29

16 September 2009

"Why did you come with me to club?" Rosemary asked Shinjiro as she entered the greenhouse, "Not that I don't enjoy your company…I really enjoy it."

"I needed to speak with your president," He muttered in embarrassment and she tilted her head in thought, "he's usually here."

"Hanamura, thank god you're here!" Yuki said as he turned to her with a stressed expression on his face, "We need to start collecting flowers for the festival and work on the little garden café we're doing."

"Garden…Café?" Rosemary asked.

Shinjiro kept his amusement off his face as he watched her try to process that. She couldn't tell if she was going to be dragged into it or not. She was already testy due to being left out of a Tartarus trip, though he felt there was something else bothering her. She didn't know how to approach it, but it put her on edge. He put his hands into his pockets and looked at Yuki.

"Yeah, the girls in the club came together and designed the costume," Yuki informed her, "it's just a simple white summer dress that goes below the knees. They designed one with slightly opaque sleeves for you."

"Oh, uh, thank you," She said in surprise, "I'll go help gather the flowers. Shinjiro-senpai had something to discuss with you, I'll leave you two to it."

Yuki nodded and turned towards the taller teen. He wasn't scared of the gruff boy, having seen him walking his Vice President to school. They walked close to one another. It was easy for him to tell what their relationship was. He smiled slightly and Shinjiro narrowed his eyes at him. That was intimidating, he wasn't going to lie.

"What did you need, Shinjiro-San?" He asked.

"Watanabe-Sensei said that you need to be present for our classes booth," Shinjiro informed him, he hated being a messenger boy, "He wants all the male students to participate."

"Isn't our booth really a 'pick a boyfriend for the day'?" He asked with a frown.

"I didn't vote for it," Shinjiro defended with a glare.

"Neither did I, I wanted to do the study room," He explained as he held up his hands in a defensive manner, "trust me I don't even like doing the café with the gardening club due to some of our members being shy around people."

Shinjiro gave him a scathing look before hunching his shoulders. That was the end of their conversation. Yuki gained a strained smile and curtly nodded at him before going to help his Vice President find the right flowers. The garden café was going to try and defeat the maid café from one of the second-year classes. Shinjiro remembered that it was Takeba's class that was doing that one. He would end up appearing at this one to see how Rosemary was doing.

She looked over at him from her spot next to a white rose bush and smiled at him. His cheeks warmed up before slightly nodding and heading out. He was going to class to get his required attendance done with. He didn't need his gym attendance, so he'd skip it. His body still hurt from Tartarus.

Rosemary felt something being put in her hair and found goldenrod. She looked up at Yuki and he gave her a grin before returning to the plants. Encouragement and good fortune. Ah, he figured out what her relationship to Shinjiro was. She felt her cheeks burning and the heat slowly traveled down her neck. She was fighting the urge to cover her face in embarrassment and surprise. She wasn't embarrassed that someone knew she was with Shinjiro in a romantic sense, she felt that way because they had meant to be private about it.

She had that thought the entire day, even as she sat in class. She gave Fuuka a small smile when Natsuki came and started to talk to the teal-haired girl. She blinked in surprise when the ganguro girl apologized to her. It was a genuine apology, something she hadn't expected. She accepted it because that would make Fuuka happy.

She headed up to the roof for lunch and was greeted by a half-awake Shinjiro. She gave a light laugh at the sight and went to sit near him. He had one eye open and watched her movements. He didn't approve of her continuous lunch of bread, but it was something that Bunkichi gave her. She'd eat it. He reached for it and she handed it to him. He took a small piece off it and she smiled at him when he ate it. She didn't mind sharing her lunch with him.

"We've been having nice weather; think it'll last for the festival?" She asked him.

"…Who knows," He answered, his tone sounded sleepy.

"Sorry I woke you up," She apologized.

"S'fine." He muttered.

She tensed slightly when he used her lap as a pillow. She slowly relaxed and fought the urge to run her hands through his hair. He had his arms across his chest and gave a slight shiver. He was cold? She removed her blazer and gently rested it on him. She gave off a lot of heat, she didn't mind sharing it with him. He blearily cracked an eye open and gave her a look. She couldn't decipher it, and his thoughts were a sleepy jumble. He was expending too much energy and not getting enough back. He said her lack of sleep was bad.

"Cute." He informed her and her face flared.

"So are you," She informed him in a blunt tone.

"I'm not," He muttered as he closed his eyes again, "I'm the worst person."

