Ohayo minna-san!
Started this chapter while on vacation but didn't get a chance to finish it, so please forgive me if it's a bit short or a tad crappy. I'm running on fumes now, had to go straight to work after arriving back in the city from vacation. No sleep yet. T_T
Text in italics is a flashback.
So without further ado, here is the latest chapter of Secrets! :)
xoxo Lexi1989
Previously:
She strummed the last chord and the crowd burst into applause. She took a bow, her hat perched low on her face, covering the tears that were now streaming freely down her cheeks. When she reached her dressing room backstage, she saw the last person she expected to see, seated in front of her mirror, waiting for her.
"That was a fine performance Sakura. Straight from the heart eh?" Cold, calculating eyes watched her reflection in the mirror.
"What are you doing here?" Sakura held her ground, trying to appear unfazed by the presence of the unannounced visitor.
"Get your sister, we need to talk."
CHAPTER 10: I AM MIKAN YUKIHIRA
Misaki stared at the stranger seated across her behind her office desk. Sakura had come up to her right after her performance with a panicked face, asking to talk. She didn't expect her to bring an unknown person into her office though.
One of the waitresses entered bringing two cups of coffee for Misaki and the guest, and a cup of hot chocolate laced with caramel for Sakura. Sakura was in her dressing room, changing into her normal clothing.
"So what is this about, Miss..?"
"Imai, Hotaru Imai from Imai Investigators International or Triple I for short." The woman had a cool stature, and her lavender eyes showed all business despite the information she held in her briefcase.
"Misaki -"
"Harada, I know. There's not much that my team cannot unearth in this world, Miss Harada. And this is regarding your adopted sister."
Misaki quickly became guarded at the mention of Sakura. She knew there were things in her past that remained a mystery until now, but she had a feeling this woman knew about Sakura's identity before Misaki met her. And as if like she had known she was the topic of the conversation in the office, Sakura knocked on the door, and appeared wearing a long sleeved white kaftan blouse and jean shorts with flip-flops.
"Sakura."
"Hotaru, may I ask what brings you here?" Sakura approached and stood next to Misaki's chair.
"You may want to sit down for this."
DOME PENTHOUSE, THE PLAZA, NY CITY
The phone rings and Rei Serio reaches over the figure bundled under the covers next to him.
"Serio." He muttered into the phone.
"Rei!" The cheery voice of Kaoru Hyuuga wafts through the receiver and seemingly wakes up every bone in his body.
"Kaoru, what a surprise! To what pleasure do I owe this phone call?"
"Is it true that my little Nat-chan and little Mikan-chan are dating?"
"That is something I have not yet spoken with to Mikan about, Kaoru. I believe she is currently seeing Reo."
"Oh,that's a shame, here I was, planning a little matchmaking. It would do well for both our companies if…" Kaoru let the thought sink into his head.
"If what?"
"If they were to become an item, or much more than that, I believe Yukihira Corps and Hyuuga Electronics and Tech would become stronger as partners."
"Hmmm.. your idea sounds promising, Kaoru."
"Think about it Rei. We have so much to offer to each other, not to mention that Natsume and Mikan have known each other since childhood. Even if he doesn't admit it, Nat-chan has been quite taken and fixated on Mikan since they were kids. Why, even during her absence, we could see him pining for her."
"How about we talk about this over dinner some time Kaoru? My treat. I can fly you and Ioran over to Los Angeles. I'm visiting Mikan this coming weekend. I'm sure Natsume will be thrilled to see you guys too."
"I'll check with Ioran and have his secretary iron out the details. Talk to you soon Rei! Au revoir!"
By this time, Luna, disturbed from her beauty sleep, sat up and glared at Rei as he put down the receiver. He was grinning ear to ear.
"What are you so happy about? And who the fuck was that?" Luna growled at him.
"That was Kaoru Hyuuga. She told me about a possible deal with H.E.T.I. that could make us super rich."
"Pray tell." Luna's demeanor changed from grumpy to greedy with dollar signs in her eyes.
"I think she wants us to marry off Mikan to Natsume, with the purpose of partnership or possibly merging with their company."
"And how do we fit into all this? And isn't the little impostor dating that Mori guy?"
"Well, we find a way to ditch Mori. And when everything goes well, let's just say that the wedding of the year for the business world will go out with a big BANG!" he laughed evilly.
"Taking care of Mori will be different than the other guy. You know, the guy the impostor was with."
"That guy wasn't all stupid. He saved us from a grisly murder trial by letting the girl take Mikan's place, though we had to silence a lot of others who knew what the real Mikan looked like, including himself."
"Mikan will be a different matter. She's in love with Reo." Luna countered, as she stepped off the bed, putting on her robe.
"She will do as we ask, we'll use Mori as blackmail." Rei said as he pulled Luna back on the bed.
"You're so clever my love." She said as he claimed her lips.
"And this is all for us."
Sakura awoke to find herself in her dark bedroom. She glanced at the clock on her nightstand with the red numbers indicating it was half past four in the morning. She felt her head pounding as she sat up abruptly remembering the scene earlier that night.
"You may want to sit down for this."
She sat down next to her sister and listened as Hotaru delivered the news that would change her life forever.
"We've done some research into your background."
