#answeek2019

[onedivinemisfit]

AnS Week 2019 Day 3: Wind - in which freedom is the wind in your hair and the sun on your skin, and when you stretch out your hands, you grasp the horizon and never let go

Did a take on the Shirayuki from chapter’s 107 cover, which is imo one of the most beautiful depictions of her. qwq

Also felt good to paint a sunset again, been so long since I did it last~ <w<

AnS (c) Akizuki Sorata Art: Me

[purpledragon57]

ANS Week Day Five - Free Day

Free to use icons! Please like/reblog if using

[bubblesthemonsterartist]

Congrats on 500 followers! I have a simple (shameless) prompt. I loved All That Glitters and I would feel utterly blessed if you gave the world another ZenYuki fluff. Thank you!!!

Prompts are currently closed. I will announce when I am open! :)

Zen has always been fond of the castle by firelight. As a boy, he slipped his minders leash more times than he cared to count, sneaking between the halos of torchlight and into the many shadows they afforded him. There was a certain freedom inthe silence, in the way his boots would echo in the emptiness while all but theguard slept. Squeezing into a crawl space between statues here and grabbing ahandhold among the trellis’s there, he was alone. An adventurer exploring new lands. A soldier heading off to war. A knight in search of a dragon to slay. All while being blessedly unseen.

He hadloved the dark. The anonymity of it had been… peaceful. A respite from the expectations of his birth. Truth be told, he still does - seeking it out just like the moon seeks the sky. The way light forges its own path through it is beautiful. Memorable. And in his own way, hesupposed, he understood Obi because of that. Found kinship with him and envy in the way that he never lost his casual relationship with something that Zen couldonly have in secret.

But rightnow, that darkness was getting in his way.

“Shirayuki!” He doesn’t know if it is thesoles of his boots or the tick of his heart that is pounding against the walls.“Shirayuki!”

And maybe, he thinks, heowes his retainers an apology.

~ ~ ~

Music swells, drowning out the rustle of cloth and creak of bones as the entirecathedral – including Zen, including the King – rise to their feet. And, in thecenter of it all, she stands among them. Rules them. For this brief moment, for thissingle minute in history, she is bestowed something approaching the respect that she deserves.

And she takes it. Like a dream,Shirayuki steps through sunlight stained by colored glass, down the aisle and up thealtar to claim her prize. 

She’s a vision in white, like he always knew shewould be, her hair curled and laced through with diamonds and rubies and pearls,wisteria dripping from her hands.

Her headbows as she stands before him. Even veiled, he can still see the emerald of hereyes, the burn of her blush, the bright shock of her hair.

Andwithout waiting for him to even offer, her gloved hands slide into his. Taking him boldly before the kingdom gives her the right.

Dearly beloved…

~ ~ ~

He’s panicking. 

The rush of blood deafens him, makes him sloppy. He’s already tried her rooms. And the pharmacy. And the rooftops and the hothouses. Each location, empty. Each location, swept clean and brightly lit and completely empty in preparation for today.

With every second he fails to find her, doubt creeps into his veins. Reminds him of his station. Of the multitude of reasons he might be too much trouble.

It would have been better if you were never born a Prince…

Heart in his throat, he rounds another corner. Maybe he should summon the guard. Inform them that there is a problem with security. Send out the call that Shirayuki has been kidnapped. Has run away. Has gotten cold feet and she doesn’t–

The leather of his boots screech against marble.

And he stops.

And stares.

There, in the dark of the garden, framed by the gaudy monstrosity of golden swans and colored lights and arches of water making up the fountain that could only be a gift from Prince Raj himself, Shirayuki stands. Eyes shut and mouth moving as she sways ever so slightly, hands folded tightly above her stomach.

His knees go weak, and he collapses against the nearest pillar. Ah, he was going to have to speak with Mitsuhide about his training schedule soon - All this paperworkwas finally starting to catch up with him. 

“Shirayuki,” he calls out, more breathless than he likes. “What are you doing?”

She comes to a sudden and guilty hault, spinning on her heel.

“Zen!”

~ ~ ~

“PrinceZen,” Lord Brecker interjects, not even a full five steps after he’s extracted himself from Lord Lido’s well wishes. “There’s still the matter of the land claim in the Yuris. If you could just speak with His Majesty on my behalf–”

It’s onlyyears of watching his brother that keeps his face from crumpling like a used tissue. With a carefully neutral smile in place, he nods along to the old bag. And maybe, just maybe, he entertains the thought of following Obi’s advice and absconding for a fortnight.

