Daffodils

Chapter 1

"KOKICHI, WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!" Kaito screamed, rushing back into the room to find Kokichi on his hands and knees, blood spilling from his mouth onto Kaito's white carpet.

Surrounding the blood were small yellow flower petals, soaking in the liquid that had left a penny-like taste in Kokichi's mouth. "I-I," he started, coughing mid sentence and gasping for air, "don't... feel very good."

"No shit, Kokichi! You're bleeding from your mouth!" Kaito exclaimed, forcing the boy onto his back for a piggyback ride.

Kokichi groaned, resting his head on the boys shoulder. He felt weak but tried to hold himself up, wrapping his arms around Kaito's neck for support. "'m fi...ne." He slurred.

Kaito rolled his eyes. "Obaa-san! Ojii-san!" Kaito called for his grandparents with no avail. "I'll have to call Mondo or something... look, I'll take you to the bathroom. If you feel like you're gonna throw up, throw up into the toilet bowl. Got it?"

Kokichi rolled his eyes. "Maybe I'll throw up on your floor on purp- urk-!" He gagged, kicking his feet as Kaito dropped him, unbalanced, as he ran to the bathroom to throw up.

Kaito rushed over quickly. "Kokichi, did you make it?!" He said, bursting through the door.

He had not. But through the blood was no longer a single petal, but multiple petals spread across his bathroom floor. "Woah, what the hell did you eat, Kokichi?!"

Kokichi coughed into his white sleeve, staining it red as he furrowed his eyebrows in frustration. "A whole fucking garden, apparently!" He said, getting up and taking a deep breath. "Well, I'm fine now at least."

"You said that earlier." Kaito said, worried about both his friend and the cleanliness of the house he'd have to clean on his own later. "Maybe you should stay here. Just aim for the toilet just in case, okay? I'll try to clean this up."

"Ew, dude, that's my blood. Let me clean it up." Kokichi said, grabbing the paper towels from where they were stored under the sink.

Kaito sighed. "Okay uh... I'm gonna call Mondo to take us to the hospital, okay? Just stay here." He said, leaving. "AND AIM FOR THE BOWL!" He added.

"I GOT IT ALREADY!" Kokichi replied, frustrated as he tossed bloody tissues into the toilet bowl and flushed it.

Kokichi started picking up petals, slow realization pouring through him as he took note of the shape and color- a mix of orange and yellow. A dandelion. They represent unrequited love. Memories from his middle school years flooded back as he remembered his old friend, Maki, laying outside his bathroom door in a pool of blood and petals. His eyes welled up in tears as he dropped to the floor, pushing himself back against the wall and covering his mouth to muffle his sobs.

Kaito walked in slowly. "Hey, dude, Mondo's on his way. Want me to call your parents or..." he then noticed the boy on the ground, sobbing. "W-woah, Kokichi?!"

Kokichi pushed his head into his knees, hiding his face. "Don't look at me..."

Kaito hesitated, stepping around the bloodied petals on the floor to kneel beside his friend, putting an arm around him. "Hey, you're going to be okay. I'm sure a doctor will know what's wrong-"

"Hanahaki." Kokichi muttered, the word making him feel sick to his stomach.

Kaito stared, wide-eyed. "The... the thing Maki had?"

Kokichi nodded silently, feeling the sudden urge to throw up. He rushed to throw up into the toilet. Kaito rubbed circles on his friend's back as he sobbed, throwing up and coughing the blood into the toilet. "... do you know who it is?"