Revealed

Flashback, a day before the teambuilding...

"Blurt it out, Nogi."

This was the words that welcomed Ruka the moment he entered the Student Council room. School time has ended and he was on his way to take his things when he saw Hotaru sitting on her seat, seemingly waiting for him.

"Have you forgotten already what I've said earlier?"

Then he remembered it, about this prince Mikan was talking about.

Ruka stayed silent which made Hotaru twitched a brow. He thought of his bestfriend who once told him about a girl that give him goosebumps everytime they meet. Just thinking that it could be Mikan and Natsume made his mind blank.

"Don't tell me it's you, Nogi?"

That was the sentence that made Ruka get back to reality.

"NO! No no no. I'm just thinking are we even thinking of the same thing?"

"The cherry blossom park, eight years ago, a boy wearing a spy like attire. That was what Mikan told me."

Ruka jawdropped. His expression showed mix emotion of surprised, shocked, concerned and disbelief.

"Imai-san... This is so unbelievable. It's not me, that prince... it's Natsume."

"Oh..." Was all Hotaru could say due to disbelief. She quickly recovered and sigh.

"Nogi, if you may, don't even dare telling that bastard about this."

...

Sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…

"This is a girl thing." Tsubasa mumbled. He was carrying two bags of groceries due to the fact that his sister was in teambuilding and his mother was at work.

"I wonder how's my sister is doing, oh, I miss her!" He mumbled and grinned.

He was thinking too deep that he didn't notice that he was on the middle of the road.

Beep! Beep!

Tsubasa's eyes widen. A car pulled the brake really hard. It almost hit him, but thanks to his fast reflexes, he managed to stepped back to the side walk.

The driver of the car immediately hopped out.

"Hey! Are you out of your mind to walk in the middle of the road?" The driver yelled really loud which made Tsubasa to cover his ears.

"Hey, I'm sorry! No need to yell at me, you didn't even hit me." Tsubasa answered apologetically.

"Keep your eyes on the road next time! You might get into accident at such young age!" The driver shouted again, which made Tsubasa release a toneless laugh.

"Thank you, good sir!"

"What's happening there?" A girl voice asked. She hopped out of the car and walked near them. Tsubasa stared at her and watched her long pink hair sway with the air and her shiny emerald eyes met with his blue ones. It seemed like she just got back from other country due to the casual dress she was wearing that were not so common in Japan.

"Young Mistress…" The driver said full of respect and bow.

"Oh, you are a young mistress? Hi!" Tsubasa greeted cheerfully. The young mistress looked at him and then laughed.

"Hello, who are you? You're not hurt right? By the way I'm Misaki Harada." This young mistress introduced.

"Y-yeah. I'm okay. I'm Tsubasa!" He replied in shy manner. It felt like he was meeting some person from the royal family.

"Tsubasa, huh? Are you a chef? Or a cook?" Misaki asked, pointing on the baskets he was carrying.

"This is why I hate when my sister is not around" Tsubasa mumbled dramatically but Misaki heard it.

"Wow! You have a sister! Can I meet her?" Misaki replied with hearts on her eyes.

"Wow! You are so friendly. Well my sister is out for a school activity so nope, you can't." Tsubasa replied as Misaki frowned.

"Is that so… Hmmm. Just have a ride with us then! We'll take you home. You might get hit by other cars later" Misaki offered. She didn't wait for any answer and dragged him inside the car.

-Teambuilding Day 2-

Hotaru entered Mikan's room and saw her sitting on the bed, her legs crossed while reading some books. Mikan noticed her. "Hi Hotaru…"

"I want to ask you something…" Hotaru said and sat beside her…

After moments of interrogation…

"It can't be anyone else other than Yuji, right?"

'That Hijiri Bastard.'

"Are you really, really sure it was him?" Hotaru asked.

"Have you eaten something wrong Hotaru? You kept repeating your questions." Mikan asked, worried.

"Just answer me idiot!" Hotaru said icily.

"Fine. I saw him at the park and he knows about what happened eight years ago. Well not all, but only my prince should know this right?" Mikan explained. Hotaru kept on cursing something under her breath which Mikan couldn't understand.

