[Ongoing] The Magic Flower House - Chapter 1: 風露草 Geranium [Stupidity]
Title: The Magic Flower House - Chapter 1: 風露草 Geranium [Stupidity]
Fandom: Kis-My-Ft2, Johnny's Jrs.
Pairings/Characters: Miyata Toshiya, Tamamori Yuta, Sakuma Daisuke, Hirano Sho
Rating: PG
Warnings: AU. Harmless. But uh there's magic and stuff.
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine. Story is mine.
A/N: So this idea came up when I was talking to one of my good friends ♥ (you know who you are *smushes*). It took some writing and re-writing but I think I finally have something I'm semi-satisfied with. Also, this is the first thing I post here in 2015. Ahaha. December I needed to recover from my notNano!fic and then January was super busy. I hope I'll be able to write more again from now on. Otherwise, you can still find me on the shiritori comm!
A few rays of sunlight fell through the gap between the high rise buildings surrounding the shopping street by the station as the first commuters made their way over there to catch their trains. Their numbers grew larger as time passed and the number of students among the people walking up the street from the station increased as well as the clock moved closer to the start of school time. It was the daily ritual that Miyata could watch from the windows of his small flower shop - something he’d been watching for years.
The Miyata family’s flower shop was located not too far from his old school and he’d already helped his mother out from time to time, when he’d still been a student as well, so he’d come to the shop quite a number of times before. These days, he was usually alone, his parents were taking care of the greenhouses and the flower auctions and all that and his siblings had chosen not to join the family business on a full-time basis, seeing that Miyata had done so. He didn’t mind. He liked the flower shop and well, there was another reason as well as to why it had been him. Why it could have only been him.
Miyata was jerked out of his reverie when his clock told him - literally, in a cute magical girl voice - that it would be time to get ready to open up soon, so he went and opened the front door and started to take out the wooden display benches and decorations from their storage places inside and put everything up properly in the respective spaces.
It took about half an hour until everything had been brought out and Miyata wiped some of the sweat from his forehead once he had put out the last one of the fresh arrangements that he had made earlier in the morning. Their bright colours were a stark contrast to all the greys of the concrete surrounding them.
Hopefully some of these would find a nice home today. The flowers would be happy. Not that any of them minded sticking around with him but being out and about and helping someone as was their job was always more exciting. He watched them as they tilted their bulbs and flowers towards the passersby in the hopes that someone would notice them and buy them.
A few of the people smiled as they looked at the flowers, as if some kind of magic had turned their dark, tired expressions into softer, brighter ones suddenly.
And maybe that had been the case. After all Miyata wasn’t just a normal florist and his flowers weren’t just ordinary flowers. He came from a long line of magic users. It came from his mother’s side and the abilities were only passed on to one person in each generation. Among his siblings, it had been him, so that was why he had been the one to inherit the flower shop and everything - the magic flower shop. Only the magic users could bring out the true powers of the flowers that were sold at the shop and only they could sell the ‘right’ flowers to the right people, those who came to seek their help.
Miyata had learned everything about the magic stuff from his mother when he had been younger. His mother refused to be called a ‘witch’, so Miyata had learned to refer to her and himself simply as a ‘magic users’. He liked it, it was humble somehow. More humble than ‘wizard’ or something like that. A wizard sounded like someone awesome and powerful, who was able to do fancy things. And Miyata didn’t think he was particularly powerful or awesome and he couldn’t really do things that were all that fancy. Most people would probably not even consider what he did ‘real magic’. That didn’t mean he was unhappy, though. Quite the contrary. He was very happy with his life really.
With the displays out, part of his morning routine was completed. For two hours now, there would be a time without any set or planned events. After all, anyone could walk into a flower shop and there was no telling who would be walking in. Well, unless they were regulars. Like the person who would mark the end of the two hour ‘free’ period.
Tamamori always came by the shop at 11:38 exactly every day. Miyata didn’t know why the other chose that time but well, it wasn’t like he minded.
He had known Tamamori from before he had taken over the flower shop. They had met as kids and befriended each other and then they had attended school together, the school down the road and their friendship had deepened. Those feelings had grown even further over time - at least on Miyata’s side. He had had a crush on Tamamori for a while now. Ah, no, it was more than a crush really. Miyata was in love with Tamamori but of course he hadn’t told the other that. At least, not really. He’d maybe sort of hinted at it. Maybe.
Miyata had seen just how special the other had been when they were younger. Something Tamamori himself hadn’t discovered and something he seemed to be very insecure about sometimes. Miyata had then asked his mother for help and the flower he’d given Tamamori as a present had been the first one he’d given away to someone else in order to help them.
Just like the flower he’d presented the other with, Tamamori had then started to blossom and he had turned from a small bud to a big, beautiful flower. Tamamori had been scouted soon after they had both finished school and entered the show-business. He had hoards of girls following him now but for some reason none of them had found the flower shop. Yet.
Miyata knew it was just a matter of time but well, he would enjoy things as long as they lasted. Seeing Tamamori almost every day without fail - unless the other was away for work - was one of the things he looked forward to when he got up in the mornings.
He smiled brightly when he heard the chime of the door at 11:38 sharp and turned to greet the other. “Hi Tama-chan! How are you today?”
