15

20, April 2009

Iwatodai, Japan

Yukari looked at the two people walking to school with her. Hanamura Rosemary and Arisato Minato. Both were blue haired and had lighter colored eyes. The two of them looked tired, one for not sleeping well and the other due to waking up from being unconscious for a week not even a few days ago. They were just walking in total silence, but she wasn't too bothered by it. That was just how they were. She wished that she could have girl talk with Rosemary. She wanted to know more about the guy she liked, she couldn't help but be curious.

Rosemary looked back at her with surprise on her features. She noted the deer in the headlight's expression on the other girl's face. Yukari couldn't help but be slightly amused by that, it seemed like the taller girl wasn't ready to talk about him. The way that she looked to the side made it official. Rosemary really liked this guy and was too shy to say anything about him. It was cute.

"What did I miss from Gardening club?" Minato asked Rosemary.

"Not much, we just got the shipment of bulbs in for our summer and fall plants," She informed him, "Most of the first month is going to be planting time, some of the other members have sports and as such it takes a while to get everything planted."

"I see," He quietly said.

'It seems…peaceful.'

Yukari watched as the other girl looked surprised at something. Minato had thought something that surprised the taller teen. A slight smile appeared on the bluenettes face before it quickly disappeared as she went into her bag for her monorail book. It was a thick volume and in English. Yukari looked at the title and tilted her head. Lord of the Rings. She gathered it was a compilation of all the books for that series. She had made a headway into the book; she was halfway through it.

"I can't wait to see the flowers that comes out of the gardening club," Yukari said with a small smile, "They were used for our culture festival."

"Culture what?" Rosemary asked and it hit her just how much the other girl didn't know about school.

"The culture festival," Yukari answered, and Minato looked at the taller girl with a slight frown, "All the classes and clubs make booths and students get to work them while some get to walk around and enjoy it."

"…I see…" Rosemary muttered.

"Have you never been to one?" Yukari questioned.

"Ah…no," She quietly answered with a slight shrug, "My old school didn't have such things, but we did have choir and only choir."

She was on the choir, the only bright spot at her old school. One that she liked to forget about, she hated singing in front of people, but the sister had wanted the altos in the school to join. If they did they got extra credit in all their classes for each performance they did. She went to each one, and made sure to get the extra points to keep her position as the top student. Whether or not she could carry a tune was left to be seen. She sung along and got her points. She looked down at her book and bit the inside of her cheek in thought. That sounded rather callous now that she thought about it, but it was true.

The ride on the monorail was filled with silence between the three of them and Rosemary staring at a page in her book but not reading. She couldn't help but feel like doing such a thing was similar to something her mother would do. She hated being anything like the woman. She couldn't help but wonder if it did make them similar. She shifted her weight and narrowed her eyes at the book. No, using a club for extra credit points when the sister knew that's what most of the students that joined were using for was not being like her mother. She looked up from her book at that. It made her feel a bit better about the situation, but still left a bad taste in her mouth. She turned to the window and noted that they were pulling in at the station. She hadn't even heard the overhead announcement she was that caught up in her own thoughts.

She exited the monorail with the other two and noted that Yukari and Minato walked close together without realizing it. Maybe she should have some girls talk with Yukari, it would be nice to tease the other girl about her budding crush on Minato. She tilted her head at the thought of the two of them together. Minato would mellow Yukari out while Yukari would push him out of his shell. They were well suited. She let a tiny smile appear on her face before it was wiped off by her own hair hitting her. A sudden gust of wind hit them. Yukari let out an annoyed sound as she used one hand to keep her skirt down and another to keep her hair out of her face. Rosemary went for the skirt instead of her hair, there wasn't much she could do about her hair there was so much of it. She heard some amused thoughts and perked up a little.

Shinjiro was in the area, and he stopped by the station before returning to the back alley. He caught sight of what happened to the students exiting the monorail. Sometimes the wind worked against the people of Iwatodai and the results were amusing. One boy lost his bag due to his lax grip on it and went sprinting after it. Several girls had the displeasure of having their styled hair ruined while trying to keep their skirts down. He saw Rosemary's reaction and noted that she hadn't even cared that her hair was completely covering her field of vision but was more focused on the long skirt.

"What a wind," She said to the other girl next to her, "At least the wind turbines are getting a workout today."

"That's all you can focus on?" Yukari asked with a strange expression on her face.

"I don't care," Minato mumbled as he looked at them with a blank expression.

"He has the right attitude," Rosemary stated before turning to the blue haired boy, "You really got used to my strange habit of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time…impressive."

"Its on purpose?" Yukari asked with a frown.

"Nope, just something that even I noticed."

