Another update from LavenderBlush! Yep! That's the new penname! LavenderBlush! I hope you like it! Sorry for changing my penname so suddenly. It's just that...that..argh. Dear readers, I love my new penname and another reason. Thank you for supporting this story! I love each and every one of you!

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Thank you for your support and encouragements everyone! I hope you'll like this chapter as you liked the previous ones.

Chapter 8: Lost Girl

"Who would ever thought that you could actually look pretty when you wear mini skirts?" Natsume nii san said while looking at me. "So you're saying I'm ugly when I don't wear it?" I replied. "Never mentioned it." he answered. "Oh, so I'm pretty?" I asked. "Never mentioned it, either." he said. He's really annoying me now.

"You've just said that I could look actually pretty when I wear these." I said holding my mini skirt. "I said you could look pretty. I never said you were pretty." he said with that pesky smirk plastered on his face. "Oh shut up, onii san." I said while I grabbed my bag. Me and Hotaru were gonna go shopping today. Our first shopping together!

"I'm going now onii san. Ja!" I said as I happily skipped down the inclined plane. Because of my excited self, I lost balance and actually fell flat on the foor. I saw Natsume onii san look at me. He helped me up, which was very unusual for him. "Ouch! Ow ow ow ow! Careful! I think my knee is wounded!" I shouted while holding onii san's shoulders. He was helping me up by wrapping his arms around my waist and holding my arm.

"Because of your idiocy, you're wounded." He said while he helped me walk to the sofa. Mom wasn't home. She's in America because Uncle Shino needs her fur business purposes. Anica had her one-week vacation so she and Kararu went to their province. The only people in this huge mansion was only me and Natsume onii san. Natsume could've come with them but mom said that he must stay here to guard me. I can't be all alone in the mansion for a week. I can't go since I don't have a passport and Okaa-san was needed there, urgent. So that's why we're all alone here.

"Stay there." Natsume nii san said as he went to get the alcohol and a bandage. I sat on the sofa. I observed my wound. It was pretty big, as big as a nose, probably. It was bleeding and I couldn't help but shed some tears because of the pain. After a while, Natsume nii san returned with the alcohol and the bandage. He also brought cotton balls and a hankerchief."You're so clumsy. You should've watched where you're going instead of looking at me."Natsume nii san said. I pouted.

"Hold still." he said as he poured a small amount of alcohol in a cotton ball and carefully wiped my wound. "Oww!! It hurts!!" I shouted as I hugged a pillow forcefully. "Don't shout or I'll pour all the alcohol at your wound!" he said as I calmed down a little. He, once again, carefully wiped my wound as I prevented myself from shouting. After a while, he's finally finished and wiped it with the hankerchief. After that he placed a bandage.

"Finally! The torturement is finally over!Thank you, onii san!" I said as I carefully stood up. I slowly walked towards the gate.

"Oi baka, You won't go shopping today." Natsume nii san said, breaking my happy mood. "B-But onii san! This is my first shopping with Hotaru!" I said. "Look at you, you're wounded and you're going to the mall wearing a mini skirt with a bandage on your knee? Oh get a life." Natsume said. "But if it means that it's with Hotaru, it's fine." I said as I went outside the gates,walking awkwardly, not even bothering to look back at Natsume nii san.

'That idiotic girl.'Natsume thought as he got the keys of his car and secretly followed his little stepsister.

---

"Hotaruuuu!!" Mikan shouted when she saw Hotaru munching Crab brains in a Seafood restaurant. "You're eating!" Mikan continued. "Is it bad to eat?" Hotaru said after she swallowed some Crab brains. "No! B-But you ate without me!" Mikan said.

"You're so slow. I have waited here for hours." Hotaru said calmly while munching some crab brains, again. "And that's exactly..?" Mikan continued.

"A minute and seven seconds." Hotaru said calmly. "And that's for hours?!" Mikan said as she cried Waterfall tears anime style.

"Oh shut up. And by the way, what happened to your knee?" Hotaru asked while staring at the bandage at Mikan's knee. "I, tripped." Mikan said while she ordered some Seafood Sushi. "That's all?" Hotaru asked. "Yeah.." Mikan said while she drank some black pearl tea she ordered.

