[Ongoing] The Magic Flower House - Chapter 2: 小百合 Orange Lilies [Revenge]
Title: The Magic Flower House - Chapter 2: 小百合 Orange Lilies [Revenge]
Fandom: Kis-My-Ft2, NEWS
Pairings/Characters: Miyata Toshiya, Tamamori Yuta, Koyama Keiichiro
Rating: PG
Warnings: AU. Harmless. But uh there's magic and stuff.
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine. Story is mine.
A/N: I have a bit of time right now and after revamping the concept of this thing, my muse has come back. Right now this fic has 5 chapters planned but if you have any requests, I will try to humor them :)
“Welcome, how can I help you?” Miyata called out when the door opened. “Oh, Koyama-kun! Long time no see!” He smiled when he recognized the other. The male who’d entered the shop was the son of the owner of a ramen restaurant not too far from the flower shop. Miyata went to eat there sometimes and got along with the owner and her family well.
Koyama smiled back at the other and lifted a hand in greeting, “Hey there Miyacchi. How are things going on your end?” He looked around a bit. “Your shop is as colourful as always.”
Laughing softly, Miyata pointed out. “Well, this would be a very sad flower shop if I didn’t have many colours around?” Then his features softened. “What can I do for you, Koyama-kun? Was there anything in particular you were looking for? Something for your mother or sister maybe? Or someone at work?”
“Ah, don’t remind me of work.” Koyama sighed. “Mind if I sit down?”
“No, please go ahead. I have some tea if you’d like some?” Miyata offered.
Smiling, Koyama nodded, “Tea would be nice.”
It didn’t take long for Miyata to prepare two cups of tea and he joined Koyama by the small table. Looking more closely at the older male, Miyata noticed the dark rings under the other’s eyes and the almost empty expression in the other’s eyes. It made him sad and he understood why the flowers seemed so eager to help Koyama. He really wanted to help the other, too. Miyata knew Koyama as very friendly but even more so, as a happy person after all. An unhappy Koyama didn’t sit well with him.
“I just needed a change of pace.” Koyama told him. “Work didn’t turn out the way I thought it would. And now I just feel trapped.” The other wrapped his fingers around the tea cup.
He continued to pour his heart out to Miyata. A few years ago, Koyama had been accepted into a TV station as a newscaster in the making. The other had always been good at talking Miyata remembered. Things had looked good at first but then, all of a sudden, a large shadow had started to loom over Koyama. Someone had made use of his personality, which was for one ‘sometimes a bit of an idiot’ and also ‘unable to say no’. He’d ended up doing all the work only for someone else to get the recognition for it. And because of rumours strewn around at work by the other person, people were of course thinking weirdly and wrongly of him.
“They’re such easy things to rectify, at least you’d think so. Everyone could just look at my resume and see that I graduated from Meiji University and did not work at my mother’s restaurant after dropping out of high school because I was too stupid to graduate. I also didn’t get into the TV station through contacts but took their entrance tests.” Koyama looked close to tears, tears of frustration. “Nobody is looking though and I don’t want to point things out because it would make me sound like I was stuck up and too proud or something.
“It was my dream to work there, Miyacchi but now I feel like all I want to do is to leave but I can’t because I finally got to where I wanted to be. After all the work I put into it, I can’t just pack up and...just go.” Koyama held back his tears but Miyata could see how close the other was to crying, how close the dams were to breaking.
Miyata listened and thought about what the best thing was to say in this kind of situation. He couldn’t think of something though because nothing sounded like it would help, nothing sounded like it wasn’t just some shallow sympathy.
So he decided to, well, say it with flowers. “Give me a second, Koyama-kun.”
He moved to the back of the store and pulled out one of his flower pots. He placed two seeds into the soil and poured a potion over them. “Piro piro panitan suuri suri. Piro piro panitan suuri suri. Ay ay ay terette tititi.” Miyata whispered the magic words and watched the seeds glow and grow into beautiful flowers. Their buds were still closed but one could see the purplish-blue of an Iris and bright orange of a lily peeking through the green already.
Returning to Koyama, he placed the flower pot in front of the other. “This one’s on the house. Take it with you to your office? It’s not much but maybe adding a little colour will help. Things like this can change the workplace more than you think sometimes.”
