Hello, Stranger.
A/n: Disclaimer. And this chappy is quite long, I guess.
Chapter 11
Spill The Beans
As the sun started to rise, people started to realize that it's time go back to reality. Christmas is almost over and it's time to go back to work and go back to school. And of course for people like the Sakura, they actually do have the choice to wake up and go to work or just stay in bed and extend their little vacation… And for Ruka, he chose the latter one. He was still in her girlfriend's bed, cuddling with his raven-haired girlfriend. His eyes started to open then realized it was morning already. He sat up a little and eyed at Hotaru who was sleeping peacefully and her body pressed on his.
Ruka and Hotaru have been going out for quite a while now and still they were never public about their relationship. Hotaru wanted to have a little privacy since both of them are both known bachelor and bachelorette from known families and she didn't want paparazzi and intrigues get in their relationship. Though she has been the total opposite of his sister, Hotaru still has the same kind heart like Mikan. But she can be a real sadist, though.
He couldn't help but chuckle about his thoughts but stopped when Hotaru slowly opened her eyes. She rubbed the sides of her eyes gently but smiled when she opened it and saw Ruka smiling at her. "Good morning," she mumbled sleepily. "How long have you been awake?"
"Good morning, love." He whispered then planted a soft kiss on her forehead. "I've been up minutes ago. How was your sleep?"
"It was okay." She answered. She too sat up a little then leaned her body on Ruka's chest, pulling the blanket up to cover their bodies. "Are you skipping work today? Bad Ruka." She teased while snickering. Her hands found his chest then she sighed dreamingly. At public, she was never really touchy with Ruka though they try to steal kisses once in a while or sneak out just to make out but after being caught by Ruka's father and got humiliated and reprimanded, Hotaru decided not to be too touchy with Ruka though her boyfriend doesn't have much self-control.
Chuckling, "Well, my girlfriend's tempting me to stay in bed and cuddle with her all day." His rest on top of her head and continued. "We haven't had alone time with each other since you're too busy with your inventions." He grunted a little when he mentioned it. Even before Hotaru graduated, she was already known for building inventions and once she graduated decided to finally put up her own business and well, she's been quite busy for the past weeks.
"Don't get too jealous with my job, Ruka." She murmured then smirked at her frowning boyfriend. "You know this was my plan after I graduate and you promised to support me."
"I am supporting you! You're just too busy… You can't even go out to have lunch with me."
She sat up and levelled her body to Ruka's then looked at him with a smirk on her face. "Maybe I should invent a Hotaru robot for a substitute?"
"Substitute?" Ruka bellowed a little. "No!"
"Then stop complaining."
"You want me to stop complaining, eh?" When Hotaru nodded lazily, he grinned a little and said, "Maybe this would make you think twice about having a substitute..." He pulled her body close then tickled her on her stomach making Hotaru almost jump in surprise but then laughed as he continued tickling her.
"Nogi! Stop!" she said between her laughs. She tried to push Ruka away by kicking him but failed as he was now on top of her tickling her body more. "I'm going to kill you after this!" she tried to threaten him as she continued to laugh. "Nogi!"
"Are you still thinking of having a substitute, hmm, dear Hotaru?" he laughed as he continued tickling Hotaru.
"Y-yes!" she stammered between her laughs.
"Maybe this would change your mind again." Then he reached for Hotaru's face then pulled it close to his face and when they're inches away, he winked at her then kissed her fully on the mouth. And to his surprise, Hotaru respond fully to his kiss. He slowly wrapped his arms around her body and placed her careful beneath his body. "So are you changing your mind?" he whispered between his kisses to her.
Hotaru smiled then murmured. "Maybe your kiss might change my mind." Then she held his neck then pulled him back on kissing her. They both deepened the kiss and started to be lost on their own world. Ruka couldn't help but feel happy that finally he has finally Hotaru with no one to disturb them. Weeks of waiting to have Hotaru on his arms is worth it.
"I hate to ruin your moment but you need to stop kissing because we both need to talk."
And just like that the couple immediately pulled away. Hotaru shrieked a little and immediately pulled the blankets back to cover her body and Ruka's. "What the fuck, Hyuuga?" she cursed as she glared at the raven-haired guy, sitting at the couch fronting the bed with his legs crossed and holding a Starbucks coffee as he eyed them blankly. "Aren't you supposed to be on Mikan's bedroom not ours?"
"I really don't care if you're both naked." He emotionlessly respond. He looked at the couple who were glaring at him intensely. "I'm here for some questions."
