Well, as promised this chapter is longer. This is probably worth two chapters, the way I usually do things. Anyways here it is chapter 4!
In my dream it was very dark, and what dim light there seemed to be radiating from Natsuki's body. I couldn't see her face only her back walking away from me, leaving me in the darkness. No matter how fast how I ran, I couldn't catch up to her. She didn't even stop when I called her name out numerous times. I woke up feeling troubled in the middle of the night. After that, she was in my dreams almost every night, never within my reach. Every time I wake up from these dreams, I couldn't go back to sleep.
I found myself the center of attention for the rest of the week. Arika Yumemiya was following me around, obsessed with making amends to me. I tried to convince her I wanted more than anything was for her to forget all about it, but she remained insistent. She followed me between classes and sat with me and my friends earning a few glares from my fan-girls.
No one seemed concerned about Natsuki, though I explained that she was the hero. Chie, Aoi, Sayuri, Yayoi, and everyone else always commented that they hadn't seen her there until the Corolla was pulled away.
I wondered to my self why no one else had seen her standing so far away, before she was suddenly, impossibly saving my like. With chagrin, I realized that no one else was as aware of Natsuki as I always was. No one watched her the way I do.
Natsuki was never surrounded by crowds of curious bystanders like I was. People avoided her as usual. The Sagisawa's sat at the same table as always, not eating, talking only among themselves. None of them, especially Natsuki, glanced my way anymore.
When she sat next to me in class, as far from me as the table would allow, she seemed unaware of my presence, Every now and then, when her fist would suddenly ball up did I wonder if she wasn't quite as oblivious as she appeared. The only conclusion I can come up with for the balled fist was she wished she hadn't pulled me out of the Corolla's path.
I wanted to talk to her very much. I was a little furious that she wouldn't trust me with the truth. But she had in fact saved my life, no matter how she'd done it.
I decided that I will at least try to say hi today. She was already seated when I got to Biology, looking straight ahead. I sat down, hoping she would turn toward me. She showed no sign that she realized I was there.
"Hello Natsuki." I said pleasantly.
She turned her head a little toward my direction and nodded once, and looked the other way.
And that was the last contact I had with her, though she sat a foot away from me everyday. I watched her sometimes from the corner of my eye, unable to stop myself-from a distance, though, in the cafeteria or parking lot. I watched as her emerald eyes grew darker day by day. And the dreams still continued.
It's been raining for the last couple of days, but it seemed like it was lighting up. Aoi was happy that her trip to Fuuka Beach would soon be possible.
Chie made me aware of another event looming on the horizon. She called the first Monday of March to ask if I was planning to ask anybody to the dance.
"Ara, Chie-san, are you asking me to the dance?"
"No, just wanted to make my dear Aoi was still available."
"I see… Well, I'm not planning to attend the dance."
"Hmm? Someone as gorgeous as you wouldn't have a problem finding a date."
"Ara, you flatter me Chie-san."
After we ended our conversation. I was wondering what I would do now if I wasn't going to attend the dance. Well, I might as well go Downtown to look for a bookstore.
The next day, Aoi was clinging onto Chie, so I'm assuming she had said 'yes' to her. There were a couple of guys who asked me but I turned them down with the, 'I'm sorry, I will be in Downtown during the dance.'
In Biology, one of my male classmates walked up to me before class started.
"Fujino-san."
"What can I do for you, Ooda-san?"
"Call me Shin, I was wondering if you would like to go to the dance with me."
When Ooda-san asked, I saw from the corner of my eye, Natsuki's head tilted reflexively in my direction.
"Shin-san, I'm sorry I'm not going to the dance."
"Oh,okay." He mumbled and went back to his table.
I sighed, and noticed that Natsuki was still staring at me curiously, that same, familiar edge of frustration even distinct now in her dark emerald eyes. I stared back, expecting her to look quickly away. But instead she continued to gaze with probing intensity into my eyes.
"Kuga-san?" Morimoto-sensei called, seeking the answer to a question.
"Cytoplasm." Natsuki answered, seeming reluctant as she turned to look at Morimoto-sensei.
