*EDITED*
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hello dear readers! Momocandy is back!
Final exams just finished for the semester, and my hard classes are all done, so I think I'll have more time to go on fanfiction now.
I'm publishing yet another new story! (Your Majesty was not so good now that I look back at it. I'm planning to discontinue that one.)
I will be updating my old stories ASAP though, so don't worry!
Happy reading! :D
Circus
by: momocandy
Chapter 1 - Departure
XXX
August 31, 2012
It was nighttime in the city of Miyazaki, Japan.
Most of the metropolis was bright and alive, loud and obnoxious, muddling the stars as usual. But in a single apartment building on the outskirts of the city, the lights were out—except for one tiny, illuminated window.
And you could hear the screaming from miles away
"Sumire, have you seen my stockings? I can't find them anywhere!"
"Anna, don't talk to me right now. Oh my god, where are my FUCKING SWEATS?"
"Stockings, stockings—where in the world—Oh, Nonoko, Nonoko, have you seen them?"
"Don't ask me."
In that one, small apartment room, all hell was being unleashed.
You could hardly see through the thick shower of clothes flying from the drawers, and there were already bunches littered all over the place like dead bodies on a battlefield.
The source of the chaos—mainly a girl with permed green hair and very little patience.
"My sweats—my sweats—WHY THE HELL CAN'T I FIND THEM?"
More flinging and more cursing and more clothes getting piled up on the floor.
"Hey, stop throwing my stuff, Sumi! I still need to pack—SUMIRE!" Nonoko shouted angrily, her long, navy-blue hair swinging as she tried to rescue her clothes from the growing rubble.
Anna's eyes suddenly widened.
"Sumire, stop, stop, STOP!"
The raging girl froze, one hand just about to chuck a lacy blue tank top, which Nonoko quickly snatched away.
"What?" She eyed the pinkette suspiciously.
Anna began rummaging hurriedly through a pile of clothes on the floor.
"Aha!" She jerked her hands up to reveal her discovery. "My stockings!"
Kissing them in joy, the pinkette bounced cheerfully over to her magenta suitcase and set them down neatly in the compartment, completely oblivious to the deathly glare that a certain greenette was sending her way. Grumbling under her breath, Sumire resumed her chaotic and fruitless searching, much to Nonoko's displeasure.
Meanwhile, standing off to the side, a brunette watched lazily as the hurricane of clothes started up again, Skullcandy headphones over her ears and a swirly orange lollipop in her mouth.
"Should I go stop her?" She wondered out loud, glancing at the black-haired girl next to her.
When the girl didn't reply, the brunette just shrugged and did nothing. After a while, she glanced at the black-haired girl again, who was now silently folding a pair of sparkly indigo leg warmers into her violet suitcase.
"Hey, Hotaru...do you think we're doing the right thing?" she asked casually, taking the lollipop out of her mouth.
There was a grunt of annoyance as the black-haired girl—Hotaru—zipped up the cover of her case and snapped the extra buckle shut.
"This is the fifth time, Mikan."
"Fourth," Mikan corrected, raising up four fingers.
Hotaru just rolled her eyes and dragged her suitcase onto the floor.
"But seriously—" Mikan put the candy back into her mouth. "—Tokyo is the heart of Japan. Its information networks are no joke, Hotaru. Normally girls like us don't go to these types of places, right? Normally girls like us get busted in these types of places, right? Are we doing something really dumb?"
Hotaru deep amethyst eyes were somewhat incredulous.
"Last week you tried impersonating Spiderman and almost killed yourself when you barely made it to the ledge of the apartment roof."
Mikan cracked a smile at the memory.
"Two days ago you backflipped off the ten-foot skate ramp."
Mikan nodded proudly. "I landed it too."
Hotaru ignored her and continued.
"Just yesterday you ate a moldy sandwich that's been in the fridge for two weeks and you will get diarrhea."
Mikan made a face. "No—"
"In terms of dumb, you've already done it all. But this—" Hotaru shook her head in wonder. "—this you've been preparing for for three months and you're still hesitating now, at the last minute."
Mikan frowned. "No! It's just...I'm not sure...since I'm dragging you guys with me..."
"Dumb girl," Hotaru stated bluntly. "We want this just as much as you do. Now shut up and go get your goddamn suitcase."
Mikan obediently stood and trudged over to her bronze suitcase. She rustled through the contents one last time before zipping it up and lugging it back over to Hotaru.
