Woven

Echo

"Azalea!" The outburts from inside the poor bamboo jail made Ukyo confused. Who was Azalea?

"Chrome" the girl behind him walked passed him. The girl walked to the door of the jail and smiled in relief.

"Open the door already" she eyed her brother whose eyes softned. His eyes weren't as hollow as it did from before. More and more, he wants to fall to his knees and cry.

As he unties the door of the jail to let the girl in, his hands shook as he tied the knot to keep the two from achieving freedom.

Y/n glared at the male who walked away, Chrome couldn't help but look at the back of the retreating male and the girl. The tension wasn't the only thing he could pick up on, something solemn hung tiredly in the air, as if it's been there for too long it was exhausting.

And the faces of two people that somehow looked the same.

"How long have you been here? And how did you even get here!? And are you okay? Did they hurt-"

Y/n was astounded with the many questions pouring out from the boy. It kind of reminded her of Senku.

Senku.

She ruffled the boy's hair and smiled.

"Since we're going to be here for a while, how about the long story?" She offered kindly as she sat down, patting the space beside her making him nod and sit beside her. He was nervous, or maybe that's an understatement. Though her lips smiled, her eyes were scarily in pain.

"It all started with a young girl" so there she went, from the start of her younger days. Every single word that she muttered didn't go unheard, Chrome had heard this from Gen before. To comfort someone who wants to share a story is to listen and support in silence.

All while everything unravelled inside that room, Ukyo was on his bed with his face deep buried into his palms. The tears that flowed seemingly for eternity was the mix of guilty relief and sadness.

The Azalea, a species of Rhododendron of the heath family. The funnel shaped and somewhat two lipped flower is the favorite of their mother. The bright colors it gives always brighten the rooms of their mind abolishing household.

In their country, those beauties meant many things but their mother always favored a few words from her flower language book.

They symbolize passion, femininity, and fragility. My favourite one is the pink azaleas, they are as pretty as the both of you.

Three things that described the woman herself. A passion filled heart to keep her children alive and in the light, her womanhood that she cherished all her life, and the fragility she wished she could erase.

A woman who lost her shining orbs, frail and old as her mind still blames herself for her daughter being pulled away from her embrace. Keeping it intact in her mind that it was her who decided to keep loving a man who only lusted for her body in the first place.

Ukyo remembered the time when his sister outdid him in archery as a child, the excitement in both young kids eyes never seemed to cease until the moon shined but the happiness was pulled out like a beautiful flower getting plucked from the wilderness where it belonged.

That was the day Y/n had become nothing but a doll to her father who wished for fame and recognition more than anything. The moment she slipped away from the grip of her mothers love.

But Ukyo didn't believe what he didn't see. The girl was the brightest in front of him and his mother, showing her badges from her school achievements, the star marks on her arms that displayed her brilliance.