the young man is digging a hole near the sunflowers. Seeing that, she quickly turns back and walk towards the young man, with the parasol readies in hand she stabs the right side of his sides, making him tumble down to the right. Without stopping, she asks,

"What are you doing?" while watching the young man tries to shield his sides.

"? W-what you asks…? I'm trying to plant the seeds that you've given me," he replies.

"I applaud for your immediate action, but I've not given you permission to plant here."

"W-what? Why not? This is a public space, so I can plant here, right?"

"You can, and because this is a free area, then I am free to hit you if you do so~," she smiles. Getting the hint, he awkwardly laughs and promises to not plant in the soil here. Then, the two goes on their way.

Tomorrow is here, and the Flower Youkai is walking around the same area. And there, he sees the young man again. But this time, there are other items right next to him. Before she could turn around and leave, he sees her and calls her over. Oddly enough, she walks over to him, maybe the curiosity gets to her, moreover because the tools next to him is what interest her. And reaching next to him, she asks,

"What are you doing here again? Shouldn't you learn how to care for the seeds?"

"I am," he replies, placing the soil inside a clay pot, "I am going to plant the seeds here," he points to the clay pot.

"Did I not tell you that you can't plant here? You promised me too."

"Well, I promised to not plant on this soil," he points to the soil where the sunflowers are, "But, I'm planting on this soil," he points at the clay pot instead and giving a big grin. The Flower Youkai finds it amusing that he thought that 'loophole' is something to be proud of. Well, no points arguing with him. However, he had brought over a lot of gardening tools: like the clay pot, soils, fertilizer, small spade and other things. This all looks brand new. The young man looks at the staring Flower Youkai, and he explains, "Oh, are you wondering where I got this?" which the Flower Youkai only stares and giving a small nod, "The florist at the Human Village. When I asked her about how to plant, her eyes lit up and she started going on and on and in the end, she gave me all of this for free. I was surprised at first, but she says that she always loves seeing new people having more appreciation in gardening. But, next time I have to pay, and seeing the price, I'm glad I got this for free…" he gives a quiet laugh. Then, he continues, "Oh, and I borrowed this book," he brought out and shows a book on how to garden to her, "So, I should be good for now, but if there's something that I don't know, can I ask you for guidance?" he asks the Flower Youkai. She doesn't reply to his question, but, she asks another,

"Why did you plant here?"

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"Shouldn't you plant this near your home? You don't have to do this here."

"Well, if I plant at home, then I wouldn't be able to see you," he replies. How cheeky. She sighs. How many sighs have she done after this person comes. Well, if he doesn't intend to disrupt the peace of the Flower Garden, then she doesn't mind.

"Do as you like," and she walks away. The young man waves her goodbye, but the Flower Youkai didn't see it. At first, she wanted to protest, but after mulling it over to herself, she doesn't see a way for him to leave. Well, if he had come back after getting a beating of his lifetime, and him finding ways to keep on staying, his determination, is something admirable, but can become an annoyance to others, accurately, to her. Sure, she could, again, put him six feet under, but seeing that he is trying to make amends to her, she'll let it slide. Well, long enough until he shows crack. Gardening is a long journey, not something quick and easy. It takes years. Years to let the flowers bloom and some are difficult to care, some are easy. And for some, it is easy to give up. She waits for the day where the young man will give up, and she will not see him for the rest of her lives.

And for the month, he comes to the Garden Of The Sun. He watered the seed, he tills the fertilizer and talk (one-sidedly) to the Flower Youkai (she forgot everything he said the next day). Sometimes he comes, sometimes he doesn't. Sometimes he went home at afternoon, sometimes he went home at dusk. It feels like she had known his schedule by now. At first, she had tried to evade him, coming in times where he would not come here, however, after thinking it over, why does she have to hide away from him? She is much stronger than him. If he had done anything funny to her, she could just make him sleep with the flowers. And no, it is not because of the food (sweets) that he brought over. This goes on for a month and then,

*Boom*

On one afternoon, a thunderstorm could be heard overtaken Gensokyo. This happens every Summer in Gensokyo: a raging storm. The sign was apparent, after seeing the dark clouds lingering on the sky. The Flower Youkai watches the rainstorm hitting the windows of her home. A random home that she took as her own, when she found out that no one's had live here. Despite liking that there is rain going on the Summer (after seeing how hot it is always been) the Flower Youkai gives a sad smile. It is because the effect of it to plants, mainly the sunflowers. Some may survive the storm, but some wouldn't, and that makes her sad. However, she knows that the sunflower is strong, and they can take the brunt of the storm. Then, a thought pops up to her mind: the young man's flower. It was outside the last time they had met, and it should be outside as well today. That child hasn't germinated yet, and now she had to face the storm. How cruel. Maybe she should brought it home for a while, just until the storm is over. Not because it is specifically the plant that is taken care of by the young man. With that, she picked up her usual parasol, and traverse through the pouring rain.

