It was a strangely hot day in the middle of an otherwise wintry month, hot enough to melt candle wax in under thirty seconds. Despite the heat, Kenta and Akira still came to the Hinotori playground upon Ezekiel's insistence that Aiden had something important to say to them. The Kinoya cousins did question the younger Swenson brother's motivation at first. After all, what could be so urgent that Aiden could not have waited for a cooler day? And why did it have to be the playground out of any other places they could meet at? And what was it with this odd summer-in-the-middle-of-winter weather? Was Silver Pine undergoing a climate change?

"He said that the playground was where everything had started going downhill," Ezekiel had explained through a quick phone call, "and it's also where he wants to see things start going the other direction for the better. I promise he's not up to some shenanigan. Just come, okay? It would also answer your curiosity about what we were up to the night we were supposed to go shopping."

Sitting on a swing with a half-empty can of ginger ale on one hand and a messily wrapped box on the other hand, Aiden gave Kenta a curt nod when he saw the dark-haired boy approaching.

"This is the last ginger ale in the vending machine," he held the can up without directly looking at his former rival. "But there's plenty of milk tea and apple juice left. I can treat you to either."

"What a strange way to say hello," Akira remarked. "And you know we can buy our own drink."

"Y-yeah, of course you can!" the surly teenager stammered at the girl's comment. "But I thought I could try being nice for once. Speaking of being nice, here!" he hurriedly handed Kenta the box on his lap. "Ezie helped me with this. I don't know what kind of flowers you like best but—"

"Any flower is good with me," Kenta laughed. "May I open your gift right now?"

"Before you do," Ezekiel cut in, "please understand he does his best with the art and craft supplies we have at the boarding school. So, if you would excuse the lack of craftsmanship—"

"You're supposed to butter me up and not say a backhanded statement!" Aiden frowned after hearing his older step-sibling. "Anyway, just open it before this idiot ruins the moment."

Kenta unwrapped the gift box carefully, slowly revealing a cluster of fake white hydrangeas and tiny purple hyacinths made from cheap origami paper glued to a cream-colored elastic band.

"This is beautiful!" Kenta squealed. "Too bad my hair isn't long enough for elastics."

"Ugh, it's not for your hair, silly!" Aiden scoffed. "I wanted to make a giant kaleidoscope but it was tedious trying to handmade all the patterns from scratch, so I settled on a boutonniere."

"Bouto--?"

"The fancy thing you attached to your even fancier shirt when you go to formal events," Aiden replied impatiently. "Seriously, isn't your family a socialite? I thought you've gone to parties or a debutante before. Are you pulling my legs, rich boy?"

"Um, listen Aiden, I don't think boutonnieres and the like are a common staple of Japanese dances," Ezie attempted to break the tension. "It's normal for him to be confused, chill out."

"No, no, I've seen those things before but I didn't have a vocabulary for them," Kenta rubbed the back of his neck. "Thank you. Am I right in assuming there's one for Akira too, then?"

"You bet!" Ezekiel showed his girlfriend a box similar to the one already opened and winked with a glint in his eyes. "For the prettiest girl in our metropolitan area. Be my date to the prom?"

"You don't have to ask twice," Akira smiled and gave Ezekiel a peck on the cheek. "Sure thing."

"You're going to be even prettier with a boutonniere," Kenta offered her a compliment and yet his unenthusiastic tone betrayed his words' intended meaning and everyone noticed.

"Hey," Akira gently put a hand on her cousin's shoulder. "We can trade boutonnieres if you want. No need for the long face. You have to learn to tell me outright what you want instea—"

"It's not that I wanted to trade," the slightly older Kinoya sighed. "I wish Johan were here."

Aiden suddenly cleared his throat and stepped forward. "Well, obviously I'm not that Black Elmian dude but if you don't mind..." a hint of pink crawled its way to his cheeks. "I'd like to be your date for a night. I know it's jarring and so you have every right to refuse," he bit his lips as soon as both Kenta and Akira gasped. "I made fun of you for being gay, but this is me trying to show everyone that I wish I had not. Maybe then they'll make fun of me for backpedaling."

"Are you saying that you want everyone to bully you instead of bullying me now?" Kenta took a deep breath. "That's very stupid, Aiden. Bullying's utterly horrible, even if it's done to punish someone who used to be a former perpetrator. It would only perpetuate the cycle of suffering."

"What are you, Bodhisattva incarnate?" Aiden laughed mirthlessly while his brother raised an eyebrow and mouthed oy man, you mistook him for a Buddhist. "You have no revenge fantasy?"

