How to Overcome Jealousy

Written by The Lonely Serenade

Disclaimer : I don't own Gakuen Alice, but if Higuchi Tachibana said that I could, gladly I will. :D

"Jealousy is a disease, love is a healthy condition. The immature mind often mistakes one for the other, or assumes that the greater the love, the greater the jealousy - in fact, they're almost incompatible; one emotion hardly leaves room for the other. Both at once can produce unbearable turmoil..."

—Robert Heinlein

Chapter 1 — The Green Eyed Monster

Hyuuga Natsume scoffed bitterly, rolling his perfect crimson eyes at the people passing by while he rested his head at the trunk of his favorite sakura tree. His lips were pursed tightly, a dark and dangerous scowl was plastered clearly on the fire caster's handsome face, stating the fact to anyone who passed by to not bother him, seeming as he was in a very bad mood. Everybody knew what happened if you mess with an angry Natsume, it'll make some part of your body burnt here and there, or worst, taken to the hospital because of third degree burn marks.

Everybody's conclusion: Better stay away from the notorious Hyuuga Natsume.

Well, to his own mind, he was not mad. No, he was not, really. Why'd he be mad? Reealy, for God's sake, he was still normal, why'd he be mad for no reason?

Pfffft.

Get a life, idiots!, he glared at the groups of middle-schools that were giggling at his annoyed expression.

Okaaay, so he was not mad. Uh-huh, not.

He meant, so what if Persona had came to him and told him that he had a mission tonight? So what if Narumi had told him that polkadots had changed her partner to the new kid? So what if that shadow was going to central town with polkadots? So what if everything was connected to polkadots?

Because newsflash: Hyuuga Natsume was a busy person, he had better things to do rather than minding the idiot's business, no way, why'd he to that? That's ridiculous.

Of course, he didn't care, even if she will come nagging him after his mission, knocking his mind with stupid questions and stayed all night to take care of him, even if she was changed to a different partner who by the way, had quite of a bad luck because he will be burnt if he himself managed to see the both of them hang out together. Like he had stated earlier, polkadots was his source of amusement, so if the source was gone, now what's life without amusement? Not that he care whether she'll be spending so much time with the new kid rather than him, really, no.

Even if that baldy bastard shadow was going to buy her those disgustingly fluffy candy called howalons and she, being a stupid and naïve girl she was, will hug him as a token of appreciation. Hell, he did not care.

Sooo, what he's trying to say is. . .

He was not jealous.

Was not, not, not, not, not, jealous.

Because Hyuuga Natsume was not and never was the jealous type, never. Polkadots was his toy, nothing more, nothing less—

"Natsume!"

The lad turned his head slowly and managed not to suppress a glare to the person for disrupting his thoughts, because he obviously recognized who the velvety voice belongs to, after all, the one who called was his best friend, Nogi Ruka. But he was annoyed alright, disturbing his thoughts like that. Even if it was Ruka, he was still annoyed. If it was other, he could've burned them already.

Expectantly, the annoying mind reader and his twin, Kitsuneme, along with Mochu, were tagging alongside with Ruka. It's a normal day, normal time, for all of them to call Natsume and hang out together, yeah, it was normal. Just like their daily routine.

That was, beside the fact that Ruka was unusually running and a blatantly worried expression was etched on the animal lover's face. On the other side, Koko sticked with his silly goofy smile, but Natsume narrowed his crimson eyes and he was sure that those lips were moving and bawled up a snicker. Kitsuneme, who was squirming restlessly, avoided eye contact with him. Mochu was. . . Well Mochu was still the same, to his disappointment.

Ruka stopped running and he panted softly, his azure eyes looked straight to Natsume, and of course the fire caster demanded himself an explanation, because his so-called-friends were acting really weird, and he had a really bad feeling about it.

"Yes?" Natsume rolled his eyes impatiently and watched his friends' reaction. Ruka gulped and nudged Koko's elbow, his eyes were giving him the 'what-should-we-do' look, and as a response, Koko's mouth curved up an even more annoying smirk, tangling his arm with Kitsuneme and Mochu's as they sped off running.

Ruka could only snorted and glared at the disappearing figures, thinking possible ways to kill, no scratch that, to skin Koko alive for leaving him alone, and worst for this matter! He grumbled away and his eyes were dragged to meet Natsume's dark scowl, and his eyes somehow pierced through his skin to take a peek at his soul.

