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It'd been a long time since Shu last visited Valt. A month earlier, he messaged Valt to let him know he had a few days off and will come see them all in Spain.
Since then, Free noticed that Valt had been buzzing with excitment.
Free didn't know Shu that much and, honestly, he didn't care much either. But seeing all his friends, and especially Valt, so excited to see one of their closest friends, warmed his heart.
Shu was going to stay here for three days. "That is so little time!", Valt complained every other minute while they were waiting at the airport. Rantaro made a joke about Shu's very busy schedule. Free was here, too, but he kinda stayed behind, as he wanted to accompany his friends but didn't see the need to be part of the 'Welcome Party' since he and Shu weren't close.
It took some time after the plane's landing before they could finally start seeing a familiar patch of white hair in the crowd.
Valt literally took off and sprinted between all the strangers and, when Shu was close enough, he jumped in his arms. The others followed, wanting to greet their friend as well, as Free didn't move, not feeling so sure about what to do.
From where he was, he couldn't hear what they were saying- Shu was smiling, he seemed happy. Even when the whole group was around them, Valt didn't let got of Shu, hugging him tight.
After a while, Free sighed. He was not sure why. He stepped closer to the group, finally greeting Shu formally, who answered the same.
"Let's go, shall we?"
The others agreed. Shu was only here for three days, and they better not waste this time. They brought him back to their campus, leading him to the room they had prepared for him.
As expected, Shu had all the attention, not only from his friends, but also from the other students, happy to meet such a legend. They spent their day talking, or having Beybattles, or showing Shu around the school.
Free didn't come.
He was feeling sick, and had probably caught a cold or something like that- He didn't really mind. It forced him to stay inside, stay alone, and over all didn't force him to spend time with all the ruckus Shu's existence was making.
Free had nothing against Shu, he really didn't, but he also didn't feel like going out of his way to spend time with him. He was Valt's friend, not his. He started coughing.
After a short nap, Free texted Valt. As usual, each tuesday, they likely went to get dinner together- But he had no answers. He figured Valt was busy with Shu, and accepted to wait a bit. Yet, after an hour, still no answer- But he started hearing noise in the corridor outside of his room. He recognized Valt's laugh.
He slightly opened his door and, just like he heard, Valt was here with Shu, walking towards the kitchen. Only when the smaller boy saw Free that he realised.
"Oh, Free! I'm sorry, I was thinking we could eat with Shu tonight- If you don't mind?"
He minded. But he craved Valt's attention.
"Yes of course. I'll join you."
Only twenty minutes in he realised he probably shouldn't have. Shu was the center of attention- And while Free usually didn't mind not being noticed, there was this uneasy feeling each time he saw Valt being really close with the other.
Maybe he had the flu.
"Alright-" Valt said, after taking a plate of Shu's signature pasta. "Free, how much do you want?"
"Oh." That took him out of his transe. "I'm fine with-" He couldn't even finish his sentence that he started coughing again.
Valt looked at him worried, as he stood up and went to the bathroom.
He couldn't stop coughing. That was… Weird, for a flu. He didn't question it that much, just waiting for this to pass but… It didn't. His throat started to get more and more sore, it was getting harder to breath and, suddenly, he threw up in the sink.
Oh well. He thought, while looking at himself in the mirror. He guessed he wouldn't be able to avoid seeing a doctor.
Just as he was about to rinse out the sink, he saw it. A petal. Small, round and blue.
He took it, surprised. Did he vomit this? Or was it already there when he came to the bathroom?
His thoughts were stopped by the bathroom door, slowly opening.
It was Shu, who went to check on him- But instead of asking him how he was, he froze when he saw Free, petal still in hand.
"Yes?" Free asked, unsure about Shu's behavior.
"I- Sorry." And he turned around, leaving the bathroom suddenly.
Free wondered, but didn't care much. He flushed the weird petal.
"What do you mean tomorrow?? It's been just a day?" The confused voice of Valt immediately came to Free's ears when he regained je kitchen, trying his best to breath normally.
"I just had an important message telling me to come back. It's okay, Valt." Shu seemed calm but preoccupied.
"You're leaving?" Free deduced by the situation, which surprised him as well.
"Yes. I'll take the first plane at dawn. Thanks for having me, guys. I'll go to my room to pack my things, now."
Valt seemed devastated by the other's departure- And Free bursted out in another coughing spree, which took back the attention of the smallest.
"Free? Are you okay?" Valt gently set his hand on the other's, making his coughing even worse.
Free then noticed something in his mouth- soft and weird. He coughed in his hand and- Another petal. So it was coming from him. He hid it in his hands.
"I'm fine, just sick. I'll go to bed now." And he left not saying anything else.
He tried to sleep. Couldn't. He didn't stop coughing out petals, trying not to throw up again.
When he had, finally, a minute of calm, he checked his phone and- A message. From Shu's account?
- Go to the hospital.
Accompanied by a link. Nothing more, nothing less. Free clicked it.
He couldn't say he never hear of the Hanahaki disease, because he did. A long time ago, when he stumbled upon an old TV show- but he thought it was fiction. He never would've guessed that was an actual thing.
Yet, here he was. Sick.
The blue periwinkles coming out of his mouth made it obvious what was happening.
He had always liked Valt, to an extent. His joy was contagious, his company was gold, and his attention was worth millions. Back then, he didn't notice it when he became friends with him, let alone close friends. He guessed he didn't notice as well that he had fallen in love with him.
But Free wasn't the kind to linger on situations. Shu was leaving for a reason- He probably knew he was why the disease awakened. Valt and Shu were always the bestest friends, weren't they ?
Even when Valt and Free first met, Valt only had eyes for Shu. That was a battle he couldn't win. He tried not to think too much about how sad that was. He had to take action as soon as possible.
When Valt went to accompany Shu to the airport, he hesitated to check on Free. He decided to let him rest
He said his goodbyes to his best friend as he sadly watched the plane fly away
He took out his phone, deciding to check on Free, letting him know that he could take care of him, today.
- Sorry, I'm at the hospital today. I'm fine. Don't worry too much.
He worried, of course. He decided to join the hospital, wondering what kind of flu that was.
Maybe it was panic, maybe it was sadness, but he had a hard time breathing and, suddenly, in the middle of the street, he started coughing.
A few passerbys went by him, asking if he were okay, which he tried his best to respond that yes.
However, when he took his hand off his mouth, he saw it.
Blood, and a long, yellow petal.