She gave him a sad look at that and finally brought her hand into his hair. He seemed confused at first before relaxing into her ministrations. He allowed his beanie to be removed by her and she enjoyed the sight of his thick hair. If he ever cut it short it would end up as a bowl cut. That thought amused her, she couldn't even imagine him with short hair. She preferred his long hair but refused to say that out loud. It felt like an odd thing to say. He gave a quiet sigh of content and she smiled. His mind was blank a telling sign that he was asleep. Three simple words slipped out of her mouth without her thinking about it.

"…I love you…" she muttered, and he tensed up.

She paled significantly, which was quite a feat considering her already pale skin tone. She thought he was asleep. Shit. How was she supposed to explain that? It just slipped out? How does saying you love someone just slip out? She even said it with a specific word that married couples sparingly used in Japanese. She heard her uncle saying it to her aunt one day and asked about it, unfamiliar with the word. Aishiteru. She almost regretted making sure to remember what it meant. He slowly turned to look at her and she felt sweat gathering on her face.

"Did you just…" He started as he looked at her rapidly reddening face.

Shinjiro hadn't expected her to say she loved him. He didn't even know she knew that specific phrase. His heart was beating so hard he could hear it. He didn't know how to respond to her saying it. She had a deer in headlights expression on her face and he wasn't fairing any better.

"You said that here of all places?" He questioned.

"…It slipped out…" She said, her tone was embarrassed, "er…sorry if I made things awkward."

"Of all people…you say it to me," He muttered as a frown appeared on his face.

That wasn't supposed to happen, at least not this early. He realized; it wasn't that early for her. The western world had a completely different culture than he was used to. Saying "I love you" was a normal part of a relationship. It was that she used a term, usually meant for older couples and ones that had been together longer, that threw him for a loop. He could tell by the redness on her face that she meant it. He mentally cursed. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. She shouldn't have fallen in love with him, he wasn't a good guy. Even though he had signed the marriage contract, a small part of him believed that she would move on from him. He had prepared himself for that. Even if he somehow managed to stay alive, he was prepared for her to grow tired of him. He was a broken person, even more than her.

"You…you don't have to say anything…" She mumbled and he snapped his attention to her.

"…" He slowly sat up and she gazed into the distance, "…I…love you too."

Her eyes widened at that and he began to berate himself internally. He was only going to hurt her more in the end. She didn't deserve that. He barely caught himself when arms wrapped around his torso and a face buried itself in his chest. He looked down to see Rosemary holding onto him, her shoulders shaking. Shit. He made her cry.

"Thank you." She said, her voice muffled by his chest.

She was thanking him? What the hell did he do? Had she never been told she was loved? That seemed likely. Her grandfather was most likely the last person to say it to her. Her aunt didn't seem like the type, she was connected with her Japanese heritage and didn't seem to realize that Rosemary might've needed to hear it. He slowly brought his arms around her to return her embrace. If anyone came into the roof, they would've thought that she had fallen asleep on him and he was allowing it.

She was situated between his legs with them on either side of her. Rosemary wanted to inform him that she felt protected when he held her like this but knew he wouldn't take it well at the moment. He had to believe he was worthy of forgiveness for what happened with Ken. Until he felt he had atoned, he'd never be happy hearing those things. She wanted to point out that even he thought it was a protective hold. She held her tongue, not wanting to upset him. She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of his heart beating. It was strong, and she hoped it would remain strong for a long time.

"You really are cold," She muttered as she tried to will more warmth into him, "am I helping you warm up any?"

"A little," He admitted, relieved that the conversation was finally leaving its awkward stage.

"I really hope the weather holds up," She said, and he raised a brow, "we did say we'd go to a movie together…there's one about pets that supposed to be playing on the twenty-third."

"…pets huh," He said as she knew he wanted to go see it.

He had a soft spot for animals. He shifted a bit and one of his arms ended up around her waist while the other stayed around her shoulders. She brought one of her arms back to rest her hand on his chest. It helped that it was starting to fall asleep, speaking of sleep. She was starting to nod off due to his heartbeat. He watched as she tried to fight off falling asleep before succumbing to it. She was that trusting of him. He should be bothered by it, but when faced with that sleeping face he couldn't.

"It really wasn't supposed to be like this…dammit," He muttered as he tightened his grip on her.

