Sadz: One-Shot! Yay! This was actually weird, because I dreamed this one up O_O
Kitsu: Seriously?
Sadz: I know right! I dreamed it and then I got up and was like… what the fishing well just happened…? I was in bed for like fifteen minutes trying to process everything that happened XD
Sumire: I want to go to the ball! Too bad it's going to be with Koko the clown…
Koko: But you love my jokes baby!
Natsume: Why me…?
Ruka: Cheer up Natsume; you're going to the ball!
Mikan: Can I go, can I go, please, please, please can I go?
Natsume: HN…
Mikan: Yay!
Sadz: I mean seriously, if not you then who else would he take…?
Misaki: True that! Sadz does not own anything- especially not Gakuen Alice- except the story and ideas!
Sadz: OMFG! I FOUND OUT MY CUPBOARD IS FLIPPING LOADED WITH FREAKING COOKIES! I'M IN HEAVEN! *runs away*
Full Summary: The Gakuen Alice boys all got invitations to attend a ball that they have come of age to be allowed to attend to annually until they graduate. Natsume was no except getting an invitation- I wonder who he will decide to take to the ball as his partner…? =D
"Talking"
'Thinking'
"Other person on phone line"
(A/N: … or just a random comment)
Let's Have A Ball
~Eleven Years Old~
Natsume sat under his favorite Sakura tree one day, reading a manga like he usually did. He looked around him, feeling- knowing- that something was wrong around him. The soft melancholy breeze whispered into his ear, kissing his tanned skin as it passed by. Everything seemed too… peaceful and quiet…
"Nat-Su-Me~!" he heard someone cheer out, breaking the silence and then he sighed, knowing that he spoke too soon. He didn't even turn his head to greet his favorite ten-year-old brunette that always had a welcoming smile plastered on her face for him. "Natsume, what are you doing?"
"Nothing…" he simply said as she pouted at him.
"Can I sit with you?" she asked cheerily with hope in her eyes.
"No…" he deadpanned as a ton of bricked fell on top of her in dejection. A few seconds later, she pushed them off her and fumed at him, making him internally smirk at her.
"This tree isn't yours, so I can do anything I want! Humph!" She sat down next to him as he just sighed, but kept reading. "Ne, Natsume? Isn't the sky big and beautiful?"
Natsume looked up to the sky to see its light blue afternoon shade, it's puffy soft snow white clouds floating about, and the occasional bird that flew by. Yes, it was very beautiful, but he reserved that word for one person only.
"It's ok…" he replied as she sighed.
"You suck…" she yawned out, and then a moment later she rested her head on his shoulder and fell instantly asleep. He stared at her sleeping face, her shallow breathing and calm expression, and smiled.
"Baka…" he whispered before going back to his reading.
"Excuse me, are you Hyuuga Natsume?" a man wearing a black uniform and a hood with a mask concealing his face asked them. Natsume quirked a brow at him as two other men wearing the same thing came in from behind him.
"Depends on what you want…" Natsume replied as they looked at each other and then back at Natsume.
"We want-," the man on the left was about to say when suddenly Mikan stirred in her sleep and then woke up, rubbing her eyes. Natsume glared at the guy on the left who started talking- which resulted in waking up Mikan- and burned his shirt, making the guy run around panicking. "Stop, drop and roll! Stop drop and roll!" he chanted.
"What's going on…?" Mikan slurred and then blinked in confusion as she saw the two men standing in front of her while a third one of them was engulfed in fire and rolling like a madman. "That looks fun…"
"We are here to invite you, Hyuuga Natsume…" the man in the middle began. "To the Alice Academy Ball…"
"What?" Natsume asked in pure disgust.
"Oh~! A ball? I want to go, I want to go!" Mikan chirped in.
"This is an invitation given to all the males in your class, since you all have come of age, to be able to attend the ball that will be held annually every year until you graduate…" the middle man explained, taking out an invitation and handing it to Natsume. Natsume examined it like it was going to self-explode any second.
"Why only the boys? I want to go to the ball!" Mikan whined out.
"And…?" Natsume asked, seeing if there was more to this proposition.
"You will need a female companion for the ball, so you are free to choose whoever you like…" he added.
"Really? Oh, Natsume! Please, please, please, please, please, pretty please with a cherry on top pick me~! Please~!" Mikan whined. He stared expressionlessly at her and then sighed.
"Whatever…" he breathed out as she cheered.
"Yay~! I'm going to the ball~!" she repeatedly cheered out, running around the place.