"What exactly happened?" Hotaru asked. "You got a lot of questions..-sigh- Well, here goes. I skipped down the stairs and I tripped. End of discussion." Mikan said as she ate half of the sushi.

"Convincing." Hotaru said. Well, Mikan didn't lie anyway. "And what did your infamous big brother did?" Hotaru continued. How could she know that Natsume witnessed the scene? "You aren't gonna trip when you are skipping down the stairs, looking at it.If you were looking at Hyuuga, you really could've tripped." Hotaru said as if she read my mind.

"He helped me up. He aided my wound and yeah, scolded me and told me how clumsy I am."Mikan replied as she finished her sushi. She looked at Hotaru and saw that she wasn't still finished eating the Crab Brains. "Do you really take time to eat, Hotaru chan?" Mikan asked, curious. "Nope, this is my seventh order of Crab Brains." Hotaru said as she finished all of her crab brains.

BEEEEEEP. BEEEEEEEEP. BEEEEEEEP. Hotaru's cellphone rung. She answered the call. "Moshi Moshi?" She said as she listened to the voice at the other line. Mikan noticed that Hotaru's emotion became a little annoyed. "Why should I?" Hotaru rerplied with an annoyed tone. "You're gonna owe me a hundred rabbits for this." Hotaru said as she hung up. She stood up and got her bag. "Mikan, I got to go. Urgent." Hotaru said as Mikan stood up. "Awww. You ruined all the fun. But it's okay! I'm gonna miss you!" Mikan said as she attempted to hug. But to no avail, Hotaru hit her with the Baka Gun.

"Meanie." Mikan said as she cried anime style. Hotaru then walked off. Mikan had no choice but to go home. She paid at the counter, including Hotaru's orders. Hotaru forgot to pay her menu. "That would be 610 rabbits, miss." the girl said at the counter. "What?! Six hundred and ten rabbits?!" Mikan shouted, shocked. "Yes ma'am. No discounts." the cashier said. I got my 500 rabbits. "This is only what I've got Miss. Promise, When I have money, I'll return here and pay up the other hundred and ten rabbits." I said, truthfully. The cashier looked at me for a while. Later on, she took the 500 rabbits from my hand. "Fine. I'll expect your return. You only have a week to pay it." the cashier said. "Thank you!!" I shouted as I dashed out the restaurant. Well, Awkwardly dashed out the restaurant.

I went outside the mall and look for a cab. None are parking infront of me. Oh yeah, why bother waiting for one when I don't even have money? I walked to the right where my path is. I walked and walked. Then Forward, Right, Forward, Left, Left again and then Right. Wait, what did Kararu told me?

FLASHBACK

"When you'll go home walking from the mall, the path you should take is Right, Forward,Right, Forward, Left, Left again and then Forward. If you turn right, you'll cross the path of the gangsters. If you go forward, you'll be able to recognize the way already." Kararu said.

"Oh. Thanks Kararu." I said as I went to the kitchen to get some milk. "Don't you like a copy so you won't forget it?" Kararu asked before I exited the room. "Nah, my brain can store lots of information and it memorizes them all." I replied as I proceeded.

END OF FLASHBACK

'Nice. Don't you know that your brain forget things easily?' Mikan thought. She was about to turn back but it's too late. She heard a sinister cackle behind her.

"Getting lost, miss?" The guy said, invisible.

"W-Where are you? Show y-yourself!"Mikan said half-brave half-scared.

"Aww. Let me show you the way then. But before that, can't we have a little fun? Anyway, it's still early." the guy said as he finally showed himself. "I don't have time to play bastard." Mikan said as she walked away. But the guy held her back. "You are extremely much more beautiful and sexier than the last time I saw you. That time, you got away, but now, I'm finally going to have fun." The guy said as Mikan faced the guy.

"YOU! YOU BASTARD! GET AWAY FROM ME!" Mikan shouted when she finally recognized the guy's face. It was the guy who almost raped her if it wasn't for Hotaru and also the reason why Hotaru and her became enemies. "Awww. There's no one to save you little girl. I have plenty of friends here that wants to have fun besides me." the guy said as 4 more men appeared behind him.

