Disclaimer: Higuchi Tachibana is awesome for creating the amazing Gakuen Alice series. That being said, there is no way it could be my work. :P
A/N: There were major changes made in this fic. The chapter was shortened (by scrapping the useless text) and divided (simpler organization) for an easier read. Rated T for strong language and adult themes.
Crazy Noodle Break
Midsummer Eve
Romance, Humor, Suspense, Family, Friendship, OOC, AU
Prologue: The Tale of Two Rival Clans
The course of true love never did run smooth.
(William Shakespeare)
There comes a time in our lives when we are forced to ask ourselves: which side of the coin is better?
No need to flip the coin. Simply make the choice and let the coin roll and roll and roll. Whatever faces up, whatever the outcome - does your choice determine what matters, or does what matters mean more than your choice?
Of course, two rival clans established themselves in society by making choices based on the former, an ancient logic of duality from the coin. They lived in the opposite sides and hated each other since forever. One took the head, the other took the tails and soon they became different as night and day, black and white, cat and dog, rice and mashed potatoes.
An urban legend from Howalon Town tells the epic tale of these two clans.
In this small town, for all the glory it has left, has been predominated by two prestigious families known as the Persona Clan and the Principal Clan. The former lived in a haunting mansion surrounded by swamps and willow trees somewhere in the spooky forest located at the southern portion of town; the latter has a beautiful mansion surrounded by gardens built atop a plateau, and ocasionally, some of the nocturnal townspeople could see one of its tower light up against the northern sky.
These strong-willed families have been engaged in impassioned war and hatred for as long as the locals can remember, anecdotes of the havoc they've caused were incorporated in the repertoires of errant story-tellers even from way back the Meiji Period, the time when story-telling flourished; and the story of their rivalry has since then been passed down from one generation to the lives revolved around getting into each other's throats.
The clans have been known to fight about everything – from small things like which family gets to have a reserved space in a local restaurant first to serious things like whose family pays the lowest corporate tax.
Come the modern era, however, high-rise cities burgeoned from old-fashioned towns and population swelled. Yet the battle between these two families continued.
Reports from wandering researchers told the fighting has become so epic and dwindled to being lilliputian that ordinary folks began treating random explosions and men in tuxedos chasing each other down the street as part of the norm to cope with the craziness of it all. Given the circumstances, the old town buildings and vernacular architecture has forever been undergoing renovation.
Not only did the clash between the two clans become the main attraction of the whole province, if not an embarrassment to Japan, the small town was altogether scratched off the map in hopes nobody would find it - its geographic existence, absolved from the rest of the world. (Government: FAIL)
But one fateful summer day altered the course of their rivalry.
A man from the Principal Clan and a woman from the Persona Clan fell madly in love.
Neither of the clans, nor the people who witnessed the proposal firsthand, saw it coming. The proposal happened in a tiny noodle shop located somewhere in the western vicinity of town where, oddly, the feudal madness between the clans miraculously had the least impact.
Everybody believed the tragic fable has magically turned into a fairy-tale.
But all happiness must come to an end. Before they could elope, their families soon found them, horrified that their chosen successors have been living together. The clans forcefully broke the two apart. It was the hardest thing they ever had to go through. Their hearts grew empty during that time of separation.
As the woman was about to be married off to her younger cousin, the male heir of the Principal Clan, when her lover burst into the ceremony and stole her away from it all. Her lover seemed to have broken out from the mansion with the help of his older brother from the Persona Clan.
The couple reunited in tears, and that was the last time the townsfolk and the clan members ever heard of them.
O~o
The man named Natsume Hyuuga flipped a page, reading the text in riveted silence. He stared at the stick-people illustrations and assumed whoever wrote the book must be on crack.
"Until today, when a turn of events sprung hope for both clans. Both clans hired secret agents all over the world and soon found out that the couple never left the town of Howalon. The clans found out they had a baby. Upon the discovery of the baby girl's existence, both clans started to fight over her, wanting her to marry the heirs of their clans. In the end, the fighting between the two clans grew worse!" a woman with long, curly pink hair that tumbled all the way down to her hips read aloud, popping out of nowhere from behind the startled man's shoulders.