"Both males and females will have their clothes picked out for them immediately and then you will be off for the rest of the day of school since there are preparations to be made. That is all, have a nice day…" the middle man said before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. The right man, who was quiet the whole time, looked back at the burned and smoking left man. The right man sighed, grabbed the left man's collar before disappearing in a cloud of smoke as well.
"I'm looking forward to tonight, Natsume!" Mikan called out, waving to Natsume with a huge smile on her face before running off. Natsume stared off after her and smirked.
'This might not be so bad…' Natsume thought in his head…
~$DZ~
'This isn't bad at all… this is worse than bad…' Natsume thought with a twitch of his eye as Koko smiled at him.
"Hey, you're just a bit unlucky Nattie! Think on the bright side!" Koko comforted.
"Why the hell am I wearing a freaking clown costume?" Natsume asked in irritation and rage as Koko smiled.
"It's called a jester's attire! It's a rule in the ball that was written on the invitation. All costumes, dresses and tuxedos, are to be picked by the school for each individual. For the males, there are two types of costumes. You will either be dresses as a prince or a jester. A jester is picked randomly and you will only have to be a jester once in your whole academy life, you were just unlucky that you were picked as one on your first ball experience…" Koko said as Natsume stared strangely at him. "I read one of the teacher's minds…"
"Whatever…" Natsume sighed.
"Nat-Su-Me~!" Mikan cried out, running up to him as his eye twitched in annoyance and Koko giggled scandalously on the side, making Natsume even more pissed off. "Natsume, you're a jester? That's unfair, who is going to be my partner then?"
"Not him, that's for sure…" Misaki intervened. "Let's go hotshot, jesters are supposed to be entertaining the guests over there…" Misaki redirected Natsume to the other side of the room. Natsume looked back to see Mikan's sad and disappointed look which killed him on the inside. Then he saw Tsubasa hold her hand and smile at her, asking her for a dance, which she accepted. "Just stay here and act… entertaining, if not a joker!" Misaki said with a smile, giving him a thumbs up before leaving.
Natsume saw the other jesters using their Alice to do something 'entertaining' and just shrugged. He formed three small fireballs in one hand and made them go around in a circle continuously, watching everyone else enjoy their time at the ball. He saw Tsubasa spinning Mikan around as she giggled and smiled happily, then Ruka came in and started dancing with her.
Natsume looked away, not wanted to see any more of the scene. When Natsume looked to the side, he saw Koko and Kitsu spinning around, holding hands, dancing their own type of alien dance and laughing their heads off.
'They should have been jesters instead of me…' Natsume thought and then sighed.
"Do something funny, jester! Entertain me!" a delusional student yelled toward Natsume.
'Who the hell does he think I am, Jack Black?' Natsume thought then glared at the student, making him run away with his tail between his legs. He saw Nonoko and Anna dancing with a confused Misaki-Sensei, Sumire cutting into Kitsu's and Koko's dance to drag Koko away for a dance, saw Mikan already made her way to dancing with Narumi-Sensei, Hotaru grabbing a dance with Subaru, Yura was doing one of her weird dancing to see the future as everyone laughed, thinking she should have been one of the jesters as well. He saw some of the other teachers on the side on looking and supervising, and then saw that Nobara was dancing with Persona- in which Natsume made a face at. On the far side of the room, he saw Tono sitting at a table surrounded by women, keeping up his flirtatious act- in which Natsume made another face at.
All of a sudden, someone tugged on his pants. Natsume looked down to see Youichi wearing a little prince outfit.
"You're not supposed to be here…" Natsume informed, but still picked Youichi up anyways.
"Wanna dwansh twoo (I want to dance too)…" Youichi replied.
"With me?" Natsume asked, pointing to himself.
"Onii-Chan," Youichi said while pointing at Natsume, "and hag…" Youichi finished as he pointed at Mikan who was now talking to Yuu and eating by a table of food.
"Are you sure?" Natsume asked as Youichi nodded. Natsume sighed and then saw Koko grab Mikan's hand and drag her to the dance floor. Natsume started to fast walk toward them and then pushed Koko aside.
"Whoa, Natsume?" Koko asked as Natsume glared down at him. Koko just smiled, shrugged and then walked away.
"You didn't have to push Koko, he just asked for a dance…" Mikan trailed off as she saw the look Natsume was giving her. "What?"
"Youichi wants to dance with you…" Natsume explained and was about to hand Youichi over to Mikan until Youichi grabbed a hold of Natsume's shirt.
