I Like You, Natsume-oniisan

Chapter 40: Her Final Destination

"Welcome to your new house, Mikan Yukihira!" Yuka cheered loudly and pulled the party popper, making it pop and its insides explode. "Make yourself home, Dear. I'll go and help you to unpack your belongings."

"It's okay, Mother. I will do it myself. You should take a rest." Mikan smiled and carried her luggage into her new room.

As she unpacked her things from her luggage, she saw a a miniature tank lying among her clothes. She thought that she had given all the tanks back to Natsume and she did not remember putting one into her luggage. She shrugged and put the tank into her little pouch. Then, she carried on doing her work until it was time to sleep.

The next day, she woke up with a sudden call from Hotaru.

She picked it up answered, "Hello? Mikan is speaking."

"You funny girl! You didn't tell me that you've a date with Nogi!" Hotaru shouted through the phone.

"Ruka-pyon told you?"

"Yeah. Actually, I asked him why he was so happy just now and then he told me about the date."

"Oh yeah. The two of you have cleaning duties on Saturdays. I feel so sad for the both of you." Mikan chuckled.

"Shut up. And how is your new home?"

"I guess it's cool."

"Wish you all the best, Mikan."

"Thank you, Hotaru."

"Hey, if you are going for the date, that means you're really not going to see Natsume-sensei off, right?"

"I... You're right."

"Wow... you prefer Nogi over him."

"Haha! Very funny, Hotaru. I promise Ruka-pyon first." Mikan pretended to laugh. "And it is his fault for not telling me earlier."

Hotaru sighed. She could tell by Mikan's voice that she was hesitant. She sounded lost and confused. All she needed was a little push which would make her wake up to her senses and choose the right path.

Hotaru was a very observant person. Since a week ago, she knew the reason for Mikan's weird behaviour. It was because of Natsume. Although she claimed that nothing was wrong or she did not like him at all, Hotaru could still tell that Mikan was lying because her real answers were reflected within her eyes and actions. No doubt that Mikan was a poor liar and actor.

"Mikan, are you sure that you're okay about it?"

"What is it?"

"I mean Natsume-sensei."

There was silence.

"Mikan, do you still like him? Or do you like Nogi?" Hotaru questioned.

Mikan bit her lips. She could not answer her because her mind was still in a mess.

Hotaru continued, "Mikan, let's take today as a test."

"A... test?"

"Yes. If you like Nogi, then go for the date. If you like Natsume-sensei, then see him off. In any case, you can't see both."

"What are you talking about? Why are you suddenly asking me which guy I like?"

"Mikan, you've to be decisive. That is your weak point. You'll never move forward if you don't correct your indecisive habit," Hotaru chided. "You know what I'm talking about. You are not a dumb person."

Mikan grunted, "I don't know what you are talking about."

"For the past two years, you couldn't let your brother go because of your inability to decide on whether to give up on him or not. Then, you couldn't decide whether to live with your real mother or with the Andous," Hotaru listed out. "Right now, you couldn't decide which guy you really like. I'm not forcing an answer on you or out of you. I want you to think for yourself. You should listen to your own feelings and act on them, instead of denying them. Like this, you can move forward and be happy."

"Hotaru, I..."

"It's now close to eleven o'clock. Please think about it carefully, okay? Goodbye."

The line was cut even before Mikan could say 'goodbye' to her. Mikan put down her handphone and get out of bed. She could not believe that she had less than two hours to prepare herself.

She walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator to find a little note next to a plate of cheesecake. It was from Yuka and it stated: 'I'm off to work now. Here is your breakfast.'

Mikan took out the cheesecake and ate it before going back to her room to get changed. After dressing up, she took her little pouch with her and left the house.

Sitting under the taxi stand, she was really thanking hard about what Hotaru had said. It really made sense and it was true that she was really indecisive. She was the type of person who would just let the wind or river carried her to any directions as long as it was fine for her to live on. She was a little rash and had always failed to notice every single small detail of her life and others. She only saw the big picture, not the small ones within it. She allowed her emotions to judge things and make decisions. That was why she could never understand herself that well, let alone understanding others; that was why she could never make a firm stand.

All she had to do while waiting for a cab was to give a knock on the door of her heart and say to it: 'Open up. And tell me what do you want me to do.'

A cab pulled over to the taxi stand and the driver riled down the screen, popping his head through the little window.

"Hello Miss, are you waiting for a cab?" the old driver asked with a big grin.

"Ah, yes," Mikan replied and quickly stood up.

'Thud!'

She looked down and saw the miniature tank lying upside down on the uneven ground. Just then, she remembered that she had placed the tank into her little pouch the night before and it must have dropped out from the opening of her pouch.

She stooped down and picked up the tank. After dusting the dirt off from it, she quickly got into the cab.

"Where is your destination, Miss?"

"Please take me," Mikan paused for awhile as she squeezed the tank tightly. "To Tokyo Airport."

*Go to back to Chapter 1 to see the ending/continuity of this story. If you've realised the link earlier, that's great! :)

Final thanks to the reviewers:

- miyazakiayakochan
- NanaShinozaki
- Cute Tangerine204
- aurora0914
- xNatsuMikanx
- mooshy3712
- seraphim.159
- Sariko-chan723
- hurry
- Guest
- HQ-pyon
- Natsume Hyuuga -Kuro Neko
- RockingAngels
- AnimeMango
- Guest
- Guest
- HizuriKyoko
- Guest
- RedSakuraPetals
- Coldheart12
- Rina-Chan
- me enamore de ti
- SapphiRubyCrys
- MinaSakura
- Vermilion Steps
- CuteChibiNekoChan

Lastly, I would also like to thank everyone who had supported me throughout this story. :)

Author's notes:

- As stated above, please go to back to Chapter 1 to see the ending/continuity of this story. If you've realised the link earlier, that's great!

- Currently, I am still working on my old stories so I won't be making any new GA fanfic until I'm done with them. (I need to discipline myself... before I can't control the urge to start writing new fanfics. .)

- Please don't get the wrong idea that I am leaving GA forum (I love GA. How could I leave? Haha! ^u^). Though I won't be posting/updating stories regularly or every week anymore, I will still come back here once a month to update 'Fight for Love!'.

- Despite the statement above and my busy school schedule, I promise I will be back with a promising new GA fanfic the next time. Please stay tuned!

Thank you for your continuous support! See you soon! :)