This is set 6 years before the story line and three years after Makoto adopted Rei and Nagisa. Enjoy!
Here you go Flowering Lotus What you've been waiting for is here.
Since April six years ago Makoto had had a habit of taking some long walks form time to time when he needed some time to himself. His walks led him to many places but there was one road he liked in particular. It led right past the orphanage that Rei and Nagisa had come from. It had a playground where you could often see kids play around there. Today was no exception.
It was mid July and Rei and Nagisa had their summer break. Makoto had sent them off to spend a few days with his parents at some beach. They figured Makoto needed a break, though Makoto himself had denied that, his parents had insisted and even Ren and Ran had agreed to look after Rei and Nagisa for a while.
Makoto stopped by the playground to watch the kids play. A group of kids who were about nine years old were playing tag and running around with bright smiles on their faces. A boy with maroon hair seemed to be it. He ran towards Makoto, and this was when Makoto caught sight of the boy right in front of the fence. He was the one the maroon haired was running to.
The boy was looking out at the streets. There was a distant look in his water-blue eyes. His hair was black and the expression on his face was pretty stoic. Anyone else would consider it the perfect poker face.
"Hey Haru," the maroon haired said. "Why don't you come join us?" he smiled cheerfully. "Aren't you lonely?"
The boy with the stoic face shrugged. "Not really," he said.
The boy with maroon hair got a kinda sad look in his eyes, but his smile stayed on his face. "Just come over if you change your mind. I'm sure the others are fine with you joining, if you want,"
The boy didn't react. He didn't even turn to look when the maroon haired ran back to play tag with the others. There was something about that boy that peaked Makoto's interest. He couldn't put his finger on what that was though. So he decided to figure it out.
He approached the black haired and leaned against the other side of the fence. "You wanna go out of there, don't you?" Makoto asked.
The boy said nothing, but Makoto could tell from the look on the boy's face that he was right.
"What's your name?" Makoto asked.
The boy looked at Makoto with narrowed eyes as if he was saying 'why would I tell you?'
Makoto smiled. "Sorry," he said. "I was just curious," he then turned his back to the boy and went to continue his walk.
From that day forward Makoto would come by the orphanage almost every day on his walks, just to see if the boy was still standing there. Most times he was actually. He was standing on the same spot, his blue eyes looking to a place far away. Sometimes Makoto would try to start a conversation with him, but they usually ended up being pretty much one-sided.
One day Makoto ran into a woman he recognized. She was the exact same woman who had claimed that Nagisa and Rei were more trouble than they were worth. Makoto had stopped being a swim coach when he started his actual job, so he only saw his old class when he and Rei went to pick Nagisa up after his swimming lesson.
"Tachibana-san," She smiled at Makoto when he walked by. "I was just talking about you," she nodded to a woman that Makoto had never seen before. "This is Tachibana who taught my daughter how to swim, he also adopted that troublesome pair of boys I told you about,"
"Don't you regret that?" the other woman asked Makoto.
"Not really. They're both nice and helpful," Makoto said.
"It doesn't seem that way from what I've heard," the woman mumbled. "They sound like trouble, just like that annoying pair of twins in there," she pointed to the playground belonging to the orphanage.
"What annoying pair of twins?" Makoto asked.
"Matsuoka Rin and Nanase Haruka," the first woman said. "You see Nanase-kun over there," to Makoto's surprise she pointed to the black-haired boy with the stoic face.
"I tried speaking to him," Makoto said. "He doesn't seem like trouble, in fact he's pretty quiet if I have to say anything,"
"That's what it looks like," the second woman snorted. "And his brother is nice too, but when they are together they get into so many arguments that you barely manage to stop them before they start another,"
"Tachibana-san, don't tell me that you're considering adopting those two as well," the first woman said.
"Of course not. I figure that Nagisa and Rei are enough for the time being," Makoto answered with a smile. "Though I'd love to have them, I'm afraid I don't have the time,"
"That's-" The woman was cut off when someone exited the door to the orphanage and ran up to Makoto and grabbed his hand.
"Don't say that!" it was the maroon haired boy. "Won't you please take us in?" Makoto looked into the boy's red eyes. He remembered seeing him among the other kids playing tag, the first time he noticed Haruka.
"Why are you so desperate?" Makoto asked.
"Because!" The boy met Makoto's eyes. "I've seen you talk to Haru, you're the only one who seems to understand him. He's not doing well here, he needs someone around who understands him better than I do, he barely tells me anything!" Tears started running down the boy's face. Makoto figured this must be Matsuoka Rin, Haruka's twin brother.
He understood what the boy meant and he suddenly felt sorry for the twins and he could sense so much. Haruka just needed someone to understand him, and even if they fought all the time, Rin would do anything for his twin to be happy. Now that was what Makoto would call caring, and it was the bond between the twins that convinced him.
"My house is big enough for two more…" Makoto said. "Room won't be a problem," he then led the way into the orphanage while the two women were left behind with expressions of disbelief on their faces.
An hour later everything was in order and Makoto helped the twins gather their things while listening to warnings from a staff member of the orphanage.
"You once adopted Hazuki-kun and Ryugasaki-kun. I tell you, those two are nothing against Nanase-kun and Matsuoka-kun's arguments. They've even been into real fights,"
"I've heard that," Makoto said. "But I'm sure they'll learn to stop as they grow older, and they can't be that bad. Besides, something about them just really makes me want to get to know them better,"
Yells were then heard from one of the small bedrooms in the orphanage.
"Why'd you even do that!" a voice yelled loudly.
"Because you need someone to understand!" It was Rin answering just a bit louder than the other voice.
"I never said that!" the first yelled in the same sound-level as before.
"You hardly ever say a word except when we're fighting,"
"You're always picking the fights!"
"Oh yeah, then who was it this time, Haru!"
Makoto sighed before entering the room. "Would you boys mind stopping this argument?" he asked. "Now you stop yelling and make up or I'm not gonna adopt you anyway. It's not too late for me to back out,"
Rin and Haruka both looked up and met Makoto's eyes. Makoto did his very best to hide the fact that he didn't mean a word of what he said and that he would adopt the two, what so ever.
It worked. Rin apologized to Haruka and Haruka nodded, also apologizing in a lower voice.
Makoto smiled. He had managed to stop their argument for the time being and maybe it would last for some time until they were home, or even better, until the following day. He led the twins out of the orphanage as soon as they were done packing and took them home to Rei and Nagisa who were both waiting impatiently.