A/N: ok, I like flowers and I don't think Rukawa's that cold not to like
some. Well, if he is,
then this fic is OOC! hahahahahah! Joke! I'm being crazy that's all. please
review! ^_^
~~~~~~~~~~
Sunday, Hanamichi decided to take a walk along the park when he saw Mitsui and Ryota walking towards a store.
" Oi Micchy! Ryon-chin!" Hanamichi called. The two boys stared at him in annoyance. " Great, we met a monkey instead of a curvaceous girl." Mitsui grumbled. Hanamichi caught up with them. " where are you going?" Hanamichi asked them. " we decided to check out the new computer gaming shop." Ryota told him. " oh. can I come?" Hanamichi asked them. Mitsui sighed. " ok fine." Mitsui said. they started walking again. " my back hurts." Mitsui suddenly complained.
" mine too. I didn't know that Ice Skating is hard." Ryota said. when they turned around the bend, they met some players from Shoyo, Kainan and Ryounan namely Sendoh, Koshino, Maki, Jin, Kiyota, Fujima and Hanagata. " hey!" Mitsui greeted. " moshi!" Fujima greeted. " are you here to check the new shop too?" Kiyota asked them. " yap." Hanamichi said.
" what are you guys doing here?" somebody asked from behind. They turned around and saw Akagi and Kogure with Ayako. " Ayako." Ryota whispered dreamily. " hey! I thought you'd probably be resting by now." Ayako said. " we're here to check out the new gaming shop." Hanagata said. " oh." Akagi said. " we came from Akagi's house to study. We're just taking our afternoon break." Kogure said. " oh." then there was a scream. " LOOK OUT!!!!" a lady screamed when something shot fast towards the lamppost.
" who the hell-?" Akagi uttered and recognized the driver. It was Rukawa. " itee." he murmured. " baka kitsune." Hanamichi said. Rukawa started at the persons in front of him. he blinked stupidly. " why are you all here?" He asked. " we're here to check out the new gaming shop. Wanna come with us?" Jin asked. Rukawa shrugged and looked at his bike. Poor thing! It looked like it's out of commission again. " do I have any choice? My bike is broken." Rukawa murmured. He tied his poor bike on the lamppost. Soon, 14 teenagers set off to visit the newest craze in town, the Cyber Club.
" wow." they murmured in awe when they arrived at the store. The store was noisy because of the kids playing inside. " awesome!" Sendoh uttered. They entered the store and were greeted by a comfy ambiance on what looked like a large gaming center. On the right lined the PC section and on the left was the arcade section. " wow! They have Dance Maniacs and Dance Revo too!" Kiyota cheered. A teenager hurrying up to the token booth bumped against Sendoh. " Gomen ne!" the teenager apologized and looked up.
" YOHEI MITO!!" they yelled. " hi guys! Nice place isn't it?" Yohei greeted. " so you're here too." Akagi said. " where are the others?" Hanamichi asked. " Pachinko." Yohei told him. " Sumimasen." He said and went to the token booth. " if you want to play Counter Strike or Diablo or whatsoever PC games, you must get a PC credit card. You can get tokens and tickets for the arcade." Yohei said. The boys followed his advice. " I'll be in the internet section." Ayako told them and went off. " ok guys, LET'S GO!!!" Hanamichi said and the boys started playing their hearts out.
Sendoh and Koshino played in the Dance Maniacs while the whole Shohoku team decided to play Counter Strike. " ok, me, Akagi and Kogure will be the Terrorists and you, Rukawa and Ryota will be the Anti-terrorist." Mitsui told Hanamichi. " I don't want to play with the do'aho." Rukawa said. " temme Kitsune!" Hanamichi aimed to give Rukawa a good punch but Akagi stopped him. " if you two don't stop bickering, I will tell the manager to lock you out." their team captain said. " yeah whatever." Hanamichi snorted and they started playing anyway.
