Carry Me
Pairing: Mizuho x Shion
Genre: Romance/Drama
Disclaimer: I do not own Otoboku or any of its characters.
Another day of school has gone by. Mizuho packs his materials in his school bag and turns toward his girlfriend, Shion. She looks as beautiful as ever. She gently brushes a strand of her jet black locks behind her ear as she puts the last of her materials inside her bag and then straightens up to turn toward Mizuho.
"Fufu! You're staring again~" Shion giggles softly.
"Ahhhh, my apologies," Mizuho replies, blushing. "Every single day…I look at you…and you're just as beautiful as always."
"Why thank you~" Shion replies. "I'm very flattered."
Mizuho nods and holds out his hand. "Well then, shall we walk out of the school together?"
"Hmmmm…" Shion is now deep in thought, which confuses the green haired trap. "Let's try something completely new."
"Like what?" Mizuho asks.
"Mizuho-san…I loved how you were so brave to carry me from the auditorium to the nurse's office when I collapsed that day," the black haired beauty says. "Maybe you can do it again? But not to the nurse's office."
"Oh…where do you want me to carry you?" Mizuho questions.
"The school's roof," Shion says. "Where nobody can bother us. At sunset every day. For 7 days."
"Eh? 7 days?"
"I know it's a bit much but…could you at least accept my selfish request for the week?" Shion says. "It's been a long time since…we had those exams and all. And Mariya-san was pulling you away from me a little too much."
"I am so sorry," Mizuho says. "Mariya is Mariya when she has some crazy ideas, like being her dress up doll all the time. As for exams, it's understandable. We spent a lot of time studying, right?"
"That is true…" Shion says softly. "So…are you willing? It's just for sunset after school. Nothing more."
Mizuho thinks about it until he nods in response. "Alright, Shion-san. I will be honored to carry you to the school's roof every day at sunset."
"Great~" Shion says. "Then how about we study a little before then, okay?"
"Sure~"
Both of them take each other's hands and head toward the library to do their homework.
**Later**
When the sun sets, Mizuho does exactly as he promised. When they head toward the stairs, the trap offers to lift Shion up and carry her bridal style. Shion wraps her arms around his neck and smiles a gentle smile. They share soft giggles and then Mizuho heads up the stairs all the way toward the roof. He opens the door and walks a few steps forward until they reach the fence. He gently sets her down and both of them take a look at the wonderful view. He turns toward his girlfriend. The light from the setting sun makes her beautiful features stand out. Her very long hair sways gracefully from the light wind blowing. This girl…how can she be this beautiful yet so fragile at the same time? Sometimes, it saddens him to see her like this after she revealed to him about her condition.
"Mizuho-san?" Shion says, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"Ah, y-yes?" Mizuho turns to his girlfriend. "Oh, what should we do now that I carried you to the roof?"
Shion giggles and walks up to him, taking a few strands of his long, emerald locks and putting them to her lips. "We kiss~"
"K-Kiss?" Mizuho is surprised by this request.
"Yes~" Shion replies. "We share a romantic moment together just for a little bit, stay by each other's side until it's time to leave. I…I want to be with you for as long as possible."
"Sure," Mizuho nods. "Whatever you need, Shion-san. I'll give it to you the best I can."
"Then…Mizuho-san…" Shion closes her eyes and puckers her lips, leaning a bit close to him.
Mizuho raises his hands to gently cup her cheeks and leans in the rest of the way to kiss her on the lips. Their kiss lasts for about a minute as they tilt their heads to get a better angle, deeply kissing passionately. Shion's lips feel so soft and sweet. He cannot stop. He pulls away to catch his breath a little bit then leans in to give her some more kisses.
Then, both of them pull away to catch their breath and gaze into each other's eyes. Shion up close is even more beautiful than before.
"Mizuho-san…~" Shion whispers.
"Shion-san…~" Mizuho whispers back.
They lean in and touch foreheads, closing their eyes with smiles on their faces.
