Nary a white cloud dotted the perfect blue sky on this quiet April morning, the sun shining ever so brightly and casting its rays over the sprawling meadows and rolling hills of the lovely countryside. Though, on this particular day, the sun shined its brightest on a certain academic establishment, erected atop a hill overlooking the whole of the beautiful, vast countryside.
Rising high towards the heavens, as if to defy the gods themselves, the illustrious stone towers stood tall and gallant over the entire campus, banners and tapestries waving amidst a cool breeze displaying the heraldry of the school, its seal, a lovely and intricate pink lily set back against two broad stripes of blue and white. Today, the sound of a bell could be heard chiming on the wind, its soft and pleasant tone echoing alongside the gentle patter of cherry blossom petals that seemed to hang in the air, spiraling and slowly twirling as they made their descent to the ground below. The start of cherry blossom season, the shining sun, the bell chime, all of these elements added up to one equation. Yes, it was the beginning of another year for Saint Lilium's Academy for Young Women.
The iron gates leading up to the academy's grounds, carefully manicured and maintained lawns and gardens dotted with several trees and pruned shrubbery, were wide open. Groups of girls of varying age from fourteen to eighteen, all wearing similar uniforms, could be seen sitting on the benches, laughing, socializing, greeting old friends and starting on the way to making new ones, all the while the campus-planted cherry blossoms had their petals blowing around in the wind, giving the air inside the school grounds a charming atmosphere of pink with such an alluring fragrance.
~Hanazono Asuka~
youtube.com/watch?v=vVTP0DOL_2Q
But while the mood was one of cheer, socializing, and warm greetings, there was one girl in particular who did not partake of such.
Nestled underneath the quite tall and shady trees of the surrounding forest, the student known as Asuka or better yet by her moniker Akuma no Hime, sighed standing amidst the dappled shadows cast by the early morning rays. Even as the sun basked and sizzled against her pale, ghostly complexion, the girl couldn't help but feel no warmth at all piercing her frail skin.
Her back was turned towards another girl, a younger student than she, with beautiful amber eyes...now welling with tears in dreadful anticipation of what was to follow...of this ill-fated meeting.
Asuka, she too hated it, hated what she was about to say, but it had come to this once more...
A moment or so passed....tense, unnerving silence, save for the tender whispers of the cherry scented breeze rustling leaves. Then, Asuka turned to face her. ~"I'm sorry....but it is time that we part ways, my precious flower."~ The words...they hurt her more than possibly they had hurt the girl she spoke them towards, but like daggers indeed they were to her precious flower, causing the youth...to wilt as she fell to her knees in tears unrelenting. "P-p-please Asuka Onee-sama...don't do this to me!" The girl begged her through pained sobbing; Asuka couldn't bear the sight of it, turning away once more. "I-I need you! I still want to be yours! Haven't I made you happy, Onee-sama! What did I do wrong?!" The urge to cry soon befell her, yet Asuka could only dismiss it with a bitter, reluctant sigh. Why must she go on doing this to girls...?
~"You did nothing wrong, Maya-chan."~ She cooed softly, though unwilling, once more turning to see the tears streaming down Maya's cheeks, to see those amber eyes so full of melancholy. The poor girl... ~"I have enjoyed our time together, that much is true....but...as they say...all good things must end eventually. It isn't you, my sweet...it is simply...I. Know that this departure hurts me just as much as you, Maya-chan...but it must be so... Goodbye..."~ So callous...so frigid of her to end on that sour note, the bittersweet, venomous taste it left in her own mouth. And that done it for poor Maya-chan, her face now buried in the grass, muffling those ever hurtful sobs and whimpers that were leaving cracks in the ice ridden heart of Asuka, turning to leave...once again....just as she always had...
"I love you Asuka Onee-sama...! Goodbye...!"
Itagaki Tohru & Serizawa Kagome
"...And another thing, Serizawa-Sama! I don't care if she is your daughter! You do not go around the school beating up on innocent little girls! She's a menace to Saint Lilium's reputation, headmistress!"
Tohru barely paid any attention to what was going on. To her, it was just a bunch of nonsensical gibberish.
A stern looking teacher was hunched over the desk with her shoulders bulging out, barking towards her mother sitting in her plush, comfy office chair sipping her tea, not a mind paid to the vehement woman foaming at the mouth.
Tohru turned her MP3 player up louder. Maybe she could drown out the arguing with a bit of Sabbath. What a dumb teacher, getting all pissed off because Tohru popped a girl for calling her a name. She deserved to have her nose broken. At least Tohru thought so.
Her mother shot her a stern look, as if to quietly reprimamd her for turning her music up too loud. Tohru rolled her eyes and turned it down.
The calm woman sighed setting down her tea cup, giving the teacher a serene yet irritated look. "If that is all, Nakashima-San, then please, leave. I will handle the matter myself as Tohru is my responsibility."
"See to it that you do, Serizawa-Sama! Hmph! I can't believe you're letting that criminal attend school here!"
The teacher turned her nose up at Tohru, storming out of the headmistress' office with a slam of the door. The headmistress sighed bothersome collapsing in her chair and rubbing her temples vigorously with her fingertips.
"Yeah, screw you too, you old hag!" Tohru mouthed after the teacher left.
"Tohru!" Kagome scolded her. "That's not nice! Even if the lady's a gas bag, do not disrespect Nakashima-Sensei. She is a respected teacher here at Saint Lilium, and you will treat her as such."
Tohru rolled her eyes, earning her a stern glare from the woman.
She sighed shaking her head, muttering, "What am I going to do with you...? Listen Tohru, I know you don't like it here, but please...for your mother's sake, stay out of trouble. I'm doing the best I can for you, sweetie. I know we're not exactly mother and daughter, but you're still my child. I only want what is best for you."
"Psh! What you think is best." Tohru smarted off cutting her eyes at Kagome. "No one asked you to be my mom! Why were you even so nice to me in the first place, Kagome?"
"Because I thought you deserved better, Tohru!"
"Oh yeah, sure! Getting picked on by a bunch of hoity toity rich kids and jerk teachers! That's way better for me, isn't it? I hate it here, dammit! Why don't you get that?!" Tohru stormed out slamming the door behind her.
"Tohru! Come back here!" Kagome hollered after her daughter...but it was no use.
She sighed deeply falling back into her chair. What did she do wrong? She never thought it would be this hard being a mother. Tohru just didn't want to cooperate. Maybe...
No..
The streets were no place for a child to be. Maybe Tohru would see that someday. Maybe she would realuze school wasn't as bad as she made it to be. Kagome only prayed it was sooner. These littke fights were starting to take their toll on her, but never would she disown Tohru like everyone else.
Her daughter was a bad seed, no doubt, but even bad seeds could bear good fruit if they were nurtured right.
My...a glass of wine would be nice right about now.