Weird that I'm writing a slight tragedy. And it's a one-shot.
Inspired by Hotarubi No Mori E.
Later allegories to Peter Pan inspired by At the Riverside of Neverland, a FairyTail fanfic. (way better than this, you guys should check it out)
Page border design by Esa MaRie
Thanks.
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It all began with a simple encounter.
Through the forest, underneath the leaves, and next to a sturdy oak tree was a little eight-year old city girl by the name of Mikan Sakura. At full posture, she was four feet two inches. However, now she was one feet eleven inches, huddled against the trunk of the great oak tree, crying.
She was lost; more specifically, she was lost in a forbidden territory that local villagers had shunned.
Her hiccups came in five-second intervals, and her arms wounded tightly around her legs. Almost all of her hope was lost in getting found.
Until a voice floated from above. "What's wrong?"
Her eyes peered up, watery and glistened in misery.
Brunette met raven.
Hazel eyes met black holes of a dark cat mask.
It was a simple encounter that – arguably – led to revelation or demise of emotions.
Mikan thanked the heavens, promising to brush her teeth everyday, as she stared, open-throated, at the mysterious boy. Five-eleven, he towered over her four-two stature. He was sixteen years old (when she badgered him with questions) while she was eight. And she wondered why a queer male like him would wander through the forest.
At least he was taking her back home. She didn't want Grandpa to worry his socks off.
"…T-thank you…" she mumbled.
"Hn."
Mikan blinked several times. She was so accustomed to no problem, you're welcome, or even it's okay to a 'thank you.' His response was very new to her mind.
"W-well," she tried again, "what's your name? I'm Mikan."
They continued walking in silence, much to the little girl's disappointment. She huffed at the unfair exchange of names.
"Stop."
Mikan halted, transitioning from a pout to a look of curiosity. The two stood before an enormous shrine gate and an abandoned building.
"Walk straight ahead, and you'll end up at the villages," he continued, "you'll be safe from here."
"T-thanks!" she stuttered, robotically walking straight, then next to the boy.
In her memories, she had recalled her father always thanking others with a handshake, so she stuck out her hand while offering a toothy grin. The brunette hoped she could at least get a handshake out of him.
However, the boy looked at Mikan as if she grew eight heads and a Jersey devil on her back. "What?"
She blinked rapidly. "Hand….shake?"
He stiffened to her uncertain question as he stepped back a few feet.
"…Oh…w-well…thanks though…" Mikan miffed, trying not to cry from his visible repulsion. She was hurt that she couldn't get him to open up at all.
"I'm Natsume."
"Huh?" she asked, startled from the outburst.
"You had asked, so I answered," he muttered, somewhat looking away. "Now go home."
A brief silence passed between them before a grin broke out on Mikan's face. "Natsume…Natsume!" she sang happily.
"What?" he snapped.
Mikan only giggled at his outburst. "Natsume! Can I come back tomorrow?"
"No," he retorted.
"Why not?" she asked.
"Haven't you heard from the villagers? This is spirit territory. You can't come back here," the male growled as menacingly as he could.
"…Can I visit you?"she questioned, ignoring his threat.
"No!"
"Okay! I'll be here at the shrine gate tomorrow with tasty snacks!" she called over her shoulder, despite the raven-haired's rejections. The little brunette cheerfully skipped home.
"I can't believe you're here again."
"Well, you're here!" she pouted.
"You asked me to be here."
"No, I didn't! I just said I would be here!"
Natsume clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Stubborn little brats," he muttered.
She gapped. "I can hear you!"
Sniffing, the raven-haired boy walked away from her, slouching with his hands in his pockets. After walking some distance, he hesitated, turned around, and readjusted the mask on his face. "You coming or not?"
Mikan blinked, and then happily trotted behind him.
It grew from occasional to frequent to daily visits. She would appear with snacks, ready to explore the forest, and he would wait, despite his grumbles.
"You shouldn't touch or eat that," he commented, watching the little girl peer at a mushroom.
