Ai Angel: I'm sorry for the long wait for the update! Hope you enjoy, okay? Please review because they make me happy!
Childhood Part 3: It's Not Goodbye…
"What do you mean!? Mum! Dad!" A flustered girl with long yellow hair screeched.
"Calm down, Suzuki. You'll wake Kenji and Natsuki." The woman with brown hair scolded the younger girl.
"So!? What if I do!? Me waking them isn't going to change anything! You're still trying to break this family apart!" Suzuki shouted at them.
"Just calm down. They don't need know, not yet at least." The woman reminded Suzuki.
"It's a lot for a girl her age to take it in so easily, Hanaye." The man told Hanaye.
"Shut the hell up, Kosuke. Like hell you know anything." Hanaye yelled at Kosuke.
"I obviously know more than you because I know not become a two-timing prostitute!" Kosuke shouted at Hanaye.
"I never should have never married such an unappealing bastard like you! It's only natural for a woman to get bored of a man that isn't appealing!" Hanaye bellowed.
"Both of you stop fighting! If you don't want Kenji and Natsuki to know then stop arguing like a pack of wild beasts!" Suzuki screamed at them.
"Young lady! Don't try and understand how serious this is! You're only 16 how could you even begin to understand such a matter!?" Hanaye scolded her daughter angrily.
"I understand that you two are so selfish that you want to break up this family!" Suzuki roared before running out of the room, hot tears trailing down her cheeks.
Suzuki ran up to the room she and Natsuki shared. When Suzuki entered the room she saw Natsuki sitting up in her bed, rubbing her eyes tiredly.
"Suzuki-nee-san?" Natsuki asked groggily, "What's wrong? I heard shouting downstairs…"
"Oh Natsuki…" Suzuki whispered, more tears begun to roll from her eyes.
She tackled Natsuki, her arms securely around her younger sister.
"Nee-san, is something wrong?" Natsuki asked her older sister innocently.
She's so innocent. If I tell her what's happening between mum and dad for sure she'll be upset. I won't tell her until the time is right… Suzuki thought sadly.
"Onee-chan just needs you to hug her for a while, okay?" Suzuki asked the girl.
"Okay." Natsuki answered simply before putting her arms around the older girl.
I wonder what's wrong with Nee-san… Natsuki wondered.
"Natsuki-chan, your mother and I have something to tell you." Her father told her as Natsuki entered the house, only just arriving from school.
"O-okay. I kind of have to go soon though. I'm meeting someone soon." Natsuki replied cheerfully.
"You should cancel that appointment, Natsuki-chan. What we're about to tell you is going to take a while to take in." He informed her.
Natsuki really didn't want to cancel. Today was rather important. Hina saw Natsuki struggling to get the right words out so she decided to step in. The same necklace Hina wore soon adorned Natsuki's neck, the extra chain looked quite good with choker decorating her neck.
"Well, Nee-san isn't going to be home for a while so why don't I meet him and come back later? Then you can tell us all together." Natsuki spoke confidently; Hina was really good at bringing out what Natsuki was really feeling.
"What's wrong with you today, Natsuki? You usually agree without another word." Her mother stepped in, she was eying Natsuki suspiciously.
"I just want to do something today. It's really important so just let me go. Tell all of us at the same time. Then you wouldn't have to repeat the message twice." Natsuki reasoned, her eyes unwavering.
"Don't be disrespectful! Just do as we say! I don't know what caused this unpleasant change in you but you better know your place!" Her mother scolded harshly, her voice strong.
"I'm not some person you can just step on! I have a will of my own! I can make my own decisions! You don't have to treat me like someone who can't!" Natsuki argued, her mother noticeably flinching for her daughter's outburst.
"Why you!?" Her mother exclaimed before slapping her daughter hard on the cheek.
"Hanaye!" Kosuke said hotly, he was disgusted by his wife's action.
An awkward silence filled the hallway until their doorbell rang.
"Seems like your sister is home. You'll have to cancel with that person." Hanaye told her daughter tauntingly, a teasing look in her eye.
"Natsuki-chan, did you invite a boy over to our house?" Her father during that short period of time had gone and answered the door.
"I don't think so." Natsuki answered.
"You took a while so I decided to come and see if everything was alright." The voice was almost too familiar to her ears, the extra necklace that was previously around her neck soon disappeared.
"Ikuto!?" Natsuki gasped, Natsuki looked at the blue watch on her wrist and noticed the time, "I'm so sorry! I didn't realise the time!"
"Who're you?" Her mother asked rudely.