"Onee-San and Onii-Chan…" Youichi said in a final tone as Mikan giggled and Natsume rolled his eyes. For a few minutes, all three of them danced together until Youichi started to struggle and broke free from both their holds.
"You-Chan? What's wrong?" Mikan asked, but was ignored as Youichi made his way to the dessert table. Mikan and Natsume stood there staring at each other, until Natsume held his hand out for her to grab. "Aren't you supposed to be a jester?" Mikan asked, but still grabbed his hand and got into a waltz position as the music slowed down.
"Tsk, do you expect me to entertain a bunch of hopeless people…?" Natsume asked as he started leading her in the dance. Mikan giggled and then shook her head, finding it impossible just trying to think about it. As they danced to the slow music, the lights dimmed a little, as they both came closer to each other as close as they dared to.
"I'm glad I came to the ball with you Natsume…" Mikan admitted as Natsume just stayed quiet. "It might be a little unfair that you're a jester this year, but we always have next year! So… Can I be your partner next year as well…?" She looked up to see Natsume's smiling face. She was about to take a step back from the startle until Natsume pulled her even closer than they were before.
"Baka… do you really think I'm going to let any other guy be your partner for the rest of your life?" Natsume asked as Mikan cocked her head to the side in confusion.
"The rest of my life? Demo, the ball is only until we graduate…" Mikan pointed out as Natsume sighed.
"I meant, do you think I'm going to let any other guy have you for the rest of your life?" Natsume corrected as Mikan blushed a crimson red that matched his eyes.
"Uh… well… Eto… O-ok…" Mikan stuttered out as Natsume flicked her head. "Ouch! Why did you do that for~?"
"For being a baka. So it's a promise then?"
"Hai~!" Mikan cheered and extended her pinky out for him to seal the promise.
"We don't seal promises like that; we seal it like this, baka…" Natsume said, interlocking their pinkies together and then pulled her forth and kissed her on the lips. Mikan's eyes widened, but then relaxed as she kissed Natsume back, and right then the lights turned back on to its full bright potential, people cheered as streamers and sparkles flew down on everyone from above.
~Seventeen Years Old~
"Nat-Su-Me~!" Mikan called out as Natsume groaned and glared back at her. "What are you doing out here in the balcony? This is the last ball we're going to be attending; we need to make as many memories as we can!"
"That's what you say every year…" Natsume pointed out.
"Demo~!"
"I just needed some air and to get away from an extremely loud and annoying baby…" Natsume replied as Mikan's jaw dropped.
"You're so mean~! What kind of a boyfriend are you?" Mikan shouted out angrily, crossing her arms over her chest, pouting and then finally she turned away from him. Natsume sighed before pushing himself away from the ledge of the balcony and then made his way toward her.
"Did I tell you how beautiful you look in that dress tonight…?" Natsume asked, embracing her from behind as she looked at him with her pouting face.
"No…" she said in an accusing tone as he smile warmly at her.
"Did I tell you that you are the most beautiful girl at the ball tonight?" Natsume added as Mikan shook her head, her face going red. "Well, it's the truth."
"You deserve your label as the Black Cat…" Mikan whispered as he kissed her cheek. The music started to play in the background as Mikan excitedly tried to pull Natsume back into the ball. "Come on Natsume! Let's dance!"
"I don't want to go back in now…" Natsume informed as Mikan pouted at him.
"Demo, it's the last dance!"
"Then we can just dance out here where it's just the two of us," Natsume said, grabbing her in the waltz position as Mikan looked frantically around.
"Uh, well, um… ok…" Mikan stuttered out as Natsume swiftly started twirling her around on the balcony under the starlit night, the gentle woody aroma carried by the breeze passing them by. "Natsume… we're going to graduate soon. It's kind of nice yet sad at the same time…"
"How sad? I'm going to be happy to finally be able to get out of here."
"True, but after all the memories and friends that we've obtained here… how am I supposed to just detach myself from it all…"
"Wow, you learned big words. Wisdom does come with age then…"
"Natsume!" Mikan shouted out angrily and then smacked his arm, but he just smirked at her feeble attempt.
"I'm just kidding. I understand, and we'll keep in contact with them, but it's not like we're separated with them yet. They're all in there, having a great time with their partners, and that's exactly what I want to be doing with you right now…" Natsume explained, looking down at Mikan with the most affectionate expression she had ever seen him conjure up.
"Together forever…?" she asked, looking up at him in a happy yet earnest way. Natsume stared down at her.
