Huff... IT'S BEEN A WHILE PEOPLE! ;)) And I bragged here with my newest fic which has been written some times ago and when I have spare time for online..
Ok there goes... after some finishing touch (Gawd, thanks in a million for everyone who has commented it even before I do some re-touch) and ENJOOY~
"Onii-chan!" short raven haired girl with teary eyes hugged Natsume tightly, like she's afraid of losing him once again.
"Thank godness, you're save" Natsume slightly whispers and hugged back his beloved little sister. The brown eyes also shows the relieved like they all feels because finally The Elementary School Principal, or what they usually called The ESP, is finally defeated by them and Aoi Hyuuga is free from his grip too.
But, why does she feel a little bit uneasy this time?
# # #
"Oii, Polka, buy me some snacks. I'm hungry" Natsume said from his seat while Mikan's planning to go to the cafetaria.
"Bleh! As if I'm your slave. Use your own foot, Natsume" she talks and stucked out her tongue toward him. Yeah, she can replied his mocking now because they are already a middle schooler.
And more importantly, she didn't tied her hair in childish style anymore just using her red ribbon sometimes to tied it on the back. Just before Natsume could've replied her, almost the same childish voice called him.
"Onii-chan!" that's what she called him. With the same appearance as his; ruby eyes, a little bit longer raven hair and pale white skin. She has softer sight and smaller than him, that's the only differences.
"What are you doing here, Aoi?" he sounds mad but the truth is different.
"Ehehehe I just want to have lunch with Onii-chan" she said and placed two lunch boxes on Natsume's desk.
"I mean, you're not suppose to be here, right?" he sighed
"Don't you know that after the ESP's defeated, the rules are also unofficial anymore which mean I, an elementary student can go here freely." she explains. Oh yeah, Natsume can remember that rules now but that's not the real matter here "Oh yeah, you must be meant to why I can be here. It's all thanks to You-chan's ghost controller alice. He asked help from the cute ghost to go here, so I just asked him if I can go with him"
"What is he gonna do here?" Natsume feels something is not right with Youichi after the ESP's battle.
Right after Natsume spoke, he could hear the voice of an almost puberty boy. "Mikan-senpai, where are you going?" Natsume remembered now that Mikan is still standing at the door waiting for his replied but maybe that's not important anymore.
"Umm, just wanna go to the cafetaria. Have you eaten something You-chan?" and the ghost controller alice's owner just shook his head. "Let's go together then. Bye Aoi, bye Natsume!" Mikan said as Aoi replied and she's gone.
"Let's eat, Onii-chan" Aoi said but he keeps silent as his sight glued to the place where Mikan stood just a moment ago.
"Have you told her that you love her?" Aoi's sudden words make him looked at her quickly, but still has that coolness on it. "Ha?" that's his only words made Aoi laughs a second after.
"Don't play dumb to me, big brother. I'm your little sister, remember? And for your information, I've grown up" she smirked, showed her white and clean well spaced teeth.
"..." Natsume moved his sight to the lunch box and decided to eat the food silently.
"Ok, I won't let her know it." Aoi speaks between her munches "Let's just wait until you confess to her directly." and she laughed like an idiot, imagining how her big brother would confessing. You see, she never imagine that her big brother here would be falling in love before and of course she found it fun to imagine him blushing and telling a love confession to a girl.
In the other place, Mikan walked side to side with Youichi, holding bread and a drink.
"You don't want to eat anything else, Senpai? You seems unhealthy right now" the boy said with his usual flat and expressionless face. But deep inside, he's worrying her so much.
Mikan shook her head with her sweet smile "Nope, I've just lost my desire to eat now. Trust me it'll recovered soon" and his lips finally lit up a little.
Mikan kept walking, but the uneasiness disturbed her once again.
What am I thinking when Natsume and Aoi is together? They're normal for god's sake! There's no way Natsume's an incest, right?
Hold down, why am I thinking like that? I don't like him, no? No way!
She shook her head a bit. When they almost reached her class, Aoi's voice suddenly can be heard.