"What's surprising isn't how the two clans fussed over the child, but rather, the fact that they actually wanted her as an heiress. At first it seems one-sided but when you think further, it's weird how much they want that child," said the girl to the stunned Natsume, then concluded by placing a finger on her chin thoughtfully. "I feel there's more to this story."
His grip on the book tightened considerably. A girl.
For as long as Natsume could remember, he loathed girls in every way. He looked around noticing that the bookstore he had entered was teeming with those giggling, whining and shitting excuse for human beings.
This was going to be one long summer.
O~o
The girl named Mikan Sakura flipped a page and continued to read her father's debut book in profound silence.
"Father," she started awkwardly, her chin propped up with one hand, her elbow on the counter of their family ramen shop. Her father whose golden hair was as bright as his blue eyes sat opposite of her, eagerly waiting for feedback from his precious daughter. Mikan fidgeted uncomfortably, closed the book, and after carefully placing it on the wooden surface, she turned to her father and said, "It's a really...interesting book."
Her father jumped off his seat, surprising Mikan. He gave his sweating daughter a loving squeeze before yelling out to his wife happily, "Dear! She says it's interesting! My daughter thinks I'm the best writer in the whole world!"
Mikan turned to her mother, a slender woman in a pink apron with long light-brown hair tumbling over her back, who was currently cooking lunch for them. Their ramen shop was closed earlier that day to celebrate her parents' anniversary, and she was really looking forward to spend the rest of the day with her parents.
For the most part of her life, she's been raised in Hokkaido by her grandfather for some reason neither her grandfather nor her parents refused to reveal. After her grandpa died, having no one else to take care of her, she's began living with her parents for two years now.
And Mikan wouldn't have it any other way.
"Honey, don't get ahead of yourself. Your daughter was just being nice," said her mother, sipping a creamy-looking soup from the ladle, sneaking a wink at Mikan. "Don't forget to give her a raise in her allowance for giving you that positive feedback. I personally think the book lacks insight on everyday life to be considered anything close to those How-To-Count Children's Books . You should have at least hired a professional illustrator, stupid Yukihira."
"You're just jealous that our daughter takes after my taste and you don't," gloated Yukihira, crossing his arms proudly. "I'll be the best-selling author because my Mikan said so, Yuka! Aren't you proud of your hubby??"
Yuka walked over to the counter and grabbed the book, dangling it for her husband and daughter to see. On the pages were black and white illustrations of stick people. "You could've grabbed a wider audience with better pictures. Isn't that right Mikan?"
Mikan straightened her back as both her parents gazes fell on her. "Um," she said, thinking quickly, "There is one thing that I want to ask about the book."
"Why was it categorized as biography under father's name?"
This question seemed to have startled both her parents, who suddenly glanced at each other nervously. It wasn't the first time her parents acted that way, and she never really let it bother her; but at that moment, she couldn't help but be suspicious of her parents. "Father. Mother. You're not hiding anything from me, are you? Don't tell me that lame story is actually..."
But her father cut in and draped an arm over her shoulder. "Now, now, my precious, don't disturb your mother while she's cooking! Let's forget about the book and tell me more about that teenage crush of yours."
Mikan lifted a brow at her father. "Father, you're acting weird. I thought you hated him?"
"What's his name again, that ice cream shop boy, Tsubaka Underdog?" Yukihira said as she led her to the farthest table from the counter.
"It's Tsubasa Andou! Father how could you?!"
And they laughed. Soon Mikan completely forgot about the book, animatedly telling her father stories about her new friends she made in the previous school year and every single, juicy detail on how she was going to confess her feelings for the boy she liked.
"Father, are you okay? Why is your brow twitching?"
"It's nothing, honey. Please do continue."
Yuka smiled fondly at her husband and daughter. She wouldn't exchange being together with them for the world. But then, her expression darkened as she recalled the book. At first she was against publishing it, but her husband told her it will be all right. Soon their families will come and take their daughter away, and both she and her husband had agreed they would no longer interfere and just let everything take its place.
Definitely, it was going to be one interesting summer.
End Notes: To the one person who reviewed, thank you for your sympathy. XD