Disclaimer : Gakuen Alice does not belong to me.
A/ N : This is one of the many unfinished one-shots I had which were just itching to be finished. So I finally decided to finish this one-shot today! But ugh, I have so many incomplete fics and I'll probably never get around to finishing them..oh well.
This story spans over the length of about 9-10 months, just in case y'all wanted to know.
5SOS's song 'Disconnected' was the inspiration behind this one-shot :) Go listen to it! It's such an adorable song, omg. Anyways, I hope this one-shot is decent!
Sweet Escape
Two strangers. Two different lives. One escape.
~(*)~
i.
The first time Hotaru Imai had stumbled upon her little 'haven', she had been having a very important conversation on the phone with her boss, and had lost track of where she had been walking. Before she even knew it, she found herself in a secluded area of the hilly park, with tons of rocks and trees around her, sheltering her from the city lights. She noticed a gigantic rock a few feet away from her, the surface more than big enough for her (and maybe another person) to lie down on. The rock was perched on a cliff, overlooking nothing but the vast Pacific Ocean in front of her.
Unfortunately, her phone chose that exact moment to disconnect from her call, indicating that it had drained out of battery.
Sighing at the phone's extremely low battery life (Honestly, why hadn't software companies designed a phone with a decent battery life yet? Not this nonsensical thing that was being sold in the market. She was determined to design one of her own soon), Hotaru decided take a couple of minutes off from her hectic schedule and just sit crossed legged on the rock, and enjoy the serene environment.
The couple of minutes turned out to be an entire hour.
Although her entire life revolved around creating electronic devices, she didn't mind not being constantly connected to the outside world by technology.
In fact, she relished this temporary state of disconnection.
~(*)~
The first time Ruka Nogi discovered the 'secret rock' as he liked to call it, he had been following a bunny in the park during the evening. He had noticed that one of the bunny's legs were slightly injured, and being a vet, he wanted to inspect it and perhaps take the bunny back to the hospital. However, although the bunny was slightly injured, it still managed to hop away from Ruka at an impressive pace. Before Ruka knew it, he found himself in an isolated area of the park, right in front of a beautiful rock. It was dusk, and the sky was breathtaking to see. He could see the sun slowly dipping into the ocean. Not seeing the bunny anywhere in sight, Ruka pushed away the few tree branches which were in front of him, and cautiously climbed onto the rock.
Well climbing wasn't exactly the right word, since he merely had to walk a few paces.
Ruka sat down on the rock, and slid further down, now almost at the edge. He was a bit afraid of heights, but the rock made him braver, somehow. He let his feet dangle from the edge, and that's when he noticed the drop.
About 80 feet below him, was the ocean.
Nothing but the vast ocean.
He nervously gulped. One wrong move, and he would tumble down into the sea. But he didn't budge, despite the fact that he was a bit nervous. The sunset had mesmerized him.
It was absolutely gorgeous.
Even after the sun dipped completely into the ocean, Ruka found himself still sitting on the rock for another half hour.
He liked the sound of the waves.
~(*)~
ii.
The first time Ruka had ever seen Hotaru Imai was exactly two weeks after he had discovered his rock. He had been visiting the rock about every other day, and he absolutely loved spending time there.
It was like an escape from reality.
However, precisely two weeks upon his discovery of his little escape, he had noticed a woman sitting on the rock—no—his rock. She had short black hair, and was wearing a business suit. However, since her back was facing him, Ruka couldn't see her face. She was leaning back, with her elbows touching the rock and despite her rather rigid attire, she seemed entirely at ease.
Like a perfect gentlemen not wanting to intrude upon the lady's privacy, Ruka decided to let the woman be and turned around and started walking back home.
He would come back another day.
~(*)~
The first time Hotaru saw Ruka Nogi was when she had been laying completely down on the rock, staring at the sky. She heard footsteps approaching behind her and then there was silence, indicating that the person had stopped. Sitting back up right, Hotaru glanced behind her shoulder right in time to see a blond man about to turn around and leave.
"Don't stop on my account," she softly spoke, knowing that the man would be able to hear her.
The man faltered for a bit, and then reluctantly turned around. "Are you sure?" he hesitantly asked.
She nodded, and slightly shifted her position so that she occupied the left part of the rock, leaving enough space for the man on the right.
