Haha one a week updates are gonna be a tad hard, but I'll make it happen- this debate camp is like SUPER intense, so sorry. ;3;
Ruka had never felt more nervous. It bubbled up in one large pit in his stomach and stayed there, a constant reminder. People often described nervousness to feel like butterflies, but Ruka was fairly sure that butterflies didn't feel so vicious. But then again, he didn't really know. All Ruka did know was that it wasn't a pleasant feeling and left him queasy. Nonetheless, he stayed next to Hotaru, walking at a leisurely pace through their large, scenic garden. It faintly reminded Ruka of the garden that he had grown up with back home.
Hotaru strolled beside him quietly, deep in thought. No doubt she was planning another invention, or some other scheme which she would undoubtedly make millions with- if not more. The corners of his mouth were tugged up in amusement. Hotaru was entrenched in her mind. She walked aimlessly and carelessly, letting the hem of her lavender sundress trail the ground. The white large-brimmed hat that she wore bounced with each step that she took, shading her expression. Ruka straightened imaginary wrinkles from the powder blue dress shirt he was wearing. He regretted wearing dark slacks that retained heat. At least he would look nice when they reached the veranda and he popped the question. Thinking about it made him uneasy, so Ruka focused on the way that Hotaru unconsciously swung her arms. It was cute, and unexpectedly childish, but it made Ruka love her even more. He hadn't even realized how much he loved her until moments like these. Then the weight of his affection hit him and left him stunned for who knows how long. How can you like someone so much?
But Ruka supposed that was a good thing- the capacity to feel so much emotion for someone other than yourself. It was an incredible feeling, almost indescribable. Just knowing that there was someone else was reassuring. Caring for someone felt good. And that inexplicable desire to protect and cherish overwhelmed the mind with a sort of ecstasy that couldn't be fought off. Ruka hadn't been sure if the feeling was love at first, but if it wasn't, it came damn near close. Looking back, Ruka realized that he had always loved her, really, and that it was just a desperate foolishness of youth that kept him from reaching that epiphany.
The pair paused, realizing that they had reached the white veranda that was shrouded with veils of ivy and other climbing flowers. Sun shone brightly, illuminating the painted wooden boards through the netting of foliage. Ruka bounded up the steps nimbly, offering his hand to Hotaru. She took it nonchalantly, without saying a word. Ruka smiled, realizing that Hotaru was in a good mood. Typically, she would have brushed past him, or worse, give him a dirty look.
He led her to the padded benches that were built into the wall, and sat beside her. Ruka wasn't sure what to do next. There were always cheesy movies where the guy had this giant, dramatic set-up that had the girl swooning and the two got married the day after or something similar. Ruka sneaked a sideways glance at Hotaru. Yup, definitely not the swooning type. Besides, Ruka wasn't big on showy, attention grabbing display of affection unless Hotaru was into it as well. Although there was an element of shyness that held him back, he also didn't want to risk doing something she wouldn't like and get rejected. Smaller, simpler things with deeper meaning worked better with Hotaru.
"So what did you want to talk to me about?" she asked suddenly, breaking the silence. Ruka thought furiously, trying to come up with a good answer.
"Ahh, well, I just wanted to know- ehm- how your work was…?" he managed to reply. She raised an eyebrow.
"That's all?" she asked. He nodded vigorously, hoping she wouldn't pry.
Keeping the bored expression on her face, she briefly described her latest project that involved some sort of truth serum. Ruka shuddered, hoping he would never be on the receiving end of Hotaru's fury. Her genius mind was unrestrained and roamed free. That was especially frightening.
"Hotaru," Ruka interrupted her explanation with an odd look on his face. She nodded, looking slightly peeved at having been cut off.
"I- uh, I wanted to ask-"
He paused and fumbled in his pockets before withdrawing a velveteen box.
"I- I… It would make me extremely happy, and uh, oh!"
He shifted to rest on one knee and clumsily opened the box to reveal a heavy gold ring.
"Marry me?" he barely choked out. He knew he had botched it up, but she seemed to have understood the message, which was good.
Hotaru picked it up and held it close to her face, squinting her eyes slightly
"No thanks," she replied with disinterest, dropping the ring back. Ruka's face fell and his insides froze instantly. He could almost feel his heartbeat slow. Ruka had always tried to prepare himself for rejection, but honestly, he never actually thought she would reject him. Even with Hotaru's callous exterior, he was fairly sure he cared. His expression dimmed from a hopeful look to a crestfallen pout. Seeing this, Hotaru took pity on him and clarified.
