Yay! I updated! Which means that I have finished my other story, Frozen Secrets. Please check it out if you have time! Detailed description is on my profile page ^.^ This chapter is a little longer (idk if you guys even realize it) but yeah. I guess it's to compensate for my slow updating.
However, I do want to say that I have a life outside of FanFiction. Hard to believe, but it's true. I have school, debate, friends and other things outside of this website. So this is not my priority. Please do not bombard me with hates about my slow updating because, well, I don't get paid for this. (Hey! I like money! Don't throw tomatoes at me!) But I like writing too, so I'm not planning on abandoning this or anything.
Anyways, on with the story! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! :D
"Come, meet my best friend."
"Let's be friends!"
"Are you the same as me?"
I was on the verge of jumping out of the beautiful, black carriage.
It must have been at least an hour and a half since we've left the mansion! Where on earth is this place, anyways? Really, where were we going?
I glanced at Natsume who was sitting on my left, and he seemed completely at ease. Well, I guess that was to be expected, since it sounds like he's been to the ball quite a few times already, and he is more…active during the night.
I, on the other hand, was becoming so nervous I was starting to feel drained and sleepy. I don't think I'll even be awake by the time we get there…
"Oi!" I jumped at the sound.
"I'm awake!" I instinctually screamed in response and Natsume merely scoffed at me.
"We're here, sleeping beauty." He paused. "Oh wait, you're not a beauty."
I fumed at this and slid further away from him. "You said I was beautiful just now, though!" I screamed, face red, and he chuckled with amusement.
"Now, now. Couldn't you even tell the difference between a joke and the truth? You must be desperate for someone to call you that." My face heated up even more with anger, and my heart dropped. Who the hell said I was in love with him? I totally loathed him!
You said so, my mind reminded, much to my dismay, and added, you wouldn't have felt so disappointed when he said it was a joke if you didn't like him.
I hate rational thinking.
Especially when there's absolutely nothing rational about my situation.
"So, are you coming or not?" I blinked, snapping out of my thoughts and stared at Nastume, who already got out of the carriage, blankly.
"Oh." I muttered before I finally got my senses back. "Oh! Yeah, I'm coming."
But then I forgot I was wearing high heels, and stumbled right into him.
"I-I'm so sorry!" I stuttered, face beet red again as I pushed myself out of his arms (thank god he was there), only to be pulled back down again. He held my right forearm and waist tightly.
"You," he started lowly, "will not embarrase me. Is that understood?"
I nodded shakily.
"Good." Then he let go and twirled around as if nothing happened. He held out his arm, and it took me a while to realize that he wanted me to take his arm. Flushed, I looped my arm with his and we made our way to our destination.
The place where the ball is held is in a…um…gargantuan mansion—it was at least twice the size of Natsume's!—and practically blended in the dark night from its' pitch black design. Though, if it was observed in the daylight, it might have been very pretty with its' detailed carvings.
The exterior was not the only thing that was dark. There were two butlers—I assumed from their outfits, but perhaps they were guards—that verified our identities and opened the large double-door for us.
The moment we entered, I noticed three things: the beautiful candle chandelier with dancing red flames, the odd lack of light in the room, and the amount of people. There were people everywhere you turned!
But one thing for sure: this was not the normal 'party' or 'ball' one goes to. The room was practically silent. Of course, there were soft murmurs and faint laughter, but they were so quiet I started to doubt if I even heard them in the first place.
"Oh my, if it isn't the son of the Hyuugas." An older women in a black dress with a high-pitched voice and extremely blonde hair—it was so blonde it was practically white; maybe she bleached it?—tied up in a neat bun came over with a tight, almost mocking, smile.
"Lady Iwasaki." Natsume nodded slightly and greeted in acknowledge. To others, it may seem that he was completely relaxed and calm, but his arm was so stiff in mine, there was no doubt he was on high alert.
"I see you've brought a date." Her freakily bright maroon eyes trailed down to me, and I shivered unconsciously in fear. Natsume tugged at my arm slightly.
"U-Um," I stammered. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Mikan Sakura."
She huffed at me rudely. "How could you bring such a lowlife human to the *Ketsueki Tsuki no Oiwai?" She glared at me once more. "What a disgrace!"
"I am aware of what I am doing." Natsume answered dryly. "I would appreciate it if you did not interrogate me further."
"Interrogate?" Lady Iwasaki repeated incredulously. "I was not—" Natsume didn't even blink as he stared at her, unimpressed and bored. She seemed to withdraw at his expression. "So be it, son of the Hyuugas." And then she left.
