Title: Saving You
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Summary: He was her savior. He saved her life, saved her from the darkness that was slowly consuming her. And ever so slowly, her old self was resurfacing... that cheerful and bubbly girl she once was. He had saved her, in many other ways she could ever realize. He saved her from the darkness, saved her from physical harm… he saved her heart and healed it, making it able to love once again. But then, his words that night he saved her kept on flashing like warning signs inside her head... "Just promise me one thing: never ever fall in love with me."
Being afraid of the dark is what keeps most of us alive.
Tears were carelessly falling from her amber eyes, her cheeks had started to be stained with them. She didn't know how many hours she had been crying, nor did she care to find out how long she was crying her eyes out.
Mikan Sakura had just run away from home. Away from her comfy bed and all the luxury she had grown up with… away from her stepfather.
She cringed just from remembering him. The Rei Serio she knew when her mother was still alive was gone. He used to be a caring, gentle father figure she grew up with since she hadn't known her real father at all. Maybe she has, but she really couldn't remember him at all.
Izumi Yukihara passed away because of an illness when his daughter was barely a year old.
But then, when his mother had died from that freak incident a few weeks ago, the man she considered as her father had started to change. He became cold and unfeeling... and the warmth she had sought from a father and saw in his eyes was suddenly gone. It was replaced by something... what it was? She didn't know.
At first, she didn't mind. She kept on telling herself that he was being like this because of her mother's death... but she was wrong.
That night, the same night she ran away from home, the brunette found out the truth behind her mother's sudden death.
Rei Serio was drunk, and the stench of alcohol he was emitting made the brunette scrunch her little nose.
Mikan hurriedly walked to his side and ordered the maids to get warm water and make a cup of coffee as she held his stepfather near her side. They walked to his room's direction and gently shut the door close.
She asked him if he was okay, if somehow, he was feeling a bit queasy because of his current state. His stepfather looked at her sternly, before something odd sparked in his coal-black eyes.
Not recognizing it, the brunette chose to ignore it. But it was then that her stepfather locked the door and grabbed her that she realized... this was not the man she considered as her second father. The man in front of her was nothing but a vile old man.
Fear registered on her face as soon as he grabbed both of her arms and shoved her into a wall nearby.
"Funny, Mikan-" he whispered, his voice was laced with something that made the brunette whimper, "-your face mirrored your mother's the moment she found out that I want her dead."
She gasped and didn't realize the tears staining her pale, ashen face.
"Oh yes," he continued. "I planned her death. She knew I was about to kill her for almost a year, but she said nothing and acted as normal as possible. For you. For her precious little daughter. She said she'd do anything for you. So I tested her, asked her to leave for a while… asked her to lie to you when she told you she had an emergency business meeting to attend to. She didn't know... a huge explosion was waiting for her on that private plane of hers."
The brunette sobbed as the man in front of her gave her a creepy look before licking his lips darkly.
"I told her I wanted you, the same moment when she found out that I was planning to get her killed... But you know what she told me?" Rei Serio chuckled darkly before continuing, his voice poorly imitated that of her mother's. "You'll get her, over my dead body," he said and grimaced. Rei then looked at the frail looking girl in front of him and chuckled once again.
He then planted a wet lingering kiss on her cheek. Mikan whimpered once again and chose to close both her eyes. The man moved his lips near her ears and whispered softly to her, "And now that she's gone, I'm now ready to claim you as mine."
Hearing those words, fear and adrenaline fuelled her will to get out of that room alive, with her virginity intact. She thrashed around him and kicked him where it would hurt the most. He kneeled on the floor, his hands cupping his crotch protectively.
"You bitch!" he shouted as he lunged himself to her once again. This time, Mikan grabbed the closest thing to her and whacked him on the side of his head. The thing, it turned out, was a flower vase.
Blood flowed from his wound on the side of his head, as he lay unconscious on the floor. She then followed her instinct and ran outside the room.
That night, she left that place, telling herself that she would never come back to that house... alive.
Tears were carelessly falling from her amber eyes, and her cheeks had started to be stained with them. She didn't know how many hours she had been crying, nor did she care to find out how long she was crying her eyes out.
Mikan Sakura had just run away from home. Away from her comfy bed and all the luxury she had grown up with… away from his stepfather.
She sobbed as she climbed on the side of the bridge, not caring if the cold wind of the night was making the hair on her arms stand on their ends.
She was going to die anyway.
Mikan closed her eyes, spread both of her hands apart as she willed herself to fall off the bridge.
Well, that was before someone grabbed her before she could even fall, and dragged her off to the end of the road, away from the bridge.
She thrashed and tried to get away from the person, but she couldn't. He or she was too strong for her. That, or she was just too tired to even exert an effort. The brunette then heard her savior speak.
"Are you freakin' crazy? You could have died!"
She looked at him and gave him her best glare. And yes, her savior was a he… a very handsome he as a matter of fact. But she didn't care.
"Well, that's the point, right?" she retorted sarcastically.
