III. Cabin in the Woods... and DVD's?
Mikan instantly regretted that she agreed to whatever Yuka was planning. She squinted her eyes as she tried to look past the trees; a clear attempt to see anything that would give her a clue on what's in store for her.
'Is it a cottage? A treehouse? A tent of some kind? Hell, it could just be a sleeping bag for all I know.'
Mikan slapped away the twigs and branches that kept on pestering her. Yuka's footsteps slowed down as she motioned Mikan to match her strides.
"Close your eyes." Yuka whispered hastily. Mikan looked at her mother weirdly; unable to comprehend what she had just said.
"What the he—"
"I said: Close your eyes!" Yuka demanded excitedly. She bounced up and down in her place while waiting for Mikan to comply. Mikan sighed dramatically before closing her eyes.
"Okay, okay!"
With that, Yuka went behind Mikan and gripped on her shoulders lightly. She eagerly nudged Mikan to move forward in which Mikan hesitantly did so. In all honesty, all Mikan wanted to do on a Friday night was prop her ass on a sofa and eat a slice of cold pizza while watching a football game... But no! Her mother had to ruin it for her.
After a few moments, Mikan could hear the familiar swishing of water from a distance. Mikan tried to open her eyes but Yuka seemed to have read her mind when she made a grunt of disapproval. Mikan had an urge to stick her tongue out at her mother... It was a childish thing to do but she was too agitated to care.
Yuka tightened her hold on Mikan's shoulders—halting her movements.
"We're here and I want you to do as I say." Yuka began sternly. Clearing her throat, Yuka looked at Mikan one last time before continuing.
"Open your eyes on the count of..."
"... One ..."
"... Tw—" Mikan didn't wait for Yuka to finish up to three when she opened her eyes—eager to know what it was.
Shit. "Fuck." It was all Mikan could utter when she saw what it was.
In front of her stood a magnificent cabin. It was a 275-square foot wood and glass box that hovered lightly above the lake shore. The exterior walls were partly wooden and partly covered with horizontal stripes of glass enhanced by an outer horizontal cedar screen—it both prevents the structure from twisting and filters the bright light. It looked glorious at night since its electric interior light illuminated the cabin like a traditional japanese lantern.
But what caught Mikan's undivided attention was a shiny red motorcycle parked in front of the cabin. Yuka pulled out something from her pocket hurriedly; emitting a jiggly noise that sounded awfully similar to clanging of keys. The noise caused Mikan to glance at Yuka suspiciously before looking at what was in her hands.
"Seriously? You're giving me a 2013 Ducati 1199 Panigale R?" Mikan asked; her voice shrill in disbelief. "This is too much! I'm sorry but I can't accept this."
"Yes, It's a welcome present. When Izumi mentioned that you like motorcycles, I instantly bought the most expensive bike out there. This is the least I could do, Mikan. Indulge me." Yuka pried open Mikan's clenched fists and gently put the keys into her palms.
Mikan reluctantly accepted it. For her, It felt as if those three, little keys weighed a ton. With one last glance at the motorbike, Mikan proceeded using one of the keys in opening the door of the cabin.
Since the cabin only has limited space, the interior is minimal—all of the surfaces are of veneer plywood including the built-in cabinets. The east side opens to an outdoor shower and chemical compost toilet while the west side opens to a small deck; which, bare of handrails, spills out to the horizon in an infinity pool-like effect.
"I designed this cabin with you in mind." Yuka sighed wistfully; seemingly fond of the memory. After a few minutes of companionable silence, Yuka glanced at her watch and sighed sadly when she saw the time: 9 in the evening.
"I must go. There are two boxes of pizza in the fridge so help yourself." When Yuka was about to close the door of the cabin, Mikan's voice cut through the thick air.
"I had fun... mom." Yuka beamed happily before shutting the door. It warmed her heart just hearing those words from her daughter.
~o0O0o~
Mikan woke up from her sleep by the shrill ringing of her phone. She grumbled incoherently before getting up to grab her phone from her duffel bag.
'Who the hell calls this early?'
'Oh, a voicemail.' Mikan was even more intrigued when she saw that it was from an unknown number. Putting it on loudspeaker, she lay back on her bed and closed her eyes as she waited for the message to start.
"Mikan!" A jubilant female voice exclaimed. Mikan snapped her eyes open and looked at her phone oddly.
'Mom?'
"Mikan! Go to the house at 8 sharp." With that; a beep resounded, signaling that the message had ended. Glancing at the clock at her nightstand—which read 7 in the morning, Mikan hurriedly freshened herself up; all the while screaming a string of profanities in her head. While checking if she had forgotten something, Mikan caught sight of the lake beside the cabin.
