The Princess of Sakura Kingdom: Chapter 10
...xXx...
Why am I here? Natsume asked himself and looked at his best friend who was still busy chasing Imai for taking his pictures again.
"Natsume, are you going to attend the ball?" Akira asked, but he decided to ignore him by reading his manga. He heard Akira sigh and lean on the tree trunk. "You miss her, don't you?"
'Of course I miss her. I miss her like crazy, but I can't do anything about it,' he thought silently.
"It's okay to be selfish sometimes, and it's okay for you to say what you want."
"I can't do that," he replied with a sigh and earned a chuckle from Akira. He glared at Akira. "What's so funny about it?"
"So, you DO miss her."
'I really hate him. He's just like his twin sister,' he thought annoyingly before asking himself, 'Am I that easy to read?'
"Just attend the ball, Natsume. I will try to convince Mikan to attend the ball as well."
"Hn," he grunted and read his manga again.
"Prince Natsume, can you please dance with me?" a girl asked shyly, but Natsume glared at the girl, sending her crying.
Stupid girl, Natsume thought before he felt someone tap his shoulder. It was none other than Akira.
"Yo! Bad mood?"
Natsume looked away from him, disappointed. "Whatever." So Mikan isn't coming, huh?
Akira walked away from him, grinning.
A few minutes later, everyone within the hall went silent. Natsume, puzzled because of it, turned to look at what was happening and gaped in surprise as his brunette was standing beside Akira, smiling at him.
"Princess Mikan!" the fan boys cried with joy.
Natsume stood still. Am I dreaming?
The twins approached the prince, who was still dumbfounded.
Mikan smiled. "Merry Christmas, Natsume."
Because of the silence, Akira nudged Natsume which made him snap back to reality. "Are you going to ignore my beloved twin sister, Natsume?"
Natsume smirked and looked at Mikan. Without a second thought, he wrapped his arms at the brunette's waist and whispered, "Welcome back, Mikan."
Mikan smiled and whispered back, "I'm back, Natsume."
It's good to have you here, Mikan, Natsume thought before inviting Mikan to dance.
The fan girls and fan boys stared at them with jealousy, but when they saw the prince and the princess dancing happily, they couldn't help but happy for them. The party went on without a hitch.
By the end of the night, Natsume took Mikan to the sakura tree.
"How?"
Mikan smiled. "It's all thanks to Hotaru-chan. She created an artificial body for Akira. So, Akira has his own body now."
He stayed still before leaning closer to look at her eyes. She blushed instantly because their faces were an inch away. He embraced her tightly but without hurting her. Without breaking the hug, he leaned down, and she closed her eyes. He kissed her lips gently. She parted her lips when he brushed his tongue against her lips. He deepened the kiss with passion and love. Not long, both broke the kiss breathlessly. They looked at each other's eyes and shared a happy smile.
Afterwards, time passed by quickly, and graduation was approaching. Even though Akira already had his own body, he still stayed in Mikan's room since her special star room was big enough for both of them. For Mikan's safety, Akira had been staying with her during the night since he already sent the guards back to the Sakura Kingdom. At first, Natsume disapproved the idea, but he couldn't do anything about it since Akira was Mikan's twin brother. And after he thought about Mikan's safety, he decided to let it go.
"What are you going to do after the graduation, Natsume?" Mikan asked softly, closing her eyes while leaning against the sakura tree. In two weeks, she would have to go back to her kingdom. She didn't know when she would be able to see him again.
Natsume still had his eyes closed. He was using her lap as his pillow. "I will try to talk to my father."
She opened her eyes and looked down at her prince before smiling. She didn't know what her prince was planning, but she trusted him with everything. She knew that they would meet again, one day.
...xXx...
The graduation ceremony went smoothly. Everyone hugged each other as they started saying their goodbyes to each other.
"Congratulations on your graduation, Princess Mikan," Narumi-sensei congratulated Mikan.
Mikan, who was standing between Akira and Natsume, smiled. "Thank you, Narumi-sensei, for everything."
Natsume, had nothing to say, looked away from his homeroom teacher with his hands in his pocket.
"Thank you, Narumi-sensei," Akira thanked him with a smile.
"You're welcome. It's a pleasure for us to have you here, Prince Akira," Narumi-sensei said with smile on his face.
Moments later, a dark cloud came towards them and stopped right in front of Mikan. In count of seconds, Serio Sakura with a few guards from Sakura Kingdom appeared before them.
"Serio-nii-sama!" Mikan chirped happily and ran towards him. She hugged him in greeting.