"What makes you say that?"
"It's red."
Little Mikan pouted. "But it's so pretty!"
"Just because it's pretty doesn't mean the mushroom is edible."
"Whatever!" she huffed angrily. "I'm gonna pick it for grandpa to see. It's pretty, and I like red."
Twitching an eyebrow, the boy formed a small fire on the palm of his hand, twirling it before shooting it towards the mushroom. It burst into flames.
"W-w…why'd you do that?! Actually, how did you set it on fire?!" she yelled, watching the toadstool shrivel into blackness.
"Let's go." The boy swiftly turned despite the brunette's loud complaints. He continued walking, and Mikan, though angry and frustrated, had to follow.
Little Mikan never realized why the forbidden area was dubbed spirit territory by local villagers. And neither did she know the reason to why Natsume possessed 'magical tricks' for fire.
They were walking in a forest until it suddenly darkened.
"I-Is it safe here, Natsume?" she murmured, frightened by the misty, dark air surrounding them.
A small hesitation elongated. "Stay close to me."
"Okay…"
He held out a hand as a small burst of flame erupted from his palm. "This is why I warned you. It's spirit territory," Natsume said. In one swift motion, eight fireballs flew in different directions from his hand as they lit up the forest.
"Spi-spirits?! They-!" she began.
A shriek rang out. Then a black wisp formed behind a tree; an eye swung in front, staring at Natsume, then hungrily at Mikan, who was frightened out of her wits.
"…Is that…a human I see?" it hissed.
Natsume bit his lips as Mikan whimpered. The boy used a stick to push the girl further behind.
A small, devious grin formed as it chuckled, "Can I eat the human, Natsume?"
She gulped. The spirit somehow knew Natsume.
"You can't eat her," Natsume interrupted, startling Mikan out of her thoughts, "she is my friend."
"I see…" it hummed before swinging its eye back towards Mikan. "Let us make a promise then, human. I shall not eat you if you do not ever touch Natsume's skin."
"T-touch Natsume?" she stammered. It never occurred to her that Natsume had never stepped closer than two feet.
The handshake.
Her eyes widened slightly.
"If I see that you touch him, I shall have you raw!" the spirit loudly cackled before fading away and dodging Natsume's directed fire.
"I'm leaving."
Natsume looked up from his occupied leaf. "You are?"
The brunette nodded slowly. "I have to go back to Tokyo for school. My parents made me visit my gramps for the summer."
"Hn, I see."
She blinked back a tear, slightly hurt at his monotonousness. It wasn't like she expected him to grovel at her feet, begging her to not leave (though that would've been nice, little Mikan thought), but still. "Well…."
"Are you visiting next summer?"
"Oh! Yea... I am," she said, surprised.
"Then you can just come back next year," Natsume shrugged.
The brunette stood, open-throated while smiling. Suddenly, she had an urge to just jump on Natsume and hug him tearfully.
Yet the thought of the encounter with the spirit stopped her. For some reason, she couldn't touch him. And she didn't want to turn into spirit kabobs just yet.
"Say, Natsume…" the brunette peeped hesitantly, "why do you always avoid my touch? Why did the spirit say it would eat me if I touched you?"
He readjusted his mask, facing Mikan. "Simple. I'm a forest spirit myself."
She gapped, blinking. "Y-you're a forest spirit? S-so, spirits can't touch humans?"
"Yes…and no. I am a spirit. But only I can't touch humans."
"Why?"
He nonchalantly shrugged.
"Do you age normally?"
"If you're referring to humans, then no. I age slower."
"What? Why?"
"You ask too many questions," he snorted, using a hand to shoo her away. "I'll see you next year then."
"Ok…" she said hesitantly, "see you next year then…Natsume."
Mikan was now nine years old, four feet six inches.
"Natsume! I grew three inches!" she yelled in delight.
He observed her while standing next to her. "Still the same height as my elbow."
The brunette pouted. "Thanks."
