TIME

A/N: Hi.! It's been a LONG time since I updated. Last year, I declared in my profile that I'm going to be on hiatus for a few months. So...(ehem2), I'M BAAAACK.! :D

This is my comeback oneShot. It might be a little rough-I'm kind of out of practice, but I certainly hadn't lost my passion for RukaRu.! haha.
So please enjoy this one, and leave a review. ~Ja! ^^

How long has she been here? Weeks? Months? Certainly not just days. Out of boredom she had checked her reflection off cars' or stores' glass windows—her hair had grown longer, and her cheeks had somehow lost its natural color. She'd always been pale, but now she looked grave. Months, then. She decided. She couldn't have changed this much if it were only weeks, right? But then again, who knows? With everything that's happened, she could no longer trust her judgement when it comes to Time. Stifling the breakthrough of homesickness, she glanced at her watch. Funny how the thing still works as it's supposed to even in a different time space. She figured that it should still tell the time from 'home'...

A part of her doubted that, of course. Doubting, she realized, kept her mind busy. It gave her brain something to do—something to analyze. There were a few people that busted around the town, too. It's a Saturday—and she just felt sure about that. The breeze that blew was cool, and she figured that maybe Christmas was approaching. She looked above her to the cloudy, blue sky. Her watch said nine-thirty—if it meant morning or afternoon, there's no way in telling. But judging by the high sun behind the clouds, she was somehow certain that it was way past noon already. So she figured that perhaps her watch still tells the time from 'home'...

Her fingers instinctively balled into a fist, her fingernails digging into her skin as she immediately chided herself for allowing thoughts to resurface. She had never been the one to dwell on her emotions; but now, alone and lost in this different dimension, she felt the constriction in her throat, the tightening of her chest, and the sting in her eyes. And she hated that the longer she stayed here, the weaker she'd get in fending off her own weakness.

Year 2000. The calendar on the fruit stand read October 23, 2000. He looked around him. The town looked peaceful and quiet. It was in the late afternoon, he guessed, and a Saturday. But then he didn't care about that. He cared more about the fact that he'd lost count of the time spaces he'd jumped into. He cared more about the fact that deep down in his gut, he'd find her.

His chest tightened instinctively. It has been too long since they started looking for her; and every failed attempt had been a smack of reality that what they're doing is, in fact, impossible. His breath hitched, and, catching himself, he took a deep breath and sighed. He couldn't just give up now. Certainly not ever. They've lost her already, and though it was for a noble reason she'd chosen herself, every minute he'd waste worrying would probably be another minute of torment for her.

Pushing his worries away, he continued walking down the street. He turned right—only because in the last turn, he chose left. He knew how impossible this task was, and even if he was a genius, he didn't think he could think of a logical way to tread his path. He figured, out of desperation, that if he was going to find her, fate had to step in.

Besides, Hotaru Imai's strong. He never doubted that. And though the thought of never finding her again brought a dreadful, sinking, feeling, he held onto the conviction that she's smart, strong, and can keep herself safe until they find her. His fists unclenched; and only then that he'd noticed that they were almost turning white. He couldn't fail now. He needed to find her this time.

The play pen in the park was half full with kids. So she figured that, yes, it's a Saturday. She knew that there was only a single public school in this town, and that most of the kids would go to the park after class and during Saturday afternoons. She also knew that any minute now, two little girls would arrive, walking through that archway in the entrance. She darted her gaze across the swing, the slide, and the sand box. And as though on cue, two little girls walked past the archway. Swallowing back the constriction at the back of her throat, she immediately pushed the homesickness away. Because the truth was that despite the threatening wave of emotions, this was the particular time in this time dimension that she felt home.

The kids sat on the bench directly across hers. The brunette pulled out her book, and then bit her pencil as she flipped through the pages. The brunette was talking nonstop—and the raven haired girl watched, and then muttered something to her friend before the latter pouted and stuck her tongue out. The raven haired girl smiled, and even from afar, she could perfectly see it.

How long has it been since she'd last smiled? That was somehow tantamount to asking how long it has been since she'd been with Mikan…

Then the brunette exclaimed, her voice a loud wail across the park, though nobody paid them attention. "Aw, Hotaru!"

The raven haired girl muttered something in reply—that small smile on her face—and then the brunette laughed.

Life had been this easy. Her life had been this easy with Mikan before the Academy came along. She had forgotten that this was possible.

