I Like You, Natsume-oniisan

Chapter 4: Prince Charming

It was Natsume's and Mikan's fifth day at their new home. Natsume had been attending a new school since two days ago and made quite a few new friends. Mikan was sent to a nursery school too and luckily, she was getting along with others well. Every time the children returned home, Tsubasa and Misaki would not be in as they were working. They were busy like most parents were.

As usual, Natsume would do his homework before his parents returned home for dinner while Mikan would sit next to him doodling or writing new words. Though it was only five days, they had been closer than before. Natsume would allow her to sleep next to him but this would only apply until when her room was ready.

"How's school today, children?" Tsubasa asked while chewing on the braised chicken meat.

Mikan immediately answered, "Very fine!"

"Yeah, me too," Natsume replied.

Tsubasa laughed and said excitedly, "Mikan, I got a good news for you."

Mikan stopped eating and looked at him curiously and anxiously.

"Your room is finally ready!" Misaki continued for Tsubasa.

Mikan's excited smile was wiped off from her face. If her room was ready, that means she would be shifted into that room and sleep alone with her teddy bear at night.

"But I want to sleep with Onii-san!" she lamented and pouted.

Natsume took a sip of his miso soup and said, "I want my bed back."

"Mikan, if you are scared, you can always come and sleep with Daddy and Mummy," Tsubasa offered with a grin.

"Really?"

He replied, "Yup! Natsume, if you are scared, you can always come and sleep with us too."

Natsume choked on his soup and coughed.

After their dinner, everyone dispersed into their own rooms to do their things. Natsume continued with his revision, Mikan checked out her new room, Misaki ironing their clothes while Tsubasa using the computer to read the online news. It had been like this for three days like a routine and nothing was really interesting, especially for Mikan. She had no homework, no one to play with, no plants to water, no toys except for her teddy bear and was banned from sweeping the floor by Misaki.

She zipped open her school bag and took out a fairytale picture book titled 'Cinderella'. She tried reading it but could not read most of the words in it. She could only look at the pictures and flipped through the pages like reading a comic book. She wondered if Natsume could read to her so she walked towards his room and knocked on the door.

"Come in," Natsume called out upon hearing the knock.

Mikan opened the door and strode into the room with the book in her hand.

"Onii-san, are you busy?"

"Not really. I'm done with my revision for tonight."

"What do you want to do now?"

"Sleep in early today."

Mikan was hesitant if she should really request Natsume to read the story to her. She clutched onto the book tightly and looked down shyly.

Natsume looked at the book with amusement and asked, "Do you want me to read that book to you?"

Mikan's head shot up and replied, "Yes!"

"Have you read this story before?"

"Nope. I only looked at the pictures."

"I have never read this type of story before either so let me take a look first," Natsume professed and took the book from her.

He browsed through the book and tried to hide his scowl. He knew it was a girlie and childish book but since Mikan wanted him to read it, he had no other choice but to read it out loud to her. He sat on his bed and told her to sit next to him. Then, he began the story.

After reading the story, Mikan was extremely fascinated by it and began chattering about the characters.

"I like Cinderella and Prince Charming!" she said. "What about Onii-san?"

Natsume shrugged and answered, "I don't know. Maybe the stepmother."

"What? She's evil!"

"And the stepsisters," he added with a smirk.

"They are evil too!"

"But without them, do you think Cinderella will meet Prince Charming?" he challenged.

Mikan crossed her arms and snorted, "I think they will still meet each other."

"Why do you think so?"

"Because they are meant to be together, right?"

"Who knows?"

"Onii-san, do you think I will have my own Prince Charming?" Mikan asked and looked dreamily at the prince in the book.

Natsume closed the book and teased, "With those continuous whining of yours, I think your Prince Charming will be running away from you."

Upon hearing that, Mikan's eyes got teary and she sniffed hard. Natsume rolled his eyes and placed the book on her lap.

"Okay, I'm sorry. When you grow older, maybe you will find your perfect prince," he apologised.

Mikan brightened up quickly and chirped, "Then, will Onii-san be my Prince Charming?"

"There's no way I can be," he answered. "We are siblings now. Anyway, I want to sleep."

