Thank you so much for all the reviews! They were awesome! And all the Guests, RK and Lee kun, I would have personally thanked you, but you have to be registered here.. So it will have to do like this, thanks so much guys! :)
And special thanks to MapleColours, your review nearly made my eyes water, it meant a lot!
But I don't want to hold you up any longer, on we go!
The bold red letters read 2 A.M. Natsuki closed her eyes again and sighed. She made a promise yesterday. A promise that she had to keep. She never broke a promise before, and she definitely wouldn't start it now.
Natsuki held the crying girl a little longer, her tears coming to an end after a few minutes.
"I am sorry, I never cried like that before. I will make sure that your shirt is going to be washed and cleaned." Shizuru stared at the stains she left on Natsukis sweater.
"What? Oh! Nah, don't bother, I'll just throw it into the washing machine. That's perfectly fine. And it's going to dry anyway, so, yeah. Don't bother." The blunette smiled at the chestnut haired girl and cleared her throat after a few seconds.
"Soo.. about that list.. I meant it." Her emeralds bore into the crimsons before her.
"Do it, write it down and give it to me. You can have as much time as you want. But I want to get it soon, okay? We don't want to lose too much time, do we?" Natsuki smiled at the girl in front of her and only turned her gaze away as someone knocked on the door.
She stood up and grabbed the helmet she left on the couch as she walked in. "I should get going, I will come back tomorrow to check on you and see if you already started. See you, Shizuru."
The biker opened the door and gave Yohko, who was about to enter the room, a short nod before walking down the corridor, starting her way back home.
That's been more than seven hours ago and the blunette still lay there, trying to sleep, like every day.
But this time, it was different, her mind wandered back to the promise every few minutes, banning the usually present demons. She just met the girl today and already promised her, kind of, everything..
The biker sighed once more, kicked her sheets away and sat up, her hand moving through her midnight tresses while the other limply lay above her left thigh.
"What do I do.." She moved out of the bed and went through the dark room, searching for her laptop. She saw the silhouette on the table and pushed the power-button. Natsuki turned her head away and closed her eyes for a second as the bright display came to life. She sat down on the chair in front of the table and waited until the laptop started completely.
The blunette checked the available WLAN connections and quickly hacked into the best one, opening a browser right after. Natsuki paused for a second. What exactly am I searching for?.. She stared at the screen for a minute until her fingers started to type something.
'activities with heart condition' 38.800.000 matches.. I hope there is at least one useful information there..
An hour later and Natsuki started a list of her own, she wrote down everything that seemed important. By the time she underlined her first point on the list, her head, that gently rested in her palm, slumped forward and landed on her arm, the pen drew a line across the paper and dropped out of her hand.
"Beep! Beep! Beep!"
The blunette shot up and frantically searched the room, trying to find what had disturbed her sleep. The clock on the bedside table read 6 A.M. She got up and shut it down, staring at it for a few seconds before smashing it against the wall. The loud crash woke her up completely and the biker gathered her clothes and a towel and entered the shower.
She closed her eyes as the cold water met her face and cascaded down her body.
"Momma!"
"Please Natsuki, get out! Please!" Her mother frantically pushed against the steering wheel, trying to get her legs out of the metal huddle. She cried in agony and anger as she realized that she wouldn't get out of there any time soon. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down, something that wasn't really possible in a situation like that. But she had to get her daughter out of here! She bore down a sob and gently grabbed Natsukis small face.
"Listen carfully, Natsuki. You have to get out of here, open the window, there will be water, a lot of water is going to come in here. Loose your seatbelt and do not, no matter the cause, stop to open the window. You have to climb out and swim to the surface as fast as possible."
Her daughter cried hysterically and shock her head, eyes closed and tiny hands tightly grabbing hold of her mothers bigger ones on her face.
"Natsuki. Do you understand?"
The eleven year old continued to shock her head. She didn't want to leave her mother, the only family she had.
"Please, I beg you Natsuki, you have to get out!"
"NO! I don't want to, mama! I'm not going to leave you!"
Saeko wasn't able to hold the tears any longer and gently kissed her daughters forehead. She knew what she was about to do was terrible, but the only way to get her little baby out of here.