'What did I ever do to deserve a little angel like this…?' he asked himself and then chuckled.
"Hey! What are you laughing at? I was seriously asking you that! Don't take it as a joke!" Mikan ranted and was about to start pounding on his chest until he took both her hands in his.
"I wasn't laughing at what you said, I was laughing at you…" Natsume explained as Mikan went wide eyed, like she was close to tears.
"You were laughing at me? Well that doesn't make me feel any better! Baka~!"
"… Ok fine, I was laughing at what you said…"
"What the-?"
"I was laughing," he cut her off before she could start screaming again, "because you are so stupid to not realize that it's a done deal for us to be together forever…" Mikan looked up at him with a startled expression, and seeing the cheeky smirk on his face, she started to giggle.
"You're such a sap!" she commented and then started to laugh even harder at his sour expression.
"Whose fault is it?" he countered as she looked offended.
"I just thought you would use that line with any girl you wanted to comfort…" At this, he groaned at her.
"You little baka, you're the only one I could say this kind of junk to…" With that, he crashed his lips down on Mikan's. Mikan could never get used to his mid-blowing kisses, no matter how many times he's kissed her. Her legs wobbled and they were about to give way like always, but Natsume caught her before she could fall as always. "I know my kisses are epic, but please try and stand straight for once, you're really heavy…" Natsume said as he parted from her lips.
"You just had to ruin the moment, didn't you?" she breathed out, flushed as she tried to steady herself with his help. All of a sudden, fireworks started exploding in the sky. Mikan looked up, seeing the fireworks and the stars mingle together for the briefest of moments before more fireworks exploded to join the party.
"Now this is cliché…" Natsume whispered before he grabbed her chin in between his fingers, and turned her head to look at him. Mikan stared at him, confused at his smirking face. "Let's make a moment and create a memory…" he whispered and then kissed her under the fireworks, and it felt like a perfect romance movie scene-
"What going on out here~?" Koko and Kitsu asked slyly at the same time as Natsume and Mikan moved away from each other at that moment. Koko and Kitsu chuckled evilly at the blushing Mikan and the glaring Natsume.
"Yome, Kitsuneme, do you both have a death wish?" Natsume asked darkly as they both looked at each other and then quirked a brow at Natsume at the same time.
"Why does he always say my name first?" Koko asked as Kitsu shrugged. All of a sudden, Natsume threw a fireball at them which ignited a flame on Kitsu's head, burning his hair to smithereens.
"Ah~! My hair~! My beautiful hair~!" Kitsu shouted out in a panicked frenzy as Koko just stared, smiling at the sly fox that was running around in circles and catching everyone's attention.
"Stop, drop and roll Kitsu! Stop, drop and roll~!" Koko cheered out and then laughed as Kitsu stopped, fell to the ground and was rolling around everywhere on the floor.
"It's not working~!" Kitsu shouted out, rolling passed a few people who were giving him weird looks.
"I know~!"
"Why are you laughing at this?"
"Because it's funny~!"
"You idiot! I'm going to die here and you're laughing about it?" Kitsu asked out in hysteria. All of a sudden, Kitsu got up and tried to pat the flames away. A spark flew to the curtains near him, igniting a small flame without Kitsu knowing. Mochu approached Kitsu and splashed his head with water from his glass cup, distinguishing the fire. "Thanks man…"
As they looked back out the window, they saw the couple kissing under the fireworks like they had been doing previously. Some went 'aw', some smiled for their happiness and some just made a disgusted face at their public act of affection.
"Bleck!" Koko and Kitsu commented at the same time, sticking their tongues out as Sumire bonked both of their heads.
"Stop standing around and do something for a change instead of being stupid, and let's have a ball!" Sumire said as they both nodded their heads reluctantly. Then they all noticed the fire and started to panic more, finding a way to distinguish it as the couple stayed out on the balcony in their own little world. What a ball they had…
The End
Sadz: Finished~! I hoped you liked it, even though it was so cliché…
Natsume: Seriously, kissing under the fireworks…
Ruka: Please R&R.
Mikan: Too much kissing~!
Natsume: Oh please, that wasn't even enough.
Mikan: Natsume, you pervert!
Natsume: You know you love ever single minute of my kisses…
Hotaru: He got you there…
Mikan: Hotaru-Chan!
Sumire: Humph, this is all so childish!
Koko: Because there weren't enough of us in it?
Sadz: Ok~… well, thanks for reading and hope you liked it! Bye-bye!
The End-End