Hi, Norasakka here. Ah, Ikki… Have to say, my least favorite route of the game. Not that it was bad, and you definitely don't have to get locked in a cage to pass it, but it was sort of like… You must love me, or I'm going to kill myself. Woah, Ikster. Calm down. Anyways, enjoy the story.

HEART WORLD

~ Michi ~

After work I went out front to wait for Shin. My chest felt tight with anticipation. There was no telling what his father would say to me.

"Don't yawn with your mouth wide open like that. Put your hand over it," Musca suddenly chided me.

What, like I'm trying to impress anyone? I growled at her mentally.

"Point, I suppose. Hey, isn't that Ikki over there?"

"Mister Sunglasses?" She was right. He was on the other side of the road, surrounded by a group of giggling fangirls. "This sight… is disgusting. Have they no dignity?"

"Huh… I get a strange feeling from him though." Musca frowned.

"What, like he's dangerous? Do I need to stay away from him?"

"No, not like that at all. It's like… He's been touched by the Spirit World. I need to think about this…"

"Huh…" I crossed my arms and watched the scene across from me blankly. "This guy thinks he's all that and a bag of chips… It makes me mad."

"Come on. You're judging before you know him."

"Yeah, yeah, I know I shouldn't… But it's so gross!" I jumped when the fangirls turned to look at me and realized how loudly I'd yelled it. "GROSS!" I said it again, booming.

"Michi! Are you crazy?"

"If they heard me, I may as well own what I said proudly."

"Oh no, they're coming over here." Musca grabbed my sleeve and hid behind me.

"Why are you scared? They can't even see you." I went forward to meet the group. "Hey, what's up?"

"If you're going to insult us, you should at least have the decency to say it to our faces." A blonde girl seemed to be their ringleader. Her high heels made her annoyingly taller than I was, so I had to look up a little to speak to her.

"I guess you're right. You're gross, all of you. At least take all of that business somewhere else where I don't have to listen to the squealing." I put my hands on my hips so I would feel a little bit more powerful in the face of someone else's tallness.

"You're free to go anywhere else you like."

"Can't. I'm waiting for someone, or else I'd have been long gone."

"Are you sure you aren't just jealous?" She sneered.

"Hold on, let me check." I waited a few moments. "Yeah, pretty damn sure."

"Why you –"

"Calm down, Rika." The way Ikki spoke was different from how he had been in the café earlier. He was being purposefully silkier with these women. What a poser…

"She insulted you. It just made me so mad…" Rika cuddled up to his chest.

"Ugh…" I studied the girl. "By the way, what's up with your outfit?"

"You're one to talk," she spat back at me.

"Whatever." Rika, huh? I would remember that name, and store away my dislike for the future.

"We're sorry for bothering you, Michi. But still, you could have voiced your concerns in a kinder manner. Can you understand where we're coming from?" Ikki spoke in a gently placating manner now.

I sighed. If he was trying to defuse the situation, I wouldn't stop him. "Yeah." I looked into his eyes so I wouldn't seem insincere. His eyes. There was something wrong with them. It felt like I was being wrapped up and pulled into them, into him.

He smiled, and despite myself I stared at the curve of his mouth and found it alluring. "Won't you apologize?"

"I'm sor…" I gritted my teeth to cut off the remainder of the apology. The words were being extracted without any say so on my part. Musca, what the hell is going on?!

"I don't know! I've heard something like this before, just give me more time to remember what it is..." She frowned, sinking into deep thought.

I didn't have time. I'd give in before long, and my pride made me hate the thought of that. Without thinking I raised my hand and slapped myself in the face. "Rah!"

"Are you crazy?" Rika stared at me. "She definitely is."

I grinned. "A good slap never fails to banish impure thoughts." I met Ikki's eyes again, glaring. "The day I apologize to you is the day I let food go to waste. Not gonna happen!"

Against expectations, he laughed. "I'm glad to hear that, Michi."

"Will all of you just go away now?" I'd just been on some kind of trip and was happy to have come back down from it. It had made my head hurt.

"I'm looking forward to seeing you at work." He looked ridiculously happy, and it freaked me out. Still, it was a relief when they left me alone, going back across the street.

"That was scary…" Musca sighed.

"Like I said, you didn't have any reason to be scared. They can't see you."

"Are you saying you don't understand how ferocious a woman in love can be?"

"What, and you do?"

"Orion told me lots of stories about things he watched on television while he was here!"

"I'm not going to take the time to explain to you the inaccuracies you probably were told." I rubbed at my temples.

"Your head hurts, I feel it. Are you alright?'

"Yeah, it just stared splitting all of a sudden…"

"Do you need to sit down?"

"I'm fine, don't worry."

"I'll keep a close eye on you, just in case."

I smiled. "Thanks." I closed my eyes, hoping it would get to feeling better fast. I had important business tonight, so now wasn't really the best time. My head needed to be clear so I could find the words I needed.

"Michi, hey. Have you been waiting long?" Shin's arrival made me open my eyes and brush myself off nervously.

"No, not at all…" I froze up when he touched my cheek, making a concentrated effort not to lean into his hand.

"This is a weird question, but were you hit in the face recently?" He was frowning.

"Yeah, but no worries. I hit myself."

He raised his eyebrows, but then laughed a little. "You did that once before, too."

"You remember that…" I laughed awkwardly. Definitely not my brightest moment.

"I'll never forget." He cut a glare across the street at the sound of the fangirls. "They're here every day he works… So annoying."

"I know, right?" I breathed an internal sigh of relief when he put his hands in his pockets. He touched me so carelessly, with no clue how it affected me.

"Are you ready?"

"I think so. As I'll ever be, anyways."

He paused. "Are you sure you're okay? You're looking pale again."

"My head hurts, is all. It's no big deal." Actually, my whole body was starting to feel heavy and it was becoming harder to keep my eyes open.

"Michi, this is serious now. You need to get somewhere you can lay down safely." Musca pulled on my arm gently.

"I'm fine, I'm fine… You worry too much, Musca…" I promptly fell over. Well, shit.

"Michi?" Shin shook me gently. "Michi, are you okay? How many fingers am I holding up?"

"… Nine?" It looked like he had three hands, so I said what was three times the real number.

"I'm taking you to the hospital."

"Michi, I can feel something happening in the Spirit World…" Musca whispered. "Just for a little while, I'm leaving you to check it out. I promise to be back as soon as I can."

Her sudden departure left a fierce cold that heralded my own departure back into darkness.