Sorta short. Sorry. Next chapter is longer. W00t w00t. Lol, anyways, I hope you enjoy this. Any grammar mistakes? Tell me. Review please, it's motivation! I have the next chapter ready, and I'll upload it in a few days, but remember. Reviews=motivation. Writers, you understand the feeling. Peace out, y'all and enjoy this.

NOTE: Name is in Japanese order. Therefore, surnames are first, given names are last.

NOTE 2: 'Abe' in this story is not pronounced 'Ay-be', I'm positive. It's a Japanese surname.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice.

Damnit!

Mr. Abe kept rambling on. And on. Tsubasa felt like pressing his fingers on his temples and circling it, trying to block of Abe. Holy shit, did this guy ever shut up? Or not act like he was some superior God?

'Cause, hell he wasn't. Abe was far from that

"…so therefore, Sama has granted permission for you for a trial filming…"

Whoa, backtrack. Rewind. Pause. Play. Trial filming. Okay, so Abe wasn't a good-for-nothing loser right now. Deliverer of good news for the day? Mr. whoop-de-doo Abe. But Tsubasa stopped himself from mentally happy dancing. There was always a catch with Sama…

"…task for you."

Of course.

"What is it?" Tsubasa questioned impatiently, shoving his hands in the tailored trousers that he had to trade in his good ol' jeans for. Mr. Abe (or Mr. Ape, Tsubasa sometimes immaturely called him) smiled sardonically. Fudge you, man.

"There's this exceptional cameraman. Great guy, young age. Fantastic, jumping onto the industry right away, ripe from prestigious high school. The thing is, Andou, this guy has retired. It shocked the business! Wasted talent, Sama thinks. He wants you to recruit her for your trial filming."

"Uh, sure." He shrugged, staring off absentmindedly. That was easy enough. It was probably some artsy, angsty guy who stepped away from the spotlight to spend his days at Starbucks and filming weird screamo videos. He knew the type. Hell, he met the type. Grumbling, but easily convinced. Or bribed. And hell, Hyouzan Pictures could and would do that.

Which made his job much easier.

"So, you'll have to travel Nagoya at the crack of dawn tomorrow, Andou." Mr. Abe thumbed through some green binder, staring at it hard. As if. Tsubasa had a feeling that he just did that to look busy. He was just a sad old geezer who was stuck in his position, never rising higher in Hyouzan after his long years there. Just stuck with a handsome fellow like him. "Everything's covered."

"'Kay. So just convince the dude to work with me?"

"Simple at that. Are you sure you can handle it, my boy?"

Shut up, asshole, Tsubasa hissed in his mind. "Positive."

Mr. Andou slid the same green binder across his musty old desk, with an embossed card paper clipped on it, with the words HARADA M. scrawled in blue writing. Tsubasa snatched it up, giving a forced smile to Ape before striding out of the office, a goofy grin on his face.

Tsubasa Andou shivered, jamming his gloved hands in his jeans. Why didn't he wear sweatpants? Why? Sure, they were sort of unstylish, but at least they were comfy and goddamn warm. It was below zero and just freezing cold. He tugged on his beanie hat as he heard the whir of the train. Finally. After thirty minutes of near-frostbite, the (hopefully) temperate train came. Fumbling with the handle of his duffle, he tugged it, speedily showing his ticket and snatching it back after it was ripped. Tsubasa took a compartment, a quartet that no one took for the whole ride. He sunk into the cushion of the chair, sighing in content. Thank God. Warmth.

The train chugged along for two hours, Tsubasa on his email on his smartphone for half of the ride. The other half was spent half-concious, wondering how easy it'd be to coax Misaki Harada into his trial filming. This was his big chance, a chance to prove to Sama and freakin' Mr. Ape that yes, he was worth Hyouzan.

When the train squeaked to a stop, announcing that they have arrived in Nagoya, and that it was a tad bit chilly, Tsubasa scoffed and hauled his duffle bag out of the compartment and into the harsh winter wind. Flipping his hood on, he continued out of the Nagoya train station and slipped into the chauffeured car Hyouzan arranged for him.

"Cold day, eh?" The driver commented halfway to Misaki's house. Tsubasa scoffed.

"A little."

They arrived there. It was a moderate condo apartment, brown bricks towering up to the tenth floor. Tsubasa thanked the driver and stumbled up the stairs of the apartment. Unfortunately (Tsubasa cursed), there was no lobby, and he was stuck with an oldschool buzzer. Scrolling with the hard-from-the-cold buttons, he found HARADA and tapped in the buzzer number.

