KING
Days went by and Mikan has nothing to do so she decided to count them. No, she can't see the sun, but she did count the times they gave her anything to eat, and the times they let her go to the toilet.
It had become a routine for her. Wake up, stare at the stone ceiling. Breakfast, stare at the stone wall. Lunch, try to take a nap. Dinner, stare at the stone wall until they let her go to the toilet. Toss and turn on the lumpy mattress and try to turn herself in a cocoon using the blanket they gave her before falling asleep. Repeat.
It was boring, Mikan won't deny that. She misses her old village. She misses her mother. She misses her friends and the children in the village.
As she rubbed her hands all over her arms, she can't help but realize that the North was so cold… way different than the South. The pretty dress that she usually wears in the hot weather of the South is useless in the North's cold winds. The stone walls weren't helping her case either. Why they decided to give her a blanket as protection, she still didn't know. A prisoner didn't deserve such treatment.
And so, her eyes closed, dreaming of the sun and the smell of dewy grass from her home.
-:-
If there is one thing a Northerner should know about Hotaru Imai, it is that she is a marvelous innovator. A brilliant inventor and businesswoman at her age.
She was the woman behind the technological advancement of the Hyuuga Territory. When Natsume was crowned king, she proposed her plans. And for some reason, Natsume trusted her enough to let her lead the project that made the North the most developed kingdom.
And if there is another thing a Northerner should know about Hotaru Imai, it is that she is actually cousins with the king. Well, cousin once removed.
And though she and the king might be related, she absolutely hates it whenever he tries to make her do something aside form work. She still promised she'd do it, though. In exchange for money.
As she stared at the figure laying on the cot behind the metal bars, Hotaru can't help but think why Natsume was so interested in this girl. The girl must have felt her stare because she suddenly stirred before she sat fully erect, her head whipping to the right, unfocused eyes trying to see her.
"Ah, I see you're alive," Hotaru's quiet voice was somehow still heard by the girl.
"Yes," the girl covered her mouth as she yawned. "Everyday they make sure that I'm still breathing."
Hotaru raised a brow. She had a feeling she's going to like this girl.
"My name is Hotaru Imai."
The girl blinked twice, as if assessing her words. "I'm… Mikan Sakura."
Hotaru's lips twitched lightly. Ah, the sweet smell of victory and money. The name that Natsume and the kingdom's security has been searching for a week now, she got it in just a span of minutes.
"Hello, Mikan," Hotaru greeted quietly. "Are you a fan of baths? Or is a shower enough?"
Looking at Mikan Sakura now, Hotaru still wonders what was so special about her. She took Mikan into her own house, letting her take a shower and then running her a bath, before providing her with clothes. She was pretty that's for sure. Her long auburn hair that was once matted in a braid is now combed, her natural curls framing her heart-shaped face. Clad in jeans, jacket, and boots, Mikan looked like a pretty normal citizen of the North. Aside from her button nose that was a distinct physical trait of a Southerner, she could easily roam the Northerner streets and people won't even look twice.
"So what do you do in the South?" Hotaru tried to make small talk.
"What?"
"Did you have a job? You're what? Twenty-two?"
Mikan smiled. "Twenty-three actually. And, yes, I did. I'm a nurse. I used to help my mother, who was a midwife, help other women give birth in our village."
Hotaru nodded before a comfortable silence ensued.
"Pray forgive me, Miss Hotaru?"
"Just Hotaru"
"Yes, uhh, Hotaru... thank you for the clothes." Mikan smiled sincerely, "They are not what I'm used to wearing, but I really appreciate them."
Hotaru cocked an eyebrow. Huh, the girl was polite. "It's nothing. And why were you even wearing a dress in this climate? And one that is made of tulle? Didn't you know that it's always cold up here in the North?"
"I…" Mikan started before sighing, her eyes downcast. "It's what we usually wear in the South, or at least in our village. It only really ever gets cold there when it's winter. You won't even know that autumn came if not for when the leaves fall."
Mikan anxiously combed her fingers through her hair. "And… I really wasn't planning on going here. I was supposed to head to the Trade Road and enter the East."
"Why the East?" Hotaru inquired, handing Mikan a black scarf.
Mikan took the scarf and smiled in gratitude. "The East is usually more welcoming of immigrants. Especially ones that are running away from abusive people."
Hotaru said nothing at that. She motioned for Mikan to stand and follow her. She instructed her to get the car, and the hazel-eyed girl wordlessly complied.
"I will be completely honest, Mikan," Hotaru said after she fastened her seatbelt. "I'm going to bring you to the testing unit next. We will have to get your blood sample and test you if you are someone valuable to be kept here."
