Chapter 8: Deceit
When Mikano awoke, the light was so bright she had to clap a hand over her eyes the second she opened them. During the brief glimpse she had gotten of the Hospital Wing, she had, however, noticed the person slouching by her side.
"Morning Naru," she mumbled, squinting between her fingers.
Naruto bolted upright, his ocean blue eyes wide open. "Miki!" He rubbed his eyes and cheeks with both hands. "I tried to come yesterday but the mediwitch wouldn't let me because you had just fallen asleep, she said. I tried again after breakfast and she let me sit here but you were just sleeping so I guess I fell asleep too."
During Naruto's rant, Mikano had been rubbing the sleep from her own eyes, adjusting to the daylight penetrating the infirmary's white curtains.
"But Miki, what happened? They said you fell down some stairs and hit your head, are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Mikano sighed, stalling an explanation by pulling herself into sitting position, rearranging the pillows behind her back. She had to make up a believable excuse. "I was trying to read and walk at the same time, but I was late for dinner - I had been at the library - so I was sort of hurrying without looking where I was going and so I stumbled down the marble staircase." She grimaced thinking of the resulting pain. Naruto apparently interpreted her grimace as one of embarrassment for he laughed jubilantly and threw himself over Mikano's lap.
"I told you books were going to get you killed!"
"Naphat."
"And you really always was clumsy, Miki."
"Funny, Aunt Rin said the exact same thing yesterday," Mikano said dryly. She dug her fingers into his spiky blond hair and tugged.
"Really? You met Aunt Rin? Here?"
"She works here, remember? Teaching Healing."
"Oh, right, I'd forgotten that. There're so many people to keep track of."
"Too many for your one and a half brain cells to keep track of, you mean." She tugged at his hair harder, and he indignantly shook her hand off as he sat up again.
"Hey, out of two of us, you're the one in a hospital bed for being an idiot."
"I don't think you really want to compete in having ended up in the hospital the least amount of times for doing something dumb, naphat."
Naruto stuck his tongue out at her, pulling his cheek wide with his thumbs and index fingers.
"Right, that really does something for your good looks, you know."
"I'll leave if you're mean." Empty threat.
"Shouldn't you be in class anyway?"
Naruto pulled a hurt, puppy-eyed look. "Surely not when my dear sister is in a hospital bed needing her twin's support."
"You're totally not ditching classes to nap beside your 'dear sick sister's' bed."
"Totally not," Naruto concurred solemnly, disregarding Mikano's obvious sarcasm.
"Are you really in a position where you can do that though? I mean, how are classes going?" Her tone and the way she looked at him inquiringly let him know it was a genuine question and not a jibe.
"Alright, I suppose." He pulled at his earlobe then grinned. "The plants in the greenhouses are pretty cool. And I got something to explode in Spells! Pauw! Like a firework. And I haven't gotten a T on any essay yet."
"Was the explosion supposed to be a Lumos?" Mikano asked carefully.
Naruto sent her one of those glances that reminded her that her twin actually wasn't as daft as he appeared to be most of the time. "I know what you are asking. And no, I haven't gotten the hang of moulding yet. I've always been pants at meditation, you know that."
"Naruto, you'll never be able to do spells properly without learning to mould…"
"Have you forgotten who I am? I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I can do anything!" And there was the air-headed braggart Mikano knew and loved. "Just because it's hard doesn't mean I won't do it! I'll learn to mould better than anybody and become the greatest shinobi in the world. You better believe it!"
Mikano smiled teasingly at her twin though she felt the weight of his determination inside. "I do believe it. No need to yell."
Naruto, who had puffed out his chest, caught up in his own determination, deflated visibly and said sheepishly, rubbing his neck: "Ah sorry Miki, I suppose I shouldn't yell when you're in the hospital."
"Ha, I've long since given up on making you stop yelling, loudy." She considered something for a moment. "Also, if you continue having troubles with moulding, you can ask Kabuto Yakushi to help with locating your magic. He got a friend of mine out of a fix."
"Kabuto who?"
