Chapter Ten

May, 2019

The rain has stopped.

Michi blinks, her vision adjusting to the milky darkness. The usual glowing screen of her alarm clock is gone. The storm must have knocked the power out.

She rolls over in bed and fumbles on the nightstand for her phone. It isn't there. She stumbles to her feet, reaching blindly for the lamp. Light floods the room. She blinks away the dancing black spots, and feels the first shiver ripple through her.

Her nightstand is empty. She can't see her phone. The fancy alarm clock that Nagisa had given her for her birthday is missing, too. Textbooks are stacked in its place. She's doesn't remember putting them there. She doesn't remember the old-fashioned wall clock, either.

I'm dreaming…

She checks underneath the bed, worrying that the phone fell down there. It's already got a few cracks on the screen. Jirou had offered to buy her a new one instead, but she had barely managed to convince her parents to let him give her his old phone, cracks and all. She doesn't want to break it.

Her phone isn't under the bed. It's not in her backpack, either, or on the dresser. She wanders over to her closet and stops mid-yawn.

A navy sailor suit sways gently on its hanger in the tiny closet. She stares at it, suddenly aware of her heart pulsing in her ears. She can't see her uniform.

She fumbles through the rack, pushing aside the row of shirts. Her uniform isn't there. In growing desperation she empties the clothes out onto the floor, tearing them off their hangers, one by one, and then digs through the pile again, convinced she somehow missed it. The sailor suit sits at the top of the heap, wrinkled and unfamiliar and unwanted.

Mom must have washed it, she thinks, and abruptly remembers the rain. She clambers over her mattress, her fingers slipping on the window catch. The window slides open. She leans out, unconscious of the cold that soaks through her thin T-shirt. The sill is dry. She touches the cold glass. Dry. It's as if the howling thunderstorm that kept her awake simply never happened.

"I'm dreaming," she says out loud. "It's just a dream."

The wall clock ticks behind her. She turns, shivering. It's two am. She has to get up for the first day of classes in five hours.

She looks at her desk, at the familiar laptop, the old cat-themed calendar hanging on the wall that she still hasn't remembered to replace. She pulls numbly at it, fumbling through the scribbled pages. She finds the date, the words scrawled in bright blue ink underneath.

Shoujo began today.

She exhales shakily. The numb panic that was clawing at her mind subsides, replaced by a sick feeling deep in her gut. She looks around for her phone, forgetting it isn't there. Who would be awake right now? Not Sayuri. One of the boys? Tatsuya stays up late gaming. And Jirou sleeps with his phone…

She looks back at the calendar. May second. Today's date. A year ago today…

The world sways. She presses her hands to her eyes, trying to calm her pounding heart.

I'll go back to sleep, she thinks numbly. And when I wake up, it will all go back to normal. They'll all be there. It's just a nightmare. Just a bad dream.

"Michi!"

Sunlight fractures across her closed eyelids. Michi moans and opens her eyes. "Wha…?"

Mom is standing over her. "Who leaves their window open all night when it's raining? You're gonna catch a cold, you silly. And why are your clothes all over the floor?"

Michi props herself up on one elbow and stares blearily at the empty closet and the mound of clothes on the white carpet. Her black-and-white uniform sits neatly on top of the pile. Mom picks it up and dusts it off, still muttering. "At least it's not too wrinkled. What happened? It looks like a tsunami went off in here."

Last night comes rushing back. Michi bolts upright. "Mom! What school do I go to?"

Mom sighs. "You've been on break too long. Come on, Mich, you're going to be late."

"What school?"

"Rose Academy, of course. And this is the second time you're running late on the first day." Mom presses the back of her hand to Michi's forehead, frowning. "Do you feel sick? You were being all weird last year, too." She squints suspiciously. "Is this some trick to get out of the first day of classes? I won't let you and Sayuri hang out if you're both sick, you know."

Sayuri. Michi bounds out of bed. "Thanks Mom!"

