Disclaimer: No. Never.

A/N: Edited. Well, I did try editing this.

Never mind searching for who you are. Search for the person who you aspire to be.

-Robert Brault

CHAPTER 2: When She Was Still Mikan Sakura

Mikan watched herself in front of the mirror, as she put on her pair of diamond earrings.

They arrived half an hour ago and they were in their room to prepare for the reception. The reception will be held in the same hotel.

Their guests are from different companies, from different wealthy families. Some were friends, and some were merely acquaintance. But one thing was common with all of these people. They only came for publicity. (Talk about the wedding of the year, huh?)

She stared at herself in the mirror, touching her curled locks gently. She looked at her face, which had a slight makeup on. She sighed when she picked her wedding ring and her engagement ring up, before sliding both rings on her left ring finger. She lifted her left hand, at the same height with her face, before facing the mirror once again.

This time, with tears nearly falling from her eyes.

FLASHBACK (Mikan's POV)

I put my bag on the couch inside her my room and went to the bathroom to take a bath.

I just came home from a private school, where I was a teacher on probation. The school principal there told me that she was just waiting for me to pass my licensure exam and I'd be a regular teacher there soon.

I just graduated from college six months ago, acing almost all of my final exams. And because of that, I graduated with flying colors. I entered and graduated from the same college with my best friend, Hotaru Imai, who unlike me, took applied physics as her chosen course. She was into inventing things and she said that taking this course would help her in developing her inventions more.

Hotaru and I practically knew each other since birth, our mothers being best friends and all. So the both of us treated each other like a sister, and we promised each other to be best friends forever. (Although Hotaru kept on insisting that only I made that promise myself.)

Me, taking up an education course was a big shock not only to my family but to all those who knows me. Well, except for Hotaru. She knew that I really want to be a teacher since we were younger. And she's the only one who knows why.

Our homeroom teacher when we were in the middle school department in Gakuen Alice inspired me.

It was like this…

Narumi-sensei has his own special way on influencing his student with whatever he did. He was an idiot, yes, but being an idiot has its own advantages, Narumi-sensei said so himself.

'It's like being exempted from being rude, and being exposed to simple things and how the things were. An idiot doesn't have to think harder than everyone else but an idiot always appreciates things the way they were, either good or bad.'

But I remembered Hotaru saying something with her monotonous voice after Narumi told us those things.

"He just makes excuses for being an idiot himself," and our class laughed and agreed with what she said.

It was such a pity when after a few weeks after my friends and I graduated from middle school, he passed away. He died from an accident while saving one of his precious students from being run over by a car. The psychotic driver got away, leaving him and his student lying helpless on the ground.

A tear escaped from my eye when I remembered Narumi-sensei. He was so good to me and acted almost like a father to me.

I smiled bitterly.

Narumi-sensei was always there for me whenever I needed him the most. He filled up a vital position in my life and acted as my father when my dad 'gave up' this position and chose to attend his business meeting and trips instead.

I knew that a long time ago, my mother and Narumi-sensei attended Gakuen Alice together. I even heard some faculty members say that they were the best of friends.

It was a few days before our graduation.

That time, out of my curiosity, I asked him why he was so good to me. He stopped and turned to me and looked at my face. He was like that for a moment, that's why I thought he was not going to answer my question. But words came out from his lips.

"You look like your mother, Mikan-chan," he said, with a smile on his lips.

I frowned. I kind of know that by now. Many people would come up to me and say that most of the time. It's not that that I don't like being told that I look like my mother. My mother was beautiful.

So that's means I'm beautiful, too, right?

I giggled at my own thoughts. And then, I heard him speak again.

"I love your mother, Mikan. I always have and I always will."

I smiled and giggled at the same time when I heard those words, and I tried to imagine what it's like if my mother and Narumi-sensei would end up together. I know it's rude, but… never mind. I thought of telling this to my mom when I get back home but he told me to keep this a secret.

So I agreed.

And after a few weeks, just like what I've said, Narumi-sensei died. He died calling for my mother and me. And that was why I decided to be someone like him.

A teacher who could influence her students with her own special way.

This shocked my family, particularly my father when I announced that I wanted to take up education when I reach college. My mother only smiled at me while my father… well, we could say that almost all glass figurines broke, because of the loudness of his voice when he told me I should take up a business related course just like my brother so we could manage our businesses together in the future.

I never paid attention to him when he was giving me this lecture. Instead, I was thinking of howalons… and my soft comfy bed.

So my father, noticing I wasn't paying any attention to him, just shrugged his shoulders, an indication that he gave up on that 'little' talk of ours.

When I graduated from college, during dinner, I was talking animatedly to my little brother, Youichi (because he told me he's too old to be called You-chan), when my father turned his attention to me and asked me if I really want to pursue being a teacher. I told him that I was currently reviewing for my licensure exams and that I'd work as a teacher in a private school.

