I Like You, Natsume-oniisan
Chapter 30: Ruka's House
"If we aren't together, as now we are, in the first place and fate decides to pull us together no matter how distant we are, I will accept you. I will definitely accept you, Mikan."
"Where are you going, Hotaru? Ruka-pyon's residence is that way," Mikan asked as she pointed to her right.
Hotaru shrugged and continued walking to the left.
"Hotaru!"
"What? I'm going back home," Hotaru groaned. "I'm not feeling good."
"What happened?" Mikan asked worriedly.
"Blame the flu jab. I think the virus got to me."
"I thought it supposed to boost your immune system!"
"Yeah. This is just the beginning of the process, Mikan. Some weak bodies can't respond to foreign matters fast while some can. Unfortunately, I think I am not the latter." Hotaru coughed.
"No, no. I think you are quite strong."
"But luckily, I don't have to interfere your moment with that idiot."
Mikan blushed and scoffed, "You are planning something, aren't you?"
"Nope."
"Liar!"
"Hurry up and visit him! He's waiting for your presence."
"I don't think he knows that I'm coming over," Mikan said and took one last look at the address written on a piece of paper.
"Bye!" Hotaru suddenly shouted and ran away from Mikan before she could say anything.
"Hotaru! You, big fat liar!" Mikan yelled. "You're definitely not sick! Geez!"
Mikan turned around and walked to the right lane. It was her first time going to Ruka's house and she wondered how it looked like. Since he was a famous star, he could be living in a huge mansion with lots of maids and butlers serving him. Maybe there would be guards standing outside the large gates of his mansion.
After reaching the destination, Mikan took another look at the address. She was standing outside a three storey rundown building. Not only that, there were many doors lined up along the corridor of each level. She remembered a classmate of hers from elementary school had mentioned that the apartments of this type of buildings were usually very small and cramped. There was no difference between a bedroom and a kitchen if one were to live there.
That building was actually built for people who were very poor.
Did Yuka give her the wrong address?
Mikan walked up to the second level of the building and carefully knocked on the door which showed the same house number as the one written on the paper. She was afraid and prepared that the person living in this apartment might not be Ruka.
Yeah, why would a star live in this rundown apartment?
He should be living a luxurious life...
Wait, maybe his parents were poor...
Mikan knocked on the door again but there was no reply. She thought that she was right; there was no way Ruka would live here.
Just when she was about to leave, she heard the door creaked open. Mikan looked at the person with jaws wide opened like a goldfish.
"Oh, it's you...hmm... An... Andou?"
"Ruka-pyon?" Mikan gasped and quickly covered her mouth.
Ruka was dressed shabbily, unlike the type of dressing or attire which Runo usually wore on stage or during his modeling shots. It was a total opposite from what Mikan and the world had perceived. His hair was disheveled and his clothes looked very dirty too.
In short, Ruka looked like a beggar on the streets!
"What are you doing here? How do you know where I live?" Ruka asked in surprise.
Mikan was too shocked to say anything. Her mouth kept jittering while her eyes glued to his clothes.
"You must be shocked, right? This is where I live," Ruka spoke again with a small laugh.
Mikan cleared her throat and said, "I'm sorry. I didn't expect you to be living in this place. For a moment, I honestly thought that Yuka-sensei had lied to me about your address."
"Sensei didn't lie to you. This is my apartment." Ruka smiled and gestured her to come in.
Mikan entered into the tiny apartment. Indeed, there was no difference between a kitchen and a bedroom. After all, there was only one small room for a small bed, a small rectangular television, a small armchair, a small table which barely reached the height of her knee, a cooking stove and a small fridge. Everything inside this house was so small, yet the interior looked so cramped!
"So, why did Sensei tell you to visit me?" Ruka queried.
"Oh! She told me to hand you these worksheets," Mikan answered and took out the papers from her schoolbag. "By the way, are you sick or are you purposely escaping from today's hell?"
"Thanks, and I'm sick," Ruka replied as he took the papers from her hand. "It's true this time."
"Really?" Mikan eyed at him suspiciously.
"Do I look like I'm lying to you?"
"I don't know."
"Then, you should just accept the fact that I'm sick."
Mikan did not say anything else. She just kept looking around the house curiously.
Ruka dragged the armchair towards her and said, "Take a seat first. I will prepare some warm water for you."
"It... It's alright. I'm just here to pass you some things," Mikan stuttered again.
Ruka laughed. "Since you've come all the way here, why not take a seat first before heading back home?"
He poured the warm water from the kettle into a mug and served Mikan.
"Do you live here alone? I mean, there is only one bed for one person to sleep on it," Mikan started.
"Yes, I do."
"What about your parents?"
"They've passed away."
Mikan held her breath for a moment and then said softly, "I'm sorry. It must be hard on you."
"No, it's okay." Ruka laughed again. "In fact, I can cope with my current state. The money which I earn through modeling and singing are used to pay for my bills, basic necessities and school fees."
