Chapter 1- Temptation

Temptation is like curiosity, and quite often more than not it gets the better of us…

How did I come to this conclusion? Well there's a story behind that, but first let me explain the past and in between and as we go along I'm sure you will see just what I mean, and hopefully without me having to point it out! So here goes:

After the carnival Shizuru moved back home to Kyoto to attend university and learn how to run the company of which she was the sole heir. I tried to go back to being completely rebellious and do my own thing whilst trying to use my contacts to get me through the misery that is high school.

Unfortunately for me my contacts became ordinary citizens after the destruction of first district and even though Shizuru moved away, she did stay long enough to bring me up to a passing level in all my classes, and when I attended extra classes she always made sure to tag along to make sure I didn't skip and paid attention, well as much attention as I could with her right next to me.

When Shizuru did finally leave, I was miserable so I resorted to venting my frustrations my beating anyone on the streets, or in dark alleys that dared to challenge me. As cuts and bruises became a daily annoyance, I built up my tolerance of alcohol and my motherly friend Mai spent many hours trying to lecture sense into me but in my misery, ignorance truly was bliss!

But all bliss must inevitably come to an end. One night after talking to Shizuru on the phone I couldn't control the pain searing through my heart, spreading to my entire being, so being the baka I truly am I drowned myself in alcohol (metaphorically) and went for a high speed adrenaline rush on my Ducati. It was no real surprise in my drunken state and high speeds that I came about being involved in an accident, but surprisingly it wasn't my fault.

Believe it or not it was actually Midori's fault, the normally drunk woman, finally went a night without alcohol and replaced it with road rage, pulling onto my side of the road to overtake on a blind corner I was forced to try to swerve to dodge her but being highly intoxicated as I was, my reflexes weren't as they could have been and Midori ended up swerving in my same direction causing a collision.

Midori's miss direction caused my bike to slam into her car and me to be sent steaming into the car she was trying to illegally overtake. The only reason I survived that night was because Yokho happened to be the driver Midori was trying to overtake.

I spent four days unconscious, coming in and out of surgery after surgery. The best part was my head went unharmed thanks to the safety of my helmet, well I just mean I didn't get brain damage, but I did get a cut from the shattered glass on the right side of my head. My other injuries consisted of many broken bones in my right leg, and practically my entire left side of my upper body from all the fragile little annoying bones in my hand, to three shattered ribs that miraculously were actually able to be put back together thanks to the miracle that is Yokho's medical skills.

Oh yeah, explanation about that part, suppose I got ahead of myself. Yes Yokho may have simply appeared to be the school doctor but in reality she is a world renowned medical surgeon that just preferred the simple carefree life of being an average everyday doctor. But when time called for it she was THE doctor and she pulled out her qualifications when her best friend Midori required it.

One of the most worrisome of my injuries that joined and accompanied the ribs and hand was a long deep cut that ran down from the bottom middle of my left shoulder blade and curved dangerously close to my spine well actually it did graze into my spine and then downwards to the bottom of my back. The nerves surrounding my spine went through all these weird surgeries and Yokho had to do even more surgery to make sure my spine was going to be okay and protected. At one stage she wasn't certain if I would ever walk again as the spine is such a delicate and hard to repair part of the body.

Luck had only slightly been the reason for my survival. In reality I had three reasons on why I survived, Shizuru returned by my side, Shizuru's family paid for me to be transferred to the elite hospital in Kyoto and Yokho basically became my own personal doctor. Midori was so distraught from the accident that it actually seemed like Yokho was caring for two people.

And that basically sums it up. My accident sent me to Kyoto where Shizuru visited quite often, caring for me and allowing me to feel at peace, away from all the pain when I was within her arms. For your average obedient patient I would have been in the hospital for a couple of months recovering, but being determinedly set on leaving the hospital I very often tried to escape.

My injuries made my escape attempts seem weak and pointless but as I became accustomed to the way my body moved, and ached I was able to adjust enough to escape. As my luck had already run out by simply surviving I happened to escape just at the time Shizuru decided to visit, and she is the only one able to see right through me in any kind of disguise.

So as I thought I made a successful escape attempt, I was so proud that I was able to pull it off and blissfully ignorant with being outdoors that I failed to notice that I was being followed. Paying no attention to anything or anyone I strolled my way into a park and almost immediately something was pushing on my legs and when I looked down I realized a puppy had escaped it's owners and was now rubbing up against me in a friendly manner.

Smiling I bent down and started playing with the puppy in which its owners were very grateful as it meant they weren't going to have to chase after it again. Before the puppy and I separated ways I gave it once last pat on its head and almost as if it realized what was happening the puppy leapt up and gave me a farewell lick. Most people would find this disgusting but finally getting out of that damn hospital and receiving such an action made my day!

At peace with where I was I walked over to a nearby seat under the shade of a tree, watching as adults, children and dogs alike played together happy under the sun's rays. Lost in my own world I didn't realize anyone was next to me until I heard that angelic voice "Ara, Natsuki, as much as I am happy to see you smiling again you still have to go back to the hospital."

Turning I gave her my best puppy eye's pout combo. She giggled and looked at me in complete adoration as she wrapped her arms around me and I snuggled up to her as if to say silently 'just a little longer, we can stay just a little longer'. Falling asleep in Shizuru's arms Natsuki was carried back to the hospital before the sun set.

Realizing I was capable of escape and wasn't going to stop anytime soon the hospital organized an agreement with me well more with Shizuru, they wouldn't lock me up or restrain me in the hospital if I agreed to live with a friend or relative (even though they were staring at Shizuru), who claimed responsibility to care for me and either a nurse or Yokho visited me daily and I did whatever they asked of me.

Thankfully when they proposed this arrangement Shizuru was in the room and she just took over for me, so within that week I was moved in with Shizuru. And yes because we were in Kyoto, Shizuru was living with her parents so I was very unsure and nervous about this arrangement.

As expected Shizuru and her parents live in a mansion that is very elegant with the big long drive way, pristine everything from gravel to flowers, trees and gutters. And there I was, totally out of my comfort zone as her parents welcomed me into both their arms and their home. Apparently Shizuru is very close with her parents, even after the distance and they had heard many a good thing about me which had me worried 'what has she been telling them about me?'