savethecitydesu | Go green?! The music of melancholy playing through the gardens!!

Entry tags:

niko,
toshio

Go green?! The music of melancholy playing through the gardens!!

Who: Niko, ???
Where: Kochi Jinja Park
What: A chance encounter
When: June 16, Afternoon

Kochi Jinja Park is set east in the city. It is, as far as places in the city goes, one of the few that offers some semblance of peace for those who go there. Oh, it's not that it's not loud and bustling: you can count on every gradeschooler, highschooler with free time (which is rare) and women with babies going there, because unlike other attractions in the city (even the popular Scarlet Road), Kochi Jinja park is free.

Because of this, there's a bit of corner-cutting in the park's maintenance, but only on small things. Some signs have grown rusty from rain, and a few benches are not suitable for even the most tolerant of bottoms, lest you want them to crack under you. But by and large, the rows of trees - planted neatly - grow to offer shade across the many, crisscrossing paved paths, most of which lead to the park's main attraction: the botanical gardens of the city.

They're an attraction because the municipality forgot about them about ten years ago, and thus brought forth many, many protest groups that demanded the funding to be returned to them. What began as repeated acts of civil discontent became the eventual occupants of the gardens, which rapidly became the place for most of anyone needing a stage for social commentary, or simply for a place to fetch attention, to count on an audience whose legs are too tired from park walking to wander off. And yet, most strangely, the plants growing there (if somewhat wildly) have managed to thrive.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Eventually, the boy came out of the tunnel, since Niko saw light again. It was, of course, blinding after half a minute crawling in the dark, so only when he'd emerge would he realize where he was...

The question of the moment was: is he too old for wonder? [Recommended music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rC8jlId6lQo)]

Colors. The strangest, yet most subtly beautiful colors appeared before his eyes. Burnt yellows the color of a rich sunset in the summer, blues from oceans that you only see in pictures of islands that you will never think to visit, and reds the color of an eclipse. There were flowers, in rows, in patches, in bushes, separated one from the other by dirt paths and trimmed grass pads. Strange flowers too, as none of them would be familiar to Niko... a few seemed like nature's forgotten creations, with stalks too long, or petals of unsightly, yet wonderful shapes. A few looked like blooming spiders, and others like tiny tongues of fire, pointed heavenwards. A sound of running water, bubbling, could be heard coming from among some bushes that concealed further depths of this place. Some of the walls were ornate too, with crisscrossing, geometric patterns that hinted of stars and foreign skies.

This was not like the rest of the garden. This was cared for. There wasn't a single flowerbed overgrown with weed, or lattice fence that hadn't been worked on. There was no garbage, no unruly teenagers, no cigarette butts on the ground. In fact, this had to be something that nobody had ever seen, or else the gardens would have never closed.

Niko's eyes fluttered at the sudden light light,forcing him to cover his eyes a little while they adjusted. And when he could see again, he found himself unconsciously un-tensing and eyes widening.

Niko didn't knew next to nothing about plants, gardens, or greenery. But in that moment, it felt like stepping into another world entirely. The rest of the gardens weren't even like this on their best day - this place was more like an idealized space, separate and unspoiled.

He stood up (wincing at the ache), eyes taking everything in before he looked at the kid directly. "...Some of the plants your raising, huh. What's the rest belong to?"

"Me," the boy said, with a calm, even look on his face, enough to burrow a bit of suspicion in the mind of anyone who would hear him. Suspicion that he might just be telling the truth.

"Right." The skepticism in Niko's voice wasn't as strong as it usually was, though. Niko shoved his hands in his pocket and nodded to everything. "All this belongs to and is taken care of by just you."

The boy rubbed the back of his neck, briefly looking preemptively tired, a hint of a wounded, mildly annoyed look on his face. "Sigh. Heeeere we go again," he said, before breathing deep. "People could at least comment on the flowers first before the questions and the eye rolling starts. I mean, it's not too hard, is it?" he said, almost in a pouty, childish whimper. "I got feelings too, you know..."

