Disclaimer: PoT does not belong to me.

This occurs during Atobe's childhood. Enjoy.

Atobe stood in front of the large mirror in front of him. He scanned the strands of his hair as a maid carefully dried them. His eyes followed the long elegant dragon embossed on both sides of the mirror. When he felt that the pressure on his head was gone, he grabbed his shirt and pulled it roughly over his head.

Atobe was horrified.

He poked himself. The image in the mirror followed. Atobe rubbed the mirror in fervor, thinking that it was a dirty spot on the mirror. His mirror image had a very strained expression, and was rubbing as hard as he was. When Atobe stopped, the black spot was still there, though not on the mirror. It was on his face.

"What is this horrifying thing doing on my face?" Atobe said incredulously.

"It's a mole, Keigo-sama. It's a beauty mole, not horrifying at all, Keigo-sama." His maid replied respectfully, half-amused by the boy's antics.

"This should not be on my face; get if off," Atobe ordered, and proceeded to scratch the mole away.

"Now Keigo-sama, you shouldn't do that; you might spoil your flawless skin!" The maid started to panic. She tried to pry his hands away from his face, but Atobe just pushed her away and continued rubbing while running away from her.

"It's not flawless until I get it off!"

"What's going on?" A gentle voice piped up.

Both stopped in their tracks. The maid dropped into a respectful bow upon seeing the lady. Clad in a green nightgown, she looked frail. However, her eyes twinkled with warmth and she had an air of elegance around her.

"Mrs. Atobe! You should be resting…"

"Now, do I look sick to you?" She replied adamantly. "I just want to look at my son. Is that not even allowed? Now leave, you are not needed here." With that, she waved a hand and strolled towards her son. Atobe was now sitting beside the window, vigorously rubbing his cheek.

"Yes." The maid bowed solemnly before walking out and shutting the door behind her.

"Now," Mrs. Atobe rested her palms on his shoulders. "Let me see what you want to get rid of."

"This!" Atobe jabbed a finger at the mole. "It's ugly."

"I agree." Mrs. Atobe nodded her head. Atobe turned to face the window and hugged his knees.

"You didn't have to agree!"

Mrs. Atobe giggled.

"Now, we all need a little bit of imperfection. It makes us perfect."

Now Atobe was confused.

"How can you be perfect when you have imperfect stuff?"

"They are very important," Mrs. Atobe stated seriously. "They must be there so that people can know what is perfect and what is not."

Atobe stared blankly at her.

"Your skin is flawless, but it's a little boring when your face is so plain. With that mole there, it makes your skin perfect, the prettiest masterpiece anyone could have."

"Really?" Atobe whispered.

"Really really." His mother replied smilingly.

"Why are you going to recess with me? I thought you always hung out by yourself?" Shishido asked suspiciously, eyeing Atobe's lunch box like it was poison.

"Because I want to be perfect," Atobe replied pompously. "And for me to do that, I need to have a little imperfection around me. That way, people can see that I'm perfect."

"…"

"Ow! Why did you kick me for?" Atobe fumed, rubbing his leg gingerly.

fin.

Edited: 16/08/07

Reviews would be helpful.