Chapter Nine
Mikan Sakura ran home and slammed her house's door shut behind her. She then proceeded to do exactly what any woman, confronted with the idea of two devastatingly handsome men in love with her at the same time would do.
She cried.
She cried for the sting of the rejection that one of them would have to face, for the hurt she would cause no matter whom she chose, for her own selfishness in wishing that she could have both of them and added a bout of tears for the poor abandoned puppy for good measure.
After some time (three body wracking sobs to be precise) later, Mikan's doorbell rang.
She looked up, momentarily jerked out of her pity party. After a second of careful consideration, she wailed loudly and resumed her former activity in the hope that whichever idiotic salesman had decided to pick her house that night would take the hint and go away. (It was highly unlikely that Natsume would be returning for another couple of hours judging by his dazed expression and state of mind when he exited the pub)
However, either the salesman was deaf or extremely persistent because the doorbell's shrill sound punctuated Mikan's misery yet again.
It is said: Never, ever interrupt a girl when she is having a 'good cry' if you like your limbs.
This line, while decidedly un-poetic, is nevertheless true. Fixing a glare on her usually cheerful face Mikan opened her door and found herself confronting a petite brunette with startling violet eyes.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"
"I was under the impression that I was pressing a button."
"You weren't pushing a button you were pushing me over my metaphorical cliff! I'm going insane with grief here and you want to sell me deodorant? Or is it pesticide this time? Congrats! I have a stinking raven haired bastard and a blonde pest here and I'm dumb enough to be in love with BOTH of them! Even though they're nothing more than stupid smelly bugs. Oh and by the way, I had an epiphany today: She's one whacked out sadist!"
"Who?" asked the girl, seeming amused by Mikan's outburst.
"Fate! And another thing –"
"My name is Hotaru Imai. I believe you've met my business partner, Mr. Narumi."
This effectively shut Mikan up for the next 30 seconds while she gaped at the woman who had created Natsume. She was a little on the short side but what she lacked in size she easily made up for in sheer presence. Hotaru Imai's aura was rather intimidating. Her face was expressionless but her eyes were bright and vivid, analyzing everything around them. Those eyes bored into Mikan's for just a split second but she could have sworn she saw dollar signs pop up in them.
She walked into the house without waiting for an invitation and whistled softly. At once, the puppy Mikan had thought asleep bounded up to her and tried to lick her hand. Hotaru scrutinized it for a second, then opened up a small notebook and began to scribble furiously in it.
Mikan chose this completely inappropriate moment to giggle and tearfully observe, "No one asks me if they can come in. Everyone just comes and goes as they please! Especially those two!"
Hotaru spared her a slightly pitying look and said, "You don't have a lock on your door. Also you are hysterical," before returning to her notes.
"What're you doing?" asked Mikan.
"Taking notes."
"Oh. What are you noting?"
"This Doggei's performance report. I'm still considering the question of whether or not to mass produce these."
"Mass produce doggies?"
"Doggei," corrected Hotaru, while continuing to write, "DOG Genetically Engineered Intelligence."
Mikan shrieked and edged away from the puppy, which was still gazing at Hotaru with unabashed admiration in its eyes.
"You mean this is a robot too?"
"An intelligence gathering system. It's not fully functional yet. This is one of the earliest models. I'm using it to check how the only person ever to have bought a Natsume Hyuuga Unit is faring and also recording it's first ever test run. You are Mikan Sakura, correct?"
"Yes."
"Are you satisfied with the performance of your Unit?"
A wail informed Hotaru that the brown haired girl before her had returned to her former past-time with renewed vigor. Mikan sat down on her sofa, which was one of the few pieces of furniture in her house still precariously clinging on to its balance.
Hotaru sighed and sat down beside her, awkwardly patting her shoulder. "I suppose you fell in love with the Unit."
A muffled sob answered her question and soon Mikan began to pour her heart out to the irritated and uncomfortable girl before her.
"First there was Ruka. He's so amazing and kind and considerate and polite and everything any girl could ever want! I love him!"
"So?"
"Then Poof! Natsume appeared! He's the most incredibly rude, arrogant and flat out dumb person on the planet! I love him too! He has a bad boy air around him and he's sexy. He can be really funny. We fight all the time but there's this undeniable chemistry that I can't explain. If I dated him we'd fight half the time and kiss the rest. To make matters worse, I love both of them and both of them love me."
"Well, there are worse problems then having to choose between two handsome men who love you."
"They're complete opposites! How can I possibly love both of them at the same time?"
"Ruka soothes you and Natsume excites you. It's understandable that you would like both of them."
"But I still have to pick! Who do I choose?"
Hotaru Imai leaned back on the sofa and smirked. "Listen to your heart."
A cushion sailed through the air and she neatly dodged it.
"Or," she added, "Have your cake and eat it too."
"How?"
Her eyes twinkled and this time, Mikan was sure of the dollar signs glowing in them.
"Just how much money do you have in the bank? Any disposable assets you could dispose for cash? Inheritance?"
AN: I'm sorry for the long gap between chapters! Rest assured that the next chapter is already written and will be posted as soon as I finish re-reading it for errors. It will be the final chapter of this story.
A major reason for this break is that I re-read what I had written earlier and was absolutely mortified to see my pathetic storyline, cheesy dialogues and stereotypical characters. I tried to edit the story a bit but it just didn't interest me anymore. However I hate to leave a story hanging so I'm wrapping all this up next chapter.
On a completely unrelated side-note, does anyone want to see a Luna/OC fic? I found one gathering virtual dust in my computer and I'm willing to post it if anyone's interested.
