24. Intruders
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The morning was passing swiftly, but she was still there in bed, pouting at the ceiling with her eyes open wide. "The woman I love the most... huh...?" She kept pushing the repeat button over and over again. It'd been hours since he had left her alone in that room, but still she felt as if he was there with her all the time. She couldn't realize what was going on inside her mind; was she actually falling for him? It's true she did confess it in the previous night, but had she actually meant it then? Hadn't their bodies got to know each other before their minds did? She didn't know what to feel at the moment, but deep down, she could feel her heart beat thumping faster and faster.
She didn't feel well, even now. Her head was aching, so was her belly. But she couldn't keep to the bed anymore, so she climbed down and walked slowly out of the door after making sure that Natsume wasn't around. She knew he would kick her ass, not literally, if he got to know that she'd stepped outta the room this early. She pouted at that thought.
She was about to climb down the stairs when she heard the cheerful voice of their lovely clerk, smooth and gentle as always.
"Oh... Mikan-chan...! Good morning! Look how charming your mansion looks in the morning!" She said, approaching Mikan with a bright smile plastered on her lips. Only then Mikan raised her head to look at the whole scenery from above the stairs; really charming. The tall church-like windows beaten by the morning sun gave her a whole different picture from what she had seen the previous night. She was looking at the sun-filtering coloured panes with awe as her eyes stopped on something unusual hanging on the huge window frame.
"Errr! Who's that?!" Mikan cried out loud as the person who was swinging on the window, grinned sheepishly. Seeing that Nobara just couldn't help but smile and turned to Mikan, to describe the situation.
"Umm... Mikan-chan... They're repairing the house. There's more down there..." Nobara said, smiling gently at Mikan's wide hazel orbs.
"Eh? Umm so they've started it already?" Mikan asked out surprised as Nobara smiled and nodded.
"Yes... Looks like Natsume-sama wants everything to be done very soon." She said as Mikan looked down from the banister, only to see more than fifteen heads at work down there, busy like ants out of a hole.
"Whoa!" She gasped.
"Half of them are working outside...in the garden. It's thirty altogether." She said as Mikan gaped some more.
"Nobara-chan... Where's Natsume?" Mikan asked out of the blue, still keeping her eyes focused on the people working down there.
"Natsume-sama must've gone back to the office. He asked me to take care of you, Mikan-chan... He looked really worried about something... Is everything alright, Mikan-chan?" She asked as Mikan turned her head to look at her and smiled.
"Yeah... I'm alright now! Umm... it was just that I had a little headache in the morning... Now it's all gone..." Mikan answered as Nobara took hold of her hand and smiled.
"But still you look a little pale, Mikan-chan... Umm please go and have your breakfast... It's almost lunch time now, by the way..." She said, still holding her hand, worried to death.
"Oh... Okay... Guess there're no men working there in the dining room." Mikan said and chuckled before she started to walk in the direction of the dining room, smiling.
"Oh...! Mikan-chan! I almost forgot! Please join me in the study when you're done okay? If you feel well... Umm... We have to order new furniture for the house... But only if you feel well!" Nobara shouted out loud as Mikan turned back to her and nodded, smiling.
Mikan took her breakfast and drank a hell lot of water, trying hard to push the tendency to throw up again. Her belly was still retching slightly giving her warnings to stuff herself inside the room again. But that couldn't be done. She had to help Nobara with placing orders. So she slowly stood up from the chair and walked towards the study, where she found Nobara's smiling face buried in a pile of papers, exhausted.
"Mikan-chan! Finally you came! Please come and sit beside me!" Nobara said out cheerfully as she stood up with joy. But all Mikan could do was smiling in return, 'cause she couldn't open her mouth; the eagerness to throw up was still there inside it. She walked forward with a very green face and sat beside Nobara who had started to fill the forms once again, very focused.
"Mikan-chan... Which curtains do you prefer? White or Ivory? Since the couches aren't gonna be replaced, I think the Ivory would suit the best. What do you think?" Nobara asked, her eyes fixed on the papers, perplexed. Hearing that Mikan wanted to say she preferred the same but her belly started to retch furiously at that thought. She knew she wasn't gonna be able to hold it any longer. So she silently, clasped her mouth with her palm and stood up at once, making Nobara look at her horrified.
