Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice… :(

Warning: OOC's… .

A/N: This story is dedicated to my best friend. To put it bluntly bestie…you irritate the hell out of me every. single. freaking. day! :[ But I would never give up our friendship for anything, no matter how many times you tell me we should.

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A Best Friend's Vow

It's not just couples that get into fights…friends do to.

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Mikan Sakura was mad.

No. Mad didn't even cover half of the emotions she was feeling right now. Mikan was downright furious.

"Where. Is. She?"

Ruka looked up in confusion to see the usually carefree brunette, angry beyond belief. Her nose was flaring and she possessed unsettling eyes that were looking in all directions for the raven-haired inventor.

"Mikan…what's wrong?"

The 16-year-old huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't have time to answer your question, Ruka-pyon. Just tell me where Hotaru is!"

Ruka gulped at Mikan's seething tone and pointed in the direction of the science labs. "I don't know what Imai did this time…but calm down, okay?"

Mikan smiled sweetly at Ruka and winked. "No promises Ruka-pyon~ But thank you. Now it's time to pay a little visit to my best friend…"

Ruka shivered at Mikan's iciness and shook his head.

Hotaru must have done something horribly wicked to have turned Mikan into this state…

"Oh Hotaru~ I know you're in there…Open up the door this instant!" Mikan shouted, pounding on the door of locked classroom. After a moment of silence, Mikan frowned, and growled under her breath.

"Hotaru Imai…If you don't open up this damn door, I will break it down!"

Again silence. Mikan narrowed her eyes and clenched her fist. "Okay…you leave me no choice!"

Mikan rolled her neck to the left and right and cracked her fingers out in front of her. She took a deep breath and raised her palm out. A soft, but noticeable rattle was heard, and the metal doorknob to the science lab clicked open with ease. Mikan smiled and blew her finger in content. So it did come in handy to have stolen a Metal Manipulation Alice from a second year.

She turned the knob and stomped her way inside the classroom. She narrowed her eyes at the raven-haired girl in the back of the classroom, who was busy working on a makeshift robot. "Hotaru Imai! How dare you slip this letter inside my room!"

The said inventor glanced up in boredom at the white parchment paper in the brunette's hand and shrugged, before going back to her robot. "That's what got you worked up? For a minute, I actually thought you'd barged in here because of something important."

Mikan frowned at her answer and put her hands on her hips. "It is something important! You're telling me in a letter that you're going to be leaving Gakuen Alice in less than a week?"

Hotaru closed her eyes and put the screwdriver she was using down.

Yes. Hotaru Imai was going to be gone for an entire year, working on a business internship in the midst of Washington D.C. It wasn't surprising for culprit companies to want to claim their meaty hands on the dear inventor. However, taking this internship meant disappearing from Japan and Gakuen Alice for a long, long time.

"Yes, I told you in a letter. Are you done here then? I need to finish this invention before the week is up."

Mikan dropped her jaw in disbelief. Is her best friend really acting like this on such an important matter? "Hotaru! You're leaving! Ho-how can you just act so nonchalant about this?"

"Easy. I'm not an idiot like you that ponders on trivial matters such as this."

Mikan bit her lip in frustration. "You know…I'm sick and tired of you calling me an idiot all the time! Best friends don't call each other that."

"True. But best friends tell each other the truth. Is it wrong for me to tell you the truth?"

Mikan breathed out a large huff and clenched her fists in anger. How could Hotaru act like this? Did she not care that she'd be leaving her? Did she never care about her in the first place?

Hotaru looked at the sullen look on her friend's face and sighed slowly. It wasn't that she wanted to leave. She didn't. Not if that meant losing her friends and family, here in Japan. But this internship…was an opportunity. A good one. One that might even jump-start her career of making it big as an entrepreneur.

"…Can't you just be happy for me?"

Mikan's eyes glazed over with defeat at her best friend's words. "How can I be happy, if I'm going to be losing you in the end?"

"Mikan…" Hotaru reached over to touch her best friend's arm, when Mikan shrugged her hand away.

"No, Hotaru. Let me just say this first…for as long as I can remember, you've always made decisions by yourself and you never once asked for any of my input on the choices you made. And even though you don't say it…I know you hurt inside when you realize the decisions you made, don't turn out as awesome as you thought they'd be."

Mikan tore her eyes away from the amethyst Alice, and blinked back the tears that were starting to form. "You think you're independent, Hotaru, but you need me just as much as I need you."

Hotaru blinked slowly, and looked down at her lab station. She picked up a few objects, and frowned when she felt no power in her body to want to invent something. She smirked ambivalently. "You're…an idiot." She finally responded.

"Hotaru…just please…"

"I already made my decision. I'm leaving." Hotaru ignored the strangled sound her friend made and walked over, stopping in front of the hazel-eyed nullifier. "I'll be leaving at the end of this week, but I don't want to go on a bad note between us…"

"You should've told me about this sooner–"

"It wouldn't have made a difference."

Mikan coughed a fake smile at the girl, and pursed her lips together. Quickly grabbing the hands of the inventor, she gripped it tightly. "Hotaru…just promise me you won't forget about me…"

Hotaru looked down at their joint hands and turned her head away. "Baka…promises…are meant to be broken."

Mikan bit her bottom lip and shook her head. "Then…make a vow with me. I just need to make sure, if this is the last time we'll see each other…just please, Hotaru…please." Hotaru watched as a tear fell down her friends face. "Please…I just need to make sure you'll never…ever forget about me."

Hotaru looked down in thought and held onto her friend's hand tighter. Mikan looked up in hope, and Hotaru let out a small smile. "I, Hotaru Imai," Mikan broke out into a grin and smiled brightly at her best friend. "Vow never to forget my idiot of a best friend, Mikan Sakura." Hotaru paused, and squeezed Mikan's hand in reassurance. "I'll never, ever…forget her."

Mikan smiled through her tears, and squeezed back. "And I, Mikan Sakura, vow never to forget my emotionless of a best friend, Hotaru Imai. Nothing in this world will make me forget you…"

Nodding their heads, they sealed their vow with a tight hug.

"You'll take care of yourself right?"

"Of course I will. I'm not incompetent like some people."

"I'm not incompetent!"

"And I never said you were."

"Stupid…Stupid Hotaru."

"Idiot…"

They broke apart and the two girls smiled at each other.

"I love you, Hotaru."

Hotaru smirked in tenderness. 'I love you too, Mikan. Now go back to Hyuuga, you idiot. I'm leaving next week. This isn't our good-bye just yet."

Mikan opened her mouth to refuse, but stopped when Hotaru shooed her out the door.

MIkan smiled slightly and took one last look at her best friend before turning around, closing the door behind her. Hotaru looked around the empty classroom, and let out a breath, before smiling to herself, picking up her screwdriver and going back to her invention.

Gone were the hour-long talks on the phone. Gone were the petty arguments they made with each other every hour of every day. Gone were the outings they randomly took during the occasional free weekends. Gone were each other's presence in there every day lives.

Now…it will all be but a memory. But their friendship wasn't over. And will never be over. Not just yet.

Even if we never see each other ever again, I'll always remember you…my best friend.

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A/N: I'd like to point out; this is my first time making a friendship-based story. Yeah…the resolution and ending sucked…. . Did I do good? Or bad? Don't be afraid to tell me! :)

Read and Review please~ And until next time!

Eternally yours,

silly-hime