Ashy-note Dedicated to Andy. (:
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Nights Like These
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The Way He Sees It
An arrogant display of Natsume Hyuuga's correct views about everyone.
Because everyone knows Natsume Hyuuga knows everything,
but nobody ever knew he also knew everyone.
Title: The Way He Sees It
Time Frame: 11 years old
Rated: K
Genre: Humor/Friendship
Note: Yuu's point of view but mainly Natsume gently nudging on an HxR. (:
Class B is in an uproar, wrecking havoc to Natsume Hyuuga's room. And the cause, you think to yourself, wasn't even worth it.
Seriously.
All Natsume did was smile a Mona Lisa smile at Ruka, who then blushed deep, deep red and toppled over to Mikan, who had been eating instant noodles and who spilled the latter on an unsuspecting Mochu, who was asleep and was jerked awake by the hot liquid that spilled over him which then caused him to unconsciously levitate Koko, who flew straight towards Nonoko, who then sprayed a Babbling Potion on Hotaru, who was now talking non-stop (and was obviously bound to kill someone later), like her best friend who gawked at her disbelievingly.
This night-time group study wasn't going well.
You couldn't help but sigh. Sometimes you wonder how you manage to put up with all these rowdy, half-demented classmates of yours.
What was it that Natsume was aiming for, anyway? All that ever happened before he smiled mysteriously and triggered the disastrous chain events was that Mikan had suggested for the group to have an ice breaker in the form of a game of Truths and Truths. (Dares weren't allowed, Mikan said, because obviously the people who chicken out won't be getting fair to those who became courageous people and chose truths. Always the diplomat, Mikan was— a champion of democracy and equality. Also a hypocrite, as Hotaru pointed out, because she happened to always open the 'Dare' portion when she knew she was about to be called, and she always chose 'Dare' herself.)
You rise up from the chair, abandoning your whiteboard markers and your lecture on Analytical Geometry (you were in the middle of discussing the hyperbolic equation and its origins) to fetch some food from the kitchen while waiting for the rest of them to settle down.
With one foot inside kitchen territory, however, you freeze, accidentally eavesdropping on a conversation between two males. You never really noticed them leave a while ago.
"—really don't understand why you had to smile like that," murmurs a disgruntled Ruka. You peek into the room and see Natsume leaning casually against the island kitchen counter, his back to you. "I mean, what is it with you and the horrible idea of setting me up with Imai?"
You double back a bit—did you hear that right? Natsume's playing match maker? For Ruka and Imai-san?
No way. Even Natsume would never be that good.
"I am not, Ruka," you hear Natsume say. You watch slowly, your head creeping along the frame of the doorway, the conversation capturing your attention (although your good side is telling you to stop because it's basically against the rules of ethics and it isn't so nice to be eavesdropping on people).
("Look at Iinchou," Koko whispers to Mochu. You don't notice, but the two suddenly start creeping along towards you to listen in too.
And suddenly everyone else follows…)
"Sure you aren't," bites back the blonde in deepest sarcastic tones. "It was just pure coincidence that you pushed me into her last Tuesday, and you just happened to leave us alone in the middle of a hallway because you needed to study" —You smirk a little at this; Natsume Hyuuga never studied— "and, wait! Oh, yes, of course it was a coincidence that you just happened to have forced me to sleep beside her tonight, after having forced me to attend this midnight lecture about circles and half-oblongs!"
"Parabolas."
"I don't care!"
You watch Natsume smirk as he prepares a sandwich. (At this you raise an eyebrow—Natsume Hyuuga knew how to make a nice sandwich, indeed.)
"Look, why are you all riled up, Ruka?" says Natsume, a small boyish grin in his face.
(If you had even bothered looking behind you you'd have seen that Koko and Mochu were joined by Sumire and Mikan, the former swooning at the two boys clad only in jersey shirts and pajamas, the latter swooning over the sandwich Natsume was making.)
(You look back to the living room. The television was turned on noisily, Hotaru was reading a book, Anna and Nonoko were chatting. No harm done, you think, then you resume to listening in. It's quite fun, you think to yourself.)
(And then later you feel a little guilty.)
"Because!" Ruka hisses, loud enough to be a whisper. You grin at the exchange. "Who do you think you are? Natsume you don't know me! Neither do you know Imai and I pretty much doubt you knowing everyone else as well, except for Mikan."
(Sumire clicks her tongue.)
"Really?" says Natsume mockingly. He jumps on top of the counter and begins tearing off parts of his sandwich while amusedly staring at the flustered Ruka. You notice a quick sidelong glance at your part and for a moment you wonder if he saw you.