The Ice Queen continued to watch the two girls from behind a bench by the edge of the clearing, and was partly concealed by the unattended shrubs. Her thoughts drifted to her childhood memories. She may have gotten lost in time—literally—but at least she ended up here. She'd done this routine of wandering aimlessly around the town, stalking these two kids. And she figured that maybe she wasn't that lost. If only Mikan could figure out which time dimension she'd be in if she'd get to choose…

But were her friends still looking for her? Sure, at first she felt certain, but how long has it been?

The brunette was biting the rubber of her pencil as she pointed at something in her book, the raven haired looking over and muttering something. Then a little boy who was roughly the age of the girls walked towards them, sheepishly hiding a flower behind him. The girls looked at him, and when the boy revealed the flower, the brunette squealed so hard the Ice Queen felt the urge to hit her herself.

"Hotaru! He's got a flower for you!"

The Ice Queen shared at her younger self, and tried to make out the words she muttered to the boy. She couldn't see the boy's face, but surely, whatever the raven haired girl said, made the boy's ears turn beet red. The boy ran away from them, the flower crumpled in his hand, clearly rejected. Hotaru Imai smirked. She hadn't changed much, had she? Little Mikan chided her bestfriend, who stoically flipped the pages of her bestfriend's book.

Watching this seemed like pulling out a lost track from her memories and playing it on real-time HD. She couldn't really remember any of it, but everything hit home. She missed everyone. She missed Inchou, and working with him as they used to; she missed Anna and her cooking; she even missed Koko's knowing grin and Shouda's annoying smirk. Well, perhaps not much of the last part. Maybe she just wanted to go home...

But she missed Mikan—she might not admit it out loud, but she missed her so much. And if there's one person who'd do the impossible and stupid, it would be her bestfriend... Mikan would go looking for her, she knew that, and somehow that thought brought back some strength. She knew Mikan wouldn't be alone, too. Natsume would be with her, and keep her safe. Otherwise what's the point of all this?

If not Natsume, she thought, then Bunny Boy would keep her safe.

Ruka Nogi, the martyr. A smirk pulled up on her lips. She looked across the park, to the raven haired girl sitting on the bench beside the brunette, then to the little boy who had just been rejected by her younger self. And for the first time she wondered how it must have felt when Bunny boy was at that receiving end... She never really had an idea, nor did she ever care, but now in the undercurrent of thoughts running in her head, she started to wonder how it must be for him had he decided to accompany Mikan and Natsume...

Of course, he'd dismiss that idea with a flush, and say he's okay. He's a martyr, alright. And that thought brought the itch to hit him...

Yeah, maybe she missed him, too. Though this one, she'd never admit.

Ruka couldn't remember being close with the Ice Queen. Not physically, but like, really being friends with her first hand. She's Mikan's bestfriend. He's Natsume's bestfriend. He'd been really close with Mikan. But apart from those times when Hotaru Imai would blackmail him or tease him with his feelings for her bestfriend, he couldn't remember actually having a conversation with her simply for the heck of it.

Well, maybe because of the fact that she…scared him. Like, he'd better stay aloof and out of her concerns or she'd get some really bright ideas that usually involve total embarrassment for him.

But, uh, yeah, maybe he's exaggerating.

but he knew that the Ice Queen's actually nice. It's just that she's indifferent. He didn't volunteer himself for this only for Mikan or Natsume's sake. It puzzled him at some point, but he felt...genuinely worried about her. They're friends—of that, he's certain. He couldn't just sit and wait—he needed to find her…

The thought made him feel anxious, his steps getting hurried. He turned right again, and walked the length of a street to an intersection. The birds flying overhead somehow told him the time—it was nearing sunset. That's when he heard laughter.

The end of the road was a small park. Across from where he's standing, there was an archway by its entrance. A few kids played inside. The swing was empty, but on the seesaw there were five kids—two and three on either side—laughing and jeering at each other. There were no adults in the premises too, which made him hesitate if he'd go check inside or not. He had been trying not to get any attention from people when he's in a different time dimension, and walking into an open space full of kids didn't feel like a normal thing to do at the moment as far as 'fitting in' was concerned.

But he crossed the street, and lingered by the fence. Then that's when he saw them.

