Author's Note: Sorry for the inconvenience, I've edited this one and cut the last scene to be merged with the next chapter. It kinda bugged me after I've posted and read it so … yeah… that's all

Warning: OOCness ahead?...

Chapter VI

Dates and Dreams Don't Mesh

…

'HOLY SHHHH!'

I cursed inaudibly as the little pester made her presence known to me as I left the building and head towards the parking lot.

'She scared the crap out of me! What is wrong with this woman! Suddenly jumping out of nowhere, does she really want me to die from heart attack? That is so not cool.' I thought as I composed myself back to my cold stoic self, carefully rearranging my facial features back to normal and ditching some unwanted muscles that were rarely used.

She hopped and danced on her itty bitty feet, as she made to compose herself from the sudden attack she gave me, dancing merrily, eyes shone with laughter alongside its melody that escaped her thin pink lip. Ever so eager and satisfied on the little reaction she had from me.

'Can anyone be more childish?'

She's been so… ecstatic. Always trying to make a surprise entrance which she rarely fails to succeed when she'd do just about the most unthinkable thing; her occasional silent giggle fits marked as dead give away so she'd try and keep quiet. The added entertainment from her clumsiness, like tripping on her own two feet and tumbling down from a reasonably high place and landing on her bum with a loud thump, triggering her whining and pout, was also an occasional occurrence she'd most likely try to avoid; though annoyed as she was, her system had other ideas.

She's carefree and happy, opposite me; the grumpy perfectionist, as Aoi would say. Yet still, it didn't feel odd for us to be like this. It was natural yet still perturbing nonetheless.

I was still put out that nobody knew of her perpetual approach in someone as sought out as I. Not to brag or anything, but I just simply don't go unnoticed in anywhere I go. She's also not bad looking, nor the type to blend with the pavement. In fact she's well about in her appearance, attractive and delicious in a sense, in both her elegant and idiotic ways. She has this charisma that draws people to her, attracting attention effortlessly; or mine for that matter.

As far as I've observed, though I will never allow myself to say it aloud, she is undeniably beautiful and her smiles and laughter are an added boost. It just puzzles me that nobody saw it, sees it, notices it; notices her. Are they blind? Or am I just haunted?

…

Am I?

…

Crap.

This is what I get with accompanying Aoi in that sick romantic ghost movie. Seriously. What is romantic with having a ghost lover? They're dead.

I looked at her as she twirled her way to my car in the empty parking lot. She seems graceful and healthy. She couldn't have been dead could she? There is the matter of her clumsiness… maybe she died tripping at nothing and broke her neck and decided to haunt me coz I'm overbearingly gorgeous?

I watched her trip at nothing, landing face first on the ground with a loud thump, while I contemplate on her being and sighed.

"Could you stop breaking the asphalt with that head of yours?" I said as I crouched beside her. She looked at me with her sad, pained, teary eyes, while her hand nursed the bump on her forehead.

"Mou… it hurts" she said with a pout and I can't help but chuckle at her cute stupidity.

"Whatever polka. Get up. I'm leaving." I said as I grabbed her elbow and eased her up. She tilted her head to the side in confusion as I dusted the dirt off her dress, inspecting the small bruise on her wrist and knee before turning to walk towards my car. I unlocked the car door and turned to smirk at her before opening it. She must have realized what I meant for she blushed crimson, looking appalled and down right pissed and embarrassed. My smirk grew wider to a cheeky grin as I hopped inside the driver seat and zoomed off, watching her throw a fit of tantrum, stomping and screaming in fury in the side view mirror.

Well at least I knew she's no ghost. Ghosts don't blush nor they get bruised and lumps on their foreheads, do they?

I glanced up the rearview mirror to see her silhouette twirl and disappear in a swift, fluid motion before stepping on the accelerator to where I knew she'd show up next.

I sighed in defeat, knowing full well that she's growing on me, fast. How more pathetic can I be?

I thought for a moment and smiled knowingly.

'See you later my little imaginary pet…'

…

Natsume's face was dark, clearly irritated.

It has been 4 hours since the news of his family's arrival at home gave him yet another reason for pulling an all nighter at work. It would seem that the young CEO had too much daydreaming the past couple of days, earning him a bunch of attention seeking papers to review and sign and a couple of deals and proposals to approve.

It did not help in the least that his pet Kuroneko which he named Toyo was being extra grumpy than her usual self, giving him, Youichi, Ruka, Koko, Yuu, Misaki and all the staff in his house scratches here and there.

