PEOPLEZ OF ZEH REPUBLIC ;)
OHMYLORD. It's been AGES since I've updated this story.
But now I am! Lol.
I hope you enjoy this chapter and please leave a review afterwards. Thanks!
THANK YOU TO THE PPL WHO REVIEWED THE PREVIOUS CHAPTERS (I'm really lazy to say your names right now but you know who you are :D)
Love,
Keiko Oda.
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GAKUEN ALICE.
Our Love is a Rock Song
Written By Keiko Oda
Chapter Fourteen: Hot Springs in Nagoya ;)
"YOU CAN NEVER BE A MUSICIAN, YOU HEAR ME?!"
"I hear you…but it doesn't mean I'm going to listen"
Silence
"I hate you" he continued, his heart bursting with fury.
Please say you still love me, please say you'll love me no matter how many times I'll hurt you. I'm your son. You're supposed to love me eternally & unconditionally.
"I hate you too" came the reply, emotionless as ever.
And he silently left the room, leaving Natsume to clean up the pieces.
"Natsume-kun…"
Natsume lifted the manga from his face. "What?"
Mikan sat down on the arm of the sofa that Natsume was lying on. "Are you alright?"
Natsume ignored her.
"Sorry…it's just that – you seemed so…" she trailed off, not knowing what else to say.
"Go away" Natsume said, turning away from Mikan.
Mikan lowered her gaze and left the room.
"I've been worrying about Natsume-kun" Mikan said, as she and Ruka got their coffees from the counter.
"Why?" Ruka asked, staring at Mikan.
"Ever since Youichi's party…I don't know…he's been so distant" Mikan replied quietly.
"You mean he hasn't been insulting you as much?" Ruka grinned.
Mikan nodded.
"Sometimes Natsume-kun is like that – especially when he thinks about his dad" Ruka said, stirring his coffee.
"His dad?" Mikan blinked.
Ruka's face stiffened. He had said something that he wasn't supposed to say, obviously.
"Anyway," Ruka said; changing the subject. "Are you going to be performing somewhere today? So I can watch"
"Don't change the subject" Mikan said firmly. "What about his dad?"
Ruka sighed. "Mikan-chan, I'm sorry…Natsume doesn't like talking about it so…"
"Oh" Mikan muttered. "Never mind"
There are some things Natsume didn't tell me… I guess, I'm not close enough for him to open up to me.
Mikan sipped her coffee and looked out the window.
The two remained silent for awhile until…
"CAK…GAG…"
Mikan was startled and stared at Ruka, who was now choking on something. Mikan yelled, standing up and running to Ruka's seat.
"S-somebody!! This guy is…CHOKING" Mikan screamed, flailing her arms; unaware of the paparazzi outside the window clicking away.
The coffee shop staff came to his aid, very calm and composed.
"He has received it!" a barista with glasses said, his glasses shining.
Mikan was confused. "What? Received what?!"
Another barista came, grinning. "Congratulations!!"
"What on earth are you talking about?!" Mikan yelled. "Don't you see there's a choking guy here?! Help him!!"
"I know CPR!!" the barista said heroically. People watched in awe as he took Ruka by the shoulders.
Before he could perform CPR, Ruka coughed out what seemed to be choking him.
It was a blue marble.
"What – what was a BLUE MARBLE doing in his coffee?!" Mikan yelled, hysterical.
"Ahem. Let me explain before you sue us" the barista with glasses said, placing his hands in his apron pocket.
"The blue marble symbolizes a prize for the raffle we have launched!" he said, his eyes gleaming.
Mikan simply blinked.
"It's true, it's true!" the other barista said, taking out a list. "We've got a list of prizes that match with the marble!"
The barista scanned the list. He seemed to be mumbling to himself as he scrolled down the list of prizes.
"AH. Here it is…blue marble…blue marble... WOOHOO! A TRIP TO NAGOYA HOT SPRINGS FOR FOUR!!!"
"It certainly is a stupid way to receive a prize but…HOT SPRINGS!! YAY!!!!" Mikan squealed, jumping up and down.
Ruka gained consciousness. "W-w-what?"
"Ruka-pyon! You won a hot spring trip to Nagoya for four!! Isn't that amazing?!"
"Uh…yeah…" Ruka murmured, his head woozy. He watched Mikan and the two baristas dance around the coffee shop.
"Who are you gonna take, Ruka-pyon? HMMMM?" Mikan said, batting her eyelashes.
Ruka was still woozy from his 'near-death-experience' so he blurted out random names.
"UH.Me, you, Natsume-kun and…uh…Imai"
Mikan screamed. "HOT SPRINGS HERE WE COMEEEEE!!!!!"
And then she went on, dancing with the baristas.
"I can't believe you dragged me into this" Hotaru said dully, as the four of them boarded the train.
"Well, we did! Actually, it was Ruka who had the idea of inviting you – right, Ruka?" Mikan said.
