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And to my other readers who inspire me and get me going with your reviews. Thank you!

Anyway, here's the next chap!


Chapter 10

"Wh-wh-wh-what are y-y-you doing, you p-pervert!"

The prince gave his most cunning smirk.

He started to lean his face towards hers, with his crimson eyes boring through her hazel nut orbs.

Mikan wanted to get away. She was planning on kicking him back or something but somehow, his presence is radiating a dangerous aura leaving her like a prey awaiting its death. She stood there frozen as little by little their faces are nearing each other.

Natsume who was determined to keep his prank continued on. However when finally their faces were just an inch apart that they could feel each other's breath, Natsume stopped abruptly. He was supposed to retreat by then and tell her how stupid she looked but something happened.

As his red eyes and her hazel ones locked gazes together they both felt something… weird.

The moment seemed to last like forever and somewhere in the room, they can both hear something thumping.

Suddenly the raven haired prince broke the unfamiliar connection. He backed off and forced himself to give his usual smirk.

"You…" he started

As if just realizing she was free from him, Mikan snapped out from her reverie and turned towards him.

But when their eyes met again, again they can hear the faint thumping of something from somewhere.

Both royalties turned their heads away and the prince nonchalantly said,

"...you look so ugly."

And then he went out of the kitchen and headed towards his room in an instant.

The princess who still looked like she's in some kind of trance shook her head slowly.

"W-what was that?" she asked herself

With her knees wobbling, she walked to the living room and slumped on the couch and stared at a distance.

"Just what was that?" she asked herself again still hearing the thumping sounds.

Meanwhile when the prince got inside his room, he went to his personal bathroom and decided to take a shower.

He took off all his clothes in an instant and dumped it on the laundry basket and turned on the shower. When the water splashed and washed his body, he felt himself getting back together and he found himself frowning.

There was something indescribably wrong with him.

He was feeling extremely uneasy and he doesn't understand what just happened between him and the princess.

He was just going to tease her but then the unknown thing happened making him freeze and hear those odd thumping sounds.

Frustrated, he brushed off his wet hair from his forehead and faced the splashing water determined to get it off his mind whatever is it that's bothering him.

Soon after, the sun began setting down and both royal bloods felt their stomach complaining. Since they weren't able to eat lunch because of what just happened, now they're both starving.

Natsume went down to grab some food in the kitchen and found the brunette rummaging in the fridge.

The instant he saw her, he firmly dislodged the unfamiliar feeling that was starting to fill him again.

He went towards her and cruelly pushed her away.

"HEY!" the princess complained loudly

As for Mikan who was also bothered by the unexplainable event that happened awhile ago, she was completely over it. For now.

After all, with her stomach growling, she doesn't have any time to think about something so complicated which just makes her head ache.

Now looking at Natsume who was taking her source of food, she shoved him away with her brute force shouting,

"Go away!"

Natsume placed his hand on her face and pushed her off again.

By this time, the brunette felt her blood boil and her vein popping.

She was starving plus she's a glutton making her hungry like hell.

This time she spitefully pushed Natsume with her body almost knocking off the lad out of balance. Angered, the prince shoved her away again with his shoulder. This game of pushing each other lasted for some time until finally they were halted by a loud growling.

Mikan felt herself blush in defeat as Natsume leered at her.

"Oi, you're a girl right?"

The brunette glared at him.

Unfazed, the cold prince continued,

"Cook dinner." He ordered

"YEAH RIGHT. Like I would cook dinner for someone like you!" she stuck out her tongue

"Heh." He looked at her from head to toe in such a degrading manner

"Don't tell me a girl like you don't know how to cook."

He pronounced challengingly at the brunette. The idiot, fired up against the challenge, instantly fell for it.

"HAH! Me? Don't know how to cook? HAH! Don't go choking once you get a taste of my cooking!"

Totally into it, Mikan began taking stuff from the fridge as Natsume, victorious walked out of the kitchen and relaxingly watched some TV show at the living room.

.

Natsume, pissed off, has finally tossed the remaining ingredients as he stirred the food irritably. After around six minutes, he grabbed the two deep bowls Mikan was smilingly holding out as he equally placed the food in them. Finally done, he dumped the frying pan, glared at the brunette who was beaming so brightly, took his bowl and sat down to eat.

The princess, still smiling so widely took a seat in front of him.

"Ittadikamasu!" she said gratefully

Natsume didn't respond.

The kitchen was a disaster. Chopped vegetables everywhere on the floor, dripping soy sauce on the counter, shards of broken glass in the trash bin, scorched food that was supposed to be some omelette, and the burnt smell hovering over the room was the proof of the cooking tragedy.

Of course, something like this can only be done by the brilliance of the princess.

And since they were both starving, Natsume decided to cook the easiest and fastest which could both save time and some of the food Mikan wasted which is fried rice.

"WOW! It's so delicious! You're like a professional chef Natsume!" she uttered while gobbling her food

The raven haired prince continued to eat.

"MMM! It's really delicious! Do you cook the food in your palace Natsume?"

Natsume glared at her but Mikan's attention was all on the food. In just a short time, the annoyed prince stood up and placed his empty bowl in the basin.

"You're done already?" Mikan commented, devouring the last of her food

He grabbed some juice from the fridge and drank it just as the brunette finished her meal.

"Gochisousama deshita!" she announced and took her bowl to the basin

While Natsume was drinking, Mikan speak up again.

"You finished so fast Natsume you must be really starving!"

The annoyed prince gave her a look saying "and whose fault is it?" She smiled sheepishly.

"Clean this mess." He coldly directed and headed out of the sloppy kitchen

Unable to help herself, Mikan demurred.

"Ehhh? But there's too much mess!"

Again, Mikan received the "and-whose-fault-is-it?" look and gloomily began her cleaning.

As the night got deeper, Mikan finally finished her work.

Natsume, who was still up watching TV, was surprised when Mikan emerged in front of him handing out a glass of milk.

"What?" he grimly asked

Mikan sat down on the couch next to him and placed the milk on the coffee table.

"It's milk. It's my thank you for the food." She said "And an apology for the kitchen." She added sheepishly

The prince didn't move an inch and just continued watching the show.

Mikan, who was waiting for him to accept and drink the milk found the couch extremely comforting after tiring herself out from cleaning. She decided to relax for awhile as she watched the show on TV as well.

Unused to being with Mikan so strangely silent and being with her in a one meter radius, even sitting on the same couch without their typical bickering, Natsume eventually turned to look at her.

Only to see her sleeping soundly.

Ba-thump. Ba-thump.

There it was again, the faint thumping sounds.

Natsume, getting perturbed with this unsettling feeling was bent on solving the ridiculous matter. He's got to end this and the only answer he can think of is by going back to where this began.

Slowly, the raven haired prince leaned his face towards Mikan's.

With just an inch apart, he stared at her peaceful face.

At that moment the thumping sounds got louder and seemed wilder as the unfamiliar feeling was flaring up inside him. He knew he's close to unraveling what is exactly happening to him.

With his breaths starting to get shaky from the foreign emotion, he persistently lingered on his position.

Until Mikan who was dreaming of her family, smiled adoringly.

Then it was over.

There was nothing he could hear but her breath.

There was nothing he could see but her face… and her lips.

He knew what he had to do.

Natsume closed on the inch apart and kissed Mikan.

And the thumping sounds started again.

Only this time, the prince didn't mind at all.

To be continued...


Hope you liked it! :DDDDD