Eventually, Ruka found out after a few cuts and bruises that she was pregnant which explains her max state of attitude that left Natsume lost as to who her lover was. Toyo was extremely lazy and never left the mansion except when she was accompanying Natsume. And Natsume was clearly miffed to know nothing about his pet.

So now, he asks himself:

"Why am I here again?" for the umpteenth time, not realizing he said it out loud making all faces in the dining table snap up to look at him.

Silence

"Ehem" came a voice that Natsume knew all to well, faking a cough to gain the unwanted attention he's been receiving.

"Stella-san," Kaoru smiled at the blond woman, probably around her mid forties "I think Sayaka-san would be perfect in the wedding gown Andrie made." she said, making the young lady beside Mrs. Stella Fuji blush, fluttering her eyelashes toward Natsume shyly.

Natsume resisted rolling his eyes for the millionth time tonight. He was supposed to be working at this very hour, burying his self in the mountain of paper work that were left untouched on top his desk. At around 3 in the afternoon, his mother decided otherwise and came barging inside his office to drag him home and accommodate their guests, moments after receiving an informing message from Aoi of their arrival.

Takazu Hyuuga, Natsume's father, sat on the head of the table. On his right was Stella Fuji (46), former model, and a renowned fashion designer like Alexandrie Florentine Nogi (46) Ruka's mom, who's seated on his left; both co-designers in the new clothing line launch under Aoi's department. Beside Stella was her daughter, Sayaka Fuji (24) a model, Pierre Long (32), model trainer and choreographer beside her, then sat Aoi on his right. Yujiro Nogi (52), Andrie's hubby and Ruka's father, a renowned photographer, sat on Kaoru's left at the foot table. On her right was Mamoru Fuji (54), Stella's husband and owner of a large textile company, while Natsume sat beside Mamoru, Ruka on his right, beside Hotaru Imai, who's seated beside Andrie.

It was a dinner for 12 people. And Natsume was bored and irritated. It was too crowded for his liking.

He blocked all the noise once again, determined to ignore everything and everyone in the table. It irks him that his mother and sister had succeeded in talking him into joining the dinner. It wasn't like he needed to be here. Sure he's the company CEO but it was Aoi's department and she's also the Corps. EVP and they also have Hotaru who's CFO, so they did not need him. They can set a debriefing session or just mail him the details and it'll be approved. It's not like he can go against these Igarashi women… so much for being CEO.

Of course they needed him. Though admittedly, not because of his position in the company, nor did it had anything to do with his intellect. He was the visual dessert for Sayaka and Pierre, a much more disgracing fact that made Natsume run off to the toilet to hurl quite a decent amount after they made their first flirty attempts; especially Pierre's.

He was satisfied enough that his best friend Ruka, a vet, was also dragged to accompany his parents that made Pierre a little bit distracted. It was a relief that Youichi had to stay in the academy for the night. They would have filed a lawsuit against Pierre if he crosses the boundary and go pedo.

Click

There was a flash of light that caught Natsume's eyes that made him snap out of his reverie.

Hotaru was on her seat, taking pictures of Ruka's embarrassed face, while the latter tries to snatch it away. The couples at the table were clearly amused, Aoi was on her usual giggle fits with Sayaka, who kept stealing glances at Natsume and to her side, a clearly irritated Pierre.

"You should stop that Ms. Imai. Ru-chin doesn't like you taking pictures of him" he purred, making Hotaru scoff and both Ruka and Natsume, shiver at the newly formed nickname.

"I didn't know you were close with Pierre, Ru-chin."Hotaru sneered, making Ruka gulp nervously.

"I…ah…er-"

"Of course you wouldn't know" Pierre jeered, cutting Ruka's stuttering speech "like it's any of your business." he scoffed with unmasked mocking clear in his tone and face.

Silence

"Uhm…actually…"all heads snap at Ruka's direction "ah…about…that…"he stuttered, face and ears completely red, fidgeting, praying for a hole to appear and swallow him whole with no such luck.

"Oh my..."Andrie gasped "does this mean I'm gonna be a granny?" she cheered. Obviously delighted, jumping in her seat.

SFX: Cough…Choking Sounds… Thud… Gasp… Clatter… Shriek

"Mother…"Ruka warned while soothing a choking Hotaru, who's been glaring daggers at Natsume who's being nudged by his best friend, desperately trying to hold his laughter.

