𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦

eleven

Temperance regretted requesting an audience with Love. She hated this, and she hated love.

"I'm right here," Love said in her human form, annoyed. She threw her ponytail to her back.

"Not you," Temperance replied, equally annoyed. "Just what you personify."

"So, basically, you hate me."

"Dear lord, shut up."

"Why the fuck should I? I'm Lust's junior, not your junior."

"I can obliterate you with barely than one percent of my spirit gauge lost."

A loud crunch from their left snapped Love and Temperance out of their argument. It was Lust, Patience, Kindness, and Envy, watching them while eating popcorn.

"Nice reference to the Shaggy meme!" Lust cheered, while Envy laid his head on Kindness' shoulders while holding the popcorn container Kindness is eating out of. Patience hid half his face behind his bucket of popcorn, his sock-covered feet swinging back and forth.

Sighing, Temperance faced Love again. "Look, Love, are you causing this or not?"

"No, I'm not." Love replied casually, snapping her fingers and pulling out points. "You're causing this yourself and I'm just here to get rich off you."

Temperance ignored the last part. "How do I stop this?"

"Go to my rival. I forgot who they are. Maybe they're Murder."

"No, he's not your rival," Envy shot from where he was sitting, the countertop. They are, in fact, in his kitchen. "It's either Jealousy or Spite."

Love tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and adjusted the straps of her top. "That reminds me. Where is my girlfriend?"

"Uh, upstairs," Envy replied, sliding down from his perch. Kindness adjusted her scarf while Envy opened the door and yelled. "Hey! Jealousy!" he called out.

A voice yelled back an answer. Envy seemed satisfied, and he resumed leaning on Kindness (who Temperance just realized was sitting on a stack of academic textbooks). The, a few seconds later, a blue-haired girl with white tips on her hair popped her head into the kitchen. "Envy, you called? Ooh, hi, Love! And Lust!"

Lust waved cheerily, and so did Love.

"Can you two make out later?" Temperance cut in when Jealousy joined Love and Envy on the countertop. "I'm coughing up flowers here. I mean, it'll all be fine, but it's annoying."

"Hanahaki." Patience said, immediately identifying the disease, concerned.

"That doesn't sound good," Kindness added worriedly. "Even I can't heal hanahaki."

"You've tried healing hanahaki?" Lust asked.

Kindness' eyes darkened. "Yes."

"Let's change the topic," Envy quickly said. "Temperance. Hanahaki. Right. What flowers are you coughing up?"

Temperance was about to answer when she coughed, petals falling to the ground.

Patience noticed the blood. "You've started having blood on them?" he said, bewildered. "How long have you had this?"

"They—" cough— "they had just started two days ago. At the cafeteria."

"Hanahaki disease," Love drawled. "Truly the illness of bucin everywhere."

Everyone (except Love and Jealousy) momentarily tried to adjust to the language of the slang, then everyone broke into laughter at the same time.

"What I hate the most about this joke," Envy said when everyone has calmed down, "is that it makes sense."

Lust started laughing again. "I'm totally stealing that."

Temperance took a deep breath, then stared at the petals she'd just thrown up. "I honestly have no idea what flowers these petals come from."

"Are they petals?" Kindness asked. "They don't look like it."

Patience slid down from his perch on the countertop beside the other spirits, then walked over to where Temperance was standing. He examined the blood-covered flowers. "They seem to be whole sakura flowers. Kindness is right."

"Whole flowers after only two days? You must be terribly lovesick." he said, giving in and joining Kindness in eating the popcorn.

"This is so cliché," Jealousy commented. "I'm betting that you and Gluttony will end up together anyway."

"How—"

"Your rival is Gluttony."

"...Makes sense."

"Of course it does. It's my brainchild."

"And when you get together, I'll be waiting!" Lust added cheerily.

Temperance shot a sharp glare towards the sin. "No, thank you."

"I'm sure Gluttony disagrees."

"Let's just digress," Temperance said loudly.

"There's like, nothing to discuss," Love said. "Just 'fess up."

"Fine," Temperance said. "I won't do that. This will all be fine anyways."

"Are you sure?" Love asked.