Efflorescence
by Autumn Win-Dow
Chapter Twenty-Four: Perceptive Wives and Alternate Names
Hotaru raised an eyebrow, skeptical about the envelope being handed to her.
"I'd assumed that you'd keep it after taking it away so unconventionally."
Natsume shrugged, before tossing the manila envelope onto the couch and making his way to his desk. "I just don't understand why you would want to keep that away from me. I mean, what would I do with a stack of student profiles?"
He heard no reply, and opted to raise no suspicion in his mind as he opened his drawer to take out a piece of paper and a fountain pen. Upon starting to write, he paused.
Natsume did not know which name he would have to address her as.
Damn alternate names, he thought to himself as he began to write without a care.
"There's one missing." The man heard his wife's monotonous voice break through his train of thought.
"What?"
Hotaru rolled her eyes as she closed the envelope - to which he had not noticed her pick up - and dropped it on his desk, as it covered the slightly inky paper.
"There were fifty five files in there before. Now there are fifty four."
Natsume scoffed, hiding his surprise, as he set his pen down. "And? Are you saying that I took one out and kept it for myself?"
The ebony haired woman nodded to herself, muttering something under her breath, before staring at him with the same cold eyes since the wedding. "I wasn't saying that. But seeing as you're so caught up in this, it's probably the truth. In fact, I'm sure it is."
Out of all the women in the world, I just had to marry one with perception. "Enlighten me on why I would possibly keep an ex-student's file, Imai."
"Despite me being your wife, I'm thoroughly glad that you still call me by my maiden name. It breaks off any possible relation to idiots like yourself," she calmly spoke, "and for your much needed enlightenment, I happened to memorise all the names in the folder, and I know exactly which one you took."
Suddenly, Hotaru picked up the folder, and to Natsume's horror, a name was printed on the once clean surface.
He looked down at his paper. The name was smudged and copied onto the folder when she had dropped it.
"Mikan, Mikan Sakura," his wife sighed as she stared at the folder with a smug expression, "this is playing along perfectly."
Natsume could only look down at his lap, damning himself for not writing 'Kurike' instead.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"I told you, I was okay from the start."
"But your face-"
"My jacket was stuffy. Please, don't worry."
After getting a confirmation from a doctor that Ruka was not sick, Mikan still began to pester him on their way back to the ochama. As they neared the building, they saw a curious figure standing at the door.
Mikan bowed to the woman as she spoke, "Hello, are you looking for anyone?"
The woman turned, and the two were slightly overwhelmed by the deep shade of purple which stared at them.
"I'm looking for a Mikan Sakura… and judging from your expression, that must be you."
A/N: I updated. Phew. I was late this time round because I had exams for study for. But now I'm back because they're over. :)