Yohei was engrossed in playing MAYCLUB when somebody tapped his shoulders. " I don't think that's for you." someone spoke up. Yohei recognized the voice. " come on Hiro. You're just a boy like me and you understand my yearning." Yohei said but Hiro was fast. he signed Yohei off the game. " that's for boys or shall I say men 18 and above." Hiro told him. " hey! I paid 100 yen for that card!" Yohei demanded. Hiro reached inside his pocket and gave a 100-yen worth of card. " here.play with something else. I'll take note to remove MAYCLUB from the program and only give the CD to legitimate persons by showing their I.D." Hiro said. " aw come on! you're taking away the fun in a boy's life." Yohei grumbled and walked off. Hiro smiled. ' yeah.boy's life.' He mused with a naughty smile while remembering the things he did when he was still a teenager.
Yohei strutted towards Sendoh and the others. " that's for boys 18 and above. Ch!" He snorted. " hey, you ok?" Sendoh asked him. " nah I'm fine! I'll just play Kingdom Hearts." He said. " Kingdom Hearts? But that's for X- Box." Koshino told him. " come on! this place will not be a hit if they don't have X-Box." Yohei said and walked away. " weird boy." Sendoh said.
On the other part of the club, hostility grew between the Terrorist group being lead by Mitsui and the Anti-Terrorist team led by Ryota. " You will not win this time!" Ryota said. " Yeah right." Mitsui said. " We'll beat you Gori!" Hanamichi said and he received a thump on the head. " I'm still your captain, baka!!" Akagi roared. " Boys, boys, cool down." Somebody said from behind. Sakuragi nearly yelped when he saw Hiro Tachibana standing behind them. " Tachibana-san!!" They exclaimed. Sendoh and the others came running towards them. " What happened? What?! Tachibana-san?! Why are you here?!" the boys exclaimed too when they saw Hiro.
" He's the manager of this shop, you dumbheads." A boy who passed by said. " You mean you're the manager? As in the M-A-N-A-G-E-R?" Kiyota asked. " Yes I'm the store manager." Hiro said. " And a part owner too." Yohei suddenly chipped in. " wow." the boys murmured in awe. " Where's Ayako?" Hanagata asked. " I saw her in the internet section." Hiro said. " I'll go get her." Ryota said. " Do you live near here?" Fujima asked. " Just around the corner." Hiro said. " Where's Iris?" Rukawa suddenly asked. They stared at him. Hiro smiled. " She's with oba-san doing her medical check-ups." Hiro said. " Medical check-ups?" Hanagata asked. " Don't you know that Anzai-sensei's wife is a doctor?" Kogure asked them. " Oh." they murmured. Ryota came back with Ayako in tow.
" Where have you been?" Akagi asked the girl. " I found her buying some girly trinkets." Ryota said. " As if you care." Ayako told them. " Why don't you guys come over to my house and relax a bit?" Hiro asked them. " Are you sure? What about the shop?" Maki asked. " My substitute just arrived." Hiro told them. " Ok!" the boys agreed. They went out of the club. ' At their house, this means I'm going to see Helois again.' Rukawa mused. They walked for a couple of block and arrived in front of a big house.
" Wow." Hanamichi said while eying at the Anzai residence. " Come in!" Hiro invited them as he opened the gate. They gaped in the surreal sight presented before them. Flowers of different kinds are in bloom in the garden. " This place is marvelous." Ayako said. " My oba-san and my sister's hard work paid off." Hiro said while admiring the landscape. " You mean they designed this?" Fujima asked. " Yap." Hiro said. They went inside the house. They felt the homey ambiance of the house, which was Japanese style with Mediterranean touch. " Sit down." Hiro told them when they reached the big receiving room. " Arigatou." They said. " What do you want? Tea? Soda? Or Juice?" Hiro asked them. " Soda will do." Sendoh said and the boys agreed. " Wait right here." Hiro said. " Let me help you, Tachibana- san." Kogure said. " Me too." Ayako joined in. " ok." Hiro said and the three of them went to the kitchen.
" Wow.they are rich." Kiyota said while looking around. " Hey, look at this." Mitsui beckoned them. they turned around and saw what he was pointing at. It was a picture of Helois with her mom. " Don't they look like twin sisters?" Mitsui asked. " Yeah." Maki said. " Hey check this out." Hanamichi pointed at the caption below. It says: " in loving memory of Mariko Anzai-Tachibana. I will miss you.Aishiteru Oka-san. From your loving daughter, Helois."
