The Neglected Garden
By: HiroAngelLight
Summary: Thirteen years ago, after the deaths of their parents, Tadashi blamed Hiro as the cause of their parents' deaths and left Hiro alone in the orphanage. Not only it broke Hiro's heart, but their relationship as well. But when Hiro needs to stay in Tadashi's house to avoid the juvenile prison, can they fix their broken relationship after years of losing contact to each other?
Adopted from Adazula.
Female!Hiro
Hiro is 16. Tadashi and Honey are 27.
Disclaimer: I don't own Big Hero 6.
Warning: Beware of typos and bad grammar. English is NOT my main language. I have this bad habit of not realizing my mistakes on my stories until days or even months after publishing the story.
-oOo-
Chapter 7
Later when Tadashi was typing on his laptop, his phone buzzed on the table. It startled him a bit as he was drawn into his work. He took the phone and looked at the caller ID. It said 'Aunt Cass'. He immediately accepted the call and greeted his aunt.
"Hey, Aunt Cass."
"Hey, Tadashi. I hope I'm not disturbing you right now."
"Oh, no. Don't worry, you're never disturbing me. What's up?"
Aunt Cass sighed in relief, "Thank goodness. How's Hiro there?"
"Uuh," Tadashi wasn't sure how to answer, "She's fine. But I think I kinda pissed her off today."
"Well, I called her an hour ago and you can say that she's having a really bad mood right now. What happened though?" Aunt Cass asked, concerned.
He let out a heavy breath, "I think I asked her too many question when we were having dinner earlier. She looked like having a lot of things in her mind and I was worried. But I guess I shouldn't push her too much. I don't want her to hate me more."
"Tadashi, I know it's hard. But when it comes to Hiro, I hope you will be more patient with her. She may looks like she's a bad person, but she's not. She is just having a really hard time. Well, she's been in a hard time for a while now."
This drew more curiosity and worry in him, "What happened, Aunt Cass?"
She didn't answer right away. "I'm sorry, Tadashi. I don't think I can tell you right now. Hiro won't like it. And it could make her grows more distant."
"Oh, okay. I understand," Tadashi said, deflated.
"Don't worry. She will tell you herself if she feels she can trust you."
"Aunt Cass?"
"Yes?"
"I really am a bad brother, aren't I?"
"What makes you think that?"
"You know what I did to her years ago. I..I left her. Alone. And I said bad things when she tried to contact me. If she hates me, I don't think I can blame her for that. In fact, I should be the one everyone blames, not her."
"Tadashi," she started with a gentle voice, "You two had bad situation back then. Even if you were fourteen that time, but you were still considered a child. And which child wants to lose their parents in such a young age? So please, stop blaming yourself for the things that already happened in the past. I'm happy that you offered to help her with the situation she's in right now.
And the reason I accepted your offer other than to help her avoid the juvenile prison, is to help you reconcile with her. I know you regret everything you had done to her in the past. I'm glad you still love your little sister and willing to try to fix your relationship with her after all these years. I also know, deep down, Hiro misses you too, and wants to make up with the things you two had missed.
But please, don't rush things on her. Everything needs time if you want a good end. Just, make her feel comfortable and think that she can trust you again. If you can do it, she will open up with you in no time."
His aunt was right. Hearing that from her eased the burden he felt a little more. "Thanks, Aunt Cass. You know.. for giving me a chance like this."
"If you really feel grateful, then don't waste this second chance, alright?"
Tadashi chuckled, "Of course."
There was a silence after that. He checked on his phone if his aunt hung up or he lost the signal. And everything was fine.
"Tadashi?" Aunt Cass finally called him again.
"Yes?"
Another pause was there. He could feel like Aunt Cass was a bit hesitated to say whatever she wanted to say right now. "Whatever happens, no matter what people say about her, please, believe in her."
"Aunt Cass, is something wrong? Why did you suddenly say that?" Tadashi furrowed his eyebrows. He could feel there's something more in her words that she didn't say.
"Someday you'll understand. Just promise me that, okay?"
Tadashi didn't answer right away. But he knew, pressing Aunt Cass to tell him anything would make things worse. He sighed, "Okay."
"Thank you, Tadashi. I really appreciate it. Oh by the way, can I ask you to help me with something?"
"You know you didn't have to ask like that, right?"
Aunt Cass chuckled a bit, "Right. Well, you see, Hiro forgot to bring some chocolates with her. She only brought some packs of gummy bears. And I'm wondering if you could buy her some? Just send me your bank account and I'll transfer you the money."
