THE ALICE STONE
Chapter 2: Hotaru's Return
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and Gakuen Alice solely belongs to their respective authors, J. K. Rowling and Tachibana Higuchi.
Mikan's heart sped up as she packed her schoolbag, shoving in her things mindlessly. She furrowed her eyebrows. The classroom was noisy but she couldn't hear anything.
There was one particular point of the day that kept replaying in her mind.
Flashback
"Ne, ne, minna-san! Did you hear?" gushed one of her classmates.
Her name is... Aya... Aya-something. Mikan subconsciously thought.
"Stop stalling and just spit it out Ayane," said another classmate.
Oh. Her name's Ayane. Mikan twirled her pencil around between her fingers, uninterested.
"Imai... Imai-san's coming back to visit!" Ayane squealed, and rather loudly.
The classroom's momentum had momentarily stopped as all the students registered the information and threw glances at Mikan.
There seemed to be no outlandish reaction, as they all watched her back. Everyone gave a sigh of relief and the conversation was re-enlighted.
In truth, Mikan's eyes were wide and her hands were shaking.
"Yes, I heard that Imai-san's school has a different system!"
"So she's taking summer vacation two weeks before ours even starts? She's lucky to be in that school."
"And I heard that they have really fast private jets just to escort the international students all around the world!"
Gasps were heard around the room at this statement.
"Yeah, I heard that it was a school for geniuses only, and instead of the parents paying, the school is funded by the governments of the different countries these geniuses are from!" said another classmate named Hoshi.
Even more gasps, and a startled look came upon Mikan's face. Her eyebrows went up. She could not hide her shock this time, as she remembered what Hotaru had said to her once, "Money is everything." Had her friend abandoned her for the money involved?
What came next broke through the next layer.
"A... ano... I heard,... I heard that...." a shy voice was heard.
"Oi, Hoshiko-chan, what did you hear?" Even Mikan shifted a little to get a better hearing range.
Hoshiko took in a deep breath, then let it all out.
"I... heardthatImaisan'sschooldoesnotallowfirsttimeschoolerssendlettersorvisitanyonebutfamilyand-" she took another deep breath- "allotherlettersarecensored."
That left her gasping for breath while the room fell silent once more. Mikan's eyes were wide.
H...honto??? (A/N: really) thought Mikan. She was so surprised, it seemed, that she did not even have the energy to shout it out like she normally did.
So that's the reason of no proper letters... she thought. But another thought came to her soon after. But wait, if Hotaru could come here to visit, she could write better letters as well! Or maybe explain!
She was instantly filled with fury. At that moment, the door to the classroom slid open.
The teacher blinked as she stepped into the room filled with a dark killer intent. Sweat dropping and nervous, she stepped into the room carefully. Carefully approaching the source of the dark aura emition, she handed Mikan a folded piece of paper.
"It's from your grandfather," she said.
Mikan, it said, Hotaru-chan is over at our house with her parents. She will be staying here for three weeks then tour Japan for the rest of her vacation before visiting our town once more and then going back to England to go to school. Come home to greet her as soon as school is over.
Grandpa.
Mikan looked up from the letter with even wider (if possible) eyes. She then smiled a real wide smile, one that reached her eyes, which shocked the teacher.
Mikan had not smiled once since Hotaru left the village.
End Flashback
Mikan had smiled then. After the rethinking while walking home, she just grimaced. How was she going to greet this friend that had neglected her for the last full year? While she was thinking all that she had arrived at her home.
I will treat her the same, she thought determinedly as she reached the gates to her house, took off her shoes, and headed towards the living room to greet her grandfather, her feet padding on the wooden tattami mats.
Her resolve, not even strong in the first place, melted immediately as she saw the raven haired girl seated at the table with three adults.
Mikan's pseudo-cold eyes stared at the girl. However, that only lasted one second. Her eyes then started regained its sparkle as they became wide and round. Tears started to form in her eyes. "Hotaru...."she whispered.
Hotaru looked at her. All was silent. And then she said, "What are you waiting for?"
Mikan sniffed. To the hell with acting cold.
"Hotaruuuuu!!!!" She lunged for her long not-seen best friend.
At this, Hotaru's usually impassive eyes glinted, and she swiftly pulled out... the Baka Gun 6.3, upgraded during her time at Alice Hogwarts' Academy.
"Baka!Baka!Baka!"
