Fukutan is Narumi's substitute. He has the hair-growing alice. Just so you know.

She wasn't at the party. I was looking for her the entire time, and I kept catching flashes of rich brown hair, but whenever I turned I only saw an annoying teen with a brown cap. Why would he wear a hat like that with a tux? For some reason, he really irked me. Anyway, my thoughts are getting off track. I wonder if I'll ever see Mikan again. Why wasn't she there? I suppose she wouldn't be since it was for celebrities and prospective funding revenues. But still…

My personal tragedy going on in my head was interrupted as I noticed the look of shock they each directed at me. I glanced from face to face, trying to figure out what was wrong. Was something on my handsome face? Finally I couldn't take it anymore. "What!"

Sumire gave me a recap of the conversation that had been going on in the limo. A conversation that I was apparently unaware of. "Ruka asked if you… you know… liked a girl? And then you didn't say anything, so…" she trailed off uncomfortably, as though she wasn't quite sure what to do.

Koko was still drunk, but much more sober than he had been when he had kissed a random girl. I guess fending off a world class bodybuilder does that to you, especially when you had just kissed his girlfriend. But even drunk Koko didn't understand the point of shutting up. "Cricket, cricket."

Sumire slapped him upside the head.

Truthfully, I was thankful for his disruption. It didn't make me the first person to break the silence. "I don't like anyone."

"Oh, okay."

"Alright."

"Just wondering."

The tension was relieved and the atmosphere returned to normal. Sumire and Misaki started chatting about girl stuff, and Ruka went back to reading his book. Koko continued to stare at me. Even when I glared at him with my best glare, an expression that has been known to make young children cry, he only appeared mildly concerned. His eyes clearly said he didn't believe my denial. What does he think he is, a mind reader?

The limo pulled up to the house and we all dismounted. Before we got to the door, however, Luna came up to us. "Natsume!" My friends instantly grew silent at the notice of her presence. But she didn't notice the awkward quiet. She tried to put her arms around me and give me a kiss.

I pushed her away, trying not to be too rough. She was a girl after all. "I'm breaking up with you. I found out that you've been cheating on me the entire time we were dating." I had actually known the entire time; it showed up in the tabloids often. Not that it bothered me; I just wanted to win the bet. But it would be cruel to tell her that.

However, Koko didn't know that I was trying to be a gentleman. "Yes!" He pumped a fist in the air. "I win the bet!"

"Yeah, you win. What do you want me to do?" I had a really bad feeling that I was going to regret this. The look of pure glee on his face was scaring me. Not that Natsume Hyuuga ever got scared.

"Huh? Oh yeah, the prize…" Stupid Koko. He wins our bet and completely forgets about the consequence.

Luna had appeared to be torn between murdering Koko and bursting out in tears in a desperate attempt at sympathy. However, at Koko's mention of a bet, she made up her mind. "W-w-what?" Her tear ducts instantly opened, and tears flooded her face. "But Natsume, I love you!" The tears really didn't garner much sympathy. Rather, Luna's mascara smeared and gave her a drowned-raccoon-ish look.

Youichi opened the door to our home. He looked thoroughly bored since we never took him with us, but we didn't want him exposed to the publicity of those types of parties. Too much manipulation and greed in one condensed area for a little kid. At least that's what Sumire said. I personally thought he would make a great babysitter for Koko.

He quickly noticed Luna's state of despair and looked hopeful. "Why is she crying?"

Misaki had gotten tired of Luna's drama a week ago, but Sumire just hated it. "Your brother broke up with her. Koko won the bet." Sumire stalked past Youichi and my manager followed her into the house.

Youichi's grin spread across his face and his green eyes flashed impishly. "Great. I was tired of being insulted by the ugly hag anyway. I still can't believe she actually thought nii-chan liked her." At this point I was ready to end her misery by asking her to leave. Sure, Luna was a horrible person with a nasty ego, but she still deserved mercy.

"I'm right here! Don't you dare call me an ugly hag!" She raised her hand to slap my brother. Instantly I saw red at the thought of anyone close to me being harmed. My hand shot out and caught her wrist on its down stroke.

Through my tinted vision I spat my next words at her. "Don't you DARE come near my family again." My voice had drawn to a controlled monotone, though I'm sure she could still hear the venom concealed beneath the surface. "And he's right; you are an ugly hag." I walked into our home, with my brother, my closest friend, and my drunken friend following me. My family.

Before he shut the door, Koko stuck his tongue out at Luna.

Hikaru

I glanced around, so ready for my second to last class of the day to be over. Jinno was at the board, trying to get basic algebra through the thickest skulls in my grade. My desk partner was simpering and passing notes to her crush. It was a normal day in my life. I turned my attention to a bird outside the class window and watched it hop lightly on the branch of a cherry blossom tree. I opened my sketch book and began to draw the bird as well as possible. I looked down at my drawing. Not too bad, but I could try again later.

Suddenly I sat up straighter. Mikan-nee was going to surprise us today. I was really excited to find out what it was. I know I had told Aoi to stop guessing and wait for today, but it had been three in the morning! I had my own list of possibilities, but it had to be much shorter than Aoi's list. For one, I knew it wouldn't cost much since nee-chan had already dipped into our parent's money for the tickets to Natsume's concert and the passes to meet him. And we most certainly wouldn't be getting a pet.

I raised my hand. "Yes, Miss. Sakura?" Jinno looked annoyed. I was his best student only because the subject was so simple; I never paid attention even if I did show up. He hated my nonchalance.

"May I get a drink of water?"

"Go ahead."

