Chapter 11!
For those who are new to my story, please forgive me for the inconsistencies in my writing but still, I hope you'll enjoy.
Read. Read. Read.
"Why are you holding that?"
"Holding what?" Mikan asked innocently.
"Stop playing dumb with me." Natsume said.
Mikan was thinking hard, until…she remembered. Yes, he meant the frame she was holding.
"Ermm…" she tried thinking for an explanation.
"I just told her to get it for me. Right, Mikan?" Ruka suddenly said, obviously trying to help her out.
Before answering, Mikan looked at Natsume then Ruka.
"Yes." She said, handing the frame to Ruka.
Ruka winked. Mikan just smiled in thanks. Natsume just decided to let it go.
Mikan left the dungeon as quickly as she could. But honestly glad that there was still someone who comes to her rescue.
"You hired Mikan?" Ruka asked as soon Mikan left.
"Not really hired. But she's working for me." Natsume replied, his lips curved a bit.
"I really don't know how your mind works." Ruka commented, shaking his head.
Natsume just smirked.
"Your dad gave you his secretary but you let her go and took Mikan who's working for the company, not really to your liking." Ruka added.
"If you're talking about the pink hair, I didn't let her go. She decided to leave since she's getting married." Natsume said, not really explaining the important topic.
"Then why Mikan?" Ruka asked, "It's not like I'm against her, I'm just curious." He added defensively.
Natsume just smirked again.
"Fine. I just hope you know what you're doing." Ruka gave up on the question.
"Anyway, why are you here?" Natsume asked.
Then they talked about the reason of Ruka's coming there.
Mikan, on the other side, was not doing anything in particular. She was just staring into space, thinking, why the old Natsume changed to the new Natsume?
"It's none of my business." She convinced herself, shaking the topic off her mind.
Just then, the dungeon door opened and Ruka came out. Mikan stood up.
"Thank you so much Ruka." She said.
"No problem. As a favor, please take care of him, okay?" he said smiling.
Mikan just nodded and led Ruka although he was more familiar to the place than she was. When Ruka had already left, Mikan heard her stomach rumbled.
Before she went out to buy her meal, she went first to the dungeon. It has become a usual task for her to order the meals of her boss since Mr. Yumiko was like that. So she thought, maybe Natsume was like that too.
"Excuse me. Can I ask what you would you like for lunch sir?" Mikan asked as she entered the room.
Natsume was facing his laptop and didn't even look up when he said, "Just order for yourself."
"Are you sure?" Mikan asked to make sure.
He just nodded hurriedly but still didn't look up. Mikan was about to leave but she was stopped.
"By the way, I prefer if you just don't leave your post. So I can call you easily." He said.
Mikan just nodded and left.
She went back to her desk and ordered just for herself.
"Starting tomorrow I'll bring my own bento. Ordering is so expensive."
Mikan ate her lunch as soon as it arrived. She enjoyed her lunch but not quite so since she was alone. Back at her old working place, she used to eat with her officemates.
After eating, she was back to work with Natsume hardly going out of the office unless meetings and appointments.
Natsume just kept drinking coffee, Mikan noticed. Since he always calls her for a cup of coffee. "He is not an eater. He never ate anything even crackers or sandwich."
Then, Mikan's first day ended.
When Mikan left, Natsume didn't leave yet. It was usual for him to stay late at the office. Though there weren't much to do, he didn't feel like going him.
He leaned his head back to his chair, trying to get peace of mind by closing his eyes for a bit. But, too bad, peace of mind seems not to like him. Thoughts always have a way into his mind. This time, the thoughts that entered aren't that bad.
"She really has professionalism. This day she hasn't said an insult to my face. Maybe, this choice wasn't so bad, after all." He said to the gloomy and silent office.
After relaxing for 10 minutes he decided to go home to relax a little more. He closed his office but didn't directly leave. He stopped by his secretary's desk.
"Neat" he thought.
There weren't much on her desk. Just the common folders and planner, neatly arranged in one corner. There was also a picture frame on the other side.
It showed a picture of two women. The other who was obviously, Mikan was grinning at the camera her arms on top of the shoulders of the other woman. The other woman was most likely to be her friend; unlike Mikan her smile was little. The friend had a raven hair that only reach up to her shoulders and she was holding a weird looking toy gun.
