Guardian of the Flowers

 is the second chapter of Natsumi Mukai's +Anima manga.

Synopsis
A group of men stomp on some plants while an old man begs them to stop. A teenager approaches them and transforms his arm into that of a bear. The men scream.

Cooro and Husky barter with a travelling salesman for food and water; they offer Husky's mermaid wig in exchange. Cooro tells him that the wig is a memento of Husky's sister, a lie that Husky is uncomfortable with, but prefers over the truth. Husky asks the salesman if he has any clothes; he doesn't but he gives Husky a cloth to cover himself rather than the leaves he is currently using, and points them in the direction of a nearby village, Abon.

They arrive at Abon, but the Garrison Gang have set up a roadblock and deny them entry. Cooro notices that a river goes through the village, so Husky swims up river, and Cooro flies over. Cooro lands in a field, and immediately starts coughing. The bear +Anima attacks Cooro and chases him towards the village. The villagers calm the teenager, Senri, and invite Cooro and Husky in to try their local cuisine.

The villagers explain to Cooro and Husky about the Garrison Gang wanting to turn their village into a gold mine, and Senri is helping to fight them off. The women fawn over Senri.

The Garrison Gang enter the village, in more numbers than the villagers had seen before. They are there to eliminate Senri, having come prepared with a net and some chains. Their plan doesn't work as Senri easily breaks the chains and net. One of the gang members uses Husky as a human shield, but Senri doesn't care and charges forward. The gang member holds his sword skyward, ready to strike Senri, but Cooro, who has flown upward, impales a watermelon on the sword causing him to lose balance. Cooro flies around with another watermelon, scaring the other gang members.

The Garrison Gang's boss arrives and is disappointed that the gang have been unable to take over the village. She tries to cut a deal with the villagers, offering them riches, but they refuse. She decides to leave without much of a fight, and Husky grows suspicious. Husky swims down river, following them to a wagon. He sneaks over to check what is inside and finds bombs. Husky heads back to get Cooro's help in dousing the bombs with water, but when they reach the wagon all of the bombs are gone.

Senri is sitting in the field when bombs come flying towards him. The plants are destroyed, and the villagers can do nothing but watch. Cooro and Husky return, and are shocked to learn that Senri was in the middle of the blast zone.

The Garrison Gang's boss laughs about her accomplishment, but her mood quickly changes due to the sombre words of the villagers. They start whispering to themselves, and the boss demands they explain. The gang members all become covered in spots, and the village elder explains that they have contracted a local disease. He tells them that they would have been fine if they had eaten the Abon Weed; the boss starts panicking and starts searching for a plant that survived.

Senri emerges from the dust cloud holding a mound of dirt with a single weed on it. The boss tries to take it, but Senri keeps her at arm's length with his bear claw. The Abon Weed's flower blooms, and the Garrison Gang realize that it is not the Gold Indicator Weed that they thought it was. The boss is angry that all of their efforts were for nothing.

The village elder offers to sell the Garrison Gang medicine, which they do at a price that covers the damages to their village; the gang then leave vowing to never return. Senri looks at the flower and then at his book, and is disappointed that it is not the one he was looking for.

The village elder remarks that they won't have to deal with the disease for a while. The villagers explain that the disease is caused by the pollen of the weed. They could kill off the weed, but don't because it tastes so good. The elder assures Cooro that the plant will grow back. Cooro turns to see the surviving weed placed back in the ground, and Senri is gone.

Senri walks away. He looks through his book and finds one of Cooro's feathers. Cooro and Husky leave the village and find Senri waiting for them.