"Hello?" A slightly feminine voice rung out gruffly. Great. This guy was probably gay. Hooray.

"Uh, hey. This is Tsubasa Andou from Hyouzan Pictures. I'm sure you've received an email or two about participating in the company's future projects. Can you let me in?" he rambled on, using his 'professional voice'.

"No."

Wonderful.

"I just need an hour of your day."

"Oh, just take that hour and spend it in a shelther, sir." The voice spat back. I sighed, exasperated. One of those non-heterosexuals trying to be tough. But really, it felt like I was in a freezer with ice cubes biting down on me.

"Listen here, big guy. If I freeze to a coma out here, Hyouzan Pictures will be holding you responsible. And let me tell you, it's not a pretty thing."

The voice in the speaker took his sweet time considering this before replying back, rather reluctantly.

"It's the third floor, number eight."

Tsubasa grinned triumphantly as he swung the creaky door open and rode up the elevator.

He rapped on the door, one knock at a millisecond. When the door swung open abruptly, slapping against the wall, it felt like the door slapped him.

To say he was surprised was an understatement. One freakin' understatement.

It was a girl.

God. He cursed Mr. Ape, that bastard. He kept mentioning guy. Guy, guy, guy. Couldn't he let it slip, a simple noun or such, that Misaki was a girl? Really, Misaki was a unisex name. He mentally slapped himself. C'mon. Ape said cameraman. It was the twenty-first century, it was time to change suffixes according to genders. Camerawoman! Jeez.

The girl leaned against the door, arms crossed and pinkish red hair crackling with electricity. Her eyes flickered with something Tsubasa didn't quite know. He got over his initial shock and spoke.

"Harada Misaki. Good morning." Tsubasa greeted politely. Harada immediately scoffed loudly, still not inviting him in.

"Good morning. Okay, sure. I woke up about fifteen minutes ago. I'm still not fully conscious, and you stroll in, being all proud and mighty that you're gonna get me to work for your company. You do know the answer, right?" Her eyes narrowed, as if scrutinizing him. Tsubasa repressed the urge to roll his eyes and thrust his chin up smugly.

"I am here to negotiate with you, Harada-san."

"Cut the shit, man. I prefer you not call me anything." Misaki snapped back defiantly. Her figure was still leaning against the door. He groaned, looking up to the dulling light of the third floor hallway. This was going to be a toughie. But no problem. If there was one thing Tsubasa Andou enjoyed, it was a good old fashioned challenge. Bring it on, Harada. Oh yeah, and screw you, Ape.

"Are you going to invite me in?" He tilted his head to the side, smiling. His blue-black bangs skimmed him eyebrows. Misaki kicked the door as she walked away.

"Walk in before it closes." She called out as she sauntered towards a recliner. Tsubasa swiftly slipped in, dropping his duffle bag on the floor ungraciously and squirming out of his heavy winter gear before sitting opposite of Misaki, whose eyes challenged him silently.

Bring it.

"If you didn't know yet, the name's Tsubasa Andou. I work for Hyouzan, and they admired your work from the start. Since your early retirement eight months ago, they have been looking for someone with a talent as exceptional as yours. I have been given the task of a trial filming, because well…I'm an aspiring producer and filmmaker. So, I'd like to discuss what it'd take for you to work on a couple of projects back in Tokyo."

Misaki rolled up the sleeves of her vermillion shirt, a bizarre smile on her face. She leaned forward, gazing into Tsubasa's eyes with a glint of something he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. He held his breath. He mentally rewrote that speech a handful of times on the train ride.

"Hyouzan is willing for you-"

She held up her hand, a universal sign to just hold on, shut up. Tsubasa scowled, clamping his mouth shut. Damn. Why'd he do that? Her demanding demeanour? He listened though, as she parted open her pursed lips, the same peculiar smile twitching on her lips. She leaned forward even more, inches away from his face.

"Recognize me?"

Two words made a brow raise and his mind groaning. He didn't want to be in the apartment for another hour anymore than the pink-haired girl wanted to. He lazily flipped through his imaginary people-book. Nope. Harada Misaki wasn't 'recognizable.'

"No." There was a raise in his voice, like a question. Misaki laughed sharply.

"Really."

"Nope." He popped the 'O'. He opened his mouth to switch back to the subject of Hyouzan when Misaki beat him to it.

"I was in middle school with you. Remember? I sat in front of you? I can't believe you forgot about the girl you called Metal mouth for the three years of hell, you bastard."