DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GAKUEN ALICE
ONE SUMMER DAY
"Hey, Tsubasa, what are you doing up here?"
Pink hair. Laughing eyes. Pleasant voice. That is, Misaki. She was blushing and panting slightly, showing that she, upon finding Tsubasa, ran all the way up here on the hills in the sun.
"Oh, nothing, just watching those kids goofing around." Tsubasa smiled warmly at her.
"Goofing around? Who are you talking about?", Misaki asked with full of curiosity.
"Mikan and Natsume. You can see the whole view of the park from here. It's kinda weird to watch Natsume acting like that, though."
"Yes indeed…Ooooh, that's kinda creepy, a smiling Natsume! That is so wrong!! Hmm, speaking of young lovers, I bumped into Hotaru and Luca on the way."
"Eh? But they're not going out, you know…"
"Yes, I know, but…I sensed something fishy going on between them!", said Misaki, as if she were confiding some big secret to him.
"Nani…?" He replied with his trademark grin. She answered back by smiling meaningfully.
"Here." The shadow manipulator casually handed a can of iced tea to the pink-haired girl in front of him.
"Eh? Oh, thanks…" Misaki was pleasantly surprised at that. Her eyes were smiling happily.
"Lemon flavor. Your favorite." Tsubasa always knew what she wanted. Always.
Misaki beamed radiantly at him. That's what you call an angel's smile, thought Tsubasa. He could smell the scent of her hair blowing freely in the cool summer breeze. Was it the smell of soap she was using, or the shampoo? The sweet fragrance lingered momentarily around his nose.
"Who are you…?" Tsubasa spoke out of sudden.
He was startled by his own words. Who are you? What the…
Misaki looked at Tsubasa silently for a while. Gee, is something wrong with this guy? Time for a joke? But he sounded so serious, unlike before. She finally answered, "Who am I?? I'm Misaki, you know!"
"Yes, I know, but…"
"What?"
"I mean, are you really the Misaki I know…? The Misaki who was a good friend of mine since childhood, who loved lemon tea, who was not interested in guys at all, who was popular among girls, who used to beat up boys that teased others…" He trailed off, knowing that what he was talking about did not sound like his usual self at all.
They were silent for some time. It was Tsubasa that broke the silence first.
"Oh my!! Look at that!!!"
"What?"
"Mikan and Natsume! They kissed!! AND WHAT'S THAT?! Hotaru and Ruka kissing??!! Look at the opposite side of the park!"
"NANI!!" Both of them gasped at what they saw.
"Hmm, they're so adorable! Aren't they?"
"Yeah, yeah…but like you said, Hotaru and Ruka always said that they were definitely not going out!"
"Still, you said a while ago that you had a hunch or something…"
"True…but I never imagined them kissing like that…"
They silently watched over the park. The "young lovers" were soon out of their sights. Tsubasa realized that his can of ice tea was empty.
"I'll go fetch another one. You want some more?"
"I'm fine, thanks…"
Tsubasa bought another can of ice tea. He opened it, but did not drink it. His mind preoccupied with something else. Misaki looked up at his face silently. He's acting somewhat differently today…
"…You didn't answer my question…" Tsubasa opened his mouth in yet another serious tone.
"What…?"
"Are you the Misaki I know? Is the girl I know really you…?" His face wore a smile, but with an expression she could not comprehend. He was looking directly into her eyes.
Misaki hesitated for a while. Now, it was Tsubasa's turn to be surprised. He thought that she wouldn't take his words that seriously. He figured that she would think it as a big joke. She would punch him and say, "Yes, I'm her, you baka." As always, laugh it over, and be a good friend.
"…No…"
"Eh…?" Tsubasa's eyes widened at the unexpected answer.
"I'm not the girl you used to know…"
"Then what…?"
"I am your friend since childhood, but don't want to be seen as a friend anymore, I love lemon tea, but not as much as I care about you, I'm not interested in guys but want to know everything about you, I can beat up as many boys as I want, but I don't want to hurt you…and most of all, I'm not a girl any more…"
She turned her head away, so she could hide her face that was beginning turn pinkish. Tsubasa, without saying a single word, gulped his lemon iced tea.
"…Misaki..."
He couldn't hold it any longer. His hand touched her cheeks, with the other hand holding the bottle of ice tea.
"I love you."
He gently pressed his lips against hers. She didn't resist. They closed their eyes and remained like that for quite some time.
"….what a sight…"
They broke the kiss and saw the four middle schoolers looking at them curiously. Mikan, looking half shocked and half happy, Natsume, wearing a bored look as usual, Ruka, blushing as if he was the one kissing, and Hotaru smiling, dearly holding her camera on her hands.
Absurd.
"Hn, so what, you guys did it too, it's not a big deal…"
"what, you are lying!!" Luka cried out, sounding embarrassed.
"Yeah, yeah Luka. I'm so proud that you've grown up to be a brave young man. I mean, it's Hotaru we are talking about… You're the man…"
"WHAT?!" Mikan and Natsume exclaimed in unison.
"…did you kiss Imai, Luka?" Natsume bluntly asked his best friend.
"…I wouldn't say no." Luka replied, blushing and turning his eyes away from the firecaster.
"But you guys swore that you were not seeing each other!" Mikan cried out at her best friend, feeling somewhat betrayed by her best friend.
"Yes, baka. I wouldn't want to risk my sales opportunity by letting others know that Luka is taken." The girl with violet eyes answered with her usual emotionless voice.
"…" Pause. Or rather, sweatdrop.
Tsubasa broke the silence, "So, you've taken a photo of us kissing?"
"Oh yes, senpai, People love kissing scenes." Hotaru answered with a rare smile on her face. Tsubasa suddenly started giggling.
"Okay, take a good picture of us again. Oh, and 40 of revenues go to the models, deal?" He said playfully, as he held Misaki tightly.
"Wa…wait a minute, Tsubasa!" Misaki shouted out, flailing her arms around.
"Okay, I'm ready." Horaru's answered with her eyes sparkling.
"Tsubasa, once is enough!!"
"It's definitely not."
THE END