Offering Miyata a small smile in return, Koyama thanked him. “Thanks, Miyacchi. For listening and...well just for understanding.” He looked at the flowers and his expression softened. “Oh and for remembering my favourite colours I guess?” Picking up the pot, he gave Miyata a small bow. “Thanks for today. And maybe I’ll see you over at the restaurant again sometime?”
“Sure. I like your mother’s food.” Miyata smiled. “Good luck, Koyama-kun. I’ll look forward to seeing you on TV.” He made a ‘I’m cheering you on, give your best!’ gesture.
Laughing softly, Koyama bowed again. “I shall do my very best, kind sir.”
After stopping by at home, Koyama took the flowers to the office with him. By the time he arrived, the buds had opened a little bit. He made some space for them on his table - cluttered with printouts, newspapers and magazines. Being in the news department meant that he liked to keep himself up to date on the latest events after all. He specialized in cultural events happening in Japan or the neighbouring countries.
“Oh these are pretty, Koyama-kun. Did you get them from someone special?” One of his colleagues stopped by his desk. The other was one of the main gossip spreaders. He probably did it without ill intent, the guy just liked to talk. A lot.
Koyama shook his head. “Not who you think. They were a present from a friend. He works at a flower shop that’s close to my family’s place, so I went in to say ‘hi’ on my way. Gotta support some of the local businesses after all, right?”
“Supporting local businesses! That’s a great thing!” The guy patted Koyama on the back. “I know a few people who should take you as a role model.” And with that he breezed on.
Making a face, Koyama turned to read his papers again. He didn’t know whether the other had meant that in a nice or in a ‘pfft you’re an idiot’ kind of way. Anyway, he had work to do, so he wasn’t going to think about what people said about him any longer.
The flowers bloomed fully on his desk now and many people came over to look at them. They were pretty eye-catching in the mostly grey office after all. Koyama seemed to feel a little happier with them around as well. Maybe Miyata had been right, adding a little colour and just making a small change could already have a big impact. Yes, positive thinking. He was usually a positive thinker. So he shouldn’t let this time be any different.
While he was feeling positive, people around him seemed to start feeling not so positive. The news show director kept looking at the clock and then around the office and then his phone.
“Where’s that guy? We were supposed to start the planning meeting for tonight’s show about half an hour ago. Has anyone gotten hold of him?” The director asked but nobody could give him a reply. The assistant director rushed off to try and call the person in question again.
Ah, maybe that had been why he had felt so relaxed, Koyama thought. The source of his misery hadn’t been around. The person who’d been using him for all this time, the person who’d pretended that Koyama’s work had been his. The dark shadow hadn’t been covering him up in the office today. He hadn’t even noticed that until now.
The director, sitting a few tables away from Koyama, heaved an audible sigh and turned to the producer of the show. “What do we do? We need his segment in tonight’s show. It’s an important feature and we can’t tell the sponsors that we’ll move it because it has to go together with the announcement made by the cabinet today. It’s a live interview as well, so we can’t just have anyone go there and talk to Mutou-san.”
Having just walked past in order to get something from the copier, Koyama asked, “Oh you mean Mutou Shinjiro-san, who’s hosting the international young lawyers conference in Tokyo and the mentor of the student team who’s been winning the case competition for three years straight? He’s planning to make the event bigger this year, isn’t he by adding information days at the university for students to attend and then discussions and workshops with lawyers coming from all over the world. It’s happening in conjunction with the cabinet re-thinking some of the international laws and treaties so many people have been following it.”
“You know about this, Koyama-kun?” The director asked.
Nodding, Koyama replied, “You could say that I’m an acquaintance of Mutou-san. I’ve also looked at this event with a lot of interest because it’s a great opportunity to exchange experiences and ideas with people from overseas. Not just for older people but for young people especially. Young people, who will shape the future.”
“Do you know all the details from the top of your head?” The producer asked with interest. “Could you tell other people about it? Could you actually have a conversation with someone about it. An interview.”
“I would say so, yes.” Koyama nodded.
The director looked at the clock then turned to look at the producer before turning back to look at Koyama. “Well, we don’t have time. We’ll go with that. Koyama-kun, go and get the make-up ladies and tell them to make you look presentable. You’re going to pinch hit for tonight’s show. We’re recording the interview with Mutou-san first. He’ll be here in half an hour. So be quick.” He got up and pushed the other gently. “Quick, quick.”
“Eh?” Koyama blinked but then nodded. “Okay. I’m on my way.”
