Author's Note: Hello, fellow Gakuen Alice fans! Welcome to my first ever published fanfiction. I'd like to warn you in advance that this is going to be an insanely long story that will strongly focus on Natsume and Mikan's relationship through interconnecting arcs rather than one central conflict/resolution. Basically, I'm sticking every fun scene or scenario possible into one long story that will cover all three years of high school for our favorite group of mischief makers. This story is set in an AU without Alices or magic or supernatural forces of any kind. This is my heartfelt interpretation of Tachibana-sensei's beloved characters in a world of my own imagination. I hope that you'll join me on this journey and enjoy yourself along the way! (Please note that constructive criticism, especially grammar related, is both welcomed and highly encouraged.)
Chapter 1: Like We've Never Been Apart
Wednesday, June 1st, 2016
Although Makikawa Middle School only had a graduating class of 50 students, the atmosphere wasn't lacking any of the expected pomp and circumstance. Pink crepe paper flowers draped the white washed campus like the sakura blossoms that adorned the trees. Enormous, colorful banners hung above the doorways congratulating the graduating class, almost identical to the ones that decorated the adjacent elementary and high school buildings. Flags lined the walkways and confetti littered the ground. Several signs painted with bold red arrows and the words "End-of-Year Ceremonies" pointed the way to the large double-gym that stood opposite the three school buildings.
With one last tick, the clocks hanging in the empty classrooms struck 3 p.m. Before the dismissal bell even finished ringing, the gym doors burst open as waves of students poured out onto the pavement in search of summer freedom. Joyous whoops and hollers filled the air as friends hugged, high-fived, and made merry, releasing their pent-up energy. Slower to make their way into the bright sunshine were the parents and families who had come to enjoy their children's commencement festivities. From the half of the gymnasium shared by the middle and high school classes emerged an elderly man in a simple gray omeshi, hands clasped behind his back as his squinty eyes peered through the crowd in search of his only granddaughter.
"Jii-chan!"
Sakura Nonno's wrinkled face drew back in a wide smile as his pride and joy bounded her way towards him, waving her white diploma aloft, her face beaming with unbridled excitement.
At 14 years old, Sakura Mikan was still the bright, incorrigible, energetic girl she had been the first day her grandfather had dropped her off for kindergarten. Throughout her three years of middle school, she had traded in her straight and narrow figure for modest feminine curves, though her active lifestyle in the small rural town had kept her slim and fit. She had given up her signature pigtails when she entered middle school in favor of letting her long caramel tresses hang loose, the strands by her face pulled back with a simple white ribbon that she kept tied in a knot rather than a bow at the back of her head.
"Jii-chan, I did it! I'm officially a high school student now!" Mikan's hug nearly knocked her grandfather to the ground, but she managed to steady them both before laughing and rubbing her grandfather's bald head. Sakura-ojii-san chuckled.
"Congratulations, dear one. Your mother and father are smiling down on you just as proud as I am." Glancing beyond her, he winked mischievously and said, "I see some others who I'm sure would like to congratulate you as well."
Mikan turned and squealed with delight when she spotted three young teenagers standing apart from the crowd, casually looking her way. Mikan was on them in a heartbeat, throwing her arms around a girl with short dark hair who made no move to return the hyper gesture.
"Hotaru! Natsume! Ruka-pyon! You made it!" she exclaimed, leaning back from her best friend to look at the two boys standing with her.
Dressed in casual summer attire, the three stood out against the sea of students clad in matching light blue uniforms. Imai Hotaru, Nogi Ruka, and Hyuuga Natsume lived in Tokyo, but had spent each summer in Makikawa since they were 5-years-old. With snow-white skin, brilliant violet eyes, and ebony hair always kept neatly trimmed in a crisp pixie-cut, elegance and refinement defined Hotaru's every look and movement. The rare occasions that she smiled highlighted her delicate beauty. Beside her stood her boyfriend of three years, Nogi Ruka, who smiled through long golden bangs that framed bright sapphire eyes. Boyishly handsome and notoriously kind, he had been compared to a real life fairytale prince since he was small. His best friend stood beside him, hands casually shoved in his pockets, a stark contrast to Ruka's princely glow. Hyuuga Natsume was easily as handsome or more than Ruka, but with jet-black hair and mesmerizing garnet eyes, his good looks lent themselves more to the image of a dark knight than a kindly prince.
"Obviously, baka. Do you have to be so loud about it?" Rather than taking offense at Hotaru's harsh reply, Mikan merely beamed back at the girl, clearly not ready to come down from her emotional high yet. She considered it a sign that her stoic best friend was, in fact, pleased to see her that Hotaru hadn't made any move to resist her tight bear hug.
"We just got here. Everyone else is at home unpacking, but they let us leave to come greet you. I'm sorry we didn't make it in time for the ceremony," Ruka explained, reaching out to give Mikan a quick hug which she returned warmly.
"That's okay. The ceremony was pretty boring anyway. I'm just thrilled to be done with middle school and moving on to high school!" Mikan declared as she bounced on her toes and tightly squeezed the diploma in her hands.