"Ruka."

The blonde observed the twitching veins that have seemed to be pulsing and he concluded that his best friend's patient will snap soon enough. He has to act this, fast!

"You see," his throat felt dry. "I saw Sakura."

Natsume raised his brows and the mood around him felt darker each time an image of her roamed on his mind, and those pictures eventually generated into something that a normal person wouldn't think, but Natsume was never normal, they were never normal.

Ruka cringed when he noticed the cold aura that was starting to form together, heck, he could already imagine Natsume burning the nearest person that was within the radius of three meter from himself.

And it was not lovely.

Natsume then continued by scoffing whilst his fingers clenched tightly on his manga, pressuring his grip on the paper as he shrugged and his lips set on a grim line. "So what?"

His azure eyes were dripping with nervousness, as he noted that Natsume now observed him. Very suspiciously for that. "I-I saw Sakura . . . " he said unsure with his decision, but as soon as the image of his animal friends being dissected by the famous ice queen, aka Imai Hotaru, he wouldn't dare to take the risks anymore, and so he said, "With a guy. H-he was quite handsome."

Natsume suddenly felt a twinge on his heart, and something pricking simultaneously. He hated the feeling. He hated the boiling rage that he never experienced before, and he thought that he was just thrilling over the fact that somebody finally managed to distract polkadots' attention from him.

Of course, back to the topic, he was not angry. He bet the guy was an ugly duckling. Handsome? Yeah right.

"Tch, so? I couldn't care less about that idiotic girl anyway."

Ruka glanced at the teenage boy and he wasn't convinced about the lad's answer. His face was stoic, the same poker face that he always used every day here in the academy. But his eyes told a different story, and the blonde was pretty sure that his best friend was chanting some strings of colorful curses on his mind right now.

"But—"

"Ruka," Natsume's voice was dripping with venom, "Whatever she's doing is far from my concern."

Uh-huh, he couldn't care less about what's the girl doing. She could jump off the cliff or flip or do whatever she wanted, after all, she meant nothing to him. She could go and hangout with any guy she wanted, because he simply didn't care.

And he was not jealous.

But for some mysterious reasons, he really felt like burning the guy. He felt like sending him to hell. But of course, that's because he didn't want polkadots to be happy. That's all that matters.

"But she seems to like him." Ruka reasoned out. Good point.

It irked him that Ruka was actually telling him this. Of course, he was not stupid. They, as if in his friends, probably plan all of this—which made him wonder why he even called them as his friends, and he's not, going to fall into their trap. "So?"

Ruka gulped and chose to avoid eye contact with him. Or his thought will surely be found out immediately. This was for everybody's sake. . .

"The guy, was from her fan club," He pressured on the 'her fan club' and he regretted saying it almost immediately because Natsume's scowl appeared to be darkened, "And he was going to confess his undying love to her."

"Her who?"

"Duh," Ruka had to roll his eyes on Natsume's stupid response, "Mikan. The nullifier. Your partner since the both of you are ten years old. The little bundle of sunshine that always spreaded her cheerful smil-"

"Ruka, stop. I get you."

Shit, Ruka cursed inside his mind. He had gone too far with his ramblings, and by the looks of it, his best friend was beyond mad. He was super, duper, uber, and utterly mad.

His crimson eyes were currently choking on the information that he had told him, and he was trying his best not to understand about it. He didn't want to understand over the fact.

Natsume summoned almost all of his self-control to not run and burnt the guy alive there, but he had to keep his cool. Or people will misunderstand. He was struggling on not to burn something, but the effort seemed to be futile because his manga was burnt into crisps, whipped by the wind in its form as ashes. He merely clenched and unclenched his fists to ease his anger, but it did not work. It was useless.

"Ruka, let's go."

Ruka glimpsed thrice at Natsume's face and boooy he didn't like it. "Where?" he managed to squeak out the question, and he mentally slapped himself for sounding like a wimp.

Natsume stood up from the place he was sitting on and brushed the vacantly empty spot. He swirled his head to Ruka's direction, and a somewhat sadistic smirk curved from his lips, plastered very clearly on his handsome face.

Whilst the others thought that he was in a good mood, Ruka thought of the opposite.

Natsume was in a bad mood, and a bad mood-ed Natsume, was never good news to him.

