Good evening! I have been gone for awhile, and I'm so sorry! I'm done with school as of now, so I'm back to fanfic writing. Thank you for being patient! Enjoy!


"Stand," Oliver announced loudly as the bell rang. "Bow," he ordered next and everyone bowed as followed. "Bye!" Everyone yelled and began to grab their belongings while Mayu left the classroom. Only eight students remained in the classroom while the rest took off.

"Didn't you see their faces?" SeeU asked Leon. "They look so gloomy."

"We need to do something about it," Gumi suggested, coming towards the two teens sitting on their desks.

"How about a swimsuit contest?" Leon suggested with the biggest grin on his face.

"No," SeeU dully told him while Gumi shook her head.

"How about fireworks?" Gumi suggested.

"Or camping?" asked SeeU, but before anyone can say anymore, a broom came between Leon and SeeU.

"Hurry up and clean," Rin ordered coldly. "You two are causing a lot of trouble for everyone," she told them off before leaving them.

"Would be much better if that witch didn't take my stickers," Kaito grumbled coldly.

"You should've known better then," Oliver told him, overhearing his grumble. "What made you think Mayu would've easily let you off?" He asked next. At first surprised that a normally timid boy has called him off, Kaito responded in anger.

"That devil has done nothing but ruined our lives!"

"Mayu ruined our lives, or you're ruining your own?" Oliver asked next. At first taken aback, Kaito spoke back.

"We wouldn't be in this situation if it weren't for that brat!"

"You mean, we wouldn't be in this situation if your girlfriend wasn't so self-absorbed?"

At this point, everyone except Flower had focused their attention on the two boys. They all knew what was bound to happen next.

"Stop belittling Ann!"

"Stop putting her so high up a pedestal," Oliver responded so calmly. "You do that, then you won't be so hurt when you see the truth yourself."

"Stop lying! You don't know her!"

"Says you," Oliver said, again in a calm tone compared to Kaito's yelling.

"You're saying I know nothing about her!?"

"Of course you don't. If you did know her, you wouldn't be praising her as if she's the Mona Lisa."

"You litt-!"

"Shion, stop making a ruckus and get to work."

Interrupted and left stunned, Kaito turned slowly and saw Miki next to him, holding a bucket up, indicating his chore he should be doing.

"Clearly, beauty is more important than true friends," Miki began speaking to him coldly. "But I guess, if someone reminds you of your mother who never loved you, then Ann must be a good substitute for her."

Even Flower paused in her chore to look up and sense the tension has darkened. Everyone in the classroom, even Rin, was left dumbfounded and witnessing the scene in disbelief.

"I can't believe this," Kaito started chuckling, and Miki can easily tell she struck a nerve in him. "What are you even saying?" Kaito tried to excuse Miki's words. "My mother loves me."

"Your mother at home, or your biological mother?"

If the tension wasn't thick enough, then it surely had surpassed the thick layer and was suffocating the six other students.

"You wouldn't…" Kaito whispered, staring at his former friend in disbelief.

"Oh, you didn't tell your princess about your mother?" Miki asked, arching an eyebrow. "You didn't tell her you had to move out of your hometown because your stepmom couldn't stand the hostility of your former neighbors? You didn't tell her that before she came to your life, you were nothing but a sad, helpless puppy, paying for the crimes your mother committed?"

Without a second thought, Kaito bolted out of Miki's sight, and everyone noticed that Kaito was no longer in the room.

"Wow… that…" Leon tried to speak next.

"Why are you still on your desk?" Rin asked coldly, turning her attention to him and immediately dismissing the scene she witnessed. "Get up and start cleaning," she ordered.

"Miki," Gumi came towards her. "Are you okay? Did it hurt to yell at your former friend like that?"

"Hurt? Not really," Miki answered honestly. "But I'm surprised that he never told Ann about his childhood."

"You would've thought that because the two are so close, Kaito would've told her everything," Oliver pointed out. "But I guess not… and I didn't even know Kaito's mother is actually his stepmom. So I assume Kaito's real mother abandoned him and had done something awful?"