"I guess" Ruka replied.
"Why would you want to take me to the hot springs? Are you having pervy thoughts?" Hotaru scowled.
"NOO." Ruka said, immediately shaking his head. "Of course not!!"
Hotaru raised her fist. "You better not" she said quietly.
Ruka shrank to the bottom of his seat.
"Natsume-kun, isn't this going to be great?" Mikan said, turning to Natsume who was slumped up in the back.
"Whatever" he replied.
"Have you ever been to the hot springs?" she said, desperately trying to make up a conversation.
There was a long pause.
"Yeah" came the long-awaited reply.
"This is my first time!!!" Mikan squealed, excitedly.
Silence.
"Aren't you excited, Natsume?"
This time, she didn't get a reply. He simply stared into the view.
Natsume-kun, what are you thinking of? You seem so distant and sad. I wish you'd open up to me.
I promise you, I'll listen.
They arrived at the hot springs inn soon enough.
It was a quaint little inn with two floors. Each of the floors accommodated five rooms and one small bathroom at the end of the hallway. The lobby served as a living room with a bookshelf that contained mostly magazines and biographies of people Mikan didn't know, a TV and leather couches. There was a diner across the inn.
The front desk clerk showed them their rooms. They were on the ground floor – rooms 6 and 7.
The rooms were small – each room had two futons laid down and a wooden drawer for clothes.
The front desk clerk asked the four what their sizes were so she could prepare their yukatas.
"Size fourteen" Mikan said, when the clerk asked her for her size.
Natsume gave a muffled laugh. Mikan's cheeks reddened.
I'm flat and figureless – go ahead and rub it in, Nat. Mikan thought, grinding her teeth.
An hour after settling in, the clerk handed them their yukatas.
"Oh my gosh!" Mikan squealed, putting her yukata on. "It's pretty!!"
"I hate the colors" Hotaru said dryly, staring at the blue and pink flowers in disgust. She was hoping that they'd give her a dark blue yukata with yellow marigolds instead of roses.
"Oh come on, Hotaru-chan!! It looks cute on you"
Hotaru simply gave a quick look at herself in the mirror and shrugged. The two girls went out. Natsume and Ruka were waiting for them. They were wearing dark blue & black yukatas. Mikan had to admit Natsume looked very nice in his.
"You look great, Mikan-chan" Ruka said, as Mikan came out of her room.
"Thank you" Mikan gushed.
"Oh please," Natsume said, rolling his eyes. "Your flat body disappears in that yukata. Glad the hot springs aren't mixed or else I'd have to suffer the sight of your…"
"PERVERT" Mikan said, kicking his leg. Natsume smirked and went ahead.
"I don't see how you can stand him living in the same apartment as you" Hotaru remarked.
Mikan sighed. "I don't know how I can either"
"Ahhhhhhh"
Mikan sunk into the warm water. The day had been so cold and dipping into this hot heaven was such a relief for her.
"I've never been in a hot spring resort before" she said to Hotaru, who seemed to unwind as well.
"Me too" Hotaru said quietly.
The two bathed in silence for awhile.
Hotaru leaned her head against a rock.
"I'm going to check out what's on the other side of this spring" Mikan said.
"You're going to go to the boy's section?" Hotaru replied.
"Noooo, of course not!" Mikan said. "I'm just going to explore this section"
"Whatever. Just don't get into trouble"
Mikan nodded and swam. The spring was big and stretched out far enough for Mikan to want to go back to where Hotaru was. She leaned against a rock and took a rest.
She was about to go back to Hotaru when she heard voices.
"This spring really hits the spot, right – Natsume?"
OH FUDGE. That was Ruka! Had they come to the girl's side?! Mikan said, a sense of panic arousing.
Mikan hid behind the rock and had a look. Ruka and Natsume weren't so far away from where she was!! Oh God. She had no idea that the sections weren't separated by walls or anything!!
Don't panic, Mikan. Just go back to Hotaru-chan and everything will be okay.
"Eh…Natsume-kun? Did I hear something stir behind that rock?"
Oh God…no…
"Uh…I'll check" Natsume said and began swimming towards where Mikan was.
Mikan felt like a cornered fox about to be massacred by hounds.
Its okay. Mikan thought. You're wearing a towel anyway.
Mikan felt herself to assure that she was covered. But sadly, the towel had drifted off.
DAMMIT! Mikan thought, panicking. Natsume was coming closer. Mikan had no other choice but to swim and grab her towel. She dipped down and swam, hopefully she was unseen.
As she swam, she could hear Natsume.
"No, there's nothing here. Must've been your imagination"
She was getting closer to her towel now. She did a few more strokes and she grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her body. Thank God.