“Woah, your smile is even more obnoxious today than it was yesterday.” The other commented and walked all the way to the back of the shop where Miyata was. Leaning over the counter casually he looked at the flowers Miyata was working with there. “Which one should I take today? Any suggestions, Florist-san?”
Tamamori also always made sure to buy something. Most of the time it was usually just a single flower but considering he came every day that wasn’t odd. After all, Tamamori needed things to be subtle. If he always bought a whole bouquet, people would notice. Although, the single flowers had already been noticed anyway. Miyata had grinned like an idiot when he’d read in one of the girl-magazines that Tamamori was known for having flowers around him all the time. A make-up artist who had been blabbing to the magazine for a while had said that Tamamori had allegedly mentioned that flowers made him feel calm and happy, so he made sure to have at least one around at work all the time.
The flowers he sold the other did not possess any magic but maybe Tamamori wanting to take flowers to work with him had something to do with the magic flower he had given the other all those years ago. Or maybe that was just his wishful thinking. Who knows.
Offering the other a flower, Miyata asked, “How about this one?” Tamamori made a face at the yellow tulip Miyata had placed onto the counter in front of him.
“No. Those don’t really reflect my mood today. How about these ones over here?” The other pointed at a small ensemble of white flowers off to the side of the counter.
Miyata smiled when he saw the other’s choice. The small pot with a group of white anemone flowers seemed to be smiling brightly as well. White anemone flowers stood for sincerity. They fit Tamamori perfectly. “Good choice. I’ll wrap them up for you, okay?” He grabbed the pot and carried it over to the counter carefully.
“That would be good. You think they’ll be okay in a studio for a couple of hours? I don’t know how the temperatures will be. Will I need to water them?” Tamamori asked and poked the earth in the pot curiously, while Miyata looked for some wrapping paper. “Flower-san will probably get thirsty, too. I know I will after a while.”
Also, Tamamori was allegedly known for talking to his flowers - and other things - a quirk that had made both Miyata and Tamamori’s countless fangirls squee happily when a co-worker had let that piece of information slip on a TV show. Of course Miyata had known about it before. And of course had let Tamamori know that he thought it was super cute, which had prompted the other to punch his shoulder - repeatedly - back then. The same had happened right after the broadcast of the show. Miyata had told Tamamori how cute the other’s habit was and Tamamori had punched his shoulder - the other one this time!
“Ah, if you want to you can give them some water in the afternoon. A little bit should be enough, just so the earth is moist again. About how it is right now because I just watered them about half an hour ago.” Miyata nodded and then wrapped decorative purple paper around the pot and tied it with a bright yellow ribbon. “Here you go, Tama-chan.”
“Moist he says, flower-san. Such a weird word, don’t you think?” Tamamori looked at the small white flowers and poked one with a finger carefully. “Let’s go then.” He turned back to Miyata again and put a bill onto the counter. “Thanks, Toshi-kun. See you. Keep the change.” Waving shortly, the other breezed out of the store then. Somewhere nearby Miyata could hear the sound of a car starting up. Tamamori’s manager must have driven the other over today. Or maybe Tamamori had driven his own car over? The other had mentioned buying one at one point. Miyata hadn’t seen it yet. Tamamori also always told him to keep the change because he was too lazy to carry around lots of coins. Or at least that’s what the other told him.
Miyata knew that Tamamori just wanted to give him more business, wanted to take care of Miyata and the shop in his own way.
Once Tamamori left, everything was pretty open again. Some people came and went during lunch time, others on the way home from work or school later in the day. Actually the later afternoon and early evening hours were usually good for business. People seemed to look for flowers then and it was also a good time for the flowers because after taking in all the sunlight of the day, they seemed to shine even brighter than they already did.
Today he sold a couple of normal flowers only, none of his special ones. When the rush of people from the station back to the residential areas beyond the shopping street started to slow and then eventually stop, it was time to close the shop. Miyata didn’t have to go far to go home - just up the stairs really. He was lucky to live where he worked. Before it had been a storage space and his mother had gone back to the family residence in the countryside after the shop had closed for the day but when Miyata had taken over they had turned it into a small apartment for him - plus storage space.
After he’d brought in all the displays and stored them again, he locked up the shop and made his way upstairs. He noticed a small pink light in a corner and smiled. Ah, work wasn’t quite over yet it seemed. So he sat down to wait for one more person to stop by today.
There was another regular visitor at the flower shop, apart from Tamamori. The other usually came at night, after the shop had already closed, like today. It was probably because his mode of transport wouldn’t be seen at night even if the magic wore off. After all, it wasn’t the usual mode of transport used by people around. It was a broom, which was used only by the ‘magic courier service’. The service’s delivery person was a young male called Sakuma. Just like Miyata, Sakuma was a magic user. Although unlike Miyata, he was still in training. His job was to deliver things needed by other magic users for the time being and later on, his job would also be to make the things needed by others - be it potions or materials and tools.
Right now, things were pretty much hit and miss on the making side still - the other had blown up a cauldron of stuff the other day - but well, babysteps. Rome hadn’t been built in a day either. And Miyata remembered just how hard training could be. He had had his own fair share of incidents to talk about. Sometimes he still had nightmares about that gigantic alien plant that had shot out of one of his pots at one point. He and his mother had had to burn it.