"Yo Kaziro, is this our new toy?" the guy with blue hair asked the guy holding Mikan. "Yeah. And her batteries are low. Why don't we, charge her?" the Kaziro guy said. Mikan stepped on his foot making the guy hold his feet, letting go of Mikan.

"After her!" Kaziro shouted as the four guys ran towards Mikan. Unfortunately, Mikan's high heels and wounded knee weren't helping her. The guy with white hair caught her and wrapped her in his arms making her having a hard time escaping them. He carried Mikan bridal style. The guy with blue hair holding her legs and trying to peek under her mini-skirt. The guy with golden hair holding her arms and the guy with green hair feeling envious following them. They brought Mikan back to Kaziro.

"There's no way out, little girl." Kaziro said as the guy with white hair threw Mikan on the empty boxes making Mikan weak. She then became unconscious.

"Finally." Kaziro said as they all surrounded the unconscious body of Mikan. Staring at her body. "I'll go first. The guy with green hair said as he prepared to unbutton Mikan's mini skirt. But before he was able to do it, someone kicked him in the head.

"Idiot, I'm the one who must go first." Kaziro said as he unbuttoned Mikan's mini skirt. But then again, someone kicked him in the head.

"Stop what you're doing, fools." a guy said. "Mind your own business." Kaziro said as he punched the guy in the chest. The guy though, just lost his balanced but managed to remain standing. "Don't mess with me. Go now while you still have time." The guy said. "Not before fighting." Kaziro said as he charged to kick him. But the guy dodged it. Then a rumble started.

One by one the gangsters are running away when they saw Kaziro bleeding and coughing blood. "Let's go! We might die here." The guy with blue hair said as they helped Kaziro and ran away. The hero now looked at the unconscious girl with her mini skirt unbuttoned. "Idiotic girl." the guy said as he buttoned her mini skirt. He was having a hard time since his lust was almost getting the better of him.

"Stupid little girl. Putting her life to risk." the guy said as he carried Mikan bridal style.

MEANWHILE

"What do you want, Hyuuga?" Hotaru asked Natsume who called her a while ago.

"Where's that baka?" Natsume asked obviously referring to Mikan.

"I left her at the restaurant." she answered calmly. "You should've brought her here. She needs to go home now." Natsume said.

"You told me to tell her that I need to go, idiot. And oh, being a worried old brother, Hyuuga?" Hotaru asked with a little smile and a raised eyebrow.

"No one's home, Imai. I allowed her to have a 5-minute shopping with you and 23 and 55 minutes for chores. And her 5-minute time is over." Natsume said.

"We didn't even started shopping yet, Hyuuga." Hotaru said in a FYI tone.

"Oh shut up."Natsume said and went to look for Mikan.

---

"Where did she go?!" Natsume asked the cashier at the said restaurant.

"How should I know? It's not my job. And sir, since you know that girl, do you have a hundred rabbits? She lacks a hundred rabbits when she paid." the cashier said as Natsume handed her a hundred rabbits and went off.

'I swear if I see you baka, I will pull your ears and scream a big 'BAKA' in it until it bleeds a rainbow-colored blood.'Natsume thought as he went to search for his stepsister.

SUPPOSED END OF CHAPTER 8.

Before everything, I just want to apologize for the super late update! I currently got addicted to Audition and yeah, school too. Last Christmas was vacation and there's no Internet at the mountains. Since it's already 2009, I 'll just add a little more...part since it's a cliffhanger. =]

---

La la la la la..

The door creaked open.

La la la la, Yummy little fish..

Footsteps was echoing round the house.

La la la la, after this I will be eating you..hahaha.

The sofa creaked like someone laid on it.

Mmmm, smells good.

Someone sighed like he was tired or exhausted.

"Ruka, you there?" Luna asked still cooking the fish.

"Yeah.. where's the first aid kit, by the way?" Ruka asked.

"In the bathroom, at the cabinet. Why? Are you bruised or something?"Luna said as she left the fish for a second and went to look at Ruka.

"No, she is." Ruka said as she looked at the girls sleeping in the sofa.

"M-Mikan chan?"

REAL END OF CHAPTER 8.

There. Mystery solved. :)) Now the only question is, what happened to the frantic yet worried Natsume? Read and Review! Belated Merry Christmas and a prosperous New year! ;)