Himeno: I will be able to update weekly again
Himeno: I'm only able to update every two weeks. Sorry for the inconvenience, everyone.
Mikan: Your sister is working on a story too, right? So, you can't be with the computer everyday.
Himeno: I know. But Onee-chan is always busy with school. She rarely uses the computer.
Mikan: I heard her story is great. What is it called again?
Himeno: Fragments of an Undying Love. It's such a sweet romantic story. Jc-Zala reads it too and gives off good reviews.
Mikan: And Jc-Zala is one of the best authors around.
Himeno: She's actually my tutor right now for Math and English. She also helps me a lot with my stories.
Aoi: Sounds like you two are really close.
Himeno: That's right. She's like my second sister.
Aoi: Then why don't you advertise her story here.
Himeno: Great idea. Okay, everyone read Jc-Zala's story. Obsession and Forgotten Memories are worth your time. Her Gundam SEED fics are good too. If you're a fan of Athrun and Cagalli, I recommend her stories.
Mikan: Let's get the story started.
Himeno: You're right! Everyone, please enjoy the story.
Natsume the Jerk
Episode 27: More Problems Keep Coming
"I'm home!" Mikan said as soon as she walked into the Hyuuga residence. "The interview was longer than expected. I'm sorry if I came late."
Ruka was the one who welcomed her at the door. "Welcome home, Sakura," he said with a smile. "Have you already eaten? We've already had dinner here."
"Oh, really?" Mikan took off her shoes and placed them in the shoe rack. "Who cooked dinner?"
"I asked the head cook to come over," Ruka replied. "We can't ask Natsume and Aoi-chan to cook or else the kitchen will end up in a disaster."
Mikan tapped her finger on her cheek. "I don't know about Natsume, but Aoi-chan can cook now," she said. "Well, I've already eaten before I left the studio, though it wasn't much."
Just then, Natsume came out and faced them. "How long are you two planning to talk there by the entrance?" he questioned, his expression stoic as usual. "And why are you so late, polka-dots?"
"I had an important interview, Natsume," she replied. "After the interview, Serina-san brought me to a restaurant for dinner and then I went to the mansion for a while to have cake."
Natsume raised a brow. "You decided to eat at a restaurant, instead of cooking dinner for us?" he said nonchalantly. "You're so selfish."
Mikan puffed up her cheeks. "Me? Selfish?" She shook her head and stomped over to Natsume. "I'm not selfish! How dare you call me that?!"
He rolled his crimson eyes away. "I'll call you whatever I want, you ditz," he said, and Mikan growled like him like an angry cat. Her expression was so cute. He wanted to pinch her cheeks for that. But he knew better than to act sweet to her. "Since you're here, go talk to my stupid sister."
"Stop calling Aoi-chan stupid, you moron!" Mikan uttered, hitting his head lightly. "And what's the matter with Aoi-chan? Is she sick? I hope not."
Ruka let out a sigh. "We have no idea what's wrong with her," he told Mikan. "When she got home, her eyes were all puffy. She was awfully quiet during dinner too. I asked if she was feeling ill, but she just ignored me. We're worried about her, Sakura."
The raven-haired guy shrugged. "What do you mean 'we', Ruka?" he said, flicking Ruka's temple. "You're the only one who's worried about her. I don't care if she's sad or not."
The animal-lover simply smiled at his best friend. "Natsume, weren't you the one urging me to cheer her up somehow?" he said. "And you kept pacing back and forth in front of her room a while ago. How can you say that you don't care?"
Mikan smiled mischievously. "Hmm… The pervert actually knows how to care…" she said, poking his arm. "Hey, how about be the caring big brother for once and cheer your little sister up?"
Natsume grabbed her finger and glared at her. "The answer is no," he said. "If I go talk to her, I'll end up insulting her. You're good at cheering people up, so do that."
Glancing at their hands, Mikan suddenly remembered the date and the kiss with Natsume. She pulled her hand away and pretended to look pissed. "Fine… I'll go cheer up, Aoi-chan." There was a slight blush on her face. Weird, she was beginning to feel awkward again. "By the way, Natsume, you still haven't given me an answer to my question."
"You are so clueless," Natsume replied with a shrug. "Figure it out, yourself." With that, he walked back into the living room.
Mikan pouted and crossed her arms. "That jerk…" she muttered. "Why can't he just give me a straight answer?"
"Aoi-chan," Mikan called out, knocking on the Aoi's door. "It's me, Mikan. Can I come in?"
The young Hyuuga opened the door, looking bright and cheerful. "Mikan-chan, hi!" she greeted. "How did the interview go?"
Mikan found it strange. Natsume and Ruka told her Aoi was depressed, but the girl looked happy. "Well, the interview went well," she replied.
