Chapter 7:
Natsume's POV
Days have ended, weeks are over, and before I knew it, seven months have gone by, just like that. And all this time, my one and only refuge has become Kyoko, since she was the only one on this ship who understood what I was going through, because she was going through the same things too. I knew it wasn't right to seek warmth from the wrong places, but then, Kyoko and I would be there for each other, no matter what, because she once mentioned, that she found warmth and comfort in me too, and when she looks at me, she feels like she's once again found home. Of course, knowing me, she'd never expect me to respond to those kinds of mushy stuff, because she knows that I show my response through my actions, not through my words.
"So here's the story, Machi always makes fun of me for eating like a pig, don't you think that's a little too harsh, ne Natsume-kun?"
"I dunno, but maybe that's how you came to like Sano, because no matter how much you two may be so different, you're still both pigs." I rolled my eye at her.
"Hmm, well, opposites attract, I guess." She shrugged and giggled at the thought.
I smile at her a bit while remembering the faint memory of Mikan pigging out during the Alice Festival last year. That memory was so distant that it hurt, but of course, the memory of her sunny smile still remains vivid in my mind, thanks to Kyoko, who keeps reminding me that you can never get by a day without a smile on your face.
"You really do miss them, huh?" I asked her, glancing at her direction.
"Yes, very much. The things I miss the most are Machi's cooking and Sano's insults, but I just shake it off whenever I get sad just thinking about it. But at least my memories of them could always give me strength during those sieges." She said while gazing off into the sunset. I nodded in reply.
The Zaibatsu Corp. never gives up. But I still couldn't help but feel sorry for them. I mean, they were only trying to give us students a better life, and it wasn't like they wanted to hurt anybody thought. However, as their men got fewer due to their various defeats, their sieges grew fewer too, since not much were left brave enough to stand up to the academy's "soldiers". Every time I think about it, I grow more hopeful that someday they'll take me with them and whisk me away to a better life than the one I'm living right now.
"Don't you just wish those bastards from Zaibatsu would come here and bring us out of this mess?" I sighed.
"Yup. I wanna go see Otou-san, Okaa-san, Ojii-chan, Obaa-chan, Onii-chan and everyone else back home." She joined my interlude of sighs, because she too, was longing for the comfort of home, ever since she was taken the academy when she was only six.
"Kyoko-san…" She was surprised when I suddenly called her by her last name.
"Do you think it's a good idea to escape from here and stow away into one of those ships from Zaibatsu Corp.?" I asked her, a plan concocting in my mind.
"Well, considering the major consequences we'd have to suffer doing something as reckless as that, it would be a better idea if we had this ship down, so that we won't get pursued by anybody else from the academy." She explained indifferently, as if making a ship sink wasn't something very big for her.
"Tch, smart-ass." I patted her shoulder as I walked off to the buffet table.
"Hyuuga! What was that all about? And for the last time, I told you calling me 'senpai' won't be so bad right?! Hey!" She hollered at me while she followed me to the buffet table. I guess walking off snapped her out of the trance I put her through when I mentioned something about escaping.
"Hey, answer me whe- Oooh, steak!"
"Pig."
"Hey!"
"I meant roast pig, idiot." I smacked the back of her head. Meanwhile, she let out a soft 'ow'.
Later that night…was one of the worst nights of my life. Kyoko came over to my room to check on me, being the Senpai that she was. She reminded me to take my meds on time and assured me that there won't be any sieges tonight. I felt comforted by this since my condition has worsened during these past couple of months due to overuse of my Alice, and so far, this has been the time when I used it the most. I see it as abused it the most though.
"Are you sure you're alright? How 'bout your meds, are you taking 'em?"
"You don't need to worry that much about me, I can take care of myself. I'm used to this already, so just go to bed."
"It's seven-thirty."
"Just go." I sent her away, closing the door at her before she could even open her mouth to speak. I waited for the sound of her footsteps to disappear, and as soon as they did, I slid down and started coughing like mad.
"Ugh, blood." I narrowed my eyes at the red stuff that was all over my hands.
Ruka's POV
"Oh, wipe that smug grin off your face, Pyo-, I mean, Ruka."
"Sorry, sorry." I laughed while Sakura was undoing her hair ribbons.
We were in my dorm that night, and I just won a bet we made that day. Whoever could eat the most sausage rolls wins. I won. She just passed out for five minutes.
