Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. I do love them with my heart, but that's not the same thing.
Author's Note: I recieved my copy of v11 in the mail today. Unfortunately, I do not have volumes 8, 9, or 10 yet, so in my mourning state I decided to put up another chapter. cries (hugs and cookies would be appreciated.)
"What's bothering you?" Izumi pestered. "You didn't say a word at breakfast."
"What is it?" Semike teased. "Did you miss Nakatsu?"
Nakatsu could not bring himself to face Mizuki in light of recent revelations. Because of this, he hadn't shown to breakfast. He was walking to school with them, he was just... in the bushes. He hoped that the occasional growl of his stomach wouldn't give away his location.
"No!" Mizuki said defensively. Tears poured down Nakatsu's cheeks. He –She– hadn't missed him! His life was over. "Well, yes... but not because of anything funny. We're both guys!" Nakatsu stopped in his struggle through the bushes, accidentally stepping on a twig. He'd never noticed how often Ashiya said that. Now he knew why: Ashiya felt that he –she– needed to reassure everyone every once in a while. He also didn't notice when Sano glanced over his shoulder at the sound of something in the bushes to glimpse a not very well hidden head of bleached hair.
Nakatsu plopped down onto the ground. He didn't care that he was in the middle of the underbrush and that the wet soil was muddying his pants; all night he had been trying to avoid thinking of Mizuki. He had spent the evening rejoicing that he hadn't been attracted to a boy all this time. He was finally a man! But where did this leave him? What should he do? Why would Mizuki disguise him–herself and decieve them all?
His thoughts caught up with the present and Nakatsu looked up to see that his friends had moved on. Noe and Semike's teasing voices were farther away than they had been. He stood to dust himself off when it dawned on him. It didn't matter why Mizuki had done this or that. The main thing was that now they could be together without fear of ridicule from their peers!
Freshly out of the bushes, Nakatsu raced toward the school. He suddenly stopped outside the door of the classroom when a thought hit him in the face: Osaka High was a boys' school. Mizuki was not a boy. She had survived thus far with only the doctor (and himself, more recently) discovering her secret– but if he made it known to the world when he confessed his love to her, she would get kicked out of school, deported back to America, he would never see her again, and most importantly, she would blame him for all of those terrible things and their love would never happen. Tears streamed down Nakatsu's face as he stepped into the classroom. What should I do?
Nakatsu didn't notice Izumi glaring at him as he stared at Mizuki all through class, trying to decide what to do. Mizuki gave him a sideways glance and then looked away. That's when Nakatsu decided that he had to keep her secret. If anyone found out, she would have to leave, or worse – someone might steal her from me! At this thought, he finally noticed Izumi. Izumi shrugged and moved to pretending to pay attention to the lecture.
Izumi... she came here for Izumi, he thought. His gaze turned back toward Mizuki. Maybe I can change her mind.