Act 8:
Conflicts of a Little Girl
Mikan Sakura's brunette hair was tied into pigtails and the wind blew it, her eyes were black like they were naturally black and this time she was wearing glasses. Mikan Yukihira raised a brow. She immediately thought of wonder man and his stupid disguise. She was indeed a solid hologram, but how did she open the door?
"Uh, I'm late," Sakura played with her pigtails.
"It's alright," Ruka looked at Yukihara then at Sakura. He thought they looked a little bit like each other.
"So, she came." Natsume gave Mikan Yukihira a not-bad-look.
"Of course," Hotaru snapped. "Happy now?" She stood up. "Can we go?"
Yukihara followed Hotaru. So did Natsume. He went in front of Sakura.
"Now what?" Sakura rolled her eyes. "Don't you dare tick me off today,"
"I just want to see the similarities for myself," He raised his hand. Mikan's eyes widened. Out of reflexes she pulled Natsume's hand and the raven haired boy fell on top of her. Everyone became silent. Natsume slowly stood up. "What's with you?"
"People like you," Sakura muttered. "I despise people like you," her voice trembled. "Stop being nosy, let's go Yukihara-san, Hotaru-chan. Be thankful that I am not in the mood for a fight." The rooftop door opened then Mikan Sakura left.
"Mikan-chan," Ruka rushed to help Mikan Yukihara up. "Why did you do that?"
Mikan Yukihara accepted Ruka's help and stood up. "I thought Natsume-kun would do something… Sakura-san did say something rude…" She defended.
"Natsume isn't like that," Ruka brushed his hair back.
"Pardon me," Mikan broke free from Ruka's grip. "I'm sorry Natsume-kun," Natsume just grunted and walked towards the edge of the rooftop.
"We will be leaving now," Hotaru led Mikan to the door.
…
"What was that all about?" Hotaru asked Mikan as soon as they were out of earshot. "Although you were right to pull Hyuuga away from the hologram,"
"I got scared. He might blackmail me with it." Mikan chewed on her lower lip. "Some people knew that incident about Mikan Yukihira… but because of dad's influence those people stopped, and because of the long period of time other people who saw that incident technically forgot it. If I was found out, everything about me would be opened up again."
"You should just ignore them," Hotaru shrugged. "Hyuuga's always toying with people. He's got a sharp observation skills hough."
"I know," Mikan smiled sadly. If it wasn't for the past, she wouldn't have concealed her identity. It's not that simple if she got found out.
"Baka," Hotaru hit Mikan on the head gently. "It's alright. I already knew you had a twisted personality. It'll be bad if they knew you weren't close to being the perfect girl they thought they knew. Also, you're just a little middle school girl so don't act too mature."
Mikan chuckled. "You're the one who has a twisted personality."
"I know," Hotaru smiled.
…
"Natsume, what were you doing earlier?" Ruka asked. "I think Mikan-chan was pretty upset." Both of them remained at the rooftop after the girls left.
"Which one?" Natsume said underneath his manga which rested on his face.
"Yukihira-san." Ruka groaned. "You shouldn't do it again. "It's not nice to play with people out of boredom." Ruka said with finality.
"It's not like I'm nice," Natsume retorted. "It's fun seeing them panic for no reason."
Ruka sighed. "That's how intimidating you are," he rolled his eyes. "I don't really like lecturing you. I usually just let you do what you want, but just this time, listen to me, will you?"
"You're like my father." He grunted then Natsume's face emerged from the manga. "Don't you think they look similar?"
"It was just a coincidence. No two persons could be at the same place at the same time except for the people with a Doppel Ganger Alice." Ruka concluded for Natsume.
"Still," Natsume shrugged. "Alright, whatever you say,"
…
"Oh dear, I'm pooped." Mikan walked towards the Northern forest. It was almost sundown. She decided to go there because she knew no one would be there to bother her. She thought it would do her good since the scenery of the trees and wild flowers were calming. She sat down and rested her back on a huge Sakura tree. Her surroundings were becoming blurry and slowly, she felt her body lighten.
A few moments later Mikan's upper body jolted and she sat up. She held her head because it hurt from the sudden waking up. She paused for a moment. "I fell asleep…" She continued to rub her temples then her eyes opened wide. It was already evening and she felt someone beside her. But it wasn't just anyone, it was Natsume.
He stared at her and despite of the slight darkness, she felt embarrassed. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
"It's nothing," he stretched his legs.
"I didn't bother you, did I?" Mikan looked around. She only saw the silhouette of the trees. "Where's Ruka-pyon?"
"He went ahead. He had a meeting he needed to attend to." Natsume stood up.
"Was he with you?" Mikan looked up at Natsume. "I didn't mean to sleep on your lap. I didn't know how—" She was surprised when he held out his hand for her. She accepted it and stood up.