"Vengeance only begets vengeance," Kenta shrugged. "It's okay, I'm going stag."

"Maybe you don't have to, though," Ezekiel butted in. "Baz doesn't have a date either."

"I thought Baz said he doesn't want a human date?" Akira tilted her head. "He swore up and down that he will crash the prom by sneaking Sebby in. Should we let him have his fun?"

"I've never heard of any prom being crashed because of a sleepy cat in attendance," Ezekiel chuckled lightheartedly. "It would be funny if our unassuming Sebby does have the power of crashing a prom. Anyway, as I was saying, Kenta doesn't need to be all alone during the prom."

"You want me to be Baz's date?" Kenta nudged him. "I'll dye my hair green like his. Let's grab some boxed hair dye at the mall later. I hope green would look as great on me as it does on him."

"You don't wanna use the boxed stuff! It's nasty!" Ezekiel grimaced. "Besides, you can't go straight from having dark hair to green hair easily without bleaching first. You'd better wear a wig. That's what Baz is wearing. Don't tell him I spilled his secret, though."

"It's a wig?" Akira exclaimed in surprise. "It looks so real. Where did he get the wig from?"

"An old friend of ours," Ezekiel replied. "Their name is Kaoru Hitomi. They used to attend the boarding school with us. Anyway, there were rumors that they harbored an unrequited crush on Baz and that the wig they gave him on his 14th birthday was a quiet declaration of love. It was rumored throughout the school that Kaoru broke into a horse ranch to cut the hair off of a horse's tail. If that's true, then it makes sense why the wig looks so real. Horse hair is beautiful."

"Where is this Kaoru person now?" Kenta perked up. "They sounds like a rebel. I'm curious who spread that rumor around, though, and what it was based on. Were they fond of horses?"

"Yes, they love horses more than Baz loves cats," Ezekiel let a chuckle escape. "Horses were pretty much the thing they always chose to paint during painting lessons, write about during writing lessons, and they even had a tiny bookshelf full of stories featuring wild horses. It's an obsession. When Baz and I asked them why they were obsessed with horses, they just told us that one of their biggest dreams is to one day buy a huge ranch and then set all the horses free."

"They seem like the kind of person who would think a zoo promotes animal cruelty," Akira stroked her chin. "But you haven't answered Kenta's question of what happened to them."

"The gist of it is that the donors who paid for Kaoru's schooling could no longer donate money so in the end Kaoru chose to join the workforce by day and study for High School Completion Certificate on his own by night. They told Baz and me that if they ever save up enough money on their down they would consider going to college, but for now it's not his priority."

"Donors? Kaoru received a scholarship when he was at Mizunotori Deaf School?" Kenta asked. "I've never heard of a scholarship organization running out of funding before."

"It wasn't a scholarship organization. Anyway, I think I've talked too much about them and on a second thought I feel bad about telling a story that isn't mine to tell," Ezekiel kicked a gravel under the swing, "so next time I become a blabber mouth, Kenta, you should stop me."

"You're not entirely at fault for blabbering. I was the one asking all the questions."

Ezekiel just shrugged in response and resumed his rocking back and forth on the swing.

An awkward silence filled the air until Aiden's stomach rumbled and Akira let out a stifled chuckle, prompting a glare from the blond-haired boy and an amused look from Ezekiel.

"Someone skipped his lunch!" the older Swenson teased. "But this is a perfect opportunity for me to treat everyone to snacks. Have I told you I work part-time at a vegan restaurant? Today's my day off, though, but I still want to show you what my working environment is like."

"Ah yes, you told us a bit about being a junior sous-chef," Akira nodded. "I've been meaning to ask you about all the things you're learning to cook. Where is this restaurant, anyway?"

"About four bus stop and two blocks walk away from here."

"Since you're so kind to treat us to free food," Kenta chimed in, "let me pay the bus fare."

***

Hidamari Kaiseki stood out among the rows of other restaurants in the bustling courtyard of Mizunotori business district. While other restaurants looked the same with haute couture exterior design reminiscent of a Parisian bistro, the vegan restaurant resembled a dwarf hut out of a fairy tale. Mosses and ferns covered its roots, grape vines adorned the wooden fence surrounding the restaurant, and hay bales of different sizes were scattered in the patio in lieu of chairs and dining tables. The front door of the restaurant, shaped like a mushroom, boasted a painting of hamsters.

