X . The Unlucky Girl . X
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To Mikan Sakura, anything that concerns her is poisoned. Her mother and father separated and she lives in a poor house with her mother, who is getting sicker by the day. Her father doesn't care about them, now that he has his own new family with his new wife. In order to get more money, Mikan becomes a bar singer, which she keeps a secret from her family. Everything in Mikan's life is going wrong, but will something finally be right when she meets Natsume and Ruka?
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▬Previously:
Mikan stands up and walks toward her gigantic floor-to-ceiling window. Her eyes are sad and watery. As she gazes out into the sky, two stars are shining brightly in the distance.
One star is bigger than the other; the other star is small, but just as bright as the bigger star.
But they are not close together, but very far apart.
Very, very far apart.
Suddenly, the big star disappears. Mikan searches relentlessly for it in the night sky, but it is no where to be found.
The little star, still trying to shine brightly, is now all alone.
All alone.
"Natsume… where are you? Are you alive?" Mikan whispers, as she presses her hands on the window glass and weeps.
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▬Chapter Nine: Foreboding ▬
"You-chaaaaan!" Aoi flung her arms around Youichi's neck. "I haven't seen you in such a long time!"
Youichi hugged Aoi close. "I missed you."
Aoi noticed the sudden seriousness in the atmosphere. "You…chan?" She looked up at Youichi. "Are you okay?"
Youichi stared into his girlfriend's beautiful brown-slash-ruby-colored eyes and hugged her even tighter. "I won't let you go," he whispered.
"Y-You-chan?" Aoi asked while pulling away from him. "Sit, and talk."
Youichi and Aoi sat down on the stairs of the house. "What's wrong?" Aoi asked.
Youichi ran his fingers through his hair. "A lot of things have been happening lately… a lot of bad things. Everything involving Mikan Sakura."
Aoi looked surprised. "Mikan Sakura? Oh, I know her! She goes to my school."
Youichi twitched. "What?"
"She's so nice, and bubbly, and smart. I want to be just like her when I grow up. It's such a surprise that she's not popular though… but I heard a rumor that she's poor, but I fail to see the reason why that even matters!" Aoi continued without pause.
"Are you trying to tell me… that… you and Mikan are friends?" Youichi's mouth dropped open.
"Well… I'm her best friend that's younger than her, if that's what you meant. I look up to her so much, and she's really the perfect role model for me," Aoi said dreamily. "When I met her at Natsume's party once, I nearly fainted. She didn't know me then, but I quickly became friends with her after that."
Youichi fought to find the right words. "Aoi… don't be friends with her. No, I refuse for you to be friends with her!" he ended up shouting.
Aoi looked absolutely appalled. "Excuse me, Youichi? When has it been your job to regulate who I make friends with?" Aoi stood up angrily.
"No, I—I didn't mean—just, please, be friends with anybody except Mikan Sakura, Aoi," Youichi whispered. "Please."
"I'm confused Youichi. What problem do you have with Mikan?"
"A LOT OF PROBLEMS!" Youichi shouted. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I'm being selfish."
Aoi stared at Youichi. "Yes, you are."
"But Aoi, take my word for it. Mikan has caused all the problems of our family right now, and underneath the role model you look up to—though I absolutely have no idea why she's your role model—she's a vicious animal that eats its own kind to survive. That's her true nature," Youichi told her. "Be careful. I'm telling you this because I care for you, Aoi, not because I'm being selfish or jealous."
Aoi bit her lip. "You-chan… I, I wish I could just stop being friends with her, because I care about your feelings too, but I can't. She's my role model! I can't just take your word for it and leave…"
"You have to, Aoi. Because you're my girlfriend, and you listen to me because I listen to you." Youichi's expression hardened.
"Hey, there, just because I'm your girlfriend, doesn't mean—" Aoi began.
"Then what does it mean, Aoi? What does our relationship even mean to you? Does it even mean anything? It's always me coming to you." Youichi started descending the stairs. "You know what? Forget it."
"Youichi!" Aoi started after him, down the Hyuuga mansion.
"You can just keep being friends with Mikan Sakura, and we can have nothing to do with each other. It's perfect for you." Youichi banged open the door and rushed out. Aoi followed him, trying to keep up with his long, furious, strides.