It'll be okay, she repeated in her head. It'll be okay.
Her hand lingered on the plastic as she set her suitcase down. Then she shook her head clear and took a deep breath.
"Okay, ready," she told Hotaru.
Hotaru merely nodded as she watched the ruckus that still characterized the room, lips set into a thin impatient line.
"Girls, finished packing?" Mikan shouted over the noise.
"Uh, hell no!" Sumire replied furiously as she crawled under Anna's bed, groping around in the darkness for possible cloth, but getting only dust bunnies and other unidentifiable...stuff. "SOMEONE STOLE MY SWEATS!"
"Nobody stole them, you moron! You just lost them!" Nonoko growled in irritation, still salvaging whatever she could find and trying not to get buried alive.
"Calm down, you two! Stop fighting!" Anna, the pacifist, cried.
"Calm down?!" Nonoko exploded. "I'M. ALREADY. CALM! SHE'S THE ONE WHO NEEDS TO CALM DOWN!"
"Well, excuse me? I'M MISSING MY SWEATS!" Sumire screamed back. "DO YOU KNOW HOW IMPORTANT THEY ARE TO ME?"
"Um, hello, I'm missing MORE THAN HALF OF MY WARDROBE, THANKS TO YOU!" Nonoko made a wild gesture at the trashed room around her.
The two simmered and glared at each other for a long moment before Sumire turned around with a flick of her permed tresses and went back to searching.
"Not my problem."
Nonoko snapped. That was it.
Grabbing a stray sock, she rolled it into a ball and whipped it at Sumire's bobbing green head like a boss.
SMACK.
Mikan wolf-whistled while Anna smacked her forehead and sighed loudly. Sumire slowly turned around, one hand on the back of her head, an ominous aura curling from her body. Nonoko just stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry.
"How do you like my sock bomb, huh? Bitch."
A wicked smile made its way to Sumire's lips and she reached for another stray sock.
"Oh, I'll show you a fucking sock bomb."
WHACK.
Nonoko smirked, unfazed by the sock that had just bounced off of her stomach.
"You're on, Sumi."
SMACK.
Mikan whooped as an epic sock bomb war commenced. Now this is why she loved her BFFs. Anna, so far unsuccessful with regaining peace between her conflicted sister and best friend, went over to Mikan begging for help.
"C'mon, Anna Banana, you gotta admit this is fun to watch," the brunette laughed as Sumire got a sock in the face. "I'm even tempted to join..."
Anna hurriedly grabbed her arm.
"Please don't, Mikan! Hotaru—plane—Hotaru!" She jerked her head urgently toward the said girl.
Mikan looked over her shoulder and almost jumped out of her bunny slippers. An uneasy smile made its way to her lips.
There was Hotaru, with her famous serial killer I-will-murder-all-of-you-morons-slowly-and-painfully-if-you-don't-stop-right-now look. Mikan glanced at the clock. A small 'oh' escaped her lips.
Their plane left at twelve thirty.
It was almost eleven.
"Okie dokie."
She walked right into the danger zone and clapped her hands loudly.
"You two, stop acting like little brats and get all your crap packed up so we can—"
She was cut short by a sock bomb face palm.
Anna squeaked and Nonoko and Sumire froze.
If there was one thing you didn't do in this house, it was hit Mikan Sakura in the face with a sock bomb.
The brunette slowly bent down to pick up the rolled-up ball of cotton, her features darkening in a very scary way.
"Oh, so that's how you wanna play it, huh?" she smirked evilly, tossing the sock up and down in her hand. "Fine. Die, morons."
She threw the sock bomb like some torpedo.
The girls dodged it and it went and hit Hotaru.
The temperature in the room dropped ten degrees.
Oh, they were in for it now.
"I...cannot...believe...we finished...thirty minutes before..." Sumire collapsed onto the hard plastic airport chair and exhaled.
After Hotaru had killed them all with her atomic sock bombs, the girls literally flew to the airport, bombarded through all of the security and pre-flight procedures, and then sprinted to their designated waiting area. They ended up getting there half an hour before they could even board the plane.
"No...my sweats..." Sumire cried weakly.
She would've shouted, but her lungs didn't have enough air. Hotaru had kicked them out of the house before she could find her precious sweatpants.
"You're still going on about that?" Nonoko huffed as she flopped down on the chair opposite Sumire. "I had to throw whatever into my suitcase at the last minute. I don't even know what I put in there. If I'm missing clothes, I'm stealing yours."