Arriving at the Garden of The Sun, she moves over to their usual meeting spot. The rain had touched several parts of her body, but she doesn't pay it any mind for now. Her mind is preoccupied with the young man's plant. So, she weathered the storm and moves forward. However, she saw something unexpected. A blurb of a shadow, shielding the clay pot. Next to it, an umbrella is lay on the ground, it looks broken. Coming in closer, she knows who that person is: it was the young man.

"What are you doing here?!" she screams out, whether to rival the storms decibel, or maybe because she was confused. Either way, he managed to hear it and he look up,

"Ah, miss, hahaha," he (still) laughs during all this, "I guess we both have the same idea," he screams too. Looking even closer, his body is drenched completely, from head to toe. He is using his whole body to cover the clay pot, preventing the soil from being overwatered.

"Why are you here?" she repeats her question, walking even closer to him.

"Because of this guy," he hug the clay pot tighter, not wanting to let go.

"There's a storm going on, and you still came?!" as the Flower Youkai says that, a thunderous boom came from behind, judging by the sound, it is farther away from them, thankfully.

"I mean, I have to here for this guy, I can't just let him die."

"You could've had brought him home, you don't have to do this!"

"But I have to!" he screams a bit louder, the Flower Youkai is now directly in front of him, using her parasol, she tried to shield both him, her and the clay pot. The young man continues, "After all, if I've brought it home, I won't be able to see you again, Miss!" he exclaims. The Flower Youkai stood there, not moving. She stares at the idiot in front of her, and she mumbles,

"… are you an idiot…"

"Huh?" confused, the young man looks at the Flower Youkai, but she had already closed her parasol and with a quick

*swish*

she has knocked the young man unconscious. Then, snaps her finger. From below, rumbling could be heard and then, comes out few roots, circling the two of them, encasing them inside, and shielding themselves from the rain. The root leaves a small hole on the bottom, so that the Flower Youkai could see the situation outside. And after that, she sits down and moves the young man away from the clay pot. Looking directly inside, she could see that some patches of water is wet and when she touches it, as she suspected, it was wet, but not to the point of drowning the seeds. Overwatering is bad for plant just like it is for humans. The young man has managed to keep the damages to the minimum, in exchange for his body. She look at the young man, body completely drenched, his breathing is heavy. She doesn't understand. What compels a person to go so far? For them, wouldn't this just be a simple plant. An ordinary thing, not even worth worrying. Why would he even sacrifice his being to save a plant? Is it because of his duty? His repentance? Or… is it because of what he said before…?

…

It is becoming a bit colder now. Looking at herself, she finds that her clothes is sticking to her body. Looking to the young man, his body is sticking close too…

… that's not good, he will get a cold eventually and then, he'll have less chance to see her…

… no choice then. She removes her clothes and with a snap, make few clothesline where she places the wet clothes (not before wringing the water out). She is now completely naked, her face feels flushed. But, it's probably from the cold, she tries to reassure. Next, is for the young man. She does the same for him, but leaves him in his underwear, she doesn't have the heart to remove that part… yet. Afterwards, she lay next to him, and hug him, sharing body warmth. The two stays in silent, only the sound of roaring thunder could be heard from outside. They waited until the storm subsided.

…

The young man groggily wakes up. His eyelids are heavy as he slowly opens them. Upon opening his eyes, he could see a pinkish-white view is blocking his vision (and a small amount of checkered red). He tries to shift his head but then, the white thing moves, only to be replaced with the face of the youkai that he had encountered all this time. Her red eyes look at him from above, her green hair is illuminated by the dusk-like sky. She gives a small smile and says,

"Finally awake?" she asks. The young man, still in his stupor, could only replies yes. Slowly, he is getting his bearing and he realizes something,

Aren't I on her lap… right now? he thought to himself. He wanted to move away, but, the youkai doesn't seems to push him away, so, maybe he could stay a bit longer. Wait, "How long have I been asleep?" he asks.

"After the storm, maybe around an hour or two," the Flower Youkai replies. A storm… right, the storm! He quickly springs up from the youkai's lap and asks,

"T-the flower? What happened to the flower?!"

The Flower Youkai gives a warm smile and says 'See it for yourself' while pointing to the clay pot. Inside, he could see it, a light green stem, coming out from it. Proof, that the plant exist. Proof, which what he did is not for naught in the end.

