23. Building the Future
"Aoi-chan..."
Nobara said and sighed so deeply, making Mikan look at her troubled face, horrified.
"Aoi-chan was just two months old, when she died of a sudden spasm in the heart." Nobara said and stopped to clutch her heart in sorrow.
"She was so little... When we had to take her to the cemetery... Just... Just two months after we had celebrated her birth..." She said as a tear fell down from her eyes, making Mikan's eyes become damp as well. "Aoi? Natsume's sister?" Mikan talked to herself within her mind as Nobara looked at her with very red eyes and smiled.
"Natsume-sama was 2 years old, when it happened... After that incident I never saw him smiling under this roof... He never showed tears either..." Nobara continued with her story as Mikan prepared herself to listen to her with more eagerness.
"Just three months after Aoi-chan's death, Hyuuga-sama died of a heart attack, leaving Kaoru-sama and Natsume-sama to savor the ugliest type of pain on earth..." She said, her eyes fixed on one of the pictures on the opposite wall, dreamily.
"Then there was no reason left for them to hang around here anymore..." Nobara said as she drifted from her dream and looked back at Mikan's now puffy eyes.
"She took her child and left for Tokyo... leaving all of us behind..." Said the very upset clerk, drifting back to her dreamy state.
"This house was once... a place where many footsteps were heard... Busy...noisy and cheerful... But not anymore..." She added, still sunk in a sea of emotions. Her voice sounded largely disappointed. Mikan was listening, listening with her eyes widened in horror. Suddenly the storyteller turned to Mikan's side and took her hand in both of hers, smiling.
"But, I know... You will bring us back to life, Mikan-chan!" She said, smiling so cheerfully, her eyes filled with hope.
"You will... Definitely!" She added as Mikan smiled back at her, surprised. Her mind was filled with so many newly adopted facts, so for Mikan, it wasn't the best time to smile. She wondered why Natsume had taken her to someplace where he had buried a life full of miseries. She wondered why he would willingly step into his bad memories by choosing to live here. Her brain was puzzled but she didn't have a choice but to live with it.
"We'll have to start from the beginning..." She thought as she sighed, holding her new friend's pale hands.
It was about ten o' clock and he was standing in front of a huge building in the dark, looking desperate and worn out. He wasn't sure if he actually wanted to go in or not, but he had no other option as well. So he approached the huge gates and cracked open the old padlock using the keys he had being carrying around all the time. The building looked even darker from inside the gates, giving no hints of life or even death. He stepped forward and reached the huge doors which took him to a whole new scenario, full of dark clothed furniture and counters with no one to provide him with any service. In the dark, he found his way towards the power box and pulled down the lever, lighting up the whole building in a millisecond.
There he saw his awaiting, new life, lit up with old white fluorescent lights; dusty and grimy all over. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the condition of the building, yet pushed that thought away in another second, walking towards an old elevator; his eyes fixed on the notice it had on its left side.
"Seven stories only huh...!" He thought as he read through it, carefully. Seeing the condition which the building was currently in, he doubted if the elevator would really work. But he pushed the button which was there under the notice and waited till the elevator started with a huge crash and opened its doors at his face. He was surprised to see it working and with some trepidation, he walked in. Then he pushed the number three button, hoping that it won't crash in the midway, making him bury himself silently in a dark building, unknown to everyone.
However, after a silent journey of two to three minutes, he was safely taken to his destination, the 3rd floor.
As he stepped in, he saw files and machines piled up on the floor against the walls, giving out the air of a long dead commercial site, dusty and wrecked.
He walked further, till he found a tall oak door which had a brass plate over it, carrying the words 'President Hyuuga'. He opened it and walked in at once, only to see another dusty scene, a little different from earlier versions.
"So this is it, Dad..." Natsume said, his crimson eyes gleaming in the white light of the room. The huge armchair and the cabinets that were placed against the walls gave out the ambience of any other personal office of a chairperson, sacred and feared.