"Ha, I'd like to see you try..." Sumire threatened weakly.
Anna sighed and sat down next to Hotaru.
"Come on girls, just let it go. We'll go on a shopping spree when we get to Tokyo, 'kay? I know there are brilliant malls there."
She half-expected them to yell at her again, but apparently they were too exhausted.
Mikan wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and sprawled out over two chairs, a new cherry red lollipop in her mouth.
There was absolute silence for three, four, five seconds.
.
.
.
"Hey, I'm boooorrred..." Mikan drawled loudly.
Hotaru scowled.
"Thirty minutes, Mikan. Shut up for thirty minutes."
"But it's so boring!" The brunette jumped up and did a handstand. "I wanna do something!"
Sumire frowned and shook a lazy finger at her.
"Then I dare you to stay like that for ten minutes without passing out. That's something."
"Fine."
Mikan shifted on her hands a bit and then stayed absolutely still.
One minute passed.
"But this is boring too! C'mon, I'm a dancer, I need to do something!" The brunette whined impatiently.
"Argh, shut up, you're so annoying!" Sumire tried to kick her.
Mikan backflipped out of reach and made a face. Then she stood up straight.
"Jesus, you lazy bums, we're going to the Tokyo Alice Academy of Dance. The super famous TAAD! Shouldn't you all be at least a little excited?"
"It's not that we aren't, it's just—" Nonoko shook her head in wonder as she watched the brunette rock back and forth on her heels. "Where does your energy come from?"
"This." Mikan pulled out her lolly and winked. "Sugar never fails."
"Hit me up."
She emptied her pockets.
"Sorry girl. Got no more."
Nonoko gave her the stinkeye.
"Fake."
"You mean like our scholarship?" Mikan commented innocently.
That caught everyone's attention.
"Mikan..." Anna warned.
"Joking, I was just joking," Mikan laughed it off, patting the pinkette's shoulder.
"But...I can't help but be worried." She bit her lip. "What if we get caught?"
Nonoko elbowed Mikan in the ribs, giving her an even more intense stinkeye. See what you did?
Mikan let out an long, exasperated sigh but nodded to show she understood what she had to do. She didn't think any amount of consolation would truly reassure Anna though.
"Look, Anna, the scholarship isn't fake—it's just...free, because of our situation. My uncle is the principal, okay? He knows about me, about us, about our dancing skills, and he definitely knows what he's doing. So don't worry. We'll be fine."
"Hmm..." Anna wasn't convinced.
"Okay, but what about us?" Sumire ignorantly added fuel to the fire. "What if we get found out? This is Tokyo, Mikan, not some small town neighborhood. We could probably make international news."
"Well, wouldn't that be great?" Mikan shrugged nonchalantly.
Sumire gave her a look.
"Trying to be serious here~"
The truth was, Mikan didn't quite know how to respond to Sumire's concerns. Mostly because she had been mulling over the exact same thing before.
"Look, we already bought the tickets, we already got into the school, let's just go with the flow and see where we end up, okay? It's too late to turn back now."
She started to hear the frustration and uncertainty showing up in her voice and that upsetted her even more. Nonoko, realizing that Mikan was also struggling, gave Sumire a little nudge with her foot.
"Well, we did want to become famous," she reminded her, trying to convey a deeper message through her pointed stare.
Sumire frowned and shifted a little on her seat, but ceased her nagging.
"And this is the fastest and safest way," Nonoko continued. "Our best chance."
Mikan looked at the bluenette gratefully. Anna was quick to catch on.
"Noko's right...I'm sorry for getting so worked up," she apologized regretfully. "We're already here, so let's stop worrying and just go for it."
"You're fine, Anna." Mikan smiled and sighed in relief. "Thanks, guys."
"No need to thank us." Nonoko waved her hand dismissively as she leaned back against her chair and let her eyes wander around the vast, empty airport.
Funny how nobody else was going to Tokyo tonight. Only them. They would probably get one of those tiny planes that made your ears feel like someone was attacking them with a chainsaw. Nonoko groaned. She was not looking forward to that. Suddenly her eyes halted on something and her hand flew to her mouth.
"Oh...my god..."
Her wide navy blue eyes were focused on something behind Mikan.
"What...?"
Mikan slowly turned around, half-expecting Justin Bieber or a guy with a giant bloody axe. She saw nothing.