It had been a year since they've last seen each other, but the two were chattering away like normal, like it never had happened. It was like a year had never passed by – only a week or less.
And that was Mikan's habitual travel during the summer, from the city and back to the rural area with gramps.
And Natsume.
It was very random that Natsume had decided to take her to his secret serenity. A pond rested by as a meadow etched itself to the horizon line, stretching beyond the hills that molded the landscape. Nine-year old Mikan picked at the flowers, creating a flower wreath she had learned from a friend.
"Natsume. Natsume. I think I'm done," she called.
No response. The little girl peeked over her shoulder, finding the teenage boy sound asleep by the pond.
"Natsume?" she asked softly while trodding over. She bent down and tucked her legs underneath her, adjusting into a sitting position next to Natsume's head. She watched the breath heaves and raised her eyebrows.
Her fingers, howeve, left the flower wreath as they slowly inched closer and closer.
Until they touched the tip of his cat mask. The fingers gripped the sides, though hesitant.
Should she?
She sucked in a breath. It was fine if she only touched his mask, right? Slowly, while quivering, Mikan lifted the mask from Natsume.
"...Ah..." she breathed, finding an ok-looking human boy sleeping in front of her. Yes, he was decent...looking, not bad but...just too normal like a human. Her eyes roamed across his shut eyes, marveling at the eyelashes that flowed with the summertime wind.
Then they opened. His eyes, that she had so subconsciously longed for, flickered open, revealing deep red-ruby eyes. They glistened and glanced at the head hovering above.
"What-" he began before Mikan gapped and suddenly slammed the mask back on.
"Sorry!" she screamed. "I didn't-didn't mean to!"
"What the heck?" he growled in pain. "Nine-year olds aren't supposed to be this violent yet."
"I said I was sorry!" she miffed before glancing up. He had already adjusted the mask back on, to her disappointment. "But you...weren't actually asleep though..." she added quietly.
He paused, finally readjusting his position and leaning on his hand. "I looked normal, right? Just like a human," he said plainly.
She nodded.
The walk home was quiet.
Their fourth summer together.
"Shorty?" he called out. "Where are you? Did you get lost again? Short-!"
"BLARGHHHH!" Mikan yelled as she dropped upside down from a tree branch. Dangling by her legs, she smirked. "Hah! Scared you, didn't-"
However, before she finished, her summer dress followed Newton's law of gravity and flipped down, revealing everything from her toes to her belly-button.
"OH GOD!" she screamed an octave higher. "Stupid! Don't stare!" Quickly, she lifted herself up and blushed tomato red.
"Well, good to know you have a conscienceness for indecency," he remarked.
She grumbled. "I don't know what that means."
"Well, just know that you were-"
Suddenly, the tree branch under Mikan cracked, cutting Natsume's sentence. A low creaking sound emerged before it snapped, sending thr little girl plummeting towards the ground.
"Mikan!" he yelled, running towards her.
Everyhing was in slow motion, the little girl realized as she watched his figure run closer and closer. It was going to be fine. With the same speed, he would be able to catch her, and she would land safely into his arms.
Then, the realization hit her.
"No!" she screamed before landing with an oomph in a nearby bush. She gazed up at the trees above her, dazed.
"Hey, you alright?" he asked, concerned.
"I-I...yea..."
"What did you think you were doing?!" A voice boomed. The two flinched at the same time. It continued, "If you had touched her, do you realize what would have happened to you?!"
The brunette looked further up, finding Natsume encased by tree branches a few feet away from her. She sighed in relief. That means he didn't touch her.
Then, she blinked and pinched her cheeks. The tree was talking. And it was holding Natsume back with tree branches. Spirits.
"Little girl, you can't allow him to touch you, no matter what."
A bit frightened, she nodded. It caused the branches to slowly recede from Natsume's figure as a windy whisper floated into the girl's ear.
He ran to her. "Do you feel any pain? I can call up a few spirits to help. One of them can heal and-"
"Natsume."
"What?"
"Natsume," she repeated. "Bad Natsume. Stupid Natsume."