"I'm amazed they let someone as stupid as you graduate."
"Natsume!" Mikan narrowed her eyes at the taller boy and promptly whacked him on the arm with her thick roll of paper. He didn't bat an eyelash. After only a moment, Mikan's glare reverted back to an excited grin as she leapt on the boy, throwing her arms around his neck in a tight embrace. "I don't even care if you're being a jerk right now. I'm just happy you're here!"
Natsume left one hand in his pocket while the other wrapped around her middle, casually returning her friendly gesture. His face relaxed into a faint smile, but the neutral expression returned when Mikan leaned back to look at him, removing her arms from around his neck to rest her hands on his shoulders. "Eh, you've gotten taller again, Natsume!" She scrunched up her nose and said, "Poo! And I was so excited that I gained another three inches this year."
Natsume smirked down at her. "Give up, Polka Dots. You'll never catch up." Mikan opened her mouth to retort (more because of the nickname than the reference to their irreversible height difference), but before she could, Natsume's arm pulled her closer and he glanced down meaningfully before commenting slyly, "Don't worry though, you've grown bigger than me in other ways."
"Eh?" Mikan blinked. Looking down between them where their chests were pressed against one another, she quickly caught his drift. Instantly, a dark blush colored her cheeks and she pushed him away with a hard shove. "Pervert!"
Natsume's smirk only widened at her reaction before he caught the amused look on Ruka's face and schooled his features coolly.
Hotaru rolled her eyes. "Come on, baka. You've left your grandfather over there by himself and I want to greet him." Without waiting for a reply, Hotaru headed in Sakura-ojii-san's direction. Mikan stuck her tongue out at Natsume childishly before skipping next to her best friend and looping their arms together.
Ruka laughed lightly, pleased to see that Mikan hadn't changed too much during the school year. It made him happy to see the two girls walking side-by-side again, knowing that despite her cool demeanor, his girlfriend always missed Mikan very much during their nine months apart.
Natsume and Ruka followed a few steps behind the girls, careful to avoid bumping into the other families milling about. Halfway back to her grandfather, Mikan heard a familiar male voice call her name. She stopped walking to see who was hailing her, Hotaru halting next to her as Mikan still had their arms linked. Behind them, Natsume's eyes narrowed as he recognized a lanky boy with sandy colored hair and cerulean blue eyes weaving his way through the crowd, seemingly in a hurry.
"Mikan-chan!"
When the boy reached them, he leaned over to catch his breath.
"Hey, Shinji-kun," Mikan greeted him with a pretty smile.
Straightening up to look at her, Shinji replied, "I'm so glad I caught you before you left." Swallowing, he glanced at the trio standing with her before asking self-consciously, "Could we talk for a sec? Alone?"
"Sure," Mikan replied without hesitation. Releasing Hotaru's arm, she waved over her shoulder as she told her friends, "Be right back, guys. Don't leave without me!" Their eyes followed her as she and the boy named Shinji moved to the other side of the small quad away from the crowd.
"Bet you ¥10,000 he's finally going to confess to her," Hotaru offered, amusement dancing in her eyes and around her lips.
Ruka grinned over his girlfriend's head. "That's a sucker bet." His eyes slid sideways to observe the tight set of Natsume's lips, a telltale sign that the teen was displeased.
Over the eight previous summers that they'd vacationed in Makikawa, they'd come across many of Mikan's classmates while out and about in the village and its surrounding countryside, but they hadn't made friends with any of them. Natsume had rarely even bothered to remember their names when Mikan introduced them. However, all three of the city kids had taken notice of Akawa Shinji over the years for the simple reason that he was obviously smitten with Mikan. Their naïve friend had never seemed to notice the way the boy's eyes would follow her whenever she was nearby or blush when she smiled at him. Until now, he'd never made a direct move on her and Mikan had never shown any special interest in him. Despite knowing this, Natsume felt himself tense slightly as he watched the scene taking place 50 feet away.
When Shinji stopped and turned to face her, Mikan asked sweetly, "What's up, Shinji-kun?"
Shinji had been in the same class as Mikan on and off since the start of elementary school, which wasn't unusual with only two classes per grade level. He was a nice boy, a bit on the quiet side, but polite and always willing to help. Mikan didn't consider them close by any means, but she liked having him around at school. Unfortunately for Shinji, she felt that way about most of their classmates. Cheeks tinted pink, he suddenly bowed, surprising her.
"Mikan-chan, I like you! Please go out with me!" Although his voice trembled slightly, he didn't stutter or stumble through the words. Caught off guard, Mikan blinked without saying anything. Sensing her uncertainty, Shinji straightened and looked her determinedly in the eyes, hands balled into fists at his sides.
"I'm sorry if this seems sudden, but I've liked you for a very long time and I swore that I would tell you before we reach high school, so this is my last chance. Will you be my girlfriend?"
Seeing the boy's earnestness, Mikan's eyes filled with gentle warmth. Shinji's breath hitched in his throat.