"What?" She demanded again, looking pointedly at the open-mouthed girl.
"Es-Es-" Nonoko stuttered.
"Es...?" Mikan prompted.
"Escalator thingy!" Nonoko squealed as she jumped out of her chair and raced toward a long, flat, moving walkway—the kind in airports for people with lots of luggage or lazy bums who didn't want to walk.
"What? Escalator—? Oh. My. God." Mikan stood up abruptly. "The floor is moving."
"The correct term is travelator, idiots," Hotaru muttered, but they were already long gone.
Mikan and Nonoko were still playing on the escalator thingy, aka travelator, when they heard the announcement.
Nonoko, who had been about to step off of the moving pathway, tripped and fell on her face. Mikan, who had been running against the travelator, also tripped and fell on her face.
Sumire shot up from where she had been half-sleeping and bonked Anna in the head, and the magazine that Hotaru had been reading crumbled in her fist.
"Due to aircraft maintenance, flight XXX to Tokyo will be delayed. To all passengers on flight XXX, please wait patiently in the designated waiting area until further notice."
"Okay, this is a really bad joke," Sumire growled under her breath.
Mikan and Nonoko returned from their travelator playground.
"Did they just say what I think they said?"
Mikan's tone was apprehensive as she rubbed her stinging forehead.
"I don't think airport ladies make mistakes..." Anna shrugged helplessly.
"Jesus Christ, of all things, a delay."
Hotaru scowled as she massaged her temples in aggravation.
"But—how long are we gonna have to wait?" Nonoko cradled her bruised cheek, brows knitted. "Don't we start school, like, first thing tomorrow?"
Sumire waved a hand in front of her face.
"Um, hello? We don't work here. How would we fucking know?"
"Chill, I wasn't asking you," Nonoko gave her a miffed look. "Language, Sumire."
"Oh please, when have you ever cared about language?" Sumire retorted hotly. "We're street girls. Cussing is our thing."
"Shut up, I'm trying to think," Mikan snapped next to her.
For once, Sumire was obedient. Mikan took out her phone and went to her contacts. She scrolled down, down, down...
"Dammit, I don't have his number. Shit."
Mikan shoved her phone roughly back into her sweats.
"Ooh, whose number?" Anna inquired curiously.
"Don't look at me like that," Mikan grumbled. "My uncle. Y'know, the principal. We were supposed to meet him at exactly seven-thirty today. He doesn't know we're stranded in a goddamn airport."
"Today?" Anna repeated, puzzled.
"Girl, it's 12:45. Yes, today."
Mikan jabbed her thumb toward a giant silver clock hanging above some ripoff clothing store.
Anna glanced at it and made an 'o' with her mouth.
"Hey, Hotaru, what should we do?" Mikan shook the ebony-haired girl's arm.
She was unresponsive.
"Hotaru...?"
Mikan peered over her shoulder and saw her friend immersed in an intense Angry Birds game on her phone. Even in the current situation, she had to bite back a laugh. If there was one thing that could stop Hotaru in her tracks, it was Angry Birds. Hell, she pulled it out after hearing about the delayed flight. That definitely meant something.
"Go to hell, stupid pig," Hotaru muttered.
Sumire smiled. Anna and Nonoko giggled softly. Mikan watched as Hotaru loaded her last bird, the tiny blue kind, and shot it. It split into three and the brunette saw the first hit a crate, the second hit a crate, and the third miss the pig.
MISS.
"Damn," Hotaru cursed.
Mikan gave it mental applause. Angry Birds. A game that toddlers could wing and yet the only game in the world that the mighty tech master Hotaru couldn't beat. Go figure.
Hotaru's amethyst eyes finally unglued themselves from the screen and looked at Mikan. Mikan welcomed her awareness with raised brows.
"Done? Ready to face the current problem at hand?"
"Quiet. I was just finishing the level. Get out of my face before I smack you."
Mikan sat down immediately but couldn't stop the grin from spreading on her lips.
"Whoever made Angry Birds is God."
She got a magazine in the face and the other girls burst out laughing, momentarily forgetting about their rotten dilemma. Even Hotaru spared a ghost of a smile. That is, until someone cleared their throat. Mikan paused to catch her breath and looked up to see one of the airport ladies, all dressed up in a fancy-looking blue suit.
"Excuse me, but are you girls waiting for flight XXX to Tokyo?"
The smile disappeared from Mikan's face and she felt a heavy dread in the pit of her stomach.