"What? No way, Aunt Cass!" Tadashi immediately rejected her. "I'll buy them for her. And I don't need you to send me money for that. Besides, it seems like she still has that sweet-tooth of her. I would buy anything for her if it can make her happy!"
"Thank you, Tadashi. I'm sure Hiro will be happy to hear that. Anyway, I will hang up now. I don't want to disturb you from whatever you were doing before I called you. Take a good care of her. And tell me if anything happens to her. Bye, Tadashi."
"Bye, Aunt Cass."
As soon as Aunt Cass hung up, Tadashi let out a sigh and put his phone back to the table. He thought about what his aunt said earlier.
What happened to Hiro back in San Fransokyo? Aunt Cass said to believe in Hiro even when people say anything bad about her. Did something bad happen? Something that made his little sister like… that? He laid his back on the floor. He crossed his arms behind his head and made them to be his pillow.
The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to know the answer. But Tadashi knew he shouldn't rush things. Demanding for answers. It could make things gone bad. What's worse, he wouldn't get Hiro's trust back.
'Guess I just need to be more patient.'
-oOo-
Three weeks had passed. And Hiro still didn't talk much. In those three weeks, Tadashi had tried his best not to annoy his sister. He tried to talk to her about things. Mostly, the teen didn't really listen to him or Honey. They were okay with that. At least, they didn't make Hiro angry again.
It was hard for Tadashi to bond with Hiro again if his sister mostly didn't respond to him. His patience helped him a lot to face Hiro's cold demeanour to him. He wanted to say something about that, but decided not to. Looking back at what he had done to her years ago was enough to stop him from making things worse. Remembering those things sent ache into his heart.
One thing that Tadashi knew. While Hiro's staying there, she had this routine to go outside. Whether it was after breakfast, or afternoon till sunset. In his eyes, Hiro seemed to like the place bit by bit. He could see it from Hiro's eyes whenever he didn't have to go to work and saw her came back from her 'walk'.
Her eyes looked different. Like there was calmness in them, unlike the first time she came. Maybe she found some peace while she took a walk. It was a good thing for Tadashi if his sister could feel better while she's staying there. And he wanted to keep it that way.
-oOo-
One day, Hiro saw a lonely-looking bookstore. The place looked old. When she tried to go inside, she found out the bookstore sell second-hand books. Some of them looked damaged, but still readable. And the rest looked good, like they were rarely opened by the owners before they decided to throw the books away.
When she was strolling around, her eyes caught something. She walked toward it to see it clearly. It was a pictured book for children. The cover was light blue with a long haired girl standing in the middle of flower field. It said 'The Garden of Heart' as its title. She opened the book and read it absentmindedly.
Long, long time ago, there was a village on the feet of a mountain called Furoga Village. This village was known by its beautiful scenery. And the famous thing people knew about this village was the flowers. There were so many kinds of flower grew there. Even the rarest flower could be found.
The people who lived in that village were really kind. They followed the rules and traditions that had been there for generations. Respect and kindness were taught since they were still little children by parents and elders. And advices from elders were always listened and followed by the young people. Thus, made the village became the most peaceful village at the time.
One tradition that would be held every once in a year was Flower Girl Contest. So, young girls would dress with beautiful dresses and shoes with different kinds of flowers as their accessories. This contest was to choose the most beautiful girl to become the village's flower girl. Flower girl had a special place among the girls, not only because she would represent the beauty of the flowers in their village, but also get the special treatment. That's why every year, all young girls would get really excited to join the contest.
There was a girl named Hana. Like other girls, she joined the contest as well. But because her parents couldn't buy her a new dress, she decided to make her own. Hana could sew her own clothes after a few years of learning from her mother. She was determined to make the most beautiful dress in the village. Made by her own hands.
Two weeks later, her dress was finally finished. Her dress has a white colour with soft blue flower embroidery on the bottom. She also made a simple white bandana with blue flower ornaments on it and a pair of soft blue shoes to match the dress. Hana was really proud of her creation. And she couldn't wait for the day to come.
When the day of the contest finally came, everyone was excited. A lot of girls joined the contest, including Hana. The contest was lively. And everyone enjoyed it. At the end of the contest, Hana's excitement changed into sadness and disappointment. She didn't win.
Even though it was her first contest and she could join again the next year, Hana still felt sad. She thought nobody liked to lose. Her parents knew this. They were concerned about her because she became so quite all the time. Unlike before, when she was a cheerful little girl.
