Chapter 8: The Truth behind Her Motive

"You heard it: I won't let you tell Mikan who you really are." Hotaru repeated. "Not before you listen to what I have to say…"

She observed the person in front of her and steeled herself for any reaction of him: be it aggression or violence. Actually, she would be able to handle those types of people but Hyuuga was different. He just stood there straight-faced, as calm as Hotaru herself. Thus, Hotaru got the short end of the stick since she had no experience in dealing with people like her.

Hyuuga was immeasurable.

He had an odd expression on face. He didn't look…angry…or surprised. He rather seemed to look down on her. It was a mischievous look that she didn't like.

Since the long waiting didn't help on and it was a waste of her precious time, she decided to break the silence. She was just about to say something when Hyuuga noticed this and reacted faster. He turned away and wanted to go to show his lack of interest in this conversation. Nevertheless, Hotaru wasn't finished yet.

"I mean it, Hyuuga!" she became louder. "You better take me serious and listen to me." Her words sounded more like a threat than a warning and it was enough to make him stop on his heels. Hotaru didn't know what she expected him to do but she was surprised at what he did next. He… burst out laughing. However, it was a sardonic laugh.

"I didn't get the joke." Hotaru stated monotonously and wryly, arching a brow.

He calmed himself down again. Then, he shot a dark glare at her which took her breath away. Never before had she seen such menacing eyes. They burned with fury. One wrong word now and he was ready to explode. "You're the only joke here. Who are you to tell mewhat I'm supposed to do?"

In spite of that, Hotaru stayed calm and tried to hide her awe. She started to explain slowly and in a cautious tone. "You're right. Neither do you know me, nor do I know you. But if you really are Mikan's friend from back then, I know more than enough about you." Hyuuga's glare became even darker, if possible. In addition, I know stuff about Mikan that even you don't know. She…"

Before Hotaru could continue, Hyuuga interrupted her. She didn't really know what happened but all she could feel was his strong grip on her neck. She was having difficulties breathing properly. When she could barely open her eyes, she could see his fiery eyes at close distance. He was so in a rage that his hand on her neck punctiliously burned.

"You damn bitch! Are you trying to lure me by using her? Was it Kuonji who sent you to spy on me?" he shouted.

Hotaru had no idea what he was talking. Bearing down the pain on her neck, she tried to answer. "No… I'm only trying… to help Mikan." The bare mention of Mikan's name made him loosen his grip a little bit. "Listen, Hyuuga… I can understand you that you don't trust me… because I also felt the same way about you first. I see that I can't force you to act against your own wishes, too, but keep just one thing in mind…" Her hand wandered to her pocket and she pointed the metallic item at him. With a determined expression, she finished her sentence. "Do whatever you want but if Mikan is the one who'll get hurt in the end, I'll make you pay and give you hell. I swear that!"

Hyuuga's gaze wandered to her right hand below where Hotaru held her hidden gun. It wasn't just a bluff and she was dead serious. Mikan's safety was her highest priority.

His hand slid down and he backed off. First, Hotaru assumed that she was able to frighten him but she was wrong. This time, she couldn't hide her surprise as Hyuuga started quietly laughing again, even bitterer and icier than before.

When Hyuuga walked off without saying a word but still laughing, Hotaru lost her temper and yelled. "What's so funny?"

He stopped on his way and repeated. "You'll give me hell? No need." He turned over one last time and revealed his blazing eyes. He finished in an emotionless tone. "I've been living there for the last eleven years!"

"Jeez, is that permy-haired friend of yours always like that? I can't believe that it took us so long to go to the toilet!" Mikan pouted.

Ruka smiled at her. "I'm afraid that you can't change that fact unless she gets a boyfriend."

"Then, she'll have to wait another five years at least." she laughed. "Joking aside, Per… Sumire seems to be a good girl. Didn't one of you think about dating her?" Mikan hoped that Ruka didn't get her real purpose by asking that question.

"Well, for my case, I've never intended to have that kind of relationship with Shouda. But I've also never turned her down, you know." Ruka explained honestly.

"Sure, I guess you're too gentle to break a girl's heart." she smiled.

Ruka blushed a little. "Thanks for the compliment. I could say the same about you. In the end, it took you months to turn me down, remember?" Ruka reminded jokingly.

She blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?" She looked away and reddened a little. "I've always liked you as a good friend and didn't want to give you false hopes. So I decided to talk to you as soon as I realized your true feelings."

"My past true feelings." Ruka corrected her instantly.