"Thank you, Shinji-kun. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that I don't share your feelings. However, please know that I accept them and am truly honored that you would consider me worthy of your affection." Mikan's steady gaze and kind tone left no room for doubt that her appreciation was sincere. Shinji took a deep breath, then let it out in a rush. Smiling, he bowed to her once again.
"Thank you for listening to my selfish request."
"Anytime," Mikan grinned, bowing quickly before turning with a wave. "See you next term!"
Hurrying back to her friends, Mikan saw that her grandfather had joined them. Smiling, he asked her, "What did that young man want with my dear one?"
Mikan gave her grandfather a carefree smile and answered honestly, "He wanted to know if I would be his girlfriend." She didn't pay attention to Hotaru saying, "You owe me," or to Ruka replying indignantly, "I never agreed to the bet!"
"Oh? And did you grant his request?" Sakura-ojii-san asked with a twinkle in his eyes.
Mikan stood up straight and placed a hand against her forehead in mock salute. "No, sir, Jii-chan, sir!"
Chuckling, Sakura-ojii-san turned away from his granddaughter to address her friends. "I gratefully accept your invitation to dinner. I'm going to have a lie down back at the temple first, so I leave Mikan-chan in your care until then. Please give my regards to your mother, Hotaru-chan, and yours, too, Natsume-kun."
Hotaru nodded and gave the kindly old man a small smile. Natsume respectfully replied, "Yes, sir."
"Actually, Jii-chan, I'd like to change out of my uniform before heading to their house, so we'll walk home with you."
The old man smiled, increasing the crinkles around his eyes. Hotaru bluntly chimed in, "It's hot, so I'm going home. Mikan, bring your swim suit." Turning on her heal, she headed back towards the campus' open gate. Mikan whined at the girl's refusal to go home with her first, but Hotaru didn't even look back as she ignored her best friend's protests.
Ruka looked at Natsume, who told him, "I'll walk the baka and Sakura-ojii-san back to their place."
Ruka grinned and replied, "Okay," before hurrying after his girlfriend. Once they were out of earshot, he commented, "You couldn't wait to see her and now you're voluntarily parting ways. What's up?"
Keeping her eyes trained straight ahead, Hotaru answered him matter-of-factly. "I've seen her. She's here. We're here. We'll be together all summer. I'm satisfied." Ruka smiled as he studied her face, noting that the skin between her brows was completely smooth, no longer marred by the deep crease that had been there the entire trip from Tokyo to Makikawa.
Ruka's feelings for Hotaru had grown slowly and steadily, almost unnoticed, throughout their childhood until they had suddenly hit him like a smack to the face when they graduated from elementary school. He knew that some of his friends, including Natsume, didn't really get his romantic attraction to Hotaru (attraction to her as a friend, ally, or formidable opponent, sure, but not as a girlfriend). The reasons that remained a mystery to them were almost stupidly obvious to him, one of them being just how irresistibly adorable Hotaru was when she was feigning indifference to mask her strong feelings of attachment to her family and friends.
Ruka couldn't help grinning at the sappy, affectionate thoughts running through his mind. He'd been a goner for three years now and didn't feel the slightest need to resist his fate. Reaching out to entwine his fingers with Hotaru's, the two continued down the country road with hearts light and spirits high.
Mikan questioned Natsume about his school year and the trip from Tokyo during the 15 minute walk to the Makikawa Temple where she lived with her grandfather. Her parents had lived there with them until their deaths in a car accident when she was 4-years-old. It had been the following summer that the Imai and Hyuuga families had started spending their summers in the town's largest house, an old mansion right on the beach that they'd updated into a beautiful vacation home. Since Ruka's parents were out of town most of the time on business and their families were very close, he always came with them. The four youngsters had spent each summer together since then, becoming the best of friends. Mikan had been elated when Ruka and Hotaru had become an official couple the summer before starting middle school and the union had done nothing to weaken the group's dynamic.
Mikan had gotten used to Natsume's short, un-detailed explanations of the nine months of the year that he was away in Tokyo for school, so she wasn't put off by his brief responses to her many questions. She knew he wasn't being standoffish; he just wasn't a "chatterbox" as he had referred to her on more than one occasion.
"Congratulations, Natsume-kun," Sakura-ojii-san spoke up after Natsume announced that his lacrosse team had taken first place in the national championship again. "That gives you a perfect record for all three years of your middle school career, yes?"
"Yes, sir," Natsume replied. Although his face appeared expressionless to the untrained eye, Mikan and her grandfather both recognized by the light look in his eyes and the soft set of his lips that he was pleased.
"You seem to do well at everything you do, young man. Keep at it and you'll surely go places," the old man stated. From Mikan's other side, Natsume nodded his head and replied, "Thank you, sir."
Mikan spotted her home up ahead and took off at a run, calling over her shoulder, "Right now, the only place he needs to go is back to his house with me! I'm starving!"
Sakura-ojii-san chuckled. Natsume shook his head and commented, "She's always thinking with her stomach."
Sliding his eyes towards the young man, Sakura-ojii-san replied, "Aye, but she acts with her heart."
Natsume met his gaze for a moment before looking away with a smirk that did nothing to disguise the affection in his eyes as he watched Mikan disappear through the temple gate.
