Nothing. Nothing. Why was there nothing? Pix had no idea what was happening with him. They just started coughing up the small flowers on an allium out of nowhere, and these flowers had a tiny trace of magic. Definitely less confusing... That was sarcasm. Pix always had to remind himself when they said something sarcastic.
"Maybe I should just go to the witch. Shelby is the most likely to know what's going on, right?" Pix spoke to themself, letting out a long sigh. On his feet, they made their way out of the museum attic that he had been using as a temporary research spot. To the witch?
"Shelby? Shelby- Oh, there you are!" Pix smiled, spotting the witch just leaving her house. "Pixlriffs! You message me, saying you have a bit of an issue?" Shelby question.
"Yep. It- It hopefully shouldn't take too long, but I have no way of knowing." Pix told them honestly. She nodded, inviting him into their home. "This is a cozy little place..." Pix mumbled.
"So, may I ask what your issue is?"
"Oh- right. So, I tried to research this on my own, but really found nothing, even after a few days." Pix began, "I really didn't want to bother anyone about this, but I really have no other choice-"
"So what is the issue?" Shelby asked, stopping their rant.
"I'm coughing up blood... and flowers."
"What!?" Shelby yelled, Pix's hands covering his ears, "Sorry... Well- Um- this isn't the best..."
"Do you have an idea of what it is?"
"Well- yeah. It's a disease that is believed to likely be fictional." Shelby sighed, "I guess it isn't fictional, seeing as you have a case of it."
"Is... is there like... a cure?"
Shelby pulled down a large book, dropping it loudly onto the table. Flipping through the pages, they soon stopped. She read it out, "Hanahaki disease. It is a deadly disease that is believed to be fictional, but we have no proof whether it is or not."
"Deadly!? W-what, there must be some mistake, I can't die!" Pix had stood up, "I still have much restoration to do- I can't leave the ancient capital in a partial restored state! The history of this world won't be figured out-"
"Pix- Pix, calm down!" Shelby urged him. The archaeologist sat back down, though bounced their leg rapidly, shaking his arms quickly. "Now, can I continue, Pix?" Shelby asked softly, getting a nod. "This strange disease has one cause; unrequited love, almost always romantic love. The victim of hanahaki coughs up blood and flowers, first flower petals, the flowers having some symbolistic meaning, either an actual symbol of something, or the victim's love's favourite flower-"
Shelby was interrupted by a loud cough. Glancing up, the witch saw Pix's hand covered in a bit of blood, with some small purple flowers sitting on top.
"Coughing commonly occurs more around, or when thinking of their love. Progressively, the victims cough more, and larger flowers, until after an undetermined amount of time, dies."
"So I am going to die... I- I can't leave like this- no-" Shelby put a hand on Pix's shoulder, getting him to look towards her. "I'm not quite done. There is a cure, I just haven't read to that part yet."
"W-why didn't you say that..?" Pix muttered.
Shelby continued, "In the late stages, there is a chance for flowers to also grow out of the skin. There are two things that can be done to cure this. First is a surgery, or can be a special potion created by a powerful witch, which fully removes the disease, but also removes the feelings for the person. It can be more than just the feelings in many cases, removing some memories of the person, or all in rare cases. The second cure is to have the person return the love, though this requires the victim to confess. Many victims are against this method, as you have to fully put yourself out there, but it is always recommended that they start with this, and only use method one if it fails."
"One problem for me." Pix mentioned, "I don't actually know who this person is..."
"How could you not know!?"
"I don't consciously have a crush on someone. I would assume a male, as when I do have romantic feelings, it is normally for someone male identifying." Pix explained.
"Well, you need to figure it out!" Shelby told him, "As much as I could probably make you the potion to cure it, I will not make it if you don't try to confess first!"
Pix sighed, "Okay... I better start on that then? If I don't know how long I have, I can't waste any time."
"The shortest someone has lived with it is about 2 weeks, and the longest is a year." Shelby said, before adding, "It says it in the book."
Pix stood up, "Thanks for this. I'll- I'm going to head home... Well- to the ancient capital."
Shelby wanted to say something, but wasn't sure what, just watching the archaeologist leave. Pix was definitely not in a good headspace.
(831 words)
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Love Blooms Now - A Hanahaki Olix Fanfic
FanfictionPixlriffs. An archaeologist. A historian. Focused on the past. He doesn't care for the present or the future, the past is where his mind lies. With the issue of potential death, they are forced to face the present. Forced to face something he doesn'...