"Do you want to come in?" Aoi asked.
"Sure…" Mikan went in and sat down on Aoi's bed. She unconsciously placed her hand on one of the pillows and felt that it was wet. Immediately, she wondered why it was wet. Ruka-pyon did say her eyes were all puffy when she got home. She wasn't even talking during dinner time. She must have crying again here. But why was she crying? She turned to look at Aoi as she sat down beside her.
"Umm… The Math Olympics is coming soon," Aoi said, smiling. "I'll give Onii-chan my full support. Do you think he'll win?"
Somehow, Mikan felt like Aoi was only forcing herself to smile. "Well, Natsume may be a perverted moron, but he's one heck of a genius," she replied, trying to act excited. "I know he's working hard for this."
Aoi giggled. "He's working hard for the competition because of you, Mikan-chan," she told the brunette. "You're his motivation."
Mikan's face flushed up in an instant. "What do you mean I'm his motivation?!" she exclaimed. "No way! That guy thinks I'm annoying. How can I be his motivation?" And then she remembered Natsume's words after their date and turned redder than before.
The sister smiled slyly as she placed a hand on Mikan's shoulder. "Trust me on this, Mikan-chan…" she said. "You're his motivation."
Shaking her head violently, Mikan stood up and turned her back at Aoi. "But he insults me, confuses me, and peeks at my panties," she complained, pacing back and forth.
"Yes, he does those things to you, but it doesn't mean he doesn't like you," Aoi explained, temporarily forgetting about her own problems. "Mikan-chan, Onii-chan isn't the most honest person in the world. He may act like he hates the world, but he actually doesn't."
Mikan was still having a hard time believing it. Anyway, she was supposed to be there to cheer Aoi up. But Aoi seemed fine and cheery, although she felt a certain aura of sadness. We should stop talking about Natsume… I should ask her why she was sad. Natsume and Ruka-pyon are counting on me to fine out what's wrong. Before she could even ask, Aoi spoke first.
"I think you and Onii-chan will make a good couple," Aoi stated.
The brunette idol turned red from head to toe. "Wh-What did you say?" She let out a few steam as her heart pounded wildly. "Me and that jerk—a couple? There's no way that's going to happen."
Aoi could see that Mikan was in denial. "Why not? You're the perfect girl for Onii-chan."
Mikan fiddled with her fingers. "Natsume and I are… we can only be…" She couldn't say it. Her heart didn't want to say it for some reason. "Oh, I almost forgot that I still have homework to do. I have to go now, Aoi. See ya!" Nervous and confused with her own emotions, she dashed out of the room and went into her room. She leaned on the door and slid down to the floor.
"I wasn't able to ask her…" Mikan said with a deep sigh. "Aoi-chan keeps bringing up Natsume. Why does she think Natsume and I will make a good couple? That pervert is only interested in my underwear and not me."
Back at Aoi's room, the younger Hyuuga lay down in bed. A frown had replaced the smile on her face. "Mikan-chan, I'm sorry for hiding it from you." Her eyes started to sprout tears. "But I can't tell you. I can't tell anyone about my problem. If I did, then Kokoroyomi-oniichan…" She buried her face into her already wet pillow and sobbed.
Waking up to the sound of her cellphone's ring tone, Mikan rose up from the bed and grabbed her cellphone from the study table. "Hello?" she said with a yawn. It was 5:30 in the morning and she seriously wanted to sleep more.
"Mikan, it's me," the caller spoke.
The idol's eyes went wide. "Tsubasa-senpai?" she muttered. "What's with the early call?"
"I need your help…" His voice sounded sad.
Mikan got worried. "What's the matter, senpai?" she asked. "Are you sick? Are you hurt?"
"Yeah… I'm hurt…" Tsubasa replied, sounding frailer. "Emotionally…"
"Senpai…"
"I've hurt someone in the past, someone precious to me…" Tsubasa heaved deep sigh. "Until now, she's still angry with me. She can't forgive me. I want to make things right between us."
Mikan sat down on the bed. "Senpai, you sound pretty desperate." It was her first time to hear him talk like that. "What exactly did you to this person? Did you try to apologize to her?"
"I've tried and failed. That's why I'm asking for your help, Mikan."
"Senpai, I'm always ready to help you," Mikan replied with a gentle smile on her face. "First of all, who is this person you're talking about? Do I know her?"
Tsubasa paused for a while. "She goes to same school as you do," he said. "She's from the high school division and her name is Misaki Harada. I'll send you a picture of her after this call."
"Misaki Harada from the high school division…" Mikan repeated. "Okay, what do I need to do?"
Aoi was arranging her things in her locker, while thinking about the threat of the two bullies. How was she going to avoid her Kokoroyomi-oniichan? It was going to be hard. As she took out her book from the locker, Fumi and Momoe came and shoved her away.
