Garden: Takashi Morinozuka Love Story

25. Welcome Summer

School days came and went slower than imaginable, but eventually the anticipated heat and fun-filled, school-less days approached the students of Ouran Academy.

The salmon colored building with blindingly clean floors was empty of the entire student body - for everybody had better plans for that summer than summer school. Especially the members of the Ouran host club.

"Jobs? Again? Didn't we do that last summer?" Hikaru complained.

"Yes, but a lot of Hanabi's employees are college students who are going home for the summer, so she'll need all the help she can get. Summer is wedding season, so she'll have a lot of large orders," Kyoya said.

"It won't be so bad, Hikaru. We had fun last year working, remember?" Haruhi said.

The lot of them approached the bake shop. Hikaru took down the help wanted sign taped to the door as they entered. Hibiki worked in the back, along with another employee, icing a small cake while Hanabi rung someone up for sourdough bread.

"Hey, guys!" the twins waved. Hikaru held up the help wanted sign, grinning at Hanabi. She finished processing the order as the group of high school boys and Haruhi approached the counter.

"We'd like to lend a helping hand to the beautiful owner of this fine establishment," Tamaki said, bowing slightly at Hanabi.

"You boys. Aren't you just the sweetest," Hanabi smiled, clapping her hands together.

"This work isn't all that easy. Are you guys sure you want to do this?" Hibiki asked, taking a break from her cake to talk to her friends.

"I don't see why not. Nobody else had plans to do anything this summer," Tamaki said.

"I'd love to spend the day working on cakes all day! This should be fun!" Honey beamed from Takashi's shoulders.

"Honey-senpai, you do realize you don't get to eat the cakes you make, right?" Haruhi noted. The blonde lolita teared up.

"So I only get to make them? I don't get to eat them, Hibi-chan? Is that true?" Honey pouted.

"I'm afraid so, Honey-senpai. But," Hibiki leaned forward and voiced in a mock whisper to the smaller boy, "I'll make you a cake every day that you can take home and have all to yourself. How does that sound?" Honey's tears dried on demand and he smiled grandly at Hibiki.

"Hibi-chan, you're the best!"

"There are eight of you, including Hibiki, correct? I may have a job for all of you," Hanabi said with a finger to her chin.

"Hikaru and Kaoru, I'll have you two at the register. The way you were selling product at the farmers market was impressive and I wouldn't mind having you two as the face of the store," Hanabi said. "Kyoya, you can help me behind the scenes with banking and finance. Honey, dear, I want you and Mori to do bread and cookie packaging. Haruhi, I'm putting you on display case duty. Tamaki, you can help Hibiki and Ryo with all the actual baking. They'll be needing it since the summer is the busiest time of the year."

"Who is Ryo?" Tamaki asked - which he almost instantly regret when an upbeat, rambunctious blonde haired girl bounced in from the back of the kitchen.

"That'd be me! Top pastry chef Ryo here, at your service!" she said, saluting the group before her. "Oh my humanized perfection," she said, her eyes stuck on the small boy perched onto the shoulders of the more familiar boy. She leaned over and placed a hand over Hibiki's ear as she whispered, "I know I said you and Green Giant over there were the cutest thing I've ever laid my ocular receptors on, but I'm gonna have to revise that observation because he is obviously the cutest little thing to have ever been born into this God forsaken universe. You two are a close second, though."