Upon reaching the table, his eyes stopped on a certain photo frame, which carried the photo of a smiling family of four people. Seeing that, his heart heaved all of a sudden, making him stare at the photo with more intensity.
With growing anxiety, he stepped towards the chair and ran his fingers through its edge, caressing it dreamily. In another dreamy second, he was sitting on it, his head pressed on the backrest with closed eyes.
Then he opened them in the next minute and reached out for the files thrown here and there on the table. Dusting the dirt off, he took one in his hand, his eyes fixed on its title.
"Hyuuga Intelligent Systems Corporation." Natsume read to himself and sighed as he pictured his father standing in front of him, smiling.
"Nobara-chan... Are you asleep?"
Nobara heard someone calling her name in the middle of the night, making her jump off the bed, terrified.
"Mi—Mikan-chan! Is that you?" Nobara asked as she clutched the top of her night dress out of habit.
"Yeah. Can I come in?" She heard the intruder speak from behind the closed door.
"Of course, Mikan-chan! Please come in!" Nobara said as she climbed down the bed and put on her housecoat in a hurry.
"Oh... Did I scare you, Nobara-chan?" Mikan asked upon entering the room, pointing her eyes at Nobara's ghostly pale face. Hearing that, Nobara smiled and moved forward to receive Mikan with both her hands, warmly.
"Of course not, Mikan-chan! So why are you still awake? It's almost midnight now..." The clerk asked with visible anxiety as she took hold of Mikan's hands, wondering what she was doing here in the middle of the night. Seeing her worried face, Mikan smiled gently and opened her mouth to describe her situation.
"Natsume... He isn't home yet... Nobara-chan... Do you know where he's?" Mikan asked, her voice shaking a little. She'd been trying hard to sleep all the time but at last she had given up her vain attempt and come here all by herself to find Natsume, this way or the other. Nobara could see her situation fairly well through her face, pale and worried.
"Umm... I think Natsume-sama must've gone to... the office..." Nobara said, not sure about her thoughts yet. Hearing that, Mikan's eyes widened.
"The what?" Mikan asked, surprised. She had never heard Natsume talking about an office there in Kyoto.
"Yeah... Hyuuga-sama's old office building... I guess." Nobara said, making Mikan come back to earth with a sudden realization.
"Ah... Umm... Can I... can I go there too?" Mikan asked out cutely, her eyes gleaming with hope. She was tired of waiting for him alone inside that big planet-like house. She had no mind to go back to sleep either. She needed to go find him so badly. She needed to go find him right now.
"No! It's in the town! Near the Demachi-Yanagi station... It's a huge mercantile area... It doesn't sleep at night. We can't go there now. And even we haven't employed a driver yet. So I think... you should go back to your room now Mikan-chan... I'm sure Natsume-sama will be back soon. He must be on his way back..." Nobara said in a stern voice this time, trying hard to make her understand the situation. Mikan, on the other hand, knowing there was no way of convincing her to take her outta there, smiled at her, confirming that she had got her right.
"Umm... Yeah... I'll wait... Thank you, Nobara-chan... I'm sorry for waking you up at this hour of the night..." She said as she turned to leave, smiling.
"Oh... You don't have to say sorry... Mikan-chan... It's my duty to keep an eye on you, at least just for tonight, 'cause we don't have any servants here tonight..." Nobara said, smiling gently at the retreating figure of her employer.
"Do you want me to walk you to your room Mikan-chan?" She asked again, making Mikan turn back to her and smile.
"No... Nobara-chan... I'll be fine!" Mikan said before she started to walk away, smiling politely.
It was about one o' clock in the morning when he finally arrived there at the gates of the mansion house with a dreamy look on his face. As he pushed the button at the side of the gate, it opened at his face revealing a very sleepy watchman standing there in front of him, rubbing his eyes, much to Natsume's dismay.
"At least try not to sleep at night." Natsume said emotionlessly as he walked past him, making him stand straight and bow at him like crazy.
"I—I'm sorry Natsume-sama!" The guard, Mochiage, said in a hurried manner, keeping his head down, guilty as hell.