Miyata enjoyed Sakuma’s visits. He got along very well with the other. Whenever Sakuma came over, they’d watch some anime together and talk about random things for a while - sometimes about magic, sometimes about this or that. Sakuma was probably the only friend he had, who knew about his secret. That made talking to the other very comfortable because there was nothing he needed to watch out for. Plus, Sakuma loved anime just as much as he did, so that was an added bonus. The other also had a similar taste in anime.
Back when he had still been training, he remembered sneaking out to go to Akihabara to look at things and then buying or borrowing anime DVD and manga from his friends. They had been his sanctuary because they had been the only thing truly fun then because school definitely hadn’t been one of his favourite places most of the time - Tamamori had been there but apart from that, things had been pretty normal. Of course he’d enjoyed magic training as well but sometimes it had been hard and unpleasant and on top of having to study for his normal school classes, it had added even more stress at times.
“Magic Delivery!” A voice rang through his apartment and Miyata went up to open the window.
“Hey Sakuma! Come on in.” He greeted the other and then stepped aside to let the other fly in and then hop off the broom. “I hope you didn’t run into problems on your way here?”
Sakuma shook his head, making his curls bob a bit. “No problem at all. But man, brooms are so old fashioned. I’ve been trying to get them to make this into something more fitting for our times. Something less, you know, cliché or stereotypical. My mother says a bicycle would just make me look like the kids from E.T. though and she doesn’t want me on a skateboard. Ah well.” He rummaged through his messenger bag and handed Miyata a parcel. “Please make sure everything you ordered is inside? I double checked before I left but well, just to be sure.”
Doing as he was told, Miyata checked the contents of the parcel. While he was doing so, he listened to Sakuma talk about one of the anime they were watching right now. Sakuma had a way of gathering lots of extra information on almost everything.
“You sure did your research.” He grinned and gave the other a thumbs-up. “All good.”
“Yay!” Sakuma gave him a thumbs up back. “Want to watch something? I have some time before I need to be at the next place.”
“There’s always time for at least one episode. I’ll check what’s on my recorder!” Miyata grinned and then led Sakuma to the living room area, where they sat down with some tea and snacks for about an hour, until the other had to leave again and Miyata went to bed.
The next morning, his routine started all over again. He said good morning to the flowers when he came down into the shop and after making some arrangements to display, opened up the shop. With winter having come to the city, more and more people seemed to look at his displays. The mostly grey skies probably made everyone yearn for colour. And well, despite all of his neighbouring stores being more colourful than his, there was nothing that could really win against the natural colourfulness of flowers.
Tamamori also bought a bouquet with lots of colours today for some people at work, he said. For himself he only bought a single flower again, this time a yellow poppy, a flower that stood for success. Miyata had recommended it to the other - after Tamamori had told him that he had auditions for something today.
When the other had just left, a new customer entered the store. The young male was wearing the school uniform of Otonokizaka Academy, the school just up the road.
“Welcome, sir. How can I assist you?” He greeted the other with a smile. From the corner of his eyes he saw one of his magic flowers glowing. Ah, so this was a special customer. It had been a while since one had come in. Miyata couldn’t help but feel a little excited.
The male walked over to the counter and looked at Miyata. “This really just looks like a normal flower shop. I have no idea what the senpai were talking about.”
“Mh? What were they talking about?” Miyata asked the other not without a hint of curiosity. Then he added, “And well, this is just a normal flower shop.” Although of course he knew about the ‘urban legend’ that some people at the school talked about. He didn’t remember when exactly that had started to spread. It had been after his graduation.
The male sighed and sat down on one of the chairs that Miyata had randomly standing around the shop. “Ah it’s hopeless anyway so what the hell. They were probably just pulling my leg or something.” He leaned back. “They said that some kind of magic would happen if you come here. And you know, with things as they currently are, I could really use some of that. My grades could sure use some sort of miracle magic to get better.”
Miyata resisted the urge to make a comment along the lines of ‘who on earth comes to a flower shop to ask for help with grades’ and ‘man you must really be desperate’. He wasn’t that mean. Maybe Tamamori was rubbing off on him a little bit.
It was his duty to help this guy. So he would help him. “Well, I can’t do anything about that but maybe some flowers will help? You know, plants provide oxygen and all and the brain functions better with plenty of that around?”
“Uh sure why not, mister. At this point I’m willing to try anything.” The other said. “Ah, the name’s Sho by the way. Hirano Sho.”
“I’ll see what I can do, Hirano-kun.” Miyata went to the back of his store and put a flower pot onto the table. It was empty still. Opening a drawer, he pulled out one of the magic bulbs and put it into the soil. A few seconds later, a bright reddish-pink geranium flower grew from it. The flower had been waiting for its time to shine and eagerly tilted its bulb up.
He smiled. “Now, the magic words.” Whispering the magic words, Miyata sprinkled a dried potion over the flower. “Piropiro Panitan Suuri Suri. Piropiro Panitan Suuri Suri.” The flower seemed to glow for a short moment as it took in the magic and its colours seemed to brighten and become more beautiful. Once Miyata was done, he returned to the counter and handed the pot over to the customer.
“Here you go, Hirano-kun. I’ll give you a special price on it.” He named his price and Hirano paid for his purchase. “Good luck with your studies.” Miyata smiled at the other and then bowed. “Thank you for your patronage.”
