I owe everyone a big apology for dissapearing for a few months, I'm really, really sorry; unfortunately I'm susceptible to writer's block, and although I do try to stave it off by writing serveral fanfics at a time, it still does get to me T.T

I will try to update more regularly but for the reasons above, no promises...but I will promise at least one chapter a year -.-"

ooookaay...this one I'll dedicate to the readers, with a special emphasis on the reviewers ^^

Thank you very much to my Reviewers:

anim3gurl

DamageReport

Xxdarkness-angelxX

lalalalasha

Fallen-Angel-RM

akadabra-kaching

Violet spirit

Animechicki

-Thanks for the really long review, I think you've got a lot of great ideas but unfortunately I've already got the plot for this all planned out :( But you should use them in your new fanfic, I'm going to read it right after I finish uploading this!

Rika Yume

Comicworm

Kazu-neko

CrimsonxHazel

Chronos Conspiracy CK -I know, I know, I took ages to update, but please don't murder me (on knees begging, with puppy dog eyes and all)

moonacre99

bunnyjumps

azngirl97

astrid -sorry the Izuma/Azumi thing was a typo, I'll go back and fix it one day...

Coo27

It's been awhile since I've written, so the writing style may be slightly weird at the start, and to get over my writers block I started to turn this into a mystery...oh well.

Drowning Out the Echoes

Chapter 10

Mikan was fuming at her ears as she walked down the corridors. Narumi was finally back from a week of 'school business' and she had been looking forward to squeezing certain information from him. Yet when she walked into homeroom the class was, as usual, being supervised by a cowering Fukutan. After listening to Mikan rage for ten minutes, Hotaru finally gave up on reading her technical manual in peace and slammed the book shut. "If you want to talk to him that much then just go to his office." she said before walking past the meekly protesting Fukutan and leaving the classroom. This seemed to be a sign to all of the students because they all followed suit with varying degrees of hesitation. Mikan gave the teacher a quick glance before leaving the room to find Narumi's office.

Later she would say that all she had to do to find his office was follow the trail of florid perfume, but in actuality she wondered around for half an hour before swallowing her pride and asking a passer-by.

Despite her efforts, when she finally found herself knocking on the surprisingly sensible door, no one answered. she tried the handle and, upon finding it unlocked, cracked the door open an inch and peeked inside. It looked, with the exception of a few garish pieces of stationary, like a normal office. Papers scattered over the wooden desk, a few pens resting in an old mug, a half empty glass of water; nothing out of the ordinary. Perhaps it was because of this ordinariness that Mikan found herself stepping into the office and closing the door behind her. She walked over to the desk and began to inspect the photos propped up at the back. They were standard school photos, featuring Narumi and whatever class had been unfortunate enough to get him. Impersonal, clinical. She quickly glanced towards the door before rummaging through the draws. She knew it was unlikely, but if there was even a small chance she could find out about her mother, she would take it.

As she rummaged through his belongings, she tried to classify each draw: a draw for stationary, a draw for handouts and lesson plans, a draw devoted to makeup and earrings, a draw with future class tests (this one tempted Mikan, but she was strong in her resolve), and a draw filled with sparkling blue wool (?). She pulled open the last draw and her eyes narrowed. There was a small photo in a frame lying on top of a stack of documents. She picked up the photo and closely examined it. A woman was smiling, looking adoringly up at someone to her left who had his arm around her. Mikan couldn't see who it was; the photo had been folded in half to fit it in the frame, or perhaps the frame had been specially selected to omit the object of the woman's adoration. Mikan gave a growl of frustration before flipping the frame over to remove the backing. As she unfolded the photo she gave the completed scene a cursory glance before reading the cursive writing on the back.

Dear Naru,

I'm sorry for not getting in touch earlier; it's difficult with the old man sniffing around, but I just had to tell you: I'm pregnant! We spent all night arguing over what we'll call our baby, we decided Minoru if it's a boy and Mikan if it's a girl.

Mikan froze. She quickly flipped the creased photo around and stared at the couple who she now believed to be her parents. She could see how she resembled them, but no matter how hard she tried she could not remember them. If it weren't for the writing on the back, the people in the photo would have been strangers. She shrugged, once again flipped over the photo and skimmed through the rest of the short letter. She found nothing of importance. No names, no places, it was strangely cryptic. Mikan gave her parents one last look before sliding the photo back into the frame and setting it aside to inspect the documents. She picked up the one on top of the pile and started to read.

Anjo,

In regard to your request, I do not believe it is possible to reverse the decision. The Department of Family Issues has made it clear that they believe Eito Azumi's claim for the guardianship of Mikan Azumi to be legitimate. Although, as you correctly pointed out, Kazu Yukihira is also a close relation and therefore a possible candidate for guardianship of said girl, there is, as of yet, no proof that Izumi Yukihira and Yuka Azumi

"I didn't think you were the type to sneak around." said a voice from behind her. For one horrifying moment Mikan thought Narumi had caught her, but the wave of relief that had swelled when she realised it wasn't broke upon recognising the voice.

"Katsutoshi, I'm not...th-the door was open so I thought I could find..." stumbled Mikan desperately blacking his view to messily replace the contents of the draw. On an impulse she stuffed the document she had been reading deep into her pocket before continuing her excuse. "I thought I could find next week's class test, because I'm not very good at general ability tests and stuff." Mikan lowered her head as if ashamed.

"Oh, they're in the top drawer, and while you're at it, pass me the mid-year on Hamlet." Mikan's mouth dropped open, it sounded like he did this all the time. He caught her look and grinned.

"Me and-" he faltered before starting again "I used to do this all the time, but then Narumi caught me and put an Alice lock on his door. But your nullification took care of that so I'm just taking advantage of the opportunity." he said. Mikan shrugged before retrieving his requested document, and, just to fool him (or so she told herself) the upcoming test Narumi had promised.

"Thanks, and, just a heads up, you should put that drawer you were looking through when I came in back the way it was; he'll notice." Mikan knew then that he knew that she was not here for the class test. She watched as the door shut behind him and as she listened to the sound of the cheerful tune he was whistling fade down the corridor, she wondered if he was an enemy or an ally, or neither.

Slowly she began to tidy up the drawer, all the time mulling over the letter that was now in her pocket. Something about disputed guardianship, and relatives she had that she'd never known she had. She gave the picture of her mother one last look before gently placing it on the stack of paper and closing the drawer. There was something strange going on, and Mikan would not rest until she figured out what.

Sorry for any typos, I hate proofreading my work so...and it's a bit short, but I didn't want to drag the chapter on just for the sake of making it longer. And there's no Natsum T.T trust me, I'm just as distressed as you are.

REVIEW! (please)