Love planted a rose, and the world turned sweet
"Love Planted A Rose" by Katherine Bates
Note: I spell Anne as Anne because it's my preference to spell it the Japanese way. Any review telling me that I'm misspelling will be ignored.
Anne sighed quietly to herself as she reluctantly trudged towards school. She was such a coward…
Yesterday had been Valentine's Day. Ren's first full day after his release from prison. While Valentine's Day wasn't a romantic holiday in Japan, like it was in the West, Anne should have taken the opportunity to confess her true feelings to Ren.
How could she not fall for Ren? He was charming, sweet, fun to be with… Just the thought of him made Anne smile. He was truly her light.
She had psyched herself up to confess. Made chocolate for him. She had even mixed in coffee in that batch, because she knew how much Ren enjoyed coffee. But as she went to talk to Ren… Anne had chickened out.
She had practically thrown the chocolates at Ren's face. She then yelled, "Happy Valentine's Day!" before running out of LeBlanc. God, it'd be a miracle if Ren hadn't laughed at how foolish she had acted. When she got back to her apartment, she dug her ice cream out of her freezer and drowned her sorrows into the sweet creamy goodness.
Ugh… what was she even thinking? Ren's probation would be up in less than a month. Why would he want to form a relationship now? She had so many chances to tell him how she felt too…
Heck, he had even told her that he loved her. Jokingly, but… The way he had said it made her heart race.
Stupid, stupid, stupid!
"Oh, stop moping already!" she whispered to herself, slapping her cheeks. "Pull yourself together! Things could be worse!"
Like Ren could be in prison still… She could see him every day at school now. That was definitely a plus!
She needed to focus on the positives. She should enjoy what time Ren had left in Tokyo. But… first, they had to get through school today…
She entered the classroom. Ren was already in his seat, Morgana having squeezed himself in his desk. Anne couldn't help but smile at the familiar sight.
"Hey," Ren greeted her with a warm smile. Then it quickly turned playful. "I never got to thank you for the chocolates. They were delicious."
"I-I'm glad you like them!" Anne stammered out. "I worked hard on them."
Ren's dark eyes just twinkled behind his glasses. "I could tell. I could taste the love."
She could say it now. She should just do it!
"Hey, Ren." Anne licked her lips. "I-I—"
Then the bell rang shrilly, interrupting her. AGH! No! Of all times…
"All right, class, let's begin," Kawakami announced, completely oblivious to Anne's internal lamentations.
And it continued throughout the school day. To top it off, the agency called her right after school to cancel the shoot she was scheduled for.
So it was a grumpy Anne who reentered the classroom to retrieve her schoolbag. Only… to find a bouquet of roses resting on her desk.
Red, pink, and white roses were artfully arranged in a beautiful bouquet. A scarlet ribbon tied it all together. Anne picked it up to inhale the flowers' sweet scent, when a pink note fluttered down, landing on her desk.
Blinking down at it, Anne picked it up so to read it. Wow, the handwriting was so… nice.
You have enraptured me since the day we had met, Anne Takamaki. But circumstances have led me to not speak up until now. I know that you've had people admiring you before but I beg you to give me a chance. While you're a lovely girl, your beautiful soul is what entrances me.
Anne just raised an eyebrow. Very pretty words, but she couldn't help but feel a bit skeptical. Too many boys have wanted to get in her pants…
I can see you scoffing. I can understand your skepticism. However… I can prove that I know you well. So, Miss Takamaki, I issue a challenge to you. A scavenger hunt, so to speak. I have placed bouquets such as the one you hold in places special to us. The cards tucked in will lead you to your next clue.
You'll find your next clue in a boutique not too far from the school. Good luck, and I hope that I will be able to confess my feelings to you, face to face.
Love,
Your secret admirer
A boutique near Shujin… Anne could only think of Jeunesse et beaute.
Well, she had nothing better to do. And this admirer of hers seemed very confident. Why not?
Anne then set off for the boutique. Jeunesse et beaute was a charming boutique, though Anne admittedly didn't shop there a whole lot…
Did she go inside…? Anne awkwardly lingered by the door, but the clerk seemed to notice her. She beckoned for Anne to come inside.
"Are you Anne Takamaki?" she asked. She was an older woman with kind eyes. "A handsome young man asked me to keep this for you…"
She then reached underneath, producing another beautiful bouquet.
"Oh wow," Anne breathed, accepting it. Though the mystery of her secret admirer could be easily solved with this change. "Um, what did he look like?"
"Ah, ah." She waggled her finger at Anne, her eyes twinkling with humor. "That would be giving up the game. He was very insistent on you playing by his rules, young lady." She then winked. "He's quite the charmer. You're very lucky to have a young man like him wrapped around your little finger."
Anne grumbled to herself. "Well… I guess it is what it is," she sighed out. "But thank you for this."
"Any time."
So it was with a second bouquet that Anne left the shop. She plucked the card from the bouquet, unfolding it.