Hirano looked at the flower when he got onto the train to go home. Ah, he had wasted money again. His mother would probably scold him for it. He hoped he could sneak into the house without her seeing him with it. Yeah, that sounded like a plan. And hey, even if she did see him with it, he could make it a present to her or something. At least that would be better than handing over his tests results to her. Maybe it would even make her happy. Hey this was a good thing after all. Maybe this hadn’t been a waste of money but some stroke of genius after all. Was this what his senpai had meant? The senpai were so smart.
His mother wasn’t at home when he got there, so he ended up taking the flower to his room with him. Once there, he put it onto his desk next to his bag as he went to change out of his uniform and into more comfortable clothes. He’d start studying once he’d done so. Or at least that’s what he had told himself to do. That’s what he had wanted to do.
Of course it didn’t happen. An open manga was the first thing that distracted him, then messages popping up on his phone and finally him being able to unlock the next level of his computer game made him forget about the time until his mother called him down for dinner.
When he returned to his room afterwards, he saw how the plant and his bag had fallen over, spilling books and some soil over the table. He hastily cleaned up the soil and put the plant upright again and then looked at his books. Ah shit, he should do his homework, shouldn’t he. So he did that but afterwards put his books away again - he was too tired to study now - and went to take a bath before going to bed.
When he was asleep, the flowerbud glowed in the dark before it opened and blossomed.
The next morning, Hirano wanted to check his phone but it wouldn’t open anything but the alarm function. His computer wasn’t working either and neither was the TV downstairs in the living room. So he finished his breakfast in a very timely manner and was actually semi-early as he left for the station to take a train to school.
On the train, his phone still wouldn’t open anything. Bored but unwilling to sleep - afraid he’d miss his stop, as it had happened before - Hirano rummaged through his bag in search of something to do. He hadn’t brought any manga with him, so only his school books were inside. Sighing softly, he opened one of them to read through it - it was better than nothing and well he’d have to go through these things anyway.
His streak of ‘bad luck’ seemed to continue throughout the day, with the weather keeping him from going outside during lunch and then it also got club activities cancelled. With pouring rain keeping him inside of the school building - he didn’t have an umbrella and didn’t want to run to the station and then drip on everything on the train - and none of his electronics working, Hirano decided to go to the library with a couple of his friends to study. It was probably his first time ever to do something like this - in all earnest. He’d goofed around before but since with each year that passed, the tests and exams grew more and more important, people around him were pretty serious about things. And he wouldn’t screw them over.
When the rain let up, he went back home. His electronics still weren’t working. And then when he went to his room, he found it to be a jungle instead of his room. Everything except for his bed and table was covered in flowers and leaves. He tried to get rid of some but they’d just keep growing again. Giving up, Hirano took his books and went to study in the living room. He couldn’t let his mother come into his room and see this. She’d be so mad.
With the TV broken, it was quiet in the living room and there was nothing to really disturb him from his studies. His mother looked very pleased when she saw him studying earnestly and she left him alone to continue to do so.
Things kept up for a whole week. He had somehow managed to hide his room’s condition from his mother until now. Since the next day would be laundry day, Hirano made mental note to clean his room once he got back from school after his tests.
Somehow the questions on the test seemed easier this time around and Hirano found himself not feeling completely and utterly exhausted once he stepped outside the classroom. The weather was also a lot better today - not a single cloud in sight - so he was able to go straight home after school. He made his way up to his room but found it to be normal.
The single flower left was the one in the pot on his table but it had started to wilt and the flower petals had fallen onto his desk. He cleaned that up fast enough and just then his mother came in to change the bedsheets.
Miyata smiled and called out a greeting when he heard the chimes signalling the arrival of a new customer. When he stepped out from the back, he found himself looking at a familiar face. “Oh, Hirano-kun. What can I do for you today?”
“I don’t know how you did it mister but a miracle happened. Or well, more than one. So uhm, what kind of flowers would you suggest I buy for my mum?” Hirano told him.
“What happened? Did you fail your tests?” He asked and tilted his head over inquiringly.
Hirano shook his head. “That’s the first miracle. I did well on my tests because I studied more than I usually would have. No that’s not it.” He crossed his arms. “We’ve had a bit of a hard time at home though with things breaking down, so I thought some flowers might cheer her up a little bit? Although, things are working fine again now.”
“Oh, I see. How I about I make you a nice bouquet for her then?” Miyata smiled and started to put together a small but nice arrangement. “And hm there are a couple of possible reasons for electronics not working? Sometimes construction or maintenance companies use signal scramblers to block off things while they’re working. Sometimes it affects people in the surrounding areas.” This was of course absolute nonsense but Miyata had a feeling that the other would believe him somehow.
Indeed the expression on Hirano’s face looked like a lightbulb had just turned on somewhere inside of his head. “Oh! I see! Yeah there was some roadside construction or something going on. Maybe that’s what it was. You’re so smart, mister!”
Laughing softly, Miyata handed the other the finished bouquet and took the money from the other. After handing out Hirano’s change, he said his thanks and goodbye. He watched as the young male left the shop again and made his way to the train station.
Once the other was out of sight, Miyata smiled and said to himself, “Mission accomplished.”
He was cleaning up the counter, when he noticed one of the magic flowers glowing again. It looked like his next mission was on the way already.
