I Like You, Natsume-oniisan

Chapter 35: Reunion

"This is the DNA profiling portfolio. According to Luna-kouchou, she went to take Mikan's and my blood for a DNA test. It turns out positive," Yuka explained as she pointed at the report.

"But didn't you say that your child might have been killed in the incinerator?" Mikan queried doubtfully.

"I thought so, but there might be a possibility that she might be safe," Yuka said while looking at Mikan with desperate eyes. "Like you are now."

"Hold on, I was found outside the orphanage!"

"If in this case, someone might have picked Mikan up and left her there," Tsubasa thought loudly.

Yuka nodded frantically and stared intently at Mikan, which made her gulp uncomfortably.

"I know you can't remember a thing as you were still a newborn baby but I still remember it clearly- I bought a small brown teddy bear and left it under your arms before leaving you inside the garbage bin," Yuka muttered with a sad look. "I know I'm evil..."

"You mean this teddy bear?" Mikan asked and held up her tattered teddy bear which she used to bring around with her wherever she went.

Yuka opened her eyes widely and said excitedly, "Yes, it is that one. I remembered there was a red ribbon tied around its neck! What happened to the ribbon? Why is it missing?"

Mikan pouted and pretended to weep. "Those naughty boys in the orphanage cut the ribbon and threw it away when I was not looking. I hate them!"

"That was horrible of them. Do you know that this bear costs nearly half of my savings?" Yuka fumed.

Mikan gasped, "Oh my god! Really? I should have beaten those boys up if I knew the price!"

Tsubasa, Misaki and Natsume just stared at them amusingly. One moment, they were doubting each other. And the next moment, they seemed to be engrossed, or rather enjoying, their little conversation.

"Mikan," Misaki spoke in a sad tone. "So, I take it that you have accepted Yuka as your real mother."

Mikan rubbed her forehead and laughed weakly, "I... I want to acknowledge her as my real mother, but it is too sudden for me to accept it. It's too sudden."

"Same for me," Yuka laughed sheepishly too. "I just knew it yesterday and it took me the whole of last night and today to acknowledge you as my real daughter. It's true that this piece of shocking news is sudden but I hope you will learn how to accept it."

Mikan looked down and closed her eyes. She felt happy that she had finally found her mother and was very glad that she was still alive. However, there was another part of her telling her not to leave Misaki and Tsubasa; she loved them too.

Tsubasa cleared his throat and asked Mikan, "So, what is your answer? I'm giving you a free will to choose whether or not you want to return back to your real mother's side."

Mikan swallowed hard and looked at Tsubasa and Misaki. They looked sad. Maybe because they had already forged a strong bond over the years like most families do. If she left them, they would be upset because to them, Mikan was like their own daughter. And to Mikan, they were like her parents. To everyone, all of them were like a family.

Then, she looked at Natsume who was staring at her intently. She blushed and looked back down on the floor. She wanted to know Natsume's feelings to this situation. She wanted to know if he felt sad that she might be leaving this family for good. What was she to him, besides liking her? What was he to her, despite how many times she had tried to convince herself that she was no longer in love with him and everything was just puppy love?

She wanted to know...

"So?" Yuka broke the silence and smiled warmly at Mikan.

Mikan stood up and embraced Yuka tightly. In response, she returned the hug.

"Please give me more time to think about it. I'm in a dilemma now. I'm very sorry," Mikan apologised sincerely as her eyes began to water.

Yuka smiled and patted her back, "Alright, Dear. I will wait for your answer."

"Thank you."

Suddenly, Mikan felt that this conversation sounded fairly familiar to her. Having to say that she was in a dilemma and needed more time to think of an answer while the other party would say that he or she would wait for her answer, they began to sound very, very familiar. Unfortunately, she just could not ring a bell.

Yuka nodded and stood up. She walked over to the foyer and bowed to the Andous before leaving the house. When she left, the whole family went silent and only the sound of the ceiling fan was heard.

Finally, Mikan spoke up in an jittery way, "I will go and take... a... a bath first. Haha..."

Her voice died down and she smiled weakly as she stood up like a robot and 'marched' back to her bedroom to grab her clothes.

"I will take a bath too," Misaki said softly and walked away too.

Tsubasa massaged his stiffed neck gently and stood up too. Just when he was about to walk away, he took one last look at Natsume who was very quiet ever since Yuka had came into their house. It was true that he was not a talkative type nor a opinionated type of person, but he felt that he should at least say something about the reunion of Mikan and her real mother, Yuka.

Tsubasa patted Natsume's back and said in a low voice, "You know, you should have just say it. Tell her the truth because she might leave us sooner or later."

