I Like You, Natsume-oniisan
Chapter 27: Ru_ _ No_ _
"Is that really you, Ruka-pyon?"
"Ruka... pyon?" the blonde in suit muttered softly before turning to the male brunette with a surprised look. "Ruka-kun, is she your girlfriend? Why didn't you tell me before? She's adorable, you know! Haha!"
"Ruka-kun? Sir, is he Ruka Nogi?" Mikan asked the man in suit.
"Yes, he is. You are?"
"What?" Mikan shouted as she cupped her cheeks. "Then... Then... Ru... Runo is Ruka-pyon! The singer whom I like is actually Ruka-pyon? Runo is just a fake person? Oh no! My life is all a lie!"
"Calm down, Miss!" The man in suit laughed. "Runo is a stage name for Ruka-kun and he has to wear a wig so as to look different from his normal looks. You see, Ruka-kun doesn't like too much attention from his fans on the streets and he wants to lead a normal life like normal kiddos do. Since you are his girlfriend..."
"I'm not his girlfriend. I'm just his normal friend from the same class and school," Mikan retorted with a blush.
"Oh, okay! Since you are his female friend, can you keep this a secret? If his true identity is revealed, we don't know what will happen," he said.
Ruka bowed to Mikan and said, "I'm sorry for not telling you about it. But please don't mention anything about Runo's true identity. Not even Imai-san too! Please! I beg you."
"O... Okay," Mikan replied hesitantly and walked towards Ruka. "It... It must be awkward."
Ruka looked up and queried, "What do you mean?"
"Almost all the time, we girls would go on and on about Runo in front of you and all you did was listened to whatever rumours and legends about Runo who is so happened to be you. It must be awkward," Mikan stated. "And I'm a bit shocked... or rather, surprised to know that my best friend is all along my favourite star in disguise. Maybe not in disguise, but I think it's cool to know that my best friend is a star."
"So, you are the first person to know Runo's true idenity other than my director, producers, other staff members and lastly, my manager which is this guy in suit here."
The man in suit waved and greeted, "Hello, I'm Narumi L. Anju, Ruka-kun manager. What's your name, Miss?"
"My name is Mikan Andou," Mikan replied with a smile and shook Narumi's hand.
"Ah, Andou-san! What a cute name you have!"
"Are you trying to flirt with her?" Ruka interjected, giving Narumi a glare.
"Of course not." Narumi laughed cheekily. "By the way, Andou-san is lost so I think I should take her back to the concert hall. See you later behind the stage."
Ruka grabbed Mikan by her hand and pulled her towards him, startling Mikan.
"I want to talk to her for a short while." Ruka cleared his throat. "Can you leave the room for a moment?"
Narumi arched his eyebrows and his mouth slowly formed into a playful smirk. He chuckled and walked out of the room.
"Don't do anything funny, little children. There might be cameras hiding somewhere in this room and I will give the two of you five minutes to chat before our dear star starts to lose his control over his hormones and..."
"Do you want me to kick your mouth, dirty old man?" Ruka threatened with his fist clenched tightly.
"Ta-ta!" Narumi chuckled again and closed the door behind him.
"Your manager is not as gay as what I thought he would be. He's perfectly normal," Mikan said.
"Of course. Didn't I tell you guys before? Runo doesn't have any weird relationship with his manager. They are just stupid rumours made up by fan girls."
"What about the snapshot of you two kissing?"
"Have you ever heard of photoshop?"
Mikan nodded and replied, "Yes, I have."
"Then, that snapshot is one example of it." Ruka laughed softly. "As you know, I hadn't been attending school before and after the cultural festival because I was busy preparing for this concert. And I'm sorry that I could not chat with you online either."
"So you aren't sick at all? That means you lied to me?" Mikan gasped loudly.
"I'm sorry!"
"It... It is all right. I can forgive you for that!" Mikan reassured him with a laugh and patted his back. "By the way, when you return back to school this coming week, there is something interesting waiting for you."
"What is it?"
"It's our favourite pastime, Ruka-pyon. It is time to boost our immune systems," Mikan tried to mimic Yuka's way of talking, just like when she had announced this piece of news to the whole class a few days ago.
Ruka rubbed his chin and beamed, "I think I am going to be absent on that day."
"Ha! Ha! You're funny. You cannot escape this cruel fate! Don't tell me you're scared of needles..."
"Of... Of course not!" Ruka blurted and frowned. "What about you? Aren't girls the ones who always cry before they even get to see the needles?"
"I'm not scared. At least, they are so much better than entering into a haunted house," Mikan boasted.
"Are you a masochist?" Ruka teased.
"No."
"You're weird." Ruka laughed and his eyes slowly trailed down to her bandaged thigh. "Wait, what happened to your leg?"
Mikan touched the bandage and replied, "Oh, I accidentally injured myself yesterday during Onii-san's wedding."
"Natsume-sensei has already married? Wow! Congrats to him!"
"No, no. He called off the ceremony at the very last minute because he found out that his girlfriend was cheating on him and he said that he had never liked her since the beginning. Their engagement was fake at first but later became real because she wanted his real parents' money. It can be confusing but it's over so I don't care about it anymore," she corrected.
"So, is Natsume-sensei upset over this matter?"
"Nope. He looks perfectly fine to me and he is trying to open up to me again. Oh, I haven't told you what exactly happened between us. Actually, it's like this..."
"I know. Imai-san had told me about it during the cultural festival," Ruka interrupted.
"She did? I... I didn't know about that."
"It's not like I forced her to tell me anything. She just told me," Ruka said with another soft laughter. "Please don't be mad at her."
"I'm not mad at anyone," Mikan assured and moved her hand but it seemed like something was holding it back.
She looked down and blushed. She did not notice that Ruka had been holding onto her hand since Narumi had left the room. Ruka looked at her flustered face curiously and turned to look where she was staring at.
His face turned red as well.
He let go of her hand and said exasperatedly, "I'm very sorry! I didn't mean to hold..."
"It... It... It's prefectly fine! I... I didn't notice a thing at first too!" Mikan stuttered and withdrew her hands to her chest.
It was so embarrassing. Mikan tugged her loose hair behind her ears and looked away, pretending not to be so caught up by this matter. Actually, it did. So far, other than Tsubasa, the only boy she held hands with was Natsume. When she was young, Natsume would hold her tiny hands very tightly. Even when she had reached the first year of middle school, he would still hold them but everything changed after she had confessed. Despite that, she could still remember the warmth of his large palms and the feeling of being protected by him. It was nostalgic.
"Andou."
Mikan was surprised that Ruka did not call her by her nickname which he always did. She slowly turned to look at him and immediately held her breath as he was giving her a serious look.
"I know this may not be the right time for me to say this."
"What is it?" Mikan asked softly.
Ruka took in a deeper breath and bowed to her, surprising Mikan.
"I like you, Andou. Please go out with me."
Hi guys, thanks for reading up to Chapter 27.
Next, I would like to thank those who had reviewed Chapter 26. Thanks for all those encouragements. Hope to hear more from you again! :D
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