Every Rose Has Its Thorn

Part 5: Hanahaki

-Midoriya's POV

I couldn't believe my eyes. I refused to believe any of it. What was a flower petal doing in my puke?! I couldn't focus on anything around me except for the flower petal. It was a crimson color, just like blood, and yet it was all I could focus on at the moment. Where are anxiety pills when you need them? 

I managed to calm myself down by telling myself that it wasn't part of my throw-up, but I had only gotten so far because I knew it came from me. I would have to research it later, but for now, I cleaned myself up and tried to look better than I felt. When I was finally ready and had prepared an excuse, I left for the dining room once more. When I got back to my seat, Kacchan gave me a questioning look.

"Oi, what happened? Are you ok?"

"Y-yeah, I just felt nauseous but I turned out to be fine!" He glared at me suspiciously, but all I did was keep my smile on my face. In the end, he went with it. I ate the rest of my katsudon, but I didn't have much of an appetite anymore, so it was hard to eat the food.

Once I finished, I went back to my dorm room and took out my laptop. I went to a new tab and typed in 'throwing up flower petals', but the results surprised me. No, the result surprised me. Amidst all of the sicknesses and diseases in the world, there was only one result for my query. 

I read the word, hanahaki, and continued to read about it. I slowly fell into a daze as I read through. Unrequited love, favorite flowers, blood and petals, all of it made sense. I had inflicted this upon myself. Why did it have to be like this? I couldn't accept it, a disease created from one-sided love. There are flowers growing in me right this moment! 

I quickly reached for my anxiety pills and downed three of them. Yes, let the pain go away, let me be calm if just for a moment, let me sleep. Everything else was blurry after that, and dizziness overwhelmed me. I staggered, the world spinning and my vision getting blurry. My body fell and I hit the ground, but I didn't hear or feel a single thing as I drifted off into the peace of unconsciousness.

-Bakugo's POV

He said he was fine, right? Why do I feel this way then? I was still slightly worried, but why? WHY? I hated Deku's guts, or at least I thought I did until now. Instead, I was worried about him. I was nice to him as well, but I had hated him the day before. Why am I being friendly now? It was something I couldn't understand. 

Is my gayness kicking in? No, it couldn't be? I didn't actually like the nerd, did I? His star-like freckles, his emerald-colored eyes, his beautiful smile... Shit. It was already bad enough that I had liked him all this time without knowing it, but our relationship is so fucked up, he would never like me back. I guess I would just have to push away these feelings.

I walked to the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor so I could get to my dorm. Maybe I'll snack out of gay panic and confusion. Yeah, sounds good. I planned to eat the chocolate that Midoriya gave me. Most people didn't know this, but I actually really liked chocolate. I didn't care if it was sweet, but as long as it wasn't on diabetes level, it was a guilty pleasure that I could consume all day.

When I got to the top floor, I found my feet taking me to Midoriya's dorm instead of mine. I want to say good night first. My mind said, but I couldn't grasp how fast I was falling for Midoriya. I knocked on the door before I could register my movement, but in the end, he didn't answer the door. It was 7 pm, but I guess the nerd was already sleeping. He looked tired anyways.

I walked to the opposite side of the hallway, where my dorm was right in front of Midoriya's room. As I entered, I turned the light on, but the room looked pretty dark. I mean, I guess this happens when you paint your walls black. My room was pretty clean, except for a collection of snacks on a shelf in the corner of my room, next to my desk. 

I had put my chocolate bar on the top shelf, so I went to grab it. I unwrapped it and broke off a piece, but it didn't remain out in the open for long. I scarfed it down, savoring the chunk of chocolate before chewing it. I didn't like to eat these foods in front of everyone, but I also had chips and other shit like that. I still ate pretty healthily though. 

Before I had realized it, the chocolate was gone, and it was time to get ready for bed. I grabbed some clothes and a towel from my closet, but the rest of my shower products were in my designated stall. I exited my dorm room and went back to the elevator to go to the showers.

-Midoriya's POV

I woke up in the tenebrosity of my dark room, a small amount of light peering from under the door. My eyesight became clear again, but when I got up, my head felt heavy. I nearly lost balance but regained it when I got used to the feeling slightly. I recalled everything that happened, but that didn't change the fact that I felt heavy right now. It also didn't change the fact that I had hanahaki.

Speak of the devil. I coughed slightly before realizing that I was about to throw up. I quickly ran to my trash can and reeled out leftover katsudon, but I couldn't see the contents too well in the darkness. I flipped the switch on, revealing blood and another petal amid the combination of substances in the trash. It was a carmine-colored petal, just as vibrant as the other one I had thrown up earlier. 

I looked closer at the petal, feeling like there was something about it that I was missing. Realization dawned over me as I noticed what it meant. There was no mistaking the shape of the petal, its intense color, its size. It was a rose petal. How wretched. A flower not only known for its beauty but its thorns was right inside of me. No, I should be grateful that Kacchan doesn't like orleanders or something. Still, even if it wasn't a lethally poisonous flower, it was sharp and thorny. 

I wanted to sob but my eyes stayed dry. I wanted to scream but my voice was not present at the moment. I wanted this to end, but fate had already lined an unfortunate path for me. I had hanahaki.