"Idiot, you're old enough to know what's real and not. Just...be careful..." was Hotaru's last word and left Mikan alone. Mikan looked where Hotaru disappeared and scratched the back of her head.

At Hotaru's room…

"Damn it, it's really that Yuji Hijiri! Mikan really believed its him. I don't like your best friend, Nogi, but this Hijiri bastard is irritating me more than him." Hotaru said, irritated.

"How could Yuji-san do this? It's really peculiar. He's also a really nice guy so I don't understand, Imai-san." Ruka stated and the massaged his temple.

"Mikan's feeling for that parince didn't change." Hotaru walked closer to Ruka and grabbed his collar. "And that Yuji bastard took advantage of it! For Pete's sake it's been eight years." She added and started shaking Ruka. "You hear me? EIGHT FREAKING YEARS!" Hotaru pointed out still shaking Ruka back and forth really hard.

"Oww..Aww..Oww..I-i-Imai-san, c-calm down please I f-feel dizzy." Ruka informed as Hotaru kept on shaking him. Finally, Hotaru stopped.

"I don't care if he's nice, I'll make sure that bastard will pay for fooling that naive idiot..." Hotaru said, evil aura surrounded her. Ruka sweatdropped.

'Yuji-san, why did you do this? Natsume didn't do anything bad to you.'

Natsume was alone in the living room lying on the couch, thinking deeply.

The event from the first day of the teambuilding kept on bothering his thoughts.

'That strawberry cake. It has to be coincidence right?' He thought. He shook his head and stared at the ceiling.

"I'm such a fool wearing those disguise." He mumbled and sighed deeply.

.

"Hello, Prince!"

Silence…

"I need to leave this place."

"Huh? Where are you going?"

"Far away. I don't want to, but I need to."

Sniff. Sniff.

"Then take care!" the young girl huffed. She was about to run but she was stopped by a strong hand. She turned around and he saw her crying face.

"Crying makes you ugly."

"I can't help it. I don't want y-you t-to l-leave me." The girl sobbed.

"Wait for me. I'll be back." He said wiping her tears. The girl smiled and hugged him.

"Of course I will. For a very special friend that I like very much!"

"Here." The young boy slipped a ring in the girl's ring finger.

"A ring?"

"Maybe, does it look like a bracelet?"

"It's cute! Thank you my prince!" The girl replied with extreme happiness in her face. The boy sighed and smiled a little. "Ne, prince, promise me, you'll return and we'll eat strawberry cake again!"

"Sure, promise."
.

SPLASHHHH…

"Fuck, Shit…." Natsume kept on throwing curses when someone splashed water on his face. He immediately stood up and wiped his face. When he opened his eyes, he saw the poker face of the freaky inventor with a big smirk on her face.

"What the hell is your problem, Imai?" Natsume yelled angrily. He held Hotaru in her collar.

"You're too violent. Your princess might get angry at you." Hotaru said calmly, no sign of fear could be seen in her eyes.

Natsume froze and let go of her collar. He stared at Hotaru's expressionless face with shock, but he immediately hid it and gawked suspiciously at her.

"How did - Tch. That Ruka." Natsume said and then sat down on the couch. "Stop pestering me." Natsume added.

"Nogi has nothing to do with this."

Natsume rolled his eyes. "Tch. Like I'll believe you. Get lost."

Hotaru shrugged and changed the topic. "I already created activities for this stupid teambuilding of yours."

"Do what you want." Natsume said then lay on couch again. He closed his eyes.

"Too careless, Hyuuga. No wonder you always lose what's important to you. Hotaru said and left.

Nastume just shrugged off everything Hotaru said and went straight to his room to change clothes.

'It was also long time ago, so I can't exactly pinpoint what you were saying.'

Why is he stuttering that time? Something is not right.

"Mikan-chan, are you ok?" Anna asked. They were currently at the garden, playing cards.

"You're thinking deeply. It's already your turn." Nonoko added. They looked worriedly.

