Disclaimer: See Chapter 1... or the Prologue.
A/N: I wanna shout of some thanks to TruePrime, who commented on the last chapter as well as anyone who fav'd or followed Rose Garden! Thanks all!
Sorry for the massive delay. I was stuck on one part of the chapter, until I finally decided to just drop it as it was generally unneeded. Lots of YumixYoshino in this chapter to make up for the entire Yumi-centered chapter before. .
Oh, I should nip it in the bud (lol... flower pun) and add another disclaimer: The topics that come up are in no way compared to my own views, and are simply written for story purposes. Keep that in mind as the story progresses.
Here we go!
Rose Garden
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Chapter 3
Sprouting
"I gotta admit… I was super surprised to see you here, Yumi-san!"
Yumi glared at the brown-haired girl standing opposite her. Yoshino leaned against her desk with her arms crossed over her chest, her lips pulled up into a smirk as she eyed Yumi. Her hair was pulled back into a long, dark brown ponytail, as opposed to her usual braids she wore at school. She wore a bright yellow T-shirt with a cartoon shark on the front, with a pair of faded grey jeans and sneakers. She was, Yumi noticed, dressed similarly to herself. Comfortable, yet durable and easy to move around in. The jeans, in particular, looked well-worn in and either suffered under a long, hard life… or a rather short and particularly difficult one.
"I was too, Yoshino-san." Yumi said evenly, finally sitting down at her own desk as she stared back at Yoshino.
Even after her quick tour around the building by Yoshino, and being impressed with the other's knowledge and experience about how the orphanage was run, she still wasn't quite sure how to think about Yoshino's presence there.
She wasn't really mad at the girl, of course. Yoshino was her best friend; there was no way she could be mad at her for surprising her, or being surprised in turn. God knows that the two have had their share of being surprised by the other during their time as friends. That was nothing, really. But what bothered Yumi, even only a little bit, was the fact that Yoshino was working part-time and hadn't said anything to her. She hadn't said anything to anyone.
At least, as far as Yumi knew.
"In fact, I didn't even know you were working." Yumi continued, drumming her fingers on the desk. "And after you made such a big deal about my situation…"
Yoshino shrugged. "Did I make a big deal out of it? I thought that had been Noriko-chan and Shimako-san who asked more about it. As I recall I didn't say much of anything."
"Right— you just commented about if I was a hostess." Yumi said, coloring slightly.
"Well, you never know…" Yoshino trailed off with a sly look at Yumi. "It's always the quiet ones who surprise you."
Bristling slightly, Yumi turned away from her friend. "I do not intend to be a hostess, Rosa Foetida."
"A pity." Yoshino said with a snicker. "You'd look so cute in a mini-skirt."
Feeling her cheeks flush with heat, Yumi whirled around. "W-what?" She exclaimed, her eyes widening. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Instead of answering, Yoshino pushed off from her desk and walked over to the small refrigerator. She opened it and leaned down to peer inside. After a few seconds, she reached in and pulled out a bottle of water. Closing the refrigerator, she returned to her desk, opening the bottle of water as she walked.
"So, on a completely unrelated topic," Yoshino began, pausing as she took a pull from her water bottle. "When did you decide to work here?"
The question caught Yumi off guard. She paused, her ears still prickling at the thought of herself in a mini-skirt, and sat back in her chair. "Uh… I think it started because I wanted to branch out." She started to explain, knitting her eyebrows together in thought. "I didn't want to go to Lillian University with absolutely no experience in the professional field, even though many students do not. I wanted something besides just my transcripts from Lillian Academy."
"So you decided to go out and find a part-time job." Yoshino surmised, nodding.
"Yea. My parents were all for it." Yumi said. "They thought it would be a great idea. Yuuki even thought about it, but decided to wait until he actually started University before working." Apparently, Yumi's brother wanted to wait because he was still deciding between a couple different Universities in different areas. He hadn't wanted to start a part-time job at one place, and then be forced to leave it when he started school in a completely new area.
