Sora returned to the table where Blossom, LeeLee, Nobunaga, and Athenes was at. Kira had to log off so he could set up more meetings and finish up the paperwork for the sponsorship. Sora wanted to take this time to get to know some of the other guild members, he had been too busy to properly meet them so Sora felt bad. A lot of new faces would briefly show up at Sora’s table, chat for a while, and then leave so others could have a bit of time at the table too. With so many people here, it didn’t take long for trouble to start.
“A bunch of no name idiots that are hanging on to someone else's fame.”
A sharp remark made its way to everyone's ears, instantly silencing the restaurant. Sora looked over and was shocked to see a familiar face, she had a diamond shaped face with long red hair. A look of disgust could be seen in her eyes as she surveyed the people in front of her, especially when her gaze landed on Sora’s table. Her username was simply ‘Spring’ and she was very famous in his past life. She led a guild that was only full of elite players, not sparing a second glance at any subpar players. Sora didn’t have a good impression of her and wanted nothing more than to put her in her place. When Sora followed her gaze he noticed that she was singling out Blossom. Blossom was shaking, a look of anger and nervousness clearly written on her face.
“Blossom…”
Before Sora could finish his thoughts, Spring started walking towards his table. Every player of Phoenix Rising looked at her with fire in their eyes, yet she remained unperturbed by it and acted as if she was just casually walking through. She stopped in front of Sora’s table and slammed her hands on the table, making Blossom jump and clench her fists even tighter.
“Long time no see, my cute little sister.”
“...It really has been a while, big sister.”
Even Sora had been thoroughly confused by this sudden development. Blossom was the sister of one of the most famous players in the game. He suddenly thought back to what Grandpa Blossom had said, it seems he wasn’t exaggerating when he said they don’t get along. Sora decided to sit on the side, for now, this was something Blossom had to face.
“What’s wrong? Couldn’t stand by my side so you jumped to the next person that could take care of you?”
“That’s not how it is-”
“Maybe he’s your boyfriend then? How sad, you didn’t even introduce me even though we are family.”
Blossom couldn’t hold her head up at this moment, she stared at the table in front of her and didn’t dare make eye contact with her sister. Sora had wanted to stay on the side but he was getting more and more irritated as he listened in. He was just about to jump in when Blossom finally firmly looked at her sister in the eyes, strengthening her tone as she stared daggers at her.
“Do not bring him into this.”
Even her big sister had to give in a little when she saw her like this, Blossom had always been submissive when talking to her so it was weird when she suddenly became so serious. The big sister simply looked at Sora once before turning around, stopping after only a couple steps.
“I didn’t mean to bring anyone else into it, I just hate it when someone follows another person's shadow… It’s disgusting. Mother was worried about you and wants you to call her, that’s all I came here for.”
Blossom slowly unclenched her fist as she left, her serious face turned into one of sadness as she stood up and started walking towards the door. She stopped at the doorway before turning around to face the rest of the guild.
“I’m sorry, the mood was ruined because of me.”
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Blossom slipped out of the door before anyone could say anything, everyone felt sorry for her and wanted to comfort her but she left too quickly for anyone to respond. LeeLee was about to get up and follow Blossom but Sora had already bolted to his feet before she was able to. Nobunaga watched LeeLee slowly sit back down, questioning why she didn’t also go.
“LeeLee, shouldn’t you also go comfort her?”
“I’ve tried before but Blossom doesn’t like talking about it with me, plus I’m not good with things like this. I think it’s better if Ethereal goes, she looks up to him so maybe his advice will get through to her.”
Athenes looked sad as she listened in on the conversation. The memory of when Blossom protected her from someone slandering her name was still fresh in her mind. She had been used to her brother protecting her and never seen two siblings that got along so poorly. She looked at Nobunaga, who smiled lightly in response. A blessed feeling washed over her as she saw the doting big brother. She looked at the empty doorway once again, worried about Blossom.
…..