I looked down at my book as soon as her eyes released me. I couldn't believe the rush of emotions pulsing though me, just because she'd happened to look at me for the first time in half-dozen weeks. I couldn't allow her to have this level of influence over me.
When the bell rang I started to gather my things, expecting her to leave immediately as usual.
"Shizuru." Her voice sounded so familiar, as if I'd known it all my life rather than for just a few weeks.
I turned slowly knowing how I was going to feel when I look at her face. Her expression was unreadable. She didn't say anything.
"So, Natsuki decided to talk to me again?" I asked an unintentional note of petulance in my voice.
Her lips twitched, trying to fight off a smile. "No, not really," she admitted.
"Then, can I help with something, Natsuki?" I asked.
"I'm sorry," she sounded sincere. "I'm being very rude, I know. But it's better this way." Her face was serious.
"I don't know what you mean." I said.
It's better if we're not friends," she explained. "Trust me."
I was starting to get irritated. "It's too bad you didn't figure that out earlier," I said. "You could have saved yourself all this regret."
"Regret?" That obviously caught her off guard. "Regret for what?"
"For saving me from the Corolla."
She was astonished. She stared at me in disbelief. When she finally spoke, she almost sounded mad. "You think I regret saving your life?"
"Well, isn't that why you haven't been talking to me?"
"No, I haven't talk to you because it's better this way."
I was going to say something but Aoi told me to hurry up before we were late for Gym. Natsuki turned around and left. I tried to concentrate in Gym, but Natsuki keep creeping back into my thoughts.
After Gym, I walked back to my mustang. I saw a dark figure leaning against the side of my car. I thought maybe it was Natsuki, but instead it was Arika.
"Arika-san, is there something you need?" I asked.
"Hi, Shizuru-san. Want to go to the dance with me?"
"Thank you for asking, but I'm going to Downtown that day for some errands."
"Oh, can't you go some other time?"
"I'm sorry Arika-san, I can't."
"Okay, I guess next time then."
She slouched off, back toward the school. I heard a low chuckle. Natsuki was walking past the front of my car, looking straight forward her lips pressed together. I watched as she got on her bike and started to back out of her parking spot. I got into my car. Natsuki was sitting on her bike waiting for her siblings. I backed my car out but was cut off when each one of the Sagisawa cars was backing out slowly from their space.
While I was sitting there, I notice there was a line beginning to form directly behind me. I heard a knock on my passenger side window. I looked over and saw Nina there. I rolled down the window.
"Wang-san, I'm sorry I'm being held up."
"Call me Nina. Its okay I know. I came to ask you something."
"Yes?" I could guess what she was going to ask.
"I saw Arika talking to you at first. And I was wondering are you taking her to the dance?"
"No, I'm not going to be there at the dance."
"Okay, so Arika is still available. Thanks."
Okay, that wasn't what I was expecting. She left and I rolled the window back up. I look forward to see Takumi-kun, Akira-san, and Mai-san getting into the Honda Civic, Akane-san was getting into the 350z, Kikukawa-san was getting into the Evolution VII, and Mikoto was driving the Honda SI. I looked even further and I saw Natsuki looking at me. She was unquestionably shaking with laughter, as if she'd heard ever word Nina had said. Natsuki put on her helmet and drove out of the parking lot with 4 cars following her.
When I got home I decided to make something Western. I started wrapping potatoes in foil and stuck them in the oven to bake, covered a steak in marinade and put it in the fridge. Then the phone rang and it was Yayoi. She told me she was going with a guy from her Government glass to the dance. Before I hung up she invited me to go to Fuuka Mall with her, Chie, Aoi, and Sayuri on Thursday. I accepted.
After I hung up I tried to concentrate on dinner, but I was thinking about what Natsuki said. What did she mean; it was better if we weren't friends? My stomach twisted as I realized what she must have meant. She must have notice how absorbed I was by her; she must not want to lead me on, so we couldn't even be friends, because she wasn't interested in me at all.
Of course she wasn't interested in me. I was just some girl from Kyoto. And she was, interesting, mysteries, brilliant, perfect, beautiful, and possibly able to lift cars with one hand.