"Oh. He's my friend from school, Mum. I was going to meet him today." Natsuki answered for him.
"Well sorry, she's busy. Kosuke, close the door." Hanaye ordered rudely.
"No. Let the girl have some freedom. Come in. Natsuki-chan why don't you get ready? Ikuto-kun, you can wait inside while she gets changed." Kosuke refused, sending them both a kind smile.
"Okay, thank you dad!" Natsuki thanked whilst smiling gratefully, she ran upstairs to get ready.
"I don't know what you're thinking Kosuke. That girl will become too free if you continue to treat her like this." Hanaye told her husband exasperatedly.
"Sorry to make you wait." Natsuki apologized to the boy.
"Let's go then." Ikuto told her as he took her hand in his and led her out of the house.
As soon as they were far enough Ikuto stopped walking.
"What was happening back in there?" Ikuto asked her.
"You sure are one curious cat!" Hina stated to him.
"Hina? When did you follow us?" Hina asked her chara.
"I'm not about to leave you all alone with a perverted cat!" Hina said triumphantly.
"Leave, a date usually only has two people." Ikuto told the chara stubbornly.
Using his free hand he wrapped it around Natsuki's shoulders and pulled her into him possessively. This affectionate action caused Natsuki's face to colour considerably.
"Since when have you and Nat-chan been going out!?" Hina asked, her sky blue eyes ablaze.
"Since now." He told her calmly, he tightened his grip on her.
"I told you I'm not leaving Nat-chan alone with some perverted cat like you!" Hina shouted at him.
Natsuki could almost see the sparks flying between Ikuto and Hina.
"Ikuto, Hina. Please don't fight." Natsuki tried to reason.
"Since Nat-chan says so I guess I leave you two alone for a while." Hina agreed in a reluctant voice before it turned into a worrisome one, "Hey Nat-chan. You should try and stay out as long as you can. I have a feeling that whatever your mum and dad wanted to tell you can't be good news."
"I'll keep that in mind Hina, thank you." Natsuki thanked, a smile gracing her features.
"What're you thanking me for?" Hina asked, "Not like telling you that is anything special."
"It's for what was happening before. I wouldn't have been able to stand up to my parents without you." Natsuki smiled at her chara.
"Anytime Nat-chan!" Hina told the girl cheerfully, "And don't forget that if that guy tries anything don't be afraid to slap him."
"Hina!" Natsuki scolded playfully before the chara let out a bright smile.
"I'm going to go find that Yoru. He's the only one I can play with right now." Hina grumbled to herself as she flew away.
Ikuto let go of the girl's shoulders and once again took her hand. She blushed slightly as he gently pulled her towards the bustling park.
"So how was your date? Did he try anything?" Hina asked suspiciously as Ikuto walked Natsuki home.
"Hina…" Natsuki mumbled embarrassedly.
"Hina-chan, you don't ask that when they're still on the date, nya." Yoru reminded cheekily.
"Shut up you stupid cat!" Hina yelled at him, whacking him in the head in the process.
"Hina, you shouldn't do that…" Natsuki giggled at her chara's actions.
"What!?" Hina asked, utterly clueless. Hina's reaction only made Natsuki giggle.
"Arigatou, Ikuto. Today was really fun." Natsuki smiled at him graciously, he couldn't help but give her a small smile back.
"The date's not over yet." He told her with a chuckle.
He walked towards her, the space between them closed. Holding her two cheeks in his hands he brought her face up to face him properly. He leaned down to give her a feather light peck on her lips. Hina and Yoru looked away, their faces red from embarrassment.
"Ikuto…" Natsuki murmured softly.
"I don't like to leave my kisses indirect." He whispered softly to her as a smirk graced his features, "See you later."
His hands dropped from her face as he started to walk away.
"See you later…" She said softly, so it was only loud enough for him to hear. He lifted his hand up to show he had heard her.
She touched her lips gingerly as she remembered the feeling of his lips on her's. She was broken out of her reverie by a loud voice.
"What did he mean by 'I don't like to leave my kisses indirect'? Eh!?" Hina pressed on, an irritated look in her eyes.
Natsuki remembered what had happened earlier that day quite clearly.
Sitting in the middle of the small round glass table was a tall glass dessert glass. Inside were multiple scoops of chocolate and vanilla ice creams. Whipped cream and a cherry topped the mountain of sugar off. A long metal spoon scooped itself a spoonful of chocolate ice cream.
Ikuto looked at the spoon with delight before inserting the dessert into his mouth. A look of satisfaction graced his eyes as he took the bite.
