Tonight I've fallen and I can't get up
I need your loving hands to come and pick me up
And every night I miss you I would just look up,
And know the stars are holding you, holding you tonight.
Tonight by FM Static
Chapter 13: Happy
[One year later…]
Hotaru's POV
I huffed as I took a last look around my hotel room. I was going to miss the amenities of this place, but of course, not the people.
Sayonara, losers.
"Aminatsu! Please inform the chauffer that I'm ready to leave."
"Yes, Hotaru-sama!"
"Usagi-Piyo!" I called out the clumsy looking Ruka-bot I made last September.
"Here, Hotaru-hime!" He joyfully whistled
"My bags…"
"Right away, Hotaru-hime!" He bowed before vanishing into the other room to get my luggage. He came back moments later, struggling to carry the heavy weight of my bags.
I rolled my eyes. Then he fell, sending all my belongings scattered all over the place. Just as clumsy as the real Ruka. I glared at him angrily.
"Gomenasai! Gomenasai! Forgive me, Hotaru-hime!" He cried out. Interns, I rolled my eyes again.
When he was out of my sight, I smiled. I was still happy.
Natsume's POV
"Onii-chan! Time for lunch!" Aoi's calls made me wake up from my little cat nap on the branch of a tree. I sighed. I jumped off the tree and reexamined it for the fifth time.
It's not MY sakura tree, but it would have to do.
I walked into the house where Aoi was busy preparing the table, stirring some soup, and spooning some kind of mush into a bowl. Beats me, she was all over the place. Then I took a sniff and smelled something good. Must be Aoi's mush and stew.
"Where's dad?"
"Otou-chan went to the Town Centre to buy some materials and supplies."
"He hasn't finished repairing my room's leaking ceilings, huh?"
Aoi shook her head.
I smiled a bit. I'd have to admit, I do respect the way my dad makes me want to feel at home after so long. And even though we were currently living in a broken down old house, our family couldn't get any happier than this.
Aoi was the usual sunny little kid that everyone loved. Dad always was working on a painting everyone came to love, including myself. Heck, I still remember the drawing he made one day, while staring into my eyes. It kinda freaked me out, but afterwards he looked down on his sketch pad and started letting his pencil dance freely all over the paper.
He named it My Pretty Daughter and it looked nothing like Aoi, because instead, it looked exactly like the face of a fifteen year old Mikan Sakura. Complete with mesmerizing cow eyes, flowing hair, and all. Amazing. My dad was truly stupendous, which is why I still had that drawing stored inside my bedside cabinet.
And me? Well, I'm still same old. Except now I didn't have to worry about some cocky bastard following me around, telling me what to do. Now, I'm actually happy. But not entirely of course. I still worried about the guys up till now. Aoi says I worry about a lot of things that don't need worrying about, but you know I just have to.
"What's that? Something smells good." Dad staggered to the door under the heavy weight of his load. I quickly walked to him and helped him carry some of the stuff.
"Thanks Natsume." He smiled at me. I was about to put down the things on the floor when I saw something that fell from one of the brown paper bags. I left the rest of the brown paper bags on the floor in front of the kitchen sink. Then I bent down to where the newspaper was.
I picked it up and looked at it suspiciously. It was a newspaper. I began to scan it. I looked the back page and made my way to the very front page where the words "Gakuen Alice Enters New Era". That certainly caught my attention. I read on.
Gakuen Alice Enters New Era
Zaibatsu Corporation CEO, Heihachi Zaibatsu was present at the ribbon-cutting ceremony of Alice Academy yesterday morning. "Now that this prestigious school has undergone a new face, it's about time it deserves a good ribbon-cutting ceremony to represent the start of a new era", he tells the media. After reportedly turning the tables on the Elementary School Principal of the said school, media asks this "superman" about his plans for the future after accomplishing the impossible not longer than a year ago. "Well, this ceremony is also held for those fearless soldiers or students who bravely helped us in extinguishing the ruthless plans of their Elementary School Principal. Which is why I plan to offer them a better life here at the academy as a sign of my sincere gratitude."
It really does appear that this elite school has undergone several changes. Students are reportedly said to be allowed a hometown visit each month and freely receive or send letters. The academy is also going through various security measures to ensure the safety of its students and is also undergoing several agreements with various companies to settle the past disputes that were rumored to be started by the mysterious ESP who allegedly vanished on the night of November 27th last year…
I stopped reading. This was enough. This was one thing I was grateful to read. At least now, I knew that Mikan and the others were happy and free from danger while they were staying in the academy. If this was really kind of life they lived now, then I should be happy. I just hope that handing over the academy to this corporation won't be anything regretful.
My eyes trailed to the picture of a tiny, fragile-looking man in glasses right above the words Zaibatsu Corporation CEO, Heihachi Zaibatsu. He looks familiar, hmm…
"Nii-chan! You better go eat here before the food starts to get cold."
I suddenly realized I was still standing in front of the kitchen sink and headed to the table with the newspaper in hand.
After reaching the table, I folded the newspaper and laid it on the table, hoping Dad would read it later on.
Aoi's POV
Later that night, Onii-chan still remained on the big tree in front of our house. He had been lying on its branches the whole afternoon, napping. And he still hasn't come down. Right now, he's still up there, but this time, looking at the stars as if he hasn't seen them for so long.
I walked over to the tree and remained silent for a minute while I carefully studied his expression. He looked lonely.
"Nii-chan…" I called out to him. His head poked through the leaves.
"What is it?"
"Can you come down here and go stargazing with me?"
"Don't want to. The view's better up here."
"But I'm all alone down here."
"Fine." He nimbly made his way down the giant tree and sat with me on the grass under the tree. The stars were especially pretty tonight, especially because Onii-chan was here to gaze at them with me. The moon was also very bright tonight, casting a faint luminous glow all around us, bathing the entire place in nothing but moonlight.
I was looking down at my hands when I saw something faintly glimmer in between Nii-chan's sealed fingers.
"Nii-chan, what's that in your hand?"
"Nothing."
"Lemme see." He opened his hand and showed me a tiny stone. It must have been an Alice Stone. Wow, pretty. I wish I could make one for him and for Otou-chan, but unfortunately, I didn't have an Alice anymore.
I took the minute stone from his hand and examined it closely. It held a pretty orange color and it glimmered slightly under the moonlight.
"Give it back."
"You must really miss Mikan, don't you?"
"I said give it."
"Her eyes did shine like the stars, am I right? Or was it her smile that shown out the brightest?"
He quieted down. Then he sighed. "Maybe both. But I really do miss her."
"Really?"
"Terribly."
"Then maybe you should return to the academy if you wanna be with her so much."
He looked at me. His face held this almost radiant glow under the moon. I smiled. Then he hugged me.
"You can go, if you want to." I said a little sadly.
"Thank you." He whispered.