"That's not nice," he scowled. However, the scowl disappeared when he saw her face.
"Listen, y-you idiot... No matter w-what happens to me...y-you," her voice cracked, "can't...e-ever touch me. G-got it? Or else bad stuff happens!"
"Mhm," he hummed, sitting down next to her.
"G-got it?!" Her voice raised a little.
"Yea yea."
It took her an hour to stop crying.
Thirteen years old and entering middle school.
Mikan shuffled her skirt and adjusted her glasses, badly wanting to tear them from her face. But without them, she'd be blind.
"Hey, you look really...different his year," he commented walking up to her.
"You don't need to point that out," she mumbled.
He gave a crooked smile after lifting his mask. "Wanna go by the pond today?"
The brunette blinked, slowly turning her head towards him.
"What?" he asked.
"Is that all you have to say? 'Wanna go by the pond?'"
"Well," Natsume began. "What else...do I-"
"What else." She scoffed and spat out, "you can already see it. How ugly I am. The stupid acne won't go away after all those skin treatments. I got blind from reading books at night, so I got glasses. Zits are now on my face! I even got braces because I needed them at this age!"
He raised his hands. "Woah okay. Slow down."
"I'm not slowing down! I'm angry! I don't even know why sometimes! Actually I do. You know why?!"
He shook his head, a bit cautiously.
"Cause all my friends look so pretty like supermodels. Look at me! I look stupid. Brown hair, boring eyes. Hotaru looks all cool with her violet eyes and pixie cut! Sumire is just a natural beauty! Nonoko looks beaatifully mature, and Anna looks super cute with the new pink hair she got recently! Even Nonoko dyed her hair to blue..." she rambled on.
Natsume nodded, not quite sure how to respond. And he didn't know her friends that well. He had only heard her mention them occasionally, ninety percent being about the Hotaru girl.
"And academics. Everyone thinks I'm some quiet, nerdy girl just because I look like a dork! Well, I can't help it! And it doesn't mean I'm smart! They place so many expectations on me that I'm scared I'll fail them!"
"Then just fail them," he shrugged indifferently.
She swiveled her eyes at him, which were wide in shock. "B-but I don't-!"
"If you don't want to fail them, then just try your best."
She gritted her teeth. "My best is a failure."
He huffed. "If you fail it, then they're just being stupid for setting high standards. People won't ever know until you show them."
"But..." she mumbled, calming down. "I don't want to look like a loser...ugly and stupid..."
"Then you are being stupid. You blame others for setting the bar, yet you don't realize it's you yourself who set them for yourself in the first place. And why do you need to impress others? You have good friends, based on what you told me in the past."
"I guess.."
Natsume took off his mask, giving a full-face smirk at her. "Did you calm down yet?"
"Yeah...sorry." She scratched her head. "I get angry so often now."
He chuckled. "Guess you got your monthly thing then."
Mikan flushed heavily. "W-whatever."
"I'll assume that's a yes. Come on. Let's go to the pond." He walked as the girl trailed behind him. She was deep in thoughts.
"You know," Mikan pursed her lips in amusement. "That was the first time I've ever seen you talk so much."
He stiffened.
"I liked that," she chirped, "thanks for the prep talk."
"...Whatever."
They walked in comfortable silence.
"Oi, shorty," he suddenly said.
"What?"
"I," he began before staring at the ground, "I...think your eyes look fine." Then without waiting for the brunette's answer, he quickened his pace, leaving her far in the back, flushed.
"How many uniforms have you gone through?"
Mikan scowled at him. "I'm attending a private academy. I have to change every year. Besides, it's a nice pattern change from middle school." She twirled her skirt. "I had always felt uncomfortable with the tight collars."
"So technically, you're in high school now."
"Yep~ Though the upperclassmen look at us freshmen like we're some disease." She wrinkled her nose.
"Wow. You're already fourteen," he said absentmindedly, ignoring her comment. "You're catching up."
She paused to comprehend it. After awhile, she admitted, "Yea...I guess I am.