"Who said you are going to leave me? You are just going on ahead, you swim up there and get me help, okay? You just have to be really fast. Do you understand?"
The small girl sniffeled and wiped her eyes, she slowly nodded her head and locked eyes with her mother. They held so much innocence and determination at the same time that Saekos heart broke at the thought of her daughter alone out there. But she would be alive, and that was the only thing that mattered right now.
Natsuki opened her eyes and sighed as the images flowed her mind once more. She couldn't stand it. Every time she saw a lake or the sea, everything just came crashing back. She used to love water, it was so fascinating, it could be everything you needed it to be. If you were cold, you took a hot bath, if you were too hot, you put ice cubes into your drink. You can play with it, it keeps you alive. But what destroyed every happy feeling she ever had towards that fascinating thing, was the fact that it could hurt. It was used intentionally against people to hurt them, in every way possible. And it hurt her, it hurt her so bad, that she would probably never be able to go take a bath again, go to the beach again..
The biker sighed once more and turned off the water. She got ready for the day in less than ten minutes and grabbed her bag and keys before leaving the apartment.
Natsuki arrived at the hospital around 6:45 A.M. She went to the familiar staircase and lingered a second in front of the metal door before opening it and passing through.
"Natsuki? You are later than usual, is everything okay?"
The blunette spun around and saw Yohko walking towards her.
"Yohko." She nodded her head and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I wanted to talk to you."
The doctor raised her eyebrows in surprise "you wanted to talk to me?"
The biker shifted her weight to her right leg and ran a hand through her hair.
"Yeah. You know, I've been wondering.. What can you do when you have a heart condition?"
Yohko squinted her eyes and stared at Natsuki "Why?"
"I'm just curious. Forget it, but thanks anyways." Natsuki turned around and started her way down to Takumis room once more.
"Wait. It depends. What kind of heart condition, how far it developed and what you want to do. There are things you can't do. But you actually have a lot of possibilities with the right preparations. I hope that was enough to answer your question."
The blunette stood there for a few seconds before, unseen to Yohko, a small smile appeared on her face. "Yeah, for now, thanks. I'll see you around."
She entered Takumis room and saw the boy sleeping, Mai beside him.
"'Morning Mai."
Violet shot up and crossed emerald "Natsuki! You're later than usual, did something happen? Are you alright?"
"Relax, everything is fine. I've done some research.. And I may or may not made a promise that is rather bold.."
Mai furrowed her brows and stood up "what do you mean? What did you do, Natsuki?"
"Nothing, really. Just.. You remember Shizuru, right?"
Mai gave a short nod.
"I told her to make a list.. About everything she wants to do. And that I would help her complete it.." Natsuki stared at the floor, waiting for Mais outburst.
"Natsuki! That's great!"
"Yeah, I know- Wait, what? You aren't angry? No screaming, scoulding?"
Mai looked surprised "why would I?"
"I don't know? Just because? Ah, never mind. I think I'll go and take a look. If she's alright and everything.. Soo, see you later Mai."
The blunette quickly opened the door and stepped through it
"What? W- Natsuki! Wait!" Mais voice stilled as soon as the door to Takumis room clunked shut.
Natsuki quickly made her way to the chestnut haired girls room and stepped through the door.
"Shizuru?" the biker saw Shizuru laying in her bed, back facing the door and the blanket laying around her waist. She quietly went to the other side of the bed to look at the girl. Her eyes were closed and her head rested peacefully on top of her pillow, both hands tucked underneath it. Her brows were a little furrowed and a few strands of hair fell out of place and in front of the sick girls face. Natsuki slowly lifted her hand and gently swept them behind her right ear. Her fingers carefully graced the skin while doing so.
She didn't even realize that she initiated contact with someone else as she felt the soft skin underneath her fingertips. She let her fingers wander across Shizurus face, slowly caressing her cheek, her jawline, back to her cheek and across her temple to the small frown. Natsukis index finger slid over the bump and down Shizurus nose. The biker knelt down beside the bed, fascinated by the other girl and rested her head on top of her left arm, her finger never leaving Shizurus face. She tried to ease the small frown and smiled a little bit when it worked.