So he ended up in front of the interview room a few minutes later. Suddenly he felt a little nervous but he didn’t really have time to start fretting and panicking. The director called out that they were going to start soon, so he should go inside and greet the guest. So he knocked onto the door and went into the room.
He’d just stepped inside and was about to introduce himself when Mutou-san walked up to him, face lit up with a smile. “Koyama-senpai! Now this is a pleasant surprise!”
“Ah, Mutou-san. It’s been a while. I’m glad to see you well.” He smiled.
“I am well, I am well. How about you?”
They had a bit of smalltalk until the director came over. “You know Koyama-kun, Mutou-san?”
“Ah yes. Koyama-senpai and I went to the same university. Meiji University. He is a year older than me and he’s helped me a lot. Our majors were different but he was the one who got everything that was not subject related sorted out. Including my social life.” Mutou-san laughed. “Actually it was Koyama-senpai who inspired me to create this event Or well, he was one of the people who contributed to the initial idea.”
The talk continued and then the interview was filmed as well, with Koyama asking questions and then having a small discussion with Mutou about the event and then everthing surrounding it, including the cabinet’s decision.
Afterwards, they made arrangements to meet up for some food and drink at some point to catch up. Once Mutou had left, Koyama was ushered over to the studio, where the actual news show would be recorded. Some adjustments had to be made - since he was taller than the person who usually sat in this place and his makeup was redone as well to fit the different lighting. He also got a quick overview of how things worked in the studio but having watched it from the other side many times, it didn’t take too long for him to get the hang of things.
Just before the broadcast would start, he managed to send a message to his family. It just said ‘turn in tonight, I’ll be on the show’. He smiled when his mother sent a message back that only showed a saluting emoji and the words ‘roger that’.
The broadcast was nerve wracking but Koyama managed not to stumble over his words as he introduced himself. Once he was talking about the topic he was supposed to talk about during his segment, he relaxed and got into the matter 100%. During the first commercial break, the director gave him a big OK sign and the assistant director held up a sign saying ‘good job!’. The senior newscasters also smiled at him encouragingly.
After an hour, the broadcast was done and Koyama felt the energy - or adrenalin really - leaving his body and he was close to just sinking to the floor. He said his goodbyes to people, went to water the flowers on his desk and grabbed his belongings before going home. He managed to drag himself onto a train somehow and then to his apartment.
When he came to work the next day, people crowded around him almost immediately. A part of him had the sinking feeling that he’d somehow screwed up big time and was going to get fired or demoted now, for his performance last night.
“Koyama-kun! We received a really good response from the audience!”
“And you’re lucky. We’ll be needing a pinch hitter for the whole week. Our regular caster is suffering from a nasty cold and has no voice. So he’ll be out for a while.”
He blinked. Koyama almost couldn’t believe this. “You up for this?”
His face lit up and he straightened up as well as he replied, “What’s the topic for tonight’s segment? I’ll get working on it straight away.”
One meeting followed the next and when Koyama finally found the time to sit down by his desk again, it was the first time in a long, long time - or maybe ever - that it felt good to do so, the first time he actually felt relieved to be able to sit down. When he did so, he looked at the flowers and smiled. It was a genuine smile, one that lit up his eyes as well.
“I really do love this job. I’m glad I didn’t give up just yet.” For some reason it felt a bit like the flowers were smiling back at him. He didn’t have time to ponder over that though because someone else was calling him away to yet another meeting.
At the end of the week, Miyata was sitting in the cozy ramen restaurant and looked up at the TV screen up on the wall as he waited for his food. A plate of gyoza and a steaming hot bowl of soup and noodles were set down in front of him a few moments later and a woman joined him by the table. “It’s going to start soon, isn’t it?”
“Yup.” He nodded and broke the disposable chopsticks apart. “Itadakimasu.” He tried some of the gyoza and smiled. “Oh, these are different than the usual ones? They’re delicious!”
The woman smiled at him. “They’re special celebratory gyoza. For Keiichiro. To celebrate that he’s a regular newscaster now. I’m saving a couple for him. He’s coming home later tonight.”
“He looks very happy on TV.” Miyata smiled. “Doesn’t he, okaa-san?”
“That he does.” She nodded and smiled. “I’m glad. That boy’s worked hard for it. And well, if you look at him like this, he’s all grown up and serious, too.” She chuckled. “Finally. Although he’ll always be my Kei-chan to me of course.”