Shinjiro couldn't believe that girl. She didn't even look phased at the slightly ticked off brunette. He watched as the other girl gave a sigh before letting out a sound of disbelief. Rosemary seemed a bit amused at something that was thought, and they continued their way to school. He noted that she looked over at his direction and sent him a slight wave. He responded with a blank look of his own. She wasn't even bothered by that. He narrowed his eyes at her and caught her small smile. She was too comfortable being nice to him. She was going to get hurt doing such a thing, and it'd be…he couldn't really say it would be her fault. It'd be both of their faults really. He should've done more to push her away and she should've taken the hint to do so by his actions towards her and everyone else.

She was stubborn and it annoyed the hell out of him, but at the same time it was something unexpected coming from her. She shouldn't have that stubborn streak, but she did. She had decided that he was worth her time, and didn't care that he didn't want friends. He was also stubborn; he knew that if he told her straight to her face that he wanted her to leave him alone that she would. She would follow his request, even if it wasn't what she wanted. He brought one of his hands out of his pockets and rubbed the back of his head. He didn't know when the whole situation got this convoluted, but it did. He was a bit annoyed at himself when he realized that he didn't mind. This was going to end badly between them. She cared about Amada like a sibling and he had hurt that boy on accident. Convoluted felt a little too light for the situation, he just didn't know what else to call it.

Rosemary almost wanted to run back to the back alley and tell Shinjiro to calm down. He was thinking up a storm and it was all self-deprecating. She knew why he had such a low opinion of himself, but she didn't care. She still liked him. She thought he was nice, and he clearly cared for people in his own way. He kept an eye out for her mother, even if she didn't want him to. He thought he owed her for keeping his secret, she owed him for hearing her out and keeping an eye out. She didn't know how he got that so twisted. It wasn't like it was hard to keep his secret. She'd been keeping others secrets as soon as she had learned what it was she was doing. She had gotten quite good at it.

It was why Ken didn't know that she liked the older boy. She'd never make a move until he confronted him. She knew that wasn't going to end well, Ken really wanted his revenge, but she had to hope that he'd listen and observe the situation first before passing judgment. Maybe he'd see what she sees in Shinjiro. She hoped that he'd notice that he was a nice guy that was hidden under a grumpy exterior. She knew it was unlikely, but she could hope. Her Grandmother once told her to try and be optimistic about things, but she'd always had a tough time doing so. Hoping that the people she cared most about were happy was something she was optimistic about because she wanted them to be.

"Yen for your thought?" Yukari asked as she bumped shoulders with the other girl.

"I just…want everyone to be happy," Rosemary quietly admitted.

Yukari stared at her for a few seconds before they split up and went into their respective classes. Rosemary walked in to see the trio bothering Yamagishi. She walked up to her and gave the teal haired girl a slight nod of greeting. The other girl had been out for a while, family problems. She understood having been through that as well. The trio looked at her as she sat down at her seat and she leveled her perfected Shinjiro glare at them. Two of them backed up in slight fear as the leader stood her ground with a glare of her own.

Natsuki thought that Hanamura was a stuck-up snob. A foreigner in one of the top Japanese schools, and one that had taken the first place in their class. Who the hell did she think she was? The girl didn't talk to anyone besides Fuuka and even then it was only a few words. She had to think she was better than everyone else. She watched as the glare on the other girls face smoothed and became an apathetic mask. That freaked her out. The girl was freaky, and so unnatural. There had to be something wrong with her. She wasn't the one that put the spider lilies on her desk, but she slowly found herself agreeing with them. Hanamura Rosemary was dangerous and unnatural. Something about her just completely rubbed people the wrong way. Who cares what the gardening club thought of her, or a few of the boxing members? The taller teen was a freak, and that's all she'd be.

"Something you need?" Hanamura asked her in a cold voice.

"Nothing, let's go," Natsuki said before turning to her two lackeys.

Fuuka stared at the trio with a strange expression on her face. She shook her head in slight sadness before turning to Rosemary. The other girl looked tired and was staring at her notebook in thought as she doodled something on the margins. Small flowers began to form on the margins as their homeroom teacher walked in. The man didn't have Rosemary's respect. He knew about the harassment and the bullying that was going on and turned a blind eye to it. It wasn't the worst thing a teacher could do, but it was pretty up there.

She took her notes diligently but didn't really listen to him. She made sure to write down anything important. That was the extent to her participation in his class. She liked her chemistry teacher more than this guy and Ibe-Sensei. Ibe was a hard ass only because he didn't want anyone to get hurt due to a lab accident. Acid on the skin was not a fun thing to happen. If that happened then the student needed medical attention, immediately. She shook those thoughts from her head as lunch came around.

