Disclaimer:I do not own Gakuen Alice or any of the characters from Gakuen Alice. I only own the characters I made up myself.
Chapter Two: Vocal Coach
[Hotaru's POV]
If I were a boy… I would get dirt on every person in the stupid academy. It's a fast way of making money… A LOT of money. Of course, I'd research every single person anyway whether anyone liked it or not.
I turned my attention to the brunette messing with her newly cut boyish locks. When she noticed me in the mirror staring at her, she broke into a happy grin. That idiot.
"Hotaru, are you sure about this? Do you really want to go with me? I mean… We have to pretend we're boys after all." Her concerned expression ticks me off. Why is she thinking about me at a time like this?
"Idiot. I made my decision and I'm sticking to it. Besides… Think of all the material for blackmail I can get." I grinned evilly, and saw Mikan roll her eyes at the mirror. "At least your uncle is letting us go a week early so that we can get used to the place." Watching Mikan go over to her suitcase to close it, I smiled, and then turned away.
Then I remembered. How could I forget? Glancing at the brunette again, I said, "Mikan… You need to work on your speaking. I'll take you to a professional tomorrow and every day before we need to leave for the academy. Your voice is too girly and high, and knowing you, you'll do something to get caught right away at the school if we don't do something beforehand."
I finished packing my laptop and other devices in one suitcase, and turned to close the other one, which was filled with boys clothing. Good thing I had a box made of steel with my feminine products in it. There was no way anyone could get past the finger pad that guarded the entrance.
[Mikan's POV]
I froze. What did she say? Professional? Panicking, I squeaked, "H-H-Hotaru! I have to have surgery performed? N-No way, no way!" I looked at Hotaru in time to see her eyes do a quick roll and put on her what-an-idiot look.
"Are you stupid? That costs way too much money. We're going to take you to a vocal coach. He's cheap because he doesn't have too many clients, but he is the real deal. His name is Kouki. Satoru Kouki. Kouki is known for fast results in getting voices to change. A week is his best record, and that is all the time we can spare. Besides, I've got dirt on him, so he is letting you train for free."
Voice changing? Wait… "Wait a minute. Me only? What about you?" I looked at amethyst eyes with worry.
"Because I'm not an idiot," was all that she replied.
I sweat dropped. Sure, I may be clumsy at times, and not get when people are being sarcastic to me, but she didn't have to put it like that.
Sighing, I finished packing everything I needed. Good thing Hotaru dragged me to go shopping for everything, and made me pack DAYS before we would be due at Alice Academy. If she hadn't, I would probably rush around last minute, and get shot by her baka gun for sure.
A happy thought popped into my head. "Ne, it's great that Alice Academy's volleyball program is first-class, right? And their academic is topnotch on top of that. It's like a school for elite males!"
Hotaru smirked, "That's because it IS an elite school for males. Which makes all the research I can do all worthwhile."
My lips twitched. Already I could see what the raven haired girl was thinking. Heck, I saw it in her eyes. The money symbols were unmistakable.
I cleared my throat. "Do you think we should turn in for the night? It's starting to get late." The violet colored clock on the wall read 11:39pm.
Hearing Hotaru grunt in agreement, I ran downstairs to say goodnight to her family. She didn't even bother coming down. Instead, she had folded a piece of paper and attached it to a small robot. Sweat dropping, Hotaru's family and I watched the robot come in, drop the note on Subaru's lap, and go back upstairs.
Ms. Imai laughed when she read the note. She was still laughing when she turned her kind eyes to me and said, "Mikan, I heard you two talking upstairs. You don't have to go to the vocal coach if you don't want to. I'm sure you can manage just fine without one."
I giggled. "Don't worry. I trust Hotaru's judgment. Besides, she's right. The pitch of my voice is too girly. I just hope the training will actually pull through. Goodnight." Bowing my head, I turned and fled up the stairs to the bedroom that I share with my best friend.
[Next Day, 8:00AM]
[Mikan's POV]
"Okay, remind me again why we're here so early in the morning?" I peered around at my surroundings. Oh great, everything is so… colorful. Even the walls are painted in a tie-dye style. The first thing that came to my mind was the word 'hippie'.
The amethyst orbs that belonged to the girl sitting next to me observed the room with an emotionless expression, but her eyes said that she was obviously disgusted. Hotaru sat in a stiff position on the couch, like she would have a heart attack if she moved unnecessarily. I stifled a giggle, but the glare I received from my friend told me that she had heard me.
