𝐇𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐀 | bnha oc.

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟔: blooming flower

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FEW DAYS LATER

    THE FLOWERS WERE BLOOMING WITHOUT HER, but it was a pretty sight to see. Mornings felt brighter with the vibrant colors of the cherry blossom and wisteria trees. It brushed against the brisk spring breeze, the burst of pigments like fireworks in the night sky.

Koemi walked just a pace off from the rest of the group, latching onto her well-kept book like it was her lifeline. It was a crutch to soothe the giddy and skittish feeling she felt as the days began. It always astonished her how her friends were always so lively first thing in the morning. (Like sun-kissed flowers blooming in the wake of spring. Flowers where the light always beamed down on them.)

Such a pretty sight to see, she thought, watching on as her friends ambled just a step ahead of her. Watching their backs faced toward her...

That was until Uraraka mentioned her in their conversation, snapping said girl out of her reverie.

"Eh?"

Uraraka turned to her with a bubbly smile. "Sorry, sorry! I was just talking about how you're the quietest out of all of us," she remarked, slowing her pace to match Koemi. "Even in our previous friend group, it was the same thing right? I kinda miss it. You were always our voice of reason..." And laughter that sounded like wind chimes seemed to bubble out of her.

Koemi only stared. She didn't know what to make of her comment, which drifted afloat with no real anchor, and could only return what she hoped was one of her practiced smiles. Her eyes darted over to the two boys who peered back at her curiously, like meerkats.

Her cheeks warmed in an instant. "I-It wasn't really like that," Koemi mumbled, fiddling with her flower bookmark. "Besides that, what were you guys talking about?"

"I heard there was a sale going on at S-Mart and was wondering if you guys wanted to tag along! You're coming with though, that's a given," Uraraka explained, interlacing her arm with the taller teen's. "We stick together like two peas in a pod!" She turned her attention to Midoriya and Iida. "I always like to drag her around places!"

Iida glanced between the two, puzzled. Koemi brought a hand up to her lips and chortled at his reaction.

"I don't mind at all, if you were wondering."

"Oh. That's good to hear!" Iida nodded stiffly, as Iida always does. "Then, I believe I have some time after school. How about you, Midoriya-kun?"

And Midoriya, being the sweet boy he was, happily bobbed his head. "I think I do, too! Speaking of S-Mart, I might need to grab some groceries before I get home anyway..."

"Alright!!" Uraraka cheered. "Sounds like a plan!"

"There's a bookstore on the way there, right?" Koemi added in, quietly. "If it's okay, I want to purchase a book that I've been eyeing for a while now..."

"Of course you can, who's gonna stop you?"

"I worried it would be boring if you waited on me."

Uraraka, giving her a judging stare, nudged the teen in dispute. "Ko, it's never boring hanging out with you! So don't say that again, 'kay?"

Koemi couldn't help but smile sheepishly. "Sorry. And it's not boring hanging out with you either."

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    Koemi's pen tapped rhythmically against the pristine desk. One, two, three, one, two, the tapping went. She couldn't help but repress a soft sigh.

Jiro, her seatmate to the right, turned at the source of her idle tapping and offered an amused smile.

"Bored?"