18. The familiar kiss
The crowd was filling inside the little church like bees; noisy and hasty. The pale pink and white decoration of the church had been the topic of the day between the guests, until a certain pair of dazzling crimson eyes entered the church, smiling and nodding at each and every person she knew and didn't know.
"She must be really happy today... Her gorgeous son is finally getting married!" Some woman whispered to another's ear, loud enough to be heard by the others as well.
"But who's Mikan Sakura? Do you know her?" Another woman spoke, making her husband give her a death glare in return.
"No I haven't seen the bride for myself yet... But I bet she's the most beautiful and the luckiest girl on earth!" A girl answered the previous woman's question.
Kaoru Hyuuga on the other hand, was listening to all these conversations with a wide smile on her lips. Her heart was so much at ease, 'cause she was benefitted at both sides, one being her son and the other being her daughter. She walked towards the altar to give some instructions to the priest and turned to the wedding crew to find that her son hadn't joined them yet.
"Ruka-kun? Where's Natsume?" She asked, worried; her beautiful complexion darkening a bit. Hearing her talking to him, Ruka bent down and whispered something into her ear, making her smile again, relieved. Ruka, the best man of that day's event, was very busy doing everything possible on his best friend's behalf.
"Ruka-kun! You look great today!" Ruka heard someone crying out loud. He turned his head only to see Mikan's whole lot of classmates had arrived at the church, awed by the decoration and the wedding theme.
"Uh... err... Shouda?" Ruka said, shocked to see Mikan's sworn enemy's arrival at her wedding. Seeing his expression, Sumire Shouda knew she had to explain why she had come to see Mikan Sakura getting married to one of her greatest expectations, Natsume Hyuuga.
"It's not like I've come to see that idiotic Sakura's wedding dress! I... I just came here to see Natsume-sama!" She said, her eyes forming hearts. Of course, many girls had accepted the invitation, just to see that oh-so-cool Natsume Hyuuga, in his wedding suit.
"Why are they taking so long, Ruka-kun?" Yuu Tobita, Mikan's class representative asked, worried as Nonoko and Anna nodded in unison.
"They are having an important conversation, I guess." Ruka said, blowing away the worried atmosphere from the church air.
"Kawaiii! Bride and bridegroom must be making plans for their future!" Nonoko said, looking dreamily and Anna nodded hastily to confirm her thoughts.
All of a sudden, Ruka felt somebody tapping on his shoulder from behind, making him turn around to see who the poking guy was.
"Err... You must be Ruka-kun! Umm Hi I'm Natsume-kun's travel agent, Narumi!" The gentle looking blonde man spoke without a halt, making Ruka's mind become a total mess.
"Tr—travel agent?" Ruka said, stammering. He'd been never told about a travel agent by Natsume.
"Oh yeah! He's to fly to Kyoto right after the wedding, right? I'm the one who's working on that!" Narumi explained as Ruka's mind got hit with realization.
"Oh... I see... So how can I help you?" Ruka asked out politely.
"Their luggage must be transferred before they get there. My men are here. You have to grant permission for us to access the luggage." Narumi said, gentle and soft.
"Oh... Okay... I hope you know the directions of the house." Ruka said in an official tone.
"Of course! Then we'll be leaving! Thanks Ruka-kun! Adieu!" The blonde man bade farewell and left the church, smiling.
"Natsume... So you're leaving all of us behind..." Ruka thought as a sudden pain attacked his heart.
"Natsume... It's time." Natsume heard someone calling him from behind.
"Hn." He replied and walked in the direction of Mikan's room once again.
"You're supposed to leave first and wait for her." The raven haired girl spoke again, making Natsume stop walking for a moment.
"Who'd take her then?" He asked, surprised. Since both of their fathers weren't alive, Hotaru also wondered who'd walk her to the altar.
"Didn't Mrs. Hyuuga say anything about that?" Hotaru asked, concerned.
"I'll take her." Natsume said, cold and stern.
"But the tradition—" Hotaru started and was cut off immediately by an annoyed Natsume.
"Needn't worry about that." He said and walked inside Mikan's room at once.
"Whatever!" Hotaru said to herself and left to get into the car.
"Look! They're coming!" Someone spoke out loud, excited as everyone's heads automatically turned in the direction of the couple walking through the huge church doors.
Her hand was wrapped around his tight elbow, her eyes pointed on the red carpeted floor. She didn't want to look up; she felt as if her cheeks were burning. She never had thought it would have been this difficult to walk down the aisle, breaking through the whispering stares of the onlookers.
