Chapter 16:
Hana looked at the grade at the top of her quiz paper, a slightly bewildered expression on her face. Ninety. She got a solid ninety. This was the highest grade she had ever achieved in her life. Ninety.
"How'd it go?" she looked up at Arisa who looked down at her with Tohru right beside her. "Tohru-chan here got eighty-five!" she proudly said. Tohru blushed at the praise Arisa gave her. "She really did her best! I myself got an eighty-seven, cool ne?" Hana gave her a small smile of congratulations.
"I'm glad Tohru-kun and Uo-kun have high scores." She said.
"What's your score, Hana-chan?" Tohru asked with excitement and enthusiasm. Hana quickly folded her paper to hide the score and smiled to her good friend.
"I passed." As her friends continued talking to her, her mind wandered to the one that helped her achieve such a high grade. She turned her eyes to Yuki's seat, seeing him surrounded by the many students congratulating him for yet again having the highest score in class. She remembered the patience Yuki exhibited when he was helping her study and memorize dates and names of people who betrayed each other and blinded themselves with self-righteousness.
The smile never left his kind, beautiful face. When she got it wrong he'd simply laugh and say, 'what's your other answer?' She couldn't feel evil waves from him, no underlying intentions, no fear towards her. Simply the bright waves of calm contentment washed over her the whole time. What was it that possessed the great Prince Yuki to help her? She sighed in her mind; she supposed she would never know. For the first time, someone was too complicated for her to figure out.
A few minutes after the bell rang for the students to go home and the school girls evacuated his clinic, there was a soft knocking at her door. Hatori sighed, getting impatient with the many imaginary pains these girls were presenting him. It wasn't worth his time and he wasn't even interested in any of them. There was only one student who could catch his eye…"Enter." The door opened slowly and speaking of the devil, there she was with a tray of hot tea.
Hanajima looked up at him and bowed slightly, entering the room and setting the tray of tea down on the table beside the handsome doctor. "Miss Secretary sent you these. She wants you to meet her at the parking lot before the school closes." She said emotionlessly. Hatori watched her intently, imbedding her every movement into the memory of his mind. He memorized every detail of her appearance from head to toe; from the neat braid of her ebony black hair to the modesty of her school uniform, leaving much for the imagination to roam.
She noticed the stare she got from him but chose to ignore it. She bowed her leave and started to walk away when he said nothing. "Hanajima-san." He called suddenly. She stopped in her tracks, shivering at the low, almost husky tone of his voice. "How was your day?" he asked with a raised brow.
She turned to him, blinking twice in wonder why Hatori would ask her that. But she must be polite and answer. "Fine. Yours?"
He gestured to the seat across him, offering it to her. She gracefully took it and sat down. "So and so." He answered curtly. "How is your mother?" Last Sunday, after the lunch she had with him he drove her home. When her mother met him, she was pissed. But when she found out he was a doctor, he was suddenly so welcomed as if he was a part of the family. Hatori quickly saw through this but said nothing.
"She wished she were younger." Hana joked with a smirk, pouring them both a cup of tea after Hatori gestured for her to do so. Hatori chuckled lowly at that. Their morbid humor was in sync so he understood what she was talking about.
He thanked her, taking the cup she offered him, his fingers grazing hers. "She seemed quite enlightened at my profession." He said, staring at her as he drank his cup.
Hana gave him a Mona Lisa smile, knowing that they were indirectly backstabbing her own mother. Her mother was a gold-digger. It was obvious enough for the both of them. And to think that they would talk about her like that was quite amusing. Not to mention if her mother heard this, she would be too dense to catch up or get the hint.
"Is Hatori-san really this sinister, or is this a special occasion?" she said with a hint of amusement in her tone.
"Do you have anything planned tonight?" he asked directly. The amusement vanished from her tone and she suddenly became somber again. Was he asking her to a date?
"Are you—"
"Perhaps." He answered curtly.
"What about—"
"I have no interest in her."
She thought of what he said. Did that mean he had interest in her then? But then, she thought, why should he be interested in her? Perhaps he wanted something from her. But what could it be? Curiosity took a strong grip on her and she looked up at him and said, "Alright."
Hatori smiled a small smile of victory and said, "I'll drive you home and come back later at seven to pick you up."
Hana stared at him for a while, registering in her mind what he just said. Was it just her or was Hatori getting braver and braver by the second? She nodded then stood. "I'll just get my bag."
Hatori nodded, "I'll meet you here."
Everyone had already left the school except for the faculty and staff when Hatori and Hana made their way to his car. Hatori opened the door for her and rounded the car to sit behind the wheels. The drive home was silent and slow—almost deliberately so, yet both of them were comfortable in the other's presence.
Out of pure curiosity, Hatori asked out of the blue, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"
Hana took her time on answering, watching the other cars pass by. "Married."
The stop light turned red and Hatori stopped calmly. Married, huh? So that must be why she held the ring dear to her. She liked the thought of being married, was that it? If that was so, he could buy her as many rings as she liked. And the rings he'd give her wouldn't be cheap or fake. Not in the least. He would give her diamonds, pearls, rubies, and onyxes, anything she would so desire. He wondered what her reaction would be at the concept of marrying him. But he was getting ahead of himself. The light turned green and he started driving again.
"And after that?" he asked on.
"Dead."
Ah, the everlasting sleep. He could have guessed that a person so dark and morbid as she would only wish for something so peaceful and alluring as death. Hell, that was what he wanted a long time ago too. But it seemed that he was not good enough for death yet. He still had many sufferings to endure and many wrongs to commit.
"And you?" she asked, turning slowly to him. "What does Doctor Souma, Hatori wish to be after being a doctor?"
He gave a small wan smile, "Free…" he answered. Free from troubles, free from the past, free from pain and most of all free from Akito.
"After I die, I will look for you in the afterlife." She said lifelessly.
"What will you do when you find me?" he asked almost thoughtlessly.
A small ghost of a smile appeared on her face. "I'll say hello."
"And I'll say hi." He answered with light amusement at the simplicity and innocence of her answer.
"I'll hold you to that."
"So will I."
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