Amnesia
by Mich
Natsume, you have been saying that tonnes of my brain cells are destroyed every time Hotaru uses the Idiot Gun on me, so me – Sakura Mikan – wants to prove you wrong by shooting myself countless times – and I'll prove to you that I'm no idiot.
Mikan.
"Holy fuck –" Natsume cursed as he stared at the crumpled piece of note the brunette left him with in his room.
Nogi Ruka had a firm scowl on his lips – Imai Hotaru had this annoyed look plastered on her indifferent face – while Natsume kept swearing while throwing the paper away from him.
"No trash in my laboratory bastard." Hotaru warned as she looked at the boy's act. "Pick it up."
Natsume – as if ignoring the inventor – ruffled his hair in exasperation – "This friend of yours is a genius." He muttered sarcastically.
"Stupid you –" she retorted, "—you're the one who made her do this."
The boy looked at him disapprovingly, "You're the one who is always shooting that idiot on the head, plus – I'm just giving an honest comment."
"That –" she pointed, "—is not an honest comment. It's ridiculous, dimwit."
Natsume looked like he was about to explode. "How did you know it's not true?" he snarled, impatience evident in his tone.
"Because it wasn't even theoretically proven. And one more thing—" she smiled mischievously, "—Imai Hotaru doesn't and will never invent things which are bad to the body, especially when the brain is concerned."
Oh, we probably forgot about Nogi Ruka.
"Uh –" he paused, hesitantly continuing his sentence when Natsume and Hotaru both darted their eyes to him "—let's calm down first?"
"Boy, how rationale is that." Natsume muttered bitterly. "—if only she kept the gun in a place where the idiot didn't know where to find."
"What the frick Hyuga. Do you expect me to shove it up my arse?" Hotaru barked, completely annoyed.
"Damn you –"
"Whoa whoa whoa. Cut it out you two!"
"What!" both glared at him and yelled on his face.
Ruka trembled as his shoulder shook, "Don't – effin' – yell – at me! And I say, stop bickering and go fucking search for Sakura, now!"
Natsume looked as if he just saw a ghost – the anger on his face completely gone, while Hotaru narrowed her amethyst eyes – and almost looked like she was about to pounce at Ruka for instructing her.
"I'll get back at you later, Nogi." She muttered dangerously. "For now, I will look for Mikan. And don't you dare say I'm obeying to your orders – cause' I'm not. I'm just doing something a best friend to an idiot should do. And until then, you'd better watch your back." Hotaru said flatly as she approached her invention rack to get her necessary equipment.
"Best friend!" Natsume scoffed. "—now that's surprising."
"Shut up Hyuga – or do you want a piece of this?" she fished out the Hoof Hammer as she smirked triumphantly.
Natsume held his breath before uttering a reluctant "Fine – I'll look for her at the elementary grounds."
Hotaru just rolled her eyes at the boy as he left her laboratory – with a slam. "Figures." She mumbled. "And you?"
Ruka jumped up a little in surprise – he just couldn't believe he just raised his voice at both his best friend and the girl – his blackmailer. "Err—" he sputtered, "—I'll ask for Piyo's help."
And Hotaru just gave him that what-the-hell look before he scampered out from her territory.
***
"Idiot? You there?"
I was searching for her for almost half a day already!
I scratched my disheveled hair as I looked every possible spot.
Damn her.
"May I help you?"
A voice interrupted my terrain of thoughts as I looked back to see the person. It was her!
"Stupid idiot! Where were you all day?" I crinkled my nose at her, and I wasn't going to let her go unpunished like this.
"How rude!" she responded, her voice a little different than the usual – she spoke with formality albeit loud – "I'm not some stupid idiot for your information. My name is Sakura Mikan."
"Duh?" I rolled my eyes at her and dragged her wrist, "Let's go, before Imai fry me –"
"Let me go, you stranger!"
She yanked my arm away and glared at me.
"What the heck? Stranger?" I stared at her incredulously.
"Duh!–" this time she was the one who rolled her eyes at me, "—and I have no idea why this gun is with me. Hotaru would kill me if she sees me holding it. She would've thought I kidnapped it!" she prattled on.
So she remembers Imai and… the gun, and not me.
I glanced at the tip of her brunette hair, my fingers snapped as I tried to complete my day with my last routine – burn her hair.
And there was nothing. No burning, no screaming, no chasing. And that made me shift uncomfortably.
"Hey. You aren't faking, right?" I queried, trying to search of denial in her butterscotch eyes. There was none.
I shook her shoulders. "Hey!"
Dude, this is not a drama!
"Damn it –" she said in a daze, "—stop shaking me! I'm getting dizzy!"
"It's Hyuga Natsume damn it. And don't tell me that name didn't strike your puny brain at all!" I looked into her eyes – expecting her to burst out in laughter in any minute – saying it's all a prank and stuff.
"No." she replied flatly. And that was the last straw.
Knock.
