[AQ] Flowers in Bloom [Sayuri/Ryouta]

[Sayuri]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}
A Typical Flower Viewing

+ Description: It’s currently spring in Otonoki, and that means cherry blossom viewing! The park can be a great place to view petals in bloom… or to find some X activity.

+ Defend flower viewers from X-eggs: +3 Faberge, +2 Roost,

+ Go flower viewing with a friend or friends: +2 Guardians, -3 Roost

+ Sing Karaoke on the open stage!: +3 Faberge, -2 Roost

+ Break an X-egg: -3 Faberge, -2 Roost, -1 Guardians, +5

+ Hunt down as many X-eggs as you can find: -3 Faberge, -3 Roost, -2 Guardians, +10

+ Cure one or more X-eggs: +3 Faberge, +1 Roost, +1 Guardians

+ Requirements: Tag for X-mod if going after X-eggs

+ Submitted by Hatta

(Since it's summer, I changed the flowers to hydrangeas uvu/  Hope that's okay)


As a long-time resident of Otonoki and a strong believer in all that is good and precious in this world, Sayuri was always one of the first to mark the day of the hydrangea viewing festival on her calendar.  In the warm weather her joints treated her fairly well and she was able to handle much longer walking trips.  Of course, being in public she still took her crutches as a necessary precaution, but they didn't stop her from enjoying the pure beauty of the flowers.  There was something so elegant about the tiny petals and the much larger blooms, a beautiful occurrence that seemed to go by so quickly as the weather began to turn.  She was pleased this year she was actually able to make the event.  Last year she could barely make it out of bed, the rainy weather ruining whatever energy she could muster.

Stopping along the edges of one particular bountiful patch, she shifted her crutches to her other arm to bend down and take in the refreshing scent.  Moments like these were so fleeting that she couldn't help but treasure them when she could.  Running her finger along one of the flowers, she smiled to herself.  Nothing could ruin a perfect day like today, no matter what happened.  This experience to her was absolutely priceless.

Ryouta

[Ryouta]

Even though Ryouta has lived in Otonoki for most of his life, he never really cared for the festivals or events. There were a few times he managed to get caught at some of them though. They always drew in too many people for his liking, which always made him retreat from the area as fast as possible. It's not that he doesn't like crowds either. Ryouta just can't stand when people start trying to get chummy with him.

Unlike all the events prior to today, Ryouta was happy to attend this one. Why? His brother Kyouta, whom is laying sick in bed, wanted to attend this festival. Since he was still new to the city he wanted to do a lot of things and visit a lot of places. Since he is sick, Kyouta asked if Ryouta could go for him and take lots of pictures. Being the loving brother he is, Ryouta agreed. He walked alone through the park, camera in hand, snapping pictures here and there. He spotted a lovely patch of flowers a little distance away and bent down to take a picture of them. As the shutter clicked Ryouta realized that there was someone near the flowers he was taking a picture of. Did he catch them in the picture? Sure enough, after checking the camera, it showed a young lady enjoying the flowers. The picture didn't look bad, but he did want a picture of the flowers on their own. He couldn't help but frown as he looked between the girl and his camera. Today just isn't going to go right for him, is it?

[Sayuri]

Sayuri's quiet enjoyment of the flowers was interrupted when she heard footsteps approaching. At first she thought nothing of it, several people walking around her as they made their way further down the line. The familiar sound of a camera shutter was different though. The quiet click caught her attention, and she looked up to see someone entirely new standing there. It seemed he was the photographer in question, and without another thought she walked over to him, crutches and all.

"You took a picture, right?" she asked slowly at first, tilting her head to the side ever so slightly just to get a better look at the guy's face. She took a moment to glance between the camera in his hands and the spot she'd been standing before turning back. Her smile was as wide as ever as she gripped the handles of her crutches. "You like the flowers too, right? And this is really such a nice patch, I'm sure the picture came out lovely! You know, they have some pinker variations further down the path. They're so bright compared to these blue bunches and the transition from each color is wonderful."

