A/N: This story has been revised. Title change from Listen to the Wind to Striving for Life. Hope you enjoy n_n
Genre: Suspense, Drama, Romance, Mystery, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort
Striving for Life
Chapter 1: Strangers
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We are strangers
And nothing more
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I gaze at the Sakura tree, feeling lost.
The pink petals help me to calm down follow by a light breeze. I grab a small blossom off from the tree trunk and inhale the flowering scent. The sweet scent of the sakura makes me feel light.
I open a blank book and press the blossom between the two pages. The light breeze continues to sway in my direction, letting my auburn strands fly. I look up the sky, seeing the trail of the sakura blossom fly in the clear blue sky.
I shade my eyes from the burning rays of the sun, leaving a bright smile, seeing another fine day here at Gakuen Alice.
Mikan Sakura is the name, a normal 16 year old teenage girl. I'm just a girl who has matching auburn hair and eyes. There's nothing special about me. I'm like a ghost — everyone pass by me, not acknowledging my presence. I always stay and go who walks softly without making any sound.
I'm inside my school, fixing my braid pigtails and putting all the books inside the bag. I walk away from the sakura tree and into the busy hallway. A lot of people have crowded near their lockers who is either chatting away or making a flirtiest impression on their partner.
I constantly bump into other people who are too busy chatting to their friends that they never realise my existence and walk away. I finally find my locker and dial the lock to open.
I store the books that I didn't need and slam the locker loud but the noisy people didn't even realise a thing. I went to my classroom, seeing everyone chatting among themselves and didn't take a quick glance on whom.
I quietly went to my seat which it is at the back, near the window. I slid the chair and sat on it, resting my elbow on the table and gaze outside the window. The talking quiet down all of a sudden which makes me curious.
I shift my head to look at the silent people, curious on what's going on and follow their stare at the door. I roll my eyes, feeling exasperate.
They are here I said inside my head. I resume on staring at the window, disregarding the silent people.
If you want to know on who they are, I'll give you a brief summary.
If you see a guy who has jet-black messy hair that matches his piercing ruby eyes then you meet Natsume Hyuuga, aka the devil.
If you walk pass by a French model that has clear azure eyes and blonde hair then you meet Ruka Nogi who is the devil's best friend.
If you feel a cold sensation down your spine and see embarrassing picture of yourself that been posted around the entire school, you will meet a girl with amethyst eyes and boy cut raven hair, name Hotaru Imai aka the Ice Queen or The Blackmailer.
That's part of the summary. There's more but these main details are enough for now.
I begin to start the count down inside of my head.
5…
The sounds of their footsteps echo the silent classroom.
4…
Everyone gasp, sucking the air in their lungs.
3…
You could only hear the birds chirp.
2…
I securely shut my ears.
1…
"KYAAA!!" the whole girls and guys scream in the classroom — and maybe the entire world. I let out a curse under my breath.
The scream dies down all too quickly and the sound of footsteps stampedes to their 'godly' idols. I roll my eyes again, opening my A5 art book at front the desk and start to randomly doodle.
I like drawing — one of my favourite hobbies. Whenever I feel down, happy, bored or angry, I just randomly draw or doodle whatever it is in my head.
I automatically snap my book shut when the sound of the chair screeches beside me. I didn't even need to know who is my seatmate is.
Want to take a guess?
Here's a hint, this person is powerful that can brought the dead back to life.
No it's not superman or the mummy, it's the devil — although I prefer sitting next to the mummy who is way better than the devil.
The devil slams his feet loudly on the table and place a manga over his face, taking a nap.
I snarl, feeling irritated on having the devil as my seatmate. The teacher came in the classroom, wearing um — I let you imagine on what's he is wearing and believe me it is not normal. Think pink with a lot of frills.
"Class." He announce in a high tune, "we are having a pop quiz today." Everyone let out a groan.
I kindly take the sheet and begin answering.
.
.
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Class is finish and I begin to roam again in the noisy hallway. The screaming suddenly increase to the max of high pitching girls swooning over the notorious devil. I didn't waver to look up.
What's the point?
We're nothing but strangers.
I increase my walk, walking pass Hyuuga. He looks up while I look down. Only our shoulders brush against each other and nothing more.
There's no spark or any deep whatsoever, only the cold shoulders. And the two of us didn't turn our heads. I reach the main office and enter. Nobody looks up.
And it is just like I said; I'm nothing but a ghost.
I walk to the counter where the office lady is busy talking on the phone and didn't look up. I took the pen and scribble my name on a piece of paper that says signing out.
I drop the pen and walk out the office. Everyone is gone by the time I close the office doors and I silently walk out of the school.
I have a part time job and education is not my problem. I'm even smart enough to get a scholarship. The reason why I always sign out early is because of my shift.
I slowly drag myself along the busy path until my feet stop at a certain restaurant. I drop in the restaurant only to be greeted by Anna, a full time worker.
"Welcome, Mikan-chan." she welcomes me. I greet her with a smile and answer.
"Thanks, Anna." She gives me her bubbly smile and drags me into the employee room. I loosen my tie and dial the locker to open to reveal the worker's uniform.
"I'll see you outside." She said to me in a happy tone. I nod at her and Anna skips out the room. I let out a sigh and change my uniform.
