Stars and Roses ✓

𝐈𝐈.

Sometimes, giving him your love is not enough.

✧*。

THE blinding sunshine woke Hitoka up. Fluttering her eyes open, she immediately felt her sore throat and lungs which causes her to cough loudly. Near her was a lady fidgeting over the thermos and a teacup. A calming aroma entered her nostrils the moment Kiyoko opens the container in her hands. She poured the hot herbal tea in a small cup before closing the thermos and giving the blond her drink.

"Thank you, Kiyoko-san.." She take small sips that soothes her throat as she did. The tea must be some kind of an alternative medicine to those who has hanahaki.

"I'm not going to beat around the bush, Yachi. When are you going to take the surgery?" Kiyoko straightforwardly asked while she put the thermos down in a drawer near the younger lady's bed.

"I don't know..." Yachi answered truthfully. There is no use in lying if the lady saw the petals that she throws up. Red roses, in Hanahaki language-- it means undying love.

"Take the surgery, Yachi. Please." Kiyoko sat in the chair nearby as she stared pitifully at the blond. She can't blame Yachi for having undying love for Yamaguchi. After all, she was also there at the beginning of their love story. A story she never thought would end this way.

Love indeed, is a unpredictable thing.

"How many days do I have left?" She asked, hopeful. Maybe, just maybe she could use the days she has left to make Yamaguchi feel that she still loves him.

"One day." Upon hearing the answer, she already knows what she's going to do. Breathing in, Hitoka puts the cup on the drawer beside the thermos as she faced Kiyoko. "I don't want to take-"

Exhaling loudly, Kiyoko couldn't help but to shout. "Yachi, you're dying! Is this a game to you?! Is your 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 a game to you?" The blond was shocked to answer Kiyoko's sudden outburst. But also, she was disappointed at herself to make her friend feel that way. Kiyoko rarely shows any strong emotion yet because of her, she managed to bring out anger. The blond knows that she's just concerned, that her friend only wants the best for her.

"You can't blame me, c-can you?" She finally sobbed. The tears that she was stopping the moment that they started the conversation, finally streams down her cheeks.

Kiyoko rushed to her friend's side. She hugged her while rubbing her back in a soothing manner. "It's not your fault that you're giving your all to the ones you love. It's just that, you're giving it to the wrong person."

"I want to live, Kiyoko-san. I really do. I want to treasure every moment, every adventures that I will experience; and tell everyone about it. It was a plan that I thought of, a long time ago." She paused, hiccuping. "But that plan also includes Yamaguchi in it. I want to be with him, even with the littlest adventures."

"I'm sure he also included you in his plan a long time ago. But sometimes, things just won't go your way. Yachi, live for us. Please." Just like a mother who found her lost child, Kiyoko consoles Yachi, assuring her that everything will be all right.

✧*。

"I've made up my mind." She is now calm and collected. Talking with the older woman made her feel more lighter. And it also helps her collect her thoughts over the subject.

"If you're really sure about that, then I can't stop you anymore. Tadashi is heading here a few hours from now. You should drink the tea before he arrives. It suppresses the disease's episode and the growth of the garden in your lungs."

Kiyoko stayed with Yachi until the freckled-man arrives. She could only pray and hope that Yachi would be given another chance to live a life full of love.

'Please, stay alive, Yachi. '