What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger

Chapter Fourteen

"Okay, that's enough for today, you can leave." Natsuko bowed at her pupils, receiving thirty bows back at her in the form of thirty thirteen year old's before turning her back and gathering her forest green bag but groaning in agony as she realized that her water had been stolen.

"Well isn't that just peachy," She started, mumbling incoherently in the middle as to not try and swear in front of her pupils while picking up her bag and putting on her gray tennis shoes. She was already ready to leave and make her way back home as three recognizable teens approached her.

"Hello Natsuko-chan!" Hunny chirped cutely as he tilted his head to the side sweetly. She made a swift wave to him and let a small groan escape her lips, causing him to have a concerned look cross his now stern face.

"Is something wrong?" Mitsuki commented about Natsuko's noticeably sour attitude.

"Well," Natsuko started, "It seems that thirteen year old's think that it's funny to steal teacher's water just because they're taller than her." She grumbled, swallowing to try and get some moisture onto her parched and dry throat.

From the otherwise silent Mori came a low sound of understanding before reaching into his own bag and pulling out a magenta water bottle with the symbol of the company that makes Natsuko's favorite sushi. She had gotten the water bottle at a giveaway from her local produce market as a marketing advertisement, and since it held together with her for a few months, she had made it her go-to water bottle.

"Someone had placed it in my bag." Mori added quickly to make sure that Natsuko didn't think he was a thief before placing it in her small, fragile looking hands, but to his surprise, Natsuko just giggled.

"Crazy teenagers these days, thinking that they're so hilarious for putting my water bottle in my friend's bag." She beamed, taking a sip of the water before closing the lid and placing it back into her bag.

"I think I better get going," Mitsuki advised, motioning to the screen of her bright green iphone, which had already read 8 o'clock. Everyone nodded their heads silently in agreement before Hunny chimed in again.

"Do you need me to walk you home, Mitsuki-chan?" He offered, letting another contagious smile grace his face as Mitsuki nodded her head and took his arm, which was held out for her to take.

"Don't worry, Natsuko-chan; Takashi will be more than happy to walk you home too!"

Natsuko shook her head while slipping on her light blue winter coat and attempting to zip it up, though it managed to get stuck, much to her displeasure.

"It's fine, Mori; I can find my way home by myself." She reassured, putting her bag down so she could better handle the zipper but was beat to it when Mori had already lowered himself to one knee in an attempt to fix it, finally managing to pull it up.

"Are you sure, Natsuko? It's the middle of winter and it's pitch black outside." Mitsuki warned, her eyebrows crinkling in the way she does when she's uncomfortable, but was only met with Natsuko's trustingly warm brown eyes and a slight smile.

"Bye guys." She finished before once again picking up her bag and finally making her way out the door.

"You're not actually gonna let her walk by herself, are you Takashi?" Hunny winced at his younger, yet quite taller cousin.

"Of course not." He answered before grabbing his bags and walking through the door which Natsuko had escaped from only moments before.

Natsuko had kept her casual pace and was continuing to sludge through the elegant powdered snow while playing a game of 'lets not step on the cracks' on the sidewalk, which while childish, was a great way to keep yourself entertained while walking home during the dark winter.

Everything was silent as families had already huddled inside their warm, cozy homes, and the snow continuing to pile outside their windows as little kids say their evening prayers or perhaps drink some hot chocolate to keep their tiny tummies from being cold. Families may be sitting around the living room tv watching Christmas specials or a mom may be teaching her little daughter how to bake the cookies that her mom had taught her when she was younger; pretending to be mad when the daughter sticks her finger in the bowl and takes a bit of the dough, but instead smearing it on her little button nose and laughing together.

But then there was just Natsuko.

For years she had wondered why she even enjoyed going home, there was no hot food to look forward to because she had to make it. There was no tv to look at, let alone real parents to watch it with since her father hadn't spoken a word with her in almost (a record of) seven months. There were never any cookies because she never knew her mom long enough to even care that she had abandoned them, let alone learn any cookie recipes from her.

All there really was was the comfort of knowing that it wasn't permanent, that and the fact that her life could be so, so much worse, and to Natsuko, that was just enough to make it enjoyable.

So she didn't complain, but every time she passed by a window and smelled the fragrance of cinnamon or the recognizable sounds of the Grinch Christmas special, a little heart string tugged a bit harder.

As Natsuko had cleared the fifty-ninth crack between the blocks, she noticed the stern figure of a hooded man walking towards her; a hoodie covering his hair and face and an uncanny quickening of his steps the slower Natsuko's own got.

When there was only about fifteen feet separating them, she had started to cross the street in an attempt to feel safer about his eery presence, but was soon stopped by the arm of someone who had locked his with her own.

"Just give me the purse and I'll let you go!" A deep husky voice commanded. Natsuko shook her head, snapped her neck to face the same hooded man as before and scoffed.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me! Don't play dumb!"

With one simple move, Natsuko had swiped the irritating and slightly bitchy man: ducking down and pounding her leg underneath his feet to irritate his balance and when he almost fell over, stole the knife from his pocket before using her forearm to push him in the back and continue his journey to have his face meet the ground with a loud thud.

"Natsuko?!" She heard a deep voice call from just down the street, sounding alarmed. She would have given her attention to it had the perpetrator not attempted to get up. Placing her hand in the cradle of his collarbone, she pinched until the man let out yelps of pain, then took his arms one at a time and pulled them behind his back, making sure to kneel on both of his wrists so he couldn't escape.

"Natsuko?!" The deep voice sounded again, this time much closer and more recognizable.

"Mori?" She addressed, looking up at him to see his slightly shocked expression. Quickly he recovered and knelt next to her, uncovering the hood and taking a picture of the mans bruised and cut face just in case he managed to escape.

"Call the police." Was the only words he spoke for the next thirty minutes as Natsuko made the call.

Mori stood and watched as the entire scene unfold: as Natsuko was interviewed by the police chief and as she politely declined his offer to be driven home, all the way until they started asking him a set of questions, which of course he answered, promised to take Natsuko home, and watched as the cars drove away, leaving him and the blonde to just stand there and evaluate everything. Did this really just happen?

"Why were you here, Mori?"

"Because I was worried."

"You don't believe that I can take care of myself? Even if it's dark and cold outside?"

"It's not that, it's just that no precaution is unnecessary when it comes to you." He answered back, watching as the small smile crawls on her bubblegum pink face and then standing there paralyzed as she quickly embraced him in a warm hug.

"Well thank you, Mori, but I promise I would have been fine by myself." She answered, her voice muffled by Mori's coat. He just smiled at her, wrapped his strong arms around her frail back before reminding her that she should get home. Sure enough, she held out her hand for him to hold and gave him a smile as he became flustered.

"Just take it, I would like to have at least one year where I'm not neglected the simple joy of Christmas time." Natsuko laughed, though the harsh reality of it all wasn't clear to Mori, even as he took her hand and walked back with her.

A:N: HEYLO IMMA BACK- AGAIN.

So yea, sorry for the sudden disappearance, I went to Europe for 3 weeks to visit family and I had finals and stuff my last couple weeks of school so not much writing. (Though somehow I felt that it was appropriate at 2 in the morning on a Sunday night. Genius move dumbass *Facepalms*)

Anywhosie, since, as I mentioned, it's 2 in the morning here, there are probably a lot of mistakes, even though I looked over it, and I would like you to pardon me on that, I will look over it again tomorrow. (And also sorry if it feels rushed, it felt rushed to me and I'll probably fix that tomorrow too haha.)

So anyway, I hope you liked this chapter (I had to get a bit of NatsuMori fluff in there teehee ^^) and read and review!