12 Open up

Mikan watched her brother flipped his new phone. Once in awhile he would dragged his finger on the flat screen and his face would have this amazed look whenever the screen switched to another app.

"Don't be so amazed You-chan. That is not yet one of the greatest invention ever," Mikan commented dryly. "Where's your old phone anyway?"

"I left it at home," he spoke, eyes glued to the shining screen. "Not sure whether I meant to leave it there or I just forgot to take it with me."

Mikan furrowed her brows. "I didn't remember you being that forgetful."

"Me neither," he replied shortly, still distracted with his new phone.

"Your nose?" Mikan tilted her head a little. "Didn't you go and fix that?"

Youichi shrugged and decided to put his phone away so he shoved it inside his pocket. "Not really. You were being dramatic. I didn't break my nose."

"You mean, Hyuuga didn't break your nose," Mikan growled, slightly pressed on Hyuuga's name more than necessary.

"I'm not sure where this conversation is heading," Youichi began, "But I would pretty much appreciate if you start telling me what I," a finger poking on his own chest, "want to know."

Mikan bit her lip and looked around. "Do you need more ice-cream? I'm gonna go and get you some more." She stood up but then Youichi grabbed for her arm and motioned for the bowl on the table; totally fill and untouched. "I think we have enough for the entire conversation. So sit." He yanked her down to her seat, leaving her glaring menacingly at him. "Start talking."

Mikan started playing with her fingers. "I don't know where to start."

Youichi sighed. "How bout what happened when I was 10?" He helped her out. He took a spoon of ice cream and shoved it inside his mouth. "Because I faintly remember anything."

"Okay, yeah, I'll start from there then." She breathed out.

"So I was 11 and you were 10," she began and smiled vaguely. "You remembered how our parents used to fight so much right? Glasses breaking, stuff flying everywhere. Dad's yelling, mom's crying." Mikan stopped talking, remembering something. "Basically we were all crying back then when dad's start yelling." She faked a small laugh but then her face totally changed to a more dejected expression. Her voice lowered down, "When otou-san and okaa-san got divorced, I thought okaa-san would take me as well." She cleared her throat a little, an indication that she's slowly started to choke on her words, and probably on words that would soon come out as well. "But she didn't. Okaa-san took you and left me behind."

"But you know what, it's fine. I was afraid at first and I was mad because you two left me behind and you know what, that's fine too. Because otou-san slowly changed. And believe it or not, I'm glad I stayed." She smiled warmly. Her palms wrapped around her mug of warm tea.

"After you guys took off, we changed houses. Constantly, at that, because otou-san kept changing his work. So he changed my schools as well. When he finally settled on this one job, surprisingly his business bloomed and continued blooming. So we stayed. And otou-san enrolled me in Uncle Kazumi's school. When Uncle Kazumi decided to get futuristic, he built a high school along. That's how AA was built. Elementary and high school altogether. But back then, his vision is an all girls academy so I became the first kaichou for an all girls Alice Academy. He wanted someone he could trust so who's the best candidate to be his sacrificing lamb than his own niece? I leaded the girls for almost two years but something horrible came up that got me kicked out of the academy. Well, that something got both Hotaru and me kicked out," she laughed bitterly.

Her eyes stared down at the bowl of ice cream which had now completely melt. Her fingers moved and mindlessly played with the spoon. "One of our students got pregnant and the bastard of a boyfriend refused to be responsible. So as their kaichou, I had to do something. They're under me so I had to protect every each one of them. So we went to his school. I decided to settle all there and then. But we met up with his bratty sister instead."

The entire scene flashed in her mind. It was so vivid she had to cringe.

She remembered when they arrived in front of the bastard's school, the whole lot of them. The guard refused to let them in so Hotaru resolved in tying him up. She even pushed a ball of crumpled papers inside his mouth because he won't stop yelling at them. They barged in and caused quite a commotion.

Hotaru held up her hailer while the rest of the girls looked around. Hotaru seemed pissed because of the previous incident with the guard, so they just let her do anything she wanted to ease her steam off. And it started with…

"Shinichi Shouda, you stupid irresponsible bastard! We're looking for you!"

Hotaru actually screamed at the hailer. She was fuming mad.

