:cherry_blossom: Hanami Date :cherry_blossom: (OC x OC)

Welcome to my writing blog!

I have to say, this is probably one of the longest pieces I’ve done in a while.

Have you ever seen a writing piece inspired by Kit Kats?

Well, now you have. :joy:

While this isn’t a writing about the candy itself, I wanted to do something centered around Hanami, the viewing of the Sakura blossoms in Japan.

I initially commissioned Niji to do a spring drawing of these two and started working on a story for Hanami. Then I got the piece back and nearly cried because it was such a beautiful drawing! I knew I had to incorporate it in to this writing, somehow.

The drawing has two more versions that are shown in the photos at the bottom!

These OCs belong to my best guy and I! This should go without saying, but DO NOT steal this artwork or these OCs.

Not that anyone has, but I just want to make it clear.

Synopsis:

Kurumu has been stressing out over an assignment for a science class she’s in, which is centered around making plants grow. To take a break and relax, she planned a day out with Shisuke for Hanami. She went to the extent of making some seasonal sweets for them to try together. All in all, it’s just a cute story of how their date went, and how her assignment turned out. 🥰

_______________________________

Kyo walked to his sister’s room, a little hesitant to go in until he heard her let out an annoyed groan. He cracked the door and saw her sitting at her desk with her chin in her hands. Her eyes were locked on to a small set of seed pods that were laid out in front of her.

”Still couldn’t get them to sprout, huh?” Kyo pushed open the door all the way and propped himself up against the doorframe, his arms crossed.

”No.. it’s been four weeks already and nothing. Is it something I’m doing wrong?” Kurumu looked to him worried.

”Maybe the seeds are duds. Have you tried planting new ones?”

”I planted all twenty of them. They can’t all be dead, can they?”

”Not likely. Have you been making sure they’re watered?” He asked, and Kurumu nodded.

”I’ve been trying to make sure that I only water them when it’s needed. I wondered if they weren’t getting enough sunlight, but they’re in front of my window constantly.” She sat back in her desk chair and stared at them some more.

”Well, staring at them won’t help them grow. Come on. You’ve got to get going so you’re not late for the bus.” Kyo motioned her to the door. This seemed unusual to her because today was supposed to be her date with Shisuke. When it came to Shisuke, Kyo usually wanted him staying away from her, but today was different. She wasn’t sure if he was just in a good mood from waking up bright and bushy-tailed, trying to be ive, or if he just didn’t know it was a real date. Either way, she was grateful that he seemed to be taking it well.

After slipping on a pair of white flats and straightening her dress in the mirror, she decided she looked presentable enough. The blonde bolted down the stairs, said “Bye” to her parents, grabbed her keys and a large bag, then made her way out the front door. Since it was still early on a Saturday morning, there weren’t many people out and about. This made her walk to the bus station seem very peaceful. It was five minutes til 8 and Kurumu thought she was doing well by getting there early. That is, until she saw Shisuke had been there waiting on a bench.

”I hope he hasn’t been waiting too long..” She thought to herself as she slowly approached the bench from behind. Quietly, she sat down beside of him with a faint blush on her cheeks.

”Hey.” Kurumu mumbled, barely making eye with him before looking away nervously.

”Hey. Still acting weird, I see.” Shisuke referred to the way she seemed so embarrassed when they went on dates together. Used to, she would be so clingy and quite frankly, annoy him. Since they’ve started going on dates as a couple, she’s seemed so tense. He couldn’t help but wonder what flipped that switch within her, and if it was a good or bad thing.

”Sorry.. I’m just not used to us going on actual dates together.” Kurumu’s small smile had faded. It wasn’t her intention to treat him any differently. “I don’t mean to be acting weird. I guess I just worry too much about things going wrong.”

”Yeah, you do. Just relax like you used to. It’s not like I’m thinking any different of you.” Hesitantly, he reached out and put his arm around her waist, then pulled her closer to him. This made her blush burn even brighter, but she eventually let her body relax and rest her head on his shoulder.

