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“I could say the same." This was going to be a difficult conversation to navigate, even after years of learning which words to choose in order to keep the discussion in her favour. Those were always the type of superficial conversations she could breeze through, not the personally-loaded type that this one definitely was.

“Is this a more permanent visit or are you simply passing through?" Not having seen him didn’t mean that she didn’t have a relatively good picture of what he had been doing for the intervening time. Apparently, he had visited quite a number of places, never staying long enough for her to make a decision about trying to see him. 

More regrets.

        What a strange twist of fate that they should meet here. Not that the man honestly believed in such a thing; you shape your destination to your own will after all. He watched her face, raising his eyebrows ever so slightly, almost in question but not quite. "What of you? Is this a permanent visit or just a passing? What brings you here, MIss Kulea? Surely it's not all the blooming flowers."

        That was the question really weighing on Dorii's mind. He knew that Kulea had been here longer than he had, more than likely, that she knew the rumors from around this area, especially since she had always been good at gathering information. She wasn't the type to seek out danger.

               She beamed, a wide smile stretching from ear to ear upon her face. The girl approached her former traveling companion with a sense of familiarity, despite having actually met only once throughout her entire trip to Mitakihara City. Although one single meeting was enough for Setsu to have a good impression of this young man called Dorii Jin.

"Didn’t expect to see you here!"

` • . ⋆ ❣ || The girl knew that, just like her, the other had been wandering as well. She had thought their destinations differed, but fate seemed to have brought the two together once more. Had he found what he was looking for? She surely hasn’t yet. ||

        "I didn't expect to see you here either." Dorii replied, rubbing the back of his neck and let out a laugh. "Not waiting for someone, though, just enjoying the scenery." He looked over at the withering gardens with a smug little smile on his face.

        He didn't want her to be here, not in this garden. What if it appeared? It was close, Dorii knew that much.

         "Shouldn't you be looking hard for this fellow? You think he might be around to sniff the flowers?" Laughing a bit, he shoved his hands into his pockets.

              This’ll be the day, and this’ll be the moment. She’ll definitely, surely find him again, that certain someone she’s had her eyes set on for years. No, she wasn’t a stalker. Just a simple small town girl dearly missing an old childhood friend of hers. With nothing but the clothes on her back and the wooden sword she’d use during fights, the girl strolled through the park, hands behind her head.

               What she didn’t expect was to find a familiar from her long travel to this luxurious yet utterly tranquil city. The thought of his own travels taking him to the same city as her destination never crossed the brunette’s mind.||

             "Setsu?!"

    Having only met the woman a few weeks prior and then parting shortly afterwards, it was a shock to see her here. Here wasn't a very good place to meet. Standing up, he glanced around, before walking over to where she stood.

Even with her ability to go where she pleased, it was a rare occasion for her to venture down to the Botanical Gardens. Not that she didn’t enjoy them, they were quite beautiful, but her enjoyment of the scenery was outweighed by the possibility of being recognized. Hers wasn’t a well-loved family, after all. But today, she figured that the spreading rumours about the place would keep most people out of it. As she made her way to the Park District, Kulea was anticipating a quiet, but relaxing time.

Instead she did find someone there as well. Not just any person, at that, but someone whom she didn’t expect to see again. Although it had been quite a number of years since their last meeting, Dorii hadn’t changed much. They hadn’t exactly parted on a good note, though, which made her cautious to approach him. Honestly, she didn’t know herself how she felt about such a meeting.

    Dorii's eyes opened slowly, gazing at the sky again, listening to the person's steps. They were light and heeled, so it was most likely a woman. He listened to the woman walk around, until it became clear that they were headed for his direction.

    What a pain. He didn't want to deal with anyone right now, especially a woman. To be there at the gardens anyways was stupid. Women. Shutting his eyes again, he decided that he would be ignoring this woman, unless she chose to spoke to him.

    So it was just his luck when he heard her footsteps slow as she approached him. What he did not expect was the voice he heard.

"Dorii Jin."

    His eyes snapped open, head tilting to the side and a look of bemusement crossed his face. Kulea of all people. Expression changing again, this time to a cold sort of pleased look settling on him.