"I saw you earlier here, and he was not with me," Natsume explained.
"Oh," Mikan felt relieved. "It would be bad if he misunderstood right?" Mikan beamed. Natsume was still silent. They just stood there looking at the starry sky. It was not as dark as it should be because the moon illuminated their surroundings. The wind blew coldly and Mikan shivered.
'Girls should really learn to adapt to their cold surroundings especially if winter's coming.' She thought to herself. Mikan heard Natsume click his tongue. He suddenly gave her his long-sleeve uniform jacket. "Wear it," he said.
"I can't," Mikan protested as she tried to hand it back to him. "Your inner uniform's cloth is thinner than mine and I'm already wearing a coat."
"Exactly," Natsume took the uniform and wrapped it around Mikan. "Is this warm enough?" He asked.
"Ruka-pyon is lucky to have a friend like you," Mikan smiled. "Wait a minute; you were still a jerk earlier. You are so nosy."
Natsume looked away. "Do you like him?" He ignored her comment about his personality.
Mikan's face flushed. "I—I do, who wouldn't?" She laughed nervously. "And I'm still mad at you for being a jerk… but you were kind enough to lend me your lap and jacket… but still…" She turned her head from left to right like she was really troubled by him. "Are you bipolar or something?" Mikan accused.
"Stop with you nonsensical accusations." Nastume sighed and then he gave her the now-back-to-our-original-business look. "You know that's not what I meant," he intently looked at her with his ember eyes. She felt like melting. Mikan stayed silent.
"That's what I thought," his expression became gentler.
"What?" Mikan stared at Natsume.
"Nothing," he held her hand and led her across the vast field and towards the middle school division. Mikan followed but she was battling herself because of it. 'I shouldn't be holding his hand? Could I? We already held hands at the festival… but the place was crowded back then."
"W—wait," Mikan finally stopped walking. "I—I don't feel comfortable holding the hand of my…" Her voice trailed off. 'Who is Ruka-pyon to me? What are we? Great, more questions.'
"Your what?" Natsume's tone challenged Mikan and despite that she didn't feel any annoyance for a change.
"He… my date? He's not my boyfriend yet because he didn't even court me." Mikan talked to herself.
"Despite of the arranged marriage?" Natsume raised a brow.
The cold wind blew harder. Mikan shivered again. "I do want my first boyfriend to woo me," Mikan snapped as she gritted her teeth. Then something fell on her nose. It was the first snow of the year. "It's snowing," Mikan looked around. Snowflakes began to fall slowly everywhere.
Natsume shook his head. "Let's go inside, it's cold here," he opened the school door. When they both entered he closed it. Darkness filled the place.
"S—stupid!" Mikan was close to crying. By instinct she clung on Natsume's arms.
Natsume wasn't expecting Mikan to do such a thing. He simpered for a moment then lit up a little fire on his palm. "It's alright," he said. "You can open your eyes now." Mikan slowly did what she was told. "See, it's not so dark now," gentleness filled his voice. Mikan blushed. "I didn't expect you to be afraid of the dark," he smirked.
"Well, I'm sorry for that," Mikan let go of his arms. "I'd rather take the long way around the school while slowly freezing to death than be warm and with you while you mock me!"
"Really?" Natsume rolled his eyes and put the fire out. Darkness filled the room.
"Kyaah~!" Mikan screamed. Knowing that Natsume was already in front of her, she hugged him tightly as she began crying. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I won't provoke you this time, waaa~"
Natsume couldn't help but smile a bit for a moment. He lit a fire which hovered in front of him. He looked at Mikan who was still crying. "It's not that dark anymore, baka." He made her face him. "Blow," he placed his shirt on her nose. She did as she was instructed and blew her nose on his shirt. "You really are scared of the dark," he sighed.
Mikan just nodded. "I'm sorry. I think I got mucus on your shirt." She whispered.
"You know you could have opened the door behind me," Natsume stated.
"I acted out of instinct. I couldn't think well." Mikan still held the end of Natsume's sleeve.
"Then how do you sleep?" He took her hand off of his sleeve and held it.
"It's not as dark as the hall ways here," Mikan's face flushed.
Natsume looked around. The windows were covered with blinds. True, without his fire, there would be absolute darkness. "You're not cold anymore are you?" He asked.
Mikan shook her head in reply.
"We should get going," Natsume led Mikan into the dark hallways while using his Alice to light the way. "Why were you at the Northern forest anyway?" He suddenly asked.
"I was tired and I needed to rest. I planned on waiting for Ruka-pyon," Mikan's voice was still soft.
"You just missed him," Natsume held Mikan closer to him.
