Love's Consequence

By: Esa MaRie

۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞

Chapter 1

Eight years later…

"Hyuuga-sama has arrived."

Only one sentence, yet it had immediately triggered different reactions from the occupants of the room. Some of the executives literally stiffened. The president was sweating a lot despite the cool blast of the air conditioner. The female executives were nervous as well, yet excitement can also be seen on their faces on finally having the chance to have a glimpse of him.

Everyone knew the name of Natsume Hyuuga. At the young age of twenty four, he had taken over his father's position as the head of the Hyuuga Group of Companies and controlled the already massive empire, thereby increasing his family's wealth even more. Cold and ruthless, he was known and feared in the business world as he had managed several takeovers on the companies he had targeted. He was also rumored to be breathtakingly handsome that women just flung themselves over his feet.

Over the years, Natsume Hyuuga was a hot topic in both the business world and in the entertainment industry. His name was linked to several actresses and models, although he never confirmed any of the rumors, but he never denied them either. While his name was known all throughout the country, his pictures rarely appeared on media. No one knew the real reason behind it. Some say that he has control over several people in the media that pictures and videos on him were easily intercepted. Others say that the paparazzi were just dead scared to be the target of his wrath. But there were other rumors that photographers just couldn't get a clear shot of him; most the films would either get exposed or worst, burned, if they get close to him.

But all the hearsay and mystery just added to his appeal. Not to mention his wealth and power; at the age of thirty, Natsume Hyuuga was someone not to reckon with.

And now that person will be arriving shortly. They were expected to give a good impression on him. Considering the crisis that their company was having, the merger was the only chance for the company to survive and continue its operations. If they make a single mistake, a single reason that would make that man change his mind, it would be the end of them. All of them could lose their jobs along with more than a thousand employees in all of their branches nationwide. The women most especially were warned to be discreet in their admiration of him. He was known to dislike fan girls and had shown no effort to hide his disgust.

A knock was heard, then the door opened with the receptionist escorting the visitors inside. Three male executives entered first, before a tall man with slightly messy raven hair walked in, his dark penetrating crimson eyes scanning over the occupants of the room. The women held back their dreamy sighs, though most couldn't help but blush at the sight of him. Just behind him, a man with dark blond hair and squinting eyes entered as well, the seemingly permanent grin attached on his lips.

The president automatically stood from his chair and walked towards the new arrivals.

"Hyuuga-sama, I'm so honored that you could come personally," the president offered his greetings.

Natsume just nodded his head in acknowledgement and he was then led towards the front, his entourage following him.

As he settled on his seat, Natsume gave a glance at his companion, sending a message to him through their minds. 'You know what you should do, Koko. Make sure they're not hiding anything from us.'

A creepy smile formed on Koko's lips. 'No problem, Natsume.'

۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞

"Milk, hmmm… 330 yen. About this one… 415 yen… oh drat, I made a mistake again," a woman with long auburn hair muttered as she tried to compute the cost of her purchases using her phone's calculator.

As she began to rummage again the items in the grocery cart, the dark-haired boy beside her rolled his eyes and sighed. "Total 5,493 yen."

Mikan froze against the cart in surprise, then squealed and turned to hug the little boy. "Oh, I forgot that my sweet little baby is a walking calculator," she gushed happily at her son.

An annoyed look crossed the boy's face as he was smothered by his mother's kisses; but inside, he was deeply pleased by his mother's affections, the red tint on his cheeks revealed it all.

Mikan just smiled proudly at him and ruffled his hair. Sometimes she just couldn't believe she had Kenji for a son. He looked nothing like her. 'He looks like his father,' she thought. Despite the number of years that had passed, it was difficult not to be reminded of the boy who stole and broke her heart, yet left her something more precious. And looking at Kenji, there was no doubt that he was Natsu's son. Their facial features were really the same, except for the eye and hair color. While Natsu's hair was raven black, Kenji's was dark brown which Mikan believed was the only thing she managed to share her genes with. But the most amazing feature of Kenji is his eyes. They are of dark reddish brown color but they would turn almost dark crimson whenever he shows up a severe emotion.