Anna Umenomiya, a full time worker at Phlox — she is a happy-go-lucky girl with pink curly hair and emerald eyes. Anna automatically proclaims me as her friend since I'm close to her age. She takes apprenticeship on being a chef, so therefore she drops out at middle school. Anna doesn't care about education because she says 'studying gets in the way of you dreams'.
A bang on the door interrupts my thoughts. I stop half-way on fixing my hair.
"Mikan, are you finished yet?" yelled a high girly voice.
"Not yet." I answer and hesitantly ask, "um little help here." The slam wide open follow by a sigh which reveal a girl with short jet-black hair and green eyes.
"Honestly, Mikan." She exclaim with an annoyed look evident on her face. She walks over to my side and fixes my hair. I sit very still and said sorry in a whisper like a child being scold from her mother.
"There done." She said in relief. I stood up and look at myself in the mirror. Everything is in place.
"Thanks Permy," I said in a happy voice. She scowled under her breath when I call her nickname.
"It's Sumire." She corrected me. I let out a chuckle. Sumire sighs again and added, "Why do you want to work, Mikan?" I stop laughing for a moment and my face darken. Sumrie notice my unhappy look and give me an anxious look.
"You don't have to answer if you don't want to." She assures and pats my back gently. I shook my head.
"It's okay." I answer and face at her with a smile, "I want to be independent like you."
Sumire sighs, "Mikan that's not the point." I decided to give her a hug, making her jump in surprise but Sumire returns it.
Sumire Shoda, a full time worker like Anna. She is older than me by two years. She quit school at the same age as me because of family issues. Therefore she is living independently. I don't know the reason why and I don't want to pry on her affairs.
Sumire break the hug and went to the door. She faces with a stern look.
"Get to work, Mikan." She calls me. I smile wider and happily run to her side. I walk ahead of her and stop at front with a sly smile on my face. She looks at me, confuse.
"By the way, it's Amanatsu."
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It is night and work is finally finished. I tiredly walk to my apartment and weakly open the door. I flip the lights and hit the couch which it is the closest. I relax my body for while to loosen my sore muscles.
"What a day." I let out a groan. I look up the empty ceiling and my arm in the air. I begin to question myself.
Should I go to school? This question repeated inside my head, unanswered. I ball my hand into a fist and jump off the couch, walking to the kitchen. I pick up a pile of mails on the coffee table and start to flip through them one by one.
One letter catches my eyes — not a letter exactly, a postcard. I toss the unread mail and sternly scan the postcard. My face softens after reading the contents.
The postcard reads:
Hey honey how's your day? We are really worried about leaving you all by yourself. It is a sad loss that you want to be independent but we know that is what you want and we are happy about your decision. You should always remember that mommy and daddy will love you always and we'll be here to support you!
We really miss you!!
Love mommy and daddy
P.S The pasta at Italy taste great! You should've try their sauce!
If you flip the postcard, you can see my mom and dad, smiling happily at front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
"I miss you too, mom and dad." I sadly whisper to myself. I happily place the postcard in my drawer where all the postcards are safely kept. I shut the drawer and look at the clock.
It reads: 23:11 (11:11pm)
Good for a light jog I thought to myself, excitingly. I went to my bedroom and open the closet. I pull my track pants and a hooded jumper, and change into it.
I exit the room and obtain the keys and phone from the table. I dash out of my apartment, locking the door and race my way down the stairs. Outside, I feel the cold sensation of the wind prickling onto my skin.
I inhale the cold lungful air and pull the hood over my head, covering a partial of my face. And I start to jog around the empty, dark city.
Why I like jogging at night?
It's simple: it's quiet and no one is around.
I increase my jog into a run, feeling my lungs burning inside. I took another route that leads to the park. The pathway becomes narrower the moment I set foot on it. I look around, seeing the briskly trees coming close.
My breathing begins to shorten as I enter the thickest part of the park. I turn my run into a walk as I gain my even breathing. I look up on the black sky, the moon shining brilliantly against the stars. The briskly tree rustles on the gentle breeze, the fallen leaves hitting against the hood.
I follow the trail of the leaves, leading me to the wind. I kick my way around the hard edges of the leafy bush and soon found myself at a glittering lake.
"Wow." I gasp, astonish on finding something amazing. The lake is crystal clear, reflecting the shimmering moon. I walk close to the lake, smelling the clean. I lower my hood letting my face feels the cold breeze.
Amazing I thought.
I close my eyes, hearing the melody of the wind. It gently plays like a bell.
Without warning, there is a sound of a broken twig. I flinch and acting on reflex, I pull my hood over my head, concealing my face.
I shift my head towards the sound.
"Who's there?" I demand, bluntly. The sound of rustling leaves stops and behind the bushes reveals a hooded stranger.
"I could ask you the same thing." The stranger said dryly. I pull my hood lower, shadowing my face from the stranger. I look at the stranger from under the hood and examine the person from head to toe.
The stranger face is completely hidden under the hood and the stranger's eyes is conceal beneath the shades. My suspicious rose and something tells me that this person is up to no good.
My eyes darken at the stranger and I regrettably say three words to the unknown person.
Who are you?
So how do you like chapter 1? Do you think this is a good start? Sorry if it is a long chapter. And silent readers, please drop by and review, even it is just one word.
Who do you think the hooded stranger is? I bet you won't get the correct answer because the answer is not what you've expect. Find out in the next chapter. I want you guys be in suspence n_n
Remember to Read and Review everyone. =]
And also, read my other fanfic: Our Duet if you like musical instruments with a twist. ;)