"Ight, take care of yourself, bro." The old man pointed at Kaito’s jaw.

Bro?

"And take Sunflowers for your girlfriend. She will love them. They mean adoration." He clicked his fingers once, clearly pleased with himself. "Trust me on that one. I know things."

Then he faded.

Kaito sat there for a moment.

The empty space beside him settling too quickly back into an ordinary chair.

The dark figure still sitting somewhere at the back of his mind, not gone, just pushed far enough away that he could pretend it was a coincidence not worth thinking about.

The class shifted. Chairs scraped. Bags zipped.

He stood with them.

Grabbed his bag.

And stared to walk. Faster than usual.

His phone buzzed before he reached the door.

He checked the screen as he walked.

Hana.

hey sorry for the late reply and making you worried!!

I just woke up.

I felt really weak last night, apparently my blood sugar dropped or something, ended up at the hospital. I’m fine now though! just resting

He stopped.

Not fully.

Just enough that someone walked straight into his shoulder from behind, muttered something, kept going.

He didn’t look back.

He typed.

WHAT???

Where are you right now? Which hospital?

Sent.

He was already moving again.

Her reply came fast.

He didn’t slow to read it.

He glanced.

Registered the name.

i’ll be there soon

Sent.

Phone away.

He pushed through the crowd into the corridor, down the stairs, out into the afternoon.

The air outside hit different. Brighter. Louder. He cut across the grounds toward the gate, gravel crunching under his boots, pace just short of running.

The whole script was gone.

Going to her apartment building.

Asking her neighbours.

Answers to questions she might ask.

All of it—

irrelevant.

But...

He felt relief.

He could directly go to the hospital now to see her.

And under it, something smaller.

Sharper.

The quiet disappointment of effort that had nowhere to go.

He walked through the gate onto the street.

Right as he turned the corner, he collided with someone.

"Ah—"

A short, sharp sound.

He moved faster than the collision, his hands already going out. His right arm wrapped around her back before she could fall. His left hand shot forward—

—and landed flat on her chest.

squeeze

Soft.

His fingers closing instinctively around the soft weight of her breast through the thin fabric of her top.

Clenched.

She had a coffee cup in her other hand that somehow did not spill.

He got her upright, let go, and stepped back immediately.

She blinked.

Looked down at where she had not hit the pavement. Then up at him.

Looked at his face.

Short black hair, pale skin, dark lipstick, three piercings along her left ear. Low-cut black top, short dark skirt, fishnet stockings. Sharp dark eyes narrowing at him.

"You again."

Flat.

Then rising.

"You again." Flat. Then rising fast. "What the actual fuck is your problem? Are you blind? Do you just walk around like this — why does this keep HAPPENING—"

"I am sorry," he said.

He bowed, turned, and walked away.

"Don’t walk away from me! HEY! I am TALKING to you—"

He kept walking.

A beat of silence behind him.

Then—

"Wait."

Another beat.

"Did you just—"

Her voice jumped an entire register.

"DID YOU JUST CUP A FEEL OF MY BOOB?! HEY! WHERE ARE YOU RUNNING? HEY COME BACK HERE RIGHT NOW—"

He turned onto the main street and walked faster.

She was yelling something about cursing him, but the traffic swallowed the rest of it.

He did not look back.

.

.

The sunflowers pressed against the paper wrap, the edges already bending outward.

Seven stems. Bright yellow. Wide enough that he had to hold them slightly away from his body.

He bought them from a cart outside the metro station.

Kaito walked through the hospital corridor with the flowers in front of him. They blocked part of his view. People stepped aside before he reached them.

Room 304.

He knocked once. No pause. He pushed the door open.

Hana sat up in bed.

The pale blue gown hung loose around her shoulders. The fabric creased near her collarbone. Her light brown hair fell around her face, flattened on one side.

Dark circles sat under her eyes. Her cheeks had drawn in since he last saw her. The skin along her jaw looked thinner.

An IV line ran into the back of her left hand. Tape held it down. A clear tube trailed to the stand beside the bed. A half-finished cup of water sat within reach.

She looked at him.

Her eyes moved to the sunflowers.

Her face shifted. Her eyebrows lifted. Her lips parted. The tension in her shoulders eased.

"Kaito."

She said it once, breath catching halfway.

Then she smiled.

It spread fast. It stayed. Her eyes curved. The tiredness did not leave her face, but it sat behind the smile instead of in front of it.

"You came."

"I came."

He stepped inside and closed the door with his foot. The latch clicked behind him.

He crossed the room. The stool scraped slightly when his knee nudged it aside.

He held out the sunflowers.

She reached with both hands. The IV line pulled.

She paused for a second, adjusted her grip, then took them properly.

She lifted them to her face and breathed in.

"They smell amazing."

Her voice came out muffled by the petals. Her eyes closed. Her shoulders dropped a little. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"I love sunflowers. How did you know?"

"I went to the shop and bought the flowers which reminded me of you."

She let out a laugh. Short. It broke at the end.

She lowered the flowers and held them against her chest. Her fingers tightened around the stems. Her head tilted into the pillow.

"You look terrible."

"You look worse."

"I’m in hospital."

"I know."

Her smile returned. Smaller now. It stayed at the corners of her mouth.

He pulled the stool from under the window and set it beside the bed.

He sat down.

Up close, the shadows under her eyes looked darker. The skin near her wrist showed faint blue veins. Her fingers kept shifting on the stems, adjusting, tightening, loosening.

"I was worried."

"I know."

Her voice dropped.

"I am sorry."

She looked at him over the flowers.

"I replied as soon as I saw your messages."

He did not answer.

She watched him for a second longer, then looked down at the petals.

"You didn’t need to rush."

"I know."

He leaned forward slightly. His hands rested on his knees.

"I wanted to see you as soon as possible."

She looked at his face for a moment.