"Oh I just can't wait for your confession, Onii-chan!"
"Just you wait and see" this one is Natsume's voice.
Hee? Confession? Natsume is gonna confessing to...who?
Mikan shook her head once again and decided to enter the class with only the Hyuugas inside.
"I can hear you guys!" Mikan said with her wide smile "Who's gonna be Natsume's confessing target?" she asked with so much excitement which make Natsume and Aoi went silent.
Natsume kept silent with his coolness but Aoi can't. Her face blushed.
"I-I'm sorry, big brother. I didn't mean to..." before she could finish her words, the bell rang and the two elementaries is finally gone back to their class.
"So?" Mikan eyed him after sitting on her seat beside him.
"What?" he eyed her back.
"Who is the girl you're going to confess?"
"None of your business" and he read his manga back as usual. Mikan knows she can't disturb him anymore now, so she'll just glaring at him and decided to open the text book that the teacher asked.
...Is he going to confess to his own little sister?
That thought sure is disturbing her a lot. Then she shook her head. Not long after that, the thought came through again and she shook her head harder, and so it continue.
God knows better than anyone, because right before Natsume's gonna asked her the same question, the scariest maths teacher, Jinno, yelled at her "What are you doing there, Sakura-san?" and her body stiffened right after that.
"N-nothing, S-sensei" she replied as polite as possible.
"You've made me annoyed. Just get outta this class"
"B-but..."
"No buts!" he glares at her with his lightning aura. She, wants it or not, has to do what he said. And so her feet moved her outside the class. Natsume didn't blink or looked at her either. Just reading his own manga again, but really, he wants to safe her badly.
# # #
Outside, she decides to walked toward her ability class. Fortunately, just before she walked too far, she saw Tsubasa and Misaki-senpai.
"Senpaiii!" she said while waving her hands in the air.
"Why are you outside, Mikan?" Misaki asked after they take a seat under a sakura tree. Actually that's the place where she can find Natsume easily everyday.
"Jin-jin!" she said almost yelling "how about you, senpai?"
"Oh, I and this guy don't have class this afternoon, so we're going to take a lunch together like he said"
"Yesterday, you said you'd bring lunch for us from your cooking" the man with star tattoo said
"Yeah, I want you to taste it first whether it's good or bad, because you just can't lie to me. Maybe the lunch can be enough for Mikan too. Wait a minute, 'kay!" she gets up and ran to their class.
A little silent came as Mikan begins to speak again "How romantic, Tsubasa-senpai!" she grins
He rubbed his hair while thinking what to say "Maybe it's true that having lunch together is romantic, but maybe she just wants me to taste her terrible food" and his face's getting pale.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I, for the rest of my life until now, haven't taste anyone personal cooking except my mother's, hers and yours."Mikan remembered that her senpai here had tasted her cooking once before, when she decided to cook by herself for celebrating her moving to a triple star room "When I was kid, she asked my mother to teach her how to cook. My mother's foods are the best for me at that time..."
"You have been friends with Misaki-senpai since kid?" she said in shock state
"Her family moved and be our neighbour while we're two. The academy toke us when we're three."
"Wow~!"
He sighed and smile, feeling a little flash back "And finally that was her first time cook. She didn't let anyone to taste it. She gave it to me which was really my honored. But it...tasted and looked..." and he covered his mouth, like he's going to puke.
"Is it...really bad?" she asked carefully and he nods
"I even had traumatic after tasting it. I yelled and threw her dish in disgust only to received her punches and saw her teary eyes" he sighed "Come to think of it, I've been so rough to a little girl right there even though she's been so boyish. So on her second times which was in this academy, more clearly without my mother's help..."
He stops awhile "I've had decided to act normal. But right after I saw her cook that looked terrible, my stomach began to ache. But to my surprise, she said 'I won't punch you this time. Just tell me how it taste perfectly'" he chuckled "And when I tasted it, it is not that bad either. So I just said to her that it's quite fine even though it looked the worst. She laughed and punched me while saying 'Thanks, Idiot!'"