"Seventh year Slytherin. Grey hair, round glasses?"
"Oh! The four-eye who told me you were up here!"
"Don't use that word. It's insulting."
"You don't mind when I call our PE professor Bushy-Brows."
Mikano's mouth twitched. "No, but that's because Kabuto is very nice and Professor Maito's hobby is making me suffer."
"It doesn't matter anyway. It's not that I can't find my magic, not really. It's that I can't control it, it's just whooshing and swooshing inside me." Naruto wheeled his arms over his head with fervour.
Mikano thought that sounded strange. Her magic definitely was not 'whooshing and swooshing.' It was flowing, steadily, evenly, in a peaceful yet powerful way through her limbs. Mikano was about to ask for a more thorough explanation when Naruto quickly asked:
"Does it hurt? Your head?"
Perhaps he didn't really want to talk about it…
Mikano decided to let it rest for now and instead took a moment to really check, to assess the state of her body. She felt perfectly fine. No aches anywhere, no soreness, not even in her knees or shoulder. Magic was truly a blessing.
"Nope, nothing. Also, Mrs Longbottom said I could leave before lunch."
"You sure? Shouldn't we…" Naruto looked around the empty Hospital Wing conspicuously mediwitch-free.
"No, she said it was fine, let's just go now," Mikano said hurriedly. While despising physical exertion, she decidedly was not one for lying idle either, not like Shikamaru, the lazy-butt, and she was afraid Mrs Longbottom would sentence her to slow death by boredom in bed if she didn't get out of here fast. "What time is it?"
Naruto squinted at the sun through the curtains while Mikano pulled back the sheet and prepared to get up. "Almost time for Brooms, I think."
"Perfect! Ugh." As Mikano swung her legs over the side of the bed, a wave of nausea swept over her, making her sway. Naruto grabbed her shoulder steadying her.
"You okay, sis?"
"Yeah…" Mikano stared at the floor, willing the world to stop spinning. It did. Mostly. "Just hand me my robe, please?"
She heard the rustling of fabric then felt Naruto drape the robe around her shoulders.
"Are you sure we shouldn't call the mediwitch?"
"I'm fine." Mikano threaded her arms through the robe sleeves. "Just give me a hand."
Naruto wiggled an arm around her waist, supporting her as she stood up. She clutched the back of his robe. While she had felt completely normal lying in bed, standing up had reminded her of the concussion she had acquired yesterday. Too bad magical healing only got you so far. What had Mrs Longbottom said? A week of dizzy spells? Urg.
"Let's go to Brooms, I want to watch."
"Want me to carry you?"
"No."
Sasuke's day went from shitty to shittier to the shittiest he had had in months. It began with Spells where the other Slytherins and Hufflepuffs were practising turning matches into needles. Easy, Sasuke had mastered that transfiguration days ago, and Professor Flitwick had allowed Sasuke to move on to beetles. But he could. Not. Concentrate. Thoughts of Mikano kept flitting through his mind.
As Sasuke, Cherry, and Eren had made their way out of the Great Hall after dinner yesterday, Kabuto Yakushi, the seventh-year who sometimes hung out with them, had intercepted them. On their way to the Slytherin common room, he had told them, in a low, toneless voice, that Mikano had fallen down a flight of stairs and was currently in the Hospital Wing with a concussion. Sasuke had been about to turn on his heel and march right back the way they had come when Kabuto had put a light hand on his shoulder. In a friendly tone, he had explained that Mikano would be asleep by now and that Mrs Longbottom, the mediwitch, would be unlikely to let him in.
As soon as they were through the portal to the common room, Kabuto had disappeared, leaving Sasuke with an armful of upset Cherry and a nagging feeling that the man had not told them the full story.
This feeling would not leave him and was currently keeping him from focusing in Spells. He also wondered how Mikano, still in the Hospital Wing, was doing. Was she badly hurt? Was she just resting? He hadn't had the chance to check for himself yet and so had no way to quell his questions. And there was something fishy about the whole situation.
