Mio

Shin's POV.

"Umm h-have a seat please" Mio said shyly.

I followed her instruction and sat down on one of the chairs.

"So–"

"I-i called you here because I want to thank you again" She said, cutting my words.

"N-no it's fine it's no big deal i only grabbed you a book and–"

"No, I'm thanking you for being nice to me" She said, cutting my words again.

"Wha–?"

"I'm sure you already know the rumors right?" She said with her face down.

"People take me the wrong way saying i am a psycho and emotionally unstable because what did in the past even though clearly it is not my fault at first i don't care about what they say about me because i guess i used to it but then lately i have been getting bullied again even the other student council member kept their distance from me i just want to live my school life normally" Her eyes started tearing up.

I feel sorry for her, it's just a big misunderstanding and yet everyone treats her like this.

"Say Mio right?" She nodded "Don't think about it too much the more you think about it the more it will hurt if there is something bitter that you keep inside your heart you need to let it out i'm willing to help you in any way i can" I asked.

"T-thank you" She replied.

I approached her and embraced her and her eyes widened.

"I-i didn't want to be avoided but i-i'm not good at making friends. I'm always nervous around the people I don't know but I'm always trying my best to make friends but everyone doesn't even want to get near me" She said half crying.

"Well it is not your fault, People act with the majority there is nothing you can do about it but you know if you want some friends i have some really good people with me i can introduce you to them" I said.

"T-thank you" She said with tears running down her eyes.

"Who cares what other people say, you are you and that's that" I said.

"B-but" She said hesitantly.

"They don't make you who you are, You're the one that makes you 'you' okay?" I said reassuring.

She nodded " I-i suppose you are right thank you" She wiped her tears.

"I've said this millions of times already, it's okay you can call me again for help if you want, Okay I'll be going now" I stood up and went to the door.

"Wait! C-can I at least invite you for some tea?" She offered.

"T-tea? At your house?" She nodded.

I was about to refuse but looking at her expression I couldn't resist.

"S-sure why not let's go" I accept with a little hesitation.

I can see a little bit of a smile on her face. She then stood up "P-please wait for me at the school gate i n-need to clean up before I go" She said and I replied with a nod and got out of the room.

I did what she told me to and waited for her at the school gate. When I arrived at the school gate Ai was waiting for me there.

"Ai? I thought you had already gone home" I said.

"I was waiting for you. I heard you got called to the student council room what did you do?" She asked if I did something wrong.

"I did nothing" I replied.

"Then? What are you doing there?" She asked again with her arms crossed.

I told her what happened and she laughed "Hahaha look at you brother acting like a gentleman"

"Tch i what was i supposed to do just left her?" I ask.

"Hahaha then? When will you come home?" She asked again.

"As soon as possible" I replied.

"Well i guess I'll be goi–"

"Shin! I-im sorry for the wait!" Mio said, shouting for me from afar.

"Hoho?" Ai looked at Mio that was running towards us from inside the school.

When she arrived she looked tired "Okay we can–" Mio looked at Ai "Is this your girlfriend? Hah! Did I interrupt your date? I-im sorry!" She bowed down.

"Hahaha! Girlfriend? With this guy? Hah! that's the funniest thing i heard all day" Ai burst in laughter.

"My name is Narukami Ai nice to meet you" She lent her hand with a smile.

Mio took her hand "I-am Akaihana Mio n-nice to meet you"

Ai observed Mio "Hmm~ not bad okay then" Ai let go of her hand.

"S-so you both are brothers and sisters?" Mio asked.

"Yep that is right hihi~" Ai replied with a smile.

Beep beep beep beep, Ai's alarm went off "Oh? It's time for me to go home bye you two, Oh wait Mio come here a sec" Ai called and she whispered.

"If you do anything to my brother you won't wake up tomorrow" She said.

"Hiiii!!!" Mio flinched.

Ai then left both of us "What did she say?" I asked.

"Ah! N-no it's nothing c'mon it's getting late" She said.

She guided me to her house a few moments later we then arrived.

Her house looks like a regular japanese house but the one that stands out the most about her house is the large amount of flowers in the front yard of her house.