"You guys are so cute, Senpai! Have you ever confessed to her?" and she faced him in excitement. They don't know suddenly someone seeing them from afar.
"Here comes again" he sweat dropped "How about trying to have lunch with the fire caster, Mikan? Having lunch together can be romantic like you said, right, Mikan? " he tried to roll the topic.
She blinked dumbly "Why should I? Aoi-chan has made him lunch yesterday. Maybe she will bring him one again today. And that won't be romantic having lunch with him." she huffed while asking herself why suddenly she feels hurt in the chest. Tsubasa burst a loud laugh.
"Or maybe you can cook for us so we can eat lunch together and doing Hanami (=Sitting under cherry blossom tree while seeing their petals dropped like pink snows). You know, having lunch together can make someone even closer and every angriness can flushed away"
"Us? Who?" she asked
"People who has tasted your dish before. I, Misaki, Youichi, Ruka, Hotaru, Natsume. Umm..."
"Tono-senpai?"
"Ah, yeah, that man" he rolled his eyes, annoyed. "Oh, and Aoi-chan said she wanted to taste your dish so badly but too shy to tell you."
"She sure is the opposite of that Natsume"and they laugh together. They went silent again. She decided to looked up and saw the beautiful Sakura flowers (=Cherry blossoms) petals flying down "They've blossomed beautifully this spring, huh, Tsubasa-senpai" as she places her head on his side.
"You bet" he smiled.
Suddenly, she heard a quick steps like a mad person and before she could blink and turn around, she saw him, pulled her wrist hard.
"Ouch!" she twinched
"You shouldn't be here with him" he walked fast and still pulled her hard.
"Le-lemme go, Na—"
"I won't" and he grips her hands tighter. She has tried to let go but it only makes him clunched her.
"STOP IT, NATSUME! IT HURTS!" she finally screams and slaps his hands. They stopped. He turns to see her hold her bruise hand with teary eyes.
"..." his mouth closed.
"Yo-you idiot!" that's her final words before running to her dorm.
# # #
I've yelled at him. He must be really angry right now. What should I do? Think, think!
Her face showed frustation. Suddenly, she remembered her senpai's words.
"Having lunch together can make someone even closer and every angriness can flushed away."
"That's right!" she finally find the way out to make Natsume doesn't angry to her anymore. She bandaged her wrist and walked to her kitchen.
# # #
"Morning!" she greets the class.
"Is is going to be stormy tonight? Because our Miss Mikan Sakura came early this morning" Koko declared and laughed together with Mochu.
"Shut up" she said but also laughed hard.
"What's happen to your hand, Mikan"
"Ah...umm.. a little accident after I climbed a tree. It's nothing, guys, really. Tee-hee"
"Are you a monkey, Mikan?" and Koko began to laugh again even after Mikan's chasing him while yelling.
# # #
The bell's finally rang. It's lunch time already. True that this morning Natsume was sitting on the class, but right before the bell, he walked outside and he didn't come back until now.
"Ruka-pyon, do you know where Natsume is?"
"He probably is on the roof top. Lately, he likes to go there alone" Yes, after Ruka's dating with Hotaru, he spent his break alone almost every day.
"Oh, thanks, Ruka-pyon" and she ran outside with the lunch box in her hand. I hope he'll forgive me, she thought.
"Nii-chan!" Aoi suddenly appears beside Natsume's seat.
"Why are you here?" he sighed.
"Oh dear, my big brother is on the bad mood now"
"..." he keeps expressionless while his little sister is laughing out loud now. "Whose alice did you use?"
she answered him with a little laugh "Oh, one of my friends's teleportation. You-chan said he's so sleepy so he decided to sleep on the class. Oh, he wants me to say his hello to Mikan-nee" she said while opening the lunch box "I guess he likes her"
"..."
"And I guess your silence's telling me you've already notice it" Natsume laid on the ground to hear her talk "Let's eat, Natsume-nii. Oh, I don't have enough lunch box so today I just have one big box to share..."