When father came home, he seemed suspicious when he smelled potatoes. I took the potatoes out and put in the steaks. Well, who could blame him, we hardly eat Western food. When the steak was done I cut it in half and put them into our plates.
"Father?" I asked when he was almost done eating.
"Yes?"
"I'm going Downtown this Saturday, is that okay?"
"Why?" He sounded surprised.
"Well, I wanted to get a few books- the library here is pretty limited and maybe some clothes."
"Are you going by yourself?"
"Yes."
"Downtown is pretty big, you could get lost."
"Father, Kyoto is five times the size of Downtown, and I can read a map."
"It's okay, but will be back for the dance?"
Only in a town this small, will a father know when the high school dances were.
"No, I'm not attending."
"Why? You shouldn't have a problem getting a date to the dance."
"I'm not up to it, father."
"Oh, okay."
The next morning I parked six cars away from Natsuki's bike. Getting out of the car, I fumbled with my keys and it fell into a puddle at my feet. As I bent down to get it, a white hand flashed out and grabbed it before I could. I jerked up right. Natsuki was right next to me, leaning casually against my car.
"How do you do that?" I asked.
"Oh? Well, you bent like this and reach…"
"Not that, how do you appear out of thin air?" I asked as she put my keys into my palm.
"Shizuru, it's not fault if you are exceptionally unobservant." Her voice was quiet as usual, velvet, muted.
Her eyes were lighter again today.
"I thought you were pretending I don't exist."
"I'm not pretending you don't exist." She stated.
"So why have you been acting like I don't exist?"
"Shizuru, you are absolutely absurd," she said, her low voice cold.
I started walking toward my class; I was starting to feel irritated again.
"Wait," she called. I kept walking, but she easily caught up with me.
"I'm sorry that was rude," she said as we walked.
"How come you're not ignoring me now?"
"I wanted to ask you something, but you sidetracked me," she chuckled. She seemed to have recovered her good humor. I stopped walking and turned to her.
"Do you have a multiple personality disorder?" I asked. I couldn't believe how I was acting. I never acted like this in front of other people. Why does Natsuki have this effect on me?
"You're doing it again."
I sighed. "Fine, what can I do for you?"
"Well, I was wondering this Saturday would you-"
"Stop, I'm not going to the dance. I'm busy that day."
"Would you let me finish?" Her eyes were wickedly amused. "I heard you were going Downtown on Saturday, and I was wondering if you want a ride."
That was unexpected. "What?" I wasn't sure what she was getting at.
"Do you want a ride to Downtown?"
"With who?" I asked, mystified.
"Myself, obviously." She enunciated every syllable, as if she were talking to someone mentally handicapped. "I was planning to go to Downtown anyways, so why don't we go together?"
"Honestly, Natsuki. I thought you didn't want to be my friend."
"I said it would be better if we weren't friends, not that I didn't want to be."
"Okay, that clear some things up." I saw with a little sarcasm.
"It would be more… prudent for you not to be my friend." She explained. "But I'm tired of trying to stay away from you, Shizuru."
Her eyes were gloriously intense as she uttered the last sentence, her voice smoldering.
"Will you go with me?" she asked, still intense.
I couldn't speak yet, so I just nodded. She smiled briefly, and then her face became serious.
"You really should stay away from me." She warned. "I'll see you in class."
She turned abruptly and walked back the way we'd come. Because of this conversation I was late to Trig.
"Thank you for joining us, Fujino-san." Yamaguchi-sensei said in a disapproving tone.
The rest of the morning went by in a blur. It was kind of different to believe that I hadn't imagined what Natsuki had said, and the way her eyes had looked. Maybe it was just a very convincing dream that I'd confused with reality. So I was impatient and a little frightened as Yayoi and I entered the cafeteria. I wanted to see her face, to see if she'd gone back to the cold, indifferent person I'd known for the last several weeks, or if, by some miracle, I'd really heard what I thought I heard this morning. Everyone sitting at the table was talking about the dance.