"Mikan-chan?" She said, her eyes widened in horror. But Mikan had no idea to stay there any longer so she ran outta the room, making Nobara follow her like a guard after a prisoner, fast and focused.
"Mikan-chan! What's wrong?!" She asked as Mikan ran inside their bathroom and locked the door behind her, not wanting Nobara to see her symptoms. Watching her, Nobara just stood there silent as a pillar, while Mikan emptied her stomach again into the washbasin, wincing in pain.
"Mikan-chan..." Nobara said out softly as Mikan stepped out of the bathroom with a face damp with tears. Seeing her sobbing under her breath, Nobara approached her slowly and took hold of her hands, walking her towards the bed.
"You feel okay now?" Nobara asked gently as Mikan emptied the glass of water she had offered in the previous minute.
"Uh... Yeah... Nobara-chan..." Mikan managed to say through her tears, clutching her dress over her belly.
"Mikan-chan... Should I call Natsume-sama?" She asked again, very much concerned as Mikan looked at her hurriedly with a 'NO' in her eyes.
"Umm... Does Natsume-sama know?" She asked again, her eyes glittering with some kind of a delight this time.
"What do you mean, Nobara-chan?" Mikan asked as she looked back at Nobara's blissful eyes, shocked. Seeing her shocked expression, Nobara just smiled warmly and took both of her hands in hers.
"I knew it when I felt your pulse... In the morning..." She said as she looked into Mikan's eyes with her warm and gentle gaze. Hearing that, Mikan blushed beet red. What should she tell her now?
"It's nothing to be embarrassed of Mikan-chan... This is the greatest news we heard after such a long barren time! All we people, faithful to the Hyuugas will celebrate this in no time! Our new heir!" Nobara said in a cheerful tone as Mikan kept silent, her eyes locked on something dreamy on the opposite wall.
"Wait here! I'll bring you something really soothing to chew! That'll make you forget the feeling to throw up again! This will happen from time to time, but it's nothing to worry about! It's totally normal..." Nobara said as she stood up in a hurry, smiling brighter than ever.
"I'm quite into folk medicine, you know..." She said before she left the room, winking at Mikan's worried face.
"New heir...Uh..." Mikan thought as a tear fell down from her eyes.
"Hayate Matsudaira, Yuri Miyazono, Noriyuki Makihara, Takahashi and Megane. Altogether five. Anyone else?"
Narumi was going through the list as the keeper kept on counting the heads over and over again. The gates of the mansion were already overflowing with human presence, since Narumi's workers were all over the place and now these five people had arrived, blocking the entrance with all the luggage they had brought with them.
"Now now... Please wait here for a few more minutes 'cause it's not me who'd sign you up for your new posts... Oh uh... Please don't push one another..." Narumi was trying really hard to keep the new household employees calm.
"Oh... They've arrived..." Nobara said as she looked at the small queue which was there by the gates, delighted.
"Oh... Nobara-chan... Here comes the clerk! My duty's over now!" Narumi said as he handed her the papers and slipped out of the scene, grinning sheepishly.
"Oh... Umm... Five people for household work. One cook, a driver, the gardener...umm... and two maids! Very simple! C'mon!" Nobara said with a cheerful voice and led the crew inside the house, relieved.
"Oh... Mikan-chan... Where are you going? Aren't you supposed to rest inside your room some more?" Nobara asked as she saw Mikan climbing down the stairs, slowly, her eyes fixed on nothing. It was only then Mikan noticed the five people who were standing behind Nobara, thunderstruck.
"Ah... Umm... I have to introduce you to your mistress! This is your mistress from today onwards, Hyuuga Mikan-sama..." Nobara said as she turned to the crew, introducing Mikan to all of them. As they all bowed at Mikan respectfully, Nobara turned back to Mikan and smiled.
"Mikan-sama... This is your new household crew... Takahashi and Yuri your two maids, Noriyuki Makihara the cook, Hayate Matsudaira your gardener and finally, Megane, your driver..." Nobara said as she introduced each person in the household crew, smiling.
