21. Spooky Revelations
That evening had been so quiet and desolate for the people who were left in the Hyuuga house. Kaoru Hyuuga stuck herself inside her room for the rest of the day, flipping the pages of her albums and scrap books, over and over again. She kept on memorizing how her children had grown up and now were married to each other, which felt almost like an illusive dream to her. Her family was again split apart, yet this time it was for the better. She sighed at that thought, relieved. Yet keeping her tears away was out of question.
Being sunk in her emotions, she didn't hear the doorbell ringing. But Hotaru who could never be fooled by emotions, heard it well so clearly and volunteered to open the door.
"Oh. It's you guys." Hotaru said, no hint of surprise was there in her tone.
"Yeah. Looks like the celebrations are all gone. Are we late?" The young man spoke as he looked around, trying to spot something relating to yesterday's celebrations.
"Very." Hotaru said, as she stepped aside, letting them enter the house. Then the two of them entered, their faces hanging, unhappy.
"Actually... We tried so hard, but... couldn't make it on time..." The blue haired guy spoke in regret as the pink short haired girl hit his shoulder, angrily.
"Ouch! Misaki! What was that for?!" The guy cried, patting his bruised shoulder.
"That was for your carelessness, Tsubasa no baka! It was all your fault! You made us miss the damn flight!" The girl shouted at the guy, her eyes gleaming in extreme anger.
"Now now... Where's the couple? Don't tell me they're gone too!" The guy asked, hoping the ice queen would give him a satisfying answer.
"They left in the morning." Hotaru said, not giving him a chance to breathe in relief.
"What the! Oh god! We came all the way here, just for nothing?" Tsubasa said, running his hand through his hair, disappointed, greatly.
"It seems so." Hotaru said as she sat on the couch while other two kept standing there, still as pillars.
"Where have they gone? Mikan didn't tell me anything about a honeymoon plan!" Tsubasa said as both of them sat down on the couch, not wanting to hurt their legs anymore.
"It wasn't a honeymoon plan. They left Tokyo for good." Hotaru said, making the other two collapse to the ground (not literally).
"B—but! Where to?" Misaki asked, her eyes dangling with curiosity.
"Kyoto. Someplace near Demachi-yanagi." Hotaru replied, emotionless as ever.
"Kyoto? Why would they move to Kyoto, of all places?" Tsubasa asked in surprise, his eyes visibly widened.
"Looks like Natsume has some plan inside his mind." Hotaru said and yawned, bored to death.
"Oh! Andou senpai? Misaki senpai? You guys..." Another voice added to the air, making them all look in that direction.
"Ah... Ruka-kun... You're also here! But the couple isn't." Tsubasa said in a sorrowful voice, making Ruka understand the situation.
"Oh... Umm... Sakura worried so much about you guys... But you can still go and meet them in Kyoto in a couple of days, I guess." Ruka said, wanting to blow away their unhappiness, smiling.
"Yeah... We are planning to settle down here in Japan for the rest of our lives, starting today... So that won't matter at all... We can go see them anytime now..." Tsubasa said as he pointed his eyes on Misaki, smiling mischievously. And that had caught Ruka by surprise.
"Oh... That means you guys are gonna get married as well?" Ruka asked as Misaki blushed, slightly.
"Well... yeah... If these little brats are also getting married out of the blue, why shouldn't we?" Tsubasa said, taking Misaki's hand in his and squeezing it a little.
"Of course. Why don't we get married too Nogi?" Hotaru jumped into the middle, making Ruka blush madly. It was indeed a sudden confession; definitely, Ruka couldn't stand that.
"Ehhh?!" That was all Ruka could say, awkwardly. Seeing Ruka's embarrassment, Tsubasa and Misaki gaped at each other, dumbfounded.
"Anyway! Does anybody know why they got married so suddenly?" Tsubasa asked, breaking the awkward silence that had been there between them after Hotaru's sudden gush of words. However, that question made everyone go speechless again.
"Oh... Looks like nobody knows!" Tsubasa said after a while, smiling sheepishly.
After an hour or so, Misaki and Tsubasa got into their car and drove off, their heads filled with curiosity and a thousand unsolved questions.
"What do you think is the reason?" Misaki asked from a very confused Tsubasa whose eyes were terribly focused on the grimy road.
"I don't know. But I wonder..." He stopped as he took the turn to their neighborhood, his tone had some mystery in it.
"Are you thinking of the same thing as I am?" Misaki asked, curious.
