Author Note: Here is the first chapter of a short story. It is sort of inspired by a friend of mine. He would never belive it he inspired this story. Enjoy!
Full Summary: What happens when you know someone is yours with a feeling so strong it;s like a fire lit in your very soul? Ask Mikan. She has been dreaming about a man for a week whom she knows is hers. Now if only she could find him. But he just isn't that easy to find.
Chapter 1
I have to find him. He's mine!
I have to really really find him! He's seriously MINE!
I have searched everywhere but I cannot find him. He was not where I work. He was not where I studied. He was not where I jogged in the park, he was not at the swimming pool.
He is not at the clubs, not at the parties.
I feel hollow for I cannot even whisper his name on cold nights. Because I have no idea what his name is.
I search and I search. I can never find him.
"Are you okay Mikan?" my friend asked.
"Yes." I answered, even as my eyes searched for that elusive face. I wanted what was mine.
"What are you looking for?"
"You won't understand." I said distractedly.
"Try me. You've been like this all week."
"Well he's been at it all week." I snapped and she stared at me with raised eyebrows.
"Who?"
"You don't know him. Hell, I don't know him." I retorted.
"Mikan, you're scaring me."
I turned to look back at her. I clutched my hands together.
"I know. I am scaring me too. I dream every night, and I dream the same thing. This guy is there. And I know that he is mine in some way, and every night I wake up before I can get to him, so every time I wake, I am craving him. Like a junkie, I am craving a guy who does not even freaking exist." I snapped, my voice getting louder with each word until I was yelling.
She was staring at me open mouthed.
"Uh.. Mikan..."
"I'm going home." I said coldly, and grabbed my purse before storming out of the cafe.
I got outside when it hit me again.
It was like a full sucker punch in my gut. I could see nothing but him. He was chained in the distance, in a wasteland of a world. A strange mist swirled around him, and his head was bowed.
I needed him to look up. I needed to see his face.
I needed to know what he looked like so I could find him.
"LOOK UP!" I screamed at him, but he did not hear me. Could not hear me.
I could feel myself slipping, but I knew I just had to hold on a little bit longer, and I would be able to make him look up. But I was too weak.
The world went dark.
"She has not been sleeping well. That's all. Weakness and sleep deprivation. A little rest and she'll be as good as new." The Doctor was talking to my Uncle.
I sighed as I stared at the IV stuck in my arm.
It was annoying.
I closed my eyes, but his image was burned into my mind. I had dreamed of him all my life, but in bits and pieces. Little snatches that I would not allow to intrude upon my life.
But all that changed a week ago. Now I was dreaming of him, like never before.
I was doing it even when I was awake. I was confusing my reality. That was so not good.
Still, all I could think was that I needed to see his face.
I needed him free.
I needed him.
"How're you Mikan?" My Uncle Narumi asked. I've been living with him since my parents died in a car crash two years ago.
"Is there something about my parents, my birth, or me in general that you should tell me?" I asked him.
"No. Are you feeling loopy from all the sleep meds?" He asked smiling.
"No. I just want back what is mine." I answered, and to me it made perfect sense.
"She's talking about taking back what is hers... That cannot be right. We thought that she would not remember anything... She turned eighteen a week ago. There was nothing before that... Maybe it was just the meds talking." My Uncle was trying to be quiet while he talked on the phone, but my hearing has always been real good.
"Yes. Maybe it's best if we keep her under for a while until this phase passes away." He muttered.
I hadn't bothered opening my eyes so I didn't have to close them now. I just waited until I heard him leave. Then I left too. It was not that hard, especially since my normal clothes were in the cupboard.
I had to find him. Soon.
I was two blocks from the hospital when the world started shifting again. I could see him.
I was not making the same mistake again. I ran into an alley and hid behind a dumpster. If I fainted, I was not going to be found easy.
I could still see him. No matter how I moved in this world, that one was unaffected. Like... Like I was it's axis.
I stared at him. He was still looking down.
I suddenly knew what would make him look up.
"MINE!" I yelled at him with all my strength.
He looked up, and my startled brown eyes met ruby red eyes. His face was beautiful, yet you would never mistake him for a woman. His hair I knew had been black, but it took on a life of its own when it framed his face. He had a long nose, a strong chin, and high cheek bones. It was a face you would not forget as long as you lived.
I extended my hand to him.
He was chained, but I knew he could break those chains.
For me, he could do much much more than that.
How did I know that?
No idea.
I just knew.
He slowly stood up. He was at least six feet tall. He was dressed in Arabian clothes, as if he had been taken in from the desert and then chained. He lightly shook himself and the chains fell away.
He tossed his head, and his hear fell behind him. It was only now I realized that his hair was waist long. He calmly walked towards me. His eyes were glittering, and as he walked, his clothing changed.
The desert boots turned to designer boots, the loose pants turned to jeans. The flowing shirt became a silk shirt, but it was still half open. His hair flowed behind him like a dark sheet, and a single ruby ring appeared on his right hand.
He was almost in front of me.
"Are you mine?" I whispered.
"Irrevocably." He told me with a small smile.
"Good. I was waiting, and it hurt." I whispered, and somehow I wanted him to hug me, and I wanted to cry my eyes out, as if I had truly, really loved him, and was seeing him after a really really long time.
