I don't own Yuru Yuri.
Chapter 2. I hope you enjoy :)
Ayano was greeted by a dull morning the next day as she made her way to school. As she walks, she looks around and sees nothing but grey everywhere; there's no morning sun to show her any colors of the day and to keep her warm from the cold air caused by the rain. The dark clouds that witnessed Ayano decide to let Kyouko go, can also see how her decision is going against her true feelings. It's time to stop, she says to herself – easier said than done. It's very hard and depressing for her, and the rain isn't helping at all. I know I haven't been honest, but if she could only show some interest in me like she does with Chizuru and Yoshikawa-san… then maybe I…, Ayano immediately shook her head to get rid of such thought. She'll only see me as a friend and she's happy that way. After that, she tried not to think of any more about Toshinou Kyouko and just continued her amble to school.
She arrived at school not feeling any better; she tried to keep her mind busy by reminding herself of the things she needs to do that day as a student and as the student council vice president. When Ayano walked in her class, she saw that most of her classmates were gathered at one spot – her seat. They seemed happy…
"What's going on? What are you doing around my desk?" Ayano asked as she approached the crowd.
"Ah! Sugiura-san, good morning. Well actually it's because of that," one girl said and pointed the bouquet of yellow flowers on Ayano's table.
Ayano stared at it for a few seconds and she didn't know why but it made her smile. "It's so pretty," she said as she picked it up.
"There's a note. See who it's from," one excited girl said to Ayano.
Ayano then took the note full of curiosity.
To Sugiura Ayano:
Just a little something to brighten up your day and hopefully bring a smile to you,
the most beautiful girl in the world, on this rainy day.
From,
Anonymous
Most beautiful girl in the world?! There's no denying that it made Ayano happy after reading the note; her classmates can tell from her reddened face despite her effort to hide it. Her dull, sad and cold morning turned up side down. It was too much of a surprise for her that she didn't know what to do nor think. She kept staring at the note while the girls around her squealed in delight.
"Sugiura-san has a secret admirer!"
"I wonder who it is."
"Who do you think gave you that, Sugiura-san?"
"I don't know. It just says 'From Anonymous'," Ayano answered still feeling bewildered. "A-Anyway, this is no big deal so there's no reason to have a fuss over it."
After probably a minute more of teasing and squealing, the girls finally dispersed. And Ayano, finally got the chance to sit down. Holding the bouquet on her right and with the note on her left, she started to think. Who is this Anonymous person? Her thinking didn't last very long when Chitose greeted her.
"Ayano-chan good morning."
"Ah Chitose, good morning."
Chitose saw and smiled at the flowers Ayano was holding, "Oh! I see you brought something very timely for this rainy weather."
"Huh? These?"
"The yellow Gerbera daisy; means innocence, purity, and cheerfulness. You give it to someone specifically to brighten up their day," Chitose explained.
"Oh? Is that so?" Ayano smiled again as she looked at the flowers.
"Are you planning to give that to Toshinou-san?"
"Wha – ?! Of course not! I already told you yesterday I'll let go of this feelings," Ayano said started to look sad once again.
"Then…those flowers?"
"It was here when I got here. These were given to me by someone I don't know," Ayano said and gave the note to Chitose to read.
"Oh! Maybe it's from – mnrph!" Ayano suddenly muzzled Chitose.
"Don't say it! I'm very much certain these did not come from her."
"How do you – "
"I know because one, she wouldn't know anything about flowers let alone what they mean. Two, she will never call me beautiful. And three, she doesn't know that I'm feeling down."
"Then who could it be?"
"I bet it was you!" Ayano said looking at her friend suspiciously, "You're the only who knew about these flowers and that I was sad."
"But I just got here remember?"
"Oh, right. Then who is it?" Ayano said and started scratching her forehead.
"Ayano!" a familiar voice suddenly called out.
"Toshinou Kyouko!" Ayano quickly hid the flowers behind her, "What do you want?"
"Ayano can I see you homework? Yui wouldn't let me see hers."