"Don't care them." The tall crimson eyed lad whispered to her ear, his lips almost touching her pale earlobes. The heat was rising among the crowd which was already stunned by the idea of the groom walking the bride towards the altar.
He could feel her body shuddering from time to time; her arm twitching and twisting under his hold. Once or twice, she almost fell on the floor, making Natsume hold her tight by her waist. For a minute she closed her dancing eyes and prayed this whole thing to be over in a blink of an eye.
"It'll be over soon." Her thoughts were again answered by the person holding her by her waist, gently.
"Natsume..." Mikan said as she looked at his dazzling crimson eyes, gleaming more than ever. Seeing the confident but gentle look in his eyes, Mikan felt safe, safe and happy after a long thousand years. Her mind had recently been forcing her to realize the fact that, she was entering the safest zone possible on earth, by choosing to hold his hand.
"Just keep walking, slow flatworm!" Natsume said as he gave her a mischievous glare, and looked at the other side at once, making Mikan's rage start to boil inside her belly.
"Natsume no baka!" Mikan cried out loud, totally forgetting where she was and what they were doing.
"Shut up, little girl!" Natsume said and gave her another cool stare, making her dance in anger under his tight hold.
"Looks like the family happiness has already begun." Kaoru whispered to the couple as they passed her smiling figure with a little bow.
Once they arrived at the altar, the priest started the wedding service, making Mikan shake some more. The whole thing sounded so serious to her. Her heart couldn't bear them all at once. The priest was scaring the hell out of her. Natsume on the other hand, was listening to him calmly. Mikan couldn't say if he was actually listening though. Natsume was someone who'd usually get bored in this kinda events, yet that day, he looked solemn, much to Mikan's surprise. "It's his wedding after all!" She thought and accidently yawned a little.
"What're you doing?" Natsume asked as he squeezed her hand, bringing her back to earth. Mikan just pouted and pointed her eyes dreamily at the priest. He was continuing his long story, unaffected by Mikan's drooling and yawning.
"The bond and covenant of marriage was established by God in creation, and our Lord Jesus Christ adorned this manner of life by his presence and first miracle at a wedding in Cana of Galilee. It signifies to us the mystery of the union between Christ and his Church, and Holy Scripture commends it to be honored among all people."
Mikan felt her eyes closing little by little. Seeing her sudden change, Natsume pinched her again.
"Stay awake! We sure can sleep later." Natsume whispered to her ear, making sure the priest won't hear him. Hearing what he had said, Mikan's eyes widened in horror.
"Sleep later? What do you mean! You dirty fox!" Mikan said under her breath.
"Looks like you've got what I meant." Natsume said, smirking.
"Dream on!" Mikan almost yelled, making the priest frown at her.
"I require and charge you both, here in the presence of God, that if either of you know any reason why you may not be united in marriage lawfully, and in accordance with God's Word, you do now confess it."
The priest said and looked at the couple with a stern look, waiting for them to answer. He looked pissed off by the endless argument which had been going on between man and the woman he was about to tie in marriage.
"Why is he looking at us?" Mikan asked, scared if he had heard something they had been talking about.
"Just ignore." Natsume said and glared back at the priest, poking him to continue the service. The priest then turned to the bride, making Mikan's sweat drop again.
"Sakura Mikan, will you have this man to be your husband; to live together in the covenant of marriage? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?" The priest asked and Mikan's eyes widened at once. She'd known this would come, but not this sooner. Mikan stood speechless, waiting for Natsume to pinch her again. But this time it wasn't Natsume.
"My dear child... Give your answer!" The priest said, giving her a cold look which made her come back to consciousness at once. He was getting sick of it all.
"I'm actually... actually getting married!" Her heart started to beat so fast as she looked at the person standing beside her. "I'm getting married... to Natsume?" She couldn't believe her senses. Yet, her lips did the talk.
"I will."
Hearing her say, 'I will', Natsume's heart froze for a minute. He put his hand inside his pocket, not wanting to show his slightly unbearable emotions.
With her answer, the priest smiled and turned to the groom.
"Natsume Hyuuga, will you have this woman to be your wife; to live together in the covenant of marriage? Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?"
"I will." There came the answer without hesitation; bangs covering his eyes. Deep down his heart he felt each and every drop of his blood celebrating the moment, yet he wasn't sure if it had been the same with his mistress.
Mikan on the other hand was going deaf by listening to all this questions and answers. She had to clutch her gown tightly to prevent herself from falling.
Her bridesmaid was noticing all this and was smiling under cover, thinking how much of an idiot she was. Deep down her soul, she was really happy for her best friend. She knew, finally Mikan had found her best destination in life. There was no one better in the world she could entrust Mikan to than Natsume.