"Oops, I'm sorry." Mikan grinned childishly. "Anyway, it was Hotaru who told me and I wanted to confirm it myself first. And it was the next day afterwards that you confessed me…"

"I-Imai told you?" Ruka's blush deepened. He was stunned and thought. "The whole school knew about it besides the girl in question? Poor Nats…"

"Let's drop that topic already!" Mikan barged in and shook her head. "You weren't finished about Sumire yet, were you?" she asked impatiently, waiting for the part which interested her most.

"Oh yeah…" Ruka continued. "Like I said, Shouda and I were never like that. As for Natsume, it was a little bit complicated. He…"

As Ruka stopped mid-sentence, Mikan's disappointment was written on her face. Otherwise, it also irritated her that Ruka just stood rooted to the ground thunderstruck. "Ruka, what's the matter?" she asked before looking at the same direction as him.

There were their two best friends standing on the same spot as before. Hyuuga was about to leave for the other direction while Hotaru was watching him, rubbing her neck at the same time. The newcomers didn't know what had happened there a while ago. However, they didn't miss the cold atmosphere. A high tension made it hard to breath.

Mikan glanced at Ruka beside her who seemed somehow too… horrified to say something. Then, she turned her gaze back to Hyuuga whose retreating figure was becoming smaller and smaller, disappearing into the dark park.

Suddenly, Mikan felt a sting arching her heart. It was a long forgotten pain that she had felt eleven years ago for the first time. Now, the same feeling came back out of the blue and made her scream one name. "Natsume!"

The three other people held their breaths at once. Especially the furthest person, who was just about to leave, stood there without turning around as if he didn't hear right. As for the other two, Ruka and Hotaru watched Mikan with a puzzled expression. They wondered how it came that Mikan, who refused to call that guy by his first name all along, let it out so freely now.

Ruka opened his mouth to say something but Hotaru was fast enough to interrupt him with a warning glare. Therefore, Ruka decided to follow suit and waited for the outcome of this conversation.

"Natsume…" Mikan murmured quietly but still audible to Hyuuga. "Don't leave me…again…"

When the person in question finally turned over to reply her, he was distressed by seeing Mikan's face as white as sheet. A tear slowly rolled down her right cheek, as she was just about to collapse. Feeling dizzy, her knees began to sink when a strong grip caught her upper arm fast. She got aware of the slight pressure on her arm and tore her eyes widely open while standing by herself now. "What…"

Quickly, Hotaru and Hyuuga hurried to her side. After Mikan caught a glimpse of their worried expressions, she tried to smile a little. "H-Hyuuga, were you leaving without riding on the Ferris wheel?"

Hyuuga's face returned slowly to its usual calm facade. The fact, that Mikan called him by his last name, meant that everything went back to normal like a few days ago. He turned away from the rest of the group and walked to the direction this time, where Mikan and Ruka came from. He turned his head back for a moment and shot her a reassuring look. "I won't leave." was his sole but solemn answer.

Mikan didn't know why but she felt relieved as never before. She could detect that mysterious glow in his eyes even in such a dull light. His burning, dark red eyes were enough to convince her. Nevertheless, his last words rather sounded like a lifelong promise that made her lips curve to a lovely smile. It was one of her honest smiles that Hotaru mentioned earlier, which made her eyes gleam brightly with happiness.

"Are you alright, Sakura?" she heard Ruka beside her, asking in concern. Mikan turned her head to him and nodded approvingly. That made the blonde boy sigh in relieve and smile at her shyly.

"Ruka, let's go." The three people turned their gazes to Hyuuga who stood several meters away from them. Ruka gave him a questioning look as Hyuuga put his hands to his pockets and started walking off lazily. "We still need to find Shouda."

Ruka understood instantly and stood up. He turned to the girls and told them to go ahead. "Let's meet at the Ferris wheel in half an hour then." With that said, he joined his friend and departed from the other two.

Hotaru, who was silent for a while, offered Mikan some water. The latter accepted thankfully and told her cheerfully. "Hotaru, I remembered something. I've been here with him before."

Nodding briefly, Hotaru smiled and wasn't surprised to hear that. Slowly but surely, she was finding a way to help Mikan regaining her memories.

"Natsume, are you alright? What happened between you and Imai earlier?" asked Ruka. They've been walking quite a while now and his friend didn't open his mouth up yet.

The latter stopped suddenly and stared into space. "Ruka… what do you know about her?"

Ruka blinked in confusion. "Imai? Well,… she is Sakura's best friend. They've known each other for three years now. However, they weren't that close when I entered Alice High first…"

"So she is a trustworthy person?"

