Fragrant Oleanders

--EDITED VERSION--

Disclaimer: No, I actually don't own any senshi... As it says, this is a fanfiction; I'm a fan and fictioning...

Author's Note: Considering all feedbacks on reviews, I decided to work more on this one. Please try to ignore my grammar for a while; I'm still working on it. But, this time I tried to put more effort on story telling and tried to mature the story a little more. I rewrote the whole piece, therefore I recommend old readers to read again. Events are the same but telling is a little more different and more detailed. I want this story to feel real but also like a nostalgic live action. So, I'll try hard to give the feeling of watching a mixture of anime and live action while you read.

Story is highly influenced by: Oniisama E and Maria-sama ga Miteru. I wanted to do more drama and angst, but nothing too heart breaking or overly dramatic, forcing limits of logic.

And finally, I have to thank Sie.Revolution for doing beta reading. I'm really grateful to her.

Hopefully you'll enjoy the new version of this story.

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Behave properly, stand straight, look proud, and move graciously to achieve your dreams…

This is St. Marianne Education Institute, only for the ladies of future Japan. We grow delicate flowers that'll shape the future, every graduate we have had is a unique diamond. It's being unique on your own, shining with a unique light of your own, is what we teach young ladies.

Every girl is a flower, and we want to give the world and Japan new flowers, more unique and rare than ever before. Welcome to St. Marianne, this is where you learn how to shine brilliantly…

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St. Marianne was a special institute for talented girls. Students were identical to each other in their uniforms, yet each held a different grace that separated them from the others. While the middle school section was restricted to wearing a certain dark blue uniform, the high school section was held free of this restriction. However, no matter how bright and special a student was, they had to obey certain rules of school grounds.

-Skirt length is fixed, at least 10cm below knees, ironed and clean.

-Any kind of shirts and blouses should have only first button unbuttoned, sleeves mustn't be folded.

-Hairs should stay tidy; even if it's not tied it must be brushed.

-Students aren't allowed to run indoors and outdoors, under any condition.

-Dormitory rooms should be tidy and students should retire to their rooms after 10pm.

These rules were far from severe for any girl raised with a high level of manners and ethics.

A new face was walking through the middle school section halls. Black shoes polished with simple lines that displayed a rich taste of style. The silk stockings she wore complimented the color of school uniform. Michiru walked in a casual silence, confidently to her classroom. Her hands were holding her bag really lightly; one might fear that it would slip from those fragile fingers. She stopped at the beginning of another hall, where her class would be. She slightly tilted her head with little interest at the sight of gossiping students standing in hallway. Sea green waves moved slightly, falling on her shoulders, which she parted carefully this morning with a matching dark blue headband. As she walked she glanced at each classroom sign as she passed them by. Slowly, but surely, she made some heads turn and basked in the attention that was showered upon her; after all, she was the new kid…

It wasn't her habit to question things in her life, but she couldn't help questioning the reason behind enrolling in an all-girls boarding school. Her father had business overseas and since she wanted to stay at Japan, St. Marianne was the best option to convince Mr. Kaioh. The school's reputation was impressive, Michiru had no doubt in her mind about going. But… as usual, there were but's, everywhere in her mind. Something was not satisfying her about the school. Not the boarding part, the dormitories were luxurious and appealing to her tastes. School activities weren't that bad either: there were a wide range of club and school activities. Whatever it was, it was a sad feeling, causing a slight, weak pain deep inside. Once again, she was left behind… somehow…

Sadly, her mother had vanished 4 years ago, leaving her to a merciful father who gave everything she could've wanted in her life. Her life was a miracle, she knew it was rude to object or even question her current place. But, even though everything landed in her hands without asking for it, she felt like a nightingale living in a golden glamorous cage. While the entire world shined around her, she sat in her golden swing, watching from afar. Why would it be any different now that she was attending a new school? Already at the age of 14, she was more rich and famous than other girls of her age… If you enjoy classical music, that is.

She stopped in front of her class, III-D. When she was about to proceed and enter the classroom, someone jumped out of classroom. Michiru had to step back, both from shock and because of the fact that this small blonde girl didn't stop after first step. She had been walking towards her, while talking much faster than anyone alive on earth, probably even faster than her aunt, who can rant 24 hours a day...