"All done, hmph. I told you, I don't like my wearing it down, it makes me feel all…" She trailed off, remembering she was supposed to be mad at me.
"It's alright, Sakura, it suits you." I smiled at her as I took a lock of her hair, admiring the lovely chestnut brown color it held. She looked more charming than before, and I was taken aback for awhile because of how her flowing hair greatly complimented her frame.
"…Antsy… I already told you…" She flushed a bit at my comment.
"Hmm, it's late, you should get going now." I said while getting up and grabbing her by the arm. She looked at her watch and stared back at me with a confused expression. I pushed her out the door and thrust her hair ribbons at her.
"Remember, you can't go against the bet we made. You have to keep your hair down for two weeks. No cheating. And no more calling me weird names. Good night." I said rather quickly, closing the door at her face, with her hair ribbons at hand.
I lean against the door and exhale loudly. It was only eight-thirty, smooth move Ruka. How could I fall for her again? Everyone knew she had a thing with Natsume already, how could I do that to him? I slid to the floor, I feel so low right now…
Mikan's POV
I feel so low right now. I wonder if I did anything wrong to make Ruka-pyon push me out like that… Why does he have me thinking anyway? And why do I still remember the thing Natsume told me, way back?
"…Hey… Ugly girl."
"I'm not answering to you."
"Do you still plan to have that kind of hairstyle in five years' time?"
"…What?"
"That hairstyle won't be suitable in five years' time. Put your hair down."
"You… What are you... suddenly saying that kinda thing."
"Put it down. It looks better that way."
The way that slightly distant memory still clearly rang in my head made me shed a tear. I only noticed this when I felt something warm trickle down my cheek. I then instinctively wiped it off with the back of my hand.
Why do I miss him so much anyway? He's so cocky for leaving me and Ruka-pyon behind, really. I felt one more tear roll down my cheek.
I miss Hotaru too, whenever I would remember her promise that was never kept. It's been eight months already, and now where is she? There goes another tear, darn. I can't cry here, in the hallway, like right now.
I run to my room and shut the door behind me. I open my bedroom drawer and retrieve a box that was buried underneath a pile of clothes. I placed the box on my bed and started getting ready for bed. When I was finished, I quickly plopped on my bed and took out the thing inside the box.
My eyes marveled at the sight of bright lights coming from the strange contraption Hotaru left with me seven months back. The beeping was a bit loud and the lights lit up my dark room, making it seem dim. I pressed a button, letting the machine take a quick scan of my eye. It always fascinated me whenever it did that, because I never knew the mystery behind the whole eye-scanning thing and how it always found out the person we wanted to see the most.
Through the machine, I was able to see Jii-chan, Hotaru, Okaa-san (She's not allowed to see me anymore), and Natsume. However, whenever Ruka-pyon and I try to find out where Natsume is, it's as if a blanket of clouds was put over the screen, making it extremely difficult to see what that guy was up to. Nonetheless, we never failed to see how he was doing every other day or so, and even though we never knew what was really going on, we never gave up hope for that one day that blanket might just be lifted.
Hotaru's case is a real mystery. I check on her everyday, and yet all she does is stay at the lab, present in front of a group of foreign investors or sleep in her stadium-sized bedroom. If she's not doing any of this stuff, she might as well be in her own pantry, eating crabs and Gouda.
My thoughts trailed off when I saw what was happening amidst the random beeping noises and blinking lights, because there, on the screen, was another side of Hotaru I have never seen before. I could've sworn I was seeing somebody different, but I guess I wasn't mistaken.
My eyes were marveling at the sight of a raven-haired girl, sitting by the window with tears rolling down her face. She was staring through the rain that was enveloped with layers of fog and cloud. In her hands, she held a letter that looked like the one I sent to her three months ago.
"Misser Imai, zullen wij in een uur vóór de vergadering weggaan [Miss Imai, we shall be leaving in an hour before the meeting]." A foreign voice suddenly spoke from across the room. Hotaru hastily wiped her tears as I felt new ones form in my eyes. She nodded her head and smiled. For a short moment, I just watched her there, looking out the window. And while this young girl started with her silent tears again, she never knew that somewhere, on the other side of the world, I, her best friend, was silently crying with her too. This continued for awhile, until the waves of drowsiness took me over and enveloped me into a deep sleep.