A/N : This is my first RukaRu.! waaah. I wish to recieve reviews...haha. Feel free! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice!!!! (Although I wish Ruka owns me..) wahahah! Naw. Just kidding. Enjoy! (i hope you guys will)...

Flashbacks

HPOV

It was five in the afternoon, and the classes were dismissed already, leaving the Middle School building empty of wandering students. I guess I'd make myself and exemption, in that case. I walked by the corridors and passed through empty classrooms. I was practically alone, free from noise, distractions, and any of those babbling, brunette, best friend of mine.

How could I have ever forgotten my spare toolbox under my desk? This was a first time, and now I had to suffer the half-kilometer walk from the School Dormitory. Our classroom was unfortunately up on the third floor, so maybe its an additional 100m up the staircase –– Double it all to get back to my room. Ugh. It's so troublesome.

I slid the door open upon reaching the room. It was getting dark outside, and I could see the sky painted with red and orange from the window. I didn't want to be walking back to the dormitory alone in the dark, so I immediately went toward my seat. It was very quiet, and I couldn't see a thing. It was dark –– Or maybe because, I didn't turn my head around to wander my eyes.

I could hear the crickets outside. Fireflies started to look more like yellow moving dots in the black canvas made effect by the tree tops. All of a sudden, silence itself started to become eerie, and few moments later it hurt my eardrums. I shook my head and noticed, I was staring still at the darkness of the outside, still halfway towards my seat.

"argh..",I breathed annoyingly. 'I hadn't been this distracted as this in my entire life!'

So I went back to business, finally annoyed with myself, and tried to focus my head with a damn, petty thing. Finally I reached to open the drawer under my desk and fetched the thing. I sighed and smiled to myself. "All these for a single toolbox."

"Hey."

I almost jumped off my feet and dropped the heavy thing. "Darn!", I muttered to myself and turned madly around to see the culprit. 'I hate being caught in surprise!'

"Sorry.". The voice was gentle ––Almost impossible to hear if it hadn't because of the silence. The figure slowly arose from one corner of the room, and my heart suddenly behaved unusually different. It went wild, beating slow one second and the next moment it would beat fast like it's going to explode and jump towards its owner in front of me.

And then finally everything seemed to have gained sense as the dim light from outside shed clarity toward the guy standing in front of me. As the culprit slowly took steps closer, my body stiffened. Nothing came out from my mouth but three words:

"Oh. It's. You. "

"Hi. Did I surprise you?", the seventeen year-old blonde smiled at me.

"That explains it.", I mumbled to myself and smirked involuntarily as I knelt down the floor and picked up a couple of screws that fell from the toolbox.

"Did you say anything, Hotaru?", his voice so calm and sleek.

"Nothing.", I stood up and turned back to him. He was holding his ever favorite bunny on both arms, his eyes glowed from the small, dim, light from outside – fixed on mine. "What're you doing here?", I asked, trying to keep my voice as plain as usual, ignoring the wild commotion inside me – a cross between excitement and longing.

"I..er..I just thought I'd find a quiet place to think.", he smiled and went closer forward to me. Blood rushed up to my face. Lucky it was dark enough to keep my face hidden.

" –or to hide. .", I muttered under my breath and got a grip of myself as he stopped a foot away in front of me.

He chuckled and smiled. "You've forgotten those.", he looked at the toolbox.

"That's not a question, I suppose. Yeah, I did.", I said and turned my heels to go.

He smiled and walked beside me. It was already total darkness as we went through the staircase. At least I wasn't alone...I walked slower than usual. Calm, but definitely not totally at ease. This was our first walk as 'us', after all. I just couldn't help but blush, and at the same time, marvel at how real we finally could be. Suddenly I felt him move closer..

"Having problems, aren't we?" I asked, half-smirking.

He sighed. "Fan girls..."

"Oh, I thought so."

"I couldn't even get a private moment. Very..."

"—Troublesome."

************ Flashback*************

HPOV

"ALL CLEAR", a whisper came from my radio, wire-tapped from the enemies unprotected devices, followed by simultaneous advancing of footsteps toward my direction. They were careful, but very obvious.

"idiots...How on earth did I get myself into this?", I muttered to myself and gripped my gun in annoyance.

