the comeback kid

—

Nagisa was all smiles and sunshine, bouncing from foot to foot on the edge of the beach where the sand gradually melted into sea. Everything was almost perfect, except for that lone piece of seaweed that had caught on his ankle, slithering onto him like some kind of evil snake from the depths of the ocean.

Cringing, Nagisa bent over, plucking off the ghastly tentacle-like plant and tossing it into the distance.

It was time.

"Eh, Mako-chan, Haru-chan," Nagisa called out in a sing-song voice, holding a bag behind him out of sight.

Mako looked up from where he was crouched on an orange beach towel, wearing only swim trunks and rubbing sunscreen into his calves. "What?"

Haru was nowhere to be seen.

But Nagisa was oblivious to this absence, skipping in place cheerily, eyes squinted as he faced the sun.

"We have to perform the ritual," he explained sagely, "so that way the waves may be in our favor." Eyes closed now, widely gesturing in flourishes, it was easy for Mako to imagine that Nagisa was an oracle.

It was at moments like these that Mako found it hard to believe that he was actually the most intelligent of the three, coming close to topping the class with the highest grades.

He blinked. "What?"

"A ritual! Hazing! Initiation! Crowns!"

Always one for the grand entrances, Haru emerged from the waves in the distance then, wading in the shallow water as he trudged towards the shore. "Hazing?"

Nagisa shrugged. "Okay, not hazing. But initiation! For the," he paused, rummaging in the bag behind his back before turning around, waving something distinctly floral in the air, "Flower Power!"

Mako blanched and Haru stopped mid-step, staring at Nagisa as though he'd grown flippers before venomously glaring at Mako.

"This isn't my fault!" Mako said, sounding increasingly distressed, tugging on the longer strands of brown hair around his face.

Haru snorted. "You took him to the arts and crafts shop down the road and now look what's happened. He's turned into a hippie."

Nagisa, oblivious, was swaying his hips to some internal beat, wearing the crown of dark red roses like it was an honor. "Do you feel it?" he whispered, just loud enough for the other two to hear it. "The victory." And then, "I wish I had a grass skirt…"

"Oh god," Mako mumbled, burying his head in his hands when Nagisa abruptly dropped a crown of daises on his head.

"No worries, Haru-chan! I have one just for you." And without preamble, the brightest red-violet crown of orchids, the same shade as Nagisa's eyes, made itself at home on Haru's silky hair.

Nagisa grinned toothily, the late afternoon sun reflecting off of his teeth brightly.

Haru blinked as a few petals fell off and onto his lap. "No."

And that was when all hell broke loose.

"What're you guys doing…?" came a familiar voice from just behind them, which prompted Nagisa to shriekand leap over both of them, tackling the newcomer into the ground.

"NO, GOU-CHAN," he screeched, planting his palms over her face as he knocked her backwards into the sand. "COVER YOUR EYES!"

"Nagisa!" Mako gasped, sounding scandalized, turning around so quickly that his flower crown fell off.

"NO, MAKO-CHAN, YOUR FLOWER CROWN MUST NEVER TOUCH THE GROUND. IT MUST BE BURNED NOW." He rummaged in his pockets to procure a lighter, tossing it to Mako. And then, "PRETEND I NEVER SAID ANYTHING, GOU-CHAN."

"Aslkdfjd," she muttered irritably underneath Nagisa's palm. Upon noticing her struggle to speak, he removed his hands from her face. "You do realize I can see you all wearing flow—" And then Nagisa's hands were back.

Mako dropped the lighter on the ground, rushing to pull Nagisa off of Gou. "Kou-chan, are you okay?" he asked, green eyes wide. Not waiting for her to reply and scrambling behind him to get his daisy crown, he presented it to her. "I got this for you."

And then he ripped out a daisy from the crown, pressing it into her hands, before placing the rest of the crown on her head.

"Um," she said, fidgeting and blushing, avoiding looking at his muscled torso, fingering the step of the daisy shyly. "Triceps—I mean, thank you!" she squeaked out, turning all shades of pink.

"NO, YOU RUINED IT, MAKO-CHAN," Nagisa yelled, waving his hands everywhere in distress. "I MADE IT WITH MY OWN HANDS, AND NOW IT REALLY DOES HAVE TO BE BURNED!"

Mako pursed his lips and awkwardly shifted, pretending not to have heard anything, too busy looking at Gou.

"I think Nagisa's telling you something," Gou said slowly, blinking owlishly.

"No he isn't," Mako denied, grabbing her free hand to help her stand up.

"YES I AM," he replied loudly, walking up to Mako and tugging on his elbow before turning to Gou, tone accusing. "TAKE THAT OFF RIGHT NOW. YOU'RE NOT A PART OF THE SACRED FLOWER CREW."

Somewhere in the background, Haru bent over to pick up the fallen lighter on the ground, considering.

Mako winced and Gou untangled her fingers from his, stepping back with caution. "Uh. The what?"

"The Flower Crew," Nagisa cried, heaving a breath from all the screaming. "You don't have the Flower Power."

Gou took another step backwards, smile strained. "Uh…"

Mako shook his head rapidly, shoving Nagisa a few steps backwards, and walked towards her pleadingly. "No, don't listen to him. He's just…it's Nagisa. He doesn't know what he's talking about."

Hesitantly peeling the crown off, she tossed it back to Mako. "You know, it's okay. You keep it. I…ah, I have to go now. Nii-san said he was going to take me out to dinner and it's getting late," she hedged, turning around and walking away quickly, only one daisy in hand.

"No! Come back!" Mako called out, jogging after her, but she only walked faster, disappearing into the distance.

"YEAH, BEAT IT," Nagisa crowed. "I knew I smelled the victory in the air…" he whispered again, stroking his own crown of roses before continuing, "…sweet lover."

Mako looked as though he was about to murder Nagisa when he finally jogged back, and then paused, sniffing the air. "What's that?"

"Victory," Nagisa said sagely.

"No…it smells like…burning?" Mako shook his head, peering behind Nagisa. And there, just beyond the few rocks was Haru, who was holding a burning crown as he continued to spread the flames with the small lighter along the uncovered areas.

And as Nagisa turned around to follow Mako's gaze, his eyes bugged out. "NO! HARU-CHAN, WHY DID YOU—"

"Tch," Haru muttered, tossing the remainders of the crown into the ocean, stripping off his clothes yet again and running into the sea. "I don't care about winning. I only care about the water."

And Nagisa, digging into the bag he'd dropped earlier, emerged with one remaining carnation flower crown. "Maybe there's hope for you," he mumbled, before taking off after Gou in a sprint. "WAIT, GOU-CHAN, CAN YOU GIVE THIS TO RIN-CHAN?"

Mako turned around, horrified, and raced after him. "Nagisa! Stop! Don't bother Kou-chan again!"

"ONCE A PART OF THE FLOWER CREW, ALWAYS A PART OF THE FLOWER CREW."

—

notes: inspired by nagisa, flower crowns, and skype conversations with les! I don't think I've ever capslocked so much in fic in my whole life. IT WAS GREAT. also poor mako. all he wants is the V.