4 ❀ 花吐き病

[konnosuke]

H A N A H A K I ✿

Hanahaki is a fictional disease in which the victim coughs up flower petals when they suffer from one-sided love. It ends when the beloved returns their feelings (romantic love only; strong friendship is not enough), or when the victim dies. It can be cured through surgical removal, but when the infection is removed, the victim's romantic feelings for their love also disappear.

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[tosa]

( Always one to speak his mind and a big fan of sticking his foot in his own mouth, one would never think Mutsunokami would have a hard time telling anyone how he felt. But for all of his talk about hearts and human experiences, love wasn't really a priority. At least, not the romantic kind. His heart is big and full of love and he has plenty to give and share with everyone around him and amongst all of that, he just... hadn't realized. That's how he can be. He's the type that runs ahead quickly without much of a second thought and he can sometimes miss the obvious until it hits himin the face.

This time, it catches him in his chest. It starts off as an ordinary enough cough. Is it the weather? Is he sick? Dang, these human bodies can be tricky to take care of! But this isn't a regular human body thing, is it? He finds that out soon enough when he lets out a cough and what spills out from his mouth is carnation petals. )

[cranelike]

( The first time it happens, he's surprised.

For the past month, he'd a lingering cough that just wouldn't go away. It broke his laughter, interrupted his practice, and kept him up at night. Over time, it only grew worse, eventually taking away his breath and hurting his chest. He'd been able to feel something deep within his lungs, rattling and shaking loose with each cough. And then it happened.

He'd thought it was blood but after looking at his hand, he saw it was only a flower's petal. Strange. There was no explanation for it, and he'd tossed it, wrapping it up and throwing it away or chucking it into the garden. But it happened again. And again and again, more and more filling his mouth.

He started to isolate himself, trying to keep his condition to himself. He breaks away from the group during chores one day, laughing off his assignment and making some excuse about him being old or their task being boring. Alone, he breaks into another fit and looks down at his hand.

Well, this is a surprise, he thinks, looking at the red spider lily in his palm.

It's the first time he's ever coughed up a whole flower. Crumbling it in his hands, he tucks it into his kimono sleeve. He'll get rid of it later-- bury it in the garden or hide it under the flooring. He's old enough that he's heard stories and poems about what this is. To think that it would be real, though! How annoying. )

[despirit]

early.

[a cough can be disguised as winter's chill, can be blamed on illness that won't quite let go. these human bodies were so fragile, after all. and it's a good thing that Nikkari half of the time keeps to himself, floats around like the ghosts he can see. he coughs on his own, and the camelia petals that fall from his lips are a secret. a pale yellow, and he thinks it's as sickly as he feels, with this thing inside. a curse, maybe, but a curse doesn't make the heart ache like it does.

he starts taking more walks, so he can claim fresh air. so he can return, and be fine. so that when he needs to cough in a way that shakes his bones, spitting out the petals, no one might see.]

late.

[it's worse. it plagues him every day, and there's no denying it. there's talk of a cure, but frankly, he doesn't want it. to have it removed is acting like nothing happened, might as well make him a blade alone again. it plagues him, suffocates him, and yet Nikkari cannot let go of his feeling anymore than he might break himself in half.

so, in the early morning, before sunrise, he gathers what strength he has, and goes. where, he's not certain, but the only direction is away from the citadel. in this condition, it's not possible to go fast, but steady on - for as a sword, one should be stronger than this. before someone makes him deal with a surgery, before he has to waste away further. there will be, if he keeps walking, keeps pushing through the hacking fits that plague him, a quiet place to lay down and sleep. hopefully, not to wake up.

does a sword leave a body when they die, he wonders, or do they fade - only leaving the metal behind? he supposes he'll find the answer.]

[personifying]

[it's supposed to have a source, it's said. a source in a person, in affection, and Shizukagata finds that helps him less than it should. over and over again, he thinks in his head about who it could be, and yet he can't pin down the source that means he's spitting violet flowers from his lips, like a twisted fairy tale.

so he endures, and thinks that in him, it should take longer. in someone so tall, so strong. that if worst comes to it, he'll try to get everything cut away, so he can breathe again. and so he still tries to live his life, to experience things each day. still, it's not easy when in the middle of a task he has to stop, coughing into his fist, until it passes and he can breathe again, shaky but still trying to smile.

it would be easier, he thinks, if he knew where it was coming from.]

[xx_ogsalty158_xx]

[ For someone as prickly as Chougi, how could this be anything but a surprise? It's not like he hates any of the swords around him, but even the ones he likes he stubbornly refuses to admit it to their faces. And something like "love" shouldn't even be possible for him, should it?