Within a few minutes, Natsume was there inside their half lit room, with his wife lying unconscious on an armchair next to the antique mirror placed against the wall. Seeing her like that, Natsume's heart skipped a beat and he rushed to her side to check if something was wrong with her, or she was just asleep. Before attempting to touch her, Natsume just watched her from a distance. He could see her chest going up and down, making it clear that she was just asleep and when he approached her, he could hear her heavy breathing that she usually does when she was asleep. He was relieved at that thought and bent down to lift her in his arms, to put her to bed. He then gently took her in his arms and walked towards the bed, without even making the slightest wrong move to wake her up.
"Why did you have to wait for me, little idiot." Natsume said softly as he put her down on the bed, smiling dreamily. He then knelt down beside her and watched her peacefully sleeping face, his mind running to the past they had had back in Tokyo. He smiled at how they had ended up together in a room like this. With that, his hand reached out for her belly, caressing it softly and his eyes focused on it with more and more intensity. It was that baby who had united their souls under the spell of marriage. So he felt indebted to it. To their baby. His heart had long forgotten the fact that it was said to be someone else's. All he now remembered was that his wife and his baby were waiting for him to make a better life, a better future for them. That was all he believed in. And that was all he lived for.
The night passed with no more incident. It was around seven o' clock in the morning when she felt a sudden retch inside her belly, making her jump off the bed at once, slapping Natsume's arms away. Feeling that, Natsume woke up at once, his eyes widened in horror as he saw his wife running towards the bathroom, her mouth clasped with her palm.
"Mikan!" Natsume cried as he followed her inside the bathroom, his heart racing at her silent movements.
Mikan on the other hand had no time to waste on describing things to Natsume and was retching painfully, making Natsume lose his mind.
"What's going on!" He yelled as Mikan finally found the washbasin and sank her face in it, retching more than ever and tears rising in her eyes. Seeing that, Natsume rushed to her and held her by her waist, keeping her steady as she emptied her stomach into the washbasin, her body shaking furiously. When she was done, she lay her head on Natsume's shoulder, heaving in exhaustion. Her body felt empty and her throat was dried away by the strong floods of vomit. Without asking or saying anything, Natsume just took some water in his hand and rubbed it on her vomit-stained mouth, wiping it clear with his palm as she kept her tear oozing eyes closed. Then he walked her back to the bed, made her sit down and knelt down in front of her, trying hard to keep his worried face away. Reaching out for the glass of water they had by the bedside table, he smiled at her, pushing his worry away, not wanting to make her feel worse.
"Drink and you'll feel better." He said, as he handed her the glass, looking gently into her eyes, still smiling. Sobbing, she took it with trembling hands and looked at him thankfully, trying hard to smile through her tears.
"Natsume... It... It hurts..." She said as she sipped a little from the glass, tears rolling down her face.
"I know... It'll be gone once you've had your breakfast." He said, looking into her eyes, convincingly. She just nodded at his statement and took in another sip of water slowly, her puffy eyes focused on nothing. Natsume had first thought of it as a bad sign but then when he remembered what Subaru had said him the other day, he felt it was all normal. He hoped everything was fine and he blamed himself for not giving her enough rest the previous day.
"Now... Just lie down here for a little longer. I'll be back in a minute." Natsume said and left the room after giving her a stern look as if to warn her not to move an inch away from the bed.
Mikan just lay there, looking dreamily at the empty ceiling, her hand resting on her still flat belly. For her, her life was still a mess where she saw no reason or solution. It was true that she was happily married at the moment, but didn't know what the future held for her.
"Oh Hotaru... I am a super baka, of course..." She thought as she remembered her stoic best friend's stern face all of a sudden. She remembered how she called her an idiot for lying down her life to achieve her stupid goals all the time.
"But if... if it was my stupidity which brought me here... I'm happy I was born an idiot..." She thought as she smiled blankly at the ceiling which now displayed a pair of gleaming crimson eyes, smiling at her.
"Here" She heard through her dream, making her turn her head only to see a very concerned Natsume with a bowl full of different kinds of fruits in his hands. Seeing that, Mikan looked at him, surprised.