The blonde best man, on the other hand was visibly smiling, his eyes not leaving Natsume's tall figure in front of the altar. Knowing how much he had suffered in his life so far, he prayed for his happiness to bloom forth, with the step they were taking that day towards the future.
Then the time came for the exchange of wedding rings, which were to seal their bond forever with the blessing of God. So the priest pointed his eyes at the veiled bride and the crimson eyed groom standing in front of him, taking out the rings in his hands. Then he started asking for the blessings of God on those fateful gold rings, holding out the rings in front of the couple's eyes.
"Bless, O Lord, this ring to be a sign of the vows by which this man and this woman have bound themselves to each other; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."
He prayed and handed one of the rings to Natsume, which he took without hesitation and looked at Mikan's veiled eyes with a steady look.
She could feel his burning eyes sinking into hers as his hand touched hears, taking it in his. He felt her hand shudder as he took it in his, softly. He slid the ring slowly into her ring finger, pinching him inside his mind to confirm that it wasn't another dream. He saw her eyes widening under her misty veil; he couldn't say if she was happy or sad. It was done, as a pearly tear rolled down their mother's eye. She was happy, for both of them. She didn't care what had brought them all here; all she cared about was her children's happiness, which she was sure that they'd gain this way.
Then it was her turn. She took his hand in hers and looked at his eyes, as if asking for permission to carry out the orders.
"Hurry up!" Natsume whispered, making it easy for her to make up her mind to go on. Getting his message, Mikan slid the piece of gold into his ring finger and held it tight as a tear dropped from her hazel eyes, on to Natsume's skin.
"I'm sorry!" Mikan said, unintentionally, looking into his surprised eyes with tears. Hearing that, Natsume just grabbed her by her waist and leaned forward, making the priest lose his words.
In the next second, his lips were on hers, sucking on them softly, making Mikan just fall in his embrace in front of thousand eyes.
"I—I di—didn't say it yet!" The priest said, stammering as he watched the kissing couple before his eyes.
"You don't have to." Natsume said as he stopped for a while and started to kiss her fully on the lips again.
Mikan felt her knees wobbling under her puffed white gown; her weight was totally on Natsume's arms. She felt as if she weren't alive anymore. But her lips weren't numb at all; they responded very well to his fiery kiss.
That was the first ever official kiss they had shared, yet for Natsume, for some unknown reason, it felt so familiar. He felt as if it had happened before, just the same way. His mind was confused at that thought, yet he didn't wanna think about that but savor the moment to its full length. "Have we... done this before?" Both of them wondered.
The kiss lasted for minutes, giving the onlookers a long lasting show.
All the crowd was staring at the couple with wide eyes and at the end all of them clapped their hands together, celebrating the love of a freshly married, young couple.
Hotaru Imai was surprised, to see that her dummy friend was responding to his kiss. "Finally!" She said as she grabbed her bunny-boy's hand and squeezed it, smiling.
Hiii my readers! Oh... here I am with another sudden update! Umm gotta tell you, the best parts are still ahead! :-D
Umm my chapters are pretty short, aren't they? The case is that when I finish typing one part I feel like sharing it with you guys at the very moment! IS that bad? :'( Should I wait long and update a hell lot at once? I dunno!
Anyway! Again there's nothing much in this chapter yet I hope you guys enjoyed it in to a certain degree! :-)
Umm I know you guys are confused about the previous chapter, Natsume's dream, but wait I'm gonna explain it at the right moment! :-)
HaCel:- No no no dear... Don't worry honey... That's not gonna happen! I assure you! But something unexpected is on its way! Beware! *evil grin :-D Oh... Did I scare you? Umm anyway, I love your reviews HaCel! Kisses! :-*
Katherine Kalissa Amara:- Yeah! Exactly! That was what I was thinking too! She loves him, yet she isn't so sure if she really does. :-*
Thanks a bunch for your reviews guys! Love them!
BTW! I'm running low on reviews people! Don't let that happen to me! *cry
Don't make me kill myself... I need more and more reviews! :'(
If you really want this story to continue, then review!
I invite all the people who read this story to review it!
Umm anyway, looks like a lot of people have favorited my story recently,
N.U. Sakura Yukihime, SabishiiSekkai, animaJapanKpoplover, iiAriya, kuroyuki051700, nej24, newroz, pinkus-pyon, sakura183, shayne1531, xMikanNatsumex
Gotta thank you guys too! Love you all soooo much!
I'll be back with my 19th chapter!
Till then, stay calm!
-Awful Nightmare-