"Hey Fuuka, go buy our lunch," Natsuki ordered the teal haired girl.

"You don't have to do it, y'know," Rosemary softly said to Fuka.

"It's all right, really," Fuuka told her.

Rosemary gave her a doubtful look before getting up to go find Akihiko and eat some lunch with him. The silver haired teen was antsy for a fight, but couldn't do much until his shoulder healed up. She was a little worried at the fact that he had gotten hurt yet still wanted to go out and fight. It was like he didn't realize that he was allowed a break every once and a while. She looked down at the melon bread in her hand. Then again, he wanted to fight a bear. She couldn't help but be amused by his life goal, she knew that he'd be able to do that. He had the determination to do it, it was still slightly terrifying.

"Calm down, Akihiko," She sighed as she came across him.

He was worrying about something and her sudden appearance caused him to jump a little. He now knew how Shinjiro felt when she startled him. She had a very quiet gait, something that he had noticed when they boxed. She was lighter on her feet than him due to her body mass being so low. Still, she had been able to swing that lamp around with more strength than she ever used against him. She tilted her head at him, and he quickly shoved those thoughts to the side.

"Was there something you need?" He asked her.

"I was going to invite you to lunch," She said, and he watched as a slightly amused expression appeared on her face, "You seem a little preoccupied."

"Oh, lunch'll be great," He seemed relieved at that and held up a protein bar and a sandwich, "You usually eat up on the roof right?"

"I like to enjoy the cool weather while it lasts," She said with a shrug as they headed up there, "And people don't typically go up there so it's quiet."

"Is spring your favorite season?" He asked in slight surprise.

"Yeah, I like the weather and its nice to watch as wildflowers pop up and bloom," She said, and he caught a happy expression on her face.

She really liked nature, but he gathered that she wasn't going to work with it in the future. She looked towards him and gave a small nod of confirmation at that. She wanted to stay in Iwatodai and be with her friends. She didn't want to go back to England, there was nothing for her there. There was no reason to go back, there wasn't any family there that she wanted to see. She sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck before letting out a slight yawn. She was sleeping better for some reason, but she was still a bit tired after being awake for a while.

"I hear your fan club is upset about your injury," She teased him, and he made a face.

"Of course, they are," He muttered as they reached the roof and he sat down on one of the benches, "I'm sorry about them, I've heard the rumors."

"Like I said a while back, you can't control people so don't worry about it," She shrugged his apology off, "Sometimes it a bit amusing to hear what they think."

"Did you start tallying the rumors again?" He asked her.

"So far thirty for the love triangle and forty for the mystery guy," She said as she opened the packaging to her melon bread, "It makes me feel bad for Aragaki-san, he isn't even here, and he gets dragged into the rumors."

"Yeah, poor Shinji," He said in a voice that showed he wasn't too bothered by it.

She let out a snort at that, she hadn't been expecting that out of him. Akihiko usually cared a lot about Shinjiro. She gathered it was because of their past. There was a strange tint of emotion to Akihiko's thoughts. He didn't know why she ran into the other boy so much but a part of him was starting to worry that she was getting into a bad situation. He trusted Shinjiro to look out for her, which was nice. It was a bit disheartening that he thought that she couldn't look after herself. He noted her fallen expression and tried to think of something else to say since it wasn't how he wanted to come across. He did think she could look after herself, it was her physical fragility that concerned him.

She bit into her lunch with a slight frown as he opened his protein bar and began to eat it. That wasn't the best thing for him to be eating, he was going to be hungrier after eating it. She wondered if that was why he ate a lot of beef bowls. He had the added protein but would have a craving for genuine protein. It wasn't good for him, not really. Yet, he still seemed in good health.

He started up a conversation about boxing and she listened to him while inputting her own opinion every so often. It was nice to have someone carrying a conversation without any problems. He and Yukari were good at that. She was better at general topics while his were mostly protein and boxing. It was his go to when nervous or when he wasn't sure what to talk about. They parted ways and she found herself looking forward to gardening club, Minato was planning on stopping by to help with the planting and get a feel for the club.

It seemed like there was something else that was lingering on his mind, she could somewhat hear it from her classroom. His thoughts really were as quiet as Shinjiro's, but his inner voice wasn't as pleasant. Well, she was biased so there wasn't much she could say about his voice was there. She rubbed the back of her neck as she headed down to the greenhouse after class. It really was quiet as students headed to clubs or headed to work. It was nice, she enjoyed the quiet. Well, she enjoyed this kind of quiet where there were people around. She'd been in complete silence before where there were no people around. It was always deafening and that was when she felt the loneliest.

