Author's Note: Hey everyone! It's me, SparklingSoda (: This is my other story from Don't Trust Me. I hope you enjoy this story!
Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice.
Heart Breaker: The Mind Game.
Chapter One:
He was the legendary guy on the Alice Academy campus who was said to have the ability to capture any girl's heart in an instant. He was also said to be a cruel and cold heart-breaker who didn't care who got hurt in the process as he played with girls' hearts. Some argued that the rumor that he was a cruel and cold heart-breaker was untrue. Some agreed that he did indeed have the capability to capture any girl's heart, with the exception of the queen black-mailer in Alice Academy (who by the way was totally immune to any advances made by any guy on her). He was both. And betting on how fast he could win a girl's heart with his friends was his favorite game. Natsume Hyuuga is his name.
Natsume took a swig from his bottle of Coke and leaned back in his seat, listening to his friends talk. Drinks weren't allowed in the classrooms, but everyone broke the rules anyway. "So, have you heard? There was this huge fuss over this new girl transferring over to our class today." Koko asked, spinning his ballpoint pen with his practiced fingers.
Mochu snorted, "So we're getting a new transfer student. So what? We get one almost every year."
Koko lowered his voice, and the rest of the gang leaned forward so as to hear him properly (with Natsume as an exception), "But here's the thing: They say she's Imai's childhood friend, and Imai actually told Umenomiya in the canteen yesterday that she really hoped the new girl would come soon because she missed her!"
They stared at each other for a moment after the dramatic sentence, and Kitsuneme broke the silence first.
"No way! The Hotaru Imai, Black-mailing queen of the century actually has a soft spot for someone?!"
"That is so weird that I can't even visualize it!"
"The cold and ruthless woman actually revealed her feelings in public, and about the new chick, no less!"
Natsume looked at his cronies and wondered why he was friends with such dramatic idiots in the first place. Turning to his best friend Ruka Nogi, he asked, "Did they say anything about her looks?"
Ruka couldn't help chuckling. "That's so you, Natsume. Getting ready to hit on her even before she arrives in Tokyo." He shrugged, "No idea. Imai has some pictures of her though. You could ask her for them if you want," Ruka offered cheekily.
"Very funny, Ruka." And the bell for homeroom period rang.
***
Hotaru frowned as she felt her mobile phone in her pocket vibrate during Math class. Sneaking it out quietly, she looked at the caller ID, all the while praying that Jinno wasn't looking her direction.
Big Dummy calling-
'Big Dummy' was the name she'd set for Mikan's number in her contacts, and the said girl constantly whined about the degrading name and often tried to steal Hotaru's name to change it to 'Hotaru's loved one'.
"Hello?" She whispered into the phone as she picked up the call.
"HOTARU!" The loud voice of her childhood best friend screamed into her ear and Hotaru winced inwardly as she held the phone away from her ear. Glaring at it and hoping the idiot on the other line would feel her deadly aura, Hotaru replied with a standard curt reply.
"You're too noisy, idiot."
"Geez, Hotaru you meanie. I'm at the airport waiting for my plane now!" Mikan exclaimed cheerfully. "Can you meet me at the airport when I reach?"
"No, I can't, dummy. I'm in Math period now and you're breaking off my concentration with this unnecessary phone call. Didn't someone called Narumi-sensei tell you that he would be picking you up at the airport?"
"Yeah, he did. But I'll be happier to see you, Hotaru!"
"Whatever. I sure won't be. My ears would probably be damaged beyond repair once you see me." Hotaru reverted back to her teasing manner which she'd always used with Mikan back when they were ten. "Listen, I've got to go. Jinno caught me. Later." She hung up before Mikan could even respond.
She had lied about the part where Jinno had caught her, but Hotaru didn't feel guilty at all. After all, they were going to see each other in person that night, and phone calls were nothing compared to seeing Mikan face-to-face. And like she'd told Anna last night, she was really looking forward to meeting up with her childhood best friend again.
***
Natsume strolled along the school grounds with the gang (consisting of Mochiage, Ruka, Koko, Yuu and Kitsuneme), feeling boredom take over his entire soul. "Who was the idiot who suggested just taking a walk when we skipped class, anyway?" Natsume demanded, a grouchy expression on his face. "We're just walking around the corridors looking like idiots and we'll probably get caught by some lame ass teacher patrolling around the area.
Kitsuneme quickly averted his eyes away from the crimson-eyed leader and started up an animated conversation with Koko hastily. Ruka couldn't stop a grin from coming to his face. "Well, want to get out of school and head to the arcade at Central Town?" He asked, "And with some luck, you might be able to pick up some pretty girls over there."
Natsume considered the option his best friend had just suggested. "Fine. It's better than going to the main building and hanging out at the library." Yuu's ears turned red at the sentence.
Once they got to the side gate, however, a helicopter landed right down before the gate and in front of them, and the gang froze. A man stepped out of the helicopter, his long mane of silky blonde hair swaying in the breeze. "Shit. It's Narumi." Natsume said in a low voice as he took a step back. He turned his head to the rest of his crew, and ordered, "Let's go." Before he notices us. Unfortunately, just as they'd started running away in the direction of the classroom block, strong arms grasped all of the boys' shoulders and kept them from moving.
"Tsk, tsk." Narumi tutted, walking to the front of the helicopter as he did so. "Playing truancy, boys? You really shouldn't do that."
