Here's the second chapter

I rushed it so please forgive me if it's a bit boring ^^''

Anyway, I hope you'll like it :D

Ummm…and I still recommend my other fic Of Kisses and Mayhem.

Enjoy~

~(*o*)~(*o*)~(*o*)~

Living a Nightmare

Mikan was left gaping after the trails of smoke emitted by the handsome black Mercedes owned unfortunately by the biggest jerk the brunette has ever met. She can't believe her luck – not that she has never questioned its credibility before but – how can she just almost be run over by a car, be scolded by a complete rude stranger and her pride be trampled upon by a jerk?

At least she thanks the heavens she's alive because it sure seemed like a close call.

She'll never forget those sharp crimson eyes, penetrating her soul as if seeing right through her at that very moment. What fazes her above all these is the fact that she completely solidified on her place as he ignorantly took his exit so that it's already too late to think of an intelligent response to his insult.

"Are you planning on wasting your remaining day gaping like an idiot that you are or will you finally snap out of your dumb world and start pretending like you have a brain?" she heard Hotaru say between her train of thoughts. Ironically she has a smirk plastered on her placid face despite her annoyed remarks.

"Right, right, I'm coming!" Mikan replied, "And I'm not an idiot!" she pouted.

"Whatever"

"But he does seem kind of familiar you know." She muttered after a while of walking.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, I think I saw his face somewhere before…" she drawled on. No matter how she keeps on catching her memory, the answer just seems to go further away. "I can't figure out where."

She looked at her best friend's smirking face and can't help noticing how normal and how abnormal it is at the same time. It seems right and yet it seems wrong as well but like a math question, she couldn't just cook up the answer to her problem. Hotaru's eyes were glinting evilly like how they would when she hatches a fortune but Mikan was pretty sure she doesn't grin like a Cheshire cat at all. It's very confusing, she noted. How can Hotaru look like Hotaru and not look like her at the same time?

Hotaru's grin widened so that it impossibly reached her ears at both sides, literally and for the first time Mikan felt really scared of her best friend. The person standing in front of her is no longer the raven-haired girl she recognize but a completely different person.

"Maybe you saw him in a magazine, hmmmm?" it spoke in a shrill creepy manner matching its unfading grin. What's more is that it's like it has two voices mixed together. Mikan can't help noticing how the once purple orbs Hotaru has devolved into mere slits of line as a pathetic excuse for eyes. She can undeniably feel a scream trapped in her throat.

"Gyahahahhahaha!" it laughed shrilly, "I told you so, Mikan. They're here now…He's here now…!" it taunted in its high-pitched raspy voice.

"He's come to get you! The Prince will come and get YOUUUUUU! Gyahahahahhaha!"

And just like that, Mikan felt her throat slit open into a burst of screams.

~(*o*)~(*o*)~(*o*)~

"KYAAAAAAAAAA-!"

"Mikan, WAKE UP!"

"-huh?" she sat up, panting and disgustingly bathing from her own sweat. Her face is damp, the collar and back of her PJs are wet and she feels like she took a dive into a pool.

"You were clearly dreaming, young lady." Her mother told her as she pulled her onto her feet. "Goodness, you woke the whole neighborhood. Just what were you dreaming about that you had to scream that loud?" she worriedly asked as she dumped the wet blanket in the hamper.

"Dream…dream…Oh my Gosh mom! I had the scariest nightmare!" she wailed at the memory.

"That's why tell me what it was and stop wailing like a whale, Mikan"

"Mom, we really don't have a prince in Japan right? It isn't true that he's currently looking for a wife right? I didn't meet him yesterday right?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

"I knew it! HA!"

"Of course we have a prince in Japan and yes, he IS looking for a wif-"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Mikan!" her mother snapped then thought better of it, "Wait…by 'meet yesterday' you don't mean, gasp! So that's what they want! Why didn't you tell me, Mikan? I knew that visit to the Imperial Palace three years ago would pay off someday-"

"What? Mom, what are you talking about?" the brunette asked her mom who's creepily being giddy. The last time she saw her like that was when she was eight and that was when her father kissed her in front of their guests. She cringed at the memory.

"Quickly, honey. Go clean yourself up and wear presentable clothes. We have visitors." She giggled. "And to think I tried dragging them out the house…" she mumbled to herself.

"Visitors…? Mom, what do you mean by presentable-?" before she could even continue her question, Mikan found herself alone in her room, her mother nowhere to be seen. Defeated, she hunted for scraps of clothing passing her definition of presentable.