"Hey, let's get you set up with an apron," She informed Minato as she met him at the greenhouse door, "Then I can get you situated with the process of planting."

He nodded at that before pausing at something. She paused as well when she felt that strange ringing in her ears. Reversed arcana? What the hell was a social link? She wanted to ask him, but at the same time didn't. She frowned slightly when he thought about a strange room and a man with a long nose. His thoughts were strange, something she defiantly hadn't been expecting. She fidgeted in slight discomfort as he began to think about what a reverse arcana meant.

'Reversed hermit? What the hell could that mean?' His thoughts matched her own.

He decided to ask someone named Elizabeth what that meant. She found that she didn't really want to know the answer that this Elizabeth gave him. It made her feel strange and that room made her feel like she had seen something she wasn't supposed to, yet it was something she also felt was familiar. She brought a hand up and rubbed at her temple before ushering the shorter teen into the glass structure.

"Ah, you brought a new member," Yuki said as he looked at the blue haired teens, "You guys related?"

"Not that I know of," Rosemary quietly answered with a slight shrug.

"It is unlikely," Minato added with a very small incline of his head.

He knew that there was a very slim chance, but it was highly unlikely. The only person that he could even be related to that they might share was one of his great aunts that left the country well before he was born. No one really talked about what happened to her, and it wasn't worth his time to ask. Something that happened that long ago didn't have any bearing on his life. She sent him a raised brow at something before motioning for him to follow.

"You'll be working with me on the Hyacinth's, and Jasmine's" She informed him as she handed him a blue apron before putting her own on, "If you want to know the meanings to some of the flowers and herbs we work with just let me know, I typically know the old farmer almanac version which is mostly filled with the Victorian meanings, but they are mostly universal."

She was rambling. She cleared her throat slightly before the moved towards a station that was filled with bulbs. It was next to several long planting troughs. Minato looked at that and felt his shoulders droop slightly. He heard her amused huff at that and shook her head. The Hyacinth's had been planted during the fall, so they were close to blooming. Which meant they didn't have to worry too much about them.

"What do Hyacinths mean?" Minato asked her as they began to plant the jasmine in the troughs, it wasn't the best thing for them, but it was only until they sprouted, and they saw which kind of jasmine it was.

"Depends on the color really, but overall, they mean sport, game, and play," She answered as she moved onto the next bulb, "A blue one means constancy, purple sorrow, yellow jealousy, and white loveliness or prayers for someone."

He nodded at that and felt a little smarter after learning that. He could add his charm to that as well. She was a bit amused at that, he was a strange person. She noted that it was a new development for him. He knew as much as she did about what was going on, it was a bit reassuring to know that. He planted another bulb in the exact way she showed him, and she nodded at that. He was getting faster at planting.

They headed back to the dorms and he rubbed at his hands. The joints of his fingers were stiff from being curled in the same position for a good hour or so. He felt accomplished like he had done something. The smell of dirt was clinging to them, but he also got the strong smell of flowers. He had been shown how much water to use on the blooming flowers that were lined up near the walls of the green house. The roses were bright and several of the blossoms were vibrant in the color. He also enjoyed the sight of the hyacinths as they began to show their blooms. He would come back that Friday to see what they looked like. He was curious.

When they made it back to the dorm they went their own ways. She went and got her homework done before taking care of Mochi and was surprised when Yukari came in with some snacks and drinks to have some girl talk. Yukari believed that it had been too long, and wanted to have a genuine talk with her. She liked the fact that the other girl was her friend and didn't mind her faults. They took up seats on the bed and watched as Mochi tried to eat her food, and then proceeded to push her bowl around until it hit a corner and was stationary. It was so cute and both girls thought so.

"So, have you seen the guy you like lately?" Yukari asked as she gave the taller girl a slight grin.

"Yeah, he's doing well," Rosemary said, and Yukari blinked at that before her grin became fond, "Did I say something wrong?"

"Not at all, I'm just surprised that you haven't moved in on him yet," Yukari commented, and she watched as a dark expression passed on Rosemary's face.

The other girl gave a soft sigh before quietly explaining her situation. Yukari was angry for her seeing as the taller girl held a defeatist stand on the situation. Her parents were going to force her to get married and she was just accepting it? That wasn't right! She needed to stand up for herself and take her life back. Yukari couldn't help but wonder why the other girl didn't do that, she seemed to really like the guy. There was more then she could say, and she understood that. She kept their secrets to herself and that had her respect.

"I don't like it," Yukari informed her, "Go for him, or at least try to."

"How does one flirt?" Rosemary asked in an embarrassed tone, "I've never really liked someone before."