"It's a pleasure to meet you all..." Mikan said as she smiled back at them, bowing a little. Though she didn't see anything interesting in the other two, the two maids and the driver looked very friendly and less strict. Mikan was relieved at that thought.
"What do you think, Mikan-chan?" Nobara asked Mikan, who was sitting in the study all alone after a good few hours from the previous incident. Hearing her, Mikan looked up, surprised.
"About what, Nobara-chan?" Mikan asked, smiling faintly.
"About our new crew... Do they look appealing?" Nobara asked as she sat down beside her on a chair, smiling gently.
"Yeah... Of course..." Mikan said and smiled heartwarmingly, much to Nobara's delight.
"I knew you'd like them! Umm hope Natsume-sama would like them as well... Umm anyway Mikan-chan... This would be the last day I spend here... Now that my duty's over..." Nobara said, pressing the last few words with utmost difficulty. Hearing that, Mikan's heart heaved. The only friend she had found in this unknown place... Was she gonna leave her as well?
"B-but... Nobara-chan..." Mikan said as a tear dropped from her eye.
"Umm... You know Mikan-chan... My real duty is there in the Hyuuga Corporation. So I can't deny that... But don't worry... Takahashi-san and Yuri-senpai would take care of you very well... I know them personally... They're my friends!" Nobara said a second before Mikan jumped forward and hugged her tightly, sobbing so hard.
"But..."
"Please... Mikan-chan... It's not like we aren't gonna see each other again... I'll visit you every now and then... I gotta bring you more herbs, remember?" Nobara said and patted Mikan's sobbing head, gently.
"Nobara-san!"
Both of them looked up as the door bang opened, revealing a horrified Mochiage, panting heavily.
"Why! What on earth is going on?" Nobara asked as she watched his shocked-to-death face, pale as a ghost.
"Th-there is—something horrible—" The man was stammering.
"Tell me at once! What is it?!" Nobara asked, standing up from the chair. Mikan was speechless and hoped Natsume was all okay.
"There's... someone at the gates! Threatening our men with a gun! A young woman! With a decent looking guy. She asked us to open the gates... B-but when... when we asked for their identity, she just... pointed a gun at me and... and..."
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"Hotaruuuuuuuuuuu...!"
Nobara and the guard were thrown aside and the young brunette was outta the room in the next millisecond.
"What did just happen?" Nobara asked as the guard fell on the floor anime style.
"Hotaruuuuuuuuu!" Mikan yelled as she ran through the main pathway in front of the gates, her eyes sparkling with tears.
"Mikan." The raven haired girl replied, emotionless.
"Hotaaaaaaaruuuuuuu!" Mikan cried out again, her puffy eyes fixed on the distant figure of her raven haired best friend.
"Mikan." Said the violet eyed girl again.
"Hotaruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!" Mikan yelled, jumping forward to hug her as the raven haired girl moved away, making Mikan land safely on the arms of the blonde young man who was standing there beside her, thunderstruck.
"Sa-Sakura!" He said as he made her stand properly, surprised.
"Ruka-pyon! You guys..." Mikan asked, tears oozing from her eyes. Seeing her expression, Hotaru moved closer to her, still with no emotion.
"Hotaru... I knew you'd come to see me!" Mikan said in a teary voice as she jumped again and hung around her neck without resistance this time.
"Baka Mikan. It's not like we've come all the way here just to see you." Hotaru said out coolly as Mikan's arms fell down from her neck automatically, totally disappointed. Seeing Mikan's disappointed face, Ruka opened his mouth to declare ceasefire between the two parties.
"It doesn't mean you weren't a reason for her to come here though." Ruka said, comforting Mikan's bruised heart.
"Then what are the other reasons?" Mikan asked and pouted as Hotaru began to collect her things and walk in. Seeing her ignoring Mikan's question, Ruka took over the job to answer to her question as always.
"Uh... We're here... Umm... looking for a job..." Ruka said, stammering, not sure if they were actually there for that. However, the mere sound of that made Mikan lose her mind.
"Searching for what?" Mikan asked, not sure if she had heard it right.
"A job." Hotaru said out plainly, dragging her luggage on the white marble pathway.
"A what?" Mikan asked again, making Hotaru pat her baka gun with impatience as a drop of sweat rolled down Ruka's face.