"That girl gets crazier every day," Mom mutters, watching her dash off to the bathroom with her uniform. She shakes her head. "Maybe it's a teenager thing. I should ask Ichigo-san…"

The hot shower chases the chill from her bones. Her mind is still whirling.

What happened? Was it just a nightmare? Did I dream it all?

Her skin prickles. My old life wasn't just a dream…this is the dream. Am I finally waking up? Will everything just go back to how it was?

A knock jerks her out of her thoughts. Mom's rapping on the bathroom door. "Michi! Your friend's here!"

It still feels like a dream. She buttons up the white blouse, shrugs on the now-familiar long black jacket. The navy sailor suit keeps flashing through her mind. She can't shake the feeling that everything is wrong.

She stares into the mirror, trying to ground herself. Her reflection, at least, hasn't changed. She's gotten a little taller. The jacket is a tight around her chest and shoulders now. Her dripping dark hair finally reaches her shoulders, but she knows it will just curl up to her chin again when it dries. All the tiny imperfections are still there. Her chin is a little too sharp, her nose too blunt, her eyes too small. There's a zit on her forehead. The pristine white of the uniform washes her out. The black collar of the jacket makes her look even paler.

No, she thinks suddenly, overwhelmingly. I don't fit in this world…

Sayuri is waiting outside in the hall. The early morning sunlight glints in the dark blonde hair tumbling loose over her slender shoulders. She's gotten even prettier over the past year. The childish roundness is starting to melt away, her face all soft angles and wide ethereal green eyes now, and when Michi, impulsively flinging her arms around her, buries her face in her jacket, she smells like the early morning sunlight.

"Good morning," Sayuri laughs. She's always happy in the mornings, even when they're running late. "Overslept again?"

"Sorry for making you wait,"' Michi mumbles, her voice muffled in the jacket. Sayuri ruffles her wet hair. "You're gonna catch a cold, silly."

"I'm fine." Michi hugs her tighter. Sayuri's voice softens. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Michi reluctantly untangles herself and steps back. "Come on, we're gonna be late."

"I called Jirou. He and Nagisa are going to pick us up. I figured since your mom said you weren't feeling well, you'd rather have a ride anyway." Sayuri tilts her head. "If you're sick, you should just stay home- "

"No."

Sayuri's eyes widen. Michi manages a smile. "I'm fine. It's the first day of classes. I want to go with you."

"Okay." Sayuri still doesn't look convinced, but she turns to the elevator. "Come on. They should be here by now."

Michi slips her arm through hers, savoring the smell of her jacket, the warmth. "Okay," she says. Sayuri looks at her curiously, but keeps her thoughts to herself.

The limousine is purring on the street outside. Nagisa opens the door for them, his usually sunny face wrinkled comically. "Jirou hasn't had his coffee yet," he warns, sliding back so that they can climb in. Michi takes one look at Jirou's expression and hastily sits down next to Nagisa. Sayuri, fearless as usual, just gives Jirou a wry look. "Good morning."

"No such thing," Jirou growls.

"Thanks for picking us up," Michi says. Jirou just glares at her and buries his face deeper in his jacket collar. Nagisa answers for him. "Michi-chan, do you always oversleep on the first day of school? You were late last year, too."

"How do you remember that? I barely remember what I had for breakfast yesterday." Michi makes a face. Nagisa grins. "I remember. You had leftover miso soup, even though that isn't technically a breakfast food and you wanted to know whether it still counted as breakfast or just a really early lunch- "

"Okay, okay." Michi elbows him. "I get it. You're not like the rest of us mere mortals."

"Speak for yourself," Jirou grunts. Usually Michi would shoot back a retort, or tease him about how even mere mortals don't need coffee to live, but today she only smiles and shakes her head. Her silence surprises him; she sees his pale brows shoot up beneath his ashy bangs. She looks away, not wanting to explain. Right now, everything makes her happy, even Jirou's teasing.

