Fragment/Nemophila

I never really enjoyed spending time outdoors. I lived in Tokyo for most of my life, so the 'outdoors' was more of a concrete jungle than what you'd expect. The most exposure I've had to nature was the occasional journey to a park, or when a foster parent was overzealous and took me camping.

I'm not trying to complain. Not too much, at least. But as I entered Showa Memorial Park, I couldn't help but feel out of place. Acres of rolling grass, biking trails that weren't paved over and littered with garbage, picnicking couples sitting under trees like some sickeningly sappy romance anime... It just wasn't my thing. I felt much more at home in my room, playing games and reading manga. Maybe borrow a movie from Haru while he is at baseball practice.

There was only one reason I was here, and I could see her waiting for me about 10 feet past the entrance of the park. Several people stared while walking past the girl as she crouched over a flower, sketching the butterfly that sat upon the plant. She was so engrossed in the insect that she didn't notice as I approached.

She was dressed in a lab coat, red pants and a black undershirt barely visible while she was crouched. Her hair and eyes were the same striking shade of blue, almost pastel. She clutched the notebook in her hands with a vice like grip, the words 'Life Science Journal #9' etched onto the front in permanent marker. When I saw her crude drawing of the butterfly in front of her, I couldn't help but burst into laughter.

The girl jumped at the sudden noise, and the butterfly fluttered into the air soon after. The girl gasped, before climbing to her feet and punching me hard in the shoulder.

"OW, FUCK! What the hell was that, bitch!?"

"That's what you get, asshole! You let my specimen get away before I could capture it! Rule #17 of the Science Club: 'When recording specimen, be sure to Sketch, Catch, an-'"

"Retch. Seriously, I cleaned out the specimen freezer last time and that shit was disgusting..."

The girl grumbled as she glared at me. I was used to that look from other people, but for some reason, it didn't feel nearly as hostile when she did it. Maybe that's why I could deal with her weird eccentricities better than most.

"You really need an attitude adjustment █████-kun. You'll never get a girlfriend if you keep this up~."

"Shut the hell up, Emi-chan."

She holds her hand to her mouth, a smug look on her face. I push her, though much lighter than I wanted to. Even with the height difference, I was pretty sure Emi could kick my ass if she really wanted to, and the last thing I needed was a girl beating me up in the middle of the park. I sighed, scratching the back of my head.

"What are we doing here anyways? I was hoping to play the new Wash game that came out last week. I finally got to the level where you clean Saurus' agency-"

"Well, my incompetent assistant, we are here in the name of Science!"

Emi puffed her chest out and pointed straight up, a look of smug superiority on her face. I roll my eyes, doing my best to avoid the stares of other park visitors.

"Spring is the perfect time to collect biological samples - and since you're a big baby and won't catch insects or amphibians with me, I have elected to have this be a Plantae collection mission!"

I grimaced.

"You made me come out here on a Sunday so I can pick a bunch of flowers?"

"Would you like to preserve the samples instead? We have plenty of Formalin in the club room if you-"

"Fine, lead the way, 'Professor'."

She smiled and grabbed my hand, dragging me after her. I attempted to wrench my hand free, but she held on tight. After a few seconds I gave up the fight, resigned to my fate.

We spent the next few hours wandering around the park, stopping often to stoop by various flowers or fallen leaves so we could shove them in plastic sleeves and glass vials. Emi had handed the notebook to me for sketching, while she recorded the samples and stored them in her bag. It was a process that I had grown uncomfortably familiar with, despite only being part of the 'science club' for a month now. Then again, 'Science Pair' would have been more accurate, considering it was the two of them.

Well, if it got the student council off of my ass, whatever. This beat the library committee at least.

We almost managed to complete the remaining pages in the notebook, and Emi beamed with pride as she snatched it from me and flipped through the pages.

"Very good work, █████-kun! This is why I keep you around you know~."

"Yep, the fact I can draw is my only redeeming quality, sure. Can we finally go now?"

She snapped the book close and quickly waved her arms in front of her.

"N-not yet! We have one final assignment! C'mon!"