"When will you turn seventeen?" the brunette asked, dipping her feet into the lake, which was originally a pond. From constant rain, the pond had grown over the years.
He hesitated.
"It's okay if you don't want to say," she murmured, laying her back onto the grassy grounds.
One of his hands touched his black-cat mask. "By...the time you're twenty-seven...I'll turn seventeen."
"Oh."
"Yeah..."
Something inside her heart wrenched. She bit her lips, fighting down a sense of uncomfortable nostalgia that was invading her body. Attempting to cover it, she made a goofy smile appear on her face. "Wow Natsume. Aging like a pro. Every human would be jealous of you."
Yet silence ensued. The raven-haired male stared up at the blue, cloudless sky, nonresponsive to her joke.
Junior year.
Mikan gazed at the grey, hooded weather, watching raindrops litter the school windows. She wondered if it was raining over there.
"Mikan!" A voice plucked her away from the windows.
"Oh!" she grinned widely at the blond. "Ruka! What's up?"
"Haha! Nothing! You know! Just cruising along the final exams...and stuff, haha." He fidgeted with his hands.
"Cool."
"Yeah!" he responded awkwardly.
"Well," her hazel eyes peered at the sleet forming from the rain, "I better get home fast before it gets serious. You should too, Ruka." The brunette grabbed her schoolbag and umbrella, heading for the classroom exit.
Yet something wrapped around her wrist. It took Mikan a second to realize it was Ruka's hand. It was warm.
"Ruka?" she asked. "What's wrong?"
"I-I..." he stammered, blushing from ear to ear. "M-Mikan."
"What?"
His wide blue eyes looked up at her, then away before blushing a deeper shade of red. "D-Do you have...time on Friday night...n-n-next week...?"
"I guess. Why?" She raised an eyebrow questionably.
"Y-you know what event that d-day...is..."
She blinked. "I don't."
The blond then gapped at her, jaw dropped to the floor. "It's the Winter Formal dance! How do you not know? It's-!"
"Wait, so in other words, you want me to help you ask someone out?"
He blanched before piling into a mess. "No! I'm not asking someone else out! I'm asking you! You as in Mikan Sakura to the formal dance! I'm not asking any of your friends-!"
"Wait. Me?!" she squeaked, using a finger to point at herself.
Ruka's face then exploded back into deep crimson-red. A moment of silence passed before Ruka's stuttering response came.
"Y-yeah..."
"Eh? Why'd you say that?" he asked the brunette, who blushed while recalling the event.
"Well, you know.."
"What? Explain," the boy demanded.
"I..didn't want to lead him on," she said finally, letting out a sigh. "I mean, I like Ruka, but not in that way. Not...romantically."
Natsume nodded. "I see." He then leaned against a tree trunk before continuing, "Though I'm surprised. Don't people around your age become interested in love? So shouldn't you be as well?"
"I don't know actually," she admitted. "I don't know how it feels to be in love."
He snorted, "Yeah, don't mistake it for obsession."
Mikan scowled and threw a rock at him.
The brunette had never felt so awkward in staying with Natsume. Today, unlike usual, he spaced off, his mouth slightly parted. His mask was a bit sideways, but he never bothered adjusting it.
"What's...wrong?" she asked quietly.
"Nothing," he responded.
"Pft. Liar."
To her surprise, Natsume whipped his mask away and threw it across the meadow before scowling.
"W-woah. Okay then." She blinked and went back to making a flower wreath. She had improved greatly over the years. They had started to look like Hotaru's machine-processed ones.
A brief silence blanketed them until Natsume tore it off, opening his mouth to say something.
She had anticipated it and looked up, only to see him open-throated while gazing at the lake's reflections.
Finally. "I'm human."
Her lips formed an 'O' as she stared wide-eyed at him. "Really?"
"...Actually, I was a human. I was left in the forest, abandoned by my two parents. I was left to fend for myself...But...w-what did they think a baby could do? Hunt? Build a shelter? What..." His eyes then turned to Mikan, hurt and confused. "Why did my parents leave me?"
