well, here we are. hopefully my story doesnt confuse you. i plan on throwing everythin out into the open eventually, but for now, live with the mystery.

Disclaimer: why must you continue to torment me so? No, its not mine!

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The Circumstances of Life

Chapter 2

I watched the retreating figure of the girl nicknamed the Witch Inventor. She walked into the same room as the boy from before. I flinched when I heard some loud bangs and yelling. A moment later, the boy with blond hair came stumbling out slightly flushed and panicked, towels in hand.

He quickly walked toward us and handed us each a towel, "I'm sorry for making you wait. My name is Ruka Nogi. I'm Master Imai's apprentice. Nice to meet you," his blue eyes and pale face gave him a somewhat angelic appearance as he smiled at us, "and may I ask your names?"

I smiled back as best I could, "I'm….Mikan," I grabbed Natsume's wet shirt sleeve and tugged on it, "…and this is Natsume. Nice to meet you, too."

He smiled again and nodded, "Now if you'll please follow me," and Ruka began leading us down the impossibly long hallway. There seemed to be thousands of rooms. Most had their doors closed; the ones that didn't were filled with strange mechanisms and contraptions I'd never seen before. Our guide stopped and took hold of the chain with hundreds of keys looped though it that hung on the belt loops of his pants and began flipping through them. When he found the key with the number that matched the golden ones bolted to the dark oak door, he inserted it into the keyhole on the knob before turning it and opening the door.

He room was relatively large, but you'd never be able to tell with all the clutter. Inside the room, the walls were lined with bookshelves made by the same dark wood everything in the house I'd seen so far was made of. Every shelf was filled completely with thick, old books. In front of the single arched window there was a large, heavy desk with a matching chair behind it. Covering the top of the desk as well as most of the floor in the room were books with parked pages or that had been left open for what was most likely research or reference and hand written diagrams and blueprints piled up in high stacks. Across from the desk was a large fireplace and two dark brown leather couches facing each other with a coffee table in between them.

Ruka lead us to the couches and went on to light a fire in the fireplace before sitting down across from Natsume and I. we all remained silent, having nothing to say. I took this time to take in the appearance of the person called Ruka. He had a very pale complexion and an air of sophistication and politeness as he sat there staring into the fire with an absent minded smile and his chin rested in his hand, his legs crossed. He was dressed in a white button up shirt that appeared a couple sizes too big with the collar left open and an unbuttoned vest covering it. The tail of his shirt hung loosely over his knee high pants. It was a strange way to be dressed in this day and age.

He shifted slightly, causing the keys attached to his belt to jingle. Turning towards us he said, "I'm sure it won't be much longer. Please be patient."

The silence settled over us again. I turned toward Natsume. I was beginning to get nervous. He glanced back at me and took my hand. He gave it a squeeze. I let out the breath I didn't realize I was holding. Feeling a bit relived, I went back to taking in my surroundings. The carpet and many of the books were a crimson color. The walls, or what you could see of them, were a lighter red. It gave the room a warm feel.

The door clicked open to reveal the girl with emotionless purple eyes and short, dark hair that called herself Hotaru. She came in wearing the same short sleeved button down blouse made from a thick, vertically stripped pale purple material and a matching puffed out skirt that reached down just bellow her knees. She had thigh high black wool socks and boots that reached mid-shin. An apron covered in assorted pockets, patches, and stains was draped over her shoulders and tied around her waist. Why did people dress like that? But then again, everything about this house from the old look the house had to the dead, overgrown garden outside managed to match the feel of a witch. How fitting for the girl called the Witch Inventor.

The Inventor placed down the silver trey she had been carrying and passed us each a china cup filled with a steaming brown liquid that smelled faintly of raspberries. "I apologize for the wait," the girl said as she sat down beside the boy called Ruka and sipped her tea, "Now, may I ask what you came here for?"

"We need your help," Natsume answered. He didn't touch his tea. The china clinked and the fire crackled, "Oh? Well, I figured you wouldn't show up at my home soaking wet and exhausted in the middle of the night simply to talk and visit. Now let me ask again, why are you here?"

"……We need a place to hide," this time I answered. After all, it was my problem. I couldn't keep relying on Natsume. "We heard you'd be the best person to turn to."

The girl seemed to perk up with interest, "Well, I cannot deny that I would be capable of such a thing. But what, may I ask, are you hiding from?"

"Um…..uh- to be honest, I'm not totally sure. All I know is that falling into his hands would be terrible," ok. So that was a lie. But hey, they didn't need to know that.

"Yea? Again, why is that?" another question I felt uncomfortable answering.

I took a deep, shaky breath before standing and turning around. I started lifting my damp shirt over my head. Natsume got up and helped me pull it off the rest of the way while I covered my chest. My cheeks started heating up. I hated striping infront of people. It was so embarrassing.

I stood there shaking and hugging myself with my back turned toward the other people occupying the room. I heard a small gasp and the sound of china being placed down on the table a little too hard.

"What….it that?" I heard the boy named Ruka ask. I was beginning to feel even more awkward.

"That's not….." I saw Natsume nod his head out of the corner of my eye, "Oh my God…." Hotaru cleared her throat and continued, "I've seen enough. Put your shirt back on; you're embarrassing Ruka."

I gladly obeyed. Natsume pulled my shirt over my head and I pushed my army through the sleeves. We sat back down and I was confronted with a confused look from Ruka and a very serious, but otherwise emotionless, look from Hotaru, "Very well. I understand. I will help you." This got an even more shocked and confused look from her apprentice. As for me, I felt relieved. I didn't know what I would have done if she hadn't recognized my….problem. "Ruka, take our guests to the guest room. They will be staying with us from now on."

"Uh' o-ok," he answered and stood up. We followed him out of the room and down the hall again. When we reached the room with the number 99 on it, Ruka opened the door and bid us a hurried farewell before sprinted down the hall the way we came .I wondered why.

I turned to Natsume and smiled, "Looks like we can rest for a while. They seemed trustworthy."

"Let's hope so," he said before reverting back to his cat form and hopping onto the bed in the room. That large, expensive looking oak frame bed clad with a crimson colored comforter was, for some reason, the only thing in the room. I found the light switch beside the door and switched it off. I then felt my way to the bed and climbed in. Once I had settled myself under the warm blankets, Natsume curled up beside me and I fell asleep to the rhythmic sound of rain hitting the roof.

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well, let me know what you think. i've been told the story is confusing by the people i know. please frrl free to ask if you dont understand something. and just a warning, i feel like this is a really slow paced story, so please put up with its ability to go nowhere in a whyle. i'll try to speed up the plot, but i cant say it'll help. well, see you next friday!