That was an easy hint, was it not? But this place has a great sentiment for me. For it was where I first met you. You caught me by surprise when I laid my eyes on you. I didn't expect to see such a beautiful girl on that rainy day. You were bright, like the sun, in a world that felt gray and dull. But you know what really caught my attention? The way you smiled at me. It knocked me off tilt completely. Truth be told, I had been feeling fairly miserable for several days up until that point. That small act of kindness… I will never forget it.
But I think I've gone on enough. Your next hint is the place where I told you 'I love you' for the first time.
Wait. WHAT?!
Anne quickly combed through her mind for such instances. She… couldn't remember such an incident except…
Her heart started to pound.
"Come on! Give me the best you've got!"
Ren then blinked at her owlishly. "Anything…?"
"I can handle anything!" Anne declared.
"Okay." Ren then pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "You're beautiful, Anne."
"Pfffft, that's nothing!"
"Are you ready then?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. At Anne's enthusiastic nod, he just smiled. A smile that honestly made Anne's heart race. "I love you."
He had said it so… so nonchalantly. So Anne just stared him with a hot face, practically gaping at him. Her heart wouldn't stop pounding. When she finally found her voice, she could only vocalize one word.
"W-WHAAAAAAT?!"
Was Ren her special admirer?! Anne looked down at the note, combing the rest of it for another hint.
I meant it in jest at the time, but it wasn't long before it became the truth. I bid you adieu. I hope that you will soon be reading my next hint.
Love,
Your Secret Admirer
"Okay, Anne," she muttered to herself. "Get yourself together. You're just getting your hopes up."
But… what if she wasn't? Could it be that Ren liked her back?! Gah, she was just talking herself around circles! Curse her traitorous mind…
"Don't think about it, Anne." She shook her head. "It'd be too perfect if that was the case! And… I'm not that lucky," she added sadly, unable to stop herself from frowning.
But if her guess was right… her next stop was Inokashira Park. Her heart began to flutter. Despite Anne telling herself that it couldn't be true, a small part of her couldn't help but hope.
Oh, please let her be right…
Anne shivered, drawing her varsity jacket more tightly around her. A frigid wind, kissed with ice, swept through the air. She never liked the cold, but ever since she had awakened to Carmen, her cold tolerance had dropped. Her dad would always tease her about that. Her dad, being half-Finnish American, had claimed that she should be more resistant to the cold. It wasn't her fault that the cold was just so… cold.
Anne looked towards the park. She couldn't help but wonder where Ren—no, her secret admirer—had hidden his third bouquet of roses.
But as she walked, her eyes drifted over to the lake. The boat service was closed for the winter, but she could still imagine it so easily. She would honestly love to go out on a ride on the boat for a date…
Where did she and Ren even go to strengthen her hearts? At the thought, Anne just shook her head. God, she must've sounded ridiculous to Ren. She didn't know why he had even agreed to it.
Despite his teasing nature, Ren never put her down, whether it be her opinions or dreams. He was always by her side, words of encouragement ready.
She remembered confiding in Ren here that she had wanted to dye her hair black at one point, because she wanted to fit in so badly.
"I'm glad you didn't dye your hair," Ren stated, looking unnaturally serious.
Anne just laughed nervously. "Y-Yeah, I know it was dumb—"
Ren shook his head. "You're not stupid," he said. "But even so… black hair doesn't fit you… You were always meant to stand out in the crowd." Then a smile curled at his lips. "You were always meant to shine."
But a flash of color caught her eye. Tucked into a bush, was a bouquet of flowers.
This was proof, wasn't it? Oh goddd, Ren liked her?!
…Wait, Ren was kinda a troll though. What if he was just playing a trick on her?
No, that wasn't Ren. He wouldn't do anything hurtful like this…
"Gahhh… what's the truth?" Anne moaned out, even giving one of her pigtails a frustrated tug.
She found the pink note, staring at the handwriting. Was this Ren's handwriting? Or did he get someone else to write it…?
"Wishful thinking," Anne muttered to herself, even as her heart gave a painful twinge.
You've always been a hard worker. I know, I know… you may be staring down at the note with your brow furrowed. "What are you talking about?"
But I can only think of your drive to become a model. You want to be an example of strength. Your kind of strength is underrated in my opinion. Your kind of strength comes from the heart. You refuse to lose heart.
Your aspiration to become a model, to inspire others being strong, is something that I really admire. I don't think I've emphasized that enough. I know that one day that little girls will look at your pictures in magazines and aspire to like you. A beautiful, strong woman who will roll with the punches and be the last one standing.
Your next destination is the place where you had hit a low point. It was the place where we had our first proper conversation. It was the start… of everything.
Anne stared down at the note, hope welling up in her chest again. Ren… It had to be him, right?
…There was only one way to find out. Time to head to Shibuya's Big Bang Burger.
Anne entered the restaurant. It was surprisingly empty. But she still remembered it. All of it.
The despair and the feeling of being backed into a corner by Kamoshida. Otherwise, Shiho would suffer. Then when she caught Ren staring at her, she had fled from him. But he had chased after her. Persuaded her to talk about it. And… to this day, she did not know what had pushed her to spill the beans.