"Ah, Gomen nasai!! Wait a second, I don't know you. Ah!!! Konnichiwa!! You're the rumored new student, right?? We have been waiting for you, actually we were really curious about who you would be. So here you are; have you met anyone yet? Was it easy to find the class? It might be pretty confusing at first but you'll get used to it in no time."

Michiru looked at the blonde girl with wide eyes; she had big bright eyes, in a lovely deep blue color. She had a lovely face, looking childish and pure as one could be, with two long ponytails her innocence was consolidated even more. Michiru tried to smile politely but she couldn't prevent the urge to chuckle. Even though this blunt way of greeting one is considered extremely rude, this girl's attitude was making it appropriate to do so. The blonde girl blinked with a confused expression and apparently she had no clue why Michiru was laughing at her.

"Na..Nani??"

"Gomen…" Michiru could say finally. "To be honest, this is the first time I've met someone who is so straightforward about their feelings." Michiru smiled politely, leaving girl in awe of her natural elegance. "Kaioh Michiru, nice to meet you."

"Ah, I'm sorry. I didn't even introduce myself. Tsukino Usagi! It's really rare we get new students in the middle of terms, so I was excited." She giggled, blushing.

"Is that so?"

Just then a hand landed on blonde girl's head, surprising both of them. The girl looked back over her shoulder and to Michiru's surprise, Usagi only continued looking at her with big blue eyes of hers.

"Ah, Mako-chan!"

"You found the new student?" She smiled cheerfully as she politely bowed with her head. "Nice to meet you, I'm Kino Makoto. Hope Usagi-chan didn't paralyze you with that question attack."

"Mako-chan!!! That's mean!!!" blonde sulked as she walked back and started flapping her arms up and down, looking like a kid.

Makoto chuckled at the blonde's childish expression and patted Usagi's head only to make her even more angry. Michiru smiled in amusement, Usagi seemed like a lively girl. Makoto had a charming, bright side which matched well with the smaller girl. She had tied her brown hair into a ponytail with a thin, green ribbon. She had bangs falling over her emerald eyes. She was beautiful; reminding her of one of the recent popular teen idols. Opposing her model-like charm, Usagi had more of an innocent beauty. Her childish pureness might become more valuable in future, when she became older. Right now, she looked like an unnoticed bud, getting ready to bloom. Michiru smiled, feeling somehow relaxed even though she was quite forgotten in this funny scene.

A few cries raised from hallway, heads turned only to join the happy squeals of other students. Michiru looked to other side of the hall, while Makoto and Usagi dropped teasing. With an incredible speed, a crowd started forming in the middle of the hall and fortunately, in front of her classroom entrance. Or unfortunately, depending on how you looked at it… Michiru had to back up a little for some room when the crowd started increasing in numbers.

"KYAAAAAA!!!"

Michiru looked at Usagi who had just joined the choir of screaming girls.

"Eh? What's that?"

"It's…. It's Ten-ou-samaaaaa!!!" Usagi squealed in happiness and ran to join the fan girl crowd as well.

Michiru looked at crowd with curious eyes, while Makoto let out a deep sigh. She looked back at the tall brunette who put a hand on her hip as she watched crowd from afar, just as Michiru had preferred.

"So, it's the famous Ten-ou-sama…"

"Who is it?" Michiru asked, with a hint of interest in her voice, heightening due to Makoto's attitude towards the scene. She sounded unpleased with the occasion. It seemed like there was a slight tone of dislike but it was hard to determine what the cause of it was.

"Tenoh Haruka, whom every girl in here has a crush on." Makoto smiled derisively.

Michiru raised her eyebrows; this kind of behavior never proved to be something good. Either this 'Ten-ou-sama' was someone dislikeable, or the brunette was especially not happy with that person. She turned her attention back to the scene, where she saw a tall blond standing in the middle of the crowd. Charming and looking confident as ever, it was quite obvious now why the girls were hanging all over him. He was handsome and possessed a confident aura that every handsome man had. He was wearing a light green shirt, which screamed silently; style… She examined him as he exchanged flirting looks with the girls around him. This scene was awfully reminiscent of a past memory.