"Yahoo!"
Mikan hit the water with a splash, her cannonball sending ripples across the surface of the large pool. Hotaru sipped her cold, tropical beverage from the safety of a lounge chair, sunglasses shielding her eyes. Natsume and Ruka were throwing a spiral-shaped water ball back and forth across the shallow end. When Mikan emerged at the surface of the deep end, she wiped the water from her eyes before swimming to the ladder and climbing out. Skipping over to Hotaru, she grabbed her water bottle off the table and took a large gulp. Looking down at her best friend's relaxed figure, Mikan grinned.
"Why don't you get in with us, Hotaru? All you've done is lie there since we got here. What was the point of asking me to bring my swim suit?"
After changing into her swim suit and throwing on a pair of shorts and a tank top, Mikan had joined Natsume for the familiar 20 minute trek to the vacation house with her grandfather's promise that he would join them later. When they'd arrived, Hotaru had already been lounging by the pool while Ruka obligingly rubbed her shoulders. Natsume had snorted at the sight, but kept his mouth shut when Ruka and Hotaru both raised pointed eyebrows at him, sliding their eyes to Mikan, then back to him significantly.
Hotaru sniffed. "The point was to make sure that you'd occupy yourself while I lay out. I've no interest in getting wet today. I'll be here all summer. There'll be plenty of other opportunities to get soaked."
Mikan shrugged. "Suit yourself." She looked up towards the house when she heard one of the backdoors open and close. She grinned broadly. "Aoi-chan!"
"Mikan-nee! It's been a long time!" With silky raven hair hanging just above her shoulders and sparkling ruby eyes, it was obvious that Hyuuga Aoi was Natsume's little sister. Two years their junior, Aoi had just turned 12 a few weeks prior and completed her first year of middle school. Smiling from ear to ear, she leapt down the steps to the pool deck where she threw her arms around Mikan in a cheerful hug. Mikan laughed happily before leaning back to look at her dear younger friend.
"Oh no, I got your swim suit cover all wet!"
Aoi's bright smile remained. "It's okay, I'm gonna get in the water anyway. I got all sweaty unpacking." She gave Mikan a once over before declaring, "That's a different swim suit than you had last summer, Mikan-nee."
"Yep! I outgrew the old one," Mikan replied, adjusting her aqua bikini before grinning. "You've gotten taller, Aoi-chan."
Aoi returned the grin. "Two and a half inches since the start of the school year!"
While the two girls continued chatting, Ruka and Natsume moved to recline against the pool steps, letting the cool water cover most of their bodies. Ruka inclined his head towards Natsume to ask with a low snicker, "Did you notice Mikan-chan's new bikini, Natsume?"
His friend rolled his eyes. "Mind your own damn business, Ruka."
Ruka grinned. "You just couldn't wait five minutes after seeing her again to do something to make her call you a pervert. Keep that up and you'll never get anywhere with her." Ruka's gaze grew sly as he goaded his friend further, "I wonder if Shinji-kun has given up on her or if he'll take another shot at her in the fall once we're back at school." Natsume glared at his best friend whose grin only widened. "Who knows? Maybe by the time we come back next summer, she really will be his girlfriend."
If he had been anyone else, Natsume would likely have half drowned him by now. Since it was Ruka, Natsume only sighed irritably. "What are you getting at, Ruka?"
Ruka gazed across the pool at Mikan and Aoi as they lowered themselves into the deep end, crossing their arms over the side to submerge their bodies while keeping their heads and shoulders above the water so that they could continue their conversation. His eyes moved to his girlfriend lounging peacefully on the deck, soaking in the sun's warm rays, and he couldn't help the smile that spread across his face or keep the obvious affection out of his voice.
"I'm saying that having the girl you love by your side is the greatest feeling in the world and there's nothing more regretful than letting the right one slip away. So don't let her slip away."
Natsume snorted. "You should go work for Hallmark when you graduate. You can fill all their cards with cheesy one-liners like that one." He stared intently at Mikan and his sister for a moment before adding, "Besides, you're assuming that she's the right girl for me."
"Isn't she?" Ruka instantly countered as if the answer was glaringly obvious. It hadn't escaped his notice that Natsume, whether consciously or unconsciously, had questioned if Mikan was the "right" girl for him, not if she was the girl he "loved," and wondered what the difference was in Natsume's mind.
Natsume didn't respond. He merely continued to stare, speculation in his eyes, the faintest hint of a crease between his brows.
An hour later, a middle-aged woman with short, tawny brown hair and eyes a lighter shade of violet than her daughter's stuck her head out a window and called out to the youngsters who were hitting a beach ball around the pool.
"Mikan-chan, your grandfather's here and dinner is ready. We're going to eat on the beach tonight, so all of you please walk around the side to the front so that you don't drip all over the house."
"Thank you, Saki-san!" Mikan called to Hotaru's mother. Imai Saki smiled before disappearing back inside.
