Hi, this is my third story on this site. I lost the password to my previous account and couldn't finish my previous works :( Nevertheless, i'll figure out something. Meanwhile, please enjoy the plot.
Disclaimer: No I Don't Own Gakuen Alice Else I had been rich! T_T
P.S. this applies to all the other chapters because i'm too lazy to write it over and over again.
It was a fresh Sunday morning in the suburbs of Tokyo and the early winds have turned slightly bitter. The changing colors of leaves indicated the beginning of fall and the November chill was approaching fast. Amidst the early morning haze, light footsteps could be heard on moist covered marshy fields surrounding the head shrine of the city. Trickling dew drops, neatly aligned on the lush green blades of the grass appeared like strings of pearls adorning its edges. Beautiful wild flowers grew here and there, scattered all over the grassy main of fertile soils. The clouds were turning into a lighter shade of grey n white and the birds were preparing themselves for commencement of yet another day. Tall Sakura trees were lining the shrine grounds in a close circular perimeter. Towards the left, a large part of the village area was surrounded by forest whereas the opposing lands where inhabited by fruit orchids, vegetable garden and flower patches that were tended to by the villagers. Occasionally, light squeaks from rodents, crickets and insects could be heard in the direction of the forest. The river flowing behind the main temple was bubbling with sweet mountain waters. Amidst the grassy fields, stood an ancient wooden cottage, overlooking the village and standing right in front of the shrine, lying near the flower garden. The trail leading towards the forest was protected by strong wooden hedge, limiting the wild creatures of the jungle in their restricted area. The stony path connecting the shrine and the village was paved with red circular sandstones and lined by pretty flowers on both the sides. On the dust covered steps of the cottage, right beside the roaring flames of coal furnace, sat Grandpa Sakura, planning to prepare a steaming cup of green tea, with just the right amount of herbs that could restore his lost energy and give a good kick to his day. He had all the spices, herbs and utensils that he needed and he just had to fetch some water from the river flowing behind. He quickly searched for his pail and smiled cheerfully at the sight of it, lying right beside the stairs.
As he was about to turn, at some distance, a blurred figure could be seen. It was coming closer and closer and soon turned into a bizarre silhouette of chestnut brown and yellow, squishing around mud in haste. Grandpa Sakura blinked couple of times but couldn't make it out. Old age was definitely deteriorating his skills but did no further harm. Who could it be? Generally, none of the village folks visited him before the sunrise. It was probably only 4 o' clock in the morning and although most of them were up by this time but still, it was too early to offer prayers at the shrine. Even the schools were open today for extra classes so it couldn't be the wicked 8-year olds, planning to ruin his weekend by playing their notorious early morning pranks. He squeezed his eyes hard. After a couple of seconds, recognition dawned upon his wrinkling face. Upon realizing who it was, he let out a shocking yelp and pretended to fall on the soft floor, searching for the safest topography to prevent the crushing of his ancient bones, before planning his dramatic fall. Witnessing the sudden collapsing form of his old grandfather, the figure dashed towards him as fast as its leg could carry. In the silent atmosphere of the village morning, the said person emitted a high pitch scream and halted right in front of grandpa who was lying on the floor, head facing down.
"Grandpa… Oh Kami… What happened, are you alright, does it hurt, are your limbs fine? Oh my, Oh my, what should I do? Should I run back to the village and fetch the head doctor or treat him with the herbs growing in our garden? Wait, I'll give Hotaru a call and ask her to be right here. We might need one of her inventions to check his blood pressure, pulse rate and temperature. Oh now what to do first? What should I do; what should I do?" it kept repeating like a mantra, pondering over and over again.
"Mikan dear, I would appreciate if you pick me up rather than opting for the other options that you were enthusiastically fretting over.", a weak, trembling voice came from the poor old man's throat.
"Eeeps. Sorry gramps", replied the bubbly Mikan and immediately rushed to her grandfather's assistance. With great efforts, she managed to pull him up, placed his left hand over her shoulder, got hold of his waist and gave him support. Slowly, grandpa Sakura was back on his feet and took slow and shaky steps ahead. With Mikan's help, he walked towards his cottage and sat down on the steps. As he seated himself quite comfortably on the rug, he came face to face with a very angry Mikan, who was planning to tackle him down and knock some sense into him but eventually gave up this idea since the old man was already sitting in a tattered condition. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead and he was about to make an excuse but she 'hmmphed' and cut him off with a wave of her hand.
