Disclaimer: I do not own GA or any of its characters.
Thanks a lot for reviewing:
imyoursbaby20
IllutiaDark - thanks for the review :) please do it again ;)
Melyss
Crimson-Midnight-Moon
chainedheart999
yuuki36
Author Note: So here is another chapter of Shalom. This is the beginning of the end of Shalom, but it might still take a while. Okay, it probably will take a while. So this chapter also has a cliffie-ish ending, but I am sure i'll be forgiven, once you guys read it. It moves the story forward by quite a bit. oh and I will try to update really soon. Now that I have the image in my head, i have to write :)
oh and I have a question about what to do with the story, but I can only ask that after next chapter. So wait for that and do gimme your opinion :)
Mikan's POV:
"Mikan, can I talk to you for a second?" Tsubasa sempai asked me, appearing in front of me totally out of the blue. I scowled but nodded. Ruka had dropped me off, but he had to go to Hyuuga Corp. to attend the meeting grandfather had called. Even Kia and Chitose were not here yet. Then I gave myself a mental shake. This was my sempai. I should not be so paranoid.
"Where are you leading me?" I asked.
"My car. I can talk better when I'm driving. Don't worry, I'll drop you back asap." he answered confidently. I felt unease settle in my stomach, but maybe I was just over reacting. I still unlocked my phone and kept it in my hand.
We sat in his car, and pulled out of the university.
"Mikan, what are the Hyuuga's to you?" Sempai asked softly.
"My family." I answered without hesitation.
"Is it true that they took you in after your parents passed away?" -Tsubasa
"Yes." I answered again.
"Is that why you're with Natsume? Out of obligation for everything his family has done for you? Is it your way of repaying your debt? Are you with him because they expect you to be?" Tsubasa asked through gritted teeth. I knew I was in deep shit now. I pressed #1 on my phone to speed dial Natsume.
"I am with him because I want to be. If you knew him, you would know that he would never make me do anything against my will." I answered calmly. My phone's screen was turned down in my lap, and I lifted it slightly to see that Natsume had picked up.
"Where are you taking me Tsubasa-sempai? This is not an idle, 'I want to talk to you' drive is it?" I asked coldly.
"I am not really taking you anywhere. I am letting you go." he answered, and I felt my panic rise.
"I don't want to go anywhere, I am happy where I am." I said trying hard to keep my voice steady.
"You're nothing but his plaything, his toy. The Hyuuga's are rich, and I understand that you feel gratitude towards them, but this is your life Mikan. I want you to be able to live it how you want. I have made arrangements for you to leave this country, and start a new life. I understand that you don't love me, and thats okay. I just want you to be happy. Natsume will never be able to find you again, and you'd be able to live as you want, free from all obligations." Tsubasa explained in the most reasonable voice.
"Stop the car." I said in an icy voice.
"No. You'll thank me for this someday." Tsubasa said steadily.
"I will not leave Natsume." I told him.
"You are leaving and he will never find you again. Once you're out from under his thumb, you can live your own life." Tsubasa said again and i wanted to kill him.
"He will find me. He will always find me, no matter where you take me." I said confidently.
"Why? I am sure he does care for you, but probably only until he finds a new toy. His family took you in, but it really does not reflect much on him." Tsubasa said coolly.
"Natsume raised me! Not some goddamn family you keep mentioning!" Mikan yelled angrily.
"Then why were you in boarding school Mikan?" Tsubasa retorted, his voice still level.
"I was there because of the so called family. Not him. He tried everything he could to keep me from going there. He will find me, and I swear sempai, he will never forgive you for this, and neither will I." I said with all the anger I could manage to squeeze past the panic in my heart.
"Will you listen to yourself? You say all these things, yet not once have you said what you feel for him. You can't can you? All you feel is obligation. Don't worry.." he started again.
"THATS NOT IT!" I screamed. "Damn you Sempai, lemme go. I can't be without him again." I said almost sobbing.
"What do you feel for him Mikan?" Tsubasa asked quietly, as he stopped the car.
"I love him. Damn you, I am in love with him, and I love him more than anything in the world." I looked straight into his eyes, and all the panic was gone now.
"I will find him again, just like he'll find me." I said softly.
Tsubasa Sempai actually smiled. "He's already found you." he said just as two cars screeched onto the road, and then parked themselves at insane angles in the front and back of the car that we were in.
I looked at Sempai wide eyed.
"You two looked like you needed a little push." he shrugged. "I had made the arrangements and if it had turned out that you really were in this out of some sense of duty, I would have gotten you out of here. But you're not, so thats all unnecessary." he explained with a light smile.
I stared at him, and then punched him as hard as I could. I could see Ruka getting out of the car in front of me, and just then Natsume yanked my car door open. I scrambled out, but i could not look him in the eye. He had heard my confession, since my phone had been on the entire time. He had heard every word that I had said. Natsume did not look at me either. He just pushed me towards Ruka.
"Take her home." he said coldly and I felt fear curl in my heart.
