Disc: I don't own G.A.
You have to find a way to laugh a little bit each day despite everything, or your heart will simply run out of the joy that makes it go. -Daoud Hari
The Fifth Encounter: Goodbye
"Mikan is missing. Her parents called me and asked me if I saw her or not. They told me that Mikan ran out of the house after getting in an argument with them."
She has to be alright, Natsume thought. His eyes were getting hot and it took all of his effort to grind his teeth and not cry out. He never saw this development coming. He was sure that Mikan was alright the day when they last saw each other, but now they just dropped this news that she was missing?
Natsume could only run, not caring that it was cold enough that his knees were starting to go numb, nor that the ice was forming on his every step. The lad thought of the places where Mikan could be: the park, the cafe, the school, and even the alley near her house. But she was nowhere to be seen, and that made Natsume increasingly worried about the lass.
The raven-haired lad stopped in front of this big building and in his field of vision, he could see the blaring sound of a siren and the glaring lights red and blue. Ambulances were parked and some of them just arrived with new patients for the hospital. Nurses were getting out as their shifts ended, but the edifice was not lacking with life as several windows were still lit up.
It was already dark and the dimmed light from afar didn't help Natsume, so he took more steps forward until he could make out a figure sitting on the sidewalk nearby. The confused fellow ran without thinking towards the figure, thinking that it might be Mikan. He was right, though. It was Mikan.
"Mikan?" Natsume asked softly. He slowed his pace like he was approaching a small cornered animal. Mikan didn't lift her head up, and Natsume could make out how she tucked in her knees to her chest and her hair was in disarray.
"What happened?" the lad questioned her and he slowly sat next to Mikan who still had her face buried between her knees and chest.
"You told me that I've saved your life before, right?" Mikan suddenly spoke that it startled Natsume. But what surprised him more was the fact that the lass had asked him a question that he found quite irrelevant to their situation. Not until Mikan spoke again.
"You met the old me."
"What...?" Natsume trailed off. His eyes widened and his eyebrows scrunched up in confusion.
"I was here in this hospital." Mikan started. She looked up to him with bloodshot eyes and Natsume sat next to her and began to pat her back to comfort her. She was calm, but the lad felt like there was a storm brewing inside of the brunette beside him.
"Why don't we go home for now?" Natsume suggested. He noticed that Mikan was wearing a jacket and a pair of boots, but her lips were turning a bit blue that it made him worry. Just how long has she been there, that he didn't know, so he wanted to take her to a shelter where she could warm herself up.
"I got in a car accident two years ago, and I was brought her in this very hospital. I think," Mikan looked at him, "this was where I met you. But I don't remember anything. They told me that I got a surgery, and as a side-effect, I have a temporary amnesia."
Natsume swallowed, hard. Now, he felt like it was partially his fault that Mikan was like this; because he mentioned about how she saved his life before.
"Can you tell me how we met?" Mikan asked him. Natsume couldn't possibly resist and hide anything from her anymore. Even if this would confuse her, at least she would know everything.
He rested his elbows on his knees and stared far ahead. He began telling her his story, "When I was in middle school, I would come visit to this hospital every single day. My mom had cancer and she was confined here. I took care of her, and my sister, Aoi, was with our dad. My parents were divorced, and I hated my dad. I still do."
"Then...," Mikan trailed off, her eyes focused on Natsume.
"My mom died, and my dad came to look at her for one last time. I was angry and I vented my anger on him. Then, when I realized what I had done, what monster I showed to Aoi, I was ashamed. I felt like I lost everything that day, and I attempted to do something stupid," Natsume laughed humorlessly.
Mikan looked away, she felt like her tears would come out.
"I met you. You were at the rooftop and even threw yourself at me before I could even jump from there," he pointed at the peak of the hospital, "I was really surprised. Then, you told me something that made me think, 'What a dumbass', because you said, "Natsume made eye contact with Mikan, "You told me, "If I made it through my surgery, then I'll be your friend, so you won't be lonely." That...really encouraged me everyday."
Mikan gasped for air, and she shook her head as if to shake away her confusion. But it didn't work.
"I still don't remember," Mikan cried out in despair. Natsume put his arms around her and she sobbed uncontrollably.
Several minutes passed and the lad thought that they should go because it was already freezing outside. He noticed that Mikan had already ceased her crying and he tried to stir her up, but there was no movement.
"Mikan?" Natsume called out in panic. He started to shake her but there was no response. He then realized that she might have had lost her consciousness. He poised himself to carry Mikan on his back and it took a couple of minutes to it because he was worried that she would fall.
When Mikan was secured on his back, he carried her on his back and called out to a nurse who was about to get into her car. She hurriedly assisted him and the nurse called out for more help and they fastened Mikan to one of the hospital beds.
Natsume called Hotaru on the way and he had the suspicion that the latter also called Mikan's parents. They put Mikan in one of the emergency rooms and Natsume wasn't able to do anything and his knees gave away, forcing him to just sit down outside of the room. He didn't know how many minutes have passed since the moment he stared at the white ceilings of the hospital. The smell of disinfectant clogged his nose and the voices around him became a buzz.
"...atsume? Natsume?"
The raven-haired boy opened his eyes and a blurry image of Hotaru came into his vision. When thoughts of what happened had came back to him, his eyes widened and he sat up straight.