"B-but… what if I'm not valuable enough? What's going to happen to me?"
Hotaru looked away from the doe-like eyes. All she did was spend a couple of hours with this girl and now she's starting to sympathize with her. "Because of your record for trespassing… caning, if you're lucky. Death, if you're not."
Mikan released a shaky breath before facing forward and closing her eyes tightly. To be able to come up with such punishments… King Natsume Hyuuga was indeed as cruel as the tales say.
-;-
Mikan tried not to tremble as she walked along this pristine, white hallway that smelled strangely of like bleach behind Hotaru. Everybody here seemed to know her as every employee bowed their heads to greet them.
Hotaru said the procedure would be quick. She would just sit for a couple of minutes, and then it will be over. They would find out what her alice is. The best she could do now is to plead for a peaceful life, away from talks of war and her having a useful role in them.
Her thoughts were cut short when Hotaru pulled a door open and motioned for her to enter first.
The first thing that Mikan could think of was that this man seated behind a desk, whose hair was like a prince's looked exactly that—a prince. This man was handsome.
Prince Charming stood up from the chair behind his desk and smiled so brightly, Mikan swears she's gone blind for a moment. Oh, god, Prince Charming was starting to walk towards them
Mikan had to blink when Prince Charming continued walking a bit to her left, with his arms open, towards Hotaru.
"I swear to god if you kiss me in front of my guest, Nogi, I will castrate you."
Mikan whipped her head to look at Hotaru so hard she would've gotten a whiplash. She was about to open her mouth to speak, but Hotaru beat her to it.
"Mikan, this is Dr. Ruka Nogi. He was appointed as the department of health's chairman three years ago." Hotaru gave the man a fleeting glance. "And I've been dating him for the past two years… unfortunately."
"Yeah, but you tolerate me."
"Nogi, shut the fuck up."
Ruka chuckled before offering his hand to Mikan for a shake. "Hello, nice to meet you, I'm Ruka."
Mikan reluctantly shook his hand. "I'm Mikan."
"Ah. The trespasser?"
Mikan winced. "Pray forgive me, sir, but I would really appreciate it if you won't call me that."
Ruka smiled, "Of course. I'm sorry." He, then, beckoned for her to follow him. Hotaru nodded encouragingly at her, so she just followed the doctor. He led towards the west wing, to a room that smelled like the rest of the hospital.
Ruka had her sit on this comfortable chair, asking her to lean back but sit straight. He instructed her to put both her hands, palms down, on top of the table and to look straight ahead.
"Wait, you're leaving me here?"
Ruka smiled, and she can't help but think that, for some reason, his smile is actually very comforting. "Just a moment, I will come back. You have to be alone for this. Now, no matter what happens, just look ahead and don't move."
Ruka left and Mikan did just exactly what she was told.
Though, a couple of minutes in, she started to get bored. Then, the bright flash of light came without warning, and was immediately gone. Mikan started blinking fast and her first instinct was to rub her eyes, but the prickling sensation came next. There were needles pricking all ten of her fingers, then the next, her blood was quickly being drawn.
Mikan was breathing heavily when Ruka entered the room, holding a container on one hand, and a brown envelope on the other.
"What the heck just happened?" Mikan asked, looking around, letting her eyes adjust and focus.
Ruka chuckled as he held Mikan's left hand. He started to clean the residue of blood on her fingers, putting a small bandage on each of the small punctures before doing the same to her right.
"The tests were finished."
"That's it?"
Ruka helped her stand. "Yes. Our technology here in the North is way more advance than the other kingdoms. All we need is a sample of your blood and your picture."
"Wait, so that blinding light is the flash of a camera?"
"Not just any camera. It was developed by Hotaru. I'm not that knowledgeable about technology to be able to explain it to you thoroughly, but what I do know is that it is able to accurately give us information about you."
Mikan looked up, finally seeing clearly. "What about me? What kind of information?" She was starting to get nervous. What if they use that information against her?
"Everything. Your alice, where you came from, or other things like that."
"And you can use that against me." Mikan said, as if talking to herself. She looked up, her eyes searching his clear, blue ones. "Will you use that against me?"
Ruka smiled sadly. The best he could do now is to be honest, "No. Not unless we have to."
-;-
Natsume knew there was something about that Southern girl. What it was, he wasn't so sure yet. But there was something about the girl that makes him want to do things to her. Things that might include torture. Or, perhaps, more.
