#anzumao

[maoisarap]

TIME; hanahaki au

Mao Isara centric oneshot

WARNINGS: blood, death, one-sided love, angst, puking, funeral mention, hints of ignorance.

PAIRS: kuromao (platonic). anzumao (one-sided romance). rei×anzu (romance)

WRITTEN: 31/10/23

REPOSTED: 23/10/24 | edited

WORD COUNT: 2.8K

if anyone wants to see more of my old oneshots being reposted, do tell. i doubt, though.

please let me know what you think! in a non attention seeky way... i hope i am not being attention seeky for asking this...

Blood dripped thickly, causing a light tap into the metal bin as soon as it hit. Small and thin yet rough petals of a kind of flower followed afterwards with every cough he heaves. His skin burns from the major fever this disease has caused him. Rashes forming around his limbs started to blister from the thorns that begged to be free from being wrapped around his heart and twisting through his veins.

"This is three steps worse than last night." Comes a mutter from the fellow redhead of the dorm room - Kuro, his hand rests on his chin as he glances towards where Mao leaned over his bed, still sitting under his summer duvet silently begging for the coughs to cease to a stop.

"At this rate, we may have to call your little friends that you're not coming to the convention and take you to the hospital instead to get you checked in for the night."

"I can't do that. This event is an important one to go to...!" His throat felt raw with the intensity he spoke. The stinging sensation of the nettles crawled through his windpipe with every syllable he breathed out. The vines dared to grow further upwards, letting the leaves take space in between as they began clogging his throat up slowly.

Mao Isara had what is called the "Hanahaki Disease," and so far, Kuro was the only person who knew about it. Only by mere accident. The older male even knows who he is suffering because of, and he feels bad for the younger male. Especially because the said person was already in a relationship with someone else, not long after Mao had developed feelings for them, which shattered Mao to pieces.

The said person was also too busy and oblivious of Mao's feelings for them.

Another heaving cough reaches Mao, causing him to lean over the bed once more as more of the red fluid flows, petals reminding him of the amount of time he has left. He waits a minute after the wreck of a coughing fit, his mouth still slightly open from the urges to throw some up more.

Kuro leans over from where he stood and grabs one of the many water bottles that sat in a crate amongst many by the door of the dorms room and hands the cold bottle towards Mao. He unscrews the glue-tight-like lid before doing so, raising an eyebrow at the younger. "More than death? I don't think so. You're going, kid, and I'll make sure of it."

Mao stayed silent at the response, taking a few gulps or sips possible of the clear liquid when he could. His eyes cast down to his lap, a frown of discomfort never once leaving from his facial features.

In the corner of his eye, he could see Kuro tapping away on his phone - most likely chatting to either one or all of the rest of the members from Trickstar. Possibly even Yuzuru or anyone else who's a member of the student council, too, about Mao's situation of not being able to join in for a while.

A sudden groan then comes from the beaujolais-haired boy, causing Kuro to switch his phone off and inch closer towards the younger who seemed to hold his stomach tight with one arm, as the other clutched tight against his blood stained top grasping to grip against his chest on the same side that his heart would be.

"I'm definitely calling you an ambulance." He hears Kuro mutter once more, the older student already waiting on call for the emergency line to pick up. Thankfully, in Kuro's opinion, the person on the other side of the line picked up right away, letting him speak of the needed help immediately.

"I'd like to call for an ambulance, please..." Kuro's voice fades from Mao's hearing as he lurches over his bed once more, more droplets of blood hitting the bottom of the bin in such disgusting swirls as the various flower petals floated amongst the terrifying red.

More coughs surge through, causing a non-stop fit of heaving the pleads to breathe freely for a moment. Mao could feel tears from the pain pricking at the corners of his kelly green eyes. Shivers of the hot fever going up and down his spine repeatedly, causing him to shake every now and then.

The only thing Kuro could do at that moment was rub the youngers' back in comfort as he kneeled down to the floor besides Mao's bed, his phone was still up to his ear as he spoke about the others' situation to the person on call. Kuro's voice would often go up an octave in worry, or deeper than his usual voice when talking stern and begging for ways on how to help Mao in his situation.

