Author's Note: I am soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo so so so very terribly sorry for not updating for so long! That usually happens when I get a new obsession, especially with video games and anime, but still, I shouldn't use any sorry excuse. I admit that I've neglected this fic for a really long time. Please accept my greatest apologies! Gomen…!!!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything concerning Gakuen Alice. Spoilers if you haven't read the part of the manga about Natsume's younger sister.
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Chapter 4 – Nogis and Hyuugas Unite!
Hours flew past by. The great Hyuuga Natsume was too impatient to get home already. When he stirred awake and saw that no help had even arrived yet – after so long – he had decided to walk back to his and Ruka's hometown, where they belonged, and he could not wait any further to get Mikan there as well. He didn't care if Mikan was going to moan and groan all day long over a little walk in the woods, for he was ready to even resort to piggybacking if necessary.
Hopefully not, though.
Otherwise, the snapshot would be a great addition to Hotaru's blackmail collection.
And Natsume surely didn't want Hotaru to be any richer than she was already.
"Natsume…?" Mikan's sleepy voice murmured as she stirred awake. She rubbed her sleepy eyes. "Nanji desuka…?"
"I have no idea, baka Mikan. Do I look like I have a watch to you?"
"Mou, Natsume-kun! No need to scold me! You'd be at a bad start for the day ahead!" Mikan argued. Natsume 'hmph-ed' and folded his arms.
"Urusei, Mikan," Hotaru's monotonous voice spoke quietly. "You wouldn't want to wake the idiotic driver up, would you?"
Mikan's eyes widened in horror, imagining what could happen if the driver were to wake up right there, right then. "Of course not…"
"Ah, so you're awake, Hotaru-chan!" Ruka's happy voice chirped as he walked out of the bushes, holding fruits and nuts in his arms. "I've got breakfast for everybody, so dig in!"
"Wah! These look even juicier than yesterday's! Arigatou, Ruka-pyon!" thanked Mikan as she stretched out to grab a string of grapes before Hotaru's outstretched hand came flying to Mikan's outstretched arm, smacking it away. "Itai!!" cried Mikan, withdrawing her hand.
"That's not for you; that's for me." Hotaru took the string of grapes and held it in front of Ruka. "Feed me."
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"NANI?! We're walking?!"
"Oi, urusei! That damn driver's still asleep and I don't want him to wake up right now!" shouted Natsume, trying to get Mikan to keep quiet.
"But still… I don't want to walk!"
"Don't be such a lazy pig, you idiotic Mikan."
"Natsume-kuuuun…" begged Mikan with pleading puppy dog eyes.
Natsume pushed her face further away from his. "Don't use that tone with me. I don't like it when you go all cutesy on me." Of course, he hadn't meant that. In fact, what he was seriously madly in love with her about was her cheerfulness and cuteness.
"Aww… Natsume-kun, I'd rather you piggyback me there!"
Natsume eyed a certain black-haired blackmailer warily as she searched for her camera to be on standby mode. "I was hoping you wouldn't say that…" Natsume mumbled to himself.
"I think it's alright if we walk," replied Hotaru suspiciously, hiding her camera behind her back.
"You're hoping we'd be walking, aren't you?" asked Ruka, standing behind Hotaru. He noticed Hotaru's camera in her hands behind her back.
Hotaru looked at Ruka with sparkling eyes. "Whatever makes you say that, Ruka-kun?" lied Hotaru. "After all, there's no way you'd be doubting me, is there?"
Ruka blushed. "O-of course not, Hotaru-chan… But what's that camera behind your back for then?"
Hotaru snapped, "For smacking you in the head, you dolt."
And with that, Imai Hotaru's valuable camera was used as a weapon for teaching her boyfriend a lesson.
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It didn't take the foursome long to get to Natsume and Ruka's hometown, despite the fact that it took them a really long time to convince Mikan to walk along with them, and to shut up along the way. Natsume nearly resorted to piggybacking, but refrained himself from doing so for Hotaru's camera was a perfect mechanism; it was barely intact even though it had been used to smack Ruka on the head countless of times.
Natsume and Ruka's hometown might have been small, but it was surely and most definitely a very beautiful place to live in. The houses – or bungalows – were very close to each other, and the roads were wide and short, allowing minimal passage blockage. The school was humongous, taking up a lot of space in their hometown, but it wasn't like as if Natsume and Ruka had to complain about it. It was in that school where they first met and became friends, after all.
"Sugoi! So this is your hometown, Natsume-kun? It's beautiful!" Mikan complimented excitedly. "Where do you want to go first? To see your father and sister?"
Natsume looked at Ruka. "Well, it depends. Ruka, do you want to see your parents first?"
Ruka was baffled. "Huh? But why? Don't you want to see your father and sister first? After all, it wasn't so easy for them to be reunited."
"Well… You did decide to come with me to that damn Academy in the first place…"
"Natsume…" Ruka's mouth curled to a smile. "Arigatou, Natsume!"
"Hn."