As Miki informed Oliver of her knowledge of Kaito's family, SeeU and Leon finally removed themselves from their desks, only to discover exactly how long they've been sitting on them, for their legs had become lifeless.

"Because Shion wouldn't do it, I'll go get the bucket of water," Rin announced. "You guys keep cleaning," she ordered as she took the bucket from Miki's hands and left the room.

"Hey, Hana-chan," SeeU struggled to walk while she came towards Flower and grabbed her shirt while nearly falling. "Do you have an idea of what fun thing we can do?"

"It's pointless," Flower told her. "Why keep trying? For people who want to go to a private school, it's better to listen to Mayu, and then they won't have to come to school during the third term."

Flower continued to sweep up, only for SeeU and Leon to continue following her to ask more questions, using desks for supporting themselves as they walk.

"What about those who aren't going to private school?" SeeU asked.

"They're working hard so they won't have to come here anymore," Flower answered.

"Why are you coming then?" Leon asked.

"I don't like being home," Flower answered honestly. "I don't care about coming here," she admitted. "But you don't have to come if you're worried about Mayu."

"We're not giving up," SeeU informed her. "No matter what happens, we're not going to quit."

"Kay then," Flower said nonchalantly and kept sweeping the floor.

"Hana-chan!" SeeU reached out and grabbed Flower's arm. "How about helping us?"

"What are you doing?"

Everyone in the room turned and found Rin standing near the doorway, her eyes focused on the three.

"What were you secretly talking about?" She asked in a demanding tone.

"Hey, Kagami-" SeeU began to speak, but Rin cut her off.

"I get it. You were bad mouthing me," she accused them. "You want to learn my secrets and tell Mayu."

"Why do you keep thinking we're out to get you," Leon asked coldly. "We're not petty enough to get revenge on you."

"We're thinking of doing something fun for the summer," SeeU told her with a smile.

"We're off tomorrow," Miki reminded them. "How about we hang out together?"

"That's a good idea," Gumi agreed.

"We can go to the pool or the park," Leon suggested.

"I'll pass," Flower told them.

"I'll pass too," Rin spoke next.

"Don't say that," Gumi spoke up. "It'll be fun."


"So Rin and Flower really aren't coming…"

"Kinda expected, since they said they aren't interested."

The following day, Gumi, SeeU, Leon, Miki, and Oliver met up at the park and had ran around freely, with Gumi having high hopes Flower and Rin would come.

"It's been an hour now," Miki pointed out. "We can all just go and find something to do."

"Isn't Hana-chan so lonely?" Gumi asked without a second thought.

"Huh?"

"What do you mean?" SeeU asked.

"This past year, I haven't seen Flower hang out or spend time with anyone in our school," Gumi explained.

"That's true," Miki agreed.

"Actually," Oliver joined in. "I never saw Flower with anyone since we all started junior high."

"That's true," Leon said. "Flower has always been alone."

"I remember," Gumi began to recall her first conversation with Flower. "She said something about not needing friends."

"That's sad!" SeeU cried. "Why does she feel that way?"

"Who knows," Leon sighed. "Maybe something bad happened to her," he suggested.

"That's true," Gumi agreed. "Wait, isn't Oliver alone too?"

"I have friends," he answered with a chuckled. "Just not in my class," he pointed out.

"Hey, how about we become friends with her?" Miki suggested.

"Yes!"

"I agree!"

"Let's find her!" Gumi exclaims. "But, uh, I don't know where she lives," she admitted embarrassingly.

"Me too…"

"Same…"

"Gah, how are we going to find Hanazono Flower?" Leon cried.

"Hanazono Flower?" The teens heard a voice from a woman nearby. They turned and saw an adult looking towards their direction. "You children know Hanazono Flower?"

"Yes, we do," Miki answered. "How do you know her?"

"She was very good friends with my daughter," the woman revealed. "I haven't seen her for years, but if you want to visit her, I believe she is still in the same home for years. I can give you her address."