There was a boy like him back at her old school. He was much older than her classmates, just like in this case. He used to casually flirt with the girls around him; funny that she found out something interesting on the day before she left her old school. His entire act was to attract her interest, which succeeded only in driving her away. She smiled at the memory of his face; the shocked, disappointed look, was priceless. All that time she wanted to see him defeated, broken, getting his punishment for breaking other girls' hearts – no, not just any hearts – her friends' hearts. She happened to achieve that without making any effort. Oh, the sweetness of irony.

Now, coming back to the present, she decided to watch the scene unfolding before her. After all, this could be entertaining… but then it hit Michiru, while listening to some of the conversations.

"Ten-ou-sama!! It's so rare to see you here!!" A girl chirped.

"I had a message to deliver Takahashi-sensei. But it seems I was early, too bad, I have to wait." The blonde said, faking a disappointed tone. He leaned his back to a wall next to a classroom door and shoved his hands into pockets of his pants.

"I thought males were not allowed on campus." Michiru said lightly almost as if she were talking about something as trivial as the weather.

"Ah, Tenoh-san is female." Makoto chuckled, looking back at the short girl beside her. "She's in the 2nd grade of High School; her strongest point is sports, music and girls. She has always been kind and polite to us; generally, she is really helpful to lower classmen. But I believe it's because we're females, you see, Tenoh-san doesn't get close with males and she dresses like one. But if you're interested in more, go ask the airhead blonde. She's quite an expert on the Golden Four." She pointed Usagi who was already lost in the large crowd.

"Golden Four?"

"Ah, you don't know yet, right? The Golden Four: the most popular girls on the whole campus, they're idols for the students here." Makoto looked at Michiru for a moment, silently knowing. "I started this school at beginning of this term, that's why I'm here and not over there." She explained.

"I see. You can go if you want." She offered towards the crowd with her hand as she smiled.

"No thanks, I prefer standing out." The brunette grinned.

Michiru nodded in comprehension. Then she let out a sigh when checking the watch on her wrist.

"But if we stay out here we'll be late for class. And I hate going after class to see the teacher." She said exchanging glances before walking to the blocked doorway by the crowd. Makoto's glances weren't promising much so Michiru decided to take the first courageous step into the abyss.

"Why don't you wait in our classroom Ten-ou-sama!!"

"You may sit on my desk!!"

"No!! Mine is at front!!"

The tall blonde chuckled; she threw an intense grin in the girls' direction, making them blush, shiver with excitement, and almost melt away.

"But if I go inside, I'd definitely miss sensei and forget my duty, being intoxicated with the beauty of you, ladies." She added with a husky voice.

Students sighed and moaned with joy. Michiru stood behind the girl who was the first obstacle she had to come through in order to get inside. She voiced a polite 'excuse me,' only to have her voice to be eaten away by the squealing of girls. She took a deep breath and then repeated once more, tapping the girl's shoulder this time as well. This was getting more irritating by the second; no matter what, her efforts were ruined. The girl was too busy with daydreaming to notice her own senses. Michiru took another deep breath then raised her voice once more.

"EXCUSE ME!!"

Getting the attention she wanted and then some, the crowd became silent as they turned to look at her. She remained calm as her focus remained on the girl standing in front of her. If she had to take attention of everyone to get into the classroom, it was fine; she could deal with all of them. To the students' amazement she spoke with a tranquil tone.

"You're blocking the doorway. Would you please step aside?" She asked politely.

It was a tense silence, the girl she spoke to was looking back at Michiru, like she actually asked for her life. And calmly, Michiru returned a confused gaze but ended it with determination. The tall blonde finally decided to break the tense silence.

"She's right… We're blocking the way." She said, gesturing for the girls to let Michiru pass.

The girls looked at both Haruka and Michiru, but finally she slowly stepped aside. Others standing next to her followed lead and stepped back to the open doorway as well. Michiru paused for a moment before entering inside, then she looked at blonde making a polite head bow, showing appreciation for the gesture. With a similar serious expression, Haruka returned a head bow. For an instance, looking eye to eye for the first time, Michiru could understand the power this tall blonde held. Behind the sandy-blonde, messy hair, hid a most intense pair of green eyes. They were staring back at her, trying to pierce through her soul, through her whole being. Maybe it was rare, but Michiru's blue eyes were one of the few who could counter blonde's green gaze. Though the effect was enormous it only lasted for an instant; Michiru walked into her classroom, calmly avoiding the dozens of eyes staring behind her.