Sora caught sight of Blossom just as she turned onto another road, he ran in that direction and took the same turn she did. The road was empty, Sora summoned Luna and started to look around the area. The entertainment district didn’t have a lot of places where someone could be alone so it didn’t take long for him to find Blossom. He checked some of the inns and asked if anyone had seen her, the NPCs were very cooperative since Sora had a high reputation and players helped him since he was famous. After asking around for only five minutes he had figured out where Blossom went.
Sora started to walk through a garden that had a pond in the middle and weird trees that had twisted trunks. The pathways were lined with beautiful light blue flowers that had a small bell within the petals. Every time the wind blew a small chime could be heard as the flowers swayed, creating a calming melody that matched the breeze. When Sora entered the garden, the once sunny day had turned into a dark night, lit only by the silver moonlight. Luna started to sparkle as the moonlight touched her fur, a small whimper of happiness sounding from her mouth as she looked at the full moon in the sky. The pond reflected the bright moon which drowned out the hundreds of fireflies that danced on top of the water. This area was called The Night Bound Garden since it was always night time here. It is a popular place for people on dates but it looked completely empty right now.
Sora continued walking through the garden, only stopping when he saw Blossom sitting next to the pond, staring at the water as she twiddled with one of the blue flowers. Sora got off Luna and silently approached her, only being noticed when Sora sat down beside her. Blossom was embarrassed that she had made such a scene and buried her face in her legs to hide. Her voice sounded distraught and muffled as she talked.
“I’m sorry.”
“Why are you sorry?”
“You got dragged into my problems… the entire guild was dragged into my problem.”
“Do you know how many times I’ve dragged the entire guild into my problems? Even the demon invasion was something I forced the guild into doing.”
“You're the guild leader, it’s okay for you to do that. I don’t have that right.”
“Who in the guild said that?”
“...”
“Phoenix Rising shares its glory and its criticism, nobody should expect only the good and never the bad.”
Blossom unburied her face as she looked at the flower in her hand, spinning it slightly before throwing it into the pond. A small chime was heard as the flower fell into the water before drifting towards the reflection of the moon.
“Why don’t you tell me about your sister?”
“... She is amazing. Everything she says is right, everything she touches turns to gold, and everything she does is perfect.”
“Do you hate her?”
“No… I still love her but we don’t mix well. I try to be like her, to try and make a connection… But every time I do she sees me fail over and over again. This one time she cooked some food for our family, it was one of the most delicious things I had ever eaten. I worked for weeks trying to make the same thing as her. After I thought I had finally made it right she wouldn’t even eat it, she said she could tell it was disgusting just by looking at it.”
Blossom was laughing at the story but Sora could clearly see the moonlight reflecting off of the corners of her eyes. Sora imagined Blossom trying to cook, cutting herself with a knife over and over, tasting the failed dishes so she could get it right the next time; all of that just to be told it was disgusting.
“If we ever meet in real life, you should try cooking that dish again so I can try it. I’ll make sure to try a bite before I tell you it’s disgusting.”
Blossom laughed a little as Sora gave a cheeky grin, she managed to put on a small smile again as she watched the flower drift into the reflection of the moon. She stood up and dusted herself off, wiping her face off before slapping her cheeks.
“It’s a deal, I’ll make sure to blow you away with my cooking skills.”
“Haha, then I’m looking forward to it.”
Blossom and Sora got up and returned to the garden pathway, summoning Luna before slowly walking out of the garden. Another person appeared where they were at after they left. The hooded figure was cloaked and had their information hidden so nobody would notice them. The person stood at the edge of the pond and threw another flower into the water and watched as it drifted towards the reflection of the moon. A drop of water fell from the hood of the robe as a small voice sounded out, breaking the silence.
“I’m sorry, Serah… But you need to cast your own shadow, not follow mine. Even if you hate me, I want you to be your own person.”
The cloaked figure watched as the flower drifted into the center of the pond, gently stopping as it touched the flower that Blossom had thrown. Luna howled at the moon, breaking the silence of the garden. The hooded figure was gone before the howl had stopped.