She mumbled something about flowers in her sleep and burrowed deeper into his chest. He felt his cheeks burn before he looked away. He wouldn't always react in such a way, but he couldn't help but be a bit nervous. He hadn't exactly spent his time in the back alley with women. He had kept everyone at bay with his glares, not even some of the prettier women got through his glare. He smirked slightly. All it took was Rosemary startling him and being herself to pique his interest. He heard a chiming sound and frowned. Their time was up already.

"Oi, you need to go back to class," He told Rosemary as he gently shook her shoulder.

"I know, even though I'd rather stay here," She mumbled as she slowly pulled away from him, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, "You're comfy."

He'd never heard that one before. Her sweet smile turned tired as he handed her blazer back. He felt a chill go through his body at the removal of a third layer. It didn't help that she had been warming him up as well. She put the blazer on and ran a hand through her long hair. She refused to wear the ribbon he got her in her hair. She thought it was too nice for it. Hearing shit like that made him embarrassed. He didn't think she'd like it as much as she did.

She left for class, sparing him a soft peck on the top of his head before he put his beanie back on, and he was left there with his thoughts. He'd make sure to go to the garden café to keep his eye on her. She'd appreciate it, even if she didn't explicitly say it out loud. He sighed and found he couldn't go back to sleep; all he could smell was flowers. He'd be smelling it for a while. He always did when they ended up hugging.

Rosemary swallowed thickly as the smell of cologne hit her nose. Shit, her blazer smelt of Shinjiro. He did use a cologne, but never a lot of it and always a brand that was strong and on the cheaper side. She liked the smell of it, and she gathered it was because it reminded her of him. There were also the undertones of food on his person that was distinctly him. No one said anything to him when they passed him.

"Are you all right, Rosemary?" Fuuka asked her.

"Yes, I was just wondering how to fix a pocket watch," She answered turning her thoughts to that particular conundrum, "I think there's one sitting in the police stations lost and found, I know who it belongs to but if it's broken, I couldn't give it back to them."

That particular thought had been learned on the monorail earlier that morning. She felt like she had a lucky break when it came to finding Shinjiro's watch. Judging by the memory it needed a good cleaning before it could be given back. She turned her attention to Fuuka who thought about it for a few seconds.

"I think it would only need a new battery and some gently cleaning to make sure the gears continue rotating," Fuuka answered and gave him an apologetic smile, "If you bring it to me, I can help you fix it…it must belong to someone important for you to want to fix it yourself."

"…yeah," Rosemary admitted her face growing warm again, she made a mental reminder to pick up the watch on her way back to the dorm.

A few hours later she found herself in Fuuka's room leaning over a pocket watch and following the teal-haired girls' directions. Fuuka was gently walking her through the innards of a pocket watch while maintaining the information of what needed to be fixed. Surprisingly, the battery was still good for a couple more years. It was the gears that needed to be worked on. There was so much grime and dirt on them that they refused to turn. Fuuka watched as Rosemary carefully removed a few of the gears with a pair of specialty tweezers and set them on an old towel. Fuuka couldn't help but smile softly. It was sweet that Rosemary wanted to fix Shinjiro's watch before giving it back to him. Rosemary's face turned a light pink and she giggled softly at the sight. It was such a nice change from the cold and emotionless mask that she had first seen and was still around sometimes. It was a natural face for the taller teen and one that may never disappear.

Hours passed them by and soon the dark hour was upon them. Rosemary had cleaned the watch up to the point where all the pieces shone in the light. Fuuka instructed her on how everything went back inside. Rosemary followed her directions and soon the ticking of the pocket watch filled the stillness of the dark hour. Neither girl had expected it to work during this time.

A knock at Fuuka's door startled Rosemary and she fumbled around the watch a bit before firmly grasping it. She breathed out a sigh of relief as Fuuka answered the door to see Akihiko standing there. He seemed a bit surprised to see his favorite sister figure in the same room as their navigator but waved it off. The two were good friends it would've been weirder for Takeba to be in there.

"I was trying to find you," Akihiko said as he sent Rosemary a look, "Ken wanted to help make dinner."

"Ack, I'm up!" Rosemary said as she scrambled out of the chair and he wisely moved out of the way.

She paused to give Fuuka a hug and express her gratitude for the help before hurrying down the stairs. Fuuka stood there in surprise as she slowly turned towards her senpai. She looked away with a pink tint to her cheeks when he shrugged in response. Both were a bit awkward around one another since the attack by Strega. He felt that he had overstepped a boundary while Fuuka was surprised that someone other than Rosemary wanted to protect her. She liked it.

"Are you going to see any of the movies?" Akihiko asked her in an awkward tone.