"I'm not that willing to get married to Mikan anytime soon," she murmured, tapping the box with one outstretched index finger. Ruka's brow furrowed and he pulled the ring out, inspecting the inner band. Surely enough, it had I Love You –Mikan engraved on it. It was definitely a man's ring, given that there was nothing delicate about it. He couldn't imagine it on Hotaru's pale, slender finger.
"Fuck."
"You didn't go ring shopping with that idiot, did you?" she dryly asked, "Because Mikan is the most clueless person ever. She probably mixed them up by accident. I'm assuming this is for Natsume."
Thank god she was brilliant and didn't misunderstand the situation. Ruka looked back up at her.
"But will you marry me?" he asked again, stringing all his hope on the question. She smiled gently- a real smile- before sighing softly. She draped her arms around Ruka and kissed him hard.
"Why don't you propose with the right ring and we'll see."
This was a side of Hotaru that only Ruka really got to see: the domineering, pushy, but more affectionate side. Even though her words didn't hold any promise, her actions did. Ruka didn't respond, and kissed her back instead, expressing his reaction in that manner. A genius like Hotaru would understand.
Natsume sped back to the daycare after work. He belatedly realized that he had left his phone there, and was anxious to get it back. His phone had everything on it: contacts, work agenda, personal notifications, everything. He groaned again, feeling the need to smash his face into the steering wheel. If Sumire found out- which she probably would- she would give him hell for it.
The cars in front of him trickled slowly. Apparently there was an accident or something, and the entire intersection was clogged up. Natsume grimaced and turned his attention to the small shops that bordered the street. They were all quaint little stores, antique shops and cafes. One name stood out to him, the One Star Café. He hadn't realized that Koko had built his café here. Natsume had always assumed it would be more glamorous and befitting of his station. It wasn't as if Koko needed the work. He had just insisted on opening up the café for who knows why.
He spied the gentle curve of a neck and familiar shade of brown hair. He shifted his body to scrutinize the form through the café window. A crisp white blouse that hid the pale shell of her back. White hands that fluttered animatedly as she spoke. It was undoubtedly Mikan. She was sitting in the café facing the window, but twisted her body to a dark haired man with a mark upon his cheek who was ordering at the counter. Natsume was close enough to see the happy expression that adorned the man's face as he talked with Mikan. He seethed. Mikan had clearly dressed up for this little "date" and they both seemed happy. She was moving on from their relationship exceptionally fast. But then again, it wasn't as if he could say anything given his night with Luna. Knowing this, Natsume gritted his teeth and drove on to retrieve his phone, missing the whirl of brown hair that turned to watch his car leave.
Sumire was ecstatic. She wasn't sure how exactly she had managed to coerce Nobara's boyfriend into helping her, but here he was in her office, hacking into bank data. Granted, it had required a LOT of persuasion on Nobara's part, but ultimately he had acquiesced. Sumire was immensely thankful that Nobara was looking out for Mikan, and in turn, making Sumire's life a lot easier. Nonetheless, she smirked to herself. If Persona was able to gather the information they needed, then it would be a simple task of proving to Natsume that none of this was Mikan's fault and the two of them would fall back together. Although Sumire never thought of herself as a romantic, she did support their relationship and was disheartened to see them break apart. And recently, the quality of Natsume's work was decreasing, so she heavily suspected that he was more affected by their break up than he let on.
Persona continued to tap at keys, or working his government magic as Nobara dubbed it. He was reluctant to bow down to the wishes of the bossy woman at first, but Nobara had pleaded so desperately, and he had come to care for Mikan as well. She was almost a motherly figure, despite being much younger, and tried to baby him. He chuckled and resumed typing. It didn't require any use of government ID to break into the bank's security network and access the files Sumire wanted. Although it wasn't, strictly speaking, legal to hack like this, especially given his job, Persona felt obliged to help the girl out. Mikan, not Sumire. And Natsume could go rot in hell for all he cared. And it wasn't like Persona was aiming to take down all of the bank's network defenses; he was just trying to slip past their notice and gather the information they needed. His computer pinged a few more times, signaling its completion.
"Do you have a printer?" he gruffly asked. Sumire nodded, not taking her eyes from the information on the screen, and pointed to the corner. Quickly, he connected to the printer via network and made hard copies of the documents he had retrieved. Sumire nearly sprinted to the printer and quickly scanned the documents, still warm and wet with ink. She released an audible gasp.
"Oh, no," she whispered. Persona stuck out one hand and she gave him the first page of two. He read the information that revealed large purchases at various high end stores under Mikan Sakura's credit card. The total came slightly above $500,000. Sumire silently offered the second page, sinking into her comfortable office chair. It detailed the purchases: where, when, and what was bought. Persona sighed as well, echoing her sentiment. Things weren't looking good for Mikan.