Miyata laughed as well. “Of course.”
More people came into the restaurant then and everyone settled down to wait, to wait for the star of the evening. Koyama came in about an hour after Miyata had arrived and was greeted with cheers and a small rain of sparklers and confetti. It didn’t take long for him to break into tears - happy tears though - and he started to hug people left and right.
At one point, Koyama got to Miyata as well. “Miyacchi…!” He clearly looked like he wanted to say something but couldn’t think of what to say.
Shaking his head, Miyata indicated that the other didn’t have to say something and smiled at the older male. “It’s okay, Koyama-kun. Congratulations. And I’m glad you’re happy now.”
“I-...Just...Thank you.” Koyama finally got out and then hugged Miyata warmly. Actions spoke louder than words, or so people said after all.
Actions or expressions really. Miyata sat back again once Koyama had moved to the next person and looked around. The happiness he saw on the faces of the people who came to thank him and of the people around him made him happy in return. It was good to see how people’s problems were fixed, how happy people were when their problems were fixed. And were fixed thanks to what he had done, thanks to his magic.
Of course he wished that sometimes, he could use that same magic to fix his own problems but that wasn’t possible. A magic user could never use their own magic on themselves. And the same brand of magic would not work on another magic user, so his mother wouldn’t be able to help him either. In that respect, he went back to being a completely normal human like everyone else around him. Well, he tried to see the positive side to that.
He wouldn’t end up being misled by his powers. And he didn’t think of himself as better than other people or anything. Miyata stayed down to earth, rooted, just like his flowers.
And really, his magic wasn’t all that powerful or awesome. Tamamori had been successful on his own. The flowers had just given him a nudge in the right direction and he’d taken over from there. It was the same with Koyama. The flowers had opened up a path and Koyama had chosen to walk down that path. It hadn’t been the flowers that had made him popular over night, that had been Koyama’s very own brand of magic.
So in a way, everyone had their own kind of magic. Some people - like Miyata and his mother or Sakuma and his family - knew about it, some people didn’t and required a little help in order to discover it. And Miyata was always happy to help.
The chimes on the door of the flower shop announced the arrival of his next customer and turned around to greet them with a bright smile.
To be continued...
Next Chapter: 白菊 Chrysanthemum [Truth]
Fandom: Kis-My-Ft2, NEWS
Pairings/Characters: Miyata Toshiya, Tamamori Yuta, Koyama Keiichiro
Rating: PG
Warnings: AU. Harmless. But uh there's magic and stuff.
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine. Story is mine.
A/N: I have a bit of time right now and after revamping the concept of this thing, my muse has come back. Right now this fic has 5 chapters planned but if you have any requests, I will try to humor them :)
“Welcome, how can I help you?” Miyata called out when the door opened. “Oh, Koyama-kun! Long time no see!” He smiled when he recognized the other. The male who’d entered the shop was the son of the owner of a ramen restaurant not too far from the flower shop. Miyata went to eat there sometimes and got along with the owner and her family well.
Koyama smiled back at the other and lifted a hand in greeting, “Hey there Miyacchi. How are things going on your end?” He looked around a bit. “Your shop is as colourful as always.”
Laughing softly, Miyata pointed out. “Well, this would be a very sad flower shop if I didn’t have many colours around?” Then his features softened. “What can I do for you, Koyama-kun? Was there anything in particular you were looking for? Something for your mother or sister maybe? Or someone at work?”
“Ah, don’t remind me of work.” Koyama sighed. “Mind if I sit down?”
“No, please go ahead. I have some tea if you’d like some?” Miyata offered.
Smiling, Koyama nodded, “Tea would be nice.”
It didn’t take long for Miyata to prepare two cups of tea and he joined Koyama by the small table. Looking more closely at the older male, Miyata noticed the dark rings under the other’s eyes and the almost empty expression in the other’s eyes. It made him sad and he understood why the flowers seemed so eager to help Koyama. He really wanted to help the other, too. Miyata knew Koyama as very friendly but even more so, as a happy person after all. An unhappy Koyama didn’t sit well with him.
“I just needed a change of pace.” Koyama told him. “Work didn’t turn out the way I thought it would. And now I just feel trapped.” The other wrapped his fingers around the tea cup.
