PSN: So you guys all don't want Nagi/Chrome to suffer, and neither do I to be honest. But it is an integral part of the story and her growth. So bear with me please? It will get better I swear!

Have a nice read to both old and new fans (I will add the quotes later on, since I'm too damn tired now.)


To Nagi, waiting for the clock to strike midnight might as well have been a millennium away. Her head was throbbing with the excruciating pain of the accident's aftermath—now that her senses were in full swing, the agony of her accident had made her a wreck. She whimpered at the immensity of the ache and wished for the pain to go away, wishing for someone to accompany her now, someone who would hold her close and comfort her.

Nurse Yoko walked past her room as she made her rounds to tend to the other patients under her. It was not simply Nagi who she had given much attention to – though she wished she had.

Nagi balled her fists unconsciously as she whimpered quietly in her sleep. Her eyes closed tightly and beads of sweat trickled down her face. She adjusted her body, tossing and turning back and forth to get to a comfortable position but the drips attached to her restricted most of her movements.

She was dreaming a distorted dream that made absolutely no sense, the effects of the medicine that was supplied to her aiding her hallucinations. Her dreams suddenly faded away, replacing with scenes that had no relations to the previous dream.

A strange blonde-haired woman screamed something, it sounded very distant and far away so Chrome couldn't hear. Her blue eyes widened with fear. She was standing atop a balcony, her hair swaying with the wind. She clasped her arms together and shook her head pleadingly. "Come back! It's dangerous!"

The image was quickly replaced with another scene that did not make sense as well and unlike the previous dreams, this one lasted longer.

She was sitting on a patch of dewy wet grass. She could feel the wetness with her hands; it had just been raining a few moments ago. She got to her feet, surprised at the freshness of the cold air. She stood still for a moment, watching the scenery as the cold wind sliced through her rouged cheeks.

She looked down and was astonished at the fact that she was not wearing her hospital gown. Instead, it had been replaced with a white flowing dress that cascaded below her ankles.

She glanced at her hands and wriggled her fingers, feeling them move according to her will. She wasn't bandaged! She thought happily. But where was she?

She turned around, her dress swishing behind her. The hospital was nowhere near her. She was dreaming, right? But... why did everything feel so real?

Nagi was now in a vast green land, the greenness stretching miles away as far as she could see. She smiled sincerely, despite the situation that she was in and sniffed the fresh air, feeling happy to be alive again.

"Princess!"

She spun around at the call, facing a frantic woman who was waving her arms in a peculiar manner. Her eyes widened with bewilderment as her brain comprehended the situation. How could this be?

She was face to face with the same woman who had been screaming at the top of the balcony, the same woman who still had her worried expression marring her pale face.

"Princess! You have arrived!" She had a succinct Italian accent.

Wait…

Italian?

Nagi was baffled. How was it that she could understand Italian, a language she had never spoken or applied before in her life? Somehow, the dream was getting weirder as it continued.

"Princess?" Nagi repeated confusedly, pointing at herself.

"Princess," the woman affirmed, nodding her head.

Nagi raised her eyebrow but before she could delve further into the conversation, she was rudely interrupted by a man who had odd blue hair. The man stared at her with his calculating gaze and shook his head in disgust, his hair resembling more and more like a sort of fruit.

"No, my dear, she isn't the one and she'll never be. My successor is not a weakling of this sort and she is not a female. Talbot's mother had it wrong. We, the princes will never be princesses," the man said, his unnerving gaze stripping away at Nagi's vulnerability.

"But dear…" The woman began but the scene blurred suddenly, throwing Nagi into a dark, cold area, all alone.

The image was yet again replaced, and this time it was total darkness. Nothing but black space. She could faintly make out her surroundings but she was still not fully aware. She could barely smell the disinfectant of the hospital that was surrounding her.

"She's coming to, Nurse Yoko. Her organs are failing again," a disembodied voice said.

"Are you sure? The poor chicken!" Nurse Yoko sympathised, clasping Nagi's frail hands in hers.

"According to her brain pattern in the MRI scan, it seems disturbed. From there, we can deduce that she had a restless sleep and could have possibly experienced quite a series of nightmares," the same doctor, whose face was unseen, said.

"Oh dearie me! The poor mite. Perhaps she can confirm the name of her perpetrator now."

