The Lady of My Heart: Chapter 4

#11: Gakuen Alice (Natsume & Mikan)
...xXx...

"Uncle Akira!" Ryusuke ran up to Akira with a happy grin.

Akira easily caught the boy in his arms. "How are you doing, Ryusuke?"

"I'm doing well, Uncle Akira," Ryusuke replied with a bright smile.

Ryusuki walked towards him and nodded in greeting. "Uncle Akira."

Akira smiled at him. "I assume you’re also doing well, Ryusuki?"

"Yes," Ryusuki replied with a nod of his small head.

Mikan smiled when Akira walked towards her. He released Ryusuke and hugged her. "Miss me, twin sister?"

"Very much." Mikan returned his hug.

After breaking the hug, Akira looked at Hotaru. "It's been a while, Hotaru."

Still sipping her jasmine tea, Hotaru hummed in reply. Five of them spent their times together at the Rose Garden. The twins were playing with their powers together under a few guards’ watchful eyes while the three adults talked and discussed about the reunion party.

"So, it's been decided that you will go right?" Akira asked Hotaru.

Hotaru nodded before looking at Mikan. "You sure don't want to come along, Mikan?"

"Nah.” She shook her head. “I'm not really attending Gakuen Alice."

Akira reminded Hotaru, "Narumi-sensei always came to our land to teach Mikan personally because Otou-sama never let her out from the castle."

Mikan sighed dejectedly, and Akira grabbed her hands. "Don't worry, I will tell Narumi-sensei that you really wish you could come."

"Thank you, Akira." Mikan smiled.

Suddenly, Ryusuke ran towards the three adults with Ryusuki, who was not far behind.

"Can I come?" Ryusuke asked hopefully to the adults, and Akira exchanged glances with the women.

"It's not an overnight party, so I don’t see why not." Hotaru shrugged.

"Please…" Ryusuke begged to his mother with his two big puppy eyes.

Even though his puppy eyes didn't work for her, Mikan agreed with a smile. "All right…"

Ryusuke squealed joyfully but stopped when Mikan said, "On one condition. Behave and please stay close with Aunt Hotaru or Uncle Akira."

"I will, Okaa-sama. Don't worry about it!" Ryusuke exclaimed happily.

Before Ryusuke could say anything to his twin, Ryusuki already said, "I'm not going."

Ryusuke's smile faded. "Why won't you go, Ryusuki?"

The three adults looked at the eldest twin.

"I'm going to stay with Okaa-sama," Ryusuki replied while looking at their mother.

Mikan was touched and hugged him. "Oh, Ryusuki… You don't have to stay with Okaa-sama. Okaa-sama will be fine. You should go with Ryusuke and have fun at Gakuen Alice."

"I'm not leaving you alone, Okaa-sama," Ryusuki said with determined eyes.

Mikan sighed in defeat. "If you're so sure about it, Ryusuki."

Ryusuki hugged her mother. "I am, Okaa-sama."

"What about me?" Ryusuke asked sadly.

Ryusuki smiled at his twin. "You should go, Ryusuke."

"Should I? I also want to stay with Okaa-sama."

Ryusuki tapped his shoulders. "Just go, Ryusuke. Go and have fun at Gakuen Alice together with Aunt Hotaru and Uncle Akira."

Ryusuke reluctantly agreed, and Akira grinned. "It settles, then. Ryusuke will come with us."

...xXx...

"Otou-sama, Okaa-sama, I will depart to the next dimension today to attend the reunion party," Akira informed his parents.

His father nodded in acknowledgment.

Yuka smiled. "Be safe on your journey, my son."

"I will, Okaa-sama. I will depart together with Hotaru."

"Send my regards to the lord and the lady of the southern lands," his father said calmly.

"Yes, Otou-sama." Akira gave them last bow. "I'm leaving, Otou-sama, Okaa-sama."

"Have a safe trip, Akira," Yuka replied with a smile.

Akira returned his mother's smile before walking out from the throne room. He was wearing a pale blue kimono complete with a sakura symbol on his left shoulder, which indicated him as the Prince of the Northern Lands. Walking to the centre of their garden, he held out his hands in front of him and chanted silently. Just like Mikan, a sakura symbol appeared before his hands. It grew bigger and moved by itself to the ground where he stood. When the symbol started rotating, his body started turning into sakura petals and vanished from sight.