It wasn’tfair. It was their wedding day. But every noble in the country who was not ontheir deathbed was in attendance, all eager to remind him of their presence from the moment they walked into the ballroom. And, what felt like hours but was likely only minutes later, he was still he was wading through endlessmembers of nobility and visiting royalty.

“Excuseme.” A drink slides into his hand, a broad hand skating the length of hisshoulders. “His Highness is needed elsewhere for a moment.”

Zen onlyjust catches the flint of gold and the nudge of a leg against the back of his knee before theroom spins, Breckers annoyed face being exchanged for the faceless multitude. He looks to his side, and up.

A smile blooms across his lips. “ThanksObi,” he sighs, and lets himself be led. Hopefully to Shirayuki. “I wasn’t looking forward to whatever gripe he had about Kihal this time.”

Obi’s hand falls from his shoulder in a casual shrug. “You looked like you were drowning back there.”

“Mmph,” he takes a careful sip and jolts in surprise. It’s wine. Watered down. Zen casts Obi a long gaze out of the corner of his eye. “You would think they would give me some breathing room today out of all days.”

“There isno day off for a Prince, I suppose.”

Zen narrows his eyes even more, watching as that cat-like demeanor slants towards him.

“But,” Obi muses, in a tone too much like Izana for Zen’s poor heart. “Oh my,if you are the Prince, I wonder where the Princess might be?”

Zen blinks. “You’re not bringing me to her?” He scans the room. There’s a million faces, none of them the one he is looking for. “Wait. Weren’tyou supposed to be watching her?”

“WhyMaster!” Five fingers splay across Obi’s chest, brows arched. “You asked me to attend to you tonight,remember?” 

~ ~ ~

“I’msorry,” Zen takes a step forward, straining to pick her voice out from the shower of the fountain. “What did you say?”

Shirayuki’s hands are fisted at her side, shoulders reaching for her ears. And she blurts, 

“What ifI step on your feet?!”

Zen stops. Blinks. Stares at her, at a loss. “This has really been bothering you, hasn’t it?”

A delicate flush works its way up her neck and shesquirms. “We’re going to be dancing in front of everyone and I-” Her hands flex against empty air. “I don’twant to embarrass you!”

“Shirayuki.” He takes a step forward. “You won’t.”

“But what if I do?”

“Then go ahead and step on my feet!” Zen shrugs, lip tugging at one side when her mouth falls open. “What are they going to do? Revoke our marriage license? Demand that I divorce you for failing to complete a perfect turn?”

“Zen!”But she’s laughing now, cheeks flushed and eyes glittering. Dabbing at the corner of her eyes with a kerchief, she sniffs, “Be serious. Your brother–”

“Our brother,”he corrects softly, closing the distance between them. He takes her wrist, pulling the tissue away from her face. “Remember? My family is your family now. Nothing’s going to change that. Least of all some silly dance.”

Shirayuki’s eyes swell, face going blotchy, and she looks around, worried about the shadows that are doubtlessly watching them.

Brushingaside his cape, Zen extends his hand towards her. Like then, like always. “Comehere.”

She ducksher head, body suddenly so shy.

“Shirayuki,”he breathes again. “Please. I would like to dance with my wife.”

Her mouthparts, wordless, and she stares, tissue gripped tight against her breast.

“Mm,” isall she says, ducking beneath his arms and sliding her free hand into his.Her ring glints in the bare light, the weight of her hand in his something fought for.Something cherished.

~ ~ ~

I call it the Northern Star, he whispered, sliding the diamond band past her knuckles. A perfect fit. WhereverI go, it guides me back to you.

~ ~ ~

Musicswells in the distance between the gentle song of night critters and the trickle of the fountain, and Zen swaysmore than follows any particular set of steps until she stops shaking. Until the heaving of her back subsides, and then calms.

“This isnice,” she says softly, her mouth touching his lapel right above his heart. “Butwe should go in soon. They’re probably wondering where we are.”

She makes to pull back, but his hand tightens; molds her to him. There would certainly be no dancing like this once they returned, and he- well, he likes it.

“Wait,” he whispers, lacing his fingers through her hair. “Just a little whilelonger.”

Shirayukitucks her face against his neck, wet lashes tickling his pulse. A shiver races down his spine.

“Okay. Just a minute.”