”I like your dress.” He said softly. “It suits you.”

”Really? I’m glad you do.” The grin seemed to come back to her face almost as quickly as it disappeared. His compliment put her over the moon. Only minutes later, the train arrived and they boarded to head to Yoshino Station. After a little while on the train and about a 15 minute bus ride, the finally reached Naka Senbon on Mount Yoshino.

”I bet you’ve already planned all this out, haven’t you?” Shisuke teased her with a small smile.

”Well, I’ve put some thought in to it.” Kurumu pulled a small map of the area out of the outside pocket of her bag. “I figured we could get a good spot in Naka Senbon Park, have some tea and cakes that I’d made, enjoy the peaceful view for a while, then hit the shops when we’re done.”

”Sounds like a pretty good plan to me.” Shisuke watched as she put the map back in to her bag, then attempted to hold her hand. It had been a little awkward, at first, since it took a couple of tries to get it just right. But he still managed to lace his fingers with hers and let her lead the way. The moment they reached the park, Kurumu made sure to scout out the spot with the best view. There weren’t many people there, since it was still early, so she saw this as an opportunity. One spot was very open and seemed to have a decent view. However, another spot caught her eye. A cluster of Sakura trees had a lot of space underneath them, a perfect place them to sit. Kurumu opened up the bag and took a fairly large blanket off of the top, then spread it out over the grass. Shisuke tugged the edges to smooth out the blanket while Kurumu unpacked her bag. She sat down and pulled out two tall thermoses full of hot water, along with two small teacups, packets of tea, and three bento boxes packed in their own insulated bags.

”How much food did you bring?” Shisuke’s eyes widened a little as he watched her unpack.

”Lunch for both of us, some cake slices I baked for us to try out, and the thermoses are to make tea with.” She explained, separating it all out.

”I guess you really did think of everything.” Shisuke wondered how long she had been planning this, as well as how long she’d been awake to get it all ready.

”I tried to. I hope it’s enough.”

”It looks good. You managed to get a lot done.”

”Thanks. I think you’ll like the cakes. I made three different kinds, two I hadn’t tried before.”

”You didn’t even taste it?”

”Nope. I figured we could try it together and see how we like it.”

”What about the tea? What kind did you bring?”

”I brought black tea, green tea, and sweet Sakura tea.”

”Sakura tea?”

”Mhm. Would you want to try some?”

”That’s okay. I’ll stick to my usual.” He reached for the pack of Earl Grey black tea, opened it and put it in to his cup.

”Suit yourself.” Kurumu shrugged, then put her Sakura tea in her cup. She slowly poured the hot water over their tea, then tightly screwed the lid back on the first thermos.

”Your tea is weird.” Shisuke mumbled, looking in to her cup as the Sakura blossom inside of it bloomed.

”Huh. I didn’t know it did that. This is my first time trying this tea.” She looked down in to the cup and saw the flower sitting in the bottom, then chuckled slightly. “You just think it’s weird because it’s not what you’re used to.”

”I have to say, I’d feel a little weird drinking something that had a flower sitting in the bottom.” He itted. Once their tea had brewed, they slowly sipped on it while enjoying the view of the hills in front of them. The breeze was just enough to tousle the trees and send a small wave of pink petals raining down on them. As it rolled through the park, all of the other trees left petals sparsely scattered along the grass. The two of them found the atmosphere relaxing, to say the least. Not much was said, but they spent the morning hours just enjoying each other’s company.

It didn’t take long for more people to begin showing up, making it a bit louder, but not overwhelmingly crowded. Kurumu had laid down on her back with her head resting on Shisuke’s thigh and ankles crossed. He’d been sitting cross-legged with his back resting against the base of one of the Sakura trees, combing her bangs back out of her face with his fingers. Suddenly, a loud growling sound made Shisuke look down at Kurumu with a little concern. Her eyes widened for a moment.

”Uhh.. sorry.. that was my stomach.” She mumbled, looking away with embarrassment.