"I know," she bit her lip. She tried to match his pace but he had long legs so she had to walk faster. "I didn't mean to."
"Still, it's a good thing," This time, Natsume's voice became soft. They turned to the corner.
"Why?" Mikan's curiosity got ahead of her. She stopped walking. "Did you enjoy tormenting me earlier?"
Natsume was taken aback. "I didn't," he stared at her.
She looked at his ember eyes as if she was challenging her again. Despite their staring contest Mikan refused to let go of his hand.
"I said I didn't," he growled. "Would you like me to put out the fire again?"
"N—no, you bastard." Mikan muttered.
"Stop muttering," Natsume began walking again.
"I'll do what I want," she muttered again.
Natsume took a sharp right, pulling Mikan along him and he pinned her on the wall. "Do you know I kiss girls who mutter?"
Mikan's brown eyes widened. She did recall he said that when they were behind the gym. "You wouldn't." She smiled nervously. "Ruka's my—"
"Your what?" Natsume intercepted her.
"He's my… I'm dating him," she replied, chin up. "I already told you that."
Natsume sighed. His hands slipped from her grip. He walked forward. "Hurry up; I'll leave you behind if you don't catch up."
Mikan became confused. Natsume was acting differently. She made sure she was close to Natsume because she didn't want to be left alone, but every time she heard strange noises such as something falling or the wind blowing loudly and knocking onto something, her knees began to tremble. She tried to convince herself that it was just her imagination because she wanted to avert her attention away from Natsume. Mikan couldn't handle it anymore and her knees fell on the floor. She wanted to call out for Natsume but no voice came out from her mouth. The light was slowly fading and so did the warmth. She began to cry silently.
'It's alright Mikan,' She thought. 'You'd get through this night if Natsume-kun was to leave you… but he wouldn't leave me… He's not like that. I knew that the moment he showed his gentle side.' She couldn't hold back her tears. 'I'm scared of the dark; I don't want to go back to the dark,'
Mikan felt her body being lifted up. "Seriously, you're hopeless." Natsume held her bridal-style. "Not to mention stupid, stop crying." He commanded.
Mikan tried to stop crying, but she couldn't. The darkness reminded her of her painful past.
"Seriously," Natsume hugged Mikan tighter. "I wouldn't leave you alone like that,"
Hearing his tender words made her relieved and the tears began to stop flowing. She clung onto his neck and whispered: "Thank you…"
Natsume carried her all the way outside the middle school division.
…
Natsume told his driver to stop by at Mikan's house before they went back to the Hyuuga residence. He looked outside the window to occupy himself. They were silent for quite some time now. He was surprised when Mikan suddenly rested her head on his shoulder. "Please stroke my hair, dad used to do it when I cried…"
Natsume stared at Mikan for a second. "You must be out of your mind," he said.
"Am I?" She looked up at him from his shoulder.
"I'm not your dad. Get away from me," he tried to push her away, but she wouldn't let go of his arm. He looked away. "You cried a lot back then," Natsume began to stroke her hair.
"I have my reasons," she replied with her eyes closed.
"What are they?" He asked again.
"You're being nosy," Mikan commented. "Again."
"Don't I deserve an explanation because you troubled me so much?" Natsume stopped caressing her brown hair.
"Then tell me what's your deal with Sakura," Mikan paused for a moment to see whether Natsume will stroke her hair again, but he didn't. "Urgh, please continue. I felt more relaxed that way," Mikan held Natsume's free hand. He did what she requested. "And don't ask questions like that. You wouldn't like the answer,"
"I won't tell and you could try me with your answers," Natsume dared.
"We are here, Natsume-sama." The driver said.
Mikan smiled. "Thank you." Then she turned to Natsume. "You don't have to get down, mom will freak out if she saw my face. Thank you for everything. You're such a nice guy,"
"I am not nice," he muttered as Mikan went out of the car.
"If you say so," she said before closing the door.
…
Yuka met Mikan as soon as her daughter entered the huge double doors of the living room.
"Mikan where have you been?" Yuka held Mikan's face. "You look awful!"
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Mikan chuckled.
"Seriously Mikan," worrying was evident on Yuka's face.
"It's nothing I cried because of the drama movie I saw with some friends," she lied.
"I see," Yuka sighed, but she still seemed like she wasn't convinced.
"I was with some new friends," Mikan smiled. "I promise…" She secretly crossed her fingers.
"Alright," Yuka held Mikan's back. "Let's get you ready for bed, you seem exhausted."
"Thanks mom,"
…
That night Mikan couldn't sleep. She stared at the ceiling for who-knows how many hours. She kept thinking of Natsume and how he acted—how she acted. She wasn't supposed to do that. She felt bad for Ruka. It seemed like she was out of her senses after she cried.
She needs to do something.
…
