Noo... My internet has not yet come back and I had nothing else to do but type more chapters. Well, I guess it's a good thing, since I got to continue the fic more. Oh well. Drop a review if you think the fic is starting to get boring. .
Chapter 7 - Truth
I woke up very early. Perhaps 3 hours earlier than I usually woke up to start teaching. I had to finish packing my things fast, since Mikan went in my room last night.
I took the picture frame I had left on top of a drawer, the same one Misaki caught me staring at last night. It distracted me, but I knew that I had to hurry up, since I couldn't bear letting the students see me leave.
I opened the picture frame and took the picture out. When I was a student, I accepted the flowers some girls gave me, then I pressed them. I had a hobby of doing that, but I usually forgot which book I've left them in in the library, so all of those flowers are probably gone now. But, this rose that my sempai gave me once when I was in the hospital... I kept it, preserved it, pressed it, and hid it behind this particular picture.
Narumi took the rose out and looked for different materials – a ribbon, cardboard, plastic, a puncher and some glue. He thought that he should at least give something to Mikan so he would remember him, unless remembering him was a bad thing. Carefully, he made a bookmark and wrote the words "Thank You, Mikan-chan – Narumi-sensei" behind it and put a heart beside his name and Mikan's name.
The memories Azumi left in this rose were precious to me. I want Mikan to feel the same way.
He slipped the bookmark in Mikan's hands and made sure not to wake her up.
An hour later, Narumi finished packing all his things, and doing necessary things in the morning. He was ready to leave, but wanted to "feel" the academy more. He left his luggage in his room and went outside for some fresh air.
I wonder where I'll go when I'm outside the academy...
He went to the greenhouse Misaki owned and went inside. Narumi didn't exactly feel like stealing a bean whip, but for some reason, the alarms didn't go off when he touched the plants curiously.
"Did Misaki-sensei allow me to steal plants from him on the day of my departure?" Narumi laughed.
"You won't need my plants anymore, I assure you that." Misaki appeared in front of him.
"Oh, Misaki-sensei! I see you've gone here earlier than usual!"
'Does that mean he knows what time I wake up and steals my bean whips when I'm asleep..?' Misaki thought to himself and watered a nearby plant.
"Narumi... What time will you leave?"
"The principal didn't mention just yet, and I plan to go to him before classes start. I think I'm supposed to leave this morning, without seeing the students."
"I see." Misaki watered more plants and flowers, varying from strange ones to normal-looking ones. He stopped at one flower, then skipped watering it.
"Why didn't you water it?" Narumi looked at the big flower.
"I...watered it earlier..."
"You're lying!" The flower spoke up.
"Oh, I see that the flower speaks!" Narumi became amused of the flower that just spoke to him.
"Nice to meet you, Narumi-san! I am Hana-chan! The flower who speaks of the truth!"
"Ah, nice to meet you, Hana-chan!" Narumi smiled as the flower slightly blushed.
"Th-Thank you, Narumi-san! Misaki-sama never acted that kindly to me..."
"It's because you always said the truth even if you weren't supposed to." Misaki took out the covering of the watering can and watered the noisy flower in great amounts.
"But whatever I said is true. Last night, you barely slept because you were worried about Narumi-san! Then you woke up early because you wanted to see Narumi-san before he--" Misaki poured all the water left in the can on the flower's face and made it cry.
"Misaki-sama! I feel so sad because you're always mad at me..." Hana-chan tried to look sad and used her leaves to cover her face.
"Misaki-sensei, you were that worried about me?" Narumi poked Misaki and tickled him like a child.
"Shut up. I said shut up!" Misaki hit his head with the watering can.
"Misaki-sensei!"
After a few moments, Narumi left the greenhouse, took his luggage, and went to the headmaster.
This is it. I'm about to leave this academy. Will the students here be safe? I can't help but worry. I know that this place is essential for those with Alice, but exhausting their selves may be a little overboard. Who knows what will happen of this academy?
He approached the door to the principal's office and took a deep breath.
I will do this.
Narumi opened the door and greeted the principal behind the curtain.
"I see that you are ready to leave."
"Yes, sir."
"Very well. Does any student know of this?"
"...Sakura has found out last night." Narumi held himself back from exposing any other detail.