"Hmm…" Ruka reflected on it for a second. "Let me tell you just one thing: if there is a person whom Sakura would confide, that would be Hotaru Imai."

Later, the two boys returned with Shouda and met the rest of the group at the Ferris wheel. Shouda was in a bad mood though because she was turned down three times within an hour now.

"What are we going to do now?" Mikan exclaimed desperately. "Only four people can enter a gondola and we are a group of five. So one person will be left over…"

"Wow, what a genius you are." Hyuuga commented dryly, which made Mikan furious.

"Hmph, you know what? You can as well as ride on yourself; I don't care! But there's no way that I'll be riding on my own." She urged into the gondola and pouted, folding her arms and looking out of the window.

"You can go ahead. I'll be waiting… whoa!" Hyuuga just wanted to leave when Ruka shoved him in the gondola hastily and closed the door. It was too late for the passengers to get out now. Both of them looked at Ruka and protested.

Ruka waved his hand at them and grinned. "We can also form groups of two and three people. This way, nobody has to ride alone…"

Mikan knocked on the window. "But why has it to be me and that jerk? I wanted to ride with Hotaru!"

Ruka pretended not to hear them and got in the next but one gondola. Whereas Shouda was delighted to ride with Ruka and clung to his arm, he earned an angry look from Hotaru. Of course, he didn't know the cause of her anger.

Before getting in, she looked at the first gondola with Mikan and Hyuuga in it for a last time. "What will you do now, Hyuuga?"

Something was wrong!

Mikan didn't even know Hyuuga for a week now but she somehow learned how he ticked yet. He said first one thing then another. However, the person in front of her now was vacantly glazing like a lifeless body as he stared out of the window. She was glad that he didn't annoy her with his stupid remarks although his silent state made her worry, too. "Is he ill?" she wondered.

"I'm fine."

"Eh?" Mikan shrieked. "Can he read my mind?"

"Knowing you, you probably think that I'm afflicted with a sick headache or something like that right now…" he guessed moonily.

She arched a brow, asking skeptically. "You're talking as if you know me for ages now…"

"What about you?" Mikan shivered as he turned his crimson eyes to her. "You're behaving as if I'm a total stranger."

His words astounded her. On the one hand, she didn't expect such a comment all of a sudden. On the other hand, did she really behave that cold and distanced to him? Sure, they were strangers. There again, she remembered her own words. "Ruka's friends are my friends, too, right?" What was Hyuuga really for her?

She had misjudged him that he had broken Anna's heart. However, he never scolded her once for that. He also helped her a few times. He brought her to the hospital. He also carried her out of the haunted mansion earlier. And the most important was that this guy had something she was seeking for so long. When he was by her side, she just felt… secure.

Mikan tilted her head that her brunette bangs covered her eyes. "You… remind me of someone." she whispered.

"Of whom?"

She felt his gaze on her but she refused any eye contact. "A friend of mine."

They were silent until the wheel made half a turn. He didn't turn his gaze from her for a second whereas Mikan still looked on the ground. She still wondered how they ended in this conversation. Even stranger for her was the fact that she brought her childhood friend up. Why did she mention him now?

His next question made her hold her breath. "Would you like to see him again?"

"Yes!" she replied in an instant. Her scream resounded lightly in the gondola while the noises from other attractions outside were almost inaudible for them. When Mikan finally decided to face him, she noticed how little the distance between them was. He was leaning forward that she could even feel the warmth of his breath on her skin. There was that mysterious glint in his eyes again. His eyes with the lovely red color that looked exhausted at the same time now. No matter what he was going to say now, it would make her heart beat faster to the extent of exploding like a volcano erupting unexpectedly.

"Mikan, I…"

Suddenly, the machine stopped abruptly and made the occupants panic. Mikan screamed as Hyuuga wrapped his arms around her to calm her down. When she opened her eyes, it was pitch-black in the gondola but she could still see some lights from outside. "A blackout?" she thought loudly, still hanging on to his arms.

"Damn!" Hyuuga cursed lowly. "Why has it to be now?" He looked out of the window and saw that they were still less than twenty meters above earth's surface.

"Dear Ladies and Gentlemen!" There was an announcement through the speakers. "We have a technical problem which will be solved as quickly as possible. Please keep calm and don't exit the gondola."

Hyuuga leaned back and checked on the girl in his arms. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I've had better days though…" she rubbed slightly her head. He helped her getting up and they looked out of the window. Unfortunately, they didn't know in which gondola their other three friends were. Mikan looked down at the commotion below when something caught her eye. "Look… can you see that, too?" she pointed a finger to a certain direction.