"Are you high?" Ruka asked as he looked at his best friend in disbelief. "It's 9 in the morning!"
"No."
"Then why are you here?" he snapped.
"I need answeres. About Mochou and…" he paused then gripped his coffee a little tighter. "Tsubasa."
"Oh." Hotaru said as both men looked up at her. Ruka with a confuse face telling her 'who's Tsubasa?' and Natsume with his face hardened a little, looking hungry for answers. She just shrugged then said. "So you met Tsubasa last night, huh?"
"You know him?"
"Get out."
"Wha—"
"Get out. Or you want to know your answers in a naked way?"
He looked at the confuse Ruka and the pissed Hotaru then looked away. He stood up and grabbed his coffee on the table then started to walk towards the door. "I'll wait downstairs." But before he went out of the room, he stopped then looked back at Hotaru. "I need all answers. All of them." Then he went out of the door and then closed the door.
Once Natsume was out of the bedroom, Ruka stared back at his girlfriend who looked emotionless like nothing happened a minute go, like no weird Natsume barged in their room and almost saw them naked. "What was that all about?" he asked as he watched Hotaru stood up and walked towards the bathroom. When she didn't response, he mimicked her actions then followed her. "So you're going to ignore me?"
She turned around and faced his boyfriend. "Just fix yourself, Nogi. Or your best friend might get crazy waiting for us." She simply respond then entered the bathroom and closed the door.
XXX
Tap. Tap. Tap.
He tapped his fingers impatiently as he waited for the Hotaru and Ruka to go downstairs. Seconds felt like minutes and minutes felt like seconds as he continued waiting. This is the same feeling he had when he was at Mikan's house, waiting for Narumi and Yuka. He never felt so anxious in his life. Even though he reminded himself to calm himself, he couldn't. Last night, even after everything, he couldn't stop thinking about Mochou and about the new guy.
He couldn't stop thinking what Mikan's life was before he came back. And he is damn anxious.
"Hyuuga." He almost jumped when he heard Hotaru's voice. He stood up and watched the two of them dressed already and walked down the stairs. Hotaru was with her emotionless face while Ruka looked bother. Guess, somehow, they're on the same page. "Excited?" he heard her teased him and he just glared in response.
"Hey buddy." Ruka greeted him and once they approached Natsume he gave him a light manly hug then pulled away. "Good morning, I guess?"
He shrugged then face Hotaru who stood up behind Ruka. "So?" he demanded. "Are we going to greet each other good morning or am I gonna get something?"
"Feisty." Hotaru answered then smirked. She turned around and walked towards the kitchen. "Come. I'm kind of jealous with your Starbucks. I think I need a coffee." The three of them walked silently towards the kitchen, the silence started to build a tension between the three of them. Natsume and Ruka silently sat at the counter's chair as Hotaru started to make a coffee for her.
No one talked and both men watched Hotaru carefully as she prepared her own coffee. Sensing the stares she's earning, she faced the two of them then raised one of her brows. "Coffee?" then she poured the coffee on her cup.
"Bullshit." Natsume finally said. "I'm not here for anymore bullshit, Imai."
"Chill." She sipped her coffee as she approached the two of them. She sat at the chair in front of them and placed her coffee carefully on the counter. Then she looked up and stared at two of them with a questioning look. "Well?"
"Who the fuck is Tsubasa?" the both men said in union. They looked surprise on what they both said then looked at each other. Natsume was the first one who looked away then frowned. "So who the fuck is Tsubasa? And Mochou? Why do Mikan have so many boys in her damn life?!" he turned his head and glared at Ruka. "Aren't you supposed to be taking care of her because you're my best friend?" He spat.
"Woah." Ruka feeling offended on what his best friend just said, started to glare back at him. "You might forgot we were on the same school for four freakin' years and I only got back here after I graduated for my pre-med. I was at America, beside you. Not with my sister. And I don't even know who Tsubasa is!" he angrily answered that he almost shouted.
"Will you stop acting like petty blonde girls fighting over nothing?" Hotaru said then rolled her eyes. "Hyuuga, Ruka has no clue who Tsubasa is, okay?" When both of them shrugged, she couldn't help but roll her eyes again. They never really changed. They've always been so childish. "Ruka was on his pre-med when Mikan met Tsubasa." She began. "We were in high school back there."
"How did she—"
"Aren't you supposed to shut up and listen?" she cut him off. When Natsume decided to shut his mouth and calm down, she continued. "Tsubasa was one of the famous baseball players back in high school. We were sophomores back then when Tsubasa became famous and Mikan was the new cheerleader too with Sumire and Nonoko. And when someone's the famous baseball player, of course, he needs a famous cheerleader too."