He continued to pour his heart out to Miyata. A few years ago, Koyama had been accepted into a TV station as a newscaster in the making. The other had always been good at talking Miyata remembered. Things had looked good at first but then, all of a sudden, a large shadow had started to loom over Koyama. Someone had made use of his personality, which was for one ‘sometimes a bit of an idiot’ and also ‘unable to say no’. He’d ended up doing all the work only for someone else to get the recognition for it. And because of rumours strewn around at work by the other person, people were of course thinking weirdly and wrongly of him.
“They’re such easy things to rectify, at least you’d think so. Everyone could just look at my resume and see that I graduated from Meiji University and did not work at my mother’s restaurant after dropping out of high school because I was too stupid to graduate. I also didn’t get into the TV station through contacts but took their entrance tests.” Koyama looked close to tears, tears of frustration. “Nobody is looking though and I don’t want to point things out because it would make me sound like I was stuck up and too proud or something.
“It was my dream to work there, Miyacchi but now I feel like all I want to do is to leave but I can’t because I finally got to where I wanted to be. After all the work I put into it, I can’t just pack up and...just go.” Koyama held back his tears but Miyata could see how close the other was to crying, how close the dams were to breaking.
Miyata listened and thought about what the best thing was to say in this kind of situation. He couldn’t think of something though because nothing sounded like it would help, nothing sounded like it wasn’t just some shallow sympathy.
So he decided to, well, say it with flowers. “Give me a second, Koyama-kun.”
He moved to the back of the store and pulled out one of his flower pots. He placed two seeds into the soil and poured a potion over them. “Piro piro panitan suuri suri. Piro piro panitan suuri suri. Ay ay ay terette tititi.” Miyata whispered the magic words and watched the seeds glow and grow into beautiful flowers. Their buds were still closed but one could see the purplish-blue of an Iris and bright orange of a lily peeking through the green already.
Returning to Koyama, he placed the flower pot in front of the other. “This one’s on the house. Take it with you to your office? It’s not much but maybe adding a little colour will help. Things like this can change the workplace more than you think sometimes.”
Offering Miyata a small smile in return, Koyama thanked him. “Thanks, Miyacchi. For listening and...well just for understanding.” He looked at the flowers and his expression softened. “Oh and for remembering my favourite colours I guess?” Picking up the pot, he gave Miyata a small bow. “Thanks for today. And maybe I’ll see you over at the restaurant again sometime?”
“Sure. I like your mother’s food.” Miyata smiled. “Good luck, Koyama-kun. I’ll look forward to seeing you on TV.” He made a ‘I’m cheering you on, give your best!’ gesture.
Laughing softly, Koyama bowed again. “I shall do my very best, kind sir.”
After stopping by at home, Koyama took the flowers to the office with him. By the time he arrived, the buds had opened a little bit. He made some space for them on his table - cluttered with printouts, newspapers and magazines. Being in the news department meant that he liked to keep himself up to date on the latest events after all. He specialized in cultural events happening in Japan or the neighbouring countries.
“Oh these are pretty, Koyama-kun. Did you get them from someone special?” One of his colleagues stopped by his desk. The other was one of the main gossip spreaders. He probably did it without ill intent, the guy just liked to talk. A lot.
Koyama shook his head. “Not who you think. They were a present from a friend. He works at a flower shop that’s close to my family’s place, so I went in to say ‘hi’ on my way. Gotta support some of the local businesses after all, right?”
“Supporting local businesses! That’s a great thing!” The guy patted Koyama on the back. “I know a few people who should take you as a role model.” And with that he breezed on.
Making a face, Koyama turned to read his papers again. He didn’t know whether the other had meant that in a nice or in a ‘pfft you’re an idiot’ kind of way. Anyway, he had work to do, so he wasn’t going to think about what people said about him any longer.
The flowers bloomed fully on his desk now and many people came over to look at them. They were pretty eye-catching in the mostly grey office after all. Koyama seemed to feel a little happier with them around as well. Maybe Miyata had been right, adding a little colour and just making a small change could already have a big impact. Yes, positive thinking. He was usually a positive thinker. So he shouldn’t let this time be any different.
While he was feeling positive, people around him seemed to start feeling not so positive. The news show director kept looking at the clock and then around the office and then his phone.
“Where’s that guy? We were supposed to start the planning meeting for tonight’s show about half an hour ago. Has anyone gotten hold of him?” The director asked but nobody could give him a reply. The assistant director rushed off to try and call the person in question again.
