MIKAN
She had no idea how to get food.
Clothing had taken her to whole day, and half the afternoon to find. But she was running on empty, she had to find something soon, or she would pass out. So she searched for opportune moments to steal, and that's how she lived for four days.
On the fifth day, she ran into trouble. She was mid theft when someone caught her.
"Hey boy!" someone called from behind her.
She jumped, dropping the apple she had snatched. She turned to see a pair of what appeared to be guards walking towards her. "We saw that," the other guard said.
Mikan gulped, and ran. They didn't look like palace guards, but she still recognized when to run.
She wasn't careful anymore, instead she ran, crashing into anyone and anything in her way. She started to panic. It couldn't end here. She could hear them, hot on her tail, calling after her. She turned down alley after alley, trying to shake them, to no avail. Her pulse echoed in her ears, and her eyes frantically searched for an escape route.
"Please," she whispered. She rounded a corner and was surprised to see it empty, save for a random guy loitering around the entrance to a pub. His eyes fixed on hers as she neared him. She stumbled a little when she got closer to him. He was smiling now, and it creeped her out. Before she knew it, he had grabbed her by the arm and shoved her into the door of the pub.
"You know," the guy said, "when it comes to running from those lowlifes, it's easiest to run into a pub."
She stared up at him, slightly confused and trying to catch her breath.
"What'd you steal?" he asked.
Mikan glared at him. "What? Nothing," she said, quickly. Her voice came out hoarse.
"Ha, yeah, and I'm the King," he replied.
Mikan stared at her savior, unsure of his intentions. His dirty blond hair was messy and tangled, and he still had that stupid smile on his face.
"Koko!" Someone called out to the boy, and he looked up.
"Hey man," he said.
"What're you doing?" the new guy asked.
Mikan watched as three more boys walked over to them. They were all taller than her, and kept staring at her.
Koko punched her in the arm. "Just educating this boy on how to run from the guards."
The one with glasses turned to her. "Oh dear. A run in already? You must be new in town?"
"N-no," Mikan said quickly.
"Are you sure about that?" Koko asked.
Mikan glared at him, and refused to answer. She watched as Koko glanced at his companions.
"I think we should take a walk," Glasses said.
Koko shoved Mikan out the door, before she could protest. They led her to an alley, cornering her.
"What should we do with him Yuu?" Koko asked Glasses. "Rough him up a bit?"
Mikan watched as Yuu pondered for a moment, before his train of thought was interrupted.
Someone new spoke, catching Mikan's attention. "What's your name, girl?"
Her eyes flashed up to his. They were an unusual red color. Something she had never seen. They terrified her.
"Wait," the last boy said, "girl?"
"Ruka," Red eyes said. "Take off her hat."
Mikan felt her whole body tremble, as she stared at this guy. She was terrified, but compelled to listen to him. Before the boy Ruka approached her, she removed the hat herself, letting her hair fall across her shoulders. It felt good. It had been tucked away all day.
"You're the first one to notice," Mikan said, glaring at the boy, trying to regain control of the situation. She crossed her arms around her chest, feeling exposed, for some reason.
Koko started to laugh. "I shouldn't be surprised," he said. "Nothing gets by Natsume."
Natsume. That was the last boy's name. The one with the red eyes. Mikan stared at him. He clearly appeared to be the one in charge. He had an air of authority to him. Mikan sneered. "I'm thrilled to be in his presence," she said.
"Your name," Natsume repeated.
Mikan gulped. There was no way she was going to give them her real name. She racked her brain for a fake one. "S-Sakura, she finally said, borrowing the name of her favorite cooks in the palace.
"And I'm still the King," Koko said.
"Why do you keep saying that?" Mikan asked, annoyed. "The King is on his deathbed."
"Forgive him," Yuu started, "that's what he says when someone lies."
Lies. Mikan chuckled to herself. If only they knew. Her whole life seemed like a lie.
"Where are you from?" Natsume asked.
This one was easy, and it wasn't really a lie. "The inner city."
Koko busted out laughing. "What's an inner city girl doing in the lower ring?"
Mikan thought to herself. Should she tell them? That she fell from a tower in the palace because she was contemplating the life she had? "The inner city," she paused, "is not as glamourous a life, as you'd think it is." It was probably a stupid thing to say. She as talking to lower ring boys here. They most likely never had any sort of luxury in their lives.
Natsume raised his eyebrows, and the other three laughed.
"Let's go," Natsume said, turning to leave.
"It was nice knowing you, kid," Koko said following.
Mikan watched as they all turned to follow Natsume. Her heart was beating fast. She thought she was a goner. They were turning the corner when it dawned on her.
"Wait!" she called after them, then running to close the distance.
They all turned to her. No one spoke.
Mikan stood up straight, trying to gain courage and authority from her posture. "Do you all live around here?" She watched as they shared glances. "Could I trouble you for a place to sleep?"
"No," Natsume said immediately.
Mikan cursed. For a brief moment, she actually missed the palace.
"Wait," Yuu said, "Hold on. We can at least give her some food."
She was so overcome with relief and joy that she embraced Yuu in a hug. He blushed at her embrace, but Mikan was oblivious to it.
Mikan followed them in silence to their destination. It was probably about a ten minute walk to their starting location. She had given up trying to remember her whereabouts. They stopped in front of a shabby wooden house, with a front porch. There were no lights on inside and the streets had no lighting themselves.
"Home, sweet home," Koko said.
It looked like it would fall apart if you touched it. Mikan watched as Yuu unlocked the door with a rusty looking key.
