The school days have finally passed since the whole class decided to come up with a concert for the school festival, and to say the whole preparations stressed Mitsuru would be an understatement. Since he did hold the title of being the council's secretary, Ichigo tasked him with dealing with different sponsorships through writing letter after letter, not to mention he had to also balance his works in the council as well.

It was a surprise he was able to get through the whole week without suffering a heart attack.

However, Mitsuru'd have to admit, if it weren't for his classmate and assistant secretary, Kokoro, he might as well been consumed by the hundreds of paperwork he had done throughout the week. Yes, it's been weeks since she found out about his condition, and despite telling her to leave him be, it was very clear to him that she wouldn't do that, instead, she seemed to be trying to get to him in any way she can, doing as much as making him coffee, which she had failed to do the first time.

Although her coffee seemed to improve overtime.

Not only that, but sometimes during their free time, instead of hanging out with either Miku or Futoshi, Kokoro would sometimes approach him and try to make small talk or ask him if they could study together. Some other times, she shares with him the bread Futoshi makes for her during council work, but this time, he's able to decline. Most recently, Kokoro was the one organizing his papers and was in charge with speaking to the sponsors on the phone, her gentle and kind nature proved to be a charm with the sponsors, and Mitsuru knows he was FAR from being like her, (who knows what he brash thing he could say to those exasperating people..)

Still, despite being somewhat grateful towards the blonde over lessening this week's workload, it still bothered Mitsuru how the girl started acting after seeing him in his weakened state. A large part of him felt that all Kokoro's efforts were just an act of pity.

And it irked him to no end.

Despite this, he doesn't understand why he couldn't tell her for the second time to leave him alone, and instead, he just bears her presence. Unlike with the others, Mitsuru could straight up, tell them bluntly what he thought and what he felt, and at most times, it labelled him as cold and impatient; but with Kokoro, he couldn't bring himself to say something hurtful, or at the very least, sarcastic.

It was probably since she was one of the mature ones in their group, and of course, it would be troublesome if he develops bad blood with his fellow council member.

'Yeah, that must be it.' he tells himself, almost all the time.

But right now, it wasn't a certain girl who was bugging his mind all day, instead, here he was navigating the streets in an early Saturday morning, trying to find the nearest flower shop he would find.

"Out of all people, why did it have to be me.." Mitsuru grumbles to himself. Not only was his stress already piled up thanks to the school festival, but he also was not exactly considered as a person who loves going out on weekends. No, Mitsuru would rather stay at home and read a good book or probably practice some violin, but Ichigo just HAD to order him to buy some flowers for the concert.

He wasn't even interested in flowers for god sakes!

Well anyways, even if he grumbles all day long, he still had no choice but to abide to her orders. After all, she was the president.

Lucky for him, he spots a flower shop at the other side of the street named 'The Red Hibiscus'. Wanting to get things done immediately, Mitsuru quickly crosses the street in order to get to the shop, and once he does get in, he doesn't expect to see someone so familiar from the past weeks.

It was a calm, Saturday morning.

A girl with long ash blonde hair slowly emerges from the bed covers with a small yawn. Stretching her limbs, Kokoro admits she feels a little sore from this week's practices. Ichigo had chosen her as one of the members of their group 'XX:me' for the school festival, and of course, they had to practice hard to give everyone a spectacular performance. It was tiresome, but for Kokoro, it was also quite fun.

However, despite the performers only task was to practice, it hadn't gone unnoticed to Kokoro that her certain classmate, the boy with the slicked olive hair and cold forest green eyes was struggling with a lot of tasks. Unlike the other guys whose only task was to prepare the stage, props and other equipment, Mitsuru was in charge with the internal and external relations, which means he had to write a ton of letters for permission directed to the school's department heads, as well as letters asking for sponsorships outside the campus. Due to her inevitable caring nature, as well as knowing how stress may affect Mitsuru's condition, Kokoro made the resolve to help him when she is able to. After all, she too, had experience, when it comes to his field of expertise, given that she was his assistant secretary.

That's why, for the past few days, she made it a habit to stop by the council room to find him working all alone, and inwardly, she sighs over his stubbornness of refusing any kind of help. 'He never likes leaning on others…' Kokoro would approach him, during breaks and after class, and offer him her assistance. When he'd say no, all she would do is tell him how it was also her job as his assistant to help ease his work, and somehow, this would work.