"Th-thank goodness," he feels his body relaxes. Then, he turns around and faces the Flower Youkai, "Look, Miss! There's a stem. We did it! We managed to plant something," he proudly exclaims.

"… Yuuka."

"… huh?"

"Kazami Yuuka. My name. Not miss, or you. Kazami Yuuka, say it right," the Flower Youkai says.

"Oh, my bad. Then, Yuuka-san," after saying her name, she respond with pinching his cheek,

"My~ I don't remember giving you permission to use my first name~?" a smile plasters on her face. Her pinching hurts.

"So-sorry, Kazami-san!" he corrected. Then, he continues, "Oh right, I don't think I have given my name yet, it's Ts-" before he could say it, the Flower Youkai interrupts,

"It doesn't matter who you are, because I won't be able to remember anyway," she swiftly says. The young man then looks dejected. Snickering, she continues, "Well, if you want me to remember, then do something that will make me turn my head to you~," she teases. In turn, this makes the young man laughs. The two look at the setting sun, before moving on in their lives.

And so, the two season comes and go. During the summer, they will spend together at the Garden of The Sun almost every day, during autumn, they met less, as the Flower Youkai wouldn't have any reason to come here, as there are other places for her to see the most beautiful flower. And by winter, the plants were taken care of even less, to the point of letting it grow naturally. By now, she had already known what the plant is, (well, she was the one who had given him the seeds) and feels like it is fine to leave it during the winter. The plant is strong, just like him. During the season, her feeling started to change. Like a flower, starting from a seedling to the shoot, and then, it blooms. During the winter, she started to miss her interaction between the young man. Maybe the saying 'absence makes the heart grow fonder' has its merits. Oddly too, she couldn't find him during her visits to the Human Village. They also never made any promises besides meeting at the Garden of The Sun. Winter is the time where he left the plant solely to her, as he had prior things needed to be done. She hoped that he had not forgotten about the flower, nor about her… Only time will tell, and by spring, the flower should bloom, as buds are already forming. It is slightly faster than it usually is, and she may have a thing to do with it, but that is beside the point. At the very least, he could see the plant bloom during the Spring. She only need that fairy to shout out 'It's spring!' and she could meet him again… hopefully.

"It's spring!" a fairy, clad in white outfit screams out. The Flower Youkai, with her parasol on her hand, look up. The fairy cheerfully exclaims that spring is here, and spring indeed came. She is currently in the Garden of The Sun, the sunflower are currently growing, but it won't bloom for another season still. The Flower Youkai knows this, there is no reason for her to be here. Except, there is. The flower pot in front of her, after the snow had long thawed, she could see it. Some of the flowers have started to bloom. The colour of red occasionally mix with the colour of the green leaves. Its petal plenty and their colour vibrant.

"Ah, Kazami-san!" she turns around to see that the young man had called out to her. He has a scarf wrapped around his neck. Maybe the cold winter wind still permeates. After all, it had only been a few weeks after the winter season ends. He comes closer, and his eyes lit up after seeing the flowers, "Ka-Kazami-san! F-flower, flowers!" he crouches down to see the fruit of his labour.

Tsubaki

"Camellia japonica".

"Yes?" he turns his head around.

"The flower name, Camellia Japonica. In flower language, it means many things: bravery, strength against all odds, and…" she pauses for a bit before saying the last one, "strong love…" she finishes, she feels slightly hot, embarrassed by what she said. Was that enough of a hint for him to consider this feeling inside of her heart? After all, he had planted this flower for her. This flower is for her. That means, he had liked her, right? Sure, she had provided the seeds, but he was the one adamantly taken care of it, even trying to sacrifice himself during the storm. Moreover, he had said that he wanted to meet her every day. So, it is safe to assume that he had that kind of feeling for her, right? Well, she has like him, but probably not to the point of love. Maybe a few more years, could the flower of her heart bloom to yearn for him. Just like the flowers in front of her, by him, for her.

After listening to the Flower Youkai, he turns back to the camellia, muttering 'strong love' under his breath but the Flower Youkai did not catch that.

"This is great. The flower is so pretty~," he admires. For some reason, he has some attachment to this plant. Maybe it's because it's something that he had raise himself? Like how some people are attached to their creation? But anyway, this is great, with this,

"I can't wait to give this to her!" the young man says.

…? Her? Not, Kazami-san? Not you? she thought to herself. Trying to get a confirmation, she asks again what he means by that, and boldly, he replies,

"Oh, for my sister, of course!"