Mikan could not help but to feel bad for him but at the same time, looked up to him. He was so mature and was surviving on his own.
"Hey."
Mikan looked at Ruka again. He was taking out a piece of paper with words scribbled on it.
"What is it?" Mikan asked.
"Remember that song 'Black Carol'?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Do you know the story behind it?"
Mikan nodded and replied, "Yes, Hotaru told me before."
He smiled at the paper warmly and muttered, "That man in that story is my father."
Mikan nearly gasped again. She bit her lips and looked down on the floor. So, that song was written on his father's behalf.
"It was Anju-san's idea to use my father's past and turn it into a classical rock music but my director wanted it to be a pop song for some funny reason. Little did I know that this song became the biggest hit last year after its release."
"I like this song. It's nice, especially the lyrics," Mikan complimented.
"Thanks. I wrote it based on my father's diary. It was strange. He used to liked this woman named Sumire Shouda who died in a terrorist attack. As you know, during the attack, he was still studying overseas which was actually France. After that, he saw her spirit there on Christmas Eve and thought that she left him for another man. After a few years, he met my mother in France and got married. Then, I was born. When I was three years old, my father brought all of us back here to meet my grandparents for the first time on Christmas Eve. To my father, it seemed like a mistake to do so. He soon knew the truth about Sumire Shouda's death and cried. He felt so remorseful that he didn't eat for days and fell sick. Then, he passed away after a year or so which was so happened to be on Christmas Eve too."
Mikan shivered. She was speechless too.
Then, he continued, "My mother became devastated and committed suicide the following day which was shockingly on Christmas Day. At that time, I was still little so I didn't know what was going on. My grandparents took me in and looked after me until I reached thirteen when I decided to live on my own."
"But you were still young," Mikan pointed out.
"I know but one day, I met Anju-san who told me to try modeling because of my looks. I succeeded in passing the audition and became a model in the teens magazine. Anju-san also became my manager and from then on, I slowly became famous."
"Wow! So how did you become a singer?"
"Well, it was all because of Anju-san's fault... I mean, recommendation. He forced me to join a singing audition and I passed that as well. Then, I became successful in this area too. Because of all these, I chose to live on my own, rather than burdening my aged grandparents. So, I shifted to this small apartment."
"Ruka-pyon is so mature," Mikan said with a gentle smile. "I wish I can be as mature as you."
"That's flattering," Ruka chuckled with a blush. "You're also mature in your own way."
"In what way?"
"In many ways."
"What ways?"
"Many ways."
Mikan frowned and Ruka laughed. The mood had changed so fast. Before that, he was talking about the story of his parents and the mood was quite tense. After that, he went on telling her about his career life and the mood changed for the better. It was great.
"In any way, I will still like Andou."
Mikan blushed and coughed softly.
"What happened to my nickname?"
"Do you like me calling you that? I don't mind calling you that either."
"Whatever."
"Whatever-san."
Mikan arched her eyebrows. Did he just call her 'whatever-san'? It's even weirder than calling him 'Ruka-pyon'.
"Thank you," Mikan said sarcastically. "It sounds nice and sweet. It's music to my ears."
Ruka laughed. "Being sarcastic doesn't suit you at all."
"Yeah, right."
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Mikan flinched while Ruka looked confused. He was not expecting any more visitors other than Mikan. He walked towards the door and opened it.
"Sen... Sen...Sensei?" Ruka stammered and looked at Mikan, stunned.
Curious, Mikan walked towards him and craned her neck to see who was behind the door.
Her throat went dry when she saw a person panting heavily outside the apartment.
"Natsume-sen... o... oniisan?
Hi guys, thanks for reading up to Chapter 30.
Next, I would like to thank those who had reviewed Chapter 29. Thanks for all those encouragements. Hope to hear more from you again! :D
Here are the reviewers:
- Scarlet Ammo 19
- meLOVES'NATSUME
- AnimeMango
- sinables
- MirageRaindrop
- CuteChibiNekoChan
- Blacksheep013
- NanaShinozaki
- SkippyWorks. KFP
- mooshy3712
- Manga Ren
- aurora0914
- HQ-pyon
- smiley
- Natsumemikan123
- Guest
- Sariko-chan723
- nerdyanime123
- AngelRoseStar15
- me enamore de ti
- Gruesome Deaths
- scarlet
- seraphim.159
- CreationsGoneAwry
- MinaSakura
Lastly, I would also like to thank those who had story alerted and favourited this story. :)
Not-so-important note(s):
- The next chapter is the end of forth part of this story.
- Ten more chapters to go before this story ends, approximately in September-October.
- After much contemplation, I have decided not to write anymore new GA fanfics after I have completed this story although I have many new ideas for my future GA fanfics. I will continue writing new GA fanfics after I am done with both 'Fight for Love!' (my currently on-hiatus GA fanfic) and Dreams (another fanfic of mine).
Don't forget to leave a review! Thanks! :)