" She's such a sweet child. It so sad that she lost her mother at a young age." Akagi sighed. Hiro, Kogure and Ayako came back a few minutes later. Hiro saw them looking at his mother's picture. " Hi! So you've met my mom, Tachibana Mariko." Hiro said. " Oh.sorry." Jin apologized. " No it's ok." Hiro said and settled down the refreshments they brought. " I've gotten over it ages ago. The only person in this house who can't let go of the past is my sister." he added. He threw himself on a couch and opened a soda can. " Is it ok if I ask why?" Sendoh asked cautiously. Hiro sighed.
" well, she was the one greatly affected by their deaths because she's the closest to them and." Hiro paused. " and?" Rukawa pursued. Hiro sighed again. " they were rushing to watch her performance for the finals of the US Senior Ice Skating Competition when they met a car accident." Hiro told them sadly. " oh my." Ayako uttered. " we're very sorry." Maki apologized. " it's ok. people said that Iris and I are kinda lucky to come down with a flu or we'll be in six feet underground with our parents." Hiro said. " we're very, very sorry." Akagi said, furious at himself that he let this subject open up.
" where's Helois by the way?" Kogure luckily changed the subject. " yeah, come to think of it, where is she?" Yohei asked. " don't tell me she's out skating again." Mitsui said. " I know that she has no plan to leave the house. I bet she's sleeping." Hiro said. Then they heard movements upstairs. " on second thought, I think she's awake." Hiro said.
" Helois! Are you in there?" Hiro called. " I'm here." answered a muffled voice. " we have a couple guests here. Can you come down for a minute?" Hiro asked. " Be right there." Helois answered. " so, is she ok now?" Ayako asked Hiro. " well, at least she's already smiling today." Hiro told them with a smile. " good." Maki said. Helois appeared by the stairs wearing a shirt and sweat pants with rubber gloves on her hands.
" well this is interesting. What have you been doing all day?" Hiro asked her when he saw her outfit. " I found oba-san's gardening kit so I decided to spend the day tending to our plants." Helois said with a shrug. She then stared at her brother's visitors. " what brings you here?" she asked. " oh don't be rude Helois. They're here to hang out." Hiro told her. " un." Helois nodded. " so you're out under the sun all day? Isn't that bad for you?" Koshino asked her. " al least it improves my tan." Helois said then went outside. " aside from ice skating, my sister likes plants. I think it's because gardening has a calming zen that relieves her from the stress." Hiro told them.
" so what kind of plants are in your garden?" Fujima asked. " well, she has roses, poppies, lilies, asters, irises and many more. But her most favorite was the wild rosebush beside our Sakura tree. She said she'd rather die than let me rip the thing off to build a long bench." Hiro said with an amused smile. " well that's enough to convince me that she is a kind and caring person." Ryota said.
" how come?" Jin asked. " well, growing plants is isn't just about cultivating soil and stuffing seeds in a pot. It needs care and love to grow such marvelous flowers." Ayako said. " and she will be a very good mother in the future." Mitsui said.
" really?" Sendoh asked while blushing. " well, it's like you're taking care of a baby. It needs nourishment so you water it. like what Ryota had said, patience, love and care are the best ingredients in nurturing plants." Kogure said.
Hanamichi closed his eyes to imagine a baby inside a pot. " like a baby stuffed inside a pot?" Hanamichi asked. " do'aho." Rukawa said. " temme kitsune!" Hanamichi glared at him. " well, there's some connection, Rukawa." Hanagata told him. Hanamichi sat back with a victorious smile.
" would you like to see the plants?" Hiro asked them. " Sure! I'd love to!" Ayako said excitedly. " ok. follow me." Hiro stood up and beckoned the teenagers to follow him. They stood up and followed Hiro out of the house to a piece of Paradise.
Rukawa closed his eyes to keep the sun's ray from blinding him. when he opened them, his eyes widened at the sight before him. Roses in full bloom attracted his eyes. Honeysuckles that were entwining themselves on the iron arch enticed his nose and everything felt like heaven especially when he saw Helois crouched in front of a wild rosebush and humming a song.
