"I can't believe this, I thought you told me everything's under control" a very handsome lad fumed knowing that he now had to change his schedule, his perfectly laid out plan just because of a mere mistake. But he would not back out, he never backs out.
"She's fast, it's not my fault we lost her inside a huge mall, which by the way was crowded like hell…you know I think it's best that we leave this hell hole at once, the plan failed, we underestimated her and it's too late she knows us now"
"It's never too late, guess I'll have to fetch her myself….she knows you but she doesn't know it's me….well not yet that is" he laughed maniacally then signaled the other lad to follow him.
"Oh Please answer I don't have much time please please pl..."
"Hello Hyuuga sp.."
"Natsume it's me Mikan he is after me I don't know what to do,please save me I…I..know who it is. Please I don't kn.."
"Mikan calm down, don't worry I'm on my way I won't let anyone hurt you, tell me where are you?"
"Please help me..I don. "
"Mikan get a hold of your self, don't panic tell me where you are"
"I'm at central shopping mall, inside a fit on room…Natsume please come soon"
"I'll be there honey, did you call the police"
"I…I..can't remember oh Natsume I don't know..I don't know what's happening anymore"
"I'm on my way be on line, think carefully did you call the police?"
"Can't remember..I…no no I didn't I couldn't he threatened Koko's life"
"I'm coming for you, you are safe now Mikan"
2 Weeks earlier
It was a Monday. People were rushing through the busy streets of Tokyo but not the brunette who walked serenely on the pavement she was wearing a white tank top and black shorts with no makeup at all. Her eyes seemed distant she had her hair in a messy bun. Any one who saw her would conclude her out of place but for her every one around her seemed alien, not in her world.
She was such a happy, such an optimistic girl before everything turned upside down, before her uncle Kazu told her the 'bad' news which on her case the worst news, her mother being murdered.
'Why mom, she never hurt a fly'
Yuka was murdered two weeks later the same way her husband was murdered, sedated and mutilated at her own room on the very spot her husband laid dead. Mikan could understand her father being murdered even though it hurts her to do so, after all her father was a gang leader. He was a thief but never a murderer.
'But mom always disapproved what dad did, she was a good person, a good lawyer'
Mikan's mind was clouded with thoughts of her mom she didn't even notice a man approaching her.
"Mikan "
"Hey Mikan"
"Can't you hear me damn it, Mikan"
Only then she was cut out of her thoughts and looked back only to find herself staring back at crimson orbs.
"I..I didn't hear you"
After letting out a frustrated sigh he took her hands gently and embraced her, even without thinking about the attention they were getting from the bystanders.
"I'm sorry about your mother, we will find who did it just don't do anything irrational, I don't want to loose you"
He could feel his shirt getting wetter every passing second, he was relieved 'at least she's crying'
"We need to go home Mikan" She looked up at the sound of his soothing voice
"It is not my home anymore"
He caressed her cheeks giving a light peck on the lips "It is, you have me remember"
Mikan felt empty even though she had Natsume.
"Hey you should take a bath, you haven't had a proper bath since last week"
"I don't want to, just let me be like this" she just wanted to be left alone, Natsume knew what she wanted but if he let her be now she might end up thinking about her mom and how she couldn't save her, that's what she's being doing for the past week it's time she let go of the past.
"I want you to be happy, let go of the past be a sane person"
"How can you say that 'be a sane person' I could have if it wasn't my mom"
Mikan started sobbing "I'm sorry I just can't watch you like this, come on I'll help you get cleaned up" he said smiling a genuine smile not a smirk like he usually does;
"You would clean me up" Mikan asked incredulously.
"I want to, so will you let me?"
Mikan looked at him and with determination she said "You are right I need to let go,mom wouldn't want this"
"That's my girl" Natsume took Mikans hands and carried her to the bathroom.
"But that doesn't mean you could just wash me" she said teasingly.
Mikan was a virginity keeper (till marriage that is) so Natsume never got lucky even though they lived in the same house now.
"We'll see" Natsume said smirking mischievously at her.
"What are you planning? Are you planning on raping me if I don't give in?" She would play along just to irritate the hell out of him, usually Natsume would just frown at her but today was different, and he was still smirking like he already got what he wanted.
"That's a good idea but even to rape you I need you to be clean" he put her down right in front of the bathroom door "Don't close the door I still don't trust you to be on your own without trying funny things"
"Don't peep you pervert and I won't"
"Don't close the door" he just sat on the edge of her bed.