Using the spoon he scooped another spoonful of chocolate ice cream and held in front of Natsuki's face. Her questionable look almost made him laugh.
"Try some, it's good." He told her, amusement in his eyes.
"O-okay…" She managed to stutter out.
She nervously put her mouth around the spoon and ate the dessert, savouring the sweetness.
Ikuto went in for another spoon of the chocolate ice cream. After putting the sweet dessert in his mouth he gave her an all knowing look.
"Chocolate is my favourite." He told her, a teasing smile tugging at his lips.
"Yeah…" She whispered, her face a deep red, "Mine too."
"That's a story for another time, Hina." Natsuki told her chara cheekily.
Natsuki turned on her heel and faced her front door. She reached for the door knob before the door burst open, revealing a rather scary looking girl. She had long yellow hair; she was wearing a blue singlet and black shorts.
"NATSUKI-CHAN! ONEE-CHAN CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WENT ON YOUR FIRST DATE TODAY!!! ONEE-CHAN WAS SOOO SURPRISED!" Suzuki screamed at her younger sister before tackling Natsuki to the ground.
"Nee-san… When did you get home?" Natsuki asked, her voice only mildly shocked.
"Why are you asking about something like that!? Onee-chan saw that boy kiss you!!! You just got your first kiss! How can you be so calm!?" Suzuki shouted as if it were the end of the world.
"It's because I really like Ikuto… If he kissed me then that means he likes me too… I'm only calm because I'm happy." Natsuki told her calmly, a small smile reaching her features.
"Onee-chan thought you'd be a little more excited… Onee-chan was bouncing off the walls when I got my first kiss." Suzuki informed, a dreamy look in her eyes as she was reminded of the pleasant memory.
"Nee-san, I'm sure Jiro-san was very happy with your reaction…" Natsuki said nervously, an awkward giggle following.
"Jiro-kun was so surprised! You see Onee-chan had a huge crush on Jiro-kun and then he told Onee-chan that he had been in love with her for a long time! Onee-chan was so happy and excited! Then he kissed Onee-chan! Jiro-kun was so surprised because he thought Onee-chan didn't like him back! He's so clueless! But then again that's why he's so cool!" Suzuki exclaimed excitedly, remembering her beloved boyfriend.
"Nee-san… Maybe we can go back inside…" Natsuki said shyly.
"Oh!" Suzuki said as if remembering something extremely important, "That's right… Mum and Dad have something they want to talk to you about."
"I know… They wanted to talk to me about it before but I had to meet someone…" Natsuki confessed nervously.
"You mean you cancelled on Mum and Dad to go on a date…?" Suzuki asked, a rather suspicious look on her face.
"Umm… Yeah?" Natsuki answered unsurely.
"My god… You're so… AMAZING!!! ONEE-CHAN IS SOOO PROUD OF YOU, NATSUKI-CHAN!!!" Suzuki said in a joyful tone whilst hugging the girl tightly.
"N-Nee-san…" Natsuki managed to stutter out.
"I got it, I got it…" Suzuki mumbled before getting onto her own two feet, dusting off the non-existent dust on her shorts.
Suzuki held out her hand to Natsuki, trying to help her up. Natsuki gratefully took her sister's hand and stood up. Suzuki opened the door wide and walked in. Hina floated by Natsuki, a comical look in her eye.
"Your nee-san sure gets excited really easily…" Hina told her sweat dropping before shrugging her shoulders, "At least she doesn't want to kill Ikuto… Some big sisters get all worked up over their little siblings dating… Your nee-san is really different. In a good way at least!"
"You think so?" Natsuki asked the chara.
"Hontou, hontou!" Hina assured happily.
"Yeah, me too." Natsuki agreed embarrassedly.
"Leiko Natsuki! What was in Kami's name was so important today that you couldn't cancel?!" Her mother scolded as soon as she entered the house.
"I-I…" Natsuki tried to get out.
"Spit it out young lady?! What ever happened to that rebellious attitude you had earlier today?" Hanaye tried to force out.
"I-I was… I was… Umm…" She barely managed to stutter out.
Hina saw the trouble Natsuki was having and the extra necklace soon appeared.
"I was asked on my first date today! You happy!? Why do you think you can pry yourself into my personal life!?" Natsuki burst out, her eyes showing anger.
"Natsuki-chan…" Suzuki mumbled, a worrisome look in her face.
"I can't believe this…" Hanaye hissed at her daughter, hand ready to give her daughter a hard slap in the cheek.