Yoshino pursed her lips, thinking. She then cocked her head to the side. "But why get a job here?" She asked. "I mean, this place is pretty off the radar. It even took me an arm and a leg to find this place." She waved her left arm around and kicked her leg out from her chair. "Prosthetics, both of 'em."
Yumi snorted at her friend's joke. "Actually, it was a lucky break that I met Shima-sama in a supermarket."
"Ahh." Yoshino said from her desk, an understanding look on her face.
"Yea. And after that…" She shrugged. "It was only a matter of a few meetings and some permission forms."
"But again… Why here?" Yoshino asked, furrowing her brows together.
Yumi sighed and turned to look out the only window in the room. It faced the street, but being a mostly residential community, there weren't that many card or people passing by. It was relatively quiet. After a few moments, Yumi spoke. "Truthfully, I love kids." She said. "It's not something I really talk about very often, but I really love children. I always wanted a job babysitting… or working in a kindergarten or something. So when this kind of opportunity came up I jumped on it."
Yoshino snorted. "So instead of babysitting one of two kids, you're stuck with twenty-two of them." She caught Yumi's concerned expression, and held up her hands. "Don't get me wrong; they are awesome kids. Every single one of them. It's just…" She paused, choosing her words. "It's kind of a heavy load. Even if it's only one day a week."
"I know." Yumi said, straightening her back. "I can definitely handle it."
"Cool. Because we definitely need the help." Yoshino said with a laugh. She glanced at the wall clock and blinked a few times. "Well, the kids should be finishing up their outside playtime. So in a few minutes, we'll head out to join Chiaki-sama in rounding them up."
"Yumi nodded, suddenly overcome with a thought. "Hey…" She began, getting Yoshino's attention. "When did you start working here?"
Her friend glanced back at the clock, and then around the room distractedly. "A couple years ago, actually." She said, a hint of hesitation in her tone.
"That long?" Yumi breathed, surprised. She had never known! Was anyone else aware of Yoshino's ability to hold down a part-time job for that long? "But… how did you get the permission? Don't you have to be eighteen to—"
"I had special permission." Yoshino cut in with a wave of her hand. "From the school and my parents."
"Oh." Yumi said. Special permission? What kind of permission would count as 'special'? Was Yoshino in some program that let her work as a minor? Did Lillian Academy have something like that? Surely, as a joint president of the student council, Yumi would have heard about something like that.
As if knowing what Yumi was thinking, Yoshino leaned forward, shaking her head. "I'm not working here as part-time, though, mind you." She said. "I'm a long-term volunteer."
Yumi, again, blinked in surprise. "Volunteer?" She echoed.
Yoshino nodded, leaning back and taking another swig from her water bottle. "Yea." She said. "I volunteer. So—no pay or anything. Therefore, in addition to the special permission, I don't need to jump through all the hoops of the part-time employment forms from Lillian."
"I… see." Yumi said slowly. The surprised just kept coming. Not only had Yoshino been working here—without Yumi or Shimako (she could only assume) knowing… but Yoshino had been working for free! Not that Yumi didn't think Yoshino was the kind of girl to do work for free; everyone had their vices and different views on work and community service. It was just… surprising.
Noticing the lull in Yumi's questions, Yoshino cleared her throat. "It's not really a big deal, Yumi-san."
Yumi shook her head, clearing it of her confusion, and smiled softly at her friend. "Yea—no. I know." She said. "Sorry. It's just… really surprising to learn all this about you." Yoshino shrugged, deigning not to speak about that. "Why did you start working here though? You said it was a couple years ago…"
A muscle in Yoshino's cheek twitched. It was small; almost unnoticeable. But Yumi know her best friend well enough to pick it up. She didn't really know what it meant, but immediately felt as though Yoshino was hiding something. That she was trying to hold something back before even speaking. It had been an honest question, Yumi thought. Yoshino, herself had asked Yumi why she started to work here, after all.
So… why did Yumi suddenly feel so… weird now?