And yet, there's the evidence one morning, in handfuls of scattered hydrangea blossoms, each one small enough that he can cough them up complete.

What's worse? The realization that maybe there is someone here important enough to call it "love" or the realization that he's been enough of a shit it'll never be returned? At this early stage it's easy enough to hide but...if it gets worse, he'll go to Yagen. That's the best plan, right?

For now, though, he chooses different hiding places for the flowers that spill out of his mouth. He wraps them up in an old handkerchief and shoves them into the fireplace in the kitchen in a spare moment where (he hopes) nobody's looking. Or slides beneath the citadel itself and shoves handfuls of petals into shallow graves (and tells anyone who asks why he's filthy that he was out in the fields). It's easier once spring comes and the actual hydrangeas are in bloom. He can just chuck them outside with nobody the wiser.

Yeah. Hiding it is best. ]

[replicatedform]

[In the beginning, he was fine. Sure, he have his complex to face, but otherwise Yamanbagiri Kunihiro is the strong, reliable and hardworking sword everyone knows him as. The longer he spend time with his comrades, the more he slowly open up and feel at ease around them. That he accept his comrades' opinions and acceptance of him.

However, after a while of spending time with a certain someone, he started to feel ill.

A cough? Well, okay, it's probably because of their human bodies. He did sneeze when the weather get chilly enough. But it's when he coughs into his hand and lowering it that he sees the flower petals on his palm.

He gaze down at it in shock, before he throws the petals away in a panic. No, no, no, that can't be right.

Even as he slowly get better about liking himself, how can someone like him suffer from this... this illness? He's torn between hiding it, and being responsible and reporting it to someone. The Saniwa? Yagen? The secretary?

In his indecision and fear, he keep on trying to hide it. Fortunately, his cloak can hide the petals in his hands and pockets until he can discard them.]

[yagendooshi]

► Research
[Yagen is observant. It comes with being a responsible and dependable sword, a good big brother who looks after his family long before Ichigo's arrival. A dependable sword that the Saniwa can rely on.

So he notice things. Any coughing he see, he asks if his comrade is fine. If it's just a simple cough, he mention he's always available to provide them with simple medicine. As long it's nothing serious enough to go to repairs for.

He get shocked when he learn that it's not just a simple cough. But something more serious. Between his horror and concern, there's also the spark of morbid curiosity.

How did it work? Why did it appear? Is it because of their human bodies?

Maybe the afflicted didn't want to tell the Saniwa or secretary, coming to Yagen in secret. Or maybe he received the order from above, telling him to look into curing this. Whatever reason, he looks at his comrade's eyes, his gaze steady and serious from behind his glasses.]

Once again, I'm asking. Will you be okay with me using your body for my research?

[Because no matter what method he may use, Yagen can easily imagine needing to cut the other sword open. On the other hand, if they object to that... he'll try to find a way with making medicine.]

► Who looks after the doctor?
[It's almost like a cliche. A doctor, a medic, who consistently remind people to take care of themself. Only to fall sick, either from overworking themselves or neglecting to check on themselves.

A lot of the time, Yagen's brothers make sure to drag him away to have fun and relax. So if it's stress, he have that handled.

But when it comes to matter of the heart, that caught Yagen off guard when he find himself coughing up flower petals. Being as hard working and studious as he is, he heard about this symptom.

And dig through the books they received for the repair room, until he finally find a passage. Upon reading it, he start to research and probe, ordering book from the merchant in person (he can't tell the secretary, their general yet), and start to experiment.

How often he cough up petals. What he was feeling. When did it come up?

... Does he really feel that emotion for that person?

Outside of his research, Yagen have been a lot more busy. Or seemingly selective with what he can do. He'd excuse himself often, even if it means trying to cut down on playing with his brothers. It's easy to excuse it away as him working, studying so he can be prepared.

It's harder to hide when he's assigned to chores, because he can't stay coup up inside forever. Hopefully, he can keep hiding this without anyone finding out...]

[tsukijiji]

[Coughing is not exactly a new thing for Mikazuki - in the first few months of being here he has learned about the different ailments that can affect the human body. He knew of some of those before, but now he's experienced them for himself - and he can't say it's nice at all, but it goes with being able to experience life in this new way.

So at first, he barely pays attention to it. But it keeps coming, and it gets deeper and his chest feels tight, until one day, hunched over a cup of tea that he has managed not to spill, some sakura petals fall from his lips. One of them falls into the tea and turns around in it for a while.]

... Oya.

[Is that also a normal thing that happens to humans? he's never seen it before, at least.]