Title: a flower, blossoms
Rating: G
Fandom: Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly
Relationship: past Minato Ai/Mizutani Natsuki
Wordcount: 300
Short summary: The flower blossom falls into the lake, disappearing, gradually, like her thoughts on…

The flower blossom falls into the lake, gradually disappearing into its darkest depths. Ai doesn’t know how long it takes to fall, to sink, to drown, but that’s not the point. She’s thinking about him, even though he’s no longer there.

Or is he? Wait, which “he” is she thinking about?

The others are solely thinking about Natsu, but another “he” flickers through Ai’s mind. One with darker hair, a darker face. A shadowy figure, reminiscent of the name he went by. Hikage.

Who was Hikage, really? He took on Kazuya’s face to trick them, he gloated in their despair, but Ai saw something tortured behind it all, something behind that shadow. She wishes she could have found the real Hikage. The others would say she is too kind, too naïve, if she voiced that thought aloud so she keeps it to herself. As well as her thoughts about Natsuki.

Oh, Natsu… He loved her for so many years, desperately. She loved him, held onto that thought of him for so, so long. But she wonders if they could have been happy together. The feelings inside her never truly blossomed. Yes, in his arms, it would feel so warm and so safe, but was that her younger self speaking? Would things have changed if he hadn’t been lost or would it have been the same?

The flower blossom must still be falling, Ai thinks, even though she can no longer see it in the water. Because her thoughts are still falling through these unresolved mysteries. But this time she believes they will settle. This time she will move forward, leave the flower behind, let it dissolve with time.

After all, it’s just a flower. It will eventually fade away. But even still, for a time, it is beautiful and precious…

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