Disappointment flooded through me as my eyes focused on her table. The other nine were there, but she was absent. Had she gone home? I took a sip of my tea trying to hide my disappointment.
"Natsuki Kuga is staring at you again," Chie said. "I wonder why she's sitting alone today."
My head snapped up to follow her gaze to see Natsuki, smiling crookedly, staring at me from an empty table across the cafeteria from where she usually sits. Once she'd caught my eye, she gestured me over.
"Looks like Kuga-san is interested in you," commended Aoi.
"Maybe she needs help with her Biology homework," snicker Chie.
"I'd better go see what she needs, excuse me."
I could feel their eyes as I walked away. When I reached her table, I stood behind the chair across from her, unsure.
"Why don't you sit with me today?" she asked smiling.
I sat down, watching as she was smiling. It was kind of hard to believe that Natsuki was smiling at me like this. I was afraid that she might disappear in a sudden puff of smoke, and I would wake up. She seemed to be waiting for me to say something.
"Are you okay?" I finally managed to say.
"Well…" she started. "I decided as long as I was going to hell, I might as well do it thoroughly."
I waited for her to say something that made sense.
"I'm sorry, I don't quite follow."
"I know." She smiled again, and then she changed the subject. "I think your fan-girls are angry at me for having you all to myself."
"They'll survive." I chuckled.
"I may not give you back though," she said with a wicked glint in her eyes.
I gulped.
She laughed. "You look worried."
"No," I said. "Surprised actually…what brought all this on?"
"I told you, I got tired of staying away from you. So I'm giving up." She was still smiling, but her eyes were serious.
"Giving up?"
"Yes, giving up. I'm tired, so I'm just going to do what I want now, just let things happen." Her smile faded as she explained, and a hard edge crept into her voice.
"You lost me again."
The breath taking smile reappeared.
"I always say too much when I'm with you, which are one of the problems."
"So, are we friends now?"
"Friends…" she mused, dubious.
"Or not," I muttered.
She grinned. "Well, we can try, I suppose. But I'm warning you now that I'm not a good friend for you." Behind her smile, the warning was real.
"You say that a lot." I noted.
"Yes, because you don't listen to me. I'm still waiting for you to believe it. If you're smart, you'll avoid me."
"Excuse me? Are you implying I'm not smart?"
She smiled apologetically.
"So, while I'm being not smart, are we friends?"
"Yes."
She handed me a cup of tea. I looked down and wrapped my hand around it.
"What are you thinking?" she asked curiously.
I looked up into her deep emerald eyes.
"I'm trying to figure you out."
Her jaw tightened, but she kept her smile in place with some effort.
"Are you having any luck with that?" she asked in an offhand tone.
"Not too much," I admitted.
She chuckled. "What are your theories?"
I couldn't tell her. During the last month I had been vacillating between Superwomen and Wonderwomen.
"Won't you tell me?" she asked, tilting her head to one side with a shockingly tempting smile.
I shook my head. "Too embarrassing."
"That's really frustrating, you know," she complained.
"No," I disagreed quickly, "I can't imagine why that would be frustrating at all, just because someone refuses to tell you what they're thinking, why would that be frustrating?" I said smirking.
She grimaced.
"Or, better," I continued, "say that person also did a wide range of bizarre things, from saving ones life under impossible circumstances one day to treating you like a pariah the next, and she never explained any of that, even after she promised to explain everything. That, also, would be very non-frustrating."
"You got quite a temper, don't you?"
"Only with you."
We stared at each other, unsmiling. She glanced over my shoulder, and then, unexpectedly, she snickered.
"What?"
"Yumemiya seems to think I'm being unpleasant to you, she's debating whether or not to come break up our fight." She snickered again.
"You're probably wrong."
"I'm not. I told you, most people are easy to read."
"Except me, of course."
"Yes. Except you." Her mood shifted suddenly; her eyes turned brooding. "I wonder why that is."
I had to look away from the intensity of her stare. I took a sip of my tea.
"Aren't you hungry?" she asked, distracted.
"Not really. You?" I looked at the empty table in front of him.
"No, I'm not hungry." I didn't understand her expression; it looked like she was enjoying some private joke.
