original story by: Watase Yuu
English translation by: Tetris no Miko

from Shocomi magazine, issue #16…

=page 1=
Saionji: …You’re letting another person in?!
Aoi: Hiiii, I’m Kyougoku!
Tanpopo: He was very enthusiastic about joining in on our cause, so…
Saionji: You let him innn?
Tanpopo: [blurred copy; can’t make it out…]
=page 2=
Saionji: I may be jumping to conclusions, but he doesn’t exactly look like the type of boy who loves hana ("flowers")
Aoi: But I know so much about hana! ("noses") There’s a hook-nose, snub-nose, oh, and Saionji-san, why is it that men who have big noses are said to also have big…
Saionji: HOW WOULD I KNOW!! Cut out the dry humor! *cough*, Just what are your intentions, joining us so suddenly?
Aoi: I don’t see any problem! You guys just looked like you were having fun, so I wanted to join, toooooo!
Saionji: But we are in no need of more gardeners!
Aoi: Okay, then why don’t you leave?
Saionji: Good idea, I mean, NO WAY!!

=page 3=

Tanpopo: Hey, why don’t we go ahead and make ourselves into an official "Council of Gardeners"?
Saionji/Aoi: …Council?
Kouki: Why not? we changed all the fake plants into real ones, so there’s more work to do now.
Tanpopo: Kugyou-kun, I LOVE you!
Kouki: Who says YOU’re gonna be in it!! Wanna try bringing it up with the student council?
Tanpopo: Okay! It’s worth a try!

=page 4=

Aoi: Myyyy, you two sure are hot today, as usual! Why don’t’cha show me some of what I saw yesterdayyyy!
Saionji: !! *sparkle* AND JUST WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?
Aoi: AHH! I just lost my memory!! Mommy, who am I?!
flashback-Kouki: I’ll be here for you…
Tanpopo/Kouki: ……

=page 5=

Kouki: [while blushing ^_^] *whisper* …don’t come to the wrong conclusions; that wasn’t what you thought it was.
Tanpopo: Y…yeah.
Kouki: Hey, you can stop killing him, Saionji.
Saionji: [who is whacking Aoi’s head against a wall] I wonder if THIS will help you remember!
*bang, bang, bang, bang*
[Kouki walks away]
Saionji: Kugyou-san!? Wait for meeeeee!
Tanpopo: are you okay?! Kire-chan!!

=page 6=

[Aoi points a gun at Tanpopo]
Aoi: call me "Kireta"!
*click!*
Tanpopo: Hey, but last time I called you "Kireta", you didn’t like it!! And don’t bring toy guns to school!
Aoi: You owe me one for saving your ass when the school computers were hacked into!
Tanpopo: You’re the one who hacked into them in the first place!
Aoi: But I was just shocked that I saw a Kugyou protecting someone other than himself!! The Kugyous are notorious for being cold-hearted.
Tanpopo: …..are all Kugyous like that?
Aoi: Gotta beeeee. That’s how they made it up to Tokyo.

=page 7=

Tanpopo: [back at home] Cold hearted, huhhhh. I don’t think that’s true. Kugyou-kun is….but who’m I to talk? I don’t know much about him. I wonder if he even has any brothers or sisters? I wanna know…

=page 8=

[at school, the next day]
Ogata: …..you want to apply to start a "Garden Committee"?
Kouki: Yes.
Tanpopo: Nyo, nyo, so this is our student body president, huhhh.
Ogata: *flicker* Hey, you must be "Yamazaki Tanpopo"….your behavior at the opening ceremony and your garden tactics have made you quite famous here…
Tanpopo: Ohhhh, don’t mention it!
Kouki: *whisper* He’s teasing you, you dork.

=page 9=

?: But it sure surprises me that you, Kugyou-KUN, who has such POWER to influence the school rules, has chosen to start such a silly committee…
[with his use of "kun", this boy is talking down to Kouki.]
Tanpopo: That’s because he’s covering for m…
*smack!* [Kouki puts a hand on Tanpopo’s mouth]
Kouki: Could you please stop talking about me in that way?
Ogata: Sorry, sorry. After we look into some things, we’ll let you know.
?: Aaaaaah, there’s sure no getting around a Kugyou.
Kouki: *perk…*…well…I’ll leave it in your hands.
Ogata: Oh yeah, Kugyou-KUN!

=page 10=

Ogata: Did you find your brother yet?
Tanpopo: …What?

=page 11=

Tanpopo: "brother"?
Ogata: Oh, sorry, I guess I said something touchy…. It must be terrible for you, but good luck!
Kouki: ….excuse me.
[Kouki looks very dark as he and Tanpopo walk down the hall]
Tanpopo: What? What? …Kugyou-kun!