Everything around them was peaceful and Natsuki knelt there, completely forgetting about the time. An hour passed and her finger still caressed the other girls face. Only when she began to stir did Natsuki retread her finger and sat down on the chair behind her, watching the girl as she woke up. A light yawn escaped Shizurus lips and she blinked a few times before her eyes adjusted to the light inside the room and focused on the girl in front of her.
"Hey." Natsuki said softly and smiled a little when she saw the sleepy look on the chestnut haired girls face.
"Good morning, Natsuki. May I ask what you are doing here?"
"I'm here to check on you, and see if you made any progress on the list, of course."
Shizuru eyed her for a moment before answering, her voice a little hoarse from sleeping "I see."
Natsuki sat up and her eyes softened a little "how are you?"
Shizuru moved to sit up as well, Natsuki stood up and helped her, moving the pillow behind her back, before she sat down again.
"I'm fine, thank you for asking."
"Do you want something? Water? Breakfast? I'll go and get it." The biker stood up once more and was about to head to the door when a soft hand grabbed her own and hold her in place.
"No, thank you. The nurse will be here shortly, you don't have to get me anything. But I would like to know what time it is?"
The blunette blushed a little at the warm and soft feeling against her hand, remembering the earlier events. "Sure.." Natsuki pulled out her phone to take a look at the clock and answered Shizurus question.
"It's a little after 8 A.M."
"Don't you have school today? You are going to be late, Natsuki!"
The biker smirked and sat down again "I'm already late, so, don't bother. It's nothing uncommon, nobody's going to miss me there. I'll just spend some time with you, we have a mission to complete, after all."
Shizurus brows furrowed a little "mission?"
Natsuki grinned at the girl before standing up and pulling a piece of paper out of the bag that rested beside her chair. "Yup! You are going to show me your list or we are going to start one right now."
"Natsuki, I really appreciate your actions, but you don't have to do that, there isn't anything that I could possibly do. And you really shouldn't neglect your school because of me."
"I know that I don't have to do it, but I want to. And I'm sure that I would be on the rooftop or somewhere else instead of going to class right now. So, tell me, what's the first thing on your mind that you want to do?" Natsuki eagerly grabbed a pen and stared at Shizuru, waiting for an answer.
"Natsuki.."
"I'm not going to school again until you tell me something you want to do." stated the blunette while crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow to accompany her point.
The chestnut haired girl stared at the biker for a while, before sighing and turning her head away slightly. "Tea ceremony. I would like to hold one.."
Natsuki didn't respond, so Shizuru turned around to look at her.
"Are you serious? A tea ceremony?" The blunette raised her eyebrows.
"Yes, why would I fool around in a situation like this?"
"I don't know.. I just- never mind. Tea ceremony it is! I'm going to arrange everything while you are going to eat breakfast. Understood?" The biker stood up and pressed the button to call the nurse "I'll wait until you have your breakfast and then I will be on my way."
Shizuru looked at the exposed skin on Natsukis stomach due to her leaning over the bed to press the call button. Her hip bones stood out way too much and her clothes loosely hung around her body.
"What did you eat for breakfast?" Crimson met emerald and Natsuki uneasily shifted her weight before scratching the back of her neck
"Nothing yet.. I'll grab something while I'm preparing everything for the tea ceremony."
"You can have breakfast with me. You said that you are going to wait until I have mine anyway, so please, be my guest. I haven't had breakfast with someone in a long time. You can see it as something on the list."
"I don't know, I think-" Natsuki was cut off by the nurse opening the door and coming in to check on Shizuru.
"How can I help you, Fujino-san? Is everything alright?"
The chestnut haired girl smiled at the woman and nodded her head. "Everything is fine, but I would like to ask for breakfast. Me and my friend are a little hungry, if that is alright?"
"Of course, I will be right back."
"Shizuru-"
"Breakfast will be here shortly, sit down with me, Natsuki."
The blunette sighed and slumped down in the chair once more "fine.. But I'll go and prepare everything right after, okay?"
Shizuru smiled "as Natsuki wishes."
The biker shock her head and smiled a little. "Idiot."
Chapter 4! I hope I can keep up the weekly updates now.. But I don't promise anything. Please tell me what you think about it!
I still need a chapter song.. Recommendations? I'll add it afterwards! Thanks in advance :)