She was used to being under attention; yes, she knew that feeling very well. Many eyes focused on her, following her every move, seeking for misplacement in her nature, looking awkwardly, examining, but only to deliver insults afterwards. She was sure; soon they were going to look with envy, jealousy and admiration. It always happened that way; they'd acknowledge the value of a bird in a golden cage.

She looked around the classroom; she counted 25 desks, which indicated the number of students in the classroom, even though now they were empty. There were two notice boards: On one, certain announcements were hanged, celebration, activities, schedules or anything else related. On the other, there were some projects, probably done as homework. Girls started rushing inside with a murmur all of a sudden; Michiru looked back at the door. Her eyes caught sight of an elder woman; she must've been the homeroom teacher because the tall blonde was exchanging words with her. Haruka said something then glanced at her and then the teacher looked at her as well. Were they talking about her? Then she bowed and walked out of sight as the teacher walked in, closing the door behind her.

"Good morning ladies."

"Good morning Takahashi-sensei."

Michiru held her bag with her both hands and bowed politely as a fine lady should. She briefly looked at Michiru and then bowed to her. She was in her forties, fashioning her brown hair with grey streaks into a stylish bun, dressing in a long brown skirt and a white blouse. She had worn a dark brown scarf on her neck, tied with a flower brooch, adding more elegance to her looks.

"Good morning sensei. I'm Michiru Kaioh. Please take good care of me."

"Welcome to St. Marianne, Miss Kaioh." She spoke with a slight hint of English in her accent. "I do hope you'll love our school and expand your limits. That's what we expect from our girls." She turned to the class and pointed to a seat at the third row, right before a certain childish blonde. "You may sit over there. Now, let's start our English lesson."

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Haruka walked down the stairs, smiling at a few young students. Girls blushed and returned her smile with a bow and smiling faces. They already started talking cheerfully as she walked a few steps away from them. She got out of the middle school building and took a deep breathe, enjoying nice warm weather. Haruka smiled warmness of the sun and started whistling as she walked down the path between floral gardens. She was not feeling like going inside yet, hands in pockets, she thought of wandering the school grounds the whole day, possibly skipping lessons.

"Haruka-san!"

The blonde stopped as she heard familiar soft voice. She half turned to look at owner of the voice. A young girl with long raven black hair was standing on other side of rose garden. Her dark eyes were shining brightly, even though there was a fair distance. The beauty and elegance of her features were charming.

"Rei-san…" The blonde smiled, playfully.

"Are you skipping class again?"

"No, I had to deliver a message to Takahashi-sensei in the middle school section."

"And not going back to the High School building, I see…" The girl said smiling; Rei folded her arms over her chest.

"Actually, I'm going there… after a while. I have to clear my mind, you know. I almost forgot how cute middle school girls were."

"That's not polite." Rei tilted her head as she frowned slightly, making the blonde chuckle.

"No, it's not." Haruka replied, smiling.

Rei looked at her for a while, as she felt her eyes were almost locked into hers she turned her head to look around.

"As the student council member, I have to warn you about skipping lessons."

"Will you give me a warning?"

"Not this time." She said, smiling as a soft breeze ran through the long raven hair.

Haruka looked at her for a while, then nodded as she bowed to the young girl and walked off towards the High School building only to be stopped by the student council member once again.

"Haruka-san!!"

The tall blonde stopped to look back at the black haired girl. Rei hesitated for a moment, but she asked anyway.

"Are you going to the library today?"

Haruka paused for a moment and then she smiled brightly.

"Maybe… after lessons…" She said before walking away as a mysterious smile formed on her lips.

Rei watched as the tall girl walked out of her sight, with a confident smile. Though it was a pity that Haruka was still not heading towards the high school building, Rei smiled and then she turned around to walk back to dormitories.

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"Wow, you were amazing Michiru-chan!"

