29 Upbringing

Mikan furrowed her brows as they slowly reached what seemed like the front of the house. Just a moment ago she was in the state of bewilderment looking at Nogi's house. Scratch that, it should be a mansion now looking at the huge size of it. But then, when two figures suddenly and slowly appeared in her sight as they drove closer, she couldn't help but wonder. Curiosity got her on the spot. She saw two figures sitting by the stairs, in front of a wide open heavily carved French door.

When the car finally stopped and Ruka Nogi cut off the engine, she heard a mild sigh came out from him. She snapped her head around and saw him shaking his head but on his lips were a small smile. Without saying anything, he unlocked the car doors and got down. Feeling lost, Mikan followed suit, getting down the car.

Now that she's finally out of the car, she could finally see clearly with a close distance. The two figures she saw before were a woman and a small child. The kid was so adorable and Mikan caught a look at the kid's big dark orbs flickered at her for a second before she turned to look back at Ruka and there's even a small ribbon tugged at the side of her blonde hair. Her hair was extremely short for a girl but to Mikan's eyes, she's beyond cute. Next to her was a woman. Mikan couldn't see her face because she had her head on her knees and her ludicrously gorgeous blonde hair too trailed on the ground. Seemed like she was sleeping, Mikan could hear the almost inaudible snoring.

"It's almost 11. Why aren't you in bed?" Ruka asked the small girl. Then he saw something sticking out behind her back. He raised his brows and began tapping his foot on the marbled floor. "You're not allowed to eat ice cream at night, you know that, right Haru?"

Mikan looked at the girl who had an impassive expression on, whom she now knew as Haru, and turned to look at Ruka who later nodded his head towards Haru's back. Mikan inched closer to him to take a peek and saw a spoon sticking out of an ice cream box. Mikan bit her lips to prevent her from chuckling. She now slowly seeing the sight of Ruka when he's in full authority-mood. With the way she seeing him treating the small girl, she assumed the girl would be his imouto. Plus, their resemblance with the blonde hair, it's obvious they're related to each other.

"Kaa-chan told me to accompany her while she wait for nii-chan to come back home," the small girl mumbled with a half-opened mouth. Her voice was slow too.

Ruka sighed. "Did she persuade you with ice-cream?"

The girl nodded. "She said I can eat ice-cream if I wait together with her." Her eyes flickered to Mikan for awhile before her small fingers tugged at the end of Ruka's shirt. "Nii-chan, who is that?" but her tone of voice sounded more like she wanted to ask 'why is she wearing a mask' instead.

Ruka, who felt like ripping his hair out because he still couldn't get over the fact that his mother let his little sister eat ice-cream at night, just solemnly turned to look at Mikan for a second before giving Haru a short and quick answer. "Tomodachi."

At that moment, the woman who sat next to Haru suddenly stirred. The moment she held up her head, Mikan gasped when she saw her face for the first time. She ran a hand through her hair ludicrously gorgeous blonde locks with a pair of half-opened eyes before rubbing them with the back of her hands. She still looked half-asleep to Mikan's eyes. Even in that state, she was a beauty. A kind of beauty that Mikan had never seen before.

Mikan blinked. No use, she was in a state of stupor. Is she real? The woman looked older though. With that same blonde hair as Ruka, could she be his older sister? Man, what kind of amazing genetics do these Nogis have? Ruka Nogi is handsome himself, and the little sister is adorable beyond words and the older sister is just too much. She even ran out of words of how to describe her. She's too beautiful!

Assumably the woman had eventually gain her sight after some time of rubbing her eyes, she beamed when she finally saw Ruka stood in front of her. "Ru-chan!"

Mikan only had the time to blink once before her eyes went wide as she saw the woman abruptly stood up out of the blue and launched herself onto Ruka. She wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled against his chest. "You're so late! I've waited for you for four hours now."

Mikan's eyes bulged out. Four hours?! It's freezing cold here and they waited for four hours? Do they want to die so bad? Mikan looked at Ruka in disbelief. You made your sister wait for four hours!?

"It's only 20 minutes," Haru corrected with her small voice.

