‘Red Anemones, a rare flower to be seen here in the heart of Shinjuku.’ Shiraishi stands in place as he wonders what this flower symbolizes.

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“Ah…death and abandonment…” Shiraishi speaks to himself while staring at the red anemone flower in his hand.

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Crushing the flower in his hand, he continues on his path to the Shinjuku police station. By chance he happened to see these flowers on his pathway. Curious, he had allowed these flowers to distract him.

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‘Hm, perhaps these flowers symbolize my life. Just like me, these flowers only seem to bring death and abandonment. It’s their only purpose in life’

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As Shiraishi thought this, he had made it to the police station. When he walked through the doors, he spotted Ichika Hoshino. She had just finished talking to someone when she turned around to see who came into the building. She bowed and said her goodbyes to the man she was talking to before walking up to Shiraishi.

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“Good morning Shiraishi! I’m actually surprised since I thought you would have been here the whole night.”

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Shiraishi smiled his carefree smile. “Good morning, Ichika-chan.”

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She looked at him and noticed that while it was his usual smile, something was unnatural about it.

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“Say Shiraishi, did something happen on your way to work? Your smile seems off, it usually doesn’t look like that.”

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Shiraishi’s smile faded from his face. He raises his hand up to the side of his head and began to frown. He laughs a little and stares down at her.

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“Oh really, you think so huh…” He says as he ponders just before he smiles again. “Actually yes something did happen. In fact, I would like for you to see what I found this morning. Will you accompany me after you are done with work? If so, come by the crime lab and I can show you.”

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With those parting words, Shiraishi walked past her and continued to his office. Ichika neither accepted nor declined, but she was curious as to what made Shiraishi look so sad.

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The day passed on and once it was 4:30 pm, Shiraishi heard a knock at the door. There was a pause at the door before it soon opened.  Shiraishi looked at Ichika as she came in before he gave the usual smile.

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“Right on time it seems, well then we should get going then.”

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He stood up and put his coat on before he headed out the door with Ichika following closely behind him. They walked in silence since Ichika didn’t know what to say to him. She figured he wouldn’t answer her on where they were going until they got there, while Shiraishi was focused on where he was going. They soon made it to the same walkway he had been through just this morning.

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“Oh it’s a flower bed of Anemones. I’m surprised that they would be growing right next to this walkway. I would have expected them to be in the park at least.” She said as she laughed lightly. “Do you usually walk on this pathway Shiraishi?”

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He nodded which caused Ichika to smile even wider, “Then perhaps someone wanted you to find these flowers since this is your usual spot where you play with the cats you named.”

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Shiraishi chuckled thinking the thought was ridiculous since who would even think to plant these flowers here of all places. He kept that thought to himself knowing she would become sad and insist that it could very well be possible. They both kneeled down to look at the flowers closely as some of the cats also came near them to look.

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"Ichika-chan did you know that these flowers stands for death and abandonment? Quite interesting considering how it looks. Very fitting right?"

Ichika looked at Shiraishi and noticed his somewhat sad look. Sure, he looked to be smiling, but she could tell it was sad smile with the way his eyes looked.

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"Hmm, that’s interesting yes, but..."

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"But what?"

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She noticed his tone and he didn’t sound accusing, but she could detect a cold tone to it.

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"But... I also know that this flower stands for hope and faith. I hope you can find some hope in this little flower and not just think of it in such a sad way. Have some faith in these flowers that they are not just symbols of bad things, but of also of good things to come. Just like everyone in Shinjuku will hope that the quarantine and Adonis will be stopped and they can go on with their peaceful everyday lives. If they can believe in that then surely you could believe that this was a sign that the world isn’t as cruel as you think it to be, Shiraishi. It could also be a sign that there can be good things in your life. So please don’t lose hope and please don’t look so sad anymore."

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"Sad? Whoever said I was sad, huh I-chi-ka-chan?" He said emphasizing her name.

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She heard him laugh and now his smile was hiding something, she could tell. There was a pause as Shiraishi went back to looking at the flowers as he thought about the speech she just gave him. Ichika wondered if she was wrong until she felt him reach out and held her hand. Ichika was surprised and looked at him to find he was staring at her. There was silence until he squeezed her hand.

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"Thank you." He muttered out.

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She didn’t know what to say so she just blushed a little and nodded. This time she noticed his genuine smile. He then stood and pulled her up. Ichika was curious on what he was doing when he then pulled her into a hug. Her face was even redder as she awkwardly stood there holding his jacket.

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'I don’t need a flower to have hope; you are my hope now. And I will get the collar off you, no matter what.'

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He let go as soon as he made that promise to himself. He then stepped back and reached down to pluck a flower from the little garden. He ended up resting it in Ichika’s hair before he smiled at her, which caused her face to get even redder.

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“There we go, it’s perfect on you.”

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With that Shiraishi put his hands in his coat pocket and turned his back to her. He walked two steps before he stopped and turned his head to look back at her.

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"Well, let's get going then, Ichika-chan.”

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He turned back and started walking ahead of her. She hurried and ran after him before he could leave her behind. She was still blushing as she looked at him from the corner of her eye. He seemed more content somehow? He looked like he had more of a purpose in her eyes. Shiraishi noticed her staring; he smiled his usual smile at her. They continued in silence both content that the anemone flower wasn’t just a symbol of death and abandonment, but rather one that gave them hope. Hope that no matter what, they would get through the ordeal with Adonis and be free of the shackles.