The smoke cleared to show Mikan slumped on the floor with a bump on her head and Hotaru brandishing her precious gun, blowing off the steam at the end. Mikan's grandfather and Hotaru's parents sweatdropped. Hotaru smiled ever so slightly.
"You haven't changed at all," she said as she lowered her gun.
Mikan looked at Hotaru with teary eyes, clutching her head. As if this was a cue, one of Mikan's veins popped up on her forehead.
"HOTARU! YOU COLD-HEARTED BRAT! HOW COULD YOU NOT SEND ME ANY PROPER LETTERS! WHEN I WROTE TO YOU EVERY DAY! AND YOU DIDN'T COME VISIT FOR WINTER VACATION! YOU- you...you liar!" she sobbed at the end.
Hotaru looked at the crying Mikan. And patted her on the head. Mikan felt more tears coming to her eyes at this gesture. She wrapped her arms around her best friend for a hug. Hotaru merely sighed softly.
"Ne, ne, its been soo long since I've seen you!" Mikan then gave Hotaru a general look-over.
Hotaru had grown taller. Her hairstyle was still short as ever, but her face was less round, her facial features more prominent. She looked older than her actual twelve years.
But she was still Hotaru that she had grown up with and loved.
"Wah!!!" Mikan exclaimed. "You changed so much!" She tried to land a bear hug on her friend. And suceeded.
Hotaru stared at her for only a moment before pushing her off.
"Same to you... baka."
"Baka!Baka!Baka!"
The adults chuckled. Everything would be just fine. They left the two girls alone in the room to catch up on things, but not before telling them that Hotaru would be sleeping over at Mikan's.
"Yay!" shouted Mikan as she dragged a disgruntled Hotaru to her room upstairs.
It was surprising how much energy she had left even after withstanding the improved Baka Gun. Hotaru remained impassive as she let the hyper brunette drag her to whever she was going, but inwardly, she sighed. She had missed Mikan alright, but this summer... was going to be a long one indeed. Then, when she made sure Mikan was too busy pulling her upstairs to notice anything, she really smiled.
'But it'll be fun.' she thought, her eyes glinting, as she took out her new invention- the Baka Horseshoe.
Mikan's cries of pain filled the village and echoed in the moutains.
Hotaru was dreaming about a mechanical robot land where millions of robots that had brown hair tied in pigtails and orange jeweled eyes were bowing down to her,offering plates of crabs and mussels as a gift, complete with a jar of crab brains for desert -when she was shaken awake from her utopia.
"Hotaru..." She distantly heard. She instinctively groaned.
"Ne, ne, Hotaru, what shall we do today?"
Mikan was already wide awake, at current five thirty in the morning, her face alight with happiness. Usually she would be fast asleep at this hour, but the mere thought of spending time with her best friend had woken her up. Beside her was a very displeased Hotaru.
Hotaru had a very annoyed face. Sleep bubbles were popping around her.
"Mikan, you owe me twelve galleons for this..." she grumbled as she dozed in and out of conciousness.
"Huh? What? Gal-ee-onnes? What's that? And for what?" piped up the already hyper girl's voice. Mikan tilted her head to one size to add effect.
Hotaru couldn't believe her luck. She was shaken awoke at five thirty, just to find out it was Mikan, and now the same brunette was trying to make plans for the day, at dawn. Not to mention that Hotaru had let the word "galleons" slip.
She made silent calculations in her head.
"Just pay me twelve hundred yen later. And let me go back to sleep." she muttered, hoping Mikan would get the message.
Unfortunately for Hotaru, unlike most her friends at her current school, Mikan was an extremely dense person.
"Ehh???? How can I pay you such a big sum of money! And no you cannot go back to sleep! How can you even think of going back to sleep when you have a full day ahead of you to spend with your bestest friend in the world?" Mikan pouted. "Unless you have other plans... with other friends..." Her eyes began to tear up, her bottom lip quivering adding to the effect.
Hotaru sighed inwardly. This meant she had to get up before Mikan burst into tears.
"Mikan," she said finally, startling the girl. "I do not have plans with other friends. And we don't have just one day, we have full three weeks."
Mikan instantly became cheery again.
"You're right! Now what to you want to do this morning? We could watch these videos like before, or read these books, or go to this temple to write wishes, or, oh, oh, we could..."