(Koko answers your mental question. "Hah! Natsume knows we're here!" he whispers excitedly from above you. You look up and feel a little shocked to see them lined up atop your head. "And he says I should shut up or else he'll—! Oh. Oh. Right. Right. Yessir. I'll do that.")
"Yes! So it would be nice if you stopped pushing me to her!"
The flame caster looks at him long and fiercely, as if in deep thought. "If I tell you everything I know about the nine people in this room tonight, would you let me be?"
Ruka looks so out of his mind, and so you aren't surprised (though you are a bit exasperated) that Ruka valiantly said yes.
You watch as Natsume's grin widens. "Fine."
What you heard next completely creeped the living organisms out of you.
He begins, with…
"Yome." (Koko swallows upon hearing his name.) "He likes Umenomiya. He likes her cookies. He likes her thoughts. He listens to her conversations. He likes her pink hair. He likes pink. But he has this attraction for the cat-dog. I'm giving it a few years and then he'll cave in and declare undying love in the most stupidly unromantic way, because Yome is tactless and immature and clumsy. He spills liquid on a completely straight walkway. He screams when everyone whispers. He has a fixation for the most boring jokes in existence. Thinks he's funny, but he isn't. He likes blueberries. He is jealous of my manga collection and he wishes he had your soft, blonde hair."
(Koko's eyes were round as saucers when you look at him. "How on Mars… did he… know that?")
Ruka was stunned into silence. You watch as he idly and rather unconsciously sips from his glass of orange juice, blue eyes round as his teacup saucer.
Natsume opens his mouth to speak again.
"Shouda."
(Sumire squeaks excitedly. Her head, you actually know, is filled with images of Natsume's pretty remarks. Well, she was going to be dead wrong, you think to yourself.)
"Shouda has eyelash extensions. She likes me. She's dead head over heels for me. She is also partial to you. She likes cinnamon and she secretly has a stash of catnip under her drawer" —at which Sumire squawks in shock— "and she hates Yome but loves him just the same. She loves Mikan, adores her actually, and even though everyone knows she's a pompous prat, Shouda is actually nice. She strolls around Central Town alone sometimes and takes all stray cats and dogs to your little shelter."
Ruka, for a moment, looks mildly surprised. "Oh," he says, "so that explains the exponential growth of animals in my shelter…"
"Yes, and though she thinks Yome is an idiot, she likes him like that. Once Yome proposes to her, the first thing she'll do is slap him, then cry and said 'Yes, you dunce, of course.'"
Ruka takes a deep swig from his orange juice. "How do you know all these?"
"I have my sources. Next on the list? I wonder…"
(Koko swallows as Sumire glances down on him accusingly. "You like me, you twit?" she asks her. You snigger a little but you get stopped when Natsume says—)
"Right. Yuu."
("Oh, shit," you find yourself saying. Koko gasps, "You cursed!" and everyone slaps the mind reader and you all had to hide lest Ruka sees you and Natsume kills you. A few seconds later, you pop your heads back in and listen.)
"—got a weird thing for the Chemistry Alice because he likes Science and likes her blue hair. Yuu's sense of responsibility isn't fake, but his patience is. He hates how Yome is so nosy and he wishes he could be like me, so calm. He likes Polka Dots, had a crush on her since God-knows-when. Likes Imai too. Hates Math, hates Jinno, but he doesn't show it because he's not supposed to show it. Over-all, he's a nice kid and everyone thinks so."
"That wasn't much," Koko grumbles. "He never said anything rashly true about Iinchou!"
(You fee a little relieved that you had just helped Natsume in his homework a fortnight ago.)
You listen on and hear Natsume say all sorts of prophetic things about all of you. He mentions Mochu's habits, scrutinizes how Anna's insecurities are so obvious, tells of Nonoko's weird ways with you…
You swallow a lot when Natsume says, "I personally believe Ogasawara and Yuu make a good duo."
In your mind you're running thousands of possibilities on how Natsume could have ever so possibly found out about those countless of things that most of you never even told anyone in your entire lives. For him to know what goes on in everyone's minds, despite the fact that he's no mind reader like Koko, is so… shocking that up until now, you can't move on from what he said about you. Shame that you didn't hear the first parts of it, though.
Ruka's voice drifts to the forefront of your thoughts and you hear his next words.
"What about Mikan?"
Natsume smiles a devilish smile, Koko howls with laughter and runs off to the bed, and Mikan blushes a deep, deep maroon.
"Why don't we resume our little talk some other time, Ruka?"
The cheater, you think to yourself.
Hours later, in the middle of the night, when everyone had fallen asleep, you hear the Fire talking about Sunshine herself...
To be continued… (:
~Ash.