When she did work with Mitsuru, she found herself being immersed with silence, however, it wasn't the nerve wrecking type. To be honest, the silence she shares with Mitsuru made her feel at ease. It was like his own little way of showing Kokoro he didn't really mind her presence, especially when she'd see him steal glances with a mildly curious glint invading his usual cold gaze. Once she catches him, all she'd do is give him a small smile, to which he'd immediately look away from her and continue on with his work.

For Kokoro, this kind of moments made her feel happy somehow.

But now was not the time to be thinking about the olive haired boy. Instead, Kokoro gets up from her bed and daintily walks to her bathroom. After showering, she puts on a simple white dress and styles her hair into a side braid before putting her gardener's apron and tying it loosely on her waist.

Today, Kokoro was in charge with her grandma's flower shop, since her grandma goes to another town every weekend to buy some supplies for the shop.

Grabbing some fruit for breakfast, Kokoro suddenly hears the bells from the shop chime, signaling a customer has just entered. Swallowing whatever contents she had in her mouth, she immediately goes out of the kitchen and heads to the flower shop to see a customer who happened to be a boy, probably the same age as her, or older. Instantly, her lips curl upwards into a smile as she approaches the customer and after taking a better look, something in her is telling her how familiar the man looked.

Especially with that piercing green eyes of his….

"Good morning sir, how may I help you?" he hears a familiar, gentle voice greet him. Turning to where the voice came from, his eyes widen when he sees Kokoro standing in front of him with a smile on her face. She wasn't in her usual uniform, and instead, she was wearing a dainty white dress with a green apron tied to her waist. Her whole outfit seemed to accentuate how slim and curvy she was, making Mitsuru shift his eyes uneasily.

Once he's able to look at her, he realizes she hasn't greeted him by his name yet, which clearly means she hasn't recognized him yet. Mitsuru figured that would be the case, since he really didn't put his hair up during weekends.

"Sir?" Kokoro calls out once more, her sapphire blue eyes wondering why the customer was so silent.

"Kokoro san.." Mitsuru says, to which Kokoro instantly realizes who she was dealing with. In embarrassment, her cheeks redden in an instant, rivalling the red hibiscus placed by the door.

"I...I'm so sorry Mitsuru kun! I didn't realize it was you with your hair like that an-"

"It's fine." Mitsuru cuts her off curtly before his posture turns somewhat, rigid. "If you didn't know, Ichigo sent me to buy some flowers for the concert." he starts, staring at her with his unyielding eyes, "To cut things short, I need some flowers immediately so I could go off at once."

"Is that so?" Kokoro says with a smile, "Well then, Mitsuru kun, what flowers do you need?" she asks to which she notices Mitsuru's face turn thoughtful, a small scowl on his lips.

"Well, she did tell me that it would be given to you performers after the show…" he says thoughtfully.

"Oh really? Well isn't that quite sad, I'll just have to feign surprise by that point." she jokes to which he doesn't respond. "Anyways," her smile never faltering as she waltzes through the shop, "I think I know just the right flowers!" she beams.

"Would it be okay if I arrange them in a bouquet?" Mitsuru nods,

"Do as you wish."

Sitting by a stool, Mitsuru sees Kokoro come back with a number of bouquets covering her face, and instinctively, he stands up to gather some of the bouquets in his arms. Smiling over his chivalry, Kokoro thanks him.

"Anyways Mitsuru kun, here are the flowers!" Mitsuru observes how perfectly made the bouquets were, with vibrant colors of red, lavender and fuschia and pale pink making it stand out.

'Did she make this? All by herself?' Mitsuru couldn't help but be impressed with how clean she was with her creativity, and it all just lasted for about thirty minutes.

Sensing his silent curiosity, Kokoro finds herself explaining to him her choice of flowers for their upcoming event. "Those are long stemmed Dendroibium Orchids, Mitsuru kun." She says gently. "Instead of the usual roses, I found these kind of flowers to be much more..unique in a way. Kind of like our group, with how different each one of us are." her mind takes her back to their first practice session, where each one of them had a certain quirk to their personalities which would soon be a pivotal part of their individuality as a group.