" this is magnificent!" Ayako said, starry-eyed. " looks like a piece of paradise." Maki said and inhaled deeply. " such unique beauty." Fujima murmured. The rest was speechless. Helois stood up and wiped her forehead with the back of her hands. She then turned around and saw them staring at her garden.
" hi." She said. " this place is wonderful!" Ayako told her. Helois smiled, which made Rukawa's heart leap. " really?" she asked. " yeah. This looks like a haven of angels." Kogure said as he scoured the place. " well, thanks." Helois looked at the ground shyly. It's not because of their praises but it's because of Rukawa's intent staring at her that made her blush, which was impossible.
" I thought I could never see such beauty." Sendoh told her while flashing her his best smile. " well, it's not fair to get all the credits. It's my oba-san's work and I just butt in." Helois told them. " Well, your interference made good results." Uozumi told her. " and I thought I can never see asters growing here in Japan." Akagi said caressing a bud. " I'm glad you like my work." Helois told them. " I like the Irises most. They remind me of little Iris." Sendoh said. " I like roses. I know they're common but now one can ever resist the beauty of a rose." Hanamichi said while staring at a large Polaris blossom.
" what about you, Rukawa? What kind of flowers do you like?" Ayako asked her kohei. " um," Rukawa paused while scanning the garden. Helois took a deep breath, hoping he'll find something that he likes in her work.
then he saw Hiro checking the wild rosebush. It was large with messy leaves but the flowers were so radiant that you could never suspect them as wild plants. " well?" Sendoh prompted.
" I like the rosebush over there." Rukawa pointed at the rose bush. Everybody stared at him, especially Helois. She was surprised that he likes the flower that she likes too. " she's growing up just fine. I guess I'm not going to rip it out anyway." Hiro suddenly said. " good." Helois told him.
" but why the rosebush? It looked messy and the leaves are not trimmed." Sendoh pointed out its bad sides. (point taken from Sendoh!) ' how dare he?!' Rukawa grudged silently. ' how dare he?!' Helois did the same. " well, it's because it's a survivor." Rukawa said. " pardon?" Sendoh asked.
Rukawa sighed and looked at Helois. " wild roses grow in very odd places, just like here. you may think that the other expensive, elegant flowers like the irises had outshone her but look, she catches the eye of every person. She outlasted the rest because even if she's not classified as classy, she's a symbol of simplicity, of versatility of nature." Rukawa said. Everybody stared then clapped after a few seconds. Rukawa caught a glimpse of Helois and saw she's blushing. ' she's blushing!' Rukawa said in his mind. he felt like grinning.
" wow. never thought you could speak that long." Mitsui said while clapping. " bravo." Ryota added. " great! now you sound like my sister." Hiro sighed. " Shut up." Helois hissed at him. " joking." Hiro said with a smile. " you know, he's right." Somebody spoke from behind. They turned around and saw Anzai-sensei.
" Anzai-sensei!" Hanamichi yelled. " konnichiwa, Anzai-sensei!" they greeted. Helois on the other hand returned from her work to keep the people form noticing that her guard is slowly shattering, especially Rukawa.
" Iris told me once that she like the rosebush too." Anzai-sensei said. he stepped into the garden. " uhuh." Hanamichi prompted. " she said that the other flowers are snotty and arrogant but the rosebush was friendly." The old man said. " why?" Kiyota asked. " because she said that the rosebush befriended the sakura and the others stayed under the sun because they are proud, telling themselves that they don't need trees as friends." Anzai- sensei said. " oh." they murmured.
" and before I had a glass roof built above the open garden, I pitied the flowers because the rain does a lot of damage to them but when I stare at the rosebush everytime it rains, I smile because the sakura keep the rain from harming the rosebush completely. It's like you're having someone to protect you in times of trouble." Anzai-sensei said. " that's why." Jin murmured.
" and no matter where a wild rosebush grow, it can still standout, no matter how hard they try to keep their profiles hidden from the eyes of a beholder." Rukawa said while staring at Helois intently. Helois blushed. " o-ok. who wants to help?" she asked with a croaky voice. " with pleasure." Rukawa said and took the sprayer from her. Sendoh, not wanting to be outdone, followed his suit until all of the started gardening.