"No way! Do your own homework, geez."
"Cheapskate!" Kyouko said pouting and walked away.
"It's not her Chitose…I'm sure of it," Ayano said in a soft voice as she took out the flowers again to see that she didn't ruin any of it.
Ayano's reasons were very logical, but Chitose still didn't want to believe it. She hoped that, somehow, Kyouko was the one who gave those flowers and that note. She wanted to prove her friend wrong and to do that; they need to ask Kyouko herself. But it's not going to be easy. I doubt Ayano-chan would agree to that – I could ask Toshino-san myself but Ayano-chan will most likely stop me. I have no choice; I have to ask Funami-san instead.
=Lunch time=
Ayano asked Chitose to interview her classmates with her about the flowers and find out who Anonymous is. Unfortunately, they all have the same answer, "The flowers were already there when we got here." Even the group of friends who were the first ones to arrive in the classroom said the same thing. They didn't have any luck in asking the school's security either who just said, "I didn't notice anyone carry a bouquet of yellow flowers in school this morning." The two friends walked in the hallway with no clues whatsoever.
"Anonymous is very smart. She made sure no one saw her do it; either that or she made our everyone in this school her accomplice," Ayano said looking down and putting her hand on her chin.
"Ayano-chan, you're making it sound like she's a criminal."
"But if the security didn't notice it then she must've hidden it in her bag. Then again, that's impossible also because that will ruin the flowers. When I saw it on my desk it was in perfect shape, so how? And most importantly, who?"Ayano asked and started to scratch her forehead again.
"What's wrong?" Yui suddenly asked after spotting them in the hallway.
"Ah Funami-san," Chitose almost asked Yui her question; nearly forgetting that Ayano was with her. "Funami-san I didn't notice you come in class earlier. Were you late?" Chitose asked.
"Really? No I wasn't, I came in with Kyouko earlier. I think that was 15 minutes before the bell," Yui explained. "Ayano, you looked troubled. What's wrong?" Yui got back to her question.
While Ayano explained about the bouquet to Yui, Chitose had her mind somewhere else. She came in with Toshino-san? So that means someone else put it there? Even though it was already clear that Kyouko had an alibi, Chitose still didn't want to believe it. She didn't want to accept that the possibility of Ayano and Kyouko being together would end just like that, and some random Anonymous stranger would suddenly butt in to replace Kyouko.
"Eh? That's really something. I wonder who sent it," Yui said after hearing Ayano's story.
"I know right? Chitose and I didn't have any luck in asking the early birds today. They all said that the flowers were already there when they arrived."
"Hmm, that is a mystery," said Yui and started to think about it as well.
"Don't worry Ayano-chan. We could ask the nearby flower shops if someone bought a bouquet of yellow gerbera daisies today," Chitose suggested.
"That's a good idea, but it's not impossible that Anonymous might also got the flowers online," Yui said. "But in any case, you should still try asking the shops, someone might really have bought some today."
And so, as planned the two friends went to all the flower shops they could find within the area after school. However, all of them didn't sell any yellow gerbera daisies to anyone that day. Thus, leaving Ayano clueless of Anonymous' identity and Chitose still hoping that it was Kyouko. So they decided to leave the case for now and wait for Anonymous to strike again, hopefully she might leave behind some clues next time.
=Night time=
*In Ayano's room
The rain already stopped by the time Ayano finished eating dinner. And after taking a refreshing bath, Ayano fixed her things for school tomorrow and started to prepare for bed. She looked at the yellow gerbera daisies, which were already in a vase by the window beside her bed, and smiled at them one last time before turning off the lights to retire. Anonymous, huh? Ayano thought as she lay in bed, I wonder who she is. She wanted to at least thank her for the flowers, because it did brighten up her stormy mood and cheered her up. It actually made her stop thinking about Kyouko all day. I wish Toshinou Kyouko would do that to me, Ayano silently hoped before drifting off to sleep.
To be continued...
I hope you liked that :)
Reviews are welcomed.
Stay tuned for the next chapter.