Mikan undressed herself and got in to the bathtub, Natsume was right she really needed a bath. After having a good bath she wrapped a small towel around herself and went into her room only to find Natsume soundly asleep on her inched closer to his face and pecked his lips, suddenly Natsume pulled her and trapped her underneath him "Very wrong move polka, with just a towel wrapped around, you look ravishable" then he started kissing her fiercely Mikan too kissed back letting out all the things she has faced, she decided she wanted him, she wanted him to take away the pain the insanity.
Natsume sensing her need pulled both her hands up and placed them above her head and with one swift move he removed the only thing that was covering her body. Mikan laid uncomfortably under his scrutinizing gaze, Natsume licked his lips he couldn't control himself anymore.
"Mikan I want you badly, I don't think I'll stop to night"
"I don't want you to stop" they locked their eyes for a split second before Natsume went down straight below her waist.
They spent the whole week at home making love, Mikan was feeling alive despite the fact that they still have no clue whatsoever about her parent's murderer.
"Hey baby good morning. Are you going to work today?"
"I have to I just can't stay at home all day listening to your screams" Natsume said while smirking at the beat red brunette.
"Stop teasing me or you want hear any of that to night"
"Don't worry I'll be hearing more than that to night"
"Oh shut up and go get ready for work, oh and Natsume Koko called me in the morning he said he wanted to see me and asked me to come to the mall"
"He's probably having trouble with Shouda, couldn't he just say whatever that is over the phone and it's still not safe for you to go out"
"No he said something about not being able to trust anyone and only I should know this, don't worry I wont be gone for too long besides he's my bestfriend" she said while still smiling
"Come home before lunch" Mikan could see how worried Natsume was and he looked a bit irritated too.
"Change of plan she's not at the house, you'll have to go to the mall before that ass spills the beans and do not kill him I want him alive, we have to find where he got that information"
"You sure you want to do this, She has nothing to do with…you know what"
"That fucking bitch is their daughter so she has everything to do with it, I want her to feel everything my sister felt….Go get her don't loose her"
"I won't"
"Good"
Mikan was waiting for Koko at a café when suddenly someone pulled her into an embrace softly muttering the words she dreaded the most to hear "Cooperate or Koko dies" she couldn't see his face since her head is pressed against his chest so she did the only thing she could think of at the moment, she put her hand in his pocket and fished for anything that could give away his identity. He felt her hand in his pocket but even before he could do anything a waitress arrived at their table to take an order, Mikan took this chance she excused herself saying she needed to go to the restroom. She knew he couldn't do anything to her when there are people watching.
He had to let her go, then he got up saying he needed to check on his girlfriend, but Mikan was fast too fast for his liking. He was approached by his other companion.
"Where were you all this time?"
"What you lost her? You said you can do it on your own. He's going to cut your head for this, trust me"
Suddenly he remembered she has taken something of him, he was praying that something to be anything but his purse which could easily give away his identity.
He felt his pocket and found his purse
"What are you looking for? Come on we need to find her without making any commotion"
"She took something I just know it" then it suddenly hit him, he doesn't have the pen her father gave him "Oh shit"
Present Time
Natsume was inside the mall within 10 minutes, "Which floor are you in?"
"I think it's the fourth floor, Natsume are you already here?"
"I am, don't worry I'll be there in no time, tell me which shop you are in?"
"I think it's the only dress boutique in this floor I don't know the name"
"I see it be there don't come out", and then he cut the line.
Natsume ran straight towards the fit on room only to find Mikan jump at him tightly embracing him.
"Natsume we're not safe, it's the chief investigator Ruka, I can't trust anyone but you, my dad treated him as his own son and he does this to him"
"Shhhh….you need to calm down, we need to get out of here without getting any attention, I'm here I'll protect you"
Natsume bought Mikan and himself black hoodies so that they could hide their faces.
They both went to the car park like nothing happened and Natsume helped Mikan get in to the front seat. They drove in silence until they reached their house.
"How can you be so calm about everything Natsume, I would have been killed today" Mikan asked while getting down.
"Let's go inside first" he dragged her inside a little harsh for her liking ,but she couldn't think of something like that right now because her mind was flooded with so many things at the moment one thing being the fact that Natsume came to her within like five minutes which is quite impossible for him if he was at his office because it was a forty five minute ride from his office to the mall without traffic that is.