He knelt in front of me.
"I promised not to look at anything, not the sun, not the stars, not the moon, and not the sky, until you claimed me as yours again. I fulfilled my promise milady." He said softly, looking into my eyes.
"How long?" I asked.
"Just a few millennia. Do not fret. Now you are finally back." He murmured.
"Millennia..."
"It was nothing. Tell me, how are you?" he asked.
"You know that I do not remember anything. I just know that you're somehow an integral part of me." I told him.
He smiled. "My apologies. I am called Natsume. What is your name milady?"
"Mikan Sakura." I answered.
"Well Mikan, would you like to go back to your world? The wasteland is not really a good place." He asked.
"Uh yeah, okay." I nodded, and just like that we were in the alley, behind the dumpster.
He looked around curiously. "Umm, we should get away from here." I told him.
He nodded, and allowed me to lead us out of there. I was still wobbly from the drugs and from my fainting spree, but adrenaline is a wonderful thing. So is having a gorgeous but clueless man with you.
I was halfway home before I realized that it may not be such a good idea. I turned to Natsume.
"Umm Natsume.. we have a problem." Then I proceeded to tell him about the conversation I had over heard.
"I don't know who was on the other end of the phone, but I don't know if we can go home or not." I finished.
He stared at me for a long moment, before he nodded.
"I am not equipped to understand you. Will you allow me access to your memories so that I understand you better? As it stands, I do not know what phone means. I am sure that such problems will keep coming up. Of course, if you could take me where I can have access to scrolls, that will be fine too."
"Scrolls? Oh you mean books... I have to introduce you to a computer. You know what.. learn what you can from me, and then you'll know how you can learn more." I said confidently.
"I will try not to access your personal memories. Whatever I see, you will too." He said gently, before he stepped close. I looked up at him. I didn't know him. He was not human. He could be anything. I still trusted him. Blindly.
He did try to not learn the personal stuff, but he did go through the phone conversation. I was feeling very fuzzy at the end of this, and he picked me up like I weighed nothing.
"We go home." He said decisively.
"I found you like this, and you asked me to bring you home. That is our story. You go through your scolding, and then go upstairs to your room. Then I sneak in through the window. All right?" he asked.
"All right." I answered, feeling faint. What was it now, thrice, in a day? Yuck!
"I'll heal you when I see you upstairs." He told me kindly.
"Mmm Humm." I muttered.
"Mikan!" Uncle Narumi cried out as soon as he opened the door. He allowed Natsume to carry me in.
"I was so worried. What were you thinking, running away from the hospital like that. Who does that? I am taking you right back!" He said angrily, but I could see the relief and genuine concern on his face.
"I don't like it there. I'll get better at home. All I need is sleep. Even the Doc said so." I told him from where I was lying down on the sofa.
"Maybe you should let her stay at home. She'll probably run away again." Natsume said in his quiet voice.
"Who're you?" My Uncle asked, as if noticing him for the first time.
"I found her, and when she asked me to, I brought her home. Won't you let her stay home, Sir?" he asked politely.
Uncle Narumi frowned at him, then sighed in defeat.
"You would only run away again, right Mikan?" he asked and I nodded. "You sure you're okay?" he asked again, and I nodded again.
"Okay. Let me help you go up to your room. Then I'll call the hospital." He said, looking exasperated.
"If you like I can carry her to her room." Natsume asked. I could see my Uncle debating. Let a strange guy go up to my room, but one who could easily carry me, or he could support me, but I would have to take some of my weight. The lesser evil would win.
"Please. It's right up the stairs." He said, finally deciding. I guess my well being trumped the rules.
Natsume carried me easily. He used his nifty magic to change me from my street clothes into Pj's and then he went back downstairs. I heard him talk to my Uncle before he left the house.
Then my Uncle came up.
"I called them and told them you came home. You're okay and you won't be coming back to the hospital. I'll go there tomorrow morning to take care of the formalities." He told me, as she stroked my hair back.
"You changed clothes awfully quick." He frowned.
"See, not as sick as you think."
He chuckled. "I see that. So you found yourself quite a knight in shining armour. You know him?"
"Yes." I answered truthfully.
"He looked older than you."
"He is."
"Okay. Just be careful." He patted my forehead and went downstairs, closing the door gently behind him. I guess whatever he wanted to say about Natsume was going to wait until he thought I was feeling up to it.
I counted to five, before Natsume was there. He sat on the edge of my bed, and reached up to lay his palm on my forehead. Instantly I felt better. As in, I could run the marathon, better.
"Do you really believe that I am yours?" he asked, his voice was soft, the same as it always was. But his eyes were vulnerable for the first time.
"Yes." I answered, sitting up. His hand fell away, but I took it in mine. It seemed like the right thing to do.
He smiled, and it was the most beautiful thing I had seen in my entire life.
He leaned in lightly kissed my forehead. It was a simple brush of his lips, but it was the most memorable kiss of my life.
"I am yours, and yours alone. I will come for you when the day comes." He told me. He stood up, and with all the grace of a royal courtier he bowed to me and kissed the back of my hand. Then just as quickly as he had appeared, he was gone. I knew he was not coming back any time soon. How? No idea. But I just knew. Knowing did not make it any easier on my breaking heart.