When everyone had dried off and slipped into their sandals, they made their way around to the front of the house. Blankets and chairs were spread out amid small tables that held food and drinks. Off to the side, a white-haired gentleman in a crisp apron grilled an assortment of meats and vegetables that gave off a mouthwatering aroma. One of the Hyuuga maids and an Imai family butler stood nearby, ready to assist as needed.
Mikan spotted her grandfather sitting in a chair between Saki-san and a gorgeous woman with wavy raven tresses and unforgettable scarlet eyes. When Hyuuga Kaoru looked up and saw the young people heading towards them, she leapt to her feet and quickly closed the distance between them to pull Mikan into an enthusiastic hug.
"Mikan-chan! We missed you! Oh, you've grown so much this year!" Kaoru-san gushed above Mikan's head, swinging her from side-to-side in her mama-bear hug. Mikan laughed delightedly at the older woman's affection.
"It's so good to see you, Kaoru-san!"
"You, too, sweetheart." Kaoru-san moved to put one arm around Mikan's shoulders before suggesting, "I know you're hungry, so let's dig in so you can tell me all about your school year."
"Yes, ma'am," Mikan answered with a broad smile. She adored Natsume and Aoi's mother. Kaoru-san and Saki-san had been the closest things she'd had to a mother since her own had passed away 10 years earlier. Kaoru-san grinned at her children, ruffling her son's hair with her free hand before using it to pull Aoi against her other side, leading the two girls towards the circle of chairs and blankets while Natsume and Ruka followed close behind.
After settling into their seats with plates piled high, conversation flowed easily among the group as the sun began to set and a warm breeze blew across the beach. Aoi laughed at a joke Ruka made before Hotaru shot him in the face with a marshmallow gun that she seemed to produce from out of nowhere. Mikan threw a cube of watermelon at Natsume from her position on one of the picnic blankets, which he easily dodged, his face a picture of disgust, making Mikan laugh. She knew he hated watermelon.
"How's Subaru-kun doing these days, Saki-san?" Sakura-ojii-san asked, setting his plate aside to fold his hands over his stomach.
Saki-san smiled. "Busy as always. He'll continue his clinicals through the summer and fall before graduating in December. He's already lined up to join the staff at Tokyo General after New Year's."
Imai Subaru was Hotaru's older brother. With eight years between them, the two were close when Hotaru was small, but had spent less and less time together as Subaru had become busy with the demands of high school and college. They were very similar in personality and intellect, so this gradual drifting didn't bother Hotaru, who knew that she would someday make the same sacrifices for her education and career. Like Hotaru, Subaru had inherited their father's dark hair and their mother's vibrant eye color. While in high school, he had only spent a few weeks each summer at the vacation home in Makikawa, preferring to spend the rest of his time with his friends in Tokyo. Once he had entered university four years ago, he'd reduced his visits to only a few days each summer. Currently, he was on track to earn his medical degree, the first Tokyo University graduate to ever double-specialize in cardiology and neurology to fulfill his life-long ambition of becoming a world-class surgeon capable of both heart and brain surgery.
"Subaru-kun needs to relax now and then. He should come visit for a few days and have some fun," Kaoru-san declared, waving a shrimp through the air with gusto.
Saki-san smiled indulgently. "You know Subaru-kun; he's too serious to slow down when he's focused on accomplishing something. That's one of the many traits that he and Hotaru-chan both share with their father."
Their father, Imai Tohru, was the third-generation owner and CEO of Imai Technologies ("Imai Tech" for short), Japan's leading technology company. Like his two children, he was highly intelligent, generally stoic, and tended to become absorbed in his work. Although Subaru and Hotaru had inherited his ebony hair color, neither of them resembled him very much; they had taken after their mother with her violet eyes and fair skin instead of their father's emerald eyes and olive complexion. Despite being tremendously busy running Imai Tech in Tokyo, he always managed to visit his family in Makikawa at least once or twice each summer.
Natsume and Aoi's father, Hyuuga Hatsuharu, was in a similar situation. He kept incredibly busy running Hyuuga Defense Industries, the number one company of its kind in the country (possibly in all of Southeast Asia, as some had argued). Many of their activities in both the private and public sectors were highly classified, but in general, people knew them as Japan's largest military contractor and security firm. One of their major government contracts included the administration and operation of Japan's police force. They provided security services to many private companies and a number of high profile individuals. Additionally, they were industry leaders in both training (combat, search and rescue, survival, etc.) and weapons development. Mikan had always thought that Hatsuharu-san didn't look the part of a tough defense company leader with his "in need of a trim" champagne colored hair pulled back in a short ponytail and gentle hazel eyes. The kind middle-aged man almost always had a smile on his face. Aoi had been a lot like him when she was younger, but over time was becoming more spunky and outgoing like her mother.
As the adults continued their conversation, Aoi pointed excitedly to a large pile of wood stacked between their family picnic and the water's edge where waves lapped softly against the sand. "Honzo-san is lighting the bonfire!"
Mikan squealed with equal delight. "Hotaru, come roast marshmallows with us!"