[Ryouta]

Ryouta watched as the girl he just took a picture of walked over. Crutches huh. He couldn't help but walk a bit closer as she walked, so she didn't have to walk as far. It was his way of showing concern. Was she alone out here? A bit of protective instincts began to kick in. Maybe he should watch out for her just in case.

At the mention of the picture, Ryouta looked surprised. Of course she would ask about it. He was surprised she didn't ask how she looked in the picture though. Normally if someone got their picture taken, how they looked was usually one of the first questions asked. This girl was different though. She asked about the flowers. With a sigh, Ryouta replied "I'm only here for my brother. He's sick but wants to see the flowers ... So I'm taking pictures". Ryouta waved his camera a bit for emphasis.

[Sayuri]

Sayuri felt a bit troubled as the other boy sighed. Was he not enjoying the flowers himself? Maybe he didn't like flowers? Oh, but his brother did! And he was helping his brother, so that had to make him a good person. She knew what it was like to be sick at home with only her siblings to cheer her up. They'd gone out of their way multiple times just to help her experience what she was missing out on.

"That's so nice of you!" She said, clapping her hands together as she leaned her elbows back on the handles, "I can show you some really nice views then. There's a tiny vista through a sort of hidden path that opens to the entire park! You can definitely take some great pictures up there and it's not too far away. Unless you'd prefer to just stick to the path, that is..."

[Ryouta]

That was surprising, Ryouta thought. He hadn't really been called nice by anyone other than his brother. It felt a bit weird to hear it from someone else. Clearing his throat, Ryouta hung his camera around his neck. At the mention of a hidden path, he had no control over his eyes. Wouldn't everyone like to find something hidden? Ryouta leaned and twisted to see if he could find this hidden path, but to no avail. Guess he had no choice but to let her lead the way.

He couldn't help but question her though "Are you sure you want to be walking so much?" He eyed her crutches again "Do you need a hand?" his hand was held out as he spoke. It was her choice to take it or not, he wouldn't force it.

[Sayuri]

Sayuri laughed quietly as she watched the other's wandering eyes try and find the hidden path. It wasn't exactly easy to spot the first time around at the park. Her siblings had only found it after years of intense games of hide-and-seek. Every year the path was lost to nature a little more, weeds and low-hanging branches covering almost the entirety of it. Still, when she did manage to make her way through the overgrowth the actual destination was still beautiful well-kept.

"Hm? Oh! Yes, I'm quite alright," She moved the crutches to the side, standing perfectly on her own even without them, "They're more of a safety precaution for my parents! Less stress on the knees means less problems later on. I can keep up just fine though, please don't worry about me! Your pictures are much more important." She gave him a quick thumbs up, trying her best to convince the other that she could handle something as small as walking.

[Ryouta]

He returned his hand to hold onto the camera now hanging around his neck "Alright". Sure, Ryouta did care about the pictures he needed to take, but he also couldn't stop his need to protect. Even if she was walking fine now he had a feeling things could easily go bad. "So where is this path?" he asked as he looked back to the area he was scanning before "I don't see anything".

As they stood, a group of children ran by. One had a basket of flowers in their hand and as they ran, left a trail of petals behind them. Ryouta took a picture of the petals quickly as they blew away in the wind.

[Sayuri]

"Oh, well it's not too far from here. You see, you have to pay attention to the ground. The entrance will end up overgrown but the path is quite distinguishable once you realize there's an opening in the roots," Sayuri was already walking down towards the path, waiting for the other to follow her at intervals as she made her way through the flowers. The petals the children dropped swirled around in the air and she reached out to try and grab some.

Alas, her efforts were in vain as they slipped from her fingers, winding down the path back from where they came. They were only a few feet from the spot but she felt a strange tension in the air. it wasn't just the wind blowing either. Looking the other way towards the entrance of the hideout she shivered. "Does... does something feel a bit strange to you or is it just me?"

junko ୧( ॑ധ ॑)୨ Juon