At the age of seven, Kenji really stands out among the students in his school. Not only because he was such a handsome kid, but he was good in sports and was highly intelligent. He was considered as a genius, a special child, but little do they know how special he was. Kenji actually had the ability to control fire. An alice. Which was the reason why Mikan was so careful with the way she brought him up. She was afraid that what happened before with Hotaru will also happen to her child. And she could not accept that. She loved Kenji so much. After all her loved ones had disappeared from her life, he was the only one she had left. And the only reminder that Natsu had existed in her life. Kenji was already aware of his power at a young age and managed to control it properly, thus it had remained undetected until now. But it still confused her that it seemed that she can control her son's alice. There were several times wherein she was able to stop Kenji's alice just by willing for it to stop. But she never gave it much thought; after all, it might be because she was his mother.

"Hello Kenji-kun!"

Mikan giggled at her son's reaction to the cashier. Despite his deep scowl, he still looked so cute; no wonder he got a lot of fans in the supermarket. Since he was a baby, a lot of people would just come to her, excitedly fussing over him.

"You're going to have a real heartbreaker here, Sakura-chan," the cashier grinned, casting an amused glance on the boy.

Mikan just laughed at her comment, then internally winced as she handed the payment for her purchases. She was happy with her current life, but it still doesn't remove the fact that everything had been hard for her financially. With her grandfather's death, she was left with almost nothing and learning about the sudden death of her remaining protector had almost driven her to the corner. It was quite ironic that despite the humiliating circumstances, her pregnancy was the one that her brought her back to her senses. The thought that a child was growing in her womb made her realize that she was no longer alone. She sold her parents' house and rented a small apartment instead. She decided to withdraw from the university she had originally enrolled and transferred to a vocation school while taking a part-time job, but still had to stop after she reached her last trimester of pregnancy.

As she had to take care of Kenji, it took her some time before she could start working again, and by that time, the money from the sale of her house was almost gone. Still, it seemed that the God above had not forgotten her, and despite everything else, she and her son had managed to survive.

'Granpa… Uncle Sato… I wish you were here with us…'

Thinking of the past brought some moisture in her eyes that she was glad that for her glasses that somehow hid her tears.

"Mom…"

Mikan smiled tenderly at her son and leaned down to kiss his forehead. She instantly knew that he was worried for her, his russet eyes scrutinizing her expression.

"I'm fine, sweetie," she assured him as she handed him some of the lighter packages. It didn't escape her his grimace over her use of endearment to him. In an instant, her spirits were lifted and she just laughed as lifted the grocery bags and walked towards the exit, her cute son tagging beside her.

۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞

"Oh my god, it's a picture of Natsume Hyuuga!"

Her fingers stopped from typing on the keyboard as Mikan lifted her head from the computer screen and turned towards Akane, her friend and officemate who was seated at the other side of her cubicle. "Natsume who?" she asked curiously. Akane had always been an avid follower of showbiz news and gossips, and even though Mikan did not really share the same interest, they were quite close so Mikan would oftentimes give in to her and just let her babble excitedly on her latest findings.

But before she could get her share of showbiz gossip for the day, some of their female officemates had rushed towards Akane's side to look at the magazine.

"Where?"

"Is that him?"

"Oh my God, just look at those shoulders!"

They began to squeal in hushed voices which made Mikan shook her head and smile in amusement as she turned back to her work. She didn't have to ask what the commotion was all about. She was quite near them to hear that the topic was about that disturbingly intriguing billionaire who was always a hot topic among women.

"Mikan-chan, aren't you interested?" Akane asked, lifting the magazine excitedly.

An amused laugh escaped her as she turned from her seat to face them. "I'm not sure what's so special about Natsume Hyuuga. He's like the biggest playboy in Japan's history. Surely you don't want to be included in the number of women linked to him?"

One of her officemates giggled. "It doesn't matter as long as I can get a taste of him."