"Sakura... She's right..." Ruka said as he squeezed Mikan's hand, wanting her to stop questioning.
"By the way, you better stop calling her 'Sakura' now. She's a Hyuuga." Hotaru said before entering the house at once, pushing her luggage through the door, making the floor wince in pain. Hearing that creak, Nobara came running into the living room, thinking that someone was scraping the newly polished redwood floor.
"Oh... Who are you?" She asked as she saw Hotaru pulling her huge travelling bags on the floor, making it creak and crack.
"Hi. I'm Imai Hotaru." Hotaru said emotionlessly and started to pull and push her luggage again, ignoring all the stares that were pointed at her.
After a few seconds, Mikan and Ruka's heads emerged from the door, making Nobara gape in surprise.
"Oh... Nobara-chan!" Mikan yelled, tears of joy oozing from her eyes.
"Mikan-chan?" Nobara said with a question mark on her face.
"Nobara-chan! These are my best friends! Hotaru and Ruka-pyon!" Mikan said as she hung on both of their shoulders at once, making Nobara gape some more.
"We've met already." Hotaru jumped into the middle as Mikan's eyes widened in surprise.
"Eh? You two? Know each other?" Mikan asked, curious to death.
"Umm yeah... Just a few minutes ago." Nobara answered and smiled warmly at both of their guests.
"Please come and take a seat! Natsume-sama will be so happy to see you in here... I'll ask our men to move your luggage to your rooms. It must've been a tiresome journey." Nobara said and bowed at them politely, making Ruka admire her beauty secretly.
"Oi Nogi. Enough!" Hotaru said, slapping Ruka's head before she threw herself on the couch, free like a bird.
"She must be Natsume's Private Secretary, huh?" Hotaru asked as Mikan sat beside her, beaming like a French rose.
"Natsume has such a beautiful Private Secretary...?" Ruka thought, drooling, making Hotaru slap him and bring him back to consciousness again.
"Oh... No no... She's our clerk I guess... Umm does it mean she's his Private Secretary, by the way?" Mikan asked, confused.
"How could I know?!" Hotaru said as she closed her eyes, annoyed.
"Ne... Hotaru..." Mikan said, placing her head on Hotaru's shoulder, happy to be next to her best friend after one and a half days. It was only yesterday they had moved in here and here they had all reunited today. At this point, she couldn't help but heave at the thought of their mother.
"Where are you gonna work? And why did you leave school all of a sudden? Was it... because of me...?" Mikan asked, her head buried deeply on Hotaru's shoulder.
"Are you nuts? We heard your husband was looking for employees for his company. Besides, who'd kick a sack of three hundred thousand yen per month?" Hotaru said as Mikan's eyes widened, shocked to death.
"Three hundred thousand?!" Mikan yelled, as Ruka moved closer to her, fearing that she'd fall any minute.
"Yeah. So I took Nogi along with me, for I wanted my future husband to be rich as well." Hotaru said out blankly as Mikan gritted her teeth in rage.
"Hotaru you meanie! It's all about money, after all!" Mikan said, wanting to throw up once again; this time, not literally.
"So... Till we find a place to live, we'll be living here. This is such a big place after all... This definitely doesn't suit you." Hotaru said as Mikan started to breathe heavily.
"Hotaruuuuuuuuu! You baka baka hentaiiiiiiii!" Mikan cried out loud as Hotaru stood up, coolly.
"By the way, where's the kitchen?"
"Oi Naru."
Narumi heard his employer's cool voice out of the blue.
"Ah... Natsume-kun! What's it?" Narumi asked, smiling sheepishly as ever.
"That advertisement." Natsume said, making Narumi clear his throat to explain things in the next second.
"Umm... Yeah... I posted it, first thing in the morning! Right after you asked me to do it. Both on the internet and in the evening newspaper. My men keeps on making calls to the experienced workers of other companies to come and join ours. We've received about thirty positive answers so far. Just in a couple of hours!" Narumi said as Natsume's heart relieved a little. He had never expected it to proceed this sooner. However, he couldn't trust this man at once. How could he? He didn't trust him until—
"Natsume..."
He heard a very familiar voice coming out of nowhere.