The enemies wore wierd helmets, adorned with a face of a beautiful blonde boy. They were idiotically creeping bedhing the tables that were now turned down with the heat of the battle.

Movements around me were obvious. Silhouettes ran here and there, trying to position themselves closer to my hide-out. BANG!!! – a shot finally came. Then many followed. Gases flew and filled the room. I waited for the right moment to counterattack, getting bored with every darn second that passed.

"HOW DARE YOU IMAI!!!!", furious girls yelled at me from all direction, firing their guns at me.

"SURRENDER NOW, IMAI!! OR THIS'LL NEVER STOP!!"

"FIGHT FOR LORD RUKA!!!!"

"......." –––

Yeah. It was a war against fan girls.

I sighed, annoyed. I really hadn't thought of this kind of trouble the moment I was with that beautiful Bunny Boy. "Let's end this..." I stood up and fired aimlessly in every direction. One helmet went down. Then another.

"SHE'S GETTING US!!!" one yelled and fired at me. ––

"TAKE COVER!!!"

I immediately ducked and threw gas. Three. Two. One. ...Ah. There. Screams now chorused with the spew of the gas, ruining their hair and skin. A few minutes later, it was over.

I stood up. And then the door banged open.

"Hotaru.", the blonde exhaled in relief as he came panting. Then he suddenly straightened up, his face shifted from worry to shock. "You used PAINTBALLS?!"

I frowned and said nothing. I took off my helmet and shrugged away the dirt from my uniform. 'I wish I used real guns..' , I rolled my eyes.

"Next time," , I turned to look at him who marveled at the damage, "tell them beforehand not to get any near me. They're wasting my time."

************ End of Flashback*************

I shrugged off at the memory. I disgust them, not only for loving Ruka to the point of my assassination, but because they always get my time wasted. My brother who had graduated years ago would visit the office every now and then, and scold at me whenever he heard about the commotions. But I couldn't just lay down my arms and give it up, could I?

"you alright?", his voice cut in my thoughts.

I nodded, and he walked closer. Ah. Better. The darkness and memories gave me the Goosebumps. 'I hate flashbacks.."..

"How about trying to tame those fan girls of yours?", I sighed as we finally passed through the door and started to trail our way by the school grounds.

"Tame??"

"Yes. Like what you do to your –'friends'." I smirked at the last word. He would always defend those pets of his whenever I call them 'animals' with a disgusted tone of irritation.

"My alice is animal pheromone, Hotaru.", he chuckled at the idea.

I rolled my eyes. "..They're more like animals the way they behave.", I mumbled to myself. He laughed and leaned closer to my face. I was brought to an abrupt stop as his nose went only an inch apart from mine.

Blood rushed up to my head, and I felt dizzy at his gaze. Damn. 'Hotaru Imai doesn't blush!' – and by instinct, I immediately bumped my head to his nose and frowned.

"Warn me well enough before getting that close, will you?", I muttered, feeling a tinge of guilt as I stared at him rubbing his forehead in pain.

"Oww..", he complained. "Hardheaded..." He was still rubbing his forehead as he turned to me.

"You can talk without getting that close." I shrugged and looked away, not planning to swallow any pride. But then he suddenly grinned and crossed his arms against his chest. I stared at him and wondered, my heart a bit wild. "What?"

"If I hadn't known better, Hotaru, I'd probably think you're jealous."

My eyes shot wide open, and my body froze at the sudden blow of electric shock brought by the idiotic idea of jealousy. I frowned, too stunned to the idea that not even once crossed my mind.

"Jealous?" I breathed through clenched teeth.

He then shot his jet-power smile at me in reply, as I raised one eyebrow in disbelief. 'Of course I wasn't jealous!!! They were mere fan girls compared to me, for crying out loud!' – But then of course, I did not cry it out loud.

"Hey.", he leaned even closer, still intimidating me with his smile. "It won't hurt a bit to admit, Hotaru."

I was still stunned of the idea, and inside me I was in the middle of debate whether I'd let it pass, or not...Well, you know me – I chose the latter. (Evil laughs)

"You think I'm jealous?", I asked, ignoring the proximity of our faces that his hair now touched my forehead.