"Whoa! What're those?" She asked and gaped at him, much to Natsume's annoyance.
"Fruits. They say it'll push away your tendency to throw up again." He said and placed the bowl on the bedside table, making Mikan look at him with more surprise.
"Why?" He asked as he noticed her stare, annoyed.
"Natsume... Thank you..." She said as an unknown tear rolled down her face, making Natsume sigh in return.
"Needn't thank me. I don't like it when the woman I love the most keeps on thanking me all the time." Natsume said in his hoarse voice as if it was the most common sentence in the whole world, making Mikan choke in return.
"E—Ehhh?!" Mikan gasped as Natsume just smiled at her and stepped outta the room, quick as breeze.
"Oi Naru."
Narumi heard his cool client call out for him out of the blue.
"Oh... Natsume-kun! I didn't notice you were here! See! We're half done with your living area!" Narumi said as he smiled at Natsume, sheepishly, making Natsume groan in return.
"Umm... Why, does it look awful?" He asked, looking disappointed at Natsume's disgusted expression, sorrowfully.
"Nah. It's not the case. You gotta do something else for me." Natsume said as he climbed down the stairs, approaching him coolly.
"Eh? What's that, Natsume-kun?" The blonde man asked, surprised as he put down the blueprints of the house, focusing on Natsume.
"You gotta post this advertisement. Whatever method you use, I need workers for my company within a fortnight." Natsume said as he handed him a piece of paper, his eyes fixed on Narumi's widened eyes.
"Eh? Within a fortnight? But Natsume-ku—"
"If you can't do it, I'll hand it over to someone else. And the profit will also be theirs." Natsume said out coolly as Narumi's sweat dropped.
"No—no no! Wait! I'll do it! There's no other man in Kyoto who can undertake such a task! Believe me! I and my men will make your company overflow with workers!" Narumi said as he shook Natsume's hands with both of his hands, making Natsume lose his temper once more.
"Ah... And there's one more thing you gotta do. Do up my company and make it suit the present situation in the business word. Equip it, make it the best place in Kyoto. Do whatever you want but remember you have only 14 days left, including today" Natsume said before he left the scene, leaving Narumi speechless.
"Ugh...He makes it sound so easy..." Narumi said as he gestured his men to gather around him for a second.
Ruka was flipping through the pages of his chemistry book dreamily, when he heard a sudden bang on his door.
"Oi Nogi!" He jumped off the chair, literally, when he heard his stoic girlfriend's smooth voice coming out from behind the door.
"Err—Ugh! What're you doing here at my house?" He asked as he opened the door and she slipped in as an eel out of water.
"I'm leaving school, starting tomorrow!" She said all of a sudden as she sat on Ruka's bed without invitation, making Ruka's jaw drop, anime style.
"Ehhh? Le-Leaving school? You? Why?!" He asked, not believing a word as Hotaru stared at him coolly, freezing him on the spot.
"I guess you haven't seen it yet." Hotaru said, searching her pockets for some candy she had stuffed there inside about a year ago.
"W-What!" Ruka asked, astonished to death.
"This!" She said as she took out a crumpled piece of a newspaper out of her other pocket and shove it in front of Ruka's eyes, making Ruka's them widen in shock.
"H—Hyuuga Intelligent systems corporation?!" Ruka read it as a drop of sweat rolled down his face.
"Yup. And I'm outta school. See how much they pay for a Systems Administrator! It's pointless to keep schooling when our friend's ready to pay us this much!" Hotaru said with awe as Ruka tried so hard to say something but words just won't come outta his mouth.
"And ah! I'm not here to ask for your permission. Don't get me wrong okay. I'm here just to ask if you wanna join me. I'm sure Natsume won't let you return to Tokyo jobless." She said without a halt and stuffed her mouth with a candy and chewed it till Ruka finally, found his words.
"I-Is i-it a-actually Na-Natsume's company?!" Ruka asked, stammering as Hotaru looked at him with disgust.
