Hyuuga Aoi is up to something. It's about setting that arrogant, stubborn brother of hers with some girl she met in an online game. Well, you see, she faked her gender and used a male character in the game. Now that problems have arisen, she'll have her brother to set things right for her and to meet up with this mysterious 'girl' face to face.

Hey guys, I was inspired by this Sword Art Online Novel version and therefore, the upcoming new story... Well, basically, it kinda focus more on a normal teenage school life (for now)... For anyone who doesn't know SAO, well, go watch it if you like romance-adventure genre of an anime. The novel is even more awesome!

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Chapter 1

"How about Sumire-nee? She likes you!" Aoi pouted, putting up her best puppy eyes in front of this impossible man who appears to be her brother for the past 17 years.

Natsume just exhaled, forcefully, expressing somewhat like a mocking smirk, or rather, his impatience.

He doesn't have time for dating, and so he thought, let alone finding a girl who is the leader of his own 'fanclub' to settle down with. Nope, he's anything but a player. It's not that he has no interest in the fairer sex. It's just that he has had himself attached, well, just privately, with a certain brunette from his school.

When he says 'privately', it means the girl doesn't know about his hopeless one-sided crush on her.

And when he mentions 'doesn't have time for dating', it means not to date anyone else but her.

Not that he'll ever admit that to anyone, not to that girl in subject and never to his busybody sister, ever.

"I don't get you. Nii-san has always been the center of topic among 80% of the conversations ever been carried out in our school, particularly among the girls." Aoi narrowed one of her red ruby eyes, looking at her brother cynically, "You do like girls, don't you?"

Ignoring the second question, Natsume playfully replied as he got up from the couch and reached for the stairs, "Thanks to the fact that I'm still single. Or else the other 20% wouldn't even exist."

That nerves. He's implying that the whole school would have nothing else to talk about if he ever gets himself attached…. publicly.

"Just tell me what criteria of a girl you're looking for!" Aoi increased her volume so that Natsume, who's leaving could hear her loud and clear.

That did stop him from stepping further. "Find someone like that girl… oh yeah, what's her name…" Without turning around, Natsume placed his right hand under his chin, as if he was really taking an effort to think, "That popular character from SAO…"

"Asuna!"

"Right, yeah her. Find her, in real person. And I'll marry her on the spot." He joked and proceeded to the stairs.

That got some anger out of Aoi, "Nii-san! You know Asuna is fictional! Though since the release of that anime, she has been the dream girl of all the guys around… But, but you don't even remember her name!"

"Exactly." was the only thing she got from the obnoxious man.

Aoi pressed her delicate lips to one side and let out a frustrated grunt.

She can't set her brother up with someone fictional… Or can she?

A wide smile immediately brightened up her palm-sized face.

If he wants someone from an online game, I'll give him that exact someone.

She wasn't called the queen of online games for nothing.

"What are you doing?" Natsume looked down at the brunette who was squatting at the corner of the garden near the gate of entrance. In fact, there's a guard looking over from afar suspiciously, since coupling isn't allowed in the school compound. Well, they weren't exactly coupling but the guard might think otherwise.

It wasn't like Natsume was stalking her. He just happened to pass by the school gate and saw her there. During recess period.

Okay, what the heck. He was searching for her. He went to every single corner of the school that he can think of hoping to 'pass by' Mikan Sakura, that particular girl who has been on his mind since… well, she has always been on his mind for quite some time already.

"Remember we're supposed to be looking for snails? For that experiment later on." Mikan answered, without looking up. She has heard this voice for countless times, enough for her to recognize its owner right away.

She spotted one crawling creature, but hesitated to jump on it and grab that slimy thing.

Cockroach and bugs, those are which she can handle. But this slimy creature in front of her… She felt like something's stopping her from picking that fellow up into the container she was holding.

The container she was holding was no ordinary container. It looks like a present all in all, wrapped with gift wrappers. Mikan thought that if she was to separate the poor fellow from its home to fulfill its mission of granting Mikan an A in her biology, he'd rather live in a pretty house than an old, poorly conditioned container.

Should've accepted Koko's help when she was offered one just a while ago.