“Mm.” Hepulls back, just slightly, pinching her chin between thumb and forefinger. Her head tilts back, hair spilling down over her shoulders and eyes wide and shimmering the same as they were that day so long ago in Kokoku Watchtower.

“Yea,” hebreathes against her lips. “It might take a few minutes more.”

[ayyraeraedraws]

ANS Week Day 7 - Snow 

“Let’s go listen to the band, then you should get some sleep...”

[purpledragonsart]

ANS Week Day One - Sunshine

[squidpro-quo]

Wind

AN: Modern!au because I can never resist a good heist and thieves are my favorite type of characters. 

“You know, I didn’t sign on to be the face.” Obi’s voice sounded tinny through Zen’s earpiece but the put-upon quality of it came through loud and clear. 

“The face?” Zen questioned as he leaned down to look over Kiki’s shoulder and watched the cameras pan slowly over Obi as he neared the entrance. Thank goodness for mob bosses and their fanatically obsessive security system, it made their job so much easier to just hijack what was already there, and in such high resolution color too. 

“I’m the hands of this operation, you’re the face, and Shirayuki’s the mastermind,” Obi muttered, eyes meeting Zen’s through the camera feed for a split second before he kept his gaze moving. “You don’t switch those elements up and expect it to be smooth sailing.”

“We already agreed, Obi. They made me last time, so our only ace up our sleeve is your complete anonymity. Embrace the face.” Remembering the hours of discussion over how to go about doing the job, he knew Obi would perform his role no matter the gripes or groans that might come over the line. He would admit that putting him as the frontrunner was rather like trying to contain wind in a box, it wasn’t free to move as it wanted and sneak in where it would, but unfortunately, Zen had already blown his own chance at it. 

 He traced the pixels that made up Obi’s figure with a slow look, wishing he could be there even more. It had taken some convincing to get Obi to wear what he suggested, but it looked even better than his imagination could have foretold. It was truly a sin that life did not put Obi in suits more often, the tux’s sharp lines doing him all kinds of favors while the camera did not do it full justice in the least. He’d just have to convince Obi to don it once more for him and Shirayuki, another time. 

And speaking of Shirayuki, he checked her progress towards the safe and crouched next to her by the grating, taking one look at the concoctions in her lap and figuring it safe to leave her to her tinctures; judging by the intense calculations scribbled down before her, distraction was the last thing she needed. 

Returning to the cameras, Zen wished yet again that he had something more to do than just watch and wait. Obi had reached the weapons check area only one step from the main hall and stood with his hands in his pockets as the guard gestured through the prohibited list of items. 

“Ah, I understand.” Obi pulled a knife from his pocket and a handgun from his boot, setting them both on the tray laid aside for his things. Standard protocol, if you attended a mob boss’s celebration dinner then you were expected to be packing at least a little, it was more suspicious to bring nothing. It raised questions of what else you could have as leverage. Zen nodded approvingly, so far so good, now to keep moving—

But Obi continued, unsheathing a set of knives from both pant legs, extracting each from the holsters in order from smallest to largest and laying them carefully on the table, before sliding yet another pistol from his jacket. Finally, he handed over the silencer for it and gestured with a roguish smile. 

“All clean. Don’t forget, I’ll be wanting those back.” He strode into the venue and Zen wondered why he’d been reticent to be there if he could joke around like that. 

“What were all of those? When did you put those on?” Zen asked, rubbing the bridge of his nose instead of sighing. “That was unnecessary.”

“Got your attention though, didn’t it?” Obi snagged a glass of champagne and took a sip before continuing. “What are you going to do? Give me a patdown next time?” 

Zen was glad they were in the maintenance shafts, where the bad lighting could hide the fact that his face felt hotter than the chemical fires Shirayuki sometimes set and he could chalk his distracted cough down to the dust floating in the air. Kiki didn’t spare him more than a glance, but even that was enough to let him know he hadn’t fooled her. 

“Mission first,” he managed to choke out. 

“We’ll discuss what comes later,” Obi agreed, the purr in his voice not helping Zen’s matters much but thankfully they were interrupted by a group of men approaching Obi. Leaving him to schmooze with the best, Zen got himself more under control during the short walk back to Shirayuki, finding her mixing the last batch with a self-satisfied hum. 

“I heard him,” she said before he could make any excuses. “Let’s finish this quickly.” 

Unlike him, she was too professional to let anything like that distract her from their work, but even she wasn’t above being motivated by a sense of urgency that wasn’t entirely from the promise of money and a lot of jewels that lay at the end of the line. 