It didn't take Hyuuga long to find what she meant. A darksome man was kidnapping a little boy with grey hair. Mikan opened her eyes widely as she recognized the kid immediately.

"Youichi!" Horror-stricken, she pressed her hands against her mouth.

"You know him?"

Mikan nodded. "He's the child of my neighbors. I've been babysitting him at times." She explained with a whiny voice, tears already building up in her eyes.

Hyuuga gritted his teeth and looked out of the window again. The police had already surrounded the kidnapper but the latter had the edge over them since he had a hostage. In order that he didn't lose any more time, he had to do something urgently.

He grabbed Mikan by her shoulders and gave her a reassuring look. "You'll wait here." Before she could even ask what he wanted to do, he jumped and reached the emergency exit. "And don't you dare following me, you little girl."

"Wait! Nats…" The only thing she could do was looking after him as he artistically climbed up the iron rods and got to the ladder.

Hyuuga reached the place of the spectacle within five minutes. About ten police officers were trying to arrest the kidnapper who was menacing the child with a knife. The cry of the boy attracted more and more people as the crowd became larger. The officers tried to hold them back while another one was talking to the kidnapper.

"I'm telling you to let the child go and give up! You can't get out of her!" he warned.

"Kehehe, I don't think so!" The evil man replied. "As long as I have my hostage, you won't get me! So back off or this brat will die!"

The kidnapper laughed mischievously because the officers' hands were tied. They slowly but hesitatingly made a step back as a grin formed slowly on his face.

"You wimp!"

The kidnapper looked at the source of the voice and stopped his eyes on Hyuuga. "What was that, you little punk?"

"Trying to use an innocent child. How deep have criminals fallen lately? And you're calling yourself a man?" he asked with a bored expression.

"Hey, young man. You're only provoking him. Who allowed you to step forward anyway?" an officer tried to stop him.

"Don't worry, officer. I've studied practical psychology in France. I know what I'm doing." he whispered. His grimly looking eyes were enough to convince the officer. He gulped heavily and deferred to Hyuuga.

When he advanced two steps, the kidnapper made a step back and took the gloves off. "Stop right there! Or do you want me to chop the brat's head off?" He pushed the knife to the child's neck and made him cry even more. "SHUT UP, BRAT!" The nerved kidnapper shouted.

"Youichi!"

Hyuuga was surprised to hear Mikan's voice. He ran a hand over his face. "You idiot! Didn't I tell you to wait for me?" he yelled at her, making one step further towards the kidnapper.

"N-… Hyuuga, wait! It's dangerous!" Mikan cried.

The officers tried to hold her back. "Miss, you can't go there!"

"H-Hyuuga?" The kidnapper asked in surprise. "You're a Hyuuga?"

The people around started talking among each other and so did the police officers. Mikan didn't quite understand what was going on. But her only concern right now was the child in danger. "Youichi…" she cried.

"Let him go!" Hyuuga interfered again. "If you're man enough, then let him go and come right to me!"

The kidnapper hesitated a little bit. Then, he grinned. "Kehehe, fine with me! Guess your head brings me more money than this useless brat!"

"No…Hyuuga!" Mikan cried.

"Stay back!" he shouted. "You, too, officer! Put your guns down and let me handle him!"

"Are you crazy?" The officer became furious. "As if I'd allow something like that! Whom are you trying to prove something, you…"

"Officer!" Mikan clung to his arm. "Please… trust him…" The officer stared into her eyes. Even if they were filled with tears and a hint of fear lied quiet in them, she looked determinedly. He was impressed how much she kept faith with Hyuuga.

The officer let out a low grunt. Gritting his teeth, he hesitated for a moment but then, ordered his men to put their guns down.

Hyuuga turned around and showed his gratitude with a nod. As he faced Mikan, he shot her a reassuring look and smiled briefly. She, too, smiled back at him although he couldn't hold back her tears.

By the time he turned over to the kidnapper, he approached glowering at him. It seemed that his frown got darker and darker by each step. Now, he stood directly in front of the kidnapper. "It's only you and me from now on. So let the child go!" he said in a menacing tone.

The kidnapper was conscious of the danger. The young man in front of him was not even an adult, a haughty teenager in his eyes. Anyhow, he had a threatening aura which frightened the kidnapper so that he wanted to play safe. He grinned evilly and yelled. "As if, you fool!"

He pushed the boy aside and attacked Hyuuga, which made the crowd scream in horror. Hyuuga moved back a step and caught the blade of the knife with his right hand. The kidnapper, who didn't expect that, froze and didn't know what to do next.