Nagisa scoots closer and unexpectedly nestles his head on her shoulder. "We should go to school together every day," he says.

"What do you think, Kirishima?" Sayuri scoots up to Jirou and lays her head on his shoulder, smiling wickedly. "Every day?"

"Get off," Jirou says, a little pink around the ears.

Michi tunes out the sound of their bickering. Nagisa's head is warm and heavy on her shoulder. She wraps her mind around that weight, grounding herself in the tickle of his curls against her cheek, in the warmth of the limo, in Jirou's annoyed voice and Sayuri's high lilting one across from her.

It's real, she thinks, it's not just a dream. This is real.

The car trembles. The spell wavers.

What would her normal life be like, right now? Would she be walking to school alone? She wouldn't be riding in a limousine, that's for sure. She almost smiles at the thought. No, she wouldn't ever ride in a limo. And Nagisa wouldn't be falling asleep on her shoulder, his curly mop of hair tickling her cheek. He wouldn't steal her food, or sit on her desk when she's trying to study, or call her Nee-san, as if he knows it secretly makes her happy…

Tatsuya wouldn't be there. She still doesn't really know how she feels about him, but she would miss falling asleep listening to music together. And she would miss his rare smiles, and the way he'd rather pull her along than just talk to her, and how his hands are always so gentle…

She bites her lip. Jirou. She would miss him, too. She likes their back-and-forth banter. He's still the most aloof of the princes, but it makes their interactions special. He brings out a dramatic side of her she didn't know she had, until she met him. Only Jirou can be teasing one moment and dramatic the next. She likes playing his game, trying beat him to the quickest retort, the most exaggerated sarcasm. School would be so much more boring without him.

And what would life be like without Kaname? She's gotten so used to him bustling around her and Sayuri during their study nights, quietly refilling their tea pot or leaning over her shoulder to correct some mistake in her homework. The way he can switch from doting brother to evil mastermind is scary, but even that's weirdly nice. He makes her feel safe in this strange world. Nothing will happen to her or Sayuri while he's around.

And Sayuri. She looks across from her. Sayuri is still teasing Jirou, her green eyes sparkling with laughter. Even in the tinted light, she shines with life, warm and bright and vital.

Like the sun, Michi thinks. Like stepping outside a dark cave for the first time and seeing sunlight. So bright it almost blinds you. So perfect it's impossibly real. So warm that you wonder how you've lived without it.

What if she is waking up? How will her small, dark cave seem after seeing the sun? How will she be able to go back to normal?

I don't like this world, she thinks fiercely, burying her face in Nagisa's curly hair. I don't like it. It's stupid and weird and the people are stupid and weird and nothing makes sense and I don't understand what's going on.

But…I like these people.

I don't want to wake up anymore.

She thinks of the rain, the sailor uniform, the unfamiliar room, and squeezes her eyes shut. She doesn't want to go back. But she doesn't know how to stay. Maybe she'll open her eyes, and they'll all be gone –

Warm fingers curl around hers. She feels Nagisa shift slightly, feels his warm palm clasp hers tightly. She squeezes back, her eyes burning behind their closed lids.

I don't want to go back, she thinks, and even inside her head her voice is small.

It's been a year. Maybe, if she keeps wanting to stay, then maybe –

"Shh!" Sayuri says suddenly. "They fell asleep."

"We're almost at school," Jirou grumbles. "We have to wake them up anyway."

"Shh!"

"Don't poke me."

"SHHH!"

Nagisa quivers with silent laughter. Michi tightens her grip on his hand.

Until I go, she thinks, until I wake up, I want more moments like this. I want to be with them until the very last moment.

Until I wake up.

And in what feels like only a moment, two more years go by.

A/N

First arc done! Thanks to everyone who's stumbled across this story and kept reading ^-^

Every true shoujo starts in high school, so get ready for some cliches! Who do YOU think will end up with Sayuri? Do you think Michi has a chance? I want to hear what you guys think!

-SpiritofaRose