Two girls sat on a bench, one brunette, the other with a short, black, hair. They didn't just look familiar—he knew them. This was a time space of Mikan and Hotaru's childhood…

He stood there by the entrance, frozen by the surreal moment of seeing the two looking carefree and happy. Little Mikan laughed, her grin bright and contagious. The raven haired girl smiled at her bestfriend, muttering something that made the latter stuck her tongue out. He stared at them, unconsciously focusing on the raven haired. He couldn't remember seeing the Ice Queen this…happy. He knew she's only this way with Mikan; and though she'd always hit her with her Baka gun, he knew she hadn't cared for anyone else as much as she did for Mikan.

But what struck him the most is the thought that she'd been lost for so long now, probably all by herself, scared and homesick…and Mikan had been her only solace. A voice from the back of his head told him that maybe he's exaggerating again, but no. She's strong, sure. But Hotaru Imai's human.

Then the two girls gathered their things and got up, the brunette talking to her bestfriend as they walked towards the entrance. The blond stayed there, staring as the two girls walked past him without noticing. He wanted to call her name out, but he just watched their back until they were able to cross the street safely, and turn for the corner.

There was a sinking feeling in his gut. He knew that that wasn't the Hotaru he was looking for, yet it somehow felt like a live metaphor of losing her—of her slipping right off his fingers… His fists clenched. Suddenly he felt frustrated, anxious, and angry. And there was a constriction at the back of his throat, but he fought it back. He hated that he felt hopeless. And he hated the fact that perhaps she felt a lot worse now…

Ruka sighed, unclenching his fists. He couldn't give up now. He'd find her. He then gathered himself, and found his feet. But then just as he moved to walk, he heard a loud rustle of leaves behind him. He knew enough about animals that his instincts usually took over when he'd hear something like it. But this time was different.

He looked over his shoulder, and standing by the bushes behind an empty bench, was the raven-haired girl. But no. She looked older—around sixteen. She looked pale, but her eyes caught the light. And as he recognized the way her purple orbs stared at him, and his heart skipped a beat.

She stared at him, not caring at all how she drank in the sight of him. His eyes were affixed on her, too, and again she didn't care. He stood there by the archway, his blond hair swayed by the soft breeze. She watched him gulp back, his lips parting for words that never came up, as he slowly walked through the archway, carefully making his way towards her.

He stared at her as he moved closer, somehow afraid that he was just hallucinating or she'd get eaten by a different time warp hole in the same instant. The thought made his heart race, and he immediately reached her in a few quick strides. The blond stopped at an arm's length in front of her, and he held her firmly by the shoulders.

"I-It's..." He murmured, his voice sounding raspy so he swallowed. When he spoke again, his voice came above a whisper. "It's really you."

Hotaru stared at him, barely nodding, not really knowing what to say. Her heart was beating fast, her mind surprisingly blank as though her brain couldn't process seeing him here… All she could focus on was his face. His blue eyes, his naturally flushed cheeks, his smile… There was comfort in the familiarity of all of it, and she concentrated in that.

Then his lips pulled up on the sides, and watched it widen to that smile. "I-I've found you…"

Then she felt something broke inside her, and she gulped back, fighting off the undercurrent of emotions that now started overwhelming her.

Ruka's heart was pounding, and he attributed that with the strong gush of relief he was feeling. He'd found her... He quickly zeroed in on her, noting how she thinned a bit, and her hair was longer than he could remember. One moment he thought he was just seeing things, but one look at those eyes told him otherwise. He'd really found her. He was grinning now, overwhelmed and absolutely thrilled.

"H-Hotaru, are you alright? You're not hurt, are you?" He asked, his hands hovering over her arms as he checked her, but she just continued to watch him. He paused, pushing his excitement aside as he met her gaze. "Hotaru?"

Then she looked away, breaking the gaze as a tear streaked down her left cheek. Her hand quickly went up to her face and wiped it off, but her eyes went shut, and before he could say anything, the raven haired closed the gap between them, her arms snaking around his waist, and finally burying her face in his chest. Ruka froze, but when a soft sob broke out, he felt his chest tighten, and his arms went around her protectively.

Her shoulders only shook a bit, and her sobs were soft and muffled. He felt stunned. His heart was still pounding hard, but most of it was now because he felt suddenly mad that it had to happen to her—that it had to be her in the first place. She felt fragile in his arms, and though he knew this was Hotaru Imai—the strong, smart, independent Ice Queen—he wanted to be strong for her. Because he'd never really seen the Ice Queen cry, there was a time that he felt that the thought is unimaginable. But now the sight of it only felt like he wanted to crush something.

