oh hi. its me. with a potentially great plotline but without the skills to pull it off. or, theres me again. with a story im not going to complete- oh well thats life for you-
this is an edited version of what was originally "Being the Boy" (wow even the title didn't make sense what was i thinking) but because my writing style is... considerably different (new and improved by x9000), i decided, why the fuck not?
please dont have too much faith in me, i generally dont complete a lot of stories, please end me.
Ring, ring, rin-
What previously was a loud alarm ringing frustratingly against the ear of a certain brunette airhead was now something across the lines of a scrap of unusable metal. Hands of the clock twitched in a painful manner while hushed words of "ugh, 3 more hours" followed not long after. As a matter of fact, 0.32 milliseconds after. This was the morning of Sakura Mikan.
"Mikan, get up!" The velvety voice of her mother's whine entered her ears before she became hyperaware that fuck, mom's in the room and I haven't cleaned up. Surprisingly, in her favour, her mother took no notice and Mikan simply subsided with a drowsy smile before giving a lopsided salute.
"What's cracking, mom…" She croaked, propping herself up on her elbow as a corner of her lip turned up, only to have it turn up into a shit-eating grin at the sight of her younger brother invading her room. "Youichi, g'morning. What brings you here, little punk?"
The nickname pulled out a little pout which gladly dissipated into a warm smile when Mikan's signature toothy grin was exposed and she ran slender fingers through his hair in an affectionate manner. "I didn't know mom came to wake you up and… I wanted to remind you that we had a family meeting today…"
His soft mumbles of strung words were enough to make the two females melt into puddles.
"A-Ah, right! Family meeting, I forgot about that. We'll discuss that later, honey, but for now go wash up before breakfast—Youichi, want to help me in the kitchen?" Yuka ended up bursting out once she regained herself whilst rubbing a hand on her nape with a shy smile. Mikan took this time to drag her feet to the shower, before peeling away her clothes once she was inside.
Just what was this family meeting going to be about? She wondered, as family meetings were never something that was encouraged in the Yukihara household. The last time they had once, it ended with Mikan trashing the house with spaghetti Bolognese because her parents were discussing something about an arranged marriage. Evidently, it hadn't gone down as well as they thought.
However, if Youichi even knows about this meeting, then… Contemplation laced through the furrow in her brow as water from the showerhead began to trickle through thin locks of hair, trailing down her face and down her shoulders in quick jets, and she spluttered at the sudden rush of water, still occupied by her thoughts. It can't possibly be a marriage proposal at this rate. Win for me?
The thoughts left her mind eventually, simply continuing her usual morning routine at this rate by beginning to brush her teeth whilst dragging a thin comb through her dampened hair, stepping out of her en-suite draped in a towel once she was finished. A faint call of her name from her father, she supposed as his voice came from the garden, rung in her mind while she slipped on her underwear, a purple knit dress and slowly making her way down the staircase, awaiting news she suspected that she wasn't supposed to be looking forward to.
A quick slip on of socks and she was dashing down the staircase with rushed steps, almost tripping at the last one whilst she hurried in the direction of her name. Her father was gardening as usual it seemed.
She didn't notice the subtle exchange of nervous glances between her parents, but Youichi did, staring concernedly from his spot beside his mother as his eyes switched between the two, a tense atmosphere in the air. As always, he didn't say much, and took this chance to grab at Yuka's sleeve as a distraction while Mikan ran to occupy Izumi—particularly by lumping herself over her old man's back which resulted in a whine. "Mikan, what the hell, get off you punk! You're heavier than my car, honestly-!"
Just what every girl wants to hear, great job, Dad. And who the hell even knows how heavy their car is—Mikan's eyes narrowed in scrutiny before her hands acted quicker than her brain before trapping him in a resentful headlock, though she let go immediately after hearing an almost spluttered choke. "Dad, what the hell, you're the worst."
"And you're the best? Tch, think again." He gave her a look once she ushered herself off, making exaggerated motions while rubbing at his neck as if it would prick some sort of pitiful emotion out of his heartless daughter, only to receive the opposite and a small mutter of "serves you right". Just what kind of brat did he raise, honestly.
Their exchange of banter didn't remain long – as far as Izumi was concerned, Mikan was still muttering chains of curses - before they were called in by the other two for breakfast. Not that that lasted any longer either with how much of a glutton Mikan and her father were. Eventually the table was prim and polished by at least 13 minutes, max. By Youichi, of course.
A clap of Izumi's hand had them silenced while Youichi stepped in and out of the room occasionally but he listened intently whenever he could. "So, uh, Mikan. And Youichi. As your mother and I are unable to train the two of you, because we're growing old and incapable… and weak… and-"
Cut the bullshit, dad, quit making matters dramatic—was the only thought processing in Mikan's head at the moment.
"Izumi, enough." Her mother cut in while Youichi leaned over a chair to look towards her. "Mikan, Youichi? Your father and I want to send you to Alice Academy."
The look of protest on both of their faces made Yuka sigh and Izumi followed behind, butting in before their rude kids could interrupt.