She thought she was capable of overcoming her fear this time.

Okay, you can do it, Mikan. Just hold the shell with your two fingers and swiftly drag it into the container. Just, just don't look at it!

Mikan was holding her breath, resisting hard from screaming aloud. She has almost forgotten that she was not alone since she was so focused on the snail.

Until she forcefully turned her head to the left in attempt not to look at the snail she just caught…in…her…hand…

She stared into a pair of mesmerizing red orbs, or rather was stared by a pair in such close distance that she couldn't even give a rough estimation of how close their faces were.

He was making her face steamy hot, that's all she could come out with at the moment.

Out of her natural reflex, her hands came to push Natsume away, to regain her space, entirely forgetting that she was still holding in her right hand…

When the snail was finally in her view, particularly in her hands, she threw it away and screamed her life out of her lungs.

That caught the guard's attention. And Natsume has the feeling that he would march here in any seconds upon hearing a female's scream.

He could be accused of sexual harassment or something!

"What's going on?" The guard asked, panting as he arrived at the 'crime scene'.

Mikan's face blushed. And Natsume found himself in an uneasy situation.

"There. All nice and comfy." The guard patted the container which was labeled as the snail's new home.

There are a couple of small, hardly-seen holes on top to allow the entrance of air and also some leaves inside.

"Thank you!" Mikan gave the guard a huge, warm smile.

If anyone says that that smile of hers didn't affect the guard one bit, he would probably be lying. The guard was caught speechless, totally allowing himself from enjoying the view of this beautiful face in front of him.

Natsume shrugged, trying as hard to resist himself from…, "Everything's fine now. We should be on our way."

He placed his hand around Mikan's shoulder possessively in effort of dragging her away from the guard, earning himself a questioning look from his captive in return, "Where to?"

She was holding tighter to the container in her hands, but she was unaware of the reasons behind.

Was she… nervous? She could hear her heart pumping. Was this all because of the weight of Natsume's hand on her shoulder, of the heat radiated from his body and of the rare closeness between them?

Mikan shook her head and focused on the container in her hand.

It must be the snail. The snail has got her adrenaline rushing all over. That must be it.

The guard has already left for the guardhouse.

Just then, she saw a familiar shadow arriving at the gate. Fortunate for her, the shadow didn't see her.

It's no other than her guardian, her non-blood-related brother, Tsubasa.

Tsubasa was adopted by her grandpa even before she was born. Mikan has been calling Tsubasa 'nii-chan' since she can remember. One thing about Tsubasa is his protectiveness towards his little sister.

"Oh gosh!" Mikan couldn't help but exclaim.

It caught Natsume's attention and he turned to see the figure, who was already asking the guard a couple of questions, probably something about where he could find his little sister.

The guard pointed to the direction of their classroom.

Tsubasa thanked him and was just about to head towards the three of them, Mikan, Natsume and the snail in a pretty box.

Mikan panicked. She couldn't let Tsubasa see her with a boy, holding a present.

With Tsubasa's protectiveness over his little sister, he could arrive at who-knows-what conclusion at the instant sight of Natsume with her.

And the present-lookalike snail's new home isn't going to help either.

It was as if she was about to give Natsume a gift!

Or it could be Natsume giving her some sort of present at some place where there were just the two of them. Which was less likely to happen, ever.

Mikan smiled wryly at the thought.

And then, swiftly, she grabbed Natsume's wrist and pulled him to the tree beside. It was a large tree so its trunk was only wide enough to hide one of them, if you're looking from a 180 degree angle.

There was no time. Tsubasa was already strolling over, fast.

Mikan held her breath and hope that her brother wouldn't see her.

She pushed Natsume towards the tree with his back against the bark, quite harshly since she was in hurry, and closed the gap between them.

Natsume had his eyes widened, he wasn't expecting this sudden invitation at all. Definitely not from the innocent Mikan Sakura in front on him.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, and pressed herself nervously towards him as close as possible, with one of her hand on his chest and the other still holding the troublesome container.

Then, she watched as Tsubasa walked by. When she was sure that her brother was nowhere to be seen, she stepped behind, still looking at the direction in which her brother went.

