Sorry for the late update guys… and for some typographical errors…I had to study for my exams…I would like to thank these people for the support and partially because they forced me to… joke…
-Atong (sorry, I don't know her penname)
-Saii
-ryuzaki/L/kira/46
-patrcia matienzo… hehe… sorry pat…
THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS!
Chapter 2: I'll listen
It's been a week since she heard about the dreadful news and also a week after the encounter with the flamecaster.
But Mikan didn't feel any better. She was just sitting in a chair while looking at the view from her window.
It was indeed a beautiful view but it didn't change the depressing atmosphere around her.
Mikan saw birds flying and making different sounds.
"Seems like you're having fun…" she said to the bird that landed on her windowsill. Then after a while, it flew away.
I wish that even just for a moment, I could be a bird and fly… fly away from everything…she thought while looking at the bird's retreating figure.
She was so absorbed in imagining herself with wings, feathers and a beak that she didn't notice a pair of eyes staring at her with pity and boredom.
Youichi was standing by the door… (Okay, that was a while a go…)
Now… he is in his room with a phone in his hand.
Then he dialed 4-2-6-5-1-5-8
"Hello?" a voice from the other line said
"Hotaru-chan…" Youichi answered.
"Youichi…"
"I need your help…"
"With what?" she asked as if she already has a clue about the favor that'll be asked.
"Take nee-chan out…"
"Why?"
"This place is driving her out of her wits…"
"She's been wit-less since birth…" Hotaru answered plainly
"I know but… this one's different…"Youichi defended
"please take her out… even just for a while…" Youichi added
"and why would I do that?" Hotaru asked evilly
"maybe for a thousand yen…" Youichi answered wisely
"you're talking business, Youichi…"
"money-talk… is your mother language, right?"
"you got me…" Hotaru admitted… (obviously, she can't decline if there's money involved…)
"deal?" Youichi asked
"deal" Hotaru assured
(okay… back to Mikan)
She already gave up on imagining herself as a bird… she looked more like the ugly duckling rather than a happy bird.
So she just lay down on her bed while listening to her ipod.
While Mikan was listening to some music, Hotaru was getting pissed hearing the -toot- sound from her phone.
She was trying to call Mikan but she wasn't answering.
"Darn it!" she said while redialing Mikan's number.
She's not picking up! Youichi said she was upset but he didn't mention her being deaf! she thought.
That attempt failed and as we all know, Hotaru isn't the lady of patience so she decided to wreck Mikan's place at that very second.
-after a split second-
Someone knocked on Mikan's door, much more like banged on the door. It sounded as if that person is being chased by a bunch of bulls.
BANG! (3x)
"coming…" she said while getting out of bed.
This one sure is in a hurry… Mikan thought while walking towards the door.
Just when she was about to grab the knob and open the door, it fell open revealing a fuming Hotaru.
"you over knocked, Hotaru…" she said while looking at the door which is now lying on the floor.
"get dressed and let's go…" was all she said
"where?" she asked curiously
"shut up and do what I say…"
"okay… if you say so…"
-after a while-
"I'm ready…" Mikan said while walking down the stairs.
She was wearing a jumper shorts with some loose long-sleeves shirt underneath and she wore chucks as for her shoes.
"good… now let's go…"
Then Hotaru got hold of her arm and dragged her to the door.
"where are we going?" Mikan asked
"just shut up and follow me…"
"you've been telling me to shut up so many times already!" Mikan complained
Hotaru glared at her.
"you complaining?" she asked while pointing her infamous baka gun at Mikan.
"oh… no… just stating an observation…hehe"
"since when did you learn to observe?"
"I wasn't born yesterday, Hotaru…" Mikan replied
"yeah… whatever…" Hotaru replied and hid her baka gun.
"follow me…" Hotaru ordered her.
Mikan kept her mouth shut coz if she didn't… Hotaru would be glad to do it for her. But she can't stop her mind from thinking … she's telling me to follow… now that she's already dragging me…
They finally made it to Hotaru's silver BMW Z4…
"get in…or do I have to do it for you?"
"getting in you see…" Mikan said
MALL GRANDE:
"what're we doing here Hotaru?" Mikan asked
"what do you do in a mall?" Hotaru said with a -duh!- look on her face.
"shop…" Mikan answered
"then that's what we're gonna do…"
"oh yeah!" Mikan cheered
RESTAURANT:
They decided to eat first because Mikan's stomach was being more annoying than Mikan herself.
While they were waiting for the food, Mikan was telling Hotaru about all her problems these past few days.
"and then he told me—" Mikan was cut when she saw Hotaru stand up and walk away from the table.