Mikan's brows raised and she snapped her head back to the girl and saw she already started digging back her spoon inside the ice-cream and continued eating. The previously forgotten ice-cream now regained her full interest back. She would sometimes poked the ice cream too with the spoon. "Kaa-chan's drunk. That's why she can't guess the time," she continued while taking a mouthful of ice cream to her mouth. Mikan couldn't see the reason why Haru went and explained it to her. Mikan narrowed her eyes as Haru's words continued to play inside her head. Kaa-chan's drunk, that's why she can't guess the time. Kaa-chan. Kaa-chan…

Mikan gasped as she took a step back and clamped her mouth shut. Immediately her body became stiff and she stood there with a posture of a ruler. It's Ruka Nogi's mother for god's sake so she ought to treat her with respect, aite? But now..it's kinda...the timing is a bit off, right? After all, she's drunk. Well, to be honest, Mikan couldn't notice it at all if Haru didn't point it out. She thought people would slurred when they drunk but his mother spoke perfectly well like any sober person would.

Mikan had thought she had heard the soft snoring again. She looked closer. Mikan sweatdropped looking at Mrs. Nogi. So she fell asleep again, Mikan realized. This time on Ruka's chest. Ruka smiled and shrugged, "I knew she would be home." With a swift movement, he scooped her up in his arms. He turned to look at Mikan and added, "I always know where she would be so basically, you're worried for nothing actually." The corner of his lips curled up and only after he walked inside that Mikan realized he was laughing at her for fretting too much when he's so calm despite her effort to not make it so obvious.

Mikan rolled her eyes. So she did worry for nothing but oh well, she mentally shrugged. She supposed panicking for awhile would be a good exercise for her heart. It seemed she had to get used to this unusual event. With the way of how the story went like what Koko had told her, she bet she's not gonna experience this for the first time only and she should expect the repeat of this event in the near future. So Ruka-pyon's mother often went missing after a drink when she's lonely; yep she should really remember this unusual occurrence for future reminder.

So he did realized she had panicked back then, Mikan concluded. Is her face that much of an open book? She began wondering. But she thought she had tried to conceal it . Plus, she's wearing a mask too so how on earth could he noticed it? Maybe because she had spent too much time with him for the past weeks so he now he's getting used to her so he happened to notice every little thing. Could that be it? Impossible. The only one who can go beyond the line of being able to read her every move is Hotaru. Only Hotaru.

"Haru, put that ice-cream away and get ready for bed." His voice echoed from inside the house.

Haru took another mouthful before closing the lid and jumped down from the stairs. With her little feet wearing flip-flops, she headed inside with one hand holding the ice-cream box and the other holding the spoon. Just before she went inside, Mikan can't help but notice the unusual long stare Haru gave her. Mikan stood there, out of sorts of what to do. She ought go inside but they had not properly invited her yet so.. "What are you still doing outside, Potato?" She heard Ruka called out. Mikan fidgeted a little. Can that be considered as an invitation to come inside? She saw Haru poking her head at the doorway. "Nii-chan told you to come inside."

Mikan sighed in relief. She didn't know why she's so prim and proper now. Is it because it's a posh mansion that she's become a tad uncomfortable that she's so stiff in everything she's doing now? She couldn't even note the invitation in Ruka's tone. So she stepped inside and it actually took her quite an effort to close back the doors. Damn they're super heavy.

"Where's everyone?" She heard him asked. She assumed he's asking Haru since clearly she had no idea what he's talking about right now.

"Kaa-chan gave everyone a night off," Haru mumbled, not before licking the leftover icecream on the spoon with her tongue.

"Haji-san too?"

Haru gave a mild nod. "She threw him out too. Forced him even."

Ruka exhaled a deep breath and picking up his lost motivation, he shifted the weight in his arms so that her mother could be more comfortable. His loving mother just had to choose tonight to throw every staff out. His bloody tired and he got a load of work to get done with. Ruka let out another sigh as he looked at Haru's messy shorts. The ice cream stains looked horrible too. "Come now, Haru. Let's get you cleaned up and off to bed." He motioned for Haru to follow him as he climbed up the long stairways carefully with his mother still sleeping soundly in his hold.

Mikan stared in bewilderment at how Ruka can walked up the stairs with no problem at all even with another extra weight he's carrying. Seemed like underneath that soft look, he got some muscles developed. Now totally distracted by the presence of long spiral stairs in the middle of the hallway that lead to the upper floor, Mikan gaped in awe. She then shook her head in disbelief. What kind of house is this? This ain't a house, it's a freaking castle!