Mikan felt someone touch her forehead.

"You're acting weird lately. Something is bothering you?" Sumire asked and threw her cards on the ground.

"Nothing." Mikan simply replied.

"Oww! How sweet is that Permy! Touch my forehead too! C'mon!" Koko commented and pointed his forehead. But a loud thud was heard when Sumire punched Koko's forehead. Because of the impact, Koko was now lying on the ground, having a big bump on the head and eyes rotating in dizziness.

"Don't call me Premy, idiot!" Sumire yelled while clenching her fist in annoyance.

Anna and Nonoko laughed nervously.

Anna turned her gaze to Mikan. "If you need someone to talk to, we're here." She said.

"That's right!" Sumire said full with energy.

"Thanks guys, but I'm okay. I'll go inside for now, if it's okay." Mikan said in low voice. All of them nodded as Mikan took her leave.

"She's acting weird. She doesn't usually space out like that." Nonoko commented.

Inside the mansion…

'Wrong, wrong, wrong!' Mikan was currently walking on the 2nd floor hallway back and forth. She could feel her head breaking apart from thinking too much.

'This is so confusing.'

BUMP.

"Will you look where you're walking to?" An icy voice commanded. Mikan looked at the guy she just bumped. She stared at the cold crimson eyes that were directly looking at hers.

Silence…

Natsume stared at Mikan's face, mixed emotions were visible from it. Somehow, looking at her eyes made him felt nostalgic.

Finally, Mikan broke the ice.

"Oh, it's just you… Hmm, hey." Mikan suddenly blurted out.

"What?" Natsume asked trying to be as cold as he could.

"I want to try something."

Mikan took her reading glasses out of her pocket and all of the sudden wore it to Natsume.

Natsume became dumbfounded and Mikan looked at him, puzzled. When Natsume adjusted his eyesight, his head spun because of the lens and immediately threw the eyeglasses away which caused it to break.

"What the hell do you want? Do you want me to get blind? Or do you want me to be like you?" Natsume asked in fury. Mikan was still looking at him. Her face showed uncertainty.

"I should have brought sunglasses." Mikan unconsciously mumbled. She then slapped her forehead twice and shook her head in too much confusion. Natsume stared at her troubled face.

"What's wrong with you?" Natsume asked in careless manner.

"Forget it." Mikan said and then immediately walked back to her bedroom.

Natsume's eyes just followed the running Mikan. Her sudden actions made him intrigued.

Evening… At the Living room…

They stared at the broken eyeglasses at Mikan's hand.

"What happened to that?" Koko asked stupidly.

"Some stupid broke it." Mikan answered and glared at Natsume. Natsume acted like he didn't hear anything and continued to read his manga.

"Luckily we don't have classes for the rest of the week. You can still buy a new one, Mikan-chan." Ruka added, smiling sheepishly at Mikan. Anna and Nonoko nodded happily.

"Liking her?" Hotaru suddenly came out of nowhere which made Ruka almost jumped out of his seat.

"Imai-san, don't make an entrance like that, it can cause me heart attack." Ruka complained.

"Want to have heart attack now?" Hotaru said evilly.

"Cut it! So Hotaru-chan, what's the first game?" Sumire said excitedly, changing the topic.

"Since that jerk called it teambuilding, we should know each other more."

"So what it is? What is it?" Koko asked.

"Truth or lie, with our family's new and improved, Lie Detector."

"Your family is really good in modern technology Hotaru-chan!" Anna commented while looking at this small device in Hotaru's hands.

"Yeah, well let's start shall we?"

"Wait, how does that thing work, Hotaru-chan?" Nonoko asked.

"Easy, press this button – " Hotaru explained pointing at the red button, "- and it will choose who will be the one to ask questions. This machine will the light in the machine will became green if the answer is true, and red if lie for each answer."

"Wow, that was long, never thought you could speak that long!" Koko said in amazement but a flying manga hit his head.

"Imai, I said stop pestering me." Natsume said when Hotaru snatched his manga and threw it to Koko.