***
"Hyuga, I swear if anything happened to her, I'll skin you alive and slice your flesh and feed those hungry wolves and bears!" Hotaru growled at the boy as she stood beside the bed.
Apparently, Hyuga Natsume knocked Sakura Mikan out cold and brought her to the hospital before informing her best friend, Imai Hotaru and also his, Nogi Ruka.
"Your hyperbole is too extreme." Natsume replied acidly, while the blonde snickered beside him.
And when Hotaru snapped her head towards them, Natsume just ignored her while Ruka cleared his throat – obviously trying to stop laughing.
She then felt a stir on the bed, followed by a groan.
"Argh –" Mikan rubbed her eyes and sat up from the bed, "—where am I?"
"Mikan." Hotaru started, and then – WHACK.
"Hey!" she screamed, "—what was that for?!"
"I swear if you do that again I'll feed you to Piyo." the inventor riposted sardonically.
And that phrase made Natsume stifle a laugh. "You fail humor –" he looked at Ruka, who had a frown on his face, "—and sarcasm."
"Why Piyo..." Ruka mumbled incoherently as he creased his forehead.
"I have enough of glaring and snapping my head for today. So leave, before you beg to my inventions." Hotaru fished out her Idiot Gun. Apparently she had retrieved it from the nurse before she visited Mikan.
"Uh, Hotaru?" Mikan asked unsurely as she accidentally glanced at Natsume.
"You!" she snarled as she pointed accusingly at him, "You knocked me out!"
Natsume just looked at her indifferently, while Hotaru tried her best to avoid using the Idiot Gun, considering she was already hospitalized. "Seriously Mikan. You budge one more time and I won't hesitate to blow this on your head."
"—and get more brain cells destroyed." Natsume droned. "and—" his eyebrows wrinkled in annoyance, "—she seems to have no recollection about me at all."
Ruka looked at Natsume in disbelief while Hotaru raised a brow at him.
"Yeah yeah!" Mikan seconded, "and he was so rude! He even called me stupid idiot! Who is he anyway? Do I know him at all? I mean, if I actually know someone like this, I would have been annoyed to death by his remarks!"
Natsume – pointing at her – "Stupid girl. You know me. And I know you. And I
should be the one getting annoyed to death – not you."
"And and! I think he cussed at me too!"
She completely ignored him, while he twitched at her ignorance. Ruka just stood by and silently laughed at their little scene.
"Tell me what happened." Hotaru asked.
She kept quiet for a while – probably reminiscing and flashing-back to the scene. "I remembered I was fiddling with your Idiot Gun then suddenly it goes off and hit me straight on my head –" she rubbed her temple, "- and it was painful. Then poof! The next thing I know I heard this bastard-" she snapped her head towards him, "- started yelling 'stupid idiot stupid idiot' –" she mimicked while Natsume glared at her, "- and woke me up."
Hotaru snickered when she heard Mikan's explanation, "Couldn't agree more on the bastard part." And she proceeded to examine her invention as she ignored the glare from Natsume which – obviously – shifted from the brunette to her.
She checked the settings of the gun before letting out a soft gasp. "Stupid Mikan."
The latter bawled, "Not you too Hotaru? My IQ is perfectly above zero."
"Being above zero doesn't mean you're not dumb and thick-headed." Natsume muttered.
Instead of an expected wail, the brunette hollered another insult at the boy. "I need not a barbaric stranger like you to make a remark about me. You might be handsome and all, but no thank you."
He raised a brow before a mocking smile graced his lips. "You think I'm handsome?"
"Shut up." Both Hotaru and Mikan chorused, before the former continued with a huff, "This idiot accidentally used the Amnesia mode which I was experimenting."
"Amnesia mode?" Ruka asked in confusion, "Why on earth would you make something like that?"
"Ask the Academy. They wanted minimum problems with security during missions, so they asked me a favor to make them something which would make the guards forget what was happening even when someone attacked them and broke into their premises. Cliché." She explained.
"I thought you said this is only for idiots –" he looked at the patient, "- like her?" The girl, in return, glared at him with an I'm-about-barf-at-you look. Touché. "So you assumed the guards are stupid too? Well, I have to admit – some are ridiculously idiotic."
The phrase seemed to catch Hotaru off-guard. She paused for a while before clearing her throat, "No. I told you it was only in experimental stage. But heck, I don't think anyone would purposefully shoot themselves just to prove something to someone – just like what this idiot did."
The brunette kept quiet.
"But that doesn't explain the reason why she couldn't remember me at all." He questioned.
"Well, she probably was thinking about you and the dare note when the bullet hits her head. Plus the dosage is not fixed yet. It's still strong I think." She briefed.
"Can the amnesia be fixed? You remember me, do you Sakura?" Ruka looked at the girl with concern, hope evident in his tone.
"Of course! Why would I forget you?" Mikan cocked her head in confusion as she turned her head towards the foreigner in her room, "He must be one heck of a bastard if I can forget him with just one chemically-altered bullet."