Slowly, the blond man walked over to the rock and quietly sat down and stared into the horizon in front of them. He didn't say anything to her, and neither did she.
That day, the two of them sat on the rock for more than an hour.
~(*)~
iii.
The first time Hotaru had learned Ruka Nogi's name had been about six days after their first encounter. He was already sitting on the rock, with his legs crossed and she had joined him without a word. He nodded at her in acknowledgement, but other than that, he too did not utter a single word.
Although she hardly liked sharing, she tolerated his presence. He seemed..alright. Not obnoxious as some men she had the misfortune to know.
Twenty minutes had passed, with the two of them silently watching the waves aggressively splash onto the cliff.
He was the first to speak. "I'm Ruka Nogi," he said, his voice so quiet that at first she couldn't comprehend that he was speaking to her.
"Cute name," she replied, still staring straight ahead.
She could tell that he had been expecting her to tell him her name too. But Hotaru wasn't one to indulge in frivolous formalities. So the two of them happened to sit together in a secluded corner of the park, enjoying the ocean view. That hardly entitled her to tell him something so significant such as her name.
If he was disappointed, Hotaru couldn't quite tell for his face remained impassive.
He was the first to leave today, without so much as a nod in her direction.
Hotaru wasn't fazed. She knew she had somewhat offended him. His opinions didn't matter to her. They were strangers to each other, after all. Perhaps she would never see him again.
That day, she stayed at her haven for almost two hours.
~(*)~
The first time Ruka learned Hotaru Imai's name, she had been answering a phone call.
After the last embarrassing incident when Ruka had told the woman his name and she had not returned the favor, Ruka avoided the rock for about ten days. However, on the eleventh day, he had just been itching to see the sunset and decided he'd pay a visit to his rock, after all.
If the woman was there, he'd calmly ignore her, like she did to him.
She wasn't there.
However, after he had been sitting for a about half an hour, she appeared. She sat down as far as possible from him and stared serenely out into the distance. It hadn't even been five minutes when her phone rang. He heard her let out a soft, disgruntled sigh.
"Hello?" she spoke into her phone. Her voice was slightly irritated. She obviously was not pleased.
From the corner of his eye, he saw her shake her head. "No, this is Hotaru Imai. I think you've got the wrong number," and with that she cut the call.
Ruka's mouth slightly twitched.
Hotaru Imai.
So that was her name.
Just as he was about to tell her that he thought her name was rather pretty, Hotaru Imai had abruptly gotten up from the rock, brushed some dust off of her pencil skirt, and turned around on her heels and left.
Ruka looked at her retrieving figure and slightly grinned. Apparently Hotaru Imai did not like the fact that he now knew her name. Ruka leaned back with his elbows resting on the rock and closed his eyes.
That day, he had dozed off on the rock for about half an hour. His last thoughts had been about Hotaru Imai.
~(*)~
iv.
The first time the two actually had a proper conversation with each other, was when Ruka had brought his pet bunny—Usagi with him to the rock.
Hotaru eyed the bunny as Ruka sat down beside her. He gave her a slight smile, and then stroked the bunny's ears.
"This is the place I was telling you about," Ruka told his bunny. "Isn't it lovely? I discovered it a couple of months ago! Look, you can see a whale over there in the horizon!" he pointed to an object in the far distance.
Hotaru scoffed. "That's not a whale."
Ruka glanced at her, whilst still petting his bunny. "Oh?"
"It's definitely a ship," she told him.
His eyes squinted as he tried to look at the horizon again. "Ahh," he murmured. "You're probably right. It does seem like a ship now. I haven't a faintest clue why I said it was a whale."
Hotaru's lips curled up into a small smirk. "Why did you bring your bunny here today?" she asked, curiosity taking the better of her. She normally never engaged in small talk with strangers. Never.
Ruka seemed a bit surprised that she was actually continuing the conversation. "He had been in the hospital the entire last week, and he just got out yesterday. I thought he might like this place."
"Are you a veterinarian?"
He blinked, quite surprised that this woman before him had guessed his profession so easily. "And you are?" He was sure she wouldn't answer, seeing as she hadn't even given him her name willingly.
"An engineer," she replied smoothly, surprising him once again by actually answering his question.
Of course she was an engineer.
She looked bloody intelligent.
"That's really interesting," he told her, quite intrigued now by the woman before him. "How often do you come here?"