When Yuu opened the door, Mikan had struggled to hide her surprise. She was shocked. The place was basically a shell. A basic kitchen, with a long table for eating, a single couch pushed against the wall, and a coffee table. It looked like a hallway led to three other rooms, but otherwise, she wasn't sure if people actually lived there or not. Her doubts were erased when she watched the guys settle in. Yuu and Koko started rummaging in the kitchen, Ruka got a newspaper from somewhere and sat down to read it, and Natsume⦠Mikan peeked at him, only to find him staring at her.
She inched closer to the kitchen. "You all live here?" It was a stupid question, but she wanted confirmation.
Koko swung a bag of bread around. "Hey this is actually pretty good for a lower ring house."
"Yeah," Yuu agreed. "It's not much, compared to the inner ring, as you can see, but it's home."
"Yeah! We worked hard for this," Yuu said.
Mikan glanced at their faces. This is how the lower ring lives? They never mentioned how lifeless it was in the palace. Mikan racked her brain for words. "What exactly is it you guys do?"
Koko handed her a lumpy looking sandwich. "This and that."
Yuu sighed, "We get by, by doing odd jobs and favors for people. Doesn't really matter what. We scratch their back, they scratch ours."
Mikan smiled. "That's amazing."
"Amazing?" Natsume asked, roughly, making the hair on Mikan's body stand up.
"Uh."
"That's the only way to survive in this city," he spat. "Go home. To your fancy inner city life. This is no place for a child."
Mikan rolled her eyes, and spun around to face him. "I'm not a child!" she yelled, marching up to him. Scary aura be damned. She wanted to knock this guy off his pedestal. "That place is not my home. It never was."
"You won't survive a day out here."
Mikan put her hands on her hips. "I've survived five." She turned around to face the other three, and tried to soften her face. "Let me stay with you, please. I can help out. Go on jobs with you."
They all shared glances, and Mikan asked once more. "Please."
"No way in Hell," Natsume said.
Mikan balled her hands into fists. "Come on! Why not?"
"Sakura," Yuu started. "We don't have any extra space. We already sleep two to a room."
Mikan pointed to the couch. "I'm tiny. I can sleep on that."
Yuu stumbled over his words and glanced to Natsume. Mikan understood, and she turned to face him once more. "You're obviously in charge here."
"I said no," he said, his eye fierce.
"Why not? Is it because I'm a girl? Because I'm weak? Well I'm not." She's not sure where her courage came from, but this guy brought it out of her. "I'll take you on right now. If I win, I stay, if you win, then I'll leave." Mikan took a step back. He was smirking! The jerk was smirking.
"You want to fight me?" Natsume asked.
"Yes," she said through gritted teeth.
Koko popped up next to her, and put his arm on her shoulder. "It was nice knowing you, Sakura."
She glanced his way, confused. "What?"
"If you can land a punch on me, you win."
"And your conditions?" She regretted asking.
"It doesn't matter," he said. "You won't win."
Mikan felt her eye twitch. "You know what? I really hate your stupid attitude!"
"Are you guys sure about this?" Yuu asked, his voice trembling.
"Yes!" Mikan yelled, as she lunged for Natsume. He side stepped her easily, and she ran into the wall. She growled a little, and pushed herself off. Next she tried a punch, but he dodged, and then he dodged a lunge to his stomach.
Frustration racked her whole body. "You're only dodging!" As she threw her next punch, he caught it effortlessly in his own hand. Her eyes widened, and she gulped. He wrapped her hand behind her back, and grabbed the other, the force knocked her to her knees. That was unhuman, she had barely seen him move.
"Go figure," Natsume said. "Inner city girls can't fight."
"I'm not done yet." She yanked herself free from his grip. It was looser than she thought it would be. Mikan striped off her jacket, she felt like it was slowing her down. She needed a new approach. Glancing around, her eyes stopped on the paper Ruka had been reading. "Sorry, let me borrow this." She crumbled it up and launched it at him, aiming to distract him.
All it really did was piss him off more. "I didn't read that yet."
Mikan shrugged. "Life's not fair is it?" She aimed one more punch at him, only to have him catch it again.
He was getting bored, she could tell. Except something changed. He just stood there. Mikan stared up at him, and followed his gaze. He was looking at her chest! She yanked free and shoved him hard. He stumbled backwards and his eyes were glassing over.
"Natsume!" Ruka yelled, running to his friend.
"Wait," Mikan squeeled. "I did it! I won!"
Yuu and Koko watched, amazed. She had actually shoved him.
She reached for the chain around her neck and squeezed the ring tightly.
Natsume had regained his composure and was staring at her murderously. Mikan was also mocking him, and rubbing her victory in his face. "Are you going to take back your word?"
Ruka stood. "Natsume never backs down. You won, so you can stay."
The adrenaline in Mikan's body was overwhelming. She was so giddy and felt on top of the world. Natsume scoffed at her, and without another word he disappeared into one of the rooms, Ruka trailed after him.
"I can't believe you actually won." Koko clapped Mikan on the back. "I don't know why you really want to live here, but welcome." Then he too went to the room opposite of Natsume and Ruka's.
"I'll grab you a blanket." Yuu smiled gently at Mikan, and she nodded back, suddenly feeling exhausted herself.
"Thank you."
The couch was lumpy, hard at spots, and honestly way better than the shack she had slept in. She lay awake thinking about what had all happened. The four guys she met. Their odd way of living, and how she practically forced her way into their lives. She would pay them back with every bit of power she could. For now though, she needed to sleep.