"where are you going Hotaru?" she asked
"let's just shop, I'm tired of listening to your dramatic life story…"
"mean…but okay… I LOOOVE shopping…" Mikan stated
"oh… really?" Hotaru asked but later on regretted asking.
-after 3 hours-
Mikan hasbeen in and out of stores all day long.
God! Please make her stop… Hotaru pleaded.
"Hotaru… look at that! It's cute!"
"that one…"
"I love it!"
"come on!"
"let's buy that!" Mikan kept on saying whenever they pass by a store.
-after some time of "let's buy this and that"-
"Hotaru, let's –" Hotaru interrupted whatever Mikan was about to say.
"GO HOME!" Hotaru completed the phrase.
"awww…" Mikan complained like a little kid who wasn't able to get her candy.
"come on! You already bought everything… as in every single thing!" Hotaru blurted out.
-while these two young ladies are arguing, there's a poor being locked up in his room-
"NAATTSSUMMEEE!" a voice from down the stairs said.
Oh please… our poor kuro neko thought.
"come down! NOW!" her nanny cried.
"god! Will she ever stop… she's called me for the millionth time now…" exclaimed Natsume.
"leave me alone! I'm not gonna eat!" he yelled back
"you haven't eaten since you woke up…" she persisted.
Okay… 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Natsume counted mentally
Then… Knock (3x)
"Natsume, open up!" Natsume and his nanny said in unison.
As expected… he thought
"eat now! Aoi is already eating!"
"I'm not hungry…"
"just eat with Aoi… I'll eat when I'm hungry…" he continued
"okay… but –" his concerned nanny wasn't able to finish
"yes! I will…"
Then his nanny walked pout of the room.
Finally… he thought
Actually… I AM hungry… but hell! Where is she! he added
"why am I waiting for her anyway?" he asked his self
"I've been waiting since yesterday…" he said and got out of bed.
When he was about to exit the room,
Wait… just a little later… maybe she'll log in… he thought and got back to bed while looking at the computer screen.
-awww… hopeless black cat…desperate-
-back to the mall-
"Hotaru please… pretty please…" she said with her most angelic face on.
"fine… but this'll be the last…" Hotaru gave in
"promise… I love you!" Mikan said with all the joy in the world
While they were walking around, looking for another store to empty, she saw this jewelry shop -GLAMOUR-
"WOW!" Mikan said with excitement.
"what?" Hotaru asked and looked at the direction where Mikan was looking at.
When she saw the shop, she thought… here we go again…
"c'mon…" Mikan said while pulling Hotaru's arm.
"Mikan, remember, this is the LAST." Imai reminded her
"sure… no prob…" Mikan said but seems like she didn't know what she just said.
The next thing she knew, Mikan was already in the shop while checking out the necklace she wanted to buy.
"miss?" Mikan called the saleslady's attention
"yes, madam…" the saleslady asked
"um… how much is this?" she asked
"which one, madam?"
"this one…" Mikan said and held the necklace up
"oh… that one… it costs 900,000 yen…"
"I'll take it…" Mikan said WITHOUT any second thoughts.
Then she immediately went to the cashier.
"I'll take this…" she held the necklace in front of the cashier woman.
"okay… cash or card?"
"you can take it from my credit card." She said and handed the card to the cashier.
It was a credit card from the bank owned by their family.
When the cashier saw the name on the card which says "Mikan Sakura" the cashier suddenly squealed.
Mikan was so surprised that she almost dropped the necklace.
"hey… what're you screaming about?" she asked
"y-you're Mikan Sakura?" everyone in the store stopped whatever they were doing and stared at the scene when they heard the name.
"yes, I am…" the moment she said that, the people started staring at her with envy, whispering, clapping and smiling… well that was for the girls coz the boys were already drooling over her ever since she entered the mall.
"hey… what's the matter with you people?" she said getting really puzzled
"I can't believe it! You're the princess of the Sakura family and Natsume's fiancée…"
Mikan sure was shocked by the sudden spread of the news.
"how do you know that?" a very puzzled Mikan asked her
"I've been reading the newspaper lately and… look…" the cashier woman said while holding up a newspaper.
Mikan looked at the newspaper and took it from the cashier woman's hand.
It says, in all caps : SAKURA PRINCESS, TO MARRY HYUUGA BACHELOR
What the hell! She thought then started running towards the mall exit.
"Hey! You left the necklace!" the cashier woman said
"it's yours!" Mikan said
"aah! So lucky!" the other girls in the shop said while looking at the flattered cashier woman.
Pathetic… Hotaru thought then followed Mikan.
Just when Mikan was about to exit the mall, she saw the security guard drooling over her.