Passing him a vial, she kicked open the hatch above the vault’s entrance and jumped. Zen’s heart leaped into his throat, wondering if she’d grown reckless in her haste but she beckoned to him to follow as she set off towards the reinforced door. Dropping into the hall, he straightened up to find the junction of the three corridors an unnerving amount of open space to have at their backs as they worked. The vault door yielded to the contents of Shirayuki’s beakers, slowly eating through the outer casing and revealing the keypad underneath centimeter by centimeter. One workaround for a keycard was merely melting through what it opened, but that only worked for so many inches of hard steel with what little corrosive concoction Shirayuki could make that wouldn’t also be melting through the alarm system embedded inside. 

Zen couldn’t keep himself from glancing over his shoulder every few seconds. His usual job was working the crowds, finding the weaknesses in people’s smiles and small talk, and the long meters of empty hallway surrounding them left him with no cover from anything. How could he ever talk his way out of this one, if it came down to it? There might be more mobsters up there but the weapons were words, and although he could handle anything Obi had set on the table, it was where others were stripped bare that he could keep his facade intact. 

“Got it,” came the soft whisper in their ears as Obi disengaged from the target. Zen could imagine the look in Obi’s eyes as he lounged against the side of a pillar as if checking his watch while those white-gloved fingers fondled the champaigne’s flute stem in apparent boredom. “Fifteen, twenty-seven, eight hundred ninety three.” 

Zen punched in the numbers as soon as Obi said them, letting out his held breath when the click sounded and the door swung open. Doubt didn’t have any place in their line of work, and neither did hesitation. 

“Get out now. We’ll see you in ten,” he said, locking eyes with Shirayuki and hurrying to grab what they’d come for. They had a bigger prize waiting for them later.

[fafi-shal]

My Sunshine

"Mitsuhude!" Kiki screamed in panic. She ran towards him, shifting her gaze across the scene. There he was, lying in the middle of the clearing on his side with both his hands pressed to his chest, covered in blood. Unusually, his sword was thrown away from his side.

She was only few feet in front of him when she slowed her pace. It was all quiet except for the sound of his heavy breathing. Danger is gone. Kiki crouched beside him and started shaking him.

"Mitsuhude, say something, wake up."

"Is that you Kiki?" Glancing up on her, he could clearly see how panicked she was, even with his blurred vision.

"Yes its me. Let me see your injury." He moved his hands showing a stab at his chest. She ripped his shirt and saw that the weapon had been embedded in his chest, too close to reach the heart. He had been bleeding too much nothing could be done. He got aware of the fact, feeling her hands tense and seeing the color drain from her face.

Kiki ripped out part of his shirt and started wrapping it around the wound. "Stop it. You know it's useless," Mitsuhude whispered. "Don't give up easily, there might still be a chance."

"You can't even convince yourself," he said pointing at her eyes. He was right because tears were prickling in the corner of her eyes. She dashed them away and continued working.

Struggling to form the words, he said, "I - I have to say something." She tied the last knot and placed his head on her lap. "Go on."

"I love you... I always did... with every day that passed by... my feelings grew more passionate... I treasured all my moments with you... from the bottom of my heart." He couldn't say anymore, for he was breathing heavily. Meanwhile, Kiki's eyes grew bigger with unshed tears.

"I also do, I love you so much. You-" a sob was threatening her voice and she had to swallow hard. Tears were racing down her eyes and dripping from the bridge of her nose. He was always there by her side to support her and she also loved him so much. She wanted to express her love in the simplest way.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine " She sang honey-like, sweet and slow.

"You make me happy, when skies are gray You never know dear, how much I love you Please don't take my sunshine away"

Mitsuhide's eyes have fluttered shut, and his chest is moving only slightly. Tears were rolling down Kiki's face in an unbroken stream.

"Please don't take my sunshine away."

She lowered her head letting her blonde strands fall on his face, allowing their lips to touch. Time seemed to stop at that kiss. It was a consolation to their sore feelings. She then raised her head slowly, her eyes red and cheeks wet. Smiling, Mitsuhide wiped her tears with the back of his hand. She pressed it against her cheek and felt its coldness however it slipped to his side. She groaned, "no, I love, this can't be the end!" She checked his pulse, it was still beating with hope.

Kiki retrieved the sword, wrapped Mitsuhide's arm around her shoulder and stood up ready to face any danger. Then she made her way back through the wilderness and muggers. She did not lose that tiny hope in arriving quickly to the nearest doctor and saving her love's life.

