She felt it rising in her throat before she even knew what was happening. It felt as if something was stuck, strangling her. It only lasted for a second and when she coughed, it was only a small petal. A small scare for yet to come.
That was one and a half weeks ago. Yae had enough knowledge of Teyvat to know what was happening, but she honestly never thought it would happen to her. The magnificent Yae Miko, and her selfish unrequited love.
Cases of Hanahaki Disease were rare, one could most likely count the cases on one hand.
She was reading a novel by the shore when the first petal came. Surprisingly, it was not a Sakura petal but a gorgeous purple rose petal speckled in blood. It took her a moment to remember who she could have possibly fallen for which seems stupid in hindsight. She silently chuckled to herself,
“Why, of course my dear Ei has seemed to cause even more problems for me~.”
Her silken purple braid, her lightly wrapped outfit, the way she craves after sweet things like the behavior of a child. What wouldn’t Yae love about Ei? This fate may have been inevitable.
It didn’t take her long to read up on the subject. Apparently, this specific rose may be Ei’s favorite flower, and this flower was mostly likely going to keep growing for about a month. After a month was up, well, the flowers would most likely suffocate and end up killing her.
Currently, she was walking through the city, trying to find the one person who’s been helping her out.
“Ah! Yae, you’re here!”
“Of course dear, I said I would be.”
Yoimiya of Naganohana Fireworks found Yae one day. It was only two days after Miko herself found out she had Hanahaki, so she was only coughing up a few petals at the time. She thought she was alone at the shrine with her problems, but apparently Yoimiya was there to witness it too.
“Do you know what you’re going to do about it yet?” Yoimiya handed her a cup of tea.
Miko sighed, “No, not yet.” She felt the itch in the back of her throat again as she talked. Her breath started to get caught, and she felt petals start to fall. Blood dripped down the sides of her mouth and a small flower, stem and all, dropped to the floor beneath her.
“Miko…” she handed the kitsune a small wet towel. “She may be and archon but you and her have such a history. You have to at least tell her.”
“My love will always be requited, I know that and you can’t convince me otherwise. Now, my only decision is whether or not I want the surgery.”
Miko stood up from her seat, placing her tea on the table next to her. “Thank you for having me, now, I did promise I’d meet Ei back at the shrine.”
“Tell her, for me?” Yoimiya joked.
Miko chuckled and left. It was an unlikely friendship, but it was enough to help her feel less alone.
———
“So, Ei, how much did you spend on all this sugary food exactly?”
On the table in front of the two women sat three bags of snacks that Ei bought in the city. It wasn’t anything unusual for them, though.
“Miko, you have no right to judge my spending habits.”
“Yes, yes, my dear archon I apologize~.”
Ei rolled her eyes before unwrapping a piece of candy. They shared a moment of silence, but not an uncomfortable one.
“So,” Yae started and she felt her fox ears twitch nervously. “Have you ever heard of Hanahaki Disease?”
The archon stopped chewing, and contemplated the question. “I believe I’ve heard it mentioned through conversations. Why do you ask?”
“Ah, no reason. I simply read it in a recent novel I bought.”
“Personally, I think it’s an idiotic idea. Confessing to the one you may have feeling for isn’t that difficult. Even if it stays unrequited, the medical procedures work most of the time. Eternity may feel like a long time to be unable to feel that kind of love, but death feels even longer.”
Of course that’s her view. Ei knew nothing about having a secret love. And this is why Yae could never confess, to have her heart broken by the one she held so dear would hurt more than having to remove some stupid roses from her lungs.
“You always have such interesting views on life my dear~.”
———
Miko sat in a tall tree, looking out into the beautiful Inazumian lakes. She only coughed up flowers twice, and the purple roses sat in a small pile at the bottom of the trunk.
How? How could this happen to her? Ei and her were so close, yet she feels so far away. Something she couldn’t have but she wanted so badly. She felt tears well up in her eyes and a flower rising in her throat. The sun has completely set and the sky now reflected the same purple glow as Ei’s eyes.
No, no. This was pathetic. She jumped down from the tree, landing gracefully on her feet. She had her eyes set on a mission now.
She knew where Ei would be, even at this time of night. They’ve been friends for so long, and Ei was so predictable. Milo’s legs felt slightly achy from walking all the way here, and she’s been suppressing her flowers too, but she couldn’t possibly loose her composure. She needed all her confidence.
She approached the silhouette on the beach slowly. Her heart raced because she promised herself she wouldn’t do something this stupid. She wanted to get the surgery to remove the flowers, but she knew Yoimiya was right. She at least had to know.
Ei spotted her and saw the tear streaks in her makeup, so she stood up. “Yae? What happened? Are you alright?”
The roses were getting harder to suppress, especially with her love standing in front of her. “I… need to talk to you.”
“Did somebody hurt you Miko? I will make them pay the price-“
“Ei, can you just listen to me for a minute?” A pause, “Its important you don’t interrupt me.”
The archon nodded.
“Ei, I’m being serious when I say, you’re beautiful. Gorgeous, actually. You’re so funny, and-and I actually don’t mind when you buy all those sweets because I’m happy to try anything you get me. I don’t know why it took me so long to realize this but…”
“I love you Ei.”
That’s when the flowers came.
All the flowers she was suppressing came up on the ground. Miko lurched forwards, gasping for breath. She collapsed on her knees, watching blood drip from her mouth onto the damp sand beneath her. Different shades of purple roses rolled off her tongue, a bouquet could be formed only through a couple coughs.
She felt Ei’s hand gently caress her back. When she was finished emptying the flowers onto the ground, she looked up to the archon crouching above her.
“Ei…”
Ei pressed her finger to Milo’s lips to shush her. “Please, Miko, it’s alright.”
“No, it’s not alright. I shouldn’t have put this on you, especially this late at night. And your shoes are soiled now.”
She chuckled. “Let’s get you back to the shrine, and don’t worry about my shoes.”
The kitsune was able to stand while leaning heavily on her archon. The items in her vision seemed to merge into blobs of purple, with Ei radiating in the moonlight. There’s no way she could ever love Yae now.
“Oh, and Miko?”
“Hmm?” She seemed to be half awake in the world right now.
“I love you too.”