Just before he disappeared from the top stairs, Mikan heard his voice called out, "I'll be quick so just sit anywhere you found comfortable."

Mikan looked around. She found no chair and no seat. The only thing she found in the vast space is a table set next to a clock tower. Though she doubted her weight would break the table if she sat on it, she rather chose not to. Anywhere comfortable? Did he realized there's nothing she can sit on in this—Mikan halted her trail of thoughts. What would she call this vast space she's in right now anyway? Living room? Front room? This space alone is as big as her own bedroom.

She walked around a little as she turned her head to the right and looked at the long hallway lead to probably another hallway as well since she couldn't see anything that looked like a room at the end of the hallway. There were doors on each side in the hallways and there were lotsa of them too. Mikan scowled. She won't go and tiring herself out finding a seat she could be comfortable with by looking in each of those rooms.

So at the end, she just waited by the bottom of the stairway stairs where Ruka had previously dissapeared to. All the while, staring at the chandelier she had just found out about hanging in the middle of the ceiling.

. . . .

Mikan put down her pen and leaned her back against the seat before a tired sight escaped her lips. As she looked up at the wide space above her, she rested her head on the headrest. Her eyes lingered longer before they travelled to the chandelier hanged up in the middle of the room. Another chandelier. A very, lovely yet extravagant one. The white ceiling was empty in contrast to the walls, which had a lot of French arts plastering them. Mikan thought it was French style rather than any thing else because the whole room seemed to speak French. Even the vase, bigger than her size, placed at the corner of the room looked French. "So Ruka-pyon comes from a very well-off family," she concluded. Her eyes were totally hooked at the expensive looking chandelier. "Man, those chandelier speaks luxury." And he had another at the other room she waited at just now.

Ruka chuckled, shaking his head at Mikan's sudden comment. They had been silently working for the past one hour; him with his lyrics writing and her doing her school council work. He had heard her muttering words under her breath a couple of times before she started clicking her tongue in irritation and biting the cap of her pen. "Meanie Hotaru, this is beyond that my brain could think!" she had burst out once. Ruka had tried to peek at what she's doing; they just sat across from each other at the table. But Mikan threw him dagger glares and ordered him to quickly get his work done.

Ruka then would shrugged, "I'm just trying to help." But Mikan's response to him after that had him holding his laugh. "I know you're a perfectly capable kaichou, maybe you're not as great as Hotaru in my point of view but can you please help yourself first before helping others?" She motioned for the papers scrabbled on the desk, meaning his lyrics writing progress. "You helping yourself is helping me, kaichou-san." She then continued dragging the pen on the log book with vehement force, not as much as batting an eyelash at him after that.

But now she's probably getting tired of the paper work—which he still couldn't figure out what Imai had asked her to do regarding their council work—and probably bored as well, seeing as she's now trying to engage a conversation with him. Even her posture too gave him that thought. Ruka stopped what he was doing, though he had to secretly admit that even though one hour had passed, he hardly made any proper progress with his work. "So Eye Candy is actually a bunch of rich kids group huh," she spoke again. Well, she had seen Koko's house and with Ruka's house this big too, she expected the rest would likely have big houses too. Turning her head to his side, Ruka had thought she expected an answer so he merely replied, "not at all."

Mikan frowned. "Did you not see that chandelier hanging in the middle of the room?" Holding up one arm, she pointed to it. Ruka raised his brows, not seeing what she's trying to imply here by mentioning the chandelier. "My house doesn't have one because chandeliers are ludicrously expensive and we don't have that much money to waste on a house accessory. Only effing rich people buy them. Your house have one so that makes you one of those effing rich people." She pointed one finger at him. Straightened up her posture and leaned in, her eyes gleaming. "And Kokoroyome's house is no joke too. Even if yours are bigger, the size of his house is still considered abnormal compared to us normal civilians." She then remembered the time she went to Koko's house and the people who greeted them outside the house. She could feel the hair on her skin prickled. "So he's a rich yakuza kid, then," she concluded before adding a mumble under her breath, "Who would have thought." Because certainly she had never could imagine it.