"It's not that great Tsukino-san." Michiru kept her polite smile on her face, as she packed her bag.

"Call me Usagi-chan please." The blonde chirped with a sweet blush on her cheeks.

"Ok, Usagi-chan." Michiru said, nodding.

English lesson was smooth; living in England for 5 years was paying out. Next lesson was music, so that meant Michiru needed her violin. She took her bag and allowed Usagi to energetically draw circles around her while walking out of classroom.

"Where is the music room, Usagi-chan?"

"Oh, it's on 1st floor. Everybody has to play an instrument, you know that right? Even if they can't play well they should. That's why I'm stuck with a flute." She showed a thin long box, waving it in air with a long face.

"Cheer up Usagi-chan; at least you can make clear sounds. Now all you need to do is put them in order and play in harmony." Makoto grinned, catching their pace.

"Wah?!! Mako-chan, you're mean!!!"

Michiru chuckled, neither she nor Usagi seemed to care for the glances they were receiving. But of course, nothing could get in the way of cheerful blonde when she was too excited over something. Makoto was another case though; she didn't look happy with the whispers and glances sent in their direction. She tried to hide it but it was quite obvious that she was disturbed.

"Michiru-chan, what will you play in music class? If you aren't talented in music, don't worry. Flute is one of the easiest instruments to play, you can't be worse than me." Usagi giggled; it was true though, she was horrible in music.

"Don't worry, I have my violin. I was going to pick it up from the dormitory now."

"Ah!! You can play violin?!!" As Michiru nodded with a smile Usagi looked into the distance with a dreamy expression. "Sugoii…"

"Why don't you come with me?"

"Of course!! I'd love to!!" Usagi raised her voice with joy and then she happily spun herself around, laughing. Makoto slowed down to glare down at a few girls, who were secretly making fun of Usagi and giggling.

"Michiru-san, doesn't this bother you?" The brunette whispered to the shorter girl's ear.

"What doesn't, Makoto-san?" The wavy haired girl smiled, playing dumb.

"Your little stunt seems to be the fresh gossip of the morning. They can't take their eyes off us…"

Michiru threw an uninterested glance around her and then smiled mysteriously. "Not even a little. Let them be." She said calmly.

They stepped out to fresh air; it was already the end of May. There was a sweet scent of late spring flowers and, as usual, it was sunny. The days were warmer with alarming hot summer days waiting ahead. Michiru was enjoying the new company she earned. Usagi and Makoto were the sweetest friends she ever had in her school life. They were cheerful, most of the time they were kind of childish. But especially with the heartwarming joy that the blonde spread, it was feeling where everyday seemed bright. She chuckled as Makoto teased the smaller blonde on how much she eats.

"You'll see it with your very own eyes Michiru-san, I have no idea how a girl can eat that much and still stay thin." She said poking Usagi's back. "Even I don't eat that much and I do sports…"

"Mako-chaaaan!!!" Usagi curled her lower lip, frowning like a kindergarten child.

"Oh! Right, Usagi-chan!" Makoto suddenly changed her attitude, starting to act like a 3rd class television drama actress, purely for amusement purposes; nobody could seriously exaggerate that much.

"Hai?!!"

"Please enlighten Michiru-san with the knowledge you hold on the Golden Four. I am trusting you with this task." She said with an overly dramatic voice and bowed to Usagi.

"Hai!!! Understood!! Leave it to me!!" The blonde made a military salute to Makoto before turning to a giggling Michiru. "Golden Four are the goddesses of St. Marianne! As their name, they're four people and they're best in all fields!! That's why they're called Golden."

Michiru nodded, acting like the subject was the most important thing she had ever heard in her whole life. She was enjoying the childish moment they were sharing together, and both Makoto and Usagi knew how to create fun from nothing.

"And they're spread in all school sections. First, the youngest of all is Tomoe Hotaru-san, 2nd grade of middle school. She's even a year younger than us but she's like a princeeeeess!!" Usagi cried with admiration. "You have to see her Michiru-chan, she is so sweet!"

"That's why she's called Hime-sama!" Makoto added.