"Look, kids. We've been thinking this over plenty and in the long run, it'll be good for you guys. Staying cooped up here in the village means you guys have no friends – which you'll make plenty of back there, and, well, you've got a load off our backs too. Think about your parents too."
Youichi almost looked like he was about to cry, even parting his lips to say something, but he held back when Mikan went first. Urging her to object in his mind, he ended up disappointed with her answer.
"I don't see why you guys are like this, I don't mind going." She complied nonchalantly, staring down at her nails before looking up towards her younger brother who seemed ready to run out of the room—which made her quickly take back what she said. "I-I MEAN. That was what I thought at first, but, uh, too many, uh, people, you know-"
"Mikan, you have to get used to it! How are you going to communicate with everyone once you're out in the outside world?!"
"Mikan, please don't be like this – do it for us?"
Her thoughts were halted as she stared, watching as Youichi mumbled a few words which made the other two freeze and look over in his direction. "Mom… Dad, I… don't scold Onee-chan… I really..."
He paused for a sigh and Mikan released a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "I'm scared. I can't make a lot of friends with an alice like mine, I… I'm not great at talking, what am I going to do…"
His face landed in his palms and a second sigh drew out- the other only needed two moments before bursting into a drawl and wrapping their arms around the youngest.
"No worries, Youichi—ONEE-SAN WILL SAVE YOUUUU." Mikan choked out animatedly while at least four hands patted his silvery hair all at once. It was a weird feeling, he admitted, but the words of reassurance from his older sister kept him silent and he complied with a nod.
"So are you guys okay with this?"
The two, now calm, collected and accepting of their current situation, nodded simultaneously, though it didn't end harmoniously when Mikan mumbled something along the lines of "well you didn't exactly give us a choice, old man".
"Mikan, please explain."
"Explain what?"
"Your weird looking get-up, take that wig off immediately. You look ridiculous." Izumi sneaked a glance in the rear-view mirror of their car, rolling his eyes at the actions of his incredulous eldest child. Just what was the explanation this time?
They were driving towards the train station—the only one in Kyoto that had apparently secret direct lines to Alice Academy that both Youichi and Mikan had successfully enrolled in just a week before. Today was the day they were moving to Tokyo to board at the dorms of the Academy, and Youichi who was sickened with nerves was fortunately fast asleep.
Though Mikan was surely not dressed for the occasion, clad in her father's clothes – which her fit her well, actually – and a jet-black wig propped on her head, she looked… considerably male. The look didn't look too bad and she could pass as one, had her mother and father not disagreed.
"Eh… social experiment?"
"Mikan. Get it off now."
"No way, do you know how long it took to put this on? I've decided to man up and become the successor to your company, dad, be grateful I even took out the time to think this through."
Yuka, by now, had completely zoned out of the conversation, just because she couldn't bring herself to even understand what was being discussed. Or she just didn't want to get involved if things got nasty.
"Mikan, you can do that WITHOUT BECOMING A GUY. Quit this and take it off before I do-"
"Do that and I won't enrol dad, it's your decision, your money, and your car-juice we're wasting here. Think it through, will you." She retorted and he didn't have a chance to respond because they had just arrived at the station. Pursing his lips, he exited the car and so did the rest, taking out three suitcases of what was packed hurriedly only the night before.
Mikan really looked the part though.
Swaggering through the station with a suitcase dragging behind, she couldn't deny she caught a few eyes in her direction and it only buffed up the reasons why she absolutely refused to remove her "ridiculous get-up". For all she was concerned, her mother was snapping hundreds of pictures anyway.
Five minutes at most and eventually, the four of them were all pulled into a tight hug, mumbling goodbyes while the loud boom of "train to Tokyo delayed by 3 minutes" echoed in the air. With a quick shuffle of bags and reluctant goodbye's from Youichi, Mikan managed to drag him away into the train, taking a seat and sorting away their bags before waving from their seats.
Mikan made a motion of "call me" with her fingers and Izumi simply nodded with a smile, while Yuka regretted even sending them away once she caught a glimpse of Youichi's shed tears before the train had set off. It was the last of him she saw before he buried his face into Mikan's shoulder who looked at him once before smiling warmly, a hand running through his hair.
"Youichi, I promise you… everything will be fine, okay?"
"Onee, are you sure? You know me, I… I scare everyone…"
"You don't scare me. Trust me on this one, Youichi. I can be an airhead sometimes, but I know, I just know, that you'll be fine here. You have me, and Hotaru! Remember Hotaru-nee? She comes here too. We're both here for you." She cooed comfortingly, though the sight of him crying unsettled the nerves inside and she couldn't help but feel the apprehension building up. She should change the subject. "On the other hand, uh, I'm your nii-chan now."
"EH?!"
*Onee/nee = older sister
*Onii/nii = older brother
*Onee/nee = older sister
*Onii/nii = older brother
well, i left the original there, you can compare and share idek
*leave a review to get a mention in the next chapter! (if im not lazy to write one)*