Ruka rolled his eyes. "We're not a bunch of rich kids," he tried to overturn the conversation. Because really, they're not a bunch of rich kids at all. Where the devil did she got the idea from? Just from a freakin' chandelier hanging in his house? It's his parents' money for god's sake. Not his. He didn't buy the freaking chandelier. His mum did. So if anything is right, it's their parents who are rich. But when Mikan gave him a pointed look and said, "Don't bullshit me. What does your family do? You better tell me straight up and don't lie. I will sprout nonsense to Hotaru about you if you lie." Mikan was giving him a winning smirk already.

He knew he was cornered either way. Having rich parents meaning them also being the rich kids. Either way, the label was stuck on him. Plus, he wouldn't want Hotaru Imai to think whatever nonsense Mikan Sakura sprouted to her were true. Whatever that is that she's planning to tell her, to threaten him, he knew it wouldn't be anything near the truth. Probably.

Alas Ruka gave up and sighed. "My family runs a winery. So we're basically in the wine business. We shipped them mostly overseas because Japanese people prefer sake." He saw the satisfied look on Mikan as she muttered, "I was right all along. You're a rich kid. So then? How bout the rest of the guys?" Her face had the look of an interest growing. Her eyes twinkled in amusement.

Ruka blinked as he suddenly pondered. He debated if he could open his mouth about the rest of the group family background. It had always been the five of them. Though Ruka had met Natsume beforehand during elementary school days and their parents were friends too, it had always been the five of them ever since they met each other in middle school. They just naturally blended in with each other. It wasn't really their plan to form a group but because they're always around each other and not with other students, so other people just naturally thought neither that nobody else could get in nor that they would want to let anybody else in. It was solely exclusive only for the five of them, that's how people around them made it to be even though it's not really like that at all.

That's why it has always been only the five them and only the five of them were fully aware of what's going on each other's family. So up until now, Ruka had never see the need to explain it to other people. Because it never once occurred before that somebody else would join their little group. But family background is a little too private to talk about since it is not his place to tell. Except for his own, he didn't have the right to tell about others. Especially influential families such as Koko's and Kitsu's.

But Mikan Sakura, Ellys Emerys as everyone else but him only knew of, had now become a part of Eye Candy. She had not squeezed herself in at all but it happened all naturally and the rest of the guys didn't seem to bother about her presence at all. If he had to be honest, it looked like they rather enjoy her being around them, especially Koko and Kitsu. Ruka had recently noticed something, but not that he would point it out and speak about it that those two sometimes could be very protective over her.

Probably because those two did not have any younger siblings—and wished that they had one—that they treated her like an imouto-chan. The cold façade that Ellys Emerys supposed to had on that was meant to push people away, those two had finally figured it out that it was nothing harmful at all. Sure her words were venoms, she didn't talk much too and sometimes she would hit but that's about it. They're already used to it anyways. Or they're just too stupid to get it inside their pea brain to read her mood properly. And the fact that they didn't know Ellys Emerys's real age, they just went ahead and assumed that she's younger than the rest of them. Because she's smaller than us, they had once said, Ruka mentally chuckled as he remembered it.

Ah wait, maybe because it's a first time that they had a girl around them in a close proximity? Well, it had always been them five guys before this. So having a girl around just naturally unlocked their protective instinct? Yuu didn't seem like it but he too, having a girl around in the group did ease his job a little. She didn't exactly complain nor refused whenever Yuu asked her to help around. She just did it silently.

Ruka mentally shook his head, convincing himself that she should know some part of it because she's one of them too now. The least he could tell is what the others' families do and he could leave out all those that of off the record. So he continued, "This is where Koko's family comes into the picture. Koko's family, despite being a yakuza, his family is actually one of the prime producers of sake in Japan. That's how they made money. They are more widely known in the sake business rather than in the yakuza world."

Mikan furrowed her brows. She's still underage so she didn't know much about sake production. Her dad too, he liked to drink wine more than sake. So clearly she's the least bit exposed about such traditional alcohol. But since Koko's family is said to be Japan sake prime producer, she should at least have heard the name right? Or maybe had seen the brand somewhere in supermarket. "What's the brand? The one that his family made?"