"Yes!! Even upper classmen and other Golden Four members are calling her 'Hime-chan'. She's daughter of the founder of this school. She's good in arts, science and literature. Also her hobbies are collecting lamps and performing tea ceremonies!" Usagi stopped to bow the guard at door of dormitories. "Next one is Hino Rei-san, at 1st grade of High School. She's called Hi no Miko, fire priestess. Actually she's miko of the Shinto temple near school; they say she can do fire reading. Some believe, with fire reading she can determine even exam questions, they say that's why she's a top student. She's good at martial arts, music and literature. Her hobbies are gardening and singing. Her voice is really great!! And the third one is Tenoh Haruka-sama, 2nd grade of high school and the dream of every girl at campus." Usagi sighed as Michiru unlocked her room door.

"Why is she called Ten-ou-sama then? Her family name is different."

"Ah, because she's like a gentleman, we took liberty of changing last syllable. This way it sounds like 'Lord Tenoh.'" Usagi explained dreamily pronouncing the name with lousy english.

"But it doesn't mean 'Lord Tenoh', it means 'Lord Ten'." Makoto corrected.

"Details Mako-chan…" Usagi shook her head.

Michiru smiled to herself as she entered her room half listening to the conversation outside. She had to yet unpack; her trunks were put in corner. She looked at them unwillingly; tonight she had to empty those heavy trunks. She took a rather small box and put it on the small dressing table in room. She opened her violin case and checked its condition quickly. No harm was done, which pleased young girl.

"I can't help if English is such a weird language…" The blonde objected and smiled as Michiru got out of her room with the violin case. "I almost forgot, Ten-ou-sama's best subjects are sports, martial arts and music."

"And girls…" Makoto rolled her eyes.

"Her hobbies are riding, running or speed in any kinds. And she said herself, that she likes cuties…"

"That means girls! I correct what I said, her hobbies are girls."

Michiru coughed as they reached the door to the dormitories. As they got out Usagi didn't lose any time to continue her lecture.

"And fourth is Meioh Setsuna-san. She's at 3rd grade of high school and the most beautiful girl in whoooole campus!!"

"Usagi here has a deep admiration for her." Makoto made a hand gesture pointing to the blonde girl.

"I do." Usagi nodded cheerfully.

"Though, she admires everyone she meets…" The tall girl said, rolling her eyes.

"Hey!!"

"Lesson is almost starting ladies; you don't want to be late, right?" Another voice called to them from behind.

They looked back only to see a beautiful upper classman smiling politely at them. She had worn a long dark red skirt and a red blouse decorated with laces at the collar and sleeves. The raven hair she possessed was passing her hips, adding suggestively more to her elegant charms.

"Rei-san!!" Makoto gasped as Usagi held her breath.

Michiru looked calmly at the other girl for a moment, then she bowed to older girl, while her two classmates were busy admiring her.

"We're truly sorry, we'll be going back soon." She smiled politely, with a similar charm of the raven haired girl. "Usagi-chan, Makoto-san, let's go."

The two girls panicked and bowed as they followed the wavy haired girl. Though, Rei was quite stunned with the calm and elegance this new girl had. She looked behind them thoughtfully.

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"Ladies, ladies!!" The music teacher tapped her finger on the table. "Timing is not right. This is a canon, you don't have to rush to catch up. Just follow your own notes and the rest will be fine. Once more… at my sign please." The older woman started waving her hands like a conductor while she directed students with a proud face.

Students started playing on her signal. It wasn't a hard piece, but not every student was talented in music. One-by-one, some of the doubtful ones dropped out the task. Most of the musicians stopped playing, leaving only a violin to continue. Students looked at the violin player; she was playing the piece flawless. Michiru looked around her briefly and then she smiled to herself as she proceeded to close her eyes. With much ease, she changed melody and switched to a harder song in which she loved dearly. When the teacher was about to ask Michiru stop, she realized the girl started playing another song, with her eyes closed. Her mouth opened to talk, but she remained voiceless. Like everyone, she preferred listening. Since no one stopped her, Michiru continued playing. It was a piece that the young girl had learnt at age of 10, mastered in a month. Her teacher had told a story about this piece, Spring Serenade. The composer had written the piece after hearing a sad tale.