Hotaru hummed her consent around a mouthful of crab roe. The three girls stood and headed towards the quickly growing blaze. Honzo-san, one of the Imai family butlers, handed each of the girls a metal roasting stick and two large marshmallows. The girls stood or squatted in the sand by the bonfire, holding their marshmallows as close to the flames as they dared. Komaki-san, one of the Hyuuga household maids, passed out chocolate bars and graham crackers.
Mikan and Aoi moaned with delight as they made a playful mess of eating their gooey s'mores. Hotaru nibbled at hers more delicately. After roasting several more marshmallows, Aoi passed a plate of s'mores around for the adults while Mikan plopped down in front of the blanket that Natsume and Ruka were lounging on, propped up on their elbows as they discussed what sounded to Mikan like some type of true crime manga.
Natsume looked up as Mikan offered him a plain roasted marshmallow, a big grin plastered across her face.
"You don't like chocolate, right? So you just eat the marshmallows."
Natsume grunted (which Mikan interpreted as a sound of gratitude) before reaching forward to accept the proffered treat. Satisfied that he'd taken it, Mikan pranced away happily to rejoin Aoi to make another round of s'mores, Hotaru having already sat down to resume eating her crab roe. As Natsume chewed the sticky, sweet substance, he noticed Ruka smiling at him meaningfully. When Natsume narrowed his eyes at him, Ruka only laughed before getting up to go sit by Hotaru.
Alone, heat from the sun-warmed sand seeping through the blanket beneath him, Natsume watched in silence as one of his closest friends in the world frolicked around the beach, her familiar voice wafting towards him on the breeze, her form silhouetted by the setting sun. His conversation with Ruka echoed through his mind.
"…you're assuming that she's the right girl for me."
"Isn't she?"
Sakura-ojii-san smiled as he sipped his tea, listening to the jovial sounds of feminine laughter coming from Mikan's bedroom in the living quarters of their home at the Makikawa Temple. Although the youngsters had held their sleepovers at the vacation home far more often than the small temple over the years, he had been only too happy to give Hotaru and Aoi permission to come home with him and Mikan after their picnic on the beach so that the girls could catch up with each other after so many months apart. It did his heart good to see Mikan lively playing with her dear friends from Tokyo each summer. Although she got along very well with her classmates, she had never developed the same tight knit relationships with any of the boys or girls at school that she had formed with the Imai, Nogi, and Hyuuga children. For his part, Sakura-ojii-san adored them and appreciated their parents for being so kind and accepting of his lovely, often rambunctious granddaughter. With a chuckle, the old man rose from his seat and headed for the warm kettle on top of the stove to refill his cup of tea.
In her bedroom, Mikan was wiping tears of laughter from her eyes as she lay stretched out on her back across her beautiful turquoise bedspread covered in bold marigold and fuchsia flowers. Aoi was animatedly retelling a story from Natsume's birthday party back in November. Yomi Kokoro (a close friend of Natsume and Ruka's who went by the name "Koko" for short) had decided to perform the happy birthday song from on top of a table, which had unfortunately tipped over during his performance. Being a natural goofball and generally laid back type of guy, Koko had popped right back up and continued singing, covered from head to toe in party food, before instigating an all out food fight. Listening to Aoi describe the ensuing hilarity sent Mikan into peals of laughter, which then spread to Aoi, who was desperately trying to finish the tale.
"So they… raced out the back doors… and jumped… into the pool… with their clothes still on… to rinse off!" Aoi finally managed to gasp out between heaves of laughter.
Hotaru sat in Mikan's desk chair with a soft smile tilting the corners of her lips as she listened to the story and watched Mikan's enthusiastic reception. Seeing Mikan rolling around on her bed, clutching her sides with tears streaming from her eyes as she hooted and hollered happily, was refreshing in a way that Hotaru had nearly forgotten she could feel after spending another nine months apart.
Every year was the same. They'd spend an incredible summer together in Makikawa. August would roll around and she'd return to her life in Tokyo, leaving Mikan behind in her small, rural village. Mikan would send her letters throughout the school year, which had become text messages and phone calls at the start of middle school when her grandfather had given her a cell phone, and Hotaru would very rarely contact her back. She had never been very good at maintaining long distance communication, especially during the school year when she was so focused on school projects and dabbling in the research and development lab at her father's company. By the time the end of May would finally come around again, Hotaru would feel abnormally anxious and irritable. Returning to Makikawa and reuniting with Mikan would lift her spirits in a way that none of her other friendships could. It was a bit mystifying, really, how the loud, gutsy, energetic girl who knew nothing of the high society responsibilities and pressures that Hotaru and her friends faced in the big city had become such an irreplaceable presence in her life.
Settling down, Mikan asked, "Is Koko coming to visit again this summer? Or Permy?"
"I don't know…" Aoi answered uncertainly, looking at Hotaru questioningly.
"No one has plans to visit this summer and I doubt that anyone will. Most of them have significant travel plans since this is our last summer before high school," Hotaru briefly explained.