"I couldn't agree more." Hotaru nodded in approval, and when Ruka breathed out a relieved sigh, Natsume just stare icily at his poor best friend – probably out of jealousy.
"Fine, Imai. Straight to the point – solution."
"There's no solution. I already told you that it's on experimental stage. And it's permanent. Plus, I wasn't supposed to make an antidote on this as we're using on our enemies, not our allies. Blackmailing will then be possible should the cure exist." Hotaru noted briefly.
Natsume frowned at the statement. He jerked her head towards the amnesia girl, "You're so stupid and you forgot about me. That's utterly deplorable."
"I am actually glad I forgot about you, barbarian." she mocked.
"Hey—" Ruka interrupted, "-is it just me or I keep hearing you guys say the word 'stupid'? Dude, if you keep saying that, you'll be stupid yourself!" and he laughed at his own sentence while the other three looked at him disapprovingly.
"That's so corny." Natsume commented as he stared dryly at his laughing friend.
"Just like when Hyuga said about how my gun kills countless of brain cells when it shoots." Hotaru riposted as she looked as deadpanned as always.
"Sorry Ruka." Mikan smiled apologetically at the awkward blonde as he cleared his throat.
"Fine. I'll shut up before I embarrass myself further."
"Anyway, Hyuga." the evil glint in her eyes shone brightly, "I might have a clue, but I don't know whether it'll work or not."
"Speak." There was no hesitation in his voice.
"Talk to her about something you two share very closely. That might help." she said flatly. And when Natsume just stared at her in befuddlement, she mouthed an obvious word to him, which made the former widen his eyes. "And awkward bunny-boy, we need to go."
"Why?" Ruka retorted.
And she turned to stare at him – in a rather creepy way as she was emitting a dark aura. "Fine." He uttered reluctantly. "Sakura? I'll be leaving now. Get well soon."
"What?!" she bellowed, "You're leaving me with this savage?! No Hotaru! Don't leave me alone!"
SLAM.
"Meanie." She pursed her lips.
"One more insult and I'm so gonna rip that hair of yours out." Natsume warned.
"Burn all you like. I wonder who's having the amnesia now – I have the Nullification Alice by the way – stranger."
Natsume tried to swallow down his anger and irritation whenever the brunette started to call him names. And she even seemed to have out-smarted him every single time with her new pride. It makes him feel stupid.
And then something hit him. "Hold on. I thought you don't remember me at all? How did you know I have the Fire Alice? And how did you know I would destroy your hair by burning it?" Natsume narrowed his eyes, "- this is so suspicious."
Mikan was at a loss of words."Ohh. Course' not! I'm just guessing? Hey, your eyes are crimson! That's so rare!"
That didn't distract him. Instead, he remembered about the word the inventor mouthed to him earlier. Set up or not, he's so going to enjoy it.
"You know –" he approached the bed and sat beside the girl. He raised his hand to caress her cheek – he felt her stiffened at his touch. "- don't be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you." He made sure his voice was a key lower – velvety and sexy enough to make any girl melt.
Shuddered at the sudden change of the boy's behavior, Mikan sputtered, "He-hey, d-don't touch me. I don't know you –"
"Hush." He silenced the girl and embraced her, a hand keeping her securely in his arms, another touching her silky hair. He felt her shivering again, and he knew he got her there.
"I never liked burning your hair-" Natsume trailed her locks with his slender fingers, "- it's so beautiful and it suits you so well, especially when you leave it down."
"Re-really?" she searched for words. She desperately needed his charisma now.
"Of course. Have I ever lied to you?" he slightly turned his head – his lips brushing against her nape, "And I had wanted to do this since forever." He kissed her neck softly - chaste and warm. He knew she was freaking out already – she didn't move one bit – but he was still having fun and he definitely don't want to be a killjoy to his own amusement.
"Uh- Hyuga-san, was it?"
***
I smirked – so she hadn't finish playing yet.
"Yes?" I murmured as he held her closer. I felt her relaxing in my arms this time. For that moment there, I really didn't know whether it was still a pretense or it was plain reality.
"Why are you doing this?"
Trust Sakura Mikan to spoil the good moments. I sighed before whispering at her ear, "I don't know? But it's rather obvious right?"
"Uh-" I felt her pushing me away a little, "-we shouldn't be doing this?"
I frowned at the difference in her actions, holding on her still. "Why?"
"Cause we don't – err – like each other?"
She just gave the lamest excuse ever.
"Oh shut up Mikan." I released her from the embrace and crashed my lips against hers. I knew she was stunned when I felt her not responding to the warm contact.
"Something wrong?" I asked her in concern.
"No… I mean, this is – a confession right?" she questioned in uncertainty.
I exhaled, "Can you do me favor?"
She looked at me eagerly.
"Just stop the act and get real."
And I swear her eyes were as big as saucers when I slammed another kiss onto her lips. I don't know whether the shock on her eyes was of her little play being completely backfired, or simply just because she didn't expect me to kiss her again.
Out of character? Unlikely. But I still don't know whether that fixed the amnesia.
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