They began to squeal again that it caught the attention of one of the supervisors. They immediately rushed back to their own cubicles, but not before agreeing who would borrow magazine next.

"You're such a party pooper sometimes, Mikan," Akane pouted at her.

Mikan just smiled as she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and focused her attention on the screen. "I'm not interested in men like him. Besides, there's only one man in my life now."

Akane rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Kenji-kun." She leaned towards Mikan's area and caught a glimpse of a picture of a little boy with stunning reddish brown eyes, his childishly handsome face set on a frown. "But I have to admit your son is just too cute." Akane's eyes sparkled with interest as she prodded on her friend. "Hey, what does Kenji-kun's father look like?"

Mikan couldn't help but groan. 'This again…' "Akane-chan, I told you before it's a closed topic for me. I've moved on and I don't want to talk about him." But seeing the dejected look on her friend, she sighed heavily. "He's a gorgeous devil. Where do you think my son got his looks?"

Akane giggled at her friend's teasing tone. "I bet he is." She looked back at the page of the magazine and sighed dreamily. "But Natsume Hyuuga is still the best for me. He's everything you could wish for in a man – tall, lean, handsome, intelligent, and he's filthy rich."

Curiosity got into her and Mikan turned to her friend. "Can I see the mag? I've been hearing all about this Natsume Hyuuga but I haven't seen a picture of him at all. I'm curious what this 'ideal' man of yours looks like."

Akane handed her the magazine. Mikan frowned when she scanned through the page, her brows furrowed in confusion. "How can you say that he's handsome when all that's in here is his back?"

"That's what everyone says," Akane answered with a shrug.

"You're crazy."

"You won't find any picture of Natsume Hyuuga in the newspapers," Akane explained, quite enthusiastically. "But all who had seen him personally could confirm it. I've even heard that a popular actress confessed her love for him at the party after the Japan Music Awards Night." Her voice lowered a bit as she whispered. "It's a blind item but I could guess they were referring to Luna Koizumi. I heard she was rejected quite harshly."

Mikan grinned sheepishly, knowing that Akane hated that actress Koizumi. She admired the woman's beauty and talent as an actress, but there had been a lot of rumors about her attitude. She didn't know if there was some truth on the rumor or not, and she really didn't have any interest on it. She closed the magazine and handed it back but found her friend staring at her.

"Hey… is there some-?" she was suddenly caught off guard when Akane pulled the glasses from her face.

"Akane…!"

"You should get rid of these horrible glasses Mikan," Akane scrutinized her glasses in distaste and looked back at her. "They don't suit you. It makes you look like twice your age. You look real pretty without this and if you find yourself with much… fitting clothes."

"Look, I don't earn much," Mikan sighed as she snatched back her glasses. "Besides, I'm saving money for Kenji once he goes to a university."

"Mikan, your son is only seven years old." Akane couldn't hide her exasperation. "There is still about ten years before he goes to college. Give yourself a little treat. You're only twenty-five yet you look like an old maid."

"What's wrong with the clothes I wear? Even though they're second-hand, they're quite nice. Besides, Yoshida-san gave them to me," Mikan said in defense. Kaede Yoshida was the manager of their branch and had been a great help to Mikan during the times when she had been in desperate need.

Akane snorted. "Yeah, they're nice and expensive. But you said it yourself, they're hand-me-down clothes. And in case you haven't noticed, your sizes are different."

Noticing that the supervisor was again looking at their area, Akane immediately returned to her work while Mikan focused again on hers. She had to admit that Akane was right on some accounts that she had been depriving herself of even a little luxury. Glancing at the picture frame with her and Kenji, she noted how different she looked from the time when she was younger. She consciously reached for her hair that was tied in a bun and realized that since she had given birth, she had preferred her hair that way because it made her juggle her work around their apartment and taking care of the baby easier.

Realizing that she had been idling from work, she immediately chastised herself and tried to focus. Her priorities now include only Kenji and her work. With the current crisis in the company, she couldn't afford to lose her job.

۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞

Mikan could feel the rapid beating of her heart as she entered the large conference room, though she was not alone feeling such discomfort. All of her officemates wore the same worried expression, nervous at the possibility of hearing some bad news; at the same time, hopeful that there was some solution to this problem.

Being the secretary of the manager, Mikan was aware of the current happenings, the numerous teleconference meetings with the head office for the past months had been brought about by the sudden downward surge of the company's performance. The operations of Mishima Regional Bank had been growing steadily for the past years, but the effect caused by the global economic crisis and the downfall of some of the investment houses had caused it to lose billions of its investments. With its losses and coupled with the withdrawals of its clients of their money and investments in the bank, the company could be forced to bankruptcy. And that was all that they been fearing for the past months. There were some talks about a merger with another bank but with a new management coming in, there were still possibilities of staff layoffs.

The room was filled with silence when Kaede Yoshida , the general manager of their branch, entered and walked to the front. After a brief greeting, she cleared her throat and started, "I guess most of you are aware of the current situation of our company. I have received word from the head office and the bad news is that the negotiations on the sale of the company has been finalized."

Distressed murmurs erupted from the employees. Mikan felt herself grabbing Akane's hand to calm herself, only to feel her friend's hand cold as well.

"Please settle down and let me finish first," the manager tried to calm them down. An assuring smile crossed her lips as she delivered the next set of news. "You all don't have to worry about losing your jobs. The head office had been closed mouth regarding the other party, but now that everything has been finalized, we can reveal who had bought the company." She saw curiosity replaced the earlier relieved expression on their faces, then continued her explanations. "It is the Igarashi International Bank under the Hyuuga Group. And the new management assured that there will be no layoffs. I personally think that this will be a blessing to everyone since the Hyuuga Group is known to give the best benefits for its employees."

۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞

"Please come in, Mikan-chan."

Mikan opened the door and entered the office of the manager. "You called me, Yoshida-san?"

"Yes," Kaede Yoshida nodded with a smile and offered her to sit down.

Mikan felt a little uneasy as she saw a glimpse of sadness on the older woman's face. Yesterday, everyone had practically cheered and hugged each other at the assurance of not losing their jobs. The possibility of having better employee benefits was just an added bonus for them. In this tight economy where several companies had already declared bankruptcy, unemployment rate had suddenly gone high; and for ordinary people like them, just being able to hold on to their jobs was already enough to make them content.

But looking at Yoshida-san, it seemed that there was something more to what she had said yesterday. Feeling a little worried, she stayed quiet and waited for her boss to start.

Yoshida sighed deeply and looked at her. "Mikan-chan, you have been my secretary for almost six years now, so I know you're the one who's going to be most affected by my decision."

Mikan held her breath as she listened to her.

"The Hyuuga Group will bring in a new manager for our branch, therefore they offered me an alternative for an early retirement." She looked at her shocked expression and before Mikan could say anything, she held her hand up to stop her. "Of course, I accepted. The offer had been quite irresistible and considering that I'm quite old already, I think it was fair enough. But the problem is that the new manager already has an appointed secretary with him."

It didn't take long for the words to sink in, and Mikan gripped the end of her skirt, a bit scared of the effect of Yoshida's retirement to her. "D-does that mean I'm being transferred to another department?" she asked unsurely. She knew that Yoshida-san favored her because of her hard work, but she doesn't have the right qualifications to fill the other jobs. She didn't have a degree, nor was she able to finish her secretarial course.

Mikan used to work at a coffee shop where Yoshida-san frequently went. The daily greetings had eventually evolved into chats, until they had developed a sort of friendship between them. When Yoshida-san learned that she was taking up a secretarial course, she asked Mikan to work for her as a part time job, considering that her secretary had just left. But the burden of having a baby had taken toll and Mikan had to stop her schooling and just focused on working. And now that Yoshida-san was leaving, she feared that her qualifications would be questioned and even if she would be transferred, it would be to do menial jobs.