"Perhaps… if she survives," the doctor replied darkly in his clipped tone.

Nagi could hear the sharp intake of breath from Yoko and a slow gasp escaping her lips. "You don't say? She was on the road to recovery just this afternoon doctor! She wiggled her fingers and even spoke to me. With her eyes open!" Yoko emphasised.

"This afternoon maybe, but her organs seem to be reject her and both her parents refuse to donor for her. The girl is currently in a state of life and death. It would take a miracle to sustain her life with the lack of donors..." The doctor sounded sad and dejected.

Nagi's heart skipped a beat before she felt it beating furiously against her ribcage. Die? She was going to die? Her organs rejected her? H-her mother refused to donor for her? Even though her thoughts had been occupied with death, now that it came to, the idea of death was daunting. She didn't like the idea of ceasing completely. Not existing anymore.

"Poor girl... She had a secret admirer too, sent her flowers, chocolates and a love letter. The child was too embarrassed to show it to me," Yoko caressed Nagi's face gently.

"Hmm…" The doctor sounded thoughtful.

Nagi had all forgotten about the letter sent by the mysterious person. M.R? Who was he? What time was it now anyway? She was supposed to be having a sort of date at midnight with him today, according to the card. Judging the remark by the doctor, it seemed to be past afternoon... or was it evening? Whatever it was, she would not know for sure. She was dying anyway.

"Nurse, please hand me the sedative. We have to fully knock the girl unconscious before we can proceed on with the surgery; she needs a blood transfusion soon." Nagi heard the doctor speak, followed by a scuffle and an eminent silence, the silence that suffocated her and carried an awkward tension.

It was not long before the familiar footsteps of Yoko's resurfaced. "Here, the dosage should be enough," he lightly flicked the needle and passed it to the doctor.

"That's what we need. We don't want her to wake up until further into midnight."

Midnight? Nagi's mind tried deciphering that. What were the doctors planning to do? An emergency surgery?

She felt Yoko's callous hands sweep through her hair. "I do hope that she makes it through. She's a lovely bright girl."

"It is not good to get emotionally attached to a patient, Yoko. It is deemed rather unprofessional, especially considering our field of expertise."

Yoko sniffed. "I know, but the girl has a future ahead of her—I can see that! I don't want her losing it because of such an unfortunate accident. Do you know that the driver has yet to be caught? This irks me. It seems that the citizens are refusing to co-operate with the police and are evading their questions."

There was a long pause.

"How did you know about all this?" The doctor enquired.

Yoko fell silent before she blustered. "I—my brother works at the force... which is convenient for me."

I want to remember who did this to me, Nagi thought. She had seen the face of the driver, but the shock had driven it out of her mind. Nurse Yoko said that it was short term amnesia. But she was sure she knew who it was.

"Now let's stop any more of our idle chattering..." The doctor ordered with a sigh and pushed the needle into Nagi's arm. The girl felt no pain at all, her senses dulling and more garbled until she could no longer distinguish her surroundings. She soon succumbed to the darkness that was pulling her into its embrace.

XxX—XxX

Nagi regained consciousness and the first thing she felt was the bitter cold wind that lightly touched her skin. She shuddered as the prickly feeling of goose pimples covered her skin. Slowly, she opened her eyes and stared into the vast, dark space. She sighed with relief when she recognised that she was still in the hospital.

She gently turned her head to side and squinted at the self-illuminating clock at the far end, telling her that it was 12 minutes past midnight. Wasn't someone supposed to visit her soon?

Nagi tried to recall the events that happened before she lost conscious. She vaguely remembered something about her organs failing and that she needed to undergo an emergency surgery soon. She recalled the needle plunging into her skin until her mind went blank. She frowned as she could no longer remember anything else and rested on her side, before she heard a barely audible whisper of her name.

"Nagi."

The call made the hair on the back of her neck stand. She recognised that voice….

It was the doctor who had ordered the emergency surgery.

"I know you can hear me and that you're awake right now," she could hear the shuffle of his feet coming closer toward her. She braced herself and tried her best to lie limp and unaware.

"It's midnight now, just like I promised I would arrive."

