Mute Or Just Scared? (Mitsukuni 'Honey' Haninozuka Love Story)

Miracle

All through the rest of that day, I found my thoughts drifting back to how he had stuck up for me. Even the next day, my mind kept going back to that little moment.

As I was thinking about it now, a few startled screams snapped me back to reality. Most of the girls in the class, and a few of the guys, were pretty freaked out by something crawling around on the floor. It wasn't until it ran past my desk that I figured out what it was. A mouse.

It was just a little mouse. One of those cute little ones that you see in pet shops that people usually buy to feed to pet snakes and other things like that. Of course, these people didn't see it as cute. They all either didn't care or thought it was disgusting. I happen to be an animal lover, so I decided I would be the one to take of this. But before I could even move, one of the guys in the class had a similar idea. But his was much less nicer than the one I'd had.

He was going to step on the little guy. There was no way I would let that happen. In just a few seconds, I reached out and grabbed the little mouse. Just as I'd gotten him out of the way, the boy's foot came down on my wrist. Luckily, I didn't lose my grip on the mouse.

Ignoring the rest of the class staring at me, I held the little fellow up to see if he was hurt. He seemed unusually calm, so it was likely one of those mice you get from the pet store. Someone probably just bought him for a prank or something. The people here definitely did not seem like the type to have a mouse for a pet.

Seeing that he was alright, I gave him a little scratch behind his ear. "Miss Akashima, if you wouldn't mind, I'll let you handle getting rid of it. Seeing as you're an animal expert." Saying that I was an animal expert was a bit of an exaggeration, but I would much rather have had the task left to me rather than anyone else. You see, I'm an animal lover. I'm naturally really good with animals too.

After carrying the mouse outside the school, I found myself getting kind of attached to the little guy. At home, I didn't really have any pets except some fish. Red Belly X-Ray Tetras to be exact. They are a really neat type of fish since you can see right through their skin and scales. There were three named Tiny, Fin, and Hex. Hex was the biggest and was usually off on his own. Tiny was the smallest and was constantly following Fin around. They were such an adorable trio.

"Maybe I'll just keep you," I whispered to the little creature in my hand. The school day was almost over, so I decided not to go back to class. Maybe not the smartest thing to do, being a new student and all, but I didn't care. I had just made myself a new friend.

"What are you doing out here by yourself?" a boy's voice said, startling me. Turning in the direction of it, I noticed a boy wearing a different uniform than the other boys. It still had the Ouran logo, so my guess was he was in middle school. I motioned towards my furry friend in my hand. "A mouse? I don't think you're supposed to have pets in school."

I just shrugged and held the mouse out towards the boy and giving it a little scratch behind his ear, silently asking the boy if he wanted to pet him. The boy hesitated before reaching over and running a finger over the mouse's head.

"What are you two up to?" a voice called to us, making the boy take a few steps back. It was a girl I recognized from my class. Couldn't remember her name though. She noticed the mouse still in my hands and glanced over at the strange boy. "Hmm... does the oh-so-strict-and-tough Karate Club Captain have a soft spot for the cute little creatures?"

He didn't even hesitate to respond to her. "No!" I couldn't help but think he answered that a little too quickly. It was obvious he was lying about that. But if he really was the captain of the Karate Club, I guess he would have to maintain some sort of reputation.

I offered him the mouse again with a smile. He glanced back and forth between the mouse in my hand and the girl who had walked up to us. After a minute or so of this, he gave in and started petting the little guy again.

The girl grinned and introduced herself. "The name's Taiga Mukoro." She put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "If he hasn't told you already, this is Yasuchika Haninozuka. But we all call him Chika. Of course, you probably don't need to know that. Not that you can talk anyway, right?"

"She can't talk?"

"Nope. Teacher made it very clear that she couldn't," Taiga explained for me. She scratched the little mouse behind the ear before realizing that she hadn't told him my name. "Her name's Suzu Akashima. She just transferred here from... what was it... Lobelia Girls Academy, right?" I nodded.

"So you're going to keep the mouse?" Chika asked after Taiga had explained what had happened in class. I merely nodded.

"You got a name for him?" Taiga asked a good question. After a minute of thought, I knew exactly what to call him.

"Kiseki." I don't know what shocked them more, the meaning of the name I'd chosen or the fact that I'd actually spoken his name without even thinking.

Kiseki meant miracle. It was the most fitting word for him. The fact that I had actually spoken his name only made it more fitting. Little Kiseki was my miracle.