Chapter 48: Episode 24 - New Revelations (1)
Right after Hanabusa, Andou, Kashino, and Keiko met up back at the cooking lab right after their opponents were announced, they'd discussed what each person was going to make and dispersed at that. Hanabusa seemed to feel conflicted about something so he and his sweets spirit, Cafe, walked over to the St. Marie Academy's Rose Garden to tend to the roses.
Noticing that Hanabusa was troubled, Keiko secretly followed him to the rose garden to talk.
~
"Wow, it smells wonderful," I smelt the roses in the garden and said it out loud, just behind Hanabusa and Cafe to get their attention.
Hanabusa shook in surprise and then turned around to face me.
"What's Michiko doing here?" Hanabusa noticed and I stared at him.
"Is it true that Hanabusa looks after the St. Marie flower garden?" I asked curiously, testing out Tenouji Mari's information she'd told me when we last talked.
"Well, just the roses. My father was a horticulturist who specialized in roses," Hanabusa explained as he handed me some beautifully trimmed roses in his hands.
"Is that so," I said as I bowed my head in thanks, accepting the roses he offered. His far-off gaze still bothered me since he usually didn't act like this.
"Say, Hanabusa," I began and brought his attention towards me.
"Hm?"
"For the pound cake, I know you really don't want to make a black tea one," I pointed out as he looked at me. "You really want to make a rose cake, don't you?"
Hanabusa widened his eyes in surprise as I pointed this out. A light chuckle came out of his mouth as he looked at me.
"Haha… Why do you think that?" He asked me but I didn't hesitate to answer.
"I see Hanabusa as a guy who loves flowers. But I concluded that you like roses the most for whatever reason," I explained and he nodded his head in acknowledgment.
"Wow, Michiko can read me," Hanabusa quietly admired but then shook his head as if getting rid of his thoughts. "Follow me."
He instructed me and Fraise to follow him as we made our way towards the garden's greenhouse.
The greenhouse had a different variety of flowers, trees, plants, and bushes that I couldn't take my eyes off of the beautiful scenery.
'It's my first time ever entering the greenhouse… It's truly splendid to look at.'
"You can sit here," Hanabusa directed me towards a table with a vase of roses in the middle and with two chairs at it.
"Well, you read me correctly, Michiko. I do want to make a rose cake," Hanabusa admitted as he got tea ready from a small station to the side.
"It fits your image perfectly, Hanabusa… but for the image of "family," will it work?" I asked him as I pondered more about this.
"My image of a "family" is a rose," he explained, handing over a teacup filled with tea.
"It's because your mother is in the floral arrangement department, right? So if your father is a horticulturist then there must be lots of roses in your personal garden," I figured and he nodded his head.
"Yes, there are always lots of roses in the garden of my home," Hanabusa acknowledged and he sat down across from me. "My parents met in a rose garden in the month of *May. That's why my name is Satsuki although I was born in October."
*In Japanese, another way to read May is "Satsuki."
"They loved confections, so my mother would bake cakes often and we'd eat it in our garden," Hanabusa continued.
~In the setting of Hanabusa Satsuki's childhood~
Hanabusa and his parents sat at a table in their garden full of roses. The table was set with pound cakes, tea, and a vase of roses.
"Mama's cakes are always delicious whenever we eat them, right, Satsuki?" An older man—with green hair and eyes who looked exactly like Hanabusa—asked his small son at the time.
"Papa, you're always eating happily," Small Hanabusa said, munching on his mom's cake in delight.
"Haha… that's because all of Papa's favorite things are gathered here," Hanabusa's mom acknowledged with a smile.
"Mama, Satsuki, roses, and confections together are the best," Hanabusa's father smiled happily as he ate his cake.
"Then, I want to become a patissier!" Hanabusa said to his parents and they smiled warmly at their son.
"Oh, Satsuki! Remember when we went to go visit that famous patissier's bakery?" Hanabusa's mother asked him and he nodded his head.
"Oh, yeah! Because of her, I want to be good at making sweets and making Mama and Papa happy!" Hanabusa said sweetly as he took a bite of his cake.
"I remember when we went to one of her most well-known bakeries and she personally greeted all of her customers. She's such a heartfelt person," his mother admired and his father nodded his head in agreement.
"The news says that she's an angel who always treats people kindly. It's hard to forget her name since she's known all over the world. Is she why you want to become a patissier, Satsuki?" Hanabusa's father asked and young Hanabusa nodded his head cheerfully.
"Yes! I want to become a patissier, just like Ella Fournier! Just like her, I'll open a big cake shop, but I'll decorate it with Papa and Mama's flowers, and then I'll make a Rose Cake!"
~
As Hanabusa explained his childhood, I was caught off by something else. Fraise seemed to have heard it as well and she looked at me.
"Ella… Fournier? She's the one who inspired you?" I asked hesitantly and he nodded his head.
"Yeah, the world-renown patissiere, Ella Fournier, inspired me to become a patissier after me and my parents went to one of her bakeries. She was nice and treated everyone with kindness and affection. We had her "Rose Cake'' and it was splendid. The aroma wasn't too strong and the taste was subtle yet intricate. One of my dreams was that wanted to replicate her rose cake so I could make my parents happy," Hanabusa told me as I listened.
"Did you meet her personally?" I asked curiously.
"Yes, we complimented her Rose Cake and she personally hugged me and asked what I wanted to be when I grew up. When I'd said that I wanted to be like her and make my parents happy, she said that she knew a small girl that had the same dream as me," Hanabusa explained as he took a sip from his teacup.
'No way… Even Hanabusa was inspired by Mom to become a patissier?'
At this sudden confession, my eyes widened in shock.
'Back then when she talked to him about that small girl, that meant that she was referring to me!'