Story starts like one of Anderson's, maybe it was his, Michiru didn't care. One day, a nightingale fell in love with a handsome gardener. So she came to sing her most beautiful songs, making roses blossom more beautifully then ever. She was happy to make the young man smile, but one day she realized the gardener was in love with a lady. He tried every way to prove his love to her; one day, the young woman asked for a red rose from his garden. This request was almost impossible because he had no red roses in his garden. The nightingale watched the young man cry in vain. She couldn't resist for very long and flew to a rose garden. She asked roses to blossom a red rose but their answer was no, there were only white roses. No matter how much they loved the nightingale, they couldn't grant this wish of hers.

Then a rose bud called her, it explained: if the nightingale sang with all her heart and thrust her heart to a thorn, with her blood the rose could blossom in a bright red color. The nightingale accepted this, if it would make the man she loved happy, she would gratefully give her life. So, she started singing her most beautiful song, thrusting her little heart onto the thorn of rose. "More," the rose bud said, starting to blossom slowly. Nightingale pushed more, making her cry her love song. "More, more," the insistent bud said; the more the nightingale pushed, the more she bled. Finally, when she had no power, her voice died away and she fell on the ground, lifeless.

It was then that the rose blossomed with the brightest red color the earth had ever seen. Fed with both love and blood of nightingale, it waited for the gardener to see and pick it up, so he did. Crying with joy, he picked the red rose and brought it to his fair lady. But the young woman turned away with arrogance. She threw the rose away, telling him that she already engaged with someone richer than the gardener. The young man walked away with his broken heart. He saw the lifeless body of the nightingale beneath the rose bush, where it sprouted a red rose. He noticed blood on its chest and dried blood on thorns. He realized it was the nightingale who sang to him, making his roses bloom magnificently. He cried then buried the little bird beneath the same rose bush. Ever since then, he could go to that place to find the same rose blooming red roses every year.

It was when she had heard this story that she began to play this song. She was told that her violin was crying while she was playing but she used to think she was crying through her violin. She slightly opened her eyes, to look around, only to find everyone in the music room listening to her in awe. She closed her eyes again, wondering if her melody would tell that story to them. It was a touching piece; in all the years that the teacher had been employed, even the teacher had heard only a few students play this beautifully. Though, while listening what they didn't know was that the music of hers was traveling by wind to other buildings.

The classroom above the music room had stopped their lesson to listen to the flawless melody. A girl with shoulder length black hair looked up as their teacher stopped talking. To hear melody better, the woman walked out of classroom in the middle of a lecture. The young girl closed her violet eyes, enjoying the sensation this melody was giving her.

A tall blonde girl lifted her head up from the book she was reading, in a quiet corner of gardens. The source of music was from the middle school building, probably the music room on the first floor; she smiled and closed her eyes, enjoying free entertainment. It wasn't everyday that a skillful player played such fine piece.

In another building, a tanned hand stopped while writing on blackboard. The tall girl looked towards the door, trying to make sure if she was hearing right. She hushed the teacher as she became aware of the played piece.

"Just a moment sensei…"

Her dark red eyes were looking in the distance dreamily.

The raven haired girl looked around; she was in student council room discussing some matters with other members. Other girls stopped too, hearing a faint delicate melody. She walked to the window, almost dreamily. From this floor, the music room could be seen clearly. She was quite surprised to see the new girl was playing this piece.

Music died away with the last notes; Michiru put down her violin. After several moments, a cheerful applause rose from the classroom. Michiru smiled politely, she thanked and bowed to her classmates. It was clear that she was used to being the center of attention and performing.

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"Don't we have a new species in the garden now?" The elegant woman with long wavy black hair chuckled, as she sipped from her tea.

They had been sitting in her office, enjoying a peaceful melody. The Headmistress was an ordinary woman compared to her visitor. She had shoulder length brown hair, always wore her glasses and rarely dressed fancy. But for the other woman, whatever she wears or does, would make her look magnificent. Even though they were the same age, her childhood friend seemed way younger than her. The Headmistress sipped from her coffee and she smiled at her colleague.

"The fragrance of this flower will surely intoxicate the whole world, don't you think, Neherenia-sama?"

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End of Chapter 1