Another short chapter. Don't worry, I'll be updating tomorrow morning again. I'm just too tired (I was shopping for almost the whole day) to edit this and another chapter, and try to make them longer. If I can't make the next chapter longer, then I'll be posting the next chapter. :D

Chapter 18-Anger

"Is Mikan going to be alright?" Ruka asked, as he saw his wife emerge from one of their guest rooms. Natsume stopped from his pacing, and looked at her expectantly. Hotaru gave them a reassuring nod, and replied, "She fell asleep. I think it's better if we discuss at the library, instead of here. She might wake up."

As they walked to other side of the mansion, she asked, "Have any of you told anybody about it?"

Ruka glanced sideways at his best friend, and when he realized that Natsume was barely listening, he decided to be the one to reply. He answered, "We've called Koko. He's on the way. He was shocked. As far as he knows, nobody aside from him, Mikan, her parents, and her grandfather knows about the twins. Even Tsubasa-sempai doesn't know about the twins."

"Well, it wasn't easy for me to find out too," Hotaru said. She sat on one of the big couches, with a thoughtful expression all over her features. She continued, "It means that he was watching them very closely, probably even after the first kidnapping incident. This is bad."

"I don't think so, Hotaru. This isn't bad, this is the worst."

That brought Natsume out from his reverie. His head shot up, and the look of utter despair in his eyes changed into that of pure anger, making his crimson eyes look like on fire. Soon the couple heard a crash, and they turned towards where Natsume was, with a fallen chair beside him.

"You'll pay for that," the Ice queen muttered, prompting the Bunny prince to give her a reproachful look. Then they watched him shake in fury.

"To whom is your anger for, Natsume? To my best friend, to that man, or to yourself?" Hotaru asked coldly. His blazing crimson eyes met with her icy violet ones. For a moment nobody spoke, while the two maintained their gazes.

Until Ruka decided to intervene. He tapped his friend's shoulders, and said, "Look, this won't do us any good at all. So let's break this fight, okay?"

"No, Ruka," his wife said, "This is not a fight. I am just helping your best friend realize how deep he got Mikan and himself into this mess."

"Hotaru! Stop it!"

Natsume, meanwhile, just plopped himself down a couch across Hotaru. The fire in his eyes were gone. He buried his hands on in his air, as he tried to hold back the tears. Then he said, in a quiet voice that carried across the room, "Damn it, Hotaru. You got me there."

A small smirk appeared on her lips, as she replied, "I always know where to get all of you, idiot."

He shook his head, obviously trying to compose himself. Then he said, "There's no point getting angry at Mikan. Yeah, I'm angry, but it's more like frustration when it's towards her. Towards that man…well, my anger is reasonable, and inevitable, isn't it?"

"But, in the end, it's always myself who I'm angry at. No, I believe angry is too soft a word. I'm furious at myself. I despise myself for being so lame, so weak, and not even able to protect the people most important to me. I hate it. And the situation right now just proves it. As of this moment, not even one solution entered my mind. For what am I called a genius, if I can't even think of something to save my children? What kind of father am I?"

"Natsume, you didn't even know the existence of your children until this afternoon," Ruka said comfortingly, "so it's no surprise that you still can't think straight. The shock is still there. And acting without thinking, which is something you've always been prone to, might just lead to bad results."

"He's right. We should not hurry," Hotaru said.

Outside, a certain brunette leaned on the door, listening at every word they uttered. Her pale complexion got paler each second that passed, but her eyes looked more determined. Then she unlatched herself, and silently walked towards the main door.

"I'm sorry, guys, but unlike you, I can't just sit and wait."

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