A day of shopping, and a unexpected surprise

[ahirulove]

He was walking to the train station on his way to the shopping district. Ahiru arrives at the train station, purchases a ticket, then makes his way through the turnstile. He hears an announcement, " Attention customer the train departing to the shopping district is about to leave. Please keep you arms and legs clear of the door". While that announcement was being broadcast he ran down the escalators dodging through the people not moving, and made it just in time before the doors closed.

The train was filled so much that there was barely any room to move. Each stop that passed more and more people got off the train. It was one more stop and the announcement aired, "Next Stop: Osu Shopping District". Ahiru excitingly ready to get off the train cheers "Yahoo!". Within a minute he arrived at the shopping district , and dashed off the train.

In the shopping district he walked around pondering what he would buy. For now, he was just window shopping til he decided what he should get. Ahiru was thinking in his mind, "I do need to get a gift for my mom, I also need some books for school." So first off he goes to gather his school supplies. He went to a book store to buy his books for math, history, and philosophy. After that he was ready to shop for a gift for his mother.

Walking down the street of the shopping district he sees a girl being bothered outside of a cafe. His instincts kick in since he sees a girl in distress. He runs up to the man giving her trouble and tells him to stop. The man said "It's none of your business, this is between me and this girl here!" Ahiru being short tempered was about to punch the man but he saw the face of the girl. He remembered that she was in the same homeroom class as him. He turned to her and said " You wouldn't happen to be Hoshiko Kaida, would you? I had no idea that you worked here at this cafe."

[Kaida Hoshiko]

[/i] She thought.

Then she had gotten curious. Rotton curiousity. "What brings you here, Ahiru-kun?" She asked, the suffix was a form of respect to young men. "If you're hungry this place has pretty good food, even though all the waitresses are just there to be hit on." That was a joke. Of course, though, the man had to interfere, saying that she didn't 'invite' him in, and that if she was just meant to be hit on then she should just go over to his place. That's disgusting. Kaida glared at him for a moment, turned on her heel, and simply went back into the cafe. That was usually a good way of how to get rid of people like this. Just surprise them by leaving suddenly. It usually worked.[/ul][/blockquote]

[ahirulove]

Ahiru thoght to himself "I did rush out of the house without eating anything. Sounds like a good idea to grab a bite from this cafe". Ahiru glared at the man with disgust then walked into the cafe.

Ahiru entered the cafe to be greeted by a very cute maid.
She greeted Ahiru saying "Welcome to the cafe. My name is Chikane and I'll be your server for this afternoon but I'm sorry there are no seats available. If you don't mind sitting in the waiting area for a few minutes you will be seated shortly."

A few minutes later he was shown to his table. Chikane walked up to him and said "What would you like to drink for starters?" Ahiru responded "Earl Grey Tea with Honey. I would also like to order my food now. I would like the sauteed steak with a side order of Fruits".

Ten minutes pass and his food arrives. Ahiru thanks Chikane for the food and smiles at her. Ahiru eats his food and is satisfied. "That was a great meal!" Ahiru looks at Chikane raises his hand and asks for the check. With a warm smile, he asks for Kaida. When she arrives he asks her, "What time do you finish work? I need your opinion on a good gift for my mother, I just want to get her something memorable since she is paying for my apartment."

[Haru Hoshi]

[/color] she responded, "But I end in about... half an hour, so unless you leave I can try." If he starts talking about his mother too much it might make her sad though, but not a lot of people knew about her being the only witness to her mother being killed. She was young, so not a lot of people would remember or care.

"If you get bored, just talk to somebody, they like talking."[/ul] A younger, blue haired girl dressed up in a lolita style of maid's outfit skipped up to Kaida, and jumped on her back, making her stumble. She was obviously wanted for something. "You can talk to this one if you want, she's in training, so she doesn't have much to do." She usually organized and gave others orders from the others. Kaida went back to her job while the younger girl sat on the bench across from him, leaning her head on her palms "Hi! You're cute! You Kaida's new boyfriend?" No, Kaida does not have a boyfriend, "I'm Ame!"[/blockquote]

[ahirulove]

The expression on Ahiru's face suddenly went pale for a second. He thought to himself, "I wish I knew what happened... " After that he made a decision to make it up to Kaida.

Then he look at the girl sitting across from him. He started to turn a little red and said with a smile, "T-thanks. You're cute too. I'm pleased to meet you Ame. My name is Ahiru.