Mikan came to a sudden halt "Natsume how did you come to the mall so fast?"
Natsume was already at the door "Come inside and we'll talk about this", she couldn't doubt Natsume they were together like for four years now, and he was her first in everything 'he was probably following me to make sure that I was okay' and she went inside the house.
She dreaded the moment she stepped inside the house inside was Ruka seated comfortably smiling at her. she started walking backwards without loosing eye contact with Ruka.
"Natsume Natsume Natsu…." She felt Natsumes hands on her shoulder "Natsume it's Ruka he's here"
"I know, I invited him for the evening show and Youichi is here too, he's probably looking for popcorn" everything Mikan believed in came crashing down, she felt like trash a broken glass beyond repair.
Natsume pushed her to the floor "Your father made this house sound proof so don't bother to scream and you're the main protagonist of this movie so you'll have to have all the strength you need bitch"
She couldn't believe what she was hearing why is he doing this and why now, why was he waiting for four years to destroy her "Oh come on say something like why are you doing this? Or maybe, who are you?" Natsume was smirking he looked sinister.
Finally Mikan found her voice "What is this Natsume? Is this a joke? This isn't you"
Natsume laughed like a maniac "Well that's a new line"
"You are very special Mikan I'll love everything I'm about to do to you"
"Why are you doing this?" then she saw another man enter the living room "Youichi, always on time" Natsume acknowledged the young lad "Is she the one you've been shagging? She does look ravisable" "Oh she is, just by thinking of her naked underneath me waters my mouth" Mikan was now feeling ashamed she gave her everything to a man who destroyed her family " You are making her embarrassed Natsume" this time Ruka spoke smiling slyly at Mikan "How can you do this Ruka you were like a son to my father"
"Oh I have every reason to do this Mikan, the day your dad destroyed Natsumes family I decided to destroy his, you see Natsume is my step brother" he looked as if he could kill her right now.
"My dad never destroyed anybody's family, he was a thief, yes but never a murderer"
As soon as she finished saying that she was kicked below her abdomen and pushed back against the wall by was crying out loud screaming for help knowing that no one would come for her.
"He did destroy my family you fucking bitch you were just blind to not notice what he truly did or your mother was really good at hiding his true facade"
"Go easy on her brother she has to feel everything what mom and Aio felt just don't kill her right away" It was Youichi, by now Mikan knew this was his brother.
Natsume pushed her back on the floor and pulled her hoodie out and started unbuttoning her blouse, before Mikan could register what was happening her blouse was thrown away, she screamed "Stop it Natsume please, I didn't do anything I don't even know what happened…stop this madness please" right now a quick death would do, she thought, she didn't want more than one man to see her naked. Natsume pulled her hair up still trapping her weak body underneath him "Madness, you say madness but this is exactly what happened to my mom and sister you slut and your dad just ordered his followers to do what ever they wanted and watched everything, my baby sister was just sixteen at that time and now I'll do exactly the same thing to you, Ruka and Youichi would watch just like your dad"
Mikan was no match for him, she was helpless against him but Mikan with all her strength pulled her hand away from him and slapped him hard, Natsume stopped then looked back at her his smirk returning to grace his face "Now that's what I like a little fight put up against me, sorry to tell you this but you are no match for me" then he slapped her hard on her left cheek and then on her right, he slapped her again and again until her hands fell numbly on either side of her.
"You're exhausted already, come on you can do better"
"Natsume maybe we should just kill her and end this" it was Ruka who voiced his thoughts "They didn't just kill mom and Aio ,they destroyed them and that's exactly what I'm going to do to her, if you can't watch I suggest you get out of this room" when Natsume said that both Ruka and Youichi left the living room.
Natsume looked at Mikan's weak form "You are lucky they left your dad watched how my mom and sister was raped and then murdered them because they testified against him at court" Natsume looked like a monster "He got a way with everything saying he didn't even touch them because his fucking wife happened to be a good lawyer, can you see how fucking messed up your family is, you know the funniest part he has a wife and a daughter himself so I decided I'll do the same with them but I needed time you dad didn't know about me Ruka or Youichi all I needed was you to befriend me then it all happened the way I wanted it until your dad found out who I really was that's when I decided to finish him off but it was taken care of I think his higher ups wanted to shut him I was really hoping to make him watch while I did you and then your mother followed suit she was a little too smart unlike you, who ever killed your parents didn't want me know some important fact" Mikan couldn't believe her ears was this the case they were all worked up four years ago, she was ashamed of herself how could her family have done things like this to some one else, she wanted to go back in time and make everything right, she wanted to save his mom and sister, she could now understand the hatred he has towards her it was reasonable, even though she did nothing she had to embrace the punishment.