A big sakura symbol appeared on the ground as sakura petals started gathering and formed Akira at the Rose Garden. Mikan, Hotaru and the twins stood not far from him. Akira smiled to them. "I see that all of you are ready to depart."

Ryusuke was wearing a blue kimono. As for Hotaru, she was wearing a pale blue kimono that come with blue obi. Her left shoulder was printed with a pink lily, the royal symbol of the Southern Lands.

"Let's go," Hotaru said and approached Akira.

Ryusuke walked towards Mikan and hugged her. "See you later, Okaa-sama."

"Have a safe trip, Ryusuke." Mikan hugged him back and kissed his forehead before releasing him slowly.

Ryusuke smiled at his twin. "See you soon, Ryusuki!"

"Hn," Ryusuki grunted.

Ryusuke ran up to Akira and Hotaru.

Akira smiled. "Until then, my twin sister."

Mikan smiled back. "Until then."

Akira gathered Ryusuke to his arms, and before Akira could start chanting, Hotaru spoke, "Let me."

Hotaru did the same ritual as Akira, but instead of a sakura symbol, it was a lily symbol that appeared before her hands. It grew bigger and moved by itself to the ground where they stood. When the symbol started rotating, their body turned into lily petals before vanishing before their eyes.

"Well, I guess it's time for us to go back now," Mikan said with a smile, and Ryusuki nodded. "As you wish, Okaa-sama."

...xXx...

Natsume was waiting for Ruka, who hadn't showed up yet. They had planned to go to Gakuen Alice together. After a few minutes of waiting, a rotating red fox symbol appeared on the ground not far from where he stood. It burst into flames and when the flames were gone, the one that appeared before him was none other than Ruka Nogi. He was wearing a pale green kimono complete with a red fox on his left shoulder. As for Natsume, he, too, was wearing a pale green kimono but with a red phoenix as the Prince of the Eastern Lands.

"Took you long enough to come, huh?" Natsume said with a sigh and slowly approached him.

Ruka smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, Natsume. My mom was nagging me to bring whatever she could think of for my safety."

"Hn," Natsume replied and when he stood beside him, he spoke, "Let's go."

Ruka nodded.

Natsume did the same ritual as Hotaru, and a phoenix symbol appeared before his hands. The symbol grew bigger and moved by itself to the ground where he and Ruka stood. In count of three seconds, the symbol burst into red flame, and with that, they were gone.

...xXx...

More than a group of students gathered around the school grounds of Gakuen Alice Japan. Not only students, a few teachers like Narumi-sensei and Misaki-sensei also gathered there. All students and teachers stopped talking to each other when a rotating lily symbol appeared on the ground. Their attention was what would happen before them. Lily petals started gathering and formed three figures. It was a pair of adults and a child in kimonos. The students watched them with awe.

Narumi-sensei clamped his hands and walked towards them. "Welcome to Gakuen Alice Japan."

"Prince Akira, Princess Hotaru and…" Narumi-sensei trailed off.

Akira smiled. "Ryusuke, my nephew."

"Oh my, your nephew… What? Your nephew? You mean this is…"

Akira nodded. "Yes, Narumi-sensei."

"My goodness! How is she?" Narumi-sensei asked with a smile while looking at Ryusuke, who looked back at him and blurted out, "Gay teacher."

Some of the students laughed immediately, even Hotaru laughed mentally while Narumi-sensei sweat dropped.

"Ryusuke," Akira called him meaningfully.

Ryusuke lowered his little head. "I'm sorry."

Narumi-sensei smiled. "Ah, please don't worry about it."

Akira was about to tell him about Mikan, but a rotating red phoenix symbol suddenly appeared on the ground not far from them. In count of seconds, the symbol burst into red flames. When the flames were extinguished, two handsome men in kimonos greeted their eyes. The girls started gawking and squealing over them. Hotaru and Akira watched both men boringly.

Misaki-sensei greeted them with a smile. "Welcome to Gakuen Alice Japan, Prince Natsume, Prince Ruka."

Ruka smiled back. "Thank you, Misaki-sensei."

