LAVENDER # THE THIRD NIGHT

━━ RESIGNATION TOUCHED BY A BUTTERFLY'S KISS.

"Why do you love this place so much?"

Ushijima stands a little distance apart from the girl in the cream coloured dress. She blinks at his question before answering him with her own.

"Do you have anything you love? Love so hard that no matter how you are feeling, happy or sad, you find yourself coming back to it?"

Ushijima gives no hesitation. "Volleyball."

"Oh, you're a volleyball player, huh," she gives him an appraising look, a soft blush creeping up her neck. "Yeah, I can see that," she giggles. His face never shifts from its usual stony look, but Takara doesn't seem to mind. 

She sits down onto the ground, ankles crossed, and plays with one of the lavender stems. A bee lands on her shoulder as she explains, "It's like my version of volleyball. I come here whenever I can, no matter if I am sad or happy." 

Ushijima gives a grunt in response. 

"You can't be stuck in one place for too long," he points out nonchalantly, "otherwise you will never grow." 

Takara blinks in surprise.

"Oh," she says. Briefly, he wonders if he's offended her, but then again, that is her own problem. He was simply stating his own truths. 

"You're right." There is a defeated tone in her voice, but neither of them comment on it. "I already knew that. I just needed someone else to tell me."

"Then what are you waiting for?" He questions, and she lets out a little snort of amusement.

"I don't know." She stares at her feet for a long while and Ushijima waits patiently.

"Just spend a little more time here with me."

So he does. He sits down next to her, broad shoulders pressing against the thin white fabric of his shirt as he moves to lie down. Ushijima stares up for the sky for a brief moment, feeling the pain that Takara is feeling. It hurts, that bittersweet nostalgia. His heart feels heavy. 

The tall male turns his head to look at her, studying her bare arms and fingers, watching her move as she fiddles with the stems. He's not one for conversation, so he doesn't ask what she is doing, simply letting her coexist in this warped space with him. 

It's peaceful, so removed from the world here in this dream. He lets his shoulders relax and closes his eyes. His emotions must be connected to her, too, because the rampant flow coming from Takara softens into a less riled up version. 

They stay like that for an unknown amount of time, bees buzzing and butterflies flitting around their heads. She plays with lavender and he dozes, both comfortable with each other's presences despite the strange nature of these encounters. The breeze tousles their hair fondly, like a mother cooing at her child. It feels safe here. 

"Thank you, Ushijima-san," she murmurs after a while, and stands up. He opens his eyes and looks questioningly at her as he stands up too. 

"Ready to move on?" She offers an elbow and he cautiously links arms with her. He recoils once he realises both his and her arms are beginning to turn into butterflies and he looks at her in alarm. She simply offers a soft smile and a few comforting words.

"I'll see you soon, Ushijima-san. Thank you again."

Her body turns into a myriad of cream, blue and sunset coloured butterflies as his turn into black and olive ones. They join and mix together in the air as the world falls apart at its seams, the sunset sky merging with the lavender and ground spreading like paint across canvas. 

Then the world crashes down onto the butterflies, and Ushijima wakes up.