Our Promise

Our Promise/3/Dandelion Field

He twist and turned in his king-sized bed full of blankets and somehow ended up on the ground. He couldn't sleep at all. All he could think about was Mikan blushing as she received her necklace. Oh what he would give to see that expression once again.

So since it was only around 6 in the morning, he decided that he would go out and sit by the Sakura trees.

"What are you doing, onee-san?" He heard as he made his way through the trees. There was barely light out so at first he had to squint until his eyes adjusted.

"Aoi?" He questioned.

She had her blanket and teddy bear walking beside her, he was her body guard(Don't question it).

"I'm just taking a walk... Did I wake you up?" He picked her up and held her in his arms. She held on to his neck softly and placed her head on his shoulder. She was very small so he could easily carry her.

"I couldn't sleep."

"Hm, I'll take you back then." He decided and carried her all the way back.

As he got back, he saw that Mikan had already started to fix their beds and even clean around.

"Natsume-sama and princess!" She bowed down before them and started once again to fix the bed. "Can I help you with anything?"

The prince was happy to see her and now fully awake. He could see that Aoi wasn't saying a thing. She did have a slight social problem and was afraid of mostly adults.

She whispered into Natsume's ear.

"She has trouble sleeping so do you mind reading her a book?" That wasn't what Aoi asked for, she wanted her onee-san to read for her. So she got all pouty and refused to listen as they placed her in the bed.

She was really spoiled.

"Of course I don't mind!" Mikan cheered and began to look at all of her books. "What book would my princess like to hear today?" She smiled.

Aoi didn't answer at all.

"Aoi... don't be rude." Natsume sighed and Aoi glared at him. "Want to read Cinderella? Isn't that your favorite?"

"..."

"What about Princess and the Frog?" Mikan suggested. Eventually Natsume got really annoyed by Aoi's behavior that he asked Mikan to choose one.

"Fine." Aoi snapped, "I want you to make one up." She pressured Mikan and made her face drop.

"A-alright.

Once upon a time... there was a little girl."

"That's too overused! Make it a boy."

Boy was Aoi getting on Natsume's nerves. Maybe she was just jealous of Mikan or something but she was really picky today.

"Okay, Once upon a time, there was a little boy. He was very poor and his parents were very weak from hunger. One day he decided to go look for medicine for his parents so he took a short cut to the town. As he made his way through the forest he noticed that the town had no medicine for the sickness his parents had."

She paused, "He asked everyone but no one knew a thing. 

There was no cure.

The sickness was too severe and rare. The boy, with tears in his eyes made his way back into the woods where he stopped to sit on top of a trunk. He stayed there to rest and to stop crying, he began to sing. As loud as he could, he cried too. 

Then all of a sudden a little girl appeared before him. A really pretty girl that had big curious eyes that were filled with worry. She asked him why he was crying and he told her about his parents. Then to make him feel better, she promised him something."

Aoi listened carefully, she seemed to like the story. "What did she promise him?"

"She promised him to stay by his side forever so he wouldn't be alone."

"Then what happened next?"

Mikan stopped to think.

"The boy was very happy and when he went back, his parents got all better. When the boy and the girl grew up, they decided to get married and they lived happily ever after."

"Really???!!" Aoi got really excited and asked Mikan to tell another story but Natsume told her to go to sleep and she did but not until she gave Mikan a hug, and whispered into her ear.

After that, Natsume decided to walk Mikan out and back into the kitchen. Something about that story was familiar. He felt like that had happened to him before. Maybe in a dream or something...

"That was a really nice story." He complimented, "Aoi seemed to like it very much. I'm sorry that she acted that way. She's very shy." He defended and Mikan smiled.

"Thank you and it is fine with me. I think she's a very lovely girl indeed."

"That's great to hear. Hopefully you two can get along from now on." He grinned. He wanted to ask her about the story but he felt something tug at his heart for a little bit. It was a bit sad and painful for some reason so he let it go and they went into the kitchen where Mikan prepared a meal for him.

"That story was actually real, you know?" She said all of a sudden. "Except the ending though..."

He stopped eating his omelette to listen carefully. She looked down on the counter with a painful expression. Then her face got its color back, "I was the one that was saved and it was actually by a boy not a girl." She chuckled.

"Saved you? How?" He didn't mean to ask that. He just wanted her to keep talking so he could learn more about her. He didn't mean to sound nosy.

"I was about to break but then he appeared, like an angel surrounded by Dandelions. Without so much as a single reason he promised to never leave my side. At that moment I thought the world would end because the people I love were going to leave me forever. When a kid discovers something as dreadful as that, they get destroyed and the littlest thing can tip them over the edge. When I heard those precious words that boy uttered, I felt so much better. Even to this day if he forgets, that promise will keep me going."

He noticed how her face looked over to the rising sun and how her eyes were deep in thought.

"It sounds like you like this guy a lot." Natsume didn't mean to sound bitter but it ended up that way anyways. She looked at him with a sad smile.

"I did in that moment, I don't know now."

He didn't know what to say next so the words slipped out of his mouth, "I hope you meet him someday." He says. Her eyes widen as she smiles genuinely.

"Me too."

As she turned to clean, Natsume felt his heart drop. Why did he say that when he didn't actually mean it? If anything he wished that she never met him because he was feeling something... Really depressed. He didn't know why. All he knew was that he wanted to be the person Mikan wanted to meet. The Boy that she made a promise with.

The boy in the Dandelion field.