"Same as you, actually." Yoshino finally said, staring straight at Yumi. "I like kids."
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"Ohhhh man! I am so tired!" Yoshino declared, stretching her arms above her head as she walked.
Yumi walked alongside her friend, nodding her agreement in the darkening twilight. "That goes double for me." She said, feeling as though she was going to be just one giant sore muscle the next couple of days. "Are they always like that?"
Yoshino groaned, lowering her arms and adjusting her tote bag over her shoulder. "Not usually." She admitted. "They are usually calmer than today. It must be because they have a new 'Big Sis' to play with." She said, shooting a knowing look over at Yumi.
The two girls had just finished their day at the orphanage, and after a farewell from Chiaki Shima and all the children ("Bye-bye Yoshi-nee! Yumi-nee-chan!"), Yumi and Yoshino left together, heading in the general direction of the bus stop.
All in all, the entire day had been a giant whirlwind of activity to Yumi. After a few minutes of initial wariness from the children passed and they realized that Yumi was very similar to 'Yoshi-nee', they had all but surrounded her like an avalanche of attention. Games, questions, running around and playing, Yumi had never been so tired in her life until she had spent the better part of a day around nearly two dozen children ranging from three years old all the way to seven. It had been tiring. It had been loud. It had been messy.
But it had been one of the best days in Yumi's life.
"It was great, wasn't it?" Yumi said, grinning brightly. "You were right; those kids are amazing."
Yoshino snorted airily and nodded. "That they are."
"The one that clung to my leg most of the day…" Yumi paused, trying to remember the little girl's name.
"Kimiko-chan." Yoshino supplied.
"Thanks. Kimiko-chan. She was so cute!" Yumi gushed, remembering the small, five-year-old's round, cherub-like face and large, inquisitive eyes. "I so wanted to take her home!"
Yoshino laughed. "Well, you are old enough to adopt, Yumi-san." She said with a sly grin. "If you wanted to, of course."
Sputtering, Yumi stopped and waved her hands around. "N-n-n-no! That's not what I… I mean…" She faltered, lowering her shoulders embarrassingly. "I didn't mean to…"
"Nahh, it's alright, Yumi-san." Yoshino said, turning her head around to face Yumi as she slowed. "I knew what you meant. I will admit that I don't often see her get attached so quickly. The last helper we had… well…" She paused for a moment. "Kimiko-chan never really got on with her."
"Really?" Yumi asked, shocked that such a sweet child like Kimiko wouldn't like someone. She seemed so amiable; like she would be alright with anyone and anything.
Yoshino shrugged. "Well, she was abandoned when she was three. She doesn't really remember too well, now, but she still finds it hard to get attached to others."
"Wow…" Yumi breathed, feeling a sudden and very uncomfortable feeling in her stomach. She distantly recognized it as anger, and new it was directed towards the child's parents. Just what kind of people would just up and abandon their child? She could understand not being able to support a child… but raising one for three years and then up and abandoning it for no reason? Yumi just couldn't see it.
"Yea. Wow." Yoshino said with a sigh. "Most of the children at the orphanage were abandoned. Kimiko-chan… Mio-chan… Kyosuke-kun…" She kept ratting off names to Yumi. Most of them Yumi remembered from the day, some of them, Yumi was embarrassed to admit she had forgotten. It had only been a day, and Yumi couldn't be expected to remember more than twenty new names so quickly… but it still saddened her all the same.
"Some of the younger ones didn't even know their mothers or fathers." Yoshino continued, looking straight ahead as she and Yumi walked. "They were abandoned as babies. Child services are able to take some and give them families… proper ones that can take care of them. But they can't take them all. There is never enough families… people that want to responsibility of being parents."
Yumi stared at Yoshino as they walked. The street lights had flickered on a few moments ago, illuminating the street and houses they passed. The light cast a shadow on Yoshino's face, and Yumi couldn't be sure, but for a moment it had looked like there was anger in her friend's features. When she blinked and the shadow from the streetlights passed, the look was gone.