"I'm not hungry" he cut her words.
"...Let me guess.. Are you having a fight with Mikan-nee?"
"..." he only looked at the sky silently.
"Your silence means yes. Oh my god, big brother! Go apologize to her now!" she began yelling at him.
"Shut up, Aoi"
"Or you must be hungry! Let's eat then, I'll feed you up. Here. Aaaaa..."
"Get away from me"
"Just eat!" she insisted and he keeps rejecting. She can't handle her stubborn big brother anymore so finally she crawled up on his body with chopsticks in her right hand "Eat this big brother~~" with her scary aura, pretending to be a ghost.
"Oii" he knows someone might see this in a wrong way and he felt something bad about this.
PRAK!
Right before he could do anything to resist his stubborn little sister, he heard something dropped and his head quickly turns to the only door. Their eyes widened to see the person who dropped the lunch box. High schooler with flawless skin and medium wavy brunette, the same color as her widened eyes.
"Mi..."
"Don't get us wrong, Mikan-nee!"
As if her heart stop beating for a second, her body stiffed before she could talk "a-I'm sorry" and she quickly ran away. They both get up quickly. Natsume walked fast to where she lost her held over the lunch box. He reachs one of the foods and bite it.
Onigiri? Don't tell me she made this with her swollen wrist caused by me for apologizing?
His eyebrows knotted "Aoi, clean this mess up." and he ran as fast as he could to the direction of Mikan.
# # #
He ran through the corridor, searching where she could be and unintentionally his eyes caught a glimpse of her from the windows entering the Northern Forest "Shit!" he swears and ran faster.
"Mikan! Wait up! I can explain!" her head turns and she disappeared with her teleportation. His heart feels hot with all the chasing thing they do and now even hotter when he see her crying.
"Please listen to me! I know you're still around" now he stops and looked around him carefully. "Okay, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for yesterday and everything I've done. And I can explain the situation on the roof before, so..."
"Arck!" his head turned and see her hold her right arm in pain. It's bloody because a sharp dangerous tree trunk has slapped her hand. The same hand that has swollen bruise in it.
To see him ran quickly toward her, she ran as fast as she could with the energy left "Don't chase me!"
"Stop it, Mikan! This forest is way too dangerous!" He keeps running and when he almost reach her she use her alice again "D-don't do it!" he finally reach her. But only her red ribbon. "Damn it!" he swears in his mumble while panting.
# # #
It's already 9 pm and he feels so tired. His hand grabbed her ribbon tightly in front of her dorm. He knows there's only a little chance that she'll get back to her dorm, but he has searched her at their Sakura tree, on the school or even at the hospital where she usually visited him when he's wounded and the Town where she always asked him to accompany her to buy Fluff Puff. But none of that place is correct and he's already at his limit. Maybe a little rest in front of her dorm would charge him.
A boy is laying on his comfortable bed while watching TV, relaxing. Suddenly a spirit came in front of him 'Mikan-senpai is on the dangerous area deep inside the Northern Forest'
"Huh? How come?" he gets up
'We don't really know, seems like she's avoiding someone and her arm's wounded. She suddenly appeared in our territory and crying. Because we've known her from Master, I guess it's better if we told Master.'
"I'll go there. Show me the way" as he grabs his jacket and rides the spirits, they lead him to her place.
# # #
"Senpai...Senpai.." he called her with his small and gentle voice that hasn't change and Mikan finally opens her eyes.
"You-chan... how can you be here?"
"The spirits help me. How can you be here, Senpai?"
She smiles and shake her head "It's nothing. Let's go back to the dorm. It's already this late" when she gets up, her limp feet can't hold her weight properly so she almost fell but Youichi quickly catch her.
"I'm fine, You-chan.. really"
"No, it's not. I'll carry you to your dorm." and he placed her on his back.
"You are younger than me..."
"But I can carry you, Senpai" and he began to walk to the dorm with his spirits help.
# # #
Natsume stared blankly at her ribbon. He's already waited since 5 pm and she hasn't came back yet.