To be continued...
Next Chapter: 小百合 Orange Lilies [Revenge]
Fandom: Kis-My-Ft2, Johnny's Jrs.
Pairings/Characters: Miyata Toshiya, Tamamori Yuta, Sakuma Daisuke, Hirano Sho
Rating: PG
Warnings: AU. Harmless. But uh there's magic and stuff.
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine. Story is mine.
A/N: So this idea came up when I was talking to one of my good friends ♥ (you know who you are *smushes*). It took some writing and re-writing but I think I finally have something I'm semi-satisfied with. Also, this is the first thing I post here in 2015. Ahaha. December I needed to recover from my notNano!fic and then January was super busy. I hope I'll be able to write more again from now on. Otherwise, you can still find me on the shiritori comm!
A few rays of sunlight fell through the gap between the high rise buildings surrounding the shopping street by the station as the first commuters made their way over there to catch their trains. Their numbers grew larger as time passed and the number of students among the people walking up the street from the station increased as well as the clock moved closer to the start of school time. It was the daily ritual that Miyata could watch from the windows of his small flower shop - something he’d been watching for years.
The Miyata family’s flower shop was located not too far from his old school and he’d already helped his mother out from time to time, when he’d still been a student as well, so he’d come to the shop quite a number of times before. These days, he was usually alone, his parents were taking care of the greenhouses and the flower auctions and all that and his siblings had chosen not to join the family business on a full-time basis, seeing that Miyata had done so. He didn’t mind. He liked the flower shop and well, there was another reason as well as to why it had been him. Why it could have only been him.
Miyata was jerked out of his reverie when his clock told him - literally, in a cute magical girl voice - that it would be time to get ready to open up soon, so he went and opened the front door and started to take out the wooden display benches and decorations from their storage places inside and put everything up properly in the respective spaces.
It took about half an hour until everything had been brought out and Miyata wiped some of the sweat from his forehead once he had put out the last one of the fresh arrangements that he had made earlier in the morning. Their bright colours were a stark contrast to all the greys of the concrete surrounding them.
Hopefully some of these would find a nice home today. The flowers would be happy. Not that any of them minded sticking around with him but being out and about and helping someone as was their job was always more exciting. He watched them as they tilted their bulbs and flowers towards the passersby in the hopes that someone would notice them and buy them.
A few of the people smiled as they looked at the flowers, as if some kind of magic had turned their dark, tired expressions into softer, brighter ones suddenly.
And maybe that had been the case. After all Miyata wasn’t just a normal florist and his flowers weren’t just ordinary flowers. He came from a long line of magic users. It came from his mother’s side and the abilities were only passed on to one person in each generation. Among his siblings, it had been him, so that was why he had been the one to inherit the flower shop and everything - the magic flower shop. Only the magic users could bring out the true powers of the flowers that were sold at the shop and only they could sell the ‘right’ flowers to the right people, those who came to seek their help.
Miyata had learned everything about the magic stuff from his mother when he had been younger. His mother refused to be called a ‘witch’, so Miyata had learned to refer to her and himself simply as a ‘magic users’. He liked it, it was humble somehow. More humble than ‘wizard’ or something like that. A wizard sounded like someone awesome and powerful, who was able to do fancy things. And Miyata didn’t think he was particularly powerful or awesome and he couldn’t really do things that were all that fancy. Most people would probably not even consider what he did ‘real magic’. That didn’t mean he was unhappy, though. Quite the contrary. He was very happy with his life really.
With the displays out, part of his morning routine was completed. For two hours now, there would be a time without any set or planned events. After all, anyone could walk into a flower shop and there was no telling who would be walking in. Well, unless they were regulars. Like the person who would mark the end of the two hour ‘free’ period.
Tamamori always came by the shop at 11:38 exactly every day. Miyata didn’t know why the other chose that time but well, it wasn’t like he minded.
He had known Tamamori from before he had taken over the flower shop. They had met as kids and befriended each other and then they had attended school together, the school down the road and their friendship had deepened. Those feelings had grown even further over time - at least on Miyata’s side. He had had a crush on Tamamori for a while now. Ah, no, it was more than a crush really. Miyata was in love with Tamamori but of course he hadn’t told the other that. At least, not really. He’d maybe sort of hinted at it. Maybe.
Miyata had seen just how special the other had been when they were younger. Something Tamamori himself hadn’t discovered and something he seemed to be very insecure about sometimes. Miyata had then asked his mother for help and the flower he’d given Tamamori as a present had been the first one he’d given away to someone else in order to help them.
Just like the flower he’d presented the other with, Tamamori had then started to blossom and he had turned from a small bud to a big, beautiful flower. Tamamori had been scouted soon after they had both finished school and entered the show-business. He had hoards of girls following him now but for some reason none of them had found the flower shop. Yet.
Miyata knew it was just a matter of time but well, he would enjoy things as long as they lasted. Seeing Tamamori almost every day without fail - unless the other was away for work - was one of the things he looked forward to when he got up in the mornings.
He smiled brightly when he heard the chime of the door at 11:38 sharp and turned to greet the other. “Hi Tama-chan! How are you today?”
“Woah, your smile is even more obnoxious today than it was yesterday.” The other commented and walked all the way to the back of the shop where Miyata was. Leaning over the counter casually he looked at the flowers Miyata was working with there. “Which one should I take today? Any suggestions, Florist-san?”