"And it was my sister?" Ruka asked.
She nodded. "Good, you're both listening." Her hand reached for her cup of coffee and took a sip as she remembered how their sophomore year was. It was the peak of Mikan's fame. She got in to the cheerleading team in such a young age along with Sumire and Nonoko. Immediately she became as the assistant cheerleader and that's enough to get every guy's attention, especially Tsubasa's.
"How come Ruka doesn't know anything about Tsubasa if he went to the same high school as him?" Natsume asked.
"Tsubasa was a year younger than you and he only got famous after he got in to the team which was the senior year." She answered flatly then eyed Natsume. "Shall I continue?" The both lad nodded so she did. "Tsubasa and Mikan dated after Tsubasa's first big game. The cheerleader practices the same time as them so they got to know each other and you know what happens next."
"They dated?" Natsume immediately asked and when Hotaru nodded, he frowned. He can still remember when he asked Mikan is she dated anyone and she said no… she lied to him. "Did Aunt Yuka know about this?"
"Yes."
"What? But mom knew about Natsume, why did she allowed Mikan dating other guys?" Of all the people in the world, Ruka knew how his mother loved Natsume and how she waited all these years for Mikan and Natsume to finally be together and he was aware how protective her mother was with Mikan.
"Well, Aunt Yuka is the most unpredictable person in the world. Guess she wanted Mikan to learn before hopping in to the marriage life." Hotaru simply answered. She wasn't lying, though. After Yuka knew about Tsubasa, she and Narumi was expecting for her to get angry with her daughter but instead she welcome Tsubasa warmly in their house. She was kind of happy about Tsubasa and that made them wonder why but she said Mikan needs to experience other people too so she would appreciate Natsume when they finally met. "You know what, Tsubasa's not really a big deal, Hyuuga. It was just some childish puppy love. Mikan even had only one week to mourn then she immediately got over with him."
Mikan and Tsubasa only dated for six months and when Tsubasa almost graduated, Mikan was prepared that their relationship will end either way. He got a scholarship in a college university in Europe and long distance relationship won't work for the both of them. What made Mikan heartbroken was when he broke up with her, not her breaking up with him. She kept whining about her ego and what would people say and what would she'll tell to her mother. It only took one week for Mikan to cry her heart out then she's finally okay.
Ruka nodded in agreement. "I personally don't know that guy but I think he's not a big deal. Mikan never told me about him so I think he was never really special."
Natsume didn't respond. He was still clenching his fist and frowning in disappointment. And Hotaru being herself already know what he was thinking. "She didn't gave her v-card if that's why you're thinking."
He snapped his head to her direction and glared at her. "I'm not thinking about that."
"And if Mikan find out about you being the captain ball of our basketball team back in America, I think she'll like you too, more." His best friend teased then laughed at his own joke.
"So you're like Troy Bolton? So who's your Sharpay? Anna?" she snickered and the couple laughed at Natsume's angry reaction.
"I'm not here for jokes." He snapped at the two. "Quit laughing, I'm not yet finish."
"Hmm." Was all Hotaru said, signalling him to continue talking.
"Who's Mochou?"
That's enough to make Ruka look nervous on what his buddy just asked. He faced Hotaru, eyeing her and sending her signal that this topic shouldn't be brought up by them but knowing the fact that she is ignoring his stares, he knew this will be a conversation between Hotaru and Natsume. He stood up uncomfortably then said. "I'm going to check some work upstairs. My secretary might be looking for me. I'll just give the hospital a call." He said then he immediately walk away before Natsume can say anything.
Knowing Ruka's immediate reaction, he knew something's up so he faced Hotaru back then had a questioning look on his face. "So? Who is he?"
"Mikan's ex-boyfriend."
He didn't react. He didn't say anything. His curious face immediately changed in to a confuse one then snapped in to an emotionless one but deep down he couldn't yet comprehend what he was hearing. A minute ago he just found Mikan dated a guy in high school and now he dated someone again. How come he has no idea about this? How come Mikan didn't tell anything to him or Ruka or Yuka? Then he remembered something…
"There is this one guy…"
Of course, Mochou was that one guy. "Mikan told me there was this one guy but she didn't say anything else."
"That's Mochou."
"Who is he?"
Hotaru didn't answer immediately as she thought the safest answer she could give Natsume. "Mikan's greatest heartbreak."
"Tell me."
"I'm not in the place to tell you this one Natsume—"
"Tell me!" he shouted as he banged is fist on the counter. "Damn it, Imai."