"You know, you're acting like this is the last day~" Shion teases. "This is just the beginning, silly~"
"Yes, I know, but…" Mizuho says softly. "I just…want to give my time to you as much as I can. That's what you wanted right…"
"Of course…" Shion closes her eyes and presses her forehead against his. "I need you more than anything…"
From the way she is saying it, something tells him that something is troubling her. It may just be his imagination but…like she said, it's just the beginning. But regardless of that, if she wants him to give his time to her as much as possible, then he will. No questions asked.
**Day 2**
"Mizuho-san…~" Shion says as she approaches the trap after they are done with their homework.
Mizuho looks up at Shion and then nods, knowing exactly what to do. After packing his things, he and his girlfriend head to the stairs. He picks her up and Shion wraps her arms around his neck.
"You know what this reminds me of?" Shion says softly.
"What?" Mizuho questions.
"Other than the time you carried me to the nurse's office," Shion explains. "It reminds me of the day we went on our first date. We were…having fun, eating at a yummy restaurant. You couldn't help yourself but to carry me after we walked out of the restaurant. And then…we walked all the way to a clear area where we watched the stars. And you still managed to hold me all this time…~"
"Yeah…~" Mizuho says. "I remember that time. It was one of the greatest moments we've had."
"And we still do have our greatest moments…regardless of what we do," Shion says, caressing his cheek.
"Yeah…"
He then carries her to the roof and shortly after, they share some kisses and hugs.
**Day 5**
Once again, Mizuho and Shion are at the stairs again. A few days ago, was the same as always. Today, will be the same again. Mizuho scoops up Shion and is about to walk up the stairs when they hear footsteps coming down from the top. And the person that appears is none other than the student council president, Takako. And her face gets red when the first thing she sees is Mizuho carrying Shion.
"O-O-O-Onee-sama…!?" she stutters. "Sh-Sh-Shion-sama!? Why are you two…!?"
"Fufufu~!" Shion giggles. "Calm yourself, Takako-san. Mizuho-san here is just doing a little favor for me."
"Th-that seems more than just a favor!" Takako says. "A-are you two going to…!?"
"No we're not," Mizuho says. "I'm just carrying her to the school's roof like she wants. And then give my time to her as long as possible. That's all."
"Ah…" Takako looks over at the black haired young woman, who is still smiling. "A-alright. Resume what you've been doing before. U-ummm….good day to you, Onee-sama. Shion-sama."
"Good day to you, too, Takako-san~" Shion says.
"Good day, Takako-san~" Mizuho says.
As soon as the orange ginger leaves, Shion turns to her boyfriend. "Now then, shall we continue~?"
"Yes," Mizuho says.
As he walks up the steps, Shion starts to speak again. "This…kind of reminds me of the day we walked out of school. We would walk on the path when I suddenly tripped and scraped my knee. You were desperate to treat my wounds with everything you've got. And then…you carried me to the nearest tree just to kiss me…to make it all better."
"I wanted the pain to go away," Mizuho says softly. "I didn't want to see your pained face."
"That was very kind of you…~" Shion says.
Miuzho nods and kisses her on the forehead. Then proceeds to take her to the roof.
**Day 6**
At sunset the next day, Mizuho carried Shion to the school's roof as promised and walks toward the fence. After he sets her down, Shion gently puts a finger to his lips as he is about to kiss her. She has a sad smile on her face as she leans against the fence.
"Hold me…please…" she says softly.
"Of course…" Mizuho nods and hugs her tightly.
Both of them sit down together while leaning against the fence. Miuzho then decides to pop the question that has been bothering him for a while.
"Shion-san…" he says. "What is all this for anyways? Why do you want me to carry you for the entire week? After tomorrow…we cannot do it anymore."
"That's…exactly why…" Shion whispers as she rests her head on his shoulder.
"Shion-san…?" Mizuho gives a worried look.
"Wait until a couple days…" Shion says. "You'll understand why…"
This worries Mizuho a lot more. Does it have to do with her illness? Come to think of it, she has been less active as the week went by. She was all sweaty and looked tired all the time. He hopes that none of this has to do with her illness.
