A/N: I have planned out (surprisingly) the plot for this story, and I just know it will go so well if I take it seriously (I hope so). I missed Gakuen Alice and Natsume and Mikan and basically everyone, so I wrote this. Please tell me what you think, as it is my first time being motivated to actually finish a multi-chaptered story. I hope you enjoy! :D –Pinku Cotton

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Building Sandcastles

By

Pinku Cotton

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It was a few hours before sunset and the Akane Beach was still bustling with people from all over Tokyo. As it is the summer season, fur coats and hot chocolate were forgotten, and replaced with bikinis and fresh lemonade. Mikan Sakura welcomed the summer heat with a smile.

Adjusting her white sun hat, she asked her companion, who was involuntarily placing down their luggage down on the hotel room's floor. "Are you ready, Natsume?"

"Ready to leave this place, yes." Natsume said dryly.

"Oh, c'mon," Mikan gestured to the large window overlooking the white sandy beach. "Doesn't it look relaxing to you?"

He rolled his eyes at her and said sarcastically, "It does. Absolutely."

"Well, what are you waiting for?!" She looked ready to explode from excitement. "The ocean feels so great and there are tons of—"

Natsume finished her sentence off abruptly. "—girls shoving their breasts at my face."

Mikan colored a bit, crossing her arms over her chest so that hers weren't as exposed as he was thinking. He raised a brow at this. "Natsume, honestly, you are so pessimistic about things."

He shrugged and grabbed a towel, flinging it over his broad shoulder. "I'm only doing this for both of them, especially Ruka."

That's right. Brave old Ruka, after countless of sleepless nights, has finally come to a solid decision. The brunette died of joy when she heard the news, immediately giving her best friend a death hug, and the usually blank face of the raven-haired lad was graced with a smile.

Mikan was endlessly talking about which cloth would be perfect for Hotaru's dress at that time, or if it was going to be done inside a church or somewhere else. Ruka only laughed and Hotaru rolled her eyes.

Everyone was sure Natsume was really glad about it, only hiding it for some reason. It was to be held a few months from now, which made the brunette impatiently anxious and happy at the same time.

"Right," She adjusted her sun hat and pushed her hair back.

He just nodded.

Both of them got out of the room and into the air-conditioned hallway with her trailing behind. Their room was on the eighth floor, while Ruka and Hotaru's were on the seventh. He drawled over his shoulder, "I can feel you staring at me."

Mikan averted her gaze to the floor as they kept walking, "I'm worried, in a way."

He stopped in his tracks, so that she could catch up. When she did, they walked alongside each other, their steps in unison. "Don't be."

The brunette sighed loudly. "What happens to us after the wedding, Natsume? They have their own lives now. No more bowling nights or even summer outings, if you can call it one, like today."

Ruka and Hotaru were testing out different hotels until they find one for the reception after their wedding. According to our brunette, it was already the perfect place since it's a well-known hotel by the beach, but the blond was still giving it a careful thought.

"They're not going to disappear." He pressed the down button when they reached the elevator, and it lit up.

"You know what I mean." She tapped her sandal-clad foot on the carpeted floor. "And it's going to be lonely."

It was somehow true and he knew it. He didn't show her, though. Instead, he smirked, "Maybe you're the pessimistic one here." The elevator made a ting! sound as the shiny elevator doors went apart.

Mikan huffed, "I don't dare believe it." Both of them got into the lift and Natsume pressed the Ground floor button, and the doors closed shut.

They waited in silence.

After a few moments… Ting!

The doors opened and revealed a spacious reception hall decorated with what seemed like hanging beach balls from the ceiling, and a number of posters about a huge bonfire happening a few days later were plastered on the walls. You could say that it was definitely the summer season in Japan.

"Are you going? We should definitely go! It, like, rarely happens during the summer. So, are you in?" A passer-by was chatting animatedly with her friend who, in return, nodded her head vigorously and squealed.

Mikan felt Natsume roll his eyes. She was just so sure. So typical of him, she thought.

When they reached the exit, the brunette breathed in the fresh ocean air and gave out a contented sigh, "There's nothing hateful about the beach."

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The sun beat down on them as they made way past the people and into the small hut they rented.

"Oh, Natsume," The blond greeted them courteously, "And Mikan."

"Ruka," Mikan greeted back. Natsume nodded at his best friend, acknowledging him.

"So, it's just a few months before your wedding," the brunette can't get that goofy smile out of her face. She couldn't help it. She was way too happy for them. "How do you feel?"

"This is not an interview, Polka." Natsume butted in, annoyed.

"Whatever, Natsume." Mikan turned her gaze back at Ruka.

"Erm, well," Ruka laughed softly, "I'm nervous, I guess? But I'm absolutely looking forward to it."

Mikan squealed and nudged Natsume's toned arm. "We all are! Aren't we, Nattie?"

The raven-haired boy gave her a look of grimace, probably because of the nickname she had for him. He let it slip nonetheless and nodded, "Yeah."

Ruka only colored at this, "It's still in a few months, though. Thank you."

Then the sound of the waves hitting the shore and the seagull's chirps reached Mikan's ears. Eager to go out any second now, she asked one final question, "Where's Hotaru?"

"Right here." The voice came from behind the trio, still as monotonous as ever. The tone she used hasn't changed up from when they were still studying at Gakuen Alice.

"Oh, Hotaru!" The auburn-haired girl gave her best friend a hug. "It's just a few months before your wedding!" Mikan obviously never really got tired of the news. Natsume just internally face palmed himself for feeling the second hand embarrassment.

"Yeah, I heard." Hotaru, being used to her best friend, took a seat beside her fiancé, the blond circling an arm around her petite waist. "I ordered some pizza for us four. Should be here in half an hour."

Mikan smiled and nodded in response.

"I think she has to go, Imai." The crimson-eyed lad said, his eyes teasing the brunette, "She'd been babbling non-stop about how excited she was to go hit on guys at the beach."

Mikan suddenly got conscious of her bikini-clad body, and looked ready to grab Natsume's head and slam it against the wall any time now. He smirked. "What did you just—"

Hotaru just smiled at this, "Enjoy yourself, idiot."

-CHAPTER END-

A/N: Reviews? Thanks! :D