All about Tonight

Chapter 2: All that Drama

"Ruka is up," Kitsuneme read from his cellphone. "Mochu says they'll be there on time."

"Well, it looks like Mochu is good for something after all," Wakako said with a smirk. Kitsuneme smiled briefly but did not comment. He could never understand where her animosity stemmed from but he figured it had something to do with Mochu and Sumire's break up. Still, it couldn't have been the only source of her hostility. Wakako had a tough year and it was about to culminate into what was going to happen tonight. He shook his head at the thought. He had been around Wakako for years but perhaps he had never actually known her.

"Care to share your thoughts?"

"I'd really rather not say," he said cheekily and she rolled her eyes.

If Wakako Usami was asked, she'd say she had a tough life. She had grown up in a challenging, extraordinary and complex environment. She didn't know it at the time because it was the only school setting she had ever known, but once they graduated she realized the discrete advantage she had gained for being part of the Alice Academy.

It wasn't because the curriculum had been particularly hard nor was it that she had been surrounded by people so talented that they gave others an inferiority complex. Those things could also be true elsewhere. What made their school life different was the complete seclusion and independence the Academy gave to its students. It had been scary and liberating at the same time. These two things (plus crazy teachers, life and death circumstances, and a campus with debatable safety policies) shaped her and her friends in a way no other school could. Even now, there were things about the Academy that she remembered with varying degrees of fondness and contempt.

In the Academy, she felt like she had been part of something special. Despite their different personalities and multiple quirks, their class was a homogeneous group and they represented what was best about being an Alice. It was disconcerting that she had started to feel detached from her friends in the last year and she was currently fighting her way back to them.

"I hope it's not what's about to happen tonight that's making you scowl," Kitsuneme teased as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

"I'm not scowling."

He laughed. "I'm the one looking at your face."

"Well then, maybe you don't know me as well as you think," she snipped. Wakako regretted her tone when Kitsuneme's face fell. He recovered quickly though and grinned.

"Well then maybe I should remedy that."

They fell silent. Wakako saw him glance towards the Master's bedroom as though he was hoping Natsume or Mikan would emerge to join them. When neither did, he returned his attention to his coffee cup and started stirring milk into it as though the very act was paramount to life. He was clearly uneasy.

An apology lodged in her throat. In her head, Mikan— because her conscience had picked up the annoying habit of using Mikan's voice— started coaxing her but it was just more natural for her not to say anything. Still, she wanted to ease things with her friends. After everything they've put up with when it concerned her, she owed it to them to be nicer.

"Oh hey! Good morning, Mikan!" Kitsuneme greeted suddenly. He sounded a little too excited and her moment to apologize passed.

"Good morning," Mikan returned. Wakako noted there was a spring in her step. Mikan looked like she woke up with the proverbial song in her heart and that was emphasized by the way she hummed softly as she laid some bread on the counter.

"You look like you're in a good mood," Kitsuneme remarked.

"I am, yes," she smiled. "Despite the fact that you boys are about to embark on a dangerous quest, I have a feeling it's going to be a good day."

"So you're not worried about Natsume?"

"I'm more worried about the other guy," she said loyally.

Kitsuneme laughed then nudged Wakako playfully. "Well, it's good to see one of us woke up cheerful today."

"Don't I always?"

"What's your secret?" he teased.

"You had sex," Wakako accused, causing Kitsuneme to knock over his coffee cup. Mikan only shrugged as she handed him a dish rag.

"Yes, she did," Natsume spoke as he walked into the kitchen to join them. He planted a kiss on Mikan's temple then reached for bread and butter. "Unlike you slackers, we try to do six impossible things before breakfast."

"Too much info, Hyuuga," Wakako said, making a face. She glanced at Kitsuneme slyly. "Do you still want to know their secret?"

"No," Kitsuneme said firmly. He emphasized this with a shake of his head. "I'd rather not think about a bro and a… female bro… getting it on. It makes me squeamish."

"You're adorable," Mikan said indulgently.

"And celibate," Natsume snickered. He turned to Wakako and a devilish grin flashed. "Now Usami here, on the other hand, is a complete reprobate."

"And you're a degenerate."

"It means the same thing."

"So you're both in good company," Mikan broke in before they could launch into a full-fledged argument. She slipped her fiancé the morning paper to distract him. Once he focused on a column, Mikan mouthed 'sorry' to Wakako but she waved it off.

As far as she was concerned, Natsume had good reason to talk to her like this. She had spent a year and a half scoffing at him and baring fangs when all he wanted to do at the time was help her. He could insult, patronize and antagonize her all he wanted and she would never hold it against him; not since the insane gamble he made on her that proved not only his loyalty to his friends but also his insane resolve to set things right for them.

