I'M SOOOOOO SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE! I WUZ SUPPOSED TO UPDATE ON THE 27th, BUT I GUESS I FORGOT... ^_^"
Summary: Mikan Sakura and her best friend Hotaru Imai finally get the chance to go back to their hometown in the countryside. What awaits her there? What will happen after the trip? NatsumexMikan and HotaruxRuka
Genre: Friendship/Romance (Friendship near the beginning and middle, romance starting at the end of middle...that was kinda confusing :P) and Hurt/Comfort (This story will contain a lot of hurt for Hotaru and Mikan. Who comes in? Hehehehe...)
Rated: T (for language and some scenes... but most of the time I would also give it a K+)
Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice. Wish I did though! :P
Breathe
Chapter 3
Mikan tiptoed to Hotaru's room, her heart pounding against her chest. She came across Hotaru's door, which had a big, electronic sign with big letters: KEEP OUT! Without warning, two robots sprung up.
"What is your business with Hotaru-sama?" One monotonously said, its hands reaching for the baka gun equipped in its belt. "Ummm... I need to talk to her! So could you, um, move so I can talk to her?" Mikan nervously replied, her head craning to look past the two robots to see if the door was locked. Her hand itched toward the doorknob.
"Halt!" The two robots pointed their guns at her. "What is your name?" Mikan scratched her head, and answered, "Mikan Sakura."
"We are sorry. You are not in her list of people allowed to enter her room." Mikan huffed. "I'm not surprised," she muttered. "Anyway, please! Let me enter." The two robots looked at each other. "We must consult Hotaru-sama," they said in unison. They disappeared (to who knows where). Mikan nodded, satisfied, and sat on the carpet floor, waiting for their reply.
The ESP laughed evilly. What an interesting plot, he thought, sipping whatever was in his cup. This was getting interesting.
Ruka couldn't concentrate. Stroking Usagi, he looked impatiently at the clock, waiting for class to end. Misaki-sensei was helping students indentify parts of some rare Alice plant. He glanced sideways at Natsume, who had his feet on the desk, his arms supporting his head, and his face covered in manga. Staring at his worksheet, he thought about Mikan and Hotaru. What happened? Natsume, meanwhile, was thinking almost the same thing. The ESP hardly ever called students down to his office unless something bad happened or was going to happen. He shook his head. This is no time to be worried about Mikan, he chided to himself, You should be labeling plant parts. Taking his manga off of his head and dropping his legs, he grabbed his pencil and stared at his worksheet. Never mind, Natsume thought, and relaxed again. Jeesh, so boring and so easy.
Mikan was getting agitated. Ten minutes already passed. Not a single sound was made. Subaru was downstairs thinking seriously while pouring Youichi a cup of tea. Mikan clenched her hands. Suddenly, without warning, the carpet moved. Mikan jumped to her feet with a squeak. Underneath it emerged not the two robots but a turtle—her turtle mail! Mikan grabbed the turtle and carefully retrieved the small note. OK, it said. Mikan punched the air in happiness. "I'll take that as a yes!" She tried the doorknob—it was locked. "Huh?" Noticing a little calculator thingy next to it, she observed both objects. "Is OK some sort of passcode or something?" She punched both letters in and tried the doorknob. It creaked open. She pounced in without hesitation.
Hotaru wiped her tears in disgust. She wasn't supposed to be crying. Strong girls like her weren't supposed to cry! Crying was showed weakness. Weakness was her fear. Feeling weak was not in Hotaru's book of feelings. At least not before. How could she handle this? All of a sudden, Hotaru's two main robots popped up in front of her. "A girl named Mikan Sakura has come to see you." Baka I said. "Do you wish for her to enter?" Baka II asked. Hotaru looked at the floor. Spotting a piece of scrap paper, she grabbed a pencil from her bed and scribbled a few letters on it. "Give this to her via turtle mail," she uttered, not moving her gaze from the ground. "Understood," Bakas I and II bowed and disappeared.
Moments later, Hotaru heard the door open. And Mikan pranced through, and after looking stupidly around her, she fell. Hotaru snickered. Mikan scratched her head nervously. "So, umm, hey!" Mikan nodded her head, trying to be cool. "How's it goin'?" Hotaru rolled her eyes but wouldn't reply. On a more serious note, she said, "Are you feeling better?"
Hotaru nodded her head and took a deep breath. "Yeah, I think I feel better." Mikan smiled goofily. "So are we ready to head back home?" Hotaru didn't even have to reply. She gave Mikan a look, which told her everything. "I'll be waiting downstairs!" Mikan told Hotaru.
Hotaru looked around her room slowly. Pictures of her family were everywhere, and Hotaru found it painful to recall the memories. Heading to the bathroom, she washed her face as best as she could to wash away all traces of her tears. She had to try to move on.
Mikan and Youichi greeted Hotaru as she came downstairs. Hotaru rolled her eyes at their sympathy and said that yes, in fact, she was feeling a lot better. Youichi grinned and exclaimed, "Your brother is going to enroll me into Alice Academy!" Hotaru was indeed surprised and happy, patting his spiky gray hair. Youichi adorably pouted. Hotaru turned to her older brother. A look of understanding passed through them. Both nodded once.
Mikan smiled, holding back her pain. "Let's go back to Alice Academy, guys!"
Sorry for the kinda short chapter. I think there's gonna be one or two more chapters after this one. I'm also working on a fluffy oneshot of Natsumikan right now.
Thnx guys!
-My Creative Notebook