"Yes, we are. Has it arrived?"
The airport lady shook her head apologetically.
"I'm very sorry, but the engine of the plane is malfunctioning. It's not safe to fly. Of course, we will be preparing another plane for the flight, but please be patient with us. It will be ready in..." —she checked her clipboard— "...approximately three hours."
Sumire shot up, her jaw hanging.
"Three hours? Three hours?" Her voice escalated incredulously. "Listen here, miss. We don't have three hours!"
"Yes, I'm sorry, but the plane is malfunctioning—"
"Bitch please. We're in the 21st century. Don't we have, like, high-tech machines things to fix that kind of stuff in a fucking second?"
"Sumire..." Anna pulled on her arm nervously.
"Again, we are incredibly sorry—"
Sumire scoffed. "Sorry? Sorry doesn't get us to Tokyo, granny. You people these days can't even do your job right."
The airport lady was getting impatient.
"Please, I'm only a messenger. I'd rather not argue with you, miss."
"Fine, go away." Sumire made a shooing motion with her hand. "The fat showing through those tight-ass clothes is starting to bother me. You should go on a diet, lady."
"Sumire!" Anna stood up and pushed her away roughly. Then she bowed repeatedly in apology to the infuriated airport lady.
"Oh my god, I am so so so so so so sorry about my friend's behavior. She was extremely rude. Don't take it to heart miss, you are very pretty."
The lady forced a smile.
"It's okay, don't worry about it."
Then she turned on her heel and strode briskly away, but not before Sumire saw the look of contempt and disgust on her face.
"Hey, miss, if you make such an ugly face all the time you'll lose your job!" she shouted.
Anna saw the lady cringe and walk faster until she disappeared down a flight of stairs. Then the pinkette turned around furiously and whacked Sumire across the head.
"Sumire Shouda, what's gotten into you? How can you be so rude to a poor, innocent lady? She was just doing her job!"
Sumire coughed. "I can't believe you called her 'pretty'. She was disgusting to look at."
"Still! You can't go around insulting strangers! I swear, the bad karma is going to come back to you one day," Anna warned.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever."
"It was funny though," Hotaru commented blandly off to the side.
Mikan and Nonoko smirked at each other and nodded while Sumire gave Anna a 'see?' look.
"Ugh, you people are impossible," Anna groaned.
Monday, Sept. 1, 1:29 am
From: Aki-chan
Hey, u guys on the plane yet?
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Monday, Sept. 1, 1:30 am
From: Mi-chan
u wish. stupid planes broken -_-
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Monday, Sept. 1, 1:30 am
From: Aki-chan
seriously? 0_0
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Monday, Sept. 1, 1:31 am
From: Mi-chan
noooooo...thats why were still in the airport...
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Monday, Sept. 1, 1:31 am
From: Aki-chan
...dont they have machines to fix broken planes?
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Monday, Sept. 1, 1:32 am
From: Mi-chan
funny, thats what sumi said
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Monday, Sept. 1, 1:32 am
From: Aki-chan
well thats dumb. how longs it gonna take?
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Monday, Sept. 1, 1:33 am
From: Mi-chan
bruh, still got 2 hrs
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Monday, Sept. 1, 1:33 am
From: Aki-chan
me and the guys are bored so were coming over
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Monday, Sept. 1, 1:34 am
From: Mi-chan
really :)) thanks man
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Hey, who're you texting?" Sumire leaned over Mikan's shoulder.
Mikan pressed send and tucked her phone back into her pocket.
"Akira. He said that he and the guys are coming to the airport."
"Really?" Anna brightened. "So that means we can see them one last time before we go!"
Mikan hit her arm lightly.
"C'mon, Anna, don't make it sound like we'll never see them again."
"Took you guys long enough," Mikan huffed as she glared at the five, taller boys who now stood before them.
"'Sup, Mikan," the one with messy sandy hair grinned. "Did you miss us that much?"
"I was bored," the brunette admitted. "Glad you got here before the plane did."
"So, Hotaru, how's the wait going?" An orange-head went and sat down next to Hotaru, who was on her phone again. "Mi-chan driving you insane yet?"
"Doesn't she always?" Hotaru's eyes darted vigorously across her screen. "Distract her for me, Tadashi."
Tadashi laughed. "I'll try. She's a tough one though."
"Anna!"
"Noko!"
A golden blonde and raven black-haired guy hugged the twins respectively.