Ahiru sat there having a chat with Ame. Thirty five minutes passed and Ahiru could see Kaida at the back of the cafe. He then stood up smiled and waved at her, signaling to her that he was ready whenever she was ready to go.

When Kaida arrived at the front, Ahiru bowed and apologized to her. "I didn't know something happened to your mother...but I want to make it up to you. I'm really sorry... " He looked up to her staring straight into her eyes and said, "If you ever need anything don't hesitate to ask..I promise to not tell anyone else anything.." Ahiru then looked at Kaida and smiled warmly at her.

[Kaida Hoshiko]

[/color] She let her arms down, "My mom was stabbed to death." She said it quite blandly, "I was the only witness, but I don't mind helping out."

"Where would you like to go first?" She asked, "Actually, a better question is what does your mother like?" She viewed mothers as people, unlike some people. Sounds slightly rude to say, but it was true.

[/ul][/blockquote]

[ahirulove]

Ahiru looked at Kaida with a concerned look and said "I'm sorry to hear about what happened to your mother...Are you sure you're okay with helping me with this? I don't want to put any more pressure than you already have. I actually feel bad."

After a long pause, Ahiru looked up at the sky which appeared to look like he was thinking. He said, "Well come to think of it my mother likes to do a lot of things...I could name a few. She liked to knit, garden, paint, and write. Come to think of it she really put a lot of time and effort into her gardening since we have our own small floral shop."Ahiru started pacing back and forth and thought to himself what to get for his mother. He then stopped pacing and told Kaida, "I want to get her something related to gardening."

[Kaida Hoshiko]

[/color] She put her hands behind her back watched as he paced, before looking up at the sky as he did.

"It's fine." She responded, "It was a while ago, but don't expect me to be much of a help" She looked back to him, "But I do have a gardener, so we can go ask him if you want." She offered.[/ul][/blockquote]

[ahirulove]

Ahiru thought to himself, "Maybe a rare plant would be nice...Or maybe some new supplies as well." Ahiru then looked at Kaida and nodded then said "Yeah, that would be a great idea. I was also thinking about some new supplies for her as well. But first I'd like to ask your gardener for his opinion."

He looked at Kaida with a smile and said,"Shall we go? I want to be able to give it to her before it gets too late." Ahiru starts to slowly walk away from the cafe. Ahiru pulls out his phone and plugs in his earphones and puts one side in his ear and plays a song that he recorded himself playing on the guitar.

He looks back at Kaida and says, Come on, or we'll be late... Then he turned back away and started walking again, this time looking up at the sun setting.

[Kaida Hoshiko]

[/color]

Kaida's house looked just like you would think a place would look if it were a dojo. It had the panels, the one floor, and it was in the traditional Japanese style, but it was large. Off to their right was a large building with a high roof, which was the dojo itself. In the front there was a normal Japanese garden, and in the back there was a rock garden in the middle of a normal garden as well. It was her father's rock garden, so nobody really messed with it.

"Don't step on the sand or the plants." Kaida told him as she headed down a dirt path and down another, which led to behind the house, where there were a few people working. Kaida carefully dodged the rock garden, which had rocks with swirls around them in sand, and led him to a man dressed in a brown apron that had dirt on it, brown boots, and green udner clothes. He also wore a hat over his black hair.

"Well, Miss Hoshiko, what brings you here at this time?" He asked, putting down the shears that he was using on the bushes, "We need some help" She responded and looked over to Ahiru, "You can ask him what you want." She said and wandered off, leaving the two of them together to chat.[/ul][/blockquote]

[ahirulove]

"Um, excuse me sir. I would like to have your opinion on some gardening. You see, I was looking for a gift for my mother but I couldn't decide what to get her. So I ran into Kaida at her work place and asked her for her opinion. She suggested I come and meet you. I was wondering if you had any suggestions. I was thinking a rare and beautiful flower and probably some gardening tools. I want to thank her for what she's done because I feel bad that she bought me my own apartment."

Ahiru stood there with a confused look, looking at the man. He said "Well I could suggest you places where you can buy some seeds and materials. I'm sorry I couldn't be of much help as well" Ahiru replied,"That's okay I just needed some suggestions from someone experienced in this field of work. I really appreciate it. Thank you so much." Ahiru then bowed to the man and made his way back to the front. He then saw Kaida waiting for him by the front. He walked to her and said "Thank you for bringing me here today, it really helped out a lot. I'll be making my way back to buy my mother her gifts. I guess I'll see you tomorrow at school. Bye Kaida." He started walking off towards the gate.