"I told you... I don't know! But I feel guilty." He replied, he sounded a bit worried now. Seeing his emotions, Misaki hurriedly took hold of his hand, as if to convince something.
"Oh C'mon... There wasn't anything we could do about that..." She said in a soothing voice, trying hard to comfort her fiancé.
"But...! We could've told them before everything went wrong!" Tsubasa said, his voice shaking a little. His mind was interrogating him over and over again.
"Look! We still don't know if that was the real reason! So how could you just yell like a stupid bird even without having confirmed it?"
"Yeah but..."
"Let's go meet them in a couple of days. But don't try to jump into the middle like a crazy guy." Misaki said as she looked at him, convincingly.
"I hope they are happy together..." Tsubasa said as he focused on the road again, miserably.
"OMG!" Mikan cried out loud, flying in awe, making Natsume hold her all four limbs, in order to keep her still.
"This house is sooo huge! And sooo... scary?" Mikan added as she looked at Natsume with widened eyes, wanting an answer.
"Why?" Natsume asked, looking at the horrible look on his wife's face.
"I—is this! Is this the place we're gonna live?" Mikan asked, pouting like a little child, much to Natsume's dismay.
"Yup. And anything looks scary in the dark. Needn't worry." Natsume said as he pushed the button near the huge gate, annoyed.
"Oh! Is someone living there already?!" Mikan asked as a scary looking bat flew over her head, making her shiver in horror.
"Yup. And it's Dracula." Natsume said, giving her a cold glare, his crimson eyes gleaming in the dark. Hearing his scary remark, Mikan just rushed behind him and buried her face on his back, clutching his shirt, making Natsume feel a sudden warmth in that cold night.
"What're you doing?" He asked, suppressing the sudden set of emotions that had risen from her sudden move.
"I'm hiding!" Mikan answered, her voice muffled by his shirt.
"Don't worry. Dracula won't feed on someone idiotic like you." Out came Natsume's cool answer without a delay. But Mikan didn't have the courage to shoot him back at the moment; she was too damn scared and Natsume knew it. Therefore, he didn't shook her away, but let her cling on to the back of his shirt like a stupid leech.
The surroundings were calm and quiet, except for the rustling sound of the cold wind blowing at their faces; probably coming from the river which was lying just beneath the grand house.
Within a few brief minutes, the huge gates opened with a huge crack, making Mikan snuggle into Natsume's back some more. That sound reminded her of a horror movie they had once watched together, back at home. Yeah. This experience could be called thrilling for one day. But how was she supposed live in that house forever? It might have looked beautiful in the mornings, yet at night, it was indeed scary. The height of the cone shaped roof, had reminded her of the house of , in 'Despicable me'. Her heart thumped so fast as the gates fully opened, revealing a very spooky shadow of a tall slender person/ ghost/ phantom or whatever. Mikan couldn't say who that exactly was.
"A-a-a g-ghost!" She decided, finally, looking at the dark figure over Natsume's shoulder, terrified.
"Idiot! It's the keeper." Natsume said as he moved forward, Mikan being dragged along automatically. As they walked in, the keeper stepped aside and bowed at them, respectfully.
"Welcome home, Natsume-sama!" He said in an official manner, raising his head at once. Just when he had said that, the lights came out, making the whole thing visible to Mikan as they were. The mansion house was displayed before their eyes with all its grandeur, though the spooky look still remained a little.
"Whoa! It's so grandddd!" Mikan cried out loud, making the guard notice her for the first time since they had walked in. She wasn't hiding behind Natsume anymore and was gaping at the house, much to Natsume's dismay.
"And Mrs. Hyuuga too." The guard added to his welcome speech. But Mikan didn't hear it at all; she was awed by the tremendous look of the house too much.
"My name is Mochiage. The keeper of the mansion house. Ibaragi-san is waiting for you there inside the house. Please go in, sir." The guy, who looked to be in his mid-twenties spoke with an air of extreme politeness as he bowed for the second time at Natsume.
"Why is this man keeps on bowing at us like crazy?" Mikan asked from Natsume, as they walked in through a huge set of doors, which he ignored with a frown.
In another minute, they were there inside a grand living room which was lit up fairly well compared to the outside. Mikan's mouth kept open for the whole time since they had entered the place, much to Natsume's annoyance. There was a huge set of stairs in the middle of the XXL living room, leading the way to a totally visible second story, full of doors and passageways. For Mikan, it all remembered of the same horror movie she had referred to earlier.