"Yuki...can't...breath..." Anna gasped.
"Whoops, my bad." He let go and chuckled sheepishly. "I'm glad we get to see you guys off. Thank god for that delay."
"Don't say that." Anna smacked him playfully on the arm. "You guys might be fine with it but it messes with our schedules."
"So you didn't want to see me?" Yuki frowned.
"Well...I guess the delay isn't all bad," Anna giggled.
"Get off, Haru," Nonoko nudged the dark-haired boy with her shoulder.
Haru sighed and loosened his embrace.
"Why aren't you ever as welcoming as Anna, huh?"
"Because I'm not Anna," Nonoko replied simply. "You smell like mangoes. Have some for me?"
"Sorry, I...ate all of them on the way here," Haru scratched his head apologetically.
Nonoko narrowed her eyes at him and tsked disapprovingly.
"How inconsiderate."
Haru immediately grabbed her arm.
"I'll send you some in Tokyo, okay? Promise."
Nonoko smirked. "Huh, we'll see about that."
"Hey, is Sumire alive?" A turtle-green-haired boy jerked his thumb towards the body lying on the chairs with a magazine covering the head.
"No," Mikan said without remorse. "She died from the terrible heartbreak of being separated from her sweats."
"Hey!" Sumire sat up and let the magazine fall. "Don't make fun of me! I definitely could've found them by now!"
The green-haired guy chuckled and ruffled her hair. "So you lost your sweats?"
"Yes, I lost my sweats! And they were my favorite too! Ryuu, you should go back and find them for me."
"She finally admits it," Nonoko grumbled.
"I can't, Akira drove," Ryuu shrugged. "I could try to steal his car but he's right there."
"Useless," Sumire muttered, lying down and hiding under the magazine again.
"Hotaru, your Angry Birds addiction is reaching a dangerous phase," Akira snickered.
"Shut up, fool," Hotaru deadpanned.
Tadashi peeked over her shoulder and snorted.
"You always can't seem to hit the last pig." He started actually laughing and nudged her playfully.
WHACK.
The whole group broke into laughter as Tadashi sat up and rubbed his cheek, looking unrepentant.
Oh, this was the good old times.
But Mikan knew, and so did everyone else, that in less than two hours, they would all have to separate and follow their own paths. Their special, one-of-a-kind dancing group, Circus, would be no more.
"Hey, did you see the moving belt thing over there?" Akira pointed to the travelator.
"The moving floor, right?" Mikan nodded vigorously, not containing her excitement. "It's hella fun. Try cartwheeling on it!"
"Akira, do a backflip on it without falling—" Yuki patted him on the back. "—and I'll give you a dollar."
"Oh, you're on." Akira made a beeline for the travelator.
"Hold up!" Mikan and Yuki shouted, followed by Anna, Nonoko, and Haru.
"Guys, the correct term is travelator," Tadashi called after them.
They didn't hear him.
"Don't waste your breath, Tadashi. All of them are idiots," Hotaru muttered flatly.
The plane finally arrived at three-thirty.
There were last hugs and 'I'll miss you's' and kisses on the cheeks, and then the girls boarded the tiny plane. Mikan couldn't help but feel an empty space in her heart, like she had just lost something important.
The boys were so much like her brothers. She and the girls didn't know what they would've done without them. They had been through so much together on the rough streets of Miyazaki and they knew basically everything about each other. Those guys, and the girls, were Mikan's soul mates—friends for life. Circus had been her family, the only real one she had ever known. But the girls had a future they wanted to create and even though she pleaded with her uncle, he couldn't spare free scholarships to another five people. That would've been too suspicious to the teachers of the academy.
Mikan understood. They was nothing she could do about it.
However, right before the door to the plane slid close, she met Akira's coffee-brown eyes and—it might've just been her imagination, but—she thought she saw something in them, something that told her not to despair too much. A see you later instead of a see you who knows when.
Suspicious, but still somehow reassuring.
And then the plane took off.
"My fucking ears! OWWWWW! Someone kill me now," Sumire shrieked as she dug her fingers into her hair and clawed like a rabid cat.
"You're not the only one! Shut up!" Nonoko gritted her teeth and cringed as another wave of searing pain hit her.
"Ah, it's getting worse!" Anna cried, doubled over with her head in her hands.
Hotaru made no sound, but her constant grimacing showed that she was also in immense pain,
And Mikan?