Students actually peered outside the windows from their classes to look down at us.

"Where the heck are you, Shouda! We've got something to settle here!" she yelled at the hailer again.

A girl came out from the one of the building and she walked with her head held high in full confidence and her grace was flawless. She was a beauty, that Mikan had to admit. Her shoulder green hair was permed luxuriously. Her tailored uniform fitted her body superbly. She got lots of shiny things on, and by the look of it, they aren't cheap. This Shinkoku school is rich kids' school anyway!

"The hell do you think you people are doing?" She glared at Hotaru. Then her green eyes travelled to the rest of us. "Barging in like that, you people have no manners." She looked disgustingly at us.

Mikan's vein twitched irritatingly. "We have nothing to discuss with you, permy."

The girl clasped her arms on her chest. "The bastard you're calling, is my brother."

Hotaru's brows were raised. First the male Shouda, now the girl Shouda; now they got two brats to handle. "That irresponsible good for nothing human, we want him to come down and talked to us."

"Or rather, we'll go up and find him instead," Mikan walked forward and offered instead, her hands gesturing for the people behind her; almost thirty of them, perhaps more. They were all ready to raid the whole place to find the jackass.

Soon, more people with Shinkoku uniform started to come down. The number of students who stood behind permy slowly increasing. She got a good back up.

"He's my brother so I will talk on his behalf," she continued.

Mikan, not wanting to prolong the whole thing, spoke up. "Your brother got one of our girls pregnant and he dared to tell her to abort it?" Mikan gritted her teeth. "He ran away from his responsible like he had no balls at all."

The girl smirked. "If he got no balls, that friend of yours wouldn't be pregnant in the first place. Then again, that thing inside hers, it could be anyone's."

Mikan moved forward, her pace was dangerously slow and her hands were both fisted on her sides. She stood close in front of the perm haired girl. "Your brother was her first." Her voice was controlled but it sounded strained.

Permy actually laughed! The nerve that brat.

"If she could sleep with him, she could sleep with anyone before him! What proof can you show that it's his?" She looked among the crowd behind me and managed to spot the said girl who was fidgeting with her red eyes and puffy nose. Her green eyes grew penetrating. "It's you, isn't it?" she pointed at her. "What a bitch. You think my brother would fall for you cheap tricks? Skanks like you are the ones that will make him penniless!"

At that second, Mikan's hand moved fast. One second she was fisting her hands, the next second, she had her hand wrapped around the girl's neck, strangling her in the process. "The bitch here is you. You dare to back a person up who clearly had done something horribly wrong!" Her voice was threatening.

Mikan's grip tightened as the girl's face began to change colour. "Ayumi trusted him but he tricked her innocence like it was a fucking game!" she tightened her grip more. "And now you're telling me she's the skank? She was on her first date ever in her life and that man, that worthless of a man put a sleeping pill in her drinks and take advantage of the whole situation!" Her voice roared angrily.

"The fight was so bad, the police had to come to break it off," Mikan continued with the story. The entire scene played in her mind like a replay recorder; AA students and Shinkoku students were all slapping, punching each other and pulling hairs. "We were taken to the central police station."

"It turns out, she was Sumire Shouda and she happened to be our politician Shouda's daughter." She shrugged sadly. "The girl who got pregnant, she didn't know that the guy was our politician Shouda's son. They met at a train station so she had thought he was just a regular kid."

"The brats' father managed to stop the news from spreading but in return, he demanded to kick us out or he would forced Uncle Kazumi to shut down the academy."

"At the end, Uncle Kazumi had to kick us out and since the academy short of funds with most of the girls voluntarily dropped out and followed us instead, AA became a co-ed school."

She stirred the melting ice cream in the bowl. Eyes still staring down. "Since N highschool, an all boys highschool, intend to increase their lacking amount of facilities to accommodate the large amount of students which had greatly exceeds their current facilities, AA decided to take some in which was just a perfect time at that time. Previously, since AA was as an elite school, N highschool sent their astounding students to AA. And so Ruka Nogi, his votes won majority, became the first kaichou for the reborn of co-ed AA."

Mikan watched her little brother. He was listening so intently. And his gaze, it was hard and fixed solely on her. His soda was left untouched and she could see the melting ice cubes inside the mug. And now the ice cream melted completely already. Mikan placed her chin on her hand.

