Chapter 2

Shujin Academy

After School

Sighing with exhaustion, Haru looked around the roof as she took in the results of her hour-long organizing session. The student desks, which had previously been pushed together, were now lined up side-by-side next to the exposed vent and along the wall next to the roof door.

While she was organizing, Haru had found another fold-up chair next to an abandoned sports bag. Inside the bag was a pair of cleats and a soccer ball. Not knowing what to do with these items, Haru had folded up both chairs and put them, along with the sports bag, under the student desks to protect them in case of bad weather.

Finally, Haru looked at the planters that would make up her own secret garden for this year. When thinking of how she wanted to set them up, Haru had decided to take advantage of the unused desks to place the six small planters in such a way that she would not have to crouch down each time when she was caring for them. The two large planters had been a big issue. Haru knew she wasn't very strong, but moving such large wooden objects had taken a lot out of her. It took ten whole minutes of pushing, pulling, and determination before she finally managed to get the two planters side-by-side on the floor of the roof. Deciding that they were too heavy to move anymore, Haru opted to make these planters be the central part of her garden while the smaller ones could be used for when she needs room for more plants.

Finishing her inspection, Haru felt a small surge of pride for her garden. Sure this wasn't the ideal place for a garden of any type, and she wouldn't ever get the chance to show it off to anyone, but Mrs. Takumi had said this would be hers, and Haru was beginning to feel excitement for what she could do here.

Pulling out her phone, Haru saw that it was about time for her to head home. Picking up her bag and brushing some dust off of her plaid skirt, Haru walked to the rooftop door. Opening the door, Haru took one last look at the beginning of her garden. She couldn't believe that her gardening hobby had gone this far.

It had started in her first year when she was just looking for something to do so she wouldn't have to be home alone while waiting for her father to return from work. She had been walking through the school and noticed some students in their gym uniforms tending to the flowers in the front of the school. Deciding to see what was going on, she approached them.

After talking to them for a few minutes, the president offered her a place in the club. Seeing no reason not to, Haru accepted and spent the rest of her time quietly answering questions and hesitantly asking some in return. Once they were done, Haru noticed that nearly an hour had passed since she began watching the gardening club members. Hurrying home, Haru made it roughly an hour before her father returned.

Since then, Haru had used the club as a way to relax and forget about her problems. She found she enjoyed the quiet and work that went into tending plants. It gave her something to do after school other than just homework. The club also didn't have too many members, so there was a smaller chance someone would figure out what family she was a part of. Sadly, that also meant that she wasn't able to make any close friends during her time at Shujin.

Shaking her head to bring herself back to the present, Haru turned and began to make her way to the entrance of the school.

Walking through the hallways, Haru ignored the other students that were finishing up their own club activities. Making her way out the front door and through the Academy's gate, Haru turned right and made her way toward the street. Haru looked around before spotting a long, black car with Fuji-san, a tall, black-haired man wearing a chauffeur's hat, standing next to the vehicle.

This was another reason Haru preferred to leave after most of the other students were already gone. Haru's father enjoyed showing off his own wealth in both subtle and obvious ways at times. One of the more common ways he did this was by hiring drivers for both himself and for her. If she could, Haru would ignore both the car and the driver and make her way home using the train. Doing so would make it easier to avoid being the focus of the Shujin rumor mill. However, if she hid from the driver, then poor Fuji-san would get in trouble, and Haru didn't want to inconvenience the man when he was just trying to do his job.

Approaching the car, Haru smiled at the driver, "Hello Fuji-san, how are you today?"

Grunting his own greeting, Fuji Inosuke opened the back door of the car for Haru to climb in, his hat casting a shadow over his eyes. "Can't complain."

Closing the door behind her, the stoic Fuji-san made his way around to the driver's seat and buckled himself in. Catching her eyes in the rearview mirror, Fuji nodded as he saw Haru had already put on her own seatbelt.

Putting the car into drive, Fuji began the trek leading back home. "Your father wanted you to know that he'll be home early tonight. He'll probably already be back at the estate by the time we make it there."

Nodding, Haru looked out the window as the Tokyo buildings began to blur by. "Thank you, Fuji-san."

/|\

Okumura Estate

Evening

"Good evening Ms. Okumura," two maids bowed as Haru walked through the front door of her large house. The Okumura estate was a large, modern-looking mansion in the Azabu district of Tokyo. It is a gated building with large stone walls around the property with a nice zen garden between the wall and the house. The house itself was a two-story building with several large, tinted windows scattered around, making the place look incredibly decadent and aesthetically pleasing.

The house was staffed by a small group of maids as well as the head butler, Mr. Sebastian. They usually did the cleaning, cooking, and grounds tending for the Okumura estate. Haru didn't think much of this as her house had always had some maids and Mr. Sebastian for as long as she could remember. The only thing that bothered her, sometimes, is that when the staff cleaned the house, it forced Haru to notice how many empty rooms her home truly had. What was the point of having such a large house when the only people living in it were her father and herself?

Smiling at the maids, Haru gave a small bow in return. "Good evening, has my father already returned?"

"Yes, Ms. Okumura. He is waiting for you in the dining room. Dinner tonight will feature foie gras with a side of mixed vegetables."

"Thank you," Haru responded as she began to walk to the dining room. "Was he in a good mood today?"

The maids began to keep pace behind Haru as one answered. "He seemed to be mildly frustrated over something when he returned. He has had several lengthy phone calls since he returned, but they have neither improved or worsened his mood."

Nodding, Haru approached the door leading to the dining room. "Thank you for informing me. And how about you two? How have your days been?"