Mikan was already in hell.
"YEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWW!"
"We...survived...hooray..." Sumire dragged herself out of the airport, leaning on her lime green suitcase and wheezing heavily
A bright morning sun hung over the busy city of Tokyo. There was the sound of traffic and people everywhere.
"Ahhh, I feel light-headed," Anna breathed as she stumbled from side to side. "Need to sit..."
She found the curb and willingly collapsed. Nonoko went to accompany her and shook her head vigorously from side to side.
"My ears are still ringing..." She glanced over her shoulder. "...But of course, Hotaru's okay."
Then she watched as the impassive girl downed a whole bottle of water in one go.
"Or not."
"Where's Mikan?" Sumire asked, looking around.
"Bathroom," Hotaru replied simply, capping the empty bottle and tossing it into a recycling bin.
"She got it the worst, huh?" Anna giggled softly. "Not a plane girl, is she?"
"Are any of us?" Sumire pointed out as she gestured around at their current conditions.
"But bigger planes are better," Nonoko stated matter-of-factly. "More pressurized."
"Then get me a big plane next time," a weak voice called from behind.
The girls turned around to see Mikan stumbling toward them, still looking green. Nevertheless, she managed a smile.
"A really big one."
Then she doubled over and spilled whatever was left of her dinner all over her Nikes and onto the ground.
"Daaaayuuum," Sumire gasped as their taxi stopped in front of a towering, wrought iron gate.
The girls filed out and the driver helped them unload their suitcases from the trunk, politely refraining from commenting on the awful barf smell that he had to endure the whole hour-and-a-half long ride. Anna felt bad for him, so she added an extra five dollars to his tip, which he gratefully accepted. Then he drove off, leaving the girls to gape at the elegant monstrosity standing before them.
"Okay, so...is there a doorbell?" Anna wondered.
As if to answer her, the gates slowly creaked open by themselves.
"Woah...creepy," Nonoko eyed them warily.
Anna, on the contrary, was even more enthusiastic.
"Great! Let's go!"
She grabbed Nonoko's arm and dragged her in while the other three girls trailed behind.
XXX
It was ten o'clock, and the school was alive and bustling.
The girls walked down a wide cobblestone path past a vast, well-trimmed green lawn. There were fountains and trees and benches dotting the grounds, and students in uniforms were hanging out and socializing and laughing at stupid jokes. Some stopped to stare at them as they passed and then proceeded whisper amongst themselves, but the girls ignored it. They knew they looked really out of place with their t-shirts and sweats and suitcases.
The group of five finally reached the academy doors, which were also humongous. However, they were surprisingly light and easy to push open, so the girls entered without a problem.
"Okaaaaay...so where's the principal's office?" Sumire looked expectantly at Mikan.
"Don't ask me. I dunno," the brunette replied indifferently.
Sumire let out a loud groan.
"Good lord, Mikan, this is your uncle we're talking about!"
"So? Doesn't mean I know everything about him."
"But at least his office—"
"Nope."
Sumire facepalmed and exhaled slowly.
"Okay, whatever, just go and ask somebody. Shouldn't be too hard."
Mikan scanned the hallway. There were a few students here and there, but they all seemed busy.
"Who?"
Sumire threw her hands in the air in exasperation.
"Do I look like I give a damn? Just pick one! Eeeny, meeny, miney, moe! That guy!"
Her finger had landed on a raven-haired boy hanging out with a few other guys next to the lockers.
Mikan shrugged. Well, they didn't seem to be doing anything.
"Fine."
She and the girls walked up to him and she tapped him lightly on the shoulder.
"Hey."
The guy turned around and the first thing Mikan noticed were his eyes.
Deep crimson.
Strange.
"Can you tell us the way to the principal's office?" she asked.
He looked mildly surprised. His unnerving crimson eyes scanned the length of her body—T-shirt, sweats, and all.
"Are you new?" A guy with sandy hair and big amber eyes asked curiously.
"Just tell us where the principal's office is, dammit," Sumire snapped grumpily.
Anna immediately gave Sumire a pointed nudge with her elbow.
"Manners, Sumi! Don't you remember what I said about talking to strangers?"
Sumire rolled her eyes.
"I didn't call him fat or ugly, did I?"
This time the nudge was almost painful.
"That's not what I meant, stupid! That's not the airport lady! That's a guy!"
Sumire feigned surprise.
"You're fucking kidding! That's a guy? Omigosh, I didn't know!"