~~~~~~~~~~
Sunday, Hanamichi decided to take a walk along the park when he saw Mitsui and Ryota walking towards a store.
" Oi Micchy! Ryon-chin!" Hanamichi called. The two boys stared at him in annoyance. " Great, we met a monkey instead of a curvaceous girl." Mitsui grumbled. Hanamichi caught up with them. " where are you going?" Hanamichi asked them. " we decided to check out the new computer gaming shop." Ryota told him. " oh. can I come?" Hanamichi asked them. Mitsui sighed. " ok fine." Mitsui said. they started walking again. " my back hurts." Mitsui suddenly complained.
" mine too. I didn't know that Ice Skating is hard." Ryota said. when they turned around the bend, they met some players from Shoyo, Kainan and Ryounan namely Sendoh, Koshino, Maki, Jin, Kiyota, Fujima and Hanagata. " hey!" Mitsui greeted. " moshi!" Fujima greeted. " are you here to check the new shop too?" Kiyota asked them. " yap." Hanamichi said.
" what are you guys doing here?" somebody asked from behind. They turned around and saw Akagi and Kogure with Ayako. " Ayako." Ryota whispered dreamily. " hey! I thought you'd probably be resting by now." Ayako said. " we're here to check out the new gaming shop." Hanagata said. " oh." Akagi said. " we came from Akagi's house to study. We're just taking our afternoon break." Kogure said. " oh." then there was a scream. " LOOK OUT!!!!" a lady screamed when something shot fast towards the lamppost.
" who the hell-?" Akagi uttered and recognized the driver. It was Rukawa. " itee." he murmured. " baka kitsune." Hanamichi said. Rukawa started at the persons in front of him. he blinked stupidly. " why are you all here?" He asked. " we're here to check out the new gaming shop. Wanna come with us?" Jin asked. Rukawa shrugged and looked at his bike. Poor thing! It looked like it's out of commission again. " do I have any choice? My bike is broken." Rukawa murmured. He tied his poor bike on the lamppost. Soon, 14 teenagers set off to visit the newest craze in town, the Cyber Club.
" wow." they murmured in awe when they arrived at the store. The store was noisy because of the kids playing inside. " awesome!" Sendoh uttered. They entered the store and were greeted by a comfy ambiance on what looked like a large gaming center. On the right lined the PC section and on the left was the arcade section. " wow! They have Dance Maniacs and Dance Revo too!" Kiyota cheered. A teenager hurrying up to the token booth bumped against Sendoh. " Gomen ne!" the teenager apologized and looked up.
" YOHEI MITO!!" they yelled. " hi guys! Nice place isn't it?" Yohei greeted. " so you're here too." Akagi said. " where are the others?" Hanamichi asked. " Pachinko." Yohei told him. " Sumimasen." He said and went to the token booth. " if you want to play Counter Strike or Diablo or whatsoever PC games, you must get a PC credit card. You can get tokens and tickets for the arcade." Yohei said. The boys followed his advice. " I'll be in the internet section." Ayako told them and went off. " ok guys, LET'S GO!!!" Hanamichi said and the boys started playing their hearts out.
Sendoh and Koshino played in the Dance Maniacs while the whole Shohoku team decided to play Counter Strike. " ok, me, Akagi and Kogure will be the Terrorists and you, Rukawa and Ryota will be the Anti-terrorist." Mitsui told Hanamichi. " I don't want to play with the do'aho." Rukawa said. " temme Kitsune!" Hanamichi aimed to give Rukawa a good punch but Akagi stopped him. " if you two don't stop bickering, I will tell the manager to lock you out." their team captain said. " yeah whatever." Hanamichi snorted and they started playing anyway.
