She Who Conquered The Sun

Nezuko had felt something was off that evening as she walked home from the flower shop. The streets that accompanied the store was littered with people taking either a leisurely stroll or heading to and fro work. Something in her body had felt off that elicited soft groans and grunts of pain at the uncomfortable feeling, like something was about to burst from out of her body. Her breathing was labored and pained as she walked onward, her face flushed as if feverish. She just couldn’t escape the thought that something was wrong.

Something is wrong, something is wrong, something is wrong-

The feeling was a mixture of something building and something being lost. The overwhelming part was what felt like it was building, but at the feeling of loss tears stung her pink eyes, threatening to spill but she held them in even though it blurred her vision. Once she reached the slums and had made it to the place where her and her brother dwell she felt a sense of relief wash over her. If Brother would just pat her head, hold her in his arms and tell her it was ok, surely then this overbearing pain would vanish. 

The more she approached the shack the more it became unbearable as if she had held it in for far too long. The tears finally spilled out and she fell to her knees and let out a scream that seemed to release everything that was building up within her. She raised her head and screamed at the heavens. What was this sense of loss like she had lost something precious? The building hit a fever pitch and the all too familiar aura enveloped her body, that deep crimson that had been his aura. It enveloped her like a warm, gentle hug. 

As she screamed something in the sky flickered and then a large sword appeared over head. Nezuko couldn’t make sense of it’s form from where she sat but the moment it appeared the pain she felt ceased. She understood now that what had been building inside of her body was power and now that it had been released and taken form she felt better, at least about that. 

Daffodils || Sukuna & Nezuko

The girl who was helping him seemed oddly cheerful, and something about that fact pissed him off. He had no reason or right to really be irritated considering she was helping him (and just doing her job), and yet he couldn’t hide the scowl that was starting to form. Deep down, he knew that is was a quiet envy that was trying to take shape within him. Sukuna hadn’t been able to smile in such a way since…since Jungle was taken down. They were leftover scraps of something that had once been great, now without a place in the world.

Sukuna wondered why Yukari thought something as simple as some flowers would somehow remedy that. 

“What’re you so cheerful for…? There ain’t anything to celebrate.” His question and following statement had meant to stay inside of his head, but somehow the words slipped out, and although the green clansmen noticed, he didn’t seem all that bothered by it.

It wasn’t a big deal. He was already here, already had the money, and the girl was already heading off to find the flowers he requested. Doing this would clear that weird mission too, wouldn’t it? He had little choice but to follow her to the glass door, despite how she had strangely paused and shut her eyes instead of giving him an immediate response like he had wanted.

She didn’t seem to really speak in full sentences either…strange, but much better than the other girl around his age that he had met. Really, anyone was better than that explosion girl who rambled endlessly about things no one gave a shit about. Sure enough, she had led him directly to the daffodils. He had never paid much mind to the flowers before, but the bright yellow was blinding, and not in a good way. 

He couldn’t say he particularly liked them at first glance, and he certainly had no desire to actually look at them closely. “Bouquet,” he answered quickly. Despite his indifference towards plants like those in general, he found himself leaning over a bit to see better. “…The yellow ones are fine, ain’t they?” He didn’t really love the yellow, but the white was…boring, weren’t they?

Nezuko’s smile vanished, replaced with confusion and a curious tilt of her head as she considered what he meant and why his words seemed laced with something sharp that she couldn’t quite place her finger on. She’d dealt with the occasional cranky customer now and again, but generally they got over it the longer their exchange carried on. Nezuko’s smile and overall cheerful demeanor that was free of any malice was the reason the owner cunningly had decided to have Nezuko main customer service. She had become something of a mascot now for the store. 

“Cheerful cause.. You’re here! Celebrate the... meeting!” She tried to put it into words and smiled as she couldn’t just very well say she was happy that someone was here to now take her boredom away, but she also loved doing her job and meeting new people. This was the first time someone around her age had come in by their self, but he didn’t seem too happy about it. 

“Ok! Yellow Daffodil bouquet!” She repeated the order to make sure she’d heard him right and waited in case he had any corrections to make. Seeing as how there weren’t any, Nezuko collected a handful of the yellow daffodil’s from where they were displayed and scurried over to the counter, setting them down and then hurried off to find thick parchment paper to wrap them up in. Once she laid the flowers onto the paper she stared at them with a “Hm”, her lips spread then in thought. 

