Melancholy of Flowers

Chapter Four

The Darkness Within


A scream echoed throughout the forest as dust flew up into the cloudless sky.

“Well done Hana. You have improved a lot since we first started your training,” Cye smiled.

Hana looked at the huge boulder in front of her, then turned to Cye with a big smile on her face. “I have.”

“It’s amazing how much power you possess. It can be very helpful to us in battle with our next enemy. If we have one.”

“That’s great. I always wanted to help you and your friends as much as possible. Now I can!”

Cye chuckled and patted the top of Hana’s head. “You are so cute.”

“It’s all because of you Cye.”

“What’s because of me?”

“You took your time with me when I was training. You were patient and caring when I didn’t get something right away.”

“That’s why it’s called training. You aren’t supposed to get something right away. It takes time and practice.”

Hana smiled and nodded. “Oh yes! I forgot to tell you! I’ll be attending your school for the next semester.”

“Really? That’s great!”

“I can be near you more.”

Cye bent down and kissed Hana softly on the lips.

“Can we go get something to drink? I’m thirsty.”

“Sure. Well call it a day.”


The two of them walked out of the forest and headed towards Cye’s car.

“Hello Cye,” came a soft voice.

Cye looked to his left and saw Natsumi standing there.

“Hey Natsumi. Why are you here?” he asked.

“I live near here. I usually take my afternoon walks through here.”

“I see.”

“What are you and Hana doing here?”

“Um....... we were uh............”

“Just enjoying the scenery. I heard this place was beautiful so I wanted to see it,” Hana said.

“Oh........ I see,” Natsumi said.

“Hey, I’ll be going to the same school as you and Cye so we can get to know each other better,” Hana said.

“You are?”

“Yep.”

“That’s....... great....”

Cye looked at Natsumi’s face then turned to Hana. “Hana we should go. Nice seeing you Natsumi.”

“You too Cye.....”

Hana and Cye got into the car and drove off, leaving Natsumi standing where she was.

“Why did you have me get into the car?” Hana asked.

“Didn’t you see Natsumi’s face when you told her that you would be going to the same school as us?” Cye asked.

“No I didn’t.”

“She was getting upset.”

“What? What for?”

“Like I told you before, she has a crush on me. You going to our school just made her feel even worse.”

“Oh. I didn’t consider that factor.”

“It’s okay. She should get over the fact that I have someone now. She’ll find someone else.”

“I hope so.”




Natsumi walked down the path that led into the forest.

“Why did Hana say that to me? Is she trying to get smart with me or something?” Natsumi asked herself. “Just because she is Cye’s girlfriend doesn’t mean she can get goody goody with me.”

“You are so right young lady,” said a voice.

“Who said that?” Natsumi turned around and looked all around her. “Who’s there?”

“That doesn’t matter right now. I can sense darkness in your heart. A darkness that can be very useful indeed.”

“Darkness? I don’t know what you are talking about. I don’t.... I don’t have anything like that in me!”

“That’s what you think. Think about it now. You hate Cye for treating you so nicely, then telling you that he has a girlfriend. You hate Hana for taking Cye away from you.”

“What? Hana has nothing to do with his. Cye and I weren’t even going out.”

“But if Hana wasn’t around, you and Cye could have been together, forever.”

Natsumi covered her ears and shook her head. “NO! Stop talking to me!”

“Now now. No use in getting angry. I’m here to help you.”

“Help me? With what?”

“I can help you get Cye to be all yours.”

“That’s impossible. He loves Hana....”

“She’s just a bug that just gets in your way. What do you do with bugs when they are annoying? You destroy them in the most painful way!”

“Are you saying I should kill Hana?”

“No, but you can hurt her in such a way that she’ll never bother you and Cye again!”

Natsumi just stood there.

“Come to the old warehouse near the school. You know where that is right?”

“Yes. It’s the place that was on fire not too long ago.”

“Go there and I will show you how you can get Cye to be yours.”

The voice disappeared with a laugh.

“Hello? Hello?”

Night fell and Natsumi went to the old warehouse just as the voice told her to. It was dark and the place had no source of light anywhere.

“This is kinda creepy,” Natsumi said to herself.