And goodness knows what that means.

~(*o*)~(*o*)~(*o*)~

"Did you find her already?" Natsume demanded early in the morning, still wrapped up in his velvet maroon robe and his hair all ruffled and messy. Impossible as it might seem, even with this displeasing state, he still managed to drive some unprofessional maids into pools of nosebleeds on the way to his father.

Just yesterday, the word that Prince Natsume Hyuga was setting his eyes for a wife spread like wildfire nationally that most of the female population in the country practically tried to get their way in the Palace and get their selves captured by at least one of the security cameras; like he'd watch the security cameras for a wife. He believes it was reported that he's looking for a wife, not a trespasser.

Besides, he already selected his wife – also known as his prey.

And that's the sole reason why he's currently in front of his parents, practically demanding for a new toy.

"My, Natsume, you don't just barge into your parents' room, you knock. I taught you that ages ago," Kaoru Hyuga said without much interest as she brushed her jet-black hair. "Your father's not here. That prime minister called a while ago for a state meeting"

"Did you find her already?" he repeated, his patience hanging by a thread. His mother smiled in a way he was too familiar with – it was her smile laden with mischief.

"Oho~!" she laughed with mirth, "I see what's happening here. My dear boy," she began walking to Natsume, snaky-ly wrapping her slender arms around her son who was, in response trying - and failing - to swat them off. "-seems too excited to meet his betrothed." She chuckled mischievously.

"And my mother seems to be badly misinformed"

The Empress pouted, "Now that's no fun Natsume. Anyway, yes, I've personally sent Sebastian to fetch my beloved daughter-in-law. Happy now?"

The crimson-eyed lad grunted in what seemed to be approval.

"But in any way I see it Natsume, you seem, how should I put it? Excited about the matter. And to think that you were the one so opposed to this idea of you getting married. I guess love does change things."

"I don't think so" he replied stoically. "Let's say I'm merely anxious to play with my new toy" he smirked.

His mother shrugged nonchalantly. "That's not a very good way of addressing your wife, Natsume. Ah, but of course who am I, an old yet still gorgeous married lady know about young people's romance?" she chuckled once again.

Natsume sighed. "Mother, I seriously think of considering on asking Dr. Harada to look into your brain sometimes,"

"Heyy!" the Empress protested at the retreating figure of her son and smiled with satisfaction. She sure did a nice job of upbringing his only son, only, she thought, she should have put more emotion into him. "Go take a bath now, Mr. I'm-going-to-play-with-my-toy-soon!" she teased.

"Got it!" she soon heard him yell.

Oh, how she loves being a mother.

~(*o*)~(*o*)~(*o*)~

"Good morning Ms. Yukihara," an old man greeted Mikan as soon as she arrived in what's supposed to be their living room. At the state it's in now, it's impossible to recognize it. It's like her father suddenly decided to buy hordes of monochrome statues to display in every corner and in every space that their living room can accommodate – only, these monochrome statues wear branded sunglasses and wear stiff tuxedos. All in all, they look like they jumped out of a blockbuster movie, Men In Black, she noted.

"Uhhh, good morning," she greeted back. She stared at the old man sitting opposite her in tuxedo obviously tested by time as his hair and beard were painted silver and his face lined with wrinkles. "May I ask," Mikan drawled, "who are you…?"

"I am Her Highness, the Empress Kaoru Hyuuga's personal butler, Sebastian. Her Highness sent me here to fetch your ladyship" He said reverently in his shaky old voice.

"Her Highness…ladyship…butler…what?"

"Yes, Yukihira-sama. You have been chosen to be His Majesty, Prince – "

"Oh NO!" Mikan suddenly burst out. She can't believe her nightmare and Hotaru's silly clairvoyant idea was coming true. She feels like the world had suddenly went poof and all there is to it is smoke and another mass of smoke so that she can barely breathe let alone see anything. "Oh, sorry" she apologized after realizing her rude interruption. "But don't tell me, please, don't tell me that I have been chosen as that Prince's wife." She begged.

"Yes, you – "

"Please. DON'T"

"…As you wish, Sebastian won't tell Yukihira-sama that she has been chosen to be His Majesty, Prince Natsume Hyuga's wife. But the Empress wishes for your presence in the Imperial Palace, m'lady"

"No…" she groaned. "Say, Sebastian…can I possibly decline this offer?"

