(Un) Fortunately the Yandere is Not After Me

Stop and Smell the Flowers

Now that the group had gotten off the train, it was time to head towards Matsu's aunt's store. It was a short walk to the station in which Arata made every attempt possible to be besides Ichiri. It was futile as she simply moved away from him and promptly put someone between them again and again.

All he wanted to do with her was share one conversation. Just one so that he could try and talk some sense back into the girl's mind. The obvious reason being that he wanted to be close with her once again. Though there was also a part of him that missed when she held him up with some reverence because he was her senior. Having someone look at him like that was a major confidence boost for someone who used to hold little social interaction.

Hmm, he really did have few social skills before getting blackmailed, so maybe that was part of the reason why she was actually bad with handling her emotions. This girl might need to get a new senior.

Soon enough, their short walk was finished as they entered the flower shop. It was wonderful on the inside. The warm of the lights thawed their spirits after having to walk through some chilly urbanscape. The aroma of the numerous flowers budding along the shelves also added a calming touch.

"Auntie, we're here!" Matsu loudly announced their arrival and out popped an older lady from under the register stand.

"Ah, it's nice to see some of Matsu's other friends." The woman said. She had already met the other members of the gardening club, and she found them to be very charming. However, being able to meet new faces was always a joy for her. "And I see you brought along the boy you li-"

"Anyway, do you have any new seeds!?" Matsu was quick to cut off her aunt. It seemed that when adults were aware of their children, or in this case niece, having a crush on someone. They really wanted to do the confessing themselves. "That's why we're here after all."

"Of course I do." She replied. "Why don't your friends go check around the store while the two of us go to the back?" They listened to the lady and split up from there. Matsu disappeared into the back with her aunt, and the rest of them went off in their own way except for Arata. Instead, he wanted to make an attempt to talk with Ichiri, but didn't have a proper game plan.

"What am I going to do?" He asked Hifumi. The pair made it appear that they were simply perusing the store's offerings, but were actually keeping an eye on the younger girl. "Every time I try to talk with her, she just gives me the cold shoulder.

"Giving up is an option." It wasn't in his mind, and thankfully she was only being factious. "Look, just don't give her the chance to escape and at least you can get to the talking part." Whether or not he would be successful afterwards wasn't a concern for her.

"All right, just help block off the escape routes then." It was time for him to make his move. Meanwhile, Matsu had her own conversation with family to contend with.

"I believe this is the bag I wanted to give you all." Her aunt picked up a very large back filled with various seeds from the shelf. It should last the gardening club an entire year if they were smart about their management. Seeing as Matsu was the leader of said group, they'd be lucky if they got a few months out of them.

"Thanks auntie." Matsu responded with admiration of how much was given to her. "We'll make sure to get every single one planted."

"You don't have to worry about using them all." She laughed. "And maybe you should be focused on putting your roots somewhere else."

"Hmm? I don't get it." Despite being someone passionate about gardening, Matsu was not one to get puns. "Do you have somewhere special for me to plant these seeds?"