"Oh… Ahaha… Sorry dear…" smiling sheepishly "Jiro, honey… you okay?" addressing her husband who's currently trying to accommodate his chair, a couple of seats across from her. He fell from shock.

"Well…anyone up for desserts?" Kaoru cheered, closing the subject to move on to the next.

…

"Ahahahaha-ouch!" Koko's booming laughter was cut short by a stapler that hit him straight in the face, thrown mercilessly by a grumpy Natsume who's seating comfortably in his office chair, his feet propped over the other on top of his desk, with a rather behaved Toyo, lying lazily in the comforts of his lap. It was odd for her to let her master stroke her tiny black fur unharmed, though today she did not seem to mind; eagerly accompanying her grouchy owner at work.

It's 9am, Saturday and they were currently inside Natsume's office. He was visibly fuming, irritated and in no mood for work. He's been like this since last night's dinner fiasco. Everybody had a good time, it wasn't bad. Well… except for an angry Imai, a sulking Ruka and the irritated owner of the building they're at.

The sulking Ruka sat gloomily in one of the single couches in the room across Koko, who stood leaning in a tall, wooden bookshelf near the room's double doors. Yuu sat quietly in a red recliner near the coffee table in Natsume's right, with a thoughtful expression set on his pretty little face.

After Ruka's tiny revelation during dinner, things made a turn for the worst for the two fellow friends of Yuu and Koko. Hotaru had given Ruka the cold shoulder; she was pissed. Not acknowledging his presence, nor sparing him a glance fort he rest of the night. Pierre, who claimed heartbroken and was in tears, decided to go for the Natsume and compete with Sayaka's flirtatious eyes. Ruka's parents were clearly overjoyed of the news -though his father was shocked at first- proceeded merrily with the dinner meeting.

It was then revealed that his mother favored Hotaru since childhood, secretly wishing her to be her daughter-in-law, for some unknown reason. She hurriedly grabbed her purse after dinner and started sketching wedding gowns and stuff, while talking to the stoic girl, who was polite enough to play the role. Natsume's parents seemed happy, but Kaoru started her usual onslaught on Natsume, eager for her son to have a girlfriend like his best friend, setting dates and Omiai, with Ms. Sayaka on the top of the list which resulted to Natsume's foul mood.

Yuu, the most sensible one at the time, sighed. Koko has reverted to his old self because of some problem he's having at work which he did not want to discuss, Ruka was clearly out of it and Natsume… well, he's near his limit. So Yuu was left to handle the case with much scrutiny and thought.

"Natsume, stop throwing things at Koko" Ruka sighed

"Why are you guys here anyway? If you haven't noticed, I've got piles of files here, screaming for attention. And your presence is not helping." Natsume said, waving a hand over the workload in his desk.

"You're not working. And I won't go to work even if that woman screams at my face." Koko pouted.

"Just date her already!"

"Hey! I-"

"Hotaru's avoiding me," Ruka sighed, cutting Koko and Natsume's little rant. "and the animals at the clinic won't stop crying, mom wants her to come for dinner but she won't answer my calls and texts, let alone return them. She won't even allow me to go through their gate to meet her. She even had a checkpoint set up a few kilometers away from their estate just to drive me away! I think it's good that she talks to mom, but… why not me!" he exclaimed in frustration.

Silence

"Why don't you try it out Natsume?" Yuu interjected, gaining their attention with puzzled looks.

"Dating?" he supplied.

"No."

"There's no harm in trying"

"Yeah, and look at Mr. she's avoiding me so I'm sulking here." he said, waving a hand to the glaring Ruka. "Sorry dude, but it's not like you guys are the best example for a seemingly 'happy' relationship." not failing to raise his fingers to form silent quotation marks in the air.

"Anna and I are good." Yuu insisted.

"You're a virgin." Koko stated.

"Hey! We just want to make it special. You know… after the wedding stuff…" he defended. "Besides… getting laid is not the point."

"Uhuh…sure…"

"Koko… not all of us go playing around with our hot sex addicted patients."

"Wha… that was long ago." he exclaimed "So, she was hot and I gave in to temptation, it's not like we went all the way. And I don't play around anymore."

"Right…"

"And we're having this conversation because?" Natsume probed.

"You're mom's bugging us again." "Anna's worried about your psychological state." "Hotaru's gonna dump me."

"And here I thought you were my friends." Natsume sighed, letting Toyo skip out of his lap before staring at his friends.