Having an accident on a staircase was not impossible, especially not at Hogwarts where trick steps were common and the stairs like to rearrange themselves at random. That it would happen to Mikano might at first glance also seem rather plausible. While her hand-eye coordination was decent - Sasuke would know, having practised hurling kunai and throwing stars at targets with her on countless occasions - she wasn't very aware of her body. Sasuke paid attention to his friend. The way she moved her hands was deliberate, careful, but it seemed she regarded the rest of her body as simply a vessel for her brain. She would knock things over with her elbows or bang her hip on low tables. She got bruised regularly from her small accidents but she had never gotten hurt in any way that mattered. Not like yesterday. Not like this.
Hence, Sasuke walked out of the Spells classroom in a rather foul mood, having neither slaked his unvoiced suspicions nor made any headway whatsoever in turning the darn beetle into a button, both to his annoyed chagrin.
His next class, History of Magic was not any better. Professor Bellowicz had chosen today of all days to assign a group assignment, and before Sasuke had had a chance to partner up with Eren, Cherry, or Shikamaru for the First's sake, Ino Yamanaka had latched onto his arm. The blond girl with the ridiculously long hair had batted her eyelashes unabashedly and spent the next hour asking him personal questions he did not care to answer and blushing inanely. Horror. The only redeeming quality about his 'groupies' as Mikano called them was how worked up they got said red-head. But even that amusement could not make up for how devastatingly annoying they were. Alas, that was the burden of being flawless. How he wished Mikano had been there to take him down a notch had she heard that thought.
Then, after more than three hours of worry and irritability, Sasuke finally laid eyes on Mikano. He was in the air, making rounds on one of the school's primordial brooms when he spotted Mikano's flash of red hair. She was all but hanging from her twin's arm, her face bent towards the ground.
Naruto wasn't wearing his hat either. Sasuke hardly remembered seeing the dope with it on even once. He supposed the professors had simply resigned to faith and stopped dress-coding him. It was a bloody shame a sloppy excuse like "sorry Professor, I forgot!" only worked if you did not have a reputation for perfect orderliness. An Uchiha didn't forget. Except for Obito perhaps. Merlin knew how that man always managed to be late for classes that happened at the exact same time every week.
This string of thoughts darted through Sasuke's mind as he dove towards the two figures coming from the castle. He dismounted the broom almost before his feet hit the grass and hefted Mikano's other arm, the one that wasn't wrapped around Naruto, over his own shoulder.
"You alright?"
"Just a little dizzy." Mikano's voice sounded strained.
"Hm."
"Hello to you too, jerk." Naruto, Mikano's obnoxious twin brother, said loudly. It was strange how two people could be so different yet so similar. Sasuke did not answer.
They half carried, half walked Mikano to a bench nearby where Madam Hooch was overseeing the students in the air.
"I'll go find a broom," said Naruto cheerfully, slung off two bags, Mikano and his own, Sasuke guessed, and ran off. That left Sasuke and Mikano out of earshot of everyone and Sasuke seized the chance to ask the question that had been on his mind all morning.
"What happened?"
"I was reading and walking and not looking where I was going so I fell down some stairs and got a concussion." The way Mikano shifted and looked him steadily in the eyes instantly convinced Sasuke she was lying. He stared dead back, steeling himself against the dark-grey orbs.
"That's not true," he told her, expressionless.
"Sure it is! Why else would I have spent the night in the Hospital Wing or be walking like a drunkard?"
"Don't be dumb on purpose. It's bad enough with those who can't help it."
She bristled, eyes narrowing. "Did Kabuto say something?"
Sasuke blinked calmly, wondering what Kabuto had to do with anything and storing Mikano's reaction for later perusal. "No. He only said you fell down a flight of stairs, indicating it was self-inflicted."
He could see Mikano's mind work behind her eyes, parts moving. "And that is exactly what happened," she told him definitively. He was about to angrily retort when Naruto, the dope, swung down beside him on a broom, a second stick in his hand.