Having done his little monologue, he took in another deep, deep breath, and looked up at Niko. "Yes. All this... belongs and is taken care of by just me. And," he blinked slowly "Right now? Just about right now, you probably got an idea in the back of your head. You're going to be pushing it down, fighting it because it sounds silly and stupid... but just so you know, that thing your gut is telling you to suspect? It's spot on."

'Because it is stupid and silly' was on Niko's lips. Almost. Instead,

"Tch. Sounds truthful enough." At the very least, it sounded like Toshio believed it. It felt honest but that was about it. He scuffed the ground, and walked up to one of the rows of strange flowers, his eyes slowly surveying everything with grudging appreciation.

"...Don't know squat about plants or whatever. This work looks way better than anything in shops or magazines hell, some of the touted tourist spots. Completely different from the rest of the gardens."

The boy didn't reply initially. He had wandered off - one would imagine not too far, since he returned quickly, very quickly - with a plant waterer. It was purple, plastic, and had a friendly looking elephant shape to it.

"That's because it is. Anyway, I'm not going to hold you up here too long," said Toshio while watering some plants, which perked up a little from the water alone, in the way plants do in cartoons. "I just thought that, since you were nice enough to worry about me not falling to my death, and playing a song... well a fraction of a song for me, I'd give you something in return."

He took a few steps into the plant patch, carefully avoiding them while watering a bit more. Seemingly thoroughly invested in this, he didn't talk for a moment. "You live here in Hiyoku, or are you visiting?" he asked while watering a small bush of deep orange, bell-like plants. The petals were shut but, the moment a drop of water hit them they opened up into blossom, basking in the moisture and, at the same time, releasing a fragrant aroma that, for the lack of a better comparison, smelled like hot chocolate on a cold rainy autumn afternoon, distinctly burning that visual into the mind of whoever smelled them.

"Wasn't that worried," Niko replied, waving his hand dismissively. "And like I said, don't really need anything in return.Kid drops off branch. Who doesn't react? It's just common courtesy."

Niko walked up and down some of the rows, studying everything. As 'pretty' as everything was all he could think right now was 'weird'. If he didn't know he was awake, it'd be tempting to say this was more like someone's dream than reality. The place even smelled different and the scent of hot chocolate made Niko's step falter for a moment.

Then he registered Toshio's question and that pulled him back. Niko looked down for a moment, and his reply had an uncharacteristic hesitance that he himself didn't notice, "Living. For now." Beat. Then, a suspiciously quick, "How the fuck does a plant smell like chocolate?"

"You'd be surprised how many people don't know squat about common courtesy, then," the boy replied, sounding a bit wistful, if a tad bitter. He continued his task before arching a brow at Niko. "Chocolate during a rainy day in the fall," he said, without any pretentiousness or harshness in his correction, but only to point out that Niko wasn't alone in getting the mental image. "Well, it should be obvious. This here is a magical plant that defies all logic, and you're about to freak out and call me a liar, or something of the sort. So let me get in my happy place for this."

He put down the watered then and reached into his pocket, producing an old, if thankfully wrapped up bit of hard candy, which he took this mouth before Niko could respond, spending a moment in silence before nodding lightly, and addressing the boy with the kind of voice you can only manage when your mouth is partially occupied with foodstuff. "Alrighdd, hidd me widh idd."

Niko didn't freak out. He simply gave Toshio the same, flat, skeptic look he used to give to another younger boy when he fed Niko tall stories.

"Right. Magic. So basically, you're crazy."

There was a brief moment where Toshio looked incredibly tired. An aged, weary look that doesn't belong on a kid's face. It was rapidly replaced with a sort of annoyance that was far more fitting for a small, bratty frame, though there a little too cold and mature for mere, childish tantrums.

Crack went the hard candy, crushed between his teeth.

