Chapter six: Let me get this strait

Chapter nine: Hospital Wing of Romance?

"NATSUME!" Mikan held Natsume in her arms. Unfortunately, they hadn't quite gotten to him in time and he had hit his head on the floor. Mikan prayed he had been unconscious before he hit the ground; otherwise, it would have hurt.

"Natsume!" Harry said, forgetting his troubles temporarily. He took Natsume by the arm, and checked his pulse. It was still going...

"Alg!"

...unfortunately for Natsume's clothes.

"Natsume! Natsume!" Mikan yelled at the top of her lungs. She was getting Natsume's blood all over her clothes trying to figure out were he was injured. Although, there was one place the refused to look...

"Could he be bleeding internally?" Hotaru asked, looking concerned.

"Is he anemic?" Ron asked.

"I don't know!!" Mikan squealed. She began to cry. Hotaru had to catch Natsume because he wasn't being supported by Mikan anymore. "Whaaaaaaa! Why Natsume?! WHY?! WHY?!"

"Mikan!" Hotaru shot her with her Baka Gun. Mikan stopped crying, but only out of shock.

"We need to get him to the hospital wing." Harry said, taking Natsume from Hotaru and putting him on his back.

Many, many steps, lots of tears, and lots of Baka Gun shots later...

"My, my! What had that boy been doing?" Madam Pomfery asked, when she was done fixing Natsume, "His entire system is SHOT! What could make him bleed so much? He's definitely anemic, but I think the problem made the anemia. I can't figure it out..."

"Unlimited..." Hotaru muttered.

"What?" Mikan asked. She had been crying too hard to make out what she had said, but she felt it was important.

"Nothing!" Hotaru said immediately. No way she was going to share her idea with Mikan. She was NOT going to tell her best friend that Natsume might have an unlimited alice, and she was NOT going to tell her that Natsume's life has probably been WAY shortened already. No. Fing. Way.

"Is he going to be okay?" Ron asked.

"Well, after a REALLY good rest. I hooked him up on pain killers and sleeping pills. He should be out of it for a week at least."

"That sounds good..." Hotaru muttered. She promised herself that she'd keep a close eye on Hyuga. Not because she CARED if Hyuga decided to throw his life away. Because she CARED that Ruka CARED that Hyuga was healthy...

And she knew why, too.

Later

"NATSUME!" Ruka burst into the Hopital Wing. He was covered in sweat. And yet he still looked perfect. To Hotaru, when Nogi Ruka entered a room, the lights were a lot less dazzling. His blue eyes caught much more attention.

"Natsume!" he said, running up next to the bed. Mikan had fallen asleep, so she had been tucked into a bed a few rows down, and Ron and Harry had left. The only people in the room (and conscious!) were Ruka and Hotaru. Hotaru's stomach flipped.

Ruka took Natsume's hand, "You didn't tell me you'd get hurt... I wouldn't have let you do it... Natsume... Natsume... stop this... please..."

Hotaru watched the scene from behind, with her arms crossed. She was only there for Mikan. Mikan. Mikan. Mikan. Mikan. Mikan. Mi-

"Every time you get hurt, my heart hurts!"

Hotaru's cool exterior broke. She walked right up behind Ruka and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Ruka stiffened. Hotaru's arms were surprisingly warm. Her scent wasn't of oil or metal (as he had assumed) but of strawberries. Was it her shampoo? It had to be. Her fingers had slipped slightly into his shirt, out of awkward hand placement, and they felt cold compared to the head radiating from his chest (from the fact that his heart was beating in over drive). He reached up and took her hands in his.

"Hotaru..."

Hotaru blinked. He called her 'Hotaru'. Should she be insulted from the lack of honorific? Or should she be happy that he considered her so close...?

Hotaru could feel his chest under her fingers. He was a lot more muscular than she had thought. Little Ruka had been working out. His hands felt warm and they were in the most control of his entire body. Wile his torso shook, his hands were still and calm. Hotaru could smell the warm smell of a mother off of Ruka. This didn't make a whoellot of scene at first. Ruka was a thirteen-year-old boy. But then again... surly he hung out with mother rabbits and other mother animals...

"Ruka... ku..." Hotaru was caught breathless. This was an odd sensation for her. She had never been caught breathless. She felt helpless. Like a damsel in distress. Was this how Kate, in the Taming of the Shrew, felt when she fell in love with what's-his-name?

Ruka turned around. He looked Hotaru strait in the eye. Hotaru's mind locked. She didn't know what to do. How could she, Mistress Mechanical (in more ways than one), not know what to do? She always knew what to do! She tried to move, but Ruka had her by the hand. He brushed her dark purple hair back, and leaned in slightly...

And then turned away from her.

"Thank you..."

Hotaru blinked. Shock was written all across her face. What was Ruka about to do? He wasn't going to...? He wouldn't dare...? There was NO way! Ruka was Ruka, not some Casanova.

Ruka brushed Natsume's bangs out of his face. Mikan stirred a few beds away. Ruka looked up.

"Mikan-chan's waking up. You should take her back to her dorm, right?"

Those words gave Hotaru her cool back. She slapped Mikan awake and dragged her off...

