I haven't updated in like...forever again, right? Yeah...I'm finally on winter break and my internet isn't very good here...I'm using all my internet services to download movies :P I've got plenty of time on my hands, and that's not going to change for the next 3 weeks so hopefully I can update a little faster, but no promises! Please enjoy this chapter! :D
"A curse!"
"What a terrible omen. Such things cannot be known."
"Kill her. No one can know about her, she will only bring misfortune. Kill her."
A week has passed since Natsume tried to throw me out. Ruka has been a lot nicer to me than I initially thought he would ever be. Hotaru became my best friend, and I was glad to have her company. It reassures me greatly when I'm surrounded by a group of male vampires.
I got to see the characteristics of the people around me better, and I learned much more than I had hoped since many things were still kept away from me.
Hotaru was the daughter of the Imai Corporation, and I was surprised I didn't know. Their business rank went from Yami Kuromi's company, Imai, Nogi, Yomi, Tobita, Mochiage and finally Kitsume, not to mention their companies are known worldwide.
Stupid, I thought to myself. I'm so stupid for not noticing the first time I saw and heard their names; they were everywhere on the news.
"Sakura-sama?" Yuu asked gently from across the lunch table. I snapped out of my thoughts at the call of my name.
"U-Uh, yeah?" I answered halfheartedly, still daydreaming. Natsume scoffed quietly beside me.
"Oh, it's nothing. You just seemed a little...dazed, that's all." Yuu smiled his kind smile before going back to eating gracefully.
"I..." I blinked. "I was just thinking." I answered quietly, still watching Yuu eat. He glanced up slightly, pushing his glasses back into place, but said nothing if he was feeling uncomfortable under my gaze.
"Yuu?" He stared at me patiently. I smiled at him. "Don't call me 'Sakura-sama.' Please, call me Mikan." Everyone evidently stiffened at that, except for Hotaru and Natsume.
"I-Is something alright?" I asked uneasily at the suddenly tense atmosphere.
"O-Oh! Of course, Sakura-sama." I stared at him with a brow raised.
"Call me Mikan." I repeated and Yuu seemed uneasy and flushed, but he nodded and stared at his plate nervously.
"I apologize...Mikan-chan." Yuu quickly apologized, and everyone nodded along with him. I nodded and stared at my food, but I was confused at their reaction.
Natsume leaned towards me, his mouth directly over my ear. When he breathed, his hot breath sent shivers down my spine.
"It's impolite for them to call you by your first name." He explained. I stared at him and he stared back, lifting his perfect eyebrow at me questioningly.
"Why would it be impolite?" I asked and he cracked a mischievous smirk.
"Because they think we're an item." I almost slapped the stupid grin off his face.
"Me and you? Never." I muttered under my breath darkly, loud enough for him to hear and he snorted.
Of course, I could only hope we could be an item.
He sipped his drink elegantly. I stared at the red liquid that filled his spotless wine glass, and my eyes traveled to the glasses of the others, only to find an identical liquid in each of their glasses. My eyes stared back at my own glass, finding it filled with soda.
I recognized it as a drink Natsume drank each night at dinner. I itched to ask what it was, but something told me to find a privater place to talk, so I let it slip.
School ended quickly. Another day of school has passed. I sighed in relief when I exited the large gates of the academy, loving the cool air against my skin and washing the stress out of my bones.
"Mikan Sakura?" I turned around only to face Sumire Shouda and her friend, Wakako Usami, was it?
"Y-Yes?" I asked immediately and mentally cursed myself for stuttering. I couldn't help it, this girl was really intimidating!
She snorted at me before she leaned in closer and...sniffed at me? She pulled back with a jolt, exchanging glances with her friend.
"Y-You..." She pointed accusingly. "Who exactly are you?" My brow furrowed in confusion.
"Ha? I'm Mikan Saku—"
"That's not what I meant!" She snapped rudely. I narrowed my eyes at her, unconsciously tapping me foot with impatience.
She sighed.
"You...You smell good." My head snapped at her in surprise. What?
"What?" I asked dumbly and she gave me a nervous glance. "Should I take that as a compliment?"
"It's not a natural smell... Well, I mean it is, but..." I wasn't understand a thing she was saying. I gave her a blank look and she crossed her arms before sighing in defeat.
"Your blood," She finally said. "It smells good." I stared at her with my eyes wide, my surroundings seemed to spin.
"Don't get me wrong, I don't want a bite." She stated firmly but I could already see parts of her fangs sticking out, and were those...ears on the top of her head?
"I...Uh..." I murmured quietly, not sure what to say.
"I don't know why you smell so good, but you better be careful. Especially at night." Sumire turned around with her friend and prepared to walk away.