He nodded and smiled, but when I did, he twitched and almost jumped away as he braced himself of whatever he's receiving – one thing he probably figured out already. He raised an eyebrow.

"THAT IS PREPOSTEROUS..",I smirked and banged my head on his.

RPOV

"Oww..!!", I yelled and jumped to my feet. I moved my fingers up and felt a bump on the lover part of my forehead – the damn part where her small, hard, head hit!

I gently rubbed it and turned to her in disbelief. She was already walking ahead of me, pleased of her self.

"Remind me not to smile before doing that again when a next time comes.", she called.

'A next time?!!' –– "That did hurt, Hotaru!!!", I shook my head and caught up to her.

"Sure did." She smirked.

"Argh...it left a bump!!" I muttered to myself.

"Now what was that you were saying about 'jealousy'?", she turned to me and raised an eyebrow.

"You're unbelievable.." I shook my head and tried for a smile. Patience had been my number one mastered virtue since we became together.

She smiled curtly, "I'll take that as a compliment."

Of course she wasn't jealous. I would have known anyway if she really was, so she didn't have to do that in any case!

************ Flashback*************

"What're you doing in my tree?"— A very familiar voice broke in my silent sanctuary. It was cold, small, but not high-pitched unlike those of the fan girls'. But surprising as it was to me, the voice was owned by no less than the person who made my life so miserable.

I straightened up, and my mind was filled with revengeful thoughts full of angst and 'necessary' assaults for I value self-preservation. Her blackmailing had crossed way beyond the line already that I almost got used to it! But when I looked down and my eyes met her cold gaze, I was dumbfounded.

She wasn't in uniform. Her arms were crossed against her chest and she was staring at me blankly. One could almost mistake her as a statue. She was wearing a navy blue jacket that went perfectly along her torso. Her long legs were bare in the moonlight and a pair of white shorts obscured the upper part of her thighs.

And at that very moment as my mind went busy scanning all of her from above, my thoughts was combed clean from those vicious ones. My brain only processed the figure down below; her image ready to print from my busy mind if that was even possible.

I didn't know how my face looked like as a weird, feeling started to surge within me, now clouding everything that I see but her. I felt my mouth open – urging to say something I really did not realize what. But as my voice trailed back, three words came tumbling out ––

"Oh. It's. You . "

She didn't budge, but the expression on her face was different. It was like she knew how I felt a few moments ago. 'Impossible....' I thought, and tried to shrug of the ridiculous surging feeling only to no avail.

"You may do your dreaming elsewhere, Nogi, but not on my tree."

"YOUR tree?" I managed to make my voice a bit normal, in contradiction to the bizarre commotion inside me near my chest.

I sat up, swung my legs freely off the branch and narrowed my eyes on her. "Your name isn't on it." I said through clenched teeth.

She didn't say anything but jerked her head a bit so that it pointed to the trunk. And to my greatest surprise, HER NAME WAS ON IT!

"Now, get off my tree Nogi." She smirked, triumphant.

I felt blood rushed up to my head and Goosebumps rose on my skin as her lips curved to that usual smirk. I shrugged. 'I shouldn't react this way; she always smirks triumphantly over me!' –– So I jumped off the tree, and vaguely hoped to figure myself out.

"How on earth did my favorite tree had her name on it?!" I muttered above whisper to myself and looked away.

I sighed and tried to recover my revengeful thoughts, desperate to pull the remaining tinge of normality from within me in this series of unusual coincidences and discoveries. But now I couldn't find them. The more I tried to think of it, the more my body felt the 'surging feeling' fill me all up whenever I risk a glance at her.

'Mere attraction. That's all.' –– I tried to convince myself. And yes. I was practically sure there was nothing more. Is there?

She sat down, wore a Panda helmet with a fluorescent bulb attached on it, and worked on something mechanical for which I didn't bother to care because it might suddenly work against me to her annoyance.

"I bet the ground bears your name, too." I murmured and crossed my arms against my chest, avoiding any eye contact that would certainly leave me drowning.

"It goes with it in a one meter radius." She replied and looked at me blankly. I flinched as my heart seemed to have leaped up to my throat as her eyes ambushed mine, "Supposedly, it should."

