So Far Away [Naruto Sequel]

So Far Away [Naruto Sequel] Chapter 28

"You know, marigold flowers usually mean grief." The girl said from beside me.

I struggled to swallow the painful lump in my throat, and tried to ignore the clammy feeling my hands had. I didn't even glance at her. "Really?" I asked Ino, my voice barely above a whisper.

I hadn't been staring at it because of what it meant, the flower just seemed to call out to me. The vibrant color of the yellow marigolds just seemed right. I picked up a few of them and stared at the intense color. This is the one, I decided.

Ino nodded carefully, giving me a polite smile. "You want to buy some?"

"Yes, please." I answered. I followed her up to the counter and placed the flowers on the desk. Last minute, I threw in a few white carnations as well.

"Endearment, huh?" Ino said quietly as she tied the flowers together into a bouquet.

I frowned at her words, slowly realizing she meant that the carnations meant endearment. I wasn't picking it for that reason, I just liked how the white went with the yellow. The white flowers seemed like a blank canvas, a fresh start, even. And the yellow brought in the burst of color it needed, a sense of life, maybe?

As she handed me the bouquet, she gave me a look--at first I didn't know the emotion she was trying to express. Empathy? Pity? Sadness? She knew why I was getting these flowers, well, everyone did by now. Anyway, whatever the look was, I hated it. I gave her however much money the flowers were and promptly left the Yamanaka Flower Shop with the bouquet in hand, ignoring whatever she had said as I left.

While I walked, I stared fondly at the flowers. He wouldn't like them at all. But this is what you do when this kind of stuff happens. I mean, what else was I supposed to do? He probably had tons of flowers by now. He's never even particularly liked yellow. I don't know why they called to me. Maybe Ino was right, maybe there was just something in the flower language that made me want these flowers.

Shaking the thoughts out of my head, I tightly gripped the bouquet and let my feet walk me to where I needed to go. It was about time, anyway. It had been a few days already, but it felt like only a couple of hours. I felt the tears start to form just at the thought, and quickly wiped them away. I didn't have time to cry right now.

I pressed my orange colored bangs against my forehead, attempting to block anyone from seeing any sign that I might've been crying. It had already happened a few times, and the look in their eyes--that look that I couldn't stand. It's like they've never seen anyone cry before.

I hurried on my way, keeping my head low. I watched my feet the whole way there, counting the steps I took as a distraction. It felt like an eternity to actually get to my destination. I eyed the area, the clouds, which were previously covering the sky, had started to disperse, finally revealing the blindingly blue colored sky above me. Maybe that was a good thing, maybe things were looking up finally. Maybe today will be different.

Opening the doors, and ignoring the person at the desk, I made my way through the twists and turns, quickly ending up exactly where I needed to be.

"I hate yellow flowers."

Cringing, I walked towards the bedside table anyway, replacing the previous flowers that I had got him. "I know, Ryuu." I said finally, sending a sad smile his way.

"Then why did you get them?" Ryuu asked, scratching his head in irritation.

"I don't know," I replied honestly, shrugging my shoulders slightly. "Ino said something about them meaning "grief", but honestly I just thought it'd bring a sense of life in here."