"Just a friendly advice, because I don't want to see anyone else dying." She whispered before walking away with the grace of a cat.
I stood there dumbfounded for a while, not so sure how I should comprehend our short conversation.
"Mikan-chan!" I turned around at the sound of my name and found Ruka with Hotaru, both panting quite hard.
"We were worried." Hotaru stated as blankly as ever, but a tint of relief was heard in her voice.
"Where were you?" Ruka demanded quickly, inspecting me to make sure I was alright.
"I was just here, standing. Shouda came just now." Hotaru narrowed her eyes at what I said, but Ruka was already praying to god for my safety. I stared at him in surprise at his actions.
"What did that Shouda say?" Hotaru seethed through her teeth and Ruka trotted over to listen.
"Uh...She told me that I...smelled nice?" It sounded pretty stupid when I said it, but the look on the two of their faces was grim, and it was obvious that it was a bad sign.
"Well...Smelling nice is not much of a problem..." Ruka quickly said and gave a dry laugh, trying to reassure me. My face must have showed how uneasy I felt.
"Smelling nice isn't a problem if it's just her aroma, but if it's her blood that smells good, then we've got a problem." Hotaru pinched the bridge of her nose.
"But it should be alright. After all, we're around to protect her." Ruka argued and Hotaru gave him a sharp glare.
"We are vampires, Nogi. Get that stupid fact in your head. If her smell gets stronger, even we won't be able to deny our instincts. Besides, even if we were able to fight our...needs, it's impossible to be by her side 24/7." A low, annoyed groan broke out from him, knowing she was right, and he turned around.
"Ruka, where are you going?" I asked as he started walking away.
"I'm going to find Natsume. We'll have to see what we can do with this." He murmured his answer before he disappeared around the corner.
Hotaru wrinkled her nose in disgust.
"Shouda didn't do anything to you, right?" She asked and I nodded in confirmation. She sighed in relief.
"That girl...well, she's usually very bossy and prideful. She gets on people's nerves a lot, but all the other students don't dare to argue with her. She doesn't mess with our group though, she knows her place." Hotaru explained.
"She doesn't like me." I mumbled under my breath and Hotaru raised her eyebrows at me.
"Of course she doesn't like you. The only people she actually likes are Nogi and Hyuuga. Humans are lowlife creatures to her, especially you because you're always with us." I gave a dry laugh.
"I just transferred here and now I got an enemy. Great." Hotaru stared at me with her analytical eyes.
"I wouldn't say enemy. She can't really do anything to you now that Hyuuga has made the order clear." I nodded as I stared at the ground.
"Being the prince of his world isn't easy, eh?" Hotaru nodded.
"Of course it isn't. Especially since there are a lot of people that defy him, plus the fact that he doesn't want to be the next heir." She grumbled before turning around sharply.
"Come on, Mikan. We should get you home." Home. I wondered when Natsume's mansion also became my home, but I guess I couldn't argue with that. I had nowhere else to go anyways.
I followed her silently through the Northern Woods to the familiar view of the mansion. I was expecting her to leave, but she lifted her eyebrows questionably at me and led me all the way to the front door. She didn't leave until I was safely into the house.
"See you tomorrow." She waved casually before closing the door tightly behind her.
"Sakura-san!" I turned around only to greet Anna and Nono who looked terribly worried.
"We were so worried! Where have you been? Why are you so late?" They asked as I walked over to get something to drink.
"Sorry I'm late, I was with Hotaru and Ruka." They sighed in relief and went back to cooking.
"Dinner will be in 15 minutes. Natsume-sama will not be coming home." I snapped my head at them in confusion.
"Why?" They gave each other a quick glance before both looked down onto the floor, their hands still busy with their chores.
"Missions." They answered quietly but did not elaborate, so I didn't dare ask.
"Don't worry, he goes on them very often. He always comes back in the morning, so really, please don't worry." They reassured gently with their warm smiles after seeing my troubled expression.
I nodded and took my place on the dinning table.
Dinner was quiet, not to mention very lonely. I didn't even know that Natsume's company was so important to me until he was gone. Anna and Nono were around the house cleaning and doing other chores, so they couldn't even talk to me.
Missions...Somehow that word sent an unpleasant shiver down my spine. It spooked me out. Deep down in my heart I prayed that Natsume would come home quickly.
Yay! It's pretty late at night now, and I gotta go sleep :) So, with every chapter, secrets are slowly revealed about these vampires. Let me tell you this, I'm still setting the stage! The real story hasn't even started yet. Haha, thank you to all those who have reviewed, favorited and followed this story. This story has the most fans yet. I'm so moved.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! :)
R&R Please!