The bouquet looked kind of boring just with only one type of flower so she once again scurried off around the store, grabbing a handful of Baby’s Breath and then returned to the counter where the daffodil’s lay. She arranged the flowers neatly and then wrapped them up. It must have been the most simple bouquet she’d ever made but the Baby’s Breath really added a nice touch to it. She beamed accomplished at her work and then held up the bouquet for the silver haired boy to see. 

“That it?” She questioned giving him a cheerful smile. “That’s a thousand yen please!” This line was much more practiced and came out less fragmented than most of her speech, but a simple bouquet like this only cost the equivalent of ten dollars. As shown on the board behind her that contained the pricing, he could rest easy knowing that he was paying for the standard cheap bouquet and wasn’t charged at all for the Baby’s Breath. 

Ran smiled brightly at the girl’s enthusiasm. It made her happy to see other people find joy in something new, especially if that happened to be her favorite hobby. The girl had listened to every word, and she found it endearing how happy she was. “You’re welcome! I hope you enjoy it. You’re always welcome to come back any time you need help or more flowers.” 

Maybe it was a bit sentimental of her, but she always found it sort of heartwarming whenever someone began to garden for the first time. It made her think back to the very first plants she’d tried to take care of. Of course, she hadn’t been very good at it starting out, but she’d armed herself with as much knowledge as she’d possibly need and improved. Now she was in the situation where she could impart that knowledge on others and help them out. 

Her smile softened at the girl’s question, having noted she seemed to have some difficulty with her speech, but it was still easy to understand. “It’s nice to meet you, Nezuko-san,” she smiled easily. “My name is Ran. Well, some of the younger customers call me Plant Lady…” she laughed sheepishly, shaking her head. 

“Oh, feel free to let me know how its growing any time. I’m always here.”

“Mm! Will come back!” She promised enthusiastically, knowing that while she couldn’t come and frivolously spend money, that at the very least she could come ask for advice as she did her best to raise the plant she was given with the utmost care and attention. Though if the owner of the store she worked at needed to run more errands she’d volunteer as much as she could. She didn’t mind running them and now she liked the lavender haired girl with the pretty smile.

“Ok! Ran... Plant Lady!” Nezuko was a teenager, but her child-like innocence and happiness due to her trauma made her act and seem much younger than she actually was. She was still young, but not young enough to go around calling people Plant Lady like she was a middle schooler, even though she would address anyone how they wanted to be addressed or referred to themselves as. Ran was short and sweet so she resolved to remember that instead.

Nezuko shifted the bags around, adjusting the weight a bit as it was starting to weigh down her arms and once she’d positioned them a little more comfortably, she bowed her head as she was taught to do at the flower store. Once she raised her head she beamed energetically once again. “Ok! Will take care of plants! Take care, Ran!”

Ran smiled warmly at the question and nodded. “It’s a little different, yes. In arranging, the flowers are already grown. Their stems are clipped right? It makes it easier to place them as you like. Of course, you can do the same with gardening but it mostly happens while the flower is still a seed. You can plant a few different seeds in the same pot, so it’s sort of like a much…slower form of arrangement you could say. Some people use the big pots like that, planting a variety of flowers together, though it’s general much easier to keep them to their own pots. Their roots have much more room to grow and get more nutrients,” she explained. “The flowers also last a little longer because they still have their roots.” 

Maybe that explanation was too vague though? She wasn’t entirely sure how to explain it properly, given there were similarities. “They’re both for decoration though, but gardening requires constant care for the flowers, so they aren’t too different.” And in her mind, both a gardener and a florist regarded their flowers with the utmost care to create something beautiful. “Plus gardening includes much more than flowers, like vegetables or fruit, even herbs for cooking.” 

She was happy to see the girl was interested in trying, but she certainly looked a bit sad at the subject of money. Well, nothing to worry about there. Ran’s smile brightened as she gave a soft laugh. “Not to worry. If you’re interested, I can get you started on the house. We have little starter kits just for this!” she grinned proudly. She selected a small plastic pot, and a small bag of dirt–just enough to fill up a pot of that size, and after a moment of examining the seed packets, she selected one that would be easy for a beginner. 

She slid them into another bag and offered it to the girl. “Here, as a gift for listening to me go on and on about it. These seeds are relatively low maintenance. When you put the soil in the pot, just poke your pinky finger into the dirt up to about the first knuckle, and then put a seed there, then cover it up! There’s an assortment of colors included in this pack, so it’ll be fun to see how they all turn out. It also only needs minimal sunlight so you could keep it on a windowsill inside if you want, and it only needs to be watered once a day and you can pick whatever time you want to do that. Sound good?”

