Actions

Work Header

Just as the Flowers Bloom

Chapter 6: Tears Shed on the Words Unsaid

Summary:

Shuten gives Ibaraki the talk and it is as uncomfortable as anyone can imagine it is for the both of them...

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

It was about an hour or so later after the duo came back when Ibaraki returned. Shuten had been pacing back and forth in his own room trying to figure out how to approach him. It was definitely not going to be an easy topic to bring up. When he sensed Ibaraki’s return, he went out to welcome him back. 

“My friend, have you been waiting for me?” 

“Um, yeah, there’s something that I wanted to talk about-no, we need to talk about it. You can freshen up first before we have that conversation though.”

Ibaraki turned his gaze downward and quietly said, “Of course. Allow me to clean up first and I’ll come by your room later.” He then proceeded to walk away, leaving Shuten by himself at the entrance. 

As the white-haired oni walked away, Shuten caught a whiff of the floral fragrance clinging to his friend. He wasn’t fond of the fact that he smelled like her, but he was glad that it didn’t overpower Ibaraki’s own scent. Something about it was very comforting to him. The best way he could describe it was…home. He didn't know how else to describe it in a way that others could relate. Ibaraki's scent just reminded him a lot of Oeyama. As long as they were together, no matter where they went, Shuten would always feel at home with Ibaraki.

Now that he was alone again, he had to figure out how exactly to bring up the issue, but his head came up empty. "Damn it, I need some wine." Cue Shuten heading off to get some alcohol to calm his nerves.

By the time Ibaraki came by his room, Shuten had downed four bottles and was working through the fifth one. It was definitely not enough to get him drunk, but it did the trick of relaxing him.

“My friend, I’ve finished cleaning up. May I come in now?” 

“Ah, yeah, come in.”

The shoji slowly opened with Ibaraki being as careful as possible, having accidentally tore it in the distant past. After closing the shoji, he shuffled a bit then sat down in front of Shuten. Ibaraki was a lot more fidgety to the point he looked uncomfortable. This did not escape the red-haired oni's gaze, but he also figured he shouldn't point it out.

"There's no easy way for me to bring this up, but..." Shuten was currently scratching his head, pondering his next words carefully. "Hoshiguma brought it to my attention that - crap, how do I put this - you may have gotten Hanahaki Disease. I wasn't sure if you knew about it, but I know that it's one hell of a nasty disease to have."

Ibaraki's face flushed and Shuten immediately regretted his words. "Ah, it's nothing to be embarrassed about! It just happens to some people, uhh, yeah, even the best of us could get it out of nowhere!" Well...not exactly out of nowhere, but he was struggling to find the right words to comfort his friend. After all, they were both fighters who typically let their fists do the talking.

Now his friend was looking at anywhere but him, clearly unable to disguise his discomfort. 

"I...I know what it is and how it goes away, but I can't do it."

"Ah, is it because of nerves? Don’t worry, I can have Hoshiguma help you with practicing the confession. He’s probably the best option out of all of us to help you...yeah, probably.”

“No, it’s not that. I…do not plan on confessing.” 

“Wait, are you afraid they won’t reciprocate? I mean I guess that’s a fair reason to be hesitant, but you also don’t know that they don’t have feelings for you. If anything, at least if you confess, you can live without regrets.” He knew how ironic it was coming from someone who also wasn’t going to confess…

“That’s…no, I can’t risk it. It would ruin everything between us.”

“You don’t know that though. Okay, let’s say that they don’t reciprocate. I will do whatever I can to help you get the flowers out. I’ll find the best doctor to operate on you or maybe the strongest onmyoji to cast magic. Then you can forget about them for the rest of your life. You’ll never have to think about them or be hurt by the thought of them ever again.” 

“NO!” It took Ibaraki a moment to realize what he just did and he recoiled in his spot. “A-ah, forgive me, my friend. I didn’t mean to, I’m sorry, please forgive me.” The man was physically and verbally shaking. He was breaking down with tears on the verge of spilling from his eyes. Shuten was horrified by what he was seeing. He had never seen Ibaraki act like this, not once in the years they’ve known each other. He truly did not mean to bring Ibaraki to this point and now the guilt was devouring him alive. Coming into this conversation, he had been ready for Ibaraki to yell and fight him. He was even prepared to get mauled just for sticking his nose in his business. This was the last thing he ever thought would happen. 

“I…I’m sorry, Ibaraki. I didn’t know how much you really cared about this person. I wish I could say this better, but that person is not worth your life. Please, I’m telling you to reconsider. You know that you’ll die if you don’t get the flowers out one way or another.” At this point, there was no eye contact being kept. Ibaraki was just staring at the floor trying to compose himself. “It may be for the best…and you are also wrong, my friend. This person is worth my life. I’d give it up to make sure they smile for the rest of their life.” 

Shuten grit his teeth. Why? Why couldn’t it have been him? His heart was torn from seeing Ibaraki so vulnerable. He never wanted to force Ibaraki to do things that he didn't want to do, but when it came down to a matter of life and death...he was willing to push that aside. Screw his friend's stubbornness!

"Ibaraki, please don't do this. Hate me if you must, tear my heart out if you wish, I will give you anything you want, but don't let yourself die for this person." Shuten had grabbed his friend's shoulders and placed his forehead against Ibaraki's as if that would change his mind and make him stay. 

"My friend, you need not do any of that! You do not need to do anything for me, this is my own problem to handle..." Tears were flowing down Ibaraki's face, partially blurring his vision. It honestly is quite impressive how even now he was being stubborn.

"Ibaraki, you don't need to face this alone. That's what I'm telling you. I know you strongly adhere to the oni's way of strength, but this disease is awful. Even the strong can't escape its death sentence once it has taken root inside."

"Even if you tell me that, I can't confess no matter what."

"Why are you being so adamant? Is she really worth it?" Although he knew that the flower spirit didn't really do anything wrong, Shuten couldn't help but be a bit bitter.

Ibaraki let out a sniffle before looking up. "She? Who are you talking about, my friend?" Oh crap, he let it slip by accident. Well, time to come clean about it. He was already prepared to get socked anyways.

"I'm...I'm really sorry, Ibaraki. I followed you to see where you kept going everyday. I saw you with that flower girl near the peach trees. You looked...really happy with her." Ibaraki simply stared at him blankly for a few moments before responding. "Ah, so you saw me with her. I do not have feelings for her. I merely consulted with her about my situation since I assumed that as a flower spirit, she would have answers for me."

Wait, what? On one hand, Shuten felt relieved that he didn't hold feelings for her. However...who then was the person that caused Ibaraki to succumb to Hanahaki Disease? 

"Oi, Ibaraki, please tell me who it is that you have feelings for. Who the hell is it that has won your heart? You refuse to confess and you are so against the idea of getting rid of the flowers. I don't understand." Shuten was feeling the full weight of despair. Not only was his friend in love with another, but he also was willing to suffer in silence at his own detriment. Ibaraki had a sad smile on his face, painful but also beautiful to behold.

"I'm truly sorry, my friend." After that, the white-haired oni got up and left the room without another word, leaving his friend alone once again.

Shuten sat there, still not having processed everything. A cough suddenly erupted from him and he spat out tiny buds that he was holding back during the conversation.

Notes:

Well....that was definitely a talk so....progress???? No fight/injury is good news, so it wasn't that bad of a talk, right? 😂