Natsuki squeezed her eyes shut, ready to take the hit. It never came. Natsuki slowly opened one of her eyes to see Suzuki's hand clutching her mother's wrist tightly.
"Suzuki! What is the meaning of this!?" Her mother yelled, the yell made Suzuki flinch noticeably.
"She's trying to protect her sister Hanaye." Hanaye turned to face Kosuke.
"Natsuki was being disrespectful; I was merely going to discipline her." Hanaye said as if it were nothing.
"You don't discipline your children by hurting them. Calm down, Hanaye. We have to tell them something important." Kosuke replied calmly but firmly.
"Yeah whatever. But just for your information you children better learn to respect me." Hanaye said in a tone the children didn't recognise, "Kenji! Get downstairs. We have news."
A young boy of only about eight years old came down the stairs. Messy jet black hair adorned his head in an almost nest-like fashion. His grey eyes held an emotionaless look.
"W-why…?" Natsuki barely managed to get out.
"Isn't it obvious Natsuki-nee-chan? They've been fighting so much. It's only natural that they want to separate." Kenji told her in an expressionless voice.
"I have custody. We'll all be moving in two days. We're going to Hokkaido; I've found a good sustainable job there." Hanaye told the children.
"Why do we have to move!? Why couldn't you find a 'good sustainable' job here!? I don't understand why you're being so god damn selfish!" Suzuki shouted, her voice reaching a whole new volume.
"Just appreciate that you have a roof over your head and food in your mouth! It's final! You can't change anything no matter what. I suggest that you say your goodbyes tomorrow." Hanaye finalised, nothing could change it was decided.
"I-I can't b-believe this-s…" Suzuki somehow managed to hiccup out.
Suzuki was sitting on Natsuki's bed, Natsuki trying to comfort her elder sister as best she could.
"T-they told me a-a while-e ago t-that they-y w-were getting-g a divorce-e but t-they d-didn't t-tell me-e t-that we w-were going-g t-to move!" Suzuki cried out, long streams of tears rushing down her face, "H-how will I break-k it t-to Jiro-kun!?"
"I'm sure Jiro-san will understand…" Natsuki tried to sooth.
"I-it's not o-only that… W-what are y-you going-g t-to do-o!? You j-just got-t a b-boyfriend!" Suzuki hiccupped sadly.
"I'm sure Ikuto will understand… At least I hope… I don't really know actually but… I have to try… I don't want to say goodbye, but this isn't something we have a choice in…" Natsuki said, her voice cracking as she did.
Tears started to drip down from her eyes. She lifted her hand up to her cheek, as if to make sure if the tears were really falling down.
"I'm crying…" Natsuki stated, her voice small and scared.
Ikuto sneakily slid his arm around her shoulders. He pulled her across the wooden bench they were sitting on to as close as could be.
"What's wrong? You're acting different." He told her, his voice sounded as if he was stating the obvious.
"I-I, umm… It's hard to say…" She somehow mumbled out.
"Would another kiss make it easier?" He asked her playfully.
He leaned his face closer to hers and used his free hand to gently hold her chin. Her face turned dark pink as an embarrassed look overcame her features.
"Ikuto… This is serious…" She mumbled in a soft voice, looking away.
He pulled away from her, his arm still around her shoulders. His laugh resounded in her ears as her face on darkened.
"Your embarrassed look is so much cuter than your sad one." He said in an amused tone.
"I-Ikuto…" Natsuki stuttered nervously.
"I know, I know. What happened?" Ikuto asked her.
"I'm well…" Natsuki informed slowly, her voice already beginning to crack.
"I see… It can't be helped can it?" Ikuto sighed, his usual cheeky expression now gone.
"I don't want to leave but I-" She began, she couldn't really bring herself to say anything more.
Ikuto used the arm that was holding her shoulders to pull her into him. Using the other arm he wrapped his arm around her back, keeping her securely in his arms.
"Let's have one more date before you have to leave. That way you'll never forget about me." He whispered teasingly in her ear.
"I wouldn't forget you either way." She said softly, it was only loud enough for her to hear it but,
"Don't worry, I wouldn't either." He whispered in her ear only causing her to blush in embarrassment.
"Thank you so much for today, Ikuto… It almost made me forget I was leaving…" Natsuki thanked in front of her house, a soft smile on her features.
"One more thing before this date is over…" He whispered softly to her.
He once more walked up to her, no space left between them. Using one hand he lifted her chin, he closed his eyes and went in to claim her lips. Natsuki was too shocked to do anything. The kiss lasted only a few seconds more than the previous one but to Natsuki it felt like an eternity.