Mikan sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose impatiently. Again with Sumire and her stupid attitude. They couldn't even get directions properly now. After ten more seconds of arguing, Hotaru finally pushed to the front and shot a shut-up-now-before-I-wring-your-necks glare at the two girls. They both stopped mid-sentence and cleared their throats, turning away from each other. Then she fixed her amethyst eyes on a boy with golden blonde hair and bright blue eyes.
"You. Talk."
The boy pointed to himself and Hotaru just stared at him blankly.
"Uh..." He shivered under her frigid gaze. Shoot, he had forgotten what the question was.
"Where's the principal's office?" she reiterated for him.
"Oh...Oh, the principal's office, it's—" The blonde boy stopped and took a deep breath. "Fifth floor, first door on the left."
Damn, that girl made him real nervous for some reason.
"Fifth floor, first door on the left," Mikan repeated. "Alright."
Then she brushed past the guys wordlessly and was about to head toward the elevator until someone grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
"Hey, where's our thank you?"
Mikan turned around and looked steadily into mocking crimson eyes. Normally she would pick a fight with someone like this, but today, being her first day at the academy and all, she really didn't want to make a scene.
A deep breath.
"...thanks."
Then she quickly shook off the guy's hand and took a step forward. And that's when he grabbed her arm, again. Mikan inhaled slowly, gritted her teeth, and whipped around, pissed.
"What the hell do you want?"
The crimson-eyed boy just snickered.
"You...smell like shit."
"Pfft—" Sumire tried to muffle her burst of laughter with her hand. It sure as hell didn't work.
Mikan just rolled her eyes, peeved that the guy had stopped her for such a stupid thing. As if Sumire and Nonoko hadn't told her enough.
"Brilliant. Now get your hands off me."
In the blink of an eye, she karate-chopped his wrist—hard. The crimson-eyed boy immediately released her arm, biting his lip to keep himself from yelling in pain. Mikan smirked. She knew it hurt like hell. After four years on rough city streets, strength had become her best mate.
"It'll leave a bruise. Use this on it." Mikan rummaged through her pockets and tossed him a tiny bottle of ointment, which he caught smoothly with his other hand. "Next time, don't get in my way."
And without another word, she left, with Hotaru following behind.
"The hell?" The crimson-eyed boy stared at the bottle in his hand. It was real medicine—he could tell. "She fucking breaks my wrist, and then she gives me this?"
"Oh, that's just the way Mikan is," Anna explained, smiling. "She actually doesn't really like hurting other people, so she does things like this. She's a great person at heart."
"Yeah...reaally great," Sumire muttered sarcastically.
Anna glared at her. Sumire averted her eyes innocently.
"And she just smells shitty because she puked on herself after the plane," Nonoko whispered, feeling the need to clarify that.
The crimson-eyed boy raised an amused eyebrow, but before he could say anything, the other three girls uttered a quick "Bye!" and hurried off to catch the elevator before the doors closed.
Another POV
"Hey, weren't those girls hot?" Koko shoved Ruka playfully. "Weren't they? Weren't they?"
"Well...they were different..." the blonde admitted, thinking back to the cold stare of the black-haired girl.
"Different...and hot," Koko insisted.
Then he noticed that Kitsuneme was muttering to himself absentmindedly, cheeks tinged the slightest pink. Of course, Koko, being the best friend, twin brother, and nosy brat, leaned in to hear what he was saying.
"...the one with the blue hair was kinda cute..."
Koko immediately slapped an overly-dramatic hand over his mouth.
"Woah, woah, woah, is our innocent little Kitsu in loooove?"
Kitsuneme blushed a deep red and pushed Koko's face away roughly.
"Shut up, Koko. And I'm not."
But Koko didn't hear him—he was already off scheming naughty little plans to get his brother and the blue-haired girl together.
"Well," Yuu pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "...what do you think, Natsume?"
The raven-haired boy rolled the bottle of ointment between his fingers.
"Do I really have to answer that?"
"Yes!" The four other guys answered immediately.
He sighed and ran a hand through his raven tresses.
"I need to see them dance first before I give a damn who they are. But I can't say I'm not interested."
There's the first chapter!
I don't really know if this is a good story, so please tell me what you think! Reviews and critique would be awesome!
Anyways, for those of you STILL waiting, I'm planning to update The Day I Fell Off of a Tree next.
Should I continue this story?
-momocandy XD