Ruka then led the way to where he used to stay in. There were a lot of familiar people in their hometown, but the people didn't seem to recognize them so easily, for they were no longer wearing the Academy uniform and it had been so long since they have returned that the people might've forgotten how Natsume and Ruka looked like. Anyway, it didn't take a very long time for Ruka to get everyone to his house.
Even though he wasn't showing it, Ruka was very excited and nervous about seeing his family once more. Sure, he finally had the chance to see his mother again before, but that was nearly a year ago or so. His heart was beating uncontrollably; he could hardly breathe. He didn't even notice that Hotaru had to ring the doorbell for him since he was so excited and nervous that his muscles tensed up so much that he couldn't move. The door to his old house opened, revealing a very unfamiliar person. Ruka became disappointed and confused.
"Yes? Who are you? May I help you?" the person asked politely.
"Um… I would like to know if the Nogis live here," replied Ruka.
"Ah, the Nogis, you say? They used to be the owners of this beautiful mansion. I didn't see the reason why they sold it and moved…"
"They moved?! To where?!"
"Eh? Didn't you know? The whole town practically knows about it!"
"Doko imasuka?!" demanded Ruka.
"Yikes! No need to be so worked up! It's not like I won't tell you!"
"Then cut to the chase! Where are my parents?!"
"They moved to the Hyuugas!"
All eyes soon were on Natsume, who was as shocked as everyone was as soon as he heard about it. Natsume tried not to look shocked, but the tone of his voice gave away. "My family?"
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Ding dong
"Yes, yes! I'm coming!" the artist shouted as he put down his pencil and sketchbook, rushing to the door of his house. He opened it casually. "Ohayou gozaimasu! What can I do for-?" His eyes widened when realization dawned upon him when he saw who was standing at his doorstep. The person was familiar to him, in terms of face and stature. His hair was a familiar raven colour, and his eyes were a familiar shade of crimson.
His very own son.
"N-Natsume?!"
For once, Natsume smiled, even though it was too small to be noticed. "Hey, otou-san. I'm back."
"Otou-san! Otou-san!" a cheery voice rang out, her footsteps echoing with every step she took. "Who's that at the door? Aoi wants to know!" As if on cue, Hyuuga Yukiaoi, aka Aoi, showed up next to her father. She saw Natsume, and her smile widened. "Eh? Onii-chan?!"
"Aoi!" Natsume recognized.
"Yup! It's your imoto-san, Aoi here, onii-chan!" Aoi replied happily as she proceeded to pounce on her older brother childishly, giving him a death hug. "Ne, onii-chan, what are you doing back home? And what are onee-chan and Ruka-onii-chan doing here?"
Natsume sure had a lot to explain.
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A/N: OK, once again, I sincerely apologise for a short chapter and a long update. Gomen!
Next chapter: Natsume, Mikan, Hotaru and Ruka spend some quality time with the Hyuugas and Nogis, giving the party a chance to accept Natsume and Ruka's girlfriends. Will Mikan and Hotaru turn out to be the girls the Hyuugas and Nogis, respectively, hope to be? Find out in 'My Perfect Not-so-Perfect Girlfriend'!
Me: Now, since I am officially obsessed with BLEACH and its character Hitsugaya, who shares the same seiyuu as Natsume (I'm not kidding! It's true!), I shall present you a BLEACH Omake-style Omake!
OMAKE
Natsume, Mikan, Ruka and Hotaru were wandering around in the woods, nearing Natsume and Ruka's hometown. Mikan, however, was greatly annoyed and couldn't take it any longer. "Mou! When are we getting there?!"
"I'll tell you when we do, so shut up," replied Natsume.
After 5 minutes…
"Are we there yet?"
"No."
After 15 minutes…
"Are we there yet?"
"No."
After 25 minutes…
"Are we there yet?"
"No."
After 35 minutes…
"Are we-?"
"For Gawd's sake, Mikan, I said no!"
"… Are we there yet?"
"No!"
After 1 hour…
"Natsume-kun, can you piggyback me?"
Natsume looked at Hotaru's grinning face, and replied, "If you want to keep your money, no."
"Then, Natsume, are we there yet?"
End of crappy Omake
Nanji desuka?: What time is it now? なんじ ですか？
Urusei: Shut up うるせい
Itai!: Ow! いたい！
Sugoi!: Amazing! すごい！
Doko imasuka?: Where is/are he/she/they now? どこ いますか？
Otou-san: father おとうーさん
Onii-chan: older brother (Note: When Aoi referred to Ruka as Ruka-onii-chan, she meant Big Brother Ruka, though Ruka is not her biological brother, if you get what I'm saying… I'm terrible at explaining things, so…) おにいーちゃん
Onee-chan: older sister (Note: When Aoi referred to Mikan and Hotaru as one-chan, she meant Big Sisters. Same deal with Ruka; they aren't her biological sisters.) おねえーちゃん
Seiyuu: voice actor せいゆう
Omake: end-of-manga-chapter strip おまけ