"Where else? Of course to polkadots' place," he drawled out smoothly, too smoothly. "I'm going to burn the guy."

And he was not jealous . . . or angry.

Kitsuneme didn't know how he got himself into this situation. Maybe, it was because of his best friend, the infamous Kokoroyome that brought him into this mess. Or maybe it was because of Imai Hotaru's threat, or maybe . . . because of his loyalty to Natsume? He just didn't know because all reasons seemed to be reasonable enough.

"Kitsu, stop squirming!" he heard Koko instructed him from beside. He vaguely chortled out a snort at his best friend's words. How could he stop squirming when he was about to witness the most ah-ma-zing scene throughout his entire life? Of course, he meant it with sarcasm rolling here and there. But not all of it was considered sarcastic, because yes, he simply couldn't stop squirming.

Especially when Natsume was about to burn an innocent guy caused by a simple jealousy issue.

He knew that the black cat grew and developed something with the oblivious nullifier. In his mind, he remembered how many times they were teasing and fighting over some expectantly trivial matters and what shocked him was the fact that Natsume actually looked like he enjoyed it. He enjoyed spending time with her.

He didn't have a mind reading alice like Koko did, but everybody should've known about Natsume's feelings the moment they looked into the black cat's eyes whenever he was around her.

Whenever he was around Sakura Mikan.

She was like a sun that shone through everyone's heart, and just like a magic, she managed to melt Natsume's heart. He was actually quite grateful because Natsume no longer held that same cold exterior every time, at least, not that cold anymore.

Everyday seemed to be like a fairytale if they're with her. She guided them past danger and happiness. She's like a honey that attracted them, the bee. He wouldn't be surprised if she had a fan club that could rival Natsume's.

And he proved himself right.

Ever since they went to middle school, Imai pushed her to get rid of those ridiculous pig-tails, much to her annoyance, but she lived with it. Several boys have launched their eyes on the brunette, but neither of them yet managed to make a move on her. Courtesy of you-know-who.

But hell breaks loose when the nullifier turned fourteen. It was the year she finally hit adolescence, or more famous to be said as puberty.

She gradually maintained her undying curve, and her ever so silky chocolate-coffee colored like hair had grown longer, which had the fragrance of strawberries, that lured all the boys every time she walks by. Her sweet angelic smile that could sell off for advertisements and her child-like behavior that's glowing for her eternal youth.

Simply irresistible.

In which resulted to this messy outcomes. Resulted to this so-called confession. Shima Kyoushiro, current student council president, was hitting on her lately. Mikan, being a naïve and friendly little girl she was, accepted him. This brought more misunderstandings and conclusions.

Shima thought that Mikan liked him. Therefore he decided to confess to her. He recalled one time when Koko accidently read Shima's thought, and he snickered alongside with Koko about his ingenious thoughts. It was beyond him on how he was able to be a special star, moreover, the council president.

Kitsuneme then shifted his gaze on the two people in front of him. He, Koko, and Mochu were hiding behind the bushes where Mikan and Shima were standing near. He heard Mochu stiffed a laugh when he saw Shima's right foot slipped from the fallen and dry leafs that were innocently sprawled on the ground. Though their background was a sakura tree, it was more like a comedy rather than a romantic scene.

"Oi, he's touching Mikan's hands! If Natsume knew about this, he won't like it," Koko whispered tauntingly, his eyes glinting with mischievousness. Kitsuneme could only smirk back at him. After all, the sight of a jealous Natsume was amusing.

Especially when he denied it.

"Kyoushiro-senpai?" Mikan snapped him out of his thoughts, while Kyoushiro, who forgot about her existence, could only smile sheepishly at her. Mochu mouthed 'lame' to Koko, while the subject himself sneered mockingly in agreement.

Something rather red and black caught Koko's eyes and he stood there was gaping, astounded, and jaw-fallen by the sight. It brought shivers ran down to his spine. He nudged Kitsuneme and Mochu, signaling the both of them that the target had came. Trailing after the sight was Ruka and his face looked pale.

"Mochu, better stand back. Natsume come, just like planned."

Mochu shook his head and watched the rim. "He looked scary, hell, his eyes are blazing." He muttered, not really helping the now sitting Ruka, which happened to hear his statement.

"Is he mad?" Koko bawled up excitingly. This is going to be fun. . .