"Youichi, wait! I love you, Youichi, of course our relationship means the whole world to me!" Aoi yelled.
"Obviously it doesn't mean the 'world' to you! You mean Mikan means the whole world to you!" Youichi shouted.
"Youichi, you're jealous! I'm telling you, that's not it, it's just that Mikan is a very nice person, with a wonderful personality—" Aoi pushed past the front gate; Youichi was already on the sidewalk, walking away from the mansion. "Youichi, wait!"
Youichi laughed. "I get it. You don't need to enlighten me any further, Aoi…"
Aoi walked across the sidewalk, looking both ways while crossing, trying to catch up to Youichi, who finally stopped walking and was now facing her direction.
"…we're done."
Youichi's words rang in Aoi's ears, and time seemed to have stopped for her. Her body froze, and Aoi clutched her hands to her ears, as if trying to block out some kind of sound.
She kneeled down in the middle of the road, clutching her ears, burying her head into her lap.
Youichi watched all of this with confusion and horror, wondering what was happening to her…
None of them noticed the car that was flying down the road, heading straight for Aoi.
BEEP BEEP! BEEEEP!
The car honked its horn, but the car kept coming…
SCREEECH!
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"Where are the patient's family members?" The doctor demanded again.
Youichi pleaded, "None of them are here, I was with her, I'm her boyfriend!"
The doctor scrutinized Youichi's face before saying, "Fine. I'll be back very soon, young man."
Youichi pushed past the doctor and went into the room. Aoi was laying there, her eyes closed tightly shut. Looking at her closely, Youichi noticed she was shivering.
"What's wrong with her, doctor?" Youichi said, a little hysterically. "Doctor?"
Oh, the doctor was gone.
Youichi stepped closer to her. "Aoi?" he whispered. Youichi was afraid; afraid of touching her. It was silly, really—but Youichi was afraid of Aoi's reaction.
Her reaction to getting hit by a car and ending up in the hospital because of him.
It was frightening to see Aoi right now. She was all bandaged up like a mummy. Youichi remembered the time he took her to the museum… Aoi was scared of mummies. That day, she proclaimed for him to be her knight of shining armor. To save her from mummies attacking her at night.
Youichi had declared her to be utterly stupid.
Youichi sighed and turned to look at Aoi's sleeping face again, but to his alarm, her ruby eyes were open.
Open, but vacant.
"A…oi?" Youichi whispered again, holding her hand.
Aoi's eyelashes fluttered a bit. Then, she spoke.
"Excuse me… where am I? The hospital?"
Youichi found out that he had been holding his breath. "You're at the hospital, Aoi. But you're okay, now, you'll be fine." He squeezed her cold hand.
"Okay." Aoi looked a little confused, but she smiled a bit. She looked at her hand, which was in Youichi's.
"Is it bothering you? Do you want to sleep?" Youichi asked worriedly, letting go of her hand.
"Um, not really," Aoi replied. She looked around the room. "Actually…"
The door flung open with a bang, then somebody yelled, "YOUICHI, YOU BASTARD!"
Youichi felt himself being lifted off the ground again. He looked into the furious eyes of Natsume Hyuuga again. Stuff like this seemed to be happening to him all the time now.
Natsume looked like he was going to stab Youichi, but decided against it and dropped Youichi to the ground.
Mr. Hyuuga and Mrs. Hyuuga burst in shortly after; their faces were white with shock. If it was possible, their faces paled even more when they saw Aoi on the hospital bed.
"Aoi!" Mrs. Hyuuga flung her arms around her daughter's body. "Are you alright?"
Aoi blinked. "Father!" Aoi looked above her mother and her mouth parted open at the sight of her father. "Mother!"
Aoi looked at Natsume. "Who—oh, Natsume-nii!"
Natsume's eyes bulged a bit. Aoi almost forgot who the fuck he was.
"Dad… umm…" Aoi looked at Youichi uncertainly. She beckoned her father over and whispered something in his ear.
Mr. Hyuuga's expression hardened as he regarded Youichi coldly. "It's alright, Aoi-bear, just go to sleep and don't worry."