"Shut up, you perverted teacher!" Mochu threw the words in his teacher's face.
"Take them to the Discipline Master's office, please." Narumi nodded at the strong and muscled bodyguards, who immediately obeyed. "Oh, and Mikan," He called out in the direction of the helicopter, "You can come out already, you know."
Natsume frowned. Is that the new transfer student? He stretched his neck to see the girl who'd moved out of the helicopter, but failed as they were dragged by the neck towards the main building.
"Narumi-sensei, did Hotaru say anything about me?" He vaguely heard the girl say as the boys were hauled away and that was all Natsume needed to confirm his suspicions. This girl knew Hotaru Imai, the notorious black-mailer in school.
"Did I just hear that girl mention Hotaru Imai's name?" Koko looked like he himself couldn't believe it.
Kitsuneme nodded grimly, and the expression did not look right on his almost always cheery face. Ruka rolled his eyes. "What's so bad about the transfer girl having Imai as a friend? It's not like she could turn into a second Hotaru Imai… Or could she?"
"Well, she certainly sounded nice enough." Yuu said uncertainly as the door slammed behind them.
Natsume ignored his friends' chatter for the rest of the time while the DM was lecturing them as his brain did some thinking. I don't care if she sounds nice. She just has to look nice. He nearly shook his head at how superficial he'd sounded. Pity we skipped class. We could have seen how that chick looks like. Whatever. I'll be able to see her face later at lunch or something. She'll probably be sitting next to Imai.
***
Hotaru looked at her watch impatiently, wondering what was taking Mikan so long. Jinno's class had already ended and it was now Japanese class. The second she thought of shooting Luna Koizumi with her Baka Gun for talking so loudly in class, Narumi's head popped in through the classroom door.
"Hello, my sweeties!" He greeted in his usual flowery manner. "We have a new transfer student today, and she just got off the plane from Nagoya!" Throwing his hands out and aiming them at the doorway, he exclaimed, "Let's cheer for Mikan Sakura, our new classmate!"
A pretty brown-haired girl walked into the classroom and turned to everyone with her large and innocent brown eyes. She looked good in her school uniform, and there were several wolf-whistles coming from the boys at the back of the classroom. "Hey!" She smiled brightly at the class, "I'm Mikan Sakura. Nice to meet you!"
"What's your Alice?" Someone from the front row threw the question at her, and Mikan's expression brightened up even further.
"I have the Nullification Alice! Not a very useful Alice, it's true," Mikan admitted with a resigned look on her face, "But at least it can help neutralize the more extreme Alices!"
"Like Natsume Hyuuga's Fire Alice," A boy sniggered, and the students surrounding him turned to give him a glare.
Mikan tilted her head in confusion, "Huh?" But when her eyes landed on the black-haired girl with amethyst eyes in the middle row, her question was totally forgotten. "HOTARU!" She wailed, running towards her childhood friend, and threw her arms around her.
Everyone else except for Narumi gasped.
"So the rumors that she's a childhood friend of Hotaru Imai are true??"
"No way!"
Hotaru said grouchily, although her eyes showed otherwise, "Get away from me, snot-faced girl." By now, Mikan was crying in happiness. She pulled out her Baka Gun and shot Mikan with it three times, then kept it in her bag.
"Alright then, Mikan!" Narumi sang, "Since you seem so attached to Hotaru-chan here, you may sit with her for all classes from now on! Oh, and your partner will be Natsume Hyuuga. I'll introduce you to him tomorrow morning in homeroom period!"
At this, several of the girls immediately made a face. "Eh?! Why must she be Natsume's partner! No fair! Sensei, we want to be his partner too!"
Mikan lifted herself up from the ground and ran to her new seat. "Hey, Hotaru, who's Natsume Hyuuga?" She asked excitedly.
Maybe he's a really nice guy and he'll introduce me to his friends and I'll be able to make more friends! But Hotaru wasn't paying attention to her best friend anymore. Instead, she'd taken out her Japanese language textbook and flipped to the page that Narumi had instructed them to turn to.
"Hotaru…" She wailed, "You're still so cold as ever!"
"Shut up, Mikan. You're too noisy."
***
The aroma of all the delicious food in the school's dining hall made Mikan drool. "What star-ranking are you, Mikan?" One of Mikan's new friends, Anna Umenomiya asked her.
"Narumi-sensei said I was a one-star, and I got this money note that says '30 rabbits'." Mikan squinted at the note.
"Hey, Mi-chan, did you know that your meals and room and laundry stuff are all determined by your star-ranking?" Nonoko Ogasawara chimed in, a gentle smile on her face. Hotaru was stuffing her face with crab brains.
"Eh?! No way! Is that why the stalls are categorized according to star symbols?" The brunette was thoroughly intrigued.
Nonoko and Anna grinned. "Yeah. We're one-stars too! And Hotaru-chan is really amazing! She's a three-star!"
They chattered away as they sat at Hotaru's usual table, and Mikan happily tucked into her food. "Anna, did you get your membership card for the Doki-Doki Cute Fashion club?" Hotaru asked the bubbly pink-haired girl.
"Huh?" Anna stared at Hotaru in confusion, and a hand was placed on their lunch table.
"Hey pretty ladies. Mind if we sit here?" Natsume flashed the four girls a wide smile.
To be continued…
Thanks for sticking with me to the end of this chapter :D If you found this story worthy enough to review, then please do! Till the next update!
-SparklingSoda-