I fell blank, "I'll just go then.", and started my way back to the dorm. A part of me wanted to go as fast as I could, but another part –– the louder and dominant one –– wished to stay. Like if I wouldn't, it would rip me open and stay behind with no less than Hotaru Imai, no matter what the consequence would have to be.

"But you can stay."

Damn! Why did she have to say that?! I stopped as her voice echoed in my ears, and the words sank on me fast and heavy like a ship sinking in the Pacific Ocean. "But you can stay." I turned back to look at her, partly to check if it wasn't just a hallucination, and I met her gaze. Nice. It was all true!

"If you want." She suddenly cut in my mind-wrestling, and looked down.

I froze for the moment, and that part of me who wished to stay went dominant. The next minute I was already beside her, playing with my little bunny. The 'surging feeling' had filled me up already, figuring out that there couldn't be any way to fight it off.

"Thinking of Mikan?" She suddenly cut me in.

I was thinking of you.. I was stunned. Just too ironic. She smirked, somewhat pleased of herself. "No, I'm not." I muttered, enough for her to hear. I pretended that it didn't bother me, but it did. Of course I loved Mikan, but past tense was indeed a past tense.

"Really?" – That wasn't a question. She straightened up and I did the talking.

"Mikan loves Natsume, Hotaru.", I pointed out and looked back at her. She turned off the light bulb on her helmet and turned to look at me.

"I know." She stared. Her face was blank as usual, but her eyes were deep and hypnotizing – somewhat trying to tell me something.

And then suddenly everything made sense. She's annoying. Vile. Cruel. Vicious. A desperate money-maker. But as she stared, the highlights became surprisingly new...

Okay. I admit it. She was charming. In all those wicked ways of hers. I witnessed her transition from a small, cute, and annoying little girl to a beautiful, intelligent, intimidating – still annoying – well, lady.

This wasn't the first time I fell dumbfounded on her. It was one morning of Spring that I noticed Hotaru Imai – more than the way I had always seen her. Someone different, yet the same. She was – stunning. Her body was slender despite her ravenous diet. Her uniform went well with the curves of her body. Definitely NOT seductive! But truth as I'd seen it, she was beautiful.

"Snap out of it, Nogi."

I woke up to what I've always called reality, and found myself staring at her for longer minutes than I 'd allowed myself. I looked down and pulled myself together. "I loved Mikan." I started. "but I loved my best friend, too."

Her eyes widened playfully and her mouth gaped open as she blurted out, "You love..Natsume?"

"OF COURSE NOT THE ROMANTIC KIND OF LOVE, IMAI!!"

"Oh. I figured.", she smirked, triumphant of her little mockery of her best friend. Since when did she learn to joke around?

I sighed and shook my head. "You were right. They love each other even before they'd admit it to themselves." She blinked and continued to stare at me blankly. "So technically," I stretched casually and smiled, "I gave up on her. No regrets."

She nodded and looked at her work but didn't move to continue what she had been doing. Maybe she was just wondering about something. Something I didn't bother to ask, but struck my curiosity.

It had been a very long time since I gave up on Mikan without telling her what I feel. I thought I'd regret it, but I surprisingly didn't. I still love her, but now only the way she loves me too – as a close friend. That first love, or so I thought that it was, was a very long time ago that now I had already forgotten how it felt. But this Ice Queen reminded me of it... Now everything made sense. I smiled, as the 'surging feeling' inside me had finally been recognized.

"Well." She broke the silence and picked up the screw driver that she must have dropped while we stared. "You have tons of fan girls, anyway." Her voice was calm and cold as in her nature; and had the tiniest tint of boredom. It was too plain, but to me, surprisingly pleasing.

"So?" I shrugged, having her to remind me of those babbling mob of girls who secondly made my life miserable. (Hotaru was the first.)

"They're beautiful. Find another girl." She said those words as if they meant nothing to me, or to her. Like a plain suggestion on whether to eat rice cakes or fluff puffs! I chuckled at the thought. So simple that it even hurt. She raised an eyebrow as she noticed my disgust. "I saw you with one of them."