"Can you do me a favor?" I asked after a second of hesitation.
She was suddenly wary. "That depends on what you want."
"It's not much." I assured her.
"I was just wondering if you would warn me beforehand the next time you decide to ignore me for my own good."
"That sounds fair." She was pressing her lips together to keep from laughing.
"Thanks."
"Then can I have one answer in return?" she demanded.
"One."
"Tell me one theory."
"Next." I said while taking another sip of my tea.
"You didn't qualify, you just promised one answer," she reminded me.
"Did you forget that you've broken promises yourself," I reminded her back.
"Just one, I won't laugh."
"Yes you will." I was positive about that.
She looked down, and then glanced up at me through her long lashes, her emerald eyes scorching.
"Please?" she breathe, leaning toward me.
I blinked, my mind going blank. How did she do that?
"Er, what?" I asked, dazed.
"Please tell me just one little theory." Her eyes still smoldered at me.
"Um, are you allergic to Kryptonite?" Was she a hypnotist, too?
"That's not very creative," she scoffed.
"I'm sorry that's all I got."
"You're not even close," she teased.
"No maces?"
"None."
"No X-ray vision?"
"Nope."
"Dang," I sighed.
"No spiders or radioactivity, either," she chuckled.
"Your not suppose to laugh remember?"
She struggled to compose her face.
"I'll figure it out soon."
"I wish you wouldn't try." She was serious again.
"Because…?"
"What if I'm not a superhero? What if I'm the bad guy?" She smiled playfully, but her eyes were impenetrable.
"Your dangerous?" I guessed, my pulse quickened as I intuitively realized the truth of my own words. She was dangerous. She'd been trying to tell me that all along.
She just looked at me, eyes full of some emotion I couldn't comprehend.
"But you're not bad." I whispered, shaking my head.
"You're wrong." Her voice was almost inaudible.
She looked down. I stared at her, wondering why I didn't feel afraid. But I just felt anxious, and on edge and more than anything, fascinated. The same way I always felt when I was near her. I noticed that the cafeteria was almost empty.
"We're going to be late." I said as I got up.
"I'm not going to class today," she said.
"Why not?"
"It's healthy to ditch class now and then." She smiled up at me, but her eyes were troubled.
"You should really go. You already have a lot of absences."
"I'll be there tomorrow."
"Fine, I'm going," I told her.
She turned her head towards me as I walked away. "I'll see you later, then."
When I got to class, Morimoto-sensei was about to start. He gave each table a small cardboard box.
"Okay, guys, I want you all to take one piece from each box," he said as he produced a pair of rubber gloves from his pockets. "The first should be the indicator card," he went on, grabbing a white card with four squares marked on it and displaying it. "The second is a four-pronged applicator and the third is a sterile micro-lancet." He held up a small piece of blue plastic and split it open. The barb was invisible from the distance, but my stomach flipped.
"I'll be coming around with a dropper of water to prepare your cards, so please don't start until I get to you." He said at Chie's table, carefully putting one drop of water in each of the four squares. "Then I want you to carefully prick your finger with the lancet." He grabbed Chie's hand and jabbed the spike into the tip of Chie's index finger. "Put a small drop of blood on each of the prongs." He demonstrated squeezing Chie's finger till the blood flowed. I swallowed convulsively, my stomach heaving.
He continued through the room with his water drops. I put my head down against the cool black tabletop and tried to hold on to my consciousness. I breathed slowly in and out through my mouth.
"Fujino-san, are you all right?" Morimoto-sensei asked. His voice was close to my head.
"I already know my blood type, Morimoto-sensei." I said in a weak voice.
"Are you feeling faint?"
"Yes, sir." I muttered.
"Ooda-kun, can you take Fujino-san to the nurse, please?" he called.
"Can you walk?" Morimoto-sensei asked.
"Yes," I whispered.
Ooda-san seemed eager as he put his arm around my waist and pulled my arm over his shoulder. I leaned against him heavily on the way out of the classroom. Ooda-san towed me slowly across campus. When we were around the edge of the cafeteria, out of Morimoto-sensei's sight, I stopped.