"We're here in this… atrocious room, because you need the training. I don't care if you die from stress here, but I WILL drag you back to life, because you WILL get this done no matter what it takes."
Grinning, I replied with confidence, "I can do it Hotaru! Just you wait!" Maybe it was just my imagination, but I thought I heard her mutter the words "You better you idiot".
Hugging the raven haired girl, I giggled happily. I felt her cringe and then,
BAKA!
"Mou, you didn't have to shoot me with that thing!" I whined. Smirking, Hotaru took out a handkerchief to polish her baka gun.
[General POV]
A man with purple shaded sunglasses and tie-dyed clothing stepped into room. The two girls sitting on the couch jumped when he cleared his throat, for they had not noticed him come in since his clothing matched the walls. His curly silver hair was tied back in a ponytail. When he took off his sunglasses, curiosity filled emerald orbs peered down at the two girls.
Smiling, he introduced himself. "Hello again, Hotaru… and you must be Mikan, am I correct? Well, I am Satoru Kouki. I understand that you need to get your voice deeper. However, if you go with my training schedule, there is a high chance that you could ruin the part of your vocal chords that let you do high notes, and never be able to go back to how your original voice sounds. Do you understand?"
Mikan nodded, but she frowned while doing so. Hotaru had not told her that she most likely would never be able to go back to her original voice.
Kouki continued, sensing that the brunette understood his words. "Now, you cannot go through this process by simply speaking, so I'm going to have to push to your limits in singing. Hotaru told me that you are most likely in the soprano range, but getting you somewhere in the alto range is our goal. We need to get your voice to be husky enough so that when you go back to being a normal girl, you'll be fine, and when you live your life as a "boy", you can pass."
He tossed a folder with a schedule in it at Mikan.
With widened eyes, Mikan scanned through the contents of the folder. Hotaru looked over Mikan's shoulder only to have her mouth form into a grim line.
Hazel eyes gazed at Kouki with disbelieving eyes. "S-sure, there's three meals a day in here, but only four hours of sleep every night?"
The man sighed, for he had expected that exact reaction. "Well, you only have a week for this, so we have to push you to your limits. I know it doesn't sound fair, but the celebrities and idols have it far worse than this."
Hotaru scrunched her eyebrows. "He's right, Mikan. Those are the prices to pay to get your voice ready in the limited time that we have. Will you go through with the training, knowing the consequences?"
Sighing with defeat, the brunette sat in silence with her face in her hands for a few minutes. When she raised her head to look at her best friend and the vocal coach, pure determination was the only thing left in her hazel orbs. "I will," was all that she said.
"There's one thing I don't understand though. Why are there two hours of running everyday in the schedule? Not like it's a problem for Mikan, but still." Amethyst eyes glanced at her friend before shifting back to the man in front of them.
"Ah, that's to keep up her stamina. It's also a method I use on clients as a breathing exercise. It's also so that she'll get tired more easily."
Hotaru frowned at the last sentence, but otherwise said nothing.
Mikan chose this time to speak up. "Shouldn't I start right away?" Taking a swift second to examine the schedule one more time, she continued, "Well I already did the first three things on the list. Breakfast, run, and shower."
Smiling with amusement, Kouki agreed with the brunette. "Then let us go down to one of the practice rooms to get cracking on that voice." He turned and walked out the room, with the two girls trailing after him.
[Mikan's POV]
Whoa, what is with this practice room? The rest of the house is so vibrant, but this one room is so… devoid of emotions and color. It's highly uncomfortable, almost suffocating.
I stared at the black and white tiles and walls with an unhappy expression. Hearing a quiet intake of breath to my right, I frowned deeper. This room must really be unexpected if it can pull surprise out of Hotaru of all people.
"Ahem." Holy marshmallows. Oh, it's only Kouki-san. "You two must be perplexed. Don't worry, this is just another method."
He strolled over to the inky colored grand piano that stood in the middle of the room and sat down on a bench, gesturing to Hotaru and I that we should sit on the stools next to where he sat. Kouki-san's face now lacked any happiness, and instead was filled with seriousness, and something I couldn't quite put my finger on.
"Now Mikan, let's see how low your notes can go." I swear I heard a demented sounding laugh coming from him, and I felt shivers crawling up and down my spine.
I opened my mouth to sing scales. This was going to be one heck of a week.
I'm thinking about skipping the training part entirely, and send Hotaru and Mikan to the airport at the beginning of the next chapter, and just describe the training so I can get the story going.
Anyways, please review, and no flames. Thank you! :3