"Who's Ibaragi anyways?" Mikan asked, curious to death.
"Our clerk." Natsume answered, flatly.
"What do you mean our clerk? Wait a moment! Do you know this place? Have you lived here before?" Mikan asked, not wanting to believe anything that was happening right now.
"This is my ancestral home." Natsume said, annoyed of being questioned too much.
"Your what?" Mikan asked, her eyes widened in terror.
"You talk too much." Natsume said as he sat on one of the dusty old couches, leaving Mikan stand behind a blackened samurai statue, alone.
"There's something behind you." Natsume said and smirked within his head as Mikan turned her head only to see the old filthy-looking samurai staring at her feeble little face.
A weird sound was heard and in the next second, she was there sitting next to a smirking Natsume, burying her face on his sleeve.
"Na—Natsume-sama!" Natsume heard someone calling out for him from a distance. A woman was standing at the foot of the stairs, stunned by the compromising position the new couple was in.
"Hn." Natsume replied, merely positioning his eyes on the curly haired woman, who was standing there still like a pillar, having no courage to move forward. Feeling her presence, Mikan also looked up at her, amazed to see someone cute like her inside such a scary building, alone!
"Who's she?" Mikan asked, awed by her beauty. But she definitely looked older than they were.
"The clerk." Natsume was fed up of describing everything she pointed at.
"Ah! The clerk! She's so cute!" Mikan cried out loud, making the other girl blush furiously. Not wanting to hold back anymore, Mikan jumped forward and ran towards her, wanting to make friends with the first female she saw around that spooky ancestral home.
"Hi Ibaragi-san! I'm Mikan Sa—"
"She's Mrs. Hyuuga." Mikan was cut off by the cold hoarse voice of Natsume, who was still sitting on the couch, unaffected.
"Ah... I see... Umm... I'm Nobara Ibaragi, the clerk of the Hyuuga Estate." The girl introduced herself to Mikan, smiling warmly.
"Nobara-chan!" Mikan said out cheerfully, as if she had known her for years. Nobara blushed a little and smiled in return.
"Are the rooms ready?" Natsume asked, not carrying about Mikan's foolish attitude.
"Yes, sir... But I'm sorry they're not in their best condition since the repairmen haven't arrived here, yet." Nobara said, her tone shaking a little.
"Needn't worry about that. I've already contacted another repair service. They'll start their work starting tomorrow." Natsume said out coolly as he stood up to walk in the direction of the rooms, climbing the huge gray wooden stairs.
After he had disappeared to one of the rooms upstairs, Mikan looked at Nobara, smiling again.
"How long have you been working here, Nobara-chan? Don't tell me you lived all alone in this creepy house all the time!" Mikan asked as she dragged her by her hand towards the couch, making her sit down on it with her.
"My whole family worked for the Hyuugas. It was my father who was in this position before me. I took it from him, just in last year." Nobara cleared her doubts away, looking gently at Mikan.
"So you don't live here?" Mikan asked, curious to know more of this mysterious house.
"Of course I don't! I live a few miles away from here. I only come here to check on things and to see if the guards and the keepers are doing their job properly." Nobara said, not wanting to confuse Mikan by telling all her duties but a few.
"Ah... I see... Umm... So do you know Natsume? I mean, more than just his name?" Mikan asked, just to see if this cute girl and Natsume had a past together. Her heart was thumping at that question.
"Oh... Umm... Yeah... Natsume-sama was just a baby when I saw him first. I was only three years old when Kaoru-sama gave birth to Natsume-sama. I remember how everyone celebrated the birth of the rare crimson eyed heir, who looked just like his mother." Nobara said, her eyes fixed on the opposite wall, dreamily.
"Ah... I never thought Natsume's family was this rich!" Mikan said dreamily as Nobara looked at her eyes, surprised.
"You didn't? But I heard you've been living with him for about 19 years!" Nobara said, her shock was visible in her tone.
"Yeah... But they never told me anything about this." Mikan replied, her eyes wondering around the living room, capturing everything they saw in each moment.
"Umm... Kyoto is simply all about tradition... Noble houses and imperial palaces are all over the place. The Hyuugas were well-known samurais of the traditional japan. Families like mine were their followers. Though the place has changed and urbanized a lot in the course of time, the status of the Hyuugas' remains unharmed." Nobara went through the history book of Japan, making Mikan drool in astonishment.
They were gaping at each other, sinking in the most awkward silence till the doorbell rang, making them both jump forward, automatically.