"Cute critters!" Akira remarked upon passing through the door, "I'd adopt one if we don't have Miyuki running around our mansion already. Oh, I know! Maybe we can dress her up to look like a giant hamster. I bet that would make mom laugh. A cat cosplaying as a hamster."

"Akira, remind me to ask Uncle Lee if scientists have ever tried to create cat-hamster hybrid."

"Enough chattering! I'm hungry!" Aiden pouted. "Hungry enough to eat fat hamsters."

"Good sir, may I remind you again that this is a vegan restaurant?" a waiter who overheard Aiden approached the group of teenagers with a menu. "We are sorry for disappointing you, but no hamsters are harmed in this establishment. I do, however, recommend a dessert called Hamster's Delight. It's a carrot cake shaped like sunflowers and we even replace the buttercream in the frosting with sunflower oil-based coating. I don't know what hamsters taste like, but I assume since they eat sunflower seeds then they'd perhaps taste like our carrot cake icing."

"You're funny!" Aiden laughed. "The cake sounds like a good alternative to real hamster meat."

"If it's not too expensive then yeah, we can have dessert," Ezekiel chortled, "Let me see the menu... Hmm yeah, pretty expensive if we order four portions but we can all share just one."

"One Hamster's Delight coming up!" the waiter gave a thumbs up. "Anything else?"

"I feel like eating cold, fresh salad to beat the heat," Akira said. "What would you recommend?"

"I'm glad you asked! We have a salad called The Stallion's Bliss. It's my favorite. Sweet corn, celery, squash, and snow peas on a bed of foxtail barley and dandelion leaves."

"Dandelion leaves are edible?" Akira pondered aloud. "I thought dandelions are weed."

"They're perfectly edible!" the waiter quickly assured her. "Horses love eating them. Do you know what else horses love to eat that humans can eat? Clovers, sorrel, burdocks, white must—"

"Hold your horses!" Ezekiel interrupted. "Kaoru, is that you? When did you start working here?"

The waiter blinked, clearly perplexed, and studied Ezekiel's face before squealing.

"This is such a surprise, Ezie. You look different. Taller, less scrawny, wavier hair."

"Speak for yourself. You've done a complete makeover too. What happened to your ponytail?"

"Some rude customers made fun of me for it the other weekend, so I chopped it off."

"Bummer. Your ponytail was your trademark, Kaoru. It made you look like, well, a pony."

"I'll considering re-growing it once my contemporary contract with this restaurant ends," Kaoru bit their lips, "anyway, I'm still technically on the clock. I'll get your order ready."

When Kaoru was out of earshot, Aiden asked Ezekiel if attendants to Winter Ball were allowed to bring a non-student plus-one. Instead of answering, Ezekiel responded with a question.

"You're not scheming to set them up with Baz, are you? Baz is comfortable identifying as asexual aromantic and we should respect his identity. Besides, we don't want to upset Kaoru if they're still heartbroken about the rejection."

"Who said anything about a scheme?" Aiden huffed, sending a strand of stray hair flying off his forehead. "They seem like a cool person and I could use a companion if you and Akira plan to get busy on the dance floor. Someone to crack jokes with, you know?"

"Hey, I can make jokes!" Kenta chimed in. "Here's one—why do plants go to therapy?"

"To get to the roots of their problems," Aiden deadpanned. "Your taste in jokes is so poor."

"What do you have against puns?"

"Nothing, I just don't like ultra-predictable punchlines."

"I see. Anyway, do you think we can take Kaoru shopping with us? He knows a lot about wigs, right, so maybe we can drag him to a wig shop. He's gonna have a field day!"

"We can ask him," Ezekiel said approvingly. "I'd like to buy a brunette wig. Will I look good with dark brown hair, Akira? And you can get wavy wigs. We'll copy each other's hairstyle."

"I'm biased but I think you'll look magnificent in any wig, Ezie."

Kaoru returned with trays of foods and drinks balanced in both arms. The warm and sweet smell of cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg lingered in the air when they set down the Hamster's Delight.

"Dig in!" they said cheerfully as they cut the cake into four equal pieces. "And I haven't forgotten your salad," they turned toward Akira. "But I forgot to ask the kind of dressing you'd like. I brought samples, though, so feel free to taste some and let me know which one you want."

Kaoru set down tiny plates of what seemed to be lemon vinaigrette, savory avocado dressing, tangy chili sauce, miso sesame paste, and basil pesto. Akira's mouth hanged open at the variety.

"Feel free to mix and match," Kaoru hastily added upon seeing the girl's reaction.