The game started and it pointed first at Nonoko. They all had fun asking question except Natsume who really not enjoying it. He just kept on asking very common questions, and not really caring about the answers. But when it Hotaru's turn. He smirked evilly.

"You like Ruka, don't you?"

'Hyuuga you bastard.'

Suddenly the machine turned off.

"I'll just change the batteries." Hotaru said and looked at Natsume with meaningful look like saying 'you-wont-get-me-that-easily-bastard'.

"Next is Mikan." Hotaru declared which made all of them look at her curiously.

"You didn't even answer the question Imai-san!" Koko protested. All of them nodded which made Hotaru glared at them all.

"Are you saying something, Yome?" Hotaru asked with murderous aura around her.

"N-n-not re-re-rea-lly" Koko answered nervously. Ruka stared at Hotaru with sad eyes and a small, bittersweet smile.

"Then, I'll ask Mikan first! Since she's too quiet at school it's time to ask what we want!" Sumire yelled which made Mikan to sigh.

"Mikan-chan! Am I one of your best friend?" Sumire questioned with hearts on her eyes. Everyone around her sweatdropped.

"Yes." Mikan answered and the machine lights turned green.

"Yahoooo! That made me realy happy Mikan-chan!" Sumire squealed dreamingly.

"Me next! Uhm, what's the happiest moment in your life?" Nonoko asked.

"My childhood." It turns green again.

"Then what's the saddest day of your life?" Anna questioned. Mikan tried to remain composed as she could. They were her friends so it was okay.

"My father's death." The machine lights turned green again. All of them looked at Mikan with sadness in their eyes.

"Sorry to asked that question Mikan-chan." Anna said sadly. She was the verge of crying.

"Its fine, I've already moved on. Stop feeling pity for me."

"What things we can do to make you happy?" Ruka suddenly asked. Mikan felt touched by this question.

"Nothing, just remain as my friends." The machine turned green again.

"Wow! That's a great answer Mikan-chan!" Nonoko said.

"No worries Mikan! We will be friends forever!" Sumire yelled happily.

"Mikan-chan, what's that?" Anna asked when she noticed something hanging in Mikan's neck. Mikan pulled out the necklace and revealed a ring pendant.

'Why does Hotaru-chan wants me to do this?' Anna thought.

"Wow! Is that a ring? It looks beautiful."

"It's from someone special." Mikan answered trying to act like it was nothing.

Natsume sneakily glanced at the ring. He narrowed his eyes because it looked familiar.

'Don't get mad at me, Mikan-chan, Imai-san is so scary.' Koko thought and sigh heavily.

"Do you love someone, except your family and friends, Mikan-chan?" this question made Mikan and Sumire look deadly at Koko.

"E-he-he, just asking Mikan-chan. No offense!" Mikan sighed and nodded.

"Yes." The lights turned green.

"Ooohhh!" Anna, Nonoko and Sumire squealed. Ruka smiled and Natsume acted like he didn't care.

"Who could that be?" was Hotaru's follow up question.

"I won't tell." The red light in the machine blinked fast like it was going to explode.

"Imai-san, the machine… is that malfunctioning?" Ruka asked, scared.

"No, that's what happened if someone refused to answer a question. Hotaru pushed a button and the machine stopped blinking.

"It must be that guy you called prince!" Sumire exclaimed, thinking.

"Oh, it was Yuji-san, right?" Ruka added, looking at Hotaru who was throwing him an evil look.

"Yuji? As in that Yuji Hijiri?" Anna and Nonoko almost said in unison. "Wow, Mikan, is he really your prince?"

Mikan's lips formed a small smile and answered, "Yes, it's him."

The machine green light blinked twice, which meant she answered all the questions honestly.

"Awwwwww, my sweet baby finally got a suitor." Sumer blurted out, faking a sad tone.

Anna and Nonoko started to ask Mikan some questions about Yuji. Koko was also joining the fun but Sumire poked his forehead due to the fact that Mikan already got a suitor.

Natsume, on the other hand, unconsciously dropped glass on his hand which caused it to roll on the carpeted floor.

This can't be right…

TBC