They exchanged serious looks before grinning, ensuing laughter once again.

…

"Natsume! Natsume!" a familiar voice called. It was dark and he felt heavy, he couldn't move.

"Natsume! Please wake up! Please…open your eyes…" the voice pleaded. But even if he wanted to, he couldn't. He tried to stir; he tried to reach blindly, tried to open his eyes but still couldn't do any. He tried to speak, even open his still closed lips, trying to call for her though he didn't really know her, but his voice won't reach, no comfort was said, she was crying.

"What's wrong?" said another he did not recognize. It was masculine and deep, a male, his mind registered. He felt a tinge of jealousy sweep over him as the man tried to comfort her, while she weeps in agony and frustration.

"There's blood…" she croaked in panic. She's worried, it was evident, in distraught even. He wanted to comfort her and wrap her in his arms, but he couldn't. No matter how hard he tries, it was useless, futile. He wanted to pummel the guy who's trying to soothe her with his sweet words and probably his hands too. The thought angered him to no end, yet still he was powerless to do anything in his protest. She was crying; that much he was sure. She was pained for his pain which he has no feeling of. And it drove him mad.

"…so much…blood… what do… I… do?" she asked between sobs, making him uncomfortable with the light twinges it caused in his chest and stomach.

"Shhhh… hush now… he'll be fine." the man reassured, not waning her worry or his anger. "Come now." the man urged "you should rest. They will take care of him. I promise." he said before a pair of footsteps were heard, slowly fading at a distance.

He thought she left with the man, but was glad that she stayed. He would've sighed in relief if he could when he heard her call his name with such tenderness and warmth like before. Urging him to respond to her call and reassure her of his safety.

"Natsume…" she whispered as he felt a warm breeze pass him in his face? He didn't know. But he felt her presence and it eased his worry as he felt her slowly calm down in his side…maybe. She was still sobbing, but less hysterical than before. She was stroking his arm as he felt himself breathe in her scent.

"Natsume?" she called, a bit alarmed and hopeful. He tried to breathe in once more, determined to catch her unique scent which he missed and longed for, only to be surprised by the pain that shook his body. He groaned, not realizing it was a scream that escaped him rather than the quiet one he intended. He felt her shift and panic, screaming for help and calling his name pleadingly. He tried to gain control only to be pushed back by more torturous pangs of pain that held his body captive. He wanted so much to reassure her and to make her see that he was okay, but clearly he can't and he is nowhere near okay.

"Natsume! Natsume! Please! Natsume!" she was screaming, crying, she was hysterical. He heard the swiveling of clothes, cloaks? strides and footsteps, all in a hurry. He heard murmurs and commands, some clatters of utensils and beeping of machines. He felt pain as hands were placed over him and heard her squeak in protest as someone tried to take her out of the room. He heard her cry his name, and knew she was shaking from her voice. He tried to focus his consciousness on her as he felt a slight prickly pain in his arm. He tried to open his eyes, slightly succeeding. And there he saw her, brunette locks scattered in disheveled state around her face, she was crying; he was right. It was clear that she was shaken up. She was a mess, though in his eyes, no one could ever have been more beautiful. He saw her hazel orbs spark in recognition as his crimson eyes held her gaze. She gasped and mouthed his name. He felt himself smile and reach for her, though darkness soon consumed him fully.

"Natsume!" she called from what seemed to be a far away place.

"Natsume!" he tries to reach but held nothing. It was dark and he felt cold.

.

"Natsume..."

...

Okay… so, I basically suck with the conversation part thing. It's not my forte, obviously and It bugs me. Any tips on how I should do those scenes? I prefer doing non-conversational stuff but feared it might not be enough… so… whatcha think?

Trivia: Toyo(the cat's name) is not derived from the Japanese Toyo name. It is an expression or state –sort of- of one's attitude of being moody and grumpy (I think?) for Filipinos. It's hard for me to explain, go ask other Filipino guys out there. Maybe they'll be able to explain it more. tehee

Another Trivia: with regards to Ruka and Hotaru's relationship, I was honestly going for the still courting stage but thought that it'll put Ruka and Hotaru in an awkward position since they don't have exclusive rights for each other so I'll go with the coupling them…for now…bwahaha XD

Again… Is it all over the place? Did I overdid it or does it lack something? Please do tell cause I suck at reading my own stories. Is it too much all over the place or what?

Anyway…I'd love to read your reviews and thoughts about the story and the chapter.

Thanks for dropping by!