Nezuko balled her fists, holding them up to her chest as she nodded her head vigorously at the girl’s words. For someone whose speech was limited she never had a problem understanding someone. It was a lot to take in but Nezuko made sure to listen to it all in full. 

“Got it..!” She spoke determinedly as she accepted the other bag. It was weighty and the along with the other bag it was starting to get a bit heavy. Her arms would probably grow tired if she didn’t leave soon. Nezuko examined the bags in her grip, peeking into the new one the other offered her then looked up, smiling. “Thank you!” She beamed. She couldn’t wait to see what would end up growing.

“Will do... best! My best!” She had come here for an errand but had learned a lot and even gained a gift out of it. Overall it was a good day. Though now that she thought of it she hadn’t gotten the worker’s name. “What your name..?” Her smile faded as she tilted her head, looking curiously at the lavender haired woman. “What is..” She corrected herself, remembering that sometimes when she spoke with her brother that he would sometimes correct her. She wanted to make him happy so she did her best to do better. 

questionablehero​:

“Nezuko-chan? Such a pretty name!” Subaru exclaimed, bursting into a wide grin. Though she looked to be in her early teens age-wise, her method of speaking definitely gave a different, more childish impression. That combined with her round face and large pink eyes, she was just way too cute, he had to conclude. “Mhm, mhm, really the perfect little sister.” If he could take her away and have her as his own little sister to look after… Well, of course, first he’d need to get a few things in his life in order, but after that, he’d love nothing more. Being an only child got too lonely sometimes.

In response to the grasping of his sleeve, he took the girl’s slender hand into his own, and looked at her with firm resolve. “By the way, calling me by my full name is really a mouthful. It’s okay to just say ‘Subaru’. Oh, and here.” He fished the pack of sweets he’d purchased earlier at the store out of his pocket and handed it to Nezuko. “I wasn’t really sure if you like this kind of thing or not, but it’ll make my heart sad if you don’t at least try it, okay?”

“Hehe..” Nezuko beamed as Subaru complimented her name, his excitement contagious. When Subaru grabbed her hand she blinked, tilting her head once he began to dig into his pockets for something. She planted her wide, pink eyes on him curiously, a sparkle in them as soon as she saw the sweets and then accepted them from him. “Thank you..!” She wanted to try them and nodded vigorously in agreement that she’d definitely try them later. In fact, she was hoping to keep them to share with her brother. 

“I’ll try with... Brother, later.” She told him so he’d know she wouldn’t break the promise and then pocketed the sweets into her jeans. They probably wouldn’t get ruined or squished in there.. Probably. But now that she had looked down she noticed the red that had dried on her shirt that looked more like a deep brown color. She really liked this shirt too.. Not that she had very many shirts in her possession.

“Thank you, Subaru!” She decided to put aside her dirtied shirt and thank Subaru, this time only using his name once as directed. “Will... repay.” It took her a moment to figure out the right word to say, as she still had some trouble speaking, but the more she interacted with others the better she got. Putting all that aside, even if Subaru hadn’t acknowledged her inquiry about their friendship, Nezuko decided to still see him as a friend, and now she was curious about him. 

Ran couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped her at the girl’s words. “They are, aren’t they? I’ve always loved taking care of them, finding out the right conditions that made them grow to their full potential. The more love and care you put in, the more brilliantly they bloom.”

She’d always felt that way. Growing up, it’d been one of the many comforts she’d had growing up. With both parents working such long hours, it gave her something to do, to stay occupied so the loneliness wouldn’t set in. And still, over the years, it continued to be a relaxing hobby. Honestly, she couldn’t have been more glad her grandmother had asked for her help in running the shop. 

“Ah, gardening is what we call growing and caring for plants. Flowers, fruit trees, even different types of grass,” she explained. “Most people keep their plants in gardens, which, one way or another lent itself to the name of the process. Some people like to keep plants indoors though, but they have to be special kinds otherwise they won’t do quite so well.” That had definitely been something she’d learned early on when she was younger.

“I find it relaxing, honestly, but it can be hard work, so it’s not for everyone. Especially when it requires working in the heat at different points in the year. But I’ve always felt a certain amount of pride when a plant begins to bloom for the first time, or successfully grows a fruit.” She paused in her explanation to make a note of everything she’d gathered and the price to send over the bill later, then offered the bag to the younger girl.

“Do you think you’d like to try it some time? There’s plenty of ways to start small, and I usually recommend some hardier flowers that will thrive even with minimal care, since it’s easy to forget to water them regularly when you just start out.”