"For example, Miku is the cheerful and energetic one in the group, Ichigo is the calm and collected leader, Ikuno considers herself as the 'wall flower' of the group and Zero Two, she's seen as the rebellious one…" she smiles over describing her friends. "Still...no matter how different we are with one another, just like this bouquet, when we're together as a team, we could do great music as long as we lean on each other!" she smiles as she turns to Mitsuru, who was quietly listening to her musings. "Is it good, Mitsuru kun?"

A silence passes between them before he nods. Talking slowly, he says, "This will do Kokoro san, now, may I ask how much all of this might cost?" he is surprised when he sees her shake her head. "No, no, it's fine! Take it as my contributions for the concert!"

"You've already done enough." he retorts, but is taken aback when he sees her grinning cheekily.

"Like what I've said before, a little ounce of kindness wouldn't hurt, you know?" sighing, he realizes he certainly couldn't win with this woman.

"You really are unbelievable at times, huh?"

She only smiles in response.

After making some finishing touches with the bouquets and giving him reminders on what to do with them, Mitsuru takes this as a chance to go back home, but as he starts leaving the shop without a word, he suddenly feels Kokoro tug on his sleeve with a shy blush on her face. He gives her a questioning stare, "What is it?"

"Um...as an apology for not recognizing you earlier, would it be okay if I make you some tea, perhaps?"

Of course, he would reject her. He doesn't have the time to be chummy with her this fine weekend. "It's not necessary. I-" but she doesn't budge, and instead, she pulls him a little harder, her arm linked with his, the sudden contact of their skins sending an electrifying jolt in him as he is rendered suddenly helpless through her insistence.

"Come now, it's a beautiful Saturday! It wouldn't hurt spending some time with a friend!" she says cheerfully, leaving him gawking at her free spiritedness.

Apparently, this side of her was clearly something he has never seen before, or at least, noticed.

Kokoro drags him inside her home to where he finds himself sitting on her home's balcony that had a garden filled with lots of flowers and indoor plants, only a few he could name. Kokoro had left him for a bit to make some tea, and after a few minutes, he could clearly smell something fragrant brewing. 'Her home was pretty calming…' he thinks to himself, yet he still couldn't help but feel anxious over being at a girl's house, more importantly, they were the only ones inside at the moment. Mitsuru gulps,

He was still a man, after all.

Feelings of anxiousness are soon forgotten when he hears Kokoro's footsteps. She had a tray in her hand that had a small teapot, cups, and a plate of green tea mochi. Placing it on the low table, she sits just across him, a welcoming smile adorning her lips.

"Please help yourself."

And help himself, he did. He poured himself a cup of tea and slowly drank it, savoring the hot liquid going down his throat and finds it very refreshing. Staring at the amber liquid, he muses to himself how Kokoro was far better in brewing tea than coffee.

Not that it mattered to him, anyway.

"What is this made of?" he asks her, taking in the aromatic scent the drink was giving off.

"It's Jasmine tea. My grandma grows them over there." Kokoro points to a plant with white flowers just across them. "Is it good?" he only nods in response, to which, she smiles in return.

For a while, they just sit there, sipping their tea in silence, his eyes observing the gentle movements of the plants. Meanwhile, Kokoro takes in the boy's appearance, noting how with his hair down, shoulders relaxed and his usual cold stare more mellow, Mitsuru did seem really good looking, not that he wasn't as usual- considering it was apparent, even to her, that a lot of girls flock over his cool, withdrawn, personality.

'I bet if he would smile a bit more, more girls would fall for him…' Kokoro blushes hard, realizing how absurd her thought was. 'I shouldn't be thinking of him like that!'

Mitsuru notices how red her face had gotten and dares to ask, "Why is your face all red?" his question makes her burn a lot harder. Looking away, Kokoro manages a stutter, "I-it's..! T-this is nothing…." slowly, she peeks at him and sees him already looking away with a stoic expression.

'He really is something, huh…'

"Ne, Mitsuru kun…" Kokoro calls out softly and he responds by glancing at her questioningly, yet his eyes didn't hold any spite like they usually did when speaking to others. "..you were pretty busy this week, weren't you?" he crosses his arms and huffs, "pretty much.."

"Is that so.." Kokoro says thoughtfully before giving him a reassuring smile, to which Mitsuru notes how she had a single dimple on her right cheek. "Still, you managed to finish all the work without any problems...you're really cool!"