"What do you like about this guy?"

"He's really nice, but he doesn't seem so because he's pretty rude…he also cares more about other's than he lets on."

Yukari stared at her for a few seconds and watched as her cheeks slowly turned a dark red before her face was buried in her hands. Rosemary really liked this guy. He was rude but also nice? Rosemary's reaction even showed that she liked him. Did he even know? He probably didn't, most of the guys in Iwatodai needed it to be spelled out to them. It was such an odd trait. She ignored that train of thought and noted that her friend was now curled up into a ball and her entire face was red. It was pretty funny to see.

"This is embarrassing," She heard Rosemary say her voice nearing a whine.

"It's natural that you like someone," Yukari tried to calm the other girl, "Like I said, try and go for him…just be yourself I think you'll get the hang of it."

Rosemary brought her hands down and slightly uncurled from her position and gave a small nod. Yukari offered her a pocky stick, and the teen took it before nibbling on it while Yukari turned on the TV so they could watch it. Yukari looked at the anime that was on the screen and didn't even say anything. Rosemary enjoyed something, and it would somewhat help her break out of her shell. She watched the episode a bit more and became slightly invested. Shojo that was more of a shonen, it was pretty looking with decent animation. Revolutionary Girl Utena was something they were both watching now. Yukari came in around episode ten and was quickly brought up to speed by Rosemary.

Her good mood somewhat dimmed when Iori Junpei moved into the dorm. The boy was a bit of a pervert and didn't know why some of the rumors bothered the two girls. He believed that any rumor was good for popularity, it was annoying. It was why Yukari was rude to him, he had his moments where he was okay, but they were pretty few and in between. Minato was quiet on the entire thing and Rosemary found it a bit amusing that he didn't really care. Sure, there had been some annoyance on his end, but he was consistent.

"Well, you'd think I'd have noticed this before now," Rosemary commented as they entered the tower that the school became during the dark hour.

"That happens," Akihiko agreed, and she gave him a slightly dirty look at that, "This is Tartarus."

"We're still going with the Greek mythology names," She sighed before frowning, "The place where the titans are imprisoned."

"Why do you know that?" Junpei asked her.

"Mythology is interesting," She shrugged, "There's quite a bit of symbolism to each of our persona's."

Judging by her expression she wasn't going to say any more than that. She was handed a weapon from Mitsuru and looked at the naginata in her hand. It was heavier than the lamp, but she should be able to wield it. She didn't even want to ask why the older teen had one laying around. The three second year students were sent into the innards of the tower to explore the second floor. Minato was the leader of their group, much to Junpei's chagrin. He was darkly muttering in his thoughts as they all attacked the different shadows that appeared.

Rosemary sighed as she swung her naginata with slight ease and caused the shadow to back up while Yukari finished it off with an arrow. She stood behind the others just in case she needed to use Icarus as a shield. She looked around Tartarus as Minato told them to split up. The beginning of the tower was the color scheme of the dark hour. Dark greens, lime greens, and yellows stood out amongst her and everything seemed so bleak. She came across a brief case and paused for a few seconds. How the hell did a briefcase get in Tartarus? The only thing in the tower had been shadows. Were the shadows putting them there?

She opened the case and decided she didn't want to know. She grabbed the yen that was inside of it and continued on her way. She heard Yukari announce that she found the stairs and went to regroup with the others. She let out a quiet curse when she ran into a shadow. She grabbed her evoker and summoned Icarus. These shadows were weak to Agi, and she was going to exploit that weakness. Once they regrouped by the stairs they headed up. Mitsuru called them back and then sent them back to the dorm.

Rosemary sat on the edge of her bed with her arms crossed across her chest. The feeling of the dark hour had followed her and now she couldn't shake it. She shook her head and looked over at the naginata that was leaning against the wall. The blade shone in the light of the moon and she looked to the side in slight discomfort. She didn't mind the blade when wielding it, but it bothered her to look at it. She brought a hand up and rubbed at her left shoulder, her expression one of cold contemplation. It soon became determination as she strengthened her mental promise to keep her parents from having impact on her life. Yukari was right, she needed to fight back. She had been stupid to think that asking for help with her problems was using someone.

If she asked Ken for his help he'd most likely agree. She could ask to be his guardian, and he'd readily agree. She needed to know just how bad it was with his uncle before doing so. She needed to meet the man and dig around for information. If she could get Ken out of a horrible situation then she would. She wasn't going to let another child suffer like she had. Being ignored and made to feel like a burden was just as bad as being physically abused. She curled up in a slight ball and brought her knees up to her chin. She closed her eyes and fell asleep to a single thought.

She never had a childhood, did she?