Where is she now? It's almost 10 already. Hold on... Is she still in the forest? But I can't sense her before. Or maybe she teleported deep on the forest where I can't sense her anymore... which mean... the dangerous areal! Why can't I think of that possibility? Oh, I ought to go there fast!
Right when he stood up, he could see someone at the end of the corridor.
"Hang on for a bit, Senpai. We're almost reach your dorm."
"Aren't you tired, You-chan? I can walk now" and he only shook his head.
"You're sweating" she hugged him tighter "How can you be this big when you're so small back then? You could even sat on my lap, but now.." and he heard her lovely tired chuckle.
"But now I can carry you on my back" he smile silently. At that time Youichi rise up his head and directly met him in the eyes.
"Senpai" he said.
"I need to talk to her" he still eyed him. Youichi finally let her down from his back.
"Is it okay, Mikan-senpai?" and she nods.
"Thank you very much, You-chan" she smiled and opened her dorm.
Right before she entered, he grabs her hand "Hold on"
"Ugghh" Natsume realized he's held the wrong hand because she grimaced in pain, so he let her go
"We need to talk"
"I'm really tired now, Natsume. Good Night." and she walk inside her dorm.
"Good night, Senpai" Youichi followed and walked toward his own room.
# # #
Today he decided to absent from class. Little did he knows that Mikan is also absent. Natsume with his slight ability find out that she's sick, a high fever and decided to stay at her dorm the whole day.
KNOCK!
She opened her swollen eyes slowly. Her body feels so heavy and painful but still she needs to open it.
"Who is it?" she asked as normal as she could. No answer. She huffed and leaned against the door because it's so tiring for her to walk to the bed again.
Oh my head feels burning... and spinning... Ah, I forgot to bring the ice pack from the bed..
She sighs with the thought. Suddenly someone knocked the door again.
"Who?" she asked but still got no answer. She doesn't like it so she decided to open the door and yelled at the person who make fun of her even though she's really sure if the person punch or grabbed her hand, she can't do anything.
"I've asked 'who' you goddamn..." her mouth shut at the same time her eyes widened. She stunned for a moment and walked backward.
"I'm sorry for disturbing you" he said.
"aa...I need to take a shower now. B-bye..." she's gonna back to her dorm but his hand already stopped the door to close.
"Look. I'm so sorry. I'm so frustated just to think of you. I..."
"That's fine, Natsume" she let out a little bit chuckle to melt the situation.
"But I can't be fine!" he yelled in desperation as low as possible so no one would hear except the two of them.
"I forgave you already. Don't worry" she smiled and walked inside "Thanks for visiting me. Do you want a cup of tea? Why aren't you in the class right now?"
"I can't think properly right now" his answer still shows how desperate he is now.
"Why? You sh—" before she could finish her own words, suddenly everything feels so blank and she can't feel her body.
# # #
Natsume saw her every movement and when she suddenly lost balance, he ran toward her and hold the back of her head and her waist.
"He-hey, are you okay? Mikan, answer me" he's panic so he carried her to her bed.
"It hurts...I'm burning. H-help" she began to sweating and mumbling non sense.
"What?" he reach the ice pack and place it on her forehead "Do you want to go to the hospital?" He asked while changing her right hand bandage more panic now, but she's just shaking her head and whispering a 'no' slightly. She's fully wounded there with swollen wrist and deep long cut at upper arm but she still insists to go to the hospital. And more importantly, it's all because of him. That would cause her an infection, right? Or maybe her fever also caused by it? He shuts his eyes to clear his mind but failed every time.
# # #
Minutes passed and finally she opens her eyes back slowly. Unfortunately he realized her empty look "Why are you entering my dream now, Natsume?"
"Ha?" he confused.
"Why are you in my dream here when I decided to forget you? Why are you making me feeling worse?" he concluded that she's in her daydreaming. But he can't just accept her non sense decision in her mumble.
"Why are you deciding to forget me, Mikan?"