And by here, he obviously meant the rock.
"Whenever I feel like it."
Ruka nodded. He knew what she meant. "When was the first time you discovered this place?"
Now she turned to look at him, her eyes lazily studying him. He suddenly felt very self-conscious. "My, aren't you full of questions today," she observed. "Perhaps it's your pet's influence."'
"I—um—"
"Save it," she started to get up. "Perhaps you can ask your bunny questions instead and maybe he will actually reply to them." And then she walked away.
Ruka stared after her, feeling slightly dazed. Her words were kind of harsh, but the way she said it…almost seemed like banter?
That day, he and Usagi only stayed at the rock six minutes after Hotaru Imai had left.
~(*)~
v.
The first time Ruka had asked Hotaru Imai out, it had been a rather windy day. There were dark, humongous rain clouds looming in the distance, and the waves angrily crashed onto the cliff. But the view was spectacular as ever.
Ever since their first 'proper' conversation, the two had indulged in talking with each (even though it was Ruka doing most of the talking) other every now and again for the past three months. However today for some absurd reason, he had a temporary moment of courage and decided to do it.
He asked her out.
Perhaps it was because of the whimsical weather that his courage had increased, or perhaps it was because the way Hotaru looked when she had actually chuckled at a joke of his, that made him do it.
When those six little words tumbled out of his mouth, Ruka waited with bated breath for her answer. Her eyes immediately darkened, and her jaw became rigid.
"I don't think that's the best idea," she said, her voice cold.
Ruka pursed his lips. What the heck had he been thinking? There was no way a woman like her would go out with him! Feeling the familiar rush of blood to his ears, Ruka abruptly stood up.
"That's completely fine, Imai," he told the girl, who was still sitting on the rock. "I'll see you later," And with that Ruka quickly sauntered away.
He could feel tiny rain drops beginning to pour from the sky.
~(*)~
The first time Hotaru asked Ruka Nogi out for drinks was after a particularly long day of work. Her boss was being immature, and her coworkers were a pain to deal with. When she had reached her little haven, she hadn't expected to see Ruka there. No, it wasn't as if the two had stopped talking after that incident, in fact, he had taken her rejection rather maturely and still continued to visit the haven and things were back to the norm. So she was surprised because she knew he was very busy this week, as he had told her so himself. So yes, she was quite surprised to see Ruka sitting on the rock, throwing pebbles into the ocean below.
She joined him.
"I thought you were busy at work this week."
He looked up at her, his blond hair falling into his left eye. "I'm taking a break."
Hotaru sat down beside him. "I see."
They were quiet for a couple of minutes. But of course, he was the one to break the silence. "Rough day at work?" he asked.
Hotaru rolled her eyes. She didn't know how he knew she had a rough day, since she was sure her appearance and behavior were absolutely the same as it was on any normal day. "Yes," she brusquely replied, picking up a pebble from the small pile he had collected and chucked it into the ocean.
He chuckled. "You always slouch slightly when you've had a bad day," he told her.
She quirked an eyebrow at him. This was something new to her. "No, I don't."
He laughed, as he threw another pebble into the ocean. "Oh yes, you do. It's very slight slouch, but it's still there."
She scowled. "So I've had a bad day. Everyone's entitled to have a bad day once in a while."
"Oh yes, they absolutely are," he was still grinning. "Perhaps you should do something to ease your bad mood."
"I'm throwing pebbles into the ocean, aren't I?"
He chuckled. "Something else."
She narrowed her eyes on him. "What are you implying, Nogi?"
"Nothing," he quickly answered, but it was a bit too quick. "Absolutely nothing."'
Hotaru pursed her lips, deep in thought. She absentmindedly picked up another pebble and threw it down below. She touched the rock beside her to pick up another pebble when she found the spot empty. All the pebbles had been thrown. Softly sighing, she closed her eyes and just listened to the sound of waves. She could hear Ruka softly humming, but his hums were rather soothing. Suddenly, she had an idea. Her eyes flickered open.
"Say Nogi," she lazily drawled, now looking at the dark sky above. "You said you're taking a break?"
"Yes," he replied. "Why?"
"Come get drinks with me," she offered. It was more of a statement than a question.
She saw the corners of his lips pull into a smile. "Sure."
And that was the first time the two left the rock —their sweet escape—together.
Carolle Royale