Aoi nodded before casting another look at Youichi.
They all filed out of Aoi's room, into the hallway. Mr. Hyuuga closed the door firmly before slowly turning to Youichi.
"My daughter luckily did not get hit by the car severely. Most of it is mental trauma. She seems to have forgotten about you. Doesn't look like amnesia—she remembers all of us. I spoke to the doctor before coming in; he thinks she has a mental problem." Mr. Hyuuga paused, and then continued, "Apparently, he overestimated her situation, and he predicted that she would be traumatized by the very sight of you, but it seems that she has forgotten you completely."
"A good thing," Natsume muttered.
Youichi's mouth was open. Everything happened so quickly…
Wait, Aoi forgot about him?
Was Mr. Hyuuga serious?
What the hell?
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I've already finished singing for the night. I was the first to sing, and I still had time to talk with Natsume afterwards. Natsume seemed really out of it today. Ruka barely comes anymore. I wonder if he's mad at me, about the Hotaru and Youichi thing.
Natsume and I didn't talk for a couple of minutes, just sipping our drinks—me, with Coke. We pretended to watch the dancers sashaying around.
I side-glanced at Natsume, who was staring at me. I turned to face him full-on. "Would you care to tell me what happened?"
"My sister… got hit by a car."
My eyes widened. "Is she… okay? Your sister is Aoi, right?"
"I should've guessed that you knew her… when she's all alone, she spends her time saying 'Mikan, Mikan, Mikan' and 'I get it, I get it, I get it, we're done, we're done', and stuff like that. It's really scaring me." Natsume buried his head in his hands.
I was absolutely appalled. "Is her brain damaged? Does she not remember anything?"
"She remembers everybody. I'm pretty sure she remembers you too. She just…" Natsume growled under his breath, "doesn't remember Youichi."
I just sat there, not really sure what to think. "Youichi's her boyfriend, right?"
Natsume scoffed. "Tch. He was."
I put my hand on his shoulder softly. "Hope she gets better."
"She's fine like this, really. I don't know why I'm disturbed."
"Perhaps it's because she doesn't remember a large part of her memories?" I said softly. "The part that Youichi takes over?"
"That bastard. It's better this way." Natsume turned away from Mikan.
"You know the truth," I said, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Natsume looked at his phone.
1 TEXT MSG
It was Ruka. Natsume showed the text message to me.
RUKA: come to the apt. bring mikan. urgent
We silently got up and paid for our drinks. I wondered what Ruka wanted. Was it something about Hotaru?
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"Natsume. Mikan." Ruka nodded, giving me a small, but genuine smile.
"Is everything okay? What's going on?" I asked.
Then, I saw the familiar blur of silver-hair.
"Youichi…"
He looked way different from the images implanted in my head of him. He was usually angry, uncontrollable, and vicious.
The boy standing up looked very different. His hair flopped down, around the sides of his face. The silver-hair lost the prideful shine. His usually blazing eyes were dull and wary. I noticed he kept fidgeting with his shirt; his eyes darted everywhere, as if uncertain what to look at.
"Ruka. WHAT THE HELL?" Natsume suddenly roared.
"Natsume, can you calm down for a minute? Youichi needs our help. You need to listen," Ruka said.
"I don't fucking need to listen!" Natsume retorted. I felt like he was going to go on another cussing spree.
I looked at Youichi. He looked even smaller and forlorn than he was the last time I looked at him.
"You almost killed—"
"Natsume."
Natsume seemed surprised that it was me who spoke.
"You. Talk." I pointed at Youichi. "I'm fed up of you guys hollering at each other, and at me."
Ruka sighed in relief and ran his fingers through his blonde hair. "Thanks, Mikan, sweet."
I blushed a bit, but nodded.
Youichi seemed sort of lost for words. He cleared his throat a couple of times before saying, "I'm sorry."
We all looked at him intently. My gaze, I admit, wasn't very sympathetic, but it was better than Natsume's murderous glare.
"Ruka, Hotaru, and I…" Youichi's eyes darted towards Ruka, then flashed back to the ground, "were thinking of finding ways to get Aoi…"
Youichi swallowed.