Her own eyes softened and glistened. "Natsume..."
"They had just left me there. That could only mean one thing. Left in the forest. Left without anything from my parents. No food. No clothes. No notes telling strangers how to care for me. T-they really...didn't want me...to live," he cracked, forcibly grinning.
After Mikan failed to respond, he continued, "I was one second away from death until spirits appeared and sent me to the God of this forest...From the forest God, he granted me the ability to live...but only on one condition..."
"That you can't ever touch another human being..." Mikan whispered.
"And age abnormally...I also can't be in my own body because it's still too weak. Apparently. I'm just a soul floating around." He let out a strangled chuckle. "I'm...not sure how to feel about this."
"Natsume...it's okay... It's just me here."
He smiled. "What are you talking about? The fact that I'm literally a ghost in existence?"
"You're always there whenever I do it..." she murmured. "It's my turn this time...so go ahead."
It only took five seconds of will-power before her friend crumbled into tears, and she sat still for two hours, offering small words of encouragement.
Though during these two hours, the brunette wished she could wrap her arms around him protectively.
But she knew she couldn't.
It was the final year of high school before she was able to get a job: senior year. Time flew by like the speed of light. Mikan Sakura stood at five feet five inches at age eighteen, two years older than Natsume.
Natsume had found a new spot, which apparently was very nice for fishing during summertime. They lazily set it up, placed the bait, threw the rod over, and sat down to wait.
"Shorty," he said suddenly, his eyes lighting in memory.
"Hm?"
"Do you want to go to a festival with me?" he asked. "You don't have to if you don't want to."
"What?! Of course! I-I do!" she shouted, a bit too eagerly. "Where is it? When is it? What should I wear? Dear lord, are there humans or spirits or both?"
He chuckled. "Well...first, meet me at the shrine gate like usual at eight tonight. Wear whatever you think is appropriate. Supposedly, only spirits are allowed in...except for you. Any more questions?"
Mikan shook her head.
"So you can look good when you try," he appraised, earning a thwack from Mikan's stick.
"Thanks," she drawled sarcastically.
The raven-haired male adjusted his mask. "Well, let's go. I need to treat you for being a rebel, lying to your grandpa about going to bed early."
She laughed and nodded, though a bit disappointed from lack of compliments for her hard work.
"I'm serious."
"Huh?" She looked up, startled.
He stared back with expressions hidden behind the facade. "I see you as a woman."
"Hey, before we indulged ourselves, can you tie this around your wrist?" Natsume offered her the end of a long white cloth.
"Why?" she asked as she tied it securely.
"I don't want you to get lost."
The two headed straight into the crowds of spirits, pushing past them to reach the stalls. Eventually, after eating so much, they only went to one with games.
"You know..." Mikan said as Nstsume shot the ace in a hole. The tent-owner gave a stuffed cat to Natsume, who handed it to the brunette.
"You know...what?"
She smiled, slightly blushing. "It feels like a date."
"It is a date."
Her mouth parted. "Hah...you heard me wrong. I said-!"
"Do you not want this to be a date?" he asked softly.
Some stuff seemed to be flying out of Miman's stomach. "I don't mind," she said quickly before walking away and dragging Natsume behind.
Dear lord, she felt different around him.
"What kind of fireworks do you guys set off?" the brunette asked out of curiosity.
"Ones made by humans, I guess."
"Oh," she said.
A few spirits weaved around the two, often grumbling about the inconvenience of the white cloth connecting them. She mumbled apologies.
"Mikan," he spoke out of the blue.
She stopped moving, feeling her chest thump out the largest series of systole and diastole contractions. Every second interval of a lub-dub increased in speed.
This was the second time he had ever mouthed her name so perfectly. The first time, she had thought nothing of it...but now... Her hazel eyes shyly glanced up to his face, which now was uncovered. His eyes were beautiful. For a second, she thought he was the reason why she loved the color red.