Tamamori also always made sure to buy something. Most of the time it was usually just a single flower but considering he came every day that wasn’t odd. After all, Tamamori needed things to be subtle. If he always bought a whole bouquet, people would notice. Although, the single flowers had already been noticed anyway. Miyata had grinned like an idiot when he’d read in one of the girl-magazines that Tamamori was known for having flowers around him all the time. A make-up artist who had been blabbing to the magazine for a while had said that Tamamori had allegedly mentioned that flowers made him feel calm and happy, so he made sure to have at least one around at work all the time.
The flowers he sold the other did not possess any magic but maybe Tamamori wanting to take flowers to work with him had something to do with the magic flower he had given the other all those years ago. Or maybe that was just his wishful thinking. Who knows.
Offering the other a flower, Miyata asked, “How about this one?” Tamamori made a face at the yellow tulip Miyata had placed onto the counter in front of him.
“No. Those don’t really reflect my mood today. How about these ones over here?” The other pointed at a small ensemble of white flowers off to the side of the counter.
Miyata smiled when he saw the other’s choice. The small pot with a group of white anemone flowers seemed to be smiling brightly as well. White anemone flowers stood for sincerity. They fit Tamamori perfectly. “Good choice. I’ll wrap them up for you, okay?” He grabbed the pot and carried it over to the counter carefully.
“That would be good. You think they’ll be okay in a studio for a couple of hours? I don’t know how the temperatures will be. Will I need to water them?” Tamamori asked and poked the earth in the pot curiously, while Miyata looked for some wrapping paper. “Flower-san will probably get thirsty, too. I know I will after a while.”
Also, Tamamori was allegedly known for talking to his flowers - and other things - a quirk that had made both Miyata and Tamamori’s countless fangirls squee happily when a co-worker had let that piece of information slip on a TV show. Of course Miyata had known about it before. And of course had let Tamamori know that he thought it was super cute, which had prompted the other to punch his shoulder - repeatedly - back then. The same had happened right after the broadcast of the show. Miyata had told Tamamori how cute the other’s habit was and Tamamori had punched his shoulder - the other one this time!
“Ah, if you want to you can give them some water in the afternoon. A little bit should be enough, just so the earth is moist again. About how it is right now because I just watered them about half an hour ago.” Miyata nodded and then wrapped decorative purple paper around the pot and tied it with a bright yellow ribbon. “Here you go, Tama-chan.”
“Moist he says, flower-san. Such a weird word, don’t you think?” Tamamori looked at the small white flowers and poked one with a finger carefully. “Let’s go then.” He turned back to Miyata again and put a bill onto the counter. “Thanks, Toshi-kun. See you. Keep the change.” Waving shortly, the other breezed out of the store then. Somewhere nearby Miyata could hear the sound of a car starting up. Tamamori’s manager must have driven the other over today. Or maybe Tamamori had driven his own car over? The other had mentioned buying one at one point. Miyata hadn’t seen it yet. Tamamori also always told him to keep the change because he was too lazy to carry around lots of coins. Or at least that’s what the other told him.
Miyata knew that Tamamori just wanted to give him more business, wanted to take care of Miyata and the shop in his own way.
Once Tamamori left, everything was pretty open again. Some people came and went during lunch time, others on the way home from work or school later in the day. Actually the later afternoon and early evening hours were usually good for business. People seemed to look for flowers then and it was also a good time for the flowers because after taking in all the sunlight of the day, they seemed to shine even brighter than they already did.
Today he sold a couple of normal flowers only, none of his special ones. When the rush of people from the station back to the residential areas beyond the shopping street started to slow and then eventually stop, it was time to close the shop. Miyata didn’t have to go far to go home - just up the stairs really. He was lucky to live where he worked. Before it had been a storage space and his mother had gone back to the family residence in the countryside after the shop had closed for the day but when Miyata had taken over they had turned it into a small apartment for him - plus storage space.
After he’d brought in all the displays and stored them again, he locked up the shop and made his way upstairs. He noticed a small pink light in a corner and smiled. Ah, work wasn’t quite over yet it seemed. So he sat down to wait for one more person to stop by today.
There was another regular visitor at the flower shop, apart from Tamamori. The other usually came at night, after the shop had already closed, like today. It was probably because his mode of transport wouldn’t be seen at night even if the magic wore off. After all, it wasn’t the usual mode of transport used by people around. It was a broom, which was used only by the ‘magic courier service’. The service’s delivery person was a young male called Sakuma. Just like Miyata, Sakuma was a magic user. Although unlike Miyata, he was still in training. His job was to deliver things needed by other magic users for the time being and later on, his job would also be to make the things needed by others - be it potions or materials and tools.
Right now, things were pretty much hit and miss on the making side still - the other had blown up a cauldron of stuff the other day - but well, babysteps. Rome hadn’t been built in a day either. And Miyata remembered just how hard training could be. He had had his own fair share of incidents to talk about. Sometimes he still had nightmares about that gigantic alien plant that had shot out of one of his pots at one point. He and his mother had had to burn it.