"Oh, well. She wasn't with he mob.", I said and looked at her. She was right. But that girl was in Elementary, for crying out loud! Besides, they didn't interest me.. "She just needed help."

She fell quiet and somewhat oblivious of her staring. Her eyes confused, but her face cold and blank.

"You know..", I smiled slyly as a ridiculous thought hovered. I leaned closer.

"What." She muttered and moved backwards, unfortunately trapped by the big trunk. And to my surprise, I enjoyed what I as doing.

"..If I hadn't known any better, I would probably think Hotaru Imai's actually jealous."

Her eyes narrowed, and a permanent pout came. "I am."

************ End of Flashback*************

I grinned at the memory as we passed by that same Sakura tree. She talks more when she's jealous, I guess.

"What're you thinking?" She suddenly asked.

"Nothing." I smiled and looked over her. She looked up and stared as me blankly. I raised an eyebrow skeptically and asked, "What?"

"Nothing." She looked down. "Just wondering." I scooped her hand from the toolbox handle and swayed it while we walked. She didn't like it. She always didn't. But that was the only thing I'd win over her without getting hit.

There was silence for a moment before she finally broke it. "They..", she muttered. I paused to listen as she continued, sounding more like talking to herself than talking to me. "They've once asked me how it feels."

"How it feels? To?" I pressed, quite puzzled of the sudden conversation from no less than my ever-too-silent Ice Queen.

She looked up, flushed. "To have you."

"Oh." I blurted out and brought myself to an abrupt stop. She raised an eyebrow and smirked as she pulled me to keep walking. She looked ahead of us and mummbled, "I told them I don't know."

"You don't?" I was surprised as to how it sounded like an objection.

"No." She shook her head. "I do."

************ Flashback*************

HPOV

What it's like to have him? The mere thought was unusual for my ever-too-logical mind. Seemingly impossible for Hotaru Imai to even think of.

We weren't best friends. When I found out what I felt for him, it felt like finding cure for cancer. Like a missing puzzle piece finally fit into place. And everything I did to him, be it the blackmailing or what, felt right – and surprisingly, wrong at the same time.

So when I found he felt the same, it didn't feel magical at all. One word only came from my mouth that night – "Oh." – and I just held his hand.

It's not that I didn't feel special to have him, and for him to have me, but everything just felt kike falling to the right place. Like it all just fit as it happened. Perfect, just as it should've been.

Maybe that is why we didn't show affection that much unlike any other couples in the academy. Like, things remained the way they were, and the only thing added up was that we realized what we feel for each other.

I didn't came looking for love. Love had always been there near me – waiting to be recognized. At least, out loud, I wouldn't need to say all these to him 'cause he's always one glance away. know. I know. It's so not me to talk about these things. But bear with me. The author made me do it for a thousand rabbits! I'll make her pay after this [evil laughs].

Anyway, these things had always been on the top list of "The-things-the-Ice-Queen-would-never-understand". I hadn't found any logical explanation for these, very frustrating. But I later on realized, that these things didn't need any explanations or logical whatever, because they're just the way they are. Like, how on earth could a High School Student invent almost anything that I wish, or a guy like him make animals fall in love with him? – Okay. Not fall in love.

I fought the urge to roll my eyes as I notice the edge on his voice.. 'You don't?' – Of course I knew. I wasn't dumb!

"It's troublesome." I blurted out after a few minutes. He was still swaying my hand on his as we walked closer now to the dormitories.

He chuckled at my response. "Of course.", he muttered. "And a very waste of time, should I say?"

"You have no idea.", I replied, having understood that the fan girls was what he meant.

"It makes me wonder sometimes why Natsume's fan girls – " , he cringed at the last word. "– they don't seem to,er, you know..harass him."

I knew what he meant, he just didn't like the idea of saying it from his mouth that some mob of stupid girls harass him because of his,well,gorgeousness? Ha. At least I didn't have to do that. [smirk.] Anyway, he just found it a bit hard to absorb the vanity that would come out if makes himself describe how girls squeal for even just a fraction of his glance.

"They're the same girls." I said, and almost laugh at the disbelief on his face upon hearing what I said. "Natsume's not around, so they channel their cravings twice at you."