"Who…was that?" I asked, a little bewildered. "I mean, can she talk to you like that? After all, you're the—"
"She's the wife of the Iwasaki family's head. They are one of the most superior families." Natsume cut me off. "She could talk to me in such a manner, as she is an elder, as well as extremely powerful. But still, no matter what she did, she would never be able to go against me."
"Iwasaki family…" I repeated quietly to myself and nodded in understanding. Status. Family name. Power. That was what's most important in this world, after all.
"Come." He tugged at me arm and led me down the stairs to the ballroom, where most of the guests were gathered. Every women was in beautiful dresses, every men in black suits. Wine glasses filled with red liquid in most of their hands, and yet they all seemed quite cheerful, as if they were just normal people having fun.
"Hyuuga-sama!" A male voice called from the crowd. We stopped and Natsume looked to the right where the voice came from, so I merely followed his gaze. A man in about his early twenties came towards us, trying to get through the crowd.
"My, what a surprise to meet you here!" He had lovely dark violet hair and matching eyes that seemed to sparkle under the dancing flames of the chandelier, and a charming smile.
"Indeed." Natsume answered with a smile—oh my. For the first time since I met him, he had a smile! Not those stupid smirks or mischievous grins he gives me all the time, but a smile! I swear my heart will jump right out.
"Ah, who is this?" The man's eyes settled on me, the twinkle in his eyes getting a little brighter. "It's rare for you to bring a date."
"This," Natsume nodded towards me elegantly, "is Mikan Sakura. She said she had to come no matter what."
"Mikan Sakura." The man smiled, showing me his blinding pearly whites. "It's an honor to meet you. My name is Kage Himura, please just call me Kage." He held out his hand, and so I took it, expecting a handshake, but then he kneeled down on one knee and gave me a peck on the back of my hand.
Almost immediately, he pulled back sheepishly, and took a step back, his face even paler than before.
"You…Human…" He covered his face with his hands and took a deep, shaky breath. "Hyuuga-sama," he started slowly, "you've brought a human to the Ketsueki Tsuki no Oiwai?"
"I have." Natsume stated in a tone that was so flat and straightforward, it startled Kage.
"B-But—"
"Kage Himura." Natsume called flatly. "This is of none of your concern. Do not breathe a word of this. Forget it." Natsume turned around, pulling me with him, and left the shaking man behind.
"It's an order, Kage Himura."
"You," I huffed behind him as Natsume continued pulling me harshly by the arm, "didn't need to do that."
"If he went blabbering about you," Natsume growled, "it will bring me lots of trouble."
Finally, he stopped. I put my hands on my knees as I panted, trying to catch my breath. Man, walking in heels and a long dress in a large crowd is hard, not to mention, tiring.
Calming my breathing a bit, I looked up and was surprised to see the gang sitting together at a table against the back of the room.
"Natsume! The gang's all…here…" I looked to my right, where Natsume was supposed to be, but couldn't find him. "Wait, what…?"
In a blink of an eye, Natsume appeared at the gang's table.
"Great, not even bothering to wait for me. Or even tell me!" I stomped my foot at the ground angrily, but regretted immediately as I winced from the pain the shoes gave me.
I stumbled over, without an arm to rely on.
"Hey! If it isn't Mikan-chan." Kitsu greeted warmly.
"Aren't you looking hot tonight?" Koko hooted and they both whistled. I grinned and blushed at their compliment.
"Not so bad yourself, gentlemen." I replied playfully, nodding at Ruka gratefully, who pulled out a chair for me courteously. What a sweet guy. They were all wearing suits; black ones.
"Yeah, well," Koko and Kitsu exchanged sheepish glances. "We were kinda forced into these…"
"It would be a disgrace to wear anything else to the Ketsueki Tsuki no Oiwai." Hotaru answered, elegantly cutting her crab cakes and bringing them to her mouth.
"But still!" Koko whined before turning to Natsume. "Hey, how's it going, Natsume?"
"Yeah," Ruka added. "You look exhausted, though I can probably guess why."
"I want to leave." Natsume's eye twitched. "Forcing myself to smile politely at these people make me sick."
I gasped. "Y-You mean you were faking your smiles?"
Everyone stared at me as if I was crazy. "Of course. How else would I survive this stupid thing?" Natsume stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Here I thought I had seen him actually smile. I sighed in disappointment, but tried to hide it.
"Ah! You're here!" I felt a pat on my shoulder and an unfamiliar voice greeting me. Looking up in puzzlement, I saw a handsome young man, perhaps younger than twenty. His eyes widened and his hands shook slightly before he removed them from my shoulder in embarrassment. He brought his other hand to his neck, probably an act of nervousness.
"Ah, um. I'm awfully sorry, it seems I mistook you for someone else." He bowed, and then hastily left. I caught him whispering, just before he left, "they look too similar."