Miyata enjoyed Sakuma’s visits. He got along very well with the other. Whenever Sakuma came over, they’d watch some anime together and talk about random things for a while - sometimes about magic, sometimes about this or that. Sakuma was probably the only friend he had, who knew about his secret. That made talking to the other very comfortable because there was nothing he needed to watch out for. Plus, Sakuma loved anime just as much as he did, so that was an added bonus. The other also had a similar taste in anime.
Back when he had still been training, he remembered sneaking out to go to Akihabara to look at things and then buying or borrowing anime DVD and manga from his friends. They had been his sanctuary because they had been the only thing truly fun then because school definitely hadn’t been one of his favourite places most of the time - Tamamori had been there but apart from that, things had been pretty normal. Of course he’d enjoyed magic training as well but sometimes it had been hard and unpleasant and on top of having to study for his normal school classes, it had added even more stress at times.
“Magic Delivery!” A voice rang through his apartment and Miyata went up to open the window.
“Hey Sakuma! Come on in.” He greeted the other and then stepped aside to let the other fly in and then hop off the broom. “I hope you didn’t run into problems on your way here?”
Sakuma shook his head, making his curls bob a bit. “No problem at all. But man, brooms are so old fashioned. I’ve been trying to get them to make this into something more fitting for our times. Something less, you know, cliché or stereotypical. My mother says a bicycle would just make me look like the kids from E.T. though and she doesn’t want me on a skateboard. Ah well.” He rummaged through his messenger bag and handed Miyata a parcel. “Please make sure everything you ordered is inside? I double checked before I left but well, just to be sure.”
Doing as he was told, Miyata checked the contents of the parcel. While he was doing so, he listened to Sakuma talk about one of the anime they were watching right now. Sakuma had a way of gathering lots of extra information on almost everything.
“You sure did your research.” He grinned and gave the other a thumbs-up. “All good.”
“Yay!” Sakuma gave him a thumbs up back. “Want to watch something? I have some time before I need to be at the next place.”
“There’s always time for at least one episode. I’ll check what’s on my recorder!” Miyata grinned and then led Sakuma to the living room area, where they sat down with some tea and snacks for about an hour, until the other had to leave again and Miyata went to bed.
The next morning, his routine started all over again. He said good morning to the flowers when he came down into the shop and after making some arrangements to display, opened up the shop. With winter having come to the city, more and more people seemed to look at his displays. The mostly grey skies probably made everyone yearn for colour. And well, despite all of his neighbouring stores being more colourful than his, there was nothing that could really win against the natural colourfulness of flowers.
Tamamori also bought a bouquet with lots of colours today for some people at work, he said. For himself he only bought a single flower again, this time a yellow poppy, a flower that stood for success. Miyata had recommended it to the other - after Tamamori had told him that he had auditions for something today.
When the other had just left, a new customer entered the store. The young male was wearing the school uniform of Otonokizaka Academy, the school just up the road.
“Welcome, sir. How can I assist you?” He greeted the other with a smile. From the corner of his eyes he saw one of his magic flowers glowing. Ah, so this was a special customer. It had been a while since one had come in. Miyata couldn’t help but feel a little excited.
The male walked over to the counter and looked at Miyata. “This really just looks like a normal flower shop. I have no idea what the senpai were talking about.”
“Mh? What were they talking about?” Miyata asked the other not without a hint of curiosity. Then he added, “And well, this is just a normal flower shop.” Although of course he knew about the ‘urban legend’ that some people at the school talked about. He didn’t remember when exactly that had started to spread. It had been after his graduation.
The male sighed and sat down on one of the chairs that Miyata had randomly standing around the shop. “Ah it’s hopeless anyway so what the hell. They were probably just pulling my leg or something.” He leaned back. “They said that some kind of magic would happen if you come here. And you know, with things as they currently are, I could really use some of that. My grades could sure use some sort of miracle magic to get better.”
Miyata resisted the urge to make a comment along the lines of ‘who on earth comes to a flower shop to ask for help with grades’ and ‘man you must really be desperate’. He wasn’t that mean. Maybe Tamamori was rubbing off on him a little bit.
It was his duty to help this guy. So he would help him. “Well, I can’t do anything about that but maybe some flowers will help? You know, plants provide oxygen and all and the brain functions better with plenty of that around?”
“Uh sure why not, mister. At this point I’m willing to try anything.” The other said. “Ah, the name’s Sho by the way. Hirano Sho.”
“I’ll see what I can do, Hirano-kun.” Miyata went to the back of his store and put a flower pot onto the table. It was empty still. Opening a drawer, he pulled out one of the magic bulbs and put it into the soil. A few seconds later, a bright reddish-pink geranium flower grew from it. The flower had been waiting for its time to shine and eagerly tilted its bulb up.
He smiled. “Now, the magic words.” Whispering the magic words, Miyata sprinkled a dried potion over the flower. “Piropiro Panitan Suuri Suri. Piropiro Panitan Suuri Suri.” The flower seemed to glow for a short moment as it took in the magic and its colours seemed to brighten and become more beautiful. Once Miyata was done, he returned to the counter and handed the pot over to the customer.
“Here you go, Hirano-kun. I’ll give you a special price on it.” He named his price and Hirano paid for his purchase. “Good luck with your studies.” Miyata smiled at the other and then bowed. “Thank you for your patronage.”