"Where's Mikan?" Natsume asked frantically. He finally noticed Hotaru standing next to him, and a man and a woman behind her, who might be Mikan's parents. "Hotaru?" he asked confusedly. His mind was still in chaos and Hotaru tried to calm him down.
"The doctor talked to us, and I saw you here asleep," Hotaru told him.
"How is Mikan?"
Hotaru had this forlorn expression that made Natsume's heart skip some beats.
"She's okay for now," the lass responded. The woman behind Hotaru came in forward.
"I'm Mikan's...mom, Serina. I heard about you from Imai-san. Thank you for bringing her here, and for being there for that child," the mom told him. At this point, she already had tears in her eyes and Natsume suddenly had the urge to apologize.
"Mikan, " Serina started, "she's not our...real child. We adopted her because my mother told me that her good friend wants someone to take care of that child. And we did. But Mikan found out about it. She also found out that she had a memory loss after her accident," she told them.
It came in as a shock to Natsume and Hotaru that it only left them flabbergasted. They didn't know whether to feel bad for this woman, or dislike her because she had put Mikan in pain because of their lies.
"So that's why she ran away," Hotaru continued albeit a bit matter-of-fact. Natsume finally fit in all the pieces of the puzzle together and he could only feel bad that he couldn't even save Mikan from what she was feeling at that time.
"What if she remembers? Why did you even hide about the accident from her?" Natsume asked, his suspicion was rising every second. Mikan's foster parents were sure uncomfortable about the topic which made it look like they had done something they shouldn't have.
"Are you still hiding something from her?" Hotaru asked incredulously. Her eyebrows were merging together and she couldn't hide the loathing in her voice. Natsume couldn't blame her because from what it looked like, Mikan was Hotaru's only true friend.
"I... will tell everything to Mikan once she wakes up," the father said, putting some support on the mother. "You two have to rest first. Go, and we'll call you when she wakes up," the man told them.
Natsume was about to protest, but Hotaru pulled his sleeve up roughly. It was the first time he saw Hotaru display such agonizing expression that he had to resist his mouth from saying more. They left the hallway and out of the hospital with Natsume glancing behind his shoulder many times until Mikan's foster parents disappeared from his sight.
"Why didn't you press them to tell us everything?" the lad asked the expressionless girl in front of him once they were out of the building. They started walking and there were a long period of silence between the two of them.
"Mikan is our friend, and it will be unfair for her if she hears the truth after us. She has to be the first one to hear it. And besides, we're only her friends, and we can't meddle with their family affairs, unless this episode happens again," Hotaru said; she was composed that it almost fooled Natsume into thinking that the lass wasn't feeling a bit sorry for what was going on. But he knew that she was feeling pain for her friend.
"We just have to wait," Natsume finally decided on. And both of them walked home, leaving their footsteps behind and hoping that a certain brunette would follow them with her bright smile. But what they didn't know was that the smile they were wishing to see, will never return.
For two days, Mikan didn't wake up and the worry of Natsume and Hotaru grew. It was taking a toll on her body, since she wasn't eating properly or doing her basic everyday routine. Mikan woke up twice, but only to fall back asleep. But they had good expectations for tomorrow. Mikan's foster parents introduced themselves properly to them and they told them stories about Mikan before the accident and how she was adopted. Natsume found out that Mikan was only a year old at the time when they began taking care of her, and she had to stay with her grandparents because of their work. It was like that for two days.
The next day Natsume woke up early and went to the hospital at ten in the morning. He had some flowers with him, even though he knew that Hotaru would also bring some for Mikan. He strolled through the hallway thinking of what he should tell Mikan when she wakes up.
He stopped in front of room twenty-eleven and gave out a big exhale. He then turned the knob and pushed it open. He walked through a mini-hallway before reaching the main room. His beloved brunette was nowhere in sight, and only Serina and Narumi Anjou were sitting on the chairs.
"Where's Mikan?" Natsume asked, and he couldn't stop his voice from trembling.
"They took her," Serina said in a raspy voice like she had been crying. The red nerves in her eyes were visible and the puffiness were fresh. Natsume's hand clenched by her side, crushing the stems of the camellia.
"What do you mean 'they took her'? Who took her?" Natsume's voice was rising, anger was swelling up in his chest.
"Mikan's real parents," Narumi answered. Natsume's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to talk, only to voice out nothing.
"Mikan's parents, Yuka and Izumi, took their daughter this morning," the man told him.
Natsume snapped and he blew out. Hotaru jumped in surprise when Natsume slammed his fist on the wall, and the poor lass had only came in.
"What's going on?" Hotaru yelled out. Natsume told her, and Hotaru slumped on the ground. Ruka suddenly came out of the blue, but his presence didn't ease the tension inside of the room.
"What's happening?" Ruka asked. He finally got the chance to visit Mikan only to end up not seeing her.
Natsume turned sharply to Serina and Narumi who looked at him with sober expressions and serious eyes.
"Tell us, who... who is Mikan?" Natsume asked, forcing his voice to come out steady and hard.
Narumi didn't have any trace of humor, but only a complete solemn look. He then spoke and slapped the unbelievable and cruel truth right on their faces.
"Mikan Sakura is Mikan Yukihara. And she's the daughter of the business tycoon, Izumi Yukihara."
A/N: Now, finally starting to turn the gears of the story XD I'm sorry for the very late update, I had been busy with interims exams and I haven't had the time to write stories D: I'm sorry D: Well, stay tune and find out about what's going to happen ^x^ The story is just starting :D
-CrimsonHazelEyes