"Go on, Youichi," Ruka urged.
"To… to get Aoi… to…" Youichi swallowed. "To… to remember me again!"
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Dear Diary,
I don't feel like writing the whole story, but basically, tonight was hectic. And shocking and confusing. It's like I saw another side of Youichi Sakura. It's freaky.
FREAKY! FREAKY! FREAKY!
Yeah…
I don't know what came over me, but I agreed to help. Natsume gave me a weird look, but I don't even know what's going on myself… still, it wouldn't hurt to help, right? I mean, Aoi, even if her boyfriend IS Youichi Sakura, or was him…
Ugh, I'm confused. To hell to this, I need my sleep.
-MA
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The plans were set. Everything was in position. We were ready to roll.
Project AOI's purpose was to get Aoi to remember Youichi.
It seemed pretty simple to me. Just stick Youichi's face in front of her and make him say a little secret that only the two of them know, and BAM. Cue the mushy movie ending songs.
I admit, this was going to be pretty fun.
However… Youichi. I would be lying if I said that I didn't have anymore hard feelings against him, and I would also be lying if I said that I still hated his guts.
I'm in the in-between, perhaps? Thing's have become so confusing. Do I hate him, or what?
Next, Hotaru. My feelings toward her? The usual—jealousy and anger. I tried to feel sorry for her, or even feel guilty, but I just can't. Sorry, Mom. I just can't. Natsume's mine! Why is that wrong? It's not wrong! Why did I even question myself?
I looked out the bus window. All of us—Natsume, Ruka, Hotaru, and I—were sitting on a private bus. Aoi remembered everybody except for Youichi. She was still a bit confused about Ruka and Hotaru, forgetting at times that Ruka was Natsume's best friend and things like that, but overall, she does remember them.
The scenery outside was beautiful. Green hills rolled past me, and trees. So many trees. It was going to be perfect.
"Mikan… where are we going?" Aoi asked.
I sighed. Aoi already asked me that three times already. Apparently, she had forgotten—again.
"Aoi, we're going to an amusement park. Do you remember going to one?" I asked her gently, forcing a smile.
Of course, I already knew the answer. I was like a robot, repeating my answers to her questions.
"No… but…" Aoi stammered.
But? This was a new response. I leaned closer, and so did Natsume.
"But what, Aoi?" Natsume asked.
Aoi looked confused. "I remember going on a rollercoaster… those are in amusement parks, right? Oh yeah, they are."
Natsume and I exchanged hopeful looks. Okay, Natsume's was more of an amused eyebrow raise, but still. It looked quite hopeful to me.
"Aoi—"
Beep. Beep. Beep.
"It's time." Ruka checked his watch. "Driver! Stop the bus please!"
The private driver looked annoyed as he stopped and opened the doors.
Mikan and Hotaru walked with Aoi out of the bus. Aoi looked around. "Is this the amusement park? It looks like a park."
"Yes, this is a park, Aoi," Hotaru replied calmly. "Let's go back on again."
"Eh? Um… okay…?" Aoi crinkled her eyebrows.
Just as the bus doors were about to close, they heard the noise they've been waiting for.
"AOI!"
Aoi turned around in surprise, but the doors were already closed. She peered through the glass and saw Youichi.
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I saw the most unfamiliar boy waving at me while running to catch up to the bus. Suddenly, I felt the bus lurch forward, and the boy started going farther and farther away.
"Slower," somebody hissed to the driver. I didn't understand why they would want to go slower, and not to just stop and get the boy on, but I wasn't bothered by it.
I watched the boy run… his silver-hair flew around all over the place—
Pain. Agonizing pain.
I never experienced hell before, but I was sure that no pain could be worse than this. I heard myself utter a high-pitched scream. Then, I felt everybody's hands around me. My vision became blurred—from the tears? Wait, I was crying? My arms flailed out in spasms, and I didn't even try to keep my body in-check. I was hurting too much to care. I immediately forgot about the silver-haired boy and focused on nothingness. Trying to myself back into control.
But…
Still. It hurt. Very much.
Pain.
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"Mom? Yeah, it's me, Mikan." I was talking to Mom on my newly bought cell-phone, courtesy of Natsume.