"...I see. Well, you may leave now. Here is the salary the academy owes you for your service as a teacher." The shadow pointed to a briefcase on a nearby table. Narumi was confused if the principal was acting a little sarcastically about it. He did hear a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
He opened the briefcase and saw loads of money. He was flabbergasted, but he couldn't deny the fact that the academy was rich.
"1 million yen."
Classes started. Students were going to their classrooms. It was already 10 minutes before class hours. Mikan was still on her way running to the Elementary Division.
"No, Narumi-sensei! He must've planned not to see Class B before he leaves! I can't let that happen!" She applied all the patches Hotaru made on her legs, and was desperate to arrive at the classroom early.
"If I don't tell the class that Narumi-sensei will be leaving today, they won't be able to say goodbye!"
"Narumi..." Serina, along with Noda-sensei, approached Narumi as he entered the staff room to bid farewell.
"Serina-sensei, please take care of Class A..." He suddenly thought of how surprised Class A would be when they would find out that the friendliest teacher they ever had was leaving. Then he thought of Class B, and what possible reactions could actually come out of them. "The headmaster decided that Misaki-sensei will be the adviser of Class B from now on, right?"
"Yes, he did. He is already on his way to Class B, I believe..." Serina looked away and started to silently cry.
"It's alright, Serina-sensei." Narumi embraced her. Serina-sensei always looked after Narumi since the time he started being a teacher. She was somehow his sempai, like Yuka. Except Narumi saw Serina as a friend, and Yuka was someone he fell in love with.
"Hey, where's Mikan?" Yuu went to Hotaru after fixing his things for class.
"I don't know." Hotaru looked at the empty seat in Natsume and Ruka's row.
I brought my luggage and stepped out of the Faculty Room. Mikan was gone, and is probably in Class B, where Misaki-sensei is supposed to be. She left me a note saying that she –including the whole Class B (Natsume too? Interesting) -- will really miss me and that I should send letters. I guess even after I burned her letters to her Grandpa, she still had hope that I'd be able to send her letters.
Will... Will this school really miss me? After all the mischief and confusion I've caused somehow?
"Good morning, Class B. From this day onwards, I will be your homeroom teacher." Misaki-sensei dropped his materials on the teacher's table and greeted the class with a blank face. He scanned the room and found out that Sakura out of sight
"Where is Sakura-san?"
"I'm sorry, Misaki-sensei, but we also don't know." Yuu stood up.
"By the way, what happened to Narumi-sensei?" The words Narumi and sensei rang and echoed through his ears. Oh, how he hated to hear that question.
"Narumi-sensei... Narumi-sensei is..." Misaki himself found it hard to say.
"Look, it's Narumi-sensei!! He's outside!!" A student pointed out as everyone else gradually started to run to the windows and look at Narumi. Misaki felt completely ignored.
"Narumi-sensei??" Sumire gasped. "Is... Is he leaving?" She asked Misaki, and he finally had the guts to answer:
"Yes."
Well, at least people offered help and carried my luggage to the car. That way I'll be able to walk faster and avoid being caught by the students.
Was I being a coward? I just don't want to hurt them, I guess. Class B surely was close to me, I knew this day would come – but I didn't anticipate it to come this soon.
Narumi continued walking at a fast pace, not wanting others t see that he was running away from the academy.
"Why is he leaving?"
"Where is he going?"
"What's the reason behind all this?"
Misaki started to get annoyed by all the students' questions. All of them looked worried, even Natsume looked concerned. He looked at Hotaru and suddenly found her using her Swan Scooter.
"I-I-Imai-san? Where do you think you're going?" Misaki went to her and tried to stop her, but Yuu and Sumire rode with her and escaped through the windows.
"Imai! We might not catch up to Narumi-sensei!" Sumire said.
"Oh, look! There's Mikan!" Yuu pointed to her, who was running towards the Elementary Division Building. Hotaru took a loudspeaker and gave it to Yuu.
"Mikan! Up here!" Yuu called Mikan and shouted her name many times. Impatiently, Hotaru sped up, swiped Mikan, and flew rapidly towards where Narumi-sensei was.
"HOOO-TAAA-RUUUU-SLLOOOOWWW-DOOOOOOWWOWOOOWWNNN!!" Mikan grabbed Hotaru and shrieked and screamed at the top of her lungs.
And Hotaru stopped. Near the ground. Right in front of Narumi.
Okay, I was debating with my own mind about where to stop XD since if I don't stop this will never end XD Too long, no? Sorry if I make my chapters with very weird lengths XD