[PEAR BUBBLEGUM]

Chapter Eleven: I am Who

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I woke up to the glare of the morning sun. It streamed through the cracks of the dark curtains and landed directly on my face. I tried to sit up, but my aching muscles complained and the effort was futile. Frustrated, I tried again and only managed to life my head up a feeble few inches. The sensation was horrible as if I had no control over my body.

My senses started to come back to me and settle in. I felt something obviously soft on my chest. It freaked me out and I twitched slightly. It was a …head. More precisely, it was a boy with silver-colored hair. His expression was angelic in his sleep and he sighed slightly, whispering something before the long-lashed eyes opened to a crack. He was wearing a gaudy crimson robe that looked like stepped out of a fashion show.

Then he stirred slowly, rolling over gently. Suddenly as if he had found his conscious mind, his head snapped up and gave me a sweet smile. Gingerly, he took my hand and eased me up against his shoulder.

“I...” My mouth was parched, and I felt alien to my voice. It was so strange as if I had not spoken for so long.

“Do you know who I am?” he asked quietly, his sky blue eyes fixed on me in a steady gaze.

“I...” Suddenly, the world seemed to spin around me again. My hand went to my temple instantly, before cool hands eased the confusion and pain. I searched my mind briefly, images flickering quickly through my head. But the images seemed to be blurry and unfamiliar. I couldn’t grasp the whole picture, only slight details like piercing green orbs or the faint smell of coffee.

My eyes widened, and I donned a frantic look of a prey. “ I can’t remember you. I think I know you. You look familiar- no, but…”

He had spoke again. I grasped for the words but they seemed distant.

“What?” I whispered, fear and anxiety building up. It felt wrong. Something was definitely wrong. I couldn’t remember who I was. Who was I? Who was he? Where was I? The questions built up until I felt like my mind was going to shatter into a thousand pieces. The buzz in my ear resumed, and I felt a headache building up again.

“Who are you?”

The boy looked at me, and an expression of nonchalance fell over his face. Then he tilted his head to one side and he looked at me critically.

“What do you mean?”

“I asked you a point-blank question!” Panic arose and I tried to sit up quickly. “ Who are you? Where am I?”

Exquisite eyebrows raised inquiringly before he massaged his own temple as if to ward off a headache. When he spoke again, his words were decidedly slow and carefully chosen.

“Let me ask you, who are you?”

“I am...” My voice trailed off. “ I am...who am I?”

Very slowly, I started to shirk from him. He was a stranger. I had no idea where I was. I had no idea who he was. Worse yet, I had no idea who I was. I inched away from him, until I was huddled in a ball with my arms wrapped around my knee at the edge of the bed. I wanted _out_ of the strange, alien and cold place. Everything was starting to weigh me down and my mind reeled.

“You mean you don’t remember anything?” His voice was light and testing.

“I...my mind...” I shook my head, stands of hair flying in different directions. All these questions were overbearing.

He moved so he was close to me. He was so close to me. He drew even closer until his face was only inches from mine. I could feel his warm breath on my cheeks. Slowly, he leaned in, resting his pale cheek on mine. I stiffened involuntarily for a brief second and then relaxed as his hands came around my neck. When he spoke, his voice was choked and emotional.

“Ruka...I thought I lost you. Don’t leave me.”

That didn’t explain anything. Who was he? Why was he...

Suddenly a pair of emerald green eyes flashed in my mind. Unconsciously, I pushed the silver-haired boy from me. I had no idea who I was. The only thing I knew was that I had to find the person whom the green eyes belonged to.

“Ruka! Ruka! Where are you going?”

***

Most normal pedestrians weren’t alarmed at all as a young girl in her teens pushed by and started running. It probably was a movie set or something. But of course some heads turned and eyebrows were raised at her attire. She was wearing fluffy slippers and Tarepanda pj’s with a parka thrown hastily over it.

A little girl tugged on her mother’s dress and pointed to the teenager.

“Mommy, is she an actress?”

The mother looked up and her eyes widened for a moment before shaking her head gently and patting her daughter. The little girl was about seven or eight. Her pale blonde hair contrasted with the violet-blue eyes.

“I don’t think so, honey.” Then the mother whispered to herself, “ Poor girl. It seems like the curse’s getting harsher now.”

They watched as the girl hid in a alleyway. Not too shortly, a silver-haired young man in a crimson Mandarin-style outfit came running by. He looked around desperately, the light blue eyes skimming the crowd. He seemed hesitant before heading in the opposite direction, where he had come from. By now, the mother was completely certain who the girl was. Taking her toddler’s hand in hers, she walked towards the alleyway.

Soft sobbing could be heard. The dark-haired girl was huddled in a corner with her legs pulled in and arms wrapped around her knees. Suddenly, the little blonde girl slipped her hand from her mother’s and walked towards the crying brunette.

“Marika-” Her mother was cut off as she watched the younger girl approach the older one.

