Three Years After Beatrice's passing
"Hime?" Misaki called out to Atsuko, who seemed to be thoroughly searching through a house.
'What is it?' Seeing her using sign language, Misaki felt glad that Saori told them to learn it quickly. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to understand what Hime was trying to convey.
"No, I'm just wondering what you're doing right now..."
Hearing this, Atsuko's body stiffened slightly. 'Um... It's...'
With the mask on her face, it was hard to tell what kind of expression Hime was having. But from her body language, it seemed like she wasn't planning on being caught.
'I am searching for a shovel...'
"A shovel? Ah, does it relate to the garden you said you want to grow?" Misaki was reminded of the new sacks of fertilized dirt placed right outside their house. Combining it with the group of planks, it was quite obvious that Hime was trying to grow her own garden outside their house.
Since their new President was a lot more lenient when compared to Beatrice, they had been able to do things they weren't able to before.
For example, they could freely exit the Arius District anytime they want.
This allowed for a transaction with the outside world, leading to them living a much better life when compared to their childhood selves.
'Yes. I wanted to grow some flowers inside Arius. This place is far too barren.' Atsuko signed.
"You know it rarely rains here, right? Wouldn't it be easier to grow them inside Trinity?"
'I know. But I want it to be here no matter what...'
Seeing Atsuko's sullen movement, Misaki sighed to herself.
"We could just buy a shovel, no?"
'Yes, but I don't want to burden Saori anymore for my own greed.'
"You know she wouldn't mind."
'Even so...'
Hime was weirdly insistent on the most random subject. But since it was Hime who wanted it, she couldn't just push this topic aside.
"Come, we'll use my allowance to buy the shovel."
'But then I'll be using your money.'
"I've got savings. No need to worry."
Hearing this, Atsuko hesitated. But it wasn't long before she was convinced, and she reluctantly followed Misaki into the shopping district of Trinity.
It didn't take long before they found the gardening tools they needed from one of the shops.
While they're there, Misaki even bought a bunch of fertilizers to help with the flowers.
After picking a couple of seeds, they returned to the Arius District, right as night was about to fall.
Misaki placed all the new items they just bought right next to the sacks of dirt.
"We have everything we need. How big do you want this garden to be, Hime?" Turning slightly, Misaki glanced at her lavender-haired friend. "With the size of those planks, we could make multiple if we just cut them at the right size."
'Just one, one is enough.' Signing so with her hands, Atsuko headed into the house as Misaki followed closely behind.
The sight that greeted them was of Saori doing maintenance on her weapon.
Saori heard the commotion and glanced at the source of the noise as she saw Misaki and Atsuko entering the room.
"Welcome back. Where did you go?" Taking a glance, she turned back her attention to her weapon as she asked curiously.
"Buying some stuff. We're thinking of building a garden tomorrow. Want to help?" Misaki said as she sat down on a nearby chair.
"Garden? Hm... Sure. The President hasn't said anything about a new mission for the next few weeks. I guess I have the time." Saori cleaned the barrel of her gun, checking for any signs of wear and rust.
Not seeing any, she smiled in satisfaction as she reassembled her firearm.
"We can plan out the shape tonight. You've bought everything needed, right?"
"Yes," Misaki affirmed. "You said you'll be free for a couple of weeks?"
"That is indeed the case. It seems like the President was preparing for some kind of event..."
"...She's weird."
"Don't say that out loud. At the very least, our lives have improved a lot since she took over." After saying that, memories started to flood into her mind.
And at the core of those memories, a certain individual seemed the most vivid.
"..."
Misaki noticed this but didn't concern herself with it. After all, it was normal for any of them to suddenly reminisce as they imagined how she would've lived in these peaceful times.
"Actually, this is a great opportunity." Clapping her hands, Saori brought herself back to reality. "Let's all work together on this garden. We haven't really done anything together in a while, right?"
"From what I remember, it's been around three months since we went on a group mission. Even then, Hiyori couldn't attend due to a cold." Misaki replied.
"Perfect. Azusa should be coming back any minute now. And did you see Hiyori at all today?"
"Not anymore. But I think she should be hidden somewhere inside this room..."
Having said that, their gaze moved across the room, finally landing on the lavender-haired girl who was currently patting the head of a teal-haired one.
"...When'd she get there? Actually, stupid question." Saying so, Misaki noticed another footsteps coming from the front door.
After a couple of seconds, the door opened, and who came in was a white haired girl with wings sprouting from the back of her waist.
With a mask covering her face, she looked almost as intimidating as a person could be.
"Welcome back. Tomorrow, we'll be making a garden." With concise words, she conveyed the things they'd be doing tomorrow.
Azusa nodded and took off her mask, hanging it on the wall.
After everyone was done cleaning themselves, a discussion took place.
Everyone sat in a circle, a massive paper placed right in the middle with a pen and a marker lying on the side.
The discussion lasted for a couple of hours before midnight arrived, and they all went to sleep.
---
"...Not a single one grew."
"Harder than expected."
'...'
"Maybe they don't like light..."
"They need more water." The white haired girl was about to grab more basins of water, but was stopped by Saori, who shook her head. "If you give them that much water, they'll drown."
Four weeks after their first attempt at growing a garden.
Total seeds planted: 50
Total seeds that grew: 0
"Was the dirt not fertile enough?" Misaki picked up the instruction manual as she read through it a couple of times. But even as she did so, she still couldn't find out where they had gone awry.
From the corner of her eyes, she could see Hime walking closer to their garden, one that was empty of life.
"Sorry, Hime. I guess we weren't being thorough enough. We can try again today."
'No need.'
"Hime?" Seeing this, Misaki became confused. Why did she mean there's no need anymore?
'...I think I've achieved my goal.'
"..." Even though she was confused, she still decided to trust what Atsuko said. Following Atsuko's footsteps, she got closer to the spot her gaze lingered on.
The rest of the squad followed closely behind as their gaze also landed on the spot Atsuko's gaze had lingered, their expression morphing into one of surprise.
'...It bloomed.'
A single flower, growing from the crack of a building, not inside the garden that was prepared for it.
"...Our effort wasn't equal to that of a crack in a wall..." Hiyori lamented.
'...This flower, what is it called?'
"Let me see..." Misaki picked up their gardening book and flipped through the pages. "It's called... a bellflower."
'Bellflower?'
That name kind of fits.
A flower that grew in places where it wasn't meant to grow. Its beauty doesn't fit the place it was placed in.
'...Rest well.'
Seeing their effort being overtaken by a crack in the wall, Arius Squad decided to up their game.
And after a couple of months of hard work, the garden finally grew into what could be said to be a beautiful sight.
But now, the original bellflower was no longer inside the crack on the wall... It had wilted long ago.