She was so distracted that she didn't see a pair of strong arms reaching for her shoulders, pinning her down against the trunk. A gasp escaped her lips.

There was Natsume, gazing intensely into her eyes. She wondered what kind of situation they were in.

What's with him?

Why is he looking at me like this?

Why is he moving… closer?

And she panicked some more. He was closing the distance between them this time, and there's no hint of him stopping.

It's only a matter of time before he closes the gap between them-

Mikan shut her eyes tightly and placed the present or alternatively, the snail's new home in between their lower face, blocking Natsume from anything he was about to attempt.

If there were some audiences around, they would easily arrive to some really weird assumptions, they could even come out with stories and new gossips to talk about.

With Natsume pinning her down against a tree and Mikan holding a present after she has confessed to him. And they were about to k.i.s.s.i.n.g. under a tree.

Everything was too romantic to be true and logical.

Mikan opened her eyes to peek, without lowering her defense, which was the 'present' she was holding.

Natsume hasn't left her. He was in the same position, just that his face was further away from just now. He seemed to be looking at elsewhere, as if he was searching for something.

"I don't get it. What's the fun of pushing someone into a tree and looking that way." He didn't stop 'looking for that something'.

"Huh?" Mikan blurted, filled with questions.

"You pushed me into this tree before looking that side. What for? There's nothing to see over there." He said and granted her some personal space. He couldn't help but noticed the sigh Mikan was letting out the moment he stepped back. She had her free hand placed right on the position of her heart.

There was a moment of silence before he finally ran over his messy yet stylish hair with his right hand.

"We should be going." He said.

Mikan blinked twice, she was still trying to absorb what was going on, "Going to…. What? I thought you were about to kiss me!" She almost shouted.

Only to be faced by that smirk on Natsume's face which she has so far seen too many times, "Dream on." was his simple reply.

And he walked away, leaving the slightly stunned Mikan behind.

She got herself altogether and followed him.

That's right, what was she saying…. Natsume would never want to kiss her. He was probably just curious of her sudden actions, which probably made no sense since she assumed that he didn't know that she was avoiding her brother. He wasn't trying to kiss her. He was just looking at what she was looking by putting himself in her position.

She peeked at Natsume's face. It was his usual serious expression but somehow, she sensed something like disgust in him…? Gosh, she must have been that disgusting just by suggesting that he wanted to kiss her.

Mikan narrowed her lips into a thin line. Somehow, she felt disappointment but couldn't figure out the reason behind.

And Natsume mentally slapped himself. He was disgusted alright.

With himself that was.

Should've kissed her when he had the chance.

"Tsubasa, I didn't know you brought me….snails…" Mikan looked at the larger container on her seat, trying as hard to sound happy.

She doesn't call her brother 'nii-chan' in school, at least not in front of her classmates.

"You said you needed snails. I know you hate them. So I brought you some." Tsubasa simply explained.

"By some you mean, for my whole class…" Mikan stated wryly.

"Well, in case someone asks you on a snail hunt, which I know you'll be too helpful to decline one but clearly filled with fear to go on one."

"Gee… Thanks…" Mikan replied wryly once again, still staring unbelievably at the army of snails which were about to conquer her seat in no time…

So much for keeping her phobia a secret in front of her classmates. That was why she chose to be alone when she was planning to catch one on her own.

"Anything for my girl!" Tsubasa announced cheerfully and patted her head.

The crowd unavoidably gasped.

That got Natsume's brow twitched. He had a full access to the whole scene since he was sitting right beside her.

What's with this guy exactly? For sure Natsume has already known that he's Mikan's brother, but isn't he a little bit too close to her?

You don't see Natsume patting Aoi on the head and bringing her a bunch of snails when she doesn't really need them…

The corner of his lips twitched as well.

Well, this is irritating to watch.

Luckily for him, Tsubasa was only allowed to visit her for less than 5 minutes, since class was about to start.

"I guess I should be on my way, I'll wait for you at home with your dinner okay!" With that, he dashed out of the class.