"As I said before, I won't until I return back. What about you, Dad? If she leaves, there will be nothing left for the next few years until my return."

"I know. But do you really think I would want to let her go and return her back to her real mother? She is like my own child! I took care of her for almost twelve years! I have seen her grow from a little clumsy girl to a big clever girl! I bet Misaki is thinking about the same thing as me, Natsume!" Tsubasa paused and smacked his forehead. "What if she chose to be with her real mother, will I be able to take it?"

Natsume did not say anything.

"Natsume, if Mikan were to leave us, what would you do?"

Natsume shrugged.

"What were your feelings when you heard that Mikan might be leaving with her real mother?"

"Happy," he replied. "She had told me before that if she were to meet her mother again, she would be over the moon. And now, it does happen so I'm happy for her."

"I'm not talking about that, Natsume..."

"Of course, I'm sad at the same time," Natsume continued.

Tsubasa forced a weak smile and whispered, "Because you love her not as a little sister but as a woman."

Natsume did not deny it as he sat still looking out of his window where he could see their garden. Those beautiful flowers and plants were grown by Mikan over the years and she had never failed to make their garden looked like Garden of Eden. Those plants were like carrying her smiles and they always reminded him that Mikan was always smiling despite how bad this situation was. When she smiled, the whole world would seem to shine. Whenever she said 'I like you, Natsume-oniisan' to him when they were younger, his world would shine too. Regrettably, he missed that phrase more than he thought he would.

"Yeah, Dad. I love her," Natsume said with a smile which he had not done in years.

After everyone had taken their showers, they sat down on their couch and watched the famous movie 'The Ring'. Mikan kept whining about how much she hated Sadako because of the haunted house experience during the cultural festival and she even objected the idea of watching it. However, Tsubasa and, surprisingly, Natsume insisted to watch it because they had never watch a Sadako movie before and this would be their first time. As for Misaki, she was neutral about it because to her, watching horror film was like watching a comedy film. It was weird but it was a fact; whenever she watched a horror film, she would laugh at the actors' terrified faces and the weird noises produced by the ghosts or monsters, and even the poor actors.

Throughout the movie, Natsume was intrigued that Mikan remained silent without even making a single soft sound. She was sitting next to him and yet, she was not clinging onto him or whining to him. It was weird. Maybe because she was still thinking about Yuka. Or maybe she had found out that this horror movie was actually not that bad.

He kept his eyes glued to the screen as the movie was currently featuring Sadako came out of the television, making the people in the movie horrified and running for their dear lives. He heard Misaki laughing at one of the actors' face and, began commenting about it and even gave suggestions on how he should make his face more comedic.

"Seriously, Misaki? This is a horror show, not a comedy show!" Tsubasa yelled as he kept shivering with goosebumps all over his body; frankly, he was very scared.

Natsume chuckled to himself until he felt a very soft thud on his left shoulder. His breath hitched up a little and he slowly turned his head to his left side. His face softened as he saw Mikan's head rested on his shoulder. Her eyes were closed as well. Suddenly, a soft snore came out of her slightly opened mouth. Natsume narrowed his eyes at her and found out that she was wearing earplugs in her ears.

Did she just fell asleep while watching the horror movie?

Gosh! That was like a whole new level!

Pushing that aside, he suddenly felt so nostalgic. He remembered the times when Mikan got so bored while watching a movie, she would end up falling asleep on his shoulder. That was in the past and it had never happened ever since he had rejected her because they kept avoiding each other. However, this time, he would want to consider this as his first time after two years of not really sitting down and watching a movie together.

Even though they were so close to each other, they seemed to be further away over the past two years. Closing his eyes, he prayed that his past relationship with her would be restored once more and he promised to treasure her, unlike in the past.

End of Part 5

"Do you feel angry? You do know what I mean, Mikan. Yuka-sensei abandoned you and you nearly died because if no one picked you up, you would be burnt in the incinerator! And right now, she wants you back."

"So, about your reply to the confession... Can you tell me your answer this Saturday during our date?"

"Please, Mikan. I can't lose you this early yet. This coming Saturday, Natsume... he... he has to..."

"Nothing is going on here, like Natsume had just said. Forget what we have said earlier and sleep in early for tonight. Yeah, goodnight."

"Seriously, didn't Natsume-sensei tell you a thing about the school's project? Aren't you two living together?"

"Natsume-oniisan, I know it is a lie. You like another woman so I don't care about it anymore. I don't want to know anymore."

"You do care about it. If not, you won't be crying and feel jealous about it."

What's left? Two answers, a confession and the remaining devastating secret...

"Where is your destination, Miss?"