not if it's you

Kaede had been noticing Miu acting differently. She was hesitant to bring it up, though, due to the distress that seemed to take the other over whenever someone were to mention her erratic behavior.

She stood before her friend's door with her knuckle hovering close to it. A single light knock pushed the door open slightly, giving Kaede a small look inside. Somewhat nosily, she peaked through the gap she'd created. Nothing looked too out of the ordinary at first; the items visible seemed like things that Miu would own, and thankfully, there were no weapons or blood in sight. However, Kaede noticed with a frown, there were flowers scattered around in weird patterns. Had Miu been.. collecting them for something?

Kaede, overtaken by guilt from her actions, instinctively called Miu's name. The only response was a muffled cough. "M-Miu..? I'm coming in," Kaede announced, pushing the door further open. The scene that greeted her surprised her, nearly causing her to stumble back outside of the room. Out of respect for Miu's privacy, she shut the door behind herself.

Miu was on her knees, a bed of flowers surrounding her. Every time Kaede looked at her, she seemed to be... coughing up more of the flowers? They were really quite pretty, Kaede noted as she made her way to the other girl. Miu acknowledged her presence only once they were barely steps away from each other. A little too late, Miu rasped, "I'm fine." Kaede stared down at her, unconvinced. Suddenly, Miu pushed herself off the ground and jabbed her finger into Kaede's chest, causing her to stumble backwards.

"You don't get to feel bad for me! You're the reason I'm like th—" Miu was interrupted by a waterfall of flowers spilling from her shivering lips.

A gasp escaped Kaede's throat. "W-What?! Miu, what's happening?" When Miu didn't respond, she hesitantly continued. "..Is there anything I can do to help?"

For a moment, the room was filled with nothing but silence. And flowers. Blood-coated flowers at their feet.

"I went to the library and I looked it up," Miu started hesitantly. "And it said it would go away if.. I killed the person I.. l-love." the girl tugged at her choker, before promptly coughing another flower into her hand. Kaede's eyebrows knitted together at the pitiful display of a girl she'd come to enjoy the company of. Bitterly, Kaede murmured, "Why should anyone be punished for love?"

After a moment of silence, Miu fell back down to her knees and brought them up to her chest. Kaede, without hesitation, sank down beside her. "I care about you."

"Why? It's fucking pointless." Miu said with a scoff. Her bright blue eyes couldn't seem to meet Kaede's. But Kaede was just grateful to have Miu talking to her.

"Not to me," Kaede said. Her hand hovered over the other's before gently covering it in one soothing motion. Comfortingly, she intertwined her fingers with the other. The leather of Miu's gloves felt weird against her skin, but nothing could possibly deter her from holding the other's hand. "Not if it's you."

The lack of response filled the room with nearly uncomfortable silence. Briefly, Kaede feared that Miu might lash out or simply ignore her presence. Then, finally, "You're so stupid, Bakamatsu.." Miu swatted at the tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Kaede noticed that the edges of her lips were slightly curved in what seemed to her like a genuine smile. Kaede matched the expression.

Kaede wanted to help Miu; she really did. But for now, if all she could do was simply be there for the other girl, then that's exactly what she would do. If she had to stay by Miu's side until the end of time, she'd do that, too. Of course, she'd do anything for any of her friends, but for some reason, when it was Miu, it felt.. different, somehow. Kaede shifted her gaze from the flower-coated floor to Miu. The other girl was already looking at her, a tender smile on her face that Kaede had never expected to see.

Miu opened her mouth to speak, but all that came out were more flowers. Kaede cupped her hand around Miu's cheek and gently pulled her in closer. "I would really like to kiss you right now," she said honestly. It was rather blunt, she'd admit, but it was also the truth. After only a moment of hesitation, Miu smiled and said, "I'd fucking love that so much." Immediately, Kaede closed the gap between them. Miu's lips felt so soft against her own. It felt nice to finally act on the emotions she'd been feeling ever since she'd gotten closer to the Ultimate Inventor.

Eventually, and somewhat regretfully, Kaede pulled away. Miu's cheeks were painted a lovely pink. Her flustered smile sent Kaede into a fit of laughter, and soon, both girls were giggling beside each other. For a moment, nothing else mattered. "That was nice," Miu admitted quietly, as if that hadn't already been given away. Their hands remained intertwined for the rest of the night.

The flowers surrounding them remained where they were, an almost grotesque reminder of their first kiss. However, no new flowers joined the pile.