I hope you enjoyed reading, this is my first fanfiction, I was very hesitant to post it. I'd be glad if you gave me feedback so I could improve and be better ☺️☺️☺️

[muselover1901]

Sunshine

Hey! I know it’s super late, but AnS Week just happened to coincide with the hardest week of my semester thus far, so writing took a backseat to other life things. But behold! I have produced one piece! I couldn’t have done it without my amazing beta/supportive soul sister, @puffdragongirl. Thanks also to @akagami-no-rae for checking in with me last week to make sure I was doing okay. You two ladies are both amazing humans and I am so grateful for you. Anyway, here’s the story! Inspired by the song Pinô by Otto Totland. Will eventually be posted to AO3 once fully beta’d.

As the sun sent warm, dappled patches dancing across her head, Shirayuki sighed. The mountain air was a little chilly, but that suited her just fine. The cold northern air was well worth the escape with friends.

Ahead of her, Obi juggled a small stick between his fingers as he absentmindedly gazed over the foliage in an attempt to appear at ease. Shirayuki knew this wasn’t truly the case, as he hadn’t completely relaxed in all the years she’d known him. Always being at least a little on edge was not only part of his job, it was just the kind of person he was. She smiled at his effort.

Obi was also keeping an eye on Mitsuhide, who was just a few paces ahead of him and taking unusually long strides in an attempt to keep up with Kiki, who was outpacing them all despite her smaller stature. In his haste, Mitsuhide tripped over an exposed root and Obi chuckled to himself.

“Need a hand there, Mister?” Obi teased, eyes crinkling with the smile he tried to repress as Mitsuhide turned to glower at him, responding with a retort of his own. Kiki ignored them, as usual.

Although she was happy to see Mitsuhide and Kiki getting along, Shirayuki had to admit that since the day she heard about Kiki’s failed proposal, she’d felt her heart sink a little every time she looked at the two of them. She’d never been very good at picking up on romantic intentions, but she always thought their chemistry was obvious. And now that Kiki would be living primarily at the Seiran estate, things somehow felt even more melancholic. Starting next week, the little group she had come to love so dearly would be separated again.

Separation was nothing she couldn’t handle, though. Glancing to her side, she smiled as she noticed Zen savoring the mountain breeze, eyelids gently sliding shut and a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips as the wind ruffled his hair.  She and Zen had been separated for quite a long time, and had both grown considerably since they began their relationship, but some things had never changed. They still found solace in the wild. They still blushed at least a little when trying to be affectionate, but now that they both lived at Wilant Castle, they were actively trying to get better at that. Most importantly, they still inspired each other to be better and work harder, and Shirayuki was extremely grateful for that.

Her new position as ambassador to the pharmacies in the northern region suited her quite well, as it let her travel and interact with patients while giving her the means to tackle bigger issues, like improving the quality of care for patients in more rural regions and developing better technologies for creating medicines. However, the new workload was even more intense than it was during her time as a researcher in Lyrias. She and Zen had been spending their evenings after dinner working in the library, with books and documents sprawled across every inch of table surface they could find. Shirayuki always brought warm cups of tea to help them stay relaxed, and every once in a while, Zen would encourage her with a hand on her shoulder or a quick peck on her cheek.

As much as she loved their little routine, she loved moments like this more. She reached out and grazed her fingers across Zen’s knuckles, silently asking for him to clasp her hand in his. He happily obliged, pulling her closer as they continued to hike behind their friends.

“I think we’re getting pretty close to the top now,” Zen mused. Shirayuki squinted and tilted her head to get a better view of the path ahead of them. Sure enough, the trees thinned, exposing an expanse of flat, weather-worn stone where they could picnic before heading back down.

“We should probably catch up to the others,” Shirayuki suggested, shifting her bag to relieve some of the weight on her shoulder. She hadn’t intended to, but she ended up collecting quite a few specimens along the trail, so she had fallen considerably behind. Zen had been kind enough to dutifully stop with her every time she darted off to take a cutting or seed sample.

“Yeah,” Zen interrupted her thoughts with a grin. “Let’s go!” He took off at a sprint, clutching her hand tightly and tugging her along with him. Shirayuki yelped and laughed as her legs struggled to keep pace.