Hyuuga took advantage of the confusion. With a twirl of his leg, he kicked the knife in his hand and punched him with his left. The kidnapper landed on the ground and was disarmed. Nevertheless, Hyuuga wasn't finished yet. He grabbed the man on the ground by his collar and glared at him coldly.

"What are you going to do now?" Hyuuga punched him again. "You're all the same!" And again. "You only assault little children and give a shit about their families and lives!" The officers came to his side and held him up. Currently, it seemed like Hyuuga was the real criminal with a murderous aura there. Catching her breath, he finally went away while the kidnapper was lying half-consciously on the ground and curling in fear.

Mikan ran towards them. The officers took the criminal away and one of them was taking care of Youichi. As soon as the little boy saw her familiar face, he ran into her eyes and sobbed. She hugged him tightly and patted on his head. "It's alright. You're safe now, Youichi."

Then, she looked at Hyuuga, who was avoiding any eye contact for the moment. He was just like his usual self, standing there nonchalantly with his hands in his pockets. Mikan was still stunned by seeing the Hyuuga from five minutes ago that his sudden change in character made her blood run cold.

Anyway, it was still the same Hyuuga. That was just another side of him which Mikan got to see today. Even if she experienced that unpleasant side of him, it was thanks to Hyuuga that Youichi could be saved in the end.

After Youichi calmed down, Mikan stood up and went to Hyuuga's side. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah."

Mikan got furious at his plain answer. With a quick movement, she surprised Hyuuga and grabbed his right wrist. He was about to scold her but when he saw her crying, he thought better of it and stayed silent.

"Is this what you call 'alright'? We need to take care of your wound." she shouted as her tears continued rolling down her cheeks.

Right on cue, two doctors came to them. One of them was taking checking on Youichi while the other one was talking to the other two. "Mr. Hyuuga, right? Please, come to the ambulance so that we can see about your wound."

Before he could go, Mikan didn't let go of his hand and added one last thing. "Anyway,…" she lifted her head and smiled weakly. "I'm so glad… that you didn't get a worse injury."

After the incident, Ruka, Hotaru and Shouda showed up in relieve. They couldn't find Mikan and Hyuuga in their gondola back then and had a suspicion that something bad had happened. Hyuuga refused to go to the hospital so that the doctors had to stitch his wound on location.

He told Ruka to escort the other two girls to their homes while he and Mikan had to go to the police station and give a witness report.

"You didn't need to come along with me. You should rather return to your hotel and rest." Mikan suggested.

"I've already told you that I'm fine. You don't need to worry." he affirmed for the umpteenth time.

"How could I not worry…?" she thought.

Lastly, they arrived at her house. It was a small but simple apartment, just enough for her mother and her.

"Would you like to come for a cup of tea? Or if you don't feel well, you can also spend the night at my house…" she proposed.

"Thanks, but maybe another time."

"No, I should be the one thanking. For escorting me home, for saving Youichi and for coming along to the amusement park. Although I didn't expect it to end this way, I had a nice time." She kissed him swiftly on his cheek and started running to the door. She felt the heat coming up to her cheeks and was glad that the darkness hid the faint blush on her face.

It was not until then that Mikan and Hyuuga noticed the person at the door. Mikan recognized that it was none other than her mother who just stood there without saying a word.

"Mum…" she whispered in surprise and wondered for how long she was already standing there. "Uhm, I want to introduce Hyuuga to you. He's a new friend of mine and accompanied me back."

"Hyuuga?" Her mother Yuka repeated suspiciously. She was stunned and somehow looked like… frightened to death.

"Y-yes. His name is…"

"Natsume Hyuuga." Hyuuga finished her sentence in a monotonous tone. "Pleased to meet you, ma'am."

Yuka gulped heavily and a sweat drop rolled down her cheek. Mikan noticed that her mother behaved anxiously and started worrying. "Mum… are you…"

"Mikan, please get in. We'll talk inside." Yuka cut her off. Then, she turned to Hyuuga and slightly bowed her head. "Thanks for escorting my daughter." After that, she shoved Mikan in the house and stepped inside without saying another word.

Hyuuga didn't seem to be surprised at all. He left the place right away but he didn't head for his hotel. Instead, he fetched his phone and sent a message to his best friend.

"Ruka, I need you to give me Medusa's number."

I hope that you haven't forgotten about this story. ^_^" And I hope that you don't hate me for making you wait so long. That's why I decided to write a longer chapter this time...

Unfortunately, I'll have study weeks from now on so it could take several weeks for the next update. I'm thanking you in anticipation for your patience, dear readers.

~Illusion137

Next chapter: The Truth behind His Illness