The man narrowed his eyes, turned and walked away, taking her with him in the process as he was still holding her arm. His grip was going to leave a bruise on her arm alright.
"Hey! Where are you taking me?" she shouted. The man stopped on his tracks and looked back at her.
"Well, I'm taking you home. Address?"
The brunette visibly paled and averted her gaze away from him. "I have no home."
She then heard the man beside him snicker. "You ran away from home," he said.
Mikan glared at him once again. "I don't want to go back there again! I have no reasons to stay there!"
The man grunted and let go of her. Oh, that was good. She could finally feel her arm now. "Care to tell me the reasons why you can't go home, huh, little girl?"
The brunette felt her cheeks flush. "I-I'm not little anymore!"
Her savior looked at her, letting his eyes linger on her figure. He then let his eyes stay longer on her chest and laughed softly. "I beg to differ," he then said.
Mikan blushed again, as she tried to cover her chest protectively from him. "What are you looking at?" she said, and looked him in the eyes. Her eyebrows furrowed when she noticed his eyes... they were an unusual shade of red, almost like blood. Mentally shaking her head, she scowled and turned away from him before walking to the bridge's direction once again.
"Hey, little girl! Where do you think you're going?"
She looked back at him and found both of his hands on the side of his hips, his forehead knotted. "To die, what else?" she said and continued to walk away. The brunette took a deep breath as neared the side of the bridge. She then heard the sound of a motorcycle coming into life but chose to ignore it.
She was about to climb on the side of the bridge once again when for the second time, she was dragged away from it. But this time, there were no arms wrapped around her. Instead, she realized, she was on a motorcycle, lying on her stomach, behind its driver.
Mikan screamed. What could this man be thinking? She could have died! Err, well...
"Stop it! You're too loud!"
"AHHHHH! Rapist! Someone help me! I'm being kidnapped! Help!"
The man stopped the motorcycle and turned to face her. The brunette then ceased from shouting when he saw the look in his eyes... he was annoyed. At her. Mikan mentally told herself not to snicker.
"Shut the hell up or I'll leave you here alone," he then said as he handed her a spare helmet he had just in case someone might need a ride. Well, not that he had intentions of letting a stranger ride his precious motorcycle, but... you get the point. "Wear it and get on. I want to go home."
She obeyed him and put the helmet on as she got on the seat behind him. "Where are you taking me?" she then asked.
"I told you. Home."
Eh?
Mikan looked at herself on the mirror in front of her. She was wearing a man's clothes... Natsume's to be exact.
He told him his name as they walked into his apartment. He then got some clothes for her and ordered her to take a bath before going to the kitchen. The brunette obeyed and went inside the bathroom.
Once alone, she couldn't help but cry once again. The memories of what had happened earlier that day still lingered in her mind, and there was no way she could ever forgot those. She let her tears wet her cheeks and scrubbed her skin until it turned red.
She sighed and stared into space. Will there come a time when she could forget about all these things?
The brunette turned to the sound of his footsteps, looking at Natsume. He just finished taking a bath like her, and he looked more handsome than she first saw him. The brunette mentally scolded herself.
"If you're hungry, there's food in the kitchen," he said as he walked past her. He opened the door into his room, but he stopped when he heard her whisper something under her breath. "What?"
"I said, why are you doing this? Why did you save me?"
Looking back at the woman (yes, woman) a few feet away from him, he answered, "I don't even know why. I guess, I don't want to see your face in the morning news tomorrow morning with the headlines: Little Girl, Found Dead."
She felt her cheeks flush. "I told you I'm not little, you-"
"Yeah, yeah. Go to the guestroom and sleep. You have work tomorrow."
"Work? I'm still underage. I-"
"You'll only work part-time. You still have school, don't you?"
"I don't want to go to school anymore," she softly whispered and looked at him. Seeing him with his eyebrow raised, she then added, "And I haven't worked for anyone, you jerk! If my mother found out that I'm working for someone like you, she'd-"
Her words were suddenly cut off as she chose to sit on the couch, bowing her head to look at his polished floor.
"Well, don't you think your mother will be worried once she finds out that you've run away from home?"
"My mother is dead," she softly whispered.
Natsume was quiet for a few moments. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."
"It doesn't matter." Her head turned to look at him, her amber eyes sharp and glaring. "And don't you change the topic, mister. I'm not going to work for you, you-"
"You'll be working for me. You think I'm kind enough to let you live here for free?" he said as he crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned against his bedroom door.
Mikan huffed and knotted her forehead before sighing. "I-I don't know if I should say this, but… thank you."
Natsume gently nodded as he looked back at her. Smirking, he said, "Don't mention it," before turning the doorknob and opening the door.
"Okay," she said and decided to walk to the guestroom's direction he had pointed to her earlier.
The man looked back at the brunette once again and seeing her treating figure, he told her, "Just promise me one thing."
The brunette stopped in her track at the sound of his voice and looked at him. "What?"
Natsume smirked at her before saying, "Never ever fall in love with me."
And with that, seeing her mouth agape, he closed the door and went to sleep.
A/N: Edited. Somewhat. :D