The old man considered. "It is possible, but would you not like to see first for yourself before completely declining the offer? I'm afraid the Prince and the Empress are really anxious to meet you. I'm sure they would be gravely disappointed if they knew you would not honor them with your presence."

"Ungh…you're not making this easy for me now are you?" Mikan muttered in defeat. The old man smiled, after all, the Empress strictly ordered him to bring Mikan Yukihira in her presence.

Unbeknown to Mikan, her beloved mother was secretly listening to her daughter and the old man's conversation and she can't help to feel the urge to knock some sense into her daughter's empty skull. After scrutinizing her appearance minutes ago and surprising her of her own definition of presentable, she can't just let her turn down the offer of being the mother of the nation itself! Not when she knows romance is waiting her daughter from the other side of this all at least.

Slowly and almost naturally, Yuka entered the living room and excused, half-dragged her daughter into the master's bedroom.

"Mikan, what do you think you're doing?" she asked.

"Declining an offer by the Imperial Family?"

"Do. Not. Decline. Their. Offer."

"Why not? Mom, a day ago I didn't even know that an Imperial Family exists in Japan and now you want me to marry the Prince?" Mikan couldn't believe her ears. Why are people around her so inclined in tying her down with that Prince anyway?

"Please Mikan? Think of this as a fulfillment of your mom's once lost dream…"

"Mom…I never knew you wanted to be an Empress"

"Of course not, silly. I and the Empress are best friends you know! And I wanted to see her so badly but those guards won't let me in. But, if you become a Princess, honey, I'm sure mom would meet her long lost friend! Won't you do this for me, Mikan?" her mom confessed rather too aggressively.

"Are you telling the truth…?" Mikan asked in doubt since she has never heard of her mother being best friends with a certain Kaoru Hyuga.

"Of course I am! Would you do it, Mikan?" Yuka pleaded with her puppy-dog eyes.

The brunette scowled. "Mom, you better thank God I love you so much that I'm willing to enter Hell for you…"

"Oh I knew it!" Yuka hugged Mikan so tight; she thought her innards would burst out.

How Yuka loved being a mom.

~(*o*)~(*o*)~(*o*)~

The first time Sebastian saw Mikan, he can't help but to remark how beautiful and yet how simple she was although he couldn't deny that she almost gave him a heart attack upon dropping hints of declining the offer.

Now, the second time Sebastian set his old but trusty eyes on Mikan, he can't help imagining how lovely a pair she and the young Prince would make. The young lady was now wearing a cute pink but not shabby dress flowing elegantly up to her knees. Her hair was tied loosely into a messy bun so that curly tendrils of hair spilled at the side of her face.

"Sebastian, I accept the offer" she announced as if taking a challenge rather than accepting what supposed to be a proposal.

The old man smiled and offered his arm to the brunette which was a relief for Mikan seeing how she struggles to walk with the 3-inches high heels her mother forced her to wear. She guessed that she has to beg Sebastian to keep supporting her until she arrives in front of the Imperial Family or else she'll lose her dignity in no time after tripping down the hall.

Frankly, Mikan has no idea why they have to send about fifteen tuxedo-ed men to fetch her. It's not as if she's a dangerous criminal that would explode violence unpredictably but nevertheless she felt grateful that they carried her luggages.

Sebastian opened the door of the limousine for her and ushered her in, "Please make yourself comfortable Yukihira-sama"

"Uh, Sebastian…please call me Mikan. It feels like you're talking to my dad when you say Yukihira-sama"

"As you wish, Mikan-sama"

"Er, how about Mikan-chan?"

"Yes, Mikan-chan-sama" the old smiled with mirth, obviously loving his little prank.

Mikan sighed with defeat and soundlessly slipped in the limousine headed to the Imperial Palace after a dozen of hugs and kisses from her mom and dad. Goodness knows when she would see them again. It's not her fault her mom practically kicked her out of the house.

She shouldn't forget to call Hotaru later, she thought.

~(*o*)~(*o*)~(*o*)~

Tip. Tap. Tip. Tap.

"Hoho~" Tsubasa sniggered. "Someone's impatient to see his hubby here" he remarked as he effortlessly swung the yoyo back and forth in his perch on the couch.

"Tch"

"It seems rather interesting, don't you think? For Natsume to be so eager" Ruka remarked rather evilly and rarely since the blond lad is oftentimes more passive than not.