"Next time, Lake. Next time." She mumbled longingly under her breath before grabbing her keys.
Mikan revved up the engine of her new baby—a red 2013 Ducati 1199 Panigale R (Yeah, she likes reminding herself that), momentarily enjoying it's powerful purr before driving towards the mansion.
~o0O0o~
Pulling the key out of the ignition, Mikan felt like she could relate to those people in horror movies who knows when something bad will happen to them. Add that someone was playing the piano inside the mansion. Dun dun dun.
"Maybe this is a bad idea." Mikan muttered lowly to herself but her stomach grumbled in protest.
"Exactly! I could just get back to my cold pizza at the cabin. Yum." But before she could put her plan into action, Yuka came barreling from the front door. The one playing the piano also stopped.
"Mikan, you're late! We've been waiting for you." Mikan heard clear as a day that someone will be with them. Bummer.
"We?"
"Come on!" Yuka said impatiently before dragging Mikan across the front door. Mikan could hear two people arguing while walking towards the dining room.
"Just leave me alone!" A husky voice bellowed menacingly.
"Son, we couldn't allo—"
"Don't call me that!"
There in the dining room, stood a handsome, silver-haired young man who seemed to have the same age as Mikan. He was furious about something while talking to a blonde-haired man in his mid-forties who was sitting calmly on a bench beside the piano. The young man seemed to sense that they were not the only ones in the room since he snapped his gaze at Mikan; who stared back just as intensely—not backing down.
"Well, well. Who's this?" The lad leered causing Mikan to smirk; but her eyes showed anything but amusement. Yuka glared daggers at the young man.
"Youichi! You shouldn't hav—" Mikan held out her hand to cut Yuka off.
"Nah. I can handle this dimwit just fine, mom. The fuck's your problem, man?" Mikan sneered. The young man; Youichi, seemed shell-shocked when he heard that Mikan was in fact, Yuka's long-lost daughter.
"You... You're..."
"What? Cat got your tongue?" Mikan remarked snidely. Youichi clenched his fists but kept his mouth firmly shut. The air was tense; no one dared to utter a single word when Youichi started to walk towards the door. With a last hostile look towards Mikan's direction, he left—leaving the door open at his wake.
"I apologize for my son's behavior. He's been having some problems lately and when you came in, he just lost it..." The elderly man trailed off; he didn't want to show any further information about the lad.
"I understand." Mikan began. "Teenagers these days..." She shook her head as if to emphasize her point. The blonde male stifled a laugh before sharing a knowing look with Yuka. By then, Mikan realized that the blonde dude might be Yuka's husband... and she still doesn't remember his name. Shit.
'Oh shiz with a cherry on top! Was it Naruto or Nagaraya...? I'm not sure.'
"Uhm... You must be Naruto—"
"It's Narumi... Narumi Anju." He stood up from the bench and held out his hand in greeting. Mikan took his waiting hand in a firm handshake.
"So, a son? You have a son?" Mikan threw the question at Yuka. She was curious about why Yuka never mentioned Youichi in any of their talks. Yuka looked bemused at first before shaking her head sadly.
"No, but we consider him as one." Yuka's answer was short as if she's scared to give anymore details.
"We?" Mikan blurted out without thinking.
'Stupid mouth.'
"Yes, we. We can only give you the cliff notes if you want, since it's Youichi's story to tell." This time, it was Narumi who answered.
"Youichi is actually my nephew. His parents died when their house burned down four years ago. Youichi was the only who survived the incident. Since I'm his only distant relative left, I was given custody of him. He blamed himself badly for what happened that he underwent treatment for a year... Youichi's getting better since then; he better be." The last part was more on Narumi's reassurance to himself since he didn't want to see his son go back to that phase again.
"Enough of the heavy! Why don't we eat?"
~o0O0o~
Two weeks have passed without Mikan knowing it. She was kept fully occupied by Yuka and Narumi by showing her around Tokyo. Despite that, she could never erase from her mind the anguished expression in Youichi's face that day. Since then, Mikan never saw the lad since he was either in his room sulking or he's out with his friends partying. She was curious, that's for sure.
'Curiosity killed the cat... but maybe Curiosity was a dog person.'
It was late afternoon when Mikan decided to go back to her cabin. For the past week, she was smothered with attention by Yuka and Narumi that she didn't have any time for herself and to call her dad to see how he was doing.
But as Mikan neared her cabin on her 2013 Ducati 1199 Panigale R (which reminded her that she needed to name it ASAP), she saw a man leaning against the front door. Mikan's eyes visibly widened when she saw that it was in fact; Youichi Hijiri. Regarding his surname, Narumi once mentioned to Mikan that the young man wanted to keep his surname to have something to remember his parents by.