=page 12=

Tanpopo: Kugyou-kun, wait! What was this…about your brother? I’ll listen to your story if you want…
Kouki: Why should you care! this is none of your business *ZUKIN…* [the sound of Tanpopo’s heart hurting]

=page 13=

[Kouki walks away]
Tanpopo: [back at home] he may be right, but… Hey, Poplar, am I really that bad at comforting him?
Poplar: Kon?
Tanpopo: He did say we were friends, but he still hasn’t told me anything about himself…

=page 14=

Tanpopo: I’m acting weird…whenever I think about Kugyou-kun, my heart beats faster or it hurts…but what hurt me the most was seeing Kugyou-kun’s face so sad… brother, huh?….but it’s not like I can as the student body president about it. *gasp*

=page 15=

Tanpopo: The dandelion…!! It’s become a puff-ball now! all right! This’s the dandelion Kugyou-kun ripped out of the ground to look mean. I wonder if that was just to keep up his reputation as a Kugyou?

=page 16=

Tanpopo: Why don’t I bring this to school tomorrow and talk to him about it!! maybe it’ll cheer him up a bit!!
[at school…]
*ding dong, ding dong*
Tanpopo: Huh…Is Kugyou-kun absent today?
Aoi: Looks that way…
Tanpopo: Why?!
Aoi: Beats meeee.

=page 17=

Saionji: That’s strange. He didn’t look ill yesterday.
[Tanpopo stares at the dandelion in disappointment]
Tanpopo: *whisper* Hey, Kireta-kun, would you happen to have the data of everyone in this class?
Aoi: Yup!
[Tanpopo looks at him with starry eyes]
Aoi: Okay, okay! You want Kugyou’s address, right!

=page 18=

[Tanpopo’s riding her bike to Kouki’s]
Tanpopo: He just worries me…I don’t think he’s the kind of guy who would skip class just because of what the president said….wow, this road’s been going on FOREVER…. I wonder where it stops? Lemme see, it was the 15th house after 2 blocks… [she stops]

=page 19=

Tanpopo: …Don’t tell me…this is it?
Aoi: Tanpopo, I can see your undies!
Tanpopo: *crash!*
Aoi: Just kidding!
Tanpopo: Ki…Kireta-kun?!
Aoi: Con-gratulations! You made it safely!
Saionji: [appears behind Tanpopo with a very scary expression] how dare you leave me out of this!!

=page 20=

[at Kugyou’s house]
*ding dong, ding dong*
?: Yes, who is it?
Saionji: I am Saionji Tsukiko.
Tanpopo: Nyo…where’s the house??
Saionji: Kouki-san was absent today, so we came here to see him…
?: …! One moment, please.
[the doors slide open]

=page 21=

???: Hello!
Aoi: This place’s so huge it makes me wanna puke. wonder how many square feet it is??
Saionji: I might live in this house in the future *heart*
Tanpopo: Is one of these ladies his mother??

=page 22=

Saionji: so…where is Kouki-san?
lady: well…he left by car for school this morning…
Saionji/Aoi/Tanpopo: WHAT?
Aoi: he’s only 16! Don’t tell me he can drive!! [*driver’s age in Japan is 18 ^_^]
Tanpopo/Saionji: that’s not what she meant!
Saionji: you don’t think he might have run away from home, do you?!
??: Certainly not! he is not that kind of boy…his driver is with him…..he must have had a sudden errand!

=page 23=

?: But you really surprised, me. this is the first time Kouki’s friends from school came over to visit. He is sure to be back soon…
Aoi: So that means he ditched school….even HE would do something like that?…Well, he’s only human, I guess even HE feels like running away sometimes…
flashback: did you find your brother yet?
Tanpopo: Excuse me!
?: Yes?

=page 24=

Tanpopo: WHAT HAPPENED TO KOUKI’S BROTHER?!
*clunk, whap, crash* [the servants fall over in shock]
?: Wh, wh, why are you aski….MMMFF!
[servant lady clasps a hand over his mouth]
?: Wh, what are you talking about?!

servants *shake, shake!*
Aoi: …You guys look hella suspicious…
Tanpopo: Please excuse me, I know it was out of my place to say something like that, but…

=page 25=

Tanpopo: I care about him…I care about Kouki-kun..
Saionji: …..
[out somewhere…]
driver: Master!! We must get back now! I know I’m already in trouble for letting you skip school…

=page 26=

driver: If we get any news, you’ll be the first one to know! let’s just give it a rest for today…
Kouki: …Yeah, you’re right….I guess I just mistook someone else for him again….I know HE’s not coming back anyway…

=page 27=

[back at the house….]
servant: Well…the truth is…
servant: KOUKI-SAN?! *click*

=page 28=

[Erika, a girl, comes into the room, looking nervous.]
servant: …Erika-san! I’m sorry, I thought you were Kouki-san…
Tanpopo/Saionji: In her pajamas??…Who are you?

=page 29=

Erika: …Kouki-san?! You mean, he hasn’t returned yet?!
servant: I’m sure he will be back soon! Now, just return to your room… if your fever rises again, we’ll be in trouble.
Erika: But…He always used to tell me where he was going!
Tanpopo: "He"? [because Erika used "he" instead of "Kouki-san" or "Kugyou-san", it implies that she and Kouki are very close ^_^]
Erika: I wonder…if it was…because of me…
servant: No, that can’t be true, Erika-san!

=page 30=

[we notice that Erika has a ring shining on her ring finger]
Tanpopo/Aoi/Saionji: A RING?!
Aoi: …On her left hand!
Saionji: On her…ring finger…?!
Tanpopo: Who IS she…?!