Now, as he is seated at the round table, along with the other nine he people he trusted, he stared at the brown envelope in his hands. Altogether, they opened their envelopes, and read the encoded results printed on the paper:
THE FOLLOWING RESULTS ARE UNDISCLOSABLE INFORMATION
NAME: MIKAN SAKURA
AGE: 23 YEARS OLD
SEX: FEMALE
BLOOD TYPE: A
OCCUPATION: NURSE
ALICE: NULLIFICATION
"Well, isn't that a pretty useless alice?"
Natsume looked up and glared at the woman who was appointed as head of the police force. Sumire Shouda has always been snooty. She has always been someone who looked at other people down her nose. And the king has always been tolerating her since he grew up with her along with the other people in this room.
But for reason, Natsume didn't like the way she talked about the stranger.
"Didn't she say the South's king has been after her and her village for their alice?" Koko spoke up before Natsume could even try to burn Sumire's hair.
The king's eyes went to the head of the military force. "Yes, she did."
"What about her alice?" Hotaru looked up.
Koko shrugged. "She said something about the South's king being after their alice and using it against us."
Natsume looked at all of his subjects before speaking, "Yome, I want you, Harada, and Andou to look into this. But for the meantime, I want Imai to find a place where she can stay."
Misaki Harada smiled widely, and Tsubasa Andou grinned at her. For some reason, Natsume already knew those two would do so much more than what was asked.
Hotaru snorted and rolled her eyes. "Screw looking for a place, I'd have her live with me."
Natsume glared long and hard at the woman before she smirked. "It's non-negotiable, Your Majesty."
Natsume ran his fingers through his hair before sighing. He may be king, but what his cousin wants, his cousin gets. "Ruka," he called his best friend, the only person he thinks is sane enough in this room to actually do exactly what he says.
"Yes, my king?" the greeting was formal, but the blonde's eyes were twinkling with mirth, clearly not really using the title to call his best friend.
Natsume's left eye twitched. "Make sure she lands a job."
Ruka grinned, while the rest of the room cocked their heads to look at him.
"I don't want any more questions. Adjourned."
God, Natsume swears she already hates this Mikan woman. She's making things difficult.
A/N: HELLOOOO! I'VE READ YOUR REVIEWS FOR THE PROLOGUE AND CHAPTER 1, AND I COULDN'T GET ANY HAPPIER. YOU GUYS MOTIVATE ME! I SWEAR I WAS SO SCARED AFTER I POSTED THE CHAPTERS, BECAUSE I THOUGHT NO ONE WOULD WANT TO READ THIS, BUT I ALMOST CRIED AFTER SEEING YOUR POSITIVE FEEDBACKS. I COULDN'T BE HAPPIER, LOVES. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
ALSO, I SHOULD HAVE YOU GUYS KNOW THAT I PLANNED THIS STORY TO BE RATED M. BUT SINCE IT'S STILL GOING TO TAKE A FEW CHAPTERS BEFORE THE ACTUAL CRACK-A-LACKIN' TO HAPPEN, I'M KEEPING THIS AT RATED T. NOW, I'M TELLING YOU, I'M AN ADULT WHO CAN TRY TO WRITE THE STEAMY-ASS SCENES, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF YOU GUYS ARE RESPONSIBLE TEENAGERS (OR ADULTS) SO I WON'T RECOMMEND IT IF YOU'RE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH IT.
SO YEAH, IF YOU CAN'T FIND THIS STORY IN THE RATED K+/T SECTION, IT'S PROBABLY ALREADY IN THE RATED M SECTION.
P.S. I'M NOT EVEN SURE IF "UNDISCLOSABLE" IS REAL WORD XD
P.P.S. MAIINIT NA DITO SA BAGUIO, FRIENDS
IN THIS SEGMENT I WILL TRY TO REPLY TO YOUR REVIEWS, SO I COULD HAVE SOME SORT OF COMMUNICATION WITH YOU GUYS :)))
STORY REVIEWS:
DreamingReverie: thank you so so much! i've really been trying since i havent been writing for the past 2 years. so seeing that you think i still wrote them in character, really warms my heart.
SunBabyBoss: thank you so much!
Etoile Polaire: thank you for liking this! i really want to do this AU justice and show more of that kingdom-esque, but modern vibes. here is a chapter for you :)
Guest: yes, it is i, momma blue! i posted because i was procrastinating instead of reviewing for midterms hahahaha. but yes i posted because i got a bit excited xD
b12vitamins: ito na oh nag-update na! xD
boo: yes, i am back! and yes it is intense xD tho i'm afraid that i won't live up to the intense-ness of the prologue to the next chapters. i'm still regaining my footing.