"What are you standing there for, jerk? I challenge you to a race on broomsticks!" Naruto yelled in his typical boorish, uncouth fashion.
"Mr Uchiha, I want you on a broom in five seconds or I'll give you detention! This is a class for flying, not chatting!"
Sasuke knew Madam Hooch was a witch who meant business so he snatched the spare broom out of Naruto's hand and sent Mikano a glare. This wasn't over.
Mikano groaned inwardly. Sasuke was in a downright horrid mood when they sat down for lunch. He looked at his pasta like he wished the ravioli would scream when he stabbed them with his fork bringing them up to a mouth whose jaw was working furiously. Sasuke rarely got angry but when he did, it was a little scary to watch.
He was always sulky on the rare occasions that Naruto actually beat him at anything and Naruto for sure had just wiped the grass with Sasuke in that broom race (brooms was one of the only things Sasuke did not have a natural penchant for), but Mikano knew there was more to Sasuke's mood than petty moping.
She knew that he knew that she was lying. And he knew she knew he knew she was lying and still would not spill which only made it worse. She was deliberately and obstinately keeping arguably important, if personal, information from him, her best friend. Yes, she knew perfectly well why he was mad.
"Mikano aren't you hungry? You haven't had anything for a day." Cherry began shovelling ravioli and spinach onto Mikano's plate.
"I'm not really hungry," Mikano tried. She didn't feel like eating and was a little worried her nausea would return.
"Fib. Maybe you don't know you're hungry but I promise you, you are."
Mikano took a lesson from Shikamaru and decided that simply obeying was less trouble than arguing. Especially when Cherry had decided to nurse Mikano back to health and fuss over her like a hen over a lone chicken.
The pasta actually wasn't too bad, having some kind of meat filling. Mikano carefully avoided Sasuke's eyes when she felt him glower at her through his dark lashes, instead striking up a conversation with Eren about the two classes she had missed this morning.
His initial difficulty in Magical Theory and Manipulation had proven not to be representative of his general abilities. While he wasn't a prodigy like Sasuke, he was clever in a shrewd, classic Slytherin way and quickly caught on to the theoretical aspects of magic even if he had a little trouble translating it into actual spells. He didn't talk much, and Mikano figured it was a mixture of him still being a little shy around the three of them and naturally being of few words.
While she listened to Eren, Mikano noticed the discrete glances Cherry cast between Mikano and Sasuke who were staunchly ignoring each other. She didn't say anything about it, however, until they were on their way to Societal Studies. Sasuke had gotten up from lunch ten minutes before the others and stalked out the Great Hall. After a kick to the shin by Cherry, Eren had followed him, looking monumentally uncomfortable. Mikano felt with him and hoped he was sensible enough not to ask to 'talk about it.' Sasuke would bite his head off. Cherry, however, was not to be deterred by grumpy, fierce looks.
"Why is Sasuke mad at you?" They were trotting up a flight of stairs which was bobbing ominously as if considering if it should move.
"I'd rather not talk about it." Mikano thanked the First she wasn't dizzy anymore. Perhaps food had not been such a bad idea after all.
"I don't like it when you fight."
"We're not fighting."
"I wish you were then because this is even worse!"
"Sasuke thinks he is entitled to be privy to every aspect of my life but some things you have to deal with yourself."
"But I suppose that would make a friend feel like you didn't trust them very much." Cherry's voice was carefully neutral. "And that you didn't think you could depend on them."
Mikano watched the stones in the hallway floor fixedly, knowing Cherry was not only speaking about Sasuke. "Sometimes you don't want to depend on other people. Sometimes you have to depend on yourself."
"I don't think it has to be either-or. Not when your friends really want to help you…"
"No." Mikano's tone made it clear she wasn't agreeing but shutting the conversation down. When they reached the open door to the Societal Studies classroom a few awkwardly quiet minutes later, Mikano halted.
"I think I'll sit with Shikamaru today," she said stiffly.
"Okay." Cherry bit her plumb lip, looking sad. "Okay, see you then."