Fumi, the brown-haired one, peeped into her locker. "Momoe-chan, look, all she has is trash in her locker," she said, putting on a disgusted look.
"Trash should belong in a garbage can," Momoe said, taking a notebook out.
"Please don't touch my stuff," Aoi said, attempting to take the notebook away.
But Fumi pushed her back. "You're in no position to tell us what to do, Hyuuga-san," she said, smiling slyly.
Momoe threw the notebook over her shoulders and proceeded to take more things out of the locker. "I'll be doing you favor, Hyuuga-san," she said. "Taking out the trash is the least I can do for you."
"No, don't!" Aoi exclaimed, trying to pass Fumi to save her stuff.
Fumi grew irritated with her and slapped her face. "Bitches like you shouldn't be stubborn," she said.
Other students passing by didn't mind her. Some pitied Aoi, but some wanted her to be bullied more. Aoi felt like crying on the spot. She wished her Kokoroyomi-oniichan was there to save her.
Momoe dropped her things into the garbage can and turned to look back at the Hyuuga. "There… You won't have to worry about thrash in your locker," she said.
Aoi dropped on her knees and lowered her gaze on the floor. "You're so cruel…" she muttered.
"I'll take that as a compliment," Momoe said, laughing maniacally.
Fumi joined the laughing, making Aoi felt more miserable. All of a sudden, the two were drenched in water.
"I'm soaked!!" Momoe exclaimed, fussing over her uniform and hair.
"Who's the bastard responsible for this?!" Fumi shrieked, turning around, clenching her two fists. To her surprise, she saw Sumire Shouda standing before her with a pail in her hand. "Shouda-san?!"
"Shouda-san?!" Momoe gasped, turning to look at the green-haired girl. She seemed to have paled white.
"You bitch!" Fumi screamed. "How dare you do this to us?! Why are you even defending Hyuuga-san?! She's nothing but a good-for-nothing girl!"
Sumire was glaring at them dangerously. "You girls are lower than scum," she coldly said, gritting her teeth. "What can you gain from bullying a girl like Hyuuga-san? If Natsume-kun finds out about this, I'm sure he won't be easy on you."
Momoe turned her gaze away, feeling very nervous and afraid of Sumire. But she really despised Sumire deep within her heart.
"Natsume Hyuuga, huh?" Fumi chuckled as she placed one hand on her waist. "He's nothing but a cold-hearted bastard. We've been bullying Aoi Hyuuga-san for so long, and neither once did he do anything to help her. What makes you think he cares for his sister?"
"Don't speak badly about Natsume-kun," Sumire demanded, throwing the pail aside.
"I'll say whatever I want," Fumi said firmly. "And I'll do whatever I want with Hyuuga-san. You have no idea how annoying Hyuuga-san is during class. She's nothing but a klutz, an eyesore, and a failure."
Every insult stabbed Aoi's heart like a dagger. It was amazing she was still able to hold back her tears. She was grateful Sumire was there to save her. But Momoe and Fumi would only get angrier by this. They might do something to blackmail Sumire as well.
"You girls are the eyesores," Sumire said, pointing a finger at Momoe and Fumi.
"Shouda-san, please don't get mad at them," Aoi said, standing up, with her bangs over her eyes. "We were just fooling around. They weren't really picking on me." She felt like a total idiot for saying that. She was trampling her own pride.
Fumi's lips formed a wicked smile. "That's right…" she said.
Momoe was still silent, as if she was trying to avoid eye-contact with Sumire.
"Are you stupid, Hyuuga-san?" Sumire said, pulling on the two girls' ears. "These bitches were obviously bullying you."
Aoi shook her head and presented a good smile. "No, they weren't…" she said. "Besides, they were helping me clean my locker."
"Let go!" Fumi pushed herself away. "Hyuuga-san said we were helping her and not bullying her."
"Hyuuga-san, are you being serious here?" Sumire asked, raising a brow.
Aoi nodded her head. "Yup!"
Sumire shrugged. "This is ridiculous," she said. After that, she walked away, looking pissed.
Momoe sighed in relief when Sumire was gone. Her expression turned sinister yet again. "You made a wise choice, Hyuuga-san," she said. "I would've done something if you didn't stop Shouda-san from bitch-slapping us."
"But she's still going to pay for drenching us with water," Momoe said.
Aoi knelt down and bowed her head. "Please don't do anything to Shouda-san," she told them sincerely. "Do what you want with me."
"You're so pathetic, Hyuuga-san," Fumi said. "Well, since you're willing to pay for what Shouda-san did, I want you to be our personal servant in class. You'll do everything we say—even if it means embarrassing yourself. Do I make myself clear?"
"All right…" Aoi replied hesitantly.