Akira took a spoonful of the chili sauce and mixed it with a drizzle of lemon vinaigrette.

"This is surprisingly delicious," she remarked, "sour and spicy but not overpoweringly so."

"What would happen if I mix all the dressing options up?" Aiden made a room on his plate to pile dollops of different sauces together. "Have you ever done that, Kaoru?"

"I'm very particular about the texture of my food," the waiter said, "so I'm not much of an experimentalist. I stick to the true and proven deliciousness of miso paste. That's all I need."

"How come a picky eater like you ended up with a job in a restaurant?"

"Aiden!" Ezekiel scolded him. "I'm sorry on behalf of my brother, Kaoru, he has a habit of talking without thinking. You're a wonderful waiter, don't let him make you feel otherwise."

"No, it's okay," Kaoru said while bending over a pitcher of tea to add more ice. "I'm not ashamed of being fussy about what I eat. It's just who I am and as I grew up I learned not to take any comment about my very specific preference to heart," they then straightened their back and inhaled, "To answer Aiden's question—simply put, I have avoidant restrictive food intake disorder. Apparently it's a pretty common component of many developmental disorders."

"What does it feel like?" Aiden asked quietly. "Do you ever wish you can love more foods?"

"It just means the list of foods I enjoy is rather short, but no, I don't feel restricted. On the contrary, having a short list has taught me to be creative in how I prepare my foods," Kaoru's eyes lit up with unmistakably enthusiasm. "Take banana for example. It's just one type of fruit but we can use them in many dishes—banana pudding, banana bread, banana smoothie, frozen banana on a stick with chocolate, banana oatmeal cookie and—" they stopped themself abruptly.

"What's wrong?" Kenta looked at them worriedly. "It's okay, we get the ideas, if you can't think of more banana dishes to mention that's fine. I won't be able to name so many myself."

"That's not it," Kaoru sighed and rubbed their hands on their apron. "I launch into a monologue sometimes, ignoring the restaurants' patrons as I go off on a tangent about my special interests. I know some regular patrons here think I'm annoying, so I've been trying to suppress my tendency of oversharing but it's hard. You ever get so excited about a topic and you want others to feel your excitement? That's what I'm struggling with. I struggle to control my chattiness."

"I can relate," Kenta said in between bites of carrot cake slices, "I'm the same way about plants."

"Tell me about your favorite plants next time you come for lunch."

"I will!" Kenta laughed heartily. "And I'm hoping to try more cakes. Aside from taking care of plants, I've been dipping my toes into the art of baking. So far I've only baked muffins, though."

"His vanilla honey muffins are great," Akira chimed in, "does this restaurant have muffins?"

"There is maple syrup muffin on the menu and also cornbread jalapeño muffin."

"Jalapeño? Intriguing. I never thought they'd belong on muffins," Kenta smiled. "It's been nice meeting you, Kaoru. Anyway, would you be interested in hanging out with us tomorrow?"

"Depends. What time do you guys think of hanging out? I get off work after four thirty."

"Would six or later be okay?" Ezekiel suggested. "We're thinking of shopping for clothes."

"I have enough clothes," Kaoru shrugged, "but I'd happily help you guys pick out yours."

"Is it okay if Baz joins us clothes hunting?" Ezekiel asked. "I understand it can be awkward."

"It'd only be awkward if we make it awkward!" Kaoru waved their hand dismissively. "I have no problem with Baz. In fact, I've been wondering what he's been up to. Still an organist?"

"Oh yeah, no one and nothing can come between Baz and organs. He loves his music."

"I love it when I see people so immersed in doing what they love," Kaoru said with a glint of nostalgia in their eyes. "When Baz plays organ his passion is so evident and contagious."

"I wish I know what it feels like to have a crush," Aiden said out of sudden. "Kenta has someone he's pining for, my brother is happily dating Akira, and here I am being a third wheel."

"You'll find someone someday. That's what I believe." Kaoru smiled warmly. "There's someone out there for everyone. Good people attract other good people, always. So don't stress."

"Does it mean bullies attract bullies?"

"I certainly hope not! That'd be a very toxic relationship to be in, one doomed for failure."

"No, I mean, is a bully typically gravitating toward another bully because then they can join forces to find more bullying victims to terrorize? That's how it is on TV shows."

"TV shows are full of blatant exaggeration and cliché tropes that sell, Aiden, and not to be taken seriously." Kaoru said while taking everyone's dirty dishes away. "Anyway, tomorrow at six?"

"Yup. Looking forward to have a fun time."