Princess Engagement Program

She was beautiful. One of Time Magazine's Most Beautiful Women of the World, in fact.

She's smart. A child genius, also prodigy.

She's a popstar and model. In fact, she's ranked number one in both industries. In the female category.

Finding the perfect match for this seemingly perfect human being looked impossible.

Adding up the fact that SHE was Japan's Imperial Princess did not help.

Until the name Natsume Hyuuga appeared. It was everywhere; the magazines, the newspaper, the TV, the radio.

And if you think this had something to do with HER, you are wrong.

It was because Natsume Hyuuga became the most successful entrepreneur in Japan. At the age of 17.

I mean, who wouldn't be amazed at that?

He was rich, he was powerful. He had brains, he had smarts. But the thing that made everybody fall in love with him was his looks. The god-like looks he had.

This is him, Natsume Hyuuga, HER perfect match.

Mikan Yukihira's perfect match.

- Hazel-chii -

"No."

"Mikan-"

"No."

"Dear Mikan, please li-"

"Mom, I know what you're up to. Please, NO."

"But Mikan-"

"I don't care if he has money, looks, power, and whatever reasons you have that makes you think he's perfect. He's Natsume and I hate him." A brunette said.

"Mikan, just becau-"

"No, Mom! Would you please stop?!"

"Ugh! Would you stop cutting me off for a second?! You are testing my patience!" Another brunette boomed. Her hands were flailed in the air in frustration. When they fell down, her fingers reached up to her temples and started rubbing them. "Mikan, just because he threw a slice of apple pie at you when you were seven doesn't mean he's a bad guy!"

"But he is! Mom, did you even hear what he said to me after? 'You were too loud, I thought that would shut you up.'! Those were his exact words! Exact, exact, precise words. He's conceited, a brat, a spoiled brat! He dared throw pie to me-" The first brunette's index finger was shot up, and landed in front of her own face, "- the princess of Japan!"

"Oi!" A raven haired man entered the room. "I thought it was loud in here. It was you guys." He says, talking about the large room where two brunettes who were exact replicas of each other sat face-to-face in a kotatsu table.

"Nii-chan!" One brunette, the first brunette, sat up and ran over to where the raven-hair just entered, and tackled him into a bear-hug. This particular brunette is none other than Mikan Yukihira.

"Oi, oi, Mikan!" The raven-haired man embraced the brunette back. His name is Tsubasa Yukihira, Mikan's elder brother and the crown prince of Japan. When they let go, the brunette's face was wrinkled into a sour expression. "Something's going on. What's wrong?"

"Okaa-san wants me to marry." Mikan said, looking over to the other brunette accusingly.

Tsubasa gasps in fake horror and embraces Mikan once again, this time in a protective manner. "Okaa-san, you wouldn't?" He asks, fake shock evident in his tone of voice.

"Tsubasa, you're spoiling her too much." The other brunette shakes her head while grinning. This woman was Yuka Yukihira, mother of the siblings, Empress of Japan. As she takes a sip from the cup laid out in the table for her, another man enters. He had the sandy-brown hair. He looked around the room with his sandy brown eyes, amusement sparkling in them.

"What's up in here?" He brushes past the two siblings, who were still hugging, but this time, Mikan was weeping waterfalls from her eyes, and Tsubasa was trying to calm his spoiled little sister.

"A drama about a princess' opposition against her parent's choice of an engagement partner." Yuka looks up and kisses the man, who was, obviously, her husband. This was Izumi Yukihira, husband of Yuka and the father of the siblings, and of course, Emperor of Japan.

"Oh, this is about Natsume-kun then?" he settles down o the kotatsu to her wife's left.

"Don't you dare speak of his name when I am around!" By this time, Mikan had calmed down, straightened her kimono, and was sitting down on her place in the kotatsu, across her mother.

"Apparently, she still can't forget about the pie." Yuka continues.

"Oh, you mean the thing with the 'Conceited pie-throwing clown?'" Izumi says, then laughs at the statement, as though remembering some memory.

"Oh, I could still remember how loud Mikan wailed at that time." Tsubasa joins the conversation, laughing along with his father. "It was universal. I bet the Martians heard her!"

"FYI, Martians don't exist!" Mikan says, apparently out of things to say.

"Anyway, about that, I've arranged to have tea with Natsume-kun and Kaoru-chan on the day after tomorrow. I've cleared up your schedule for that day with your manager." Izumi looked at Mikan expectantly, as though waiting for her reaction. "But she's still hasn't confirmed it yet. She's still in Brazil, on a tour. You know,, since she's a well-renowned singer. But she's affirmed that they'll come this week. Ioran, on the other hand, is busy on his oil-platform exploration, so we can't expect him to come around any time soon. Natsume-kun said he's looking forward to see you again Mikan. He told me to tell you to 'Expect gifts.' He's sweet isn't he? I' telling you, he's a nice boy, Mikan!"