"There was a science fiction movie playing a day after the pet one, I thought about going to see it," She admitted, "Natsuki-Chan went with me to see a romantic comedy…I think I might enjoy the other one more."

"Would…Would you like to go see it with me?" He asked.

"That sounds lovely," She said as she smiled at him.

He smiled back before shuffling off. Fuuka couldn't help but feel like he didn't have much experience talking to girls. Rosemary was a different case seeing as she had the little sister relationship with him and the older sister one with Ken. Fuuka pondered her best friends' relationships with other people. Minato was a strange case seeing as they were alike in many ways, yet dissimilar in others. She got along well with Junpei and both could easily crack jokes without any prompting, though her's got a few more laughs out of people like Yukari. Fuuka didn't really get it. She supposed it had something to do with the power that she and Minato possessed. Maybe it drew people in? She'd have to ask about it more when she brainstormed with Rosemary.

"Hmm, homemade Tonkatsu curry?" Rosemary asked Ken as he held up a recipe card.

She did tell him to pick anything her grandmother had written down. She was surprised that he'd pick curry. She wasn't too experienced making curries, but as long as she followed the recipe, she would be fine. She hoped. She tied her hair back and donned the apron as Ken pushed a stool close to the stove to help. He had a child's apron on, it was something she had picked out with Mitsuru of all people. It had a Shiba Inu on it that looked just like Koromaru, and a small pouch for him to put things.

"Right," She said as she breaded the pork and fried it.

Ken was put in charge of the curry sauce, and she added a small amount of flavored wine. Blueberry wine of all things. She hoped that the flavor was good, she couldn't recall having her grandmother's curry. She could recall having her grandfather's beef Wellington, oh she missed the man. It was usually made during the holidays and he always let her help make it. She couldn't help but be reminded of it while Ken helped her with the sauce. It came out a light-yellow color and smelt delicious. He carefully ladled it onto some rice as Rosemary sliced the fried pork up and placed it on top. It was unconventional for curry, but it did look nice.

"Nicely done," She said to him.

Ken beamed under the praise and happily grabbed his plate to eat his dinner. She would join him shortly. She turned to face Shinjiro as he came down the stairs to investigate the smell. He was a bit hungry and she smiled.

"Would you like some?" She asked him, "Ken and I made it."

"…Sure," Shinjiro answered, though he hesitated a bit.

Ken narrowed his eyes at the tall teen as he was handed a plate. He didn't like how close they were but knew they had met before she had grown close to him. He wasn't sure if she even knew that Shinjiro had killed his mom, or if she wasn't going to play sides. She was a neutral party, and he was well aware of this. She would only step in if one of them was about to do something they'd regret. Or to keep him safe. He looked down at his plate of steaming curry and frowned in thought. What could he do that wouldn't put him in danger and still got his revenge?

"It's good," Shinjiro's voice brought him out of his thoughts and he looked towards the teen, "you finally learned how to salt the food."

"Gee, thanks," Rosemary said in amusement, "my British sensibilities are being attacked…anyway want some tea?"

"Sure," Shinjiro nodded and she turned to Ken.

"Yes, please," He said with a nod.

She gave them both a nod and prepared a couple cups of tea. Shinjiro watched her with a keen eye, though there was a softness to his gaze that made Ken frown. He better not hurt his guardian; he'd have to deal with him. He wouldn't hold back if that happened, not that he was going to in the first place. He was startled from his thoughts when a hand ruffled his hair. She had finished the tea.

Shinjiro sipped at his tea and mentally chuckled. He'd never get into a debate about tea with her. The British knew how to make a nice cup of tea. She never added too much sugar or cream, just a slight dash to give it flavor. He looked towards Ken's; the kid had to have a sweet tooth due to the fact that she added a bit more to his. He looked away and went back to eating the dinner made by the two. It was quiet, but not unpleasant. He was being glared at by Ken every so often, but he wasn't bothered by that.

"I've got cleanup don't worry about it," Rosemary informed them, "go and get some sleep."

Ken gave her a sleepy nod and climbed up the stairs with Koromaru. Shinjiro stayed at the table nursing his cup of tea as she cleaned up. He got up and moved to help her. She blinked in surprise when he took care of the oil. She wasn't expecting him to do that and held up a hand to say something when he shot her a look. He wanted to help. She huffed before returning to the dishes in the sink. It was easy for her to get cleanup. It let her think without going too far.