"Congratulations on your graduation," Serio stated monotonously while returning his younger sister's hug. He glanced at Akira and Hotaru, congratulating them without words.
"Thank you, Serio-nii-sama," Akira and Mikan replied him in unison.
Hotaru nodded with a tiny smile. "Thank you."
"It's time," Serio informed, and Mikan's smile faded. "Please wait for a while, Serio-nii-sama."
Without waiting for his brother's answer, Mikan ran to her prince and hugged him tightly. She softly whispered, "I'll wait for you, Natsume."
"I'll come for you, Mikan," Natsume whispered back.
Mikan broke the hug and gave him a bright smile. She pecked his lips before running back towards Hotaru, Akira and Serio.
Every teacher gathered to bid their goodbyes, and Mikan bowed at them. "Thank you for taking care of me, everyone. Goodbye."
The teachers smiled at Mikan in reply.
With that said, the dark cloud surrounded them and they all disappeared.
As soon as they arrived at the castle, everyone greeted them with happiness. For the rest of the day, the two kingdoms, Sakura and Imai, celebrated the prince and princesses' graduation. When the celebration was over, Mikan and Akira returned to their own wing of the palace.
When they were alone, Mikan started crying.
"Don't be sad, my twin sister," Akira comforted, trying to calm her down. He knew that today his beloved twin gave fake smiles to everyone. No one, but him, noticed this. He hugged her gently. You better keep your promise, Natsume.
...xXx...
"Dear, tonight we'll have important guests, so you need to get ready now," Yuka said softly after sipping her tea.
Mikan looked at her mother. "Who?"
Yuka only smiled and the next thing that happened was Akira dragged Mikan back to their wing.
When the twins reached their room, Mikan immediately asked, "Why did you do that, Akira?"
Akira only smiled and ordered the maids to help his sister get ready for dinner before leaving with, "See you later." He caught his twin's curious face and mentally told her, Your Prince's coming, Mikan.
"Prince Akira, a letter for you," the messenger said as he handed the letter to him.
Akira took the letter and immediately read it.
Akira,
It's been a year, I'm sorry for taking too long. Just want to inform you, I will visit Sakura Kingdom with my parents next week. Please keep this a secret from Mikan.
Natsume
'So you will finally come, huh?' he thought before burning the letter.
...xXx...
Dinner came sooner than she liked. Akira held her hand and whispered, "Please smile a bit, Mikan."
Not wanting to upset her twin, she let out a small smile.
"Presenting the King, the Queen and the Prince of Hyuuga Kingdom," announced one of the guards.
Her eyes widened comically. The door swung open and revealed Suichi Hyuuga with Kaoru Hyuuga, and close behind them was Natsume. She noted how his eyes were much gentler than when he was still at Alice Academy.
"I told you to smile a bit, Mikan," Akira whispered again.
"Thank you, Akira," Mikan whispered back and smiled brightly. She turned to look at Natsume and their eyes met. They looked at each other's eyes until he stood before her family. She gave him a smile, and he returned her smile with a small one.
"It's been a while, Suichi," Izumi greeted.
Suichi smiled. "Yeah, glad to see you again, Izumi."
"It's been a while, Yuka," Kaoru said and hugged Yuka.
Yuka hugged her back. "It's good to see you again, Kaoru."
"Even though you already know him, I still have to introduce my son, Natsume," Suichi said, introducing Natsume.
"It's my pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty," Natsume greeted politely.
After the introduction, the two kings started their own conversation, accompanied by the two queens, and Akira. As for Natsume and Mikan, they only stared at each other eyes without saying anything. Akira, who knew this, smiled and whispered something to his mother.
Yuka smiled before loudly stated, "Boring conversation."
The two kings stopped their conversation and darted their eyes to Yuka.
Yuka began, "Mikan, why don't you invite Natsume-kun to our rose garden. I know both of you don't really like to hear our conversation since it's really boring."
Mikan turned red immediately while Natsume glanced away to hide his embarrassment.
"Y-yes," Mikan stuttered before standing up. She faced Natsume. "Please follow me, Prince Natsume."
He nodded and followed her without a word.
After they left, Akira smiled to himself. Take care of her, Natsume.
"I came here not to talk about this boring conversation, Izumi," Suichi began, and everyone paid their attention to him.
"Oh?" Izumi replied even though he knew perfectly what Suichi was going to say.
Suichi smiled. "I have come here to build a new relationship with you, through my son Natsume and your daughter Mikan."