"You'll need it."
"Why?" I asked.
"Because, I want to be able to talk to you anywhere, anytime."
"Natsume…"
I shook my head. Now wasn't the time to think about such things.
"Is everything alright?" Mom asked on the other line.
"Yes, but I just wanted to tell you that I'm at the hospital right now."
"Who got hurt?"
"Aoi, Natsume's sister."
"What happened? Is she alright?"
"I'm not quite sure…" I closed my eyes, remembering today's horrifying events.
"Mi—"
"I'll talk to you later, Mom, I'm sorry, I'll explain everything soon."
There was a few seconds pause before Mom continued. "Alright, Mikan. I love you."
"I love you too, Mom. Bye."
-Click-
I sighed and leaned back on the cold hospital chair. Today was a total failure. Failure beyond words.
Upon seeing Youichi, Aoi seemed fine for about twenty seconds. We let her stare at Youichi as much as she wanted, seeing how she was so interested. I honestly thought that everything had clicked into place and that she remembered everything.
We all relaxed and backed away from Aoi. Mission success, I thought. Oh, how wrong I was.
Almost immediately after I thought that, Aoi suddenly clutched her head and started swaying. Everyone's eyes widened with horror as she grabbed the rail for support, but then attempted to bang her head against the wall. Luckily, Hotaru was there to stop her.
She screamed in agony, and at that second, I felt so guilty. So guilty. Aoi was in pain, and our plan made her suffer. It was horrible. We were the murderers of her happiness. I hated that.
We all rushed to her, trying to comfort her, but she kept on kicking and flailing like a wild animal. After a long time of struggling and kicking, her lights suddenly went out. The battery was dead. Like a marionette whose strings were cut.
Limp.
Dead…?
No!
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"She's alright." Natsume sighed. "Just suffered a lot of mental pain… the doctor said that we were lucky that she didn't cause any physical damage to herself."
"Mikan… Aoi's not dead. You know that, right?" Ruka asked me, putting a comforting hand on my shoulder.
"I know she's not dead, but… it feels like she's dead in the figurative sense." I sniffed. I glanced at Youichi, who was sitting in his sit with his hands clasped over his head which drooped down to his lap. It was a depressing sight.
Hotaru went home because she claimed that Miyuki would be suspicious if both of them didn't come home. Youichi was the party animal, she said, so it was alright.
I couldn't help but notice how Natsume's eyes shined with gratitude when he said good-bye to Hotaru. I wanted to slap myself. I was glad that Hotaru prevented Aoi from smashing her head! Of course I was!
I was just being a jealous bitch…
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Awww, F-/-. What, I haven't updated for like, almost two months or something? Not to mention, this chapter is FREAKING short? I'm so sorry. But… it's Valentine's Day coming up. And guess who got a boyfriend three weeks ago…? :D
Yush, Snowflaked Angel is deeply and madly in love. He is so sweet. But before I go all gaga over something irrelevant to this story, I must say, have a happy Valentine's Day, everybody! Mend broken hearts, fall in love, and give gifts and receive gifts! Honestly... -will not go all gaga-
I love you all. Ah, it's the GARC. I really don't deserve any awards… count it as my punishment for updating so late! But may the best Fanfiction win. Thank you very much. Over and out.
Answer to a plausible question: Why did I make this chapter so DAMN short?
Answer:
- Because, I sensed killing intent out there if I didn't update quickly.
- Because, I really want to start Popular Reject.
- Because, I can't think of anything else.
- Because, I felt like it.
- Because, better early than long…? (Lame answer/excuse)
-Geena/Snowflaked Angel
EDITOR'S NOTE:
Hi guys, it's xSTICKYxNOTEx! I feel a little threatened, so I'm leaving my editor's note. I feel the love in the threat though, so it's ok. I love you, Geena!
So, hopefully no one reading this is a fan of mine. If you are, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I've been pretty much dead update-wise. But I'm in the thick of a massive writer's block. I'm trying to break out, I really am, but I'm stuck. But maybe if I'm lucky, no one here knows me.
Much love, especially on Valentine's Day,
~StickyxNote