Mikano quickly turned away from the table where Sasuke and Eren were already sitting. Shikamaru had chosen a table all the way back in a corner and Mikano hurried over.
Shikamaru was leaning back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest and head hanging slightly forward. When she got closer, she realized he was sleeping.
"Hi Shika." Mikano pulled the chair beside him out and sat down. Shikamaru opened his eyes but otherwise didn't steer.
"Hello." No inquiring about what had happened yesterday, no questions regarding why she was not sitting with her other friends as usual. This was why she loved Shikamaru.
"Your hair has grown," Mikano observed. Shikamaru made a noncommittal noise. "Cherry wouldn't mind cutting it if you asked her," she continued.
"Hair at Hogwarts is a drag no matter how you look at it," Shikamaru mumbled. Mikano fingered her own hair. She had been brushing tangles out of it with her fingers while watching her classmates zoom around in Brooms. "This hat, however," he pulled the wide brim of his Hogwarts hat, a note of smirk in his voice, "isn't too bad though."
Mikano's eyebrows flew up. "Are you serious?"
"Deadly," he said mockingly. "See?" He placed an elbow on the desk in front of them and put his chin in his palm, angling his head down a little. "Perfect cover." His voice was a little muffled by his hand and Mikano laughed quietly.
"How droll. You've really perfected your art since the Academy." Sleeping in class had been a trademark of Shikamaru's since he had started the Academy at the age of six along with Mikano. But she had to admit this was a lot subtler than putting your forehead to the desktop and snoring away.
Shikamaru made another unintelligible sound just as Professor Civildock stepped into the classroom, energetically declaring:
"Today, we will learn about the magical Muggle device called cell phones! A little piece of metal and plastic which you can use to talk to people on the other side of the planet."
"I miss my mobile…" Mikano heard a Ravenclaw boy in front of her mumble gloomily. "And Super Mario…"
Mikano had absolutely no idea what the boy was talking about.
Obito was late. As per usual.
"So you don't feel sick?"
Mikano rolled her eyes. "No, Naru."
"You're not dizzy?"
"No."
"No funny-"
"Naruto Uzumaki, I. Feel. Fine!"
Naruto put his hands up. "Alright sis, I'm just checking."
"And now you have checked and can go back to your friends."
Naruto wiggled his butt forward in the seat, leaning back with his hands folded behind his head. "Nah, I think I'll keep you company. Why is the jerk so pissy anyway?"
He jerked his head towards Sasuke who was entertaining the Weasley fairy bint making her laugh prettily and toss her pearlescent hair. Mikano faked a strained grin.
"Some people simply can't stand losing."
Naruto's laugh was loud enough to make multiple people turn around in their chairs. "I totally trashed him! Ha-haha I am the best at flying!" Mikano noticed Sasuke's back stiffen.
"Yeah, you always were better than him with brooms," Mikano said, perhaps a little louder than necessary. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Cherry facepalm.
Naruto quieted down and searched her face with inquiring, cerulean eyes. "Seriously though, are you two okay?"
Mikano pointedly twisted her back towards Sasuke's table. "Don't worry about the whims of moody Uchiha's."
Naruto giggled. "Mr Moody Uchiha. Should I call him that from now on?"
"Why fix something that's not broken? 'Jerk' still fits so well."
Naruto hissed like something hot touching water and waved his hand making snapping noises. Mikano snorted, the corners of her mouth twitching upwards. Her roasts had really gotten out of shape after she wasn't sleeping under the same roof as her twin anymore. Or well, she supposed she technically was, but she certainly didn't get to spend much time with him regardless.
After three weeks of barely talking to him, she hadn't even realized how much she missed his antics and silly humour.
"Sorry I'm late!" Obito barged through the door, hat askew. "Somebody's cat was drowning in the swamp patch down the hall and-"
"That's such a lame excuse!" Naruto cried as he jumped off his chair and pointed an accusing finger at their Defence professor. "You're always late! You're lame!"
"Five points from Gryffindor for calling your professor lame!" Obito tugged his hat into place while striding towards the front of the classroom.