Nezuko tilted her head as she listened carefully to the lavender haired girl’s words. Gardening sounded different from what she did so she decided to ask. “Gardening different... from arranging?” That’s what the owner of the flower shop she worked at had called what Nezuko did. Flower arrangements. 

The teen grabbed the bag from the other girl and beamed. “Thank you!” Her fingers curled around the bag loops and she didn’t bother to check over anything, trusting that the girl she was speaking to knew what she was doing. If anything was amiss the owner could just send her back.

 It seemed today she had been monitoring Nezuko a lot more closely and having her run about doing small tasks instead of helping out at the shop doing her normal routine. It was ever since that day she’d injured herself. Oh, well. The owner was really nice and she was still getting paid so that’s all that mattered in her mind.

questionablehero:

Subaru watched the girl as she rose to her feet. Curious, he followed the direction of her gaze to the flower shop. Come to think of it, wasn’t it right outside of that same flower shop that the girl had first grabbed his attention? Then, once the shop’s owner bolted out to fuss over the kid, the understanding that the two were, in some way, related dawned on him. By her reaction, she seemed to be some sort of caretaker for the girl, although they didn’t look similar enough for Subaru to suspect that they were blood-related. Ultimately, it wasn’t like it mattered.

Nezuko’s smile faded as the male scolded her in a way akin to what her brother normally did. “Ok.. Will try.” She nodded her head vigorously, balling her tiny fists up to show that she’d taken his words to heart and would uphold them to the best of her abilities. She didn’t want a repeat of that situation either but it did give her one good outcome in that she’d met someone really nice.

“Subaru?” With her fists still held up, the girl had ceased nodding her head in favor of tilting it as she blinked up at him. “Subaru.. Natsuki.. Subaru... Natsuki.. Subaru Natsuki!” She had learned that if she repeated things enough times she’d remember it. She smiled cheerfully  as she teetered up and down on her feet. “My name... Nezuko Kamado!” 

Her grandmother had told her business had definitely improved since she’d come to help a year ago, but part of her thought she was just saying that. Though it wasn’t like it really mattered. She enjoyed the work, and it was always a relief to find a job that was actually something she enjoyed. It never felt like work….well, except whenever heavy lifting was required.

She was in the middle of moving one of the plants into a bigger pot to accommodate its growth when the bell over the door chimed and a younger girl walked in. “Good morning,” she returned in kind, smiling as she slid the gloves off her hands and set them aside to take the list from the girl.

“Ahh, so you’re working at that flower shop, huh? My grandma loves the arrangements,” she smiled, recognizing the handwriting and the stationary. She was a bit surprised to see the gloves highlighted but accidents were common, and plenty of plants had thorns and trimming them off could be a pain as well. “One moment!” 

Gathering the requested items, she carefully bagged them so they wouldn’t be a hassle to carry, looking up for a moment to see the girl looking around the store. “Do you like gardening?” she found herself asking, pleased to see the girl seemed so interested in the store. Since she was the one handling most things now, the layout of the shop and its plants had fallen into her control. She’d done her best to keep the plants as healthy as possible, while also making sure the shop felt comfortable and inviting.

“If you’re interested, I can always provide tips or help you out. It’s always been a hobby of mine, and I’ve always enjoyed helping people.”

Nezuko turned back towards the lady and beamed, taking the comment about the arrangements as a compliment since she was primarily helping with that. She nodded her head as the lady left to gather the items and Nezuko turned her attention back to the shelves behind her. These particular shelves held interest as they were adorned with a lot of decorative pieces that were meant to accompany flowers, such a fake butterflies or lady bugs. Nezuko had no idea what they were for but thought they were interesting to look at nonetheless. Once the lady returned Nezuko’s attention was captured away again.

“Hmm..” Nezuko blinked at her with wide, pink eyes as she thought over the question she posed. “Don’t... know.” She had never tried gardening. Was it different from what she was doing at the shop? But she did know one thing. “Flowers... pretty.” 

Nezuko had no idea who this strange girl was, but she was pretty and smelled nice. And she was also soft and warm. The girl smiled contently and returned the hug, embracing the other girl tightly. 

@bloodaura​

When Nezuko finished work that evening she bid farewell to the Florist and raced home to see her brother. The best part of her day was when she got to see him and so she skipped along the sidewalk, humming the tune to some song she’d heard playing in the shop earlier that day that had stuck with her. The place she worked at was located on a street that was lined with shops. Traffic tended to be heavy during certain times of the day at night, but right now there were hardly any cars going by. Even so, she would obey the rules of the road as dictated by her brother, who was very thorough about Nezuko being careful.