"Otou-san!" Mikan threw her arms up in the air, and then started crying waterfalls. She started muttering something about 'gifts from the underworld' and 'he might throw pies again' and the like.

"Why do you hate Natsume-kun so much?" Tsubasa asks. "He seems like a good kid."

"Of course you think that way! You're 23 years old, basically an old man! Old men think that Natsume's a nice boy!" Mikan had stopped her drama to say this line, but immediately returned to her never-ending waterfalls of tears.

"Old man…." Then Tsubasa stood up, walks over to a corner, and then starts sulking.

Silence befell on the room. If you don't consider the sound of waterfalls from Mikan and the dark humming from Tsubasa, then the room was silent.

Yuka broke the silence, "Mikan, I'm sorry if he threw pie on you, which I am not. But still, that was the past. I talked to Natsume-kun the other day, and he's a very nice child. I admit, he used to be terribly rude when you were children, but now, he seems so gentlemanly."

Mikan's hazel eyes looks up to her mother. She knew that resistance was of no use when it came to this woman. She was long defeated in this subject. It was decided that she would marry Natsume even before either of them were born. Mikan sighed in defeat.

"Fine."

(/3)/

"Nat-chan!~" A raven haired woman was running toward another raven head, her arms spread wide open, ready to hug. Her own eyes were closed, but the other pair of crimson irises were glaring at her with… somehow, contempt.

"Get away from me, old woman." The woman stopped in her tracks at the cold remark she received from her 'Nat-chan'. She opened her eyes to reveal another pair of crimson irises that looked at the raven-headed boy. The boy in front of her was a grown up boy now, she realized. But instead of crying her eyes out like she normally used to do, she looked behind her to face her other child, a girl of about 11 years old who was her exact replica, only a smaller version. "Aoi-chan, what is wrong with your onii-san today?"

"He's mad because you cancelled his dat—oomph!" The girl's statement was cut off by a pebble that went straight into her forehead. As she rubbed the affected spot, she looked angrily at the suspect. "I hate you!" She squeals, and then runs over to her mother, who took her in with arms wide open.

As Kaoru Hyuuga hugged her little daughter, she had a smirk plastered on her face. "Could it be that you're disappointed of not being able to go to the palace today? I'm sorry, Nat-chan, but mama's flight had to be delayed!" She looked at her son, who had his back turned, walking towards a black limousine that was waiting for them. "Daijobu. It's only postponed! We'll be going there tomorrow." She lets go of her daughter, who had calmed down a little, but was still rubbing the red spot in her forehead. "We'll put a Band-Aid on that once we get to the car. I don't have any on me. Let's go Aoi-chan." And they followed the other boy towards the car.

*Hezeru-chii*

"Nat-chan, why aren't you dressed yet?" Kaoru asks her 17-year-old son who was still sprawled on his bed. It was almost noon and he still hasn't woken up yet. Geez. What had he been doing all night? She eyed the hibernating laptop by his side. She took the liberty to slap him with the manga that was covering his face only a few moments ago.

Natsume woke up with a start, thinking that his own manga had revolted against him. Of course, that was impossible unless your own mother used it to slap our face.

"What do you want?" Natsume grumpily sat up, eyeing his mother, who still hap the rolled-up manga in her hands.

"Well, if you're forgetting, today is the day that you are going to see Mikan." Kaoru lays down the manga on the bedside table.

"Oh." Natsume sloppily gets out of his bed. He directly went to the bathroom and readied himself. Not that Natsume Hyuuga needed to ready. He was always ready, as his slogan always said.

Kaoru just stared at the bathroom door. Ten years had passed since Natsume embarrassed the girl he liked the most. She hoped he wouldn't mess this one up again. She regretted agreeing to taking Natsume to the Grandparents in London. He didn't get to meet any friends there; he was homeschooled. And now where did it get him? A lonely boy who for 10 years, longed to say sorry to his first love, but ending up hiding away from her. And now that he had the chance, he just acted as if he didn't care anymore.

He worked himself to the bone, though he hasn't even graduated in his homeschooling. Her parents-in-law had molded the once shy boy into what she was afraid of him turning into: an emotionless boy who cared only for his work. He wasn't even a legal adult. How Kaoru regretted her actions. But there's no going back now.

Kaoru stared at the stack of manga by Natsume's bed as she closed the door.

Loneliness. That's what they all said.

~xXxXxHEZERUxXxXx~

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