{ON HOLD!}The Language of Flowers (ShuuNeki/TsukiKaneAU)

{1: Yellow Rose}

{1: Yellow Rose}

Tsukiyama Shuu emits a loud sigh that echoes throughout his flower shop. Resting his chin upon one of his pale hands, he gazes through one of his shop's wide windows at the outside world. Tokyo, despite the bitter cold is as restless as usual. A sea of people flows past his quaint shop, with few even giving his shop a glance. It is surprising just how much color the typical human lacks. For instance, there are many people who walk past in neutral colors, clad in various uniforms. Shuu has always despised uniforms. They are simplistic and bland... Uniforms, in his opinion, are nothing but an eyesore. Speaking of an eyesore...

"Everything looks absolutely horrid this time of year," Shuu says, to no one in particular. "It is nearly winter..." The once colorful leaves have been reduced to wrinkled brown blemishes upon the ground. Also, the trees, the few seen within the city, are bare and look like bony hands reaching for something to save them... Perhaps they are attempting to grab hold of the bright blue sky...

Sadly, even the sky has begun to change. The once mesmerizing sky has become a clouded mess, with the city's overwhelming blandness seeming to have risen into the air and stained it an ugly gray. Annoyance and disappointment, which begin to fill his entire building, soon fade away when he spots a familiar figure. Letting a small smile replace his frown, he eagerly awaits her arrival.

The tiny bell attached to his shop's front door lets out a quick series of rings as she, one of his more frequent (and one of his favorite) customers enters his store. "Tsukiyama-san, my Mom said yes! Well... She said she was okay with working here as long as it doesn't interfere with my studies," the young girl says to him with a happy gleam in her eyes.

"Quelle nouvelle formidable!1" Shuu exclaims, earning himself a giggle from the brunette before him. The young girl finds his reactions, his very dramatic reactions to be very entertaining. Shuu is about to say more when he is interrupted.

"If we are going to be working together, there is something I must know..." The young girl says, a tiny smirk upon her face, "Where do you get your hair dyed?"

"What? Purple is obviously my natural hair color," he responds, much to the annoyance of the young girl. The girl gives him an 'are you serious' look, and impatiently waits for a proper answer. "Okay fine..." he adds with a small sigh... "I do dye my hair... But I'm not going to tell you where I get it dyed because I know you will then get your hair dyed... I'm not going to let you destroy your naturally beautiful hair." Despite trying to keep the conversation light and pleasant, Shuu has many questions that he wishes to ask the young girl. Why has he never met her mother? Why does she oh so painfully lie about what her name is? She introduced herself with a name so generic that Shuu would scold her mother if she had truly named her that. Why does she seem so insistent upon telling as little about herself as possible? What is she hiding?

"Come on, tell me, please? I want to dye my hair so it matches my favorite dress," the young girl responds, motioning to her emerald green dress that she is currently wearing. "Or to match my leggings..." The girl is wearing purple leggings under her dress, a purple that nearly matches Shuu's hair color.

"Perhaps I will... But for now you must hurry home, it is getting quite late," Shuu says upon glancing at his shiny watch. "But, since I am not heartless, I will give you something before you leave..." Striding over to where he keeps his vast collection of roses, Shuu's eyes wander the rows until his eyes rest upon the perfect flower. Delicately lifting the rose by its stem, he offers the yellow rose to his young, colorfully dressed friend. "Do you remember what Yellow Roses mean in the language of flowers?"

Furrowing her brows together, the young girl struggles to recall its meaning. With a small sigh, she reluctantly admits defeat, and looks at her friend expectantly.

"Yellow Roses are often a sign of joy and friendship. Now, why would I give this to you?" This second question is a question that the girl is able to answer almost immediately.

"Because we're friends!" She says, a large smile upon her face. Seeing her smile warms Shuu's heart. The young girl, when she thinks no one is looking, wears a somber expression. What sort of person or event could cause such a cheerful person to become so unhappy?

"C'est exact2" Shuu responds, meanwhile untying his scarlet apron. "And friends must trust and help one another. I hope you'll confide in me sometime in the future."

Merely nodding in response, the young girl skips out of his store, and down the crowded sidewalk. "She is like a jewel amongst lumps of coal..." Shuu murmurs, as he beings to close his shop for the night. Shuu goes through the lengthy but somewhat enjoyable process of closing, and is just about to finish... He is about to flip his orange and black sign so it reads 'CLOSED' instead of 'OPEN' when a man appearing to be around his age beats him to the door and enters his shop.

There is nothing particularly special about the man. He has black hair... A color common in Japan. The man has pale skin, skin that is only slightly paler than Shuu's own skin. The man is wearing a simple outfit ... A sweatshirt and jean combination that would make him unnoticed in a crowd. Overall, there is nothing, appearance wise, that should result Shuu in becoming fascinated by the man.

The man seems overwhelmed by the many flowers that are scattered throughout the shop. His normal but somehow intriguing eyes bounce from one direction to the next as he attempts to make sense of it all. The man nervously bites his bottom lip, and begins to wander.

The man is lost, hopelessly lost. He is like a little lamb wandering the forest in search of its mother. The mother is clearly back at the farm, and the lamb, despite being aware of this fact, continues to travel deeper into the forest. The lamb is entering unknown and potentially dangerous territory.

"Who is the gift intended for?" Shuu asks, approaching the man with surprisingly fast steps, accidently startling him.

"My friend, his birthday is tomorrow," the man responds, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, "He said he didn't want anything but I thought I should get him something... He is like a brother to me after all..." Shuu has to suppress his urge to laugh when he notices the man is holding a Spider Flower, which would be the same as saying 'elope with me'.

"It would be best to get him a Yellow Rose, trust me," Shuu responds, speaking quickly, perhaps a little too quickly. He can't help but speak fast... If he talked slower he would likely end up accidently let himself laugh at the ignorant man. Perhaps he should tell him what the Spider Flower means..." Or perhaps he shouldn't. It's not like the man will need to know its meaning anyway...

"Thanks for your help...Ummm...." The man says, upon paying for his gift.

"Tsukiyama Shuu. It was my pleasure... Ummm," Shuu responds, finding himself mimicking the undeniably adorable man.

"Kaneki Ken," the man answers, as he exits, giving Shuu a small goodbye wave.

"Kaneki Ken," Shuu whispers, testing the sound of the name upon his lips. "Kaneki Ken... What a pleasant sounding name... Please come again, Kaneki."

\\\

1-French for 'What wonderful news!'

2-French for 'That is correct.'

//Author's Note: I used a dictionary for the French... If I made a mistake feel free to correct me.//