The cold wind blew against his back, and he stifled a shiver as his embrace instinctively tightened around her. "I-It's okay..." The blond murmured, his lips brushing against her hair. "I'm here now."

Her breath hitched, and she stifled a sob. It still felt surreal; because though she knew her friends hadn't given up on her, she had sense enough to understand that there's that greater chance of them failing to find her. But here he was—him, of all people.

His arms felt strong as he held her, but for some reason they felt snug too. His embrace was tight, but she didn't care. Under normal circumstances she would have, but now all she could think about was how everything came rushing back to her. She had felt fear, panic, and homesickness, but she'd managed to block them all out for who-knows-how long in this Time Dimension. But now she's drowning in them. She knew there was no point in feeling this way anymore, but couldn't help it. She'd been trying to stay strong for so long; and now, in Ruka Nogi's arms, she allowed herself to feel weak.

She let out a shaky sigh, her arms pulling him closer. "What took you so long?"

She heard him exhale, seemingly sounding relieved. "I-I'm sorry."

Her lashes batted against the hollow of his throat as she blinked. "Why are you apologizing, Baka?"

"I-I'm sorry." He said again. There was a vibration in his chest as he spoke, and she focused on that. "I-I should've known you were here all along. Y-You wouldn't have had to endure it for so long—"

"But I did." She cut him off. "I managed."

Though her voice sounded a bit raspy, she sounded calm. Ruka opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He felt awed, and a warm feeling crept from his chest, spreading all over him. It was quiet for a moment. Only then that he noticed the orange and purple sky overhead, the crickets already singing.

Ruka leaned back, a hand cupping her face as he tried to look at her in the eyes. She resisted, of course, but then when those blue eyes catch your gaze, you somehow wouldn't want to look away. Not that she'd ever admit that.

"Are you alright?"

She nodded.

"You're not hurt, are you?"

She shook her head.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm hungry."

Ruka chuckled, and she stared at him. Then he muttered, with a smile plastered on his face, "I'm so glad I finally found you."

Something told her that his words could mean a thing or two at the same time, but she pushed it aside. "You have no idea."

This time, Ruka grinned, and she couldn't help the tugging on her lips. She brought a hand to her face, wiping her cheeks off the streaks of evidence. "Where's Mikan?"

He absently pushed a lock of hair from her eyes and replied, "She's with Natsume. They're still looking for you. I'm supposed to scour the far past—they're trying out the Time frames before you disappeared."

There was a pause, and Ruka allowed her eyes to bore down into his; but then after a few seconds he felt the warmth spreading up to his face. "Uhm…wh-what?"

"You're alone."

"Y-Yes."

"What if you got lost?"

He blinked. He never really thought about it. What mattered in the beginning was that, one: they must find Hotaru; and two: Mikan shouldn't be alone in doing so. Everything just happened. But staring at those purple orbs, he muttered, "I didn't."

"You're an idiot, you know that?"

Ruka laughed, and she liked the sound of it. It was only then that she allowed herself to finally feel relieved. She was found. He found her…

"You better know how to take us back home, Nogi."

"O-Of course. Why?"

"Because I don't want to get stuck again."

The blond shook his head, pulling out an Alice stone from his pocket. "I won't let that happen again."

He placed the stone in her palm, and closed her hand with his large one so that he was holding her fist firmly. Then taking her hand from his waist, he laced their fingers together. "Ready?"

Hotaru nodded, feeling unusually lightheaded. Her eyes were on his; and she squeezed his hand with hers.

The stone felt warm in her palm, and then there was a blinding light that. She closed her eyes. When she opened them again, everything was white, and she felt like she was floating. She looked at the blond. His eyes looked bluer in the bright light surrounding them. Then Ruka squeezed her hand, and his smile turned sheepish. "I'll make sure I won't lose you."

Then the light went brighter until she couldn't see anything but white emptiness. But she could feel him still, and she pushed away the teasing panic. She closed back her eyes again. She was found—she's going home.

A/N: Thank you for reading! I know, it's a little rough. leave a review, I'd love to know your opinions! THanks! :D
Oh, and by the way, it's Feb14 today here in the Philippines. Happy Valentine's day! ^^