"Yumei." Up to this day, he still wondered why Koko's family doesn't just use their family name instead. Yumei and Yome sound awfully close too. When Ruka saw the blank look Mikan was giving him, he asked, "I take it your family don't drink sake much then?" Neither did his mother but he knew of such brand because Natsume's parents are fond of sake.

Mikan shook her head. "My dad is more of a wine person." She had went to his dad's private wine cellar at the basement and it was quite a collection the old man's been keeping. "Kitsuneme? Yuu Tobita?" she continued asking. "What does their family do?"

"Kitsu's parents are stock traders. If America has Wall Street, Japan has Akeshi, where it's thoroughly managed by Akeshi family; his family. That's why Kitsu doesn't use his surname much and rarely mention about it." Ruka saw the furrowed look on Mikan's face and he added right before Mikan could open her mouth to ask. "You thought his last name is Neme is it? Because we keep calling him Kitsuneme." Ruka laughed. "Kitsuneme is fully his surname alone. We don't call him with his family name because Kitsu told us not to."

Mikan let the new information slowly dawned in her brain. All this time, she had thought otherwise. Because the guys often call each other by their family names especially when they made dry remarks to one another, but with Kitsu, they always call him Kitsuneme so she had thought Neme would be his family name. To think that he's actually from the Akeshi family, Mikan was speechless. She waved a hand in dismissal. She would just leave it at that. "Yuu Tobita?"

"You know that hotel besides that tall building in the middle of Tokyo?" Ruka asked.

"Yeah, Carzton Hotel," Mikan answered. "Don't tell me—"

Ruka cut her off with a grin. "Yeah, Yuu's family owns it. Strange why they only have one in Japan when they actually have a lot of branches nationwide."

It was a though a bile was stuck in her throat. Mikan could never had imagined that these guys came from such influential families. They didn't seem to have those kind of superior air around them. They seemed normal too. Too normal sometimes. But then again, they had never once brought up the topic regarding their families, Mikan realized. Not even once at all. But Mikan remembered they all liked to huddle at Natsume's place though, rather then going home. Weird.

"Hyuuga?" Mikan had asked, now curious at the last member. Now, what kind of rich family Hyuuga is from she wondered.

At the mention of Natsume's name, Mikan furrowed her brows seeing Ruka smiled so warmly. "Believe it or not, Natsume has the most normal life than the rest of us. While the rest of us grew up in an outstanding and influential kind of family, Natsume's family is normal. He's not at all well off like the rest of us, but his parents are both Todai professors."

Ruka laughed seeing the bewildered expression Mikan had on. He too, could understand why Mikan was so perplexed. Natsume's air didn't really match up with his upbringing after all.

"Even if he had no money and wealth to be proud of, he has the life that we, the rest of us had wished for; a real family," Ruka continued, his eyes gave a distant look as his lips curved into a small smile. "My house is big but there's so much that lacks. My father died when I was in middle school so I have no father figure to seek advice from. Don't get me wrong, my mother does her best as a mother, as a parent but sometimes, you would always wish you would have a man to man talk with a grown up." Mr. Hyuuga isn't like his late-father at all. His late father is more aggressive in words and actions while Takeshi-san is a more of a slow and steady kind of person. But despite the differences, they shared the same fatherly traits because whenever Ruka went to seek for advice, he felt nothing but comfort.

"Rather than a group made up of rich kids, you could say Eye Candy is actually a group with fucked up members," he stopped for a chuckle as though he remembered something funny then added, "except Natsume ofcourse. Natsume isn't anything like us, if you think about it again. Meaning that he doesn't have anything worth fucked up in his life."

But Mikan, she wasn't catching up. What is Ruka Nogi talking about? Aren't they discussing about their families now? She got it that they're from some really top-notch families but what's so fucked up with that? "I don't get it," she shook her head, not able to keep up with the change of topic. "What fuck up?"

Ruka held up one finger. "Not only people scared of him just because he's a yakuza's kid is a problem enough, Koko got caught up in the feud with his two elder brothers who currently fought for the head seat." He held up another finger. "Kitsu is actually unwelcomed in the Akeshi family." He added in another finger. "Yuu on the other hand, despite looking all peachy with his life, got kicked out of his house." Now he had all his four fingers up when he held up his pinky one. "And then there's me who, simply said in a softer way, just lack a father's affection."