Wakako took a breath, trying to clear her head of dire thoughts. She glanced at Mikan and smirked. "If Sumire were here, she'd have known in a trice."

"How?" Kitsuneme wanted to know.

"Sumire can smell the sex off of you."

He raised an eyebrow. "That's so… kinky."

"That's what I said," Natsume quipped as he turned a page. "Figures, fate would give that talent to a woman."

"Oh stop it," Mikan chided. "It's not an ability she uses all the time. Anyway, you guys are in our apartment. I think you're free to conclude that we actually do stuff in here."

"Ugh," Wakako groaned. "A happily engaged woman— I can't stand it."

Mikan stopped cooking for a minute to lean across the counter and peer at her. She wore a devious smile. "You know, we are going to be in a club later—"

"For a mission," Natsume intoned.

"Yes, yes," she said hastily. "But it wouldn't hurt to check out your prospects, right? I'll be your wingwoman."

Kitsuneme and Wakako laughed. "Sorry Mikan," Wakako said. "But scoping hot guys in a sleazy bar with someone as wholesome as you is not going to work."

"I can do it!" Mikan insisted. "For instance, I already know for a fact that the DJ handling tonight's scene is smoking hot."

Kitsuneme shot a furtive glance at Natsume but it looked like he was too engrossed in what he was reading. Wakako wrinkled her nose. "A dubstep DJ?"

"Okay, maybe not," Mikan mused then she snapped her fingers. "I can get us into the VIP lounge. I met this guy the last time I was there with Anna—"

"Are you okay with this?" Kitsuneme asked Natsume loudly.

"I don't care where she gets her appetite as long as she eats at home," Natsume said without looking up from the news.

"I'm surprised you've become so open-minded."

"He's bluffing," Mikan said, rolling her eyes. "Last night, he knocked over a guy in the sports bar because he was standing too close to me."

"He was eyeing you."

"I was eyeing him too," she said unrepentantly.

"So you see your share in the blame," Natsume retorted. "Anyway, let's not forget that he tried to pick you up."

Mikan laughed. "All he said was, 'Hey, pretty lady.'"

"His last words, I'm sure," Kitsuneme snickered. Then he suddenly frowned as a not entirely welcome thought occurred to him. "And that fight led to—"

"Six impossible things, yes," Mikan affirmed. She and Natsume high-fived while Wakako and Kitsuneme both cringed at the thought.

"You two are so corrupted."

"Look, we're engaged and this is our apartment. That means we can do it whenever—" Natsume paused and glanced meaningfully at the countertop, "—and wherever we choose."

"Oh gross!" Wakako cried then backed away from the table. Kitsuneme calmly lifted his cup and saucer then peered at the wood.

"Fascinating," he commented as he scrutinized the surface. "You know, it'd be so funny if one of us had a Microbial Alice."

"He's joking." Mikan swatted Natsume's arm. He snickered again then returned his attention to the paper. She went on to tell Kitsuneme that the guy she and Anna met had in fact been there with his basketball player boyfriend.

As the conversation continued, Wakako suddenly felt bereft. She wanted this. She wanted all of this, all the time. She wanted to have breakfast in a sun-lit kitchen in an apartment full of laughter. Every time she visited Natsume and Mikan, it was easy to imagine that the outside world didn't exist and none of the awful things happened to her in the last year. She was safe here and they were going to protect her because she was worth caring about. Once, she thought she almost had this but that expectation had quickly turned to dust.

Three years ago, Wakako had gotten engaged to a fellow banker. He had been new in the firm, and was a couple of years older. He'd blindsided her with romance and good conversation. He'd won her over with intelligence and privilege. She had been happy and was nearly the first person in the gang to get married. She was in jail three months before the ceremony, serving time for extortion and blackmail. Her good name was in tatters, her assets were frozen and the career she had ruthlessly built went down the drain. Her fiancé was gone.

"We are going to do everything to get you out of this," Mikan had promised her the day she showed up at the detention center. "Natsume is working round the clock to help you."

"What if you don't find him?"

"We will," she said resolutely. "He doesn't know who he messed with and stupid men are very easy to find."

She went home a week later after Natsume's organization stripped the evidence against her to shreds. They still needed to find the culprit though, so he dedicated sixteen hours every week to her case. She knew this wasn't part of his regular mission roster so he must be doing it on his own time. Natsume had tried to warn her against her ex-fiancé so what she was most grateful about was that despite his obvious frustration at her for not listening sooner, he never said, 'I told you so'.

The entire incident took her down a peg... or five. The girls had been there for her through everything. Sumire, ever a constant presence in her life, spent nearly every evening at her place. Misery loved company and since Sumire's relationship status had also imploded, it was good that they had each other.