The five teens stared at her in disbelief, only to thank her so happily, now finding a way to visit Flower.


"Honestly," Oliver began to speak as the five head towards Flower's home. "I wish our classmates aren't so judgmental."

"Wait, what?" Gumi turned to him. "What do you mean."

"Several people had badmouthed you guys, especially Ann and her clique of friends," Oliver revealed. "But because she's afraid of Mayu, Ann is too scared to encourage anyone to bully others anymore."

"She's probably been afraid ever since I worked for Mayu," Miki pointed out.

"Enough about our classmates," said Gumi. "Let's learn more about Oliver."

"Huh?"

"Like, who do you live with? Are you an only child? Do you miss your mother?"

"Oh, I see," Oliver sighed. "Actually, my parents were divorced since I was a baby, but wasn't because they were on bad terms or anything."

"What? How come?" SeeU asked.

"My father works abroad and travels frequently, but his main home has been here in Japan since I was a toddler. My mother didn't want to move from London, so they decided to separate, but they had been on good terms. My father would always visit me whenever he had business in the UK or was on holiday break."

"That's good," Leon stated. "How did you end up living in Japan?"

"When I was six years old, my mother and I were in a bus accident."

"Oh?" Everyone ceased walking, all eyes turned to Oliver.

"Yeah," Oliver sighed. "I had multiple injuries and lost sight through my left eye, but my mother was killed instantly."

"Oh…" Everyone continued to listen and started walking again.

"From there, my father took me to here, so I've been living in Japan since."

"I see," whispered Miki.

"I'm sorry about your mother," SeeU told him.

"It's okay," Oliver reassured them. "Living here, I got to spend time with my father more. However, he couldn't leave work and he didn't want to leave me alone, so he hired a good friend of his to work as a nanny for me, and he also bought me a pet bird that I named James."

"Your father sounds nice," SeeU stated.

"What was like living with your nanny?" Gumi asked.

"She's really nice," Oliver answered. "She taught me Japanese and always took me to places when my father was absent. Although, I feel she knew that even though I was so young, I could tell her life was unpleasant."

"What do you mean?" Miki asked.

"She had been so sweet to me, but she also seemed to be apologetic when she fixed my wounds," Oliver informed them. "I once asked her how she can take care of me so well, and she just looked so surprise when I asked her," he revealed. "My father told me once that my nanny has two daughters who were all grown up, but I thought it was weird, because with the way my nanny acted, it seemed as though she never had kids." Oliver sighed before continuing. "I found out why she was like that though when I was eight years old."

"Oh?" Everyone listened intently, curious to learn more.

"Almost six years ago, my nanny had spent days in her bedroom, and when my father came home, he told her to spend some time alone." Oliver revealed. "I didn't see her again until two months later, and when she returned, she sat me down, and she explained to me what had happened. She revealed to me that she never acted like a mother to her two daughters, and as a result, both girls had distance themselves from her and her husband. She admitted she only kept her distance because her husband at the time had told her children shouldn't grow up with love and affection from their parents."

"That's awful!" SeeU exclaimed.

"When my nanny had left my home, it was because she had learned she had a granddaughter she never met who passed away."

Everyone stopped walking again and stared at Oliver in shock.

"My nanny left to clear her thoughts and decided to divorce, but she had told me that no matter what she does, her daughters would never forgive her for neglecting them throughout their childhood."

"That's sad…" SeeU whispered.

"My nanny is happy right now," Oliver informed them. "But I can tell she's longing for a response from her daughters, or at least one of them."

From there, the five friends began walking again.

"I'm sure that one day, her daughters will come back to her," Miki states. "I'm sure they'll forgive her one day."

Walking behind the group in silence, Rin peaks through the crowd and watches them, feeling a sense of longing, envy, and regret.


AN: I might post a preview of chapter 56 of this fanfic on my deviantart. Maybe. I'm not sure as of now. Well, thank you for reading!