Fallen Angel

By: michi-hikari and Blondie

Chapter 2: Confusion before Understanding

In the following couple of days, Hallia started following Kotarou around, but Misha kept sidetracking her. Kotarou's ignorance towards her forwardness was also unsettling. Koboshi and Ten-chan also weren't very happy when she stalked Kotarou, but Hallia thought they should be grateful that she doesn't follow Kotarou all the way to his house. Finally, Hallia decided that Misha was the reason why Kotarou kept ignoring her. One day, Hallia skipped her last class to wait in the middle school building for Misha to walk out. When she did, Hallia cornered her.

"Oh Misha, I have to talk to you," she began sweetly.

"Nya?" Misha looked at Hallia. "'Prolly later. Kotarou-kun's waiting."

"Yes, it's about Kotarou. You're around him all the time but DON'T BOTHER!" Hallia yelled, raising her voice. "Kotarou DOESN'T NEED YOU because I will take care of him FOREVER! So just GO AWAY now before I MAKE YOU!" Hallia's voice suddenly turned all sweet now. "That's all Misha. See you later. Not!"

Misha just stared after Hallia. She shrugged off their encounter, but the doubt had been placed in her heart, though she didn't notice. Misha wasn't used to this sort of thing, since she's never heard such anger and bad feelings from anybody, not even Koboshi! Misha continued over to where she usually met Kotarou and the others. Unbeknownst to Misha, Hallia was already with them, trying to get Kotarou to think Misha wasn't important.

"Come on, Kotarou-kun." Hallia wheedled. "What has she (guess who) ever done for you?"

"Hmmph." Was all Kotarou said. Quickly losing her temper, Hallia decided to just lie. Desperate times call for desperate measures, after all, she thought. I know Misha's an angel; maybe I can use that against her. Once, Hallia had followed Misha and Kotarou in Misha and Shia's apartment, and when there was nobody at the apartment the next day, Hallia had snuck in, and snooped around. She found a box titled 'To: Heaven', and had looked inside. There was enough stuff in the box for Hallia to decide that Misha was, in fact, an angel.

"Did you know that Misha's just trying to get you happy because she feels sorry for you? She thinks that you're such a poor, motherless boy left to manage by himself, and since she's just trying to be the best angel she could be, she decided to try and make you happy!"

Koboshi's mouth dropped open in surprise, and Ten-chan glared at Hallia. "That's not true," he said boldly. "Misha-san really cares about my buddy Kotarou."

"Yeah," Koboshi agreed, much to everyone else's surprise. "And she's far too sweet to think that."

Hallia ignored them, and spoke to Kotarou, who had been quiet throughout this. "Well, you won't need her anymore, since I'm going to take care of you."

"Nyaa!" Just then, Misha came skipping over. She looked at the angry and impassive faces around her, and asked, "Suuu? Is anythings wrong? Can I help?"

Kotarou turned to leave, but then Hallia, thinking quickly, stuck out her foot, and Kotarou tripped, skinning his knee. Immediately, Misha panicked, running around, trying to think of a way to help Kotarou. But before she could try, Hallia came over, pushed Misha out of the way, and squatted next to Kotarou. She blew on the wound to ease the pain and took out a Band-Aid. She put it on Kotarou, and smiled. "There, all done," she proclaimed. "I helped you, didn't I?"

While saying this, she was looking at Misha pointedly, implying that she was able to help, and Misha couldn't.

"Yeah, thanks for your assistance," Kotarou said softly. Misha's eyes grew wide, and her doubt grew. Hallia saw and sensed this, and she added salt to the wound.

"Nothing to worry about, oh Kotarou-chan," she said sweetly. "With me around, you don't need anyone else."

Koboshi finally cut in, saying, "Hey, we're late. Shia-san would be waiting at Tricot for us to show up."

"Yeah," Ten-chan put in. They started to walk away, and when Ten-chan saw Hallia following, he said snidely, "You can't come. Sorry," not feeling sorry at all.

"Man, that girl is annoying." Ten-chan finally burst out in Tricot. He was sitting in a booth in the middle of Koboshi-san and Shia-san, who didn't have anything to do at the moment. Across Koboshi sat Kotarou, with Shino (Blondie: Kotarou's younger cousin, who was permitted to stay in Tricot during school days) on his left and Misha beside Shino.

"I'll say." Koboshi fumed. "She's even more bothersome than Misha. No offense," she added hastily. After learning that there were more irritating girls than Misha, Koboshi learned she actually liked her.

