The King of Hearts

"I don't know what's wrong here," Ruka Nogi sighed. He massaged his temples, pressing his fingers with much force. He added, exasperated, "You told me she threw away the flowers Hayate gave her!"

"But she did," Koko Yome said, his grin big and bright. Ruka wondered if his friend was doing it to mock him. "Hayate was pouring out his heart—mind you, a man in love has scary thoughts—but before he even finished, Hotaru threw the flowers on his face."

"Right," Ruka said tersely, "Which is why I gave her candy flowers, because you said, since she likes to eat so much, why don't I give her that?"

"Oh, she does," Koko smiled, rocking from side to side. He was perched on his table. The class had been dismissed about ten minutes ago, and almost everyone had gone to Central Town after the stressful week the exams had brought them.

"Then would you mind explaining why she ran her scooter over the flowers?"

Koko sighed, stood up, and patted Ruka sadly on the back, "Buddy, I'm only here to tell you things, not to tell you to do the things I say." Ruka watched his retreating back in disbelief.

He heard a chuckle behind him. He threw his best friend a heated gaze. "You were supposed to be asleep," he muttered, before slumping on the chair, feeling defeated.

"I tried," Natsume Hyuuga replied, "But I couldn't with you berating on like that." He stood up to approach his friend, pocketing the comic book on his slacks. The flowers in question were on the next table. He got an unharmed one out, took the plastic off, and bit on the candy. He spit it out immediately. "Where did you get this?" he asked, wiping his arm against his mouth. The taste was horrible, like something an animal would leave behind after eating. "No wonder she hated this."

Ruka got up with a frown on his face and snatched a flower himself. He took a small bite, and then his face blanched into one of disgust. But unlike Natsume, he wasn't one to spit things that got in his mouth in a public place. He willed himself to swallow the terrible taste of what felt like drying cement in his mouth.

"She probably knew it was going to suck," Natsume said, and then added with a snicker, "After all, you're not the first one smitten over that crazy woman."

Ruka scowled.

"You take what you get, though," Natsume went on, "After all, Matsudaira got his offering thrown back on his face. A tad heartless, don't you think?"

"You make it sound like she's a goddess or something," Ruka muttered, referring to his friend's use of the word offering.

"With the rate you're going, you'll willingly jump off a bridge if she asked you to."

"What's wrong with that?" Ruka frowned, but then hastily added when he saw his friend's face, "Relax, I was kidding!"

"I don't think she has to run over your gift, though," Natsume pointed out, a glint of amusement in his eyes.

"Yeah," Ruka mumbled. "That was uncalled for."

"Well, you got yourself in this mess, Nogi," Natsume said a little too cheerfully, "You'll eventually figure it out."

Ruka's head was bowed, and only realized that Natsume was walking out when he was already on the door. "Wait, where are you going?"

"Good luck, Ruka," Natsume waved with a smirk.

"What are you doing here, Hyuuga?" Hotaru Imai said, not looking back to turn at her visitor. She was sitting on her lab, working on a new project that she wanted to propose in time for the Alice Festival. It was three weeks away, and her visitor wasn't someone who could essentially toss in a tip or two.

"Ah, Imai," Natsume replied, "You might not want to get pissed at me so much."

"Why not?" came Hotaru's sardonic reply. "I don't owe you anything. In fact, it's you who should dish out money."

Natsume fished out rabbits from his pockets and threw them on the fish bowl at the side. "Do you even have a fish?"

"No, it's for me to put your tongue in because you're being annoying."

"What does Ruka even see in you?"

"You'll hear those words bounce back at you soon, Hyuuga. Now get out of my lab."

"No, I don't think so," Natsume said, enjoying how he wasn't the one irked right now. He took a seat on one of her spinning chairs. "Why did you run over Ruka's flowers? They taste horrible but what you did was worse."

"If you're here to interview me about your spineless friend, you'll have to take a number."

"How many people have actually come up at you in behalf of their spineless friend?"

"You'll be surprised," she answered without another beat.

It was profound respect that Hotaru wasn't kicking Natsume from her lab. Although their mutual preferences can only be attributed to one person, Hotaru couldn't deny that, albeit how twisted and incredibly infuriating and amusing their pseudo-relationship may be, Mikan glows more at the sight and company of Natsume.

"Ruka deserves more than that," he said after a while.

"The door is right in front of you," Hotaru told him, still not looking up.

There was a moment of silence, and Hotaru was almost surprised to hear the chair creak and Natsume's footsteps come nearer the door. She didn't hear the door open, so she figured Natsume was still hanging around. She was proven right when Natsume spoke.

"You told me once that Mikan doesn't deserve me," he said plainly, his voice quiet and monotonous. "She doesn't. I'm overbearing, difficult, obnoxious—"

"A pervert," she cut in, as he went on repeating all his rude traits that Mikan never grew tired of reminding him.

"I'm not the most… ideal man for her," he went on. "And I know you think I don't deserve her. But I don't see you stopping us. Why?"

It took a while for Hotaru to reply. She had stopped working, but her eyes were still on the blueprint she was working on. "Mikan's happier."

"Exactly." Without another word, he closed the door behind him.

Hotaru finally raised her head and directed her attention to the place where Natsume had just stepped out from.