Saki picked up her step with a thrill of anticipation. She hurried to the greenhouse. It might seem silly to look forward to watering roses but she had more important interests vested in this enterprise. Saki had just returned to Orihara Academy after a term of hiatus at a hospital. White corridors without the rose themed monomania. She did not expect to miss it so much but once deprived she kept thinking about it.
As she stepped into the familiar campus she felt more at home at Orihara than ever and very eager to reconnect with everything. Especially with a certain Orihara Izaya.
She gathered herself at the door before tapping at the glass softly. As she expected he was here tending the flowers. Saki was reminded anew of just how beautiful he was. Izaya had an aura of grace to him that was almost feminine. And amidst the roses Izaya was very much a rose himself.
"Saki-san, hello. Is your health better?"
It was perhaps a strange way of phrasing it but she was not disappointed.
"The doctors released me already. All I have to do is exercise mildly to fully recover."
"I'm glad to hear that."
Saki sprinkled water on a bush of white roses. The silence was only disturbed by the silvery chirp of birds. It was a comforting routine that Saki had come to love. She never spoke much and Izaya seemed content to simply go about his gardening without too many words. It created a kind of peace that she had longed for throughout her hospital stay. A soothing peace.
"Hey, Izaya, want to grab a sundae or something- oh, hi there."
Saki smiled at a tall blonde stranger even as she wished he would simply disappear.
"If you like, Shizuo-sama."
"Hi, I'm Heiwajima Shizuo. Are you a friend of Izaya's?"
"Yes. Nice to meet you. I'm Saki."
Shizuo beamed.
"I knew you had friends, Izaya! That's great."
"Yes, Shizuo-sama."
"We're going to the café, why don't you join us?"
Saki hesitated briefly before agreeing.

"How come I never saw you around before?"
"I was sick for a while so I couldn't attend classes."
"That's too bad but you look fine now. But isn't this great? Your friend is back!"
"Yes, Shizuo-sama."
"Izaya is a bit shy, you know? But don't worry, I totally support his having friends. You can find him at the greenhouse more often than not."
Saki was very quiet and sipped some insipid drink with a smile keyed to neutral. She decided that she did not like this Shizuo almost immediately and each moment added to that first impression. By the time she bowed goodbye and waved amicably enough she knew what it was that bothered her about him. This Shizuo was taking up Izaya's time, which was bad, and living with him, which was worse, as well as apparently calling shots on what Izaya could do. And this was the worst of all.
Izaya should always be alone if not for her. Not that Saki believed that she had some kind of special understanding into his character, on the contrary. It was because she expected a monopoly when Izaya was concerned. In return she was ready to limit her emotional life to Izaya alone. The trade was viable and it was a core belief of hers that her willingness to feel fully satisfied just by having Izaya to herself gave her legitimate rights to claim him as hers.
She walked very slowly. Kida spotted her and grew a shade paler, hurried past her lest she saw him. Saki would not have noticed Kida even if he walked right up to her. She had other things on her mind and they blocked out the here and now.
As if by magic there was an invitation to something called the Mikage seminar waiting for her at her dorm room. As if by magic because she did not know how it got there and because she felt instinctively that here was the answer to her prayers.

"Izaya, why didn't you tell me that you had a friend?"
"Saki-san sees herself as my friend, Shizuo-sama."
Shizuo did not catch the implication that Izaya was not Saki's friend.
"Anyway, this is great. She is so sweet and nice."
"Yes, Shizuo-sama."
"No wonder she likes roses so much. I hope her health has really improved...do you know what was wrong with her?"
"I can hardly say, Shizuo-sama."
Shizuo frowned. There were times when the litany of '-sama' got on his nerves.