Natsume turned his head and looked in the direction of the door, only to see a gentle pair of familiar eyes, smiling at his widened crimson ones, blissfully.
"Ruka?" Natsume said as he stepped forward, surprised.
"Natsume... After a long one and a half days, aren't we?" Ruka said and hugged him tightly, his eyes sparkling with new tears as Natsume hugged him back, emotions overflowing between their hearts.
"Ruka... But why did you—"
"Natsume... Please make me your employee, will you?" Ruka asked as both Natsume's and Narumi's eyes widened.
"Whoa! My advertisement! Was this fast?" Narumi thought as a drop of sweat rolled down his face.
"How did you get to know? This early?" Natsume asked as Narumi listened to them carefully.
"I dunno... It was Imai who showed me the advertisement in the morning. We actually planned to come tomorrow... But you know... She changes her plans in a blink of an eye. So we took the flight and here we're." Ruka said in an explanatory voice, making Narumi gape in silence.
"So this man is good at something, after all." Natsume said emotionlessly as he pointed at a furiously blushing Narumi.
Suddenly, the door of the President's room banged opened for the second time of the day, making all three of them look in that direction, surprised.
"We're all here!" Said a cheerful male voice, making Natsume grit his teeth in disgust. "So that bastard's also here." Natsume cursed under his breath as five heads appeared from the door, making Ruka and Narumi lose their minds.
"This fast?!" Narumi thought as his heart stopped beating.
"These guys?!" Ruka thought as a drop of sweat rolled down from his forehead.
Hello my dear readers! Sooo it was my 24th chapter! :-D Very short and flat! No Romance at all! :'( Sorry about that...
It's all about building the future again! But it has to be done, somehow... So bear with it...
I dedicate this chapter for Hotaru Lovers! :-D
Many of you guys had said you loved Hotaru... So here's more! :-D
Umm 90+ reviews! ^_^ Yea! I'm almost there! :-*
Thanks for your support guys! ^_^
cposcabee:- Haha! You said that was fast huh? And I say, that's me! ^_^ Thanks babe... Keep supporting!
iiAriya:- LOL! Yeah! Ms. Vampire suits you! Your hair is pure black? Mine too! ^_^ C'mon tell me! Is your name truly Raven Anne? Your real name? No can be! Umm Haha I should thank you on behalf of my boyfriend! :-D Thanks for calling him gorgeous, which he really is. ;-) Thanks for your comment honey... :-*
Katherine Kalissa Amara:- Whoa! Mixed marriage! Thought so! Umm haha btw, your daddy taught you Sinhala? Your 'Singlish', (I mean Sinhala words in English letters) looks really fine! ^_^ Mama inne Kandy. I live in Kandy; a world heritage city in Sri Lanka. If you've heard of the Temple of tooth relic. ^_^ It's kinda shocking but feels great to share some words in Sinhala with a fellow writer! Haha ^_^ It makes me feel this is a small world after all...
HaCel:- Haha! Don't worry honey... Nothing that bad is gonna happen in this story... *wicked grin. Umm anyway... umm yeah... you guessed it right about Hotaru. Umm thanks for keeping in touch honey... Yup yuppp! I blushed like hell! Haha! :-D He's a worse perv than Natsume...well... most of the time! :-D So makes me blush all the time! ^_^ Btw! I'm 20! How old are you?
Guest:- Yeah! I Love Hotaru too! I Love how she helps Natsume in pursuing Mikan! ^_^ Keep reading! :-*
newroz:- Haha yeah! I Love every kind of kisses! :-D If only it comes from my lover's lips! ^_^ Thanks babe! Keep reading and keep reviewing! Love you now until forever, more than anyone else! (Quoted from Natsume) ;-)
jrenamae:- Yeah... I'll make sure to make all the couples end up together by the end of this fic! Life won't be smooth for them, yet... They'll end up together for sure! Trust me! ^_^ Love you! Please be by my side forever! :-*
Thank you all for your support people!
Love you all!
Hey... It's women's day today! Happy women's day people! ^_^
We women ROCK! ^_^ Hip hip hooray! ^_^
Do males read my story? Do males read fanfiction? Please lemme know!
Sooo 25th will be out in a couple of days!
Wait for me!
Bye bye!
-Awful Nightmare-