"Do not act like some jealous husband here in my house, Hyuuga." She coldly said. She stood up and walked towards the living room, hoping Natsume would drop the topic. "I think I said enough and—"But before she could continue, Natsume grabbed her wrist and held it tightly. He was eyeing her with angry crimson eyes. "The fuck, Hyuuga? Let me go!"
"We're not yet done." He hissed in anger. "You told me that you will tell everything. Why are you evading this topic? Why am I so blind about this?"
"Maybe you're not blind. Maybe your wife's too good from hiding her secrets!" she spat. "Let me go, damn it." She tried to pull away but Natsume's grip was too tight. "You're hurting me, Hyuuga." She tried to look calm but with Natsume's reaction, she knew he won't let her go until he'll know something. And Hotaru knew Natsume well. If his sister is stubborn, so is he. With no other choice, she sighed in defeat. "Let go of me and I'll tell you what I know."
Hearing what Hotaru said, Natsume's not sure if he should really let go of her hand or not. He gave Hotaru a look then slowly let go of her wrist. "Okay."
She rubbed her wrist gently. "Mikan met Mochou when we were on college already but Aunt Yuka never approved because Mikan's supposed to be ready for you not some new guy. But Mikan was stubborn so she continued dating Mochou but with all the odds, they didn't work so they broke up."
"Why was she crying when she saw him at Anna's party?" he can still remember how she broke down at the comfort room and was crying hard in Hotaru's arms and until now he still couldn't get the idea why was she crying over that guy.
Hotaru looked away. She knew answering that question would change everything and she has not right to tell him everything. Mikan would kill her, even Ruka would kill her. "Natsume… it's something you need to ask Mikan." She whispered as she closed her eyes.
"What?" Natsume shouted. "Why won't you tell me everything? Why was she crying? Who's Mochou? What the fuck happened?" he shouted on Hotaru's face as he clenched both of his fist, trying to control the emotions he is feeling.
"Natsume, stop it."
Both of them stopped when Ruka was already back, standing behind Hotaru with a serious face. "That's enough. You're stressed. You need sleep. Go home."
"Don't tell me what to do, Ruka!"
"I'll call Mikan if you won't calm the fuck down." He hardened his face then said. "Don't try me."
Natsume looked at Ruka for a moment then realized he might have cross the line this time. Maybe Hotaru was right, maybe his wife is too good at keeping secrets. Maybe it's time to confront the person who has been keeping secrets from him since he came back. He looked away then started to walk away from Ruka and Hotaru who had worried yet angry looks on their faces.
And without saying anything, he left while telling himself that if he won't get more answers here then he won't stop until he finds the truth about Mikan.
xxx
When Mikan woke up she was surprised that Natsume wasn't beside her because usually she's the one who wakes Natsume up. She was about to look for him when he left a note above the table telling that he'll be out to jog for a while so with that she decided to get up and cook breakfast for herself… or at least try to cook for a real breakfast.
"Ugh," The brunette grunted as she glared at her over-cooked eggs. She was good at baking not with cooking. She was never used to people cooking for her—marriage life is obviously not for her. With no other choice, she decided to go to the dining table and place her food on the table. But before she could sit and eat, the door sprung open.
Her eyes lit up in excitement when she realized it was Natsume because he either rings the doorbell like a maniac or he just simple barge inside. She immediately approached the living room with a smile on her face. "Natsume!" she beamed. Then she stopped on her tracks when she realized Natsume didn't look like he came from jogging. He looked ragged, stressed and angry?
"Natsume?" she called his name with a worried voice and when they're eyes met, Mikan started to feel nervous about the way he looks at her. "Are you okay? Is everything okay?"
"How can you lie to me?" his angry eyes matched his angry voice and that was enough to place a confuse look the brunette's face which made him angrier. "Don't look innocent, Mikan."
And the way he mentioned her name, she knew she was in trouble. "What are you talking about? I'm lying to you?"
His hand reached for his messy hair, trying to calm himself. "I asked you before if you were dating someone, you told me you dated no guy!"
"What?" Mikan look at Natsume feeling confuse on what he was accusing her then she remembered Tsubasa. He must have found out about her past relationship with him. "Are you talking about Tsubasa?" When Natsume didn't answer, she thought she was right so she chuckled and said. "He was some puppy love back in high school, Natsume. I was young and innocent and a hopeless romantic back then. We didn't even reach second base for Pete's sake!"