"Natsume-nii-sama!" a voice exclaimed.

Everyone became silent and looked at the source. It was a silver-haired boy who bore the same symbol on his forehead with Natsume.

When the boy stood in front of Natsume, he gave him a small bow. "Greetings, Natsume-nii-sama, Ruka-nii-sama."

"Greetings, Youichi," Natsume replied, and Ruka nodded in greeting.

Youichi smiled. "I didn't know you would come to the party, Nii-sama."

"Hn," was his only answer.

Their surroundings started getting noisy with the squealing of the girls while Natsume watched them with uninterested eyes.

"Still the same as always, Natsume," Akira greeted him with a smirk on his handsome face.

Natsume turned his eyes to him. "Say that to yourself, Akira."

As he said those words, he finally noticed the child that was in Akira's arms. It was a raven-haired boy with a pair of hazel eyes. He looked at the child, and the child looked back at him. He had the feeling that he knew the child. He felt something familiar with the child. While approaching Akira, he asked, "Yours?"

"Nope. My twin sister's. Why?" Akira asked even though he knew everything. He knew that Natsume was his brother-in-law, or the father of the twins.

"I never knew you have a twin sister." Natsume looked at Akira in disbelief.

"Now, you know," Akira said lightly. Suddenly, he felt Ryusuke slowly reach out for Natsume.

Ruka and Youichi were speechless to say the least. They had never thought the child would reach out for Natsume.

Natsume looked at the child in the eye and opened his arms.

Akira let Ryusuke go to Natsume's arms.

When Ryusuke in his arms, Natsume felt a little part of his soul was coming back to him. He let out a small smile. "May I know your name?"

While looking at the man, the child replied, "Ryusuke."

Natsume broke the eye contact and turned to Akira. "Can I have him for awhile?"

Ruka and Youichi gaped at Natsume. They were looking at him as if he had grown another head.

Akira smiled. "Sure thing."

Narumi-sensei began, "Errr…"

The princes and princess turned to look at him.

Narumi-sensei silently gulped. "I think it's time to go inside. Prince Natsume, you can join us when you're done."

Unfortunately for him, Natsume paid no mind to him and walked all the way to the sakura tree that he was so fond of a long time ago. He sat down and leaned against the tree with Ryusuke on his lap. They stared at each other. Bringing up his right hand, he brushed off Ryusuke's bang aside. When he found neither a mark nor symbol that was visible on his little forehead, he was disappointed. Staring into the hazel eyes of Ryusuke, he quietly asked, "Ryusuke… can you tell me your mother's name?"

Ryusuke looked at him strangely but still replied, "Mikan."

"Last name?"

Ryusuke tapped his small chin. "I don't know."

He bit his lip mentally, and he tried again, "Where do you live now?"

"The Southern Lands."

Natsume nodded in acknowledgment. "Ryusuke, can you do this?"

When Ryusuke's eyes were on him, he held out a finger where a small flame appeared on the tip.

Ryusuke grinned, and after a few seconds, his eyes turned crimson and did the same thing to the tip of his one little finger.

Natsume's eyes widened. Now, he had a feeling that the child he was holding was his son. He couldn't explain why he felt that way, but he really felt that he was the father of this child.

...xXx...

"Okaa-sama!" Ryusuki ran up to the kitchen when he heard a crash.

Mikan was clutching her kimono while shaking.

Ryusuki slowly approached her. "Okaa-sama?"

Mikan's eyes were wide in fear as she remembered Natsume would attend Gakuen Alice just like Akira. "He will be there."

Ryusuki started getting worried. "Okaa-sama, are you alright? Who are you talking about?"

Mikan looked down to Ryusuki and quickly hugged him. "Your father. He will take you away from me."

"He will take both of you away from me," Mikan muttered, and tears started forming in her eyes.

"It's all right, Okaa-sama," Ryusuki hushed his mother gently. "Calm down, Okaa-sama. He won't take me away. I promise. I promise I will stay with you no matter what happens, Okaa-sama."

Prev Chapter 1—The New Assistant Chapter 2—The Disappearance Chapter 3—The Invitation Chapter 4—The Reunion Chapter 5—The Truth Chapter 6—The Meeting Chapter 7—The Lady of My Heart Next