But she had. She had poured her heart out to him. He had listened. Tried to cheer her up with that dumb joke. And… that had been the catalyst.
For everything.
Rebelling against her abuser. Seeing Shiho again, watching her struggle through all the pain. And… it was the start of her friendship with Ren. The beginning of falling in love with him.
She wandered over to the table. The winter sunlight filtered through the window, a beam of light falling on a bouquet of roses arranged neatly in a glass vase. It stood out in the fast food restaurant.
Though she was surprised that nobody took it… Maybe Ren enlisted Haru's help?
Anne easily found the note tucked into the bouquet.
I've always admired your attitude. You've always been so cheerful and optimistic, even though life has beaten you down. You always found a way to smile, even though you had every reason to want to cry. You've given me a reason to smile.
You said that you were strong because of only Shiho. But that's not true. You've went through a lot even before she came in your life. But you bore through it. I know that you're a beautiful girl. I knew that from the moment I saw you. But your spirit and heart was why I fell in love with you.
So… I have one last task for you. Seek me out on the place where you went through a painful goodbye. I had wanted to hug you, reassure you that you would never be alone—because you had me. But… I was scared of rejection. You're honestly my best female friend, Anne. I did not want to ruin that.
I want to take a chance with you, though. You're worth it and so much more.
Anne stared at the note with wide eyes. She had been so worried about wanting to confess, because she was scared of rejection. But it turned out that Ren felt the same way.
"You dummy," she whispered. "You… You're…"
She wiped a stray tear from the corner of her eye, before taking a deep breath. It was time to see Ren.
To tell him… how exactly she felt.
She all but ran back to the train station. She felt antsy during the entire train ride. She all but shot up to her feet as the conductor announced that they had reached Aoyama-Itchome.
The run to the roof was a blur. She shoved the door open, where Ren was waiting for her.
He extended a red rose to her with a smile.
"Ren," she breathed out. "Y-You like me?" she squeaked out.
Ren just shrugged helplessly before he walked over to her. "Why wouldn't I?"
"I just… oh my god." Anne then shook her head. "I… I wanted to confess to you," she admitted. "Yesterday. It's why I made the chocolate for you…"
Ren just gave her a lopsided smile. "I had an inkling that's why. Especially since Ryuji said that you got him store bought chocolate. It really was delicious, though."
Anne then accepted the rose he still held out to her. She stroked the silky soft petal. "So… you sent me on a wild goose chase to hunt for roses."
"I wanted to see if you would figure me out," Ren said. "And I thought that it'd be meaningful to confess to you by reminding you of the moments we had together."
"You're so extra," Anne giggled out. "So… why not just get red roses? They mean love…"
Ren just smiled. "You never studied hanakotoba, did you?"
"Well… no," Anne admitted.
Hanakotoba… that was the Japanese language of flowers. Anne was only vaguely familiar with the most obvious meanings. Like, for example, red roses symbolized true love. (That was a universal thing, though.) It wasn't common knowledge.
Though she remembered that Ren had studied it when he started working at the flower shop in the underground mall. She had even managed to wheedle a couple free flowers out of him.
"As you said… red roses mean love. But the other colors of roses have different meanings. For example, pink roses mean trust, happiness, or confidence. And white roses can mean a few things… silence or devotion being some examples."
"So… you're happy that you love me and are devoted to me?" Anne joked.
"Heh." Ren closed his eyes. "I've quietly loved you for a long time," he admitted. "You make me happy, Anne."
"Ren…" Anne then bit her lip. "B-But you're leaving in a month."
"Give us a chance, Anne," Ren pleaded, touching her wrist. "We've overcome so much. We've fought monsters, took down crooks that was getting away with their crimes for years… We took on a huge conspiracy and we won. We beat God himself. After all that… is a long distance relationship something to worry about?"
"Ren…" Anne said quietly.
She didn't know what else to say.
"I would wait for you. Be it a year, or five or even a decade. I just want to be with you."
He was serious. She could see the sincerity shining in his eyes.
The roses slipped from Anne's hands and she walked right into his arms. She didn't need roses. Or a grand romantic gesture, like this; even though it was nice. She just wanted Ren. And… he was right. They could overcome a long distance relationship.
She felt so warm and happy… She had forgotten how happy just being in Ren's presence made her.
"Ask me properly," Anne murmured.
Ren smiled tenderly at her. "Anne Takamaki… will you be my girlfriend?"
Anne snuggled against him. "Yes… Yes! Yes, I'll be your girlfriend."
She then pulled back, poking him in the chest.
"Just so you know… the roses weren't necessary!" she laughed.
"Ah, but girls love flowers."
"I love you more than flowers, y'know."
"Oh?" Ren raised an eyebrow, before a smirk appeared on his face. "You know, action speak louder than words."
Anne rolled her eyes but she smiled as she cupped his face with her hands.
"Come here, then."
They leaned in at the same time and everything was perfect.