"No," Ruka sighed as he shook his head. "He is furious."

"Let's hope that Natsume'd spare Shima's life."

Ruka nodded and fidgeted on his spot. God, please, don't let Natsume act reckle—

"!"

But when you heard Mikan shrieking in the level of hysteria, Natsume had done something alright.

Hotaru sipped her Darjeeling tea lightly, rolling her amethyst eyes at the sight she was watching from her laptop screen. In spite of being the master mind of this whole thing, she didn't predict that the ending would end up like this. She expected that Hyuuga will done his part just like she expected he'd, but no.

He had to ruin everything.

Though she was no genius, yes, she admitted, she's not a genius, she had flaws too. But she'd never doubted her prediction on everything, most likely because her predictions were always true, she was an observant girl. But she had to take back her words if it the thing was happening between him and her.

They're just too unpredictable.

She knew that Hyuuga bear deep affection to her idiotic best friend, and she didn't do anything to prevent their relationship, because she simply agreed on whatever her best friend chose. It was quite of an irony that she trusted her best friend too much when she said that Mikan was too stupid to make the right decision. It was just another façade of hers.

But seeing everything that just happened, she was sure that soon enough, either Mikan or Hyuuga will come to her.

She had to take things seriously from now, thus it concerned her that her best friend's happiness was at stake. Things weren't going easy on them, but with a gleam of determination from herself, she was sure that she'll put their relationship to a final conclusion.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

It was the sound of someone's stomping.

"Hotaru!" The subject herself had finally got a chance to appear by pushing the door of her room loudly, and Hotaru merely glanced at her when she saw her tears—though inside she felt that her heart had wrenched too.

She intentionally stretched out the silence so that Mikan could go to her and cried her eyes out. The last time she cried like this was when Kaname-senpai went to heaven. Yes, unfortunately, that best friend of Tsubasa was dead, as his alice slowly drowning his life span to the point of limit. Mikan and Tsubasa were both sulking for days when that happened, though Mikan recovered first.

She felt Mikan's tears stung and her tears wept her clothes massively, but she kept on confronting her, tightening her grip around Mikan and stroked her hair softly. It was a rare chance to see Imai Hotaru acted like this.

After minutes of a good cry, Mikan sniffed her nose and rubbed her puffy eyes that were worn out by all the crying.

Hotaru smiled bitterly, but she then decided to speak after Mikan looked up to her. "Are you done crying?"

She nodded and sat down beside Hotaru, taking the comfortable spot on her warm bed. "Thanks Hotaru, and sorry for wetting your nightdress."

"You better be thankful that I'm not going to take charge today," she startled her by those words.

Mikan blinked, trying to grasp what's Hotaru talking about, but after she digested her words, Mikan's sullen expression changed instantly and a silent giggle escaped from her mouth. "Why thank you." She answered sincerely.

Hotaru's cold amethyst eyes swept across her face, demanding for an explanation, even though inside she had already know the answer. She just wanted to hear it directly from her. Mikan took note of her face and she sighed.

"Hotaru, I-I just can't understand him," she mumbled, and tears welled up on her hazel eyes again, "He is acting mean."

And Hotaru didn't have to ask who did she mean by 'he'.

"What did Hyuuga did to you, Mikan?"

That question brought Mikan's tears to fell of her cheek, but she wiped it in a second, after noticing that Hotaru gave her the 'don't-you-dare-cry-on-me' look. Mikan forced up a smile, and as much as it seems to be forced, Hotaru took this better than her crying face.

"He was being a jerk," Mikan explained. "Both to me and Kyoushiro-senpai."

Hotaru's instinct perked up and she asked, "Did Hyuuga molest you or something?"

Sure, she had seen the way Natsume has accidentally passed by and burnt Kyoushiro when he tried to confess his love to Mikan, but she never saw Natsume hurt her because she had shut her laptop after that.

Mikan nodded meekly as an answer, while Hotaru scoffed. As much as she agreed on Hyuuga's feelings, she never liked his perverted way on treating Mikan because it's the same as treating Mikan like she was his toy.

"He kissed me, and when I asked him why," Mikan's lips were trembling and she couldn't prevent the tears from falling down, "He said that it's just for his own amusement!" She finished those words, trying her best not to burst out again.

Hotaru sighed and thought wryly, so much for Hyuuga and his possessive side. Why's he being so stupid on handling his own emotions?