"No, no, no, don't even think of giving me your silly excuses. Why are you up so early when you were told to take rest and on top of that, you had been ill all this week and you never asked me or Hotaru to come over! Let alone visit, you never bothered to inform us about your chest pain on phone and now, when you should be lying on your cozy bed, covered in your warm sheets, you are having a jolly stroll in the gardens, cooking away to glory when it's still dark. What were you thinking? You don't even realize how much we were worried for you", her voice cracked and she continued in the same hoarse tone, "Hotaru is going to have a really important seminar today evening so she couldn't make it this time but she was going insane that she couldn't escort you to the hospital and straightaway accused me for your condition. I was mercilessly knocked on my thick skull by her multiple times and she was so angry with me that I came back sooner when I was supposed to stay with you this weekend. It's completely your mistake! You told me, I must add, in a rather over-confident tone that you were all fine and almost pushed me out of the shrine, requesting me to go back and join the school. You promised me that you were going to take good care of yourself but when I reach there, not even a day passes and I hear from that creepy sea weed cum gossip queen Shouda in the school halls that Mikan's grandpa is going to die because of a panic attach while Mikan is preparing for her Ballet competition, so heartless of her! And you didn't even bother to inform your only granddaughter that you were sick." Big, fat tears were pouring down her face, "Oh what will mom and dad think when they hear of it? They will feel that I've failed to fulfill my duties as a granddaughter and I couldn't even complete the sole task of looking after their father, that they gave me before leaving for their urgent trip to Tokyo. Oh what will I say to them? And you!"She poked an accusatory finger right before her grandpa's nose, "You were supposed to get better before they come tomorrow but this is what I see, an irresponsible you, fallen face down on the mud, covered with dirt and shivering in the chill of the morning, all because you are stubborn enough to prepare your tea on your own and you absolutely refuse to take help from Amanatsu, even though Hotaru programmed the smart robot to prepare your tea, just the way that I make it. Speaking of Amanatsu, where the hell is she?" she gave him a dangerous look, "Did you turn her off again so that she couldn't report your childish acts to us?"
Grandpa Sakura was in great trouble by now; he was soaked in his own sweat, turning paler with each passing second. he couldn't think of any logical excuse, 'Oh what should I say, she and that devil Hotaru are going to ground me for months if I don't think of a clever excuse', finding no other route to escape, he decided to turn the tables and gave a dramatic sigh. Finally when he lifted his face up, his eyes were full of crocodile tears and face distorted in fake pain, after adding more grief to his tone, he began the greatest sorry speech that the world has ever seen…
"Oh my poor little Mikan, please forgive your grandpa for his forgiveness. He has grown so old that he cannot remember things in panicky situations. But don't you worry; I won't trouble you and Hotaru much. My old age is of no good to people around me. I'm just giving troubles to Yuka, Izumi and other villagers. My heart aches when my poor granddaughters have to strive hard to provide me all the comforts. At this age, when you and Hotaru shall be devoting your time to learning new things at school, a greater part of your time is spent on taking care of your battered grandpa. But no more of it, the doctors have already declared that I've only a few days to live and when I'll be gone, you lovely ladies won't have to walk back and forth between the shrine and the school dorms to sneak a peek at your sick grandpa every week. And then, I'm sure, Hotaru will be able to give more time to her studies and inventions. She'll soon turn into a wonderful scientist whereas you my dear will surface as the best dancer that this country will ever produce, but alas! Your grandpa would not be there to cheer both his lovely girls any longer. But promise me that you shall remember me in your prayers and I'll always shower my blessings upon my precious little girls" he said in a sad and broken tone, with his hand on his chest, right above the heart. 'I've finished it pretty good. I don't think these clever girls would suspect anything. Take that Mikan! You can never ignore the pleas of your beloved grandpa and soon, I'll be able to fulfill my plans. I and the Elder Huuyga have waited for this day since so long but Yuka and Izumi were too obstinate to listen to us. I'm sure you wouldn't have either under normal circumstances. I'm really sorry but I had to do it this way.'
Other than being a great shrine keeper, Grandpa must have been a pretty good actor in his times, because by the time he was finished with this long and gloomy monologue, Mikan's sobbing went uncontrolled.