It was lunch time when Mikan headed to the high school division building. She promised her favorite senior to help him with his problem. Even though she didn't know what really happened between her senior and the girl, she hoped she'll be able to talk with the girl properly.
She saw the girl's picture. She had already seen the girl before. She had to admit that the girl was pretty.
According to Tsubasa's information, the girl belonged to Class 3-A. As she walked through the hallways, high school students looked at her, greeted her, and complimented her. Mikan showed her trademark smile at them. She had to put p a good face in front of people. That was how an idol should act. Upon reaching the desired classroom, she peeped in to search for the girl.
"Look, it's Mikan Sakura," a guy pointed out. In an instant, everyone in the room turned their heads to look at her. "It's really Mikan Sakura!"
One girl pulled Mikan in and hugged her tight. "Oh my gosh!" she screamed. "She's a lot more adorable in person. She's huggable too!"
A few girls surrounded Mikan, wanting to hug her as well.
"Hey, can I have a hug too?" a guy said, and the girls immediately shot him a glare. The guy sweat-dropped and chuckled nervously. "Joking…Joking…"
"Mikan-chan, I love your songs!"
"Please sign my autograph."
"Let's take a picture together, Mikan-chan!"
"I'm one of your biggest fans."
The fans were fussing over her like the media, and Mikan found it hard to escape them.
"You guys… You're suffocating her," came a voice from outside the crowd.
"It's Misaki-chan!" half of the boys in class yelled out in admiration.
Mikan widened her eyes. "Misaki…?" She politely excused herself and came out of the crowd. She came face to face with a red-haired girl. There was no doubt about it. She was the same girl in the picture. "Misaki Harada-senpai…"
Misaki smiled. "Well, it's quite an honor for an idol to know my name," she said. "Nice to meet you, Mikan-chan. I'm sorry if my classmates were overwhelming you."
"It's all right," Mikan replied. "Umm…Senpai, I actually came here to talk to you. Can you spare me a few minutes?"
"Sure…"
The two of them went to the rooftop to have a quiet talk without any disturbances. Mikan wasn't so sure how to start off, while Misaki stared at her. Okay, should she say something about Tsubasa right away?
"So, what do you want from me?" Misaki asked, leaning her back against the fence. "Does it have anything to do with Tsubasa?"
Mikan gasped. "Umm..Erm…" She fiddled with her fingers before she nodded her head in hesitation. "I…I… I know about your relationship with Tsubasa-senpai in the past."
"The jerk told you, huh?" Misaki crossed her arms. "Well, I know how close you two are. I guess he didn't tell you about our problem before because you were still a kid."
"Yeah… He just told me yesterday about your relationship."
"Did he ask you to talk to me?"
Mikan can't tell her that Tsubasa asked for her help or else she would just get upset. It wasn't in her nature to lie, but she had to. "No… I came to you on my own…"
"And that's because you care a lot about him, right?"
"Yes…"
"Did he tell you the whole story or only half of it?"
Mikan faced the fence and held onto it. "You two were friends since childhood. During the 5th grade, you two realized your feelings for each other and became a couple. You two were happily dating, and Tsubasa-senpai has been real sweet to you." She looked at Misaki and grimaced. "Tsubasa-senpai started his modeling career during the sixth grade, but he still made time for you. But everything went wrong before graduating from middle school. He said he made the biggest mistake of his life and he was sorry about it. That's all I know."
Misaki sighed. "Since you know this much already, I think it's okay to tell you everything," she said. "Tsubasa and I started drifting apart during our second year of middle school and we broke up before graduating from third year."
"Um…What exactly did Tsubasa-senpai do? Why did you break up?"
"He became obsessed with fame," Misaki replied, digging her fingers into her arm. "He loved his career than his own girlfriend. He was such blockhead. He didn't even realize how much he disregarded me until I told him. Our break-up was real ugly. I told him I didn't want to see him again. I was so angry at him."
END OF EPISODE 27
Himeno: More of Tsubasa and Misaki's past in the next chapter.
Aoi: When will Mikan-chan's past be revealed? The readers want to know about Imai-san too.
Himeno: Bits of Mikan's past will be revealed along with Tsubasa's.
Aoi: I see…
Himeno: Aoi-chan, I'm sorry for putting you in so much trouble in this chapter.
Aoi: I know… But I'm sure something good will happen in the end.
Himeno: Yeah…
Kokoroyomi: Why didn't I appear here? You said I'll be here.
Himeno: I decided to save you for the next chapter.
Kokoroyomi: I'm not going to let those girls get away for what they did to Aoi-chan.
Himeno: For a guy who's usually cheerful, you sounded so dangerous.
Aoi: Okay, that's all for this chapter. Make sure you leave reviews. No flaming please!