She stopped at the rusted twin doors that led inside the warehouse.

“Oh please. I’m listening to a voice that I heard in my head. I must be going crazy.”

She opened the doors carefully only to find the whole inside lit by candles.

“What the hell?”

“Welcome. I knew you would come,” said the same voice.

“Who are you?”

Natsumi walked up to the dark figure what was sitting in front of her. As she drew near, the light revealed a young lady, not too much older that Natsumi herself, sitting comfortably in a big chair. The girl had long black hair with golden eyes. Her outfit was a long black dress and a golden locket that hung from her neck.

“Why are you calling me young lady when you aren’t that old yourself,” Natsumi said.

“That’s what you think. I’m much older than I appear,” said the girl.

“What’s your name?”

“My name is Kurushimi.”

“Kurushimi? What kind of name is that?”

“Hey, what your tongue!”

“What do you want with me anyway?”

“I sensed the darkness that dwells in you. It made me curious so I did some investigating. You are a very interesting human indeed.”

“Human? What do you mean by that?”

Kurushimi got up from her chair and walked towards Natsumi. She cupped Natsumi’s face with her hands and looked at her.

“What a pretty face. Too bad Cye doesn’t realize your beauty.”

Natsumi blushed, then pushed Kurushimi off of her.

“What are you?”

“That’s classified information to you.”

“How can you help me?”

“Glad you asked. Follow me.”

Natsumi followed Kurushimi through a door and into a room that was glowed a green light from within. Kurushimi stopped in front of a large tub like tank that the green light was coming from. Inside the tank looked like some sort of tubs were floating in water.

“This will help you,” Kurushimi said.

“You want me to get inside that thing?” Natsumi asked.

“Don’t worry. You will be able to breath. All you need to do is put the helmet that’s inside on your head. The rest will take place on it own.”

“This is so creepy.”

“You want Cye for yourself no?”

“Yes..... but....”

“Then get in!”

Natsumi did as she was ordered. It was like her body moved on it’s own as she took off her clothes and got into the tank. Natsumi grabbed the helmet and placed it on her head. As soon as she did that, the tubes that were in the tank with her dug themselves into her skin. Natsumi screamed with agony as some sort of liquid entered her body.

“It’ll be over soon enough,” Kurushimi said. “I’ll use this girl to destroy Hana in the most painful way. Once her heart is broken to the point where she is totally helpless, I’ll make my move.”



“You know what goes great with hotdogs?” Kento asked.

“I’m afraid to ask,” Ryo said.

“Chili and cheese.”

“Oh. Well that’s not so bad.”

“Add chocolate to the mix and it’s a party in your mouth.”

“Now that’s just gross.”

Hana laughed as the two guys started debating on what’s gross and what wasn’t.

“Thank you for having us over Mia,” Cye said.

“No problem. I wanted to have a small get together before you guys go off to school again,” Mia said.

“I wish Sage and Rowen were here,” Ryo said. “It’s not the same without them.”

“I hear you,” Cye said.

“It’s great that we are able to do this more often,” Hana said while looking up at the ceiling.

Everyone looked at her in confusion.

“What do you mean Hana?” Cye asked.

“No enemies, just a normal life with friends and family.”

“Yeah. We haven’t had something like this in a long time,” Kento said.

“But how long will it last?” Ryo questioned.

“Who knows. Let’s just enjoy it while we can,” Cye said.

“I’ll toast to that!” Kento said as he raised his glass.

Everyone clashed glasses together and laughed.


Meanwhile, in the warehouse, Natsumi emerged from the tank. The liquid dripped down her naked body and purple aura surrounded her.

“Good. The process was a success,” Kurushimi smirked. “You know what your goal is, right?”

“Yes I do. My goal is to destroy Hana by having Cye only see me and only me,” Natsumi said in a dark voice. “I will make her pay.”

“Excellent. Now go and make sure you don’t let the other Ronins see through you.”

Natsumi nodded and walked out of the room.

“I will avenge my father no matter what the cost,” Kurushimi said as the door closed behind Natsumi.

A/N: I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. Unfortunately, it was very short. I am very sorry about that. The next chapter should be longer.