"Oh no please don't say it Grandpa. I'll do all that I can to prevent you from dying. I'll do my homework regularly, I won't skip maths classes however scary Jin-Jin might be and I promise to get good grades in Maths but please don't die. Please don't! I'm yet to do a lot of things. We've made a lot of plans, me and Hotaru; you need to be there for us. You are yet to see my first ballet dance show and Hotaru's science fair. And you always told us that you're going to be there by our side while we're striving to achieve all those dreams that we once shared with you as kids. Please don't die on me grandpa, I promise I'll be a good girl. I'll never scold you and I'll not be afraid of dark too. And I'll pray to the Gods too. They can't be so unfair to me. I'll do anything to see you stay fit and healthy."
"Do you promise to do anything and everything child?"
"Anything grandpa, anything! Please just don't die. You have to live a long life for us. You need many, many years to witness our school life, then college life and then our professional lives too! What is it that you want me to do? If there's anything that can reduce your state of melancholy and restore your health, I'll never hesitate to step back. I'll do everything that can keep you healthy. Please just say it grandpa."
"Ok, standing here at the step of our family shrine, do you promise to listen to your sick and old grandfather's last request and comply with it? Please think hard before giving me your word because this is the house of the Lord and you can't go back on your promise once you make it. It would be like defying the Almighty."
With solemn look in her eyes and a determined expression Mikan hastily wiped off the traces of any remaining tears in her eyes and cheerfully replied, "Your granddaughter isn't weak grandpa, I'm a big, strong girl now. I'll do everything to prevent you from getting hurt. I promise! Now what is it that you want, please just tell me and if it really puts you at ease, I'll try to fulfill that wish till my last breath."
"Oh my precious child, come in your grandfather's arms. Oh, how I long to see you content and happy, living a life of luxury that me as a shrine keeper or your parents as farm owners couldn't provide you. I always dreamt of my darling Mikan clad in rich silks and finest jewels similar to what the affluent class wears but sadly, I could never make this happen and now I've found a way to do so. Do you remember the Hyuugas, the richest business family of Tokyo that visits us every month to offer money for shrine maintenance and to fund scholarships for the village school trust?"
"Yeah I do remember them, but how are they related to your health and last wish?" she asked in a confused tone.
"Oh they aren't, at least not directly, but Lady Hyuuga was talking to me the other day when she visited the shrine. Do you see that marvelous expensive gate of our shrine entrance? She got it constructed just last month, to increase the beauty of our shrine. I bet it costs a huge wad of cash! Never mind, back to the topic! As I was telling you, we both discussed about our dreams and I told her mine, the one that I just narrated to you. Quite surprisingly, both of us dream to see the same. Can you believe it? Both the Lord and Lady Hyuuga were thinking of this since a long time but they couldn't muster enough courage to talk regarding it since they respect and fear me." He puffed his cheeks boastfully.
"Dream, both, same?" Mikan was a lot more puzzled by now. "But why do they dream to see me dressed in fine expensive silk robes and gaudy jewelry when they can do the same to their daughter? Aoi is quite a beauty and she already looks beautiful even in simplest of all her dresses. And what do they have to do with me?"
"Oh you silly little sweetheart! My dear Mikan, you're still so innocent. The dressing up and boasting like rich people comes as a perk to what they want baby! Their actual wish is what would lead to fulfillment of my dream child."
"So, what is their wish grandpa?"
"They want you to marry their only son Natsume. He's a handsome young man I must say. Pretty arrogant, prideful, potty mouthed, short-tempered and wayward but I'm sure your companionship will turn that valueless block of coal into a costly chunk of gold. And once you marry him, you become the next Lady of the Hyuuga Manor. Both lord and lady already adore you so much that they won't hesitate to spend all their riches in order to keep you happy. This way your grandpa will die a happy and content man and you'll also get to marry a sexy piece of ass."
"Whaaaatttttttttttttttttttttt! Are you kidding me?" a shrill shriek pierced through the entire length of forest and the birds flew out of their nests. It must have turned the animals deaf on a temporary basis because Grandpa Sakura definitely lost his power of hearing for some time. He feared those murderous volcanoes that were apparent in his Mikan's eyes. While he was making plans to escape her mindless whining, in his mind, he could visualize a scowling, red orbed and messy raven haired Hyuuga, planning to prepare his grave along with his precious granddaughter. He held his breath and anxiously waited for Mikan's response. Would it be a yes or no? Only time would tell.
Please keep reviewing if you like it. It'll give me the motivation to continue writing in future. I'm still trying to improve so criticism, appreciation and suggestions are all welcomed. I hope to update at least 2-3 chapters in a week. The rating is "M" for the use of adult language and you might get some censored stuff in the future as well. The plot is inspired from a Korean movie "little bride" but the story-line isn't the same.