"If it isn't the pervert! What brings you here, Hijiri?"
"Ouch, you wound me. No wonder Tsubasa likes you!"
"You know Tsubasa? And what are you doing here?"
"You bet! We both play for Alice Academy's football team." Youichi puffed out his chest in pride causing Mikan to chuckle lightly.
"That's cool." Mikan was happy that someone shared her interests... but she was no fool. Mikan knew that Youichi was avoiding the question.
"I know there's a reason why you're here." When Youichi was about to retort, Mikan continued in a low tone. "I don't have time for your bullcrap so if you're going to keep that up... I suggest you fuck off."
With that, Youichi sighed in exasperation before standing in his full height. He held out his arm in which Mikan hesitantly took. Together, they strolled towards the lake shore.
"Aunt Yuka wanted me to apologize for what I did." Youichi hastily began as soon as they situate themselves on a stray log at the shore.
"Then don't. It's nothing. I've met worse." Mikan replied; nonchalance coloring her tone. But she was glad to see that Youichi visibly relaxed after hearing that sentence alone.
"I know." Youichi said dismissively. Seeing that Mikan has this 'what-the-hell' look in her face, he continued.
"She was just overreacting." Youichi said simply. "Besides, I said that Aunt Yuka wanted me to apologize, not that I would." Youichi concluded and smiled smugly when he took in Mikan's bewildered expression.
"Asshole!"
"And a big, wonderful one at that." Youichi pumped his fist up in the air; knowing that he won. Mikan laughed heartily at his antics and Youichi couldn't help but join in. Moments later, they finally settled down. Youichi was wiping away his fake tears while Mikan slightly shivered due to the cold air.
"There's more to why you're here, right?" Mikan knew that there was still something bothering Youichi and she wanted to help him as much as she could. And Mikan also knew that she hit the jackpot when Youichi stiffened slightly.
"Well Mikan, what do you know 'bout my past?" Youichi needed to know to what extent Mikan knew about his past to know how he'll go ahead.
"Just the basics. Narumi said that it's your story to tell and I didn't want to pry."
"I loved playing with fire when I can, but my parents didn't like my obsession with it one bit... It was nighttime when that incident happened. There was this huge blackout in Tokyo that time... and I was ecstatic. I didn't know what happened; it was so fast! I just lighted up the candle and all this flames shoot out... I know that everyone in the neighborhood blamed me for what happened even if they hid it behind their sympathetic smiles and hugs." Mikan watched Youichi intently; fascinated at the faraway look at his face.
"The doctor diagnosed that I had this stupid disease called Pyromania. Some kind of disease in which people repeatedly try to deliberately start fires for euphoria and relief... just like drug addicts itching for a fix. Then Narumi came to the rescue and treated me like his own son. From then on, they helped me overcome my addiction to become a better man..."
"... and I am forever grateful to them for that." Youichi concluded with a small smile in his face.
"Good lord! I wouldn't know what to do if you go all 'I can't stop burning the DVD's!' on me." Mikan knew it was weak attempt to ease the tension in the air but succeeded when she saw a small smirk dawned on the lad's lips.
"I can't stop burning the DVD's... Really?" Youichi arched a delicate eyebrow in disbelief. Mikan, in turn; stuck out her tongue at him childishly... Thus a start of a beautiful friendship.
~o0O0o~
Yuka and Narumi were pleasantly surprised the next day when Mikan suddenly put Youichi in a Heimlich maneuver while he was eating his breakfast, causing him to spit out all the food that he was munching.
"Goddamit woman!" Youichi bellowed as he hastily wiped his mouth with a table napkin.
"Youichi, language!" Yuka chastised half-heartedly as she disguised her chuckle with an unconvincing cough.
"Yeah, asshat! Language!" Mikan shook her head teasingly. Yuka and Narumi were amusedly watching them. They just continued on eating their breakfast as if this was a daily occurrence.
"Aunt! Why didn't you correct Mikan? No fair!" Youichi pouted; using the last of his charms. He knew that it would be enough for Yuka to bend to his will.
"Mikan, language!" Yuka sternly said. But all it took was Mikan's widened eyes to make all of them crack up with laughter.
"Hey!"
~o0O0o~
A/N: I had so much fun writing this chapter! And I hope you had fun reading it too. It will be a challenge to write the next chapter... after all, our favorite blackmailer and a certain bunny lover will make their appearances! My, my! Can't wait! How about you? Type in a review below so I could know!
Ya'll know the drill: REVIEW and get a teaser in return!
Cheers,
Major Sugar Assassin