Ah, maybe that had been why he had felt so relaxed, Koyama thought. The source of his misery hadn’t been around. The person who’d been using him for all this time, the person who’d pretended that Koyama’s work had been his. The dark shadow hadn’t been covering him up in the office today. He hadn’t even noticed that until now.
The director, sitting a few tables away from Koyama, heaved an audible sigh and turned to the producer of the show. “What do we do? We need his segment in tonight’s show. It’s an important feature and we can’t tell the sponsors that we’ll move it because it has to go together with the announcement made by the cabinet today. It’s a live interview as well, so we can’t just have anyone go there and talk to Mutou-san.”
Having just walked past in order to get something from the copier, Koyama asked, “Oh you mean Mutou Shinjiro-san, who’s hosting the international young lawyers conference in Tokyo and the mentor of the student team who’s been winning the case competition for three years straight? He’s planning to make the event bigger this year, isn’t he by adding information days at the university for students to attend and then discussions and workshops with lawyers coming from all over the world. It’s happening in conjunction with the cabinet re-thinking some of the international laws and treaties so many people have been following it.”
“You know about this, Koyama-kun?” The director asked.
Nodding, Koyama replied, “You could say that I’m an acquaintance of Mutou-san. I’ve also looked at this event with a lot of interest because it’s a great opportunity to exchange experiences and ideas with people from overseas. Not just for older people but for young people especially. Young people, who will shape the future.”
“Do you know all the details from the top of your head?” The producer asked with interest. “Could you tell other people about it? Could you actually have a conversation with someone about it. An interview.”
“I would say so, yes.” Koyama nodded.
The director looked at the clock then turned to look at the producer before turning back to look at Koyama. “Well, we don’t have time. We’ll go with that. Koyama-kun, go and get the make-up ladies and tell them to make you look presentable. You’re going to pinch hit for tonight’s show. We’re recording the interview with Mutou-san first. He’ll be here in half an hour. So be quick.” He got up and pushed the other gently. “Quick, quick.”
“Eh?” Koyama blinked but then nodded. “Okay. I’m on my way.”
So he ended up in front of the interview room a few minutes later. Suddenly he felt a little nervous but he didn’t really have time to start fretting and panicking. The director called out that they were going to start soon, so he should go inside and greet the guest. So he knocked onto the door and went into the room.
He’d just stepped inside and was about to introduce himself when Mutou-san walked up to him, face lit up with a smile. “Koyama-senpai! Now this is a pleasant surprise!”
“Ah, Mutou-san. It’s been a while. I’m glad to see you well.” He smiled.
“I am well, I am well. How about you?”
They had a bit of smalltalk until the director came over. “You know Koyama-kun, Mutou-san?”
“Ah yes. Koyama-senpai and I went to the same university. Meiji University. He is a year older than me and he’s helped me a lot. Our majors were different but he was the one who got everything that was not subject related sorted out. Including my social life.” Mutou-san laughed. “Actually it was Koyama-senpai who inspired me to create this event Or well, he was one of the people who contributed to the initial idea.”
The talk continued and then the interview was filmed as well, with Koyama asking questions and then having a small discussion with Mutou about the event and then everthing surrounding it, including the cabinet’s decision.
Afterwards, they made arrangements to meet up for some food and drink at some point to catch up. Once Mutou had left, Koyama was ushered over to the studio, where the actual news show would be recorded. Some adjustments had to be made - since he was taller than the person who usually sat in this place and his makeup was redone as well to fit the different lighting. He also got a quick overview of how things worked in the studio but having watched it from the other side many times, it didn’t take too long for him to get the hang of things.
Just before the broadcast would start, he managed to send a message to his family. It just said ‘turn in tonight, I’ll be on the show’. He smiled when his mother sent a message back that only showed a saluting emoji and the words ‘roger that’.
The broadcast was nerve wracking but Koyama managed not to stumble over his words as he introduced himself. Once he was talking about the topic he was supposed to talk about during his segment, he relaxed and got into the matter 100%. During the first commercial break, the director gave him a big OK sign and the assistant director held up a sign saying ‘good job!’. The senior newscasters also smiled at him encouragingly.
After an hour, the broadcast was done and Koyama felt the energy - or adrenalin really - leaving his body and he was close to just sinking to the floor. He said his goodbyes to people, went to water the flowers on his desk and grabbed his belongings before going home. He managed to drag himself onto a train somehow and then to his apartment.
