19. The familiar warmth
The grand dining table in the Hyuuga house was a total mess that evening. Many of the visitors still hadn't left and were feasting on various food items that were thrown here and there on the table. The main couple had to remain there (under their mother's scary orders) until the last guest left, and were totally exhausted, listening to all those insignificant conversations of the invitees.
The groom especially, was totally annoyed and was fuming under his breath, making his mother glare at him time to time.
The time passed along with those annoyed sighs and fumes, leaving only the terrified bride, teeth gritting groom, their still smiling mother, exhausted blonde best man and still feasting holy bridesmaid.
"Aren't you gonna stop that?" The best man asked, pointing his nearing-to-collapse eyes at the icy bridesmaid who was fully occupied in empting a divine dish of crab.
"No." Was the answer came from the crab girl.
Being unable to stand it anymore, the crimson eyed groom stood up at once and walked away, both his hands placed beautifully inside his pockets. Seeing him walking away, the bride sighed and placed her whining head on the table, exhausted.
"Mikan..." Her now mother-in-law spoke, making her lift her head and smile.
"You look feverish. I'll ask Natsume to cancel today's trip. Travelling overnight won't be good for you in this condition. You guys can leave in the morning. Spend the night here..." Kaoru said in a convincing tone. The feast had taken longer than they had expected. So the trip to Kyoto was far from being accomplished that day.
Mikan was more than just happy to hear that. Her body was aching from being hugged by more than two hundred people and her cheeks were screaming in pain due to smiling at everyone from morning till evening.
"Thanks momma..." She said and placed her head again on the table, painfully.
The other pair sitting at the table was sinking in silence, while one kept on eating like the next day was gonna be the end of the world.
Kaoru couldn't help but smile secretly, seeing how Ruka tolerated Hotaru's actions without ever criticizing her one bit.
Smiling, she stood up and went to Mikan's side. Then she put her hands around her shoulders, making her lift her head.
"Come with me... I've a tiny little story to tell you..." Kaoru whispered to her ear and smiled brightly. Hearing that, Mikan became too curious and stood up at once, her eyes widened a bit. Seeing her interest to hear her story, Kaoru turned to Ruka and Hotaru, smiling beautifully as ever.
"Ruka-kun... Hotaru-chan... Go and rest whenever you want okay? You know the rooms, right?" Kaoru asked.
"Sure... Mrs. Hyuuga!" Ruka replied, politely as ever while Hotaru just nodded and smiled brightly, much to Ruka's surprise.
Within a few seconds, Mikan was inside Kaoru's room, both of them sitting on her bed, their hands intertwined with each other.
"Mikan... I'm not trying to make you feel sad on your most special day... Yet this is something I must tell you... Before you step into your new life..." Kaoru said as she bent forward to kiss her porcelain temple, tears rising in her eyes.
"Momma..." Mikan said out emotionally, her eyes also had already started to get damp. Her heart was scared about the thing her mother was gonna say in the next few minutes. Seeing her terrified expression, Kaoru's face lightened and she pinched her baby girl's rosy cheek, smiling.
"My stupid angel! This isn't a horror story after all! All I'm gonna tell is something regarding your mom and dad..." Kaoru said as she squeezed Mikan's hand, wanting to make her smile. Yet, the sudden mention of her mom and dad, made a sudden pang inside Mikan's heart.
"Mom and dad?" Mikan repeated the words Kaoru had said, tears rising in her hazel eyes, again.
"There, there! I won't continue with the story if you're gonna keep that face any longer!" Kaoru said; a hint of mischief in her tone.
"Umm... Okay... I won't cry!" Mikan said as she wiped her face hurriedly, convincing her mother to go on with the story.
"Okay! Good girl! Now listen!" Kaoru said, positioning her back against a pillow and making Mikan move closer to her.
"Your Mom was my best friend in High School." Kaoru said, watching Mikan's expression carefully before she continued.
"She was just like you... I remember how she often got punished by our maths teacher..." She stopped and laughed a little, looking at Mikan's large excited hazel orbs.
"She was 3 years younger than me. Both of us never had thought we'd end up being best friends forever." Kaoru said as Mikan drew closer to her, eager to hear more.
"But that little brat, however, fell in love with a crazy teacher we had in school. Yukihira sensei." She stopped and sighed.