"Thanks." I slid out of my seat and walked up to the front of the class room. I erased an answer of his and his work to problem four and rewrote it correctly. I grinned as cutely as possible. "Just trying to help, Jin-jin." The vein that ran across the front of his forehead popped out. I love that vein. It means I succeeded in annoying him.

I made it out to the hall and I snuck in to Aoi's art class and grabbed a smock. They were painting today, so I found a paintbrush and sat next to Aoi. The art class was very large, and the teacher, Fukutan, did not control the chaos very well. I came here anytime I ditched math class.

"What are you painting?"

I thought for a moment before dipping into the brown paint. "An octopus. Why are you painting… is that Natsume?"

"Yep! I can give it to him as a wedding present!" Aoi giggled, lost in her own delusion.

"Uh huh. Anyway, do you want to leave school early and go home? After art class?"

Aoi's eyes widened at the prospect of doing something her teachers would not approve of. "You mean skip class?" I nodded. "Won't we get in trouble?"

"Nah. And besides, we have to go to work with onee-chan after school, we might as well meet her there. We can visit Nobara, too." I absolutely adored spending time with Nobara, and she doted on Aoi and me quite often.

"Can we torture Tsubasa?"

I frowned at her. "It wouldn't be right to go to The Hidden Secret and not torture Tsubasa.

"Yay!" Aoi clapped her hands and upset a tube of paint, splattering paint all over herself. "Oops..."

I sighed.

We finished painting our pictures and were cleaning up just as the bell rang. I leaned my canvas up against a wall and threw my bag over my shoulder. Aoi caught up to me as I walked out the front gates of the school. I noticed a silver head several meters in front of us. "You-chan!"

The silver head turned around to reveal a young boy our age. Youichi saw us and smiled. "Aoi-chan, Karu-chan!" He stopped walking and waited for us to catch up. Aoi pouted. The sullen look on her face seemed out of place on her normally happy features. "What's wrong, Aoi?"

"You both get nicknames because your names are longer. My name is too short." Her pace slowed as she dragged her feet.

Youichi's smile never faltered. "I like your name, Aoi." He casually placed an arm over her shoulder. "It's a pretty name." Aoi shyly hid her blush.

I brushed a leaf off my bag. The colors of fall were so pretty. "You left school early too, You-chan?"

"Yeah." He lifted his gaze from Aoi and focused on me. "My brother is singing at a bar tonight and I have to practice with him."

"Really? What bar? We're going to the bar our sister works at, The Hidden Secret."

Youichi looked startled, then happy. "That's where I'm going!"

Aoi grabbed both our hands and started skipping. "Yay! Let's go!"

I allowed myself to be dragged. "Small world… so who's your older brother?"

Youichi scratched his head. "Um… my older brother is… N-"

"Hikaru, Youichi, look!" Aoi pointed to a bunny chewing on dandelions at the edge of the foliage lining the sidewalk. Aoi slowly walked up to the white bunny. "Pyon, pyon, pyon."

I heard a rustling in the bushes, and a tall blonde came out of the bushes. "Usagi, there you are!" he scooped the bunny up into his arms and stroked his ears. Aoi smiled innocently.

"May I hold your bunny?" She had the cute grin that no one –except me and sometimes Hotaru-nee –could resist. I couldn't pull off that grin. Once I tried it on Tsubasa and he shuddered before tickling me so hard that I couldn't breathe.

Ruka smiled back, not even attempting to resist. "Sure; here, Usagi likes to be held like this." He settled the small white animal into her arms. "Oh, Youichi. Nat-"

"Ruka-nii!" Youichi suddenly said, startling the blonde teen.

"What is it, Youichi?" Ruka knelt slightly so that he was on our level.

"Meet Hikaru and Aoi. Karu-chan, Aoi-chan, meet Ruka-nii."

I waved politely. "Hello, Ruka-kun."

"Ruka-pyon!" I swear, she was just like Mikan. Aoi giggled as she stroked Usagi's face. The bunny squirmed to escape her hold, but she was oblivious to its attempts to free itself.

Ruka shot her a strange look at the nickname she had just given him. "Anyway, Yoichi, you need to be at the bar for practice."

Youichi shrugged. "Are you two coming?"

"Nah, I'm going to go home and get a change of clothes." I glanced over Aoi's paint splattered outfit, "and you probably should too. We'll meet you there, You-chan, Ruka-kun." I walked in the direction of our apartment until I noticed the lack of a cheerful aura. "Aoi?" She pouted. I sighed, "I'll grab you some clothes."

Ruka

I looked at Aoi. She looked a lot like Natsume's mother. Natsume has a picture of her pushing him on a swing. He looked like such a happy kid. Not now, and that was the difference between Aoi and Natsume. She was so cheerful and open towards everyone.

Natsume had mentioned they had an older sister that annoyed him the night after his first concert back. Could that be Mikan? She sure annoyed Natsume, and while she didn't look anything like Hikaru or Aoi, she acted a lot like Aoi.

Aoi continued to skip happily. "Ruka-pyon, I like your rabbit. He's soft."

That was another thing; how did she come up with that nickname?

Youichi stroked the bunny and smiled at the young girl. "Ruka-nii has had Usagi since he was eight." Aoi smiled back at Youichi.

Watashi wa gensaku no shirizu o shite inai - translates to "I don't own Gauken Alice!" or something like that.

So, I haven't updated for awhile. But, I couldn't let VALENTINES DAY pass without updating. I know, it's a little shorter than the other chapters… If it's any consolation, the next update will be super long and filled with MikanxNatsume fluff. Personally, I'm proud of what my mind comes up with.

I'm going to attempt to update once a month. Writer's block, though, is my muse's fault. Blame him. (Yes, it's a him. A quite sexy him too.)

~Arian