For the next few days, Hotaru stayed with Ruka in the Hospital Wing, as he awaited his best friend's consciousness. Hotaru held his hand and (when he was really feeling down) kissed his cheeks. The feeling was strange. It was foreign to Hotaru. She had never experienced anything like it before. It intrigued her. It was interesting. Hotaru had become her own test subject.

After Ruka and Hotaru skipping class for three days strait, on the fourth day, Madam Pomfery told them they have to go to class.

"I know you're worried, but you can't give up your schooling just to watch a sleeping boy. He'll be awake in a few days. Please, go to class."

With that, she left them. Ruka brushed Natsume's hair once more. He looked fit to cry. He stood up and leaned against the desk. He closed his eyes, while his body shook. Hotaru suddenly felt something strange. Very strange indeed. And, because Hotaru is the kind of girl who takes what she wants, she gave into her desires.

She kissed Ruka.

On the lips.

Full fledged.

Not some little peck on the lips.

A REAL kiss.

Ruka's eyes shot open. Hotaru Imai's lips were on his own. Her chest was pressed up against his own, and her hands were gripped on his shoulders. Her eyes were closed and he could feel her heart pounding in her chest. It felt... right.

Ruka closed his own eyes and ran his hands up her arms up 'til they rested on her shoulders. He then pulled her even closer. He only gave into his hormones so much, however. Ruka wasn't that kind of boy...

Hotaru licked his bottom lip, and he was about to let her deepen the kiss when...

"OUT!"

Madam Pomfery interrupted them. Hotaru pulled away from him, and glared at the nurse. Ruka, being a good little boy, blushed and bowed to Madam Pomfery many times as he back out of the door. Hotaru glared and walked out with dignity.

But she did smile when Ruka glanced at her in the hall.

The Next Day

Mikan Sakura sat and watch Natsume. For the last few days, Ruka-pyon and Hotaru-chan had been watching him. But now they started going to class again, and someone needed to watch Natsume. Her class could go on without her for three days.

She poked Natsume's forehead. He looked so peaceful when he was asleep... and on drugs. The painkillers were defiantly working. He didn't stir at all except to breath. Mikan felt bad. She felt very bad.

"Natsume no baka..."

"Mi... kan..."

"hun?" Mikan asked, eyes going wide, "Natsume?"

"Mi... kan..." Natsume whispered in his sleep. Natsume always did have a sleep talking problem.

"Me? I'm right here, Natsume."

"Mmmm..." Natsume 'replied'. He really couldn't hear her, and he really couldn't say much of anything. He sank deeper into his sleep once again.

"Natsume?" Mikan asked.

Three days later

Natsume awoke from his very long nap. It was dark. He looked over at the clock. It read 12:00. Of what day, Natsume wasn't sure. So... Midnight...

Natsume sat up, but when he did, he noticed a weight on his bed. Since Natsume couldn't see his hand in front of his face, he couldn't figure out what it was by sight. Natsume knew he may regret this, but he reached out of hand.

What he felt, felt strange. It was soft like silk, and it was stringy like hair...

Or maybe it was hair.

"Ruka?" he whispered. As he ran his fingers through it, though, he realized he guessed wrong. This was defiantly not Ruka. The hair was too long. Narsume decided he would get nowhere by simply touching this person's hair so he moved on. He ran his fingers down the person's back. They wore a cotton robe. That narrowed it down to... everyone besides the teachers. Natsume guessed that his hand was almost all the way down their back, so he moved his hand trying to feel their waist, so he could determine if it was a guy or girl. (As girls have smaller waists than guys.) ... Or a fat person.

'Unfortunately', Natsume had guest his hand placement wrong.

A blush streaked across his face as he felt what a boy really shouldn't feel without a girl's permission. Well... at least now he knew the gender of the girl. Clearly she was sound asleep, because if she was awake, someone would die that night. (And it wouldn't be the girl)

"Mikan?" he whispered hopefully, removing his hand. He leaned over to the bedside table and fumbled for a candle. He lit it with his fire alice (which he uses too often for stupid reasons like this to be good for his health) and brought it over. Sure enough, Mikan Sakura was sound asleep at the foot of his bed. She was sitting in a chair with her head and harms resting on his bed. It was sweet, actually.

"Mikan..." Natsume said, relived. If it was Mikan, it was okay. He didn't care if he accidentally touched her somewhere. He'd done it on purpose too many times to get on her nerves for it to matter. (To him at least.)

"Sorry." He added, scratching his cheek. He could apologize just this once. She couldn't hear him after all...

"Mikan..." he whispered, tears weld up behind his eyes. But his eyes showed no emotion. His eyes will never show emotion. He gave that up a long time ago. He would never ever cry. He leaned down and kissed Mikan's forehead.

"I love you... I just can't tell you until my sister is safe."

Morning

"Yaaaaw! Morning world... NATSUME! YOU'RE AWAKE!!"

(Please continue to chapter ten)

Author Note:

I'd like to thank lily rock, eileene, Angelz-Devilz, Lycrea, and Ierinna for reviewing. Some of you are blaming ME for Natsume's woundedness (so not a word), and I'd just like to say I JUST WRITE IT!! Give me a break! I'd never KILL Natsume! Sheesh... Anyway, I also got a request for the RxH... okay, HxR, so I accept the fact that Ruka has pride. Sheesh. You'll find out what happened to Natsume... NEXT CHAPTER!! Muhahahahahahaha!