He had Nagi's attention now. No one but she and the person who wrote the note knew of its contents. The doctor couldn't know... could he? He was a doctor, she reasoned, a doctor who was supposed to be emotionally detached from their patients. He couldn't possess a romantic notion that Nagi had been fantasizing about

All images of a knight in shining armour shattered from Nagi's mind. She quickly erased the thought.

A doctor! She had been waiting until midnight for a visit from her doctor! Nagi found the whole situation inexplicable—and if she wasn't wearing a ventilator, she would have laughed.

"Nagi… you're probably surprised, in shock or perhaps both right now. It seems that it was harder to get to you than I thought, kufufu~"

Nagi continued to lie still, listening.

"Don't ignore me now; I had even pretended to be a doctor for your sake," there was an almost teasing lilt in his tone, but it could have been Nagi's imagination.

That was it. Nagi parted her lips slightly and whispered. "Why…"

A slow silence descended.

"Why, you ask? Hmm, if you put it into context then I'd say because I have been searching for you all my life. Long time, no? Kufufu~ I'm Mukuro Rokudo by the way. Your 'secret admirer' as Nurse Yoko put it."

Nagi allowed a small smile to grace her lips. Mukuro seemed to be humouring her. "I…what…did…you…do…to…me?" She asked with great difficulty.

"Nothing in particular, if that is what you wanted to know. I needed to throw the nurse off the scent by carrying out a 'surgery' that was non-existent. You do seem to have a fatal injury but the excuse had to be made to keep the nurse out. These are the many wonders of being an illusionist."

Nagi was getting more and more confused as Mukuro continued to talk. An Illusionist? Pretended to be a doctor? Why was he looking for her for such a long time? Questions after questions swirled in her mind like clothes in a washing machine.

"Why...were…you…looking…for me?" she asked, the first question in her head.

Mukuro mulled over the question. Nagi could faintly make out a figure. She didn't want to strain her eyes by squinting closer. It was shadowy and murky and only Mukuro's silhouette was visible through the dark.

After a heartbeat, Mukuro answered. "It isn't something that you would understand right now. However, it would be great if you tried opening your eyes properly, Nagi."

Nagi felt that she had no other choice so she opened her eyes wider—wincing at the small light that was illuminating from Mukuro's pocket torch.

"Kufufu~ That's great," Nagi could now see Mukuro hovering above her bedside. Her eyes widened with incredulous disbelief as she recognised the face.

He resembled the man in her dreams! The blue haired man with the weird hairstyle. Nagi looked closer and shook her head.

No, it wasn't him. It was somebody who looked like him. For a moment her heart had stopped.

She laughed at herself for making that ridiculous comparison. Why would the man she dreamed about come to her bedside?

Why was a man in her bedside anyway?

Mukuro smirked at Nagi's obvious ogling and sat down by her bed. Her cheeks heated and her heart rate sped up with something she knew didn't have to do with her illness. Mukuro held her bandaged hand, tenderly holding it in his own.

"I have a proposition for you, my dear Nagi."

Dear Nagi? No boy had ever called her 'dear'. Mukuro spoke to her as though she were acquainted with him. What proposition was he talking about? She was strapped in bed and possibly had moments to live. Her mind was ensued in chaos and she didn't know what to feel anymore.

"What...is...it?" she managed to squeak out.

Mukuro's head swivelled around, and he gave a terse glance at the door that was loosely ajar. "I have not much time; I can feel the doctors coming."

Nagi's eyes followed his. "What...is...it?" she repeated, this time more firm.

Mukuro looked at her, his knowing smirk back in place. "Kufufu~ I was getting to that. How about a new chance in life, dear Nagi? A new beginning. A new you."

Nagi averted her gaze and turned around, her eyes already brimming with unshed tears. Was it a joke? Was Mukuro being deliberately cruel to her? Giving her false hope so that he could shatter it right in front of her face like M.M had? A new beginning? Her, Nagi? The whole idea seemed preposterous and Mukuro had said it with a straight face. She badly wanted to believe it, but her heart wasn't agreeing with her.

You're not meant for this life Nagi. Just accept his offer because you have nothing left to lose. Her conscience advised.

"Me?" her eyes widened when Mukuro nodded with affirmation.

"Oya? You don't seem happy about it," Mukuro frowned at her obvious discomfort.

Nagi pursed her lips. "I still...don't...understand...why," her violet orbs locked on his. "You...don't...know...me."