**Day 7**
The final day has come. Mizuho is quite worried, yet he still wants to give his time to Shion as much as he possibly can. Whatever is going on with Shion, he wants to find out tomorrow.
"Mizuho-san…~" Shion gives a weak smile after they are done helping each other with their homework.
The emerald haired trap nods and gently takes her hand to walk toward the stairs together. However, just as he picks her up, he hears lots of footsteps coming toward him. And what he sees surprises him.
"Yaaaaay! Onee-sama is carrying Shion-sama!" Kana cheers.
"Oh, what a sight!" Yukari squeals. "I have dreamed to see something like this!"
"Y-yeah, ummm…" Takako blushes and turns away. "It's not like I wanted to see this or anything. More like….maybe I wanted to take Shion-sama's place…"
Mariya winks at her cousin. "I called everyone here to see this. Shion-sama…kiiiinda spilled the beans to me today when you were busy. So, I thought I'd have everyone see this beautiful moment for one last time~"
"Everyone…" Mizuho says and then he looks at Shion.
"I want everyone to see us as a beautiful couple…just like always," Shion says. "We're meant to be together."
"But I don't understand," Mizuho says. "This is our last day that we get to spend time together."
"I know…" Shion says. "You'll know soon. Right now…I want the girls to see you carry me like a princess to the school's roof."
"Okay…"
Mizuho proceeds to walk up the stairs with the girls watching in awe. Kana and Yukari intertwine hands with happy squeals. Takako slightly turns away, but smiles a small smile. Mariya gives a toothy grin to her cousin. Mizuho looks back to see everyone's smiles and then toward his girlfriend, who is smiling weakly. Whatever happens, he will be there for her.
By the time they get to the roof, they sit by the fence and embrace each other for a moment before Mizuho pulls away, tips her chin to his level and leans in to kiss her on the lips. Shion immediately returns the favor. She wraps her arms around his neck, both of them tilt heads to get a better angle. This final day has to count. Mizuho NEEDS to make this count. He wants his girlfriend to be happy. They kiss, pull away to catch their breath and then kiss once more. They never, ever stop loving each other. Until then, they finish and Shion is now lying on Mizuho's lap.
"Mizuho-san…" Shion whispers.
"Yes…Shion-san…?" Mizuho looks down at her, some of his long locks falling from his shoulder.
"I want…to thank you…for doing this for me…" Shion looks up at him. "It was wonderful…"
"Anything for you, Shion-san," Mizuho says. He leans down and kisses her on the forehead.
**Next Day**
Shion wasn't there. She wasn't at school all day. Mizuho had tried to contact her, but she didn't answer. By the time he got to the dorms, Mariya was there, holding an envelope. Mizuho was confused at first until Mariya mentioned Shion's name. He took and opened it. It read.
Mizuho-san,
I didn't have the heart to tell you this. But my illness has gotten worse…and I was going to leave for the hospital today. I let my family doctor and parents know. But I wanted to finish exams and spend a little more time at school before hand. My parents accepted and told me to leave in a week. I wanted to be with you…as long as I can…before I had to go.
Think of it as not a good-bye. Think of it as…hope and…pray. Pray for my recovery. I know I will be back in your arms again, Mizuho-san. I just don't know when. But when the time comes, I want you to pray for me. Please…
Your love for me is what will keep me alive. At least that's what I want to believe. So…Mizuho-san…until my return, until I am in your arms again…I will always love you. Thank you so much…for giving your time to me before I left.
The Love of your Life,
Shion
Tears spill from Mizuho's eyes like waterfalls. He never realized that Shion's illness worsened and she was hiding it this whole time. He knew that she didn't want him to worry, but honestly, he was worried ever since she made that request. But he hid it as well. Mizuho starts to cry softly, clutching the letter to his chest and all Mariya can do is hug him from behind to comfort him.
He is sad, but he knows. He definitely knows that he and Shion will meet each other again.