Before she comprehended what was happening, something fitted over her face. It was his cat mask. Through the eyeholes, she saw him lean closer and closer.
Until a small peck to the left cheek of the mask was made. She felt a dull pressure on her own face as he leaned back, giving a small smile.
"You can have that," he finally said and walked, tugging on the cloth. She trailed behind, dizzy and warm.
Somehow her voice managed to come back.
"Am...I...your Wendy?" she asked.
"Depends. Am I Peter Pan? Or am I Captain Hook?"
Mikan smiled, feeling her cheeks warm like an oven. "Why would you be Captain Hook?"
She watched his gaze flicker to the starry skies above. "Because Peter Pan can't stay by Wendy's side."
The fireworks faded, and the festival lights dimmed to a halt. The couple walked into the dark forest, the path illuminated by the moon and Natsume's fire.
"I had fun. Thank you, Natsume," she said as they strolled the familiar path to the shrine gate.
"Hn."
She peeked through the mask. Though the boy's back was in front, she could see a flush of red creeping behind his ears. She let out a small giggle.
"Hiro! Stop running! You'll fall!" A voice behind them called. They both turned to see a boy who tried to zip by. However, an unseen tree root tripped the boy.
Two hands shot out.
And one caught him, steadying the little boy.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah!" The little boy grinned widely. "Thanks! Gotta run before my sister catches me!" He then shot off. His sister came by, nodded an apology, and ran after him.
"Geez," Mikan huffed, smiling. "They're clumsy." As she turned around, her eyes widened. "Natsume! Y-your..."
"What?"
"You have a dragonfly on your hair!" she exclaimed happily, watching the little creature scurry and take off.
"...Should I get it off?"
She shook her head, smiling as a sudden hiccup ran through her. She tried to ignore the blinding green light emanating from his fingertips as she casted her eyes away.
"Mikan."
The brunette smiled, pressing mask closer to her tear-stained face.
"I'm sorry," he whispered as his hand flew fragment by fragment into the night.
The one who had caught the boy's hand was Natsume.
And when she saw Natsume's glowing hand that grew into thin air, she knew.
That little boy was human.
She did not know how long it would last, but the seconds were pure heaven. Natsume had only smiled and grabbed her wrist, eventually leading to their embrace. Her hands slowly traveled around him, feeling then pulling him close to her. She breathed in a scent of forest and the meadow flowers.
"I wanted to do this so long," she croaked.
"...Me too."
She could tell his body was eroding, Each minute, her arms became looser as his clothes draped lifelessly on his disappearing body.
"I thought I was your Wendy."
"You are."
One hand trembled but patted his hair. Sleek, soft, yet spiky. She bit her lips and buried her head into his chest.
"N-Natsume?!"
"Yea?" he asked calmly.
"Remember when you saved me? I w-wanted to say thanks."
"Mhm."
She wobbled. "Remember when you told me to go away? I'm sorry I annoyed you by coming back."
A deep chuckle rumbled in his chest.
"Remember when you first showed me your favorite spot? I'm sorry for r-removing your m-mask that day."
"Mm..."
"Remember...when you set that mushroom on fire? I never said thanks. I s-searched its toxicity the other day. So, thank you..."
"Idiot."
"Remember when I fell from that tree? Thanks for r-reaching towards me."
"..."
"Remember w-when I PMSed? I'm s-sorry. Thank you for cheering me up."
"..."
"Hey, Natsume?" Her voice cracked. "Remember our date today? Thanks."
Tiredly, two eyes looked at Mikan, red and worn, almost soulless, yet he still pulled a signature smirk.
Her throat felt dry. "I...I think I'm in love with you, Natsume."
A blinding light enveloped them. The last bits of Natsume shattered into a million shards, flying to the midnight sky above. The brunette watched the fragments dissipate, closing her eyes and taking off the mask to place next to her heart.
The clothes he had worn were limp on the ground. The white cloth that had tied them together had an empty loop on one end.
She no longer looked forward to her summer visits.