"I'm sorry Natsume for everything I never knew you had so much pain inside of you for so long"
"Sorry doesn't cut it" and then he slapped her again, ripped the remaining clothing out of her and raped did not fight 'This is the only way he sees fit so be it' that was her last thought before she passed out.
Mikan woke up in a white room, she blinked her eyes a few times to adjust to the bright light "Am I dead"
"Oh Mikan how are you, we almost lost you" Mikan looked around to find who actually talked to her, it was her bestfriend "Koko, where am I?" "You are at the hospital, when I arrived at your place they have already left,I found you lying on the floor…you were..not in a good condition, you were…" Koko couldn't finish the sentence "raped I know" she silently sobbed "I'm sorry Mikan for what happened to you if only I found out sooner I cou.." the door to the room opened widely revealing a frantic Sumire "Mikan you woke up, you okay dear? I want you to live with me from now on " "but" "no buts and no you don't have a say in this" she then took Mikan's hands in her and started to cry "Don't you ever do that again Mikan,you were out for a week" "Oh Sumire I'll start fresh" just then the doctor who is assigned to Mikan came to her room " we need to do some check ups on you and there is something you need to know you are pregnant"
Just when Mikan thought she could start out of nothing her hopes came crashing down. She didn't want anything that has to do with that violent incident.
She sobbed into Sumires blouse and then she decided "I will keep the baby" Sumire looked at her with empathy "Are you sure honey? You know I'll support you no matter what, I mean me and Koko" Koko gave Mikan an assuring smile,
"I want my baby, the unborn child has nothing to do with what he did, I won't punish my baby, I'll find hope in him" Mikan smiled softly caressing her stomach.
"What if he comes back?" Mikan looked terrified at Kokos sudden question, "He said he wanted to kill me but he didn't, maybe he thought what he did was enough revenge or the others convinced him to stop, either way I hope I never see him and our baby never meets him"
"I think they left the country Mikan we have been searching for them for the past week there is no trace of them it's as if they never existed and there is also one thing that I think you should know" Mikan saw Koko's uneasiness "Go on you can tell me" "You do realize that your father was a gang leader right, they were named The Alices and Natsume is one of the alice hunters 'the black cat' a well renowned one, his whole family is, this is the only information we could get so far"
"What is so special about this Alices?" "They are the most dangerous underworld lords ever to walk the earth"
Mikan looked at him skeptically "and you know this how?" "Me and Sumire we both worked for your mom" Mikan went hysterical "what is this bull? I don't want to know anything one day you're being destroyed the next thing you know the friends you rely upon turn out to be mafia" "calm down Mikan we do not kill people we only put them in tricky situations where they end up killing themselves" this time it was Sumire who joined their conversation "And I think Your dad did what he did because he was forced to" "This is too much for me I want to sleep please leave me alone"
Koko and Sumire both sighed "You should know Mikan, Natsume is the best alice hunter in the world, he could out run any Alice member and he would only kill the ones that kill people for no reason, The Alices are afraid of him, so there should be some one smart enough to convince Natsume that it is all your dads doings, we just need to find that person before he could do any damage to you" "Why me? I'm just an ordinary woman"
"That was before you conceived Natsumes child, you should understand the gravity of this situation, and the senior members of Alice would want your baby because Natsume already has a price above his head"
"You are Alices too" Mikan looked straight at them
"We are your friends and there are good people in Alice who only wants to kill the bad guys, we will protect you from anything just let us help you Mikan, with us you will survive"
"What are we going to do?" Koko and Sumire both looked at each other before similing at Mikan.
"We are going to go beyond Natsumes radar for a while" "Sumire I don't think I want to hear about him" "Relax we will need all the help we want and we have to show him the truth it's the only way, he did not kill them he still needs answers I think that's why he spared your life"
"How are we going to go beyond his radar if he's so smart?"
"Hotaru Imai"