Last Crack At Hope

Co-Existence

—Chapter 2—
Co-Existence

Everywhere he went... The woman seemed to be close by. However, she doesn't seemed to notice him. She was constantly preoccupied with her own business, tending to the injured civilians and helping the children out. Whether he'd be in the most crowded location or the most desolate area, she was somehow within the vicinity. It was either him or her arriving first at the area.

To be honest, it was getting quite annoying to him. It was as if he was seeing a ghost that followed him everywhere he went. Whether it was unintentional or not, he was soon to be fed up with it. After all, this lasted for weeks to nearly almost a month. He decided to confront the damn woman and ask why she was always around when he arrived to any location.

The location they met once more was in a completely different setting than last time. It was quite flourishing; the city was within a forest and had such a bright vibrant to it. Flowers clearly bloomed within the fields that were not too far from the crowded location. It seemed too... positive for a location that was close to its demise.

The male wore a tight dark gray dress shirt and dark colored pants. It was a bit unusual for his attire but he might as well blend into the vicinity to obtain some sort of information. He glanced across the city rooftops, pinpointing anything unusual. There was something unusual alright—a crowd forming in what seemed to be a rather small park.

He reached the location to which the crowd had already begun dispersing. Only a handful of children as well as the woman were left within the area, chatting away as they waited for their turn to be treated. Each of the children had some sort of scar, whether it be on their limbs or chest. "Keep the bandage on for a few days before you can remove it. This will allow the medicine to heal your scar on your side, okay?" The young boy nodded as a toothy grin appeared upon him.

"Thank you lady!" She chuckled, shaking her head a bit. "That's not a very nice way to thank someone." She patted his head, his brows knitted together. "Ma'am? Miss? Sis?" The other children laughed along with the boy as he tried to find words.

The raven sighed. "Miss is fine," she ruffled his hair. "Flower Healer!" The female child behind the first one shouted. The children looked at each other before nodding and chanting the words. "Flower healer! Flower healer!" A droplet of sweat slid off the raven's temple as a forced chuckle escaped her lips. "U-Um, th-that's enough... Who's the next one that needs to be patched up?"

Two hands went up simultaneously as they stepped forward. "We are, flower healer!" Two rather large grin appeared on the two children. In fact, they seemed to be fraternal twins of around the age of ten. "F-Flower healer..." The raven muttered under her breath. 'It seems that this is what I now be addressed as in this city...'

After tending to the rest of the children, she bid them farewell as they ran out of the park. She quickly wrapped up her materials and placed them into her bag. As she was about to stand up, she glanced toward the direction of the male who was watching for quite some time. "Oh... Hello there."

"That took you awhile to eventually notice an outside intruder." His hands were within his pockets as he walked towards the lady. "...Have we met before? If so, my apologies." His brow rose as a short laugh fell through his lips. "You forgotten already? You told me specifically to entertain myself by going to a circus."

The raven thought to herself for a moment. "Oh, it's the egocentric boy." His brows knitted together as a tick-like mark appeared on his temple. "Egocentric boy? Me? Don't be stupid. How am I egotistic, woman?"

She stood a few feet away from the male, lightly tapping her lip with her index finger in a thinking motion. "Tone of voice, attitude toward people, your actions—I can probably go on but it seems I hit a nerve so I will stop." The raven pulled her bag up onto her shoulder as the male's eye twitched. "Really now... Woman, you have the audacity to speak ill of me while being quite vulnerable toward those injured."

She laughed, as her hand dug into one of the pockets within her bag. "Now who said I was vulnerable?" As she brought her hand back out from her bag, a staff grew into its normal size in front of the male as the end piece of the item stuck into the ground. "As if that can do anything," he scoffed as she lifted the item out of the dirt. "You know what? You're right." She lowered her staff down, parallel to the dirt floor as she stood there.

"The way you proceed with all that barking seemed rather useless against—" His eyes widened within seconds. If he didn't bring out his pair of dagger swords a second sooner, he would probably have a sharp object straight through his throat. The raven held the end part of her staff straight at his trachea in a lance-like position. Somehow, the end piece was as sharp as a spear. He was able to stop the weapon an inch away from his throat as his right hand held his dagger towards her heart.

"At the least, I can say that I have rather quick reactions. The same goes for you." She smiled as she lowered her staff down and returned it to a more portable size. "Malice without a second thought and no wasted movement. I would have to say that is impressive for someone who uses the excuse of a florist as a hobby." The male dematerialized his weapons as he scratched the back of his head. 'Who knew this woman had a caliber of a warrior hidden within her?'

"I will say this once more... I am honestly just a bypassing florist." She glanced toward a small patch of flower within the park before a sad smile appeared. "I don't trust your words, woman. How can a florist have this ability to easily heal others and have skills of a warrior veteran?"

She shrugged. "I don't care if you trust my words or not. But I do wish rather be called other than woman, you troublesome boy." His eye clearly irritably twitched. "I have a name," he spoke as anger seeped into his tone. "Oh. Do tell me then and I will reciprocate that very manner." The male sighed as he heard the female casually retort. "Emiya... Shirou."

"My name is Satou, Yuuki. Nice to officially know your name, Emiya-kun." She held her hand out as the male accepted the handshake. "Likewise, Satou...san. Although, I do have a question. Why are you always in the locations I am bound to reach?"

Her head tilted to the side slightly. "What do you mean by that? I travel indiscriminately to obtain flowers and provide help to those who need it. I don't have an exact destination to arrive to." The male's brows knitted together. "Are you sure? It seems that you have been in every location I have been through so far."

"Have I? I haven't noticed." The raven placed her hand on her lips in a thinking motion. "If that is the case... Why don't we travel together then? If what you are saying about constantly being around one another is true, we might as well form a pact with each other. I am not familiar with what you do but if it is similar to what I provide, then I do not mind sticking with you for a bit."

The male's brow rose as he assessed the situation. 'That is an idea. At least she doesn't bother me often. Her magic can be proven useful as well if I need it.' He folded his arms together. "Very well. We can co-exist for the meanwhile. I suggest you not to intrude on my own business if possible."

"I wouldn't dare unless you ask me to. Starting today, I will treat you no different as a comrade then, Emiya-kun." She lightly smiled as she pat his shoulder. "Oh and nice to meet you."

'Comrade, huh. I haven't heard of that term in a while.' He scoffed as a smirk appeared upon his face. "Likewise, Satou-san."

———

AN: I do hope this is fine qwq" I'm trying my best with this.

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