The moment Tsubasa was nowhere to be seen, the class began to roar, in exact, the class's girl population began to roar.

"Mikan! You never tell me that you have a boyfriend!"

"He's Mikan brother, stupid. Our senior who was also a student here years ago!"

"Mikan, you HAVE to tell me your brother's number!" Someone shouted.

"So that's you brother! He's hot!"

"Oh my gosh, he cooks too?"

Sumire, who pushed all the other girls aside and stood right in front of Mikan, held her dear hands, "What does he do?" She asked, as if Tsubasa has just made into her to-be-hunt-husband-list.

Mikan blinked, "You mean his job?"

She successfully earned herself a 'duh' look from Permy the Queen.

And she stammered, "Erm… He- He's self-employed…" Mikan just briefly answered.

Sumire turned over to Natsume and claimed, "Owh, of course Natsume-sama is still my first choice!"

Natsume just rolled his eyes and pretended that he didn't hear anything while the girls continued to ambush her.

Sitting beside Mikan can be bliss and also pain in the ears sometime. Well, normally, sitting anywhere can be a pain in the ears, given his popularity, thanks to all the screaming fan girls. But this time, Mikan's the center of attention of his fanclub leader. What a scene.

And he obviously hasn't recovered from just now… Was he mad? Giving a shot of kissing Mikan Sakura? That wasn't like him. He knew for long that he feels something different towards the girl. But he hadn't felt an urge to kiss her that strong before.

He cursed himself mentally for being so stupid. For a moment back there, when Mikan initiatively pushed him against the tree, he really thought that she was going to do something. He cursed himself some more for looking forward to so. When he noticed that she was looking at his brother all the time. Everything finally cleared up.

For a moment, he actually thought that Mikan has a thing for him as well, which still thrilled him at that thought.

Tsubasa, a senior from the school as popular as himself during the years back then, has never liked him. Mikan mentioned to Natsume before that it was probably because he was the guy she talks about the most in front of her brother. Then, she blushed as if she has just confessed something embarrassing.

"No, we're not blood-related siblings." Mikan stated carefully, but it was loud enough for Natsume to absorb.

That caught his attention. He's always thought that Tsubasa is Mikan's real brother. That completely altered where Tsubasa stood in his perspective.

It irked him way too much that that bastard has the right to… to court Mikan, even though he claims to be her brother.

And it irked him even more that Tsubasa has the advantage of being with Mikan everyday rightfully since they're living in the same house. For goodness's sake, they grow up together and Natsume has only known her since…. since they were 10!

He found himself in a mental competition with Mikan's brother.

"Let's see…. Brunette…. He wants a darn brunette…" Aoi mumbled as she scanned through her laptop screen.

She was emerging herself in an online game, which was similar to the one her brother mentioned, using a male character.

She can't believe she was really looking for a mate for his brother online.

"Too… weak… Too masculine, too….."

Then, she spotted a brunette female character that looks just like the fictional Asuna.

"That's her alright!" She exclaimed and proceeded to get to know 'her'.

Well, to Aoi's simple logic, a brunette in the game would most probably be a brunette in real life. Which makes no sense. But you can always dye your hair into one so that wouldn't be a problem…

Tsubasa's eyes widened. There's a guy sending a friend request to his female character.

Well, he coughed awkwardly. Luckily, there was no one else in the room. Mikan was still in school and grandpa was out.

He was a self-employed webpage designer. He designs website for individual or party who wanted something extraordinary for their companies. And Tsubasa was the right person to look for. Besides working his head off in website designs, he often looks for inspiration in online games. In fact, all types of so. This one is the one he has just started out with. And he used a female character just for fun. He even set the character's appearance to be like his lovely sister. Frankly, he thought he was being over fanatic over his sister but who cares.

He accepted the friend request using his account and the fellow over the other side of the Internet immediately started to get to know 'her'.

Well, this is interesting. Wonder if this is what they call 'Love at first sight over the Internet.'

End

I guess you guys can see where this is heading... haha Nevertheless, I'll try my best to impress.

Drop me some review so I'll know where this story is heading okay... =/ Not really sure if this is a good one. Thanks!