"Woaah did you plant all of this?" I was surprised.

"Y-yes gardening is a hobby of mine. I hope you like it" She said.

"They are beautiful there is an awful lot of flowers here" I replied i took a look at the flowers "Iris, Maackia, Sabia, Felicia, Lily, Rose, Daphne woah there is an awful lot" I said

Mio put up a surprise expression "Y-you know a lot about flowers huh?"

"My mom likes flowers too. She has a book about them and I like to read it when I have nothing to do" I replied.

"W-well if you like flowers there are more inside c'mon" She said, opening the door to her house.

We went inside Mio's house and the inside is also filled with flower themed decorations.

"You must really like flowers haha" I said while looking around.

"Ahhha is-is it weird?" She asked shyly and I only replied by shaking my head.

"P-please sit anywhere you want I'll go make some tea" She said as she entered the kitchen.

I sat at one of the couches in the living room while looking around and noticed something odd.

Soon after Mio came back with a teapot in hand.

"Mio" I called her and she looked at me "Where are your parents?" I asked.

She went silent for a few moments. "They've left me" I was surprised by what she said.

"They divorced and none of them wanted to take care of me due to financial problems, so my grandmother decided to take care of me until she passed away 2 years ago" She said crying.

I felt sorry for her. She has lived a hard life for such a long time and yet she can still smile. She is strong but fragile.

She kept crying and I came towards her and hugged her and pats her head "You are a strong girl Mio it's going to be okay" I said trying to comfort her.

After a few moments she then finally stopped crying.

We sat down and didn't say a word for a while.

"Shin can i?" She called.

"Can i be your friend?" When i heard she said that i couldn't help but laugh.

"Hahahaha" She looked at me confused as I laughed.

"Wh-why are you laughing? I-is there something on my face" She wiped her face.

"N-no why did you ask if i can be your friend? hahaha" I asked while laughing.

"I-i" She looks embarrassed.

"We are already friends right?" I said with a smile.

She smiled back "Right! Thanks again Shin go ahead and have a cup of tea"

I'm happy that she is able to smile like that, I poured a cup of tea and took a sip of it.

"Wow this is really delicious where did you buy this?" I asked.

"I didn't, I made it myself, I made it using the tea leaf I grow in our backyard. That's not all that I grow . I also grow some spices and vegetables" She replied.

"Huh no wonder it tastes good you'll be a great wife someday with your skills" I said.

Her face turns red then she immediately stood up "I-ill grab some cake" She dashed to the kitchen

Ring ring ring ring!

My phone rang and an unknown number was calling me.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Shin! Where the hell are you?" a voice of a young man shouted at me.

"Ohh Ryuji, Did Ai not tell you where I am?" I asked.

"No where are you?" He asked.

"Mio's house" I replied short.

"Wha-what are you doing there?" He asked again

I told him what happened but i didn't tell him anything about Mio's conditions.

"Then what about our promise?" He asked.

"You guys have fun, I'll join some other time" I replied and hung up.

"Wha wait!" Beep~

"Shin? Who were you talking to?" Mio came back from the kitchen bringing a plate of cake.

"Oh it's nobody, That looks delicious, did you make that too?" I asked while looking at the chocolate cake she brought.

"I'm not that good at making cake so i bought this one from a bakery nearby" She replied.

"If you want to learn how to make a cake, I can introduce you to one of my friends. She is really good at baking and cooking," I said.

"I would certainly love to but I'm shy though" She replied.

"It's alright I'll be there with you besides they are good people" I said reassuringly.

She nodded slowly and I smiled.

I took a bit of the cake and was mesmerized by the taste.

"Dang this is really good how much did this cost?" I asked.

"50k yen" She replied short.

I almost choked hearing her answer, it seems that Shishiro will have another best friend.

"Oh umm S-Shin i have a present for you" She said.

"Hmm what is it?" I was curious.

She took a bouquet of flowers from behind her "The color combination might be odd but the meaning behind it is what matters" She said giving me a bouquet containing yellow daffodil and blue violets.

Yellow daffodil represents new beginnings while the blue violet represents trustworthiness.

"Thanks, I will take good care of it" I said smiling and she smiled back.