"What did I ever do to you for you to go behind my back and snoop into my life?" Sakura had tensed and immediately became defensive.
"It's my job. I know that's not a good excuse, but that isn't what's important right now." Hotaru suddenly softened, looking at Sakura wistfully which took the latter aback.
"What do you mean?"
"Sakura doesn't have any memories of who she was before you found her, right Misaki?" To which the redhead nodded.
"We've been able to confirm her true identity via DNA testing."
"So who am I?"
"You are the true Mikan Yukihira, heir to Yukihira Corps International."
"Bu-but it can't be! We saw that Yukihira chick at that party you guys all attended with Natsume!" Sakura shook her head in disbelief.
"That Yukihira is an impostor. DNA testing can never be wrong. I myself, double and triple checked the results using different factors. You are the real Mikan." Hotaru looked at her best friend with conviction.
"Okay. So fine! I'm the real Mikan. What difference does it make? I don't want that life. I love my life with Misaki! And she is there as the heir! She studied abroad for Kami's sake! Let her live my real life. I'm perfectly fine where I am." Sakura felt her head pound as her fear overcame her.
She had felt this fear only a few times in her life before, one, when she left Japan with her uncle, leaving the only people she loved behind. Second, when she was running for her life, that night she lost her memories. And now, those memories were interminably crashing over her. She felt as if she were drowning, as each crash brought memories far buried in the recesses of her mind.
His face keeps popping up. Some from her lost memories, and some from her more recent moments with him. And somehow, that was one thing that made her look forward to her future. The thought of being with him.
"We need to have more information before we can announce it to the world." Hotaru calmly said.
"What makes you think Sakura will go along with this, Miss Imai?" This was the first time Misaki spoke throughout the whole revelation.
"Because it's the right thing to do."
"Doing so would put her life in danger. I found her almost dying in the streets, a bullet wound to the leg and bruises on her face. Whoever left her there, wanted her dead." The anger wasn't missed from Misaki's tone of voice.
"That is why we need a strategic plan and more information. This will become a scandal in the business world once it gets out. We need to ensure Mikan's safety along with anybody else associated with her. And that includes you and your husband Ms. Harada. We need to know why Yukihira Corps has an impostor for an heir and what they plan to do. Which is why, I implore you two not to utter a single word of this conversation to anyone else. Let my team handle it and I will keep you updated."
"What if she doesn't want anything to do with this?"
"She doesn't have a choice. The truth has to be told. Whether or not you cooperate, at some point in time, I will be exposing them. And Mikan will be put into the spotlight." Hotaru deadpanned.
She looked at Mikan and gave her a soft smile of encouragement.
"You were my best girlfriend back then. We were a team. Natsume, Ruka, you and me. I'm not asking you to choose because you know deep in your heart what the right thing is. I want you to be prepared. For anything. And I want you to know, I have your six. I will always have your back. Nothing has changed for me even if we grew up away from each other and leading different lives. You are still Mikan Yukihira for me."
She gave Sakura a hug before she left. Her card was on the table with Misaki who looked at her with a pleading expression.
"Don't do this Sakura."
"I need to think this over Misaki. I'll take the rest of the night off." She said as she hurriedly went back to her dressing room to grab her stuff.
Her cellphone rang and she hesitated to answer the unknown number flashing on it's screen.
"This is Sakura Harada."
"Have you thought about it yet?" Hotaru's voice came on the line.
"How'd you know I was awake?"
"You forget that I'm a detective and a genius. I have my ways." She could detect a hint of a smile from Hotaru's voice.
"Yeah I have."
"So? Have you decided who you are now?"
"Yeah." She looked at herself in the mirror and felt an overwhelming sense of confidence and power.
"I am Mikan Yukihira."
END OF CHAPTER 10
Well, it was inevitable! So Sakura finally knows she is the real Mikan! What will they do?
And kudos to everyone who figured out it was Hotaru from the previous chapter! (KitsuneSenpai18, Nikinora96, and miamu-chan)
How will Natsume find out the truth? How will Rei and his evil minion girlfriend Luna react when they learn that Mikan is alive? What will happen to their plans of taking over the empire? And who is that Mikan impostor?
Stay tuned to find out!
KitsuneSenpai18 - Haven't had a chance to read some of your latest updates, I will soon as I have some downtime! And yes I loved the smut scene. :D
RavenAcA3 – Hey ally-chan! Thank you for the compliments and yeah, the events will unravel soon so stay tuned! :)
Anilissa – nope, not Rei. And yes, we'll be taking this one step at a time till the Secrets are revealed ;)
Nikinora96 – Niki-san! No need to apologize. I'm a drama queen myself sometimes ;)
redvelvety – good question. I'm afraid the answer won't come soon yet though. And thank you! Keep on following! ;)
miamu-chan – you were definitely right! Thanks for eagerly waiting and enjoy!
Sakura Shiragiku – sorry haven't been online too much, and thanks for the compliments! The other story is "The Guy Next Door" :)
I might be busy in the next few days. My performance at the company's Christmas party is coming up and we have rehearsals and not to mention, I don't have an outfit yet! So I will try and update Karaoke Nights next and maintain the story cycle as soon as I have time.
So I'll be just up to here, coz I'm gonna grab some zzz's while my manager's not looking lol..
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Ja Ne!
xoxo Lexi1989