"She was only 19 when she got pregnant... with you..." Kaoru said and looked at Mikan's eyes. "I wasn't there at school around this time. I was already graduated." She stopped and squeezed Mikan's hand, her eyes focused on nothing. "I regret not being able to contact her after I left school." Kaoru said as a tear rolled down her now pale face. "After a while... I heard that Yuka and Yukihira sensei had moved to some coastal village where Yukihira sensei... died of a car-crash..." Kaoru completed her sentence with so much difficulty and looked at Mikan's teary face, sorrowfully.
"After your father's death, Yuka was left alone with you inside her womb." Kaoru stopped and sighed painfully, making Mikan's heart ache some more.
"I remember how fragile she was... even when we were still schooling. She definitely couldn't have bared them all." She said, looking dreamily at the ceiling.
"When I got to know of everything, you had been already adopted by some family named Sakura, right after your birth. They had given you your name, Mikan Sakura." She stopped and patted Mikan's head, lovingly.
"What had happened to my mom?" Mikan asked, muffling her cries forcefully.
"She had given up her life... to give birth to you... Mikan..." Kaoru said as she bent forward and hugged her tightly, comforting her sobbing child.
"But what I wanted to tell you was this..." Kaoru said as she broke the hug and placed her back again on the pillow.
"That you have to live your life happily... because your mom... gave up her breathing for you... Mikan... You gotta keep smiling... you gotta keep becoming stronger, day by day... because you owe your life, to your mom..." Kaoru said and hugged her again, much more tightly than before. She remembered how she had taken 6 months old Mikan into her house when Natsume was nearly two years old.
"Now now... Honey... stop crying..." Kaoru said as she straightened Mikan's body with her hands, making her look at her.
"Do you know... When I took you home with me that day..." Kaoru said, smiling brightly. "It was the first day I saw my boy smiling... for real..." She said as she looked into Mikan's widened hazel orbs with awe.
"He was the happiest among us... that day..." She paused again and looked dreamily at a framed photo she had by her bed side.
"He ran up and down... screaming like a little plane... Then he'd come again and pinch your little nose, saying 'mommy look! She's red like a tomato!'" Kaoru said and laughed, her dreamy eyes pointed on Mikan's. Hearing of Natsume's little pranks, Mikan couldn't help but smile through her tears, her heart lightening a little.
"When are you guys gonna stop talking nonsense?" A cold voice broke into the room, making both women look in the direction of the door.
"Ah Natsume... We were just talking about you!" Kaoru said, winking at Mikan mischievously, much to Natsume's dismay.
"Yeah, I heard it all." He said, annoyed and turned to Mikan before he continued. "Is she gonna come or what?" Natsume asked; though his eyes were pointed at Mikan, his question was pointed at his mother.
"Ah...It's your bridal night, after all..." Kaoru said, turning to Mikan as Mikan started to shake, visibly. Then suddenly, Kaoru seemed to have remembered something.
"Oh Natsume... Haven't you canceled the trip for tonight? You can leave tomorrow... Mikan doesn't look—" She was cut off.
"I've already done that." Natsume said in his horse voice and turned to leave, signing Mikan to follow him. "No time to waste." He said and smirked before he disappeared from the door.
Seeing all this, Mikan was turning red like hell. Her hands had started to tremble and her lips were stuck together, not letting her speak a word.
"Oh C'mon honey... It's nothing to be embarrassed about... He's your husband after all..." Kaoru said as she patted Mikan's shoulder, raising her spirit.
"He's your husband from now on... You gotta make him happy... He'll do the same... That was what you guys promised before God earlier today... Remember?" Kaoru asked, making Mikan stand up with difficulty. Once she had stood up, Kaoru led her way outta the door, smiling at her, lovingly.
"But anyways..." Kaoru said and winked at Mikan who was walking in silence through the corridor by now.
"Don't forget you're pregnant!" Kaoru said and closed the door, smiling, making Mikan tremble some more.
"You're late."
Mikan heard her husband's hoarse voice, breaking the silence of the room. She could see his crimson eyes piercing the darkness, reaching for her terrified hazel orbs. But suddenly, she remembered something he had said in the morning before their wedding.
"Our marriage doesn't necessarily mean we have to get along with each other... physically."