"Right... you know, I think if I go on talking to you, I'll forget that I ever meant to do you a favor. It's just, you know, how it's going to go, and I've done this so many times and had so many people do this to me..."

There was a little pain at the end of the words.

"So screw it."

The wind stopped. Had it been blowing? Well, it was now notoriously absent, as was every noise for just a second.

Then the boy hesitated, clenching his teeth for a second and staring at Niko for a moment before the wind returned, and the flowers resumed their lazy dance. "Nevermind. I," he bit his lip, "don't need you to believe in me anyway. I'm not a god anyway. Let's just get this over with," he said, turning his back to Niko--

The wind blew, firmly, and almost angrily, if it was possible, hitting him on the face and forcing him not to look at Toshio for a second. Then Toshio was in front of him again, holding a small object... Just a tiny pot, made of clay, and inside it enough dirt to support a small flower of wispy white petals, not like anything Niko had ever seen.

"Listen to me, because I'll say this just once. You don't have to believe in me or in this, but if you won't, then at least do some of that courtesy thing you do for a crazy kid... This," he shoved the flower at him, "is going to protect you. There are bad times coming to Hiyoku, and people will want to hurt you, and manipulate you into becoming something that you are not, and if you're not careful, you won't have a choice on the matter."

He breathed deep. "This flower will save you from having someone steal your name and your life like that. Just once. There's only one flower like this. You don't have to water it, you don't have to take care of it... but you'll know it's worked, because it will die when that happens. When it does, you can come here and talk to me about crazy all you like... Now, please take it, before I change my mind."

There was that instant, right when the wind stopped: it was the equivalent of stepping on a landmine or worse, being the building moments right before the wrecking ball crashes.

Despite his conscious mind knowing he was dealing with a creepy, delusional kid, there was something in that moment that made Niko's eyes defensively narrow, his right hand clench tight, and his body go tense. It was as silly and stupid as everything else the kid had said so far but there was also that suspicious feeling that felt real.

That feeling didn't quite fade, even when the moment passed and Niko's hand unclenched. But despite the gut feeling, Niko's snap-impulse was quick to provide the thought 'Bullshit.'

That's what this was - how he was reacting, what Toshio was going on about, and what the flower was supposedly for. Simply bullshit... No different than a certain little girl saying a flower ring was a good luck charm or insisting it was protection for the monsters in the closet.

Niko's hand clenched again from the involuntary comparison. Just common courtesy, he told himself, nothing else. After a long tense silence, Niko took the plant from Toshio.

"Basically, shit storm's coming, need to watch out for self, and this flower can help me do that. Got it," Niko said, keeping a straight face and his usual brand of sarcasm or skepticism out of his voice. "And if crazy happens I'll know who to go to." And, after a brief moment's debate (even if this all was still bullshit), he scuffed the ground slightly and added, "Thanks, I guess."

"I think you should go now," the boy said, tersely, and after holding his breath for a moment. "Not trying to be rude. Trust me, when I try I at least do it well..." he added, a tad deadpan. "But you can only stand being with someone who thinks you're just a crazy kid for so long, you know? Anyway, I've got a lot of gardening to do..."

Despite trying to keep his voice flat, there was a certain sulkiness to it. The boy turned around before he could be addressed further, and began to water a different range of plants. They had the oddest way of shaking lightly when the water hit them, but surely it was just that the drops were making the minty-smelling leaves 'dance', and not that the plant really moved or anything.

Niko's eyes narrowed. He didn't reign in the snipe on time this time. "Yeah, well, you told me to hit you with it. Don't ask for it if you really can't."

He turned off his heel to make the way back. A sidelong glance caught the movement of the plants but all he thought was 'weird'. His sight lingered on Toshio slightly before he said, "But whatever. Like I said, thanks anyway."

And then he was on his way.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Go green?! The music of melancholy playing through the gardens!!

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

1/2

Re: 1/2

1/2

2/2

Re: 2/2

Re: 2/2