One day, Hana's mother approached Hana who was sitting on the field. She sat beside her silently without tearing away her gaze to the field in front of her. Hana's mother asked about the contest, and Hana told her how sad she was that she didn't win. And she felt like all her efforts were wasted. At this, Hana's mother put her hand on her shoulder, looking into Hana's eyes, and told her that it wasn't true.
She also said even if Hana didn't win the contest, that didn't mean all of her efforts for it were wasted. Joining the contest gave her new experience. And because of that contest, Hana could make a beautiful dress and accessories by her own, where no one else but her had. Through the contest, people also could see how beautiful her dress and accessories were, and admired how talented Hana was. Nothing was wasted.
Hana sure didn't win and become the Flower Girl to the village. But she already won and became the Flower Girl to her own garden. Hana then asked if her mother meant the garden in front of their house. And she answered her with a no. It wasn't their house garden, but instead, her garden of heart.
Hana's mother explained to her that every girl in the world was born with a garden of heart. At first, it would only be empty. But as time went by, the garden would be filled with something. It could be filled with flowers, wild grass, or even thorn bushes. It all depended on themselves.
If a girl was nice, kind-hearted, smart, and always doing good things, she would have a garden with beautiful flowers. If the girl was naughty, made a lot of troubles, and play bad games, she would have a garden with wild grass everywhere. Although wild grass could bring good things, but sometimes it could give disadvantage to others. Lastly, if the girl was a bad person with bad attitude and behaviour, or even had an evil heart that could make others hate her, she would have a garden full of thorn bushes. In conclusion, what kind of garden they had in their heart, it depended on their own personalities.
Then Hana's mother added, Hana was a good girl, nice to other people, has a kind heart, and liked to do good things that could help others. Plus, she was also talented. Hana had a beautiful garden with different kinds of flowers inside her heart. So, even though Hana didn't win the Flower Girl contest, Hana still won for her own garden. She was the Flower Girl in her own beautiful garden of heart.
What her mother told her made Hana's heart fluttered. A smile painted on her lips. Hana felt cheered up again. She hugged her mother and thanked her for telling a beautiful story to her. Her mother returned her hug and kissed her daughter's forehead. Hana's mother was relieved that her beautiful daughter was happy again.
Yes, Hana might not be the Flower Girl in her village. But, she had her own garden. A garden where beautiful flowers bloomed. Even without the contest, Hana was already a Flower Girl. The Flower Girl to her own garden of heart.
As the story she read was finished, Hiro's expression became unreadable. She closed the story book and stared at it. Her hand made its way to return the book to where she found it. But just before she completely put the book away, she took it back and made her way to pay. Her decision to buy that story book also made her confused. She didn't want to buy that book, but it was as if her body moved itself.
After that, she walked outside the bookstore with a plastic bag in her hand. She looked above her to see some dark clouds floating in the sky. Looked like there would be rain later. She then made her way back to Tadashi's house. She didn't want to get soaked because of the rain.
On her way, the words from the story book was still lingering in her head. It said every girl had their own garden in their heart. And what grew in that garden depended on the girl herself. Garden of heart. Hiro snorted at that.
'Garden of heart, huh? I don't think I have one. And even if I have, mine has been neglected since that day happened.'
-oOo-
Lisa was there. Walking with three other women while gossiping about things when Hiro was about to take a turn on the crossroad to Tadashi's house. That woman, whom Hiro really hated, suddenly stopped her step when she saw Hiro. She glared at Hiro, and of course, Hiro returned her glare to the said woman.
The other women just stared at them in confusion. Hiro wasn't in the mood to have another interaction with her. So she just continued her step and took a turn to the right. Ignoring the glare Lisa still giving behind her back. If only that woman was not Tadashi's mom, she sure would have punched her the very first time she met her.
"Lisa, you know that girl? I've never seen here before," one of the women asked.
"Yeah. And isn't that the path to your son's house?" the other one asked.
Lisa broke her glare and turned her gaze back to the women she was with. "Yes, I do know her," she responded. She took a last narrowing glance to where Hiro had gone to before she open her mouth again.
.
.
.
"Ladies, please listen. There's something I want you to know about that girl."
-oOo-
Author's Note: I dunno why it's really hard to load this website from my laptop lately. But here's chapter 7! I will post next chapter in around two weeks. I hope I can get the ninth chapter finished before the end of next month. My second semester in college will start on March so at least I want to update at least one of my on-going stories, including this fic.
Until next time~