It was Mochiage from earlier, with a bunch of men carrying boxes and traveling bags in all hands.
"The luggage has arrived." The keeper said, signing the men to move forward.
"Ah... Keep them there and leave. We'll unpack them in the morning." Nobara said in an official tone and turned to Mikan, smiling gently.
"Please go upstairs and rest, Mrs. Hyuuga... We'll call you down for dinner. I'll be staying here tonight, so don't worry." Nobara said politely and looked at the men to guide them through the living room.
"Ugh! This house is more like an office! No one seems to talk to me in good terms!" Mikan thought as she climbed the stairs, gritting her teeth.
"Why?" She heard her husband speak from the bed as she entered the room, slamming the door behind her.
"What?" Mikan asked, emotionless for the first time in her whole life.
"Your face. It's uglier than ever." Natsume said out coolly, as Mikan walked towards the couch and threw herself on it, utterly disappointed.
"Yeah I know." She replied as she closed her eyes and sighed.
"This bed feels much better than the one we had back there at home." Natsume said out flatly, watching her from the corner of his eye.
"Is that so." Mikan said, not wanting to continue with the conversation. Natsume felt really bad about that improvement.
"Guess the luggage has arrived already." Natsume spoke again, much to Mikan's surprise.
"Yes." That was her only answer. Natsume was now, restless.
"Wanna cruise around?"
"Eh?!"
Hiii people! SO there goes my 21st chapter! :-)
Everything is settled for now... yet what will happen next? Does anybody have an idea? :-O
I don't have an idea as well! :-D No no I'm just kidding!
Anyway! It was a flat chapter, sorry about that... Yet can't jump into romance all the time, can I? :-( But if you're wise enough, you'll find so much feelings inside my dumb words... Haha I pour my whole heart into them. :-D Really funny!
OMG! I love my reviewers! And I love how you guys share the same interest as me! Gakuen Alice! Bravo! :-*
No fanfic can beat the real story, right? Even mine cannot. All the credits for bringing out a bunch of awesome characters like Natsume, Mikan, Hotaru and Ruka, goes to Higuchi sensei! I Love her so much! :-* If it wasn't for her, I won't ever have thought of writing a story. I owe her much!
And I owe my loving reviewers as well! If you weren't pushing me to write this, I would've given up continuing with this story so long ago.
You're the fire in my soul! –a ridiculous image, isn't it? -)
Anyway! Gotta answer you guys! :-)
Ah... HaCel you had sent me a PM! And you got me crazy for you there! :-* Thanks hon! I love how you describe me in your reviews! They are really touching! I know my writing isn't that good to suit your comments, yet actually... they warm my heart! Keep Reviewing! Please! :-) Love you so much!
iiAriya:- Oh my! Oh my! Oh my! That was the best comment I've ever received on my appearance! Haha! I really didn't expect anything like that. I being an Asian sure look uglier than you guys over there! So don't envy me! ;-D But thank you so much! I accept your advice wholeheartedly! Love you so much! You sure made me blush furiously! Haha! It was really really really warm! Your review! Please stay with me!
Katherine Kalissa Amara:- Whoa! That indeed is a weird question! But umm... well... No one can say this is bad and that is right. Your feelings should be unique about everything you have around you. Haha! But there's nothing incest in my story huh? Natsume isn't her real brother after all... That's how it goes... :-D Feel free to ask anything! ;-) Love ya!
jrenamae:- Hey! Thanks a bunch my friend! You are my fan? I can't believe that! I really have fans? *tears rising! I'm just a mere writer here... Maybe you said you were a fan of Gakuen Alice! It can't be mine right? Am I overreacting? Haha! Be it any, I love your reviews! Please keep reading! And support me till the end! Love ya! :-*
cposcabee:- No no no! Calm down my darling child! It isn't gonna end that soon! Still it has a long way to go... So please calm down now! Haha :-D Love your reviews honey! They make me wanna type more! Please stay right there! Don't ever move away! :-* Love ya!
Timey Wimey Detecter:- Hey... Thanks! Though it's short it means a lot! 20th chapter was just flat... I know... Yet I'm happy to see that you've found it so sweet! Thanks a bunch babe! Stay with my story! Keep supporting!
So finally... Thanks for your support... Everyone!
Love you all!
It's almost 2am! And I'm still awake 'cause I promised someone to post the chapter before dawn! Haha!
Bye for now!
-Awful Nightmare-