Hotaru Imai sighed.

There she was, sitting at her seat, trying hard to block out all the noises of her the idiots around her, attempting to focus on her latest invention. It was bearable, until a loud screech penetrated her personal space, followed by the undeniable smell of burned hair. Somehow, she just knew that this involved her best friend, Mikan Sakura, and that somehow she would be dragged into it.

Hotaru blinked twice, contemplating whether she should find out where the smell came from, but then decided against it and resumed her project, twiddling efficiently with her screwdriver.

"Please leave me in peace, stupidity is contagious" Hotaru thought.

Just as she was about to put in the finishing and most important touches to her latest masterpiece, as she was brimming with excitement about the money that she would earn when she would place her invention on sale, something crashed into her and tossed her nuts and bolts all over the desk top. Hotaru was irritated. VERY irritated.

Hotaru turned to look at the culprit, who had destroyed her peace, to find that the 'thing' that had crashed into her was Mikan, her hair visibly singed and all over the place, tears running down her face. Hotaru put down her screwdriver, and turned around in the direction that she knew where he was.

You know, him. The infamous Natsume Hyuuga. The only person who would have been able to cause all this drama, due to the fact that a) he had a fire Alice, and b) he was a sadist and particularly enjoyed torturing Mikan. They barely spoke to each other, and both silently agreed that Mikan was a moron who liked butting into things that were none of her business, and getting herself (and sometimes others) into trouble. It was also the reason why they both cared about Mikan.

"Hyuuga," Hotaru said monotonously, "take your little 'game' and this moron elsewhere, and leave me in peace. Time is money, and you are costing my time."

"Bu.. But… HOTARUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU," a tearful Mikan shrieked, "he's horrible! All I did was ask everybody whether they wanted to go to the pool in Central Town during the weekend, and he shut down my suggestion and said that only an idiot could come up with such an idiotic request! But it's HOT!"

Hotaru squinted ever so slightly, and turned to look at Natsume, realizing his intentions. Ruka Nogi was next to him, his expression stiff yet somewhat worried. Ruka knew why his best friend didn't want the class to go to the pool, and agreed with himself that he didn't really like the idea of the entire class, not to mention probably the whole of Central Town, all looking at Mikan bouncing around in her swimsuit.

Natsume looked straight at Hotaru, his face expressionless. Hotaru smiled a tiny smile, and she knew exactly what was going through his mind. Yes, she decided, she was going to make him suffer, and at the same time, engage in an activity that was DEFINITELY worth her time.

"Mikan. Let's go to Central Town," Hotaru stated, staring straight at Natsume. Mikan's face glowed, still with tear streaks down her face, completely forgetting about the ordeal that had happened minutes ago, and very excited because she was imagining holding hands with Hotaru while swimming in the pool.

Half an hour later, the class bounced onto the bus directed for Central Town, and Natsume and Ruka, at the back of the line, grimaced silently. Natsume, in particular, twitched, annoyed that he could even be dragged into such a stupid outing.

"Ruka-pyon!" Mikan twirled around before jumping onto the bus herself, "Hurry!" She ran towards Ruka and grabbed his hand, leading him towards the bus. At the same time, she poked out her tongue at Natsume. As they went up the bus stairs, hand in hand, Natsume frowned angrily and glared at their backs. He looked at the bus and saw Hotaru seated a few rows behind the driver, and smiling at him.

"Evil manipulator," Natsume cursed while getting onto the bus himself. Hotaru's smile widened.

As the bus took off, Koko couldn't help but read the thought that was emanating from the raven-haired girl sitting in front of him: "This will be fun."

Koko shuddered. He was hoping that he wasn't part of Imai's plan.