"We have had a nice and relatively calm day Ms. Okumura." The other maid said as they stopped at the door. "With your permission, we will return to our duties."

Turning, Haru nodded towards the two maids, "You may. Please don't push yourselves too hard."

As the maids walked away, Haru sighed once again. Many would think that having hired help that takes care of the menial chores would be a dream come true. But what she found was that hired help were just more strangers there to work for her father. The maids seemed to be changed out every couple of months. The longest she had ever seen one last was a year before she was let go. The reason for this is because Mr. Sebastian, the head butler and the one her father charged with the upkeep of the Okumura estate, has exceptionally high standards and very little tolerance for incompetence or failure.

He has always been kind to Haru herself, but Haru isn't sure if that is because she is part of his employers or because she was not hired to do any of the household tasks. This sense of professionalism kept by the staff was very admirable in Haru's eyes. It was amazing the amount of passion Mr. Sebastian could put into seemingly simple tasks. Still, that same professionalism always made it seem as though there was an invisible wall between the staff and Haru herself. She had stopped trying to get them to play with her or talk too much when doing so got one of the maids fired several years ago.

Pushing the dining room door open, Haru looked in to see her father waiting for her at the head of the rectangular table, a plate, silverware, and a glass of water in front of him. On the other side of the table was an empty chair, a similar dining set on the table. The professional salt-and-pepper-haired Sebastian standing slightly behind the chair with his head slightly angled down, his pencil-thin mustache slightly curled above his lip.

Haru's father looked up from his work phone as Haru entered the room and smiled. "Good evening Haru." Haru's father, Kunikaze Okumura, was a man in his mid-forties with black hair, black eyes behind a pair of wire-framed glasses, and a red-and-black checkered ascot he wore alongside his typical business suit.

Returning her father's smile, Haru made her way toward her seat as Mr. Sebastian pulled out her chair. Sitting down, Haru looked over at her father as the butler made his way toward the kitchen to retrieve the Okumura's dinner. "Hello, father, how was your day?"

Taking a drink of his water Kunikaze turned back to his phone as they waited for Sebastian to return. "There were several issues that took up a majority of my day. Not helped in the least by the fact that several of my employees seem to be incapable of meeting a simple deadline."

He paused as Sebastian returned, carrying a large tray covered by a metal hood. Taking the hood off, Sebastian placed the plates of foie gras and two small bowls of vegetables in front of both Haru and her father.

"Please, enjoy your meal," Sebastian said as he promptly made his return to the kitchen, leaving the two Okumura's alone once again. Picking up the utensils, the father-daughter pair began to eat their dinner as Kunikaze resumed the conversation.

"After making sure that all those issues were solved by their department heads, I had to attend several meetings with the board of directors and some shareholders to discuss our plans for the upcoming quarter. Which wasn't helped by some new regulations passed by the Diet that might cause some issues for us later."

Taking a breath, Haru's father sighed as he began to eat from his vegetables, Haru quietly eating her own meal while listening to her father.

"Sometimes, I think it would be easier if I took a role in the government. It can't be any more difficult than running the Big Bang Burger company."

Realizing he had been ranting, Kunikaze shook his head as he looked back up to his daughter. "Anyway, I think I've complained enough. How was your day, Haru?"

Smiling at her father, Haru began to feel excited as she began to tell her father about her new garden.

"Well, it's not a big thing, but Mrs. Takumi-"

Haru's words were interrupted by a loud chime as Kunikaze's cell phone began to vibrate. Looking at his phone, he grimaced and began to rise from his chair.

"Sorry, Haru, but I've been waiting for this call since I got home. You may be excused once you're finished eating."

Haru watched as he began to walk away and listened as he opened the door to the next room, "Yes? ...What do you mean the project will have to be pushed back? The deadline was yesterday! ...I don't care if there were unforeseen circumstances, it needs to get done. ...No, get your team and finish it tonight. I don't care if you have to stay at the office all night, just get it done. ...No, I will not pay overtime for a project that should have already-"

As his voice grew fainter, Haru sighed as she looked down at her finished meal. At least her father ate with her today. Most days, she would eat by herself and meet with him before bed. Haru loved her father, and she knew that he loved her too. Still, sometimes it seemed as though he cared more about his position as CEO of Big Bang Burger rather than his position as her father. It didn't help that he was getting increasingly frustrated with how his business was running. It concerned Haru that her father never had anything positive to say about work anymore. It always seemed as though the others at his work were never meeting their own deadlines.

But that was just the conclusions she came to after overhearing various snippets of conversations her father had at home. Hearing a door open, Haru turned to see Sebastian had returned to take her and her father's empty plates.

"Would you like dessert, madam?" he asked smoothly.

"No, thank you, Mr. Sebastian. I'll return to my room for the evening. Thank you for all of your hard work."

Nodding, Sebastian took the dishes toward the kitchen to be cleaned, "You are too kind, madam. Please, have a good evening."

Sighing, Haru made her way to her room on the second floor. After closing her door, Haru layed down on the bed and looked toward the ceiling. She knew that she had a blessed life. Very few people were as wealthy as her family, was it wrong of her to want to spend more time with her father when he was working so hard? Maybe it was selfish, but sometimes Haru wished that her father could be as interested in her as he seemed to be in his work.

Looking at her bedside table, Haru saw the book she had been reading the past couple of days. It was an old book, but Haru found that she enjoyed the adventures of the daring heroes of justice as they battled with villains both obvious and hidden. Picking up The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, Haru began the next chapter. Imagining herself as the hero, saving the kingdom alongside her trusted comrades and friends.