The call suddenly ends as Kuro places his phone onto Mao's bedside table. "The miss on the other side said the ambulance will be here in twenty minutes at most." He wished they could get to the place faster for Mao, but with how busy traffic can be from one side of the town to the other during these hours of the week, the older student knew it would be impossible for them to do so.

Kuro then suddenly stands up. "She said for you to stay sitting up and drink your water if needed. Don't force the blood out." He turns around to face the rest of the room and headed towards Mao's own chest of drawers that sat at the end of his bed.

"What are you doing?" Mao heaved. A large cough erupts from his throat after he spoke.

"I'm packing you a night bag, just in case they tell you to stay in for the night or so. I wouldn't be surprised if they did tell you that, with your situation."

Mao only nods mutely as his reply.

Minutes go by as the two wait. Kuro helped Mao as much as possible with his situation every time the smaller felt pain or needed to throw up.

If there was an analogue clock in the room, Mao would definitely be able to hear the loud ticks the hands cause every second or so from the amount of waiting he has to do. He'd rather be free of this impending doom and either practice with Trickstar, play sports with Midori, to sit with Jun and read manga with him, or help Tori and the others in the councils office - literally anything but sitting around like a loose toy would do.

Half an hour extra passes some more. Some students of the music course had knocked on the rooms door, asking how Mao was. It was mostly from the ever so impatient Trickstar and Eichi who came by to check up on him, even helping Kuro with looking after Mao until their short minutes were up.

Mao was finding it even more difficult to breathe. The ambulance had yet to arrive, and there was no way Kuro or anyone could get Mao to the hospital by their own hands.

He shivered again, now laying on his side with one arm draping over the edge of the bed, his hand grazing the carpet flooring. Kuro scolded him for laying down, but it's not like the younger could hear him anyway.

"Kiryu..." Mao could just about manage through his short breaths. Kuro stood by the rooms only window, peeking out of it every millisecond possible as he clenched his phone tight in his strong hold, always prepared to look for any messages or calls from the emergency lines. The ambulance still has yet to come. It was frustrating, in Kuro's opinion. They said they'd be at the campus grounds as soon as possible, but they were more late than intended. Here was a kid dying, and the medics were casually taking their time like as though they were on holiday in France.

He turned around, looking at Mao in his weak state. Fear iced over his veins as he quietly stepped towards the other - with how slow the ambulance was at arriving, there was no way he would be saved, and it ached in Kuro's heart horribly.

If there was a magical way of saving the kid, Kuro would happily sacrifice himself for the other to complete that mission. He knew of the classic three ways to get rid of this disease, but Mao has already attempted almost all of them... and failed. He had such bad luck that it made the duo of redheads upset together.

Kuro kneeled down besides Mao, ignoring the mess of failed attempts of getting blood and petals and puke alike into the bin, he grabbed ahold of Mao's hand that grazes by the carpet flooring, a sudden quick emotion of shock goes through his mind of how cold the other felt. Mao usually was warm. Like the perfect temperature of a radiator during a winter storm, but now he felt as cold as a snowy blizzard.

Kuro glances up to meet eye to eye with Mao as much as he can. Mao's kelly greens were shaking from the amount of shock his body was letting out without his control. The greens of his eyes were dulling of its shining radiance with every minute that clocked by. Mao couldn't even see the older in front of him any longer, as he shouted out in fright from ten minutes ago about it.

Kuro has never heard such harsh fear from the other before. It was something he wished to never sense again, only for the other to be genuinely happy.

"I'm still here, bud."

Mao's cries cease to a stop. The only movement there was left of the beaujolais-haired teenager was still of his shaking and the few rare breaths he let out. He couldn't even talk anymore. He only let the blood flow from his mouth and the few petals that started to slow its rising existence from his throat. Kuro tried to clean the mess around Mao as much as he could repeatedly.