[Kaida Hoshiko]

[ahirulove]

Ahiru walked through the gate and closed it behind him. He started walking back from the way he came towards the shopping district. Thirty minutes later he arrived at the shopping district. He walked to the store that the man suggested. He walked in and asked and associate,"Excuse me? Where might your exotic and rare flower seeds be?" The associate said,"Right this way! On aisle 8 near the back wall" Ahiru nodded and went on his way. After finding some exotic flower seeds he went to the gardening materials section and grabbed some pots and tools. He then took the items to the front and paid for them.

Ahiru started walking out of the store then his phone began to ring. Ahiru answered,"Hello mom. What a suprise, I was just about to call you. Where are you right now?" His mother answered,"I'm outside your apartment. I meant to call before coming but I wanted to suprise you." Ahiru said,"I'll be right there mom I just came from the store."

Ahiru started running to the train station. He arrived and bought his ticket. He went through the turnstiles and down the escalator. The train wasn't there yet so he sat down and took a breather for a moment. Five minutes later the train arrived. He boarded the train and sat down. A few stops later, he arrived at his stop and got off the train. After going up the escalator and walking through the turnstile he heard someone calling his name. "Ahiru-kun!" his mother called. She was waving and smiling holding a bag of groceries. He walked over to her gave her a hug and they walked off to his apartment.

At his apartment his mother prepared dinner for the both of them. He was told to just sit back and relax while she cooked. He was just sitting and watching TV til his mom called him to the table. His mother asked,"What's with all the bags and boxes?" Ahiru said,"Well it's nothing big but, I wanted to get you a gift for all that you've done for me. I'm really thankful" His mother smiled, walked over to him and gave him a hug. It's because I love you so much.

-The Next Day-

Ahiru rushing to class as usual, runs into class just a minute before the bell rang. He startled everybody in the room and they all glared at him. He apologized to the class and went to his seat which was near the back of the room. He noticed Kaida staring out at the window. He then remembered that his mother gave him something the night before. He thought it would be a good idea to give it to her after class.

An hour or so passed after the first bell rang. Ahiru stood up and walked over to Kaida and put a small box wrapped with a purple bow on her desk (It's a glass swan with a few flowers in it). Ahiru said,"I'd like to give this to you as a thank you for at least helping me the best you could yesterday." Ahiru smiled and started to walk back to his desk to get his things ready for the next class.

[Kaida Hoshiko]

[/color] She held the box out to him, "Thank you, but I don't need anything in return." Kaida, though she was in high class and you would think she would take everything she could just because she could, but she didn't see the point of being that spoiled little rich girl. The glass swan was a little bit too much of a gift for her just leading him to see her gardener, she wasn't that much of a help.

She placed it on Ahiru's desk before heading out of the classroom, headed for a spare of yet another boring time in the library doodling. Maybe she would check out the music room for anything to do? Naw, not today. She headed to the library to spend the next bit of time doodling on a piece of paper quietly. It would come out to be a girl, lifting a violin that had been leaning on the chair she was sitting in. It was pretty, but just a doodle. [/ul][/blockquote]

[ahirulove]

Ahiru looked at her as she gave the box back to him. He looked back down at his desk as he took it back from him. He said, "I'm sorry, I just thought you deserved something even for the smallest of actions." He looked at Kaida as she walked away with concern. He looked back towards his desk and saw a childhood friend leaning her head on it.

He jumped a little in surprise as she said, "Its been a while Ahiru-chan. How's it going?" Ahiru said, "Oh, Setsumi...I've been good...I guess. What brings you here? I remember you moved a few years ago, why are you back here again?" She replied, "I just transferred here because my father moved overseas for his job. So he told me that I'd be living with you. Your mother didn't tell you?"

Ahiru look at her a little confused and said, "I guess she forgot to tell me. Come to think of it. I think that's why she came to my place last night. Well we sure do have a lot of catching up to do."

After school had finished he met up with Setsumi at the front gate and they walked home together.Ahiru was walking pretty slow like he was thinking of something. Setsumi asked, "What's wrong Ahiru-chan? Is it that girl you're thinking about? " He nodded hesitantly. "Maybe I was too ignorant...I'll apologize tomorrow. " Ahiru said. The rest of the walk home was silent.