"A lot of people are like that… you can't really help some things. It's the way the world is." Yumi said softly, wondering just how much Yoshino cared about this topic. This was a Yoshino Yumi could never remember seeing. The usual Yoshino she knew at school was always so active, happy, even a bit mischievous. The Yoshino she was walked next to at that moment was very different. She was solemn, serious, and more than a little intense. Yumi didn't quite know how to take that.
"Yea. You can't expect the world to work the way you want it to, right?" Yoshino said, her tone suddenly very bitter.
Yumi opened her mouth to speak but closed it again, taken aback. She got the impression that Yoshino was talking about something else just then, and just didn't notice. Yumi waited for her friend to elaborate, but she never did. So Yumi herself fell silent, choosing instead to work on remembering the route from the orphanage to the bus stop in the dark.
Eventually, the pair arrived at Yumi's bus station and stopped. "Here's my stop." Yumi said, nodding her head towards the bench under a light grey awning.
"Cool. Mine is a few minutes that way." Yoshino said, pointing down the sidewalk.
"Right. See you at school tomorrow?"
Yoshino shrugged. "Most likely. We usually do, after all." She said with a hint of her old humor. Inwardly Yumi relaxed. She had been worried when Yoshino mood went south, but the fact that she was smiling at Yumi with her usual expression did wonders for the girl's esteem. It was wonderful to know that Yoshino wasn't upset at Yumi.
"Cool. Be safe on the way home." Yumi said, giving her friend a casual nod of her head.
"Always am, Yumi-san." Yoshino grinned and turned. "Oh." She said, as if she suddenly remembered something. "By the way, can you do me a favor?"
"Of course." Yumi said earnestly.
Yoshino stood there for a few seconds, as if making a decision. She wrung her hands together tightly, and visibly chewed on her lip. She was clearly hesitant to talk, but Yumi waited. If her friend wanted to talk, she would. If she didn't want to, then she would decide not to. Yumi wouldn't push her.
Eventually, Yoshino relaxed and lowered her hands. "Can you keep this whole thing a secret? I mean, the whole orphanage thing. The fact that I volunteer there… that I've been working there for a while… just the whole thing." She licked her lips slowly and sighed. "I've kept the whole thing secret for this long. From You, Shimako-san, Nana… not even Rei-chan knows. I want to keep it that way."
"Rei-sama doesn't even know?" Yumi asked, growing concerned.
"I never said anything to her." Yoshino said, nodding. "She… just wouldn't understand."
"She wouldn't understand that you like kids?"
"No… that's not it…" Yoshino said, her hands clasping together again. "It's just… I don't want her to worry about me."
Yumi took a step forward, her concern growing to confusion. "Why would she be worried?"
Yoshino looked pointedly away from Yumi, watching as a car passed them along the road. Again Yumi waited for her friend to answer. "You know how Rei-chan is." Yoshino finally said. "She worries about the smallest things. And if she finds out I have been hiding a thing like volunteering for two years from her…" She looked back to Yumi. "She'll just overreact."
"I guess so…" Yumi said, not all that convinced. She still felt as though there was something that Yoshino wasn't telling her. Some reason she wanted to keep this whole thing a secret. But Yoshino was asking for a favor. A favor as a friend. And if Yumi was anything, it was Yoshino's best friend. She could keep it a secret. She had to.
"Alright." Yumi finally said. "I won't tell anyone."
"Just keep it between us, alright?" Yoshino placed her hand on Yumi's shoulder and squeezed. "No Rei-chan… no Touko-chan or Sachiko-sama… no Shimako-san or anyone else, alright?"
"Alright. I promise." Yumi said, putting her own hand on Yoshino's shoulder. "I'll keep it between us."
"Cool." Yoshino grinned and stepped away. "Then, I'll see you tomorrow!" With that, she whirled around on her foot and dashed down the sidewalk, leaving Yumi alone as the bus groaned up to the stop beside her.
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"So, Yumi-san, how was your first day of work?"