Not used to receiving such direct compliments, Mitsuru turns away with a small scowl adorning his lips, but deep inside, that unknown feeling from back then was bubbling inside his damned chest. "You were busy, yourself…" he grumbles, trying to counter her words. "Oh, it wasn't that much…" he hears her say.

'Honestly, she really is so…'

"Not only were you finding the time to help me with all my work, but you were also practicing for your performance this Monday, and you tell me 'it wasn't that much?'" Mitsuru scoffs, mildly annoyed at how clueless Kokoro could get. "To be honest, you really didn't have to help me, Kokoro san. You should've just focused on your singing, or else…" he pauses, at loss for what he should say.

"Or else?" she looks at him with those bright blue eyes of hers, forcing him to look away and take a sip of his scalding tea in order to recollect himself.

"A-anyway," his usually cold tone falters a little, but goes unnoticed to the confused girl, "..What I'm trying to say is, there isn't anything cool with what I've done, since you seemed to be doing much more than I could…" there was a short pause before he hears a soft giggle coming out of her lips.

"What's so funny?"

"N-nothing. Nothing at all!" with a fond smile, Kokoro tells him, "It's just that….I never thought I'd get to hear kind words from you, Mitsuru kun!" he frowns, his green eyes, once again glowering coldly. "That's not what I meant." his voice had a harsh ring to it, but it only makes Kokoro smile wider, because she knew what his words exactly meant.

Even if he was always so distant and cold with all the others, she knew deep inside that Mitsuru was a kind and hardworking man. it made her feel happy how worried he was for her, even in his own, Mitsuru kind of way. Plus, he just kind of indirectly complimented her, which was quite a surprise for her, since she never thought he'd acknowledge anyone, let alone her.

"Well, if that's how you'd put it...then will it be fine if I ask you one, small request, Mitsuru kun?" Mitsuru turns to her and is rendered helpless over how soft her blue eyes were staring at him.

"What is it?" he asks rather abruptly.

'For the Mitsuru kun who always works so hard..' Smiling one more time, Kokoro says, "Since we've both worked so hard, please feel free to look forward to Xx:Me's performance!"

"Is that all?" she chuckles at his bluntness, "Well, I could tell you to enjoy, but knowing Mitsuru kun, you'd probably just scowl.." and just as Kokoro expects, he does, making her stifle a laugh, "See? Just like that!" she points out, but not before saying, "Still, no matter how many times you scowl...it's still just a part of who you are. A part of the Mitsuru kun that I like!" she confesses, unaware of the implications she has made.

Taken aback with her sudden assertiveness, Mitsuru accidentally chokes on his tea. Coughing, he looks at her with a slight blush dusting his pale cheeks. "Like? Do you even know what you're saying..?" Tilting her head to the side in an innocent fashion, she says,

"Eh? Is it wrong for me to like you as a friend?"

Oh.

Mitsuru scoffs over the silliness of the situation. 'Of course, Kokoro san wasn't really the type to indulge in those kind of things after all…' relieved, he thinks to himself.

'Still, with what she meant by friend...she..-

"Oh no! It's already noon!" breaking him out of his thoughts, he hears Kokoro exclaim in a panicked voice. Turning to him, he sees her face is twisted into an apologetic expression, "I'm so sorry for keeping you for so long, Mitsuru kun! You probably have some other errands to do!" Actually, Mitsuru really didn't have anything much to do, but realizing that he indeed, spent too much time in Kokoro's house, he really did have to go. Silently, he grabs the bouquets with Kokoro's help and is then escorted outside of her home, but just before he leaves, he sees her wave shyly before saying,

"Thanks for spending time with me, Mitsuru kun…" he looks down, unsure of what to reply.

"It's not a big deal," he says bluntly, taking in her small pout, before adding, "..still, thanks for the tea. It was.." he pauses to scratch his cheek, "..good…"

Brightening up, Kokoro clasps her hands together and grins, "If you liked it, please feel free to come anytime you like! You're always welcome here!" she beams, making Mitsuru's chest tighten, unbeknownst to him. "Don't bother," he says before walking away from her, a rogue smirk forming on his lips.

Little does he know that in the days to come, he'd find himself standing inside Kokoro and her grandmother's shop with absolutely no intentions of buying some flowers, at all.