Marika knelt down until she was eye-level with Ruka. Blonde curls tumbled over her shoulder as she reached out and gently placed her hand on the girl’s cheek. The sobbing stopped as Ruka looked up in surprise. The tears had made streaks down her cheek and once she had stopped crying, the tear drops fell into Marika’s outstretched hand.

“Haruka...I can help you.”

Ruka stared, frozen in shock. The little girl in front of her smiled again. It was only now that Ruka noticed how mature her eyes looked. It was as if a much older and wiser person was trapped in a child’s body. It was eerie in a sense, because she suddenly felt young near this child.

***

“Who are you?” I whispered.

“The questions isn’t who am I. The question is who are you?” Marika stopped and tilted her head to one side. “ Do you have any idea what’s happened during your coma?”

“No...” I said weakly.

“You’ve been in a coma for merely 6 months. It’s not that bad,” she gave me an encouraging smile. “ But a lot of things has happened during this time. Since it seems like the Game is unfair at the moment, I guess it’s not breaking the rules to help you out. Besides I’m more like ‘bending the rules’.”

“What game?”

Her lips pursed in a pout before turning into a mysterious smile. Marika’s eyes were mischievous as she looked at me.

“You’ll find out soon enough. But for now, a little bit of a reality check would help.” She reached towards me, her skin so white almost like porcelain. In a whole, she resembled a fragile Victorian doll. Her small hand rested gently on my temple before she closed her eyes.

Suddenly, everything came back to me. There weren’t any magical poofs or dramatic flair. I just *knew* what had happened. Everything came racing back to me in a river of thoughts, flashbacks, and brief images and glimpses of faces that I had know. It was like seeing my whole life and existence flashing across my eyes in a matter of a second. Then I had everything stored in my mind again.

Marika withdrew her hand and then peered at me with worried violet blue eyes. Her voice was quiet as she asked me questions gently, as if not to alarm me.

“What is your name?”

“My name is Idou Haruka.”

“Who do the green eyes belong to?”

I hesitated. It felt like there was something warm around my heart for that brief instant. I brushed it away and whispered softly, “ Tatsuya...” Images flickered in my mind. Tatsuya laughing his sweet and sometimes sarcastic laughter. There was him peering at me in concern, and then his green eyes dancing brilliantly as he smirked cutely.

“Who is Black-kun?”

“I-I don’t know.”

Marika nodded as if she was pleased. “ Good, so we can continue the Game again. Haruka, you’ll walk back to Koriyami to find Tatsuya waiting for you under the cherry blossom tree. After this is over, you won’t remember my face. You’ll know something happened today. I’m sorry that I can’t give you back the six months you were in a coma...but this is the best I can do.”

Before she closed her eyes again I had one more question for her.

“Wait! Can you please tell me who Black-kun is? And Tatsuya...”

Marika’s eyes softened slightly as she brushed a stray strand of hair away from my face. “ Sometimes it’s better to let go of the past. You have to hold onto the present...hold on to what’s most precious to you.” She flashed me a smile quirky smile.

“Now...go back to where you belong, Haruka.”

***

I spotted the cherry blossom tree, its branches bare. It was winter I discovered in numb delight as snowflakes landed in my outstretched hand. A figure stood under the tree, just like what Marika told me. He stood there in a relaxed and casual manner, hands thrust deep into his pocket and was whistling. His attention seemed to be fixed on the sky as if waiting for a message from above.

It took all my self-control to not scream his name and start crying. But as he tilted his head towards my direction, he froze and stopped in mid-whistle. We remained in that position for a few minutes, just staring at each other. The snowflakes fell gently in the background, and I felt a mix of emotions swirling around me. Happiness, numbness, sorrow, surprise, shock, and all of it fell apart as I ran to him.

He hugged me tightly.

The next hour we spent laughing, crying (actually that was only me), and it felt so right to be with Tatsuya again. It didn’t matter that I was starting to get cold from the snow or that a couple of people stared at us as we walked through the snow and back towards the snow.

“Hey, Haruka...” the toffee-boy said.

I turned, “ Wha-”

He cut me off with a brief kiss. That was my few moments in heaven. Feminine side of me showing, I could feel myself blushing hotly. I probably resembled a tomato by now. Turning his head away, a faint flush came over Tatsuya’s face. I looked at his face for a moment before looking away. I could feel his gaze before he looked away. Then we looked at each other...

And broke out in laughter.

[Author’s Note]

I guess you could say that this is a belated X-mas present. ^^ I don’t know how many of my readers are still here but I finally got over my 5 month writer’s block. Yay! I know that this chapter is a little bit confusing, and an exasperation after my long hiatus. And I kind of rushed 3 events together. Bah. The whole curse’ll be explained later but for now you know that all the characters are part of something called ‘The Game’. Guess reading Battle Royale influenced slightly. XD

Thank you everyone for reviewing. Please, keep reading this story. I know I can be downright annoying with my infrequent (*cough cough*) updates but I’m really busy sometimes. If you have any comments, suggestions or complaints you can email me: laforet_bunny (at) yahoo (dot) com.

Happy new years!

                                                                                                   -kamichou