Yumi looked up from her tea to see Shimako looked back at her from her own cup. Noriko and Shimako both were sitting across from Yumi in their usual spots at the table in the second floor of the Rose Mansion, each one nursing matching cups of warm Darjeeling. Noriko looked from her Grande Soeur to Yumi, and then back to Shimako, clearly interested in the topic but knowing enough to let the older girl lead the question.
Yumi glanced around the room, spotting Touko and Nana in the corner talking amongst themselves about a task they had been appointed. Touko shot a glance her way upon hearing Shimako's question, but then turned her attention back to Nana.
The last one in the room, Yoshino, was the only one to not really react to Shimako's question. She had been stirring her tea absently as she leafed through a few documents, and didn't even look up to catch Yumi's eye when she glanced around.
Somehow, Yumi felt a little disappointed at her best friend's lack of reaction. She knew Yoshino had made Yumi promise to keep the fact that the she worked at the orphanage a secret from everyone else… but Yumi had still held onto the hope that Yoshino would at least acknowledge that the two worked in the same place. But, first thing in the morning when Yumi had come across Yoshino at the statue of Maria-sama near the front gate of the school, just past the row of gingko trees, Yoshino had acted as though the two had never met over the weekend. She hadn't asked about Yumi's job, she hadn't asked about her weekend… she hadn't even reminded Yumi of her promise.
Apparently, the topic had been dropped completely.
"It was… good." Yumi said slowly, turning back to Shimako and Nana. "I had never done anything like it before, so it was new. But… it was still a lot of fun."
"Do we finally get to know what kind of job it is?" Shimako pressed kindly, a glint in her eye. Noriko twitched beside her, giving Yumi the impression that it was likely Noriko's inquisitiveness behind Shimako's questions.
Chancing another glance towards Yoshino, Yumi sighed. "I would tell everyone… but I'm…" She paused, thinking of a response. Yoshino still hadn't looked up from her forms, but had stopped stirring her tea, her hand hovering over her cup. "I'm still not sure how it will work out. It was fun, yes… but I'm still not one-hundred percent sure about it yet. So, I want to wait before investing too much into it."
Shimako looked over to Noriko beside her, and smiled. "We understand, Yumi-san. Take your time."
Yumi sighed silently in relief, and picked up her tea to take a sip.
"It's because she's totally a hostess." Yoshino said lightly from her chair. Yumi sputtered, barely able to keep from spilling her tea. She placed her cup back on the table and glared at Yoshino, who looked back at her with a… weird expression.
"I am not." Yumi returned tartly.
"Is what she says." Yoshino raised an eyebrow. "But I'm telling you all, our Yumi-san would look great in a mini-skirt and a corset."
Yumi could feel everyone's eyes on her, and instinctively knew her face was turning a bright pink. She opened her mouth to argue, but stopped. She suddenly recognized the look on Yoshino's face.
It was relief.
It was small, minute, and almost unrecognizable. But it was definitely relief. She was relieved that Yumi hadn't said anything about the orphanage, and how she and Yoshino worked there. She hadn't said anything to Yumi about it all morning, and for all intents and purposes had all but forgotten about the whole thing. But here she was, genuinely relieved that Yumi had kept her promise by not telling her friends about it.
Yumi still didn't understand why Yoshino was so uncomfortable with other people knowing about it. As far as Yumi cared, it was a great and noble thing to take care of unwanted children. She had nothing but respect for anyone who took time to care about children. It was why she looked up to Chiaki Shima as much as she did.
Yoshino, on the other hand, was an enigma. She seemed to care about the kids. She seemed to care a lot. She would have to, to have worked there for two years. But at the same time, she didn't seem to want anyone to know that she cared.
Why?
What was she hiding?
"Mini-skirt, huh?" Yumi finally said, leaning back in her chair.
"And a corset." Added Yoshino with a wink. "A red corset. Hot."
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A/N: Thanks for reading! I super appreciate your attention! I'll hope to keep more regular updates now that I ditched the bits that hung me up .
Peace!