A sigh of the unknown suddenly comes from Mao. His eyes were fully closed, but his body still shook and twitched. Kuro didn't once let go of the youngers' hand as a sudden knock came from the dorm room door. He shouts for whoever is on the other side that the door is unlocked. He knew who was knocking by now, anyway.

A few pairs of footsteps tred inside of the room towards Mao and Kuro.

...

The door closes automatically by itself as Kuro and Anzu leave the funeral directors office, thanking the very director for their time. The aura around them was darker and dull than ever as the cold autumn's breeze wraps around their figures.

"I have a question..." came the broken voice of Anzu as the two stood at a set of traffic lights, waiting for the big lights to turn from green to red for them to cross over the street. "Who did... Who did Mao have feelings for to suffer that much of the disease?"

Kuro stayed silent for a moment, watching some of the vehicles that pass by. Ordinary cars, lorries, and motorbikes alike zooming without a notice.

"If I tell you, do you promise not to blame yourself?"

Anzu was confused, but she nodded right away. She hears the male student sigh and turn to her with a meekly glance.

"It was you." Kuro then suddenly chuckles low and sadly, "I remember him ranting to me a few months ago in our dorm about his crush on you when it was just us alone one evening. It was... refreshing... to see him act like a normal teenager for once other than this doll of exhaustion he built himself to be. He'd always come to me about ways of wanting to impress you with whatever he does. Hell, he tried writing a solo song during practice time with Trickstar, and the Akehoshi kid told me one time because he wanted to impress you so much. He even asked Kaoru on some tips - I'm just glad Kaoru was careful with his words for once on what to say in that type of situation."

Anzu's eyes widened with surprise, letting all the words she was told melt into her thoughts. She suddenly frowns and looks down, "but he knew I was in a relationship with Rei..."

The beeping noise coming from beside Kuro suddenly sounded as the two crossed the road to the other side of the street.

"Maybe so, but feelings like love isn't so easy to repress, especially for someone like Isara."

...

The dorm room felt empty, in Kuro's opinion. With the other two always so busy doing their own things across the ocean depths, and now Mao...

He shakes the thought from his mind and walks over to his own bed, exhaustion has hit him harshly from the last month and a half - it was needed, though. For the plans of Mao's funeral and who was bound to come to it when the date is known from the funeral director. Kuro has tried getting Eichi and Rei to call Mao's family members about the sad happening not long after the youngers' passing, but no one ever answered their calls, it made a bunch of others frustrated at the situation. No matter how many times they all tried to call, the numbers would always be sent straight to voicemail.

Kuro sits down on his bed, about to lie down, but something small and white catches his attention. He turns to look at his pillow to see a small and soft feather sitting there, there was nothing to indicate in the room for a feather to make its presence known. He picks it up - Kuro knows what feathers mean when it comes to the thought of the dead.

He wraps his hand around the small white feather, raising his hand to his chest as he closes his eyes in thought.

Mao was at some final peace on the other side. He hoped to bring some hope and a new beginning for Kuro and everyone else of Yumenosaki and Ensemble Square as a thank you.

Kuro lets a soft smile crease his features.

"Rest well, kid."

[mihai-florescu]

17 for the Enstars asks uwu

17. what non-problematic ships do you dislike?

Disclaimer: dislike is not the same as hate for me. I just think a lot of these are mid. Any *present day* eichi or wataru ships that arent wataei. Madaleo because it would feel too much like shipping me and my roommate and i just think them being besties is so much better. Narumika again because to me theyre like platonic soulmates. Actually most ships i dislike just because i think theyre better off as bffs. Hiiai i am just not fond of. Himeniki (im fond of poly himerinniki tho, thats probably why). Yuzutori. Any alkaloid ships that arent tatsumayo. I dont like mayoniki either actually. Leo and Tsukasa & Midori and Chiaki & poly ra*bits are also a no thanks from me. Anzumao, anzumada, anzukao, most anzu ships. Hmm probably more i cant remember rn, i'd need to see it and think Huh thats certainly not for me.