a/n Guess who's back
back back
back again 'gain' gain
Guess who's back back back
Tell a friend, friend
friend
what song is that again
no doubt one I've never listened to
so how did you all like
the last chapter?
are you all up for this one?
YAY!!
enjoy, kayz?

Disclaimer--If I owned Hana Kimi Umeda wouldn't be gay. He'd at least by bi ;P

X

X

How long had it been? Only four days? It felt like an eternity. Mika sat up in her bed, narrowly avoiding hitting her head on the top bunk in which Rio was still sleeping soundly. Mika was surprised about this. Usually Rio woke up at the crack of dawn so that she could talk to her American friend, Julia, over the internet. Well, she was surprised until she spotted the blinking red of her digital clock: 4:30 a.m.

"Ugh. Not again!" Mika groaned and threw herself back down on her bed, face buried into her pillow. The past two nights she had woken up early, for reasons unknown. And no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get back to sleep. This time, she didn't even bother. Instead, she just hopped over to the bookcase and grabbed a paperback off the shelf. Without checking to see what it was, she hurried back to her bed and lay down to start reading.

Up ahead, Rio mumbled something in her sleep and rolled over. Mika enviously stared at the top bunk. Lucky Rio. Mika almost forgot what it was like to sleep properly. The worst part was she didn't know why she kept waking suddenly. Her sleeps were dreamless, and her ankle wasn't even hurting her enough to make her wince. Yet for three days now, she was waking up suddenly.

Mika put the unopened book down by her side and rubbed her eyes with balled fists.

"Why does this keep happening?" she groaned. And suddenly, she knew what Rio would say if she knew about this, which she didn't--Mika wasn't planning on telling her either.

'You're probably missing Kayashima.' She would say, which was totally ridiculous and untrue. She didn't miss the aura-boy at all, and there was no way she was thinking about him in her sleep...was there?

Sighing, Mika leaned over and reached under her bed. From under it she pulled out a shoe box. Delicately, she lifted the lid and pulled out what was on the very top of a small pile of things--a photo. With her fingers holding onto the edge, she brought the picture closer to her face. Unconsciously, a wide smile spread across her face at the sight of the boy. She squeezed her eyes shut, but the image was still there, and she felt a sort of tugging in her chest.

"This is ridiculous. I don't even know him," Mika grumbled and put the photo back in the box. To get her mind off the whole thing she grabbed the book and began to read. She could barely read the words through the darkness, and it didn't help that they were small. That didn't matter to Mika though. She was just happy that it brought her mind away from any thoughts that might involve a certain boy that could read aura.

X

X

"Hey Mika? Are you okay?" one of Rio's friends, Elica, asked. It was lunch time, and Mika was practically falling asleep in her food. The lack of sleep over the past couple of days was catching up with her.

She yawned widely and brushed her dark bangs out of her eyes. She looked over at Elica and gave her a lopsided smile. "Yeah, of course I'm fine! Just tired, you know!"

Elica cocked her head to the side before nodding and turning towards another of Rio's friends, Yumemi to continue their conversation. Mika yawned yet again and began picking at her food. Her head was held up by her hand, causing her bangs to stick up. Yuri giggled when seeing this, but soon ceased upon spotting the purple bags under her best friend's eyes. Frowning, she placed a hand on Mika's shoulder.

"What's up, Mika? You've been so tired the last couple of days..."

Mika just shook her head. "It's nothing. The work load is just getting to me. But that's what I get for taking so many classes!" She gave an unconvincing laugh that made everyone at the table turn and stare suspiciously at her. Of course, that only included Yumemi, Elica, Yuri, and Rio, but Mika still felt like she was shrinking under their heavy gazes. Without saying anything more, she swung her legs over the bench and stood, grabbing her food tray.

"I'm going to head over to my next class. See you all later..."

Mika dropped off her tray at the nearest garbage can and then slowly walked out of the cafeteria. The sound of her ballet-flats hitting the sparkling white towel bounced all the way back to her table, where her friends were all still watching her. Most were just concern3ed, but Rio was suspicious. What wasn't she telling her?

"This is going to bug me," the Umeda grumbled, her eyes never leaving the figure of Mika until she had long pushed past the double doors and disappeared into the halls beyond.

"It's probably just as she says it is. Don't get too caught up in it," Yuri advised her suspicious friend; Rio nodded her head in agreement, although she didn't really think that Mika was telling the truth.