"You two are going to combust," Mikan told her. "You need to be around other people too."

"I'm no good around other people."

"You're not the only one fumbling through this, you know," she said. "Nonoko is also trying to make amends with everyone."

"Did her fiancé jilt her too?"

"No, she thinks she jilted us," Mikan said delicately. "But no one's giving her a hard time about it. That's just not what we do."

"Ugh! You're too nice. Way too nice."

Mikan had been right though. Nonoko Ogasawara had avoided the gang for the better part of six years in favor of her career. She was out of touch with everyone. She was trying to fix that and it looked like all of them were ready to let her. It helped Wakako to know she wasn't the only one who drifted away after graduation. Still, they were in very different boats.

"Wakako, are you okay to move by seven?"

"What?"

"Seven o'clock," Mikan repeated then she must have realized her thoughts had wandered off because she smoothed it over before the boys could notice. "That should give us enough time to meet up with Anna at her bakeshop."

"Speaking of Anna, I have to go see her too," Kitsuneme said. He stood up and drained his coffee. "A guy was pestering her to go out and she agreed to lunch. She needs me to third wheel so as to dispel the idea of it being a date."

Mikan's eyebrows scrunched together. "Third wheel?"

"Yeah, we do it all the time," he laughed. "When I was taking up culinary arts with her, I dissuaded two bakers and a grill master."

Kitsuneme had a wide array of academic pursuits before settling on his current profession as a travel blogger. He and Anna became close friends during his brief stint as a would-be chef.

Natsume lowered his paper. "So basically… you're Anna's cockblocker."

"No!" Kitsuneme scowled. He definitely took offense this time. "Seriously man, what is wrong with you this morning?"

"This morning?" Wakako snorted. "He's like that every day."

"Ruka says it comes from being in a happy, committed relationship," Mikan added. "Being the other half of said relationship, I can tell you it's not the case."

"Hey Natsume, if you're still wondering why Mikan won't set the date," Wakako spoke with an evil smile then she gestured around the table, "This is your answer."

For the first time since he entered the kitchen, Natsume looked ill at ease. Mikan rolled her eyes at Wakako. "Don't listen to her. That's not the reason."

"So what is the reason?" Natsume asked. He folded up his paper to give his fiancée his full attention. Kitsuneme and Wakako exchanged a glance when it seemed as though they were about to be caught in the middle of a prenuptial dispute.

Mikan didn't look fazed. She took her time preparing two bento lunches then closed the lids. She seemed entirely immune to Natsume's fixed stare as she secured a tidy knot on the bandana and handed it to her fiancé with a cheerful smile.

"Here's your lunch," she said primly. "It's in the shape of a heart."

Natsume glowered but he went to his feet anyway and grabbed his work bag. "Did you make it a broken heart?"

"Oh, don't be dramatic," Mikan said as she shuffled him to the door. Kitsuneme saw his cue and grabbed his things too. Natsume stopped at the door to put on his coat. He faced her again and Mikan automatically started fixing his collar and straightening his tie.

It was practically a ritual, part of Natsume's objective to slowly wear her down until she chose a date for the wedding. "Marry me."

"Yes."

"I'll take care of you."

"I know."

"Set the date."

"I will." She stood on her toes to give him a kiss. "Go deal with Wakako's douchebag fiancé."

"Done."

"Give him hell. Take care. Love you."

Mikan shut the door after them then Wakako saw her lay an affectionate hand against the wood before returning to the kitchen. Wakako sipped her tea. It suddenly tasted very bitter and she hated having these feelings around Mikan.

"He's not one in a million," Mikan said suddenly.

"Who?"

"Natsume," she said. "There are many others like him."

"Really?" Wakako said cynically. "How many passive-aggressive, perverted flamecasters do you know?"

"Just one," Mikan admitted then she grinned. "But as far as good-looking nice guys go? There are more of them than you think."

"Where are they?"

"In the friend zone," she answered promptly. Mikan placed the cooking pan in the sink then she poured herself some tea. "Some of them are just fighting their way out."

"Then how did I end up with a douchebag?" Wakako couldn't help but ask.

"That's just it, you didn't," Mikan said wisely. "I think it's time you forgave yourself Wakako. No one's blaming you and after tonight, you can put it all behind."

"I'd like that."

Mikan was right. It was all about tonight. Everything hinged on what was going to happen at the club. She had people helping her now. She didn't have to feel so alone and everything else she wanted, she could just deal with later.

"All right, let's go."

"Where?" Mikan said in surprise.

"We're going to Nonoko," Wakako said decisively. "We'll surprise her. Then if she could swing it, we'll drag her with us tonight."

Mikan grinned. "Natsume will hit the roof. Let's do it."