Hotaru patted Mikan and laid her head on her thigh. Just then, a soft smile crept up to her face when she saw Mikan's closing her eyes. Light snores escaped from her lips as she wiped the stained tears from the brunette's cheeks. Sweet dreams, idiot . . .

Natsume frowned when he rested at his Sakura tree again, feeling that it was uncomfortable somehow, and he had no idea why except the fact that everything was going against him. Curses were muttered out from the lad's mouth and he hitched when he felt a droplet of water reached his skin.

It just had to rain to complete his annoyance.

But he was not cold, not even the slightest of shiver. Of course, he was the wielder of the fire alice. Why'd he be cold? It just irritated him because raining proved his conscience that even the sky was fighting against him.

Maybe this was why Ruka was acting so nervous and worried when he gave him the information about that stupid Shima, because his best friend knew that it'd ended up badly such as this.

He was Hyuuga Natsume for God's sake, the notorious black cat that's feared and respected by everybody. If everything didn't go his way, he'd not complain bluntly, at least. But why did he have to be so wrong when he act around her?

Maybe because you like her.

He snorted in disagreement upon his mind's revelation, and let out the bottled breath which he held for minutes already. Okay, he was acting a little complicated if everything went by her name. It's just that when he saw that bastard Shima's arms touching her cheek, he felt that he needed to burn him for distraction and the resistance he held was screwed. Just because of a simple matter.

Tch, thinking about it made his anger perched again. Silly him, why should he be angry?

"You're just jealous Hyuuga."

With that, he turned his head to the voice, and was not surprised to see the blackmailing queen standing with her baka gun pointed directly at him. He was not afraid, albeit the situation. "Imai," he acknowledged wryly.

Hotaru narrowed her amethyst eyes. "I need to hear an explanation from you."

His eyes shifted on her, unimpressed of what she had said. "I could say the same thing. Why'd you think that I'm actually jealous? I didn't care about what that idiotic best of yours did."

Hotaru purposely rolled her eyes and glared. "I never said anything about Mikan."

Damn.

"And when I saw the bitter pathetic expression on your face," Hotaru continued bluntly, "I'm convinced enough that you were thinking about her."

Double damn to the ice queen.

He glared back almost as heatedly, probably more, and retorted, "That bastard didn't deserve to have her."

Hotaru, hearing the what-seems-to-be indirect confession, grinned in amusement. "So you actually think that you deserve her rather than Shima, right?" her voice mocking.

"So what if I did?" he smirked.

Hotaru snorted on how his words would be meant upon. "And it proved me enough that you're deranged because of jealousy," she claimed on the supposed to be amusing fact. "Here I thought that you're a genius."

"Shut up." He hissed and raked his jet black hair. He knew that talking to the ice queen herself wouldn't bring much serenity and conclusions to his thoughts, it's funny on how people called him a genius yet the lad had no chance on calling himself a genius, he was stupid. Not on the brain of course, on heart.

The ice queen just had to take it literally.

Natsume himself was surprised that he did not retort back when Hotaru stated one fact: he was jealous.

Idly enough, his heart had been denying the fact for thousand times, and of all time, he just had to admit that he's jealous in front of the ice queen.

It took him some time to see that luck was not siding on him today.

"Hyuuga," Hotaru remarked sharply. "You better said an apology to her, she was crying her eyes out and I hate it when she cried. I don't exactly know how to calm her down."

He sneered. "You called yourself her best friend?"

Hotaru shook her head and glared at him for the last time before throwing a thick book at him. The guy was a trained man with skills, he caught it before it manage to taint his handsome face, and plus, being slapped by a book was certainly not on his option.

"What the hell are you throwing to me?" he grunted when he noted on how thick the book was.

But the girl had fled somewhere else and his glare was pronounced to nothing but the thin air.

He directed his gaze to the book, and he couldn't help but felt his eyes twitching in mild annoyance. "How to overcome jealousy?" he hissed darkly, "Made by none other than the Imai Hotaru."

If Hotaru was still there and if looks could kill, he'd be glad to glare daggers at the ice queen.

Because he is not jealous, so why should he read this useless book?

. . . . . . Dammit.

To Be Continued

A/N: How was it? But thanks for reading, and please review! It'd be so helpful to me! :)

The Lonely Serenade