"oh please! Don't drool you idiot… it's disgusting!" the guard got back to his senses and looked away with his face as red as a tomato.
IN HOTARU'S CAR:
Thank God for sending that pathetic angel (cashier woman) and got us out of the mall. I'm really tired… but this baka over here seems like she won't get tired even if she'll be shopping 24/7. Hotaru thought while driving.
"so that's how I get you out of the mall…" she teased Mikan
"just DRIVE… fast…" Mikan ordered
Hotaru glared at Mikan with a do-you-know-what-you-just-did look.
"okay… please Hotaru…" Mikan said sweetly this time.
Hotaru stopped glaring at her and focused on the road.
SAKURA MANSION:
Mikan got all her shopping bags and got out of the car.
"thanks for taking me home, Hotaru." She said through the window.
"whatever…" was Hotaru's answer. Mikan didn't have time to argue with Hotaru even if she didn't like her very cold answer, because she'd be arguing with her dad later and one argument for the day is more than enough for her.
Unexpectedly, Mikan's parents were already home when she arrived. She bolted inside the house, (mind you, the door was open so she didn't have to open it)
"dad!" she yelled, the very moment she saw Reo.
"what is it Mikan? Need something? Reo asked his daughter
"why did you spread the news on the newspapers without my consent!" she asked angrily
"hey! You went shopping? I love those!" Yuka butted in while pointing at the shopping bags on the floor.
"really? I'll buy you one next time, mom… hey! Don't change the topic!" Mikan cried.
"calm down, Mikan" Yuka said
"answer me…" Mikan demanded
"okay… fine, relax… we thought it'd be better if we let the public know of the engagement." Reo explained calmly.
"but you could've told me first…" Mikan insisted
"coz ya' know what happened? Everyone knows about it except me and just so you know I'm the one you're talking about in that issue… not to mention my so-called wedding…" Mikan said that in one breath. She was obviously raging with anger.
"keep your tone down, Mikan!" Yuka scolded
While this was happening, they didn't notice that Youichi was watching from a distance with hatred visible in his eyes. Hatred for his parents.
"oh… there you are… I've been looking for you…" Misaki said to the grey-haired kid.
Then she saw the scene happening between Mikan and her parents.
"oh Youichi… c'mon let's just watch your favorite show in your room, okay?"
Youichi just nodded and led the way to the room.
-back to Mikan-
"I haven't forgiven you yet for this fixed marriage and now THIS!" she cried
"Mikan, you'll like Natsume" Reo said
"Natsu—what?" she asked curiously
"Natsume… he's your fiancé…"he explained
"see… I don't even know his name!" an angry brunette stated
"his name is Natsume… and you'll like him…" he elaborated
"I will never like him… NEVER!" she emphasized
"never say never and besides this'll be good for both of our companies" her dad said trying to convince her.
"but –" she wasn't able to finish
"Mikan, we don't have time for this… we still have a flight to catch…" Reo informed her
"just do what I say and now we'll be leaving for our business trip…" he continued
"fine! Be with your precious business!" she exclaimed and ran off
But then after a few more steps she stopped for a while and said in a very low voice, "I hope you realize that we need a FATHER not a BUSINESSPARTNER. " and continued running.
"Mikan!" Reo called out…
"just go easy on her… it's an adjustment period…" Yuka said while trying to make Reo calm down.
"yeah… you're right… now let's get ready for the trip, okay?" Reo said
"now that's the spirit!" Yuka exclaimed happily just like Mikan in one of her good moods.
IN MIKAN'S ROOM:
"They really don't understand what I'm going through!" Mikan said as entered her room and slammed the door.
She lay herself on her bed and thought of something that could make her feel much more comfortable.
Aha! I'll call Hotaru… she thought
She got hold of the phone and dialed 4265158…
But it seems like Hotaru is taking a revenge on her because she isn't picking up.
After many tries, and when I say many I mean many… after many tries to reach the ice queen, our brunette finally gave up.
"fine! She doesn't wanna pick up…" the tangerine whined… then she thought of logging in the internet.
When she logged in she saw the flamecaster logged in too.
God! Not again… she thought dreadfully
-meanwhile, a guy suddenly jumped for joy-
You're right… it was none other than our kuro neko…
Yes! Told you I just have to wait a little later and she'll log in… he thought with pride
But actually… the thing he said about a little later'… he actually waited for 6 hours straight without getting out of his room.
-REALLY PERSISTENT-
Just when Mikan was about to log out, flamecaster suddenly started a conversation…
FC: hey… wait up…
AID:
FC: don't be so cold…
AID: what the hell do you want?
FC: would you calm down!
