12 Roses

8 | Screaming a Bad Song

Loud shouting came from within Suguru's tattoo shop that made nearly the entire town go still.

No one dared to walk near or even outside of it. Nanako and Mimiko remained in your house, with Mimiko resting her head on your shoulder while Nanako kept her earbuds on, staring at her phone as if it was the only thing in the world.

You had once believed that Gojo came to visit, but no. It was Nurse Ieri.

She didn't shout one word. You had never heard of her shouting anyway in the three months you had been in school.

It was Suguru shouting, and it could be heard from many feet away from the tattoo shop.

Not that you knew that he was.

Nanako and Mimiko just showed up and said, "Suguru's mad."

"At you?"

"No... Someone showed up."

They sat with you behind the counter of the flower shop, as if hiding from whoever could enter. Suguru's tattoo shop was two blocks away and his shouts were not heard from your shop, but Nanako and Mimiko had never heard their father shout. It rang in their ears like a bad song that wouldn't stop saying the same words over and over.

Tsumiki came, opening the small door that separated the back of the counter from the rest of the shop. "Are you guys okay?" she asked aloud.

Mimiko nodded but Nanako said nothing, still blasting music into her ears.

Tsumiki sat in front of the three of you. She was saying words, likely comforting, but you didn't hear a single one. You knew she was a lot better at comforting than you were, but you were much better at physically taking care of people than she was.

She turned to you, smiling. "Why don't we pull out the karaoke?"

Ah, the only horror the two of you brought to the town.

You led the three of them to the living space above the flower shop, going to the living room and grabbing the remote to set it to karaoke while Tsumiki rummaged through a bin beneath the side table to find the microphones.

"Get ready for the worst singing you have ever heard," Tsumiki warned the twins.

"From Y/N?"

"Of course not," you interjected. "From Tsumiki."

You sat next to them, feeling the loud vibrations of the song beneath your feet as Tsumiki screeched the lyrics of What is Love?, the only American song that she could clearly say the lyrics of.

Mimiko cracked a smile while Nanako was quick to be on her back laughing.

Tsumiki handed the other mic to Nanako and soon enough, they were both screaming the lyrics of a song that they barely knew but it was next on the queue.

Mimiko finally began to laugh, clapping her hands to the beat of the song.

You could only imagine what passersby thought of the incessant noise. It had been around far too long to be annoyed at, but now other voices were added to the mix. 

Perhaps they now strayed from both the flower shop and the tattoo shop. Or perhaps they gathered around the sound of joy.

•••

"So," Yuta started as you weaved flowers into a little crown. You had done it millions of times with Tsumiki. Since you couldn't run to her every time you felt uneasy, you found it easier to reach for a bunch of dandelions and begin weaving them together.