Several summers throughout late elementary school and middle school, Koko had come to Makikawa to spend a week at the vacation house visiting Natsume and Ruka, two of his closest friends. Koko and Mikan had gotten along instantly, reflecting each other's bright, cheerful personalities. For the past two summers, he'd brought his girlfriend, Shouda Sumire, with him. Mikan had always thought of Hotaru as "elegantly beautiful," but when she'd met Sumire, the girl had struck her as "glamorously beautiful." She had smooth, structured curls in a natural shade of forest green (which Koko had dubbed "seaweed green" just to aggravate her) and a distinctly curvy figure even in middle school. Koko had found it hilarious and Sumire had found it irritating when Mikan had accidentally called her "Permy" because her hairstyle had reminded Mikan of a perm (which Sumire had quickly informed her that it was not). The nickname had stuck, and although Sumire and Mikan had bumped heads at first, Mikan had quickly won her over. Similarly, Sumire's strong, bold, and straightforward personality, along with her blatant respect, admiration, and loyalty for Mikan's friends, had firmly solidified her place as one of Mikan's favorite people.
"Oh, that's a bummer," Mikan pouted. "I was really hoping that I'd get to see them this summer. Permy sent me this really cute outfit for my birthday a few weeks ago. She's always insisting that I have no taste in clothes."
Aoi laughed. "She's a fashion guru, so don't take it personally. Her mother is one of Japan's most famous designers, so her standards are pretty high."
"Show us the outfit," Hotaru commanded, curious to see what Sumire had chosen for Mikan. Sumire had inherited her mother's talent and had an impeccable eye for what styles suited different people.
Mikan hopped up and pulled a hanger out of her closet. "Permy called it a 'romper' in her card and told me that I need to wear more of them like this."
Aoi hummed appreciatively as she reached a hand out to feel the material and Hotaru had to admire Sumire's choice. The one-piece romper featured draping shorts and short sleeves with a neckline that cut straight across the shoulders and chest. The soft, fluid material was snow white scattered with large, blood red roses in full bloom sprouting leaves and stems of blackest midnight. Structurally, the outfit looked perfectly suited for Mikan's casual, comfortable taste, but the overall appearance was very trendy and fashionable. Mikan enjoyed bold colors, but Sumire had pointed out to her that not every bright, bold color went well with her warm skin tone and hair color. According to her card, the starkly contrasting white, red, and black would give Mikan the vibrant look that she preferred while still looking fabulous and appropriate on her.
"She even told me how to accessorize it and made suggestions for how to wear my hair with it," Mikan said with a grin.
"That's Shouda for you," Hotaru smiled. If nothing else, she respected Sumire's dedication to her craft. "You should wear that the next time we take a day trip to Owase."
"Okay!" Mikan chirped, returning the outfit to her closet.
"It'd make a cute date outfit, too," Aoi grinned mischievously.
"Speaking of dating," Hotaru narrowed her eyes at Mikan, who had returned to her spot on the bed, "what was that today with Akawa Shinji?"
Mikan looked surprised at Hotaru's question. "I told you, he asked me to be his girlfriend."
"Ehhh?!" Aoi squealed, plopping down on the cushy rug shaped like an enormous flower on the floor beside the bed as she gazed excitedly at Mikan. "I haven't heard about this! What happened?"
Mikan smiled innocently. "Shinji-kun confessed to me after the graduation ceremony today and asked me to be his girlfriend, but I said no."
"Eh? Why'd you turn him down?" Aoi asked with a fake pout. She knew who Akawa Shinji was and wasn't actually interested in Mikan dating him. As far as Aoi was concerned, the guy that Mikan should be dating was her older brother. Although Natsume was clearly interested in her (or so it seemed to Aoi), Mikan had never shown a particularly romantic interest in him, at least not that Aoi had noticed. She thought that maybe Mikan showing even a slight interest in another guy might prompt her brother to finally make a move.
Mikan rolled over onto her stomach and rested her chin on her crossed arms before answering Aoi's question. "Because I don't like him that way. Besides, shouldn't I date someone before jumping straight into being their girlfriend?"
Hotaru quirked an eyebrow as she asked, "So if he had simply asked you on a date, you'd have considered going?"
Mikan frowned as she considered Hotaru's question. "I don't know… but probably not. I don't really have a problem with the idea of people casually dating, but I've never really been interested in it myself. I've always hoped that I'd fall in love with a guy after being friends for awhile first, you know? I think it'd be really hard and awkward to hang out with a guy I don't really know that well with the expectation that we're trying to figure out if we could be more than just friends. I don't know, maybe I'm over-thinking it or not being realistic."
"I'm confused," Aoi said, scrunching up her nose cutely. "You want to date a guy before being his girlfriend, but you don't want to date a guy because of the pressure of deciding whether to become a couple?"
Hotaru watched Mikan's face closely as her uncertainty played across her features, wrinkling her brow and weighing down the corners of her lips. "I…" Mikan started, hesitated, then tried again. "I want to be friends first, then date, then become an official couple. That's my ideal scenario, which I know I might not get, but it's what I'd like. I don't want to date a guy that I'm not close friends with. Shinji-kun is a friend from school, but we're not close. I like him as a classmate and I'm not opposed to becoming better friends with him, but I'm not interested in skipping that part and going straight to dating, let alone straight to becoming his girlfriend. Does that make more sense?"