He nodded and I almost jumped for joy. Well almost. Not after I heard him say, 'If that's your decision, then, I'll let you do what you want, young lady. But in return, you'll be engaged to one of my client's son. You'll meet him soon and hopefully, you'll marry him one of these months.'

My mouth opened in shock while my father, silently eating, glanced at me before he stood up and proceeded to his study room.

Four days after that, when I was in the middle of teaching my last class for that day, I noticed two men, dressed in black standing outside the classroom. When my class ended, they approached me and told me that my dad wanted me to go to his office this afternoon.

That was new.

So I agreed. I never thought that I would regret my decisions after.

We walked side by side, with me in the middle, as we entered our company's building.

My mind was still swimming with thoughts on why my father would want me to go to his office in this time of hour. Then, I told the two men that I could go to my father's office by myself.

I opened the door, and poked my head inside to look for my father.

His office was still the same; an air of superiority still lingers inside the room. Nothing much has changed since the last time that I was here. Which was, by the way, a long time ago.

I opened the door widely, finally noticing that my dad wasn't inside the room. Instead, a raven-haired man, sitting on my father's swivel chair, was there, his back facing me. Then suddenly, he turned the chair around, allowing him to face me, his crimson eyes catching my attention. My forehead knotted because I had never seen him before.

I approached the table, carefully sitting on the chair in front of it. I turned my attention to my surroundings, hoping to find something amusing besides the man with the crimson eyes. A few minutes ticked away and I found nothing which caught my attention.

Frowning, I unconsciously turned to the man sitting in front of me, his eyes filled with amusement as he looked at me. I stared at his face, thinking of a reason why he was here in my father's office, sitting on my father's swivel chair. Then, it hit me.

My eyes widened when I remembered what my dad told me a few days ago.

'You'll meet him soon and hopefully, you'll marry him one of these months.'

I let out a scream when I realized what the situation was. Sure, it caused me almost half an hour to finally figure out that he was- Oh, my God! I don't even want to finish my sentence. When my scream ended, I saw him looking at me, but with his ears covered. And then he spoke. His voice was cold and firm. It was one of those voices that I wouldn't forget! Ever! That's because he-

"Are you going to make my ears bleed? Sheesh! Shut up already!"

He let out a sigh as he removed his hands on his ears. Then he spoke again, and I wished that he didn't.

"You look like an idiot. I can't believe my mother is doing this to me!"

See why I can't forget his voice? He's just so- uh! Annoying? Rude? Irritating?

I sighed. I even heard him cursed under his breath while he was massaging his temples. He was muttering some words, words from his colourful vocabulary. I snickered because of that.

I picked up a green stapler that I found lying on the floor next to the chair where I sat. I wrapped my fingers around it as I examined it. I wasn't listening to what that man was saying and I was happy that one of my talents was to block myself from my environment and not to pay attention from anything else whenever I didn't want to. But then I heard him say, "I can't believe I'm going to marry an idiotic and ugly woman like you!" I turned to him, his eyes were all on me, and his index finger was pointing directly at me. And then, the next thing I knew, the green stapler came flying towards the face of the man with crimson eyes.

END OF FLASHBACK (End of Mikan's POV)

Mikan sighed… yet again. How many times did she sigh this day? She couldn't even remember.

She looked at the mirror again and gently fixed her hair. She stood up, examining her maroon cocktail dress that ended just below her knees. She dusted her dress and looked at her reflection once again. She touched her ears, carefully checking if her earrings were there. She once again touched her auburn hair, gently tucking some stray hair behind her ears. After taking a last glance at herself on the mirror, she smiled at herself, before she saw a pair of crimson eyes, watching her intently.

"Oi, Polka-dots. Aren't you finished yet?"

Mikan glared at him through the mirror.

"Oi, idiot Mimi," Natsume told the woman, his wife, when she finally noticed him watching her. Shaking his head from unearthly thoughts, he walked next to her, only to find her blushing as she clutched her dress. His wife then turned to face him.

God, she's beautiful.

But there's no way in hell that he'll tell her that. That's for sure.

Smirk.

A/N: Chapter 2. I still have to edit the other chapters. Pfft.

To my dear readers: Sorry for the wait.

WHY DID YOU KILL NARUMI? (This is a possible question, right?) Actually, this idea just popped into my head. It's not that don't like Narumi, or I have something against him. I definitely like his character in the anime even in the manga but… ah, I guess I have to 'kill' him in this fic. His death is somewhat like a drive for Mikan to be a teacher like him. And Mikan, being a teacher, makes this story go round and round and round! LOL.

AUTHOR'S NOTE REMOVED. :)