"No. Just stay here then. I'm leaving for Kyoto first thing tomorrow. No time to waste. Bye!" She said as she stood up and left the room at once, leaving a thunderstruck Ruka inside the room alone.
Hiii my friends! I'm back! :-) Are you happy? Umm I'm sooo excited at the moment thought there's nothing interesting in this chapter! :-D
Umm I used this chapter mainly to make the background for the coming chapters so... umm bear with it! Haha! I know you will! :-) Now tell me, was it that boring? :'(
OMG! About my date! Thanks to you guys' blessings nothing went wrong! Actually Yesterday, OMG was SOOOO ROMANTIC! Haha! :-* You know what... I'm breathless at the moment! He was just sooo uh oh! What to say! Umm... His actions largely reflect that of Natsume's. Haha very possessive! That's the word. Plus he kissed me on my forehead! Good improvement huh? :-D And the shocking truth is, he was my ex too. So I got my ex back. Haha. No girl on earth can be happier than me at the moment.
Anyway! I know one thing now! If we pray for something as one world, it'll be granted for sure! Like what happened with my love. All you guys prayed for me; people from all around the world! So see what happened! My ex came back to me with less effort! :-)
Please continue praying for me! I want it so badly! 'cause I don't wanna lose him once again! :'(
Anyway! Now back to my story! Ooooh! 80+ reviews! I'm breathless! *tears rising!
Now it looks like I'd reach above hundred reviews! Thanks to my everyday reviewers! I'm really happy to know how much you guys love talking to me! :-*
Now now... It's time for me to talk back!
HaCel:-Haha umm now you know who was Natsume's sister, right? No confusion! Umm haha yeah! I had an amazing day yesterday! The best date ever! Even better than Natsume's and Mikan's. :-D Umm thanks to your blessings! I really owe you much, both in my real life and my story! Now that I have dragged my real life into this. :-D
Thanks HaCel. Umm Looking forward for your another touching review! :-* Love ya!
Guest:- Haha! Thanks to your blessings I had a wonderful day with my love. Umm I actually owe all you guys for that. Umm You said you were an Indian right? Since we people look alike, you might get an idea about my guy's looks if I say he looks just like Imran Khan, the actor. Haha :-D That's why I fell in love with him. Umm That wasn't the only reason though. ;-) Keep reviewing honey! :-*
newroz:- Haha! Yeah thank you so much for your blessings honey! I owe you so look forward for more and more REAL romance! Love ya sooo much! :-*
iiAriya:- Hahaha! I couldn't keep myself from giggling when I was reading your review! Your description about your looks was really good and funny! Umm 'cause of you I searched for some photos of Filipino girls and saw you were damn right! You guys have beautiful eyes! Umm plus beautiful hair! Straight black right? Umm anyway! I Love reading your reviews and they actually make me smile! Thanks hon! And don't stay awake for long hours just to suck blood! :-D Ms. Vampire! :-D Loveee ya!
Katherine Kalissa Amara:- Whoa! You're half Sinhalese? No way! Did I just meet a fellow Sinhalese! Wait! Mama hondin innawa. Haha how was that? :-D Umm can you speak more? Or only that? I'm sooo curious! And how did you become half Sinhalese? An offspring of a mixed marriage? Can't be! :-O
cposcabee: Haha! Just saw your review! See how faster I update! :-D Don't try to solve things just yet. Wait till my last two chapters. Please keep supporting honey! :-*
And finally our new friend Bird blu! Thank you sooo much! Umm please keep reviewing 'cause in my story I give the top priority to my reviewers! Haha! Don't be angry at me my readers! ;-)
I'm grateful for all my readers as well!
So I'm always happy to have new reviewers! Thanks Bird blu! Did you pick up your name from 'Rio'? Just curious! ;-)
Umm okay! I'm off to bed now! Haha! Gotta text my honey! :-D Please I need you to pray for us more! He's so handsome so I'm scared some damn woman would snatch him away from me! ;'( Don't let that happen my readers!
Love you!
I'll be back!
-Awful Nightmare-