"I need to sit for awhile."
He helped me sit on a bench. I slumped onto the bench and closed my eyes. That seemed to help a little.
"Shizuru?" a different voice called from the distance. "What's wrong? Is she hurt?" her voice was closer now, and she sounded upset.
Ooda-san seems stressed. "I think she fainted. I don't know what happened; she didn't even stick her finger."
"Shizuru." Natsuki's voice was right beside me, relieved now. "Can you hear me?"
"No," I groaned.
She chuckled.
"I was taking her to the nurse," Ooda-san explained in a defensive tone, "but she wouldn't go further."
"I'll take her," Natsuki said. I could hear the smile still in her voice. "You can go back to class."
"No," Ooda protested. "I'm supposed to do it."
Suddenly the bench disappeared from beneath me. My eyes flew open in shock. Natsuki had scooped me up in her arms, as easily as if I weighed nothing.
"Hey!" Ooda-san called already ten paces behind us.
Natsuki ignored him. "You look awful," she told me, grinning. "So you faint at the sight of blood?" she asked. This seemed to entertain her. "And not even your own blood," she continued, enjoying herself.
I don't know how she opened the door while carrying me, but it was suddenly open.
"Oh my," I heard a female voice.
"She fainted in Biology," Natsuki explained.
Natsuki placed me gently on the bed. Then she moved to stand against the wall as far across the narrow room as possible. Her eyes were bright, excited.
"She's just a little faint," she reassured Sagisawa-sensei. "They're blood typing in Biology."
Sagisawa-sensei nodded sagely. "There's always one."
She muffled a snicker.
"Just lie down and it'll pass."
"I know." I sighed.
"Does this happen often?" Sagisawa-sensei asked.
"Sometimes." I admitted. Natsuki coughed to hide another laugh.
"You can go back to class now," she told her.
"I'm supposed to stay with her." She said this with such assured authority.
"Hmm…Fine do what you want. I'll go get some ice for your forehead." She said to me, and then bustled out of the room.
"You were right, ditching is healthy."
"I usually am right. You scared me for a minute there," she admitted. Her tone made it sound like she was confessing a humiliating weakness. "I though Ooda was dragging your dead body off to bury it in the woods."
I chuckled.
"Honestly, I've seen corpses with better color. I was concerned that I might have to avenge your murder."
"I bet Ooda-kun is mad."
"Well, he absolutely loathes me now," Natsuki said cheerfully.
"I thought you were ditching." I was almost fine now, though the queasiness would probably pass faster if I'd eaten something during lunch.
"I was in Tate's car, listening to a CD."
The door suddenly opened and Ooda-kun came in with another student in his arms. It was Aoi. I hopped down to free the bed for the next invalid.
"Oh no," Natsuki muttered. "Go out, Shizuru."
I looked at her bewildered.
"Trust me, just go."
I turned around and walked out. I could feel Natsuki right behind me.
"You actually listened to me." She said stunned.
"I smelled the blood," I said.
"People can't smell blood," she contradicted.
"Well, I can, that's what makes me sick. It smells like rust and salt."
Ooda-kun came through the door, glancing from me to Natsuki. The look he gave to Natsuki confirmed what she had said about loathing. He looked back at me, his eyes glum.
"You look better," he accused.
"Yes, Thank you for earlier."
"No problem.Umm…Are you going to the beach this Sunday? Senou-san invited me just now and I was wondering if you were going." His body language made it clear that it wasn't an open invitation.
I tried to sound friend as possible. "Yes, I will be going to the beach."
"Cool, then I'll see you tomorrow in class."
I smiled as he left. "I don't want to go to Gym."
"I'll take care of that." I hadn't noticed Natsuki moving to my side, but she spoke now in my ear. "Wait here."
Natsuki went back into the nurse office and came out with a permission to leave early slip.
"Come on. I'll drive you home." She offered.
"It's okay, I can drive myself."
"Not in your condition. Come on."
I followed her to the parking lot. Stopping at where her bike was parked.
"So are you coming on Sunday?"
"Where are you all going, exactly?" she asked still looking ahead, expressionless.