She finished washing the dishes and a towel was handed to her. She dried her hands and smiled at Shinjiro in thanks. He looked away and scratched the back of his head in thought. He knew how to move forward from their confessions, but knowing and doing was hard to do. He watched as she flitted about and narrowed his eyes at her behavior. It was like she didn't want to head up to her room.

"What's wrong?" He asked and she rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly.

"I really need to talk to Mitsuru about the camera in my room," She said before looking to the side with a frown, "it keeps turning on."

He didn't like the sound of that. She needed to speak to Mitsuru about that and get it removed. She didn't need a camera in her room to observe her anymore. She wasn't in danger from the dark hour anymore due to her persona. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Are you even going to sleep?" He questioned.

"I hope so," She muttered in response.

Now he knew why she fell asleep on him. She really wasn't getting any sleep due to the camera. There had to be someone turning it on just to mess with her. His frown deepened as he thought about that possibility. Was someone keeping her exhausted to slow down her recovery? That could be, but who would benefit from that? Strega would, but they were unable to get into the dorms without alerting anyone. Hell, she could probably hear their thoughts before they even reached the doors.

Rosemary looked at him and quietly agreed, she probably could. She looked up at the stairs and gave a quiet sigh through her nose before ambling up them. She didn't want to sleep with the feeling of someone observing her again. It made every hair on her body stand up. It didn't help that she was keenly aware of the thoughts in the observation room. It's what made her suspect Ikutsuki even more. She did not trust the man whatsoever. She opened her door and inwardly grumbled when the camera silently whirred to life. The moonlight glinted off its lens and she walked into her room with a defeated slump to her shoulders. At least Mochi was sleeping peacefully. It was the small things in life. She closed the door behind her and shuffled to the bed, removing her shoes as she did so. She landed face down on her bed and contemplated going to sleep in her school uniform. It wasn't like she was going to change while the camera was on. She couldn't believe it was only Wednesday, it felt like it was later in the week than it actually was. She groaned as she realized she had more days of this constant observation. A knock on her door got her attention and she sluggishly pushed herself off the bed. Her knees hit the ground with an audible thump, and she hissed in slight pain before standing up.

"Yes?" She asked as she opened her door.

'The camera on?' Shinjiro asked her in his thoughts as he held out her phone.

"Ah, thank you," She said as she accepted it with a nod.

He grumbled in his thoughts at the obvious nod to his question. He was hoping it would be off so she could get some sleep. He looked at her and noticed the sleepy expression on her face as she slightly swayed in place. He didn't know how the hell she even functioned through the day if she was that exhausted. She gained a slight smile. She wasn't going to tell him while the camera was on. Did the person in the observation room not know she could read minds? She gave a discreet shrug that looked like she was simply rolling her shoulders. He felt like he was taking pity on her when he asked her if she wanted to sleep in his room for the night. His neck heated up when she looked at him with such a grateful look.

She stepped out of her room and Mochi woke up to follow her. She didn't even bother with her shoes as she closed her door the minute that Mochi was in the hall. She slowly followed him when he turned to lead her to his room. He let her in, and she didn't even react when he joined her. He pulled out a spare turtleneck and handed it to her. He left her to change and sleep while he cursed the fact that Mitsuru was keeping an eye on Chidori in the hospital.

How Junpei managed to capture a member of Strega escaped him. If he didn't know any better, he'd think she liked him. He narrowed his eyes in thought. That sounded plausible. Junpei seemed to be sweet on her, though he tried to hide it upon learning that she was a part of Strega. The nickname of 'Chidorita' made him a bit obvious. Sometimes he could be just as dense as Aki without meaning to. Speaking of Aki, the other teen was glaring at the door to his room in a frustrated manner.

"Can I ask why the camera in Hanamura's room keeps turning on?" He asked as he put his hands into his pockets, "I offered her my room for the night since she hadn't gotten any sleep."

"Mitsuru said she was going to remove that camera," Akihiko said in surprise, "she even put in an order for it."

"Someone must've deleted it," He muttered as he slumped a bit.

"That explains why Takeba thinks she seemed out of it for a couple of days now," Akihiko continued in thought, "May barely functions in the morning as is, without proper sleep she gets like that throughout the day."

"She said she was going to talk to Mitsuru about getting the camera removed," He informed him before heading back down to the foyer.

It looked like he was going to sleep in one of the plush chairs. His neck was going to be in pain for the next few days, but it wasn't all bad. He was able to help his girlfriend with ease, it felt good. He sat down and pulled his beanie over his eyes to block out the light. It was going to be a long night.