She was going to swim back when her towel got tangled with someone else's. She tugged and tugged and finally pulled free of whatever was pulling her. She gasped for air as soon as she reached the top and saw…
And saw Natsume staring at her from below, he seemed to have tripped from Mikan's towel wrapping around his ankle for he seemed to have flinched when he saw her– but his face was full of…shock.
"N-N-Natsume-kun…"
Mikan felt her cheeks become hot.
"YOU PERVERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Mikan locked herself in her room that evening.
"Mikan, don't you think you're overreacting?" Hotaru said from out the door. "Natsume's ankle got caught in your towel and he flipped over. He wasn't spying on you"
"HMPH" Mikan said, folding her arms like a baby.
"And it was your fault for swimming to the other side of the spring. I knew you'd attract trouble"
"I didn't attract trouble, Hotaru-chan. I attracted the pervy eyes of Natsume!!!!"
"It was an accident, Mikan. He didn't even look at you anyway – and you were wrapped in a towel"
"So what if I was in a towel?! Oh yea, he didn't look – he STARED!"
She could hear Hotaru give up and walk away. Her footsteps disappeared into the hall.
"Well?" Ruka said, as Hotaru came into the diner.
"She wouldn't listen to me" Hotaru replied softly, taking a seat. "She's stubborn, that girl"
"My God" Natsume groaned, rolling his eyes. "I didn't even see anything…I was just looking at her FACE"
Hotaru smirked. "Admiring her beauty?"
"Shut up. Jeez. That girl is sooo…"
"Maybe you should talk to her, Natsume-kun" Ruka said.
Natsume stared at him, and then stood up and headed for the inn.
Knock knock.
No answer. Natsume went in.
Mikan was there, sitting on her futon.
"Get out" she said, without looking at him.
He didn't. He sat on Hotaru's futon and simply stared at her.
"Look," he breathed. "I didn't look at anything, okay? I promise"
"And anyway – I didn't even plan to play pervert – your stupid towel wrapped itself around my ankle as I passed by and when you tugged – I flipped over and I ended up…well yeah…" he trailed off, sensing the awkwardness between the two of them.
Mikan didn't say anything.
Natsume stood up and headed for the door.
"I may seem like a pervert sometimes but really –
Mikan looked at him.
"I'm not. And when I play pervert sometimes, it's…hmm…sort of my game with you"
His cheeks turned scarlet.
"Game?"
"Yea – you're the only one I play it with anyway"
Mikan had never seen Natsume so stiff before.
"Natsume-kun,"
"What?"
"One day, will you tell me about your dad?"
Natsume breathed in.
"Why do you want to know about him? He's not important"
"Friends – friends tell each other stuff – whether important or unimportant. It doesn't matter. I'm your friend"
"You're getting freaky" Natsume muttered.
Mikan lowered her gaze.
"Whatever, maybe I'll tell you someday – but I'm not promising"
He grabbed her hand and pulled her up. "Let's have dinner"
Mikan immediately pulled her hand away from Natsume but managed to give a smile.
"Okay"
When they came to the diner, Ruka and Hotaru were already eating.
"Listen, Natsume. They're playing one of your songs in the radio"
So
at my show on Monday So
now you pour your heart out Well uh oh, oh I love her because she moves in her own
way And at the show on Tuesday So wont you go far Well oh oh, oh I love her because she moves in her own
way yes I wish that we never made it But uh oh, I love her because
she moves in her own way
I was hoping someday
You'd be on your way
to better things
It's not about your make-up
Or how you try to
shape up
To these tiresome paper dreams
Paper dreams, honey
You're telling me you're far
out
You're not about to lie down for your cause
But you don't
pull my strings
'Cos I'm a better man
Moving on to better
things
Well uh oh, oh she came to my show just to hear about my
day
She was in her
mindset
Tempered furs and spangled boots
Looks are
deceiving
Make me believe it
And these tiresome paper
dreams
Paper dreams, honey
Yeah
Tell
me you're a keeper
Not about to lie down for your cause
And you
don't pull my strings
'Cos I'm a better man
Moving on to better
things
Well oh oh, oh she came to my show just to hear about my
day
Through all the
summers
They're keeping us instead of
Kicking us back
Down
through the suburbs
yes I wish that we never made it
Through
all the summers
They're keeping us instead of
Kicking us
back
Down through the suburbs
But uh oh, she came to my show just to
hear about my day
But uh oh, oh I love her because she moves in
her own way
But uh oh, oh she came to my show just to hear about
my day
As the song played, Mikan danced around – laughing and smiling.
"Natsume-kun!! Dance with me!!" she squealed.
"No" Natsume said, sitting down.
He'd rather watch her dance than dance with her, maybe.
But whatever.
But uh oh, I love her because moves in her own way.
END OF CHAPTER
I HOPE YOU LIKED IT GUYS!! PLS LEAVE A REVIEW AND I'LL TRY TO UPDATE ASAP. ANYWAY HOPE YOU LIKED IT!!! ;)