"Down to Fuuka Beach." I studied her face, trying to read it. Her eyes seem to narrow infinitesimally.
She glanced down at me from the corner of her eye, smiling wryly. "I really don't think I was invited."
I sighed. "I just invited you."
"Let's you and I not push poor Ooda any further. We don't want him to snap." Her eyes danced; she was enjoying the idea more than she should.
I walked past Natsuki's bike when something caught my jacket, yanking me back.
"Where do you think your going?" she asked, outraged. She was gripping a fistful of my jacket in one hand.
I was confused. "I'm going home."
"Didn't you hear me at first? Do you think I'm going to let you drive in your condition?" her voice was still indignant.
"What condition? And what about my car?"
"I'll have Mai drop it off after school," she was towing me back towards her bike now, pulling me by my jacket. She hopped onto her bike scooting up for some space behind her.
"You sure are pushy."
"Get on."
I didn't answer. I was mentally calculating my chances of reaching my car before she can catch me. And the chance doesn't look to good.
"I'll just drag you back," she threatened, guessing my plan.
I sighed and I hopped onto the bike. Natsuki started the engine and it roared to life. I gripped Natsuki waist when she started driving out of the parking lot. She started speeding once we got out, the town was flashing by, and I couldn't really see it.
"What is your mother like?" she asked me suddenly.
I looked over her shoulders. "She looks a lot like me, except for the eyes." I said. She raised her eyebrows. "She's more outgoing than me. She's irresponsible and slightly eccentric." I stopped.
"How old are you, Shizuru?" Her voice sounded frustrated for some reason I couldn't imagine. Before I knew it we were already at my house.
"I'm seventeen."
"You don't seem seventeen." Her tone was reproachful; it made me laugh. "So why did your mother marry Ryo?"
I was surprised she would remember the name; I'd mentioned it just once, almost two months ago.
"My mother, she's very young for her age. I think Ryo makes her feel younger."
"Do you approve?" she asked.
"I don't think that really matters. I want her to be happy." I said as I got off.
"That's very generous, I wonder." She mused.
"What?"
"Would she extend the same courtesy to you, do you think? No matter what your choice was?" She was suddenly intent, her eyes searching in mine,
"I think so, but she's the parent, after all. It's a little different."
"No one too scary then," she teased.
"What do you mean? Multiple facial piercing and extensive tattoos?"
"That's one definition, I suppose."
"What's your definition?" I asked.
But she ignored my question and asked me another. "Do you think that I could be scary?" She raised one eyebrow, and a faint trace of a smile lightened her face.
"You could be, if you want to." I admitted.
"Are you frightened of me now?" The smile vanished, and her heavenly face was suddenly serious.
"No." I answered quite quickly. The smile returned. "So, now are you going to tell me about your family?" I asked to distract him. "It's got to be a more interesting story than mine."
She was instantly cautious. "What do you want to know?"
"Sagisawa-sensei adopted you?" I verified.
"Yes."
I hesitated for a moment. "What happened to your parents?"
"They died many years ago." Her tone was matter-of-fact.
"I'm sorry." I mumbled
"I don't remember them that clearly. Yoko has been my parent for a long time now."
"And your brothers and sisters?"
She glanced at her watch.
"My brothers and sisters are probably waiting for me right now in the parking lot.And you probably want your car back before your dad gets back home."
"Oh, sorry, I guess you have to go."
"So, I will see you tomorrow?"
"No. Mai and I are starting the weekend early."
"What are you going to do?"
"Hiking in that mountain." Natsuki said while pointing towards the mountain in the opposite direction.
I remember father saying that they like to go camping.
"Will you make it back in time for Saturday?"
"Yes, See you on Saturday."
Natsuki weaved her bike around and drove back towards school. I could see she was still smiling as she drove away.
A/N: long enough? It took me awhile to type it all out and getting it proof read it by my cousin. It looked like he made it longer. Well hope you guys enjoyed it. Comments are greatly apperciated. Chapter 5 will come out as soon as I am done with it. I don't know if it will be as long or longer or shorter than this. depending on my mood.