Mukuro sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "You may not know me Nagi, but I do. Don't you want to leave this hospital? This life where nobody cares about you?"

That remark sent a chord through her heart. It was as though Mukuro had read through her. Suddenly, a torrent of emotions overwhelmed her in its embrace. She felt scared and all her bottled emotions were set free. She looked at Mukuro with such loneliness and emptiness in her eyes before she finally broke down in great teary sobs.

Her eyes blurred and she was sure she was sniffling, but she didn't care. Her feelings have opened up and weeks of lying in the same hospital bed without any human comfort had left her vulnerable.

Don't cry or you'll ruin your chance Nagi!

Mukuro was taken aback as he backtracked slowly, getting up from her bed. He was quite unsure about how to deal with teary teenagers. He wasn't expecting a break down.

Nagi shook her head furiously. "It... isn't you," she sobbed, clutching tightly to his shirt. "It's...me. I'm the...one...bad inside."

Mukuro raised his eyebrows. "You? Bad inside? Why ever must you say so, dear Nagi?"

Nagi tried calming her hammering chest and sniffed. "I...never had...friends. I was...bullied...because...I was...a freak...I'm not a...good...daughter….I was…never liked."

"Oya, that sounds bad," Mukuro exclaimed, suddenly wary of the confession. "But I don't think you're bad Nagi. You have a great future ahead of you. I knew it the moment I saw you. Your flame of resolution was high and flaring at its best. That's when I knew my long search was over. Don't cry."

This time it was Nagi who stared and raised her eyebrows. Flame? What was he talking about? This was the first time she had seen him. Had he been watching her all this time? Suddenly Nagi didn't feel safe in the room with him.

Mukuro seemed oblivious to her stares—or rather he chose to ignore it—and instead, continued with his speech. "I need you Nagi, you may not realize it, but you and I are alike in many ways."

Nagi blushed deeply, and turned aside. "I don't think so," she muttered. "Nobody… ever needs… me. I was… alone and… I will… continue to… be so. I'm not going… to be missed… by anybody when I die."

Mukuro smirked. "It's such thoughts that will keep you away from people. Will you accept my offer? The doctors will arrive soon."

Nagi bit her lips. "How?"

Mukuro's red eye twinkled, and he grinned. "That's for me to know and for you to find out. Will you accept it?" He confirmed. "You shall be free of the clutches of your bullies, your parents and anybody who deemed you unworthy. Wasn't it your dream to be popular?"

Nagi's eyes widened. "Huh? How…did you…know?" It was a private thought that she had indulged herself in every now and then. Dreams of becoming popular, liked and looked up to. In her imagination, she had a string of friends willing to talk to her, act like her and be her—some, like M.M were envious.

Mukuro's eyes twinkled mischievously. "Just like I know who ran you over. I know everything about you Nagi. I told you that you and I are alike in more than one way. This is why I'm willing to give you a new chance, a new life."

He knew who ran her over? She stared at him, incredulous disbelief evident in her eyes.

Mukuro leaned forward and grabbed her hand, delicately brushing aside her hair and whispered. "With me, you'll have fun Nagi. Just agree and I will make your dreams come true."

Nagi stared at his odd red eye, mesmerized and found herself nodding her head. "Yes Mukuro-Sama, I agree."

Where had the 'Sama' come from? All she knew was that she couldn't tear her gaze away from the handsome boy in front of her. Nagi felt as though she had nothing to lose. His gaze was hypnotizing.

Finally you have some sense Nagi!

Mukuro smiled tenderly. "Well, we can shake on it to make it official."

Nagi extended her bandaged arm and shook hands with him, a sudden spasm of electricity flowing through her. Suddenly, she felt strong and capable, as though she could handle everything. She wasn't even fazed by the fact that she was still tied to many machines, keeping her alive. She stared at Mukuro and wondered what she had gotten herself into.

"Where are you going to take me?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Mukuro smirked and pointed at the leaflet hanging loosely on her wall. "To the Seven Rainbow Realms Academy, your dream school."


PSN: So the funeral scene will be fundamentally the same next time I update. I will however make a major change in the Academy. So, stay tuned after Eid (Since tomorrow maybe Eid eve) So happy future eid day! XD