Natsume looked at Mikan in disbelief. How come she can still laugh after everything? "You told me about one guy…"
She was still chuckling when she replied. "Tsubasa was just one guy from the past, from my high school fling Natsume. He's not a big—"
"How about Mochou?"
And her laughter died and then immediately her brown eyes widen in shock. Her hands reached for the edge of her shirt. "What?" she tried to say.
"I said…" he neared himself to her. "What about Mochou?"
Mikan knew Natsume saw her crying back in Anna's party but that was already months ago. He never brought it up or asked anything about it… He might have heard their conversation in the bathroom. "Natsume, how did you know Mochou?" she whispered to him.
"Was he the other guy, Mikan?" Natsume asked. "Was he?!" he was shouting to her face already. He couldn't control anymore the anger, the jealousy flowing throughout his body.
"He's…" she couldn't say anything. She doesn't know what to say or what to do. Should she deny and tell Natsume that she was just some fling too? Or should she tell the truth? She was never ready for this. Natsume was not supposed to know about Mochou or anything about him. "Natsume…" was all she can say.
Natsume took a step backward and then closed his eyes. He tried to control every anger he was feeling right now. Tsubasa. Mochou. Two guys. And he had no idea about them. And when he opened his eyes, he knows his anger has already consumed him. "I was right!" he shouted making Mikan looked at him with her afraid brunette eyes. "You dated two guys! Two damn guys without me knowing! And you didn't tell me? Fuck!"
"Natsume, I was not aware you existed the whole time I dated them! Hell, I didn't know you existed until you barge in to our house and said you were my husband!" She never saw Natsume this angry and she doesn't know if she should run away or hide or cry.
"That's bullshit!" he cursed. "We've known each other since we were young, Mikan! I was there when you were born. You were there when we had our marriage! Damn it. Stop telling me bullshits that you can't remember me!"
"Natsume, I don't know what you're saying." Tears were already on the tip of her eyes. "I don't have any memory about you or our little childish marriage or anything. Believe me—"
"Believe you?" he cut her off with a shout. "You've been lying to me! Keeping secrets! What? I'm going to find out that I'm not the only guy you're close to having sex? Or maybe that's why you don't want to have sex with me because you're afraid that I'll find out that you've been whoring with Tsubasa and Mochou before?"
SLAP!
"What the fuck Mikan—"
SLAP!
And before Natsume could react, she slapped him again and again. And when she was done, her afraid brown eyes turned into hateful one. And he heard her say, "Screw you."
And Mikan immediately pushed Natsume away and ran outside the door. She doesn't care if she was just wearing some tank top and shorts and her hair is in a messy bun. She needs to leave. She doesn't care if it's cold outside. She just need to get away from this—from Natsume, from this shit and from everything.
She immediately took her car and drove away from the building. Hot tears started to fall from her brown eyes—tears that she have been trying to stop but after Natsume's last blow, she knew that was enough. He had crossed the line. He didn't even know the story of Mochou and he has already called her names. What more if he'll find out every stupid thing Mikan did?
Mikan knew one day the past will haunt her but not this soon and not in the moment she was being happy. Not in the moment that she was not yet ready. She wiped her tears at the back of her hand and parked her car when she reached her destination.
She went out of the car and immediately ran towards a bench… A bench below the Sakura Tree and with that she broke down. After all these years, she cried. She cried every pain she has been keeping. The nightmares she have about what happened, she decided to cry it all out.
"Mikan…"
She immediately look up and her eyes widen. "Tsubasa?"
"I'm sorry." He walked towards her then sat beside her. "I was about to visit you since I want to inform you something but I saw you ran outside your condo looking not okay so I followed you." He eyes Mikan worriedly then said. "Are you okay?"
"Yes." She sniffed then immediately wiped the tears on her face. "Just some marriage issues."
"Being married isn't easy, eh?" He teased.
"You have no idea." And they both laughed and when the laughter died, Mikan said. "You were going to tell me something, what is it?"
"The business that I told you before…" he started. "It was with your father's. They were looking for someone to help them and I accepted the job. And I asked him if I'm going to work with you and he mentioned you've been begging to start working in your company so I asked him if he could make you join the project and he said yes and I should go and tell you about it."
"Oh my gosh!" Mikan beamed in happiness. "Omg! Tsubasa you're the best!" She hugged Tsubasa tight and squealed in happiness. "Thank you! Thank you!"
He chuckled. "You're welcome, Mikan. I'm glad—"
And suddenly someone's pulling Tsubasa away from Mikan.
And before she knew Tsubasa was already on the ground and Natsume was above him, punching Tsubasa's life out of him.
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