Ruka hugged me tightly, but then he quickly took me to his car and bundled me into the seat. I could not say anything, do anything but try not to cry. Why had my life suddenly gone so wrong?
One Hour Ago:
Natsume's phone rang in the middle of Toushrou's talk. He glanced at the screen about to shut it off only to realize who it was. He answered the call, ignoring his grandfathwr's glare and motioned for all of them to stay silent.
Natsume's POV:
"I am with him because I want to be. If you knew him, you would know that he would never make me do anything against my will." Mikan was saying calmly. I swore silently. She was letting me hear her conversation with someone else, so she was in deep shit. I turned my phone on speaker and signaled uka to turn on the tracker that Mikan had on her. It was so we could locate her if anything happened. She knew about it, so no doubt this was her way of warning me.
I connected Ruka's phone with mine on a conference call so he could hear the conversation in that car too as we ran to our cars. The GPS in our cars was giving her location loud and clear, an we drove as if the hounds of hell themselves were chasing us.
"Natsume raised me! Not some goddamn family you keep mentioning!" Mikan yelled angrily, and I smiled slightly. Attagirl! She'd never let anyone get the better of her. We were getting closer now.
"Will you listen to yourself? You say all these things, yet not once have you said what you feel for him. You can't can you? All you feel is obligation. Don't worry.." Andou was saying.
"THATS NOT IT!" Mikan screamed. "Damn you Sempai, lemme go. I can't be without him again." Mikan was close to tears now, i knew it. I was so going to kill Andou for this.
"What do you feel for him Mikan?" Andou said, quietly this time.
"I love him. Damn you, I am in love with him, and I love him more than anything in the world. I will find him again, just like he'll find me." Mikan said softly and I felt my eyes widen. Had she just truly said that?
"He's already found you." Andou said and I could hear the smile in his voice as surely as I could see their car in the distance.
My car screeched to a halt right behind theirs and I got out, and made my way to the passenger side door, and yanked it open. There she was, afraid to even look at me. I got her out of the car and gave her to Ruka. I was too angry, and if I spoke to her now, I would screw it up. She would probably think I was saying whatever I said, just to make her feel better. I needed a cool head to do this, and first I needed to deal with Andou bastard.
Normal POV:
"Mad as all hell huh?" Tsubasa asked Natsume as he got out of the car.
"There were better ways to do what you did." Natsume said coldly.
"Yes, but I was serious. If it turned out that she was not happy here, I would have made sure she got a new life. I started out dating her, but she is like a younger sisiter to me in the end, and I can't really see her sad. I even endured Koizumi Luna to pull this off, so you better be grateful." Tsubasa said with a smirk.
"What about Koizumi?" Natsume snapped.
"She thinks that I am helping her get Mikan out of the picture coz I want to be with her and she wants to be with you." he shrugged.
"You son of a.." Natsume started but Tsubasa cut him off.
"Get over it. Whatever damage I did will be fixed when she finds out you love her, right? Also I just told you about your stalker (Luna) problem, so you're all set. I'll take your silence as gratitude." Tsubasa said as he slid back into his car. He peered at Natsume from the open window.
"Besides, Mikan already punched me." he told Natsume before driving off.
Natsume stared after him then sighed. In a way he was grateful, but he'd never tell Andou that.
Ruka's POV:
No matter how hard I tired, Mikan would not talk to me as I drove home. I scowled. There was only one more thing left to say to her.
"Natsume loves you too you know." I said and she turned to stare at me, her leashes glittering with tears.
"Not like that. Don;t get my hopes up like this Ruka. Its just cruel." she said in a choked voice.
"Would I ever be cruel to you?" I asked rhetorically before continuing. "Natsume is in love with you. He'd never admit it because what you feel comes first. He would never think of himself above you." I explained but she was looking out the window again.
"If he did not love you, he would have hugged you as soon as he got you out of that car, and told you that he loved you, just to make you feel better. He might have even pretended that your feelings were platonic, to make it easier on you, but he would never have ignored you. Ever." I said and she turned to face me again. She knew I was right.
"He loves you, and the only reason he ignored you is because he knew that if he told you that right there and then, you might never have truly believed him." I explained. How I understood everything he did, I had no idea, but I did. He had trusted me with Mikan, not just to get her home, but also to get her to possibly understand, and I was not going to fail him.
"If I believe you, how long have you known this? Known his feelings?" Mikan asked me.
"From the day he realized them. I was lucky enough to enter his office at the right time. It was the day you went to college after falling on the cacti." I answered. I could see I was convincing her. Actual facts, made any story more believable, and this one was true after all.
"Y'know what Mikan, I have a way for you to know for sure." I said and explained my idea to her. She stared at me open mouthed.
"If it doesn't work, you're in the same position you're in right now. Why not give it a try? It all depends how much courage and faith you have." I said sagely. She gave me a slight nod before turning away again. I felt the tension leave my body. I had done all I could, now it all came down to Natsume. That idiot had better not mess this up.