"Hotaru is still pissed because Uncle Kazumi didn't accept the reason for us doing so. Basically, we were protecting one of our students so we were just carrying our responsibilities but Uncle Kazumi still kicked us out. So, till this day, she despises him." She shrugged. "Hotaru is Hotaru after all. She can despise a person for the rest of her life."

Youichi smirked. "Yeah, that one I know. Hotaru-nee is one scary person." He saw Mikan's lips suddenly pouted. He raised one brow at her. "What's with that pout?"

"How come you call her Hotaru-nee but you can't with me?"

"Hotaru-nee is not as baka as you. Her brain works million times smarter than you. Everyone knows she's a genius. So she earns both my respect and—"

Mikan held her hand up. "Yeah yeah, I get your point." Damn she knew all that without him telling her so. Tch.

Youichi chuckled. It's not that he didn't want to call her sister by the correct addressing but now he had more fun teasing her about it instead. He leaned against his seat. He was straining himself a minute ago, listening so now he can feel a bit of ease now that he finally heard the whole story. But whether he could comprehend all of it, he didn't know yet.

He watched her sister with his looming gaze. Her every move, he saw it all. It was regular and habitual to his eyes but something felt just the tiniest bit off to him. She's just as how he remembered her five years ago. In fact, her attitude didn't change much. Physically yes; she got taller and looked much more like an adult now. Damn, now that she looked much more like a woman, he got to pay more attention to her dressing after this—maybe by burning any necessary clothing that doesn't fit to his likings. He didn't want any more hormonal guys goggle at her like she's in her birthday suit.

But there's this bad feeling he had, like someone was scratching his heart from the inside with long nails, digging it all out. He didn't feel good because he realized, in the whole conversation they had, she didn't even once asked him about their mother. That made him think of other stuff and he tried not to interpret it wrongly, like if she hates their mother or not. God, he hoped not.

"Don't you want to know how Okaa-san is doing?" Youichi tried.

It didn't go pass his watchful eyes that she flinched once at his question. His heart felt heavy.

"I don't want to lie, You-chan." She looked at him guiltily. "But," she paused. Youichi noticed she was contemplating her words. Then a heavy sigh came out, followed by her next words, "I don't want to lie so I'm gonna tell you straight out. Whatever okaa-san is doing, I don't want to know any of her matters. I don't want to speak about her nor do I want to hear about her." She looked almost at the verge of tearing up.

Youichi nodded his head slowly. His heart got heavier. "Do you hate okaa-san?"

He saw her winced again. And her body suddenly pulled back. She stared down. He noted her constant fidgeting hands. The fingers were wrapped uncomfortably around her mug and she kept rubbing them against each other.

"Honestly, I don't know." She answered in a small voice.

His heart sank.

Because even if she said she didn't know, it could mean both. She could hate her or she could not. But the possibility of hate is there still. He could not understand. Why? Okaa-san took him with her. So why shouldn't she hate him as well? If it made any more sense, she should hate him more. Because okaa-san chose to take him and not her.

"Then, don't you hate me? Okaa-san chose to take me. I left you there alone." His voice turned solemn. Every second he grew up alone at that foreign place, his guilt was getting thicker every passing year.

"We were kids. We couldn't make our own choices. The path of our lives back then were decided by both our parents. Even if you want to stay, or I want to go together with you, I know we couldn't. We had no words in any of the decision."

"I see otou-san had changed tremendously," he added.

He saw his sister smiled. "Yeah good thing he did." She had not said anything more after that.

Unbeknownst to her brother, she had to put away that one particular truth about what happened to her on that one day; precisely on a certain day five years ago.

That one incident had taught her even if she didn't make the choices—rather she was forced to accept the decision made by others—she was glad that it was that very decision that made her stay by his dad till today.

She remembered waking up in a hospital bed; surrounded with high white walls and she recalled seeing her otou-san's face stricken with grief on the bed, next to her arm. Even in his sleep, he was furrowing his brows rather hard.

At that time, she realized something; her otou-san finally/actually cared for her.

And on that day, everything became crystal clear; she didn't want to have any thing more to do with her mother.

TBC.