”You should probably eat, then.” He pulled her bento closer to her. “Sit up.”

”Damn, I was so comfy..” The blonde groaned as she slowly rose from his lap.

”Would you rather eat or be lazy?”

”Is it possible to have both?”

”Nope. Why don’t we eat, then pack up and hit some of the shops? I know you’ll want to take your time looking around.”

”That sounds good to me.” Kurumu poured them both some more tea and opened up the bento. She had packed them both the same lunch; steak and sauce cooked medium rare for her, and medium for him, along with barbecue pork, roasted vegetables, and white rice. The insulated bag around them had kept the stainless steel bentos nice and hot. Each had a set of spoons, forks, and chopsticks. Shisuke took a large bite and was more than pleased with what she made for them.

”I think you’ve put me to shame, when it comes to planning dates.” He took another bite and let out a hum of satisfaction.

”Nah, I just wanted to make sure it was to your liking.” Kurumu opened hers and the food’s aroma filled her nose, nearly making her mouth water. She couldn’t wait to dig in.

Their meal was a quiet one, for the most part. They both watched the children playing in the park for a few minutes, and couldn’t help but to smile at how much fun they were having. Then, a group of elderly people had caught Shisuke’s attention. It was very obvious that they were intoxicated. He nudged Kurumu’s shoulder and inconspicuously pointed to them with his fork.

”That’ll be you when you’re their age.” He whispered and snickered a little.

”You know, you’re probably right.” She tried not to laugh too loud as she finished her lunch.

”I’m sure your dad will do the same.”

”He already acts like that. He’s been going through his mid-life crisis since Kyo and I were born.” Kurumu giggled some more as she opened the bento with the cakes inside. “I made a few different kinds of cakes. We’ve got some peach castella, Sakura Madeleine, and I made chocolate cake as a backup, in case you weren’t a fan of the others.”

”That was awfully considerate..” Shisuke thought to himself as he poked his fork in to a peach castella, trying a small bit of it.

”It’s not as sweet as I thought it would be.” He mumbled between bites, making a somewhat disgusted face as he swallowed it.

”I wanted to keep it tart instead of something overly sweet. I think it’s great.” She smiled, savoring the way the peach cake tasted. It made her mouth water.

”You can have the rest of mine, then.” Shisuke left the untouched portion of the cake for her to have.

”Don’t mind if I do.” She giggled and took the second slice of castella for herself. Since he didn’t care much for the peach flavor, he decided to try the Sakura madeleine, picking it up to eat it.

”This one is a little better. I like that it’s sweeter.” He finished the cake, which was about half of the size of his palm. Then he dug in to what he was really excited for, which was her chocolate cake. Unlike the other two cakes, this one had a layer of chocolate frosting coating the top of each slice. He dug his fork in to it and took a bite, and a smile actually came to his face. This was the one he wanted most from the time she opened the bento. Though, he knew she would give her hell if he didn’t at least try the other two.

”I knew that one would be your favorite.” Kurumu gave him a smug grin.

”The others were okay, but you know the other two wouldn’t get me like the chocolate cake.”

”That’s exactly why I made it.” She boasted proudly.

As the two continued eating the little bit of cake they had left, a couple of photographers were walking through. They had sat down on the ground in front of Kurumu and Shisuke to take photos of the scenery. Their spot on the hill had a view that was perfect for the cover of their brochure for next Sakura season. Just as Kurumu and Shisuke packed up their supplies, the photographers took a few photos of them, catching the two teenagers by surprise.

”We hope you don’t mind, we’re getting photos for the Mount Yoshino brochure for next year, and you all are probably the youngest ones we’ve seen here, so far. Most of the visitors have been elderly people.” The man holding the camera chuckled.

”You all would be perfect to put in the section for the park. Of course, we won’t put any of your photos in without your permission.” The woman with him advised.

”I don’t mind at all. Do you?” Kurumu looked to Shisuke and she shook his head to say “no”. Her eyes sparkled with excitement. “You have the green light from us, so feel free to use whatever you’d like!”