"Maybe he's really hit by cupid this time. And based from what we saw yesterday –referring to both encounters of meeting Mikan-chan – she is quite a cutie."

Natsume smirked. "Too bad because she's taken. By me"

"I knew it! You were totally smitten by her!"

It was Natsume's cue to glare at his cousin. He couldn't believe how people kept on accusing him of these mushy and senseless stuffs all pertaining to a little thing called love. His plans for the brunette are far from relating to love. In fact, they're closer to torture.

"Natsume, if it's not love – "

"It's not."

"Okay, if it's not love the reason why you are so ea – "

Glare.

" – ger to meet Yukihira-san then what?"

He shrugged. "Let's say I've been through enough boredom that I wanted to play a little with this new toy." And she irritates me for no reason, he thought rather to himself.

"That's a bit irrational. You shouldn't be too hard on her Natsume. Women are soft creatures." Tsubasa reminded him.

"That ironic, seeing as how you keep on torturing Misaki"

Tsubasa scowled.

Damn, he had a point there.

~(*o*)~(*o*)~(*o*)~

Mikan drank in her surroundings. It has been the same palace from her memories but she can't help noticing those parts which were clearly renovated from the last three years. Hotaru had been right. It was the Imperial Palace she visited with her parents and not the Museum. It was the same luxurious building and the same elegant one filled with historical artifacts and paintings that it barely seemed inhabited. Somehow, it feels suffocating and too formal.

Wait a minute.

If they had visited the Palace three years ago then… Darn, mom tricked me again, she thought.

At last, after some twists and turns into intricate passages, they entered a big room with a big ceiling-to-floor window. It walls were royal crimson and gold in color while gold scraps of expensive curtains draped the side of the windows. Unknown faces stared down the brunette from the paintings hanging by the wall and she was guessing that they were the ancestors of the current Imperial Family. Meanwhile, an elegant woman around her thirties with silk black hair spilled loosely until her cream shoulders in elegant swirls sat comfortably on one of the handsome couches inside the chamber.

She smiled upon the sight of Mikan and the brunette can't help but stare into the crimson pools of the lady so similar to the lad he saw on the cover of the magazine. They were so alike that she thought for a second that she was staring into his eyes instead of his mother's.

"You must be Mikan-chan" she said as Mikan bowed in front of her and took the opposite couch since she was ushered to sit. "I'm Kaoru Hyuga. I'm so pleased to meet you" she smiled.

"Ah, I'm pleased to meet you too. I'm Mikan – "

"Mikan Yukihira, I know. Oh, gosh. Let's drop these formalities shall we?"

"Uh…okay?" Mikan replied since she was really uncertain of what she meant by that. Aside from being unable to process the fact that she's now in front of an actual Empress who are supposed to exist only in fairytales, the weird personality of the older woman also amazes her. Somehow, she doesn't seem so stuck up and all that formal.

"Kya! I'm so excited! Mikan-chan, did you know that I really wanted a daughter at your age? My daughter, Aoi is too young to be teased regarding things like love life so it's no fun!" she pouted.

Mikan stared at her, flabbergasted and laughed shakily. Somehow it feels like she's been victimized by a gag show and any moment now the host would jump out of nowhere and yell, "Boo yah!" but no matter how long she waits, she knows no one would pop out of nowhere and wake her from her dream.

"Come on Mikan-chan…tense down! Feel free at home. It's not like I'll be eating you whole. Ah, I know, you must be excited to meet Natsume. Oh, of course you can't wait to meet my young handsome son! But you know, he's quite bad-tempered so be patient with her, okay Mikan-chan? Of course I don't want you to—"

"Ah…haha…yes, I'll try my best….?"

"Call me mom! Yes, call me mom, after all I'll be your future mother-in-law!"

"Ah, thank you…mom…?"

"Kyaaa! Oh my gosh you are soooo cute!"

Can it be weirder than this…?

"Mother, you're so loud!" a male voice suddenly boomed out of nowhere and Mikan, having been shocked turned around too look at the source of it.

Shock, horror, disbelief came crashing down her all at once as she saw those crimson eyes and she can't help but to yell,

"YOU!"

Oh how she'll enjoy her stay in the Palace.

~(*o*)~(*o*)~(*o*)~

Wahhh…it's done.

Tell me if you liked it or hated it. I accept suggestions, comments and even criticisms. So FIRE AWAY!

And please wait for the next chapter. ^^

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