Her tears soon falling down across her cheeks "B-because I've ruined your life.. I have had..." she said between sobbing "...because I felt hurt with no reason to see you and Aoi-chan dating."
"What?"
"That's okay if you're gonna confess to her even though she's your sister. But why am I crying all night? Why is it so hurtful? I never know this feeling." he went silent after all her words "I can't stand this. I'd rather kill myself!"
"Stop it, Mikan. Don't do it! Please don't, I'm begging you" he said in desperation while holding her hands. Everything she said only made him worrier. Her empty eyes looked at him.
"You're here... in my dream, even make me resist to forget you. How can you be so mean to me?" her tears flowed again "I'll praise you with Aoi-chan even."
"Mikan, stop saying that thing"
"...She's really a pretty and kind girl that suit you well" seems she doesn't hear him at all. "I can only hope to die because of this fever" she chuckled darkly made him widened his eyes.
"Stop it" he whispers on her ears.
"Cough—hosh...ugghh!" her face once again grimace in pain. Her body's shaking, trying to hold the bruise.
"Mikan?" he's getting pale to see her like that.
"Who?" she opens her swollen eyes with usual sight.
"I'll definitely take you to the hospital"
"Don't!" she held that person's clothes and realize that is Natsume. She gasped, forced to sat herself even though it felt so damn painful in her head and moved farther from him "N-natsume? Wh-what are you doing here?" she can't say that he's been in her dream just now, in her opinion, and Natsume also didn't plan to tell her the real thing.
"I'm visiting you. I was wondering why you're absent and... Just wanted to say sorry and explain something"
"..." she leaned against the wall behind closely.
"First, I didn't plan to confess to Aoi. I am definitely not an incest, you know." he said and her eyes once again bulged with blushing cheeks.
"H-how can you say that? Where did you get that information?" she began to panic
"Guessing" that's his only answer. He moved his body closer to her while she pressed her back to the wall harder "Second, the incident at the roof, it's definitely an accident. She forced me to eat lunch while I'm..." it's hard for him to admit it "...thinking of you having a confession from someone else."
"Eh, who?" her eyes blinked several times.
"That doesn't matter anymore now" in a quick move his lips reach her. He could feel her short hot breath. "If he's carrying you here, let me carry all your pain then" and he kissed her again gently.
"Y-you mean You-chan? I'm thinking of him as my little brother no matter what, there no way... S-stop kissing me, Natsume. You'll get sick!"
"I don't care though. I just want to have my fifth kiss now" he smiled.
She pushed him "Fifth?" she said almost screaming.
"One at the christmas dance ball, two at the tree at the same day, three and four just a moment ago"
"S-so why are you kissing me like a mad when you're going to confess to someone?" she hold him at the chest
"Because I've always wanted to confess to an idiot who wore polka that always attract my sight" she stunned and face him in disbelieve.
"And more important, you won't feel hurt anymore because some feeling you said before is the feeling of one-sided love"
"One-sided?"
"It's when you are loving someone but he's not loving you back, just like what I had tasted"
"Who made you hurt, Natsume? Tell me!"
"What are you gonna do if I tell you then?" he smirked
"I'll tell her that you're falling in love with her and then drag her in front of you so she'll apologize" she said seriously.
"That's fine, I've only loved one girl since I was born and fortunately I already confessed to her a moment ago, so you don't have to waste your energy for it anymore" she blushed madly when hearing him saying it.
"A-I'm so sorry, N-natsume... I didn't know that I've... hurt you so much before. I'm really sorry" she begged for his forgiveness and that's not what he wants to.
"I've hurt you more, right? Don't make me feel bad"
"But..."
"Ssshh.." and he toke their fifth kiss "Get back to sleep. I'll take care of you as an apologize. Or do you need to go to the hospital? Because I think your high temperature is dangerous"
"No thanks, I've no doubt I'll get better soon, Natsume. Thanks a lot then" she pulled the blanket up to her neck with happy smile.
"You're welcome, girlfriend" he turned his sight from her to the window and smile.