Hotaru instantly regretted what she said. She reached for her always near invention that seemed so handy these days.
"Baka!Baka!Baka!"
The sound woke up Mikan's grandfather.
To use the Baka Gun, and so early in the morning! He just groaned, turned over, and went back to sleep.
Meanwhile Mikan was becoming teary-eyed again.
"Mikan," Hotaru said, trying to think of the right words this time. "It's great that you're trying to be a good friend, but right now... right now..." Hotaru gave up the plan of going back to sleep. "We need to eat breakfast first."
Mikan stood up, fist clenched in front of her with a folded arm. Her determined eyes sparked in a way that made Hotaru sweatdrop.
"Yes!" she said, "we shall do this all later, after we gain all our necessary energy from the nutrients from the food that we eat!"
Hotaru stared. "Where and how did you ever learn that?" she asked.
"Well, at school duh, we all learn this. Did you not know? But how could you not know when you are a genius? And... HEY!" Mikan finally realized that Hotaru was insulting her.
Hotaru smirked. "Just get breakfast, Mikan."
"HAI!!!" shouted Mikan, and marched toward the kitchen. She promptly came back. "Wait Hotaru, what do you want? We have eggs, rice, soup, porridge, or maybe you could have leftover takoyaki or onnigiri, or-"
SWAT! Out came the fly swatter that was seen in the beginning of the story.
Mikan never got to finish her sentence.
"Just go get anything, baka."
Pouting, Mikan picked herself up and ran to get breakfast.
Hotaru sighed. This summer was really going to be long.
Meanwhile, Mikan's grandfather had woken up again. He groaned. He was going to need to soundproof this place if he wanted to ever sleep in peace. Those two girls made too big of a racket when placed together in one place.
"HOTARU IMAI IS THAT YOU????," a voice shouted over the telephone. Hotaru's mother nearly dropped the phone and said, "Hai? Iie, wotashi..." Then she realized this person was speaking in English. She promptly switched the language.
"No, this is Mrs. Imai, Hotaru's mother. Can you please stop shouting?"
It seemed that Hotaru had inherited her prompt frankness from her mother. After all, Mrs. Imai was scary when she was mad.
"Oh." The voice said, sounding a bit disappointed. The sound of the phone being shifted into different hands was heard over the line.
"Hello Mrs. Imai," This time it was a woman's voice, she gathered. Much more pleasant, she thought.
"Hello, yes, who is this?" Hotaru's mom asked in slightly broken English.
"Oh, I'm Mrs. Potter, James's mum, he's one of Hotaru's friends." The pleasant woman answered. "Please call me Ginny."
Hotaru's mom was surprised at the intimacy between the Westerners all the time. She supposed that she would have to get used to it.
"Um, yes, Ginny? Why was your... son? Calling?" She wished she could speak better English.
Maybe I should get Hotaru to build me a translator,'she thought. She realized however that her daughter would make charge her for it for a hefty sum without any discount. She winced at the thought. She wondered where her daughter's sudden obsession with money came from.
"Oh," said Ginny, "I think my son's taken a liking to her-" muffled protests were heard on the other end as she said this, "-and I was wondering if she wanted to spend time with us over the summer. It would help her to learn more about our world, I think."
Hotaru's mom liked this woman. Maybe she could meet her sometime in person.
Or maybe now. She smiled.
"Uh... Gee-nee-san?"
"Yes, Mrs. Imai?"
"Is it possible for you to... teleport? To here now?"
"Oh of course! Do you have a fireplace?
"Ah? Um, yes-"
"Oh, then please wait a second!"
Hotaru's mom waited for a response.. And waited. And waited.
"Uh... Gee-nee-san?"
She stood confused for a minute when she heard the call end with the loud, annoying beep beep beep. She felt confused. Then she gave a little shriek as the fire in the fireplace became huge, roaring and green. Then, a person came out of the fire. She had long, dark read hair. Next came a man with jet black hair and glasses, with a weird lightening shaped scar in his forward. After came three children, one after the another. Two had black hair like the man and the little girl had short, aburn hair. As they straightened up, they dusted their shoulders of ash onto the carpet. Behind them the fire had returned to its original state.
"Hello," said the man, stretching out his hand.
"Harry! Use a language charm to speak Japanese! We aren't in England. I'm sure Ms. Imai would prefer that." Still in English, but this time it was Ginny (she assumed, as she was the only woman).