"Eeeeh?! But that's your own house!"
"Naruto, sit down." Mikano forcibly pulled him back in his seat. House rivalry aside, she didn't want to see her brother make an arse of himself.
"But he's my Head of House!" Naruto hissed indignantly to Mikano.
"Shhhh naphat! He can't show favouritism."
Naruto frowned at her. Oh. Right.
"He can't be nicer to his own house because that wouldn't be fair."
"But why is he always taking points from me though? He's our Uncle!"
"It wouldn't be fair either if he was more lenient with us just because we know each other privately. And you're always picking fights! It's your own fault!"
Obito, having finished transforming his desk into something that could have been a model of Hogwarts, cleared his throat emphatically.
"Just shut up and listen," Mikano whispered to Naruto, stabbing him in the ribs with her finger.
"Mikano?"
Mikano looked up from her textbook, startled. On the other side of the table, Hiyo was leaning her arms casually on the back of a chair. Guessing Hiyo's purpose, Mikano cast a quick glance on Cherry next to her whose quill had seized moving.
"Can I borrow you for a minute? Me and my team have just been notified we are going on a mission," Hiyo continued smoothly, "and Mido asked me to pass something on to you because she is busy getting ready in the Gryffindor Tower. Privately?"
"Sure." Mikano pushed out of her chair. "Mido's my cousin and Hiyo's teammate," she quickly explained to Cherry. Cherry's puzzled look turned satisfied and she nodded, returning to her essay.
Hiyo gestured for Mikano to follow her into an alcove where they would be somewhat sheltered by a heavy emerald curtain and out of earshot of anyone else in the common room. As they reached it, Hiyo said harshly, without preamble:
"It was the bastards, wasn't it?"
"Yes," Mikano confirmed quietly, realizing there was no point in trying to lie.
Hiyo nodded grimly, her jaw visibly tight, pale, pupilless eyes hard as they stared into middle-distance.
"You're not alone," she said abruptly, shifting her gaze to Mikano. "That is a lesson one can learn the hard way or the easy way. I learned the hard way. Mido, Takeo - my other teammate - and my Captain finally made me realize that it is alright to rely on other people. That you don't have to shoulder everything alone." She smiled wryly. Mikano stood stock still. "As Mido's friend, as a Slytherin, and as a fellow shinobi, I am offering you my help. I'm not offering to fight your battles for you; I am offering you support. I won't force you to accept it, but I want you to know you it's available - and I'm speaking on behalf of both myself and Ari."
Hiyo held Mikano's eyes for another moment as if to ensure her words had been received. Mikano felt uncomfortable and insecure, unsure of how to receive this offer of… 'support.'
"I thank you," she said stiffly. "I'll remember your words."
"Right," Hiyo almost snorted. "You Uzumaki are the stubbornest creatures on Earth. Not that I'm one to talk."
Mikano grinned, relieved at the change of topic. "Did you actually have a message from Mido?" she asked curiously.
Hiyo's nostrils flared. "No. That was just for your little civilian girl friend's sake. I could tell from the way the Uchiha boy was glaring daggers at the back of your head that you probably haven't confided in them." Mikano shifted uneasily. "The mission part was true enough though. I have to be at the Entrance Hall in," she cast a swift Tempus - Mikano hadn't even seen her draw her wand - "shit, ten minutes. I've gotta bolt."
Mikano began moving as Hiyo could not get past her otherwise, but Hiyo's hand clasped around her forearm before she could retreat from the alcove.
"And Mikano? One last thing… Don't push your friends away when you struggle. Tested and tried, doesn't work." She released her grip.
Mikano nodded, rather wanting the conversation to be over with. "Godspeed on your mission," she mumbled as she backed out of the alcove before turning towards where Cherry was sitting. She caught a glimpse of Sasuke staring openly, accusingly, challengingly at her, willing her to know that he knew that she knew that he knew…
If Hiyo replied, Mikano did not hear as she, chin high, marched towards the chair she had vacated only minutes before, looking neither left nor right.