Ahead of them, Obi was investing his full attention on ribbing poor Mitsuhide, whose face was turning red with embarrassment. As Zen and Shirayuki approached, Zen inexplicably slowed and silenced his footfalls, creeping like a cat over the pebbles and sticks of the trail in an attempt to remain unseen. Shirayuki looked at him questioningly, but Zen held a finger to his lips and tilted his head toward the assassin-turned-knight. Mischief glinted in his eyes as he mouthed, “Grab him.”

Shirayuki couldn’t help but smirk as she realized what Zen was trying to do. Obi had long since been the trickster of the group, and he took great pleasure in the pranks inflicted on his unwitting victims. However, because of his constant vigilance, he was notoriously hard to surprise. Nearly every attempt to get back at him and catch him off guard had failed.

But now, they had an opening. Obi was fully absorbed in bothering Mitsuhide, slinging comments about how his pace seemed incredibly slow for how tall he was.

“My pace is perfectly fine for my height,” Mitsuhide countered, stiffly facing forward.

“I don’t know,” Obi sneered, “you sure you’re not just getting old?”

As Obi chuckled at his own joke, Shirayuki zeroed in on his hand, swinging lazily by his side. Now was her chance. With a quick glance to Zen, who nodded his assent, she dove for Obi’s hand and clasped it roughly in her own. At her touch, Obi went wide-eyed and ramrod straight. He didn’t get a chance to react more than that though, because Zen immediately bolted, dragging both Shirayuki and Obi along with him this time.

Once Obi got his feet under himself, he took in the situation and smiled. Mitsuhide, oblivious to what had just transpired, continued to banter.

“I might be older than you, but in case you haven’t noticed, I’m outpacing you.”

“Psh—at least I’m doing my job!” Obi snickered. Mitsuhide turned to roll his eyes, but was surprised to see Obi tightly holding Shirayuki’s hand as Zen led them all barreling toward him. Before he could make a witty retort, Zen reached out and grabbed him too. The four of them went flying past Kiki in a blur of childlike abandon.

Kiki continued her steady pace, watching her friends tripping and laughing like idiots as they ran to the picnic site. A faint smile softened her face, and she sighed before running to catch up with them.

Clasping her hand around Mitsuhide’s, her smile became a full-fledged grin.

“Whose idea was this?” she shouted over the ruckus. Kiki leveled her gaze at Obi, who shrugged in an attempt to appear innocent. Next, she looked to Shirayuki, who had peeked her head around Zen to grin back.

“I’m just an accomplice, I swear!”

Kiki’s eyes settled on Zen, who was smiling and panting and looking utterly found-out. She smiled back at him.

As they reached the picnic spot, they all let go and collapsed into the soft grass, chests heaving and grinning like children. Shirayuki couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt that free with her friends. The sun warmed her face as she propped herself up to take in the view. All around them were delicate white Yujou daisies, which Mount Hiatari was famous for. Once picked, they were rumored to become imbued with a special kind of magic that would fate two people to become eternal friends. Shirayuki didn’t believe in magic, but the sentiment behind the story resonated with her. She would always stand with Zen, Obi, Mitsuhide, and Kiki regardless of the circumstances that sought to separate them.

Smiling, she plucked a flower and shuffled over to Kiki, who was softly toying with the blades of grass growing a few inches from where her nose lay. Shirayuki silently tucked her daisy into Kiki’s ponytail before bending to pluck another. Kiki looked up at her and smiled warmly. Mitsuhide gazed out over the mountainside at Wilant Castle in the distance, but was startled to find Shirayuki tucking a flower behind his ear. Running over to Obi, Shirayuki pulled another flower, but perhaps a little too hard, because the roots came out along with a thick clump of loam. Obi looked at her skeptically as she dusted it off and removed the roots before tucking it behind his ear.

Selecting one final flower, Shirayuki turned to Zen, who had been watching her attentively the whole time. The corners of his eyes crinkled as she placed the flower behind his ear and ran her fingers through his hair before shyly looking at the ground. For some reason, affectionate gestures had always flustered her more when they were directed at him. After all this time, she still wasn’t that great at romance.

A tickle at her ear snapped her out of her thoughts. She looked up to see Zen gazing at her lovingly, a daisy of his own settling into her red hair as he thumbed her cheek gently. He leaned in and pressed his lips to the top of her head. Shirayuki sighed.

A sun-warmed breeze ruffled their hair as the five friends gazed out over the landscape, silently reveling in the peace of the moment. The pressures of day-to-day life seemed so far below them, up here on Mount Hiatari. And they knew that no matter what the future held for them, they would always have the memory of this day. They would always have each other.