AID: I can't… I don't need your pestering right now… I've got enough of that for the day…
FC: looks like you have a problem…
AID: as if you care…
FC: well… you can tell me
AID: huh… oh yeah?
FC: I'll listen…
They were both shocked. Natsume was shocked because he doesn't know why he said that, while Mikan was shocked because she didn't know that he could actually be nice…
AID: looks like you're the one with the problem… mentally I mean…
FC: shut up… this is a once in a lifetime chance
AID: oh yeah? then why give it to me?
Natsume couldn't give an answer. For the first time in his entire life, he was dumbfounded. He didn't have a choice but to change the topic.
FC: hey… what took you so long to log in!
Natsume thought he was safe… but he realized that it was the worst move he could ever make… Mikan noticed it too.
AID: oh… so you've been waiting for me huh?
Oh god! Wrong move… stupid Natsume… how could you be so stupid… he kept repeating in his head.
AID: hello?
"man! I have to answer… she might notice that I'm losing my cool." He said to his self.
FC: of course not!
AID: fine… don't be so defensive… you haven't answered my question yet…
FC: what question?
AID: why are you giving me this so-called, once in a lifetime chance?
Mikan was feeling a bit better now. She doesn't know why but it kind of lessen the pain. Even before he could answer A.I.D. already added
AID: am I that special?
FC: well… not really… you're just…
AID: just what?
FC: different…
Mikan was a bit flattered by what he said but then her flattery turned to anger when he added
FC: in other words… weird…
After a while she thought of a comeback…
AID: so you like to chat with weird people… means you're weird too…
That won't get me… he thought
FC: no… I'm not weird… I just want to share with others my intelligence coz you weird people obviously don't have it…
AID: yeah right! I'm logging out… I don't need your intelligence… EINSTEIN!
FC: hey! Wait up… don't log out… you win…
Gotcha! Hehe… she thought happily… she was happy… really happy
AID: so you really want to chat with me huh? Really determined… I'm impressed…
FC: yeah whatever…
AID: so I win... what's your name anyway? I'm…
He/she will surely freak out if he/she knows of my real identity… they both thought, so they made up a name for themselves.
AID: I'm Riiko Idegawa, 16
FC: oh… I'm Haiite Takio, 17
FC: and by the way… whoever told you that you win?
AID: oh really… then fine.. I'm logging out…
FC: do it
AID: never to log in again…
FC: really… you'll miss me ya'know
Meanwhile, in the other room, Youichi was watching TV but he was still bothered about Mikan's situation. When he finally can't take it anymore, he decided to go to Mikan's room right after Misaki falls asleep.
They've been chatting for quite some time now and they really feel comfortable with each other. They teased each other, laughed, quarreled, threatened, blushed but there was something that I was sure of… they were happy.
But they still had to say goodbye… for a while… it was time to sleep.
FC: hey… think you should get some sleep now…
AID: oh yeah… sure… I'll log out now…
FC:
AID: what?
FC:
AID: oh… promise to log in tomorrow… hehe… goodnight
FC: that's much better… goodnight…
NATSUME'S ROOM:
Natsume was already in bed, getting ready to sleep but before he slept he kept on thinking about Mikan, Riiko rather.
Riiko… he said in his sleep
MIKAN'S ROOM:
Mikan just lay down in her bed… but with a totally different feeling. She was really happy… she felt light it's as if she doesn't care about the dreadful news anymore.
Just when she was busy thinking about Haiite, someone knocked on the door.
Knock (3x)
"come in…" she said but didn't bother to open the door for whoever was outside.
Then in came Youichi.
"Youichi, what is it?" Mikan asked but in her usual tone
Youichi was a bit puzzled why she seemed so happy all of a sudden.
"I just came to check up on you?" he said
"am I not the one who's supposed to do that?" she said happily
Isn't she supposed to be upset right now? Youichi asked his self.
But whatever the reason is… he sure is happy for his sister.
Then he asked "nee-chan, can I sleep here for tonight?"
Mikan was really surprise because Youichi seldom asks to sleep in her room.
"sure… come right here…" she told Youichi while tapping the area on her bed which is beside her.
Then all of a sudden when Youichi got to the bed… he hugged Mikan tightly, and whispered "you can tell me anything nee-chan…Youichi is just here… Youichi will never leave you…"
Mikan was really touched by what he said and whispered back while still hugging Youichi, "I know…let's sleep now okay?"
Youichi just nodded then Mikan rested him on the bed and she lied beside him.
She slept having little Youichi in her arms…but before she slept she said, "Thank you, Youichi… Thank you…"…. Haiite…she finished the phrase in her mind.
END OF CHAPTER 2: