Chapter 6: Memorable Wednesday morning

The day before was very stressful. A part of me told me that tomorrow will be better and a part of me told me not to count on it…

I was seven back then, 2 years after my mom decided to move to Japan. Back then I wore no glasses and my hair was in neat pigtails. I was running down a hill calling out Hotaru's name. She didn't responed. She didn't seem to hear me. I called out again but no reply. As I neared her I found her sulking. She was hugging her knees and her eyes were swollen. I stopped in front of her and dropped down on my knees. I wiped some of the tears away.

"What's wrong?" I asked. She sniffed and pulled me into a hug. "Hotaru-chan?" she continued sobbing until there were no more tears to shed. That was the last day Hotaru ever cried. RIIING!

"Five more minutes." I lazily said particularly to no one. The alarm clock kept ringing so in defeat I decided to get up. I grabbed the alarm clock and looked at the time. 7:30 am. I pressed the snooze button but it won't stop. Out of irritation I threw the stupid thing to the wall, and finally it stopped. I did my morning routine. Get up, brush my teeth, take a bath, put on my school uniform, eat breakfast, and go to school.

My walk to school was perfectly normal. Until something small and white blocked my way. I bent down and stared at the thing. It was white like cotton; it had long ears and a fluffy tail. "Usagi?" I said to myself. Usagi is Ruka's pet rabbit; he has this thing with animals and it seems like he's very fond with rabbits. It jerked its little head towards me. I reached out to grab it but it ran away. "Wait!" I screamed running after it. I don't why I was running after it but I felt like I had too. We turned into a corner and I felt a great force push me down the ground.

"Ouch!" it whined. I rubbed my aching bottom and looked at the thing/person I bumped into. Usagi jumped on his lap as He messed up his perfectly neat blonde hair and his face was in pain, seems like the force when we came in contact also pushed him down. It was Ruka.

"So-sorry." I apologized as I scrambled up to my feet. I reached out a hand and he took it. Usagi jumped unto his shoulders then to his head. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to bump into you." I apologized again.

"It's fine." He said. He grabbed Usagi and leveled it in front of his face. "Where have you been?" he asked the rabbit as if it could answer him back.

"He was... uhm… lost. I guess." I answered his question. "I saw him alone on the road I was supposed to bring him back to you, but it seems like he found you anyways." I explained.

"Is that why you were running?" he asked. I nodded in reply. "Sorry. He tends to run off on his own sometimes." He said with a smile and cradled the rabbit as if it was a baby. "Are you on your way to school?" he asked. I nodded. "Alone?" he added. I didn't answer. It was obvious that I was alone. I tried calling Hotaru this morning but she wouldn't answer. Her answering machine keeps getting my messages and she never called back.

"I should get going. I don't want to be late." I said and started to leave.

"Wait." He called out. I turned back to face him.

"Yes?"

"If you like, w-we can walk to-together to school. I mean, we're both a-alone and I'm sure walking alone is very lonely." He offered. He was blushing different shades of red. I always knew he was a gentleman and very shy. "a-and it's not safe for g-girls to walk alone, right?" he added, blushing harder. I chuckled a little.

"Nogi-kun, I-"

"Ruka. Call me Ruka." He said avoiding my gaze.

"Very well then, Ruka." I started. "I'll be happy to walk with you to school." I said with a smile. There was something about Ruka that's very light. He may be friends with the guys who made my life miserable for the past 4 years but he was different from them. That's maybe why he was easy to trust. He smiled back and we walked side by side. A constant distance of one inch was between us. He seemed to be very anxious about something.

"Sakura-san…"

"Mikan." I corrected. He gave me an expression of shock and excitement.

"Mikan. Can I ask you a question?" he asked.

"You're already asking one." I pointed out. His lips curled slightly. "Okay then. You can ask one question." I said.

"How long have you been here in Japan? I know you were not born here." I stopped on my tracks and stared at him without him noticing it. "Mikan?" he stopped and looked around to look for me.

"I was five when first arrived here. 12 years." I answered with a questioning look.

"Do you remember anything when you first came here?" he asked.

"No. Hotaru told me that I had an accident and gave me amnesia. I would ask her about my past but she gave me only few details. Like who I was who were my family and some people I knew. She never told me any experiences I had." I answered honestly.

"Bummer." He said frowning.

"Why'd you ask?" I asked. He shook his head and started to walk again.

"No particular reason." He said. I stared at his retreating figure for a while and I realized I had to catch up with him.

The walk to school was silent. Occasionally Ruka would talk to his rabbit but not to me again. I didn't mind. I was busy asking myself if there was something important to remember. I was asking myself if I knew Ruka before. My head hurt when we arrived at school. Ruka decided to go to his club, for taday was dedicated to club activities for the upcoming festival. I decided to go to the clinic and have some rest.

"How may I help you?" the nurse asked with her squeaky voice. A right smile was plastered on her face and it didn't help my head ache at all.

"My head is really hurting. Is it alright for me to stay a while and have some rest?" I asked.

"Of course, I'll get you some water and medicine for that head ache of yours." She happily skipped to the counter to look for medicine. I massaged my temples and laid on one of the beds. "Here you go." She placing the cup on the bedside table and gave me the medicine as I sat up. I popped the round tasteless thing and washed it down my throat with a lot of water. She happily left me alone to rest.

I went back to bed and stared at the white ceiling. I don't get why clinics and hospitals have to be white all the time. I stared at it for a while and I dozed off.

Before I dozed off I realized something, that maybe if I remember my past. It would give me all the answers I needed. No one would really tell me what was going on, that when I told myself that I have to find out these things for myself. I decided that when I get home I'd rummaged through that pink box again and try to remember as if my life depends on it.

Homeplus: URGH! I'm having a writer's block! Sorry if it's short. I really am but I'm trying to process the events in my mind. Hope it left you with some questions in your mind that would make you want to kill me for not updating as fast as I could. Jaa!