Aoi smiled. "I get it now. I think you're right, it would be nice to fall in love with someone that you know really well and that knows you really well. Ruka-nii and Hotaru-nee are like that, and so are Koko-san and Sumire-san."
Hotaru smirked as she saw the opportunity to neatly lead her friend into a trap and pounced on it. "Do you even have any close guy friends?"
Mikan rolled her eyes. "Of course I do! Ruka-pyon and Natsume."
Hotaru's eyes glinted with success. "But Ruka's my boyfriend. Are you saying that you plan to fall in love with Hyuuga?"
Bingo, Hotaru thought as she watched Mikan instantly blush at the question. Really, this baka is so predictable.
Mikan was quiet for a moment as she thought about the teenage boy. They'd been friends for a very long time and he meant a great deal to her. Throughout the school year, she'd find herself missing him and wondering how he spent his days back home in Tokyo. Seeing him today after so long had filled her heart with happiness and Hotaru's question filled her mind with unbidden thoughts of what it would be like to be more than just friends with him. She mumbled, "I'm not planning on falling in love with him, but… Sure, I guess I wouldn't really mind falling in love with Natsume." She scrunched up her nose as she added, "Not that he'd ever look at me that way."
Aoi's eyes widened and it took all of her willpower to keep her mouth from dropping open in delighted shock. She caught Hotaru's eye and grinned. Hearing that Mikan might actually be open to—possibly even interested in—dating her brother was a positive revelation if Aoi had ever heard one.
Hotaru nodded subtly at Aoi and pursed her lips to warn her not to say something reckless. Aoi nodded mischievously, correctly figuring that Hotaru was working an angle of some sort.
"Well, Hyuuga is a tough nut to crack, but you're easily his closest female friend, so it is plausible that the two of you could end up together. We'll see," Hotaru sniffed indifferently, purposefully not making a big deal about Mikan's small confession. Her only goal was to plant the idea in Mikan's head that she and Natsume weren't an impossible match and that the idea of them getting together wouldn't shock anyone. Hotaru wasn't going to play matchmaker for the two (though Ruka had suggested it to her several times) and she wasn't planning on making it easy for Natsume to win over her best friend. However, the idea of Mikan selling herself short by assuming that Natsume was out of her league or some other ridiculous notion irritated Hotaru, so she at least wanted Mikan to recognize the possibility of having a relationship with him in case the man ever decided to grow a pair and act on his feelings for the baka. "I'm tired, so let's go to bed," she announced, seamlessly bringing the conversation to an end.
"Okay! You guys can use the bathroom first. I'm going to clean this up," Mikan suggested as she began collecting their snacks and drinks to return them to the kitchen.
"Bring a water bottle back for me, would you?" Hotaru asked as she pulled a toothbrush out of her bag.
"Me, too, please!" Aoi chirped as she did the same. The two girls chatted about what to do the next day as they headed for Mikan's bathroom.
Mikan finished collecting their mess and turned to walk out her bedroom door. She paused when the bulletin board hanging above her desk caught her eye.
Photos layered upon photos showed her and her friends throughout the years, sometimes together, sometimes separated by miles and miles. Her gaze settled on a particular image of a 13-year-old Natsume from last summer lying on the beach with his eyes closed as if asleep, most of his body covered in a mound of sand. In a corner of the picture, Mikan smiled broadly at the camera with her fingers posed in a "V for Victory" sign. She grinned as she remembered that the sound of Hotaru's camera snapping the photo had woken Natsume from his slumber. Upon discovering that he'd been buried in his sleep, he'd sprung up out of the sand like a zombie from the grave. After quickly chasing and capturing a shrieking Mikan, he'd hauled her into the waves to drown her.
The memory was full of laughter and warmth for Mikan, and as she continued making her way to the kitchen, she couldn't help thinking, Yes, I wouldn't mind falling in love with Natsume.
Author's Note: Well, there you have it! An extra long first chapter to set the stage.
I'll go ahead and clarify that in my fictitious universe, I've combined the Japanese and American school systems. As with many American schools, school is in session from mid-August to the end of May with a long summer break in between academic years. As with Japanese schools, middle school and high school are each three years long (in America, middle school can be 2 or 3 years and high school is usually 4).
I'd also like to point out that since I'm writing in English about people speaking Japanese, I'll only be using certain Japanese words and phrases that I think will be commonly recognized and that I feel will significantly effect the feel of the story, but I will primarily be sticking with English for the sake of you, the readers (please feel free to PM me for an explanation of any of the Japanese words that you aren't familiar with). Having said this, I admit that I will occasionally throw in some Japanese terms that have no English equivalent (for example, names of certain foods) and will leave it to you to Google what they are if you'd like to enrich your knowledge of the culture. For those of you who are more familiar with the Japanese language, you may recognize some of the English phrases used by the characters as the literal translations of specific Japanese phrases (several examples of this can be found in the confession scene between Akawa Shinji and Mikan).
Visit my profile for a link to the Pinterest page that I created to collect images for this story (not illustrations, just inspirations and representations).
Thanks for reading!