She grabbed my hand again, and I was suddenly very conscious of how sweaty my palms must have been after hours of moving and sketching in the sun. She dragged me in a twisting path through the park, and when we got close to the hill ahead of us, she suddenly stopped. Emi ran behind me, covering my eyes with her hands.

"What the hel-"

"Trust the process, █████-kun! You're going to be very impressed when you see what I've prepared as the capstone for our mission!"

She pushed gently against my back, and I started walking forwards blindly. After a dozen or two feet, she held me firm, before pulling her hands off my eyes.

A sea of blue. I could barely see the grass beneath the endless carpet of flowers in front of me, petals extended in a welcoming embrace for the rays of sun. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, the afternoon sky as brilliant blue as the flowers . No one had trampled the flowers or littered the ground, not this early into their bloom. No one else mattered.

Just me and Emi.

I turned to look at the girl next to me. Her hair and eyes matched the flowers beneath us, the sky above us. I couldn't help but stare. She had that usual smile plastered on her face, but this was one of the very few times it didn't annoy the hell out of me.

"Beautiful, right?"

"Y-yeah..."

She turned as I spoke, and I quickly looked away, a furious blush creeping over my face. I could see her mouth twist into a mischievous grin from the corner of my eye. Hopefully she just thought I was embarrassed that she was right or something.

"Nemophila. That's the name of the flower. It means 'Woodland-loving'. They bloom in the Spring, right around the start of the school year. They're my favorite, y'know? They were originally native to the Americas, but were imported here a couple centuries ago - around the time we sent Sakura Blossoms to the States."

She took her eyes off me, and I almost sighed in relief. I watched the wind ripple across the flowers, their swaying movement like waves in the ocean. Emi reached down and delicately plucked one of the flowers free from its stem. She retrieved a small plastic sleeve from the pocket of her lab coat, and carefully sealed the specimen inside. She then turns and begins walking away, and I followed behind her like a lost puppy.

"You cleared all this, right? We're allowed to take all these?"

"Definitely. Just don't let anyone see!"

She turned and continued walking backwards, making a 'shhh' gesture like I was in on some big secret. I grimaced. She continued walking backwards for a few more feet, before suddenly grabbing my arm and pulling me. I nearly fell as she broke into a run. I scrambled and managed to keep with her pace, though she was clearly a better athlete than I was.

"W-wait up! Why are we running!?"

She just laughed, a bright, ringing sound. While the pace might have been a jog for her, I was out of breath within the minute it took for us to run to the end of the path. I didn't have time to relax as she pulled me, hard, forcing us both into an awkward roll down the grassy hill.

We ended up in a sprawled atop one another at the bottom of the hill. I could feel her legs straddle mine, feel her breasts press against me, feel her hot breath against my face. She was so close, so warm. Prettier than I'd ever admit. Her eyes stared into mine, and my mind raced. Oh god, I'm sweaty as hell, don't pant man she's like three inches away, why the fuck did I eat takoyaki before coming here-

She laughed hysterically, falling off of me and flailing her arms and legs in the grass, as if she was making a snow angel. I held my heart, afraid it might pump out of my chest.

"That was awesome! Usually when I do that by myself, it's kind of awkward with everyone staring! Way more fun when my assistant is with me!"

I whip my head around, before sighing in relief when I couldn't see anyone nearby. Thank god. If someone saw me making an ass out of myself, I might have to break the rules and wipe my memory. Otherwise I'd be cringing nonstop for the rest of my life...

I sigh and laid down in the grass. It was... soft. Wetter than I expected. But it wasn't the worst. I folded my hands behind my head, both to cushion my head from the ground as well as to open my airways.

I turned my head to look at the girl next to me. Emi stared at the sky, eyes twinkling as her chest rose with steady breaths. She was a narcissist. A research-obsessed weirdo. Hell, I'm starting to think that the reason everyone else avoided her was because they didn't want to end up as her guinea pigs.

But when she smiled like that, I felt a twinge in my chest. When she laughed, there was a feeling in my stomach that I've never felt for anyone else before. When she touched me, I couldn't stop my heart from racing.

She turned to look at me and smiled again. That beautiful smile.

"You're pretty cool, █████-kun!"