"Huh, funny." Mochu stated. "Who would Mikan look like that would come to this ball?"
"Dunno, dun care." Koko stated casually. "Well, there are billions of brunettes and all. It's not that weird."
"True." Kitsu nodded, and I nodded along, though deep inside, I felt a little uneasy. Who could he have mistaken me as? Who did I look so similar to?
"Someone go get us some drinks." Kitsu ordered lazily, swinging his arm over his chair.
"I'll be first," Koko leaned in on the table, "to say 'no.'"
"Let's decide over rock-paper-scissors." Mochu slammed his fist on the table in excitement.
"What!? No way! I always lose in that!" Ruka intervened, shaking his head furiously.
"That's the point," the boys shook their heads in contempt. "Silly little Ruka."
I laughed at the childish boys as Ruka turned red in humiliation, arguing back about the unfairness and how one of the three should be the ones to go this time around. But then their voices all drained out as I felt a cold chill run down my spin.
I spun around in my seat, looking behind me, and caught a glimpse of dark emerald and auburn brown.
My heart started beating, and everything slowed as I found myself standing up and rushing over, following the colors.
"Mikan?" Hotaru called. "Where are you going?" I didn't answer, I just kept following the colors, not wanting to lose sight of them.
My feet hurt, my head as well as my heart was pounding, and I heard numerous footsteps behind me, but I kept going. Something told me I had to.
The colors led me away from the crowd of guests, through a door and then another, up the spiraling stairs to the second, third, fourth floors of the mansion.
Then finally, the colors stopped, and I forced myself to slow down to a stop as well. I panted heavily as I stared, waiting; waiting for something to happen. We were on the fourth floor, at the dead end of the long hallways, and me blocking the only escape route.
It was a woman. Her back was facing me, but then her shoulders rose and fell in a deep breath and she slowly turned around to face me. Her auburn hair reached a little past her shoulders, her large, calming hazel eyes seemed to see right through me. Her beautiful, dark emerald dress dragged behind her, with numerous folds like the heavy curtains of a magnificent theatre. She had no smile, yet her face looked so gentle, like she was looking at something she treasured oh-so dearly. It's as if just staring at her would be able to make all your problems disappear.
"Mikan!" I jumped at the call of my name. "Where are you?" I turned around, just for a fraction of a second, in attempt to answer them, and when I turned back around, the woman was gone.
"There you are!" Ruka was first to reach me. I had kneeled onto the floor, my legs giving way, as I had no idea how the woman had left, when there were no windows or doors she could go through, and the only way to leave was if she walked past me.
"Mikan?" Hotaru kneeled down as well next to me. "What are you looking all stupefied for?"
"T-The woman…" Were the only words I could utter.
"You look like you just saw a ghost." Natsume grumbled in disapproval.
"I…I…" I looked down at the ground and told myself to breathe. "I'm not sure myself. There was a woman, I was sure, but then she just suddenly disappeared…"
"Woman?" Koko repeated. "There's no way she could 'just disappear.' It must've been your imagination. Maybe it was too stuffy down there."
"Yeah," Ruka held my shoulders and tried to pull me up gently. "You should probably go outside and have some fresh air."
"I…" I turned around and stared into Natsume's eyes, calming down a bit; just a bit. He seemed to waver in his posture, probably from the alarm and fear on my face.
"Natsume," my voice quivered. "Can we go home now?"
"But it just started!" Hotaru shot Koko an icy glare, and he shrunk away.
"Alright." He answered, and Ruka gave me to Natsume, as he led me away slowly, holding my arm gently yet fiercely, making sure I don't lose my balance.
That woman…
…looked just like me.
Ok, I'm pretty sure that you guys can all guess who the 'women' was. IT'S NARUMI IN DISGUISE! No, honestly. XP But just pretend you don't know to make me feel all better about myself and let me say 'wow I'm such a good writer, I don't give off any hints of the characters to spoil the story!' Ok, ok, jk. If you know it, tell me who you think it is. If you don't, just guess.
But huh, how did she get out of there? And since she was at the ball, she's also a vampire...right? Will Natsume fall in love with Mikan? When will Natsume fall in love with Mikan? Is Mikan going to turn into a vampire? What exactly is Mikan's past? What do the snippets (hint, hint. You should think about those) in the beginning of the chapters mean? Well, GUESS. KEEP GUESSING UNTIL YOUR BRAIN EXPLODES. MUAHAHAHAHAHA.
Oh, and also. I'm going to put alices into this story, I'm just finding the right timing and opportunity. So look forward to that!
*Ketsueki Tsuki no Oiwai (血液月のお祝い) - literally translated as Celebration of the Blood Moon
Please R&R!