"Kiss goodbye?" Natsuki inquired as soon as his lips had left her's, her face dusted with a light pink.
He continued to hold her chin, his face only some millimetres away from her's.
"No. I like to end my dates with a kiss." He whispered to her.
"Then…" She whispered back to him.
Going on her toes she captured his lips. Her eyes now closed, his wide open. His face colouring significantly. She ended the kiss almost as soon as she had initiated it.
"There's my kiss goodbye…" She said softly.
"It's not goodbye." He stated bluntly, his face still as close as could be without touching.
"What do you mean?" She asked curiously
"Goodbye sounds like we'll never see each other again. I don't want to say goodbye…" He explained simply.
"Then what is it?" Natsuki asked, she really wanted to know.
"It's 'I'll see you later'." He told her a smile decorating his handsome features.
"Then-" She was cut off, her sentence left unfinished.
His lips were once more on her's. Her eyes widened before they softened and finally closed. The kiss lasted longer than all of the previous ones. He broke the kiss after 10 long heart-stopping seconds.
"Why did you-" She began but was once again cut off.
"I wanted to make that one last longer so that I'll definitely never forget how it feels to kiss you." He told her in a flirtatious voice.
"Thank you so much… I'll never forget you, I promise." Her voice was almost a hiccup now, she could almost feel the tears welling up in her eyes.
Taking his hand off of her chin he wrapped his arms around her smaller body, pressing her against him.
"You can cry." He told her simply, it was all that she needed before the tears began flowing from her eyes.
She wrapped her arms around his back, savouring her last moments with him. She didn't want to have to let go.
"I-I don't want to leave…" She cried softly.
She clutched the back of shirt tightly. She felt that if she let go she wouldn't be separated from him forever, which was probably true.
After a while they let go of each other and put a bit of space between their bodies.
"I guess… I'll see you later…" She said quietly, her eyes slightly red from crying.
He lifted his hand up to her face and wiped away the tears that were flowing freely from her eyes.
"Yeah, I'll see you later." He said as he started to walk away, he ignored the stinging at the corners of his eyes.
When Natsuki could no longer take watching his retreating figure she ran inside of the house and straight up to her room. She jumped up onto the bed and hugged her pillow as close to her as possible. She didn't try and wipe away the tears as they continued to drip down.
"Nat-chan…" Hina whispered in a worried voice.
"I'll be okay… I just need to cry." She cried tearfully.
"Both you and your sister… I won't be able to understand you guys… I'll never know the pain of being heartbroken." Hina said sadly as the memory of certain guardian chara with cat-like features came to her mind.
As Natsuki took her last look out of the small airplane window her thoughts drifted to a certain boy.
As Ikuto looked out the window of the boring classroom as his thoughts drifted to a certain girl.
Only one thing going through both of their minds.
I'll see you later…
5 years later…
Ikuto continued to look out of the window as the pleasant memory came to mind. The teacher was talking about something like how starting a new term was like a new beginning or something like that, not that many of them listened.
"Okay class…" The teacher sighed, "I hate talking about all that kind of stuff as much as you do but I don't get paid unless I do a good job. So moving on…" All the class groaned in protest, "We have a new student. Please come in."
Ikuto looked away from the window and looked at the girl standing at the front of the classroom. His eyes widened when he caught sight of her. She had long chestnut brown tresses that reached her hip and they were tied in two low ponytails. Her bangs were in a right side parting, the right side of her bangs had to black bobby pins to keep her hair out of her eyes but it was still in front of her face hugging her cheek. The left side of her bangs was swept behind her ear and tied into one of the ponytails. She had large midnight blue eyes that went perfectly with her brown hair. She was wearing the typical girl school uniform; it looked exactly like the boys except that instead of pants there was a black pleated skirt that reached town to her knees. She wore light gray knee-high gray socks, like most of the other girls. The one thing that really caught his eye was the necklace she was wearing. It was a black choker with a beautiful jewel. The jewel was 4 diamond hearts joined at the base, giving it kind of clover-like look, and a small keyhole in the centre.
"It's nice to meet you, my name is Leiko Natsuki." She greeted with a shallow bow, as she got up she gave them all a smile, Ikuto could not help but give her a small smile of his own.
Wow this was long man! I mean I thought I was going to have trouble writing this one but it actually was pretty easy. Not really a cliffy there but you know… Hope you liked it!
Btw, Suzuki does talk in third person sometimes. It's only with her siblings though. And I know there are a lot of time skips! Please don't kill me!
Next Chapter: Back Into His Arms
PS. Is it me or was there a lot of kissing?