Ah, I'm updating less and less frequently now... I apologise once more.

Now, enjoy!


Chapter 9

My mother died when I was very young. At that time, Aoi was only two. Sumire's parents had watched over us during our time of despair. That was when Aoi and I learnt that our father was dying quickly.

Father was born with a terminal heart condition. It made him very weak but the heart attacks only started after the death of Mother.

"Father? Father! Wake up! Aoi, stay where you are. I'll call the ambulance."

Natsume ran over to the telephone and dialled rapidly.

Minutes later, the ambulance had arrived. They carried the shaking man and his two children to the emergency care part of the hospital.

The man had recovered slowly and his two children never left the waiting room, almost never even move, breathe or blink.

A tired doctor stepped into the waiting room and called the two children over. "You may see him now," he said.

Inside the ward, the man whispered quietly to the two children until Aoi started to doze off.

"Natsume, my son."

"Yes, Father."

"From now on, I will be staying at the hospital in case another situation like this happens again. One day, very soon, I will have to leave the two of you."

"Hai."

"You are strong, Natsume. Teach Aoi to be like that as well."

"I will."

It was only a few days later until Eleanor had marched up to our door and said that she was going to be our new mother.

Both Aoi and I were defiant. Aoi didn't accept her into her life until later. I never did accept her at all. There will only be one mother who is true during your lifetime.

To be truthful, I had attempted to try and accept Eleanor.

I was ten at that time and it was pouring outside. The wind howling or the rain splattering on the rooftop constantly waked me up. I sought Eleanor, thinking she might know how or where I could sleep peacefully. When I did find her, she was reading a cheque.

"Okaa-san? Where did that come from?"

Eleanor was startled.

The boy looked at the cheque and his eyes widened at the sight of the sender. It was from his father. Although he was only ten, he understood the value and importance of money and understood the situation right away.

"Y-You were hired by father? To be our fake mother?"

The woman had ended up with a scar above her right eyebrow and the little boy had run to where he knew his father was. The hospital.

It was long past working hours when I arrived at the hospital that day. A blonde haired man was leaving the hospital at that time. I had seen him many times in newspapers and articles. Narumi L. Anjo.

"Please, make me your apprentice. I want to heal Father."

The blonde haired man looked down to see a trembling boy with red eyes. So he was the son of the man with the terminal heart condition. The determination in those blood red eyes was overwhelming.

"I will."

That was how I came to go to Alice University.

And that Polka thinks she had it worse off than me.

Though honestly, Sumire is really a bitch.

o.o.o.o.o

Natsume and I stayed silent for a long time. During our classes, we didn't even come within a two metre radius of each other.

"How is your assignment going, Mikan?" Yuu asked.

"Assignment? What assignment? We had no assignment and I definitely didn't get paired up with that stupid Hyuuga! Ehehe..."

"Mikan, you're starting to scare me. I think you might want to see the nurse," Koko said.

"There's nothing wrong with me at all. Nothing. Nought. Zilch. Nada."

Baka. Baka. Baka.

"What was that for, Hotaru?"

"You are acting strangely, Mikan."

"Am I?" I sighed, "I guess I am."

"What happened?"

"Well, that Hyuuga said that-"

And I rambled on until it was the end of class.

o.o.o.o.o

"Maybe you should make it up to her. Who knows if you had it worse than she did?"

I glared at Ruka. He was making me apologise to her? Yeah, and pigs fly.

"Look! There's a flying pig!" Some kid nearby said.

"Baka, that's a plane with a huge pig banner hanging off the wing."

"Oh."

"So, Natsume. Do you have lessons with Narumi this afternoon?"

"No, not today"

"Ah. Ok then."

"What is it Ruka?"

"Well, Imai and I decided that we wanted to go to a small cafe that opened up across my street."

"I can see your little assignment is going well."

Ruka blushed slightly. "Not like that. Koko-san was going to come along as well."

"So it's unrequited?"

Ruka pushed me slightly, his face reddening even more ever passing second. He is so fun to make flustered.

"Anyway, I was thinking that you and Sakura-san would've liked to come... and might also put you two on better terms. Oi, Natsume! Stop walking away!"

At the mention of Polka's name, I spun around and walked off.

"If you're not there, I'm asking Usagi to stay in your locker for a day," Ruka called after me, "And trust me. Usagi excretes waste. A lot."

"I'm there."


Ah, that sucked. So much.

Writing's gonna become a chore soon.

Now, for some sleep.

Review please!

Peace.

Sky~