He could tell that much, Ruka had reasonalized. Mikan Sakura too should know that much as well so she could get the idea how the guys are. He didn't really planned to tell anything beyond than what he had already told her. He could only give the briefs of the surface when the truth was, a whole lot more actually happened behind the curtains. The undisclosed information should always be kept only among them five since it involved the name of influential families.

Koko is the youngest in his family. Even though his parents love him, his siblings are another story. Because they're from a yakuza family, there will always be a conflict to decide who will take over as the head of the yakuza family when the times comes. His two older brothers were desperate to the extent where they treat each other with hostility. Koko had no choice but got caught up in the feud with his brothers. And his two brothers weren't exactly the kind type either.

Kitsu's biological mum is the second wife. His mum only got married to his father after he was born. So technically, his mother was previously his father's mistress and legally, he was born out of wedlock. Therefore, the Akeshi family doesn't fully accept her mother into the family nor his presence. And being the only child of the second wife, he got nobody else besides his mother. His father, despite being busy, is a very kind man. Ruka could vouched for his kindness for he had met him. He really cares for Kitsu but the treatment Kitsu got from the main family during his father's absence, it was more than he could handle.

Yuu, his parents are both extremely perfectionist and ambitious. You could say because of him rebelling, his parents disowned him. Not legally though. His name is still in the family registry—thank god. During the summer of their first year in high school, his parents chased him out. Apparently his dad was flipping mad when he told them he's not taking over the business. He had two sisters above him but it was tradition to have the son as the direct heir. They were never on the same page, his dad and him. They hardly listen to what he wants to say too. So Yuu ended up rebelling. Ruka wanted to laugh, remembering it vivid in his mind like it only happened yesterday. It's still kinda hard to imagine Yuu being the rebellious type. After all, he's the most sensible one compared to the rest of them.

"If Yuu got chased out, where did he live all this time?"

Mikan's question brought Ruka back from his reverie. He didn't even realize his mind wandered somewhere else too. "His sisters bought him a studio apartment. Unlike his parents, his older sisters are very understanding. They're extremely doting on him too. Actually," Ruka laughed before adding, "His two sisters got a brother-complex towards him. It's such a sight, watching them two fighting over Yuu." Koko thought of it as a harem—not really close to a harem at all but Ruka's not gonna argue with Koko about that—every single time but Ruka not gonna open his mouth to tell her that.

"How old is his sisters?" To the extent of getting him an apartment, they gotta be much much older, Mikan had thought.

Ruka tapped his chin lightly with his forefinger, thinking. "They're in their mid-twenties now, I guess. You'll meet them soon. They always drop by to check up on Yuu." And they always bring too much food too.

Mid-twenties paying for an apartment? What do they work as to get such amount of money? Hostesses? But then again, Yuu came from that rich family. So it made sense if his sisters were able to pay for an apartment.

Putting an arm on the table, Ruka leaned in and picked up a pen, he twirled it between his fingers. "So that's it. Rather than a group made up of rich kids, you could say Eye Candy is actually a group with fucked up members except Natsume. Natsume is not one of us; he doesn't have anything fucked up in his life." He gave her a faint smile. "Hell, he has a family that lives together, sit around the table during every meals and a very understanding parents. His parents were strict but at the same time, lenient too. They treat us like family too whenever we come over." For once he felt like he had wished he were born in a different family instead of Nogi household.

"I just don't get it. Why do you guys follow Natsume Hyuuga? He doesn't really have anything to influence you guys over but it's as though he's the leader of your pack."

Ruka laughed. "Not exactly. If you asked him yourself, he would tell how annoying it is to have us sticking to him all the time." He shook his head amusingly at the remembrance of Natsume always telling them they're so annoying. "But that man, even if he said that, he still let us be, he didn't tell us to go away. That just drew us in more. So we just ended up doing things in his pace," Mikan watched as Ruka's expression grew warmer as he continued, "because his pace is the one we're most comfortable with ourselves. He kept us sane after all. Rather than him being the leader, it's really us hanging on to him for dependency. He's the sole reason why we're holding on."

Mikan leaned back in her seat. Natsume Hyuuga kept them sane?

TBC.