Natsume smirked at this picture, "How can two so opposite people be best friends?" he thought.
Then, he went home after his little stop.
The following day, Mikan got up lazily. A part of her just wants to stay home but the other part is telling her that she needs to go to work. Well, the other part won. So she dragged her feet to the bathroom. She finished later than she thought. Mikan quickly dressed and head for the door.
Mikan arrived at her office 2 minutes earlier than her check in time. She sighed.
"Thank God" she said.
"So being early is just for the first day, huh." A voice said, behind her.
"Well, I'm not late." Mikan replied turning around.
"I know. But you should be in before your boss does." He said.
"I'm sorry Boss Natsume." Mikan said, sarcastically with a forced smile. "Please excuse me. I have to get to work." She added before leaving her boss.
"So being good is just for the first day." Natsume thought, only seeing the back of her almost late secretary.
Mikan was seating on her chair, turning her computer on.
"By the way, prepare me a cup of coffee." Natsume said, before he went back to his dungeon.
"Yeah. Yeah." Mikan said after making sure that Natsume could no longer hear her.
"Today, I'm not gonna pretend to be good." She said to herself, looking at the dungeon's door.
She got up and prepared the coffee maker.
This was the usual activities in the morning for Mikan Sakura at the Hyuuga Company. Aside from being late, they usually exchanged comments and each other but she would always lose especially when Natsume will remind her who the boss was.
During lunch breaks, Mikan still asks Natsume what he would like for lunch but he would always decline and say he won't eat lunch. So Mikan will just her lunch at her desk.
"I wonder why he never gets sick without eating anything." Mikan said, as she ate.
That happened for one week, he never ate lunch or at least, Mikan never saw him eat lunch or any meal at all.
One night, Mikan was about to leave and was saying goodbye to her boss.
"I'll be going now." She said, just peeking her head.
Mikan saw his hand move in shooing motion so she just left.
"Does he live here? He always stays so late." Mikan thought on her way out.
"Ah! I almost forgot. I need to get some groceries." She said aloud to herself almost getting on the bus.
She found a small convenience store but before she got in, she decided to look at the other stores beside it which were mostly commercial stores, selling clothes, bags and shoes.
Unknown to Mikan, an hour had already passed by just window shopping. So she finally went inside the convenience store and got what she needed in less than an hour. There weren't much to buy anyway.
As she was passing by, she saw a familiar car.
"Very familiar. Whose car is that?" she was thinking hard. Finally the bulb lighted.
"What is his car doing here? In the side road." She thought, going near the car.
The driver wasn't there but the car key was still attached.
Mikan heard a groan. She went to the other side of the car.
And there she saw the owner, he was in pain.
"Are you okay?" Mikan asked, approaching him.
"Of all the people." She heard him say.
"Your stomach hurts?" Mikan asked, seeing that he was clutching his stomach.
He didn't respond.
Mikan placed her groceries down and went to him.
"That's because you never eat." Mikan told him.
"Leave me…alone…" he said.
"You're so pale." Mikan said.
Mikan left him and ran, leaving her groceries. He just groaned again.
"She really left me." He said, hoarsely.
After a few minutes, Mikan came back, panting and holding something in her hand.
"Thank…God...you didn't…leave yet." Mikan said, panting.
"Here." She handed him the something she was holding.
"This is medicine. Drink it. I also wrote instructions there." She said, still holding it out.
He just stared at her, wondering. One moment she was mean and the next moment she can be so kind.
He was about to take it. But Mikan suddenly pulled her hand.
"Oh! I remember something. You need to eat first." She said.
He gave her a questioning look.
"Come" Mikan said, "I'll help you." She added, placing her arms on his shoulders.
"You're really tall sir." Mikan still managed to comment, after picking up her groceries.
He let go and said, "I can manage."
"Okay. Come with me sir. There is really a good store over there." Mikan said, pointing somewhere smiling.
He didn't know why but he just followed her without question, maybe because it was the pain in his stomach that he didn't have the strength to say no or it was maybe because of her pure purpose of just wanting to help and together with the smiles she just flashes.
How was it? Don't forget to review!
-ECO