”Great! Could we get one more before you go? Just standing under the trees would be fine.” The woman suggested.

”Oh, sure!” Kurumu stood up and pulled Shisuke to his feet to stand beside her. A short gust of wind shook the trees enough to make more petals rain down over them as the photographers took another photo of them.

”That was perfect!” The man exclaimed as he viewed the photo on the camera. The woman looked over his shoulder and nodded.

”I don’t think we could have gotten a better one than that. Alright, we’ll let you two get back to your business.” The woman stood up alongside the man and waved goodbye to them. Kurumu picked up the bag with their belongings inside and slung the strap over her shoulder.

”I’m ready to go when you are.” The blonde smiled and held on to Shisuke’s arm.

”I’m ready. Let’s go see what some of the shops have.” He put his hand over hers and led the way out of the park and in to the shops. The first shop that caught Kurumu’s eyes was a bakery. It didn’t take much convincing at all for Shisuke to agree. Once they were done there, they’d looked around at the souvenirs to see if anything appealed to them. One vendor in particular had an array of Sakura themed Sanrio plushes that Kurumu couldn’t resist.

”Look Shisuke! They’re so cute.” She held up a My Melody mochi plush. It was soft pink in color with blossoms on its head and wrapped in a leaf.

”Is that the one you want?” Shisuke asked, but she hesitated as she looked over the others.

”Yup! I like this one the best.” Kurumu got ready to pay for it, but Shisuke put the money down on the table before she could.

”It’s the least I can do, since you planned out this whole date.” He mumbled, a faint blush on his cheeks. The merchant gave him his change and he tucked it away in his wallet.

”You’re the sweetest.” She smiled and kissed his cheek, making his face burn even more.

”Yeah, yeah. You ready to go home now?” He asked after realizing it was beginning to get even more crowded.

”Mhm. I’d like you to look at my seeds for an assignment and get your opinion on why they’re not doing anything.”

”They’re not? I had to do that assignment last year. It was pretty easy.”

”I thought I’d been doing everything right, but I guess not..” Kurumu pouted a little.

”I’m sure it’ll turn out fine.” Shisuke tried to lift her spirits, but he could tell that it wasn’t really working. After their bus and train ride, it was only mid-afternoon by the time they had gotten back to Kurumu’s house. As soon as they walked in to the house, she bolted up the stairs to her room without saying a word to her parents, who were in the kitchen having coffee. Shisuke followed behind her to her room and headed straight to her desk where the seeds were. He looked over the soil they were in, then examined how wet it was by carefully sticking his finger in to the soil. Just as he did so, he noticed that he felt a small root down in the pod.

”Seems fine to me.” He said with a straight face, grabbing a tissue and using it to wipe the damp soil from his finger. “Just give it time.”

”Are you sure? I’ve given it four weeks, so far.”

”I’m sure. Be patient.” He kissed her forehead and made him way to the bedroom door. “I’ll see you at school on Monday. Don’t stress out over the seeds, alright?”

”I’ll try not to. Thanks again for checking on them for me.” Kurumu smiled and waved to him as he left.

Monday Morning

”Shisuke, they sprouted!” Kurumu shouted as she scurried down the hallway.

”What did I tell you?” He couldn’t help but smile a little.

”You were right. Thanks for the advice.”

”No need to thank me. Just go on to class before you’re late.”

”Oh, you’re right!” She checked the time on her phone and her eyes widened. “I’ve only got a minute to make it. I’ll see you later!”

”Yeah, see you.” Shisuke watched as she ran down the hall to try to make it in time. He shook his head and let out a sigh.

”She’s such a mess, sometimes..”

______________________________

Word Count: 3,028

Artist Commissioned: Nijicx

Alternate Versions:

Tags:

#oclovefriday

#ThemeWeekends

#GreenThumbWeekend

#WritingMatters

#FeatureThis

#CuratorReview