When he came to work the next day, people crowded around him almost immediately. A part of him had the sinking feeling that he’d somehow screwed up big time and was going to get fired or demoted now, for his performance last night.
“Koyama-kun! We received a really good response from the audience!”
“And you’re lucky. We’ll be needing a pinch hitter for the whole week. Our regular caster is suffering from a nasty cold and has no voice. So he’ll be out for a while.”
He blinked. Koyama almost couldn’t believe this. “You up for this?”
His face lit up and he straightened up as well as he replied, “What’s the topic for tonight’s segment? I’ll get working on it straight away.”
One meeting followed the next and when Koyama finally found the time to sit down by his desk again, it was the first time in a long, long time - or maybe ever - that it felt good to do so, the first time he actually felt relieved to be able to sit down. When he did so, he looked at the flowers and smiled. It was a genuine smile, one that lit up his eyes as well.
“I really do love this job. I’m glad I didn’t give up just yet.” For some reason it felt a bit like the flowers were smiling back at him. He didn’t have time to ponder over that though because someone else was calling him away to yet another meeting.
At the end of the week, Miyata was sitting in the cozy ramen restaurant and looked up at the TV screen up on the wall as he waited for his food. A plate of gyoza and a steaming hot bowl of soup and noodles were set down in front of him a few moments later and a woman joined him by the table. “It’s going to start soon, isn’t it?”
“Yup.” He nodded and broke the disposable chopsticks apart. “Itadakimasu.” He tried some of the gyoza and smiled. “Oh, these are different than the usual ones? They’re delicious!”
The woman smiled at him. “They’re special celebratory gyoza. For Keiichiro. To celebrate that he’s a regular newscaster now. I’m saving a couple for him. He’s coming home later tonight.”
“He looks very happy on TV.” Miyata smiled. “Doesn’t he, okaa-san?”
“That he does.” She nodded and smiled. “I’m glad. That boy’s worked hard for it. And well, if you look at him like this, he’s all grown up and serious, too.” She chuckled. “Finally. Although he’ll always be my Kei-chan to me of course.”
Miyata laughed as well. “Of course.”
More people came into the restaurant then and everyone settled down to wait, to wait for the star of the evening. Koyama came in about an hour after Miyata had arrived and was greeted with cheers and a small rain of sparklers and confetti. It didn’t take long for him to break into tears - happy tears though - and he started to hug people left and right.
At one point, Koyama got to Miyata as well. “Miyacchi…!” He clearly looked like he wanted to say something but couldn’t think of what to say.
Shaking his head, Miyata indicated that the other didn’t have to say something and smiled at the older male. “It’s okay, Koyama-kun. Congratulations. And I’m glad you’re happy now.”
“I-...Just...Thank you.” Koyama finally got out and then hugged Miyata warmly. Actions spoke louder than words, or so people said after all.
Actions or expressions really. Miyata sat back again once Koyama had moved to the next person and looked around. The happiness he saw on the faces of the people who came to thank him and of the people around him made him happy in return. It was good to see how people’s problems were fixed, how happy people were when their problems were fixed. And were fixed thanks to what he had done, thanks to his magic.
Of course he wished that sometimes, he could use that same magic to fix his own problems but that wasn’t possible. A magic user could never use their own magic on themselves. And the same brand of magic would not work on another magic user, so his mother wouldn’t be able to help him either. In that respect, he went back to being a completely normal human like everyone else around him. Well, he tried to see the positive side to that.
He wouldn’t end up being misled by his powers. And he didn’t think of himself as better than other people or anything. Miyata stayed down to earth, rooted, just like his flowers.
And really, his magic wasn’t all that powerful or awesome. Tamamori had been successful on his own. The flowers had just given him a nudge in the right direction and he’d taken over from there. It was the same with Koyama. The flowers had opened up a path and Koyama had chosen to walk down that path. It hadn’t been the flowers that had made him popular over night, that had been Koyama’s very own brand of magic.
So in a way, everyone had their own kind of magic. Some people - like Miyata and his mother or Sakuma and his family - knew about it, some people didn’t and required a little help in order to discover it. And Miyata was always happy to help.
The chimes on the door of the flower shop announced the arrival of his next customer and turned around to greet them with a bright smile.
To be continued...
Next Chapter: 白菊 Chrysanthemum [Truth]