Hirano looked at the flower when he got onto the train to go home. Ah, he had wasted money again. His mother would probably scold him for it. He hoped he could sneak into the house without her seeing him with it. Yeah, that sounded like a plan. And hey, even if she did see him with it, he could make it a present to her or something. At least that would be better than handing over his tests results to her. Maybe it would even make her happy. Hey this was a good thing after all. Maybe this hadn’t been a waste of money but some stroke of genius after all. Was this what his senpai had meant? The senpai were so smart.
His mother wasn’t at home when he got there, so he ended up taking the flower to his room with him. Once there, he put it onto his desk next to his bag as he went to change out of his uniform and into more comfortable clothes. He’d start studying once he’d done so. Or at least that’s what he had told himself to do. That’s what he had wanted to do.
Of course it didn’t happen. An open manga was the first thing that distracted him, then messages popping up on his phone and finally him being able to unlock the next level of his computer game made him forget about the time until his mother called him down for dinner.
When he returned to his room afterwards, he saw how the plant and his bag had fallen over, spilling books and some soil over the table. He hastily cleaned up the soil and put the plant upright again and then looked at his books. Ah shit, he should do his homework, shouldn’t he. So he did that but afterwards put his books away again - he was too tired to study now - and went to take a bath before going to bed.
When he was asleep, the flowerbud glowed in the dark before it opened and blossomed.
The next morning, Hirano wanted to check his phone but it wouldn’t open anything but the alarm function. His computer wasn’t working either and neither was the TV downstairs in the living room. So he finished his breakfast in a very timely manner and was actually semi-early as he left for the station to take a train to school.
On the train, his phone still wouldn’t open anything. Bored but unwilling to sleep - afraid he’d miss his stop, as it had happened before - Hirano rummaged through his bag in search of something to do. He hadn’t brought any manga with him, so only his school books were inside. Sighing softly, he opened one of them to read through it - it was better than nothing and well he’d have to go through these things anyway.
His streak of ‘bad luck’ seemed to continue throughout the day, with the weather keeping him from going outside during lunch and then it also got club activities cancelled. With pouring rain keeping him inside of the school building - he didn’t have an umbrella and didn’t want to run to the station and then drip on everything on the train - and none of his electronics working, Hirano decided to go to the library with a couple of his friends to study. It was probably his first time ever to do something like this - in all earnest. He’d goofed around before but since with each year that passed, the tests and exams grew more and more important, people around him were pretty serious about things. And he wouldn’t screw them over.
When the rain let up, he went back home. His electronics still weren’t working. And then when he went to his room, he found it to be a jungle instead of his room. Everything except for his bed and table was covered in flowers and leaves. He tried to get rid of some but they’d just keep growing again. Giving up, Hirano took his books and went to study in the living room. He couldn’t let his mother come into his room and see this. She’d be so mad.
With the TV broken, it was quiet in the living room and there was nothing to really disturb him from his studies. His mother looked very pleased when she saw him studying earnestly and she left him alone to continue to do so.
Things kept up for a whole week. He had somehow managed to hide his room’s condition from his mother until now. Since the next day would be laundry day, Hirano made mental note to clean his room once he got back from school after his tests.
Somehow the questions on the test seemed easier this time around and Hirano found himself not feeling completely and utterly exhausted once he stepped outside the classroom. The weather was also a lot better today - not a single cloud in sight - so he was able to go straight home after school. He made his way up to his room but found it to be normal.
The single flower left was the one in the pot on his table but it had started to wilt and the flower petals had fallen onto his desk. He cleaned that up fast enough and just then his mother came in to change the bedsheets.
Miyata smiled and called out a greeting when he heard the chimes signalling the arrival of a new customer. When he stepped out from the back, he found himself looking at a familiar face. “Oh, Hirano-kun. What can I do for you today?”
“I don’t know how you did it mister but a miracle happened. Or well, more than one. So uhm, what kind of flowers would you suggest I buy for my mum?” Hirano told him.
“What happened? Did you fail your tests?” He asked and tilted his head over inquiringly.
Hirano shook his head. “That’s the first miracle. I did well on my tests because I studied more than I usually would have. No that’s not it.” He crossed his arms. “We’ve had a bit of a hard time at home though with things breaking down, so I thought some flowers might cheer her up a little bit? Although, things are working fine again now.”
“Oh, I see. How I about I make you a nice bouquet for her then?” Miyata smiled and started to put together a small but nice arrangement. “And hm there are a couple of possible reasons for electronics not working? Sometimes construction or maintenance companies use signal scramblers to block off things while they’re working. Sometimes it affects people in the surrounding areas.” This was of course absolute nonsense but Miyata had a feeling that the other would believe him somehow.
Indeed the expression on Hirano’s face looked like a lightbulb had just turned on somewhere inside of his head. “Oh! I see! Yeah there was some roadside construction or something going on. Maybe that’s what it was. You’re so smart, mister!”
Laughing softly, Miyata handed the other the finished bouquet and took the money from the other. After handing out Hirano’s change, he said his thanks and goodbye. He watched as the young male left the shop again and made his way to the train station.
Once the other was out of sight, Miyata smiled and said to himself, “Mission accomplished.”
He was cleaning up the counter, when he noticed one of the magic flowers glowing again. It looked like his next mission was on the way already.
To be continued...
Next Chapter: 小百合 Orange Lilies [Revenge]