X

X

Mika stared at herself in the mirror with disgust. Purple bags were forming under her light brown eyes. Maybe they all had a reason to be concerned. She looked bad. Worse than it really was. Groaning, she ran a hand through her dark locks. There was nothing she could do about it right then, she needed to get to class. But as soon as she could, she was going to go nap. If things worked out correctly, she wouldn't wake up again until the next morning around seven o'clock.

"Let's see. Just this writing class, and then one other. After that, I'm free." Mika didn't sound as relieved as she should have been. But two periods...it was such a long time. There was no way she'd last that long. She'd probably pass out from exhaustion. Blinking hard, she turned and hurried out of the bathroom to get to her writing class. It was decided. As soon as that class was finished, she'd head back to the dorms and sleep.

Sleep...Mika let out a wistful breath as she took a sharp turn down a narrow hallway where there were only two classrooms, one being her writing class. Pausing, she turned the knob and stepped inside. She was early, as expected. Sighing deeply, she took her seat and then rested her head on the desk's cool surface. Her hair spilled over her shoulder and tickled her face. She laughed a little and shut her eyes. Just as she was drifting off into a peaceful sleep, the door opened and slammed again. Startled, she jumped up. There was the teacher, Ki-sensei. Quite unlike usual, he wasn't carrying a stack of books. Instead, all he held was a single sheet of paper. Mika stared curiously at it, trying to guess what it was.

Ki-sensei just gave his student a small smile, a mysterious smile, and then went on continuing organizing his desk.

Not much later the rest of the class piled in. It wasn't many people, really, but the room seemed very packed. Probably because it was such a small classroom.

"Okay everyone! Please take your seats! I want to discuss right away what we will be doing!" The single sheet of paper was in his hand, taunting Mika's tired eyes as they darted back and forth, watching it. The sunlight that shone in through the window made it glitter in an odd way. Mika was curious how such a single piece of paper, boring and white, could look so nice.

Like snow... Mika smiled at the thought. She lifted her head, leaned back in her chair, and paid attention.

"Are you all paying attention? Good! This assignment will be a major grade! So you're all going to want to do very well on this! I will give you time during class to think of topics that you could possibly write about!" Ki-sensei cleared his throat. "Now about the paper! You will all be writing about a person that you think has an interesting talent, quite like anyone else's. You don't need anything approved--I just want to see how you all write without any boundaries. Now it may be about a friend, relative, teacher, whatever you choose. You could ask them about the talent, or just write about what you know!"

The young man looked around at his students; Mika stared at the paper. What was on it? Was it just about this paper they were supposed to write? Mika sighed and waited for him to continue.

"It can be of any length, but keep in mind as you write it that the longer it is, the better the grade will be! Also, please use good language. I realize that this isn't creative language, so there may not be that much you can do, but please try. Also, this assignment will be due in three weeks. Don't put it off though! Three weeks will be here before you know it! Any questions?" Ki-sensei looked around the room, searching for a raised hand or a puzzled face. There were none.

Ki-sensei looked relieved. "Good! Now get to work!"

X

X

Mika didn't know how she made it through that class, she really didn't. But somewhere she got through the entire class without fainting in exhaustion. But if she stayed for another class...that wasn't going to happen. So, as planned, she went to the dorms and changed into flannel pants and a t-shirt. She curled up on her bed, eyes relaxed until they were closed.

Who will I write my paper on...? Mika wondered as she slowly drifted off. I guess I should ask Rio or Yuri or someone...

Yet somehow, Mika knew that she didn't need to ask anyone. She knew who the paper would be written about. Well, she hoped she'd be able to. Hopefully that wouldn't be too weird. Again, she knew that it wouldn't be. All she would be doing would be writing about his talents. They weren't a secret, were they? He made a stand about getting pictures taken with ghosts...of course it wouldn't be a secret.

"Kayashima..." she whispered, snuggling against the pillow, burying her face into the soft cushion. She squeezed her eyes tighter and tried to empty her mind. But things kept flying in and taking over the calm nothingness of her mind. Mostly thoughts of that day at the Osaka High fair. Memories that had changed her life so much. But soon enough, those memories turned into dreams, and she was sleeping deeply--more deeply than she had even hoped for.

X

X

A/N okay, so what did you guys think of the
chapter?
yeah, I know it seems
filler-like
and I guess it is in a way
but it has some important things in it
like the paper
and how she can't sleep
I know that doesn't seem important
but it is
because of the REASON she's sleepless
I mean, this is a Kayashima fanfic!
so anyway!
please drop a review
I know I updated fast, huh!
mostly because my friend's pressuring me
and I like pleasing her
that's also why you might not have enjoyed this chapter
all that much.
anyway! I'll try to update again
soon!
I have big plans for this story!

--StEpPiNg StOnEs