Saioma Month 2023

Bloodied Flowers

TW : Hanahaki disease (vomiting flowers/blood), major character death, unhappy ending

The night Kaede dies, Shuichi vomits up his first flowers. They are snapdragons, and they are a wonderful, vibrant purple. It's only a few petals, so they aren't at all tainted - and if anything their colour is richer. When it happens, Shuichi is crying and lying in bed, and it ends with him there too. It happens so quickly, he doesn't even have to move.

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Shuichi is coughing up flowers. He's heard of the disease before, he's even worked a case on it. But he never expected it to happen to him. Of course, he struggle with it throughout the game. From class-trial, to anytime outside, whether or not his loved one is there. But eventually, he does manage to confess. But fate, of course, is cruel.

Or~ Shuichi is suffering from Hanahaki. This is a fic showing his struggles throughout the game

The night Kaede dies, Shuichi vomits up his first flowers. They are snapdragons, and they are a wonderful, vibrant purple. It's only a few petals, so they aren't at all tainted - and if anything their colour is richer. When it happens, Shuichi is crying and lying in bed, and it ends with him there too. It happens so quickly, he doesn't even have to move.

Maybe something in him is too tired to care, because he only moves the petals briefly to the side before trying to sleep again. Shuichi almost forgets about them, until he sees them the next morning. Still vibrant, and still beautiful. In the light of day, they are much more concerning. Vomiting up flowers, flowers getting stuck in people's throat. Shuichi feels his throat constricting, and for a second he thinks it is a phantom pain, before there is a cough. And in his hands, there is also a flower petal. Well, an entire flower head, actually, but snapdragons are small.

Shuichi thinks he can remember something about a disease with flower petals. Or maybe it was just a case? That was it. A fraudulent scam to try and get medical insurance, by pretending to have a disease called Hanahaki. A disease, Shuichi remembers with a jolt, that can be life threatening. He forces himself to cough a few times, but no more petals come up. After going to his bathroom and taking a sip of water, Shuichi is ready to face everyone.

He's barely out of the door when he hears footsteps. It's Kokichi, running away from Kaito's room - his finger to the buzzer just a second before. Instinctively Shuichi smiles, and he feels he wants to laugh - maybe even greet his friend. But instead his body constricts again. This time Shuichi recognizes the pain, and is glad flowers take a few seconds to come up. He closes the door immediately, and makes it to the middle of his room when flower petals burst from his lungs. Surely a disease shouldn't come on this quickly?

"Hey Shuichi!" He recognizes Kokichi's voice, "Come out and play!"

Swallowing firmly, Shuichi opens the door, "Good morning, Kokichi."

"You're pretty chipper, wow!" Kokichi's eyes scan over him, and Shuichi feels himself heat up before he feels Kokichi's eyes on his head. Kokichi stays silent for a few seconds, then says, "Is your hat gone because Kaedie died?"

With anyone else, Shuichi would have simply slammed the door in their face. But as he looks closer at Kokichi, and the bright smile, Shuichi doesn't. Because something within him tells him this is Kokichi's way of caring. Kokichi stares at him for a second longer, before announcing, "Well - good for you Shuichi. Just don't go all sad on me or whatever!"