"Cravings." He shook his head and his face distorted in disgust. I smiled curtly at that, but a thought came hovering – something that never bothered me before. Natsume.

No. It's not him per Se. It's absence, and the damn reasons of it – the missions. I remembered him before so concerned of his bestfriend being held into the same situation as his. The danger with it, and everything he would have to lose. The same thing I– well, if and Ice could feel it– dreadfully fear.

I hated the thoughts, and this was the first time I had considered it. The grave possibility. How difficult waiting would have to be. Like my bestfriend. The worries. The great probability of him not coming back. Dang.

"Finally.", he muttered and smiled, partly breaking my reverie. I wasn't paying much attention to where we were already. I was kind of – what was that word?– lost. "D'you want to eat?", he asked as we went for the door of the dormitories. I shook my head and said nothing, hoping my emotions wouldn't give me in.

RPOV

We were already inside the huge dormitory when I realized it was still dinner time. I wasn't hungry, but I considered she was. She surely had a slender body, but Hotaru Imai eats ravenously and never skips meals. So when she shook her head, I knew something was wrong. Something was on her head other than her wonderful brain. Something that bothers her.

"I'm just tired.", she mumbled annoyingly when I finally stopped walking and took a good stare at her.

"Alright.", I muttered. Confused. Annoyed.

We walked through the staircases to her room. I didn't usually walk her to her room, 'cause she never wanted that. She said it wasn't necessary. 'It's not like I'm going to get lost.', her exact words.

When we were already halfway through, I felt her rigid, and unusually closer to me. Her hand moved to my forearm and stayed there as if not letting me go. It puzzled me, but resolved on thinking that it was nothing significant. But when we stopped in front of her room, she didn't let me go. I pursed my lips and waited for her to speak first.

"Promise me.", her voice cold and with a deathly edge. Calm, but almost harassing.

I raised an eyebrow, held he hand clutching on my arm, and faced her. She looked at me, frowning. Then out of nowhere, I got it. Or so I thought.

"I promise I won't go away." I almost chuckled at the absurdity of the mere thought. Why would I go anyway? Well. Except...

"No.", she shook her head like she was shrugging off some thoughts like stuck dirt n her hair. "You can't promise me that. Promise me the other."

My lips parted for moments as I tried to figure her out. 'Why does she have to be one step ahead of me?' – I sighed and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. The missions, eh? So I wasn't the only one who got troubled the thought of it, after all.

I smiled. No, I grinned. But she looked too annoyed to tolerate my coolness towards the matter, so I shrugged off the teasing parts and went back to smiling. "If I leave, I'll come back to you alive."

Obviously, she didn't need to ask me to promise something. She knew me. But doing so, seemed to shake her anxiety away. I crossed my arms and stared at her again. 'This girl never fails to make me think. '

"Where's your bunny?"

'What?' – I shrugged. I was expecting something else you know! Sigh. I glanced away from her gaze, sulking. "He jumped off me while we walked. I don't know why."

"So your arms should be free then." She held my arms and I was pinned down. I almost jump as she caught me off-guard , yet again. Her free hand was soft and gentle against my crossed, tensed, ones. I could picture myself with shocked blue eyes as I turned to look at her. And –––– Hmm. –––– it was that. Her soft, tasty lips touched mine in a flash. A kiss, for crying out loud!

I felt my whole body being nailed in place, arms still folded across my chest, her hand upon them. Her touch wasn't strong., but definitely more than enough to pin me down. I closed my eyes and kissed back, and then she pulled away. Ugh. That's it? My arms fell on my side as she finally turned her back on me to go inside. But then she stopped on mid-step.

I cleared my throat quietly, "You forgot something?"

She turned around and smiled. "It feels right.", she said.

"....." Speechless syndrome attack!!!

"..having you. It feels right.", then she pecked on my flushed cheek, and shut the door on my face.

I shook my head in disbelief. Was that really her? –––– Yeah. Who could possibly be? I sighed and smiled, and walked to my room. Definitely I couldn't sleep right away tonight. Too energetic for that. But I couldn't stay up late, either. So I guessed I would have to just stay on my bed and find sleep. If I couldn't? –––– I would gladly be doing flashbacks.

A/N: Woot Woot! Done! Please REview!!! :)