"None taken. Suuu." Misha was still feeling a little upset. However, she tried to push it away and she clung to Kotarou. While the others were still chatting, Misha started thinking about Kotarou, Hallia, and her duty. Her duty to make Kotarou happy, and to take care of him. She started to wonder if Kotarou really needs her, now that Hallia is here. She sighed, and stood up.

At this movement, the others looked up at her.

"Misha-san, are you okay?" Shia asked.

"Are you leaving?" Ten-chan furrowed his eyebrows. Kotarou ignored all of this. Shino peeked at Misha with her large, innocent eyes.

"Misha no leave," she implored, her tiny fist refusing to let go of Misha's skirt. Misha smiled down at her.

"I forgot something at home," she lied, feeling sick because she wasn't used to it. Besides, she shouldn't worry the others about her petty fears and insecurities, right? "I'll be back soon, Shino-chan."

Shino finally let go of Misha, and gazed sadly after her retreating figure. She wasn't the only one.

"Is something wrong with Misha-san?" Koboshi was apprehensive, despite herself. "She seems more… sane, in lack of a better word."

"Yeah," Ten-chan agreed. He glanced worriedly at Shia, who returned his look. "Did she run out of sugar or something?"

"What do you think of this, Higuchi-san?" Shia asked Kotarou. He stared back at her dully.

"Who cares?" he mumbled, and stood up and left. He could've sworn he heard the others' jaws hitting the floor.

Hallia smiled happily. She had heard everything Kotarou and his friends have said, and she had resisted the urge to run up to them and defend herself. But she was pleased to see that Misha had thought about what she had said. She knew it would only take a little nudge now, and Misha would be gone and nothing would stand in the way of her getting Kotarou. Not even Ten-chan, Koboshi-san or that nobody Shia-san.

She wanted to stay and spy on the others, but she couldn't pass up this opportunity to talk to Kotarou alone and make him hate Misha. She skipped up to Kotarou.

"Hi, Kotarou," she said, openly flirting. She latched herself on Kotarou's arm and grinned inwardly when Kotarou made no motion to push her away. "Where's that stalker Misha?"

"Home." Kotarou replied. "Where I'm going. Where you should go."

Ignoring that, she said, "Kotarou, you hate Misha, right?"

"I don't hate Misha."

"But you don't like her."

"She's…clingy."

"She's… so not important. Why do you bother with her? She doesn't even do anything for you."

"Yeah she does. She helped us cook curry once."

"Once. And it was a fluke."

"How would you know? You weren't even there."

"She just gets in the way. And don't you feel embarrassed when she's with you? Don't you want her to go away? Isn't she a nuisance?"

"Why are you saying all this stuff? She didn't do anything wrong to you."

"Oh yeah she has. And I'm doing 'all this stuff' because you don't need her, you have me now."

Kotarou looked unimpressed, so Hallia surged on. "She makes your mother look bad when she pretends to be like her. People think she's retarded and you get annoyed when she glomps you. On the other hand, I act like a lady and I don't embarrass you. I'm smart and pretty and modest (michihikari: yeah, right. Modest much, Hallia. ). You'd much rather have me by your side than her. She's in the way." Hallia repeated. "Make her go away"

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Michi Hikari: don't you just love to hate Hallia?

Blondie: It's my life's job. I've hated her since you came up with the prissy name.

Michi Hikari: (ignoring Blondie) Kotarou should not listen to whatever Hallia says. But, the sad truth is that authoress…es like Blondie and I tend to make life harder for people in the fanfiction we're writing. Mwahahahaha! Face the power of the authoress! Fear us!

Blondie: uh.. sorry, she's sort of sugar high today. You know, chocolate and mango smoothies and all.

Michi Hikari: hey! I'm hurt!

Hallia: not as much as I am! How can you make me sound so… so… mean?

Blondie: uh… maybe because you are, and Michi Hikari made you so she has the power to make you as mean as she wants.

Hallia: grr… you didn't have to remind me!

Blondie: uh oh (Hallia chases Blondie, Misha enters room)

Misha: Michi Hikari and Blondie don't own Pita-ten!

Michi Hikari: only Hallia! And Hallia, leave Blondie alone! Or else we erase you from the story!

Hallia: Nooo! Okay, Blondie wins.

Blondie: Ha! I'm better than you!

Hallia: Don't push it. On to chapter three!