"Can't, need an alice stone to do that mum, remember?" It was the boy on the phone.
"Welcome," she said in her best English, startling the man and children. "Welcome to Japan and my house. Would you like something to drink? Some tea, perhaps?"
"Yes, please, Mrs. Imai." the children chorused, and they filed into the living room.
"By the way," Ginny said, "You haven't told me what to call you yet."
Hotaru's mom was taken aback by this statement. But just a while. Well, her daughter would need to go to a western school for seven years.
Might as well adjust to their customs from now on.
"Call me Kyoko."
Hotaru was very annoyed, perhaps for the fiftieth time today. Her mother had just called her to tell her that Potter, of all families, had just turned up at her house using the Floo Network.
"Hotaru, why can't I go over to your house with you?" whined Mikan, practically clutching her leg.
"Because I want to get some fresh air while I go get some things, and having you around would give me a headache."
Hotaru's frankness strikes again. Mikan was wilting on the floor.
"But..." Mikan tried to persuade Hotaru.
"No. Besides, I'll be back soon."
Hotaru left the still wilting and dishearted Mikan alone in her house and walked briskly towards her house. Well, more like drove to her house on the duck scooter she hid at the back of Mikan's house.
After flying over a couple of roofes and turning her and there, she came to a stop. She dismounted her scooter, took off her helmet, and walked briskly into the house.
"What exactly are you doing here, James Sirius Potter?" Hotaru's voice was monotonous and smooth even while speaking in English. Her accent was American, despite having been going to school in England.
A British accent answered her.
"Well, well, if it isn't Hotaru Imai, genius of all kinds?"
They glared at each other, green meeting purple. An electric current seemed to be between those two.
Hotaru's mom came up behind James' mother. She had a bemused expression on her face.
"I thought they was friends, like you said, Gee-nee-san."
Ginny laughed. "That's normal, for them, I guess. I used to do that myself. Don't worry too much Kyoko. And please, drop the 'san' thing."
If Hotaru was not, well, Hotaru, she would have been standing there with her jaw on the ground. No one, ever, called her mother 'Kyoko' other than her father. She was starting to get really irritated, with the after effects of being woken up at dawn included.
"Okaa-san, why is Potter here? Not to mention his parents and siblings?"
"They were asking if you wanted to go over to their home and learn more about sorcery," her mother replied.
Hotaru's eyes seemed to get darker as if wondering if her mother was insane for considering such a proposal.
"Okaa-san, I'm staying here with Mikan until I need to go to Diagon Alley before school to get supplies. And even then a chauffeur is coming for me. I will not go to Potter's house. Oh, and cancel the all-around-Japan tour. I'm going back to Mikan's now. I will probably stay there the whole day." Hotaru grabbed a bag that contained her tools in the living room and left promptly.
There was an awkward silence at the prompt departure.
"I guess that didn't work then. I'm sorry James, try next time." Ginny teased her son.
James blushed red, even to his ears.
"It's not like that!"
Albus and Lilly started up a chant, "James likes Hotaru, James likes Hotaru-"
James merely stuttered and went to find his father who was admiring the Japanese traditional garden.
A few minutes later the Potters would be back at their home in Godric's Hollow, listening to Albus and Lilly tease James.
"JAMES LIKES HOTARU, JAMES LIKES HOTARU-"
"SHUT UP!"
END OF CHAPTER 2
GoldenDragonClouds: Okay, I know, it's OOC in the beginning. But the Mikan we love comes back! I just HAD to put in depressed Mikan somewhere. And the relationship between James and Hotaru? I support Hotaru x Ruka, BUT I'm leaning against it now, courtesy of Mikancchi. YES there will be Natsume x Mikan... after they meet each other I suppose... But only after... a few years-
Mikancchi: GDC! BE QUIET FOR GOODNESS' SAKES! YOU ARE GIVING AWAY TOO MUCH OF THE PLOT! I'M ALREADY IRRITATED WITH THE OOC! Btw everyone, I'm main-author-ing for chapters 4 and 5. *cackles evilly*
GoldenDragonClouds: ... (sweat drops) And anyways, R & R ppl!
Mikancchi: PLEASE REVIEW!
Next chapter:
Hotaru! You can't leave already!
Yes I can, it's my school.
Mikan chased after the car...and grabs hold of the trunk. To her much unexpected surprise-
Read and find out!