Mikan lowered her head in dismay. She stood up and dragged her feet back to her room. Natsume turned off the lights in his room and fell asleep fast.

After it seemed like a few minutes, Natsume jolted awake. In fact, he had already slept for almost more than an hour. Something had just brushed against his skin which made him shiver in the dark.

"Onii-san..."

He yelped and turned on his table lamp which was right next to his bed. Standing next to his bed was Mikan who was cuddling her teddy bear.

He heaved a sigh of relief and spoke softly, in case Misaki and Tsubasa heard him, "I thought Dad said that you can sleep with him."

Mikan whined again, "I did go to their room just now but Daddy becomes a pig."

"Pig?"

"Yeah! He goes 'Oink! Oink!' while sleeping. Can you hear that? It's loud!"

Natsume chuckled, "He's snoring. He did not become a pig."

"Can Teddy and I sleep with you again?" Mikan asked while dismissing his previous comment.

"Whatever," he replied and shifted a little to the side of his bed.

"Thank you!" Mikan said happily and got into his bed, lying next to him with her teddy bear in between them.

Natsume took his miniature tanks which was displayed on his desk and placed them right next to the teddy bear, saying, "For you, Mikan. In case you are scared to sleep alone in the future, these tanks can help you to fight evil at night."

"Thank you, Onii-san!"

Natsume turned the lamp off and accidentally squished the bear with his elbow.

"Oh, sorry!"

"It's okay. Teddy says so."

He chuckled again, "It seems like your teddy bear can talk to you. Who gave it to you?"

"My real mother gave this to me. It's the only toy from her before she abandoned me."

"She abandoned you? How come?"

"I don't know. That time I was still a baby and the nuns found me outside the orphanage. Teddy was the only thing in my arm at that time," Mikan explained. "I hope I can see my real mother one day. Do you think I will find her one day?"

"Maybe you will."

"Onii-san, can I hold your hand? I promise I will sleep."

He was getting tired of her jumping from one topic to the next but he just did what she had requested. He held onto her hand and was surprised by how small her hand was. He squeezed her hand a little tighter and felt a warm feeling building inside him.

"Onii-san, what about you? Did your mother left you too?" Mikan whispered.

"Yes, but both my parents have already gone to a better place."

Mikan did not understand his words but nodded sadly and closed her eyes. Just by listening to the sad tone of his voice, all she knew that his parents had left him and would never return to him.

She squeezed his hand a little tighter too and said, "I like you, Onii-san. So I promise I will never abandon you."

Natsume smiled at her, even though he knew that she would not be able to see it. He was touched but he also knew that Mikan was just sprouting some childish words out of her mouth. There was no deeper meaning behind those words and she would definitely forget them someday, but saying things so casually was just like her.

Moreover, her hands seemed so delicate. It was as if it might be crushed anytime if they were not handled or loved properly. He was afraid that this pair of hands would somehow be destroyed or tainted by him one day. He did not know why he felt that way but it just did.

As he continued to hold onto her warm hand, he slowly drifted into a deep slumber.

Hi guys, this is the last chapter for the first part of this story. Chapter 5 will be the start of the second part and I will post it after 'I Like You, Mikan-sensei' story is completed. Just for your information, there are six parts in this story altogether, including Chapter 1 to 4 (first part).

I would like to thank those who had reviewed Chapter 2. Thanks for all those encouragements. Hope to hear more from you again! :D

Here are the reviewers:

- Vehemens Ford
- Anna The Weird
- TsuragaKyoko
- i. Love. food. but. not. you
- Razux
- Coco Pierce
- sakura-san29
- nix
- xo-Aishiteru-ox
- Bookmark
- coreas. jennifer8
- Guest
- lisaOpine

Lastly, I would also like to thank those who had story alerted and favourited this story. :)

Here is the common question which is being asked by most of you or you might be currently thinking right now:

1) Will Ruka and Hotaru be appearing in the future chapters?

Yes, they will be appearing from the second part of this story onwards and (Spoiler Alert!) their significances in this story are very important. Without them, Mikan will be an 'emo' kid.

Don't forget to leave a review! Thanks! :)