Those words started to repeat inside her mind. "Does that mean... this is all... a fake?" Mikan thought, her hand accidently clutching her dress over her heart. "Does that mean Natsume... doesn't want a marriage life with me?" She thought as a tear fell onto the floor, without her knowing at all. Seeing Natsume lying in bed with his crimson eyes gleaming in the dark, yet knowing that she had to keep her distance because of what he had said earlier in the day, Mikan was losing her mind. For her, it felt like something impossible to do at the moment. "Oh kami... What's wrong with me...? I feel like... I feel like... Ohhh...! I can't take it anymore!" Mikan thought as another crystal tear rolled down her face, slowly.
"Come here." He said in his deepest husky voice, breaking the ice between them and making Mikan's ears go deaf.
She stood there, immovable for another few seconds before she made her mind to move forward. She walked towards the bed and sat on it, slowly, not knowing what she was doing at all. At the very minute she sat down, his heart began to beat so fast and a sudden feeling of urge covered his whole mind. For some reason, he felt as if it had happened before; that very moment had occurred before. His heart started to race at that thought. It was the same feeling he had had when he had kissed her at the wedding. The urge he was having to touch her now, and the urge he had had to kiss her then had the same mysterious qualities in comparison. Mikan on the other hand, was facing the same confusing situation, not knowing why her body was reacting against her mind.
Just a single touch of Natsume's hand, had made her lie down in bed with him. They didn't know even when their lips met each other once again for the day. She didn't even notice that she was ripped off her dress after a few brief minutes. It was only when she opened her eyes, she realized her situation at the moment. She could feel Natsume's warmth against her skin, burning it slightly with an unknown desire. Feeling that, her lips touched the skin of his chest, making Natsume kiss her neck in return, passionately. With that, a sudden question popped up in her mind.
"Natsume..." She said out softly, making Natsume's half closed fiery eyes focus on her.
"Hn?" Natsume made his typical response as Mikan looked into his eyes, innocently.
"Don't you feel like..." She stopped in the midway, not wanting to ruin the moment by completing the sentence.
Noticing her sudden change of mind, Natsume drew her closer to his body again, wrapping his arms around her, holding her gently.
"Like this has happened before?" He completed her thoughts and kissed her forehead gently, making her snuggle into his skin some more.
"Oi Nogi!" Someone spoke out of the blue, making the peacefully sleeping Ruka jump off the bed, terrified.
"I—Imai!" Ruka shouted out in terror. If he hadn't recognized the voice, he could've thought she was a ghost.
"Shhh! Don't make any noise, idiot!" Hotaru said as she shot him a death glare.
"W—what are you doing here!" Ruka asked, stammering, making sure not to make any unwanted noise.
"Come with me." Hotaru said, gesturing him to follow her. Seeing this, Ruka lost his mind.
"Eh? What are you—" He was cut off by the icy voice of his annoyed girlfriend.
"Don't you wanna see what they're doing?" Hotaru asked as she turned to face her bunny boy's now terribly blushing face.
"Ehh? Imaiii!" He managed to say before he was dragged away.
Within a few seconds, they were inside Mikan's room where Hotaru had been sleeping for the day. On the bed she had her laptop turned on which was playing the video of the freshly married couple's bridal night.
"Ehhh! Th—this! H—How did you! Whyyy!" Ruka asked, trembling in embarrassment.
"I was just curious." Hotaru said, emotionlessly as ever.
"B—but!" Ruka was cut off by the scene that had just played on the tape.
"Look! Oh-my-God! Mikan!" It was all she could say before Ruka collapsed to the floor, anime style.
Soooooo! Yeah! 19th chapter's over.
Umm should I say more about it? :-D
I could've written more, yet I've rated this 'T'. So gotta go with it. Haha...
Don't worry! More to come...
More and more mystery chests to open!
Anyway!
I'm sooo happy about your comments, my loving reviewers...
And ah! There's one review which caught me by surprise! A guest reader had got me right! If you're reading this, I wanna tell you that you've seen me through! Haha! :-D Love you! :-*
And of course, as always, my hugs and kisses goes especially to my fellow author/readers Timey Wimey Detecter , cposcabee, HaCel and Katherine Kalissa Amara! For reading and reviewing my story! XOXO
Love you guys so much! Keep reviewing! :-*
I want you guys to guess what's going on in the story just like how my guest reader has done! Give it a try! :-)
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Umm I'll be back with my holy 20th chapter, in a few days! So please do wait!
Hope you're satisfied for now! Sorry for making it short again! (Actually my mom came shouting at me so I had to stop out of the blue, sorry about that babes!)
Bye for now!
Love you all!
-Awful nightmare-