An amused smile crossed Yoshida's face, as if she had read Mikan's mind. "Honestly Mikan-chan, don't underestimate yourself too much. Yes, you're going to be transferred." She waited for Mikan to look at her before she continued. "Actually, Asahi-san and I had talked about it and we both had recommended you to be transferred to the head office as Asahi-san's secretary."

"Huh? A-asahi-san?" Mikan stuttered, blushing a bit. Akito Asahi had been part of the Internal Audit of the company and was regularly sent to their branch to check their operations.

"You're all red, Mikan-chan," Yoshida chuckled. "You don't have to worry that you've been selected just because that guy fancies you."

"Yoshida-san!" Mikan was really embarrassed now. Akito had been quite clear when it comes to his feelings to her. Her officemates had often joked it as one of the mysteries in their office. Tall and lean with dark brown hair and green eyes, many would consider him handsome, not drop dead gorgeous compared to Natsu Yagami, but he was still pleasing to the eye and had a good disposition.

"I mean it, Mikan-chan," her manager said to her sincerely. "Your records had been quite impressive over the years, and I can testify to that as your manager. And I thought it would be best for you and your son to be transferred to Tokyo rather than stay here in our laid back prefecture. Considering your son's intelligence, Tokyo would offer more opportunities for gifted children such as him."

Mikan had been quite hesitant the first moment Yoshida-san brought up the idea to her but hearing how it would benefit Kenji immediately made her consider it.

"Besides, now that Asahi-san got his promotion as manager, don't you think it's time for you to seriously consider him as a husband and father for little Kenji-kun? The poor guy has been waiting for your answer for almost a year now," Yoshida-san said. "And no, Asahi-san did not tell me to put a word for him. I'm just saying this to you as a friend. He's a good man and I know he would be a good father for Kenji-kun."

"I know," Mikan sighed and smiled at her friend and boss. "It's just that I see Asahi-san more of a friend. And you know how possessive Kenji-kun can be." She couldn't help but wince that one time wherein Kenji kicked Asahi-san on the knees just to show how opposed he was to any man getting close to her.

Yoshida stood up and pulled Mikan to her feet, then gave her a motherly hug. "Just open your heart, dear Mikan-chan. You'll never know when love comes back knocking at your door again. I wish you all the best."

As she walked back to her cubicle, she noticed several of her female officemates gathered by her area. As she drew close, she noticed the small head of dark brown getting fussed and cooed by her co-workers. His ever present scowl remained on his face as he sat on her chair and continued to ignore his audience, but his eyes lightened up as soon as he saw her approaching. He jumped from the chair and ran to her, embracing her legs. She ruffled his hair and leaned down to kiss his forehead.

"Those hags are annoying," he muttered as he reached for her hand, his russet eyes looking up to her.

That was when she finally decided to go. Going to Tokyo would mean giving Akito hope, but she thought it wouldn't be too bad. If it meant a better life for her son, there was nothing that she wouldn't do, even if it meant giving up love…

۞ ۞ ۞ ۞ ۞

I was surprised myself when I noticed that I haven't continued this for more than two years. Gosh, I'm such a bum. Anyway, I'm sure I'm gonna hear some complaints why I updated this rather than A Prince for Mikan. Well, it just so happened that it's so hard to write after going into hiatus after quite a while and I managed to find the draft for chapter two of this fic. I'll try to get back into writing again but I still feel a little rusty right now so I apologize for any error. I have to be honest that I might not be able to update this fic regularly as I have to prioritize A Prince for Mikan after this. But I'll try... no promises, ok? XD

Anyway, thank you to everyone who reviewed this fic and those who had PMed me to continue. Sorry if I haven't made any reply. Honestly, I haven't been checking my inbox in FFnet and I was surprised to see the number of accumulated 'Please update' messages. Now, you're all making me guilty... T_T I haven't updated my Hikaru no Go fics in years!

Enough of my rambling. Here's the second chapter and I hope you like it. Happy Valentines eveyone! Read and review please! :D