Yohei was engrossed in playing MAYCLUB when somebody tapped his shoulders. " I don't think that's for you." someone spoke up. Yohei recognized the voice. " come on Hiro. You're just a boy like me and you understand my yearning." Yohei said but Hiro was fast. he signed Yohei off the game. " that's for boys or shall I say men 18 and above." Hiro told him. " hey! I paid 100 yen for that card!" Yohei demanded. Hiro reached inside his pocket and gave a 100-yen worth of card. " here.play with something else. I'll take note to remove MAYCLUB from the program and only give the CD to legitimate persons by showing their I.D." Hiro said. " aw come on! you're taking away the fun in a boy's life." Yohei grumbled and walked off. Hiro smiled. ' yeah.boy's life.' He mused with a naughty smile while remembering the things he did when he was still a teenager.
Yohei strutted towards Sendoh and the others. " that's for boys 18 and above. Ch!" He snorted. " hey, you ok?" Sendoh asked him. " nah I'm fine! I'll just play Kingdom Hearts." He said. " Kingdom Hearts? But that's for X- Box." Koshino told him. " come on! this place will not be a hit if they don't have X-Box." Yohei said and walked away. " weird boy." Sendoh said.
On the other part of the club, hostility grew between the Terrorist group being lead by Mitsui and the Anti-Terrorist team led by Ryota. " You will not win this time!" Ryota said. " Yeah right." Mitsui said. " We'll beat you Gori!" Hanamichi said and he received a thump on the head. " I'm still your captain, baka!!" Akagi roared. " Boys, boys, cool down." Somebody said from behind. Sakuragi nearly yelped when he saw Hiro Tachibana standing behind them. " Tachibana-san!!" They exclaimed. Sendoh and the others came running towards them. " What happened? What?! Tachibana-san?! Why are you here?!" the boys exclaimed too when they saw Hiro.
" He's the manager of this shop, you dumbheads." A boy who passed by said. " You mean you're the manager? As in the M-A-N-A-G-E-R?" Kiyota asked. " Yes I'm the store manager." Hiro said. " And a part owner too." Yohei suddenly chipped in. " wow." the boys murmured in awe. " Where's Ayako?" Hanagata asked. " I saw her in the internet section." Hiro said. " I'll go get her." Ryota said. " Do you live near here?" Fujima asked. " Just around the corner." Hiro said. " Where's Iris?" Rukawa suddenly asked. They stared at him. Hiro smiled. " She's with oba-san doing her medical check-ups." Hiro said. " Medical check-ups?" Hanagata asked. " Don't you know that Anzai-sensei's wife is a doctor?" Kogure asked them. " Oh." they murmured. Ryota came back with Ayako in tow.
" Where have you been?" Akagi asked the girl. " I found her buying some girly trinkets." Ryota said. " As if you care." Ayako told them. " Why don't you guys come over to my house and relax a bit?" Hiro asked them. " Are you sure? What about the shop?" Maki asked. " My substitute just arrived." Hiro told them. " Ok!" the boys agreed. They went out of the club. ' At their house, this means I'm going to see Helois again.' Rukawa mused. They walked for a couple of block and arrived in front of a big house.
" Wow." Hanamichi said while eying at the Anzai residence. " Come in!" Hiro invited them as he opened the gate. They gaped in the surreal sight presented before them. Flowers of different kinds are in bloom in the garden. " This place is marvelous." Ayako said. " My oba-san and my sister's hard work paid off." Hiro said while admiring the landscape. " You mean they designed this?" Fujima asked. " Yap." Hiro said. They went inside the house. They felt the homey ambiance of the house, which was Japanese style with Mediterranean touch. " Sit down." Hiro told them when they reached the big receiving room. " Arigatou." They said. " What do you want? Tea? Soda? Or Juice?" Hiro asked them. " Soda will do." Sendoh said and the boys agreed. " Wait right here." Hiro said. " Let me help you, Tachibana- san." Kogure said. " Me too." Ayako joined in. " ok." Hiro said and the three of them went to the kitchen.
" Wow.they are rich." Kiyota said while looking around. " Hey, look at this." Mitsui beckoned them. they turned around and saw what he was pointing at. It was a picture of Helois with her mom. " Don't they look like twin sisters?" Mitsui asked. " Yeah." Maki said. " Hey check this out." Hanamichi pointed at the caption below. It says: " in loving memory of Mariko Anzai-Tachibana. I will miss you.Aishiteru Oka-san. From your loving daughter, Helois."
" She's such a sweet child. It so sad that she lost her mother at a young age." Akagi sighed. Hiro, Kogure and Ayako came back a few minutes later. Hiro saw them looking at his mother's picture. " Hi! So you've met my mom, Tachibana Mariko." Hiro said. " Oh.sorry." Jin apologized. " No it's ok." Hiro said and settled down the refreshments they brought. " I've gotten over it ages ago. The only person in this house who can't let go of the past is my sister." he added. He threw himself on a couch and opened a soda can. " Is it ok if I ask why?" Sendoh asked cautiously. Hiro sighed.
" well, she was the one greatly affected by their deaths because she's the closest to them and." Hiro paused. " and?" Rukawa pursued. Hiro sighed again. " they were rushing to watch her performance for the finals of the US Senior Ice Skating Competition when they met a car accident." Hiro told them sadly. " oh my." Ayako uttered. " we're very sorry." Maki apologized. " it's ok. people said that Iris and I are kinda lucky to come down with a flu or we'll be in six feet underground with our parents." Hiro said. " we're very, very sorry." Akagi said, furious at himself that he let this subject open up.
" where's Helois by the way?" Kogure luckily changed the subject. " yeah, come to think of it, where is she?" Yohei asked. " don't tell me she's out skating again." Mitsui said. " I know that she has no plan to leave the house. I bet she's sleeping." Hiro said. Then they heard movements upstairs. " on second thought, I think she's awake." Hiro said.
" Helois! Are you in there?" Hiro called. " I'm here." answered a muffled voice. " we have a couple guests here. Can you come down for a minute?" Hiro asked. " Be right there." Helois answered. " so, is she ok now?" Ayako asked Hiro. " well, at least she's already smiling today." Hiro told them with a smile. " good." Maki said. Helois appeared by the stairs wearing a shirt and sweat pants with rubber gloves on her hands.
" well this is interesting. What have you been doing all day?" Hiro asked her when he saw her outfit. " I found oba-san's gardening kit so I decided to spend the day tending to our plants." Helois said with a shrug. She then stared at her brother's visitors. " what brings you here?" she asked. " oh don't be rude Helois. They're here to hang out." Hiro told her. " un." Helois nodded. " so you're out under the sun all day? Isn't that bad for you?" Koshino asked her. " al least it improves my tan." Helois said then went outside. " aside from ice skating, my sister likes plants. I think it's because gardening has a calming zen that relieves her from the stress." Hiro told them.
" so what kind of plants are in your garden?" Fujima asked. " well, she has roses, poppies, lilies, asters, irises and many more. But her most favorite was the wild rosebush beside our Sakura tree. She said she'd rather die than let me rip the thing off to build a long bench." Hiro said with an amused smile. " well that's enough to convince me that she is a kind and caring person." Ryota said.
" how come?" Jin asked. " well, growing plants is isn't just about cultivating soil and stuffing seeds in a pot. It needs care and love to grow such marvelous flowers." Ayako said. " and she will be a very good mother in the future." Mitsui said.
" really?" Sendoh asked while blushing. " well, it's like you're taking care of a baby. It needs nourishment so you water it. like what Ryota had said, patience, love and care are the best ingredients in nurturing plants." Kogure said.
Hanamichi closed his eyes to imagine a baby inside a pot. " like a baby stuffed inside a pot?" Hanamichi asked. " do'aho." Rukawa said. " temme kitsune!" Hanamichi glared at him. " well, there's some connection, Rukawa." Hanagata told him. Hanamichi sat back with a victorious smile.
" would you like to see the plants?" Hiro asked them. " Sure! I'd love to!" Ayako said excitedly. " ok. follow me." Hiro stood up and beckoned the teenagers to follow him. They stood up and followed Hiro out of the house to a piece of Paradise.
Rukawa closed his eyes to keep the sun's ray from blinding him. when he opened them, his eyes widened at the sight before him. Roses in full bloom attracted his eyes. Honeysuckles that were entwining themselves on the iron arch enticed his nose and everything felt like heaven especially when he saw Helois crouched in front of a wild rosebush and humming a song.
" this is magnificent!" Ayako said, starry-eyed. " looks like a piece of paradise." Maki said and inhaled deeply. " such unique beauty." Fujima murmured. The rest was speechless. Helois stood up and wiped her forehead with the back of her hands. She then turned around and saw them staring at her garden.
" hi." She said. " this place is wonderful!" Ayako told her. Helois smiled, which made Rukawa's heart leap. " really?" she asked. " yeah. This looks like a haven of angels." Kogure said as he scoured the place. " well, thanks." Helois looked at the ground shyly. It's not because of their praises but it's because of Rukawa's intent staring at her that made her blush, which was impossible.
" I thought I could never see such beauty." Sendoh told her while flashing her his best smile. " well, it's not fair to get all the credits. It's my oba-san's work and I just butt in." Helois told them. " Well, your interference made good results." Uozumi told her. " and I thought I can never see asters growing here in Japan." Akagi said caressing a bud. " I'm glad you like my work." Helois told them. " I like the Irises most. They remind me of little Iris." Sendoh said. " I like roses. I know they're common but now one can ever resist the beauty of a rose." Hanamichi said while staring at a large Polaris blossom.
" what about you, Rukawa? What kind of flowers do you like?" Ayako asked her kohei. " um," Rukawa paused while scanning the garden. Helois took a deep breath, hoping he'll find something that he likes in her work.
then he saw Hiro checking the wild rosebush. It was large with messy leaves but the flowers were so radiant that you could never suspect them as wild plants. " well?" Sendoh prompted.
" I like the rosebush over there." Rukawa pointed at the rose bush. Everybody stared at him, especially Helois. She was surprised that he likes the flower that she likes too. " she's growing up just fine. I guess I'm not going to rip it out anyway." Hiro suddenly said. " good." Helois told him.
" but why the rosebush? It looked messy and the leaves are not trimmed." Sendoh pointed out its bad sides. (point taken from Sendoh!) ' how dare he?!' Rukawa grudged silently. ' how dare he?!' Helois did the same. " well, it's because it's a survivor." Rukawa said. " pardon?" Sendoh asked.
Rukawa sighed and looked at Helois. " wild roses grow in very odd places, just like here. you may think that the other expensive, elegant flowers like the irises had outshone her but look, she catches the eye of every person. She outlasted the rest because even if she's not classified as classy, she's a symbol of simplicity, of versatility of nature." Rukawa said. Everybody stared then clapped after a few seconds. Rukawa caught a glimpse of Helois and saw she's blushing. ' she's blushing!' Rukawa said in his mind. he felt like grinning.
" wow. never thought you could speak that long." Mitsui said while clapping. " bravo." Ryota added. " great! now you sound like my sister." Hiro sighed. " Shut up." Helois hissed at him. " joking." Hiro said with a smile. " you know, he's right." Somebody spoke from behind. They turned around and saw Anzai-sensei.
" Anzai-sensei!" Hanamichi yelled. " konnichiwa, Anzai-sensei!" they greeted. Helois on the other hand returned from her work to keep the people form noticing that her guard is slowly shattering, especially Rukawa.
" Iris told me once that she like the rosebush too." Anzai-sensei said. he stepped into the garden. " uhuh." Hanamichi prompted. " she said that the other flowers are snotty and arrogant but the rosebush was friendly." The old man said. " why?" Kiyota asked. " because she said that the rosebush befriended the sakura and the others stayed under the sun because they are proud, telling themselves that they don't need trees as friends." Anzai- sensei said. " oh." they murmured.
" and before I had a glass roof built above the open garden, I pitied the flowers because the rain does a lot of damage to them but when I stare at the rosebush everytime it rains, I smile because the sakura keep the rain from harming the rosebush completely. It's like you're having someone to protect you in times of trouble." Anzai-sensei said. " that's why." Jin murmured.
" and no matter where a wild rosebush grow, it can still standout, no matter how hard they try to keep their profiles hidden from the eyes of a beholder." Rukawa said while staring at Helois intently. Helois blushed. " o-ok. who wants to help?" she asked with a croaky voice. " with pleasure." Rukawa said and took the sprayer from her. Sendoh, not wanting to be outdone, followed his suit until all of the started gardening.