12 Roses

11 | Blood and Water

You ducked as a snowball that Toge threw flew past your head and you picked up a handful of snow, running after Toge as Panda and Yuta ran after, running through the trees like children while Maki sat with her brows raised.

And with a smile, she joined the rest of you.

•••

Toge took your sleeve and pointed up at the sky as it began to darken.

Before you could get everyone else's attention, a snowball hit you in the back of the head and you forgot what you were about to say, grabbing a handful of snow and packing it together before throwing it at Panda's chest.

"Guys, sunset's coming!" Maki told everyone and Toge took your arm to guide you down a thin path that led to the edge of the forest, where the land dipped in a gradual drop before the land was replaced with a frozen lake that you could see from the cabin.

You sat down in the snow and Maki sat to your left, Toge to your right, then Panda took off his panda head and lied down in front of you, and Yuta sat down beside Maki.

The sky turned pink as the sun began to disappear behind the lake, its light reflecting off the ice.

"Wow..." Yuta whispered.

You had seen sunsets a thousand times, and yet they never looked any less beautiful. The way the sky was so vast, like an artist's dream canvas, and paints of pink and orange and blue streaked across it.

You inched over to Maki and leaned your head on her shoulder like you did with Tsumiki. You expected her to shove you off but you felt her shoulder drop with a sigh, and she let you remain.

With a satisfied grin, you sighed as well, realizing that the sunset wasn't the most beautiful thing here.

Toge glanced at you and patted Panda's shoulder, gaining his attention as well. "Wow... Maki never lets anyone do that," Panda said.

Toge nodded and smiled. "Well, I think Maki really started liking her after Y/N called her a sword lily."

"Oh, did she? What a poetic kid."

"I guess that's what happens when you live in a flower shop."

"Just 'cause Y/N can't hear you, doesn't mean I can't!" Maki snapped.

•••

Once you returned to the cabin and everyone washed off the scent of snow and forest, you all gathered in the cosy living room as the old lady started up a fire.

She didn't really say much, not even bothering to introduce herself.

Toge and Panda played chess while Yuta kept correcting Panda when he made an illegal move, since he didn't actually know how to play. You sat on the couch, downing the second best cup of coffee you had ever had.

Maki walked out, drying her hair with a towel. "Is the bishop allowed to go that way?"

"N-no..." Yuta muttered as he moved the bishop back to its original place on the chess board. "You can only move this piece diagonally, Panda."

She sat next to you and you held out the only comb that was contained in the cabin, since the both of you forgot one. You looked into your mug, the coffee now finished, and frowned.

"Want more?" Maki asked and you shook your head.

You felt the floor shake as something heavy dropped in another room and you all went to check, seeing that nothing had fallen but the old lady sat in a rocking chair in the corner of the room, knitting.

"If that's not a horror movie scene, I don't know what is," you signed.

"What was the banging noise?" Maki asked.

"What banging noise?" The old lady smiled sweetly and you all backed out of the room.

"I think she's committed to terrifying us," Yuta shuddered, his hands shaking while he signed.

"Is she normally here, Maki?" Panda asked, and Maki shook her head. "She's normally out when we're here, at her actual house. I've never actually met her personally until now."

"Great..."

You jammed your hands in the pockets of the sweater you wore as the five of you returned to the living room where the fireplace crackled with flames.

Toge wore a troubled expression, his eyes darting around the room as if something would collapse, and he sat on the couch rather than across the table to continued playing chess.

"Something the matter?" you asked as you sat down beside him and Maki took his place across Panda.

He shook his head and lied back, while you continued to watch Panda get destroyed in chess.

You realized that you had never been so far from home before.

•••

"What is that?" you muttered as you, Toge, and Panda approached the school. "A curtain?"

"Who put it up?" Panda questioned.

"Whoever it was, we need to get in and help Maki and Yuta."

"Salmon."

Panda jumped and crashed through the curtain. You quickly felt the presence of someone of great power — someone like Gojo. "Quick, let's head over!"

You pulled out your hearing aids and shoved them in your pocket as a vine grew beneath your foot and sent you flying upwards. "Foreign sorcerer, nine o'clock."

Panda and Toge were quick to move towards the foreign sorcerer you named: Suguru.

You landed on top of one of the gates that led onto school ground, searching for Maki or Yuta. You found Maki lying on the ground, her sword beside her, her limbs bending in strange directions. Maki!

You jumped down and swung your hands above your head as vines created a dome over you. You hovered your hands above her bleeding leg as stems with precise thorns at the ends of them sprouted from your palms. However, even they couldn't figure out a way to heal her. You lifted her torso gently, holding her closely so you could feel her shaky breaths.

The dome withered away and you placed one hearing aid in so you could yell to Panda, "We need to get her to Shoko!"

Toge came plummeting down, pulling down the blue scarf that was around his mouth so he could say, "Crumble away."

You watched Suguru quite literally crumble, along with the ground beneath him, and you furrowed your brow, seeing that the hole that formed where Suguru was just standing looked remarkably like the black holes that your plants sprouted from.

Suddenly, what looked like a large casket with bandages wrapped around it and a face frozen in an agonizing scream emerged from the black hole, as well as Suguru.

"Toge!!"

•••

You gasped and sat up in bed, nearly hitting your head on the top bunk as you clutched your hands, the strange feeling of plants growing through your skin lingering as if it had actually happened.

Maki groaned and looked at the mirror that was on the vanity facing the bed, seeing you sat up.

She hung her hands down so you could see them. "Nightmare?"

You nodded and sighed. "Go back to sleep. It's okay."

And she was quick to listen.

You stared at her reflection in the mirror, remembering how delicately you had to hold her in your arms.

Like a flower.